Skulls and welding go hand in hand.  There’s just something “right” about a welder strapping on a flaming death skull and wielding fire to hook metal together.  Miller clearly gets it. They also get that no matter how cool it looks, the functionality needs to be there as well. They achieved both with the Digital Elite series helmets, but they’ve now added more skulls to the lineup with the Wicked model 241462.  We approve.

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You may have seen optical tables on TV or in a lab somewhere — thick metal-topped tables with threaded 1/4″ holes spaced every inch or so.  They’re very flat and stable, and the grid of holes allows you to precisely place equipment.

Strong Hand Tools’ BuildPro Welding Table is reminiscent of this design, but instead of threaded holes, the ground-steel 5/8″-thick plates have CNC-machined 5/8″ through-holes spaced in a grid every 2″ apart.  The table is flat to within 0.004” per foot, and the hole spacing is accurate to ±0.0015″.

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I’m not sure why this welding helmet is painted this way;  I’ve never seen one quite like it, so I wonder what the artistic statement is.  Not that it really matters — the helmet will still do its job even if, worst case, the paint burns off.

If it had slightly different colors it would remind me a great deal of those dazzle-painted ships back in WWII.  Either way, reader Cchauvet won’t have trouble finding this one in a pile of plain old gray helmets — which is probably the point.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Welding gear is expensive — even if you start with a basic unit, all the accessories you need will cost you some more of your hard-earned bucks. Wouldn’t it be convenient if there was a complete package that could hook you up with everything you needed? Here comes Lincoln Electric with the Lincoln Welders Backpack.

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When wire welding, the material you put into the weld is just as important as the skill you do it with — the wrong stock can actually make a great-looking weld that won’t hold up very well.  McKay makes it easier to choose just the right stock with the announcement of two new lines of aluminum solid welding wires and TIG cut lengths:  Smootharc 4043 and Smootharc 5356.

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Not sure if you’ve sharpened your tools or drill bits to the perfect angle?  This universal grinding gauge from Silverline Tools will help you check.

Made from heavy-duty 14ga stainless steel, the grinding gauge can check 55°, 60°, 90°, and 120° internal and 60°, 90°, and 120° external angles.  Silverline manufactures their tools for the UK so the etched graduations read in metric.

Five bucks will buy you this gauge at Jack’s Tool Shed.

Universal Grinding Gauge [Silverline Tools]
Universal Grinding Gauge [Jack's Tool Shed]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We’re big fans of custom tools. Not only do they say something about you as a tool guy but they’re a fun way to set yourself apart from the herd. This fine example of a custom welding helmet from reader Lungofish struck us as a sweet way to get art into the shop. He writes about the process:

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If you’ve ever watched the hardcore guys weld on aluminum, stainless, or chromoly, they’re often holding a TIG torch in their hands. TIG rigs can be a little frightening at first but are super-handy for automotive fabrication work. With the new Diversion 165 TIG welder Miller has attempted to simplify the correct TIG unit setup and provide you some power as well.

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Hobart is reskinning their OpticArmor auto-darkening hoods to appeal to the off-roading crowd. The new welding hood provides the same protection as the rest of the OpticArmor line but now sports some sweet new graphics as well.

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OxArc is selling the Bessey WMS-3 Compact Magnetic Square for $5.  With 55 lbs of pull, it’ll work for a variety of setups when welding — at this price there’s no reason to suffer with a cheap import when you can get a US-made one.

Bessey Compact Magnetic Square [OxArc]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We’ve seen many kids toys modeled after real tools, but a toy welding set has to be the most obscure yet.  Whether you’re a full-time welder or just a hobbyist, if you want to get your kids interested in a skill that’ll serve them well for a lifetime, maybe put this under the tree.

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WeldingSupply.com is selling the Smith Little Torch Kit for $112.32.  The Little Torch, a tiny oxy/acetylene brazing and welding setup, allows pinpoint control of the flame for jewelry and other delicate joining tasks.

Smith Little Torch Kit [WeldingSupply.com]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you weld in your garage, these welding strip curtains will protect people coming out of the house from welding flash.  Black Stallion’s curtains block 99% of UV and also deaden the noise a bit.  Some of the sets seem to include door-mounting gear, and you can choose from four colors — you know, for the inner decorator in you.

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Welding isn’t the cheapest hobby to pick up and start fooling around with, and some of the high-end gear can cost you more than a shiny new 60” HD TV. But there are ways to get your weld on without crossing into budget-killing territory — the Chicago Electric 90A flux-core welder comes to mind.

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According to their latest “Super Savers” flyer, MSC is selling Kant-Twist’s T-handled 2″ clamps at the low price of $11 apiece, if you buy two or more. Make sure you follow the link from the flyer, as the clamps’ll come up at the higher price if you just search the catalog. If you buy only one, the price is $13.33 — still a deal, although Shop.com sells them for $13.07.

Kant-Twist’s C-type clamps work great for welding and machine shop setups — they don’t twist as the jaw pivots down to tighten. They’re so superior, I rarely use a plain C-clamp anymore.

#405 Kant-Twist 2″ Clamp [MSC]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]

When you finally find the project that you really need a welder for, and you’re not a welding genius, you need to research what exactly you should be looking for in a welder. You’ve got lots of options when it comes to welding, starting with MIG and TIG — but then you have to watch the features on the model you purchase, to be sure you aren’t trying to use tissue paper when you need cardboard. Buyer’s guides can help, especially with no-nonsense advice.  You can also check out our “getting started” post on welding.

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Many thanks to tmib_seattle for recommending Giles Puckett’s Tubemiter freeware — it allows you to print out cut templates from a computer, simplifying the task of cutting weird angles in round tube. The site seems to be broken, but the download works. Just enter the diameters of the tubes being joined, the wall thickness of the tube being cut, and the angle of the joint — then print, wrap, and cut.

Happily, while searching for the software download I uncovered some really interesting sites on human-powered vehicles, including airships. And so we present you with a cool video that only tangentially relates to the subject at hand — screen shots of the software aren’t visually stimulating, anyway.

If this sparks your interest, check out the International Human Powered Vehicle Association site where I found the video, because there’s lots more cool stuff on there.

Tubemiter Software [OzHPV]
Human-Powered Airship [IHPVA]