Surly sent me this picture. I don't know where he ran across it but it's pretty cool. The writing at the bottom says: "We are proud to participate in the industrialization of the nation". That's the kind of attitude we need more of.
The outcome of World War ll and the post war industrialization of the U.S. is pretty much the direct result of the welding game. When it came time to ramp up for the war effort, stick and submerged arc welding allowed heavy fabrications such as ships and tanks to be assembled much quicker than riveting did with less metal being used as well. The aircraft industry used gas welding for the tube frames and TIG welding or Heliarc, as it was called, was perfected to weld aluminum and magnesium. The importance of welding both during the war and after cannot be underestimated. Alloy Rods Corporation produced 14,000,000 pounds of stainless steel electrodes between 1940 and 1945. That's just one manufacturer and only one type of material.
Now there are over 200 types of welding processes. Some, such as atomic hydrogen welding, are not exactly household words but you can bet your bottom dollar that you won't go through a single day in this country without coming in contact with something that has been welded. The Welding Information Center has a brief but good history of welding at their site.
I've been welding for forty years now and I too am proud to say I participated in the industrialization of our nation. Before and during my teaching career, I've worked at a variety of welding jobs - structural steel, maintenance, job shops and construction. I've also had the great pleasure of teaching the rudiments of the trade to a very large number of people. All that those short-sighted financial geniuses who have been running the show can state is: "We are proud to have participated in the industrialization of other countries".
3 comments:
That poster is a Chinese Communist propaganda poster. You might want to consider that before saying "I couldn't agree more". I realize that your post was not meant to be pro-commie but perhaps it could be construed that way. It is a cool poster from an artistic and historic point of view.
Excuse me, you said "That's the attitude we need more of" not; "I couldn't agree more".
Let people say what they will about the Communists, but both the Chinese and the Russians turned out some pretty cool posters. Maybe we in this country need some nice artwork to help recruit people to enter the skilled trades. Of course, the timing might be off a little right now.
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