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To the uninitiated, the term cold lap may seem more like a medical condition that a welding term. While in reality cold lap is a serious condition, it is a welding related problem. Cold lap in welding has a lot to with poor welding technique. To a novice weldor, it may look like a nice “fat” weld that might have strong rounded look to the top of the weld. Upon closer inspection though cold lap will show light fusion along the edge or “toes” of the weld.

After a brief look at the welding on the hitch of my father's truck recently, I was struck by his apparent lack of concern over the quality of his welding. In fact it was plain he was not only happy with it, but proud of it. My evaluation, though gentle, had to be tough: It was full of defects. It was bad, very bad. If it had not also been well bolted on, I would have had to stop him from pulling anything another mile.

If yours is like mine, your welding shop may be cramped for space. If you have your TIG welding torch cables crossed with extension cords running to a grinder, or had to move everything out of the shop to work on the latest project, it might be a good idea to eliminate some of the clutter. Streamlining your operation from a logistical point of view will help free up space, reduce stress and improve productivity.

Can you hold your breath while welding?

There is no doubt that we run into health risks every single day. As some people wryly joke, everything causes cancer in the state of California. Whether you accidentally eat a seed in an apple or you drive your car to work, you face a certain risk to your health. There are government agencies who sole purpose is to regulate and eliminate health hazards in both the home and work.

Hold Your Breath While Welding?

Using correct polarity makes the difference between a quality weld, and one that is porous and weak, or one that gets proper penetration, or one that barely gets any at all. Beyond the confusion of the terms, it is often confusing to know just when to use what polarity.

Any one that has been around welding for a short period of time knows a little about the term "Polarity".But quite a few new comers find the correct use of polarity a confusing issue, though it need not be.  A lot has been written on the internet about polarity, and this blog will undoubtedly add to that information. But, hopefully it’ll be easier to understand than some of the other ponderous articles written about it.

Give it a little thought, and you will figure out pretty soon that not everyone that can tighten a nut on a car assembly line can make a good mechanic. The same is true for welders. Not everyone that can lay a welding bead down is a person that can fabricate. "Huh?, What’s that?, Come again?" you say. It's true. You will find that many welders can run a beautiful bead on a pipeline or in the welding shop but do not possess the skill set to be a good fabricator.

Now that the economy has hit a low, and unemployment has risen, a lot of people or looking at alternative means of income. Granted, a lot of people will find new jobs somewhere, but others will be forced to create their own job by becoming a small business owner, and finding their "niche". One of the “niche” areas that many people are finding wide open is the need for small welding shops in their area. Of course, many areas are served by large machine shops with $100.00 an hour rates plus materials.

Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC) is probably one of the single most coveted items in a well equipped shop. Almost all commercial shops are equipped with Oxy-fuel for cutting. In fact, I can’t think of any reason a commercial shop would not have a Oxy-Acetylene rig. But up until the last 10 years, many established shops did not have a plasma cutter. A few still don’t.

TIG is an ellipsis for tungsten inert gas welding. Tig welding is totally different from other welding techniques, where it makes use of an arc which is made of tungsten, and which uses electrical current to generate heat for performing the welding process.