A lot of folks ask about the M&Ms we include with every order.  Some even ask us to toss in an extra bag for a co-worker.  Our customers like getting the M&Ms, but still, they ask why M&Ms?

When I started Arc-Zone.com in 1998,  the internet and the idea of ecommerce was new.  Folks were hesitant to do business online and with people they never met…    I had a pretty small marketing budget and some big ideas, so including M&Ms in each order was a way to personalize our customer’s shopping experience and say “thank you” for the order.

Our core belief is that our customers deserve the best technical support and top quality, performance proven welding accessories in the marketplace.   But we also believe that work can be fun…   and M&Ms are fun!

After ringing out my first motorcycle, a Yamaha 80, my Dad bought me a 125CC Bultaco Sherpa from Donnie at Big-O-Tires on Holt Blvd in Pomona CA.  Donnie (last name anyone?) was motorcycle racing enthusiast, and a member of our racing club the Lightweights MC of Alta Loma CA.  The bike was traded in by fellow racer and club member Roy Addington of Upland CA, when he upgraded to a Butaco 250 Pursang.  I loved that bike right from the start.  It had classic lines with bright red paint and polished aluminum wheels and fenders. (the image above is a restored 1969 model #63 modified for TT and Flat track racing, very similar to the one I had).

I began to set it up for TT scrambles racing,  first, we bought some new Dunlop K70 tires and took it to the track just to see if I’d like it… I loved it.  I ran the 125 novice class at Adelanto Raceway a big smooth and fast TT track in the desert north east of Los Angeles.

The first day at the track I lead all three moto’s before finishing second to the local track hero.  My Dad was stoked, we started talking about how we could get more power out of it, and that’s were the fun really began!

Here’s some photos of the bike:

I was thirteen when this picture was taken in my Parents back yard in Claremont CA, a few days after we picked up the new bike, and prepared it for my first race at Huntington Beach Speedway.  My AMA novice number was 338.  This was no trail bike, it lived for RPM’s so it put a damper on local trail riding with my junior high school friends — they were riding Hodaka’s, Maico’s and Penton’s.

With this bike, you could throw the throttle away and ride it with the kill switch– full-on or full-off, that’s all it knew.

Here I am (#19) at Perris Speedway’s TT track  in the 125cc Expert class (now know as the lites division) battling Jim Connolly (#20) the multi-time AMA District 37 champion. We ran each other hard, he was “older” (in his late twenties) than me and I will never forget lining up next to him, thinking I’m going to blow him away, never knowing until years later that he was the editor of Dirt Bike magazine and a legend in the sport.

This picture was taken at Adelanto Speedway on the Scrambles track.  I had a different set up on the bike for this series, a lot of gear and a knobby rear tire to try to hook-up to the sandy track conditions.

My first welding machine was a bright green P&H Heliarc or TIG Welder.  P&H was made by The Air Reduction Company (Airco).  I bought the machine used from my Uncle Lynn Watson from San Leandro CA.   Lynn used it in his specialty electronics fabrication business.

The welding machine came complete with a WP-24 low profile TIG torch, a WP-20 general purpose TIG torch and a WP-18 350 Heavy-duty TIG torch. Included in the deal was a pile of accessory parts, collets, collet bodies, gas lenses, tungsten electrodes you name it! I was working at Weldcraft at the time and I had been learning about all the different TIG torches and replacement parts available, each designed for a specific welding job.

If you look around you can find a good machine and start building something right away.  I used my TIG machine for a variety of projects around the shop, and it was my only welding machine.  I even built my first race car trailer with it — sure it’s slower that MIG welding but very effective.  It worked great to weld my 4130 chrome molly steel Sprint Car chassis’s together, I even used my TIG torch to heat metal up for forming and shaping before I had an Oxy-Fuel gas welding torch setup! I bet you don’t know many others that can say that!

The point is, to get started look for the basics and If you have the budget, there is nothing better than having the best tools, but when you are first getting start why burn a lot of cash getting your shop set up, when you can start burning metal instead!

Do you remember YOUR first machine?

Lincoln Electric Launches New Personal Protection Welding Apparel Line

Red Line™ Provides Rugged Protection for All Arc Welding Applications and Environments

Cleveland – Whether it’s welding in the field, in the shop or in a garage, Lincoln’s new personal protection clothing line, Red Line™ Welding Apparel, offers the ideal gear for every application.

“Whether someone welds for a living or is an occasional backyard welder, safety is always at the forefront, and that especially includes body and eye protection,” says Jamy Bulan, Lincoln Electric product manager. “They demand rugged, proven clothing, designed for their body type, application and environment. Red Line delivers that protection.”

The new Red Line apparel product group includes gloves, jackets, caps and safety glasses.

Red Line apparel includes five types of welding gloves – premium leather MIG/stick, traditional MIG/stick, leather TIG, heat-resistant and full leather Steel Worker™ gloves. So whether it’s MIG, TIG or stick welding, or working with hot or rusty metal, Red Line welding gear includes a set of gloves designed to handle the rigors of the task at hand.

Four jacket options effectively protect the arms and upper body. They offer flame retardant cloth panels to keep the welder cool, as well as heavy-duty leather panels in high spatter exposure, high wear areas. Customers can choose from cloth, heavy duty leather or hybrid cloth/ leather jackets.

For wearing under the welding helmet, the product group includes doo rags, beanies and caps that stylishly and effectively protect the top of the head. Made from flame retardant material, they are comfortable, include athletic mesh lining for fast sweat evaporation and are machine washable.

Additionally, four pairs of indoor safety glasses and four for outdoor applications round out the Red Line personal protection welding apparel line. Welders can choose from clear, shaded and mirrored lenses that offer maximum protection and comfort. All eyewear meet ANSI Z87.1+ and CSA Z94.3 standards and offer 99.9 percent UV-A, UV-B and UV-C protection.

“In today’s market, there should be no one size fits all when it comes to welding apparel. It’s about providing technical garments and accessories for specialized tasks,” Bulan explains. “Every piece in the Red Line welding gear group was designed to work hard while providing the right protection for the right job.”

Red Line personal protection apparel is designed to work in tandem with the comprehensive line of Lincoln Electric VIKING™ auto-darkening welding helmets, including the new 1840 and 2450 series.

For more information on Lincoln Electric’s Red Line Welding Apparel and VIKING welding helmets, call (888) 355-3213 or visit www.lincolnelectric.com to obtain bulletin E12.250.

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, fume control systems and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment. The company holds a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

Arc-Zone.com doesn’t have these items in the webstore (yet) but give us a call, or check out the awesome apparel we do have:  Miller Welding Apparel (including the new WeldX line),  Angelfire welding apparel for women, and BSX Welding Gear.  Stay safe and look cool!

From EHS Today (the magazine for environment, health and safety leaders):

OSHA’s fall semi-annual regulatory agenda was published in the Federal Register Dec. 20, featuring updates on regulatory actions including the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, modernizing recording and reporting requirements, infectious diseases, hazard communication, combustible dust and more.

CONTINUE READING–>

At Arc-Zone.com we think safety is important also. In fact, you may have noticed that we have been enhancing our line of welding safety apparel and equipment–  from Miller’s Arc Armor and Weld X to Angelfire welding apparel for women, BSX Welding apparel, and some of the best welding helmets on the market.  We’ve also been working behind the scenes as well.   We’ve just put the finishing touches on a Technical Focus  paper, Eye Care for Welders (.pdf), also available in the Arc-Zone.com Welding Library.

In yet another sign that today’s cell phones are progressing faster than anyone thought was possible, ESAB announced today that they have created the world’s first smart phone application aimed exclusively at welding.  The app itself  is supposed to help users find the right parameters for a specific job.  I downloaded one to my Android phone, and it is a pretty cool app!  Good to see ESAB get welding in on the smart phone application craze.  

1/18/2011

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products has introduced the first-ever Smart Phone application for welding. Available for use with iPhone, Blackberry®, and Android™ devices, the ESAB Welding Parameters Set-up Guide is a user-friendly application that helps welders quickly identify the correct parameters for a specific job. The user simply enters the metal to be welded and the filler metals, and the application determines the appropriate settings for the welding machine.

The free application can be downloaded at http://www.esabna.com/apps.

You can read the rest of this press release over at ESAB –>

And don’t worry, Arc-Zone.com is fully accessible on any Blackberry, Android, or iPhone.  Our live chat option is even accessible by your smart phone!  So for any welding products on the go, oxy-fuel torches and parts, or MiG guns and parts, or Plasma Arc Welding torches and parts, head on over to Arc-Zone, and we’ll get you dialed in and ready to weld.

If you’re on our email list, you know Joe Welder (aka Jim Watson) recently had the opportunity to attend a metal fabrication workshop taught by Ron Covell.  You can read about it on WeldLikeAPro.com (where all our newsletters are archived).  And check out this brief interview with Covell, and a tour of Metalcraft Tool Skill Center in Tennessee:

And if you’re interested in the Covell videos– even if you are an expert, we’re pretty sure you’ll learn something (check out the Advanced TIG Welding DVD). You can get these welding DVDs direct from Arc-Zone.com, along with the performance proven MIG, TIG and Plasma Arc Welding accessories you’ll need for your welding application.

Came across a great informative article over at The Fabricator on different types of metal production.  Very detailed look into how the different ways of steel production can affect the quality of the steel itself, and how that in turn can affect the quality of the weld.  Porosity is a huge problem in welding, as any welder knows all too well.  This article gives you a lot of insight into how porosity can occur when the steel is originally cast.

By Carl Smith

Metal production processes introduce flaws (dimensional and integral discontinuities) and cleaning requirements that affect welding.

Most metals actually are mined as minerals—metal combined with another element. Commonly used metals—not the exotic metals—are combined with nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur. Those combined with oxygen are called oxides. Metals combined with sulfur are called sulfides, and those containing nitrogen are called nitrides. (Some stainless steels are treated with nitrogen to harden the surface.)

CONTINUE READING AT THE FABRICATOR –>

And don’t worry, Arc-Zone.com stands by every product we sell.  We’ve got your every Welding Accessory covered, from TIG Torches to TIG Rod, to all sorts of welding apparel, helmets and more.  We’ll get you dialed in, and ready to weld!

At Arc-Zone.com we’ve been expanding our line of CK Worldwide products online. On our website, you’ll find most of CK’s Master TIG line of TIG torches and replacement parts—including the Flex-Loc and Micro-Torches. These CK torches offer quite a few improvements over traditional parts’ designs, targeting some of the common complaints in the industry:

COLLETS

If you’re having problems with collets losing their shape due to high amperage applications, try the Wedge Collet. This collet design uses an interference fit to lock the electrode into place, rather than the clamping action of traditional collets that tends to wear out faster.

THREADING

If the threading in your torches is wearing out from accidental cross-threading or just from heavy use, try the Contractor Series torch (CK-C150). This 150 Amp Air-Cooled torch uses all the same front end parts as traditional 17-Series TIG torches, but the torch body is made of Stainless Steel. CK Worldwide has perfected this design so that you get the full 150Amp capacity (100% Duty Cycle) in a TIG Torch that is designed to last in the harshest environments.

CABLES

And, if you haven’t tried CK Worldwide’s SuperFlex power cables on your air-cooled TIG torch then you need to find out what you’ve been missing! These single piece air-cooled power cables are so flexible and light weight that you can coil them around your hand—and the pricing is almost unbelievable.

CK Worldwide has a proven track record in the industry offering products that address the needs of welders in the field. From specialty low-profile TIG torches to high-visibility Gas Saver parts, CK innovations can really improve your welding process.

If you don’t see something you’re looking for, give us a call; if it’s not online, we still have it—and if it doesn’t exist, there’s a chance that CK Worldwide will make it custom. Their technical expertise and dedication to excellence in the industry is impressive.