An iron puddler (often merely puddler) was a worker in iron manufacturing who specialized in puddling, an improved process to convert pig iron into wrought iron with the use of a reverberatory furnace.

Working as a two-man crew, a puddler and helper could produce around 1.5 tons of iron in a 12-hour shift.[1] The strenuous labor, heat and fumes caused puddlers to have a short life expectancy, with most dying in their thirties.[2] Puddling was never automated because the puddler had to sense when the balls had "come to nature."[clarification needed]

James J. Davis, who was born in Tredegar, Wales, emigrated to the United States, where he later became a prominent figure in government, serving as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and as U.S. Secretary of Labor under three consecutive presidents. His book The Iron Puddler, describing his early experiences as a puddler, was ghostwritten by C. L. Edson.[3]

References

  1. ^ McNeil, Ian (1990). An Encyclopedia of the History of Technology. London: Routledge. p. 165. ISBN 0415147921.
  2. ^ Landes, David. S. (1969). The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge, New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. p. 218. ISBN 0-521-09418-6.
  3. ^ Bell, Jonathan Wesley (1976). The Kansas Art Reader. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas. p. 388. ISBN 0936352027.
Categories