Bethlehem Steel out-of-vacuum electron beam weld trial (Westinghouse, mid-1970s)

When Tom worked at Bethlehem Steel in the mid-1970s, he flew to Pittsburgh / Westinghouse research where a single-pass out-of-vacuum EB weld was made in 3/4-inch steel. Used as historical anchor for the "it has been done" point about out-of-vacuum EB.

There was this guy in the 1980s — actually started in the 1960s, I can't remember his name — but he came from Germany, and he had made a career out of out-of-vacuum electron beam. He got hired by a company in Connecticut, they started selling these machines, and they sold some manager at Ford on them. I talked to one of the guys who was the manager at the plant who had to keep these things operating, and if you just mentioned out-of-vacuum electron beam, he would pull out a knife wanting to kill anyone in the area. It was the biggest headache in the world to maintain. They don't use them anymore. But it has been done. When I worked at Bethlehem Steel in the mid-1970s, I flew to Pittsburgh, to Westinghouse research, and this guy made a weld for us — one pass in three-quarter-inch steel. There are other problems with it.