Vintage work crew photos

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Originally Posted by mklotz

I've seen tweezers with bone or ivory tips that were used to handle weights because of the fear of steel tweezers scratching them.

I was amazed by the vernier weight rig on some analytical balances. Basically, it consisted of a light chain - one end attached to the weight pan arm, the other to a small drum that could be rotated by a shaft that projected outside the glass case. Turning the shaft caused more or less chain to hang from the balance; a calibrated dial on the drum showed the amount of weight added to the scale arm.

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Wow! That's a long way to go but accuracy is essential.

Welding and grinding wires. Westinghouse Electric Corporation. 1956.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...s_fullsize.jpg

https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...ding_wires.jpg

I don’t see OSHA in the picture?
Must be lurking somewhere!

2452

Back when women were women and the men weren't.

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Originally Posted by old_toolmaker

I don’t see OSHA in the picture?
Must be lurking somewhere!

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photo 1956, OSHA 1971

Quote:

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Originally Posted by old_toolmaker

I don’t see OSHA in the picture?
Must be lurking somewhere!

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Shades of the future; two merely observing in hardhats. Those working instead of posing in fedora's and ball caps......
As to when women and men had clear identity, the pic label is confusing.
That looks a lot more like a steam turbine (ie 'low pressure') then any motor armature, no?

The description on the photo says, "Low pressure spindle lash wires being welded and ground". Never had a steam turbine apart. Are there wires that hold the blades in position?

Long, narrow (large diameter) vanes make it seem almost a requirement for reinforcement, like struts in a biplane. At those tremendous RPM's, flex in both directions nearly assured.

I think they're prepping for the outer ring you can see on the smaller blades between them.

I agree it's the low pressure section of a multi-stage (H.P.(I.P.?)L.P.) steam turbine of it era, in the 1960's/70's 500 MW sets I worked on that's smaller than the I.P. section. The pressure/temperature differences would be interesting to know, ours were HP inlet 165 bar / 541°C , IP inlet 40 bar / 541°C and 3 x LP in parallel acting as 1 turbine with residual pressure from IP outlet entering and below atmospheric pressure (vacuum) at the condensed exit. The LP sections final blade set were large enough in diameter that the root was travelling below the speed of sound and the tips above. Failure to 'bar' (continuing to turn the shaft using an electric motor via a reduction gearbox) would lead to differential cooling and a bent turbine shaft, we even had a 'ride the tool post' lathe big enough to machine the LP sections.