The Iron Age 1888-02-09: Vol 41

THE The Saunders Pipe-Cutting and Threading Machine. \ short time ago Messrs. D. Saunders’ Sons, of Yonkers, N. Y., brought out de- signs for a new pipe-cutting and threading machine, which embodies a number of | xovel and interesting features. The ar- rangemeuts for building the tool for the market having just been completed, we | take pleasure in presenting in this issue engravings which fully illustrate it. ~The machine is turned out for driving both by hand and by power, Fig. | on this page, showing it as adapted for the THURSDAY, FEBRUA ' 488 | the frame F, and the lower part of this is titted with one of the jaws 4 of the gripping | chuck already mentioned. The opposite inner vertical edges of the frame F form | guides for grooves in the upper chuck jaw |g’. This upper jaw is suspended from the lower extremity of ascrew which extends downward through the central space of a double nut. This nut is itself screwed into another nut provided in the boss at the top of the frame F. Into the inner thread of the double nut is screwed a screw bolt which may be turned as required by a hand ‘lever, shown in Fig. 8. A bearing is pro- vided for this screw bolt in the upper part of the cage D, and the whole arrangement hig 1.— Machine for Hand Driving Fig 2 RON AGE tances apart, are sockets for the receptions of sections, a, of a sectional nut. The inner surfaces of these nut sections are threaded to work in connection with the thread on the outside of the sleeve E. Each of the sections has attached to it a bolt which projects through a slot in a cam portion of a cam ring, J, shown in de- tail in Fig. 5. The heads of the bolts ride upon the outer surfaces of the cam portions, and the ring itself has sockets for the insertion of a lever, by means of which it may be revolved. When turned in one direction, the cam portions depress the nut-sections @ so that they mesh with the screw-thread of the sleeve E, and ri mH Co rr = & Vachine with Power Attachment NEW PIPE-CUTTING AND THREADING MACHINE, BUILT BY D. SAUNDERS’ SONS, YONKERS, N. Y former purpose, and Fig. 2 for the latter. There is another modification of it, how- ever, the legs of the hand machine being left off and the tool being arranged for fastening to a bench, though in all other respects the details of construction are as those shown in Fig. 1. Reference to Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 8 on the succeeding pages will enable a ready comprehension of some of the peculiarities of the design. Fig. 3 represents an end view and par- tial section of a power machine. The driving shaft A is supported by a racket and bearings in the two main standards of the machine. The inner sides of these standards have near their ipper edges horizontal guides B B, into which are fitted correspondingly shaped supports, C C, on the sides of the cage D. The latter carries a chuck and alsoa sleeve, E (Fig. 8), which is threaded externally it its forward end and receives the pipe to be cut off or threaded. At the inner sides of the cage Dare vertical guides which fit into corresponding grooves in the edges of {is such that by turning the screw bolt in one direction the frame F, and conse- quently the lower chuck jaw g, is lowered, while the upper jaw q’ is raised in the same ratio. By turning the bolt in the reverse direction reverse motions are, of course, secured, thus admitting of moving the gripping jaws to or from each other to clasp or release the work. It is obviously an important requirement that the axis be tween the jaws should accurately coincide with the axis of the threading or cutting tools, and in order that both jaws may be bodily raised or lowered for this adjust- ment, the double nut, to which we have already referred, is provided Turning this nut in either one direction or the other raises or lowers the frame F as may be re quired The sleeve E (Fig. 8) extends forward into another sleeve G, which is part of a face plate, as shown The rim of this face plate is cogged, transforming the latter practically into aspur-wheel. At the inne nd of the sleeve G ind at suitable dis enable the latter, together with the chuck connected with it, tobe moved inward or outward, as the case may be, by the rota tion in one direction or the other of the sleeve G—or, in other words, of the face- plate attached to this sleeve. The cam ring is kept from moving out. of place }toward the face-plate G by the adjacent edge of the journal H, and from moving out of place in the opposite direction by a collar, secured to the inner end of the sleeve G. The screw-threading mechanism is se cured to the face-plate, and the rotation ot the latter with its sleeve causes the nut sections a to feed the sleeve E inward The latter, as previously explained, carries the gripping jaws holding the work, which When the requisit length of the pipe has been duly threaded i reverse movement of the cam ring G causes the cams to lift the nut sections ut of contact with the thread of tl sleeve E, thereby permitting the sleeve ( ind its face-plate to revolve without is. thus fed along x 6 : 5 ther feeding the work. Motion is given to the face plate G and its sleeve from pinion, K, on the same shaft with a small bevel-wheel, which gears into a= similar bevel-wheel, K’, on the main shaft A (Figs 3 and &). The latter i: provided with a spur-wheel, L (Fw. 4), which vearTs into a spur-pinion, '’, on another shaft. This also is provided with a spur-wheel, M, which gears into a spur-pinion, M’, loose on the shaft A, and which, as represented in the cut, has the cone pulleys attached. The shaft carrying the wheels L’ and M is furnished with a longitudinal feather, engaging with a groove in the pinion L, so that when the latter is brought into gear with the wheel L motion will be transmit- ted from the one to the other. By sliding the wheel L’ along the feather, however, it may be thrown out of gear with L, allow- ing the latter to rotate independently. The shaft A and wheel M are furnished with a special clutch arrangement, so that they may either be locked together or permitted to move independently of each other. When they are locked together, motion is transmitted directly from the cone pul- leys (these being attached to the spur- wheel M’), to the shaft A, and from it through two bevel wheels, one of them marked K’', in Fig 8, to the face- plate G. The wheel L’ (Fig. 4) should, of | course, first be moved along its shaft so as to be out of gear with the wheel L. In this way a comparatively high velocity is civen to the face-plate G. When less | velocity and greater power are required | the shaft A and wheel M’ are disconnected, permitted the latter and the cone pulleys to run loose, and the pinion L’ is brought into gear with the spur-wheel L. Motion is then transmitted from the pinion M’ THE IRON AGE. Raa de teed to the spur-wheel M, thence through | the pinion L’ and spur-wheel L to the | shaft A, and thence to the bevel pinions mentioned above to the face-plate G. In order to retain the pinion L’ in its two dis- tinctive positions, a double reversible hook, S (Fig. 8), is provided. When the one | claw of this hook is swung over to the | shaft, carrying the pinions L’ and M, it passes on the inner side of the pinion L and keeps the latter in gear with the wheel L.. When the position of the hook is re- versed, the pinion L’ being first brought out of gear, the opposite end of the hook is brought on the outerside of the pinion, preventing it from coming back into gear. In order to move the sleeve E and the chuck which it carries forward and back rapidly and by hand, a rack is provided at the bottom of the cage D, and into this vears a toothed sector, the shaft of which is provided with an operating lever. The arrangement of the cutting-off fixt- ure is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The open- ing of the face plate G is counter-bored to receive a bushing, of which the internal diameter corresponds substantially with the diameter of the pipe to be severe d. In this way support for steadying the work is obtained The disk P which carries the cutting-off fixture is clamped on the face- plate G in the manner shown in Fig. 6. It is fitted with guides, Q Q, for a shde, R At one end of this slide is the cutter N, while at the other s 2 screw, by means of which the slide may be moved forward or backward s desired Pivoted upon the outer end the screw is a bar, U, its convenient attachment being secured by having ts inner end forked and placed astride of he small ratchet-wheel shown more clearly in Fig. 6. The bar U is passed through a slot in the face-plate G, and projects be vond the rear surface of the face-plate Pivoted to an adjacent portion f the frame of the machine is a swinging ever, T, under the back part of which isa hxed stud, preventing that end of the lever trom swinging downward, but freely ad- mitting of a reverse motion. The bar U ‘ s further provided with a pawl, p, engaging aa Fig. 3.—End Elevation. Fig. 4 Top View. NEW PIPE-CUTTING AND THREADING MACHINE, BUILT BY |! SAUN- DERS’ SONS, YONKERS, N.Y. this pawl has two flat surfaces, substan-| bottomed plunger. When the bottom of tially at right angles to each other. Be- | this plunger bears against the uppermost hind the pawl and secured to the bar U is| of the flat surfaces at the rear of the pawl, a cylindrical case, within which is placed ! the pressure tends to bring and retain the with the ratchet-wheel. The inner end of | a spiral spring, which pushes down a flat- February 9, 1888. pawl in gear with the ratchet-wheel. When the pawl is turned backward, however, so s to subject the other or lowermost of the jat surfaces to the action of the plunger, the pawl is held away out of gear with the ratchet-wheel. The pipe being placed in position, and the pawl p being placed in gear with the ratchet-wheel, the operation of the appara- tus is as follows: The face-plate G being rotated carries with it the disk P P and its attachments, the cutter N being revolved around the pipe to be severed. When, in the rotation of the face-plate, the rearmost end of the bar U is brought under the for- | ward end of the swinging lever T, the lat- ter acts as a stop and causes the lever U to be carried around, the screw in the slide R (Fig. 7) being the fulcrum. The pawl p consequently acts on the ratchet, which in turn imparts motion to the screw, feeding the slide and cutter N inward against ;ts work. When the bar U has been Fig. 6.—Edge View of Cutting-Off Plate. THE IRON AGE. thus enabling two men to work at the machine, though imple power is provided {to enable one man to thread or cut 4-inch pipe. The die holder may be very quickly removed and the cut-off substituted. I The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat. Professor De Volson Wood, of Steve ns, Institute, has contributed an interesting article on ‘* The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat ” to the Railrod d and Engii COTLUG Journal, It is now more than 40 years, says Profes sor Wood, since the work which is the equiv- alent of a given amount of heat was deter- mined by Joule, of England. The results of those experiments were by no means uni- form, but Joule, after a long series of ex- periments, and a patient and laborious dis- cussion of the results, in which he seemed 'to give more weight to the smaller than to those of the latter, the latter bene about of the mechanical equivalent But the interesting and nexper i dis covery was made that the specif it « water was vreater at 40° than a SO-. and that it appeared to be a minimum r the latter point. This was contrary to the law given by Regnault’s experiments, for, according to the latter, the pecih reat of water increases from the melting t of ice as the temperature nereases ind as this law Was used by Joule dru ing the equivalent m 60 the temperature near which his experiments were made, to its value at the temperature of ice-cold water, the resultant value would be somewhat less than the value found by direct experiment. The same remark ap plies to the value given by the committee of the British Association; hence, not only is 772 too small, but 774.1 is also too small. There are physical reasons for not using ‘the melting point of ice from yx h te kiq. 7.—Front View of ¢ utting-Off Plate NEW PIPE-CUTTING AND THRE swung clear of the forward end of the lever T, it is brought back to its original position by a spring, not shown in the engravings, attached to the plate P and pressing against the pawl. The latter is thus brought behind one or more of the succeeding ratchet teeth preparatory to a repetition of the operation just described. If, for any reason, the direction of motion of the face-plate G and the fixtures at- tached be reversed, the rear end of the bar U will strike the upper instead of the lower side of the forward end of the lever T, and the latter will then tilt to enable the bar U and its adjuncts to pass without affecting their position, and consequently without causing any action on the ratchet. The machine is capable of cutting off and threading pipe up to 4 inches diameter, admitting of the use of either solid or ad- justable expanding dies. The hand ma- chine is so arranged that the relative speeds of the crank and the large gear carrying the dies may readily be changed, thus giving to the operator whatever advantage of gearing may be necessary for the size of pipe being cut or threaded. This is done simply by changing the crank from one shaft to another, three such changes being provided for. Two cranks may also be used at the same time, one on each side, Fig, & Vertical Sectio f the M ADING MACHINE, BUILT BY D. SAUNDERS’ SONS, YONKERS, 2} the larger values, finally concluded that the heat energy necessary to raise the tem- perature of l pound of water 1° F. above the melting p int of ice was equivalent to 772 foot-pounds of work. This value has been universally adopted by the scientific world, although more recently it has been udmitted that this number is too small. In 1876 a committee of the British Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science reported to that body that the mean 60 of the best of Joule’s experiments gave 774.1 foot-pounds, but this number has not yet been used, at least to any extent. Still more recently, about 1880, Professor Rowland made a critical examination of the specific heat of water from about 40 F. to above 90° F., determining the value for each degree and the corresponding value of the mechanical equivalent. The investigation included the comparison of the air thermometer with the best mercur- ial thermometer, and a comparison of the mercurial thermometers used with the one used by Joule. The results of these ex- periments were published in the Proceed ings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1880. It is observed that when Jonle’s experiments were reduced to Row- land’s thermometer and for the latitude of Baltimore, they agree almost exactly with measure the degree of rise of tem true It is a critical point, and the wate t that point may be absorbing he preparatory to a change of state of aggregation The condition of maximum density is a much more desirable point of reference Water under the pressure of one at =phere has a maximum density at 4 O1 39.2° F. Omitting decimals, Rowland’s investigations gave 778 as le n ianical equivalent of heat at 39.2° F i rding to the mercurial thermometei 783 according to the air thermometer recent work on thermodynamt 1 have used 778, not merely because that was one of the values found by Row 1, but be cause it agrees fairly w vit esult found by other means, and so because we may, when using that number, con sider the specific heat of water as constant without much error; whereas, if 783 were used, the variable specific heat ought to be taken into account. We also notice that Rowland found 778.4 for the equ ilent at the latitude of Baltimore for the «air the mometer when the temperatut fthe water was 60.8° F. We are contident that th lat number 772, will sooner or later be abandoned and a laroe r Value used, bec ause nearer ITeECt 5 } ~- “11 but it remains to be seen whether 778 will “ ns Stree, ele. aged enw > Jen a 7 ey i, I wee Oe * femme Pa - ene pe * ike PR oe a be adopted, It is apparent that for ac- curate scientific work the value used should be one determined in reference to the air thermometer, and for a particular degree of the scale, and all departures from uni- formity—such as a varible specific heat— be determines TTI Action of Sea Water Upon Cast Lron. The results of the long-continued im- mersion of cast iron in sea water are well known, and examples may be found in most of the books of reference. The most frequently cited instance-is perhaps that related by Berzelius of cannon balls which were raised at Carlscrona from a ship sunk for 50 years, and which had become con- verted through one-third of their mass into a porous graphitic substance, which be- came’strongly heated when exposed to the air tor a quarter of an hour. Mr. Carter Napier Draper, writing on the subject in the Chemical News, Says: The chemical change which cast iron undergoes under these circumstances is usually stated to consist in the removal of the greater part of the iron, the residue consisting of graphite and a graphitic sub- stance, FeCs. I have recently been in- debted to the kindness of Mr. John P. Griffith, C.E., of the Dublin Port and Docks Board, for a specimen of gray cast iron which was broken from an old rail taken from a graving slip in the port of Dublin, and believed to have been laid in 1833. The rail was at about half tide level, and it may be therefore assumed _that it was for 25 years immersed in sea water, and for a like period exposed to the action of the atmosphere. The fragment of iron weighed 557.31 grms., and meas- ured 85 by 52 mm., with a depth of 20 mm. On its lateral surfaces it was slightly incrusted with sesquioxide. The upper surface for a depth of 7 mm. had been con- verted into a brown-gray graphitoidal sub- stance, which was without difficulty re- moved with a knife, leaving the surface of the iron bright and free from any adherent coating During the operation of remov- ing the easily pulverulent layer, the mass if iron became hot, not hot enough to cause inconvenience in handling, but hot enough to enable it to be very sensibly varm to the touch after the lapse of half an hour The quantity of altered cast iron thus removed weighed 67.59 grams, and was examined with the following results: It wus wholly attracted by the magnet. Treated with dilute hydrochloric acid it evolved hydrogen, giving a pale green solution of ferrous chloride and a residue of graphite. The carbon was determined by the method of Weyl. The finely powdered substance, with excess of strong hydrochloric acid, was placed in a platinum dish, connected with the positive element of two Smee cells, while a platinum wire terminal from the negative dipped into the liquid. After 24 hours the contents of the dish were transferred to a filter, washed, dried and weighed; 2.66 grams of sub- stance gave a carbon residue weighing 0.631 gram = 23.6 per cent. of carbon. By the reaction with free iodine abundant evidence of the presence of unoxidized iron (doubtless existing as FeC;) was ob- tained ~ ————— In connection with the widely circulated reports to the effect that grave defects had been discovered in the steel intended to be used in the construction of the crmser Charleston at San Francisco, it is proper to explain that in the course of adjusting four of the steel deck beams it be- cume necessary to bend them slightly in i horizontal direction at right angles to the xis. when to the surprise of the super line ustructor fractures appeared the flanves which had been punched THE IRON, AGE _February 9, 1888 with helen, £ xperiment ‘de natn the impression is that a high shaialies is fact that in every direction except that | likely to upset as a high load of hay, and from which a normal stress was applied |it takes a considerable time and som: the same weakness manifested itself; but | deductive reasoning to realize fully that on applying a load greatly in excess of the the vertical inequalitie s and _ horizontal! requirements vertically from the top—that | deviations from a straight line which is, in the direction the beams were in-|load of hay is expected to traverse bea: tended to be loaded—no appearance of | somewhat the same relation to those of weakness or disposition to fracture mani- railroad that high mountains do to the fested itself, and but for the application of | gentle undulations of prairie country, and a strain such as could only occur in the | therefore that an elevation of the center ot case of a ship aground, or under other ab-| gravity which would be disastrous to » normal circumstances, these beams would | load of hay may be quite safe for a loco have been regarded, and rightly, as being | motive on a railroad. Mr. Wootten had fully up to the requirements. Test pieces | the courage of his convictions, and elevated cut from the damaged beams at the Union | the centers of the boilers of his locomotives Iron Works complied with the rigid terms | 7 feet 8 inches above the tops of the rails. of the contract in every particular, corres-| The experience with electric-light en- ponding with reports received from the | gines during the past few years has indi inspection officers at the rolling mills| cated what may be done with high- “speed where the beams were manufactured. engines, and in the light of that experience it may be that wheels of smaller diameters | than 54 feet might be used, and the requi | site speed be “obtained by running th —— pistons at higher veloc ities than is the How big will locomotives be in 50 years | present practice with locomotives. This from now ? is a question which the Fai/-| would permit the boilers to be lowered and road and Engineering Journal discusses as | the size of cylinders to be reduced, and, follows: | consequently, the reciprocating parts and D. K. Clarke's ‘* Recent Practice of the | wheels would all be smaller and lighter Locomotive” contains an engraving of a| This reduction in weight could then hx Mason locomotive which was built about | put into the boiler, which is the source of 30 years ago. It had 15 x 22-inch cylin-| all power. ders, 54-foot wheels, and a grate 44 feet It therefore seems quite probable that long and 3 feet 14 inches wide, giving a\ the size and capacity of locomotives wil! grate area of 144 square feet. This engine | continue to increase, although it is likely) weighed about 55,000 or 56,000 pounds, | that there will be some modifications of the and had about 800 square feet of heating | present forms of construction which will surface. Passenger engines recently built | permit of the use of larger fire-boxes, and have from 1500 to 1600 square feet, so|of lowering those parts whose elevation that it may be said that within 30 years the | with a changed construction will not be size and weight of passenger engines have | essential. There are some sanguine people been nearly or quite doubled. Will this | who also predict that the speed of locomo- rate of increase continue, and in the year | tives will also be doubled in the shadowy 1918 will there be passenger engines run- | future, into which none of us can see very ning which weigh 200,000 pounds and | far. Past experience has not shown an over? There can be no doubt that the | increase in speed corresponding with that discoveries which made steel rails and steel | of the weight and capacity of locomotives tires possible gave a great stimulus to the |The reason is not diffic ult to find, The increase in weight of rolling stock. Be- | capacity of a locomotive—that is, the load sides this, the weight of rails on main line | it can pull at a given speed—is propor- roads has recently been increased. Witha)}tionate to its weight—that is, an engine rail weighing 56 pounds per yard the max- | twice as heavy will pull a train of double imum lpad per wheel which was safe and | the weight. There is a physical law which economical was about 10,000 pounds, | unfortunately prevents the fulfillment of With 72-pound steel rails loads of 15,000 | the predictions of the sanguine prophets of and 16,000 pounds per wheel are not un- | speed—that is, that the resistance of trains usual, The speed of locomotives, how-| increases as the square of the velocity- ever, has not been increased in the same | probably at even a higher ratio at high proportion as their weight. Thirty years | velocities; and what adds to the difficulty ago 50 and 60 miles per hour was not an/is that when the amount of work is thus uncommon maximum speed. Now 60 and | increased it must be done. in less time. 70 is about as high as we get on any of our | Thus at 60 miles an hour the resistance is lines. The weight of trains has probably | roughly twice as great as it is at 40 miles, grown as much as that of locomotives, and | and the work must be done in two-thirds perhaps will continue to increase. Sup-|of the time. This law stands in the way posing, then, that the problem was pre- | of an increase in speed beyond limits which sented to-day of making a passenger loco- | are soon reached in practical service. motive of double the weight and capacity of the largest now in use. That would mean an engine of somewhat over 200,000 At the recent meeting of the American pounds i in weight, with a grate surface of | Society of Civil Engineers, the committee 55 to 60 square feet, and a boiler with 3000 | on uniform standard time reported that square feet of heating surface, and cylin- | the 24-hour system is making satisfactory ders 27 or 28 inches diameter. Boilers progress. It has been adopted on 2600 5 feet in diameter are now not uncommon; | miles of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and 74 feet diameter would give about twice | will gradually be extended over the whole the sectional area. An_ eight-wheeled | of that system; it has also been adopted American engine, weighing 100,000| on sections of the Canadian Government pounds, would have about 17,000 pounds | railways and other lines on this continent. on each wheel. Double this weight, or| on some European lines, and in Japan. 34,000 pounds per wheel, would be enor- mous, and would require a very great increase in the weight of rails, and even The Zalinski dynamite gun has attracted then it would be very doubtful if it could be | much attention abroad as well as in this carried without crushing both the tires and | country, and has been the subject of much the rails. By distributing this load on six | discussion among foreign naval authorities. or eight wheels the load per wheel would | The first actual order from Europe, we be 22,666 or 17,000 pounds, which is well believe, is one from the Italian Govern within possible limits. ment, which is for a gun capable of throw The experience of the last few years has ing a projectile weighing 600 pounds. shown that the hight of the center of This is to be used for experimental pur- gravity is not a matter of so great impor- | poses; if successful, a number of the guns tance as was formerly supposed. The first will probably be ordered. I Locomotives of the Future. ~ —E_ $$ ——! ebraary 9, 1888. Randall’s Fuse Lighter. We illustrate in the annexed cut a iple device, the utility of which will be »preciated by those who are familiar with he practical details of mining operations. it is intended to hold the end of a fuse in place so that it will be sure to be ignited. it consists of a single piece of tin plate, bent so that the ends form uprights 1} inches high. The base is 1 inch square. On the open sides a small piece of tin plate is left, which turns up about } inch Randalls Fuse Lighter. enough to hold in place a bit of candle inserted to light the fuse. Holes are made in the uprights for the fuse to pass through, one of the holes being circular and the other having three points project- ing into it to hold the fuse tight. The advantage of such an arrangement over the ordinary methods of placing a candle and arranging the fuse is obvious. The claim is that it saves a great deal of the miner’s valuable time, as well as making it almost impossible for the shot to miss. The manu- facturers are Randall & Porter, 159 Wash- ington street, Chicago, Ill. em - Raising Fire-Boxes Above the Frames. The demand for increased grate area for locomotive fire-boxes, says the Nutiona/ Cur and Locomotive Builder, has within | the last few years led to a great extension of the practice of raising the foundation ring | of the fire-box above the frames, so that the whole width between the driving wheels might be utilized for extending the tire-box. This form of construction had obtained wide application for anthracite coal-burning locomotives years ago; but it was not till quite recently that the arrange- ment became recognized as entirely applic- able to bituminous coal-burning engines. There was long an impression among those who were regarded as authority on matters pertaining to combustion in locomotive tire-boxes that the shallow fire-box inher- | ent to the practice of raising the grate above the frames was not adapted to burn | coal containing volatile gases in large | quantities. They maintained that the gases | released from bituminous coal needed con- | siderable space where admixture with the | oxygen of the air could be completed be- fore they passed into the tubes, and that the shallow fire-box did not provide this space ?| hence the gases would pass away uncon- | sumed. Undeterred by this plausible theory, some radical designer tried the shallow fire-box for soft coal, and it worked so successfully that this form of construc- tion is rising rapidly into favor. The Chicago, Alton and St. Louis mogul locomotives are reported to be as econo- mical freight engines as ever were run in the West, and a considerable share of the saving in coal is said to result from the ample grate area permissible through the grates being placed above the frames. This | is also a notable feature in the Chicago, | individual shops being separated by public HI IRON AGI Burlington and Quin mogul for passer eer service, The rst soit coal locomotive that we remember seeing with the fire-box above the frames was a croup of moguls bu by the Schenec tady Locomotive Works for the Fall Brook Coal Company. Mr. Foster, master mechanic of the road, was so en thusiastic in his praises of these engines, that he doubtless influenced others to try them. We have found no road using en- gines with the grates above the frames where the arrangement is not giving entire satisfaction, and that indicates that the change will make rapid headway upon the locomotives of the future. a Ladle for Running Lead Joints. London Engineering illustrated and de- scribed, a short time ago, a combined melting pot and ladle for running lead joints in cast-iron pipes. From the pub lished illustrations we have prepared the annexed engraving, which represents a verticle section of the ladle and, at the same time, shows it mounted on a stool which is made to fit the pipe, thus simpli fying the operation of casting. It will be noticed that at the bottom of the ladle is a valve of cast iron fitted with an asbestos face and operated by a vertical rod and pivoted lever. The latter is nor mally locked by a wedge, W, to keep the valve on its seat. When a joint is to be run the pot is placed over it, and the valve is raised. The hot metal immediately flows past the valve into the joint, the light scum remaining on the surface, and the heavy dross, if there be any, lying in the bottom of the pot below the valve seat. For double joints, as in running collars on to two spigot ends, two valves are placed in the ladle at the proper dis- tance apart for the two joints, and are r strect and 1 ‘ tnem ig at iderable a I rom T mM n The Baldw \ have n sma cinnings. built up bv far the largo ness of the + ( the world —_— Steel for Welded Pipe and Boiler Tubes,* KY HOMAS J. BRAY ‘For a number of years past exper ments have been made with steel as a mate rial for the manufacture of welded pip: and boiler tubes, but with varying ind unsatisfactory results. The*writer having made many professional attempts to sub stitute steel for iron, and being familia with the failures of others in that dire: tion, he was therefore ready to raise the stereotyped objections to the use of that metal for welded tubing whenever thi subject would be brought to his notic Early in the spring of 1887 the owners o} the Riverside Iron Works, of Whee W. Va., decided to build and ypera tube works for the purpose of utilizing, the manufacture of iron pipe, the product of their rolling mill and forge plant, whic had then laid idle for about three years b reason of the substitution of steel f in the manufacture of nails. ‘* During the progress of the construction of the tube works the general manager ot the company, Mr. Frank J. Hearne, dis cussed with the writer the possibilities of steel as a material for pipe-making, the writer using the following objections to its use: ‘*** It won't do, for I have tried it renest edly and failed. It won’t stand the amount of heat required to weld it. It cannot threaded satisfactorily, as it is very d structive to the threading tools. [t is entirely too irregular in its character J i om | r | o# | t LADLE FOR RUNNING LEAD JOINTS raised together or s« parately In case an explosion is feared from a damp joint, the handle may be lengthened by a piece of pipe, and the operator stand at a safe dis- tance. The ladles are made by the Glen- field Company, Kilmarnock, in twelve | sizes, varying in capacity, for single ladles from } ewt. to 3 cwt., and for double |ladles from 1 ewt. to 4 ewt. Their ad- vantages are manifest to all, and cannot fail to recommend them. a The Baldwin Locomotive Works, at Philadelphia, have recently completed their 9000th engine. Such an enormous output from works is highly creditable to any firm, and is especially remarkable when it is borne in mind that the works were not originally laid out for building modern locomotives, and that they labor under some consequent disadvantages, the ‘These objections did not even strik Mr. Hearne as being serious or insurmount able, for he then stated that he was su that they could be overcome, and he b lieved he could furnish a grade of stee! skelp that would not have the above faults to any appreciable degree. It was then decided that when the tube works would be in full operation making iron pipe, to put the matter to a practical demonstra tion, ‘* Toward the latter part of August abx thirty tons of steel were made and rolled into skelp and delivered at the tube worl as a trial lot, to be made into pipe. It was not necessary to brand or mark this material in any way, for the veriest tyro could distinguish it from iron, either in the strip, skelp or pipe, by its clean, > | smooth and fine appearance. The welders at the furnaces said, at the outset, that it *A paper read before the Engineers’ Society of Western Petnsylvania, Pittsburgh, January 17 oF” ras Kea Sit . aa eh is a a ee >, Cig has A glee een genie a mn of todt~IE 7 Adee te a BOR A SE ee would not do; that it would not stand tire; and by reason of their prejudices against steel they subjected it to abuse by severe overheating; yet, strange to say, every piece of that lot made a sound, saleable pipe, the welders remarking that ‘it was the best material to weld they had ever handled.’ It was threaded and finished with the same success as it was welde: Of course we all thought that this was a ‘fancy lot’ ora ‘happy hit,’ the writer reporting that it was just the material for the purpose, and far ahead of iron in every particular. ‘Soon after this several lots of 100 tons each were made, and a record kept of the loss in the furnaces, crop ends, leakers, &c., which proved to be so very favorable to the use of steel for pipe-making that the com- pany decided to manufacture steel pipe exclusively, and to abandon the use of their forge and iron-making plant alto- gether. ‘Since the first introduction of River- side steel tubing thousands of tons have been made and sold with great satistaction to the users thereof, and we are advised by parties in the East that they are using our standard steel pipe for hydraulic purposes at a pressure of 1000 pounds per square inch with success. The steel is made in a Bessemer converter, the chemical analysis Iam unable to give correctly at present; but regarding its physical properties can unhesitatingly say that it is the smoothest, | toughest and kindest material to work with and to weld into pipe that has ever | been tried or used by the writer. It is made at the Riverside Steel Works by Mr. | E. L. Wiles, a graduate of Stevens Insti- tute of Technology. ‘‘The accompanying samples, cut from | ordinary Riverside steel pipe, clearly show the character of the material in the cold | and hot states. The cold samples were flattened under a steam hammer. The washer was made out of a piece of 4-inch steel pipe, 1finches long, by a blacksmith, by turning one edge of the pipe inward and flanging it on the other edge, then flattening it out into a washer, as shown. The two goblets were made out of 22-inch and 4-inch pipe respectively, necked down and welded to form a leg or stem, then flanged out for foot and mouth. This was done to show the amount of punishment the material can stand in a heated con- ditior ‘*Please notice the butt-welded samples particularly. It is well known that very little pressure is exerted on the edges of the same in making butt-welded pipe, hence the weld is not a very strgng one usually. There is considerable loss in iron butt-weld pipe by its splitting in the weld on being tested to the regulation pressure of 3000 pounds per square inch. With steel pipe this loss is reduced to less than 1 per cent. by reason of the superior welding qualitic s of this steel over iron. I inclose with the samples a few crop ends. These show plainly how little is lost on each end with steel, and how well and kindly it welds. So flattering have been the reports from the users of this pipe that we can unhesitatingly pronounce it a merchantable Messrs. A. R. Whitney & Co., of this city, to whom we are indebted for a copy or tl ibove paper, also vive us the follow- ing extracts from a letter of Mr. Frederick R. Williams, Chemist to the General Manager of the Riverside Iron Works: ‘It would seem that the steel being homogeneous in structure and free from flaws and minute interstices and uniform in its compositiom should be less readily acted upon than wrought iron with its tibrous structure, and less homogeneous character. Furthermore, tests have been dissolved by the action of dilute sulphuric THE IRON AGE. and nitric acids than were either wrought iron plate or common cast iron. In a series of experiments at Terre Noire extend- ing over three years it was found that the corrosive effect of sea water was more than twice as great upon wrought-iron plates as upon soft steel. In regard to the steel sink in my laboratory, I can only say that it | has been in use four years and is apparently in good condition still. Into 1t are con- stantly pouring waters, sometimes acids, sometimes alkaline, and it has also to| endure the corrosive fumes which are com- monly prevalent in a laboratory during working hours.” I Drawbacks on Imported Wire Rods. A tirm of barb-wire manufacturers have addressed the following letter to Hon. Roger Q. Mills, chairman of the Ways and | Means Committee of the House: ‘* We} are exporters of barb wire, manufactured from imported wire rods and spelter. In its sale we are brought into direct compe- tition with manufacturers in Germany and | England—and labor under many compara- tive disalvantages—such as cost of ocean freight on material inland, freight from New York to factory and return to New| York, higher rate of wages, higher freights from New York than from Hamburg or London, to consuming countries, eft cetera, | In addition to these we have to lose 10 per cent. of duty paid on materials. We would therefore ask you to incorporate in the proposed new tariff bill a provision that on exported articles made entirely from ‘imported materials the entire amount of duty collected on such material shall be | refunded to the exporters. We do not instance other exported arti- cles than barb wire because not directly interested in them nor definitely conver- sant with their details: but we believe a like hardship is worked to all who make similar exportations. It is clear that the | retention by the. United States Govern- | ment of 10 per cent. of duty paid acts di- rectly for the protection of foreign labor and manufacturers—and that is constantly adding to a revenue and surplus which is already unnecessarily large. We are not petitioning protection, nor seeking sub- sidies, but only ask that ina severe compe- tition in the markets of the world our Government shall not impose a tax which provides a revenue that is not needed, which acts as an incubus on American labor and capital, and whose sole benefit inures to manufacturers in foreign lands. In such a conflict as we are engaged in, it is not unreasonable for us to ask a fair tield and no favor. rT A 10-wheel freight engine on the Bur- lington, Cedar Rapids and Northern has been equipped with a new valve motion, the Grimes valve gear, which will be sub jected to a series of tests at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is claimed that the results of working show an additional hauling ca- pacity of about 20 per cent., with a saving in fuel. It is also stated that the valves can be re-set very readily. No changes | are made in the valves or cylinders, and the mechanism used on each cylinder con- sists of one eccentric, a slide block with the eccentric rod attached midway to the strap, thus obtaining the combined hori- zontal and vertical motion necessary to give varying travel and cut-off. An offset rocker arm and a radius bar of the same length, and attached near the same points as the eccentric rod, is used to overcome the vertical motion of the frame in relation to the axle. February 9, 1882. | ceived of the safe arrival at Hong Kong |the torpedo boat lately built by the sam, firm for the Chinese Government. Thes |two voyages serve as an additional prov |of the thorough sea-going qualities vessels of this class. of A New Methods of Preparing Hydro. gen and Hydrogen Peroxide. According to Dingler’s Polytechnis Journal it has been observed by Williams that zinc dust gives off hydrogen whe heated. He obtained from 6.479 grams « zinc dust 37.5 c. em. hydrogen. Why 'the hydrogen was passed over ignited cupric oxide 0.0365 grams water were 0}, tained, of which only 0.0055 grams we: | contained in the zine dust employed. Th, experimenter formed the opinion that t! hydrogen was formed in the zinc dust }) \the decomposition of water, and subs: | quently experimental evidence was adduce by him to prove that this isthe case. Wi)! iams observed that zinc dust gave of! | particularly large quantities of hydroge: when it was previously moistened with: water and dried to constant weight 100° C. By this means 6.479 grams zin dust took up 0.1924 grams water, and th quantity of hydrogen evolved on ignitic: | was 89.4 c. cm. The observations of Williams were fiw ther developed by Schwarz (Beric/ | Deutsh Chem. Gesel), who devised a ve }convenient method for#preparing hydro | gen by means of zinc dust. This depend: |upon the mutual reaction between zin dust and calcium hydroxide, obtained }) moistening burnt lime with a little water sifting and drying at 100° C. On mode: ately heating a regular evolution of hydr gen occurs according to the followin equation: Zn + Ca (HO).= Zn O + | |O + He 20 grams of zinc dust, with 22. grams calcium hydroxide give 5200 c. cm dry hydrogen at 0° and 760 mm., corres ponding to 0.466 grams water. As, how ever, the mixture of zine dust and ca! cium hydroxide cannot be kept at any) | length of time, owing to the occurrence 0! the reaction at ordinary temperatures, tl: mixture cannot be utilized for militar purposes necessitating the rapid filling 0! | balloons. W. Massert and G. Richter hope, how ever, to overcome this defect by heatiuy | the calcium hydroxide to about 300° C. t expel all hydroscopic moisture before mix jing it with zinc dust. When treated i: | this way the mixture does not evolve hy | drogen even at 100° C., but only just | before a red heat is reached. Magnesium | hydroxide, calcium chloride, or the doub! | compound of calcium and magnesium chlor ides, sodium or potassium chlorides are sai‘ to give better results than calcium hydrox ide. The process given by Schoenbein for the preparation of hydrogen peroxide by th: |slow oxidation of metallic amalgams with water, acid and air has been technically em | ployed by S. Lustig in the manner di scribed under: Zine amalgam is shaken up with air and alcoholic solution of sulphuric acid pr pared by mixing 96 volumes of absolut: |alcohol with four volumes of dilute sul phuric acid (25 ¢). After shaking hal! an hour, 40 c. em. of the dilute are added for every liter of liquid present, to avoid the consumption of the acid, and the shak ing is continued for an equal time. Th: sulphates thus formed, which are almos' insoluble in alcohol, are allowed to settle, and separated completely by decantation and filtration. The liquid then contains * |to 3.4 grams of hydrogen peroxide per | liter. By distilling off the alcohol in vacuo The London Engineer records the safe | the liquid is concentrated and the hydro- made and recorded which showed that in| arrival at Guayaquil of a torpedo boat | gen peroxide obtained in aqueous solution. the cases under investigation both hard | lately completed by Messrs. Yarrow & Co. | The use of alcohol instead of water in this and soft Bessemer steel were more slowly | for the Republic of Ecuador, a distance of | process of oxidation is attended by the 10.670 miles. Advice has also been re- ' advantages--first, that the destruction of February 9, 1888. the hydrogen peroxide by the oxidizing body is prevented, a much higher concen- tration of hydrogen peroxide in the liquid being thus obtained; secondly, that the evaporation and concentration of the liquid is facilitated; thirdly, that most of the sults formed are insoluble in, and precipi- tated from, the alcohol, and, fourthly, that | similar consumption of materials is pos- sible ee Improved Bar Folder, The Niagara Stamping and Tool Com- pany, of Buffalo, N. Y., are putting on the market a‘new and improved modification of the well-known bar folder for sheet metal. The engraving which we annex will explain the principal features of the new aesign,. The gauge, it should be noted, has an open slide to which the g iuge-piece proper is attached. This slide moves in the ex- IMPROVED BAR FOLDER, BUILT BY THE IRON AGE. folders had the journals on the bar broken simply because the machine had no means of adjustment. To overcome this objec- tion, the frame of the machine is provided with two buttons upon which the set- screws of the shoes rest. These buttons are eccentrics or cams, and raise or lower, as desired, the shoes by turning them in either one or the other directions. The buttons are marked IC, IX, XX, so that, by turning the proper side up the clamp is properly adjusted for the thick- ness of tin to be folded. This part of the operation requires but a second or two to perform A Suggestions to Steel Workers. On Annealing.—Owmeg to the fact that the operations of rolling or hammering steel make it very hard, it is frequently necessary that the steel should be anneal d TAR ToR reiki Ge i Ki \ RG THE NIAGARA STAMPING AND TOOL COMPANY, BUFFALO, N. Y tension shown in the cut, and has a gib and set-screws for perfect adjustment. The gauge is operated by the usual side- screw with which it is connected by a link in a peculiar but positive manner. By this arrangement the makers claim to pro- duce a gauge that is absolutely cor- rect, and cannot fold an edge wider on one end than on the — other. The wedge for adjusting the wing for the folder bar has a rack cut into its body, engaged by a pinion, U. This pinion is operated by the same wrench that engages the wedge-screw marked 28. <A socket is formed on each side of the folder bar so that the handle can be used by either the right or left hand. <A bar folder, when used day long, is a very tiresome ma- chine to operate. By changing the handle both hands can alternately be brought into requisition, By means of the spring device for counter-balancing the bar the weight of the folder bar is perfectly equalized, so that no effort whatever, it is claimed, is required to operate these folders. Heretofore no means for rapid adjust- ment of the jaw for different thicknesses of metal have been devised, and many before it can be convenik ntly cut into the required shapes for tools, Annealing or softening is ac omplished by heating steel to a red heat and then cooling it very slowly, to prevent it from vetting hard again The higher the degree of heat, the more will steel be softened, until the limit of softness is reached when the steel is melted. It does not follow that the higher th piece of steel is heated the softer it will be when cooled, no matter how slowly it may be cooled: this is proved by the fact that an ingot is always harder than a rolled or hammered bar made from it Therefore, there is nothing gained by heating a piece of steel hotter than a good bright cherry red; on the contrary, a higher heat has several disadvantages: First—if carried too far, it may leave the steel actually harder than a good red heat would leave it. Second—if a scale is raised on the steel, this scale will be harsh, granular oxide of iron, and will spoil the tools used to cut it. It often occurs that * From a pamphiet entitled ‘