I was invited to guest blog over on the Miller Viewpoints blog…  while I appreciated the opportunity, and am truly honored that they asked, I have to say it was a little different blogging through a corporate machine.  First off, they wanted 250 words.  Two hundred-fifty words?  Are you kidding me?  that just gets me started! “The 250 words is just a rough guide,” they assured me.

So, I turned in my 876 word piece, Weld Like A Girl: Tips for Women in the Welding Industry. And waited.

Five days later, word came back. “Because it’s longer than we typically use for a single post, we’re going to make it into a series…” said my Miller contact.

Sounded fine with me.  I was proud of what I wrote, and three posts is better than one!

And so I waited some more as the edits, the approvals, and the blog post itself wended its way up the corporate chain of command. Word finally came back a week and a half later, “….they would only approve uploading the first topic, covering ‘Knowledge is Queen’”

[sigh]
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As any skilled professional can tell you, it’s important to constantly improve your knowledge if you’re to become an expert. Welding requires skill and knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, electrical, design, and more.

There are a lot of great resources out there, many of them I have referenced before on this blog:  The Fabricator Magazine, Lincoln Electric’s website, Miller’s website, ESAB’s website,   Hobart’s website, Arc-Zone.com’s Welding Library, The American Welding Society, and Edison Welding Institute to name a few.

Of course you can buy welding books (Arc-Zone.com carries a nice selection!)  You should also consider signing up for manufacturers’ newsletters. Although they are obviously plugging their own products, they offer a wealth of information that you can download or print out for your own welding library. Here’s a few to get you started:

• Miller’s Power Click e-News (Welding Newsletter via email)
  
• Lincoln’s iWeld Welding Newsletter via email
• Arc-Zone’s Weld Like A Pro(tm) E-Zine

Over on the Millerwelds Viewpoints Blog, the latest post is about women in welding. Or rather the lack thereof. I’ve written about this before, wondering Where are the Women Welders, but it bears repeating.

I did a little poking around and re-discovered the Dream It Do It campaign by the National Association of Manufacturers. And lo and behold, found their YouTube space, and this video profiling Kellie Johnson of ACE Clearwater.

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I’ve been remiss in passing along industry news. Here’s the latest in welding news from Miller, Hobart and Tregaskiss:

FabCO TR-70 Flux-Cored Wire Increases Productivity, Reduces
Downtime on Mild and Low-Alloy Steel Applications

Tregaskiss Offers Self-Shielded Torch for Demanding Welding Environments

Miller Passport Plus Offers A Portable Aluminum MIG Welding Solution

New 900-lb. Recyclable Drum from Hobart Minimizes Downtime, Costs

Miller Offers Rebates on Select Millermatic Welders/Spoolmate Spool Gun Purchases

New Miller Maxstar 150 Includes Multi-Voltage Plugs, X-Case For Increased Portability, Durability

If you have news to share, go ahead and drop me a line… you can email me direct (carmen [ at ] arc-zone.com) or use the fancy Contact Carmen form.