Welding copper

Reiverlad said:
What I know about welding could be written on a postage stamp - in capital letters !

But around 1970 ish when I worked at ICI Ardeer, I was taught to
weld/repair platinum mesh
These were 12 ft in diameter and used in the production of nitric acid
Fascinating process
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That is interesting, Bruce, and not something I have heard of before, are you sure 12 foot diameter?

How you doing bud, you still living on yon wee island with the crap view from your front window?
 
Still living on Bute with it's glorious ever changing views, even in winter.
The fine platinum mesh was indeed 12 feet in diameter and fitted between the two halves of a sphere. They had 3 spheres.
It was used as a catalyst to convert ammonia to nitrous oxide which combined with water to make nitric acid. (That's the short version )
The repairs were carried out using spare bits of tatty used up mesh, an oxy- acetelyne torch and a very small hammer !
 
Aye Pat, look out onto a vista, daily, lucky you!!

I misread your original post, and I understand now, parent material to aid the fusion always works. Nothing on Youtube, apart restance welding P mesh.

Cheers.......
 
In 1971 I bought an electric stick welder. Being an air cooled transformer it was very heavy. The first thing I welded was a Dexion framed trolley and castors to wheel it around the garage on. I still have the welder and the frame has never fallen apart and the wheels haven't fallen off. If I want to join copper, I use solder. But there again I never want to join 1" thick copper pipes.
 
gasgas said:
In 1971 I bought an electric stick welder. Being an air cooled transformer it was very heavy. The first thing I welded was a Dexion framed trolley and castors to wheel it around the garage on. I still have the welder and the frame has never fallen apart and the wheels haven't fallen off. If I want to join copper, I use solder. But there again I never want to join 1" thick copper pipes.
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1971, and being so heavy, I reckon you mean oil cooled, we called them pots.
 
I still have one in my garage at home .... plus some 20 year old welding rods.

They will still work if I put them in the oven on a low heat for 15 minutes. :giggle:
 
Reiverlad said:
Still living on Bute with it's glorious ever changing views, even in winter.
The fine platinum mesh was indeed 12 feet in diameter and fitted between the two halves of a sphere. They had 3 spheres.
It was used as a catalyst to convert ammonia to nitrous oxide which combined with water to make nitric acid. (That's the short version )
The repairs were carried out using spare bits of tatty used up mesh, an oxy- acetelyne torch and a very small hammer !
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I have just been doing some checking about an incident of theft of the platinum gauze - just before I started there.
First of all the gauze was 9 ft diameter, not 12ft as I misremembered.

In 1968, ICI offered a £5000 reward for information leading to the recovery of 12 sheets of platinum-rhodium gauze.
Each sheet weighed 5.5 lbs
Platinum at that time was £50 an ounce !!

I got told all about the theft when I started working in the department.

The platinum was taken by a worker and recovered.

It was taken by him and used as chicken wire !!!

While i was there they eventually installed a huge safe, on the third floor which had a 3 tonne door !
 
When we bought Triple S, it had been literally run on a shoe string and had got as far as it could, the compressor was a massive V4 thing with a 50hp motor and a bugger to get going on a morning, it had a star delta which had a mind of it's own but it shifted a lot of air for the home made blasting set up, it had a stick welder a big blue box the size of a Tea chest with loads of tapping's on the top to change the amps, no labels to tell you which was what, the plug what was left of it was a one inch long nail. the heating for the whole place consisted of a single 150 x 150 gas heater in the office, it got well used in winter, the powder coating gun was an old gravity fed spray gun with a 30o x 50mm long piece of PTFE drilled through and lined with what looked like resisters, it was not human friendly and would give you a right belt if you abused it, but it laid powder on brilliantly, the premises had no water, no toilet, and the roof stayed put because it liked us, but we got it going and for £20 pw in the 90s we stayed put, but moved eventually.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
When we bought Triple S, it had been literally run on a shoe string and had got as far as it could, the compressor was a massive V4 thing with a 50hp motor and a bugger to get going on a morning, it had a star delta which had a mind of it's own but it shifted a lot of air for the home made blasting set up, it had a stick welder a big blue box the size of a Tea chest with loads of tapping's on the top to change the amps, no labels to tell you which was what, the plug what was left of it was a one inch long nail. the heating for the whole place consisted of a single 150 x 150 gas heater in the office, it got well used in winter, the powder coating gun was an old gravity fed spray gun with a 30o x 50mm long piece of PTFE drilled through and lined with what looked like resisters, it was not human friendly and would give you a right belt if you abused it, but it laid powder on brilliantly, the premises had no water, no toilet, and the roof stayed put because it liked us, but we got it going and for £20 pw in the 90s we stayed put, but moved eventually.
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I knew you had made wads of money you tight g-t pleading poverty on here every day. 😂
 
HAD!! is the operative worm there Trev :( :(

We're not skint, but we do have to be careful what we spend most of the time, we used to like to go out for lunch but a few times a week but now it might be once a month and not even that usually, wave £20 bye bye easily unless you slum it and we can do that at home.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
HAD!! is the operative worm there Trev :( :(

We're not skint, but we do have to be careful what we spend most of the time, we used to like to go out for lunch but a few times a week but now it might be once a month and not even that usually, wave £20 bye bye easily unless you slum it and we can do that at home.
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Same boat here, esp with 2 kids, things are not getting any cheaper like food in shops & heating oil, another 500ltrs to order today. :(
 
Turn the heating off and wear more clothes, open the windows in the whole house for ten minutes every morning.
 
Aye lad, some days it's not worth gnawing through the straps.
 
They have a copper welder at Ropley, Hampshire, the Steam Loco workshops on the Watercress line. Some steam boilers were copper, and some well over an 1" thick. Whether a volunteer, or someone they bring in to do the job, I don't know.
 
Reiverlad said:
The platinum was taken by a worker and recovered.

It was taken by him and used as chicken wire !!!

While i was there they eventually installed a huge safe, on the third floor which had a 3 tonne door !
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I hope the chickens appreciated the expensive wire!! What an interesting story.

I've had an interesting telecon this morning, one off my contacts at an Edinburgh Uni doing energy research, want TIG welder training in Kanthal A1.

Still some life in the auld ever sharp tungsten..........EH. 😄
 
runnach said:
I hope the chickens appreciated the expensive wire!! What an interesting story.

I've had an interesting telecon this morning, one off my contacts at an Edinburgh Uni doing energy research, want TIG welder training in Kanthal A1.

Still some life in the auld ever sharp tungsten..........EH. 😄
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The issue with the platinum gauze was that it was handled daily - it was nothing special.
It was stored in a large walk-in cupboard - on big carpet type tubes
All that meant that in his eyes it didn't really have a value !

Sounds like you are not really retired - still needed for special project training !!
Will help keep you out of mischief at least.
 
Reiverlad said:
Sounds like you are not really retired - still needed for special project training !!
Will help keep you out of mischief at least.
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Oh I am really retired Pat, I would not have bothered, but new off shoot company from an Edinburgh Uni are doing some fascinating work towards greener energy production. I also have another one on the back burner, a local guy who is into American cars.

Any funds generated will go towards fuel costs for our pending trip!

How about you bud, what are your plans for trips away, although it must be difficult for you living on a vista island!! Cheers and take care. 🍻
 
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