The Iron Age 1889-08-16: Vol 44

Grinding-Machine. The admirable work done by the grind- ing-machine in its many forms has earned for it a wide and prominent adoption in the shop. Its simplicity, the ease of its manipulation and the accuracy of the work performed by it have made it indispensable in many classes of work heretofore either performed by hand or by other tools. The engraving we herewith present shows a grinding-maching which has been used successfully in the large works at Sheffield, England, and other places, and whieh is now placed on the American market. It consists essentially of a lathe-head carry- ing a face-plate provided with segmental pieces of the grinding material, and of a bed placed transversely across the axis of the head-stock spindle and upon which is a traveling head which passes the work across and in front of the face-plate. The | IRON THurspay, AuGUST 15, 1889 worm operated by a hand-wheel, so that | the bed can be turned to any de- sired angle in relation to the cutting stones. By this means the work can be beveled to the angle required. The table on the transverse bed has a re- versing motion operated by the lever shown, and runs any desired length | across the face of the stone, the operation being similar to the ram in a shaping-ma- chine. By removing the body-plate mounted on trunnions heavy work can be placed on the traveling bed and operated upon as desired. The large machine hav- ing a face-plate 32 inches in diameter has a traveling bed of sufficient length to grind either flat, siding, edging or bevel- ing up to 64 feet in length. It is appar- }ent that by lengthening the bed work of |any desired length can be accommodated. | The small machine with a face-plate 26 inches in diameter will do the same work AGE 2, was built by the Union Iron Works, of San Francisco, under a _ contract for $1,017,500. She has had one trial trip. The Petrel, gun-boat No. 2, was built by the Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, for $245,000, and will soon undergo a third trial trip. By the act of August 3, 1886, $2,500,- 000 was appropriated, and the bureau pre- pared plans for nine vessels. Contracts for these were let as follows: Baltimore, cruiser No. 3, W. Cramp & Sons, $1,325, - 000; will be completed about November. Vesuvius, dynamite cruiser, Dynamite Company, New York, $350,000. Its steam trial was satisfactory. Torpedo-boat, Herreshoff Company, Bristol, R. I., $82,- 750; in process of construction. The fol- lowing vessels are building at the navy- yards named: Maine, armored cruiser, New York; Texas, armored battle-ship, and Amphitrite, monitor, Norfolk; the GRINDING-MACHINE cutting segments used in the face-plate are of either stone or emery, according to the | nature of the material to be cut, and are secured by wedge-shaped pieces, one of which is placed between each pair of stones, and which are drawn outward so as to bind the stones firmly by means of screw bolts. The head-stock can be ad- vanced toward or withdrawn from the work in order to accomodate articles of varying thickness, and also to compensate for the wear of the stone. By means of the hand-wheel shown under the front journal of the spindle the head-stock may be swiveled either way while the machine is in motion, thereby making a. complete change of surface and increasing or dimin- ishing the area of the grinding surface in contact with the face being cut. This motion is also applicable for concaving and convexing. wheel leads a chain passing over and en- gaging with a_ sprocket-wheel placed transversely across the back of the head- stock, the shaft of which is formed with a worm engaging with the gear carried by she head-stock pedestal. which'the work is secured is mounted upon trunnions, one of which is provided with a segment gear, with which engages the It will be seen that over this | The bed to! FOR GRINDING FLAT, SIDING, up to 34 feet. A special attachment is provided for this machine for the grind- ing of reaping-machine knife sections, plane-irons, chisels, &c. Inquiries re- garding the machine can be addressed to William Towell, 147 Bond street, Brook- ie, Nx 3s Ee The New American Navy. A statement has been prepared by Com- modore T. of Construction and Repair, for the use of Secretary Trac ’, showing the condition of | vessels of the navy in progress of con- struction at the time the new Administra- tion entered upon its duties. ; act of March 3, 1885, $1,895,000 was ap- -propriated for the construction of two cruisers and two gun-boats. The Newark, EDGING OR BEVELING. | latter’s engines were put in by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, of Wilming- ton, Del.: Monadnock, monitor, Mare Island, Cal.; Terror, monitor, New York. The latter will be sent to the Boston yard to receive pneumatic gear. The Puritan, monitor, will also be constructed at Nor- | folk. N. Wilson, Chief of the Bureau | Under the! cruiser No. 1, and the Yorktown, gun-boat | No. 1, were contracted for with W. Cramp & Sons, of Philadelphia, at the prices of $1,248,000 ard $455,000 respectively. The former is not to be completed until Octo- ber 27, 1889; the Yorktown has just been The act of March 3, 1887, authorized the building of two cruisers and two gun- boats, one of five monitors to be con- structed at a total cost of $2,420,000, and one coast and harbor defense vessel. Un- der this act the following contracts were made: Philadelphia, cruiser No. 4, W. Cramp & Sons, $1,350,900, to be com- pleted in October; San Francisco, cruiser No. 5, Union Iron Works, $1,428,000, also to be compieted in October; Concord and Bennington, gun-boats Nos. 3 and 4, N. F. Palmer, Jr., & Co.. New York, $550,000 each, to be completed this month. Work on them, however, is reported to be progressing slowly. The Miantonomah, monitor, is building at the New York Navy Yard and is nearly completed. The construction of the coast and harbor de- placed on the dock in New York, to be| fense vessel has been awarded to the Union | cleaned and painted for her turning trials | Iron Works, of San Francisco, at a con- at Newport. The Charleston, cruiser No. | tract price of $1,628,950, and the vessel is ge one ~ es eer rr. s) i + baw 236 THE IRON AGE. August 15, 1889 to be completed in three years. No name has yet been selected for this vessel. The sum of $3,760,000 was appropriated September 7, 1888, for one armored cruiser of 7500 tons, one protected cruiser of 5300 tons, two protected cruisers of 3000 tons each and three protected cruisers of 2000 tons each; also a practice-ship for the Naval School, the latter to cost $260,000. Plans for the 2000 and 3000 ton vessels are complete, and bids will be opened on Au- gust 22 for their construction. The 2000- ton vessels are limited to a cost of $700,- 000 each and the 3000-ton vessels to $1,- 100,000 each. The total of these figures more than exhausts the amount of the ap- propriation—$3,500,000. The limit of cost fixed by the bureau for the 5300-ton vessel is $1,800,000 and for the 7500-ton- ner $3,500,000. The practice cruiser au- thorized by this act will be about 800 tons, armored and carrying a battery of rapid- firing guns. Plans for this vessel are well under way and will soon be completed. The Bureau of Construction and Repair, the Commodore states, is at work on plans for the vessels authorized by the act of March 2, 1889, which appropriated $4,055,000 for construction purposes, be- sides $140,000 for four steam-tugs. Bids for these tugs have just been opened, but the contracts are not let. The principal vessel provided for in this last act is the armored submerged cruiser Monitor, known as the Thomas ship, its general de- sign having been suggested by ex-Con- gressman Thomas, of Illinois. Plans for it are nearly completed, and its estimated cost is $1,500,000. Two steel cruisers or gun-boats, estimated to cost $350,000 each, will be 1200 tons each, carrying batteries of rapid-firing guns. Plans for these are well under way. There were also provided for in the act of 1889 a harbor ram, of the plan designed by Admiral Ammen, and a dynamite cruiser of the Vesuvius type. Nothing has yet been done toward the construction of these vessels. The cruiser is estimated to cost $350,000, but no estimate is made upon the rem. The original four ships of the new navy, con- structed under acts passed prior to March, 1885, and in accordance to the require- ments of the naval boards of 1881-83, are the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Dolphin. I The United States Association of Char- coal [ron Workers have fixed as the date for their fall meeting the 17th of Septem- ber, at which time the association will assemble at Milwaukee, Wis. The sessions and excursions of the meeting are to con- tinue from the 17th to the 26th. A com- prehensive programme has been arranged, embracing visits to blast-furnaces and iron- works at Milwaukee, Mayville, Fond Du Lac, Ashland, Superior and Duluth, and to iron-ore mines at Iron Ridge, Bessemer, Hurley, Tower and Ely. The excursions thus cover the Gogebic and Vermillion ranges, and will present an excellent op- portunity to the members of the associa- tion and their guests to thoroughly inspect the great iron-ore districts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The programme is so very attractive that it should insure a large attendance of the membership of the association. The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company have purchased the right of way for an in- dependent entrance into Jersey City. The company have been dependent upon the Pennsylvania Railroad, but the new line which is projected from Roselle will touch Newark and Elizabeth and extend to the water-front on the Hudson, which has long been owned by the Lehigh Valley. The new terminus affords ample space for depot, ferry and shipping facilities. The new road is to be called the Jersey City, Newark and Western. The Paris Exposition. (Editorial Correspondence. ) On the whole, the representation of the American manufacturers is moderately creditable. The total space taken is, of course, when compared with that of France disproportionately small. Some of our greatest industries have not a single representative, large or small. Others have contributed in a fragmentary way, and a very few are shown in a manner likely to convey a fair idea of the magni- tude of our manufacturing operations, the skill of our workmen and the ingenuity of our inventors. What we lack in quantity we decidedly make up in quality so far as a number of individual exhibits are con- cerned. We have already alluded to the fact that there is little which is sensation- ally new in the exhibition. We may add that from the stand-point of an American there is comparatively little in the exhibit of the United States. But regard- ing the display of our country with the eyes of a European we have quite well lived up to our reputation for originality. We need only allude to the screw-rolling of the American Screw Company, the wonderful work done by the Simonds roll- ing process, the pneumatic tool for dressing stone and working metal (illus- trated elsewhere in this issue), the electric welding, the different type-writers and the phonograph and graphophone to indi- cate how much of interest intelligent foreigners are apt to find in that section over which floats the Stars and Stripes. Like many other Americans, your corres- pondent has been somewhat hurt by the tinge of vulgarity which mars some of the displays, notably a very pronounced elec- trical one in Machinery Hall. But on the whole, considering the fact that our trade in manufactured goods and machinery is limited with France, our representation is satisfactory. Some of the most interest- ing things shown were evidently brought over more with the object of interesting European capital in the purchase of patents than of selling American wares. In a number of other cases the exhibits were evidently made by concerns either branches of Amer- ican works or allied with them, being the fruit of American skill and ingenuity. Those who were seeking to establish new business relations or foster trade in which a foot-hold had been gained were rela- tively few in number. So far as your cor- respondent could learn,no very large sales had been effected as the direct result of participation in the exhibition. Naturally, some made favorable reports, while others were willing to confess to some disappoint- ment. On the whole, however, few ex- hibitors are likely to be recouped directly through sales for their outlay. It is of course impossible to measure the benefit likely to accrue from the advertising ob- tained, the familiarity of a large number of people in all parts of the world with the name of the exhibitor. That of course cannot be measured in dollars and cents when striking the next annual balance- sheet. IMITATIONS OF AMERICAN MACHINERY. One matter which was the subject of considerable comment among American manufacturers of machinery with whom your correspondent communicated was the frequency of evidences of a wonder- ful talent for imitation which European producers evidently possess, and which is often coupled with astonishing brazen- ness. One American maker of machinery pointed out in the sections of other coun- tries a number of machines which were almost exact copies of tools exhibited by him at Paris in 1878. He cited a case where, in order to quickly ship a machine, a lever had been cut in two and reunited by a wrought-iron strap, because it would not fit into the box. A year afterward he found the same machine, shop number and all, in Europe, with the lever care- fully made in two parts, united by the iron strap. Another manufact- urer spoke at length on the same sub- ject, adding, however, that in the case of his line the foreign makers used the American machine as a starting point. After putting them on the market, as the trade developed they made slight changes and modifications, often in the line of im- provement. He was willing to acknowl- edge, too, that the workmanship was fully up to the American standard. and some- times above it. This prompt acceptance ot American designs, to put it mildly, is not confined to any one country, although it appears that the Germans are particularly skillful and ‘* thoughtless ” when it comes to giving Americans credit for it. Your correspondent did not find that American manufacturers were particularly wrathful about these practices. In fact, they seemed to take it good-naturedly. The secret of their equanimity seemed to be that they felt confident of their ability to keep ahead, and did not feel much dis- turbed about the fact that others were willing to copy in place of originating. It is possible that there is just a little too much complacency in this view of the subject. Still, the general verdict of ex- perts in the different lines with whom your correspondent conversed concern- ing the display of foreign makes of machinery was that we are still ahead, and that in certain directions we are rap- idly approaching the point where we can manufacture as cheaply, chiefly by the aid of special tools and appliances and by the development of systematic methods. The general verdict is that instead of falling behind we have been actually gaining since the last Paris exposition, a conclu- sion which it would be very dangerous to arrive at were it not warranted by the facts. The two principal groups of exhibits of American products are in the great Ma- chinery Hall and in the Palace of Indus- trial Arts. Turning to the first group we may review as follows: AMERICAN EXHIBITORS IN MACHINERY HALL. Along the side wall toward the main building are a series of exhibits which on the whole are not effectively placed. Beginning at the end nearest the British section, the Magnolia Anti-Friction Metal Company, manufacturers of the Magnolia metal, have a case of samples the chief interest of which lies in the accompanying tests made by officers of the United States Navy on a Beauchamp Tower machine, and by W. D. Dickey, superintendent of the Erie Basin. Near it is a group of wooden split pulleys made by the Dodge Mfg. Company, of Ishawaka, Ind., and the well-known manufactures of Curtis & Curtis, of a Conn. ; the special emery tools of the Tanite Company, of Stroudsburg, Pa. ; the Acme steel wrenches of the Capitol Mfg. Company, of Chicago; the chucks of E. Horton & Son Com- pany, of Windsor Locks, Conn., and D. E. Whiton Machine Company, of New London, Conn., and the friction pulleys of N. W. Mason & Co., of Providence, R. I. Adjoining these is cigarette-mak- ing machinery by the J. H. Williams Com- pany, of New York, and a display of rope by the National Cordage Company, of the same city. The Morse Twist Drill and Machine Company, of New Bedford, Mass., have a small but neat case of twist drills, behind which the Maris Machine Company have mounted a Teal portable hoist. Back of the latter C. A. Schieren & Co. exhibit link leather and ordinary belting. All of the exhibits named, in- cluding as they do a number of important August 15, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 237 and progressive American manufactures, | New Method of Handling Steel Ingots. are small, and in some instances look as though they received little or no| Crossley Law and Charles E. Howe, of care. The United States Metallic Pack-| South Chicago, Ill., have invented and ing Company have placed on exhibition | secured letters patent on what is desig- a model of the packing in use on the) nated a useful improvement in apparatus plunger of the water-works engines at} for the manufacture of steel. The in- Lawrence, Mass., and show a number of | vention relates tothe casting and handling applications of its packing to marine and | of steel ingots preparatory to rolling the stationary engines and locomotives. Then | same into railroad rails or other forms. follow, as the last in the section of those ) The methods hitherto employed or gener- along the side aisle and the main wall, the | ally in use, with their complexity of con- shows of the Goulds Mfg. Company, of | verters, molds, pouring-ladles and cranes, Seneca Falls, N. Y.; the Silver & Denning | together with 75 to 100 men required in Mfg. Company, of Salem, Ohio, and W. | and about the pit to operate them, are & B. Douglas, ot Middletown, Conn., ' well known to those skilled in the art. It Fig. 2. NEW METHOD OF HANDLING STEEL INGOTS. whose products, practically in the same is the object of this invention to provide line, are well and widely known at home. | a plant or means of casting heavy steel The latter concern have in a neat way a| ingots and of handling the molds and in- hydraulic ram at work. The only novelty gots preparatory to the reheating and roll- noticed by your correspondent was | Ing or future manipulation of the ingots, Schrankel’s flexible piston-rod and elbow | whereby the danger of the workmen, the of the first-named concern. | excessive heat to which they are exposed, }and much of the labor and expense inci- | dent to the old plant may be avoided and The dry-docx now being constructed at |the ingots cast and handled with great the navy-yard, New York, will be ready | speed and facility; but more particularly to be turned over to the Government in| to provide a plant whereby the pit, the October. The dock will be over 500 feet | pouring-ladle, and the cranes for trans- long, 150 feet longer than any existing |ferring and handling the pouring-ladle government dock, and will cost, when | and for handling the ingots and molds, as completed, $565,000. This will give | well as the labor of the force of about 65 New York two superior docks. The dock | pit men, crane men and ladle repairers may at the Norfolk Navy Yard will be opened | be entirely dispensed with. about September 1. The cost of the dock | In this plant, no pit or pouring-ladle will be $496,000, and like the dock at | being employed, the molten steel is poured New York it will be 500 feet long. a a suitable bowl, funnel or runner being used to properly guide the stream of molten metal from the pouring-hole or lip of the converter into the mold. The molds are mounted upon a movable carriage or car traveling upon a track or way extending under the converter, the car being moved to bring the molds one after another in place under the converter by a hydraulic ram or other suitable means. As each mold is filled, the converter is tipped up and the car is moved forward to bring another mold into position, thus avoiding loss of metal which in the old process ad- heres to the sides and surface cf the ladle. In other words, :the converter takes the place of the ladle. The pouring of the molten steel directly from the converter into the molds is done preferably through a pour- ing-hole in the belly of the converter. This is illustrated in Fig. 1. After the entire charge of molten steel in the converter is thus poured directly from the converter into the series of molds on the movable car, the next step, accord- ing to this invention, is to move or run the mold-car out or away from the converter. As soon as the steel becomes set or suf- ficiently cooled the molds are turned from their erect position down into an approxi- mately horizontal position, when the ingot is pushed horizontally through the mold and thus stripped or extracted therefrom, the ingot being at the same time and by this same stripping operation delivered in a horizontal position upon another car. The still hot ingots are by this second car conveyed directly to the furnace of the | rail-rolling department, where the ingots are reheated preparatory to the rolling operation. The molds are preferably hinged to the 'bed of the car upon which they are mounted, and the means which the in- ventors employ for tilting the molds down into a horizontal position is a hydraulic ram, the piston of which is furnished with hooks or grappling devices for engaging the upper end of the mold. This hy- draulic ram is mounted in an inclined position. This is illustrated in Fig. 2. The means preferred for pushing the iagot out of the mold onto the furnace-car is a similar hydraulic ram mounted in a hori- zontal position. After the ingot is thus extracted from the mold and delivered upon the furnace-car, the molds are again lifted or turned into their upright position on the car by means of the same hydraulic ram by which they were lowered. The number of molds upon each car may be varied; but five molds upon each car are preferred, so that a series of ten molds upon two cars coupled together and operated as one will receive the entire charge of the converter. By this invention Messrs. Law and Howe propose to not only entirely dispense with the labor of the pit men, the huge pour- ing-ladle, the cranes for receiving and handling the pouring-ladle, the pit, the lifting-cranes for removing the ingots and molds from the pit and replanting the molds inthe pit, but they further claim that they are enabled to perform all the necessary steps and deliver the ingots into the rail-rolling furnace within a period of about ten minutes from the time the steel is poured from the converter into the mold, so that the ingots are still in a very hot condition when delivered into the furnace. For this reason the ingots would require less reheating by this method than by the old process, and a considerable saving in time and fuel is thus effected. Another ma- terial advantage incident to the direct-pour- ing plant is that the molten steel may be more readily kept at the proper temperature and fluidity for pouring in the converter than in the pouring-ladle heretofore in use, and the loss of metal or imperfect ingots inci- dent to any delay are avoided. - The inventors further state that their directly from the converter into the molds, | experiments with the pouring-hole in the ' * * a: 2 # tw) Me gE 3 Pls eno ny aa FA A i, BARR UF wes, . } 238 THE IRON AGE. August 15, 1889 bulge of the vessel were made with aj it can be easily remedied by turning the ves- | Rolling Bars and Rails from Molten 7-inch hole in the shell, tapering to 2) sel sufficiently to allow the blast to touch Metal. inches inside the lining of the vessel. | the iron and thus agitateit. Butas iron has With the metal poured from this hole not |a strong affinity for spiegel it is not likely | In our issue of July 11 we described and an ounce of slag escaped, which would | that any difficulty in this direction will be | fully illustrated the Norton process of | tl ae | | min WO ooo a 4 VLG Z Z Z 3 Cae ] Ny WSs: Ny s\ it ceeded dada chee ccteeeersaeaeamarmmmmmamemuuedimm emu = aceentinet x —s . + a =e aia ddan ee Kekkkgg iid added ggg ected NA cece A \\ Sy yy Yaad Z Qe A-PPLPPP LAL Z Vpbilihibhhihdbhhhhd Z y y 4 | ON A ee ei dddcccccccczczr AFF ett ete ttt - eaké(iudddddddaddddaddacddgecedeegec ee Oy = rise seem to prove the success of this method of pouring. It is possible that an obje:- tion may be made based on a probable de- ficiency or lack of thorough mixing of the spiegel, but it is claimed that if this occurs Pas ry Senenanennss \) NY | SASS Serer rs nal qian E eye oF Fig. 1.—Plan. Sess rr es i SNS e AX e \ Gece —— = = ——— = So’ SS RY NY ESSE ES Tory STSSoesaas hesbans oat Th rrr A \ eames S. o }] o \\\\ SASS \ ) o- \\ ( . ( \) \ Seererrrrcrrr rss 2 SECS CTT \ eg ZZ \ AWVVAVRERE BLE L ARERR Hi AN ; Wy Sel ee ccc ~ See eee = = — SS ee eee needa addceecccccae X\ \ 3 \\Ws: AM Ae POSSESS NOLEN RU OUSS OND SL SEPLOPLAA LLL Fig. 2.—Sectional Plan through Rolls. ROLLING FLUID METAL, encountered. The patentees inform us that | rolling thin sheets of solder from the they are negotiating with steel manufactur- | molten metal. In brief, this process con- ers for the introduction of this process, | sisted in leading the metal from melting- and expect to have it in practical opera- | pots to areservoir placed centrally between tion in one or more works at an early day. 'two rolls revolving toward each other. Augast 15, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 239 The distance separating the surfaces of {operation and its success is proved. | the rolls from each other was, of course, governed by the desired thickness of the |it is simply impossible to form even sheet of solder produced. The molten metal was fed from the reservoir in a thin flat stream to and between the revolving | OOO a conjecture of, but that it may be extended considerably further than the mere making of thin sheets of solder is, “i UM Ve Ys Le 7D U7, “OZ ‘Me Y yr ee ey Oo Ie = SS SSS WN WQFsss> — art STS SD IT ae eae ee eee A added: | while it is just in the act of setting, How far this method may be carried | thereby improving its character and qual- ity and rendering 1t dense and homogene- ous throughout. The molten metal is poured in a con- tinuous solid stream between a series of TL rt - ys Be 3 wie 2 . ——— S oneentitieeatdl 4s, }—————} a wo - aaa tH od a “Ne Fig. 3.—Vertical Section. 7 Bb > ay rolls, in its passage between which it was; we think, proved. It is evident that the rolls, four in number, as shown in the®plan \ solidified to such a degree as to maintain | process will prove to be inoperative when and sectional plan views, Figs. 1 and 2, ar | its form after leaving the rolls. We also|the section of metal passing between the having their axes arranged in the same stated that the process had passed the ex- | rolls is so large that the solidified wall of horizontal plane, and having a pocket or 4 perimental stage and was in successful | metal formed upon the outside has not the space between their peripheries at their operation at the can works of } orton Broth- | strength sufficient to maintain the shape common meeting point for the reception of tits ers, Chicago, This statement we wish to | against the pressure of the fluid mass con- tle stream of metal. As the metal passes mt tained within the walls. Slow rolling and between the rolls it is compressed by the the vertical drop from the rolls both tend | wedging action of the latter, and at the = to prevent this Sinertion, but exactly how | same time set or chilled by contact with = far the process may be carried, as regards the rolls. The rolls are kept cool or at a — size alone, is a matter to be determined by | constant temperature by a stream of water se 1S experiment. It is also apparent that cer- | flowing through them, so as to properly ee. U = a = tain shapes, such as T’s, angles and chan- | chill or set the stream of metal passing be- nt == UY) Y = nels, would come from the rolls in a more | tween them. 7 Z Y} perfect form than would the same mass of | Tne pouring-bowl or nozzle is arranged 1k} pc Yj yy metal in a cylindrical bar, for the simple directly over the meeting point 0° the rolls, ie - Y Y reason that the thin layer of solidified |so that the stream flows im a direction =} Sa Y E metal on the exterior would have less to | tangential to all the rolls. This is shown a => ey Ups resist in the former than in the latter case. | in the vertical section, Fig. 3. Each roll $4 7 a Ht Ye b, | The important fectors controlling the roll- | thus comes in contact with the molten —' J — =% ps ] ing of large sections are time and temper- | metal only at a single point, so to speak, 4 = Y Uy = ature. The passage of the stream of mol lof its periphery, thus making it practi- _* Yj —Y ten metal between the rolls may be so re- cable to easily keep the rolls at the proper a % tarded as to permit the forming of a shell | temperature for chilling or setting the ee having the requisite strength, or the form | molten metal passing between them. The we, he '! upon issuing from the roll may be artific-| rolls are revolved at a sufficiently great ey” ially cooled. The limit beyond which it | surface speed, in respect to the velocity of ig is not possible to pass cannot be defined. ‘the stream of mojten metal and in respect my 7 to the space between yy the rolls or the size 5 of the bar produced, ’ to prevent the metal ; collecting or dam- § ae € ming up in the space 4 i a . ” . ; Vv aoe ‘7 7 between the rolls. hea: This plan of doing away with a large sur- Wt face-contact between f the metal and the rolls . Fig. 4.—Elevation through Both Sets of Rolls and Carrier. prevents the rapid ; = heating of the rolls, which would render ) emphasize, since there has been more or less} We this week present drawings show- | it difficult to keep them properly cocled, ine skepticism manifested, not particularly re- | ing the appiratus for making bars or rail- | and would also tend to so chill the metal r garding this process, but regarding all | road rails and for making sheet-metal. In| before it reached the meeting point as to methods as a class which claim to produce | this process of making rails the molten | subject the apparatus to great strain and solid forms direct from molten metal. The | metal is compressed, or subjected to press- | to require great power to revolve the rolls. sen A process then described is in practical! ure, while it is still in the fiuid state or | The compressing and rolling action of the Ray b on rd ‘The continuous bar produced is delivered . patriarchs refuse to meet the advances 240 rolls upon all sides of the fluid met T im- parts to ita superior texture or grain and thereby increases its strength. Another important feature of this proc- ess consists in the employment of another series of rolls (figs. 3 and 4) arranged directly below the first series, which serves to further chill, compress, shape and roll the rail as it issues from the upper rolls. from the second set of rolls to a horizontal carrier by an intermediate curved conveyor consisting of a series of rollers arranged on a curve, as shown in Fig. 4. As the rail or bar is conveyed out horizontally, it may, while still hot, be passed through finishing and straightening rolls and further rolled to a greater or less extent, as may be con- sidered necessary. The rolls are operated by gearing arranged as plainly shown in the drawings. Fig. 5 shows in plan an apparatus for roll- ing sheets from molten metal. In this case provision is made for governing the space between the revolving rolls (which are simi- lar in principle to those described in our article of July 11), sothat the sheet-metal produced may be made of uniform thick- ness throughout, and not be subjected to variations due to the expansion or con- traction of the rolls, the springing of the frame-work, or other causes. This end i accomplished by providing each of the metal rolls with a pair of collars or periph- eral faces which bear against each other, so that the working faces of the two rolls cannot crowd together when the rolls ex- pand by the heat. Between the collars and working faces of the rolls are grooves or recesses which receive any excess of metal due to any variation in the rate at which the molten metal is poured between the rolls. This construction is shown by the drawing Fig. 5. : Acting in connection with these rolls is a pair of tinishing-rolls placed below them and to which the sheet of metal is led by a shute. These rolls are so placed as to turn the sheet in a horizontal direction. The second rolls serve to finish the sheet while it is still at a comparatively high tempera- ture, These machines are the invention of Edwin Norton and John G. Hodgson, of Maywood, Ill., and are controlled by the Norton Fluid Metal Rolling Company, of 46 River street, Chicago, Ill. rer ee Blast-Furnace Management. We make the following extracts from an excellent article on this subject in the Journal of Charcoal Iron Workers : We are not among those who sée in the near future a necessary and radical geo- graphical change in the location of the iron-producing ‘industry beyond what the natural movement of population and busi- ness will encourage. While certain sec- tions of the country are developing more rapidly than others we must remember that the whole country is growing, and with this growth the demand for iron and steel is augmenting in even greater ratiothan the population by reason of new ad: ipta- tions. There is therefore work for the old as well as for the new plants, unless the made by the younger enterprises, The older districts have several advantages which give them a strong position. Estab- lished trade, convenient marke ts, abundant labor, ample capital and little or no inter- est to pay on investment are matters of grave importance to be overcome by new plants, which must establish a trade, force the product into distant markets, train labor and pay large interest on bonds, and these obstacles can only be overcome by im- proved constructions and advanced prac- tice. bee ause follow in well-worn ruts ~ Lg SSS = SSS SSS SSS SS THE IRON _ AGE. original proprietors (often the ancestors | of present owners) accumulated wealth thereby, and if the direction or manage- ment, or both, fail to take advantage of the changed conditions of trade, they must expect to be crowded out, and crowded out they willbe. There are a few localities or special works possessing unusua! facili- ties which may for a time apparently be unaffected, but the time will come when they, too, must succumb. Instead of com- plaining that other furnaces have richer ore, the management and directors of these older-established plants need to abandon the practice of buying rock, clay, sand or gravel as ore. A large proportion of the local supplies of ore used at many of these plants can be enriched with economy, or high-grade ore used advantageously as mixtures. A careful study of the chemical and physical characteristics of the fuel used will assist greatly in obtaining better re- sults. While it may be impracticable or injudicious to entirely remodel some of the older plants, there are few but what can be materially helped by the addition of some of the features which assist the newer furnaces to be such active competitors. We know of one plant, well situated for obtaining an abundance of good ore from rE po I pall VMS y H | yy 4 i y 4 SS W ee, C5ES SSss ULI} “Z én HLL | | } { | (es 1) MA prea \ —, pt Lid ' 7 < om My eek Sa August 15, 1889 to intelligent, progressive managers who are sustained by the owners, These last are not the furnaces which are expected to be speedily wiped out of existence. We are not slow to recognize the rapid advance being made in comparatively new sections, and we rejoice to see a proper development of local resources and the es- tablishment of new industries, but in some of these districts the most foolish predic- tions are made—predictions which can only be explained by gross ignorance or falsehood, and which will result in injury to the sections whose praise is sounded. The race for pre-eminence is not to be a one-sided affair. We have pointed out some weak points which prevail among a portion of the older-established plants, and indicated what we believe to be a remedy. The newer plants must be equally vigilant and progressive, for a modern con- struction can, under inefficient manage- ment, lose as much money for its owners as an ancient works; imperfectly prepared ores or unsatisfactory fuel are as costly and troublesome in one section as another, and a furnace plant which has no working capital and interest on a heavy debt, to meet is as certain of failure in one part of the country as in another, whether the s b ie ty Nw " IDM a <\ SSS SS WY ~ yn 7 mii Nee 7 oe yy it. YUL 7 2! hk SSS eT S Ss {7 um SSS aS SS SSS Ss Ass a7 Fig. 5.—Sectional Plan of Machine for Rolling Sheets. the owners’ mines, which was blown out | original projectors make money off a con- twice and banked down five or six times in a year for want of ore, and the material furnished was very imperfectly prepared. Another furnace, operated by a corpora- tion with ample capital, has the reputa- tion of receiving a large part of its burden from ores refused by other furnaces, which are bought under the supposition that they are cheap. We could instance a manager who asserted with candor that he doubted if good chilline car-wheel metal could be madeif anything but the wooden blowing-tubes and open tuyeres were ued, and another was positive that no furnace would work well with charcoal which had not the old saucer-shaped boshes. <A man whose title was general manager of a blast-furnace suggested to his superin- tendent the propriety of sweeping out the inside of the hot blast-pipes while the oven was cooled down to clean the out- side of the pipes and repair some leaks. We need not repest similar statements to emphasize our assertion that some of the older-established furnaces have more to tear from their owners or managers than from any new competition. We note others improving their plants, securing better- | prepared ores or enriching the mixtures, If the older enterprises are content to | studying the fuel problem: with care, the the | direction of the operations being contided tingent land speculation or not. I The extensive plant of the Spreckels Sugar Refinery, in Philadelphia, 1s to be duplicated after the present buildings are completed, about the 1st of September. This addition, it is announced, will give the doubled refinery a capacity for pro- ducing 4,000,000 pounds of sugar daily. It will also increase the amount of capital invested to about $4,000,000 or $5,000, 000. The contract cost of finishing the first set of buildings, independent of the improved and costly machinery, is esti- mated at about $1, 500,000. The build- ings being very largely of iron, no less than 17,000 tons have been introduced. Great- est of all is the filter-house, 325 feet long. The boiler-house is 260 feet long and 86 feet high. The warehouse is an eight- story building. The opening of the Poughkeepsie Bridge has not increased the coal traffic. All the coal-carrying railroads, except the Lacka- wana, have completed connections from the coal fields to the new bridge, but the railway system east of the bridge 1s not yet perfected so that all desirable points in New England can be reached. August 15, 1889 Poor’s Railroad Statisties. From advance sheets of the introduction to Poor’s Manual for 1889, of which we have been favored with copies, we take the following extracts: the Unite’ States at the close of 1888 was 156,082, of which 7028 miles were con- | structed during the year—the rate of in- crease being 4.7 per cent. The mileage of lines making returns of their share capital and funded and floating debts equaled 154,276. The share capital of the mileage com- pleted at the end of 1888 equaled $4,438, - 411,342, against $4,191,562,029 in 1887, the increase equaling $246,.849,313, the rate of increase being about 5.9 per cent. The funded debts of all the lines at the close of the year aggregated $4,624,035,- 023, a sum $437,091,907 in excess of the total of 1887 ($4,186,943,116), an increase of nearly 9.5 per cent. © The other forms of indebtedness of the several companies at the close of the year equaled $306,952,589, against $294, - 682,071 for 1887, the increase being $12,- 270,518. The total share capital and in- debtedness of all kinds of all the roads making returns equaled at theclose of the year $9,369,398,954, an increase in the vear of $696,211,738 over the total of 1887 ($8,673, 187,216), the rate of increase for the year being about 8 per cent. The cost per mile of all the roads making return as measured by the amount of their stocks and indebtedness equaled very nearly $60,732, against $58,603 for 1887. The gross earnings or receipts of all the lines (including elevated railroads) from which returns were received for the year equaled $960,256,270, of which $251,- 356,167 were received from transportation of passengers; $639,200,723 from trans- portation of freight, and $69,699,380 from the transportation of mails and express matter, profits of leased lines and other miscellaneous sources of revenue. of elevated railroads, The gross earnings of all the lines for the year ending December 31, 1887, equaled $940,150,702; the increase for the year 1888 equaling $20,105,568, or 2.14 per cent. The earnings in 1887 from transportation of passengers equaled | $240,542,876; from freight, $636,666,223 ; from transportation of mails and express matter, &c., $62,941,603, against $69,- 699,380 for 1888. The earnings per mile from which full returns were received in 1888 equaled crease equaling $321 per mile. The net earnings of all the lines for 1888 equaled $301,631,051, against $334, - 989,119 for 1887, the falling off equaling $33,358,068, the rate of decrease being about 10 per cent. The amecunt of interest paid in 1888 equaled $207,124,288, against $203,790, - 352 in 1887, the increase being $3,333,936, the rate of increase equaling more than 1.63 per cent. The amount paid in dividends in 1888 equaled $80,243,041, against $91,573,458 417, the rate of decrease being about 12.4 per cent. 1888 by all the lines was 451,353,655, against 428,225,513 for 1888, the increase for the year being 23,128,142, the rate of increase equaling 3.4 per cent. The number of passengers carried 1 mile in 1888 equaled against 10,570,306,710 for 1887, the in- crease equaling 620,306,969 persons carried 1 mile, the rate of increase equaling very nearly 6 per cent. The distance traveled by each passenger in 1888 equaled 24.78 miles; in 1887, 24.68 miles, 11,190,613,679, | THE IRON AGE. The amount received per passenger per mile equaled 2.246 cents in 1888, against 2.276 cents ip 1887. Had the passenger rates for 1887 been maintained for 1888, the earnings from this source would have /equaled $255,034,086,.a sum $14,491,210 The total number.of miles of railroad in | greater than that received. The number of tons of freight trans- ported on our railroads in 1888 equaled 589,398,317, against 552,074,752 tons in 1887, the increase equaling 37,323,565 tons, the rate of increase being about 64 per cent. The value of the tonnage moved in 1888, estimating its value at $25 ton, equaled $14,633,957, 925. The number of tons transported 1 mile in 1888 equaled 70,423,005,988, against 61,561,069,996 tons moved 1 mile in | 1887, the increase of service performed for the year equaling '8,861,935,992 tons moved 1 mile, the rate of increase being about 14.4 per cent. In point of importance the railroad in- terest now takes precedence of all other industries or enterprises. Its magnitude is greater than any other interest in the world, and it has become so thoroughly a part of the economic system of the re- public as to be second only to the Govern- ment itself. In order to show how closely interwoven are the interests of railroad stockholders and the working classes of the country, a few calculations are herewith submitted : If we estimate that inthe operation of our railways there are employed in _pros- perous times an average of 6 persons per mile of road, it would show a total, on the basis of our present mileage, of more than 936,000 persons regularly employed in connection with that single interest, and if to this number we add 780,000—a number representing an average of 5 to the mile—as the number of persons em- ployed in connection with all those in- dustries which are directly affiliated with and dependent on our railway system, | such as locomotive and car-building estab- In the latter sum are included the gross earnings | lishments, rail-mills, &c., we have a total of nearly 1,716,000, or an average of 11 to the mile of railroad. Assuming that each | of these would represent a family averag- | ing 5 persons, we have an aggregate popu- |road to be 67 days. On | construction of 12,984 miles of The number of persons transported in | lation of 8,580,000—nearly one-seventh of the total which 90 per cent. are actually dependent on the railway system for the sustenance of life. If we allow, as the average rate of the | for the country at large—of | wages of those employed in operating, | say $450 per annum, and for those em- | ployed in locomotive-building, &c., say $500 per annum, we have a total pay-roll I | of $911,200,000 per annum, of which at $6540, against $6861 for 1887, the de-| least $500,000,000 is directly chargeable is for account of betterments, improve- ments and new construction. Add to this the amount paid to laborers engaged in construction in such a year as 1887. In that year there were built new roads | whose aggregate length was 12,984 miles. If we take, as the average cost of labor in grading, track-laying, &c., for each mile of this total, say $10,009, and allow the average daily wages of laborers to be $1.50, with, say, 100 laborers of all classes é | to each mile, this would show the average in 1887, the falling off equaling $11,330,- | time for the completion of a mile of rail this basis the railroad would give steady employment for 300 days in the yearto an army of 289,976 laborers, whose total earnings would be $129, 840,000. This gives a total of 2,006,000 persons, to which we will add 44,000 as the num- | edition). to operating account, while the remainder | |implement works ; 241 nearly $3,000,000 for each day in the year. The regular expenditure of more than 90 per cent. of this vast sum stimulates other industries, and in this manner the volume of general business is increased in pro- gressive ratio. In these calculations no account has been taken of the large number of people forming the proprietary interest of this vast aggregation of capital, which com- prises people in all classes and in all occu- pations, and scattered throughout all parts of the country. The New York Central Railroad Com- pany have 10,000 stockholders, whose av- erage holding is about $9000. If we take that sum as representing the average hold- 'ing of all stock and bond holders in the country, the total number of such would be over 1,000,000, representing more than 5,000,000 persons with important interests in the success of the railroad system. From these deductions a general idea can be gathered of the magnitude of the railroad interest, and how fast and wide- spread is the interest of our people in that system. During the past ten years the following percentages of profit have been distributed to holders of the share capital of our rail- roads. In 1879 the dividends paid av- eraged 2.5 per cent. of the total amount of capital stock outstanding; in 1880, 2.8 per cent. was paid; in 1881, 2.9 per cent. ; in 1882, 2.91 per cent.; in-1883, 2.75 per cent.; in 1884, 2.48 per cent.; in 1885, 2.02 per cent.; in 1886, 2.04 per cent.; in 1887, 2.18 per cent.; and in 1888, 1.77 per cent. Of the total railroad mileage of the world the United States now possess nearly one-half. At the end of 1888 the aggregate length of all lines in the coun- | try was 156,082 miles, all built in 60 years, the average mileage constructed per year being nearly 2600 miles. But this record of 60 years, wonderful as it is, fades into insignificance when compared with the achievements of the past 23 years—since the close of the civil war. The total mileage of our railroads at the close of 1865 was 35,085 miles. In the 23 years since then there have been constructed 121,000 miles of new road, an average of 5260 miles per annum, twice the annual average of the whole period of 60 years and 5.3 times the annual average of the first period of 35 years. — We have received from E. & F. N. Spon, 12 Cortlandt street, New York, a copy of ‘‘Spon’s Tables and Memoranda for Engineers,” by J. T. Hearst (tenth This is a very neatly-printed vest-pocket volume, giving a great deal of useful information for engineers within very small compass. The price of the work is 50 cents with the case and 40 cents without. One of the most progressive towns in the South is Florence, Ala. A year ago the population was 2000. It is now more than 8000. The aggregate capital em- ployed in the various enterprises there is $15,000,000. Many Northerners have made large investments there. The following are some of the industries projected or completed: A furnace about ready to go into blast and another partly constructed ; a stove facto