Today is the start of the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. This weekend, Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder, will be joining more than 40,000 other hot rod aficionados for a weekend of cars, cars, and more cars!
But Jim has a bit more on his mind — he just learned that one Glen Dennee has bought his Uncle Ben’s old racing car and is working on restoring it!
He’ll get a chance to meet up with Glen during the show and and discuss how best to go about restoring Farmer Ben’s V8 60 Midget!
The Grand National Roadster Show
January 29 – 31, 2010
GNRS Supports Haiti Relief
Come to the 2010 Kragen O’Reilly Grand National Roadster Show this weekend and support the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund! We are donating proceeds from the sales of GNRS programs to this fund, and as this year’s theme is “Mardi Gras,” we’ll be having a good time handing out Mardi Gras beads to showgoers in exchange for small donations. Make a difference – come on out and join 40,000 other hot rodders for Haiti!
If you don’t live in Southern California or can’t make it on this particular weekend, you can head over to Ron’s website and check out a complete list of his workshops in the upcoming year.
Who knows – he just might be coming to your neck of the woods soon!
San Diegans are proud of their local Plumbers and Pipefitters union which has taken on the task of securing jobs for marines being discharged from the base in Camp Pendleton — nearly 750 leave each month.
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.”
It’s midnight at a community college in Oregon. The classroom is brightly lit, and the students are up and about and… welding?
Thanks to a new series of “graveyard” welding classes, this has become a regular feature of several area colleges.
In the Midnight Hour
By David Moltz
December 9, 2009
Midnight classes, once a quirky scheduling option available at only a few institutions, are gaining currency at a growing number of community colleges as student demand for specific courses increases and available classroom space for those courses decreases.
Photo: Carl Graham / Clackamas Community College
Though it is unclear which institutions pioneered the idea, Clackamas Community College, in Oregon, began offering what became known as “graveyard welding classes,” lasting from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., two nights a week last spring.
The classes were so popular that the college expanded them to four nights a week this fall, and students can now take five different welding courses during the “graveyard shift,” ranging from an introductory section to those focusing on specialized projects.
John Phelps, one of two adjunct welding instructors who lead the late-night courses, said the college’s experiment with these sections was a matter of necessity.
Even with some welding sections available on the weekends, he said, the college reached its capacity for these courses last fall and was forced to turn away a number of students.
Welding instructor George Moreno embarked on a personal mission when he quit his full-time teaching job at Cerritos College. At only half his previous pay, he left to reinvigorate the neglected welding department at Santa Ana College, a few miles south, in an economically depressed area of Orange County, California.
New 2010 Equipment Catalog 136 colorful pages packed with the latest product information
Lincoln Electric is excited to present its 2010 Equipment Catalog. This book includes all of the new products introduced in 2009 to help you reduce costs, increase quality and improve productivity.
What’s New
The 2010 catalog sports a new look and format. It is printed on paper from suppliers using sustainable forest practices. For the first time Lincoln is also offering a Fast-Flip eBook version. This online catalog features intuitive book-like navigation that will enhance your online experience.
Consumable News
Stay tuned for an entirely new Welding Consumables Catalog featuring detailed information on Lincoln Electric’s full line of welding consumables under one cover.
How’s this for a Christmas present… this dude’s bike got stolen 17 years ago. It has now been returned, and no, its not trashed, its been customized check it out:
Deshler High School in Nebraska is doing what every high school should in the face of an impending shortage of welders: it has put into place a program that allows students to graduate with certification from the AWS and to enter the workforce immediately thereafter.
Welding program prepares students as industry faces worker shortage
BY KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 12:25 am |
DESHLER – This is what Zack Bohling enjoys: Placing two pieces of metal against each other and burning them together with a welding torch.
(Erin Duerr / Lincoln Journal Star)
If you visit Deshler High School on any given weekday afternoon, you’ll likely find the senior in the metal shop, surrounded by a shower of sparks.
“I like welding and shop work and that kind of stuff,” he said. “I like everything about it.”
He likes it so much he’s considering becoming a professional welder after he graduates from high school.
“I’d like something ag or welding related,” he said.
A welding program started last year at Deshler and starting this year at nearby Fillmore Central High School in Geneva is giving students like Bohling the chance to gain skills necessary to becoming professional welders.
* More than 500,000 welders are employed in the United States.
* Welding expenditures represent $34.1 billion annually – or $325 for every household.
* Nearly half of all U.S. industries report difficulties finding qualified welders – from apprentices to engineers.
* The average age of a welder is the mid-50s, with many approaching 60.
* More than half of the welding industry’s highly trained workforce is nearing retirement, creating a potential shortage of more than 200,000 skilled welders by 2010.
Now I don’t know about you, but back in the day this is the kind of thing I would have made myself… but now that I’m a little older, and busy taking care of our customers, its nice to know that a company like Miller is doing it for me!
The First-Ever, All-in-One Workstation for Welding and Metalworking
Appleton, Wis., December 18, 2009—Miller Electric Mfg. Co. introduces ArcStation™, the first workstation designed specifically for welding and metalworking. This purpose-built workbench is affordable, fully customizable and perfect for industrial pros and home hobbyists alike.
Welders choose an approximately 30- x 30-in. or 30- x 60-in. table, a 3/16- or 3/8-in. tabletop, and customize it with optional accessories, including an X-Pattern tabeltop, X-Clamps, tool chest, weld curtain, vise, and an assortment of shelving options.
ArcStation models start at $352 and are customized from there. ArcStation allows welders to replace older, makeshift welding benches with a safe, sturdy and ergonomically designed workstation. The optional X-Pattern design simplifies clamping and cleanup. The frame is constructed of 1/8-in. steel, has a rear crossbar and leveling feet on each leg for maximum strength and stability.
The optional X-Pattern design and custom clamps give welders added clamping flexibility on the work bench and makes it easier to clean-up the work area (dust tray comes standard with the X-Pattern design). The standard shelving is recessed to make room for TIG welders who use foot pedal controls. These shelves are great for storing welding equipment, raw materials and other tools. Additional storage options include a two-drawer tool chest, an interior shelf, and a convenience kit that contains a gun holder, tool holder and a clamp bar.
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).
I often wish when I’m stuck in rush hour traffic, that my car would suddenly sprout wings and fly over all the heads of those other unassuming drivers. But I’m not Brady McCormick, and my car can’t fly.
But his – well, with just a few adjustments, it’s more of a possibility than you might think.
In North Kitsap, Turning Old Cars Into New Planes
By GENE YOACHUM FOR THE KITSAP SUN
Brady McCormick has his eyes on the skies.
The machine shop owner sees an opportunity looming in building experimental aircraft power plants out of 40-year-old Corvair automobile engines.
McCormick, 42, said the recent announcement that Seattle-based Boeing Co. is opening a plant in South Carolina instead of Puget Sound “creates a vacuum’’ for aircraft manufacturing locally.
“Now’s my chance to fill that vacuum,” he said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. “I haven’t found the plans yet for a 747, but as soon as I do, they are in trouble.”
McCormick’s plans for building experimental airplanes powered by Corvair engines is no joke.
Pulled from wrecking yards and scrap heaps, engines from Chevrolet’s once-popular compact car are perfect for experimental aircraft enthusiasts to rebuild and convert into airplane engines, he said.
McCormick, 42, said the recent announcement that Seattle-based Boeing Co. is opening a plant in South Carolina instead of Puget Sound “creates a vacuum’’ for aircraft manufacturing locally.
