I spent the last weekend in Vegas and I’m not a gambler. I know that sounds weird as any entrepreneur is by nature a risk taker, but sitting at a slot machine pulling a silver handle (or these days, pressing a button) is not for me.

But Vegas is great! If you have not been there lately you should check it out. In addition to the gambling, they have shows, shopping and even some nearby recreation areas like Lake Mead, Las Vegas Motor Speedway… and Las Vegas is alive with construction projects. I was impressed by the scope of some of these projects, and best of all there is a lot of metal.

When we got in our room we were not happy with our view. We wanted to overlook the pool, so we asked for a different room. And when we got to our new digs, the bonus was that we could see the construction on the property next door. It was awesome, the project is the New City Center on the strip.

You could see all the action from the crane operators to the banks of welding machines, to the actual welders working from Sky Lift’s while they Stick welded the structural steel frame and architectural details. Of course there was a lot more welding going on inside the building as the entire core of the building requires a huge amount of welding and fabricating, from high-pressure pipe, HVAC, and on and on. I was thinking for young people this would be a great opportunity to travel, learn a valuable skill and make great money as a construction welder. It sure looked like fun to me!

EDITOR’S NOTE/ QUESTION: Is Joe Welder the only person who would be thrilled to have a room overlooking a massive construction project??

I love motorcycles and if you do too, check out this event:
The Biggest & Best Custom & High Performance Street & Sportbike Event in America!

Performance Machine presents the 17th Annual
2008 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show Weekend
& Calendar Girl Music Festival
July 12-13th 2008, Queen Mary Event Park, Long Beach
America’s Premier Custom & Performance Motorcycle Show
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David from Peoria (Arizona!) wrote in and asked:

….about “spray arc transfer MIG.” I tried it with my Miller 8VS and Syncrowave 200 (on CC mode). It sounded like TIG, but I ruined a tip & nozzle. Is this type recommended “at home,” or do you need a bigger multi-processor power source, and what are the advantages?

I quickly replied:
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I got a call today from Eric the maintenance foreman for the American Airlines Engine Repair Shop in Ft. Worth Texas. “Do you have the Monster nozzle in stock?” he asked.

When I said yes, he practically erupted with joy. “Man we have been looking all over for these things. They’re like gold around here.”

He told me they used to get a similar part but the quality was inconsistent, and the availability was too. He said, “We have a job to do, and we use these nozzles to TIG weld our Titanium and other special alloys that need repair.”

He went on to say that as the nozzles became scarce, they started making them in-house from a variety of materials — Phenolic, Ceramic and then settled on a CNC machined aluminum part that was ceramic coated. “The quality was great, but they take time to make and are expensive,” he said.

The Arc-Zone.com Monster nozzle will be a great replacement for them… and they can get on with the business they are in, welding specialized aerospace materials– not tools.

This is true of a lot of the quality purge gas accessories we sell at Arc-Zone. As a master fabricator you know you can build your own trail shield, or auxiliary gas welding nozzle…. but when you’re looking for consistency, and want to focus on your core business, it’s nice to have a supplier that can offer tools so you can Weld Like A Pro™.

Our marketing guru just shot me a link to the new Miller video — Advances in MIG/GMAW Pipe Welding Techniques (and five other videos) for me to review and comment.

Miller says “You can take your pipe welding to a whole new level, and discover advances in MIG/GMAW pipe welding along with the benefits of the patented RMD Pro™ and Pro-Pulse™ weld processes”.

Pipe welding is very technical and the process is “growing” as we ramp up more refining of various fuels, chemicals, gases and water! I didn’t see anything new here, and they are definitely pushing their new power supply features as the way to improve your pipe welding. A couple of things did catch my eye — on one of the videos they used a very basic technique for measuring the root gap — using 1/8″ welding wire. I would strongly suggest if you are engaged in fabricating pipe you need to invest in some high-quality pipe clamps. That way you can set the gap, align the pipe and lock it into position ensuring a consistent weld every time.

Another thing of interest was the New Bernard Centerfire MIG gun parts. Now that is a real innovation and I can’t wait till we start selling those parts in our new MIG gun parts section under development. It’s nice to see a well designed and very useful product featured in the video!

I think the videos are helpful and gives fabricators a good look at what it takes to do quality pipe welding, the only question I have is, is this the only technology, or do Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Arc and other welding power supply manufacturers have a similar process? Let me know what your experience is with some of the machines listed, and if you know of others — let us know so we can get that info out in the workplace!

That’s what our first video shoot at Arc-Zone.com® was all about — 8 hours of non stop action!

We’re putting together a series of professionally produced videos featuring industry leading products from some of our premiere manufactures, and of course our own World-Class line up of products. The production crew showed up with all the lights cameras and gadgets it takes to make it happen!

My shop looked like a Hollywood set We had the videographer, director, choreogrepher, best boy, and who ever that is that holds the little black & white stripped Clap board — Arc-Zone take two! — add in the wardrobe, makeup and hair stylist for my hot assistant — Roxy Acetylene™….

I don’t know about you but this was my first time in front of the camera. We had scheduled several videos — one About Arc-Zone.com and 12 product videos ranging from Product comparisons, to how-to’s. Boy were we optimistic! We were prepared with all the Arc-Zone Brand and other vendors products organized with scripts, props etc, but we had no idea how long it takes to do one 3 minute Video!

These behind-the-scenes pictures give you a pretty good idea of how it went down, and how much fun we had. We are going to rock it so stay tunned!

Don’t miss out on this event coming up at the Ventura Raceway next weekend:

Saturday June 28th at 5:00pm (first heat)

18 Events and Hot Rod Jalopies!
Special Autograph session (at 4 pm) with Grand Marshall
MERT LAWWILL,
star of On Any Sunday and 1969 AMA Grand National Champion.

RACE CLASSIFICATIONS
Hand Shift/Harley Davidson & Indians - No Brakes
Kids 50cc
Kids 80cc
Speedway 2 Valve
Speedway 4 Valve
Choppers / Hooligans
Vintage 500cc
Vintage 750cc
Amateur 450cc Modern*
Pro 450cc Modern*
New Zealand Sidecars
Hot Rod Jalopies

*We will allow up to 650cc singles to compete in these classes.

For Hot Rod Jalopies rules visit: www.okiebowlhardtops.com

I got a call from Fabio who is building an off-road rock climbing truck chassis (pictured right). He needed someone to help him set up his new TIG welder, so he called Arc-Zone.com.

Fabio had just moved back to Italy though he and his wife had spent the past couple of years living on Maui. He started the truck project there, bought some equipment and soon became frustrated with the lack of available products, and tech support. He had a brand new Miller Dyanasty 200 and needed all the goods it takes to properly weld a high-performance off-road truck. Considering the number of welding equipment manufacturers in Italy, I was surprised that Fabio was unable to find the info or qualified people to help him get what he needed.

Since that first call Fabio has placed several orders and we have them delivered to his local post office. And since I promised my wife Gina that I would take her to Italy one day, I hope I’ll be able to see Fabio TIG welding in person, and take a ride in his new off-road truck!

If you’re looking for a fixed shade welding helmet that looks good, Hobart has introduced some slick new helmets you may want to check out.

New Fixed-Shade Welding Helmets Feature Edgy Graphics at an Affordable Price

• Two new styles: U.S. Flag and Tribal Flame designs
• MSRP $35; most affordable graphic welding helmets on the market
• Hobart durability; meets ANSI, CSA and CE standards

APPLETON, Wis., June 9, 2008—Hobart Welding Products introduces the most affordable graphic welding helmets on the market with the debut of the U.S. Flag and Tribal Flame designs. Both styles are a part of Hobart’s Fixed-Shade Non-Auto Darkening helmet line, which features a #10 fixed-shade lens measuring 4.5- x 5.25-in. This large window is ideal for hobbyists, farmers and home mechanics who occasionally Stick, MIG, Flux Cored and TIG weld.

…..Continue reading online–>

Sometimes things happen around you and you may not realize the significance and the long-term effects. I think about things more now that I have a five year old daughter.

Take some of the changes apparent in the world of racing. I remember my Dad telling me that my Mom was not allowed in the pits when they went racing - she had to wait outside the pit gate — now women are winning races!

As an early teenager I remember racing AMA district 37 TT motorcycles at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The track was yards from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I lined up for the qualifying heat and next to me was a young (girl) women with long blonde hair hanging out of her helmet — she had bitchen’ white riding leathers with purple lettering “T&O Yamaha” which was her sponsor — I remember thinking to myself, What is she doing here?

My dad told me, “You better pay attention. I watched her practice and she is fast”

Dad was right. I ran second that day. I don’t remember who came in first, but she came in a very respectable fourth.

Here are some facts on some women pioneers in racing:

Shirley Muldowney broke the glass ceiling in the NHRA in the 70’s and now Ashley Force and Hillary Will are winners….

First World of Outlaws Sprint Car Race winner — 2004 Erin Crocker

Indy 500 Firsts: 1977 first women in the Indy 500 Janet Guthrie — 1992, First Rookie of the Year Lyn St. James and 2005, first women race leader Danica Patrick.

Though it is still very early in the season, 2008 is quickly becoming the year of the woman. Following historic wins by Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, Hillary Will added her name to the short list of female Professional winners when she defeated Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka. Will is the 11th woman to win in the Pro categories. 2008 we had the first major open wheel race win by a woman– Danica Patrick.

And as I watch my five-year-old daughter tearin’ it up around the neighborhood on her bicycle– without training wheels, I might add– I wonder what the world of racing will be like when she grows up.