Hair-Raising Schemes
Friday, January 15th, 2010How do you wear your hair to work? Up? Down? Short? Long?
In the 1940’s there were no two ways about it — to look good, and keep safe, there was only one iconic actress to emulate: Veronica Lake.
Archive for the ‘Welding Safety’ Category
Welders in Need at Shipyards
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009There are jobs for welders out there:
Program Trains Welders For Shipyards
Welding Instructor: No Experience Required For Students
PORTLAND, Ore. — A local program is training a new generation of welders for Portland’s shipyards.
As part of the program, students first learn their skills at Portland Community College and the Swan Island Training Center. Vigor Marine, a ship-building company, hires the best and gives them on-the-job training and experience.
“You’re going to be trained to do everything: rigging, fitting, grinding,” said Mike Rasmussen, a welding instructor. “This program offers students to come in with no experience, knowing nothing about this trade.”
The 10 Welding Commandments
Friday, September 25th, 2009Look what I found as I was browsing through the wonderful world of the Miller discussion boards! If you haven’t read these already, you’re in for a treat, and if they’re not up in your shop already, well then… I don’t know what to tell you.
So, without further ado,
The 10 Welding Commandments
1. Thou shalt not weld on an unpurged tank, for the noise will be very loud when the tank explodes and thy friends will console thy widow in ways generally unacceptable to thee.
2. Thou shalt secure thy tanks, lest one fall on thy foot and transform thee into less than a graceful dancer when called upon by thy wife or other female friend.
3. Thou shalt clean thy work carefully, lest thy gaze upon thy work falling apart as it passeth out of thy sight.
4. Thou shalt place thy work in jigs, or other holding fixtures, for the eye is a poor instrument for the measurement of angles and great will be the wrath of thy leader as thou art doing thy task a second time.
5. Thou shalt not weld near batteries, compressed gasses, or flammable materials lest a spark from thy labors would cause thee to continue thy chosen profession in an open field or other such drafty place.
6. Thou shalt take great care of thy tools and equipment, lest thy friend who is in charge of such things smites thee about thy head and shoulders for being a wastrel and a knave.
7. Thou shalt not perform thy art without proper ventilation, for the smell of toxic gasses produced by the heating of primers, and plated or painted sufaces is worse than a bad cigar and will remain with thee until the end of thy days.
8. Thou shalt not weld without goggles, nor shalt thou allow others to gaze upon thy labors, lest thy employment, or the employment of others be changed to sitting on cold and rainy streets while selling pencils.
9. Thou shalt wear sturdy gloves, for burns upon thy hands are a source of great pain when thou art attempting to raise thy bowling average.
10. Thou shalt ground thy work, when thou weldeth with a machine of arcs, for thou art a poor conductor of electricity and the shock which thou shalt receive shall ruin thy plans for thy weekend.
You Might Be a Welder If…
Friday, September 18th, 2009This 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…
- you’re in the truck and halfway home when it finally dawns on you that you still have you’re tig gloves on -2much2do
- when working out at the gym, you spend more time examining the welds on the gym equipment than you do actually using the equipment – NewMexSmoke
- you examine the welds on a car to determine whether to buy it or not - metalmeltr
- the smell of argon and scorched clothing are nostalgic – arc~angel
- you can tell what part of you is on fire just by the smell – raserspeed
- your safety boots could be used for tap dancing because of all the molten metal imbeded in their sole -Bubblemaker
- your jeans are starting to rust – welderman23
- you measure the rods you’ve burned in tons - triggerman
- everybody at the weld supplier knows you by the sound of your voice when you call - BartsArcs
- when you see a fire your first reaction is to put it out with your hands – steel n bones
- you sit in the living room with a propane torch on the coffe table using it to make smores - turboglenn
- you get splatter/grind dust in your coffee but you drink it anyway - Gnarcissist
- you have the needed concentration to weld while wearing flip-flops! – linas58
- your wife finds all of her pots and pans in one of your sculptures – welder_guy
- you’ve ever set your Boss on fire – MattT
- you can identify different stick electrodes by their smell – Marcel Bauer
- you have more welding hoods than your wife has shoes – GilaSlim
- you have done the one footed hop from the hot sparks that fell into your boot and down between your toes -jhwelder
- your clothes catch on fire more than once a day – richcharles
- you have a completely different meaning for “It’s Miller time!” – SkidSteerSteve
Got any more YMBAWI quotes? Let’s start another marathon thread here!
No More Welding Fumes!
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Northland Pioneer College in Arizona had a problem – a good problem. More students were enrolling in their practical welding classes than ever before, but that also meant a greater output of welding fumes than the school’s homemade ventilation system could put up with. More kids? Ditch the fumes please!
Fumes + Weld students = Bad news
Vocational school cleans up air for thriving weld program
March 14, 2009
A welding program in northeastern Arizona, looking to improve the air quality in its welding lab, replaced its fume extraction equipment.
Located in the mountains of northeastern Arizona, Northland Pioneer College provides real-life experiences to high school juniors and seniors in 11 area school districts through its dual enrollment program. In conjunction with Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT), a partner institution, NPC/NAVIT offers courses ranging from cosmetology to welding.
One of the most popular classes at NPC/NAVIT is the welding applications program, which provides students with the skills necessary to become National Center for Construction Education and Research- (NCCER) and American Welding Society- (AWS) certified welders. Led by weld instructor Curtis Casey, NPC/NAVIT’s weld program has taken off, expanding to facilities in Holbrook and St. Johns, and attracting high school, charter school, home-schooled, and college students, as well as tradesmen and hobbyist welders.
“We were the first and are still the only AWS-endorsed educational and testing facility in northeastern Arizona,” Casey said.
Welding in Pink!
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009My first thought when I stumbled upon the following website was: “PINK!!” Just like that – all caps.
I had just found the homepage of Charm and Hammer, a website dedicated to “safety gear for the hard working woman™. It has everything you could ever want or need in a work environment.
Safety goggles? Check.
Welding gloves? Check.
Hot pink toolbelt? Definitely check!
I swear that if you counted, at least 75% percent of the products on that website are pink! And they aren’t ashamed of it!
They also feature products from two different companies, of which I am also a fan:
Rosie’s Workwear for Women and
The former makes lovely overalls and coveralls AND the t-shirt to the left (which I was very tempted to order — after all, we here at Carmen Electrode can never get enough of Rosie!) The latter — well, where else would you go to find pink power tools?!?
You guys (er, girls) have to check these sites out – your work wardrobe may never be the same again!
However, if pink is not your thing (like maybe you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb on the work site), check out the
AngelFire™ Gear at Arc-Zone.com –>
We carry this state of the art line of welding gear for women, inlcuding the Firefly™ TIG gloves, made especially for women, all in a nice chocolate brown.
Welding Helmet + Hard Hat
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009If you’re welding on the job in a position that requires wearing a hard hat, why don’t you check out the new Sperian helmet. Called the “Galaxy”, it’s a “passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet… with a hard hat adaptor”. That means no more switching back and forth between welding helmet and hard hat while you’re on the job.
Sperian’s Galaxy high impact welding helmet now with hard hat adaptor
10 July 2009
SPERIAN has launched the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with a hard hat adaptor.
According to Sperian, its Galaxy high impact welding helmet is currently the only passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet on the market. It is tested to Australian Standards, and approved by SAI Global.
The Galaxy welding helmet is now fitted with a hard hat adaptor to suit PA620V and MSA V-Guard Elite hard hats.
Also available as a spare part, users can quickly convert their standard Galaxy high impact welding helmets to be used with a hard hat.
This provides protection for the head without needing to switch helmets and hardhats. The Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can be used at construction sites.
Welders using the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can change the distance from the Auto Darkening Filter (ADF) to the eye, and the angle of the welding helmet to the hard hat to suit to their personal needs and working environment.
PAPR Protection
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009Safeguard 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.
Le Dr. Weld
Friday, August 7th, 2009This summer I spent a month in Toulouse in the south of France which has planted in me a deep-seated interest in the French culture and language. So, as I was browsing the lovely YouTube, I put in a search for “soudage” – “welding” in French, and this popped up.
Dr. Weld? Seriously?
Evidently this persona of the internet likes to sing about current events, with a welding helmet on, in what appears to be his own welding shop.
This particular video is about his feelings on telemarketing, but there are many more…
Are You Ready? No, Really…
Monday, June 15th, 2009Everyone is getting ready for the new hexavalent chromium standards coming into play on May 31st of next year. Lincoln Electric’s aptly named “Are You Ready?” campaign has been formulated to ensure that you and your business are well-prepared by that date.
Lincoln Electric Launches Welding Fume Awareness Campaign“Are You Ready?” campaign helps companies get ready for hexavalent chromium and other OSHA regulationsCleveland – The Lincoln Electric Company has launched its “Are You Ready?” awareness campaign, designed to educate employers, as well as the general welding community, about effective fume control practices. The campaign is also designed to help fabricators understand both recent and upcoming Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations, including the hexavalent chromium standards going into effect on May 31, 2010.
The campaign promotes welding fume control and safety awareness and offers access to a comprehensive one-stop shop of reference materials, interactive tools and product solutions for weld fume control. This Lincoln Electric initiative is intended to educate the welding community on current and pending OSHA regulations and the proper operating practices to follow, particularly in reference to occupational exposure to welding fume containing hexavalent chromium and manganese.
