The Iron Age 1889-12-19: Vol 44

‘THE Ship-Building on the Lakes. There are ten cities on the northern lakes, scattered along the frontier from Buffalo to Duluth, which are becoming important centers of the ship-building in- terest, and despite the propinquity of vast areas of forest affording the choicest ma- tertials for wooden construction, the use of iron and steel is calling into existence many important plants exclusively de- voted to building in metal. The outlook for the year 1890 is promising. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1889, ply between Chicago, Milwaukee, Glad- stone and Owen Sound. Elevators and terminal facilities are to be provided at the latter point to save the long rail haul via Sault Ste. Marie around Georgian Bay. American builders will naturally look for profitable contracts. Considerable new tonnage will be required to replace losses ; several first-class steamers, representing a value of $850.000, having passed out of existence. Altogether 14,000 tons have been stricken from the registers. Con- Inquiry | trary to a common belief, heretofore it has IRON AGE SS $$ _____———g———= |matters will be consummated by corres- |pondence. All the members present re- | ported trade to be in good condition. j = a - | Automatic Gear-Cutting Engine. | This machine, known as the No. 4 au- tomatic gear-cutting engine, is arranged for cutting both bevel and spur gears, as shown by the engravings on the following page, of sizes not exceeding 18 inches in diameter, 4-inch face, aud not coarser than 6 diametral pitch (about 4 inch cir- AUTOMATIC GEAR-CUTTING regarding work in all of the ship-yards) been demonstrated that the most powerful | cular pitch). shows a total of 33 boats under construc- tion, with a carrying capacity of 78,950 | gross tons and a valuation of $5,800,000. | At this time a year ago the ship-builders | of the lakes had contracts for 59 boats, | valued at $7,124,000, and capable of carry- | ing 100,950 gross tons. Two years ago the capacity of 60 boats under con- tract was 1€8,525 gross tons, ard their | valuation $8,325,000. Of the 33 boats 20 will be of iron. Cleveland will turn out 13; Bay City, 6; Duluth, 4; De- troit, 4; Toledo. 1; Buffalo, 1; Gibraltar, 1; Marine City, 1; Milwaukee, 1, and Sheboygan, 1. Of the 33 boats all but 5 are steamers. The tendency to big steel steamers with no consorts is evident. According to latest reports the Canadian Pacific also aspire to enlarge the lake marine. It is‘said to be the intention of the company to build six fine steamers to ENGINE, BUILT BY BROWN boats are unable to cope with the fright- ful zales that occasionally sweep over the lakes. ee A meeting of a number of plow-share manufacturers was held in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the 11th inst., six firms being represented. J. S. Brown acted as chair- man and W. W. Speer, of the Globe Plow Works, of Pittsburgh, as secretary. The advisability of advancing the price of steel plow-shares was considered. The recent advance in the price of steel has resulted in an advance in the price of the sheared product. This advance in materials is 1elt particularly by the plow manufact- urers in the price of shares used in the making of cultivators. It was decided to increase the price of shares enough to over- come the increase in the cost of materials. The proposed advance and other business & SHARPE MFG. COMPANY. It 1s entirely automatic in | all its motions, cutting through for each | tooth and revolving the wheel until all the | teeth are cut, thus enabling the{operator to attend to other work. The indexing is done by a worm and worm-wheel moved by change gears. The blank being put in place and the cutter- head adjusted for length of stroke, the wheel is lowered by a screw having a dial reading to thousandths of inches until the proper depth of cut is obtained, when the cutter passes through the blank and back by a quick return movement; the wheel is then moved the proper distance for the next tooth, and so on until finished. The cutter-head is adjustable at any angle for cutting bevel wheels, the degrees being marked on a graduated arc, no other change being required. There is also pro- vision for moving the cutter out of center each way for cutting bevel wheels. A suf- | | { \ \ ee ay - a: | Ce 952 THE IRON AGE. December 19, 1889 ficient number of change gears accompany the machine for dividing all numbers from 12 to 50 and all even numbers to 100, also all numbers divisable by 3 to 150 and by 4 to 200. A closet in the base of the ma- chint affords a convenient place for cut- ters, change gears, arbors and wrenches. Overhead works are furnished with each machine by the manufacturers, the Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Company, of Providence, R. L., consisting of self-oiling hangers, pulleys, shipper stud, stops, &c. Tight and loose pulleys are 10 inches diameter, 3} inches face. Counter-shaft should run 200 revolutions per minute. Weight of machine complete, prepared for shipment, about 2200 pounds. Floor space, 47 x 32 inches. — Se -_ Bethlehem at the Maritime Exhibition. In reviewing the exhibits at the Inter- national Maritime Exhibition the Boston Herald prints the following : One ot the most notable and remarkable displays of the exhibition has been put in place by the Bethlehem Iron Company, of South Bethlehem, Pa. Of the many val- uable exhibits with which the exhibition abounds probably none other shows to so great an extent the marvelous strides this country has made in maritime science and mechanics. This exhibit consists of three immense splendid steel forgings made under the huge hydraulic presses now successfully at work at the Bethlehem company’s shops. The first is a crank- shaft manufactured for the New South Hecla hoisting-gear of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. It is a hollow shaft of open-hearth fluid compressed steel ; length of body, 29 feet 14 inches ; extreme length over cranks, 30 feet 74 inches ; diameter, 16 inches ; throw of cranks, 4 feet ; weight, 17,434 pounds. The shaft was loaned to the Maritime Exhi- bition by the Calumet and Hecla company at the request of the Bethlehem company. It 1s the most beautiful piece of shafting ever manufactured in the United States and is fully equal to any product of a similar char- acter ever made in the world. It is as highly polished as the mechanism of a watch, and will give to many citizens of Boston interested in the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company an opportunity to in- spect the character of the machinery re- quired to unearth the ore from the depths of their Lake Superior mines. A photo- graph placed upon the shaft gives a de- tailed description of it. While this shaft illustrates the perfection to which ma- chine-finishing can be carried upon large masses of steel, the other two forgings are examples of the condition of Bethlehem’s work when it comes from the hydraulic forge and before machining. One is a tube or barrel, for a 10-inch breech-loading high-power rifle. It 1s 27 feet 2 inches long ; largest outside diameter, 204 inches; weight, 23,000 pounds. At one end a }- inch cut bas been taken for a distance of 3 feet, and one end has been faced to show the absolute soundness of the metal and the beauty of the forging. It has a 9- inch forged hole throughout its entire length, as regular and true as if it had been bored. The third forging is for a strength- ening hoop of the 12-inch breech-load- ing rifle for the \United States Army. It is a cylindrical hollow forging, 6 feet 34 inches long; outside diameter, 474 inches; inside diameter, 38% inches; weight, 12,- 940 pounds. These forgings are perfect in many senses, and have already excited the greatest enthusiasm and admiration. The modern high-power steel breech- loading rifles, for which these forgings are intended, are composed of a tube, or bar- rel, a long jacket extending over the rear half of the tube, and several layers of strengthening hoops. The exhibit further demonstrates the ability of the people of | been made of a higher quality of steel, these United States to reach excellence by | making serious demands upon the spaces | a shorter path than our neighbors across | and weights so greatly needed for fuel and the sea when we once enter upon a policy. | ammunition and store supplies. The shops where these ee —— were made were commenced less than three years ago. They now cover several acres, | The New Providence Cable Tramway. and are filled with special tools capable of manufacturing and finishing the most ; powerful guns and the heaviest shafting | way, Providence, was successfully made and armor-plate. The shafting of the | Wednesday afternoon, December 11, one Baltimore and Yorktown came from the | of the small open cars being used, and the shops of the famous firm of Sir John Whit- | entire distance of three miles was made, worth & Co., and was made of fluid com- | without a stop or accident, over the hitherto pressed hydraulic-forged open-hearth steel, | insurmountable obstacles of the East-Side these orders having been placed before the | Hull. EE The trial trip over the new cable tram- Bethlehem plant was erected. Whatisso| For the past quarter of a century well known in the foreign world as Whit- | schemes of more or less practicable nature worth fluid-compressed steel has already | have been proposed for overcoming this been replaced in this country by Bethle-| barrier. The builders of this road were hem fiuid-compressed steel, and Bethle- | the Lane National Construction Company. hem steel is now the standard for heavy | At the head of this company is H. M. shafting, gun forgings and armor-plate. | Lane, one of the most successful cable- The company have supplied all the shaft- road builders in the country. Mr. Lane, ings for the cruisers Philadelphia, Newark although still a young man, is a construct- and San Francisco, and are at work upon | ing-engineer of 15 years’ experience, and is that for the armored coast-defense ship | the patentee of much of the machinery and Maine. The War and Navy departments appliances which are to be used in the have placed with this company all their|running of the new road. He built the orders for 8-inch, 10-inch and 12-inch high- | Vine street and Walnut Hill cable lines in power rifled guns, and the contracts for all! Cincinnati, each 8 miles in length, both SPECIMENS OF WORK DONE BY the armor for the monitors and armored cruisers and coast-defense vessels have been given to the Bethlehem com- pany. While the whole nation ought to be, every one who witnesses this exhibition surely will be justly very proud of Bethlehem’s work in _ releas- ing the United States from dependence upon foreign manufacturers for the supply of heavy guns and armor for our defenses and shaftings for our ships. The exhibit has been set up by Lieutenant Jacques, late of the navy and member and secretary of the gun foundry and other boards, who resigned his commission in the navy to be- come the director of the ordnance of the Bethlehem Company. This magnif- icent collection is supplemented with drawings and photographs of the works. One large photograph by Gute- kunst, of Philadelphia, is 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, and shows in detail all the immense buildings of the unique es- tablishment. One has but to look at this wonderful display to appreciate fully the importance of such an establishment, in its ability to supply the needs of our war and mercantile marine. Its vast importance can perhaps be better appreciated when we recall that in the absence of a suitable plant in this country for the manufacture -of heavy steel shafting, three of the ships of the squadron of evolution had to be equipped with iron shafting of greater dimensions and weight than if they had AUTOMATIC GEAR-CUTTING ENGINE. of them climbing hills three times the hight of College Hill in that city, and broke the record in Denver by building 12? miles of cable road and a magnificent driving-station for the Denver Tramway Company, between July 16 and December 18 of last year. Mr. Lane’s principal assistants were Charles H. Fitch and E. R. Baker, draftsmen; Charles A. Mixer, civil- engineer; W. S. Downey and Richard Tierney, superintendents. Mr. Mixer is the inventor of many of the devices in use upon the road, including the elevation of the curves. Because of the lateral force necessary to deflect a car from the straight line, the track rails for a curve are mace with high guards for the inside. It has been found upon all horse and cable tramways that ajar always occurs upon entering and leaving a curve. As the result of extended observation and study this system alone builds its curves so that the cars can be run around them without this disagreeable lurching. Persons standing in the cars ride around curves without the risk of being thrown off their feet. This is accomplished by carefully adjusting the elevation and gauge of the tracks and by peculiarly shaping the ends of the guard-rails, so that the car-wheels are guided immediately on entering a curve, instead of being com- pelled to run unguarded across the wide groove and strike violently on the other side, as is usually the case in other tracks. December 19, 1889 Mr. Mixer came to the city in Novem- ber, 1888, and in order to save their charter under his direction the company laid a short section of track 400 feet in length on Angell street above Cooke that fall. The light T-rail of 35 pounds to the yard adopted in its construction was not used in any other portion of the line. It was found impossible to pave up to it, and so an entirely different track rail was laid for the remainder of the road. It is called the Lane yoke-rail, was patented last spring, and is used in Providence for the first time in the world. It is a girder rail. A flange is put down deep. A bead on the opposite side prevents it from spring- ing upward—a tendency of all rails after they are laid. The flange and head present quite a formidable opposing section of metal to that at the head, which secures stability, firmness and symmetry. Further- more, additional strength is secured to the yoke by inclining the web. The car-wheels roll upon its head, which is not excessively wide, like some other rails, and hence obviates the liability of the slipping of horses’ shoes. It weighs 40 pounds to the yard, and is rolled in 32-foot lengths the same as the slot slides. This girder rail rests upon and is notched in the outer end of the bracket-like yokes, making a simple yet extremely strong fastening. The slot rail is made in 32-foot lengths, weighing 50 pounds to the yard. Both center and side rails are manufactured from the same steel as is specified for the Pennsylvania Central Railroad. The con- centration of metal is at the top of the rail, in order to provide greater lateral stiffness where most required, and there is an almost total absence of the usual broad lower flange at the bottom, wherc stiffness is not essential. The web is not uniform in thickness, but below the bolt, at which point the necessity for the thickness of metal ceases, it is much reduced to the very narrow flange at the bottom that is set into the notch in the yoke. The upper surface of the slot rail is 3 inch above the head, to insure drainage from instead of into the slot. Richard Tierney has had charge of spe- cial work, terminals, curves, &c., while W. S. Downey, who has had charge of the construction of more miles of cable road than any other man in the country, has superintended the construction of the straight track. The caterinary curve modifications, deep yokes and tunnel un- der Benefit street, to preserve the plane in which the cable runs, are among the most important changes decided upon since last spring’s work began. The two machines which will run the cable are Harris-Corliss- latest automatic cut-off engines, the largest of 165 horse- power and the smaller of 150 horse- power. In order to start the car the foot is re- moved from a treadle, which releases the wheel-brakes. A hand-lever is pushed forward, which releases the track-brakes. The wheel on the grip is then turned in the direction of the sun, closing the jaws on the cable and the car moves along with it. The brakes on the grip-car are three. First, the wheel-brakes, four in number, one on each wheel. Each is a chilled-iron shoe, which conforms to the face of the wheel. By the treadle they are pushed against the wheel with sufficient force to stop their turning. The track-brakes are two, one on each side between the wheels. These have each a wooden shoe, 14 feet long, which fits the head of the rail. They move vertically and by the lever-handles are pressed down on to the track with force enough almost to lift the car from the track. The are are four sand-boxes on the car containing dry, sharp sand. By pressing a button with the foot this is sprinkled between the rails, brakes and wheels, increasing the friction. But for THE IRON AGE. 9538 an emergency there is still another device, the chock-brakes. These are four blocks, bound with rubber, that may be instantly dropped, one ‘or each wheel, by kicking a latch. The car is then tightly held to the track by the adhesive qualities of the rub- ber, and cannot move in any direction. It must even be pried loose with crow-bars before it can be started from the track. The engine- power required in the economic running of a cable-road has a piston speed too fast for the rope, and must necessarily ke reduced by wheels of dif- ferent sizes. On the main shaft is a wheel 6 feet in diameter which by means of cotton ropes drives one 25 feet in diameter, on the shaft of which is the cable-drum only 10 feet in diameter. By this means the economic engine speed is reduced to the practicable cable speed. For the tension-carriage, the object of which is to keep the cable taut, a new design is used for the first time. Hereto- fore all cable roads had a deep pit the length of the house, which was altogether objectionable. This floor is the first to be laid flush. The carriage is a rectangular frame with a wheel at each corner. On each side are frame standards, on top of which is a 10-foot sheave. The cable after leaving the driving-drum passes around this sheave. From the back of the car- riage is a rope leading to a set of weights in the back of the building hung over suitable wheels. The weight may be in- creased or diminished to furnish a con- stant tension on the cable to any amount desired. It takes out all the slack in the cable and prevents jerking of the cars when applying the grip. Also on each side of the wheel below the frame are hung weights with an elbow-joint and a pawl which gauges in a rack on the floor. This is an additional and a variable ten- sion according as the elbow-joint is pulled straight or much bent. The power-house, which is built of brick with rough stone trimmings and a glass front, stands on South Angell street on asite that nature seems to have prepared for it, as the lot is lower than the grade of the street, thus rendering it possible to utilize the second story for car-house, waiting-room and offices, while the base- ment is used for boiler-room, machinery and repair-shop. On the street-floor the waiting-room is provided with a gallery from which the driving-machinery in the basement can be viewed. The structute has a frontage of 115 feet and a depth of 134 feet. It has a smoke-stack 120 feet high. The large drum revolves at exactly right angles to the direction in which the cable moves on South Angell street, the corners being turned simply as in any machinery where pulleys are used by means of four 10-foot sheaves in the wheel-pit, which is under the track in tront of the station. Two of the grooved wheels revolve on the same axis, while from and on to each the cable is taken and released at right angles by sheaves turning underneath and in the same plane with the grip-slot. The cable moves over and around the hundreds of sheaves with little noise com- pared with the rumbling and grinding sounds and the noise made by some roads. The 14-inch cable used is said to be used in but one other city in America, Los Angeles, Cal., which is the Western or Pacific limit of this kind of tramway con- struction, as Providence is the Eastern or Atlantic limit. In most other cities the cable is 14 inches in diameter, while in Kansas City it is 14 inches. A 14-inch cable used on the Gilbert avenue line in Cleveland, of the same length as this, cost about $4300. The three miles of wire rope for the Providence cable tramway cost about $3500. The life of a wire cable is about a year. Sometimes it wears evenly and sometimes very unevenly, ow- ing to unaccountable differences in quality of material. When+he main wire of a strand breaks the cable at that point 1s materially impaired. Every night after traffic is over the cable is run slowly through the power-room, where the splicer carefully inspects it for flaws, which are promptly attended to. The cost of the construction of this tram- way, including building and equipment is about $250,000. The contractors for stock, machinery, labor, &c., were: William A. Harris Steam Engine Com- pany, of Providence, engines; Whittier Machine Company, of Boston, boilers and piping; Robert Poole & Co., of Baltimore, driving and winding machinery; Johnson Company, ot Johnstown, Pa., steel rails of all kinds and yokes; Edmund Grinnell, of New Bedford, yokes; Carolina Oil and Creosote Company, of Wilmington, N. C., creosoted wood siding for tunnel; Penn- sylvania Bolt and Nut Company, of Le- banon, Pa., bolts; carrying and curve sheaves, with box extension curbs, trom Nathan Steadman, of Aurora, Ind. ; drain- pipe and cement, James C. Goff, Provi- dence; grip-traps, Edmund Grinnell, of New Bedford; Johnson Company, of Johnstown, Pa., splice-bars, special angle slot-rail and guard-rail; buildings, exca- vating and masonry, E. W. Dornsife, of Providence; cable, John A. Roebling’s Sons Company, of Trenton, N. J.; cars, John Stephenson Company, of New York. EEE — Announcement was made in Pittsburgh last week that the magnificent office build- ing of the Philadelphia Natural Gas Com- pany, located at the corner of Penn avenue and Ninth street, in that city, had been purchased by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company for the sum of $600,000. The building was erected about two years ago and is probably the finest office building in Pittsburgh. It is nine stories in hight and contains three electric elevators, which are running continually all day. The floors are all tiled and the lower part of the walls are marble. Two entrances to the building are composed entirely of marble. In the large offices glass partitions set in highly polished brass posts give privacy to the occupants. The fixtures of the offices are also very costly. When the new works of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, now in process of erec- tion at Wilmerding, are completed, the company will move their offices from Robinson street, Allegheny, to the build- ing just purchased. In addition to the Philadelphia company the following cor- porations occupy ofhces in the building: The Westinghouse Electric Company, the Allegheny County Light Company, the Keystone Construction Company, the Fuel, Gas and Electric Engineering Com- pany, the Union Switch and Signal Com- pany, the Standard Underground Cable Company and the Standard Car Heating and Ventilating Company. The Penn Club will occupy the ninth floor of the building when they are organized. The Lehigh Zinc Company, who have been using the Taylor producer on a spelter furnace for the past six months, are now preparing to enlarge the plant and use them on other furnaces. The Bethle- hem Iron Company have eight in use and two more building. One is being erected at Steelton for the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and a plant of six large pro- ducers is nearly ready for shipment to Bolivia for the Huanchaca Company, which is the great gold and silver mining company of South America. All the char kilns of the Brooklyn Sugar Refinery will be equipped with these producers by the be- ginning of the year. The company are also erecting producers in the neighbor- hood of Pittsburgh and in Alabama, Cali- fornia and other places. 4a - ie) Mb Band-SaW Guide. | In the accompanying illustration we | present a general view of a new band- | saw guide invented by R. McChes- | ney, and which is being placed s the market by Goodell & Waters, 3101 Chestnut street, Philadelphia, Pa. The construction of this device is such that friction is greatly reduced, and the ad- justment for saws of different widths a very simple operation. In its downward motion the saw revolves the wheel form- ing the back guide, and which is set on an | angle, preventing cramping or twisting of the blade. The manufacturers state that the wheel, running on a ball bearing, re- quires no oil, does not heat and is always in proper adjustment. With each guide is provided wood and metal side-pieces, | which are readily set for different-gauged saws. The statement is made that the re- | volving wheel referred to keeps the saw firmly up to its work and has a tendency | to straighten the blade at the back. The thumb-screw clearly shown in the illustra- tion adjusts the jaws for saws of different widths. The device is made as upper and lower guides, and is applicable to any make of machine and also to large band- resaws, A — Now that the great culm banks at the coal mines in Pennsylvania are being suc- cessfully manufactured into brick-fuel for general use, a struggle has commenced for their possession. At the Draper Colliery, near Reading, the firm of Beddall Brothers & Co. claim the right, under a lease, to run a siding to an extensive bank of coal- dust near at hand, but the colliery propri- etors, backed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, claim that the Beddalls have no right to do this. Recently the workmen employed on either side engaged in a sharp conflict. The Cornell Iron Works have been en- gaged for some time past in building a continuation of the elevated trestle from 159th to 162d street, to enable the engines to take coal at the end of the route, This BAND-SAW |the new | July, 1890. at work in the yards of the Union Iron THE IRON AGE. December 19, 1889 stretch of trestle is being built along the river edge. used to hoist coal directly from canal- boats into pockets, from which the engines will draw their supply. Two large elevators will be Westinghouse Machine Company’s Works. It is always of interest to visit a work- shop where a well-known machine is pro- duced, for the simple reason that we always expect to find methods and appli- ances fully equal in all respects to the quality of the machine produced. In other words, if the machine built is of a decidedly superior character we naturally conclude that the machinery by means of which it is accomplished and also the methods pursued bear superior merit in the same ratio. We recently had the privi- lege of passing through the works of the Westinghouse Machine Company, in Pittsburgh, where the well-known West- inghouse engines are turned out. A brief outline of how this business was brought to its present magnitude may be of inter- est. It has always been the policy of the company to build engines of certain stand- ard sizes, from which no variation what- ever has ever been permitted. It has fur- ther been the custom to keep ten or more of each of the sizes in stock, this of course being done to facilitate the quick filling of orders. Five years ago ten standards, ranging trom 4 horse-power to 125 horse- power, were built. The warehouse was filled with these engines, and the works IR Steel Ship-Building on the Pacific Coast.—Steel ship-building is now an established industry on the Pacific Coast, deriving its origin from the awarding by the General Government of contracts tor OOS SSS GUIDE. SSSSsooug steam cruisers. Work on the new coast-defense vessel Monterey is pro- gressing rapidly. The vessel is now about half completed. She will be launched by Over 1400 men are actively Cupola-Door. Works, of San Francisco. Not the slight- est delay is being experienced in the re- ceipt of material, the Pacific Rolling Mills keeping up the supply without trouble. The machinery construction is keeping pace with the hull work. The Union Iron Works people are particularly anxious to make a good showing on the Monterey. run on those sizes which were not well represented in the store-house. The smaller sizes have always been made on shop orders of 100. All parts are inter- changeable, are made in quantity and as- sembled as needed. The company have perfected a system of organized agen- The cruiser San Francisco has been|ies in all parts of the country in or- launched for overamonth, Hermachinery |r to secure first-class engineering ability, on the ground that it is dangerous to trust the first installment of their engines to those who may be fully ignorant or who may be prejudiced. is finished and is at present being placed in the ship. Officers of the company believe that the vessel will be ready for her pre- liminary steam trials some time in the latter part of February. The cruiser Charleston has now passed out of the hands of the contractors and is at the Mare Island Navy Yard receiving her out- fit. The San Francisco, like the Mon- terey, is to be fitted out entirely at the Union Iron Works, and for the first time in the history of the naval service a vessel is to come out complete from the yards of the contractors. JUNIOR AUTOMATIC, In the South and Southwest the com- pany went into direct competition with engine-builders, having ascertained that the user in general, while liking the engine and its qualities, wanted some- thing cheaper. They ascertained at what price the commonest slide-valve engine was yenerally sold and the sizes used. They found that 90 per cent. of the trade in that part of the country could be ——— A prison labor bill adopted by the New York Trades Assembly will be pressed upon the State Legislature with the ob- ject of prohibiting the sale of any articles manufactured in whole or in part by in- mates of penal institutions and reforma- tories supported by the State, but requir- ing that such articles shall be wholly utilized by charitable institutions. covered by three sizes of engines, and pow- ers of 15, 25 and 35 horse-power were manufactured. This started the business in the Junior automatic, which was well received, and while its interior construc- tion and finish were the same as in the larger and more costly sizes, its exterior was devoid of unnecessary finish, this bringing the cost of the engine down to a December 19, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 955 price at which it could compete success-|the company now build the following | platform is a hood having a conical shape fully with the common slide-valve. It was | sizes, known as |and of about the same size as the plat- reduced in weight whenever possible with- | form, in the apex of which is a flue lead- out reducing the strength and labor was _|ing up through the roof. A blast sent saved on its construction at all points. The through this removes the hot air from the STANDARD AUTOMATIC. first Junior engine had a Corliss rocking- Cylinders. |platform and makes it much more valve, which was afterward replaced bythe| Horse- |__ tevolutions | convenient and pleasant for the work- regular balanced piston-valve. This en- | power. ; : per jmen. The cupola-door, of which we gine was quickly successful, and as the | Diameter. Stroke. | minute. | present a rough vertical section, was de- trade increased it was found advisable to | ——— — |signed by the foundry superintendent, add three other standard sizes, and 5, 10! H. H. Garrett. Although it has been in | - ‘ * ° > and 50 horse-power were designed. To| 10 Bis —_ = so ” pos the place on the cupola over two years, these will now be added a 75 horse-power | 15 6 Ci a 400 the outer sheet of iron, which we judged whenever the condition of work in the 25 4 390 jto be about 4 inch thick, was not shops makes this possible. These engines 5 a a 2s, | Warped in the least, and is always so cool are made in quantities of never less than | 60 Ww | 10 3) |that it barely feels warm to the touch. 50, and usually 100. 7 12 se 11“ 300 The construction of the door is extremely aUTOMATIO COMPOUED 100 Bg * jk 300 simple and will be understood from the = ' a is “4 | |B Se 230 drawing. To the rear side of the door The company were then called upon to = ix” rm vs cae ;and held a little way from it is a fire- design an engine superior in regard to fuel) 35 20) « |i « 250) brick plate some 24 to 3 inches thick economy to the Junior or Standard. This which when the door is closed rests upon led to the designing of a theoretically per- | ——— aaa ree = |the bottom of the cupola opening, while fect indicator card, and then making an | FOUNDRY. | at the topand between the iron plate and engine which would approach this cardas| The foundry, forging-shop and heavy | the fire-brick is a space of about 4 inch. closely as could be done in practice. Ex- | machinery department are in a building 480 When the blast is on the current passing IETS AAR oe = ra 7 ON ates — ee, Ne eaten Ie Figs. 1 and 2.—End Views in Elevation, Showing Different Positions of Movable Cheeks. a = 4 / Le “<G yeaa liga GY So aan ae Y <7Y > ‘A. -o-]-¢ os it) Re HY Etre y Fy OR Pap Ry U J Ht aes BY] Fig. 4.—Vertical Transverse Central Section, Showing Mold Fig. 3.—Vertical Longitudinal Central Section. and Core in Position. FLASK FOR MOLDING THE CRANK-CASES. periments carried over a period of one and | feet long by 100 feet wide, of which the| up the cupola draws in a current of fresh one-half years brought the automatic com- | foundry occupies about one-half. All pig-| air which passes up between the iron plate pound to this point. Of this engine nine | iron is delivered on the ground-floor and | and the fire-brick backing and enters the sizes are now built, using steam-pressure | taken to the cupola-door by an elevator. | stack. This current has been found to be up to 150 pounds, the dimensions ranging | Coke is received directly on the platform. | sufficient in its cooling effects to keep the from 8 x 13 cylinders and 8-inch stroke | Sand is delivered in bins at the end of the| iron plate of the door in as perfect condi- to 18 x 30 cylinders and 16-inch stroke, or | foundry adjoining the cupola in order to/| tion as it was when first put in place. from 35 horse-power to 250 horse-power | save handling as far as possible and to} We noticed a frame for drying ladles, at 100 pounds pressure. In addition to | facilitate the quick delivery of material | which consisted of a rectangular shape of the automatic compound and the Junior,! where it is needed. Above the cupola! bars of iron placed parallel with each 956 THE IRON AGE. December 19, 1889 other and so spaced as to support the! from the top of the nowel during their | respectively, and the cheeks being entirely ladle and handle carrying it. After a pot|traverse to or from the positions which clear of the core while swinging on their has been lined, it is placed in the handle | they occupy when the mold is ready for | hinge-pins, there is no liability to injury of and on this frame dried by means of a jet |the pouring of the casting, as shown on | the core or mold in the movements of the of natural gas introduced in the inside. | the left of Fig. 2, and from or to positions | cheeks. All big cylinder work is cast in green sand,|in which they can be swung down- | Theaccessibility and facility of manip- OCCT MI £-» =| Ui TT iu | } NY MN ’ Wo earns NA NI RA | SAN va BRASS-MELTING cores and all, and a 5000-pound casting is | an every-day occurrence. MOLDING CRANK-CASES, An ingenious arrangement for molding the crank-cases which, as is well known, inclose the cranks of the engine and form a reservoir, in the bottom of which oil, acting as a lubricant, is placed, was in- vented by Mr. Garrett. Of this we show several drawings. The object in design ing this flask was to provide a way in which castings having lateral flanges or re-entering curved faces, could be ac- curately made by the employment of green- sand cores, and was intended for use par- ticularly in the casting of the crank-cases above referred to. The cope is rectangu- lar in form, and is provided with the usual cope-bars for separating the sand and rests | upon the top of the cheeks, each of which | is a two-sided box or case open upon its four sides, except in so far as the latter is closed by division plates projecting in- | wardly from its ends, these plates being | shaped on their inner ends to correspond with the casting to be formed. The di- | vision-plates of the opposite cheeks abut | one against the other when the parts are in position for the pouring of the metal. Each of the cheeks is hinged at bottom to a nowel by lugs or hinge-plates secured to | its opposite ends, each of the plates hav- | ing an elongated slot or recess at its lower end, fitting over a hinge-pin, fixed to the end of the nowel. The _ re- cesses are semi-circular at their ends, at which they are of corresponding diameter with the hinge-pins, and their intermediate | portions are slightly convex or curved downwardly from a horizontal plane, so that by the application of levers to the outer portions of the hinge-pins as ful- crums, the levers bearing against pins on the hinge-plates, the cheeks may be moved transversely upon the nowel, being by the,| curvature of the recesses slightly raised | hinge-pins. | by lowering the links. FURNACE. wardly to expose their open inner sides, as shown on the right of Fig. 1, the inner ends of the recesses then fitting over the The cheeks are suspended from a crane by links coupled to pins on the ends of the cheeks, and when in their SY As DY RAY WEEE BRASS-MELTING outer positions are swung upon the pins It will be seen that by moving out and turning down the cheeks, the operation of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, unobstructed access is‘ af- forded to the central portion of the nowel and to the cheeks for the formation of the core and the side portions of the mold | ulation afforded renders the use of green- sand cores readily practicable in the flask. | The central and major portion of the core, Figs. 3 and 4, is filled up with fragments of coke or analogous material, which are ‘inserted between and maintained in posi- tion by a series of core-supporting rods, secured to and extending vertically above a horizontal plate or core-iron, which is sup- | ported upon a frame, open at its upper and lower sides and located centrally in the nowel on the bed upon which the same rests. A perforated vent-pipe for the es- cape of gases is fitted into a socket in the core-iron above an opening therein, and the core-iron with its supporting-rods and | filling is held in position by a removable holding-down bar, passing through one end of the nowel and fitting-holes in the |supporting-frame of the core-iron, A rod is screwed at its upper end into the cap of the vent-pipe and engages the hold- ing-down bar by a hook on its lower end. | The holding-down bar thus serves to main- tain the core in position, and upon its re- moval, after the completion and cooling of the casting, the casting and the core /may be removed together fro.n the flask. FOUNDRY APPLIANCES. | Inthe foundry are three power and three | hand cranes for handling the work. In the end near the forge-shop are core ovens provided with two carriages on tracks and heated with natural gas. One of them is divided into two compartments and con- tains reels for light work. The cleaning of castings is facilitated by a jet of air under pressure, flexible hose permitting the application of the air to all parts of the castings easily. This method has been found to work admirably, and to fully and quickly remove all sand and dirt adhering loosely to the casting. The air-pressure used is 70 pounds. In this end of the foundry is also a compressed-air trolley, operating upon overhead tracks so ar- ! Vee os <2 ‘ FURNACE.—PART IN SECTION. ranged that the heavy castings can be picked up and carried to points where the next operation takes place. | FURNACE FOR MELTING BRASS. A peculiarity in the foundry, and one which we think is employed only in this case, is the furnace for melting brass, and December 19, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 957 which was also designed by Mr. Garrett. |12inches. The furnace has been found to This, as will be seen from the perspective | work well and to give an output of molten ana sectional perspective we herewith| metal far in excess of that derived from present, consists of a rectangular brick | pots using the same quantity of gas. oven, in which are flues arranged as shown in the section. Natural gas is used as the fuel and is led into the furnace through In the forge-room are two steam-ham- four pipes, K, placed near the bottom atone | mers, of 800 and 6000 pounds. In the end, the gas passing the flue A up the flue | room adjoining, which 1s a machine-shop B and then turns to the right as we look at | intended for the heaviest work, are a 7- the drawing. It is now free to take one or| foot boring-mill, 10-foot boring-mill, 6- both of two courses, either up through | foot square planer having a bed 18 feet the flue F, which leads to the chimney, or! long and a lathe intended for unusually through the flue G, passing on its way! massive work. Overhead are traveling- FORGING. Test No. 127. Copy. Date, June 28, 1889. OFFICE RECORD. Tested for Alva H. Kirk. Class of engine, A utomatic Compound, Address Fergus Falls, Minn. Size of engine, 10 and 18 x 10. Jacketing, None. Maker’s name, The Westinghouse Machine Co. | Steam a 1% in. Engine used for Exhaust lap, 0 in. Tested at Shops at Pittsburgh. Number of engine, 88. TESTERS’ RECORD. 1 2 » 4 5 6 Number of engine...... Me Medcoucleendliorecenticcueneess Seveledavae weet Boiler pressure......... BO bcscuslesqclhacscsslenactieaxes shave lbeeancatae Speed 2... ccc cccccccces GR, hawise. leamelhcncacaheccstlcssccabaduclleacwccheses Brake lO, ..seccsceces Me) Wigakad bes dulhcswudabascabresa va becesbecudé aletes Dead weight on scales. . Mn, WWindesnabwceslPasawaskedes eceves “walbacedwdle nes Tine OF MOTE. kccccecss 11 11\20 ERAS Wiwsues ae tale uke Lae ee ahaa 11\10 11\30 SEP isis ceased: veasabenes Time of SOP... .- cere es 11:20 11\40 _ ae ee amelisc cea MOhaw ox Duration of test........ 20 20 MD Vevcawe ahtallxcaqadieedeliowiese terns Pan barrel, “A”... 866 365 Oe. ios aeadladsewulaKe derenaalew es Empty barrel, “A”... 100 100 Re liswxsas swells nawsbeneslleceess Full barrel, a aaa s A 861 365| OO abe ecalawed Empty barrel, ‘“‘ B”.... 96 - MG Nivea cagatlninwxabewastbersemdtao ws WHO WEE. sv ccncccece 531) 580 Mn. 'Megascubaveulisicanstanas Water per hour........ 1591 sa cu eee ball eonaulbaaetioaiaad Teeadtles WIIG adnan wieeecccddberaecebedss we cuaen beens ‘| ee cee[[eceees|ecee|[eceeeeleee Temperature of dis- GR cc ccce eked conntbigsee siedsellesccenlevcel|+saceclavealiogauns pup dlidngavelpccdiie coax sian Leakage per hour...... PD xccnthecugendhcntalecaduslaseclintweds gealbenenestsuas Brake radius...........| WATE” 1b d00d. Vesvallaxans cnestacedea ahimibveccedfaes NMS «os ciccccenccccvcs 0 na cinadlvawelioeesatigesstieanads daccivelscdanaewas Initial pressure........ WOE «" vandasiickallccxacclawgaleeeusadiece sticscdesteeeenaeass Terminal pressure...... OF .. Hewcccclvesallancceatceds eatcwdlansdlivexcsuluciea Ratio of expansion..... Men Wie ckaaalenccteuakeulecc Deaxteales betbeat weuleces High pressure M. E. P.. Oe Rieciccclhicaedeesasulesctotiaeabalaccalhcecanatees- Low pressure M. E. P.. Tie) Mandccohesaitaeciabedaatbcaacan Ncdlbaakeaslnwes edvanstaazs Indicated horse-power.. 69\39 cde Mw adnan mats aus Dsteaeels Rcwdlhee vx dabcauatiuwaes fas Brake horse-power..... WINER Wodevectassella cacalecettieescuelen Ute te ccdlacneagessol ; Loss or friction........ ME Wawa éwatuwaells cuakelvcuelikaxangiseeaicadcdliacdaxedectenes Percentage of loss...... DU Macvcaalicasdlss wae susctivedas edediicascaclcetaedvecaeass Gross indicated water FRR sv ccckbawtece cscs See Nic eees iasdNisesssleces Sed euUbE teins shee sheand eh cadsiecds Gross brake water rate. 24 66 Ra iy iar cat hhc Rae ie Rn a cadiewa REMARKS. SIGNATURES OF TESTERS. Indicated by Nelson C. Wilson. Water weighed by Thomas S. Grubbs. Nelson C. Wilson. Thomas S. Grubbs. along the passage C and thence up to the| cranes for handling the work. Adjoining chimney. The upper flue F is one-half | this is the the size of the lower one, G, it measur- | MACHINE-SHOP, ing 8 x 10 inches and the other 6 x/| whichis 264 feet long by 100 feet wide. 10 inches, the object being to draw) As far as possible the machines are the larger part of the gas through the/so arranged that as the castings come bosh C. The charging-hole, which is| from the foundry they are taken, in closed by means ‘of a cover, is shown at |regard to their weight, by the first E and charging-door H, opening into the| machines in order to save the expense melting-chamber D. It is evident that as| of handling. They then pass down the the brass is introduced into the furnace, shop, cranes being provided to do the that directly under the charging-hole and | transferring, and so on tothe assembling- in the chamber D is subjected to the/room. Through the middle of the shop is greatest heat, while that nearest the door | a track upon which the heavier. castings is under the influence of a lower degree of | are handled. Under this shop is a store- heat. As the metal melts it flows from!room for repair parts, and in the room the ehamber D to the bosh C, from which | above is a second shop where the lighter it is tapped through the opening shown/ work is carried on. The machines used in the perspective view. The main gas-| are those of the usual pattern, except some flue is 6 x 9 inches, the vertical-flue 9 x 42 | designed for special work. Compressed- inches, and the mining-hole in the side 8 x | gir presses are employed for driving the bushings into the journals. In the lower end of the machine-shop is a cylinder- boring machine, built by Sellers, for bor- ing at the same time the two cylinders of the larger sizes of engines, and adjoining this is a second boring-machine in which the two boring-bars are spaced the same distance as the cylinders are apart, and are driven by a worm and gear, the worm ex- tending at right angles to the boring-bar and its shaft being provided at one end with a cone pulley. The casting is mount- ed on a bed somewhat similar to that of a planer, and the feed of which is provided at the opposite ends of the boring-bars. A new drill which will finish the four sides of the crank-boxes at one setting has just been put in place by the Universal Radial Drill Company. The arrangement for counterbalancing wheels is very simple, and at the same time very effective. Two perfectly level straight-edges are located at one end of the shop, and upon this the wheel, mounted upon a shaft, is placed. Within convenient distance of this frame is a drill by means of which the wheel can be drilled wherever necessary, and also a small ladle in which lead is melted by means of gas, so that holes can be filled with lead as counter-weights when neces- sary. TESTING. Opening from the lower end of the shop is the assembling-room, which is provided | with cranes and tracks in order that the work of putting the engines together may be carried along as rapidly and economic- ally as may be, as the engine after being assembled passes to the testing department, which is at the further end of the assem- bling-room. Here every engine built |by the company is tested under steam- pressure, and is also tested under power by means of brake. They are put under steam ffor at least ten hours and a complete record of all com- pounds is kept on a printed form of their performances during the time. They are then taken apart and each piece inspected to see what the test did and if it developed any weakness. If found defective the part is replaced and a second test, similar in every respect to the first one, is again gone through with. If the engine comes up to the standard established it is sent to the warehouse, while the record is sent to the office and there put on file. The testing-room on three sides is provided with beds adapted to receive any of the sizes of the engines built and the steam- pipes sre arranged overhead, while the brakes for applying the power when the engine is tested in that way are con- veniently arranged. In this department, as in all others in the works, the aim is to expedite the work and to provide every convenience known in order that the time consumed in a certain operation may be reduced and also that the labor necessary for accomplishing a certain work may by means of these appliances be lessened. In testing the compound engines there are also the necessary surface-condenser scales, &c., for weighing the water. As will be seen from the accompanying table, which is a copy of the record made by an engine, every essential point in the performance of the steam- engine is provided for, and if at any time an engine develops while out of the works an unexpected weakness, these records can be brought into play to show that before the delivery it stood a certain amount of duty and came up to the standard required by the com- pany. OFFICE METHODS. We noticed in the offices a simple way of keeping orders and also of keeping track of the work in the shop. This consisted of a spring-roller similar to that used for curtain-shades, mounted against the wall and provided pan emo n, ae" rel ito RRR RENE a = 7 Mae ieee Be bk Bothy ree ae iT az see Se errs oe 958 THE IRON AGE. December 19, 1889 with a long slip of paper, ruled with vertical and horizontal lines, and having the following printed matter on it: Date. | Num