On Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:39:48 +1200, Gib Bogle wrote:

You must be new here.

Naaah.

Matty IS someone working in a museum, who repairs
ancient things, and the boiler he's talking about is undoubtedly a
restoration job.

I know, I know:-) Take a look at the post I was responding to...

*I* think Matty should just talk to the expert welder. One man I knew was an
expert welder, as in had a license to prove it. To keep it, he'd be called in
every two years, and would be given a welding job at random, like "eight-inch
steel steam pipe, overhead weld" and the equipment he had to use, like gas or
stick. They'd then X-ray the weld and cut it open, looking for faults. His boss
would hire him out to other companies when there was tricky work to be done.

One of the more memorable jobs he told me about was was a welding a copper cross
for a church roof out of thick, solid copper bars. So: big TIG welder,
water-cooled tip, and two guys with big gas torches heating the copper so the
TIG had a chance. Add a bucket of cold water on each side to dip his gloves in
every so often, and double leathers.


Thomas Prufer