Building a New Future for Customized Mobile Welding with Blackburn Fabrication

That dream is getting even closer to reality. Like many, David started welding as a kid in the garage with his family. He moved from stick, to MIG to TIG, and along the way he helped friends with simple projects or repairs, and got paid for his time. The side business took a big leap about seven years ago when his then roommates suggested he look into the airport where they worked. The amount of welding work available allowed him to make his side business, a regular source of income. He started with small, personal and experimental aircraft, welding aluminum and stainless steel. He enjoyed the work enough to invest in getting certified to weld FAA planes. Being certified brought enough business for another full-time job. David spent about six years working with airplanes until the company moved out of town and hired their own welder.

Operating a regular side business planted the seeds for what he’s working towards now. David plans on building his own welding shop but for now his focus is on mobile welding. To aid him in this, he is building a flatbed of his own design onto his truck, with specialized toolboxes, racks, and compartments for necessities. Welding on-site carries its own set of challenges. With the airport work, he learned that getting a truck mounted welder close enough to the plane wasn’t always feasible. That meant he might need long leads which can cause an unstable arc. Additionally, most welding machines have higher electrical needs than the 110v output of standard non-industrial buildings. These challenges have led David in a couple directions, one being the mobile welding rig he’s building, and the other to Fronius. 

“I first looked at Fronius welders at FABTECH 2016 in Vegas. When my buddy and I walked into the booth, one of their team answered our questions, and showed us what might fit our needs. I didn’t know it then, but that person was the representative for my area in California. He treated me like I was no different from a big shop even though I said welding was my side business.”

When David learned that Fronius had a reliable welder that would fit his mobile business, he spent a lot of time considering their product versus others on the market. Eventually, his community persuaded him to purchase a different welder. It was a multi-process machine that claimed to do everything he needed, including the ability to weld 6010 electrodes. After some test runs and a few hours work, he became frustrated that the machine didn’t do half of what it promised, and it couldn’t handle the 6010 electrodes he used. Recalling what he’d seen at FABTECH, he called Fronius to schedule a demonstration at the local office.

“That’s when I really opened my eyes to the TransPocket 180,” David said. “Because I already knew it would run the 6010, stick, and do all the things that I needed it to do.” He worked with both Will and Fritz from the Riverside, CA office to test out the various welders and decide on a package that would suit his needs. Making the switch to the TransPocket allowed him to run any electrodes he needed, for whatever jobs he accepted, and do all the work mobile. The machine “worked flawlessly” which gave him the confidence to take on more jobs with new clients.

Fronius offers the TransPocket in two versions, one that’s focused on stick welding with TIG capability, and the other is a TIG welder with stick capability. The TIG version is the one David chose. It offers pulse welding and comfort stop which gives a clean finish to the weld. The TransPocket is portable, runs on 110v electricity, and can use a 300 foot mains with no loss of power to the torch, or tripping of circuit breakers. This combination was a perfect fit for Blackburn Fabrication.

“With my experience with that other welder, I had no confidence in it. Sometimes it would run a nice bead, other times it wouldn’t. There wasn’t any consistency. That’s a big problem out in the field. You can’t just grab something from the shop to support whatever went wrong. So knowing the machine will work well, every time, helps me immensely.”

David also purchased a TransSteel 2500 for MIG work. This single-phase welder runs on 230v, and excels with steel and stainless steel. He hasn’t spent as many hours welding with it yet, but the versatility of the machine has impressed him. He uses the up/down torch that allows him to change settings without returning to the machine. “I was welding on my flatbed and one weld was quarter-inch, the next weld was 1/8 inch, but I didn’t need to go to the machine, I just changed the parameters on the torch. It makes life a little easier.”

Once David opens the shop, he’ll have more need for MIG welding. He plans to offer custom welding trailers, bumpers, and racks, among other large projects. As he moves into more customized work, he’ll purchase more equipment to support efficient turn around. What’s on his list? The new MagicWave 230i that’s being released this year from Fronius. “It has some very advanced features for AC welding and also I’m interested in the Bluetooth/Wireless Lan feature that is controlled from your phone. Definitely something no one else is offering.”

The Fronius MagicWave is a single-phase, AC/DC TIG welder with advanced waveforms, high frequency starts, and current pulsing, allowing for welding virtually any material. It features an easy to use interface, robust housing, and options for wireless control.  The newest MagicWave is an interesting vision into the newest technology available in TIG welding.

David works on whatever projects come to him, including a lot of ranch fencing and gates where a durable, small machine comes in handy. Many machines test well in a pristine lab environment, but David is putting his TransPocket to the test in the dirt of ranch life. His reaction?  “It’s just a great welder. For how small it is, the quality is there.”

What else does the future hold? Besides opening the shop and offering new services, Blackburn Fabrication has plans to give back to community youth through education and workshops. Find him on Instagram @blackburnfabrication for posts and videos that showcase different projects, and techniques. 
Contact him at: Blackburnfabrication@gmail.com

Written by Rhonda Zatezalo

Rhonda Zatezalo writes freelance articles for the welding industry / www.rhondazatezalo.com