My first motorcycle was a 1963 Yamaha 80cc 80YG 2 Cycle 7.7 hp that I got from a grade school friend of mine for free after her dad backed over it with his car.

My dad and I straightened the frame, hand cut and bobbed the rear fender, took the emblems off, painted it orange, and went racing.

I will never forget that Tuesday night.  We went to Trojan Speedway in South Gate, CA — a sticky little clay oval next to the LA river, behind the rock quarry, east of downtown LA.

My Dad stopped off at Kmart to get a cool looking orange metal flake Grant helmet that cost a mere $14.35.

I remember thinking, “Is that all my head’s worth?”, but my dad checked the specs, and it turned out that it was Snell approved and everything.

Then it was off to the races!  I was so excited to be there that lining up for the first heat race, I actually dropped the clutch early and jumped the start! I ended up going from my row two starting spot clear past row one and the starter! That was hard to explain to my sixth grade school teacher Mrs. Jackie Jacobson and a bunch of my class mates from Vista Del Lavalle grade school in Claremont CA. . .

That first race was an eye opener — the other bikes were faster and highly modified, so my dad and I went out and bought Floyd Clymer’s book “How to Tune a Two Stroke Engine”.

I learned early on that researching what others have done is your quickest way to the top.

We went to work on the engine — a rotary valve design that was easy to hop up. We installed a new rotary valve, over-bored cylinder, which we seven ported, installed a single-ring piston with a super short cut-skirt, machined radial high-compression head, and a topped it off with a total loss ignition system.

We finished the engine modifications off with a tuned exhaust made by Dick Haycock from Chino CA. Dick custom fabricated it by beautifully rolling and forming the expansion chamber and artfully oxy acetylene welding it together. He then finished off with a 7” long x 1/2” diameter stinger tip – that thing screamed!

It was a fun night for me at the monthly American Welding Society — San Diego Section meeting. This night’s topic? Induction heating with a system unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

Gone are the days of waiting hours and hours for your length of pipe to warm up to the right temperature –

Miller has just released the new ProHeat 35 Induction Heating System, which works by inducing heat electromagnetically, rather than via a conductor, thus saving the operator incredible amounts of time and energy.

Simply wrap the induction coils around whatever piece of metal you’re working on, and in just a few minutes, you’re ready to go!

This picture was taken looking inside the length of pipe that was being heated up by the ProHeat 35 — you can’t see it here, but that tube was glowing red hot on the inside!

And even better, when I tried touching the coils wrapped around it?
Cold as ice! This product is simply amazing!

But perhaps the best part about this whole new system is that you don’t even have to buy it! Red-D-Arc will rent out one of their machines to you for as long as you need!

What are you doing this Sunday?  Planning on going to church?

How about Metal Church, with your favorite preacher, Jesse James?!?

What did you do this semester?  Clone fruit flies?  Learn about logarithms?

Gary Blazek spent it welding a 500 lb. sculpture of Thor, his school’s mascot.  Now, that’s a project you don’t often hear about!

College mascot recreated in metal

Monday, Dec 07, 2009
By Lynne Lynch
Herald staff writer

MOSES LAKE — His horned helmet reaches the height of the highest bookshelf in Shawn McDaniel’s welding classroom at Big Bend Community College.

The helmet wearer is Thor, a metal statue of the college’s Viking mascot, created by student Gary Blazek. Thor weighs between 450 to 500 pounds and is made of a variety of parts.

Thor was quietly standing in the corner of the classroom last week, just a few days before fall quarter’s end.

His creator, Blazek, 55, was laid off from Genie Industries in February. At the company’s Moses Lake plant, he welded swing units and also worked on a new production line.

He started taking welding classes at the college to improve his pipe welding skills and to make himself more marketable to potential employers.

In October, he responded to instructor McDaniel’s request for students to make items benefiting a student scholarship fund.

Using donated scrap metal from his past employer and a plow disc, he started working on Thor.

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Gravity.  It’s simply a fact of life; we can’t change it.  But we may be able to work around it.

Gravity Can Make Welding More Expensive, Learn How to Lower Your Welding Costs

12/28/2009 9:46:00 AM – Article #2909

By Mechanizing the Weld System Using the Proper Positioning Equipment and Multi Wire Welding, Expect a 60 Lb. Weld Deposition per Hour

Gravity makes welding more expensive, it’s a fact.

That is why downhand welding will cost less than vertical or overhead welding.

It’s all about deposition rates.

When welding in the vertical or overhead position, the higher your metal deposition rate, the more likely the weld metal is to sag and run out of the joint.

To combat these problems try using a pulsed power source that produces less heat, or use current and voltage settings that reduce the burn-off rate or use smaller diameter electrodes with good out of position characteristics.

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What would it take for you to cut off all your hair?  A million bucks?  A week’s paid vacation?

How about some welding supplies?

Hair trade: Student donates ponytail in return for contibutions of steel to welding program

BY TRIBUNE STAFF • NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Scott Stekly lost his ponytail Wednesday.

Stekly got a buzz cut from a classmate in the Construction Trades Building, courtesy of Joe Filipowicz, Salvage Manager of Steel Etc.

Scott Stekly, a welding student at MSU-Great Falls, gets a buzz cut by classmate Rachel Kaiser Wednesday in the welding shop. (TRIBUNE PHOTO/ RION SANDERS)

Filipowicz’ company agreed to contribute metal to the welding program as an added incentive for the hair loss.

Prior to entering the welding program to pursue a second career, Stekly had been a longtime local cosmetologist, where he met Joe Filipowicz and his father Jimmy, owner of Steel Etc.

When Stekly entered the fall semester, he made a challenge to the Filipowiczes. He would allow them to cut his hair in return for donations of steel materials to the MSU-Great Falls Welding Program. Steel Etc. accepted, and the hair cut was scheduled.

The donated steel will consist of pipe and plate that can be used for the college’s welding students to practice various welds and cuts. After being used by the program, the scrap materials will be returned to Steel Etc., which will recycle the metals, sending them to a steel mill for melting and reprocessing.

An introduction to friction stir welding

By Jeff Defalco, Contributing Writer

September 15, 2009

A relatively new joining process, friction stir welding (FSW) produces no fumes; uses no filler material; and can join aluminum alloys, copper, magnesium, zinc, steels, and titanium. FSW sometimes produces a weld that is stronger than the base material.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining process that has been used for high production since 1996. Because melting does not occur and joining takes place below the melting temperature of the material, a high-quality weld is created. This characteristic greatly reduces the ill effects of high heat input, including distortion, and eliminates solidification defects. Friction stir welding also is highly efficient, produces no fumes, and uses no filler material, which make this process environmentally friendly.

History

Friction stir welding was invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in December 1991. TWI filed successfully for patents in Europe, the U.S., Japan, and Australia. TWI then established TWI Group-Sponsored Project 5651,”Development of the New Friction Stir Technique for Welding Aluminum,” in 1992 to further study this technique.

The development project was conducted in three phases. Phase I proved FSW to be a realistic and practical welding technique, while at the same time addressing the welding of 6000 series aluminum alloys. Phase II successfully examined the welding of aerospace and ship aluminum alloys, 2000 and 5000 series, respectively. Process parameter tolerances, metallurgical characteristics, and mechanical properties for these materials were established. Phase III developed pertinent data for further industrialization of FSW.

Since its invention, the process has received world-wide attention, and today FSW is used in research and production in many sectors, including aerospace, automotive, railway, shipbuilding, electronic housings, coolers, heat exchangers, and nuclear waste containers.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

This expression makes absolutely no sense if you’re in the profession of welding.

#1:  If you can’t stand the heat, why the heck are you a welder?

#2:  There is no kitchen.  What kitchen?  If you’re welding in a kitchen, get out of that kitchen. Right now! There are gas mains!

#3:  If you can stand the heat, and you’re not in a kitchen, then why would you move?  Stand right there!

In fact, let’s add some more heat.  Let’s add some… friction.

That’s right, you heard me. Friction, as in friction stir welding. FSW. It’s all the rage in… in…

Just read.

An introduction to friction stir welding

By Jeff Defalco, Contributing Writer
September 15, 2009

A relatively new joining process, friction stir welding (FSW) produces no fumes; uses no filler material; and can join aluminum alloys, copper, magnesium, zinc, steels, and titanium. FSW sometimes produces a weld that is stronger than the base material.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining process that has been used for high production since 1996. Because melting does not occur and joining takes place below the melting temperature of the material, a high-quality weld is created. This characteristic greatly reduces the ill effects of high heat input, including distortion, and eliminates solidification defects.

Friction stir welding also is highly efficient, produces no fumes, and uses no filler material, which make this process environmentally friendly.

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I’ve always had a great respect for teachers, no matter what grade they teach or where their specialty lies.  Teachers have a special job: they prepare us for the real world.  In times like these, the skills and inspiration that teachers offer is more valuable than ever…..

CCC&TI helps students discover their artistic talents

Hidden abilities revealed during classes lead to new careers, art sales and shows.

Posted: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009

Two students at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute are finding success with their artistic talent.

Michael Arnold discovered a hidden talent and a new career when the demolition company he worked for went out of business. He enrolled at CCC&TI to pursue a GED and signed up for a welding class as well.

“We spent several weeks welding straight lines, and I wanted to try something different,” he said. “So I started welding scrap pieces together just to see what I could make out of them.”

The Granite Falls native created metal sculptures of a horse, a praying mantis, a stork, a reading man, a tree and a 90-pound dragon fly in just a few months. He has sold several pieces and won CCC&TI’s Spring Fling Recycled Art Contest with a mask he created out of scrap metal.

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Welding grant helps Wallace College expand training

By JIM COOK
Published: September 15, 2009

A new state grant will help Wallace Community College continue to train workers in welding, a career field that appears to be almost recession proof, according to school officials.

State Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, presented a check for $90,000 to the college on Tuesday. The money will be used to purchase more equipment for the program, which has rapidly grown in enrollment since the onset of the recession. Smith secured the grant from a workforce development program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, welding, soldering and brazing jobs employed 462,000 people in 2006, with the vast majority of those jobs being in manufacturing. Demand for employees is expected to grow about 5 percent nationally through 2016.

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At the Infrastructurist.com, there is a list of the five hottest jobs in infrastructure right now.  Guess what’s number one.  No, really – guess.  Stop looking down!  No cheating!

Alright, fine.  You saw – it’s a Robotic Arc Welding Technician, and not only are they in high demand, but they make a decent amount of money, considering that it only takes a mere two years to get certified!

1. CERTIFIED ROBOTIC ARC WELDING TECHNICIAN – $40,000 TO $50,000

What they do: Arc welding is a common technique of fusing metals, and robotic arc welding–as the name suggests–is this process as preformed by robots.

Automation ensures a higher quality of the weld –up to 50% better – and increases productivity by up to 3 times.

Who maintains these armies of welding robots? A robotic arc welding technician, of course. As Jeff Noruk, president of industry firm Servo Robot puts it, “Robots are like babies. They need care every single day.”

Why it’s hot: As a recent New York Times article points out (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/24jobs.html), welders are much in demand these days. That demand is especially acute for certified robotic arc welding technicians:

Noruk estimates that while there are several hundred thousand arc welding robots, there are only 30 certified arc welding technicians in the country, with most welding robots presently being supervised by general electricians or engineers.

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Looking to go back to school for welding? Where better to learn the tricks of the trade than from good ol’ Lincoln Electric?

The Lincoln Electric Welding School Announces Its 2010 Schedule

Cleveland – The Lincoln Electric Welding School, which has instructed more than 120,000 students since its inception in 1917, announces its 2010 schedule.

The Lincoln Electric Welding School is the oldest and one of the most respected arc welding schools in the United States. Classes are taught by the school’s seven full-time instructors who have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach the arc welding skills that employers need. Lincoln-trained students are in high demand by welding fabricators at pay levels that tend to exceed the industry average.

Classes range from a six-week basic course to an advanced 15-week comprehensive course, as well as one-week classes on specific welding processes, certification and customized programs. Students spend 80 percent of their time in the booth learning to weld. Additionally, Lincoln limits class sizes to 15 students per class in order to maximize learning and guarantee one-on-one instruction time.

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