Announcing the Second Annual Desert Diamond Industries Video Contest!

You oughta be in pictures, and with the Second Annual Desert Diamond Industries Video Contest, you can be!

Just send us 10 or more minutes of you and your guys using the Ductile Iron Safety Blade, Fire Rescue Safety Blade, Safety Blade Grinder/Cutter, or Ductile Iron Ring Saw Safety Blade on the job or in training. It doesn’t even have to be edited. We’ll take care of all that!

If we like your video, you may win one of the following prizes, not to mention some free publicity for your company.

• First Place: Husqvarna K970-14″ Gas Saw, Husqvarna K970 Fire Rescue Gas Saw, or 64GB iPad with Retina Display (your choice), plus an interview or article on your company to be published on our website for a month
• Second Place: Husqvarna K760-14″ Gas Saw, Husqvarna K760 Fire Rescue Gas Saw, or 32GB iPad Mini (your choice), plus your picture or logo and a one-paragraph description of your company to be published on our website for a month
• Third Place: 14″ Safety Blade or 8GB Kindle Fire (your choice), plus your picture or logo and a one-paragraph description of your company to be published on our website for a month

The first 10 people to send qualified entries will also receive a Desert Diamond Industries t-shirt of their choice!

Video Requirements

Your video must be at least 10 minutes long. We reserve the right to edit and use your video as we see fit.

Your video must include testimonials on:

• How you like working with Desert Diamond Industries
• What you used before switching to Safety Blades and why you switched
• How you like working with the Safety Blade
• How the Safety Blade’s features (e.g. solid steel core, greater versatility, greater ROI, improved performance, Life Time Operator Error Warranty, etc.) have made your job easier and/or safer

Your video must include clear footage of the Safety Blade in use.

Your video must be sent to Desert Diamond Industries before the contest deadline (see below) via SD card, flash drive, DVD, YouSendIt/Hightail, DropBox, MediaFire, Google Drive, or e-mail. Mailed entries must be postmarked before the deadline.

You must sign a waiver to allow your video to be used in promotional material.

Where to Send Your Video

Send video on SD card, flash drive, DVD, or other physical storage devices along with a signed entry form (PDF) to Desert Diamond Industries’ Second Annual Video Contest, 1055 East Tropicana Avenue, Suite 580, Las Vegas, NV 89119. Physical storage devices will not be returned. Contact contest@desertdiamondindustries.com for how to send video and entry forms in electronic format.

Contest Deadline

Contest ends at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2013. Entries received or postmarked after this time will not be considered. Winners will be announced on Dec. 17, 2013.

Download the official contest rules along with an entry form (PDF) or read them after the break.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Ductile Iron Pipe (But Were Afraid to Ask), by the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association

Is there anything – and we do mean anything – that you want to know about ductile iron pipe? If so, then the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association has you covered, and in spades.

Their essay Field Welding and Cutting Ductile Iron Pipe, by Richard W. Bonds, covers everything about ductile iron pipe from manufacture and metallurgy to welding, cutting and beveling. If you feel that there’s not enough ductile iron-ness in your life, then this is a good place to start filling the hole.

Tip o’ the hat to Couse Steel for hipping us to this document.

Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Richard W. Bonds, “Field Welding and Cutting Ductile Iron Pipe” (PDF)

Remember, we’ll be exhibiting the Ductile Iron Safety Blade, Ductile Iron Ring Saw Safety Blade and Carbide Chunk Blade in Booth 3087 at the American Water Works Association‘s ACE13 conference in Denver, CO from June 9 to 12! See our press release for details.

How to Cut Hardened Steel with an Angle Grinder

Hardened steel can be tough to cut. According to this video from Ultimate Handyman, that’s because hardened steel is often harder than the steel in hacksaw blades and similar toothed saw blades.

In fact, your best bet for cutting hardened steel may be an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel.

This video, in addition to showing you how to cut hardened steel with an angle grinder, has some valuable safety tips. These tips include how to cut with an abrasive blade¹ without having the blade shatter or break on you. Of course, you don’t have to worry about your blade shattering, breaking or grenading if you cut with a Safety Blade or Safety Blade Grinder/Cutter, because they’re made of solid steel (up to 14″) to prevent such accidents.

Remember, we’ll be at the FDIC 2013 firefighter conference in Indianapolis, IN from April 25 to 27! Visit us in Booth 9550 at the Lucas Oil Stadium. See our press release for details.

¹ = When we say “abrasive blade”, we don’t mean “abrasive grinding wheel”. Never cut with an abrasive grinding wheel. It will shatter or explode on you if you do.

How to Grind Welds Smooth with an Angle Grinder

Need to know how to grind welds smooth with an angle grinder? We found this YouTube video on Expert Village (AKA eHow) that shows you how to do just that.

There’s just one thing about this video that we’d like to point out. The instructor – Terry Leafty at BC Welding in Camp Verde, AZ – is using a grinding stone, which is not the best tool for grinding welds. Not only do Safety Blade Grinder/Cutters grind faster and last longer than grinding stones and abrasive grinders, but they also won’t contaminate welds, reducing your cleaning and brushing. They also won’t fly apart or explode like grinding stones and abrasives, keeping you safe.

Thanks to Terry Leafty and cameraman Chuck Tyler for this video.

Remember, we’ll be at the FDIC 2013 firefighter conference in Indianapolis, IN from April 25 to 27! Visit us in Booth 9550 at the Lucas Oil Stadium. See our press release for details.

Unionized Ironworkers Prefer the Ductile Iron Safety Blade and Safety Blade Grinder/Cutter

Unionized ironworkers love the Ductile Iron Safety Blade and Safety Blade Grinder/Cutter for their speed, durability and safety. Just read what they’ve written:

“The grinding wheel performs very well when removing heavy amounts of material and is very durable. I would say that it works best for heavier removal of material when a nicer finish is not desired. It seems to be a well-made product that works well for what (it) is suited to.”  – Training Coordinator, Iron Workers Local #25, Novi, MI

“In general your vacuum brazed product will last much longer a (sic) create less dust then (sic) conventional abrasive blades. I feel that an iron working contractor engaged in decking will find your blade very useful – lots of savings in changing out the abrasive blades which wear out very quickly and due to the size it should stay on the saw and be less likely to be lost or stolen.” – Apprentice Coordinator, Iron Workers Local #3, Pittsburgh, PA

“Your product (Safety Blade Grinder/Cutters) are 75% more effective than our common abrasive blade and has a definite plus for heavy removal of steels. In addition I agree that it is not probable that it will explode in operation like abrasive blades do, produces 90% less sparks and dust which keeps our shops cleaner and is a very earth friendly, green product.” – Director, Iron Workers Local #5, Upper Marlboro, MD

(emphasis ours)

Ductile Iron Safety Blades and Safety Blade Grinder/Cutters cut and grind faster than abrasive blades and grinders because of their thick coats of vacuum-brazed diamond, which have been proven on ductile, cast, grey, angle and black iron; stainless, carbon, hardened, mild and galvanized steel; non-ferrous materials like bronze, copper, chrome, zinc and lead; high nickel-content materials; and Hastelloy superalloys.

They’re also tougher and safer than abrasives because they’re made of solid steel. Their solid steel designs outlast abrasives by at least 150 to 1. They also won’t explode or shatter, increasing your safety, and won’t emit hazardous silicon carbide fibers, increasing worksite health and reducing your health insurance costs and downtime.