In this classic drama, Paul Newman plays Luke, a defiant prisoner whose spirit cannot be broken by the system.
Luke escaped twice, and upon his return the second time, the benevolent (yes, really) warden says a line that's a close second to the near-immortal "what we have here is a failure to communicate" also from the same film.
The warden informs Luke "You run once, you get yourself a set of chains. You run twice, you're gonna get another set. Now, there ain't gonna be a third set, 'cause you're gonna get your mind right. And I mean right."
A few months ago, I blogged about getting bottles of contaminated argon shielding gas from a particular welding supply. Contaminated argon results in porous welds, which look ugly and have no strength.
Anyone who does enough welding at home will tell you that shielding gas bottles never run out on a weekday during business hours. Shielding gas bottles run out after-hours on the weekend.
I have two bottles, one of which was filled by a new supplier, and one filled by the welding supply business in question. The bottle filled by the new supplier was getting low, and I have a big welding project ahead this weekend. I decided to test out the other bottle just in case it turned out to be contaminated. This was the old supplier's last chance, 'cause he wasn't getting a third set of chains!
I hooked up the gas line to the questionable bottle, opened the valve, adjusted the regulator, lowered my helmet and started an arc over some clean scrap steel. The weld puddle acted like a volcano! Bubbles everywhere!
I'll probably still buy TIG filler rod and other items from the old supplier, as their selection is pretty good. When it comes to shielding gas, I'm done buying it there. That third set of chains just wasn't gonna happen.