The Iron Age 1890-08-28: Vol 46

The Solution of a Strike. | The Yale & Towne Lock Company, of | THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1890, ployee who violates the rules or the terms of his contract, or whose services are not satisfactory ; also the company’s right to ‘THE IRON AGE Friction Shaper. The Prentiss friction shaper, of modified Stamford, Conn., have the largest factory; employ any man they choose. Further-| and improved construction, is represented of the kind in this country. They, the) more, any employee may leave the com- in the engraving. Formerly the cone was New York 7'ribune says, employ about 900 | pany’s service on giving due notice, and }on the right side and interfered more or men. ‘The monthly pay roll amounts to about $40,000. The labor is largely of the skilled class, the work is steady, and the puilding where the men are employed is especially adapted for their comport, while | trades unions is not prohibited. liberty of the men, therefore, is not cur- down in a businesslike manner for the gov- the right of employees to belong to|less with the manipulation of the ma- The | chine, | opposite side and entirely out of the way. , tailed, but the terms of employment are set |The stroke of this shaper can be readily | changed, while in motion, to any length In the machine shown it is on the the town itself offers the workingmen : ernment of both parties to the agreement. | from } inch to its full extent, by simply cheap living and an at- tractive home. Yet this important industry was closed for many weeks this summer because one or two men wilfully per- sisted in breaking rules by stopping work beforg time in order to wash. Had there been a general request for ten minutes to wash before closing time it probably would have been granted. But there was no formal request or complaint, and the offend- ing men were discharged for breaking rules. Out of sympathy for the dis- charged men, all the brass molders, 28 in number, struck. They demanded the reinstatement of the offenders, and then for the first time formulated a re- quest for extra time to wash before the hour for closing. The firm were ready to grant the latter request, , but would not take back the discharged men. They went on filling the vacant places with brass molders from other towns. But the new men were so per- secuted and the company were so annoyed by the interference of the strik- ers that presently they resolved to close the entire works until the trouble should abate. The sequel was not only a success for the employ- ers, but also for the well disposed among the men themselves. Gradually the old men, with the exception of the striking molders, were put to work, A written contract was entered into between the company and every man as he was em- ployed. This contract is a protection to both parties. It provides that the com- pany are to have due regard to the em- ployee’s rights, his health and comfort ; to consider duly and promptly reply to all requests or complaints ; fairly to adjust: his wages with each man, and to give a| other towns. certificate of honorable discharge to every faithful workman who may ask it after being employed for six months. The em- ployee on his side agrees to perform faith- ful work, conform to the shop rules, obey instructions from the foreman and report any grounds for complaint, first to the foreman, and then, if he gets no satisfac- tion, to the paymaster or other officers of |ing work the company. The employee further agrees to take no action to harass the company for 15 days after making complaint to the officers in case they do not notice it. The employee recognizes the mght of the com- pany to discharge without notice any em- FRICTION SHAPER. It need hardly be added that the firm have re-employed in this way the great majority of their old men—more than 600 —and others are returning daily. In the brass molders’ department the new men number as many as those that went on strike, these having mostly dispersed to Moreover, the company are taking special care to scrutinize the char- acter of the men they now employ. This will make the employment pleasanter for respectable workmen, while, at the same time, benefiting the company, Any min receiving, an honorable discharge from a factory governed by such rules as these will have no difficulty in find- elsewhere. The great end attained, however, is one that benetits both the company and their employees. For the chance of loss by strikes due to petty misunderstandings or outside in- terference is reduced to a minimum in the operation of this system. shifting the tapets or dogs, similar to those on common planer. There are two different speeds for cutting either steel or the softer metals. The re- turn stroke is 40 percent. quicker than cutting stroke. It is driven by means of two belts, one open and the other closed. The grip is pro- duced by two leather sur- faces brought together in such a manner as to cause the grip to tighten in pro- portion to the resistance of the work. The ma- chine is therefore able to take an exceptionally strong cut; in fact, all the driving belt can pull without danger of slip- ping. The friction feed does not consume any power when not feeding. A 3-inch shaft can be run through the 15-inch shaper for key seating, and a 4-1nch shaft through the 20 to 30 inch shaper. This machine is built by the Prentiss Tool and Supply Company, of 115 Liberty street, New York. a —————— Advices from Columbus, Ohio, under date of the 19th inst., state that the New York and Perry Coal and Iron Company, of Shawnee, have just con- cluded a series of experi- ‘ments of coking the coal from the mines at that place. The experiments have been so satisfactory that the company will im- mediately build 60 coke ovens. Previous attempts to coke Ohio coal have been failures. The result of theanalysis, as compared with coke made at Connellsville, Pa.; Birmingham, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn., shows the fixed carbon to be 86.490, the sulphur 417 and the ash 10.070. Itishigh in fixed carbon, low in sulphur and contains a fair amount of ash. The ovens will be of the belquin pattern and the company will at once pre- pare to make the coke for use in its fur- naces at Shawnee. The steel steamer, Western Reserve, the largest vessel ever built at Cleveland, was launched on the 20th inst. at the yard of the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company. Its dimensions are: Length of keel, 300, feet; length over all, 318 feet; beam, 41 feet; molded depth, 25 feet. Its triple expan- sion engine has cylinders of 24, 42 and 61 inches, with a 42-inch stroke, driven by a steam pressure of 160 pounds, furnished by two Scotch boilers, 14 x 12 feét. It will be ready for its first trip in about four weeks, —————eeeelllmlE———e=eeeee=E=SeEeeeES_5_0Oo=VO_—V<3OO—VcV—V—"OV0V©CQOO———_—_—_—<—______ 326 THE IRON AGE. August 28, 1899 be especially a ent to railway men. Ia Metal Versus Wooden Ties. val ar - 4 ak ies Seen eered 4 Se more economical in maintenance than track on wooden ties, and there can be no doubt as to the superiority of a well designed system of metal track in regard to effi- ciency and safety. A better track may be made, and with such secure fastenings as are in general use, there will be a minimum of danger with a minimum of track work for the running of trains. The overturning or spreading of the rails, which causes so many accidents, can scarcely occur with a well designed system of metal track. There need be little, if any, extra noise with the passage of trains, and the riding of trains may be as smooth and quiet as on track with wooden ties. In general it may be stated, that steel ties should be adopted as the standard for first-class track on lines with heavy traffic. Steel ties should be introduced as an ad- vancement in railway engineering, and as a step towards practical economy. A good metal track, when once well laid and set- tled, is in itself a measure of safety and a source of economy in maintenance and operation. This is in relation to the main line, but metal track presents also special advantages for use at stations and yards. A metal track at such places, when once well laid and settled, is practically per- manent, and there is a great reduction in disturbance and expense for repairs and in the chances for derailments, which are specially troublesome at terminals, yards, stations, &c. Metal track is also adapted for light and portable railways, street railways, &c. ‘As regards the relations of first cost and economy, Mr. Walter, Katté, chief en- gineer of the New York Central and Hud- son River Railway, has estimated and closely calculated that it the steel ties now being tried on his line last for 50 years, which he estimates as their life, there will be a relative economy of from 8 to 12 per cent. in favor of these ties. The economy is in renewals, repairs, and general main- tenance. I have examined Mr. Katté’s figures, and have calculated that even if the life be taken as only 33 years, there will still be a material saving per mile per annum. I am particularly pleased to be able to show in this report that this subject is being practically considered and tested in this country, some fairly extensive trials being now in progress. From the results of several years’ experience in foreign countries, it cannot be doubted that it is entirely practicable to successfully intro- duce metal track into the United States. American ingenuity and skill will prob- ably produce ties of equal or greater effi- ciency than those in use in other countries. This report will show, I think, to rail- way financiers as well as to practical rail- way men, the advantages attending the use of metal track. In regard to the desirability of infroducing such track, I quote as follows from an interesting letter to me from Mr. C. P. Huntington, of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, in January, 1890 : I have for several years advocated the use of metal ties along the timberless regions of our lines, and while none of them have as yet been put in use, I think they will be givena trial in the near future. You have no doubt experienced that time and considerable patience is necessary to direct the minds of men into fields of investigation differing from those in which they have been educated, and in the practice of which they have spent a large part of their lives. To this fact | attribute much of the apathy manifested in giving metallic ties a trial ; but now, as their merits and those of the various designs in use are being dis- cussed by American writers and engineers, there will be a quickening of opinion about them, which is hkely to make them in the next few years a factor of some importance in the discussion of railroad economics. from several points of view. It i be reasoned Chet what has hes Gaal fully accomplished abroad may be accom, plished with equal success in this country. I have reported with pleasure that wae and more attention is being paid to this matter, and that since the presentation of my preliminary report in February, 1899 really practical trials have been instituted’ It is my wish that the present report may rove of some service in keeping alive and increasing the present interest in the mat. ter, and that it may prove instrumental jp furthering the practical work in this jm. portant direction. Finally, while I cannot predict any gene eral or extended movement in this direc. tion in the near future, I can certain} state that there has been a marked ad. vance within the last year or two, and that this advance appears likely to continue, | think it highly probable that the question of the use of metal ties for railways as substitute for wooden railways will gradu. ally, steadily and surely become one of the live problems of railway economies. — ——_— Canadian Shipping on the Lakes. In his report, just issued by the Forestry Division of the Department of Agricult- ure, E. E. Russell Tratman, summarizes on the substitution of metal for wood in railroad ties as follows: In this report information has been -given, as shown by the tabular summary, covering experience on nearly 25,000 miles of metal track on railways in foreign countries, or 13.21 per cent. of the total mileage (187,721 miles) of the world, ex- clusive of the United States and Canada. This percentage is steadily increasing, as indicated by the reports from several rail- ways, in which it is stated that metal ties are being substituted for wooden ties, either in large sections of track or by re- placing wooden ties with metal ties as re- newals are required. In the face of such figures, based upon official returns and statements, it can no longer be claimed ‘that the metal track question is still upon “an experimental basis. The official returns from some countries—Germanr, Switzer- iand, and India, especially—show that the results of experience extending over sev- eral years have led in several cases to the adoption of metal track, and that this is becoming the standard track of railways in those countries. In regard to the statements which have appeared in print from time to time, to the effect that the use of metal ties in Germany has been unsatisfectory and is being abandoned, I may refer to the official statements in this report from the leading railways in that country. These statements show that the results have been sufficiently satisfactory to lead to the entire adoption of metal ties on some lines and their continued and extended use on other lines. The only instance in which they have been abandoned is on the Altona division of the Prussian State railways, and there, as stated in the official return, the reason has been in the nature of the Toad bed, &c., rather than in the ties. The agitation made a few years ago by the iron industries in Germany, asking for the increased use of metal ties, only showed that the Government was not putting in these ties on its lines in sufficient — to suit the iron trade people, and not that the use of metal ties was being discontinued. The most extensive introduction of metal track has been in Germany, India and South America. In the first two countries steel cross ties are practically the generally adopted type, although different forms of this type are in use in Germany. Cast iron is still extensively used in India. In South America the metal ties used are mainly composed ofa pair of cast iron bowls connected by a tie bar, but even there steel cross ties are being intro- duced. The weight of evidence and the results of experience point toward the steel cross tie, as making the best track ‘and giving the best results in other ways, for heavy service at least, and, therefore, -are destined to become the standard tie for first-class track. As to the weight of ‘these ties, it may be considered that for lines with heavy traffic it should be be- tween 120 and 150 pounds, according to ‘traffic and other conditions, The principal point of view from which ‘the metal track question is considered in this country, and the one which was of course specially taken by the Department ‘of Agriculture in calling for the prepara- tion of this report, is that which considers it in relation to forest conservation and the reduction of the consumption of tim- der. But there are other points of view, from which the subject will be presented in rather different relations. Leaving out of consideration the necessity for reducing the timber consumption, metal track will still present many advantages, which will The Government of Canada has expended on the St. Lawrence series of canals alone $25,000 000 and about $120,000,000 in the construction of railways, the two systems not being regarded as mutually hostile, but as aids in the development of the country.- Sir Charles Tupper, in a recent address, said the experience of the Gov- ernment was that water communication could not only compete with railways, but was of public advantage by affording a cheaper means of transit than was possible in any other way. Nevertheless, it is true that the St. Lawrence route fails to make headway in the competition for the grain carrying trade. Canadian vessel owners, moreover, are unanimous in the opinion that until the canals between Kingston and the head of ocean navigation are en- larged no permanent gain in the commerce of the water route can be expected. This’ is a confession ofthe failure of the canal enlargement scheme that must be dis- couraging after the prodigious effort that has been made to compete with the Amer- ican route via Buffalo. Obstructions in the St. Lawrence go far to render canal enlargement ineffective, while the facili- ties for handling cargo at Buffalo have greatly increased. oo IE Alex. McDougall, manager of the Ameri- can Steel Barge Company, of West Superior, Wis., in a recent interview said that the new steamer 108 of the whale back pat- tern would go to the Atlantic coast via Montreal. The vessel will be put into the ore frade between Cuba and Philadelphia. He further stated that vessels would be built in Superior next Summer designed for general Transatlantic business. The captain is very enthusiastic at the signal success of the first steamer, the Colgate Hoyt. Five steamers and a number of tow barges will be built between this and next spring. Lloyd’s shipbuilding returns for the quarter ending June 30 show that there were 464 vessels of 739,914 tons under construction in the United Kingdom at the close of that quarter, as compared with 536 vessels of 929,611 tons at the cor- responding period of 1889. With regard to shipbuilding in other countries, Ger- many has 14 vessels in the stocks, repre- senting 33,338 tons; Holland, 25,000 tons; Denmark, 11,395 tons; Norway, 9505 tons, and the United States, 31,860 tons. It is remarkable that at the three French ports of Dunkirk, Havre and St. Malo, not a single ship is at the present moment under construction. This report certainly shows the practica- bility of the matter and its desirability August 28, 1890 So It is well known that the wear on the ropes operating cable roads is almost en- tirely due to the contact of the cables with the grips and sheaves, and to the sharp bends over sheaves of small diameter. The employment of sheaves of small diameter should be avoided wherever it is possible, put in some cases, of crossing another cable line, this cannot be entirely pre- vented. The cables belonging to the; younger cable railway company have to ass below that of the senior company, and this is done by dipping under the con- duits, the cable being depressed by rope sheaves. Again, in passing around cor- ners, the turns have to be made by a num- ber of comparatively small sheaves placed horizontally—in the line of the curve— when the car cannot be carried around by vitation. When it can be carried around by gravitation, then a single large rope sheave is employed. The rope is re- leased from the grip and picked up on the other side of the curve. In all cases, how- Steel Rope for Cable Roads. ‘THE IRON AGE. and it is essential that they should be sufficiently flexible to bend over the, numerous sheaves and pulleys on the line’ of the road. The outer wires being in contact with the sheaves and the grip, and oftentimes rubbing over the ground, | are soon abraded and a large proportion of the wire worn off. In order to protect | the wires against the effect of such abrasion, | Mr. Hallidie so far modified the form of the cables as to reduce the wear on the wires and the liability of becoming hardened and tempered to a very con-| siderable extent. This is done by layingin the strands of the cable with wires of a shape which allows them to lay in between the round wires and overlap them, so as to protect them against wear from abrasion. In the engraving, Fig. 1, a longitudinal view of one strand of a cable is showa, and in Fig. 2 a sec- tion of the same strand, showing the man- ner of forming such strand, a center round wire being covered by six round wires, and these again by six round and six V- shaped wires alternately. The six V- Fig. 1. 327 of seven. The explosion was caused by a workman who tried to chip the cap off a keg of powder with a chisel instead of unscrewing it. The apartment was, how- ever, large enough to allow the explosive- to somewhat expend its force, otherwise the disaster would have been vastly more serious. The damage to the factory and machinery is estimated at $5000. Pittsburgh Freights. — Official an- nouncements were made last week that the Central Traffic Association had re- stored winter prices on shipments of iron. The freight agents of Pittsburgh have ratified the action, and on September 1 the special list of steel and iron articies. will go in the regular classification. Car- load lots that have been shipped to Chi- cago at a sixth class rate of 15 cents a ton, will be charged fifth class, or 174. cents. Consignments of less than a car- load that have been rated fifth class at 174 will be charged 20 cents. The special. sixth class rate for pig iron and the rate ot 20 i, q | fl lp Wii SM ever, the wear on the cable is almost en- tirely from abrasion, and the projecting part of the wire becomes worn down to a flatened surface, and the strength of the cable is thereby reduced. The heat gen- erated by the grip in starting the car means harm to the cable in two ways, one by the grinding off of the projecting por- tions of the indivicual wires by abrasion, as already explained, and the other by the heat transmitted to the highly carbonized steel wire, to be rapidly cooled off in the cold atmosphere or dampness, and thus raised to a hard temper, which destroys the toughness of the wire, causing it to break like glass. Extended experiments made by A. 8 Hallidie, the inventor of the eable system, have resulted in the production of the cables here illustrated. In this work Mr. Hallidie had tht co-operation of the Cali- fornia Wire Works, and the cable roads of San Francisco upon which these cables have shown an increased durability of from 15 to 30 per cent. These cables are usually made up of six strands, each hav- ing 19 wires—a center wire covered by six and the six again covered by 12, make ing 19 wires in each strand—and are technically called ‘‘ flexible wire ropes,” Fig. 3. THE CALIFORNIA CABLE. shaped wires project slightly above the round wires, and present a broad, flat- tened wearing service, which protects and retards the destruction of the other wires, while the wear on the V wires is com paratively slow, on account of the great surface exposed to wear. The V-shaped wire is drawn soas to fit in between the adjacent wires, and has an area in excess of what the round wire, as usually used, has, and being made of slightly softer ma- terial than the other wire and of milder steel, does not harden and temper under the circumstances and conditions pre- viously referred to. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are respectively longitudinal view and section of acomplete cable made in the manner described, of six strands, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. rr The Standard Cartridge Company’s works at Blue Island, near Chicago, were damaged by an explosion of powder on the 2ist inst. Two persons lost their lives and quite a number of others were seriously injured. The factory had been removed from the city to its present loca- tion on the previous Monday, and only four machines were in operation of a total on steel rail shipments are not affected by- this advance. The change is general and will affect iron shipments between Pitts- burgh and the Missiouri River, as well as between Pittsburgh and the Mississippi River, a W. H. Joyce, the general freight agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, has stated, in reference to the reported advance in rates on iron ore: “The Pennsylvania Railroad has not advanced rates on iron. ore to points on the Reading Road. The rates on ore from Buffalo and Erie to fur- naces in Eastern Pennsylvania are the same, but with some of the rates east from. Erie, via Montgomery, to points on the Reading, it was found that in making division of the rate between the Pennsyl- vania and the Reading there was not enough money to go round. There is no. discrimination against the furnaceman, as heis still able to get ore from Buffalo and Erie at the rate which has prevailed from those points for a long time—namely, $1.65 . per ton.” It is understood that the Penn- sylvania has withcrawn its rate to some — which did not pay, but there has. een no advance. 328 Cities Absorb Population. Nothing connected with the present enumeration of the population of Massa- chusetts, the Springfield Republican says, is of more significance than the growth of the cities and large towns and the setting away of the tide of population from the eountry places. Attention has frequently been called to this phenomenon by the re- sults of other censuses of the past 20 years, but the figures which have just been given out for 1890 are not the less de- serving of study in that particular. The case of the Western counties of the State is typical of this general movement. The ratio of population growth in Hampden County has been larger than for the State as a whole, but one-half of the towns have suffered loss. The cities and towns of 6000 or more inhabitants have absorbed nearly the whole increase. The four Western counties together show an equal percentage of gain over 1880 with the State as a whole, but two-thirds of the towns report losses. The cities and towns of 6000 or more have here also monop- olized all but about 1000 of the popula- tion increase. Grouping under “large towns” all places of 6000 or more people these results appear for Hampden and the four Western counties of Hampden, Hamp- shire, Franklin and Berkshire: 1890. 1880. Incr’se. PINES vic iasscaces 134,542 104,142 30,400 Large towns.......... 108,936 79,682 29,304 Four counties........ 305,429 256,407 49,022 Large towns.......... 179,686 131,636 48,050 In other words, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Westfield and Palmer in Hamp- den County; and Northampton, Ware, Montague, Pittsfield, North Adams and Adams, in the other three counties, have taken 48,050 of the 49,022 people gained to Western Massachusetts in ten years. And if the few larger towns of less than 6000 inbabitants were included it would appear that they had absorbed not only the net increase, but the losses of the great majority of the country towns. More than one-half, or, to be exact, about 55 per cent., of the population of Western Massachusetts is now crowded into 11 cities and towns, and more than 80 per cent. of the population of Hampden County is located in three cities and two towns. An examination of the statistics shows that the movement to the cities did not begin to be marked until after 1860, and that it has since gone on with a constantly accelerating pace. I The trial of the plate made by Schneider & Co., of Le Creuzot, ‘France, for the Chilian armor clad, Captain Peat, has been officially tested at Garve. The plate chosen by the Chilian officers for the proof meas- ured 18.32 feet long by 6.75 feet wide. It was a belt plate of trapezoidal section, and presented a thickness of 8.07 inches at the upper edge and of 5.31 inches at the lower. Its weight was 15.5 tons. The gun em- - ployed was of 6.4-inch caliber and the pro- jectiles were of chilled cast iron. Three projectiles were fired, with a striking velocity of 1463.26, 1459.98 and 1564.97 foot seconds _ respect- ively. They were directed at the summits of an equilateral triangle with a horizontal base, of which the sides meas- ured 2} calibers. The energy of these projectiles was 1.13 times that necessary to go completely through an iron plate of the same thickness at the points of im- pact. All of the projectiles were of good quality. After the fire the plate presented but three slight cracks, all starting from the point of impact of the first shot. Neither the backing nor the bolts suf- fered. The opinion of the commission is as follows: ‘‘ Having regard to the thick- ness of the plate, the results obtained are considered as very fine. The complete THE IRON AGE. August 28, 1894 similitude of the three shots indicate the | general principle employed is the heatin complete uniformity of this plate. The plate has been received with the mention very satisfactory, which is the highest.” —___._ i -- Are Welding. In the few years of its rapid develop- ment electric welding and metal working has taken a prominent place in the indus- trial world. The very ingenious apparatus which is now in considerable use os suc- ceeded admirably in accomplishing many difficult feats in welding and forming va- rious materials. As is now known to every one, the process as generally used simply depends on the heating of the abutting cate of the metal to be welded. By the passage of a current of electricity across the surface of contact it is done with ad- mirable success and rapidity, but the vol- ume of current required is necessarily very large. The heating is obtained in virtue of quantity of current, and to raise any of the points of contact, or rath i of the aie to be welded, oe a plication of the electric arc formed be. tween two converging carbon pencils and blown downward like a blowpipe flame by the influence of an electro magnet Fig. 1 shows the simple portable arc welder intended for small work such as may be found in tinshops, plumbers? shops and in light metal work generally The frame is supported upon insulating rollers, and carries the regulating appa- ratus. The magnetic blast can be regu- lated in two ways—by raising or lowering the threaded core, or by a switch, 4 scale is provided so that a tool may be set for working upon metal of different thick. nesses, and this is so calculated that when the index hand is set to a figure deaoting the gauge of the material operated upon the best result will be obtained. The great beauty of this are welding js that it places at the disposal of the oper. ator an enormous temperature which can Fig. 1.—Portable Arc Welder. considerable mass of material to a welding | be applied to just the point desired, and temperature requires an enormous expen- diture of electrical energy, lasting, to be) sure, only » short time, but, nevertheless, requiring special conditions for its produc- tion and utilization. The modern electric welding plant has up to the present re- quired special forms of apparatus, which, héwever efficient, somewhat limit the ap- plicability of the general processes of the electrical heating of metals to workshops large enough or placed favorably enough to secre the necessary current. We show herewith, says the Zlectrical World from which we quote, some very ingenious modifications of the general idea of electric welding, having for their pur- pose the reduction of the maximum amount of current required, and, what is no less important, utilizing the heat of electric energy in such a way that welding can be done with ordinary currents from common and readily available machines, so that wherever an arc or incandescent circuit is available welding can be successfully carried on. The various devices are the invention of C. L. Coffin, of Detroit, Mich., and the fundamental principle on which he has worked may, perhaps, be called that of an electrical Llowpipe. The all this is available wherever an electric circuit can be obiained. It may be placed on any continuous current circuit, or oper- ated from any dynamo intended for arc or incandescent lighting. Where it is im- possible to secure sérvice through a cen- tral station a small isolated dynamo may be used. It is almost literally an elec- trical blowpipe of enormous power and ready applicability to all sorts of condi- tions. The expense of installation is com- paratively light, on account of the sim- plicity of the apparatus, and because no special dynamos have to be installed. The cost of maintenance is something like that of an ordinary arc lamp, of which the ordinary welder is about the equivalent in energy consumed. As it is sometimes necessary to reinforce a weld, this contin- gency has been provided for by other ap- pliances, whereby the reinforcing material can be supplied in semi-molten condition at the point desired. For special pur- poses an air blast is sometimes used in connection with a magnetic blast. Of course it should be said that the welding of steel by this process requires some spe- cial precautions by reason of the intense heat at hand; but the work can be suc- August 28, 1890 done, and other metals are as ll —_ able by this as by any process. managea aratus shown in Fig. 2 is a er i form of welder whereby the ma- y be heated in three ways—by ‘ence as in the common process, by both, the material being se- he clamps as in the illustration. The modified terial ma, jncandesce the arc or cured in t The workman turns on the current. SUNTVTT Tee THE IRON AGE, resistance of the arc and the material, by reason of its being highly heated, has reached a certain predetermined point the current is shut off. The arc regulating the apparatus and the magnets automatic- ally press the weld home, the hammer is thrown into action and the weld applied as before. For very thin material this ma- chine is provided with a cut out to the are Fig. 2.—Automatic Arc Welder. arc is then formed between two pairs of carbons upon each side of the material. It will be seen that the extremity of the metal in this instance is subject to the in- tense heat of the arc. When the tempera- ture is sufficient for welding, the small switch seen at the left is moved over one point, which throws the carbon and car- bon regulating apparatus, shown on the left, out of circuit and energizes the elec- tro-magnets contained in the base of the | clamp blocks. At the same time the re- leasing mechanism causes the pairs of car- bons to recede, and the magnets being at- tracted toward each other draw the mate- rial together at a steady uniform pressure, which can be regulated to any temperature or degree. The electro-magnet carried on the traveling block to the right is wound in sections or separate bobbins, the termi- nals of which are connected with the switch points, so tnat the work can be ef- fected in almost any desired way by the | influence of the magnet above it. When sufficient pressure has been applied by moving the small switch one point more, the little motor operating the electric hammer can be put in operation. The | anvil block under the material first moves | forward, and then the electric hammer is | automatically thrown into operation. This may be arranged in various ways. In the} machine illustrated the drop is suspended in a solenoid of many spools, and termi- | nals are brought up in a double commu- | tator so arranged that ordinating impulses | are given when the contacts are revolved | over the face of the commutator. They | are so arranged tbat the force of the blow | can be regulated. The speed of the motor | can be governed by the switch rheostat shown at the left, and carried on to the base of the clamp blocks. When the weld regulating device, so that the material is heated by the current itself and by the carbons which are brought together and between which the material rests. The whole machine is of a most novel char- acter, and is reported to work with beau- 329 of the operation, which often demands a very large amount of current. A resist- ing body, such as a thin sheet of mica, is temporarily placed between part of the surfaces to be welded and with- drawn when the welding action has been fairly started. In addition, a powerful magnetic field is concentrated around the joint for the purpose of aiding in the same action. It is claimed that -the initial de- mand for current on incandescent welding is considerably reduced by this process, but it is to be regarded as a modification of ordinary incandescent welding rather than a distinctly new operation like the are welding. It seems altogether proba- ble that the arc welding machine may tind a very considerable use, especially as it may be made very small, so that it can be handled with the greatest facility. By no other means known can so enormous a temperature be regulated and adjusted with such facility. Mr. Coffin even proposes to make a very minute arc welder for jewelers’ use and the smallest metal work —a little tool that can be handled almost as readily as a pencil. While, of course, unable to cope with large work, it would be exceedingly handy in small operations of metal working. The whole arc process is for obvious reasons a most convenient one and is as neat theoretically as it is said to be suc- cessful in practice. The idea of handliag the electric arc as one would a blowpipe, with a magnetic blast instead of air, is certainly a very beautiful and ingenious application of theory, and while the full details of the work done have not been made public the apparatus has been sufficiently tested to show that it possesses very many useful qualities. ee —— A brick famine in New York is sup- posed to be impending, the Brick Manu- facturers’ Association having ceased to Fig. 3.—Improved Incandescent Welder. has been sufficiently hammered the ham-| tiful regularity. It is so constructed that | make shipments to this city until a settle- mer is thrown out of circuit and the anvil | the same pressure and amount of hammer- | ment is made between the laborers’ walk- thrown back from under the work, cutting| ing can be applied to many thousand | ing delegates and certain boycotted firms out the motor when it reaches its pluce. This machine is also arranged so that the carbon may be dispensed with and the arc sprung between the extremities of the material if desired. In this arrangement the magnets are in shunt around the arc 80 arranged by resistances that when the welds without variation, thus making it nearly automatic in its operation. * Fig. 3 shows a modification of the in- candescent welding process for the pur- pose of localizing the heat and producing an unusually great electrical resistance at at Verplank’s Point, on the North River. The supply on hand is believed to be suf- ficient for only about a fortnight, although some 4,500,000 bricks have been rushed in at the latest moment. August 16 there were 923 buildings in progress which the joint so as to facilitate the initial part | needed brick to finish them. 330 THe IRON AGE. August 28, 1899 Balanced Slide Valve. The accompanying detailed cuts convey a very clear idea of the construction and operation of a new balanced slide valve for steam engines, which has been recently patented by F. I. Freeman, the general manager of the tna Machine Company, of Warren, Ohio. It differs essentially from other valves of this description, since it is entirely balanced under all conditions and at all points of the stroke, while the others are only balanced during certain portions of their stroke, and some are not perfectly balanced at any part of the stroke. In some of the so-called balanced valves there is a pressure either from springs or steam on the back of the valve equal to the area of the steam port. If this were not so the pressure vn the under side of the valve, due to the steam in the carry live or compressed steam from the cylinder into the false ports in the outer valve seats; L L, ends of pipe that carry the exhaust steam from the exhaust cavity of the cylinder into the false exhaust ports in the outer valve seats; M M MM, cap screws for holding the outer valve seats and the wedge plates in position after the valve has been adjusted; V V, the valves; W W W \, cavity for live steam in the outer walls of the steam chest. This cavity entirely surrounds the steam chest, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2and 3. Fig. 2, K, pipe that carries live or compressed steam from the cylinder into the false steam port in the outer valve seat; X, cap screw for raising or lowering the adjust- ing wedge plate; Y, pipe for carrying live steam from the main steam pipe that connects the engine and boilers into the cavity that surrounds the steam chest; A A A 4 cylinder being compressed at the end of the stroke, would raise the valve from its seat and allow the steam to escape. The drawings here presented were taken from a double valve engine, or one having a valve at each end of the cylinder. Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through the center of the cylinder, valves and steam chest; Fig. 2 is a cross section through the steam ports, and Fig. 3 across section through the exhaust port. The parts referred to by letters are as follows: B B, the two steam ports for admitting the steam into the cylinder; CCC C, the four clamps on the valve rod that hold the valve in position; D D, the two exhaust ports; E E, the two wedge plates between the outer valve seat and the steam chest cover for adjusting the two outer valve seats; F F, the two outer valve seats; H H, two false steam ports in the outer valve seats directly opposite the steam ports in the cylinder; I I, two false exhaust ports in outer valve seats directly opposite the exhaust ports in the cylinder; K K, ends of pipe that 4 ULL NS Ww b Kt K NS OLN MX WA WS suatiieineiieiiiameete tight enough so that the steam cannot pass between the faces of the valves and seats The wedges and seats are then secured to the steam chest lid or cover by means of the cap screw M. The valves are then adjusted, and as no steam can come in contact with the back the valve must certainly be balanced ex. cept when the steam port is covered, When the steam port is entirely covered by the valves there is a pressure nearly equal to boiler pressure on the under side of the valves, fur the reason that at this time compression begins to take place, and: if it were not overcome there would be ag tremendous pressure against the under side of the valve and the face of the outer seat, To overcome this, the steam that is con- fined in the cylinder is carried through the pipe K, Fig. 2, into the false steam port H in the outer valve seat. There- D IN\B NY WN \ Fig. 1.—Horizontal Section. Z, steam pipe that connects the boilers and engine. The outer valve seats are secured against end motion by tongues and cavities in the steam chest cover, adjusting wedges and false seats, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. The false seats are also held firmly in position by four cap screws in each seat. These cap screws pass from the outside of the steam chest cover through the adjust- ing wedge plates, and are screwed into the outer valve seats. The holes in the ad- justing wedge plates are slotted where the cap screws go through, in order to allow them to be moved up or down to adjust the outer valve seat. In order to adjust the valves, all that is necessary is first to set the valves in the ordinary way; the wedges and the outer valve seats are then placed on the steam chest lid or cover, and the lid then put in position as in Fig. 2. The outer valve seat is then adjusted by means of the ad- justing plate being raised or lowered by adjusting screw X until the valve moves freely between the two valve seats, just SS BALANCED VALVE FOR STEAM ENGINES. fore, any pressure there may be on the under side of the valve through the steam ports is also on the back of the valve in the false steam ports in the outer valve seat. This gives exactly the same press- ure on the outer side of the valve that there is on the under side. Any pressure from exhaust steam is counteracted in the same way by means of pipe L, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be noticed that the valves are simply frames—that is, the lips on the top and bottom of the valves are exactly the same width—consequently the exhaust cavity in the valve is pot covered, as in the ordinary slide valve, so that when the steam is exhausting the exhaust steam, in- stead of creating a pressure on the under side of the valve, passes clear through the valve and the pressure is exerted on the outer valve seats. The valve seats are all exactly the same width, and the valves, when at work, travel just a little over their edges on bothsides, This causes the seats to wear evenly over their entire faces. In cold weather, the metal in the valves August 28, 1890 THE [IRON 331 being thinner than that in either the steam chest cover'or steam chest, the valves might, perhaps, when the engine is first started in the morning, expand a little more than the steam chest, owing to their being entirely surrounded by steam, and cause the valves to stick, perhaps tight enough to cut, until every part of the steam chest and cover is thoroughly warmed up. To prevent this, the steam chest is cast with a cavity in the outer walls. This cavity, W W W W, entirely surrounds the steam chest. Live steam is taken from the steam pipe above the engine throttle valve and car- ried into this cavity. This steam expands the outer walls of the steam chest, so that the valves are entirely free, and would possibly leak a little, instead of binding, for the first few revolutions, or until the steam chest and lid are thor- oughly warmed up and expanded. This Fig. 2.—Cross Section through Steam Ports. overcomes the danger of sticking, for the ' moment there is any steam in the boiler there is also steam in the steam pipe and in the cavity around the steam chest and the steam chest expanded, so that the en- gine is always ready to start without dan- ger at any time. EEE Wm. Deering & Co.’s Works. Chicago has long been famous for its production of agricultural implements. Its location is eminently suitable for the assemblage of the raw materials required, and for the subsequent distribution of the completed articles over an immense agri- cultural section. The growth of this in- dustry at Chicago has been phenomenal, and the success of established Chicago factories has led, in recent years, to the building up of new enterprises, or to the removal to the vicinity of works from other localities, until the number of such concerns far surpasses those at any other trade center in the world. The success which these manufacturers have achieved in the domestic trade has attracted foreign | orders, and now. their export trade forms an important part of their total business. | Prominent among these establishments is | the enterprise conducted by Wm. Deering | & Co., who own and and operate what is | claimed as the largest and most completely equipped harvesting machine works in the | world, Ww OH A Yi se ———. — 4) Af, Z, < LL40/ 44, 7 UY A Af, Yyyy “A, Z, Yj YJ JY, FO PPPPOS 4 SSAA ASL ZA AAS 4 William Deering & Co.’s works are situ- ated in the northern section of the city, at the intersection of Fullerton and Clybourn avenues, and along the line of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, with docks on the north branch of the Chicago River. Over 45 acres are occupied by the plant, which is compactly arranged, notwith- standing the acreage named. It is esti- mated that the floor surfaces in the shops aggregate about 50 acres. Seven engines, of 3500 horse-power, operate the machin- ery. The works comprise large wood working shops, knife and section shops, machine and blacksmith shops, bolt, rivet and nail works, a foundry, a large malle- able iron plant and an extersive twine factory. They consume annually 10,000 tons of machinery steel, 1200 tons of sheet steel, 1900 tons of sheet iron and 16,000 tons of pig iron, comprising charcoal and Northern and Southern coke iron. Some 25,000 tons of coal and coke are annually consumed; 250,000 gallons of oil are used, and 4,000,- 000 feet of lumber, or 20 ship loads, are required merely to box and crate machines for shipment. The force of hands em- ployed is now about 4000, the demand for farm machinery being so heavy that lat- terly some departments have been obliged to work with regular night gangs, the es- tablishment having its own electric light plant. Wm. Deering, the founder of this im- mense enterprise, was born in 1826, at Paris, Oxford County, Maine, so that he is not yet 65 years old. His early days were spent in a woolen mill in which his father | was interested, after he had received the | groundwork of an education at the then | well-known school of Readfield. Starting in business before he was 18, Mr. Deering | has since spent an exceedingly active life, | having built up or assisted in building up | four successful business enterprises, one of |which is the wholesale and commission 'dry goods house of Deering, Milliken & 'Co., of Portland, Boston and New York. |In 1870 Mr. Deering became associated | with E. H. Gammon in the manufacture of | Marsh Harvesters, and made his entrance | upon the field in which he was destined to | become famous. Gammon & Deering con- | ducted a very successful business for the subsequent nine years, covering the period jin which the great contest occurred be- ME ee Zl = r LL. Fig. 3.—Cross Section through Exhaust Port. 332 THE IRON AGE. August 28, 190 tween wire and twine binders. Mr. Deer- ing was impressed with the merits of twine binding, and encouraged Appleby’s efforts to make a'successful knotting device. In 1879 Mr. Gammon retired from the firm, and Mr. Deering resolved to risk his for- tunes with the twine binder. The cam- paign of 1880 proved his sagacious foresight, the twine binders then put upon the market accomplishing a decisive triumph. Since then the Deering works have grown every year until they have at- tained the magnitude indicated above. His two sons, Charles W. and James, are associated with Mr. Deering in the man- agement of the works, and have demon- strated their possession of the necessary executive ability to ably continue the business which their father established on such a strong foundation. Preparations are now being made for further enlarge- ments tothe works. During the season of 1890 they claim to have built more ma- chines of all kinds than were ever built in one year by any harvester concern, and anticipate a still larger business next year, for which prepa