I don’t usually post racing stuff here, but check this out from Miller… and note that the driver is Elaine Larsen:

Elaine Larsen has over a decade of drag racing experience and is the driver of Miller’s Jet Dragster and the Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster. She has always had a love of racing and a need for speed. Twenty years after seeing her first Jet Funny Car, she was in the driver’s seat on the track…..CHECK OUT HER  BIO–>

AND check out the BUILD of this super slick dragster–>

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!

Want some free Miller welding equipment???

This month, Miller Electric is giving away over $2,000 worth of welding supplies to one lucky grand prize winner!

To enter for a chance to win, just sign up for one of Miller’s eNewsletters to keep in touch with industry news and the latest how-to advice!

Complete Grand Prize Package:

• Choice of Millermatic® 211 Auto-Set™ MIG welder, Diversion™ 165 TIG welder, OR Spectrum® 375 X-TREME plasma cutter
• ArcStation™ welding workbench
• Performance Series™ auto-darkening welding helmet
• Arc Armor combo welding jacket
• Pair of MIG, TIG, and Metalworker gloves
• iPod touch

This has to be my favorite topic post ever from the Miller Discussion Boards. It started three years ago, and amazingly, continues up until, probably whenever you’re reading this! There’ve been over five hundred responses, and since we couldn’t list them all for you, I picked out twenty of my favorites – see if you recognize any!

You Might Be a Welder If…

Got any more YMBAWI quotes?  Let’s start another marathon thread here!

New from Miller:

Safeguard your senses with the new Powered Air Purifying Respirator, or PAPR.  Don’t be fooled by the acronym though; this product does much more than a mere piece of PAP[E]R ever could.

Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR)

Your solution to a cleaner breathing zone. The lightweight design, innovative shoulder straps and dual air speeds provide protection and maximum comfort.

Lightweight blower design (3.25 lb) provides all day comfort and reduces fatigue. Over 1 lb lighter than the leading brand!

Comfortable shoulder straps reduce fatigue over long shifts and distribute weight to provide a comfortable and secure fit for a wide variety of users.

Dual air speeds allow users to adjust the volume of air to maximize comfort in varied work conditions.

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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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