History

• William Murdock made the breakthrough leading to the modern process of pipe welding. In 1815 he invented a coal burning lamp system and wanted to make it available to all of London. Using barrels from discarded muskets he formed a continuous pipe delivering the coal gas to the lamps. In 1824 James Russell patented a method for making metal tubes that was fast and inexpensive. He joined the ends of flat iron pieces together to make a tube then welded the joints with heat. In 1825 Comelius Whitehouse developed the "butt-weld" process, the basis for modern pipe making.

Developments

• Whitehouse's method was improved upon in 1911 by John Moon. His technique allowed manufacturers to create continuous streams of pipe. He built machinery that employed his technique and many manufacturing plants adopted it. Then the need arose for seamless metal pipes. Seamless pipe was initially formed by drilling a hole through the center of a cylinder. However, it was difficult to drill holes with the precision needed to ensure uniformity in wall thickness. An 1888 improvement allowed for greater efficiency by casting the billet around a fire-proof brick core. After cooling, the brick was removed, leaving a hole in the middle.