The Portland daily press., 1890-11-19
ELECTRICAL WONDERS.
what British Iron and Steel Makers
saw at Lynn.
rBoston Globe.J

boston Globe.l
The visitors first inspected the welding
machines, and some Of them would doubt
less have been making themselves little
copper bracelets until night II the works
hadn't shut down for an hour at noon, COM
pelling them to go to lunch In the drawing
room-where the draughtsmen work. The
ladies then came back to Boston and lunched
at the Vendome.
Prof. Themson's discovery that by means
of ar alternating electric current metals that
had baffied all ordinary attempts at welding
could be readily joined so perfectly that the
fibre Of the metal was not destroyed in the
process, was made in 1886; but the practical
application of his invention has but recently
been realized. Yesterday the iron and steel
magnates of England, Germany and France
saw two pieces of aluminium bound together
as though they had never been separated, by
a single push upon lever, and the process
occupied but FIVE seconds. Iron, copper,
antImony, platinum, zinc, pure gold, they
found were capable Of welding. Copper
could be welded to brass, brass to German
silver, that substance to wrought iron,
wrought iron to nickel and so on, no one
knows Just how far but the wizlrd Of West
Lynn.
The essential feature Of the invention Is
that by the application Of electricity the i'm
mediate surfaces to he welded are quickly
heated 10 the proper temperature, the two
pieces are pressed together just when the
metal has reached the welding point and
the current Of electricity IS at that instant
withdrawn. This was explained by Prof.
| Thompson. Hermann Lemp and the other
| experts at the works until every one had a
general idea of the principle, and then the
machines were set agolng.
First, two sections OF an iron band an
| inch broad, quarter Of an inch thick, were
| put into little machine and their ends
| claimed In position, almost touching one an
| ota er. This occupied 10 seconds. Then q
lever was pressed forward; 1t turned on the
| electricity. The iron was heated to white
| heat for quarter Of an inch from the two
| opposing ends. A foot from this white heat
| the iron was cold as ever, Another lever
| was pulled and in five seconds the TWO pieces
were Onepe1ieed!Iy pe %sit that was fupUisS-
| ing power for the incandescent lamps that
Then another machine was shown, more
| remarkable than the first. A boy was WORK
| ing It. The pressure that br0ughtIhe ends
\ of the copper wire together was automatic.
| The pressure came from two little hydraulic
| pumps at one end. The whole arrangement
could be packed in dry goods box. II was
used for welding easily fusible metal, and
was justified so nicely that the current was
| Interrupted the second the weld was COM
| pleted. The wires were put into the clamps
| the boy pressed the button, and In an In
| slant the machine did the rest-a hitherto
/ impossible Job. Some Of the visitors were
| allowed to do little work on their own
/ hook at this machine, and 1t was so easy
| that they seemed to like Ii.
Then there was machine for welding
| steel cables. An inch cable, cleanly cut in
| two, was made as good as new by simple
| twist of the wrist, the arm and the elbow
| in 10 seconds, and no material was lost. Thi
| surprised the BTitishers, for 1t has hitheTt
been necessary in joining parted cable 1
| splice some 10 to 30 feet, and skilled labo
had to do it at the cost OF much time and Ia
| Dor.
| Then there was machine for weldin
| pipe for refrigeIating coils, and one for weld
| ing spinning rings,-and, what not?
| There was little affair for welding th'
parts of shells, so that it is claimed, wher,
Uncle Sam pays $50 now for a steeloore,
projectile he can get one when this procesa,
is perfected, for-very much less, az ~
Prof. Thompson Is working on a deVtSod deVltSS 4
| manufacture twO-inch chains by tulS uothON