Would you have guessed that these sleek, stylish tables are fabricated from old car hoods? Check it out…

Innovative welder and designer, Joel Hester, transforms battered hoods of old Chevy and Ford trucks onto handsome conference tables and furniture.

Before

After

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and then SHOW ME THE METAL! tell us about YOUR project!

What is the youngest age at which you think that someone could begin learning how to weld? 13?  14?  

How about 8?  

I remember being 8, and I don’t think I could have held a lit torch on my own, even if my parents would have let me.

So that begs the question:  How did he do it?

The he that I’m referring to is a one Andre Dusek of River Falls, Wisconsin.  He started welding, that’s right folks, at the tender age of eight, and now, two years later, at the ripe-old age of ten, he’s begun selling his own welded art creations.

Young scavenger converts trash into works of art

Debbie Griffin River Falls Journal

Published Friday, May 15, 2009

Ten-year-old Andre Dusek enjoys dumpster diving in the town of Troy scrap-metal receptacle.

He said about the attendant, “He knows me so well now he lets me in even when it’s closed.”

Andre drags assorted parts out of the dumpster to make into artwork. A muffler here, a brake disc there, long chains, small metal rods, assorted-sized springs and other parts.

 He totes his tools along and sometimes disassembles to get at the desired part.

As time allows, the youngster goes to — literally — his loft in the garage to create original works. Under his dad’s instruction, he began welding at age 8 and materializing his artistic visions.

Sometimes his mom, Nita, takes him to the dumpster. Other times he’s pulled a red wagon, ridden a bike, or hopped on his scooter to go.

Nita says the junk sitting around everywhere was cluttering the garage and especially dad’s workbench. She wanted to clear space and dad wanted his workbench back.

Especially after their artist son created and sold 15 pieces and people began making requests, they knew they needed a plan.

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I’m going to the Essen Welding Show in Essen Germany.  Yes, that’s right, in Germany!  If you’re not familiar with the show, it is the Olympics of Welding and Metal Fabrication–  it happens every four years, and draws the best in welding and fabrication technology from around the world.

Not only will I have the opportunity to see the latest in innovation for our industry (see above), I’ll get to catch up with some colleagues as well.  It will also be a great opportunity to see what new products our international welding accessory vendors are showcasing.

Schweissen & Schneiden, the Essen Welding Show has established its position as number one in its industry. With the biggest names in the industry taking part and almost 60,000 trade buyers coming to see them Schweissen & Schneiden continues to become more international. With more than 1,000 exhibitors, the show takes place in the entire exhibition complex of more 1.1 million sq feet.

Let me know if you’ll be there! And make your plans early! Oktoberfest starts September 19– the day the show ends….

Orange County Choppers has built a business out of fabricating themed bikes on t.v. A brilliant cash machine model, they earn cash from the build, and the t.v. show AND any product placements or other affiliate marketing endeavors.

Now they’ve partnered with Northrup Grumman, showcasing the Spirit of Innovation Chopper on the season premiere of Orange County Choppers…

A note about Northrup Grumman– Arc-Zone.com supplies them with a variety of technical welding components — including our popular all-purpose, hybrid ArcTime(TM) tungsten electrodes. They love it!

PALMDALE, Calif. – April 2, 2009 – The B-2 bomber-themed motorcycle commissioned by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the stealthy aircraft is expected to roll into America’s living rooms on Thursday, April 9.

The custom design and build of the B-2 Stealth Bike by Orange County Choppers, Newburgh, N.Y., will be featured on the 2009 season premiere of the cable TV reality series “American Chopper,” which airs on TLC at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Check local listings for show times.

“We named our bike ‘The Spirit of Innovation’ to honor the engineering innovation and the successful Northrop Grumman/Air Force partnership
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Last month we here at Arc-Zone published the first article in a series of posts we are doing called Metal of the Month.  The purpose of the series is to highlight different metals, provide readers with information about the properties of each metal, and offer our audience some general tips on how to weld with each metal successfully.  This month we are going to discuss the metal Chromoly.

4130 steel-an alloy steel, is commonly referred to as chromoly, an alloy which contains chromium and molybdenum among other elements.  The number ‘4130′ is a code that the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI 4-digit code system) uses to define the approximate chemical composition of the steel.  The ‘41′ indicates a low alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum, while the ‘30′ indicates a carbon content of 0.3%.  The American Iron & Steel Institute naming system is one of the most widely accepted systems. 

PROPERTIES AND COMMON USES:

Chromoly is stronger than normal steel, weight for weight, and is commonly used to make high-end bicycle frames, roll cages for race cars, and for fuselages on small aircraft.  Chromoly’s high strength-to-weight ratio and high tensile strength makes it an ideal choice for these particular applications.  In addition, 4130 is utilized in a variety of applications because of its weldability, formability, ductility and toughness.  Overall it is considerably stronger and more durable than standard 1020 steel.  While this particular grade of steel does contain chromium, it is not in enough quantities to provide the corrosion resistance found in stainless steel. 

Regarding the manufacturing of high-end bicycle frames, chromoly is typically used to make bikes lighter rather than stronger.  This means that manufacturers use less of the steel so the strength is the same, but the weight is reduced.  However, the stiffness of the steel is approximately the same, so with less of it to be stiff, the chromoly bike frame ends up more flexible than the standard steel one.     
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I’ve been working at Arc-Zone.com for almost a month now and every day I have the opportunity to learn something new regarding the welding industry. Prior to joining the Arc-Zone.com team I had no idea how broad and expansive the welding and fabrication industry truly is…people use welding applications for almost everything! Read about this group of Michigan teens who are leading America’s innovative youth movement.

DPS “innovators” second in car-creation competition Jason Carmel Davis, Press & Guide Newspapers, 11/30/2008

DEARBORN- A group of 10 Dearborn Public School District (DPS) students-seven current and three recent graduates-worked seven days a week for 15 months to create something most teens dream about producing.

The team of students built a car.

The finished product can seat two people. It has a seat from a 2001 Ford Escape and neon green flames that start on the hood and make their way around both sides. The drive system on the car combined an 18:1 limited ship differential and axles from an electric golf cart, with a custom 36V, high-speed golf cart motor. The combination of the two provides excellent torque, traction and limited off-road capability, according to the team’s Web site, ivd.dearbornschools.org. CONTINUE READING ONLINE –>