Welding/History

History

Welding has been around in some form or another ever since people realized that metal could be useful. One of the oldest methods of welding was actually forging. A metal ore would be retrieved by mining, smelted in a hot fire, collected into a large quantity of almost pure metal, and hammered into shape by using different fire techniques. Different methods of kindling, stocking and airing a fire could control the heat that it would produce. For example, to forge a sword a fire would need to heat the metal (likely copper or bronze), to a red-orange glow. Eventually, mixed metals (alloys) were used for higher strength and a range of new uses.