The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-09-16
like MAGIC ".".
OF ALCHEMISTS
BROKEN METAL CAN BE BUILT
STRONGER THAN EVER BY
ELECTRIC ARC WELDING PRO-
CESS. .,

Engineering News: Owing to
the development and the prac-
tical ~ application Of electric arc
welding process, the day has passed,
when ordinary defects such az shrink
age cracks, blow holes, ETC., in expen-
Sive castings, necessitate. the making
of another casting; or when a crack
On a street car truck or a break in a
locomotive frame means the keeping
pf the car or locomotive. out of service
for. long periods while a new part is
ordered from the builder. Defects such
as these can now be quickly and
cheaply repaired by means Of arc
welding. .s..:
Electric arc welding differs from
other forms of welding in that, by,
using an electric arc to produce a high
temperature, the two pieces of metal
to be Joined are actually melted and
flow together instead of being merely
softened by neat and then caused to
unite by applying pressure or by ham
mering. 1t is thus seen that the metal
really becomes continuous and the
joint is homogeneous. &g c
Hammering is often resorted to aft
ger the weld has been made merely to
Improve the ductility Of the metal and
dis not depended upon to unite the par
ticles of metal. Furthermore, the cleo
trio arc permits of welding such ma
terials as copper, brass, etc. Yields in
these metals are actual YIELDS; that
U.s., the metal flows together and be-
comes continuous and when proper
materials are used the strength at the
weld is equal to that of the original
metal.
For making repairs such as men
toned above, electric arc is recognized
AS having several distinct advantages.
First, the arc gives the most intense
heat known (about 1000 degrees Cen
~tigrade). This high temperature is
really not required to reduce the ordi-
nary metals to a molten state, but It
has the advantage that heat Is applied
SO quickly that the conductivity of the
metal cannot, carry the heat away fast
enough to lower the temperature at
the weld,
This accounts for the rapidity and
efficiency of electric arc welding and
explains how the welding heat can be
applied to as small an area as desired
without being d~issipated over the
whole work, which in the case of a
large waste of heat. Second, it is easy
ITO manipulate, requires no complicated
apparatus or previous preparation for
the work in hand, such as the genera
tion and storage of gases.
Third, it is claimed to be the cheap
est method GO far devised for obtain
ing these High temperatures on a COM
mercial scale.
Fourth, it is safe, there being no
danger of explosions, and the low volt
age currant can be handled with inn
spunity. Operators are subjected to
practically no heat, and no noxious
gases which might overcome the men
are given off. Automatic control fea-
lures also have been developed, which
afford complete protection against
burn-outs due to, overloads, etc.
The use of the electric arc for pro-
ducing high temperatures has been
known for many years, and the oper-
alton is very simple. The usual prac-
tice is to onnec the work to be re-
paired with one wire from an electric
circuit. and to attach the other wire to
an electrode handled by the operator.
The electrode is first brought into con-