Stainless Steel Dragon Features Two Miles of TIG Welding
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Different forces drive metal artists. Take Kevin Stone's 85-ft.-long stainless steel Chinese Imperial Water Dragon. For the thousands of hours of welding required to create the dragon, Stone relied exclusively on a single 300-amp Dynasty TIG welder.
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DRAGON ATTACK! Canadian artist Kevin Stone relied exclusively on a
Dynasty TIG welder from Miller to lay down the two miles of weld beads
required to create his 85-ft.-long stainless steel Chinese Imperial Water Dragon sculpture. |
Different forces drive metal artists. Take Kevin Stone's 85-ft.-long stainless steel Chinese "Imperial Water Dragon." It features approximately two miles (126,720 inches!) of hand-made TIG welds.
"I don't know how many dabs of filler metal it took me, but two miles is a lot of TIG welding," exclaimed Stone. "I also hand-polished the entire sculpture to a factory-level mirror finish. It's a labor of love."
On April 24, 2009, Stone's hometown city of Chilliwack, British Columbia, helped advertise and promote an official unveiling of the dragon. Approximately 2,000 people attended, and the city mayor and the provincial tourism representative spoke to help Stone find a corporate buyer for this $3 million-plus work of art.
Reliability and Control
For the thousands of hours of welding required to create the dragon, Stone relied exclusively on a single 300-amp Dynasty® TIG welder. "The Dynasty performed absolutely flawlessly. I haven't had any problem with it, or any of the Miller machines since I've owned them," he said. Stone also owns a Spectrum plasma cutter and Millermatic 350P Pulsed MIG welder.
Before his career as an artist, Stone worked as a professional welder. He had the opportunity to "use all major brands and work with the best machines money could buy... and Miller was always the best."
Whether welding art or working any other project as a private or a professional, Stone advises those considering the purchase of a TIG welder to closely examine the machine's arc control capabilities. "The more refined technique you develop, the more refined machine you want to work with. Arc control and temperature control are the keys to success when TIG welding."
To hear Kevin Stone?s advice for beginners tackling their first stainless steel TIG project, and to view additional pictures of the dragon project, watch the audio-enhanced slide show.
And if you happen to be in British Columbia, feel free to visit Stone's Metal Animation studio. It's one of Chilliwack's bigger tourist destinations, drawing 100 visitors a day or more during the summer months.