Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020118
Description
Black-enamelled metal dental spot welder; sloping front features round black plastic dial over white circle with black numbers, similar to rotary telephone dial, on right; dial has white paper label printed with black ink and covered with clear plastic at centre; black and silver face showing diffe…
Black-enamelled metal dental spot welder; sloping front features round black plastic dial over white circle with black numbers, similar to rotary telephone dial, on right; dial has white paper label printed with black ink and covered with clear plastic at centre; black and silver face showing different heat levels with black plastic knob on left; silver metal switch on left; two wrist rests, flat circles on metal supports, at front; three round jacks at bottom centre of unit; silver metal attachment coming upward at centre with perpendicular brown metal pointed electrode; electrode forms a right angle with an upper pointed electrode, attached perpendicular to another silver metal attachment coming out from top; adjustable clear magnifying glass with black metal border at top of unit via silver metal attachment; black rubber electrical cord comes out of back of unit and ends with black plastic and brown metal plug and small green rubber wire
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Dr Ralph and Mrs Olga Crawford donated their extensive Canadian dental collection to the DCF to create the museum in 1997; further donations were received while Dr Crawford was Curator Emeritus at the Dental Canada Museum until its closure in 2008; this item was donated by Dr. Paul Hargadon from Ottawa, Ontario; manufacturer's pamphlet is 010.020.119; the Dial-A-Weld timing mechanism was exclusive to Rocky Mountain machines, and was developed in 1948-9; this model was furnished with a foot pedal and a hand soldering unit; spot welding involved placing the metals to be joined in-between two electrodes, through which a current travels; the concentration of current in the metals causes them to melt in small spots, after which they are pushed together to become one; the welder was also used for soldering and annealing; the Rocky Mountain Metal Products Co. was founded in 1933 by Dr. Archie Brusse; the company quickly became a leader in orthodontics and exists today as Rocky Mountain Orthodontics