Dave’s project was featured in the Lincoln Electric iWeld newsletter–  another great source for information, and project ideas Check it out for yourself online–> (I think my favorite part is the can of chile on the upper right hand corner)

Lincoln features a ton of great projects on their website as well… so let us know if you try one yourself!

And of course, if you need performance proven MIG, TIG or Plasma Arc Welding and Cutting accessories to make your project idea a reality, check out Arc-Zone.com.  We’re constantly adding new product.

Bill’s favorite courses in school were the welding classes he took.  With a brand new welding shop to call his own, Bill is well on his way to making a living in the welding industry.

By Valerie Zehl

Bill Stadelman doesn’t usually smile, his sisters say.

On Wednesday afternoon, though, the 18-year-old was grinning ear to ear.

The Newark Valley High School senior is the latest recipient of a big surprise from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York.

Despite the weather and the lack of a street sign on his rural road, more than a dozen people converged to see Bill’s reaction when the door to his new welding shop yawned open.

CONTINUE READING OVER AT PRESSCONNECTS –>

And if you’ve got a welder who needs welding parts of any kind, check out Arc-Zone.com.  We’ve got all kinds of TIG Torches and parts, plasma torches and parts, and we even offer gift cards in time for the holidays so you can let your welder decide!

Chris and his wife Julie run the TC’s Promise Foundation.  TC’s Promise is a non-profit organization based out of Northeastern Ohio that gives kids coming out of the foster care system a scholarship to the Lincoln Electric Welding School.

Their fundraising event this year is on Saturday, October 23 at the Euclid Lakefront Community Center in Euclid, Ohio.  You can read more about TC’s promise and purchase tickets to the event on the website.  Chris and Julie started the foundation as a way of honoring their son, Therlow Cash “TC”, who passed away on November 8, 2008.  In their own words:

“We’ve spent a lot of the past year thinking about Therlow, and what we can do to honor his life, potential and promise. So much positive came out of the whole situation that we refused to let the tragedy part “win.” We will never be rich people, so we won’t be able to endow a wing of a hospital in his name. But we wanted to make his life and its impact on us and all of you, resonate.”

Joe Welder couldn’t think of a more fitting way to get young people into welding.  And the Lincoln Electric Welding School has graduated more than 200,000 Welders!

Chris himself worked for Lincoln for a few years, and told me recently “I took the job on the floor just to get a “foot in the door” and in my time in marketing got to see just how important welding is to this country. I got to interview people who are welding bridges & pipelines, as well as people who are literally able to live their dreams through welding like Chip Foose , Bryan Fuller and Jessi Combs. I got to see first-hand the creativity and ingenuity of welders in almost every situation. And I think that if we can find kids who have that level of skill, artistry, and hands-on ability, we owe it to them to give them a start in welding.”

So support a good cause and help enrich the life of a young adult through welding!



Metal fabricators growing optimistic
By Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Jan. 19, 2010

Metal fabrication companies are increasingly optimistic about an uptick in orders this year, according to a new survey from a national trade group with Wisconsin membership.

The same survey, from the Precision Metalforming Association, also indicates that workers are being recalled from layoff. The number of companies with workers on reduced schedules or layoff dipped to 52% in January, the lowest level since November 2008.

Metal-forming companies are a key part of Wisconsin’s manufacturing base, often shaping, bending and making parts for large equipment manufacturers such as Bucyrus International, of South Milwaukee, and Oshkosh Corp.

Metal-forming has been hammered by the recession. Yet companies report that business conditions are improving, said Bill Gaskin, president of the Cleveland-based Precision Metalforming Association.

“January’s numbers for orders, with 52% of survey respondents expecting increases, is the most positive report in years. Most metal-forming companies have reduced their costs dramatically and are beginning to return to profitability,” Gaskin said.

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Ron Patrick’s Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle

This is my street-legal jet car on full afterburner.

The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back.

The idea is that you drive around legally on the gasoline engine and when you want to have some fun, you spin up the jet and get on the burner (you can start the jet while driving along on the gasoline engine).

The car was built because I wanted the wildest street-legal ride possible.

With this project, I was able to use some stuff I learned while getting my fancy engineering degree (I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University) to design a street-legal jet car without the distraction of how other people have done it in the past – because no one has.

I don’t know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn’t stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though.

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How about some welding supplies?

Hair trade: Student donates ponytail in return for contibutions of steel to welding program

BY TRIBUNE STAFF • NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Scott Stekly lost his ponytail Wednesday.

Stekly got a buzz cut from a classmate in the Construction Trades Building, courtesy of Joe Filipowicz, Salvage Manager of Steel Etc.

Scott Stekly, a welding student at MSU-Great Falls, gets a buzz cut by classmate Rachel Kaiser Wednesday in the welding shop. (TRIBUNE PHOTO/ RION SANDERS)

Filipowicz’ company agreed to contribute metal to the welding program as an added incentive for the hair loss.

Prior to entering the welding program to pursue a second career, Stekly had been a longtime local cosmetologist, where he met Joe Filipowicz and his father Jimmy, owner of Steel Etc.

When Stekly entered the fall semester, he made a challenge to the Filipowiczes. He would allow them to cut his hair in return for donations of steel materials to the MSU-Great Falls Welding Program. Steel Etc. accepted, and the hair cut was scheduled.

The donated steel will consist of pipe and plate that can be used for the college’s welding students to practice various welds and cuts. After being used by the program, the scrap materials will be returned to Steel Etc., which will recycle the metals, sending them to a steel mill for melting and reprocessing.

I’ve always had a great respect for teachers, no matter what grade they teach or where their specialty lies.  Teachers have a special job: they prepare us for the real world.  In times like these, the skills and inspiration that teachers offer is more valuable than ever…..

CCC&TI helps students discover their artistic talents

Hidden abilities revealed during classes lead to new careers, art sales and shows.

Posted: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009

Two students at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute are finding success with their artistic talent.

Michael Arnold discovered a hidden talent and a new career when the demolition company he worked for went out of business. He enrolled at CCC&TI to pursue a GED and signed up for a welding class as well.

“We spent several weeks welding straight lines, and I wanted to try something different,” he said. “So I started welding scrap pieces together just to see what I could make out of them.”

The Granite Falls native created metal sculptures of a horse, a praying mantis, a stork, a reading man, a tree and a 90-pound dragon fly in just a few months. He has sold several pieces and won CCC&TI’s Spring Fling Recycled Art Contest with a mask he created out of scrap metal.

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Welding grant helps Wallace College expand training

By JIM COOK
Published: September 15, 2009

A new state grant will help Wallace Community College continue to train workers in welding, a career field that appears to be almost recession proof, according to school officials.

State Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, presented a check for $90,000 to the college on Tuesday. The money will be used to purchase more equipment for the program, which has rapidly grown in enrollment since the onset of the recession. Smith secured the grant from a workforce development program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, welding, soldering and brazing jobs employed 462,000 people in 2006, with the vast majority of those jobs being in manufacturing. Demand for employees is expected to grow about 5 percent nationally through 2016.

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At the Infrastructurist.com, there is a list of the five hottest jobs in infrastructure right now.  Guess what’s number one.  No, really – guess.  Stop looking down!  No cheating!

Alright, fine.  You saw – it’s a Robotic Arc Welding Technician, and not only are they in high demand, but they make a decent amount of money, considering that it only takes a mere two years to get certified!

1. CERTIFIED ROBOTIC ARC WELDING TECHNICIAN – $40,000 TO $50,000

What they do: Arc welding is a common technique of fusing metals, and robotic arc welding–as the name suggests–is this process as preformed by robots.

Automation ensures a higher quality of the weld –up to 50% better – and increases productivity by up to 3 times.

Who maintains these armies of welding robots? A robotic arc welding technician, of course. As Jeff Noruk, president of industry firm Servo Robot puts it, “Robots are like babies. They need care every single day.”

Why it’s hot: As a recent New York Times article points out (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/24jobs.html), welders are much in demand these days. That demand is especially acute for certified robotic arc welding technicians:

Noruk estimates that while there are several hundred thousand arc welding robots, there are only 30 certified arc welding technicians in the country, with most welding robots presently being supervised by general electricians or engineers.

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Napa sculptor makes works meant to last

By MAUREEN MCCABE Register Correspondent
Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 12:00 am

In this plastic, throw-away culture, where obsolescence is built into almost every mass-produced item, Toby Gewertz who sticks with material that will last.

Using stainless steel, bronze, copper, aluminum and titanium, Gewertz designs and constructs signs, sculptures, railings and doors, among other items, for commercial and residential clients.

Local restaurants call on his company, Metalformz, for signage and decorative pieces.

Gewertz crafted the carrot fence at First Squeeze, as well as the medieval Gothic art at the former Belle Arti on the creek in Napa, now the Little Gourmet.

Although the restaurant has been through several owners, all have kept Gewertz’s candleholders and partitions for the breezeway and counter top.

He’s also done Celadon’s signs, the door handles and liquor display racks at Fumé, the sign and interior metalwork at the old Piatti restaurant in Yountville, and the old Brix restaurant’s sign plus indoor railings and coffee tables.

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They are currently offering free accelerated classes in welding to 16 marines at a time, in the hopes that this will provide them with a lasting career upon leaving.

Local Union Hoping To Spark Welding Careers For Former Marines
BY KATIE ORR
December 11, 2009

A local union is offering men and woman leaving the Marine Corps a chance to learn how to become welders.

Organizers are hoping the program might spark some careers.

San Diego’s Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 230 is already into the fourth class of its Veterans in Piping program.

The union is offering Camp Pendleton Marines who are about to be discharged the chance to take part in a free accelerated welding program.

Union Organizer Gary Sallis said many Marines don’t know what they’re going to do when they leave the military.

“Right now 750 Marines a month are leaving the Marines at Camp Pendleton,” Sallis said.

“We’re taking 16 of them every month as we can to try to train them to be welders. And this way, when they get all done, they have a career when they leave the military.”

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