BOC free gas refill

[Dragnet]

I found my carbon arc instructions; attached.

This chap on YT has one...
I also remember a torch mod that created a 'spot welder' - I think that involved using a single rod to contact the workpiece

I understand that was the initial invention, the rather wonderful sounding 'Elektrogefest' or 'Electric Hephaestus' as Wikipedia tells us. I found this on the inventor, and his patent shows the single electrode method.

 

[jo1010]

I found my carbon arc instructions; attached.

I understand that was the initial invention, the rather wonderful sounding 'Elektrogefest' or 'Electric Hephaestus' as Wikipedia tells us. I found this on the inventor, and his patent shows the single electrode.....

Very interesting. Considering that Humphrey Davy demonstrated his carbon arc jumping a 4 inch gap between electrodes around 1800, it took 80 years to reach a (somewhat) practical welding method! And of course carbon arc lights were still used in 1940s as wartime searchlights. Apparently the carbon arc process also produces CO - but to what level idk.
I'll re-read the tricky SIP instructions for spot welding later - I caught site of mine buried in the garage loft a few weeks ago looking for something else....

 

[GRW]

These carbon arc brazing pencil things.... would it now be replaced for brazing with say a MAPP gas torch?

(I've never tried brazing, but can see that it might be a useful thing one day. I have a Rothenberger MAPP torch - is it a case of just buying some brazing rods & "having a go"?)

 

[Dragnet]

I believe it has a higher temperature than a MAPP flame, and is probably rather cheaper, but other methods have become more prevalent from ease of use and control. However, it seems there are plenty of people in this parish who have, or have known someone who has, brazed various cars back together with carbon-arc as it was just what one did.

@jo1010 My understanding is that pieces had been forge-welded previously, with carbon arcs being used to heat the metal that was to be pounded together, and probably also for brazing before the leap to actually melting the parent metal together came about. I imagine the most difficult part was the electricity. Surely the sort of voltaic piles available to Davy, and for much of the C19th, wouldn't have been suitable for industrial use. They'd have preferred conventional labour intensive methods as labour and fuel was cheap, I suppose.

 

[RWD3M]

I believe it has a higher temperature than a MAPP flame, and is probably rather cheaper, but other methods have become more prevalent from ease of use and control. However, it seems there are plenty of people in this parish who have, or have known someone who has, brazed various cars back together with carbon-arc as it was just what one did.

One did! My first welder was a carbon arc thing that I used to braze a new front end onto my 1600E back in about 79/80 after driving it into a stone dyke up in the North of Scotland.