At Arc-Zone.com we’ve been expanding our line of CK Worldwide products online. On our website, you’ll find most of CK’s Master TIG line of TIG torches and replacement parts—including the Flex-Loc and Micro-Torches. These CK torches offer quite a few improvements over traditional parts’ designs, targeting some of the common complaints in the industry:

COLLETS

If you’re having problems with collets losing their shape due to high amperage applications, try the Wedge Collet. This collet design uses an interference fit to lock the electrode into place, rather than the clamping action of traditional collets that tends to wear out faster.

THREADING

If the threading in your torches is wearing out from accidental cross-threading or just from heavy use, try the Contractor Series torch (CK-C150). This 150 Amp Air-Cooled torch uses all the same front end parts as traditional 17-Series TIG torches, but the torch body is made of Stainless Steel. CK Worldwide has perfected this design so that you get the full 150Amp capacity (100% Duty Cycle) in a TIG Torch that is designed to last in the harshest environments.

CABLES

And, if you haven’t tried CK Worldwide’s SuperFlex power cables on your air-cooled TIG torch then you need to find out what you’ve been missing! These single piece air-cooled power cables are so flexible and light weight that you can coil them around your hand—and the pricing is almost unbelievable.

CK Worldwide has a proven track record in the industry offering products that address the needs of welders in the field. From specialty low-profile TIG torches to high-visibility Gas Saver parts, CK innovations can really improve your welding process.

If you don’t see something you’re looking for, give us a call; if it’s not online, we still have it—and if it doesn’t exist, there’s a chance that CK Worldwide will make it custom. Their technical expertise and dedication to excellence in the industry is impressive.

Since Arc-Zone is based in sunny San Diego, California, the only snow we get stays in the mountains, where it belongs.  We’d much prefer to surf in the morning and ski or snowboard at night.  San Diegans are generally peeved if the temperature drops below 65.  The worst we get is probably some rain that most people elsewhere would refer to as “light drizzle”.  But still, you never know when some showshoes may come in handy! Check out these custom fabbed snowshoes from Jake Thamm in Colorado:

By Eric Lundin

You purchase raw material.  You cut it, you bend it, you weld it, maybe you even coat it.  You make the best components you can, ship them to your customers, and hope to earn an honest day’s wages for an honest day’s work.  If you’re an OEM, you do much the same thing, but you ship complete products.  Either way, you probably don’t expect to win awards for your work, do you?

Jake Thamm didn’t start his fabricating venture expecting to win awards, but indeed he did.  An avid outdoorsman and entrepreneur, he ran across a unique snowshoe several years ago.  He tracked down the manufacturer, purchased the design, co-founded the Crescent Moon® Snowshoe Co., and in a few years increased the sales of the product tenfold.  And the snowshoe won a couple of awards from outdoor recreation magazines.

CONTINUE READING OVER AT THE FABRICATOR – >

And if you’re the next Jake Thamm looking for TIG parts or torches, or tungsten electrodes for your TIG applications, be sure and check out Arc-Zone for all your welding accessory needs.

Not too long ago we got an email from a customer wondering why–  since they had spec’d out Made-In-The-USA SYLVANIA tungsten electrodes– we had sent them GTP tungsten electrodes.  They even sent photos!

Back in 2008 OSRAM Sylvania Tungsten and Powder officially became Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. (GTP) a leading supplier of powders, semi-finished products and components made from tungsten, molybdenum and phosphor.  It’s only been recently that packaging redesign has reflected this change, so soon you’ll see these boxes in your own shop.

You may miss the the SYLVANIA packaging, but don’t worry, the insides are still the same top quality tungsten.

GTP Tungsten Rod is manufactured by powder-metallurgical manufacturing techniques. Hydrogen-reduced tungsten powder is produced to rigidly controlled purity, particle size, and size distribution. The raw tungsten is consolidated by pressing and sintering the material into billets, which are then worked by rolling or swaging them into rods. Smaller sizes are produced by subsequent drawings.  This controlled manufacturing process produces top quality tungsten.  (If you want to know more about how Arc-Zone.com rates its tungsten suppliers, check out Tungsten Electrodes:  What’s the Difference).

SYLVANIA® GTP is the only U.S. manufacturer of tungsten electrodes (and is in stock and ready to ship from Arc-Zone.com). All SYLVANIA® GTP tungsten electrodes comply with AWS Specification A5.12 98. For details, download the GTP Tungsten Technical Bulletin (.pdf).

And when you’re ready to order your Sylvania GTP Tungsten, head on over to our webstore and place your order.  And if YOU don’t like what you see when you open your box, give us a call. Remember we have a Satisfaction Guarantee, and a NO HASSLE return policy–  Our goal is to make sure you get what you need to Weld Like A Pro(tm) !

Happened upon a great article –really informative–about welding aluminum over at The Fabricator.  We get lots of calls from customers trying to weld aluminum, and wondering what the best way to go about it is.  This article answers many common questions about welding aluminum:

By Matt Tavernelli

The reactive nature of aluminum to the welding arc, which is much more pronounced than that of other base materials, presents many challenges, including excess heat input and burn-through, porosity, poor bead appearance, poor fusion, and cracking.  Technology advancements have made tackling these challenges easier by providing a balance of high travel speeds with a narrow, focused arc.

CONTINUE READING OVER AT THE FABRICATOR ->

And for anything you need to start welding aluminum, be sure to head over to Arc-Zone.com, where we’ve got all types of  TIG rod available, as well as TIG consumables and TIG torches.

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. has just introduced WeldX™, a revolutionary new apparel line for personal welding protection that is lightweight and breathable, yet provides exceptional flame and spatter resistance–available at Arc-Zone.com!

This stylish safety apparel comes in classic black and is sixty percent lighter than most leathers and also lighter than many flame resistant cotton garments, WeldX represents the next generation in protecting welders from the hazards of heavy-duty welding, while also reducing the potential for heat stress-related injuries.

The WeldX line offers protection in a welding apron, welding bib, cape sleeves, welding jacket (pictured above) and welding sleeves.

Originally developed for military applications, Miller’s new WeldX fabric combines the lightweight and breathability benefits of cotton with exceptional spatter and flame resistance to provide maximum welder protection.

Flame resistance is inherent to WeldX – laundering will not degrade its performance over time. WeldX is based on a fabric technology that has proven its performance and durability in iron production, race car driving, high voltage electrical work, firefighting and other potentially catastrophic applications. The fabric consists of a blend of oxidized acrylic fibers and modern strengthening fibers, which are then treated with a proprietary compound that allows the resulting material to “shed” spatter and sparks upon contact. The proprietary compound is embedded into the individual fibers rather than being applied topically, allowing the garment to retain a high degree of pliability and maneuverability. In even the most extreme environments, WeldX will not burn, melt, ignite or shrink.

The newest addition to Miller’s popular Arc Armor™ line of welding protection, WeldX garments are available as standard welding jackets, sleeves, cape sleeves, bibs and aprons, offering a range of protection options for a variety of applications and industries. For most applications, WeldX will deliver the highest level of welder protection required without a corresponding increase in heat stress, keeping your welders safe, comfortable and more productive.

About Miller
Miller Electric Mfg. Co., headquartered in Appleton, Wis., is a leading worldwide manufacturer of Miller brand arc welding equipment and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW).
For more information, visit Miller’s Web site at www.MillerWelds.com

Joe Bruen, a new customer of Arc-Zone who’s got a welding business in Londonderry, New Hampshire, called the other day and said, “I got my Sharpie DX today, everything was great, customer service was great, and it works perfectly. My only complaint is that one of the M&Ms in the bag was broken. Keep up the good work.”

We love it when our customers call us…  even if they don’t have such glowing praise– bottom line is we are focused on doing our best for our customers, so we look forward to hearing from you, whether you have a comment on one of our products, something we need to add to our store, or a way to improve our website– let us know, and we will work to make those changes!

But it sure is nice to get compliments, so welcome aboard, Joe!

One of the most common questions we get at Arc-Zone.com is

Which tungsten electrode should I use ?

or even more specifically

What is the best Tungsten for precision TIG welding with AC (alternating current) on Aluminum using an inverter based machine?

A lot of folks in the industry have some very strong opinions on this subject, some based on fact, some based on ego and greed and some– just not having the experience. . .

For sure the answer is NOT Pure tungsten (color code: Green)!  Even though many say you should use pure, and back in the day specifications called out Pure tungsten for AC TIG welding.   But that’s old skool; I never use pure, and I would not recommend even trying it!

We have several industrial customers who purchase tungsten electrodes from us in quantity–  and they have spent a lot of time and money testing different materials.  From precision orbital TIG welding of high-purity stainless steel tubing, to manual TIG welding of yacht towers or special interest auto intake/turbo manifolds and other aluminum fabricated parts where the finished product is the “money.”  In other words, these master fabricators know what they’re talking about when it comes to TIG Welding and tungsten electrodes and hands down, they prefer our ArcTime(TM) Hybrid tungsten electrodes.

Based on my 20+ years in the welding industry, I would say it comes down to two things – the tungsten brand name (who makes it), and the material blend or formula (how it’s manufactured).

Tungsten Brand Name:
Arc-Zone.com sells all the leading brands of high-quality tungsten electrodes: ArcTime, Amplify, CK Worldwide, Multi-Strike, Sylvania, and Weldcraft.  With these trusted brands, you are assured that the material is top-quality and manufactured to the highest specifications and with adherence to International ISO 6848 and AWS A5.12 standards.

Tungsten Blend or Formula:
If you look at our sales from users around the world, ArcTime™ Hybrid (color code: Sky Blue) is the most popular and the 2% Ceriated (color code: Orange) and Lanthanated (color code: Dark Blue) are the second most popular, especially for precision fabricators. Again that is based on our sales and conversations with fabricators and leading power supply manufactures – (Weldcraft will be adding 2% Lanthanated to their product line shortly, and they currently offer a Rare Earth material, which is a generic material designed to compete with ArcTime™, Trimix, and Multistrike).

For the record, we sell Multi-Strike, and we sold Trimix for many years, but those materials are very expensive, and our customers told us the performance did not justify the extra cost.

Also important and often overlooked is the quality of the tungsten material. Like it or not the vast majority of the tungsten electrodes are made in China. The raw material for the most part has always come from there, as they have some of the largest tungsten mines. That said there are many high-quality manufacturers, just as there are poor quality manufacturers. Your best option is to buy a material that has a trusted brand name, from a supplier that offers only carefully selected and tested products from known manufacturers.

Free Tungsten Samples  / Free Pizza:
A local “New York style” pizza joint comes by the shop and offers us free pizza, since we often have pizza on Fridays–to celebrate exceeding our customer experience goals–we ordered one of those free pizzas.  It was terrible.  We threw it out!

Recently they stopped by again, and when our receptionist said “No thank you,” the stooge they hired to pass out the free pizza flyers was floored.

“You guys don’t want a free pizza?  I don’t get it, you don’t eat?” he said.

She told him their pizza was not worth the phone call.

I know that may sound harsh, but it’s true and you know what I am talking about…. you get what you pay for.  We have some “competitors” that offer free tungsten samples.

When we get calls from people asking us for samples we refer them to those free sample guys.  And if they are serious fabricators they try those free samples then call us back and place an order. . .

So, no, we don’t offer free tungsten samples, but what we do offer is the best Brand Name tungsten welding electrodes on the planet, backed by our unsurpassed technical support, and every order ships with material safety data sheets, user guides, how to’s, material specifications with mill runs and lot numbers, a bag of our signature M&M’s, plus the industry’s only unconditional MONEY BACK GUARANTEE and a NO-HASSLE return policy.

Arc-Zone.com is the world’s leading supplier of high-quality tungsten grinding machines engineered to improve weld-quality and safety for TIG and Plasma Arc Wedling. We deliver and support the best quality machines from a variety of global manufacturers, offering a wide range of machines from our own Sharpie(tm) hand-held grinders great for the welding hobbyist to portable and bench top machines for the garage, production shop floor or job site.

Not too long ago we identified an opportunity to innovate the industry by introducing a line of low-impact recyclable diamond grinding wheels for our line up of production tungsten grinding machines and we found a local manufacturer that we thought was going to benefit our customers in terms of price and quality. Unfortunately, when we received the first production run, they were not at all what we expected, and did not match our agreed upon production standards. In business sometimes you need to take the product to market and perfect it based on customer feedback. So we shipped some of the “new style” low-impact recyclable wheels to a select group of customers. And let me tell you, we heard about it straight away. First off the wheels looked completely different and did not have the bright nickle plated finish that they were used to, most people thought they were cheap imports! We even lost a few customers, and it will take some time to get them back.

Since then, we’ve been working with an established world-class manufacturer right here in the U.S. of A — and we are very happy with them, and the wheels are absolutely the finest available. We’ve also done a lot of research and tested these wheels so that they meet the stringent requirements and the needs of our customers.   In fact, take a few minutes and read the Technical Focus Sheet on Grinding Tungsten Electrodes with Diamond Wheels (.pdf) that I put together. The paper includes information on dry grinding, wet grinding, types of wheels and tips for maximizing your wheel’s life.

Now we are able to supply the highest-quality replacement diamond wheels for all your tungsten grinding machines. It’s great to be able to offer a superior quality product, at a fair price, and best of all they are made in the U.S.A.

Don’t buy the misleading advertising other companies are doing, they charge up to $299.00 per wheel – for a cheap import wheel from China (that they pay $35.00 for) — That’s Ridiculous. At Arc-Zone.com® we supply the highest-quality wheels Made In the USA for a lower price — That’s Ridiculously Awesome!

Wheel Core Exchange™
Arc-Zone.com® now offers a Wheel Core Exchange program for your spent diamond grinding wheels! Return your worn-out diamond grinding wheels to Arc-Zone.com, and we’ll give you a $25.00 discount on a new wheel purchase or a store credit (applies to new wheels $100.00 or more). By returning your used wheels, you’ll reduce the environmental impact of discarded diamond grinding wheels. Better still, you’ll reduce the impact on your wallet!

We stock wheels for all populartungsten electrode grinders – Sharpie™, Turbo Ace, Super Turbo, Turbo-4, Radnor, Weldmark®, OKI, Best Welds, Abicor Binzel®, Diamond Ground Products Piranha II, Piranha III and DGP*, Neutra, Neutrix, Ultima TIG and Black Gold, Weldcraft® (formerly Georg Fisher +GF+ ESG Plus) Pro-Fusion Sharp Shooter, Intercon TIG 10/175, CK Worldwide® TurboSharp V and more! Custom diamond grinding wheels available by request.

For automated TIG and Plasma Arc Welding applications where minimizing variables is imperative, consider Arc-Zone’s Custom Pre-Ground Tungsten Electrode Program. We offer precision pre-ground electrodes prepared to your exact specifications from tip geometry to ground or polished finish. And for high production environments we even offer a blanket purchase order option so we’ll always have your electrodes in stock and ready to ship to you when you need them. Additionally, we offer a RE-grinding service that will save you and your organization valuable time and money!

If you have any questions about which diamond wheel you need, the tungsten grinder that will work best with your budget and your application, or to find out if you would benefit from our pre-ground program, contact an Arc-Zone.com technical expert today!

*Arc-Zone.com®, Inc. is not affiliated with some of the companies referenced. We supply high quality replacement parts manufactured by or for Arc-Zone.com® to demanding specifications. The parts are engineered to be interchangeable with OEM parts, are not OEM parts and are not endorsed by some of our friends listed above.

I decided to travel in style to the circuit so I hopped into the Arc-Zone.com green mobile (Toyota Prius) for the short 45 minute ride inland to the brand new Pala Raceway. They built an awesome new motocross track, just down the road from the world-class Pala casino in North County, San Diego California.

When I arrived, I headed to my base, which was the Thor/Parts Unlimited Team hospitality area for a bit of lunch. I was a guest of Mark Johnson, who was the former Team Manager for the powerhouse Team Green Kawasaki. Mark has worked with some of the greatest names in motorcycle racing: Eddie Lawson, Jeff Ward, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael and more! Mark is now General Manager of the KV Racing Technology IZOD Indycar Team, and he works with David Brzozowski one of my best friends who is KV’s Team Manager– so that’s the connection!

I watched the final practice session from the race team timing and scoring area just past the starting line at the first corner-–perfect for catching all the action on track.  I also had a great spot for viewing the team TV’s, with the appropriate timing screens; I could really follow how all the riders were getting around the track. I could see each rider’s strategy, building up to the afternoon’s first moto.

It’s great to see the top riders up-close making laps and coming into debrief their mechanics. You can check out all my photos here:

But for me coming to a major event like this is really about catching up with people that I had raced with years ago and do business with now!

I had a few minutes to talk to Don Emler from FMF who has been the leading high-performance off-road motorcycle exhaust pipe manufacturer for more than twenty years. Don had purchased a Sharpie™ Hand-held Tungsten grinder and some ArcTime™ Hybrid tungsten electrodes. It was good to touch base with him and to talk about how the tools he bought from Arc-Zone improved his welding performance.  (You’ll see some awesome pictures of Don’s work in the slide show above).

All in all it was quite a day checking out all the race teams and their support equipment, watching riders from all over the world compete on an outdoor dirt track, and talking to the mechanics and seeing some old friends walking around the paddock.

See you there next year!

Just got this news from Miller Electric about their new diesel engine-driven welder/AC generator (see below).  This thing is its own power plant!

And don’t forget, Arc-Zone.com offers TIG torches and replacement parts, MIG guns and replacement parts, stick holders and leads, and plasma arc cutting torches and replacement parts.

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. today introduces the Big Blue® 350 PipePro diesel engine-driven welder/AC generator. The Big Blue 350 PipePro, purpose-built for transmission pipeline welding, provides 20 to 400 amps for both DC Stick (325 amps at 100 percent duty cycle) and DC TIG welding, 14 to 40 volts for MIG and Flux Cored welding (350 amps at 100 percent duty cycle) and 12,000 watt peak/10,000 watts continuous auxiliary generator power for running tools on site. Built for the harsh elements encountered in pipeline welding, the machine is also designed for structural steel, construction, fabrication and MRO applications.

(more…)