Article/Blogs

A lot of articles and videos have been made about pulse TIG welding, but few exist on Pulse MIG welding. One of the reasons, is that Pulse MIG welding  hasn’t been officially recognized as a welding process by the American Welding Society.

Welding fumes are hazardous to your health.  We all know that. But we seldom do anything about it. Years ago, a gray or brown haze would waft over  the space of most welding shops and the smell of 6010 burning would fill the air.   This still happens in small shops and areas where ventilation hasn't been provided.

14 years ago, In the middle of a creative “gush”, I bought an artist sketch pad. It was page after page of white paper ready for any aspiring artist touch. However, the problem is that I don’t think of myself as an artist. At least I don’t see myself as a classic definition of one. But I really bought it to sketch out my thoughts and write down my ideas for my next welding project.

Footwear for welders. Hmmm. Have you ever given much thought to what kind of effort you are putting into protecting your feet?  I’ve recently seen people welding  in flip flops and shorts. Now that may seem like a joke, if you add in a case of beer, but it truly happens every day. And a number of those guys end up sooner or later being called “stumpy”. There are three basic areas you need to protect your feet while welding.

Your eyes are the most valuable possession you have, that you tend to put at greatest risk doing the most dumb things…like welding without safety glasses on, or worse, welding without a helmet.

More than one weld has been ruined by sorry prep work. Yes, I have done it myself, and any self-respecting welder will admit to having made a few rush welds that didn’t have the kind of prep work it needed with epic “fail” results. No, it may not be in a serious situation…or it may just be a small tack weld, but sooner or later we all allow impatience to get the best of us.

Oxy Fuel. Admittedly it’s curious to see a company that promotes the purchase of plasma cutters write about a competing technology and recommend its customers to evaluate their need for such a product. But we try to offer the customer the best and most reasonable product to fit their needs. Selling or misrepresenting a product to do more or less than what it is capable of does nothing to further our name or a product line.

Abrasives are a necessary part of welding. Grinding, cutting and even polishing are all done with abrasives. Becoming familiar with the different types, brands and applications is important to producing a better quality product. Knowing how to select the proper abrasive is a key issue for many guys in the field. The rapidly changing technology in abrasives means that some study and investigation into the latest product offerings is necessary. Flap disks are hugely popular right now.

If you are concerned about various over runs in labor or the customer may be prone to making design changes, you may be able to estimate the job based off an hourly charge. In fact that is how many shops operate.

A lot of scientific formulas have been written on weld filler deposition rates for each process, and lbs. of weld per foot and cost per inch to do various types of welding. They figure in spatter loss, bead width, joint design, overall metal transfer efficiencies and more variables so you can closely estimate the cost of welding and make the best estimate for how much it will cost you to do a certain project. Those formulas are fine. I have them. They work. But they may not be practical for smaller jobs.