Tehachapi, CA - At the age of only 14, "custom fabrication" was already practically Sean Mahaney's middle name. By the time he graduated from high school he had too much business to continue working out of his home garage and had to open his own shop. 

From those early entrepreneurial days to now, Sean has worked in a number of shops on a variety of projects - from reality shows (Remember Discovery Channel's "Street Customs?") to mini trucks (the original Master Image Customs) - and has made a name for himself as a chief master fabricator.

Through it all though, one thing has remained constant - his passion for hands on work through custom fabrication. Now, that passion has put Sean to work in an unlikely direction - his newest business venture - building custom wheelchairs.

Topics: Welder, welding, ESAB, ESAB blog, TIG, TIG welding, SeanCo, fabrication, metal fabrication, custom wheelchairs, welding fabrication

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Last year, I was working in Juarez, Mexico on a training job for ESAB with a great group of TIG welders. I made some good friends, had some great food...But the thing that really left an impression on me was how well we all understood each other. 

None of the trainees spoke English, and I don’t speak Spanish. Yet, despite the language barrier, for the whole week, we just went on with it - welding together, learning, and figuring out procedure. 

Topics: Welder, welding, ESAB, ESAB blog, education, welding basics, TIG, welding tips, TIG welding, tungsten

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Lately, I've been following the websites and social sites you guys share your work on, like Instagram, and the TIG welds are incredible. I see all the pretty colors - straw, rose, green and blue. 

ESAB Photo

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There's a good contest going between all of you to see how many colors you can get in one weld. I have to say it's pretty impressive...

Topics: Welder, welding, ESAB blog, education, metal, welding basics, TIG, welding tips, TIG welding, color chart, aluminum, stainless

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Have you ever had one of those days? You know, where you’ve got 6010 in one back pocket and 7018 in the other and the metal seems to stretch on for miles? Now that’s a welding work day many of us can relate to… 

For me, stick welding is where I feel my roots and the proud memories of the dedication and discipline it took to become a pipe fitter and welder. I feel lucky that my first welding job was as a hand on a pipe crew. The craftsmanship and mastery I witnessed there have never left me. I watched my welder make an orange peel bell reducer once, and that set me on the path of learning layout… Of course “Mr. Grinder” and I became very good friends at that point.

Thinking back to those days had me thinking about some of those basic stick welding tips I learned then, and still use today. I hope they’re as helpful to you:

Topics: welding, ESAB, education, welding basics, STICK, welding tips

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Florence-Darlington Technical College 6^th Annual Metal Sculpture Competition

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FLORENCE, S.C. - It’s 7 a.m. and ten teams of welders are digging through large piles of scrap metal, their eyes darting around as they search for the perfect pieces to complete their vision.

They know this is their chance to show the local community another side to their trade – the side that is craft and art and creativity.

Topics: welding, ESAB, ESAB blog, education, jobs, metal, welding rodeo, metal sculpture, art

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I have long had a passion for TIG welding and a love for tungsten. It’s a craft that takes your mind off everything else.  

And let's face it, tungsten is the Chuck Norris of the metal world. It even has a hardcore element name - WOLFRAM. Tungsten has the highest melting point at 6,191 °F (3,422 °C), the lowest thermal expansion coefficient, and the highest tensile strength of all pure metals.

Add a little thorium or zirconium and you have a tungsten electrode.

Topics: Welder, welding, ESAB, ESAB blog, education, metal, welding basics, STICK, TIG, welding tips, TIG welding, tungsten

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I have to admit that when I first started working for ESAB I knew very little about welding and even less about welders themselves. Over the last year I have been pleasantly surprised to find that welders, as a community, are friendly, intelligent and fun. But above all else – welders are passionate about their craft.

Topics: welding, ESAB blog, education, social media

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As a former welding instructor, I would often watch as new students walked in and looked completely overwhelmed at all the welding equipment in class. Dials and digital readouts, gas tanks, regulators and torches...

My first goal as an instructor was to put them at ease.

“See all these gizwidget dials? Just wait and let me walk you through it, because it’s so easy,” I would tell them. “It all starts with what metal you want to weld.” 

Topics: welding, ESAB, education, Fabricator, metal, welding basics, training, STICK, Tweco, Fabricator 211i, TIG, MIG

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Is it just us, or is welding in the news a lot lately?

When it comes to jobs, we're hearing phrases like: Skills gap. Aging workforce. Increased enrollment at technical schools. Breaking gender stereotypes. Skilled trades. STEM. Increased manufacturing.

It turns out that welding certificate or diploma may be worth... well, a lot. 

Topics: welding, cutting, ESAB blog, education, jobs

Topics: welding, ESAB, Victor, cutting