The new store opened for business August 25, 2008.

“The revamped website is the first created in-house to our exact specifications and style,” says company founder and President Jim Watson. Other new features include a rotating gallery of featured products on the home page, and video. “Our ‘Welcome to Arc-Zone’ video will show visitors first-hand what differentiates Arc-Zone from our competitors while our Weld Like A Pro™ series of How-To videos will showcase our technical expertise and the added value of buying from Arc-Zone.com.”

The remodeled web store will also allow customers to write reviews of products they have purchased. This is a great tool for other buyers to assess which product is right for them.

The new store will continue to feature secure checkout, easy sign-in, real time actual UPS shipping quotes and Live Chat support with customer service and technical representatives.

Founded in June 1998, Arc-Zone delivers proprietary, brand name and OEM replacement parts and accessories for GMAW, GTAW and Plasma Arc Welding and Cutting applications to customers worldwide. For more information, visit the Arc-Zone.com web site at www.arc-zone.com, call (800) 944-2243 or email sales@arc-zone.com.

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Check it out and let us know what you think.

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.

Canadian Manufacturing Week (CMW) is Canada’s definitive showcase for design engineering, maintenance products and industrial support services. Only Canadian Manufacturing Week delivers the latest ideas and methods for designing new products, maintaining your operations and staying ahead of the competition. If you’re an OEM involved with overall product design, fluid power, motion-control, electronics or materials, this is your event! With hands-on demonstrations and expert-led conference sessions, you can reduce equipment downtime, optimize your MRO operations, cut costs and get more out of your machines.

Weld Expo Canada CMW’s co-located event is Canada’s leading event for welding and finishing. Weld Expo features leading companies displaying the latest in productive welding equipment, machinery, products and services. You’ll discover new ways to increase productivity, cut costs and stay ahead of the competition. Click here for a full list of Weld Expo Canada Exhibitors.

Conveniently located within Weld Expo is the Metal Finishing & Coatings Pavilion - Canada’s only forum for displaying and demonstrating finishing and coating systems. Investigate cutting-edge equipment, products, supplies and services to make your operations more efficient and environmentally friendly.

For more details, to register, view a list of exhibitors and the schedule of events, check out the website.

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.

Courses scheduled for October through December 2008 include:

Basic Plate & Sheet Metal: Instructs welders in the stick welding process. The six-week class is being offered Oct. 27-Dec. 5.

Pipe Welding: Instructs welders in the stick welding process of welding pipe either to meet ASME (vertical-up) or API (vertical-down) welding code. Running three weeks, this course will be offered Oct. 27-Nov. 14.

Plasma, Oxyfuel, Alloy & Hardening: Instructs welders in plasma cutting and gouging, the oxyfuel process, alloy theory and applications, and hardfacing. Three-week class will be taught the weeks of Oct. 6-24 and Nov. 17-Dec. 5.

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding: Instructs welders in the TIG welding process. One-week course offered the weeks of Oct. 27, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15.

Gas Metal Arc Welding/Semi Automatic: Instructs welders in the MIG welding process. One-week course taught the weeks of Nov. 3, Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15.

Flux-Cored Arc Welding/Semi Automatic: Instructs welders in the flux-cored welding process for both self shielded and gas shielded. One-week class runs the week of Nov. 10.

Advanced Pipe: Three pipe welding classes are available: Advanced API Pipe Welding (stick only), Low Hydrogen Pipe Welding 1 (stick, MIG, flux cored) and Low Hydrogen Pipe Welding 2 (stick, TIG). Classes are offered the weeks of Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20, Nov. 17, Nov. 24 and Dec. 1.

Advanced Submerged Arc Welding: Instructs welders in submerged arc welding process for both full-automatic and semi-automatic applications. One-week course is the week of Oct. 27.

Maintenance Welding: Instructs welders in maintenance welding, utilizing various processes like stick, MIG, TIG and oxyfuel cutting. The one-week course is offered the weeks of Oct. 13 and Nov. 17.

Classes fill up quickly, so interested students are encouraged to register at least one month in advance. To register, contact Lincoln’s Welding School at (216) 383-8325 or visit www.lincolnelectric.com to obtain bulletin ED.122.

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, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. For more information, visit www.lincolnelectric.com.

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Our private guided tour included a rocket making class, and each child got to fire their Alka Seltzer powered paper rockets! It was bitchen.

After the party we went next door to the Automotive Museum where they had the History of American Motocross Racing Exhibit. I was excited! There were all the bikes I grew up with — brand names like Bultaco, Maico, CZ, Husqvarna, Penton, Rickman, Hodaka, and of course Suzukis, Hondas and Yamahas. It was a great sample complete with pictures from many So Cal race tracks with all the popular riders from the early days of professional MX. I really liked the completely restored 1967 Chevy El Camino with a Bultaco Pursang in the back (one of the bikes that I had). It was nice to share that with my daughter. (That’s me on the right, catchin’ some air).

Later that night my wife and I were invited to a newly renovated open house party in the exclusive covenant of Rancho Santa Fe CA. The property was completely remodeled and took over a year and a half to complete. A beautiful sprawling California Ranch style home with a large property filled with old growth oak trees, lemon orchards, horse stables, etc. Awesome way to live!

The owner, Jerry is the Chairman of large Capital Investment company with holdings in many areas of manufacturing – it’s a great company, and he and his wife have some interesting friends. At the party we met ambassadors, and other political and business dignitaries, entrepreneurs and so on. At our table I mentioned that I had taken my daughter to the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park, and how impressed I was with that SR71 Blackbird. Sam, who was sitting across from me said, “Oh I flew that plane!” Col. Sam Ursini.

Now THAT is catchin’ some air!

Do you have Weldcraft TIG Torch parts to fit a Miller DB20 water cooled TIG torch? Specifically a gas lens, collet and nozzle for .040? through .125″ diameter tungsten electrodes?

This question brings up a couple of points. First off, did you know that Miller and Weldcraft are related? Both are owned by the Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Currently all Miller TIG torches are sold as Weldcraft, taking advantage of the brand recognition of Weldcraft, a leader in the industry. Some earlier Miller torches were made by another company, but to quality standards.

Which leads me to point number two.

Most TIG torches parts are interchangeable. There are some exceptions, and certainly with some of the cheaper non-name brands you’ll find that the materials are not as good and the tolerances are, well, not tolerable…. But with quality brand names like CK, Diamondback, Lincoln, etc the parts should interchange.

The son of a general contractor, Tony was introduced to the construction industry and welding at an early age. Over the years he was told many times he would make a great teacher. When he was offered a position to teach part time, he accepted and part time soon led to full time. “I have always enjoyed sharing information,” he says.

Working at the largest and most comprehensive adult school in Ventura County, California has allowed Tony to share a lot of welding information. And place over 3000 students in good jobs over the last 25 years.

The school operates an open enrollment, start anytime program which Tony says is a big advantage over the traditional semester system. “I never have a large number of students employable at one time—there is no June graduation,” he says. In other words, Tony always has students looking for work. Indicative of the current and projected welder shortage Tony adds, “The last 15 years the requests for students has outnumbered the number of students ready to be employed.” He places students on a weekly basis, totaling well over 100 employment placements each year.

“When I first started teaching, I spent a lot of time visiting employers…. Introducing myself and looking for employment opportunities for my students.” Tony has placed students in the construction industry, aerospace, manufacturing, aircraft, sheet metal, off road, motorcycle, fabrication, oil industry and even the movie studios.

The number of students enrolled in the program at any given time—day and evening—totals 100 to 150 students both full time and part time. The level of students attending the program varies. For beginning students, Tony says he can get them employed in four to six months. “I cannot teach experience, so the faster they get out there the better.

“Personally, I have never had trouble placing students, both beginning and advanced (skilled welders with experience). Sometimes the skilled welders need additional training. For example learning to weld Titanium and Inconel or passing an additional certification.”

One student, a welder in his 40s, came to the program after being laid off from Bechtel. He was devastated. He had a letter in his hand stating that if he could pass a pressure vessel pipe certification in one month they would hire him back. According to Tony, thirty days later the student took the test and passed. “The first thing he did was stop by to tell me. As he walked in, he was four feet off the ground. Me, I was two feet off the ground!”

Gene Lawson, current President of the American Welding Society, reports that by 2010 an additional 200,000 welders will be needed. With only 25,000 students a year learning welding there will be a shortage. Tony notes that current employment demand is regional. “Some areas of the country are booming and some are not. The demand is strong in the oil industry, construction, and green industries, like windmills.”

Although not directly involved with education at the K through 12 system, Tony has some thoughts on vocational training. For a program like welding, the equipment is expensive and enrollment must be limited due to space and safety concerns, resulting in lower average daily attendance, which equates to lower return on the investment.

Tony believes that because most school administrators and counselors themselves followed an academic path they are not familiar with other paths to success. “Why are vocational training classes considered the dumping ground for underachieving students?” he asks. “It’s ironic that a counselor will then pay that underachiever a $100 an hour to fix their car.”

Tony says that if the State of California Department of Education recognized the need for vocational education and FUNDED it, there would be vocational training at the High School level. “As it is, they leave it up to me,” he says.

Tony retired in 2007, although he still teaches a Saturday class. To see Tony’s Welding videos, visit his website at www.tonywelding.com.

Let us know what you think! We had a lot of fun putting this together. More to come, so stay tuned!

One of the biggest differences between brand-name and no-name torches is the materials used in manufacturing…

Copper
There is tellurium copper, which is very basic plumbing type copper and then there is leaded nickel copper which is a high conductive, high tensile strength copper alloy. This is important for two reasons, one it’s a better conductor, and two it is more durable, the TIG torch body threads last longer, collets don’t buckle and twist etc.

Silicone Rubber
Weldcraft changed the rules when they introduced the Silicone rubber molded TIG torch. Prior to that all torches were molded in a hard plastic material. Difficult to hold, impossible to bend and very susceptible to arcing out. You would think that silicone rubbers are all the same, but again there is a big difference in the material quality, and how much heat it takes before it begins to breakdown, and how well it is bonded to the copper TIG torch body. Materials and preparation are key here and come back to the basics of production standards

Teflon(TM) gaskets:
Teflon is Teflon Right? There is “Virgin” teflon and there is High-Performance glass-filled teflon material which has a much higher life span when exposed to heat than “virgin” teflon.

Other differences you’ll find are a result of short cuts in manufacturing, or manufacturers that don’t have a good understanding of the TIG Welding process:

• Handles that are made from non-reinforced plastic with sharp edges that can cut the hose
• Torch handles that aren’t long enough to properly insulate the high-frequency current used in the TIG welding process.

Other manufacturing shortcuts may include:

Brazing versus Soldering:
Some manufactures use solder to build torches, but high quality manufacturers use a high temperature silver brazing process which offers better conductivity, and makes for more durable, cooler running, tubes don’t pull out of heads.

Standard Fittings
This should be a no brainer but again we have seen “industry standard” TIG cables and hoses with wrenches that don’t fit properly — not US, not Metric. This results in a rounding of the nut. We’ve also seen many parts that when tightened, the nut collapses and becomes oblong. And we have seen TIG current nipples and connectors with no cross holes for water and gas flow.

So when you decide to buy a TIG torch, keep in mind that price should not be the only determining factor. Quality of the materials used is an important part of the equation, and in the long run you may end up paying more.

And always buy from a trusted source– a company with a a proven track record of quality TIG products.

I am running a Miller syncrowave 250 DX. Frequently welding cast aluminum, it pops and sizzles. I have always been looking for better cleaning techniques or a different tungsten to help get a stronger and prettier weld. There is always alot of black around the weld, and most times holes just “appear” in the weld. Any suggestions or tips to help?

That’s an interesting question — You can try a couple of things and see if it helps.

1. Use a gas lens collet body - this will improve the shield gas coverage, and allow you to run higher amperage while lowering the electrode and front-end parts operating temperature.

2. Use a product like EZ wipes to clean the rod, and the weld area just before striking the arc. First step clean weld area with clean dedicated SS scratch brush - then use the EZ wipe cleaner or equivalent.

3. Do no not use pure tungsten — Use a high-quality tungsten like our new ArcTime™ Hybrid — it’s guaranteed to make a difference or you get a refund!

4. Grind your electrode to a 45 degree angle and remove the pointed tip. Start welding. Do not ball up the tungsten it will naturally ball up. It won’t ball up like most people are used to– the big, shinny, fluid ball that’s real hard to control and very susceptible to contamination.

5. Keep your electrode tip clean. Cut-off any contamination or discolorization and re grind it.

6. Pre heat the material with an “oxidizing” oxy-fuel torch to burn of some of the debris.

6. Test argon flow rates at the torch more is not better.

7. Maintain consistent torch angle and remove any fans of drafts in the weld area.

Hope that helps!

–Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder

PS: what are your best tips for welding aluminum?