When Dave Milo set out to build a portable hardbanding unit, the former trucking company owner knew little about welding and nothing about hardbanding. After updating the hardbanding unit design a few times with consulting help from Lincoln Electric, Milo thinks he’s ready to change direction. Rather than providing hardbanding services, his goal is to sell hardbanding machines.

Editor’s Note: This is the second column in a two-part series. Q: I work in a midsized job shop, and we weld with the FCAW, GMAW, and SMAW processes. Occasionally we encounter weld cracking issues. What causes weld cracking, and what can I do to prevent it? A: Stress cracking is similar to hot...

Editor’s Note: This is the first article of a two-part series. Q: I work in a midsized job shop, and we weld with the FCAW, GMAW, and SMAW processes. Occasionally we encounter weld cracking issues. What causes weld cracking, and what can I do to prevent it? A: To ensure that the measures you...

BSS Industrial, a plumbing and heating products distributor, was accustomed to using slings affixed to its fork lifts to lift tube bundles from truck beds. The drawback was that on occasion the load would swing, creating a tipping risk for the lift truck. Lift truck manufacturer Combilift developed a truck with standard-length forks for placing and picking inventory, and a longer set of forks for lifting tube bundles from the delivery vehicle’s bed.

A hard-nosed welding instructor at a medium-security prison in rural North Carolina gives his students discipline, confidence, a foot in the door to a trade, and the possibility for a new life upon release.

Why exactly does springback occur, and how can a technician predict it? Press brake guru Steve Benson covers the basic factors.

I work in a large manufacturing fabrication shop where we weld subassemblies and then fit and weld them together to complete the machines we manufacture. Currently we use gas-shielded, flux-cored wires from 0.045 to 0.09375 in. in diameter. At what point is a small-diameter wire too inefficient,...

All businesses of all sizes want to save money and be as lean as possible. However, if taken too far, some cost-cutting measures can have unwelcome consequences and cause a shop to go under.

Q: I weld in a large pressure vessel shop and use many welding processes, including SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, and SAW. Regardless of the process, our work clamps always get very hot. We’ve even had some arcing from the ground clamp. We have welded several grounds to the workpiece to remedy this problem,...

Q: We fabricate 401 stainless steel components and have considered using metal-cored stainless steel consumables. One of the issues with metal-cored consumables is the dull appearance of the weld compared to the appearance achieved with a solid wire. What can we do to maintain a clean or shiny...

High-amperage welding, whether in semiautomatic or robotic applications, pust a great amount of stress on welding consumables. By following a few tips, however, a welder can extend the life of these components.

It's not often that a tool as simple as a hand-held circular saw wins an award for its design, but it happened when Exact Pipe Tools Inc. submitted three models to Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, one of the oldest design institutes in Europe. The saw clamps to the pipe, so users are safer and cuts are straighter.

Like so many automotive suppliers, the GT Technologies stamping team encountered tooling challenges when it shifted its work material from cold-rolled steel to a tougher steel for certain components. Its tooling started wearing out in a third of the time, creating downtime havoc and production disruption. Switching to a different tool coating helped the manufacturer resolve its tool and die wear problems.

As the demand for stainless steel increases, welders and metal fabricators need to understand how to obtain the proper finish.

Q: I work for a job shop that fabricates and welds process piping for various applications. The pipes, made from A106-88a carbon steel and 304 and 316 stainless steel, are welded using GMAW, FCAW, and GTAW. We have been experiencing porosity, primarily on the weld starts. Our shielding gas is a...