Finding Aids

Frederick William Wood (1857-1943) was an executive and engineer in the steel and shipbuilding industries. His papers constitute a major source on the history of the American steel industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The papers are primarily official records of the various companies with which Wood was associated.

Lukenweld, Inc. was the first U.S. commercial shop to cut and fabricate shapes from steel plate by arc welding. The records are files of Robert C. Sahlin (1896-1967), a member of Lukenweld's sales staff. Sahlin's files record his dealings with Lukenweld's customers and his other activities as a salesman. Most Lukenweld orders were custom work, fabricating individual machine parts, so there was frequent interplay between sales and engineering staff.