ARC MAGAZINE

DEAR EDITOR: I have a great appreciation for the time and effort you’re putting into a dedicated welding magazine. As a shop owner/operator, it’s very enjoyable to read the tips and tricks and find more ways to skin a cat. Also, the deeper look at companies like Gas Monkey Garage makes for excellent read without plaguing the reader with sponsored ads. Something I would really like to see in a future issue would be a shop section where you show some layouts of other fab/repair shops and how they made use of their space or what they would like to have done differently. Thank you for the magazine so far, it’s far exceeded my expectations.

Ryan Panuska, Maynard, IA

PS: The historical tidbits are a real hit with my shop guys. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions, Ryan. We’re always interested in hearing what readers are interested in seeing in the magazine. Keep an eye out for some fine tuning in our editorial coverage as we move further into 2016.

DEAR EDITOR: Thanks for the cool magazine! I got my first issue and already learned something that is a big help. I didn’t know that you should push the foot pedal after you touch the tungsten to scratch start the weld. I use a Lincoln Electric Power MIG® 210 MP and this tip helped me a lot. Great stories and pics, too! Looking forward to seeing the next issue. Thanks again.

Jason Roark, Ramseur, NC

DEAR EDITOR: I am a Welding Engineer for a large company that builds equipment for the US Navy. I received my first copy of ARC Magazine in October 2015. We have about 43 welding machines in our fleet (all of which are Lincoln Electric welders). About 13 of these are the old DC 600 machines that we have had in our fleet for about 20 years. We do a lot of weld wrap and weld pickups with a lift arc/scratch start TIG torch. Your Ask the Experts column in the Fall 2015 issue included a great idea for using a piece of copper to prevent tungsten contamination. Thank you so much for such a simple fix for a huge problem that we have in our fabrication shop. Keep up the great work, and thank you for sharing your ideas.

Aubrey Mapp, Saint Marys, GA

Jason, Aubrey: Thanks for checking in. Glad you both found some useful information in our Ask the Experts column. Nearly all of the content in that column is user-driven – likewise with our Beginner Tips and Tricks column — so readers shouldn’t hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions about processes, techniques, safety or any other welding-related topics.

DEAR EDITOR: Greetings! I have enjoyed reading your publications.

It was somewhat vindicating to read the Master Class article in the Winter 2015 issue regarding welding of 4130 chrome-moly tubing. Years ago, I took on a part-time job with a small high-end mountain bike manufacturer in suburban Boston that was leading the way with GTAW versus the decades-old method of torch brazing to join 4130 tubing. I did some research and testing with ER80S-D2 filler metal and convinced the boss that this was the proper filler metal to use for 4130 welds that were not going to be post-weld heat treated. He agreed after seeing our testing results and how nice the welds looked after we developed some pulsing parameters.

Not long after I began welding full-time, I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Dennis Klingman of Lincoln Electric, who worked in motorsports. He corroborated my use of ER80S-D2 for welding 4130, and some twenty years later, I see the same information presented in your magazine article.

Thank you very much, and keep up the good work!

Scott Bengtson, Hudson, MA

Good to hear from you, Scott, and congratulations on the TIG welding successes. Dennis Klingman is the resident expert in TIG welding at Lincoln Electric, so rest assured that any information you download from him – twenty years ago or last week – is rock solid.