Convairiety, Volume 3, Number 1, January 4, 1950 Page: 4 of 8
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Convair/General Dynamics Newsletters and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.
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Page 4 CONVAI I~dETY
January 4, 1950
WASHED AND DRIED-The packaging of highly-tooled spare parts at Convair FW is an object A DOUBLE DIP-Robert Remsey (FW Dept. 20-3) dips two
lesson in cleanliness. On some parts, such as bearings, even traces of fingerprints must be removed hands full of spare parts into a preservative tank prior to the parts
before the parts are packaged. Cleaning of this nature is done in tanks of naphtha. After cleaning, being sent to Air Force bases where B-36 maintenance is carried on.
parts are then completely dried under reflecting floodlights, as pictured. Marvin Woodward (Dept. Handled by the spare parts shipping section, preservation of spare
20-3) checks to see if all are dry. parts can lead to extensive work-such as when a quick-change
engine, weighing about one-half of one ton, is required to be placed
Parts For B-36 P ckid nto an air-tight bag, along with dehydrating agent.Carefully as Diamonds
Rugged as the B-36 is once it's completed, some of
the parts which go into it receive much gentler care than
the most expensive diamond in the hands of a jeweler.Nowhere is this painstaking
care more evident than in the
spare parts shipping section
(20-3) at Convair FW where
thousands of spare parts for the
B-36 are preserved and wrapped
daily for shipment to Air Force
bases for B-36 maintenance.
There, Convair workers are
regularly called upon to wrap
items so that they can be handled
in stockrooms for as much as
20 years. And the wrappings are
expected to remain airtight dur-
ing that entire time!
The care used in handling
some parts, such as highly-
polished bearings, goes to such
extremes as removing every
trace of fingerprint before the
part is wrapped.
On the other hand, many
larger items which have pre-
viously been coated with green
primer, are merely packed in
wooden crates without additional
preservatives being used.
A big function of the section
(20-3) is seeing that each spare
part sent out is properly pre-
served. Tanks containing a va-
riety of preservatives line one
side of the section at the extreme
south end of the plant.A number of heavy parts, prin-
cipally made of magnesium or
steel, are dipped in the heaviest
solution, which ex-GI's would
recognize as the tar-like cosmo-
line used as a preservative on
some rifle issues. This material,
once applied to a part, forms a
hard, thick layer of grease nearly
impossible to remove.
Another tank contains "light
oil," which compares closely to
heavy lubricating oil. A wide
number of rivets, washers, bolts
and other parts are dipped in this
particular preservative.
Finest preservative used is
process 576. Reduced to com-
mon terms, this is nothing
other than fish oil of about the
same consistency as cod liver
oil-and of about the same
odor.
In this vat goes the fine bear-
ings, oil coolers, and other high-
ly-tooled parts.
Once dipped in preservatives,
the parts are allowed to hang on
racks until excess oil has dripped
off.
Wrapping is a matter of "de-
grees" too, all according to speci-
fications. For example, someA FAMILY AFFAIR-When the Ragans do anything, it's as a
family unit, and that includes going to work, too. Recently, C. A.
Ragan and his two sons, Theron and Adolphus, pictured left to
right above, reported to work at Convair FW. They were assigned
to Dept. 46. Immediately before coming, to Convair, the three
owned and operated a service station in Greenville. According to
the father, it has always been that way. Except for time the two
sons spent in the army, the three have worked together on the same
jobs for the past 17 years. They are pictured checking in on their
first day of work at Convair.RAPID WRAPPERS-A beehive of activity at Convair FW is
the spare parts shipping section which handles all preserving and
wrapping of B-36 spare parts sent from the FW division. Some of
these spares are packaged in such a manner that they will still be
intact and ready for use 20 years from now. A more simple pack-
aging merely calls for wrapping in waterproof and acid-proof paper.
It is this latter method which Lester Martin, at left, and. E. D. Spain
(Dept. 20-3) are using in the above picture.parts are simply wrapped in
heavy red paper that is com-
pletely acid and water proof. Oil
used as a preserving material
can never soak through this wrap-
per.
Other parts, of a more delicate
nature, are sealed into metal-foil
bags which are completely air-
tight when sealed with a hot iron.
A variation of this process is
used on parts that can be dam-
aged by the small amount of
moisture contained in the air in-
side of the bag. When they are
sealed, the bags contain a de-
hydrating agent that absorbs all
moisture in the air.
Also sealed in with the parts
are small portions of indicator.
Blue when completely dry, these
Convair Women Give
Aid in Auto Crash
J. D. Goodman, Convair FW,
Dept. 50, wants to know the
names of two Convair women
who came to his aid after an
automobile accident, Dec. 12.
Goodman was driving on Grant's
Lane when his car collided with
another driven by a job applicant.
The two women, on their way
to work, helped Goodman to the
dispensary where he was treated
for head cuts. "I was toogroggy
at the time to find out who they
were, but I want to know so I
can thank them personally for
their helpfulness," he said.indicators turn pink when they
are subjected to the slightest bit
of moisture. Parts packed by
this process are normally inspect-ed at intervals to determine if
the seal is still intact.
The fourth process used for
sealing parts consists of wrap-
pingrthem in heavily-waxed
paper, then dipping all into
hot wax to further seal the
package.
Any number of intermediate
functions are performed at the
section from the time they re-
ceive the parts until they are
sent out. Some parts are cleaned
in naphtha, then completely dried
u n d e r reflecting floodlights.
Parts are packed in appropriate
containers and tagged for ship-
ment. Some are even packed
with felt material which absorbs
all shocks and jars.
Size has no influence on what
goes to the section. Probably the
smallest piece handled is a lock
washer, about 178 of one inch in
diameter. Likewise, quick-change
engines, weighing about one-half
a ton, are frequently sealed in
air-tight bags for shipment to
distant points.
All told, it requires nearly 60
people to keep spare parts ship-
ping section functioning smooth-
ly. Their department, located in
the extreme southeast corner of
the assembly building, is so far
removed from the bulk of the
plant that many workers never
realize that it exists.CONVAIR CLASSROOM-A small segment of the 230 class
members group around a jet engine (Model J-47) for some extra
information from their instructor. The class members, from several
Convair FW departments as well as from Carswell Air Force Base,
are being taught the theory of jet engines at regular classes being
held at the plant. The model used for classroom work is a regular
jet engine. The group pictured above include, left to right, D. R.
Phillips, representative from General Electric who conducts the
class, M/Sgt. Clyde Youngblood, W. H. Barling, A. W. Gecmen,
C. W. Wirtanen, R. E. Powers, Ist Lt. R. L. English, and Capt.
K. L. Allen,Page 4
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General Dynamics Corporation. Convair Division. Convairiety, Volume 3, Number 1, January 4, 1950, periodical, January 4, 1950; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1023870/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.