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Letter from the Publisher: ± 0.1°F – The Debate

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's February 2023 Air & Atmosphere Furnace Systems  print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

When dealing with temperatures in excess of 1000°F, one would think that a ±0.1°F variation would not be a big deal. Apparently, not!

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As of the most recent AMS2750 standard, 1/10th of a degree Fahrenheit matters — and if your process recorders are not recording temperatures down to 1/10th of a degree, you are out of compliance.

This is a big deal and a real hardship for many in the Heat Treat Today audience.

At the most recent Nadcap meeting held in Pittsburgh this last October, I had the chance to discuss this most recent stringent requirement with some of the people who were responsible for putting it in the standard. Even after talking to them, I’m not sure I fully understand why it is we went in this direction, and I’m not alone.

The Background

"the new AMS2750 standard requires accuracy to 1/10th of degree."
Source: Heat Treat Today

Here’s a very short explanation of how we got here. Both Revision D and E of AMS2750 required compliance temperatures to be ±2°F or ±1.1°C (“or ±0.2%” was added in Revision E). That pesky “.1” in ±1.1°C appears to be the source of this most current “situation.” The folks using °C were recording temperatures down to 1/10th of a degree, while the folks using °F — which was not a small number of people — were
not. So, the standards committee needed to make a decision on what to do about this discrepancy. The options were to round up or down or to the nearest integer for both °F and °C people OR require EVERYONE to record their temperatures down to 1/10th of a degree. After surveying end-users, the committee decided that end-users wanted to be required to record the 1/10th of a degree rather than round it up or down to the nearest integer. Thus, the new AMS2750 standard requires accuracy to 1/10th of a degree.

Thoughts

  1. Even as I type it, it doesn’t make sense. Why would end-users want to record temperatures down to 1/10th of a degree? If you’re at 1750°F, a full 1°F amounts to only 0.05% of your total temperature. It is inconceivable that 1% makes that much of a difference in nearly 100% of all standard heat treat processes. In those very few processes where temperature tolerances ARE required to be that tight, SAE’s AMEC committee could have come up with a separate standard.
  2. Most temperature recorders and reporting devices don’t currently allow for the display of anything to the right of the decimal, especially above temperatures at or above 1000°F. That’s because no instrumentation company in the history of heat treating ever anticipated that end-users would want to know, much less be required to record, anything to the right of the decimal.
  3. Even if recorders and other instruments were capable of displaying 1/10th of a degree readings, most temperature sensing devices are  nowhere near that accurate. Special case T/Cs can do it in certain situations, but by and large, thermocouples are calibrated to ±2°F or higher. How much sense does it make to worry about recording 1/10th of a degree accuracy from a thermocouple (and wire) that is rated at ±2°F or ±5°F.
  4. Let’s pretend for a minute that our thermocouples could accurately and consistently record temperatures down to 1/10th of a degree. The question that really needs to be asked is: Just because we CAN do it, does that mean we SHOULD do it? As stated earlier, for that vast majority of heat treatment processes a full degree of temperature variance won’t typically make a difference.

As some of the people I’ve talked to about this situation have readily admitted, well-intended quality committees such SAE’s AMEC committee, who have inadvertently started this little kerfuffle, are not perfect. This would be a case in point. The men and women who make up the heat treat industry’s quality systems are excellent people: highly detailed and well-motivated. But, as all of us are, they are prone to over-do the things they’re good at. In this case, that’s deciding to take it down to 1/10th of a degree when rounding to the next closest integer probably would have done the trick.

Postscript: I’m open to your responses to this column, positive or negative. And, assuming there is no foul language or threats of physical violence (!), we would be glad to publish your comments. Please let us know what you think: htt@heattreattoday.com

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Letter from the Publisher: Beaver, Pennsylvania & Dusseldorf, Germany

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today’s December 2022 Medical and Energy Heat Treat Issue print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

It’s roughly noon on November 8, 2022, and I’m sitting outside Starbucks in downtown Beaver, Pennsylvania, about 40 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh, enjoying an unseasonably mid-70s, pure blue sky day. I live another 40 minutes away near New Castle, PA, but I’m here in Beaver to see the newest Glenn grandchild and stopped at Starbucks to buy a triple-shot decaf espresso – the mid-afternoon drink of choice for my wife — which the barista’s have affectionately dubbed “Why Bother.” (Think about it . . . three shots of DECAF espresso. Why bother?)

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There’s plenty of human activity here in downtown Beaver. People walking and talking. Many conversations and warm greetings — handholding, smiling, kids with parents, cars passing, movement and activity everywhere.

This moment in Beaver reminds me of the Altstadt in Dusseldorf, Germany in June of any given year. Aldstadt, which means “old town,” is the hub of activity in the evening after each of the five days of Thermprocess, the world’s largest heat treating trade show held every four years at the Messe (fairgrounds) in Dusseldorf, Germany. In fact, walking and eating dinner in the Aldstadt is one of the highlights of participating in Thermprocess.

If you’ve never heard of Thermprocess and you’re involved in the heat treating industry, you need to know about it. It is one of four co-located metals trade shows held in mid-June every four years in Dusseldorf. It is an event to behold, and one highly recommended by the author of this column. In addition to Thermprocess, there is GIFA (a foundry event), NEWCAST (a casting event), and METEC (a metallurgical event). All-in-all, over 70,000 visitors and over 2,000 exhibitors flood the Messe every four years.

Düsseldorf, Germany
Source: Unsplash.com

In 2023, Thermprocess is being held from June 12-16, and I would like to personally invite you to join me in Dusseldorf. As the largest heat treat event in the Western world (and arguably, the ENTIRE world), Thermprocess offers North American participants an opportunity to expand their view of what is happening in the heat treating/thermal processing world. And a broader perspective is exactly what we need. For those of you who have ever attended one of the larger manufacturing events here in North America, IMTS for example, Thermprocess and her three sister shows are MUCH bigger and better.

The Messe, where the event is located, is easily twice to three times the size of McCormick Place in Chicago, where IMTS is located. It would easily take you 20 minutes to walk from one end of the Messe to the other. During the full week it is open, the Messe is packed with metals-related exhibits and activities. It is not humanly possible to see all that is available to be seen.

Heat Treat Today is encouraging North American heat treat suppliers who market internationally to exhibit. We are putting together a group of like-minded North American exhibitors to join us. Assuming we get enough companies to join us, we will exhibit close to one another and share resources to make it more affordable for all concerned. We’ll share things like food & beverage, interpreters (if needed), and meeting rooms. By the way, unlike many North American shows, it is not unusual for people to actually strike deals and sign contracts at Thermprocess.

If you’re not a heat treat industry supplier, we encourage you, as a consumer of heat treat products, services, or supplies, to attend the event. The technology that you will see will be eye-opening. Please let us know if we can be helpful getting you to Dusseldorf in June 2023.

 

 

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Letter from the Publisher: Top 10 Energy Truths Worth Remembering

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's November 2022 Vacuum Heat Treat Systems print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

Immediate credit for the content of this column goes to Mark Mills, author of The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and a Roaring 2020s, and podcast host of The Last Optimist, the source for most of the below content — see episode #20, “Congress & the ‘Groundbreaking’ Energy Spending Act: Top 10 Truths to Keep in Mind.”

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Heat Treat Today interviewed Mr. Mills not long ago. If you’d like to listen to, watch, or read that interview, go to our website and search for “Mark Mills” or Bing/Google search for “Heat Treat Radio #73 Mark Mills.”

Here are some interesting thoughts from The Last Optimist podcast, episode #20.

  1. Energy transformations are slow. In the last 20 years, the Western world has spent over $5 trillion to avoid using hydrocarbons, but reduced the percentage share by only 2%, from 86% to 84%. Remarkably, the burning of wood, today, provides 500% more energy to the world than all the world’s solar panels combined. Burning wood will most likely not change in the near future; in fact, more wood is burned today than 20 years ago.
  2. Economic growth always produces more demand for energy. Wealthy economies use 500–5,000% more energy per capita than poor economies. Ironically, wealthy economies use energy more efficiently than poor economies but consume vastly more. Implication: the wealthier we become the MORE energy we will consume.
  3. The shale revolution (mostly happening in America) is the world’s biggest energy revolution. From 2005-2020, the amount of energy provided from shale was TWICE the amount of energy produced from wind and solar arrays combined. This is the largest increase in energy supply in the history of the world, anytime, anywhere. The next closest “revolution” was the Saudi oil fields, but the shale fields have produced nearly DOUBLE the amount of energy.
  4. Green energy is NOT carbon free. According to a study done by Volkswagen, the first 60,000 to 70,000 miles of driving a diesel-powered Volkswagen emits less CO2 than driving an electric vehicle. Its only AFTER that many miles that the vehicle is a net saver of CO2.
  5. Energy tech cannot emulate the digital tech performance curve. The exceptionally high reductions in cost of computers and other digital technologies have been unprecedented in world history. Unfortunately, those who claim that green energy developments will see the same drastic reduction in costs are misled and ignore, at their own peril, the physics of energy conversion and transmission. That’s not to say there won’t be significant improvements in energy technology – in fact, there have already been and will continue to be vast improvements, but not to the scale of information/digital technology.
  6. The energy transition hardware radically increases the demand for physical minerals and thus mining. The need for green energy minerals, the materials needed to build green energy materials like solar panels, electric vehicles, and wind farms, is 1,000% higher than building similar hydrocarbon-based hardware. In other words, the push for green energy will require a drastic increase in the need for minerals, requiring mining, which is currently a carbon intensive .
  7. Energy transition policies — as currently presented — will cause prices to rise. This point ties in directly to point #6. If you increase the demand for materials, such as copper, cobalt, nickel, silicon, aluminum, and lithium, the price of these materials will increase precipitously and will therefore impact the price of all goods that use those materials. The energy sector is a minor user of these materials now, but if demand increase hundredfold, the energy sector will become a major user and will invariably push prices northward.

  8. Scan QR code to listen to The Last Optimist podcast.

    Green energy isn’t cheap. Every country who has thus far embraced, even in part, some sort of green energy has experienced a 200%–500% increase in consumer energy costs.

  9. China is the OPEC of green energy minerals. It’s not so much that the mining of these minerals and rare-earth materials is done in China (some is but not all), but a huge majority of these minerals are refined in China. They are truly dominant. China’s share of mineral refining is more than double OPEC’s share of the world’s petroleum market.
  10. Markets and consumer want reliable AND cheap energy. The most radical transition in society over the past century has been the percentage of time that mankind has had to invest in acquiring food and fuel. For most of human history, roughly 60-80% of all human exertion was spent acquiring food and fuel for existence. Today, thanks primarily to the discovery and utilization of hydrocarbons, that number is more in the range of 15%. One measure of an economy’s prosperity is the amount of time designated to getting food and fuel. The lower that percentage, the more prosperous a society. It has never been lower than today.

The 30-minute podcast from which this information comes is well worth a listen.

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Letter from the Publisher: Who Is Kathy Pisano?

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's August 2022 Automotive print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

Many of us have worked in organizations where someone behind the scenes is an outstanding worker, never seeks the limelight, is always willing to help, is always cheerful, and is just simply a nice person. In my 30-some year work history, that person is Kathy Pisano.

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If you were fortunate enough to do business with Heat Treat Today's competitor, Industrial Heating, anytime between 1989 through the first quarter of 2022, you likely had the great privilege of dealing with Kathy. If so, you know what a pleasure she was to work with — the epitome of politeness and helpfulness. My favorite saying about Kathy is, “Look in the dictionary under ‘customer service excellence’ and you’ll see Kathy’s picture.” To this day, I hold Kathy Pisano as the gold standard of customer service, thoughtful salesmanship, and being a genuinely nice person.

Just recently, I learned that Kathy left Industrial Heating after over 35 years of dedicated and excellent service to both BNP Media, the company that owns Industrial Heating, and the heat treating industry. She left without fanfare, which may be the way she would have liked it, but far be it for me to allow Kathy to leave this industry without just a small amount of recognition — not nearly what she deserves, but at least a little bit!

Kathy Pisano: end of front row on right with the "Industrial Heating" team circa 2010-2014

Kathy and I worked together for 20 years, from 1994 until just shy of 2014 when I left BNP Media. Kathy was already working at Industrial Heating when I was hired to be their associate publisher in January of 1994. I was new to the publishing industry and Kathy, along with several others from the Industrial Heating team at that time, were exceptionally kind and patient. They helped me to learn the ropes. I vividly remember making some significant mistakes (one of them having to do with the printing of an industry map which turned out terribly), yet still I was embraced as part of the team by the likes of Kathy.

Before 1994, Kathy was hired to be the personal secretary to Chuck McClelland, the owner of Industrial Heating. In 1988 or 1989, Mr. McClelland sold Industrial Heating to Jim Henderson, the owner of Business News Publishing Company (now BNP Media). Dave Lurie, Jim Henderson’s right-hand person, quickly noticed Kathy’s potential for sales and moved her into an inside sales position.

That was a life-changing and fortunate move. Kathy found her niche and she continued in that same position until just months ago.

Kathy Pisano

Kathy grew up on Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had the work ethic of a Pittsburgh steelworker: tough as nails, always diligent, always pushing forward even in the face of adversity. She is a glass-half-full type of person. The late Kelvin Spain from Radyne used to say something with which Kathy would agree — “If times are tough, we just have to work a little harder to get the business.” There was no moaning or complaining about tough times — only forward-looking hopefulness.

As with so many behind-the-scenes workers, Kathy’s impact on the heat treat industry can’t be measured. She has helped a huge number of companies promote themselves to the readers of Industrial Heating. Her kindness and helpfulness made countless lives more enjoyable and easier. And she had a wonderful time doing it.

For all of you who have known a Kathy in your lifetime, you know how important and undervalued Kathys are. I want you all to know that Kathy Pisano, although perhaps not a name you know, is one of those people. She’s made the North American heat treat market a better place and has enriched the lives of all the people with whom she’s communicated — especially mine.

Thank you, Kathy! Not only are we going to miss the fudge you brought to trade shows, but we’re also going to miss YOU! Here’s to many, many more “diamond days.”

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Letter From the Publisher: Keto & Carbon

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in the Heat Treat Buyers Guide print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

In the world of dieting and food, it is pretty much commonly accepted that today’s diet or medical advice will be proven wrong tomorrow. For example, it used to be that coffee was good for you; then it became bad for you; then good again. The Atkins Diet, heavy on protein and light on carbs and fats, was once considered the best way to lose weight — today, not so much.

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Just this week, I was visiting with a heat treat industry legend in Brighton, Michigan. He and his wife own a building in downtown Brighton where their son runs a successful microbrewery business. On the wall near the bar area, there is an old, 1900s-vintage newspaper advertisement for a miracle elixir that was purported to cure any ill. The ingredients in the elixir were ingredients that one would be arrested for possessing in today’s world — think cocaine, etc. — and are known to be poisonous today. But back in the day when the ad for this elixir was published, the contents were widely accepted as a miracle cure for many ailments.

The point being that yesterday’s “truth” quite frequently is shown to be untrue over time.

Enter the “carbon” debate.

This last week I also attended three trade shows: AISTech in Pittsburgh, Fastener Fair USA, and Rapid+TCT (both in Detroit). Especially at AISTech, but also at the other two events, the discussion of carbon neutrality and green technologies was rampant. It is safe to say that carbon is today’s bad boy element. According to the prevailing science of the day, carbon is the source of many of our societal problems. Carbon dioxide (the stuff we exhale until we die) is considered to be the single most dangerous compound in the universe — one that will be responsible for the extinction of man if it goes unchecked.

What if we’re wrong about carbon in the same way that we’ve been wrong about a myriad of other things? What if carbon really is good? What if increased levels of carbon dioxide result in more vegetation growth (because green things LOVE carbon dioxide), resulting in a natural stabilization of the environment? What if we fi nd out that our concern about the badness of carbon has been misguided? What if we fi nd out that we’re actually doing more harm to the earth by minimizing the amount of carbon dioxide?

I know it sounds crazy, but if we can learn anything from history, it is this: We are often wrong about those things that we feel so strongly about and those things we once thought were right are wrong, and those things we once thought were wrong are right.

Based on history, approaching the carbon problem with a degree of humility and caution seems appropriate. Much like the Keto Diet has recently been all the rage but may well be yesterday’s diet fad, we should also remember, although on a much longer timeframe, that carbon and carbon dioxide may one day be our friend.

It could happen!

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Letter From the Publisher: Energy Supply Is Not the Problem

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's May 2022 Induction Heat Treating print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

With the war in Ukraine, the availability of energy resources has taken centerstage. Readily available energy is nowhere more important than in the heat treat industry where roughly 80% of the processes being performed are still carbon based. Granted, over the past several decades there has been a slow and steady move away from oil and gas to electric-based heating processes — especially with advances in both vacuum and induction technologies — but the vast majority of heat treat processes are still fueled by natural gas.

Heat Treat Today's regular energy/combustion columnist, John Clarke, often has interesting and insightful things to say about the heat treat industry’s energy needs and consumption. I recommend his column to you on page 8. Here are a few less technical thoughts about our current energy situation.

Technology Is a Problem

Mark Mills, from the Manhattan Institute, is one of the most articulate and informed individuals I know whenit comes to energy. Mark and I met in 2017 in Düsseldorf, Germany, at the International Thermprocess Summit where he was a keynote speaker. You’ll be hearing and seeing more from Mark in future issues of Heat Treat Today. Mark says a lot of things that make sense when it comes to energy. One point that resonated with me is his assertion that we do not have an energy shortage problem; we have a technology problem. His point is this: We have essentially an endless supply of energy, especially if we’re able to derive energy from the hydrogen found in water, which is abundant. But even if not from water, there is an abundance of energy under, on, and above the earth that could keep the world warm, clean, and productive for thousands of years into the future. The issue is not the presence of those energy resources; the issue is developing technologies to extract those energy sources in an affordable and socially acceptable way.

Take for example the recent shale gas revolution. That energy resource has always been there — even back in the 1970s when most people believed that there was only so much oil in the world, and we would soon run out and all freeze to death. Because of technology advances, we are now able to extract that resource and the future has never looked brighter for an abundant supply of clean, inexpensive energy.

Imagine what will happen when we figure out how to tap the heat from the center of the earth or burn the hydrogen
straight out of water. Seems unthinkable today, but who in the 1970s would have predicted that we could drill down, take a 90-degree turn and drill horizontally? With advances in technology, we’ll have more energy than we need.

Geopolitics Is a Problem

Getting oil and gas from anywhere on the globe is physically possible and relatively affordable. The challenge is not finding the energy, extracting the energy, or transporting the energy. The obstacle is the presence of free markets, open markets, or unrestricted trade among world players — a geopolitical issue. We’re not importing oil from Russia because they’ve invaded Ukraine — a geopolitical problem. Others in the world are not buying liquified natural gas from the United States because the political bent in the U.S. right now is leaning heavily “green,” which significantly restricts the amount of gas U.S. companies can extract — a geopolitical problem.

Bottom line, adequate energy resources are NOT the issue. The real issue lies with other impediments — technology and geopolitical concerns to name just two. We live in an energy-rich world, so be encouraged North American heat treater.
All we need to do now is remove all the other obstacles.

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Letter from the Publisher: Cryptocurrency In Your Future

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's March 2022 Aerospace Heat Treating print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

What does cryptocurrency (crypto) have to do with the heat treating industry? Within the past two weeks, I spoke with two suppliers in our industry who are making equipment to help cool crypto mining equipment, both of whom are diverting a portion of their manufacturing capacity to fulfill crypto demand. To that extent, the crypto craze is affecting the North American heat treat market in some capacity. So, let’s talk about cryptocurrencies because it’s a hot topic — and we deal with heat in this industry!

The question I’d like to mull over publicly is whether crypto has what it takes to be legitimate money.

Money — a widely accepted medium of exchange — has the following characteristics:

  • It is relatively scarce.
  • It is easily divisible.
  • It is easily portable.
  • It is durable.
  • It is uniform/fungible.
  • It is widely recognized/accepted.

I suggest we add one more characteristic to this list: It needs to be understandable.

Crypto’s Success or Failure

Something becomes money when people come to recognize it as a commonly accepted item which maintains its value over time. It is something widely and commonly valued and nearly everyone will accept it in exchange for another item or service. There must be a “perceived value” — both today and in the future.

This is where crypto has a few hurdles to clear before it can become real money. While there is a relatively small (but growing) number of people currently using cryptocurrencies, it is certainly far from being widely accepted, primarily because it is not widely understood — and some would say it is not understandable.

Source: Aliaksandr Marko/Adobe Stock

For example: Where does it come from? How is it made? Who makes it? Where is it kept? How do I trade it for other goods and services? What am I trading? Why is it valuable? Where do I keep it? What does it look like? Can I withdraw it and keep some at home? Can I carry it around? Can I see, touch, and feel it? Does it still exist if the electricity goes out? If it fell in the woods when no one was around, would it make a noise?

If cryptocurrencies are going to succeed in becoming money, they are going to have to be understandable to the common man. The common man is going to have to “believe” in it. They’re going to have to understand what it is, where it comes from, why it is valuable, and why it will continue to be valuable into his/her retirement years and beyond.

The Good of Crypto — Limited Supply

Cryptocurrencies do have (purportedly!) one thing going for them that our current currency lacks — limited supply. If the claim is true that there is a limited supply of cryptocurrency, then that is a clear and very important advantage it has over the U.S. dollar, because it can be endlessly printed if those in charge so desire. There is nothing physically stopping the Federal Reserve Banking System — those in charge of the currency — from printing and printing and printing. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, if we are to believe those in charge of their creation, have a limited supply (at least some of them). At least that’s what we’ve been told.

The reason the U.S. dollar is in such trouble now is because those in charge of the currency in the past have created way too many dollars. It’s just paper (or credit) and there is essentially NO LIMIT to how many dollars can be created. When too many dollars are created, the value of each dollar shrinks and the money itself becomes less and less valuable because it can buy fewer and fewer items. If crypto is going to succeed, the supply is going to have to be understandably and believably finite. Unfortunately, it’s not obvious to the common man that this is the case.

Beyond Governments

Money will come into existence without the help of government. Cryptocurrencies are a great reminder of that economic fact! Individuals, acting freely, will sooner or later settle on a widely accepted medium of exchange which is relatively scarce, divisible, portable, durable, uniform/fungible, widely recognizable/accepted, and understandable. If governments step in and make any currency, crypto or otherwise, “legal tender” or insist that only they can create money (what has historically been called “monopoly of the mint”), then I suggest we run from that money. Free people acting freely will settle on the best medium of exchange without government help. Whether or  not crypto will be that next medium of exchange remains to be seen.

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Letter from the Publisher: The Upside of Failure

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's February 2022 Air and Atmosphere print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

I failed my Ham Radio Technicians test today. It was publicly humiliating and embarrassing.

It wasn’t that public — there were only four test takers and three proctors — but it was genuinely embarrassing and humiliating. I was ashamed. It is remarkable the impact this minor life failure has had on my mind and emotions all day!

The experience set me thinking about the upside of failing — the silver linings that are worth mentioning and might be helpful to someone reading.

Empathy

For those who have not failed frequently, it is important to remember that others experience it more frequently and that it is not fun. Failing isn’t enjoyable and when someone fails, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that it hurts emotionally, psychologically, mentally, and sometimes physically and financially. Depending on the failure, the pain can be intense and long-lasting or minor and transient. Nonetheless, it hurts, embarrasses, humiliates, and often brings shame.

A good, solid failure now and again reminders us of this fact and helps us be more empathetic.

Reality

Secondly, a good failure will remind us that life doesn’t always go as planned. It reminds us that we are not in control. Just as importantly, it reminds us that others’ lives don’t always go the way that they’ve planned. Failures happens to everyone — no exceptions.

Most of us have experienced relative ease. Our lives have been mostly successful with few failures. It is a reality unique to 20th- and 21st-century America that so many people have been so successful for so long — what Francis Schaeffer refers to as “personal peace and prosperity” in his classic video series and book How Should We Then Live? (available on YouTube). We should thank God for that, but failure is a reality, and we should not be surprised when we fail or when others fail. Best to remember that none of us are in control of our lives.

Initiative 

Thirdly, people don’t tend to run toward situations where failure is probable. We tend to hightail it in the opposite direction. There is, however, a certain goodness in failing, especially when that failure comes from trying new things, stepping into new territory, or purposefully pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones. In one sense, if we’re not failing, we’re not really trying. We’re coasting — and hopefully none of us are comfortable with coasting.

In the early days as the publisher of Industrial Heating magazine, back in the early 1990s, the CEO of BNP Media at that time, Jim Henderson, sent out a memo with a simple and impactful message. The memo — yes, a memo, not an email — essentially said (my paraphrase), “We’re not failing enough.” His point was simple — if we’re not failing, then we’re not trying new things and we need to be trying new things.

Failing can be painful, but there is no better indicator of initiative than failure. As Babe Ruth said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” Keep swinging!

Forgiveness

This last thought is a bit “Christian,” so if you’re not comfortable with some Christian talk, abandon ship now. (Not encouraging it; just giving fair warning!) There were three gentlemen administering the Ham Radio test that I failed today. It was striking to me how uncomfortable I felt when the three of them were openly grading the 35-question exam. I was surprised at how uncomfortable it was to have them judging my work and knowing that these three men were going to render a verdict on my performance. I was actually squirming in my chair — both figuratively and literally!

As a struggling Christian, my thoughts quickly turned to how much more uncomfortable it would be if there were Three other Persons (think “Trinity”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) evaluating my performance. In a small yet powerful way, it was one of the most tangible examples of the Judgment we’ll all experience . . . and, boy, am I super thankful for forgiveness. I can’t imagine having to answer for all my life failures before God without the reality of God’s forgiveness.

Our failures are forgivable, for which I’m extremely thankful.

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Letter from the Publisher: Supply Chain of Thankfulness — No Shortages Here

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's December 2021 Medical and Energy print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

It’s December. Another year is mostly in the rearview mirror — unbelievable! Second only to COVID-19, America’s embattled supply chain has been top-of-mind for pretty much everyone in the North American heat treat industry. Just yesterday, a frantic heat treater called me asking where he could get a certain type of quench fluid necessary for aluminum processing. His go-to supplier ran out and he was in dire need of enough fluid to completely refill his rather large quench tank. It’s not good when the shelves are bare at the industrial grocery store.

The supply chain troubles will most likely not end soon. After shuttering the economy for nearly a year, we should not be surprised.

Nevertheless, as 2021 winds down, there is MUCH for which we should be thankful.

Thankful for Ancestors Who Fought to Defend Freedom

You’re reading this in December; I’m writing in mid-November, just prior to the oft-forgotten holiday of Thanksgiving. In fact, just yesterday was Veterans Day here in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada — a time to remember and give thanks for the sacrifices made by men and women who fought to defend their and our freedom. When we stop and think about all the freedoms that we continue to have because of their sacrifice, we should be immensely thankful. Beyond being thankful, I hope many of us will be as brave as them and continue the fight to keep us free from internal and external enemies . . . of which there are many.

Most of the time, defending freedom doesn’t look like war or armed combat. Most of the time, it simply involves saying “no” to the little intrusions that well-intended civil authorities attempt to press on us. It’s not a popular position to hold in 21st century America, but our Founding Fathers, who had a much better sense of the latent evil in ALL men, had a healthy skepticism about those in authority. Get this… they understood that ALL men were sinners (evil by nature) and would tend to use any power granted to them for their own good and at the expense of others. I’m thankful for people who still think like our ancestors and are willing to sacrifice so much for our freedoms.

Thankful for Colleagues and Industry Friends

I’m also very thankful for colleagues and friends in the North American heat treat industry who make being in this industry so enjoyable. There are a lot of very good people in this industry. As I tell many newbies, “There are just a lot of very nice people in this industry. You’ll fit right in!” There are countless numbers of you who invest time and energy into helping others. One of my favorites is Mike Shay. Mike is no longer active in the industry, but for years, he worked for Hauck Manufacturing and was also a fully invested Scout leader. Mike spent untold hours helping young boys mature into thoughtful, freedom-loving men. Mike is just ONE example. There are MANY more.

Although supply chain issues will undoubtedly continue, the one supply chain that will never run dry is the supply chain of thankfulness. Thank you for being a Heat Treat Today reader. And thank you for the time you invest helping others enjoy their time in this great industry. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! The Heat Treat Today team wishes (and prays) for a good and prosperous 2022 for each of you.

 

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Letter from the Publisher: Inflation & Rising Prices – Not the Same Things

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Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year, and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today's November 2021 Vacuum Heat Treating print edition.

Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today

“Inflation” is in the news, and it could have a significant impact on the heat treat industry. What is it? Why is it suddenly a problem? How might it impact the heat treat industry? Below are simple answers in layman’s language, but if you want to dig deeper into inflation, let me STRONGLY recommend two books by the late Dr. Hans Sennholz (1922–2007): Age of Inflation (1979, paperbacks selling on Amazon for more than $600.00! – I guess I’m keeping my copy under lock and key!) and Money and Freedom (1985, available free in PDF format found here).

What Is Inflation?

Simply stated, it is an increase in the amount of money in the economy – period. When you “inflate” a balloon, you increase the amount of air inside the balloon. In the same way, monetary inflation is the increase in the amount of money inside the economy. Properly understood, inflation is NOT rising prices; however, rising prices CAN be, and often are, one effect of inflation. The media and much of the general public, including our governing officials, often use “inflation” and “rising prices” synonymously. They are NOT the same thing, and it helps to know the difference if you’re going to have an intelligent conversation with anyone about the topic. Short answer: Inflation is an increase in the amount of money in the economy – period.

Why Is It Suddenly a Problem?

The short answer to that question is also simple. Take a look at the chart which shows two different measures of the amount of money in the economy – M1 and M2. There is no need to define M1 and M2 for the purposes of this column, but suffice it to say that both measure the amount of money in the economy and that M1 is part of M2. Look at the far right-hand side of the chart. See anything unusual?

In 2020, the curves headed for the stars. Notice that the chart starts in 1959. We have NEVER seen this type of inflation (an increase in the money supply) since 1959 and, based on my knowledge, NEVER before in the history of this country. While a general rise in all prices is NOT inflation, one of the main effects of inflation is a general rise in all prices. Not all prices will rise at the same time or at the same rate, but if the money supply is increased (inflation) then there is more money per item to be purchased and over time, people will bid up the price of all goods and services.

Short answer: Rising prices (which is what the media mean when they say inflation”) are suddenly a problem because we are inflating the money supply at an enormous rate never seen in the history of this country; and since there is more money per item to be purchased, it is INEVITABLE that prices will rise.

This economic law is inexorable and unchangeable – much like the law of gravity. At the rate we’re inflating (increasing the money supply) we WILL have rising prices.

How Will Inflation Impact the Heat Treat Industry?

There’s nothing special about the heat treat industry when it comes to inflation (an increase in the money supply) and rising prices (one effect of inflation). Just like every other industry and every other household, manufacturers with their own in-house heat treat departments WILL be hit with increasing prices for nearly all goods and services. These rising prices are the result of the increase in the supply of money in our economy (inflation). There is no predicting how it will hit or how quickly prices will rise or when price increases will stabilize, if ever. But what we can say with certainty is that one cause for rising prices is inflation and we are inflating at rates never seen in the history of this country.

Hans Sennholz’s books, mentioned in the first paragraph of this column, are excellent resources for understanding inflation and the reasons why our rulers, both Republican and Democrat, do not have the courage to stop increasing the money supply. Our Founding Fathers warned us about what they called “fiat” money – paper money not backed by silver or gold. The U.S. Constitution clearly states that only gold and silver should be money, NOT paper (ref: Art.1, Sec. 10, Clause 1). Nonetheless, there have been supposedly “wiser” men who felt that paper money would be a better option. So here we are, inflating at unprecedented rates and bracing ourselves for what could be a very interesting ride.

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