We all groaned with boredom as Ben began his story about his days welding on a pipeline down in Texas. All too often we had heard tales about his welding experiences. But we soon realized that this time Ben had a point to make. He was saying that one of the pipeline welders wanted to cut some metal, but was too lazy to walk over and use a gas cutting torch. Instead, he jacked up the amps on his welding machine, held a long arc with the electrode, and cut the plate.
That was how the idea of using an arc-oxygen underwater cutting torch was born. All of us were sure it would help solve most of our dangerous cutting problems on the battleships.
DIVER'S INGENUITY
The torch was constructed using a one-inch globe valve with standard pipe threads. One end of the valve was fitted with a quarter-inch male oxygen fitting that was connected to an oxygen hose. The female end of the valve was reduced to a quarter-inch pipe. The electrode was a fourteen-inch length of quarter-inch seamless steel pipe, which was threaded on one end and screwed direcdy into the female end of the globe valve. A standard connecting lug for a electric welding cable was fastened to the side of the valve with silver braze, and the entire assembly was made watertight by wrapping with rubber tape.
To use the cutting torch, the diver opened the valve, allowing oxygen to flow through the electrode. He then gave the order 'Juice on." A topside tender threw a knife switch, sending six hundred amps of electricity flowing to the electrode. When the operator struck an arc, the torch cut through metal as though it were butter. Armor plate fourteen inches thick could be penetrated with the contraption.
