Your November/December article (Women who weld, p. 26) reminded me of a friend to whom I lent my oxy-acetylene torch so that he could weld his grandmother's garden tractor. During the repair, he was struggling to make things stick together.

His grandmother walked up and told him he needed to get things cleaner and use a larger torch tip. She asked, "Why don't you let me try?" Well, she left about a perfect looking weld. Seems she spent WWII welding engine mounts at Glen L. Martins.

Mark Arnold, engineer U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity Ft. Detrick, Frederick, Md.