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This month, Miller Electric is giving away over $2,000 worth of welding supplies to one lucky grand prize winner!
To enter for a chance to win, just sign up for one of Miller’s eNewsletters to keep in touch with industry news and the latest how-to advice!
Complete Grand Prize Package:
I took my family to the opening night of the 64th Annual Del Mar National Horse Show at the world famous Del Mar Fairgrounds, in Del Mar, Calif. This event signals the start of the horse show season in this historic, beach-side arena.
As we approached the Del Mar Arena, I was surprised to see that a brand new roof had been installed on the open air stadium; the last time I had seen the venue had been at a Vintage Flat Track & TT motorcycle race not too long ago.
This massive project was completed in just 7 months by the Turner Construction Company. For more information on the project you can check out this video from the San Diego Daily Transcript: New Roof for Del Mar Arena ->
If you watched the video, you saw that this massive project featured tons of structural steel and miles of welding, cutting, fitting and joining.
The majority of the project was Stick (SMAW) and MIG welded, but a lot of the utility “high-pressure” piping, etc. was TIG welded. This is yet another example of how the welding and metal fabrication market is involved in nearly everything that we do. It’s just another reason why I love this industry!
So don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking that the industry is in decline — hardly! In fact, if you look around, you’ll find that there are plenty of opportunities to build some really neat stuff — now more than ever before!
Interested in saving money while you’re welding this autumn? Check out this article over at Welding Magazine — it lists ten simple ways that you stay thrifty, and that’s just when you’re using your MIG gun!
10 Money-Saving Tips for Semi-Automatic MIG Guns
By DAVID BELLAMY | Jul 1, 2009 12:00 PM
Your welding operation, just like any other portion of your business, offers opportunities to conserve resources.
The economy continues to challenge all of us, and it seems everyone is watching his or her finances (at home and on the job) and looking for innovative ways to save money. Your welding operation, just like any other portion of your business, offers opportunities to conserve resources. Consider these 10 money-saving tips for MIG gun care and maintenance, and don’t be surprised to discover you will improve your welding performance in the effort.
TIP #1: PROTECT YOUR ASSETS
Keep your nozzles, retaining heads (diffusers) and contact tips in the original shipment package until you are ready to use them. This prevents scratches and/or dents where spatter can accumulate and will make them last longer. It also prevents dirt, oil or other debris from adhering to the consumables and inadvertently entering the weld puddle.
And did you know that Arc-Zone.com carries a full line of MIG Guns and replacement parts, MIG nozzle cleaning stations, and MIG Wire feeders? check it out… then let us know what YOU are doing to save cash! Share your best ideas with the rest of us!
Marty Rice is a welding instructor at a high school career center in Texas and an honorary member of the Ironworkers Local 263. In this article from The Fabricator.Com Marty shares safety tips, answers to commonly asked questions, books and online resources for welding hobbyists and those just getting into MIG welding. This may also be a helpful review for those of you in advanced welding.
Photo courtesy of AlcoTec Wire Corp.
MIG welding tips and resources
By Marty Rice, Contributing Writer
April 11, 2005Motorcycle- and hot rod-building shows on TV have put welding in a very positive light lately. In fact, Jesse James, the star of Discovery Channel’s “Monster Garage,” was named the American Welding Society (AWS) Welder of the Year because of his contributions to the trade. It’s nice to see welding in a good light after seeing it maligned for so long.
Over the years I’ve had a love/hate relationship with welding. I loved it when work and money were plentiful and the weather was nice. I hated it when there was no work to be found, I was broke, and when I was freezing or sweating my tail off.
Welding gets into your blood. It’s fun for both professional and hobby welders, and being a welder is like belonging to a club.
And be sure to check out the ever-growing MIG welding section over at Arc-Zone.com:
MIG Guns, MIG gun replacement parts (and more!)
This past weekend, I went to see, you guessed it, the new Star Trek movie. I honestly had never watched a single Star Trek show all the way through before this, but I loved the movie all the same.
And check out the trailers….
One in particular I think you’ll enjoy. It’s not about Star Trek, the movie, per se. It’s more about Star Trek, the concept, and it starts out with a close up of a guy welding. He then lifts up his visor and looks in amazement at what he’s helped to create: the new Starship Enterprise.
And the welder who you see lifting up his visor? That’s Anthony Vitale, a former welder turned actor, who was lucky enough to be the first face we saw in conjunction with the new Star Trek movie.
Here’s a little more about him:
Trek Welder Talks Teaser Shoot
January 21, 2008
by Charles Trotter , Filed under: Interview, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
EXCLUSIVE: The teaser trailer for the new Star Trek starts off with the face of a rugged welder…and as it turns out he wasn’t just acting! TrekMovie.com spoke to the ‘welder’ actor and got the lowdown on what it was like to shoot the new Trek teaser.
Like almost every other actor in LA, last fall Anthony Vitale went in to Paramount to audition for the big sci-fi film “Corporate Headquarters.” Vitale had no idea that was a code name for JJ Abrams new Star Trek feature. After reading some lines Casting Director April Webster pulled him aside and asked him the fateful question “do you know how to weld?” Little did she know that Vitale had only started acting 3 years previously after being laid off as a marine carpenter and welder. Needless to say he was soon on Stage 25 at Paramount decked out in a full genuine welding outfit and ready to be the first man shot for Star Trek in years, something the actor is rather proud of.
The very first frame of film for principal photography on the teaser trailer was my close-up with the goggles on. When the cameras first turned on to start Star Trek XI, it was Anthony Vitale’s close-up.
Vitale sets the scene and it is clear he was the man for the job…
There was real steel there for the welding. I was using a genuine welding tool…specifically it was a mig welder — the technical term for that type of welding is gas metal arc welding. I was actually standing on concrete and there were some special effects going on behind me but the sparks that you guys see in front of my face, those are real… I was actually welding
I’m going to the Essen Welding Show in Essen Germany. Yes, that’s right, in Germany! If you’re not familiar with the show, it is the Olympics of Welding and Metal Fabrication– it happens every four years, and draws the best in welding and fabrication technology from around the world.
Not only will I have the opportunity to see the latest in innovation for our industry (see above), I’ll get to catch up with some colleagues as well. It will also be a great opportunity to see what new products our international welding accessory vendors are showcasing.
Schweissen & Schneiden, the Essen Welding Show has established its position as number one in its industry. With the biggest names in the industry taking part and almost 60,000 trade buyers coming to see them Schweissen & Schneiden continues to become more international. With more than 1,000 exhibitors, the show takes place in the entire exhibition complex of more 1.1 million sq feet.
Let me know if you’ll be there! And make your plans early! Oktoberfest starts September 19– the day the show ends….
It was strange to me to learn that in the welding industry many replacement parts are referred to as “consumables” even though in fact they wear out, they are not consumed like shield gas, filler metal or a tungsten electrode….
Lincoln Electric Offers New Pipeliner® Consumables Product Catalog
This comprehensive catalog highlights everything customers need to know about Pipeliner products, including key advantages, typical applications and recommended welding procedures and positions. It also includes test results for each product’s deposit chemistry and mechanical properties.
Cleveland — Lincoln Electric has introduced a new Pipeliner® consumables product catalog. This free catalog features the manufacturer’s complete portfolio of Pipeliner stick, solid MIG and flux-cored consumables, which are specifically designed for a wide range of pipeline applications, including root, fill and cap passes on API grade X60 through X100 pipe.
The catalog showcases Lincoln Electric’s variety of Pipeliner consumables that deliver unmatched performance characteristics, quality, consistency and reliability. It includes more than 15 cellulosic and low hydrogen vertical up and vertical down stick electrodes, solid MIG wire, and self-shielded and gas-shielded flux-cored wires.
Every year I hear from my friends about this weekend-long event called Coachella. It’s this crazy music festival out in the desert (Indio, Ca, to be exact) with a bunch of famous bands, but the thing I remember being most envious about were the sculptures that they described seeing. Sculptures so high that you had to crane your neck to see them. Some that lit up, some that you could swing around in, and some that you could trust to spray you with water in the 100 degree plus heat.
It sounded… fascinating.
And then, last night, while we were talking about our plans for this year, they mentioned a tree house – this one Steampunk Tree House, to be exact.
Photo by Zachary Wasserman
It is completely… amazing. Unluckily, you could not climb up into it (although my friends really wanted to…).
However, there were some amazing special effects attached to the project that made standing on the ground just as enjoyable.
From kineticsteamworks.org:
>STEAM EFFECTS: The tree will be plumbed with steam using 1″ schedule 40 pipe. The steam lines will run throughout the tree and branches to establish the steam effects at night (see Steam Plumbing Schematic)…
Lights:
>Solar panels on the roof
>Storage batteries hidden in the house
>LED (firefly) lights in the branches, multiple colors
>LED (mood) lighting in the house
>LED floodlighting to illuminate the tree at night
>Back-up generator and charging systemSound Element:
>Certain pipes throughout the tree will be a part of an open network that will allow people to speak with other people who are in different sections of the Tree. Small steel “megaphones” will be attached to the Tree for communication. The pipes will also pick up the wind on windy days. The Tree may be equipped with a few aluminum organ pipes that will make unusual sounds as the steam is piped through.
The Kinetic Steamworks team of artists used MIG welding and plate steel to create much of the tree’s original structure. For their full list of materials, click here.
And now, even though I’ve looked at this photo over and over while drafting this post, I am still amazed. This year, I will be fortunate enough to finally attend a day of Coachella-ness and I’m excited to see what they, and the many other artists have come up with this year. I can’t hardly wait.
One should never get tired of watching welding videos. Or, at least, I don’t. So, if you’re like me and you need more welding footage in your life, check out this Welding Theatre website I found.
It’s amazing and it has videos from nearly every company that you can think of; you can even submit your own.
Actually, it has videos for everyone except Arc-Zone.com, but we all know you can just go to our website to see those.
If you conveniently happen to be searching for the ultimate portable welder/generator combination, look no further. Lincoln Electric has the answer to every one of those needs all wrapped up in this one versatile machine.
Lincoln Electric Introduces the New Outback® 185 Engine-Driven Welder for On-site Welding Applications
Portable unit ideal for jobsites and rugged outdoor welding applications
• Low-Lift™ grab bars for easy transport
• Portable 185 amp DC stick capabilities and 5,700 watt peak AC generator power
• Largest in its class with a 6.8-gallon fuel tank for extended run time
• Easy-access front panel controlsCleveland – Lincoln Electric introduces the new Outback® 185 engine-driven welder, specifically designed for portability as the ultimate DC stick welder and AC power generator.
Ideal for service truck operators, maintenance crews, farmers, ranchers and contractors, the unit’s Low-Lift™ grab bars provide move leverage for lifting the unit on and off truck beds. The Outback 185’s engine control panels are accessible from the front, allowing users to start up, turn off and adjust output on truck-mounted units. These features and the Outback 185’s 6.8-gallon fuel tank make it the ultimate portable welder/generator option.
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