Isn’t it time you started getting involved? That’s what these students thought!

I met them recently at one of our local AWS (American Welding Society) section meetings.  Daren Hitchman and Fred Paregoy (3rd from left in top and bottom rows) are the member recruiter and publicity chairman of their AWS student chapter, respectively.

I spent some time talking with them and I couldn’t help but take a picture of their workbooks. Unfortunatly, I did not capture the notes and diagrams on the inside; they were very detailed and technical — I was impressed with the level of training that these new students go throught to get certified.

Though they both are currently going to welding school at ECC in San Diego, they make the time to get involved in the local welding community by coming to events like this one.

Through attending meetings and events sponsored by local welding supply companies, professional organizations etc., these students are getting a better idea of the jobs that are available to them once they leave school.

Who knows? They might even meet a future boss, or learn about an opportunity to open their own shop just by hanging around and learning about the latest welding equipment!

Find a chapter of AWS near you and get involved!

Interested in learning about restoring classic cars? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

The folks over at Second Chance Garage have given us a step-by-step guide to choosing the right welder for the job:

Selecting the Right Welder for Classic Car Restoration Projects

What Welder To Use?

The most common welders used in auto restoration, therefore, are MIG (metal arc welders, gas or flux-cored), TIG (tungsten arc welders using shielding gas) and Arc Welders (the traditional “stick” electrode).

To choose the most appropriate one for your needs, you have to consider the following parameters:

* What is the maximum and minimum thickness of metal to be welded? Fortunately, automobiles use metals that fall into a relatively narrow range.

* What is the metal type? Again, automobiles generally are made of steel and, rarely, aluminum.

* What is the normal position the welding “head” will be put in? Do you need to do a lot of welding overhead? The answer is usually no here.

* How much current is available in your shop and do you have 220 volts? Check your circuits.

Let’s be frank. Our overwhelming favorite type of welder is the MIG. We’ll explain why shortly, but first we’ll give an overview of the other contenders. Here we go!

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Once you’ve chosen a welder, come on over to Arc-Zone.com where you’ll find MIG guns, TIG Torches, Oxy-Fuel Torches, Plasma Arc Cutting Torches…  not to mention some really trick accessories like Trailing Shields, and everything you need to Weld Like a Pro!

Are you free the 20th or 21st of February?

Come join Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder, and Ron Covell of Covell Creative Metalworking at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff in Escondido, CA for Covell’s Beginning and Advanced Steel Workshops!

Ron is one of the preeminent fabricators in the custom automotive industry and has been a good friend to us here at Arc-Zone.com!

You can head over to our webstore to check out a few of his welding DVDs.

If you don’t live in Southern California or can’t make it on this particular weekend, you can head over to Ron’s website and check out a complete list of his workshops in the upcoming year.

Who knows – he just might be coming to your neck of the woods soon!

San Diegans are proud of their local Plumbers and Pipefitters union which has taken on the task of securing jobs for marines being discharged from the base in Camp Pendleton — nearly 750 leave each month.

They are currently offering free accelerated classes in welding to 16 marines at a time, in the hopes that this will provide them with a lasting career upon leaving.

Local Union Hoping To Spark Welding Careers For Former Marines
BY KATIE ORR
December 11, 2009

A local union is offering men and woman leaving the Marine Corps a chance to learn how to become welders.

Organizers are hoping the program might spark some careers.

San Diego’s Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 230 is already into the fourth class of its Veterans in Piping program.

The union is offering Camp Pendleton Marines who are about to be discharged the chance to take part in a free accelerated welding program.

Union Organizer Gary Sallis said many Marines don’t know what they’re going to do when they leave the military.

“Right now 750 Marines a month are leaving the Marines at Camp Pendleton,” Sallis said.

“We’re taking 16 of them every month as we can to try to train them to be welders. And this way, when they get all done, they have a career when they leave the military.”

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

It’s midnight at a community college in Oregon. The classroom is brightly lit, and the students are up and about and… welding?

Thanks to a new series of “graveyard” welding classes, this has become a regular feature of several area colleges.

In the Midnight Hour

By David Moltz
December 9, 2009

Midnight classes, once a quirky scheduling option available at only a few institutions, are gaining currency at a growing number of community colleges as student demand for specific courses increases and available classroom space for those courses decreases.

Photo: Carl Graham / Clackamas Community College

Though it is unclear which institutions pioneered the idea, Clackamas Community College, in Oregon, began offering what became known as “graveyard welding classes,” lasting from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., two nights a week last spring.

The classes were so popular that the college expanded them to four nights a week this fall, and students can now take five different welding courses during the “graveyard shift,” ranging from an introductory section to those focusing on specialized projects.

John Phelps, one of two adjunct welding instructors who lead the late-night courses, said the college’s experiment with these sections was a matter of necessity.

Even with some welding sections available on the weekends, he said, the college reached its capacity for these courses last fall and was forced to turn away a number of students.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

DID YOU KNOW….. Arc-Zone.com offers a SCHOOL DISCOUNT?  Give us a call at 800.944.2243 and we’ll get you set up!

Arc-Zone also has some great welding apparel, including helmets…   look good, stay stylish and Weld Like A Pro ™.

Our PRO Gear packages have everything you need to get started.

Deshler High School in Nebraska is doing what every high school should in the face of an impending shortage of welders: it has put into place a program that allows students to graduate with certification from the AWS and to enter the workforce immediately thereafter.

Welding program prepares students as industry faces worker shortage

BY KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 12:25 am |

DESHLER – This is what Zack Bohling enjoys: Placing two pieces of metal against each other and burning them together with a welding torch.

(Erin Duerr / Lincoln Journal Star)

If you visit Deshler High School on any given weekday afternoon, you’ll likely find the senior in the metal shop, surrounded by a shower of sparks.

“I like welding and shop work and that kind of stuff,” he said. “I like everything about it.”

He likes it so much he’s considering becoming a professional welder after he graduates from high school.

“I’d like something ag or welding related,” he said.

A welding program started last year at Deshler and starting this year at nearby Fillmore Central High School in Geneva is giving students like Bohling the chance to gain skills necessary to becoming professional welders.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Some Quick Welding Facts:

* More than 500,000 welders are employed in the United States.

* Welding expenditures represent $34.1 billion annually – or $325 for every household.

* Nearly half of all U.S. industries report difficulties finding qualified welders – from apprentices to engineers.

* The average age of a welder is the mid-50s, with many approaching 60.

* More than half of the welding industry’s highly trained workforce is nearing retirement, creating a potential shortage of more than 200,000 skilled welders by 2010.

Source: American Welding Society

When you’re welding in a production environment, you want to make sure you minimize your production variables.  And as great as some of the grinders we have are (we do have the most comprehensive line up of tungsten grinders in the industry) precision, pre-ground tungsten electrodes are definitely the way to go.  With a pre-ground tungsten electrode you’ll maximize your TIG or Plasma Arc Welding operations.  Pre-grounds  offer consistent finish, and a precision repeatability you’ll not find with a benchtop grinder.

Arc-Zone.com’s pre-grounds are made with exceptional quality electrodes that meet or exceed ISO 6848 and AWS A5.12 standards and prepared on precision CNC grinding machines.

We stock pre-ground tungsten electrodes for Weldcraft® WP-125 (MT-125) and WP-50 Micro TIG torches, and for your Thermal Dynamics® Plasma Arc Welding Torches.  Ready for immediate delivery — We can work with you to schedule deliveries based on your production demands.

• Precise… Maintain specified electrode geometry for precise welds.
• Practical… Our pre-ground electrodes minimize electrode shedding.
• Efficient… Use our pre-ground electrodes to eliminate the maintenance and repair of dedicated tungsten grinding equipment.
• Safe… Our pre-ground electrodes help you Improve safety and eliminate electrode grinding hazards.
• Cost-effective… Save time and money because there’s no need to stock bulk-quantities of expensive electrodes.

Ordering Options

• Use your welding equipment manufacturer’s part number (if available)
• Complete form (below) specifying, material type, length, diameter, grind angle, tip flat and finish.
• If you are not sure what you need, or if you would like us to make a recommendation — take a moment to describe your welding equipment and application in the field below. Based on that information an Arc-Zone.com Plasma Arc Welding Specialist will provide you with a electrode solution engineered to improve your weld quality and productivity.

Note: Our pre-ground electrodes are produced on precision CNC grinding machines. To cover our set-up costs, we require a 50 Piece Minimum Order.

Place Your Order Here!

Can’t get to class?  Let class come to you!

Hot topic: Students learn welding at mobile training facility in Dover

By Leslie Modica
Monday, November 16, 2009

DOVER — One of Jim Amara’s top goals recently has been to introduce a welding program at Dover High School’s Career Technical Center.

He came close recently when the school worked out a deal with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to train students in welding at the shipyard at nearly no cost to the school.

But that fell through recently when it became clear an exception could not be made to the rule that only civilians who are shipyard employees can be allowed at the facility.

So, after a referral from someone at the shipyard, Amara did what he said was the next feasible option, another with a minimal price tag.

He booked the New England School of Metalwork’s mobile welding unit to spend a week at the school to teach students welding basics.

The unit, about the size of a 16-foot truck, is self-sustaining, with a generator, heat for the winter and air conditioning for warmer days. Inside are eight stalls about the size of voting booths at which students used various welding tools to learn the trade.

The unit was so popular, he already booked it for two weeks next year, Amara said Friday, the last day it was on campus.

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For some, learning welding might just be a hobby, or a way into a new career.  For teens at the Tuscaloosa juvenile detention center, it’s all that and much more.

Welding class keeps peace at juvenile detention center
Students stay out of trouble to attend sessions

By Stephanie Taylor Staff Writer
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 3:30 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Some of the teenagers at the juvenile detention center don’t stop getting in trouble just because they’re behind bars.

Fights occasionally break out between the inmates, who are sometimes incarcerated for crimes as serious as shootings and burglary. They may cause trouble in a classroom or refuse to follow rules.

But fights are occurring less often lately since the facility began offering a welding class on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

“People won’t act up because they don’t want to miss welding,” said a 16-year-old who has been at the facility for three weeks. “Some of them want to have a career in this, and it might be the only chance they’ll have to learn.”

But the program isn’t just to motivate kids to stay out of trouble while at the facility, although that is a positive by-product. The administrators, teachers and businesses who have contributed to the program hope that the vocational skills will benefit the teenagers once they’re released.

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