Arc-Tech Welding Inspections

06/08/2025

While working on a job for a repeat customer that I weld out with the GTAW even though all parts of the assembly are carbon steel, I started having an issue with the arc. It was like it was turned down to only run at about 50 amps. Starting back at the breaker box, to make sure it was operating on both legs of the 240v, I went all the way through trying to find the source of the issue. Finally removed the foot pedal that allows for adjusting the current level while welding without changing the base level at the machine. With that out of the loop, the machine was able to be adjusted manually up and down in amperage. Appears my foot pedal is not operating correctly.

Took it up to the welding supply and they are sending it out for repairs. Has to go down to the valley office and be evaluated, repaired, and returned. A couple of weeks or more. And meantime my customer's job sits here waiting to be welded.

Friday Sue found a GTAW machine on Marketplace and we made contact. Went down to the valley on Saturday, tested the machine to make sure it would do what I needed it to since it is definitely smaller than my normal unit.

Bottom line: I bought a Miller 180 sd machine with all the gear and a cart so I can get this job done. Once my foot pedal is repaired I will have to decide which unit to sell and which one to keep. As long as it welds out this project properly, I may sell the bigger one since I don't use it all that often and can reduce some overhead with a more economical machine in both base cost and operating costs.

01/24/2025

The AWS along with AISC, AMPP, and NDTMA is presenting the third Inspections Expo and Conference. It is coming to St. Louis, MO the week of Feb 5-7, 2025. There is a Pre-Event, the Cracking seminar, on Feb 4th at the same venue.

Check out all the details at this link:

Join us at the Inspection Expo & Conference (IEC) in St. Louis, Missouri, February 5-7, 2025, where four leading organizations; AWS, AISC, AMPP, and NDTMA have joined forces to bring you a comprehensive event designed by inspectors for inspectors.

10/25/2024

Somehow the final two got left off. They will probably get separated from each other but here is the final product. I could not get it to let me add them as an 'edit' so posting separately..

10/25/2024

Was asked to do the Special Inspections for welding on a sign for the Town of Prescott Valley. Turned into quite a nice little project.

The Prescott Valley Gateway Arch. A few pictures to see what it was...

09/07/2024

The past month has been quite a challenge. Sue has been battling an infection and they have finally determined that it will take surgery to clear out her ear canal and the infected fluids. We had our 22nd grandchild, our 47th wedding anniversary, one of our sons passed away, just to name a few. Along with that we just had our 28th anniversary of running Arc-Tech Welding, Inc/Arc-Tech Inspections. 28 years. What a ride.

So many thanks to family, friends, customers, church family and any others whose paths have crossed with ours. We thank God for all of you and for all you have done for us.

08/18/2024

A repeat customer came in to add another welding certification to his resume. The process is guided by the applicable welding code a person will be working to.

It this case it is structural steel. He already had a vertical test which qualifies him for vertical, horizontal, and flat welding. He needed to add overhead for an 'all position' qualification.

The test was on 3/8" plate which qualifies the person for up to 3/4" thick material. The process was SMAW (stick for many people) with E7018 electrodes.

We observe, test, and report many of these tests. Anyone trying to really make a career out of welding needs to consult a CWI or testing lab and see if getting some certifications would be a good option for them. It is sure a good first step so a person knows if they will be able to pass a test given by any current or future employer who needs their people certified for the work to be performed.

If you are such a person or know someone who is they can contact me for consultation.

08/11/2024

Years ago, while we were still in OR, an elderly gentleman I was doing some welding for gave me several pieces of advice as well as some great work pointers. Nothing like having someone with experience politely suggest some things they learned in their extended life work.

We talked about having older but good looking equipment in good working order, treating people decently, doing the best job possible regardless of how much over your bid time you are going, and many other things.

One item that I have put to use, especially in the past several years, is the use of WD 40 as a drill lubricant. I have used many lubricants over the years and some have been pretty good. But, on one of my recent ongoing projects I use a mag unit with annular cutters. One size in particular, 3/4", gets used to drill/cut 15 holes through 3/8" material quite often.

By using WD 40 as the lubricant I can get 300 holes, ± a few, before requiring the cutter to be sharpened. Besides the number of holes there are several additional benefits. Such as: no clean up of oily residue after drilling, ease of cutter clean up with a simple blowing off with air, no messy spillage if you knock over the 'spray' can, ease of application from a spray can, low volume used compared to other lubricants, etc.

I have checked the number of holes provided between sharpening 3 or 4 times. That is a lot of holes to be cut with no need for sending them out for sharpening.

06/30/2024

A continuing special inspection on a remote house with steel and concrete. It has been some interesting times for such a small job.

06/23/2024

A neighbor and his wife needed some grip rails for their back yard steps. They weren't needed per code, just personal security and safety...peace of mind.

They loved these when we installed them.

12/23/2023

A neighbor who I have done work for on his dump truck, tractor with gannon, and other work, came to me with three buckets for his trackhoe. All three needed various repairs to tighten the fits, get the pin hole lined up, and make it all work like new.

Pics of the buckets and hoe.

12/23/2023

Last month I got a call from a guy with problems when towing a large cargo trailer loaded with welding supplies and other equipment. We set up a time last week to get it done.

What I saw was an amazing hitch set up. Never have I seen anything like it. But, it was not level and the hitch on the truck, while it was adjustable, did not allow for the right correction.

We had to cut the hitch off the trailer, adjust the length to get a correct connection and install a totally new adjustable trailer connection.

From there we re-installed this fancy hitch that has more swivel points than I have ever seen on a conventional hitch.

Take a look at these pics to see what I mean.