|  Arc Welding and Other Electric Arc Uses  Arc welding is an electrical method of joining two or more pieces of metal—much more firmly than hammers and nails or glue connects wood. When an electric welder makes a proper weld, the strength of the weld is equal to or greater than that of the material being welded, and if necessary, the welder can make his weld water and air tight.  Arc welding is especially useful on the farm for repairing broken sickle bars, spring-tooth points, gears and sprockets, tractor-wheel rims and spokes, lever quadrants and many other metal parts. Often the welder may weld the part without removing it from the machine thus saving considerable time that would have been spent in tearing down and reassembling the work.
New equipment such as wagons and trailers, milk-can trucks and racks, feed carts, elevators, and other devices can be built from scrap parts by welding them together.
Arc welding may employ two types of electric current, AC (Alternating Current) or DC (Direct Current). AC welding current usually produces less spatter and is used where “arc-blow” is a problem, or on downhand welding of heavy plate. DC welding current has the best stability and is usually chosen for out-of-position work such as sheet metal jobs and pipe welding.  The usefulness of the carbon arc welder is not confined to the joining of metals. Under certain conditions, it serves as a cutting torch, capable of parting metals too hard to be sawed by ordinary methods. Welding, similar to that of the oxyacetylene process, can be done by connecting a twin-carbon arc torch to the welder. This is also used for welding nonferrous metals, brazing, soldering, and heating. Another valuable use for the welder is localized heating with a carbon arc to harden or temper tools or bend heavy steel bars. Thawing frozen water pipes or piercing bolt holes in steel plate as well as lighting up a large area are just a few of many uses of the carbon arc. Clicking the animation below will take you to some interesting information on ancient as well as modern carbon arc lighting: This page was last modified on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 | |