Check out this  welder/sculptor Kevin Caron.  He works primarily in stainless steel to create free-standing kinetic sculptures, like the ones below.  The following video shows how he creates one of his railroad tie sculptures (like this one), from beginning to end.  Enjoy!

The following are two of my favorites:  an unfinished staircase reaching up into the heavens, and a hand tree– literally, a tree with hands for leaves.
For videos of Kevin making these and other sculptures, you can go to his YouTube account here –>

Hands On -- commission, City of Avondale Avondale, Arizona -- steel, powder-coated steel 168" x 145" x 146" -- created 2009

Aspire -- steel 102" x 21" x 21" -- created 2004

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!

The Gas Saver Pro kits are a convienent and cost effective way to get all the components needed to convert your TIG torch to the benefits of a CK Gas Saver front end.  It saves time and money by organizing all the parts in one kit with a lid card and part numbers for easy replacement.

Customers tell us all the time that the gas saver pro kits improve their  TIG welding performance, improve weld visibility, and offer better shield gas coverage and lower gas consumption.

In other words, its worth it:

The Arc-Zone Weld Like A Pro™ Deluxe Gas Saver Kits are the Ultimate Boxes of High-Performance TIG Torch Accessory Parts — Assembled by The TIG Welding Experts at Arc-Zone.com®

Everything You Need To Optimize Your TIG Torch, and Get the Best Quality Welds — Right out of the Box!

• With a Gas Saver™ Kit you can produce high-quality welds on a consistent basis for a variety of TIG welding applications in many cases replacing bulky and expensive trail shields.
• The Pyrex glass nozzle offers excellent visibility of the weld puddle and the tungsten electrode– ideal for inside corners, inside pipe and around tubing etc.
• Gas Saver™ kits are available in tungsten electrode sizes from .040″ (1.0mm) to 1/8″ (3.2mm) and are engineered with a replaceable tungsten adapter and universal collet for low cost screen replacement.

The CK® Standard Diameter Gas Saver™ kit saves up to 40% of shield gas consumption and provides better flow patterns allowing for electrode stick-out of up to six (6) times electrode diameter. Gas Saver™ kits are lightweight, for improved operator comfort and torch control.

The CK® Large Diameter Gas Saver™ nozzle kit is used to provide an inert atmosphere for the welding of reactive metals such as titanium, molybdenum, nickel-based and aluminum based alloys as well as non-reactive metals like stainless steel. The nozzle is a whopping 1-1/8” (28.5mm) in diameter for ultimate shield gas coverage!

What Customers Say:

This kit is worth the money. You can switch out multiple sizes and reordering parts is very easy.

Date Added: 07/18/2009 by Fab Shop

Thanks for the kit gentlemen. It came exactly as described and the clear nozzle really helps. The tungsten sample pack makes really good welds. CHEERS.

Date Added: 05/05/2009 by John Crane

My torch looks exactly like the picture. This kit came with everything I needed. Thanks for the tungsten, works great.

Date Added: 05/19/2009 by Ron Doll

Get your KIT today–>

“The economy is down… Jobs are in danger…”

It seems like we hear some version of these two phrases every day of the week.  However, it seems like the welding industry lives in a world apart because, there are still jobs out there.  In fact, there are more jobs than there are welders.

Program Trains Welders For Shipyards

Welding Instructor: No Experience Required For Students

PORTLAND, Ore. — A local program is training a new generation of welders for Portland’s shipyards.

As part of the program, students first learn their skills at Portland Community College and the Swan Island Training Center. Vigor Marine, a ship-building company, hires the best and gives them on-the-job training and experience.

“You’re going to be trained to do everything: rigging, fitting, grinding,” said Mike Rasmussen, a welding instructor. “This program offers students to come in with no experience, knowing nothing about this trade.”

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With more and more companies looking into alternative energy sources, Lincoln Electric has decided to take the lead by hosting seminars on welding wind towers.

Lincoln Electric Hosts Two Successful Wind Tower Welding Seminars

Day-long seminars provided industry veterans and newcomers insight into trends and technologies

The alternative energy industry continues to focus on wind power as a viable addition to address the ever-expanding global energy demand. With this in mind, Lincoln Electric has recently hosted more than 120 industry professionals interested in learning more about wind tower fabrication for several day-long seminars.

Seminar attendees traveled from across the United States and as far away as Brazil and Portugal to Lincoln’s Cleveland, Ohio, headquarters to learn more about wind tower fabrication. Each seminar featured an industry overview, technology sessions and live welding demonstrations for companies already fabricating wind towers and those currently considering it.

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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:

New from Miller:  Ever wonder if your welding purchase is really worth the investment?

Miller has just created a special calculator and software that allows you to determine what your shop’s profit (or lack there of) will be upon buying this product.

What Miller has to say about their new calculator/cd-rom:

* Determines unique return-on-investment (ROI) and payback numbers based on data from each individual welding shop.

* Calculates savings over conventional machines in four areas: reduced process switch-over time, increased productivity with Regulated Metal Deposition (RMD) root pass/Pro-Pulse fill and cap, stainless steel pipe welding without a backing gas, and RMD versus TIG on the root pass.

* Excellent tool for equipment justification and planning.

* CD includes PipeWorx system information, advanced welding process information and instructional weld techniques for pipe fabricators.

You’ve already heard us talk about the upcoming FABTECH International and AWS Welding Show this November, but just in case you needed a little push to attend, we’ve got some more tantalizing information for you all.

First off is the general information – FABTECH’s main website with the who, what, where, when, why, and a magical little button that you push to attend.

FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show including METALFORM

The FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show now including METALFORM hits McCormick Place in Chicago, Nov. 15 – 18, 2009. The MEGA event anticipates hosting over 1,000 exhibitors, drawing an expected 35,000 attendees and featuring thousands of live equipment demonstrations throughout pavilions dedicated to metal forming, fabricating, tube and pipe, stamping, lasers, thermal spray and welding.

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Secondly, Miller is going to be there (booth #34701 – write it down) and they will be showing some fabulous new products, so don’t forget your cameras.

Miller to Unveil Latest Welding, Safety and Fume Extraction Products at the 2009 FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show

Visit booth #34071 to see:

AlumaFeed™ Aluminum Fabrication System
FILTAIR™ MWX-D Mobile Fume Extractor
Miller’s Arc Armor™ PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator)
PipeWorx™ Welding System
Trailblazer® 302 Air Pak™

Live arc demonstrations

APPLETON, Wis., August 13, 2009—Miller Electric Mfg. Co. will present its latest arc welding, welding safety and fume extraction products as well as live arc demonstrations in booth #34071 at the 2009 FABTECH International & AWS Welding show, November 15 to 18 at McCormick Place in Chicago. New products include the AlumaFeed™ Aluminum Fabrication System, FILTAIR™ MWX-D Mobile Fume Extractor, Miller’s Arc Armor™ PAPR, PipeWorx™ Welding System and Trailblazer® 302 Air Pak™. Additional products will be announced as show date nears.

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Lastly, this is the first year that FABTECH International and AWS are partnering with METALFORM, resulting in more exhibits, more attendees (hopefully), and by and by large, a better show.

FABTECH INTERNATIONAL & AWS WELDING SHOW ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH METALFORM

First combined trade show will take place November 15-18, 2009, at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

DEARBORN, Mich. – April 2, 2008 – Four industry-leading trade show organizers have formed an alliance to better serve the needs of trade show exhibitors and manufacturers in North America from the fields of fabricating, tube & pipe, welding and cutting, metalforming, and related processes.  The show alliance between the three organizers of the FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show [the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association International (FMA) and the American Welding Society (AWS)] and the organizer of METALFORM [the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA)] will result in a combined annual exhibition.

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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 competed in WorldSkills 2009.  Participants competed 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 it:

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 -