The Iron Age 1889-11-14: Vol 44

HE The Valley Duplex Pump. The town of Easthampton, Mass., is be- ing supplied with water from a reservoir to which the pump we here illustrate raises 100,000 gallons of water every 24 hours. The reservoir is 7000 feet from the pumpand 224 feet above it. The pump is 10 x 6 x 10 inches. It will be noticed that instead of the link commonly employed for mov- ing the steam-valve in duplex pumps a straight rod is substituted without any joints. On it are two collars held in place by set-screws, which can be adjusted to lengthen or shorten the stroke. Between them is a spool, loose on the rod, wnich is moved by the crank of the rock-shaft until it comes in contact with one of the collars, when the valve is carried along and the pumpreversed. It is claimed that this arrangement is more durable than that | | iu | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1889. cost of cable-car lines; that the speed can be igstantly and accurately regulated up to 22 miles per hour; that the operation can be carried on for 3 cents per mile, IRON AGE probably correct—the fact remains that the quantity of metal sent in from the steel shops to the gun factories that is perforce rejected for 1ts defects gives rise while cable or horse cars cost 9 to 10 | to the gravest suspicions that much that is cents; that curves whose radius is but 20 feet and steep hills are no obstacles to the successful operation; that the simplicity of the machinery and the cheapness of re- pairs (the friction-wheels being of wood) are far beyond any other system devised. The manner of stopping, reversing and regulating the motion of the cars is de- clared to be practically perfect. — a — Are Great British Guns a Failure? A writer in the London 7Jimes expresses accepted and used is very little better.” Defective powder and excessive charges are supposed to be partly responsible for the defects complained of. Nevertheless, it is estimated that there is something radically wrong in the system of gun man- ufacture in England. — Natural Gas for Chicago.—In the In- diana Supreme Court on the 6th inst. an | important decision drafted by Chief Justice Elliott, with all the judges concurring, was handed down. It relates to theact cf the last Legislature prohibiting the trans- fears that the great guns provided for British battle-ships are a failure, so nu- i ; Ih THE VALLEY DUPLEX PUMP. employing links, as-the joint made by the | merous have been the casualties arising crank-pin and the flanges of the spool is|from their use. He says: ‘* Without the only part to wear; the surfaces being | going into details it is sufficient that at large and the spool having a rotary motion, the wearing away by use is reduced to a minimum. the works of one firm alone one 105-ton gun, one 12-inch gun, two 10-inch and The Valley Pump Company, |two 8-inch guns have had to be con- of Easthampton, Mass., are the manufact- | demned while undergoing proof, and reti- urers. EE 'cent as the authorities have been on the | subject, there is not much doubt that both A Novel Street-Car Motor.—A com-|the 111-ton guns of her Majesty’s ship pany is forming at Indianapolis in which} Victoria are practically Aors de combat.| the sinking of gas-wells and the laying President J. C. Shaffer, of the local street railway company, is said to be interested, to introduce into Indiana the Judson motor for street railways. The principle of the revolving screw in a modified form is used in propelling the car. In the middle of the track and extending the entire length of the line is a revolving shaft or drum 8 inches in diameter. This is to be driven by compressed air applied at stations along the lide. Small wheels attached to the car are pressed upon the revolving drum. The speed of the car and If such a number of guns have collapsed after a few rounds what may we expect | with rapid and continued firing in action ? He would be a bold man who would guarantee that half our existing guns | would escape self-destruction in such a ease. The first and perhaps most im- portant reason for the failure of our in every way monstrous ordnance has been | the enormous difficulty of getting suffi- ciently good metal wherewith to build it. | Whether it be that our metallurgists have not yet sufficient experience or scientific its direction are regulated by the angle at | knowledge to produce as good steel as is | which these small wheels impinge upon | turned out without difficulty by Krupp or the drum. It is asserted by the men who | Creusét, or whether our gun-makers ask | control the invention that the roads can| more of the metal they use than it can | be built and equipped for less than half the! possibly bear—both these suppositions are' Gas Trust from piping to Chicago, and portation of natural gas from the State, and holds that such legislation is uncor- stitutional. It is held that natural gas may become a commercial commodity and that the State Legislature cannot enact any law regulating commerce between the States, for the reason that the Federal Constitution forbids the States from legislating on that subject. In the course of the decision it was said: ‘‘The act does not assume to provide for the safety, health or comfort of the citizens, but its object is to prevent of pipe lines by persons who desire to convey gas out of the State. The act is in effect, as it is in words, a legislative pro- hibition directed solely against a desig- nated class of persons. It is not the mode of transportation against which the pro- hibition is directed, but the persons who engage in the business.” The law thus effectually disposed of has had a brief and tempestuous existence. When first passed the Governor refused to sign it, ridiculed it, in fact, and made substantially the same argument the court makes. How ever, there was a demand for restriction, if it could be had, and the Legislature passed the bill over the Governor’s veto. The law was passed to prevent the Chicago ae. aa + 23 el “ah GRRInRErcERnnnnnenn’ Salpeemenitemeeenelll ae SES yp) ——— : =: : ee BIA RLEE 2 APF ‘ +e ~~ Se ee y we pail ! ees of j ms Bic Ge ie ——s Bi ss it = mi WF Po Lee | <a | - AN aA eiQyen = = PUR Mi eetower- vey a tiset —-= — a a * Db) . LS 752 under this decision work will begin at once to connect the Indiana gas-fields with the city by the lake. The home gas com- panies hoped that the court would give the law some standing by holding that foreign- ers might not condemn the right of way over which to pipe gas. This was their strong hope, but it comes to naught. The Norton —— —— Fluid- Metal Rolling Process. AN EXPERIMENTAL STEEL PLANT. The attention of the readers of The Iron Age has been called several times during the past few months to the progress made in fluid-metal rolling at Chicago. The success of the method invented by Edwin Norton, of that city, has been thoroughly demonstrated in the manufacture of sheet- solder. The experimental plant continues inregular operation with such satisfactory commercial results that the Norton Fluid Metal Rolling Company, now controlling the patents, have received orders for the construction of several mills of a similar pattern from consumers of sheet-solder who desire to take advantage of its merits. Two significant points have thus been gained by the process: 1, the machin- ery devised has proved its success by working regularly for monihs; 2, the outside world has shown by the best evi- dence possible that the new process is worthy of a wider field than simply the factory of the inventor. The announcement of the intended ap- plication of this process to the manufact- ure of steel was received with skepticism and even with ridicule. Those who were ignorant of the attempts which had been made by the most accomplished metal- lurgists of the world to solve the problem of rolling molten metal at one operation into finished forms regarded the Norton process as a chimera or the wild fancy of a disordered brain. Hence they derided it. The project meant such a complete revolution of existing methods that they could not conceive it possible or feasible. When they afterward learned that so eminent a metallurgist as Sir Henry Besse- mer had devoted years to develop a prac- ticable method of accomplishing this re- sult, with partial success, they did not acknowledge the ignorance of which they stood convieted, but immediately accused the American inventor of claiming credit which did not belong to him. English journals have regarded the possible results of the Norton process with mixed feel- ings. Some regard it as a menace to British interests and warn their readers to be prepcred for serious inroads on the business of manufacturing tin-plate, to which it 1s believed to be specially adapted. Others insist that it will amount to noth- ing, inasmuch as Bessemer’s fluid-metal rolling-mill process is open to the use of anybody without royalty, and yet no one cares to adopt it. The correspondence now passing between English tin-plate houses and their connections in this country on the subject of the Norton proc- ess shows with what importance it is re- garded 1n practical business circles. Yet those who base their opinions of the suc- cess of this new process on what they selves, as apart from the common purpose aimed at the two processes are wholly dis- similar. Bessemer did not make his proc- ess a commercial success or it would have been widely adopted. An experimental steel plant is now being erected at Maywood, near Chicago, for the purpose of thoroughly testing the THE IRON AGE, Norton process as applied to the manu- facture of sheet-steel. The .machinery contracts have been awarded, the details are being thoroughly worked out by capable and enthusiastic men who express their confidence in the scheme, and it is expected that the works will be in opera- tion early in the coming year. The avowed object of the Norton Fluid Metal Rolling Company in the erection of these works is the manufacture of tin-plate, and the sheet-steel is, therefore, to be of the req- uisite gauge and width for this purpose. As we have heretofere remarked, the in- ventor of this process is one of the prin- cipal members of a firm who are among the largest consumers of tin-plate in the world, 1f- not the largest, and consequently has the strongest incentive to push his | We are further | scheme to entire success. induced to take the interest in the develop- ment of this project which we have | the | manifested by our knowledge of fact that no stock-jobbing scheme lies behind it. The inventor is himself abundantly able to conduct the necessary experiments, even though considerable ex- pense may be involved. If he succeeds in practically demonstrating the feasibility of his process as applied to steel, he will effect a revolution in certain branches of metallurgy. It will not fall still-born, as steel manufacturers are prepared to adopt it in their works as soon as all difficulties ° ° | are surmounted and it is shown to be a} commercial possibility. Those who are now at work on the experimental plant are | fully aware of many troubles which will have to be overcome, and are prepared to encounter others which will not manifest themselves until active operations are be- gun, but they are not daunted. The ex- ceeding cheapness with which sheet-steel suitable for tin-plate promises to be made by this process is an object worthy of their supremest efforts, and they will be entitled to high honor at the hands of their coun- trymen if the manufacture of tin-plate is through their agency impregnably estab- lished on this side of the Atlantic. mm Manufacture of Aluminium Alloys in the Electric Furnace. We take the following extract from a paper read by J. H. Dagger before the British Association at the Newcastle meeting : Deville’s method, modified in detail, is still the chief of the chemical processes for the production of aluminium, and is ——— upon the cost of metallic sodium. The greatest value ot aluminium is, however, in its alloys, and the success- ful application of the intense heat of the electric arc to their production on a com- mercial scale marks a departure in electro- metallurgy of which we cannot overesti- mate the importance, rendering it possible to produce rich alloys of this metal at half the cost of any other method and so widen- ing the field of their application to an extent hitherto unknown. At the works of the Cowles Company, Lockport, N. Y., there are in operation 14 furnaces, the elec- tricity for which is generated by three dynamos, capable of supplying a current of 3000 to 3200 amperes, and an E. M. F. of 55 to 60 volts. These furnaces can produce 2500 pounds of aluminium brenze |(10 per cent.) and 1800 pounds of ferro- aluminium (10 per cent.), or a total yield | of 430 pounds of contained aluminium, per know or have read of Bessemer’s experi- ments in the same linc may deceive them- | company, at Milton, Staffordshire, contain 24 hours. The English works of the 12 furnaces, with a 500 horse-power dy- namo, built by Messrs. Crompton & Co. It turnishes a current of 5000 to 6000 amperes, with an E. M. F. of 50 to 60 volts. The — of these works is 2300 pounds aluminium bronze (10 per cent.) and 1800 pounds ferro aluminium (10 per cent.) per 24 hours, or November 14, 1889 410 pounds of contained aluminium. The furnaces are rectangular in form and are | of fire-brick; into each end is built a cast- }iron tube, through which the carbon elec- trodes enter the furnace; each electrode consists of a bundle of nine carbons, each 2} inches diameter, attached to a head of cast-iron for a ferro-aluminium furnace and of cast-copper for aluminium bronze or alloys containing copper. This head is | secured to copper rods or ‘‘ leads,” which can be readily connected with or discon- nected from the flexible cables supplying the current. Each cable is secured to slides traveling on an omnibus bar of copper overhead and so can be brought into posi- tion opposite the furnaces to be used. The electrodes are arranged so that it is possi- ble by means of a handle and screw to ad- vance or withdraw them from each other in the furnace. Lining the furnace is the first operation. The bottom of the trough is covered with a layer of prepared charcoal, the electrodes are arranged in the furnace and a former, a sheet-iron box without top or bottom, each end being arched to fit over the elec- trodes, is inserted. Charcoal is then rammed into the space between it and the fire-brick walls. This done, the charge of ore, mixed with coarse charcoal and the metal to be alloyed with the aluminium, 'in form of turnings or granules, is placed inside the iron box, after which this is carefully withdrawn; the space between the electrodes is bridged by some broken pieces of carbon, the charge is covered with coarse charcoal, and the furngce closed by a heavy cast-iron cover having a hole in the center for the escape of gases evolved during the reac- tion; the cover is luted so as to prevent the entrance of air. The commencing current is about 3000 ampéres, and is gradually increased to 5000 amperes. A ‘*run” occupies about 14 hours. The furnace is allowed to cool; the next, ready charged, is connected with the cables, so that this process is a continuous one, the furnaces being successively charged and connected. The crude metal from the furnace is then remelted in an ordinary reverberating-furnace, a sample being taken from each run and assayed for aluminium. The most valuable of the alloys are those with copper. Aluminium bronze has great tensile strength. A bar contain- ing 11 per cent. aluminium made by the electric furnace and tested by the Leeds Forge Company, Limited, gave a tensile strain of 57.27 tons, or 128,400 pounds, to the square inch. One containing 7.5 per cent. aluminium, tested by Professor Un- win, broke under 36.78 tons, or 89,743 pounds, to the square inch. In resistance to compression this alloy equals the best steel ; its transverse strength, or rigidity, is about 40 times greater than ordinary brass. Its elastic limit is higher than that of mild steel, and it can be worked at a bright red heat as easily as wrought-iron. |Its mechanical and physical properties render it useful for every variety of metal- work, its high price only having hitherto restricted its use. Its enormous strength and anti-corrodible qualities recommend it as valuable above any other alloy for pro- peller-blades, stern and rudder frames and for hydraulic and engineering work gener- ally. Above 11 percent. the alloy becomes brittle and at 20 per cent. can be powdered readily ina mortar. Another alloy made in the electric furnace is silicon-bronze, which, owing to its great strength and tenacity, its resistance to corrosion, com- bined with high electrical conductivity, is, perhaps, the best metal extant for electric light, telephone and telegraph wires. i Large deposits of Verde antique marble, pronounced equal to any in the world, have been discovered near Ishpeming, in Michigan. November 14, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 753 Double-Spoke Pulley. The double-spoke split pulley of which engravings are presented is made by the Great Western Pin Company, of Toledo, Ohio. The rimis made up in segments of yellow poplar, nailed and glued to half the width of the intended face. The spokes are driven into iron half-hubs and secured by bolts passing through half- flanges, spokes and hubs, compressing them tightly. The center is then laid on the half-finished rim, when the spokes are let into it and securely fastened by wooden DOUBLE-ARM dowels. The laying up of the rim contin- ues until the right width of face is reached, when .it is sawed in two on a line with the division of the hub. Dowels are let into the joint and the two halves are again clamped on an arbor and turned perfectly true. The boxes are compressed against the shafts by bolts and in addition are furnished with set-screws. The spokes adjoining the split are bolted together at the outer extremities, this arrangement being employed to overcome the objection that set-screws throw the pulley out of balance. As the boxes are tightly compressed against the shaft the set-screws cannot force them out ot true, as in the case of asolidironhub. The spokes are hard wood and are set with the nar- row edge toward the resistance, thereby presenting but a small surface to the air. Narrow spokes of this description are further advantageous, since they do not produce the air-current the wide spokes do, and the annoyance arising from flying dust is overcome. The hubs are made of cast-iron, while the bushing is a combination of wood and paper lining. It has been found that this gives a better grip on the shaft than the all-wood bush- ing and at the same time retains the solidity of wood. a The Krupp Gun-Works.—The State Department at Washington publishes an interesting report on the Krupp gun- works, by Consul Partello, of Dusseldorf, in which he says: ‘‘The Krupps are at work for most of the great powers except France, and have more contracts than they can fill. Protected by numerous patents and with labor-saving machinery, they are already so | turning out every character and class of | steel and iron work known—viz., guns, gun-carriages in improved forms, includ- ing the famous gun for coast defenses, said to be the largest of the kind manufactured. In reply to a recent proposition for a num- ber of first-class guns from a certain party, they refused to do the work, at a loss of large profit, under information obtained that the guns would ultimately land in France, has its secret agent in every important | country there is little doubt. This was, demonstrated in a measure during the re- cent visit to this office of an ordnance of- ficer of the United States Army. This gentleman came to offer the works a con- tract for about $25,000 worth of gun ma- terial at their own prices. The offer was promptly declined, with the information that the works would only contract for complete guns in large quantities. were fully advised of the officer's visit, knew the character of his orders, his de- parture from home, his arrival here and all SPLIT PULLEY. about the business in general, and further refused him the privilege of inspecting any part of the works. Access to this | 'establishment hag been denied of late to every sight-seer, and only those admitted having business and under charge of an attendant.” — ome Hollow Grate-Bar. The construction of this fire-bar and the method of its operation are plainly set forth in the accompanying drawings. The A. Mar- bar, which is the invention of E. Side. HOLLOW tin, of New Brighton, Pa., is made with a wrought-iron pipe center, surrounded by | cast-iron. The forward end of the wrought-iron tube is extended to the out- side of the furnace. provided with a vertical extension lead- ing to the top of the bridge-wall. The current passing through the live coals in- duces a current of fr2sh air through the | tubes, which uniting with the flame at | and along the top of the bridge-wall is | claimed to most materially aid combus- tion and act as a smoke-consumer. ther advantage claimed is that all danger That the Krupp establishment | of burning out grate-bars is doneaway with, They | while its inner end is | A fuar- | since it is impossible for them to heat un- duly owing to the constant current of cool air passing through them. <i atin [oe Up Lateral Wear of Boxes. | When the subject of driving-boxes was under discussion at the last Master Mechanics’ Convention, says the National Car Builder, Mr. J. S. McCrum, of the Fort Scott and Gulf, excited | considerabie surprise by telling how he was in the habit of taking up the lateral wear by lining the part of the box subject to rapid wear with babbitt-metal. This is |a practice followed very successfully on ; several Western roads, but it is not fol- | lowed in the East, probably because most of the men in charge of machinery of Eastern roads have more time for doing ‘repairs deliberately. The method looks rather like a crude makeshift, but it is |really an economical way of doing the work, and ought to be more practiced than it is, especially where mogul engines and ten-wheelers are used on fast-train service, where the lateral wear of boxes is very rapid. | In the course of some correspondence we | have had with Mr. McCrum about the de- tails of his practice he informs us that lining with soft metal is very satisfactory, 'but he would only recommend the best | grades of babbitt. He has used Magnolia metal for the purpose, and considers that and other good types of anti-friction metal /even superior to the best babbitt. The | process of applying the metal is thus de- scribed: When a box comes in worn lat- erally, and if the flange on the side of the box is heavy enough, the end next the | wheel is counterbored just enough to give babbitt or other metal ahold. Then some brass pins are inserted in the face, which is carefully tinned over and the metal run | in and afterward the face is planed, when | the box is ready for service. It makes a | very durable job and the box is as good for service as it was when new, Another practice followed successfully on the Missouri Pacific and other Western roads is to counterbore the box and put jin a lining of cast-iron, which is cut in | two so that it can be put in place. This | is not even pinned to the box, yet it re- | Kansas City, } dit dala freee SSSoRekRekRevsssssee Front. GRATE-BAR. mains in position very well and can be re- newed with very little labor or expense | whenever wear makes renewal necessary. | We believe that a lining of this kind or of the anti-friction metal recommended by 'Mr. McCrum, if applied to the rubbing /end of steel driving-boxes, would effect- |ually overcome the objections that have been found to that strong metal when used for driving-boxes. a The breaking out of molten metal from the stack of the Colebreok Furnace, at Lebanon, Pa., caused the death of seven men. a BEPROBLAE 9 AF ‘4 i t) i i i ee ) MP D od Ns 2 2 APs DD hs ED) 754 THE IRON AGE. TheKennedyandAiken| Hydraulic Crane. consists of two parts, H' and H?’, secured together by keyed clamping-sleeves. The part H? extends beyond the end of the carriage, and has at its outer end a down- ward extension, H*, with asmall spur pro- jecting inward. Mounted on the part H’, to which it acts as a guide, is the slide H*, which is provided with a smail spur at its One of the striking sights of the plate- mill of the Homestead Steel Works of Carnegie, Phipps & Co. are the two cranes which handle the slabs in the heating de- partment. They are the design of two en- gineers then connected with the works— Julian Kennedy, now of Latrobe, Pa., and Henry Aiken, now consulting-engineer at Pittsburgh. The two cranes are located in the center of a circle of six heating- furnaces, arranged with their working- dooys along one side, the track running along them, while the driven roller-table of the plate-train is within the range of the two cranes. The general arrangement is shown in Fig. 1, which gives a plan of the heating department of the Homestead plate-mill. The crane itself has a hollow iron mast, A, the lower end of which rests and turns in a base-plate, B, and the upper end of which is steadied and turns in a steadi- ment, C. The jib D is composed of chan- nels, the outer ends being supported by the eye-bars as shown. The characteristic feature of the crane is that the operator oc- cupies a seat on it, moving with the crane, having all the movements of the crane in his control by means of a series of levers | HT UU A — mn Fig. 1.—Plan VI Fig. 2.—Elevation. THE KENNEDY AND AIKEN HYDRAULIC within easy reach. The carriage, shown in | outer end, This and the spur on H* consti- Fig. 2, in its position at the extreme end | tute the gripping points. The slide H* is of the jib, consists of two rectangular iron | operated by a horizontal cylinder at I, frames, which are suspended from the | mounted on the carriage below the opera- opposite sides of the racking-cylinder G. | tor’s seat. The piston of this cylinder is The latter is mounted on the jib, and it is | connected with the slide H* by means of a by it that the carriage is moved backward | pitman, J, partly dotted in our engraving. and forward on the jib of the crane. Ex- |The rear end of the bar H' H® is pivoted tending longitudinally near the bottom of | at the back part of the carriage-frame im- the carriage is the lifting-bar H, which | mediately in front of the operator’s car- November 14, 1889 riage F. The whole bar H' H? can be raised and lowered by means of the verti- cal hydraulic cylinder K, mounted between the vertical side framcs at the outer end of the carriage, the piston of this cylinder being connected with the bar H' H’ by means of a yoke. It will be readily un- derstood how the slab or ingot is gripped of Homestead Plate-Mill Heating-Plant. CRANE. and raised and lowered enough to clear the surface on which it rested. The bar 'H' H? is made of two parts because the outer end enters the furnace and is liable | to become warped and distorted thereby or |to be bent by the weight of the burden. In such case the whole bar does not have to be replaced, but only the outer or in- jured part, which is easily done by loosen- ing the keys. The operator’s seat F is November 14, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 755 placed on the cylinder I, and platforms | waste-water channel F, which is indicated | that the waste water in front of the piston are provided so that he need not stand nor step on the cylinder. We will now describe the valve-cham- ber, which is also mounted on the carriage, and is so constructed as to provide com- mon supply and waste pipes for dll the valves, instead of separate ones for each as heretofore. Each valve (A, Fig. 3) has a stem which passes through a gland or stuffing-box at the lower end of the valve-case C. It works in a tube or cylinder, B, and is pro- the cylinder, fitted with flexible caps, ea 4 TD ZZ, ZZ Y Wa VA ES “Sonse | SS Se oraerest dite. Uae I Ly GY Sa — A eA SKS A SS Y lap ss SOs i SSSs ZZ, SK PAS INNS y 2} A Fig. 3.—Valve. Se \ \ ON aN | stated, the ends of the valve-cylinders open /'may escape from the valves into it and 'They communicate with the opposite ends vided with two heads, one at each end of | | is operated by the valve they are connected partly by broken lines in Fig. 4 and partly by full lines at the left side of the figure, where the shell is broken away. As into this passage, so that the waste water thence into a common waste-pipe shown at the left in Fig. 3. The passages, of which there are two for each valve, do not communicate with the like passages in the other valves, but are separate and distinct. of the particular hydraulic cylinder which in the hydraulic cylinder can pass freely out into the waste-passage F, and thence to the waste-pipe on the left of Fig. 3. The’ racking-cylinder is worked in the following manner: At E E, Fig. 2, is a rigid casting which supports the sationary piston-rod of the racking-cylinder G. The latter, which carries the carriage, recipro- cates on the stationary piston. By means of this the gripping device on the carriage | is withdrawn or introduced into the fur- nace. The crane is swung by means {of the cylinder and rack shown at the foot in jp Ue We 7 ic: ae TB i Fig. yu Fig. 5.—Horizontal Section. STHE KENNEDY AND AIKEN HYDRAULIC CRANE, bearing against the sides of the cylinder. The cylinder B is encircled by three pas- sages—one around the middle and one Fig. 2. 4,—Plan. All the valves are controlled by the operator who is seated on the carriage. This enables him to operate the crane with greater precision and rapidity and with less danger to the furnace and other ob- jects with which it is used than can be done with any crane where the levers and operator’s seat are on the mast or in some other place less favorable for inspection of and at agreater distance from the work. With such cranes there is constant liabil- ity of objects coming between the operator and the work, and as he is usually de- pendent upon signals for direction he is constantly liable to swing the burden against the side or roof of the furnace or other object and thereby injure it. Ingots and other objects can be intro- duced into or taken from furnaces and similar places horizontally with great accuracy and safety, the furnace can be very closely filled, and the ingots moved | with by means of the pipes above and be-| therein by the operator alone and without | low I, Fig. 3. | The operation of the valves is as fol- the necessity of any signaling or additional labor except for opening and closing the neareachend. The passage communicates | lows: The operator moves the proper| doors of the furnace. The operator moves with the valve-cylinder by openings D, and the annular passages with valve-cylinder by perforations E. The ends of the cylin- der open into a passage, F. Four of these valves are inclosed in a common valve- case or shell, in which the passage by which the water is supplied to the valves communicates with each valve, so that a common supply-pipe (I, Fig. 5) serves all the valves. The outside of the communicat- ing passage fis shown in Fig. 4, and the manner of communication with the valve | is clearly illustrated by the sectional views Figs. 4 and 5. Extending around the four sides of the valve-case is the | lever to actuate the valve in the proper di- rection—say, for instance, downward, as in Fig. 3—and then the water from the Hs I passes from the chamber, through the openings D, into the cylinder B, and thence by perforations E and pipe below I, Fig. 3, to the end of the cylinder operated thereby, where it acts on the pis- ton in the desired direction. At the same time the downward movement of the valve opens communication between the pipe above I, Fig. 3, which leads from the other | end of the hydraulic cylinder by means of the upper passage and perforations E and | the cylinder above the upper valve-head, so with and is always near the work, and by means of the several levers can operate the ponderous machine with immense loads with the ease and precision of a hand-tool. The use of a movable racking-cylinder is an Important feature, because it enables the carriage to travel back and forth with the work and thereby dispenses with the necessity of projecting the lifting-bar therefrom, and hence gives the bar a stronger and better support, renders it more manageable and preserves the same distance between the end of the bar and the operator’s seat. The use of rigid cir- A PSPS a a ee ee de | BBL BB yaa) + 2 hhh <« Sit DIBBA ote kta j 756 culating-pipes dispenses with flexible pipe- | connections for the racking-cylinder and | makes a better, more efficient, reliable and | compact structure. The construction of | the water connections in the mast, whereby the rigid supply and waste pipes can be used with the rotating-mast and the fixed | circulating-pipes of the rotating-cylinder at the foot of the crane can be supplied from the rigid pipes mounted on the swing- ing-jib, are also of importance, as they form simple and efficient means of con- ducting the water without interfering with the movements of the mast or jib and dis- pense with the use of flexible pypes. The uniting of the valves in one case having common supply and waste pipes is not only convenient, but effects a very large | saving by dispensing with separate con- | necting pipes to each valve and gives a more compact and permanent arrangement. In the present instances two such pipes do the work of eight. It is necessary, in order that the opera- | tor may have a fixed position to and close | inspection of the work, that his seat, the lifting mechanism and the valves which control the movements of the racking- cylinder and lifting mechanism should be connected to and travel with the jib, and | that the carriage upon which the valves and lifting mechanism are carried should be moved by the racking-cylinder. The cranes at the Homestead Steel Works were designed to handle from 4000 to 5000 pound ingots, but the demand for larger plates forced the management to 1n- crease the weight from time to time until ingots and slabs weighing over 12,000 pounds have been charged and drawn. The use of the cranes has contributed to increasing the output of the plate-mill, until the output has risen to over 4000 gross tons of finished plate, or 6000 tons of ingots rolled into plate, on the one mill in one month. The largest single day’s output yet made was on the Ist of Novem- ber, when in 24 hours over 300 tons of fin- ished plate was rolled, sheared and shipped, representing the handling in the heating furnaces by the cranes of about 425 tons of slabs and ingots. We understand that Charles Huston & Sons, of Coatesville, have erected one of these cranes in their new plate-mill, and that negotiations are now pending for the construction of two others at the works of another manufact- urer of plates. Welding and I Corrugating Cylinders. The welding-machine of which we here- with present drawings is composed of two vertically arranged parallel arms or horns which are supported at their lower ends and carry at their upper or free ends weld- ing-rolls adapted to receive the overlap- ping edges of the blank being formed and weld them together, the edges, of course, being properly heated. The roll-support- ing arms A B are arranged vertically and are firmly fixed in the base C. The oppo- sitely arranged parts D E of the furnace consist ordinarily of some kind of re- movable ga3-furnaces, supported above the machine, as shown. The guide rail F is attached to the arm A and extends from the upper end of the arm to the base of the machine. On this guide travels the carriage G, whichis provided with friction- rolls H and is recessed for the passage of the arm A. At its inner side, between the arms, it is attached to the piston-rod I of the cylinder J, which extends below the bed and is firmly attached to the arms. This cylinder and its piston constitute a | hydraulic apparatus by which the carriage may be raised and lowered. The cylin- drical blank K is attached to the carriage by suitable clamps and arranged in posi- | tion tor its overlapping edges to be drawn in between the welding-roils L M, which are mounted in journals in the ends of THE IRON AGE. November 14, 1889 the arms. The bearings of the roll L are stationary, while those of the roll M are carried in a block, O, having a motion toward and from the roll L. This block is moved by the piston of the power-cyl- inder Q mounted on the arm B, the piston being adjustably connected with the block by the bell-crank lever R. The operation of the machine is as fol- lows: The blank, with its seam parts brought properly tegether, will be firmly clamped to the carriage. The furnaces will then be lowered, so as when started to apply heat to the lower end of the seam. The welding-rolls will be adjusted so as to be J h/;, At) tllirh i Wt, produce the irregularities of action th. horizontally-moving carriage may have This results in drawing the seam of the blank between the welding-rolls with re~ » larity and steadiness, which is imym,,x, to forming a good seam. The. — may of course be arranged hori: ...y, though the vertical position is prefexred. Mounting the eh npn on as also the power-cylinder of the welding-rolls upon the arms are also important features, for with such an arrangement of these parts the spring of the arms is easily compen- sated and the application of the welding- yressure regularly and uniformly made, It is claimed that by these means blanks of 1e ees se | | | Oni di ee ee Gf: 4 Wp, Yb: MACHINE FOR WELDING CYLINDERS. brought to the proper proximity when the piston P is at the lower end of the cylin- der Q. The furnaces may now be started, and when a portion of the seam is brought to welding heat the hydraulic ap- paratus J will be started and the seam will be drawn between the welding-rolls and its parts welded together. An important feature of the machine is mounting or supporting the parallel arms vertically, thereby saving much space in shop room over that that would be required for a machine of like capacity arranged horizontally. The blank can also be more economically handled when in a vertical necessary for the same. So, too, the ver- tical arrangement of the machine permits moving the blank-carriage in the same di- rection as gravity acts, and consequently its weight and frictional resistance will not | |jectionable in cylinder is necessarily heated to a point large dimensions and unusual thicknesses may be more successfully worked than in the common forms of machines used for similar purposes. CORRUGATING THE CYLINDER. It has heretofore been the practice to heat and corrugate the plain cylinders when they are in a horizontal position. This method has been found to be ob- various respects. The where the metal is softened sufficiently to be readily worked ip the corrugating ma- 'chinery, but such softening of the metal is position—that is, in regard to the space | also sufficient to permit the cylinder when in a horizontal position to collapse more or less—that is, there is a tendency of these cylinders when heated to become some- what flattened or to lose their true cylin- drical form during the process of heating, November 14, 1889 a8 well as during the subsequent steps of ‘their removal from the furnace to the corru- * gating-rolls and the corrugating. If the *4inders do lose, even to a slight extent, if cylindrical form, the corrugating .be properly accomplished, or at least no ithout considerable difficulty, and in come cases they may require to be reheated and again submitted to the rolls, all of which obviously adds greatly to the cost N N hidide THE IRON AGE. 757 at which it cannot be worked. If the fin- | may be placed between them. By means ished cylinder be heated and annealed in| of the crane D the cylinder is lifted from the horizontal position it is likely to be-| the furnace and swung to the cor- come bowed on one side or otherwise mis- | rugating-rolls. A cylinder, E, is shown shapen. But if the plain cylinder bekept|in position on the crane. F is the in a vertical position during heating, cor-| annealing-furnace and G is a crane rugating and annealing the difficulties| for removing the corrugated cylinder mentioned are obviated. from the rolls to this furnace. The plain In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation | cylinder is put into the furnace in an up- showing how tue plain cylinder is conveyed | right or vertical position, the furtace is > tk br eS 7g = Wet Me, | Y IIMS Fig. 2.—Plan View of Fig. 1. METHOD OF CORRUGATING CYLINDERS. of their manufacture, besides tending to the production of poor work. The | from the heating-furnace to the corrugat-| closed and the cylinder brought to the | ing machinery, and also showing a cylin-} proper temperature. It is then lifted out reason for the necessity of keeping the|der being corrugated. Fig. 2 is a plan| by the crane machinery, which preserves cylinders in true cylindrical form is that | view of the same parts. The gas-furnace | its vertical position, and is swung to the since the rolls act on them at right angles A is of any suitable form adapted to} bed of the corrugating-rolls. The remov- to their axis any practical deviation of the | properly heat the cylinder. The dome B| able roll is returned through the cylinder surface from a true cylindrical form tends to cause the corrugations being formed to | of this furnace is made movable, and the | to its bearings and the corrugating of the |top is substantially on the same level as| cylinder is performed. After the plain take a spiral direction, the correction of | the receiving-bed of the corrugating-rolls| cylinder has been thus corrugated it is which is a matter of great difficulty, call- ing for careful readjustment of the ma- chinery and further manipulation of the cylinder, thereby producing a loss of time 'C C, which are arranged in an upright po-| removed from the co:rugating-rolls and 'sition, and one of them is adapted to be | transferred to the annealing-furnace, where | lifted vertically away, or otherwise re-|it is reheated and annealed, this being moved from and returned to its operative | usually essential to the proper finishing of during which the metal may cool to a point | position, in order that the heated cylinder|the cylinder. In lieu of annealing the es ° ome + oul Mt ht hi he PE MB PEP BW Pty hi aad Dp) TaD MP PA BPD tek tlhe , F. Sik ‘ » SS et SS “ae a3 es By Vi ) FES: $B Bs am wake jae hy atm : 12 bi THE IRON AGE. November 14, 1889 corrugated cylinder in a special furnace it|ore trade who have suddenly lost their | the United States for their labor-fluxing may be returned to the heating-furnace for | mafket and have large sums of money in | possibilities whose cost, excluding silver that purpose, but it is preferred to have | vested in mines. These men are princi- value, will exceed value of contained lead. two furnaces, as shown. | pally Americans. An effort has been made to procure data Both of these machines are the inven-| The railroads are also heavy losers in ore | showing cost here at the frortier of a ton tion of Thomas F. Rowland, of New | freights, and notably the Mexican Inter- | of average silver-lead ore, bu: without re- liable results. Somewhat tit “uiplete data York. ‘national, the only railroad at present in Mexico said to be owned solely by Amer- would indicate that 14 cents per pound is | ican capital. the maximum value for lead at the frontier. MEXICAN SILVER-LEAD ORE. | The table accompanying this report is At present the Eagle Pass Collector of entirely computed from data taken fromthe Customs is instructed to bond doubtful — consular invoices of the past year. It shows ores to their ultimate destination. The | total tonnage and value per month and for objection made by ore-shippers that they entire year ending June 30, 1889, also the cannot risk paying railroad freights in the /amounts paid for railway transportation of So CONSUL FECHET’S REPORT. The first published report on the im- ports of Mexican ‘silver-lead ore, which contains figures admitting of tracing the character of the ores sent to this country, is the following by Consul Eugene Fechet, ot Piedras Negras: The exportation of silver-lead ores tothe United States practically began at Paso del Norte in 1884 upon the completion of the Mexican Central Railway. This ore trade rapidly assumed large proportions under the decision of the Treasury Depart- ment at Washington establishing a value | standard rather than a quantity standard | for the determination of the classification | of ores. The scarcity of lead fluxing ores in the | the ore from various points in the interior to frontier, and as a valuable indication in determining average grade for one year of this Mexican ore the averages for each month and for entire year of the silver and lead are set forth. The growth of this ore trade is well seen by taking for comparison the first and last months of the year under examination: July, 1888, 546 tons were shipped and in June, 1889, 4125 tons were shipped. The railroad freights for the last month of the year are $10,000 in excess of the value of the first seven months’ shipments. The value of ore shipped increased. from $16,- | 278.48 in July, 1888, to $163,879 in June, 1889. An examination of the monthly United States over a long haul on doubt- ful ores—that is to say, onores the ship- pers are doubtful about—I attach no im- portance to, as shippers are not generally ignorant of the respective and relative values of the silver and lead in their ores. A more reasonable objection to bonding cars of ore to their destination in the United States is the impossibility to keep each car’s contents separate and intact in cases where shipment in the United States is part by rail and part by water. This is the case with the ore shipments to Newark. N. J. The circular of July 17, 1889, from the Honorable Secretary of the Treasury calls attention to the wrongful practice of mix- ing ores from several different mines. This central and southwestern mining regions of | averages of silver and lead shows that in practice was not general and has ceased. the United States and the rapid extension | of the business of smelting ores of the pre- cious metals had caused a demand for | “*portations of Silver-Lead Ores from Me.xico to the United States Through the Port of fluxing ores out of all proportion to the supply in the United States. There were found in Mexico very exten- sive deposits of lead carbonates, and not infrequently associated with a lime and | iron gangue or matrix. These carbonates | have a wide range in their silver and lead | values, carrying from 15 to 50 per cent. of lead and from 10 to 100 ounces of silver. | in many cases high lead percentages are | associated with low silver values. The presence of lime and iron in quan- | titative excess makes these ores from Mex- | ico very desirable, not so much for their | silver and lead values as for the actual | work such ores will perform in the smelt- | ing-furnace. As an evidence of the wide | distribution of these Mexican ores in the | United States, they were shipped to Pueblo | and Denver, Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Newark, N. J., as well as to} points in New Mexico and along the fron- | tier, where large smelting plants have been | erected to treat Mexican ores in connection | with dry or non-lead ores from New Mex- | ico and Arizona. No complete data are at hand showing annual value and tonnage | of this ore trade; but from a calculation based upon the export ore tonnage enter- | ing the United States at Eagle Pass, Texas, | the total annual shipments for fiscal year ending June 30, 1889, will approach $1,500,000 in value. That a trade of such large extent should | have created and fostered great commer- | cial activity is readily uteuieed: that disastrous commercial results have quickly | followed the almost complete cessation of ore shipments at Piedras Negras is natural enough. The Mexican Government some three years since seriously considered the advisability of imposing an export duty upon raw Mexican ores, with a view of building up reduction-works in Mexico, and it was understood that the then exist- | ing doubt whether Mexico possessed a suf- ticient supply of coking coal and the high pric: of foreign coke caused the project to be abandoned. With the development of the Sabinas coal-fields in the State of| Coahuila, near the line of the Mexican In- ternational Railway, and the fair grade of coke made from the Sabinas coal, Mexico | is now able to smelt its own ores. The outcry in Mexico against the circu- | lar of July 17, 1889, from the Treasury | October Eagle Pass, Texas, for the Month. Tons. July August September 546.6 437.7 812.5 903.2 631.9 782.9 November December 1889, January POONER Ts. sacctneee March 1,096.2 1,237.6 1,679.6 3,337.9 3,435.3 4,125.3 May June 20,026.5 Totals for year.. the months of December, 1888, and Janu- ary and April, 1889, the relative propor- tions and values are such as to make the ore dutiable upon a valuation for lead of 1 cent less than the New York prices. Four assumed ratings for lead were taken: | 1, the value now in force at our frontier custom-houses of 1 cent less than New York price; 2, a value of 2 cents per pound (this value was for a time fixed by collector at El Paso); 3, 14 cents per pound; 4, 1 cent per pound. The aver- age monthly price for each month of the year for silver and lead formed the basis of the computation. It will be seen that under an assumed value of 1 cent less than New York prices for lead 8895 tons, or 44 per cent. of the an- nual tonnage, would have been dutiable the past fiscal year; at 2 cents per pound, 7296 tons, or 36 per cent. ; at 14 cents