I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard at work before!  This guy has a gift – if not for welding, then definitely for writing!

Attempting to weld in the age of duct tape

Al Batt, Tales from Exit 22
Published Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I don’t like to wear socks.

I wear them but I don’t like it.

I consider socks to be a fire hazard.

I took a welding class at a college that once thrived in Waseca.

It wasn’t my idea. It was my employer’s idea. He felt that the duct tape I used wasn’t as strong as a weld. He was annoyingly conscientious. Welding started during the Bronze Age, and it survives into the Duct Tape Age. I went to college during the day and worked nights. The welding class gave me something to fill those hours that I had been wasting on sleep.

My father had taught me how to weld with a derelict welder he had rescued from a junkyard. It was a serious stapler that performed basic farm welding with little attention paid to aesthetics.

On the farm, I welded broken wagon tongues and tractor hitches. I gave up welding once I quit breaking wagon tongues and tractor hitches.

I would have been happy not knowing anything more about welding. Welding isn’t even an Olympic event. It could be in the Winter Olympics. Replacing the brooms with welders would make curling a little more exciting.

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Crazy Germans and their sausage.  And I fully mean that as a compliment, because we here at Arc-Zone.com were all amazed and highly entertained by what happened next.

German welders + sausage + welding machine = Electric grill for men???

Adventurous Germans Grill Sausages with an Industrial Welder

“Eventually, the tube was so hot that the arc had to be shut down because the fat was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.”

By Vin Marshall  Posted 03.22.2010

Barbecue grills don’t typically require eye protection, but then, they’re typically not made from a giant TIG welder and an industrial sausage positioner either.

That’s something these Germans set out to change with the “Electric Grill For Men.”

What would you do if you needed to endurance-test a large industrial welding power supply?

You’d probably rig up something like the apparatus pictured here, in which a TIG welding torch draws a continuous arc along a slowly rotating piece of aluminum tubing mounted in a work positioner normally used for pipe welding.

As the long weld bead is laid down, the power supply is tested to verify that it can maintain its rated output and duty cycle without melting down. In the process, a great deal of heat is generated.

What would you do if you hated to see all of that heat going to waste? And furthermore, if you loved sausage?

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This has to be my favorite topic post ever from the Miller Discussion Boards. It started three years ago, and amazingly, continues up until, probably whenever you’re reading this! From the over five hundred responses I picked out twenty of my favorites – see if you recognize any!

You Might Be a Welder If…

Got any more YMBAWI quotes?  Let’s start another marathon thread here!

Having trouble with your SMAW?  Practical Welding Today® has this great article that talks you through the SMAW process from start to finish and even includes a section on troubleshooting some of your more troublesome welds.  Enjoy!

SMAW: A welder’s guide

Advice and troubleshooting tips for beginners

By Harry Sadler

Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is the most common form of arc welding. However, creating a good weld is not always easy, especially for a beginner. Following a few simple tips as well as learning the common weld defect and how to fix them will have you on your way to laying quality SMAW welds.

Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is the most common form of arc welding. However, creating a good weld is not always easy, especially for a beginner. Unlike gas metal arc welding (GMAW), in which you basically point and shoot, SMAW requires a higher skill level and a mastery of certain techniques.

By following a few simple tips, even beginners can learn how to spot common weld defects and fix them to create a high-quality weld.

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Do you have any other practical SMAW tips that you’d like to share–  post some below!

Pro Gear Packages™ – Three Gear Pak’s to Choose From

Now you can get all the top gear needed to complete that school welding program or upgrade your favorite fabricators current safety gear!

Your Pro-Gear Pak features the stylish flame-resistant BSX™ welding gear built for performance and safety; including, the Striker Jacket, the FireRag™ doo rag, and two pairs of matching gloves—one designed for Stick and MIG welding and one designed specifically for high performance TIG welding.

Included With Your Pro-Gear Pak:

• Top-of-the-line HellRaiser™ anti-fog safety glasses by Jackson™
• Miller’s complete set of slide-rule welding guides for Stick, MIG, and TIG welding
• The handy tungsten stick-out gauge
• Joe Welder’s TIG Welding guides
• Upgrade With A Welding Helmet and Gear Bag:
• Now you can choose to include either the Inferno™ Passive Welding Helmet by Miller™, or a full-feature Nex-Gen™ Auto Darkening Helmet by Jackson™.  Both selections include a deluxe helmet/gear bag from Jackson™.

See What Customers Have to Say:

“Leave your lighters in the locker rooom.”  That’s the advice of the folks from Mythbusters on welding with a lighter in your pocket.  Don’t believe them (or your coworkers)?  Check out this video:

If you’re afraid of heights then this is not the job for you… but check out this video clip of fabricators high atop a skyscraper…

…and this video clip features Lincoln Electric’s flux-cored welding technology. Pretty impressive stuff!

If you’re welding on the job in a position that requires wearing a hard hat, why don’t you check out the new Sperian helmet.  Called the “Galaxy”, it’s a “passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet… with a hard hat adaptor”.  That means no more switching back and forth between welding helmet and hard hat while you’re on the job.

Sperian’s Galaxy high impact welding helmet now with hard hat adaptor

10 July 2009

SPERIAN has launched the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with a hard hat adaptor.

According to Sperian, its Galaxy high impact welding helmet is currently the only passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet on the market. It is tested to Australian Standards, and approved by SAI Global.

The Galaxy welding helmet is now fitted with a hard hat adaptor to suit PA620V and MSA V-Guard Elite hard hats.

Also available as a spare part, users can quickly convert their standard Galaxy high impact welding helmets to be used with a hard hat.

This provides protection for the head without needing to switch helmets and hardhats. The Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can be used at construction sites.

Welders using the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can change the distance from the Auto Darkening Filter (ADF) to the eye, and the angle of the welding helmet to the hard hat to suit to their personal needs and working environment.

Welding is a delicate art, but with the right skills, techniques and welding tools and accessories you can bridge the gap between your vision and your final product. The following article, from Popular Mechanics , provides a clear and concise overview of the welding process from start to finish. It includes an introduction to welding equipment needed, an overview of the process, information on different types of welding, and free print plans for creating a welding cart.

Master Basic Welding Skills: A Step-By-Step Guide

Welding is a delicate art, but once you learn it, ordinary steel becomes a blank canvas for invention. These steps will help you with any welding project.

By Mike Allen

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. And around our Saturday Mechanic shop, beauty often takes the form of a perfectly laid welding bead—one that looks like a tall stack of dimes laid on its side. Okay, welding has some practical aspects, too. Your world, as a tinkerer and fabricator, fundamentally changes when you can permanently fasten two pieces of steel together in seconds. Sure, it takes years of experience to perfect the craft, and an investment in welding equipment. But don’t let the cost intimidate you.

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And when you’re ready to get started, check out the Pro Gear Packages at Arc-Zone.com…. everything you need to stay safe, and look good when you’re welding!

In came the new and out went the old at Piedmont Technical College. The school was provided with a $250,000 grant to upgrade the equipment in their welding lab. New technology has enabled to the lab operations to become more efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly. Overall, the upgrades have improved the educational value and the welding environment. One of three lab divisions have been upgraded and the school hopes to receive funding for the remaining two sections to be improved upon as well.

Jim Fleming, welding program coordinator and instructor, left, observes Otis Cunningham of Greenwood as he works on a project. The upgraded welding lab was provided through a grant from AdvanceSC.

PTC Welding Program Upgraded With Grant

Posted on 10.JUN.09

Piedmont Technical College’s welding labs are now state-of-the-art, thanks to a grant from AdvanceSC. AdvanceSC, funded with profits from Duke Energy’s Bulk Power Marketing program (BPM) and managed by an independent board of directors, recently provided a $250,000 grant to the welding program to upgrade the equipment in the lab.

The old exhaust system was replaced with new state-of-the-art “Clean-Air America” weld stations which filter the weld fumes and re-use the inside air. The program also installed the latest technology in the welding process utilizing the Lincoln Power Wave Model 355 Power Source and PF-10M Wire Feeder system.

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