Make your plans now! Take advantage of great airfares and spend June in New Orleans:

AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY’S TO DRAW WELDING EXPERTS TO NEW ORLEANS

When it comes to shipbuilding, welding is the most vital and fundamental manufacturing process in the construction of ships and metal hull boats. At the American Welding Society (AWS) 6th Annual Charting the Course in Welding: US Shipyards Conference, attendees will learn the progress of new and innovative developments, as well as how their potential value and impact to the industry is essential for those in the shipbuilding community.

The 2009 Shipbuilding Conference which takes place June 16-17, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, will also address the critical importance of welding in the shipbuilding industry by providing current information on new and emerging technologies being developed for shipbuilding applications.
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We’ll be publishing a series of posts about different metals to provide readers with information regarding the properties of each metal and offer some general tips on how to weld with each metal successfully. First up in the series…TITANIUM!

Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the fourth most commonly used structural metal. The lightweight metal has a high strength-to-density ratio and it’s as strong as steel but less than half its weight. Titanium is a very corrosion resistant metal that is able to withstand extreme temperatures. In fact, Titanium’s melting point is 3,135 degrees F°; approximately 400 F° above the melting point of steel and 2000 F° above that of aluminum.

These qualities make titanium a popular choice for applications in the aerospace and defense industries (think Navy ships, for example), however, titanium’s extraordinary corrosion resistance makes it a reliable, cost-effective material for use in many other applications as well. It looks nice, but, can have a reputation for being difficult to weld because of its high sensitivity to oxygen, moisture, grease, and other metals, leading to brittle welds. With the proper equipment from Arc-Zone.com and the following guidelines, you’ll have what you need to weld titanium successfully!

PREPARING YOUR WELDING ENVIRONMENT

Titanium is a highly sensitive metal and its fabrication demands attention to cleanliness not only of the base metal, but of the shop as well. We suggest setting aside a separate area of your shop to be used strictly for titanium. Make sure the area is free of drafts, moisture, dust, grease and other contaminants. Ideally, a low dew point should be maintained as well.
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During my daily scouring of the web for welding related news and information, I came across an article that highlights what can happen when welding work is low-grade and inspectors utilize poor evaluation procedures.

Welding is a suspect in a tank collapse in Chesapeake Mike Saewitz, The Virgina-Pilot, 11/23/2008

In trying to unravel the mystery of the collapse of Allied Terminals Tank 201 in Chesapeake, experts say those investigating the failure will be trying to determine whether the liquid fertilizer corroded welds that held the massive tank together.

They also are likely to review major welding work that was done on the structure in late 2006.

Tank collapses are an extremely rare occurrence, experts say. But when any above ground liquid fertilizer tank has failed in recent years, investigators have determined that defective welding was the main cause, according to Environmental Protection Agency documents. CONTINUE READING ONLINE–>

Hobart has released some new safety gear just in time for the holiday season…nothing wrong with looking good and staying safe at the same time!  Hobart is taking it back to the basics with this rugged, yet classic, line of safety apparel.

APPLETON, Wis., November 18, 2008–Hobart Welding Products introduces a variety of welding apparel, meeting the demand for quality protective gear at an affordable price. New items include leather and cloth welding jackets, a leather apron and welding sleeves. Ideal for the garage, shop or outdoor use, the new items are made from high-quality materials designed to keep sparks, heat and ultra-violet rays from harming exposed skin.
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One more reason to go to the American Welding Society / Fabtech International Trade Show….

Renowned auto designer, Chip Foose, will sign autographs at Lincoln Electric’s 2008 AWS/Fabtech booth #15025.

Foose stars in TLC hit shows Overhaulin’ and Rides and designs cars and wheels for several automotive companies and other clients, including NASCAR racing great Jeff Gordon.

When: Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Time: 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Where: AWS/Fabtech Lincoln Electric’s 2008 Booth #15025…. in Las Vegas!

The Lincoln Electric Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic, arc welding systems, fume extraction equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

FMA launches its first sheet metal industry certification program

The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl. (FMA) (www.fmanet.org) announced a new certification program for precision sheet metal operators for testing and validating their skills in sheet metal forming and fabricating. While welders in the industry have had certification programs available to them for proving their knowledge and expertise, the new Precision Sheet Metal Operator (PSMO) Level I Certification is the first to provide a comprehensive exam in the areas of shearing, sawing, press brake, turret punch press, laser cutting and mechanical finishing.

Read the full article at American Machinist magazine online–>

To learn about all the certificate programs offered by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, click here –>

Arrr. I think I got me days mixed up. Or me blogs. Over on me beauty’s blog, Carmen Electrode, they’re postin’ about a welding wench that helped build a pirate ship. And today is Talk Like A Pirate Day, so ye can see how it might be confusin’.

Now afore ye get all mad and shiver yer timbers, or swash yer buckles, I’ll be shore to let ye in on a few litttle tips on how a pirate would weld.

With all those sparrrrrrrks flyin’… a pirate would choose MIG.
Pirate Scurvy Scott says ye don’t need a helmet, “just slide yer patch over yer good eye when the sparks start flyin’… or better yet, train yer parrot to do it for ye.”
But arrrrrr own Captain Joe Welder The Terrible says ye should buy the special, limited edition pirate welding helmet at Arc-Zone.com.

Looking for the best MIG welder in its class and the ability to weld aluminum?
Are you NASCAR fan?

Our own Joe Welder may not be a NASCAR fan, but I’m not convinced he won’t be entering for a change to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Las Vegas Speedway!

For a limited time, The Lincoln Electric Company is offering the Power MIG® 215XT and Power MIG® 255XT in promotional packages featuring Magnum® spool guns.

Customers will also have the chance to win a “once in a lifetime” NASCAR Fantasy Weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Power MIG 215XT with Magnum® 100SG spool gun for $99(Bundle Pack K2775-1)

Power MIG 255XT available with Magnum® 250LX at a discount of $199 (Bundle Pack K2776-1)

Enter to win at www.XTNASCARPROMO.com

NASCAR Fantasy Weekend

The opportunity for you and a friend to win this trip to Las Vegas is available exclusively beginning September 2nd– October 31st. The NASCAR Fantasy Weekend includes a behind-the-scenes experience during the races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, round-trip airfare and three-day hotel accommodations for two. For more information, and to enter the sweepstakes, visit www.xtnascarpromo.com.

Exclusive Power MIG and Magnum Packages

This limited promotion saves you hundreds of dollars by pairing the Power MIG 215XT with the popular Magnum 100SG spool gun or the Power MIG 255XT with the Magnum 250LX.
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We’ve written a lot about tungsten electrodes here on JoeWelder.com, from tungsten electrode stick out gauges and new tungsten electrode sharpeners to Weldcraft brand tungsten electrodes and our premium tungsten electrodes, the new Sky Blue ArcTime™ Hybrid All Purpose Tungsten.

Whatever your preference– ceriated, lanthanated, or thoriated tungsten– we always recommend buying your tungsten electrodes from a trusted source. At Arc-Zone.com we pride ourselves on being that trusted source, offering a wide variety of high quality product to optimize your specialized welding application.

That said, we are pleased to announce that the Made-in-the-U.S.A. Sylvania tungsten electrodes are now available for sale at Arc-Zone.com– in stock and ready to ship. We will maintain stock of 7″ length in the most popular diameters (.040″ to 1/8″) in the following tungsten blends:

• PURETUNG® / Pure Tungsten (Color Code Green)
• 1% Thoriated (Yellow) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Thoriated (Red) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 1.5% Lanthanated (Gray) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Ceriated (Orange) Tungsten Electrodes and
• ZIRTUNG® / Zirconiated (Brown) Tungsten Electrodes
  

Other diameters are available, contact Arc-Zone.com to discuss your specialized welding application.

As the summer winds down, and there is a hint of that Fall chill in the air (that could be wishful thinking), my thoughts always turn back to school….

If you feel the same way, and you plan on being in Cleveland, The Lincoln Welding School has announced their upcoming schedule:

The Lincoln Electric Welding School, which has instructed more than 100,000 students since its inception in 1917, announces its fourth quarter schedule for 2008.

It is the oldest and one of the most respected arc welding schools in the United States. Classes are taught by the school’s seven full-time instructors who have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach the arc welding skills that employers want. Lincoln-trained students are in high demand by welding fabricators at pay levels that tend to exceed the industry average.

Classes range from a six-week basic course to an advanced 15-week comprehensive course, as well as one-week classes on specific welding processes, certification and customized programs. Students spend 80 percent of their time in the booth learning to weld. Additionally, Lincoln limits class size to 15 students per class in order to maximize learning and guarantee one-on-one instruction time.
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