In grade school, we were told to make a list of rocks and their degrees of hardness.  Talc was soft, diamonds were hard, and quartz was somewhere in the middle.  Then we had to compare them, almost in a rock-paper-scissors way.  ”Diamonds cut quartz.  Quartz cuts talc.”  And so on…

If you had asked my nine-year-old self if water fit in anywhere on that list, I would have said no.  And probably stuck my tongue out at you.  However, that nine year old self would have been wrong.

Water does fit in on that, list, and fairly high up as well, if only worked with properly.  Water-jet cutting is a fairly new technology and something that still astounds me, even though I’m not nine anymore.

Water can now cut through almost anything — titanium, marble, glass… — although abrasives will be needed to cut through the harder materials.

Cutting more than metal with a waterjet

Glass, stone, rubber are some of the possibilities

By Mike Burns and Dan Davis
December 15, 2008

With waterjet cutting equipment, shops are no longer limited to the world of metal fabrications. They can search for new business in areas that were once considered unrealistic.

Simply put, a waterjet is capable of cutting almost any 2-D material, usually up to 6 to 12 inches thick, but thicker materials are possible if the operator goes slow enough. The waterjet’s small-diameter cutting stream—approximately 0.040 in. to 0.050 in.—allows it to produce tight corners with very high tolerances.

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Maria Landa of Lima, Peru is one of the the area’s only women welders, and boy, is she giving the boys a run for their money!

CARE USA says:

Maria Ester Landa is a jet engine welder, the 2006 “Miss Micro-Entrepreneur” of Lima, Peru and was one of 31 women entrepreneurs from around the world chosen to participate in a Fortune 500 mentoring program.

While still in high school, Maria and her sister, Elvira, took a welding class sponsored by CARE. They liked it so much that they were inspired to take additional CARE offerings on technical and business skills. As the only female welders on their side of town, the two caused quite a stir!

When Maria decided to start her own welding business, she was turned down for a traditional bank loan. They said she was too young and had no collateral. But CARE believed in Maria and granted her loan through one of our microfinance programs. She repaid the loan, in full, in just one year. Today, Maria owns three successful businesses.

When a devastating earthquake hit Peru last year and left 40,000 homeless, CARE called on Maria and her sister to weld tent frames for earthquake survivors in need of shelter. They also made 100 classroom-sized tents so that children could resume their studies.

Winner of CAREs 2008 I Am Powerful Award, watch Maria describe how CARE helped her achieve her dream, and, in return, assisted CARE in responding to the humanitarian crisis that befell her community.

I happily stumbled across this article at the Pop History Dig.  I say “happily” because I have never article more succint, more informative, or more delightful than the one which I am about to relate to you all.

It is, as was suggested by the title, ALL about Rosie the Riveter – the paintings, the posters, the song (did you know there was a song?), the campaigns for women workers, and loads of interesting little tidbits along the way.

For instance, did you know that Marilyn Monroe was once a real-life Rosie?  Well, she was, but you’ll have to read on to find out all about this, and loads more!

“Rosie The Riveter”
1941-1945

“Rosie the Riveter” is the name of a fictional character  who came to symbolize the millions of real women who  filled America’s factories, munitions plants, and shipyards during World War II.  In later years, Rosie also became an iconic American image in the fight to broaden women’s civil rights.

After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the full involvement of the U.S. in World War II, the male work force was depleted to fill the ranks of the U.S. military.  This came precisely at a time when America’s need for factory output and munitions soared.  The U.S. government, with the help of advertising agencies such as J. Walter Thompson, mounted extensive campaigns to encourage women to join the work force.  Magazines and posters played a key role in the effort to recruit women for the wartime workforce.

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A couple of months ago, we did a post on the Flaming Lotus Girls (FLG) here on CarmenElectrode.com.  Evidently, we aren’t the only fans of this group – Make Magazine also is.

If you’ve ever seen the show Stomp, then you’ll immediately understand what this new group ScrapArtsMusic is all about.  In the Stomp show, performers use anything from brooms to garbage cans to… themselves to make music.

ScrapArtsMusic has kicked it up a notch by using- you guessed it – scrap metal.  All of their musical instruments are made of recycled scrap metal and other materials, welded and refashioned into new and sometimes odder-looking instruments.  Take a look at this youtube video to get a glimpse of their astounding performance skills:

“Digital welding technology” – it sounds like a phrase straight out of  a sci-fi novel rather than something we’d use in day to day life.  Or is it?

Digitizing welding is hardly a thing of the future, and no, it doesn’t mean that robots will be taking over your jobs anytime soon.  Rather, it puts the power right back into your hands to make sure that your welds are the best that they can possibly be.

Digital Revolution Energizes Welding

By PETER ANDERSON | Jun 1, 2009 12:00 PM

Digital technology is transforming how welders work, giving them more control and more consistency, and making operations more competitive.

Because its surpasses past innovations, the emergence of “digital technology” has changed the way we live and play. The quality, consistency, and repeatability of digital technology have rewarded those who long for the best in audio and visual capabilities. So it’s no surprise we’ve traded our cassette tapes for CDs and MP3s, our VHS for DVDs, and analog TV for digital TV.

The benefits of digital can be experienced on the job site, too. In the welding industry, digital technology is transforming how today’s operators work, giving them more control and more consistency than they ever thought possible. Because digital welding can reproduce every weld for a given setup 100% of the time, welders and job shops alike are embracing this new technology to remain competitive in a changing industry.

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How has “going digital” helped you or your company?  We want to know!  Email us at carmenelectrode@arc-zone.com

Ever wanted to be an astronaut when you were little?  Well, now you can!  Well, no, you can’t, but you can get pretty darn close, by welding for NASA!  Even if they won’t actually be able to live in the International Space Station, these students can get a taste of life in space by welding the very tables that those astronauts will eat off of!

Students work to create table for NASA

Friday, July 31, 2009 | 2:50 PM

LEAGUE CITY, TX — Teachers, mentors and students with the HUNCH program (High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware) are working overtime this summer. NASA engineers are teaching high school students how to create flight ready hardware out of sheet metal.

Jacobs Engineering's Steve Rogers and Clear Creek HS teacher Bill Gibbs help Josh Hartnett learn the intricacies of making sheet metal flight ready for space.

At Clear Creek High School they are working on making a dining table for the International Space Station. The design is already NASA approved and now students are learning how to fabricate the table using wax molds and sheet metal that is flight tolerant. According to teacher Bill Gibbs, the table should be flown to the ISS in 2010.

Steve Rogers a NASA contractor with Jacobs Engineering explained, “These high school students are doing what engineers with 25 to 30 year experience are doing at NASA. These students are doing very well.”

From the design to the fabrication, students are also learning the tedious side of sending hardware into space.

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Bernie Bisnette has no blueprints, no boss, and no clue where to begin.  His only companions on the job are his welding tools and the trolley car in front of him that he’s about to restore.

A streetcar to desire [again]

Welder/fabricator gets century-old trolleys back on track

By Amanda Carlson
July 27, 2009

Welder/fabricator Bernie Bisnette takes the corroded, worn-down, and skeletal remains of trolley cars and restores them to their original appearance for the Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine.

As the only metalworking restoration technician at the Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine, Bernie Bisnette likens his job to a case of attention deficit disorder (ADD). Bouncing around from one trolley project to another and switching gears from removing rivets, to annealing work-hardened steel, to building up components worn down by years of corrosion are enough to make anyone wonder.

While it can be a lot for just one person to handle, the retired Marine Corps aircraft maintenance mechanic remembers that the job requires no blueprints, no expensive equipment, and allows him to be 100 percent creative. The best part is he finds his escape from the high-stress, fast-paced computer-driven world when it”s just him and a 100-year-old piece of American history. What could be better?

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At the beginning of September this year, way up north in Calgary, Alberta, hundreds of young professionals from all over the world will congergate to compete in WorldSkills 2009.   Particpants compete in areas ranging anywhere from bricklaying and hairdressing to robotics and floristry.

However, since this is a welding blog, you’ll probably be leaning toward the construction metal works, welding, and sheet metal technology categories.

This is what WorldSkills International has to say about the event:

Power. Passion. Precision. Craftsmanship. Camaraderie. Competition!

These six words represent the thrill, excitement and spirit of WorldSkills International.

Every two years, hundreds of the best young professionals from trades, service and technical programs around the world gather to showcase their talents and abilities. This thrilling, high-performance, four day WorldSkills Competition is the biggest event of its kind in the world.

WorldSkills International was established in 1950. Today it is made up of 51 Member countries/regions worldwide. Participants compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals – striving to excel in world-class standards in 45 skill categories, ranging from cabinetmaking to web design.

Yet WorldSkills International is more than just a head-to-head challenge between aspiring professionals. It is a unique, not-for-profit, non-political, non-denominational association whose Members are responsible for promoting vocational education and training in their respective countries/regions.

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For more information, you can go to the WorldSkills Calgary website HERE.

As only the second Canadian host of this event in its 59-year history, WorldSkills Calgary 2009 is proudly hosting The 40th WorldSkills Competition from September 1 – 7, 2009. Over 900 international Competitors will compete simultaneously in 45 skill categories during four days of intense Competition on Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hailed as the pinnacle of global skills, trades, and technology competition, this biennial event promotesWelding, construction metal works, and sheet metal technology excellence and international competency industry standardsCONTINUE READING ONLINE -

by Jennifer Simpson

I first ran into Christina Sporrong online while searching for “women welders.”  Her business website for Spitfire Forge in Taos, New Mexico came up.  I bookmarked the page, and even exchanged a few emails with Christina.  One of the things that intrigued me about her was that she teaches welding workshops for women, so a few months later when I found myself in New Mexico I had the opportunity to meet her face to face.

Christina moved to Taos in a VW Van with four hundred dollars in her pocket and a toolbox.  Even though she had some skill as a welder, she started waitressing to earn money.  A lot of the girls she worked with thought it would be cool to learn to weld, so Christina started teaching them.  Back then she only charged $50 per person and used that money to buy more tools.

She’s now been in New Mexico for over twelve years and lives on Taos’ west mesa on 15 acres of land.  She built her house herself, putting to use her skills in construction and fabrication and her artistic aesthetic.  When she sent me directions and a description of the property via email I was sure I would get lost and I knew, in my low riding Volkswagen beetle, it would be slow when she told me to turn onto a gravel road and go for seven miles.  I was supposed to look for the tall ranch gate with an anvil and a dark house with gear teeth and lots of sculptural stuff in the yard.

“It should be obvious,” she wrote.

We were both right.  The seven miles took me about 20 minutes, skirting the western edge of the Rio Grande.  Christina’s description, however, didn’t do the property or the landscape justice.  The house itself is a rustic brown concrete looking structure, its shape reminiscent of a Quonset hut with the roof shaped like the wheel of a gear. Although it is industrial, it somehow feels organic, mimicking the shape of the Sangre de Cristo mountains rising above Taos to the east across the gorge. (more…)