Ken Nowicki on sun 19 sep 04
I have found this thread most interesting. For many many years, my father an=
d=20
my older brother owned and operated an electric sign company in the San Dieg=
o=20
area, "Image Signs". For a time, as a young man in his late teens, I worked=20
along side them both at their sign shop in El Cajon. My Dad was an expert sh=
eet=20
metal man, and could do just about anything possible with the stuff, and in=20
many ways, like a studio potter, he was a craftsman in many other discipline=
s=20
as well... electrician, welder, painter, mechanic, engineer, carpenter,=20
designer, and the list goes on and on. My brother, Pete, mastered all of tho=
se=20
talents as well, working side by side with my Dad over the course of 25 year=
s or so=20
until my father's passing over 5 yrs ago.
Pete and my Dad, Rick, were probably the most respected sign men in the=20
business in Southern California... quality work... no cutting corners...=20
professional all the way... total craftsmanship. One of their most notable j=
obs and=20
legacies for their company was a sign that still stands today in downtown Sa=
n=20
Diego... maybe some of you walked right underneath it during the NCECA there=
a few=20
years ago... it is the "Historic San Diego Gaslamp Quarter" sign that spans=20
all the way across the street in the revitalized Gaslamp Quarter (near the=20
convention center). It's quite a sight to see, especially lit all up at nigh=
t.=20
(click here to see sign ---> http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/e3118/) The=
y=20
made it entirely... just the two of them... installed too. Can't tell you ho=
w=20
many hours went into that sign... too many to tell. I'm sure that for this=20
particular job... they probably lost money on it... but it probably brought=20=
them=20
more business than they could handle too. All of the letters were aluminum s=
tock,=20
cut by hand, each one welded and finished beautifully, backlit by light,=20
surrounded by hundreds or clear twinkling light bulbs... a period piece to=20
celebrate the designs of that era. I was very much involved in the music ind=
ustry=20
back then, playing drums in a country-rock band, trying to get our big break=
. I=20
was burning the candle at both ends playing in nightclubs at night, getting=20=
up=20
early to go work for my Dad in the early morning. I finally made the tough=20
decision to bow out of working at the sign shop, because I could no longer d=
o=20
both. Call me naive and young, for I was guilty of both at the time. I look=20=
back=20
now, and wish I had stayed on, and learned more from my Dad & brother... lik=
e=20
how to weld... or be a competent electrician. But what is done is done. My D=
ad=20
is gone. My brother got out of the sign business. I had children and moved=20
3000 miles away. Never too late to learn though, right? Might look into a=20
welding class one of these days at the local community college.
Pete became an expert welder over the years. In fact, he is now a certified=20
welding inspector, as well as concrete, soil testing, and a host of other=20
talents. He teaches welding on weekends as well and has been for a number of=
years.=20
People pay him a handsome sum to inspect their welds and insure their safety=
=20
for health and liability reasons... huge construction jobs where a ton is at=
=20
stake.
Vince's recent comment below peaked my interest.
..........................................................................
"Gas welding is for thin steel sheet and brazing, but never for structural=20
welds. For the strongest structural weld, you would never find a profession=
al=20
welder using MIG or
TIG. They will ALWAYS be using old fashioned arc. It is the mainstay, and
everything else has it place in specialized welding proceedures."
..........................................................................
From being around my Dad & brother over the years, and hearing and seeing=20
them weld and talk about it... this point Vince made didn't seem so cut and=20
dry... no offense Vince. I wanted to know more about it, so I copied my brot=
her the=20
recent post and asked him about different types of welding methods.
This is what my brother responded with... I think any of you following this=20
thread may find this interesting, as well as enlightening (see below).
............................................................................
"Hey Ken,
Interesting, a welding discussion on a clay art bulletin board. No offense,=
=20
but Vince is giving misinformation on this topic. My students often ask whic=
h=20
is the strongest welding process; the answer is all of them. The strength i=
s=20
in the filler metal; you can use any process and get 60,000 lbs. tensile=20
strength, mild steel (common angle iron, plate, etc.) has a 36,000 lb. tensi=
le. We=20
are doing a =E2=80=9Chot tap=E2=80=9D on the job I am on right now. That is=
when you weld a=20
branch onto a pipeline without closing down the flow. In this case it is a=20=
6=E2=80=9D
high pressure natural gas line. We will be testing it to 300 psi. It must=
=20
be welded with OxyAcetylene (gas welding). If the welder burns through the=20
pipe, the gas pressure will blow out the torch which operates at around 35ps=
i=20
oxygen/5 psi acetylene. If he used any other process, all which would emplo=
y an=20
electric arc; the gas would ignite and you would read about me in the paper=20
the next day! We are talking about schedule 80 pipe, almost =C2=BD=E2=80=
=9D thick. Hardly =E2=80=9C
thin sheet steel=E2=80=9D. Most ironworkers doing structural steel these da=
ys use=20
Flux Core Arc Welding; a form of MIG (an outdated term for Gas Metal Arc=20
Welding). They use flux core because it is faster than stick (Shielded Meta=
l Arc=20
Welding), and you can weld in windy conditions, unlike MIG. TIG (an outdate=
d=20
term for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) or Heli-Arc (even older term for the same=
=20
process) is the slowest process, and requires the most skill. Pipe welders=20=
still=20
use TIG for their root pass. It is the most precise and uniform process, an=
d=20
you can weld any commercially available metal. It is very similar to gas=20
welding; instead of a gas flame, a tungsten electrode produces an electric a=
rc,=20
and filler metal is added much the same as gas welding. I don=E2=80=99t thi=
nk you ever=20
saw the set up we had at the shop for this. I used it for aluminum sometime=
s,=20
and I welded the spirals around the tapered poles on the Gaslamp Quarter sig=
n=20
with it. I bet this is way more than you wanted to know, but if it isn=E2=
=80=99t,=20
just ask!"
.......................................................................
Vince, don't get me wrong... I'm not trying to "dis" you here... but in the=20
essence of passing along good and informed information to this list, I felt=20=
it=20
was prudent to pass this along to the list. I have always respected your=20
opinion, and acknowledge that you have a wide range of knowledge on many top=
ics=20
relating to craftsmanship, tools, and pottery... but in this instance, I hav=
e to=20
respectfully side with my brother's expertise on this issue... and share the=
=20
knowledge with the list. Keep up the discussions like these however, because=
=20
that is how well all learn together! :-)
Best regards,
- Ken
P.S. - If someone from this list recently responded to me about the "license=
=20
plate" thread, I accidentally deleted it in my spam folder and never got to=20
read the message. Please send it again if you'd like me to see it. Thanks. (=
Hate=20
it when that happens!)
Kenneth J. Nowicki
Port Washington, NY
RakuArtist@aol.com
Charter Member, Potters Council
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