ODDS ‘N’ SODS — Arc welding comes of age

Arc welding has become a standard procedure in many fabrication processes, thanks in part to Bill White, who served as master mechanic at the Paymaster gold mine near Timmins, Ont., in the 1930s.

White, a mechanical engineer from Noranda, Que., was hired in 1933 by Paymaster Consolidated Gold Mines as the master mechanic at its namesake gold mine. He went on to achieve a remarkable record during his years at the operation.

White was a graduate of an arc-welding program at the Milwaukee School of Technology, and he put his training to good use when he started at Paymaster the first arc-welding plate shop in the Porcupine camp.

Arc welding, which is also known as electric welding, was in its infancy when White attended school, and his class was actively engaged in trying to improve the process. Specifically, White and his classmates were endeavoring to develop a coating for bare welding electrodes that would permit the arc to be completed in a shielded area.

White and his class had some success working with General Electric in developing an electrode coating made from pulverized asbestos adhered to the bare welding rod. They also worked closely with Lincoln Electric, which was developing a silica-coated electrode coating.

After startup at Paymaster, White knew he wouldn’t be able to acquire equipment like that used at the area’s big three mines — the Hollinger, McIntyre and Dome — and he set out to acquire a used direct current generator.

White modified the generator and started a plate shop that employed only arc welding using coated GE electrodes, which he obtained from the United States. The generator greatly reduced costs, and we turned out mill equipment, mine cars, chutes, smoke stacks and dozens of other items that were being riveted together at other operations.

In the beginning, the shop was a difficult environment in which to work — the asbestos-coated electrodes gave off dust, as well as much smoke and a terrible odor when burned.

When Lincoln Electric came out with silica-coated electrodes, the Paymaster plate shop became a much better place to work.

White promoted arc welding at the area’s other mines and, within five years, each of them had changed over to the new fabrication process. White was also instrumental in assisting mines elsewhere convert to arc welding from old riveting methods, and is credited with being the first welding engineer in the Porcupine camp.

The use of arc welding in other fabrication processes soon took off like wildfire. The process owes much of its success and efficiency to the missionary work that was completed many years ago at a little backroads mine named Paymaster.

— The author, a frequent contributor to this column, resides in Boyertown, Pa.