the same basic skillset of videogamers

Our Clocktower is known for the large wooden posts in many of our lofts. Do you have one? Look at the steelwork at the top. Do you see the bent steel postcap bolted to the big plates that sandwich the post and beam connection? No welding. See? It’s all bolted together. Know why?

That’s because the modern principles of welding were being discovered at exactly the same time the ClockTower was being built, the mid 1880’s. 

Angie’s Pizza just had their sidewalk trap repaired. So how does welding work?

Have you ever seen sparks and heard a loud “pop” from an electrical receptacle? You’ve witnessed the basics of arc welding, the least expensive and most fundamental of all welding techniques. 

A powerful electric charge is sent through a wire to the electrode--- in this case a welding rod--- and a grounding charge is introduced by another wire to the work itself, the hinge and steel diamondplate in the photos. In effect we’ve set up a potential electrical circuit. The electricity wants to jump the gap from the rod to the work and complete the circuit.

When the welder brings the electrode in close contact with the electrically charged steel workpiece--- often brushing it slightly with a very light touch to begin the process--- an intended short circuit occurs. The electric arc leaps across the gap, sparks fly, the rod begins to melt and the welding process begins.

The gap between the welding rod and the work must be consistent for the weld to be smooth, and this is not easy to do. The welder must move slowly along the welding line, a linear movement. But because the welding rod is growing ever shorter the welder must also move the rod slowly closer and closer to the work as it moves along the line to maintain the even gap.

Hand-eye coordination, the same basic skillset of videogamers, is the essential talent of the arc welder.

From Wikipedia:

“Nikolay Benardos developed carbon arc welding, obtaining patents in the 1880s showing a rudimentary electrode holder. In 1888 consumable metal electrode was invented by Nikolay Slavyanov. Later in 1890 C. L. Coffin received U.S. Patent 428,459 for his arc welding method that utilized a metal electrode.”