How much has changed?

admin

In my quest to learn about welding, my brother loaned me a book about it. Not sure how much it may help, but it is pretty fascinating. It was written in 1942. I love the safety section, where it mentions asbestos cloth is ideal for clothing(!) It even has cutaway drawings of medium and low pressure acetylene generators. I realize the technology has probably taken huge leaps since then, but how much has really changed?If anyone's interested, it's titled "Welding" by James A. Moyer, Member of A.S.M.E., S.A.E., A.I.E.E.; State Director of University Extension in Massachusetts.
Reply:The technology has changed a quite a bit but the principle is still the same - heat the metal, apply filler.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Just off the top of my head, GMAW is a much more popular process now.  Previously it was limited to those with lots of money for the complex equipment.  Now, everybody and their brother has a 135A MIG and wants to build bridges.Asbestos IS an excellent cloth for safety clothing.  It's also an excellent pad for brakes.  It's also excellent insulation.  Its problem is when it's abused and the tiny fibers get airborne.  Abestos removal is usually far more dangerous than just leaving it alone.
Reply:I agree about asbestos, the passage in the book caught my attention because I've spent the past 13 years as an asbestos worker. Fact is, science still hasn't come up with any material anywhere near the heat resistant capability as asbestos. Yes, I was one of those respirator and tyvek clad guys who would glovebag a section of pipe so the pipefitters could replace a valve, or strip a section of a power plant boiler so the boilermakers could do their thing. Now I get to understand what goes on on the other side of things.