The Iron Age 1890-09-11: Vol 46

———————— ‘THE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1890. IRON AGE The Sweeney Wire Nail Machine. The wire nail machine which we illus- trate this week is the invention of Col. | 4. J. Sweeney, of the firm of A. J.| Sweeney & Son, of Wheeling, W. Va. | The objects sought in designing the ma- chine were simplicity of construction, ease | of operation, strength, interchangeability of parts, cheapness of annual maintenance and a minimum motion of the reciprocat- | jag parts, allowing an increased speed and | consequent larger output of nails. A ma | chine now in operation at the shops of the THE 9 firm, with arange of from 1 to 2 inch nails, shows an output of over 500 nails per minute—529 by actual count. The space occupied is less than any other nail machine requires. The points of the in- vention, stated in general terms, consist, 1, in an arrangement of the levers which work the gripping, pointing and severing dies and the lever which operates the heading die, so that they are all worked by a single cam; and this includes an ar- rangement whereby the gripping and pointing dies are operated by the sides of the cam, while the header is operated by the periphery. It also includes an ar- rangement of the parts, by means of which the strains of dies in opposite directions are made to oppose each other and are thrown wholly on the pivoting bolt. The levers are so pivoted and the construction and arrangement of the gripping dies and the pointing and severing dies is so made} the cam. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the that the completion of their forward move- | ment shall bring their opposing faces into | the same plane with the axis of the pin on which the levers are pivoted which operate the dies. The upper end of the pointing | and gripping levers in connection with the dies, and their relative arrangement, allows of their being shifted in position within the boxes formed in the upper ends of the levers, the adjustment of the dies for longer or shorter nails being effected by The bed-plate has parallel In them the upper ends of such shifting. bars cast on it. Fig. 1.—Perspective View. SWEENEY WIRE the pointing and gripping levers fit and work These bars, integrai with the bed- plate, also serve to resist the thrust of the header. rate from the pointers, and is so formed as to aid in guiding the wire as it is fed into the machine. A special feature of the de- sign is the relative arrangement and con- struction of a positive feed. The machine is illustrated in the accom- panying cut and drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the machine. Fig. 2 shows a central iongitudinal sec- tion, with parts in elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line x x Fig. 2, showing a part of the machine taken alongside of the gripping dies, with parts in elevation. Fig. 4, a similar view on line yy of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a removable shoe on the end of the levers which bear upon the side of The cutting die is arranged sepa- | pointing dies and cutter. Figs. 7 and 8 also illustrate the construction and ar- rangement of the pointer dies and cutters. The bed plate A rests upon suitable sup- porting legs, B, and is cast with projec- tions which form the working parts as hereinafter described in connection with those parts. Two of these projections, marked respectively 1 and 2, are on the under side, and are bored out to re- ceive the pivot 3, on which turn the grip- ping and pointing levers. Of the grip- pers, one, «, Fig. 2, is fixed, and the other, NAIL MACHINE, |, is movable. The fixed die lies within a box formed by the ribs 4 and 5, cast with the bed plate. It is held securely in this box by other dies and spacing pieces. |The fixed die a is adjustable by means of }a screw 6, Fig. 2. The moving die d is | held in the box marked 7, 8 and 9, formed |on top of the gripping lever d. This die is also adjustable by means of a screw, 10. The gripping lever is made with an off- set of the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, |there being a hole through this offset through which passes the pivot 3. The | gripping of the die a is set in a plane with the centerof the pivot. The machine being set with the bed horizontally, this plane is a vertical plane. The movable die is arranged so that its face comes up squarely against the face of the fixed die, and is, when up, in the same plane. The die faces are formed with grooves fitted oS 402 —— ee to receive the wire. This arrangement of the die faces in the same plane with the axis of the lever, causes the latter to seize and hold the wire exactly in the same horizontal plane in which it is moved in the feed and avoids the tendency to push it up or draw it down, as would be the case if the die faces were out of the plane of the lever pivots. The box of the lever which carries the movable die bears against arib or abutment, 12, Fig. 2, cast with the bed plate. The lower end of the lever is shown at d’, Fig. 3. It ex- tends down upon one side of the cam D and is in range with an interior cam face e on the side of the cam wheel D, Fig. 3, next to the lever end @’. The levers which carry the pointing and cutting dies are shown at F F’, Figs. 4 | =) = ———S WN Y 77 UJ ? ( t and 8. They are of the same general con- struction as the gripping die lever just described and they turn on the same pivot. They are pivoted side by side, as shown in Fig. 2, the lever F’ being bent to bring it into line with the lever F at the upper and lowerends. The construction and arrange- ment brings the meeting faces of the dies into the same plane with the axis on which the levers turn, as described heretofore in connection with the gripping dies, and for ' the same purpose. The lower ends of these levers F F’, straddle the cam wheel D near its periphery and are in line with the cam face on the side marked /. As the parts are arranged, the motion of the cam wheel D is in the direction of the arrow, and the cam face e¢ is the first to come into operation. It will be under- stood that the levers are held against the sides of the cam wheel by the leaf springs 13. With the levers as described, the cam facee striking the tail of the lever d brings up the gripping die against the wire and grips it firmly. Next to follow is the ac- tion of the header. The heading die is held in a mandrel, it being adjusted lgngi- tudinally therein by means of a wedge, 14, AS PSS. THE IRON AGE. in a transverse slot, the wedge being held by a set screw, 15, all as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The mandrel reciprocates in a pro- jection, 16, of the bed plate. It is con- nected by links to the upper end of a r is Y | | ' | ! | September 11, 1899 ee wheel is shown at 19. This is arranged to strike the lever G, next in order and jm. mediately after the cam face ¢ has moved the lever d. This brings the heading dig m against the end of the wire, while it js Th 6 TT VM ddd} WY tj: VHA: Lj ‘HZ Fig. 3.—Transverse Section on Line « x of Fig. 2. lever, G, Fig. 3, pivoted on a trans- verse pin, 17, in ears formed on the under side of the bed plate. The lower end of the lever G is pressed constantly against the periphery of the cam wheel D by a leaf spring 18. The high part of the periphery of the cam firmly gripped, and upsets the end, form- ing the head of the nail. Next in order the cam face /f strikes the levers F F’, and this operates to point the nail and sever it from the wire. The mechanism for feeding the wire consist of a disk or wheel placed adjust- September 11, «890 ably on the end of the driving shaft and having a wrist pin, 25, set in a groove in its face, regulated and held by set screws, as shown. A rod or pitman, 46, and a rocking arm, 45, rotates a shaft and cog wheel, or segment of one, which engages into a slide, 40, which carries a pawl, 41, The end of held down by a spring, 43. Mp Yi lf LLILI YYy YY YY THE IRON AGE, between the feed slide, 40, and the pawl, 41; thence through a tube, 29, set in a rib, P, cast upon the bed plate. This rib is located close to the box of the pointer levers and affords a strong abutment, fitted to bear the thrust of the header. This thrust is transmitted to the abutment, P, through the dies and spacing pieces, 30, inter- SEES Figs. 5 to 10.—Details. 403 die, and of the same thickness. The faces of the pointer dies are illustrated in Fig. 8. In the center of the plane face of the die is a V-shaped transverse rib, having an angular groove tapering nearly to a point. The groove is V-shaped in cross section, and it leaves straight converging edges, which nearly touch bidet | 10 ii | | TW i mi Fig. 9. the table next the feed is provided with | posed between the dies and through the|each other at the converging ends, straightening pulleys, 28. Three of them are set on pins in a rib cast with the bed- plate; the two opposite these are on a pivoted piece, adapted to be swung aside to admit the wire and held close by a link. The wire passes from the coil be- tween these straightening pulleys, thence walls of the boxes on the pointer levers. The cutting die, 31, in the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, hes next to the wall of its box, and next in order is placed the pair of pointer dies, 32, a piece of the same thickness as the cutter die being laid in the opposite box, opposite to the cutter | so that when the two dies come together: | the edges coincide and form a cavity sub- stantially rectangular in cross section, the larger end being about the size of the wire and the smaller reduced to a point. When these dies, therefore, come together upon the wire they point the nail and “404 THE IRON AGE. September 11, 1899 OOOO SSS leave a very small filament of metal re- maining. The cutter 31, which, being in the same box, moves with the pointer dies, but is arranged to shut slightly past the closed pointers, and severs the nail en- tirely from the wire. The relative ar- rangement of the pointers and cutter is shown in Figs. 7 and 9. The deep notch in the cutting die is flared toward the tube 29, so that it aids in directing the end of the wire after the nail is severed in the next advance of the wire to the dies. Behind the cutting die and pointing dies and spacing pieces is a block, 33, against which the set screw bears, so that all are moved and held togetber when ad- justed for the work, and all are held down by set screws that bear upon the plates resting directly on the dies and spacing pieces. The different operations on the wire, to form the nail and sever it, are necessarily very precise and in rapid suc- cession; the movements of the respective dies are required to be in like precise order and of different continuance. These operations, therefore, require exact con- struction and arrangement of the parts of the cam, which are shown in Fig. 3. The cam, moving 1n the direction of the arrow, supposing the machine to be in the act of feeding the wire, begins very gradually as the wrist pin leaves the dead point; it is represented in the figure as ad- vancing from that point and near its fullest movement of throw. When it reaches the second dead point, the forward rise of the cam face e, being just behind the wrist pin, immediately strikes the gripping lever. The high part of the cam face e is from 20 to 21, and during the movement of this high part over the tail of the lever d the grip holds. But the high part of the periphery, 19, is about the center of the high part of e and there- fore strikes the heading lever while the grip holds. At the point 21 the grip be- gins gradually to relax, and almost instan- taneously the high parts of the cam face / begin to act on the pointer levers; only one of these is shown in Fig. 3, the other being exactly opposite. They begin gradu- ally to act at the point 22 and the forward end of the high part begins at 23, follow- ing quickly the end of the high part e. ‘The high part of the cam face / extends from 23 to 24, a small part of the whole face, but long enough for the necessary work of the pointer dies and cutter die. The rear slope of the came face e terminates before the rear slope of the cam face 7, and thus the gripping dies are wholly retracted before the complete retraction of the pointers. As soon as the wire is advanced its for- ward end 1s seized by the grippers and held while the header upsets the end against the grippers. Next follows the action of the pointers, and as they begin to act on the wire the grippers begin to relax, and they recede to their rearmost position just before the pointers recede, so that when the pointers let go their hold the nail drops, having been fully sev- -ered by the cutting die. To secure abso- lute certainty in dropping the nail out of the dies a clearer of ordinary form may be attached. The movements of the parts are all gradual and positive in their opera- ‘tions upon the wire to form the nail. There are no blows delivered by springs, and consequently less noise, and force is more easily adjusted and controlled. Apart from the dies the principal wear is upon the cam wheel and the ends of the levers bearing thereon. The cam wheel is -of cast iron, preferably chilled, and may be easily and cheaply replaced. To save the expense of replacing the levers when the ends are worn, and at the same time render the ends more durable, shoes, O, are = which may be made either of ardened or soft metal. They are fitted ‘to the ends of the levers to which they are held removably, as shown in Fig. 6. The spring are attached to lugs, 36, cast on the under side of the bed plate. The upper ends of the springs are riveted or bolted thereto, and the springs are adjusted by screws set in the lugs and bearing on the springs below the rivets or bolts. A shute, 48, is located underneath the dies and extends laterally to receive the nails as they drop and discharge them out- side of the machine. To make longer or shorter nails it is only necessary to shift the spacing pieces from one side of the pointer dies to the other. The motion of the reciprocating parts of the machine, both of the dies and the header, 1s very short, and the machine may therefore be run at a high rate of speed. To run the machine in an opposite direction, it is only necessary to reverse the cam wheel upon the shaft and turn the shaft in the same direction indicated by the arrow on the cam wheel. Brown, Bonnell & Co. The famous litigation over the property of Brown, Bonnell & Co., whose rolling mills at Youngstown were recently sold at receiver's sale, has been brought to a final and definite settlement, by a decision just rendered by Judge Ricks. The purchas- ers of the plant were William McCreery, Henry Tod and C. C. Baldwin, and the price paid was $700,000, which is more than two-thirds the appraised value. On August 22 nine exceptions to the sale were filed, as was also a motion to confirm the sale. Judge Ricks, after hearing lengthy arguments of the different exceptions, de- cided that they were unwarranted, and that to turn the business over to the State courts now would be an idle, expensive and useless proceeding, without precedent or reason. The exceptions were therefore overruled, and a decree confirming the sale ordered to issue. In conclusion, Judge Ricks spoke as follows: ‘‘ In thus finally disposing of this protracted liti- gation,it seems proper and due to my pre: decessor and his associates, the circuit judges, who have aided him ia the man- agement of this vast property, to direct attention to the satistactory results that have followed its seizure and operation. The property has not only been preserved intact for the protection of creditors, but by the wise management of the receiver and his principal agents and officers, a fund of over $700,000 has been accumu- lated, so that,after long and expensive pro- ceedings, it seems assured that every cred- itor will be paid the principal sum due him in full. But for the appoiatment of a re- ceiver the property would have been dis- sipated as ney wasted on hostile liti- gation, to the prejudice of all concerned. It is not often that such beneficial results follow such long litigation, and it is a proper subject of congratulation to all con- cerned.” SSE EE The Interstate Commerce Commission on Friday decided the ease of Rice, Rob- inson & Winthrop against the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company and others. The decision is fav- orable to complainants, who allege that the roads discriminated against Buffalo and in favor of South Amboy, N. J., in rates, charging more for the short than for the long haul, and that by making a more favor- able charge te shippers in tanks than to shippers in barrels unjust discrimination was made in favor of the Standard Oil Company. The Commission, in their de- cision, hold that consolidated roads can- not make rates for one division that give profitable markets to a portion of their pa- trons and higher rates for another division that are destructive to the business of other patrons who are competitors in the same business. The Commission also hold that a carrier that employs different meth. ods for the transportation of petroleum — for example, tank cars, in which the oil is carried in barrels—is not relieved from their duty in respect to equality of rates by the difference in the mode of carriage, A — A Hay Palace. Among the unique exhibition buildings in the West this fall will be a hay palace at Momence, Ill. It will be opened to the public on October 1. The primary object of the exposition is to makea disp'ay of the varied products and resources of East- ern Illinois and Western Indiana, in the hope of attracting investments and immi- gration from the older Eastern States. The exhibits will include the products of the farms, factories, forests, mines, quarrics, and of the arts, domestic skill, and the accomplishments of the people of the dis. trict in music, oratory and manual train. ing. Among the special features will be an immense aquarium containing every species of fish that can be captured from the Kankakee and Wabash Rivers, and a collection of mound builders’ and Indian relics obtained from the Indian mounds in the Kankakee Valley above Momence, An attempt will also be made to exhibit the geology, botany and ornithology of the district. There will be the usual ma- chinery hall with power, special effort being made to collect the latest improve- ments in the lines of haying machinery and tools, and machivery for ditching, making and laying tile, road machinery, &e. The building is 206 feet in length and 166 fect wide in the center. The central, or main hall, is a perfect circle 103 feet in diameter, flanked to the north, south and west by wings 50 feet wide. A circular gallery, 18 feet wide, sweeps entirely around the main hall, from which there is an unobstructed view of the vaulted roof and to the top of the immense central dome 87 feet from the ground. This dome, with a circumference of 80 feet, is covered with a thatch of bright straw. The frame work of the big towers on the corners of the wings is also covered with thatch made from various species of marsh grass. The walls of the building are built en- tirely of baled hay, with just enough baled straw used in trimming to make a pleasing contrast of shading and color. Battlements of baled bay are carried over the roof, thus giving the structure some- thing of the appearance of a feudal castle. The somber color of the hay and the quaint little windows, looking more like port holes than modern windows, add to this appearance. These windows are only in- tended for ventilation, light for the in- terior being supplied by hundreds of elec- tric lights, which dot the trusses support- ing the immense roof and dome and cluster along the inner circle of the gallery. It is intended to cover every post, pillar and truss of the interior with decorations of grasses, evergreens, corn, wild verdure, flowers, &c. em A Long Blast.—A writer in Stahl und Eisen claims for No. 8 Von der Heydt furnace, of the Borbeck Works, the best record for a long blast and maximum out- put on one lining. The furnace was blown in on March 31, 1873, and blew out on July 15, 1890, making its campaign 17 years three and one-half months. During that time it produced 355,236 metric tons of iron. The furnace is 15.06 meters high, with 4.865 meters bosb, and toward the end of the blast averaged 80 tons daily. Until a year ago, the blast was heated by iron stoves. Since then two Cowper stoves have been in operation. »ptember 11, 1890 Se aa PHILADELPHIA NOTES. The extensive shafting and pulley works of Geo. V. Cresson, at Eighteenth street Allegheny avenue, Philadelphia, h are said to be the largest and most complete of any in the world, are now being run to their fullest c apac ity, although it is less than two years since ‘they were ed. The view upon entering the main building 1s very striking— 503 feet in length without asingle pillar. They have rece ently completed a large order for the Union Pacific Railway Company, at Omaba, Neb.; another for the Botany Worsted Mills, at Passaic, N. J., and one for the J. P. Houck Tanning Company, at Harrisburg, Pa. They are now working on one of the largest orders for shafting and pulleys that was ever given out in the United States—viz: for the Newport News Ship Building and Dry Dock Com- pany, at Newport ‘News, Va. The Cres- cent Watch Case Company, at Newark, N. J., has also recently placed a large order, which with other important work, assures employment to the fullest capacity of the works for some time to come. The Link Belt Engineering Company, whose works at Nicetown are run 1n con- junction with the plants at Chicago, IIl., and Minneapolis, Minn., though ‘only in and whic complet ope ration here a few years, have been obliged already to twice enlarge the local works. The first enlargement was the lengthening of the main building 62 feet, making it 412 feet long. The second, which is now under way, is the construc- | tion of a large iron addition, which, when | completed, will give the plant ah L she ape, This addition is on the east side of the present building, near the Reading Rail- road front. It will be 180 feet in length and 70 feet in width, and will have an elevation of 25 feet to the eaves and 45 feet to the ridge of the gabled roof. The building will be entirely of iron, is well under way, and is expected to be finished about the middle of October. Whencom- pleted about 50 additional hands will be given employment. This will swell the working force up to about two hundred. The company have recently expended a large sum of money in filling up and grad- ing their property, which covers a plot of ground containing about five acres. The company contemplate erecting another large addition to the plant in the near future. It wi!l probably cover most of the ground on the west side of the present maim building. Last week a large con- veying machine was shipped by the com- pany to a large sugar plantation in Brazil. The already great works of the Midvale Steel Company, of which Charles J. Har- rah, is president, at Nicetown, Phila- delphia, are to be enlarged, and this step, itis said, is one preliminary to a still further enlargement in the near future. The company have fenced in the ground occupied by the works and levelled off the upper vacant end, preparatory to the erection of a large additic nal building for casting steel. This building is to be 285 feet long, 135 feet wide and one story high, being 25 feet to the eaves of the gable roof. The massive roof will be supported by 58 double truss iron girders, each of which will rest upon stone founda- tions. There will be 12 other piers run- ning to the roof, upon which will be secured the tramways for large traveling cranes. The building will ‘be of iron. The roof and outer walls will be sheathed with galvanized corrugated sheet iron. The works are now employing between 800 and 900 men, which will be increased to 1100 or 1200, as soon as this building is ready to accommodate them. The Main Belting Company, Philadel- phia and Chicago, report that the demand this year has been very large for the Leviathan belting, of which they are the THE IRON AGE sole manufacturers. Among recent orders may be noted one for a special belt 150 fect in length by 48 inches in breadth and 10 ply thickness. This is said to be an unusually large size. The company make a special point in always carrying a heavy stock of belting, in regular sizes up to 24 inches, at the Chicago house, thus enab- ling them to supply the Western trade promptly. The machine tool works of Israel H. Johnson, Jr., & Co., are being run to their fullest capacity. Among their recent or- ders may be mentioned “lathes for Mac- intosh, Hemphill & Co., of Pittsburgh, one 36 swing by 47 feet long, with two sets of heads and saddles; one 48 swing by 43 feet — also with two sets-of heads and saddles; 18 lathes of various sizes (from 15 to 48 ich swing) for the Oliver Iron and Steel Company, and one 36 x 39 for the Pittsburgh Forge and Iron Company. They are also building a large gun bore! ee THE No. 5} o lathe for the Midvale Steel Company, beside having on hand a large assortment of miscellaneous work. TT The Stiles Deep Throat Power Press. Stiles & Parker, of Middletown, Conn., have just brought out a No. 5} press, for work which requires holes to be punched at large distances from the edge of the sheet. It is designed for the use of boiler makers, bridge builders, railroad shops, tank mak- ers, saw manufacturers, €c. Being pro- vided with a very long slide, strongly and accurately gibbed, it can also be used for cutting out irregular shapes, operating perforating dies and other tools requiring greater accuracy of the working parts than is usually provided in presses of this class. The Stiles eccentric adjust- ment and automatic stop also re- present features of convenience and accuracy. By means of the eccentric ad- justment, the punches or shears attached to the slide can be quickly adjusted to the position best adapted for the work, thus obviating the need of packing, and al- ways keeping the tools in the most advan- tageous condition, independent of wear. 405 The pressure, iv this a, DUIA NOTES, | sole manufacturers. Among recent orders | The pressure, in this adjustment, is always justment, is always taken on solid metal, instead of falling on screw threads, as in other adjustments. It is quickly and accurately made by loosen- ing ove bolt and turning a pinion wrench to the needed position. The automatic stop is so arranged that, on pressure being applied to the foot treadle and removed after starting the ma- chine, it causes the shaft to make one complete revolution, stopping it automat- ically in the position adapted for the in- troduction of the metal to be punched or sheared. If the foot is kept on the treadle the shaft and slide operate con- tinuously. The principal dimensions of this press are as follows: Weight, about 12,000 pounds; size of opening in bed, 8 x 8 inches; distance back from center of slide, 254 "inches; distance from bed to bottom of slide when slide is up, 104 inches; motion of slide, 14 inches; shaft diameter, 52 inches; the proportion of Bee iil ae RKERSPRES RPARKERZPRESS: MiDDLEEa OWNECT: STILES PRESS. gearing, 1 to 7; weight of fly wheel, 900 pounds. This press is also frequently fur- nished with sliding table and automatic feed, adapting it for manufacturing per- forated sheet metal. EEE The Seguranca, the newest addition to the fleet of the United States and Brazil Steamship line, armved here on Friday. She is one of the finest American built steamships that have ever come to this port. She was built at Chester, Pa., and was launched on May 17. The Seguranca is made of steel and has a displacement of 5895 tons, and a capacity for a cargo of 3890 tons. She is 336 feet long, 45 feet beam and 36 feet deep; has triple expansion engines from 2800 to 3000 horse-power, and twin screws, which are expected to send her through the water at the rate of 17 kuots an hour, The Unites and Brazil line are building another fine steamer, the Vigilancia, which will be launched in a few months,. Savannah’s trade last year increased $25,000,000, the total being $133,800,000. . She is now. the. second cotton port in, America. 406 THE IRON AGE, September 11, 1819 ee nn Modern Blast Furnace Construction,—I. JAS. L. WHITE, PITTSBURGH, PA. Thorough adaptability to purpose, econ- omy of construction, durability and ease of repair, are the chief considerations in the construction of a blast furnace, and these are influenced to a very great extent by the care taken in the location and de- sign of the plant. Before actually locat- ing a furnace plant, the ground should be carefully looked over to determine its suit- ability—first, for bringing to the furnace the large amount of materials for manu- facture surely and with no delay; second, for the disposal of the cinder or slag; third, for the water supply, and lastly, for the foundations necessary to support the heavy weightsin use. The care given to a topographical survey, with various cross sections, location and grade of rail- roads, probability of overflow from con- tiguous streams, and other incidentals, will never be regretted. The survey should include a few testings with a long steel rod to give an idea of the foundations. Properly taken, such care will do more to secure economy of construction and durability of plant than anything else. Many locations of furnaces now in use have demonstrated their unfitness to the eco- nomical manufacture of pig iron, and no skill or ability in the management or excellence of construction and machinery will counteract, to any great extent, mis- takes madeat this stage of the undertaking. The proper district for the location of a blast furnace need not be discussed here, the construction of the plant after the dis- trict has been determined being the aims of this paper. Too littie ground has usually been taken for the location of furnace plants hith- erto, the older types of furnaces, making small outputs of pig, were expected to run for a long series of years without exhaust- ing the capacity of the dumping ground for the slag. But the modern method of fast driving has increased the output of a furnace of a given size, in some cases four times, not only ofiron but also of slag, and this must be disposed of economically and rapidly. In cramped situations this is a serious matter. Situations upon the shore of a sea or lake offer the best solution of this difficulty, perhaps, and next to these, the proximity of a swamp or hollow ground that can be advantageously filled up, is of value. Any location necessitating a long haul for the cinder causes a permanent charge upon the product that should be avoided by all means possible. Again, if too little room is given for the plant, the trestle in the stock house or its substitute will have a steep grade up which it will always be expensive to haul the cars of material, and there is always the liability of dangerous and destructive accident under these circumstances. Sharp curves and steep grades anywhere in the network of railroad tracks about a furnace plant cause continual wear and tear upon the locomotives used. The latter are usually from ideas of economy in wages, run by men incapable of keeping them in repair or operating them economically. These locomotives, also, are not of as good con- struction and material as those in use on railroads, having to be sold cheaply. Economy here, also, is generally a consid eration with the managment, so that even under the most favorable circumstances of level and straight tracks, there is more wear about them than in a first-class freight or yard locomotive, and as there are seldom any spare ones, the service expected of them is, at best, more or less destructive. Upon them depends primarily the prompt supply of material and the disposal of cinder, the pig iron usually being loaded into cars at such a place and in sucha manner as to be immediately taken charge of by the railroad that does the shipping, thus avoiding the use of the locomotives belonging t» the furnace. Having selected a location as free from defects indicated as possible, and with suitable foundation, such as hard rock, in level strata, solid clay, gravel or solid sand not liable to become soaked with water, the definite plan of the plant can be deter- mined, but it should not be before this stage has been reached, and each point discussed, because upon all the foregoing, at least, depends the general adaptability and economy of construction of the plant. In most cases in the design of modern fur- nace plants a future increase in the size of the plant is either intended or provided for. This always modifies the design to a considerable extent, as, if the location is favorable to such increase, considerable economy in the future can be obtained by providing for this in the first design, mainly on account of the American prac- tice of rapid driving. There are consider- able differences between the plans and gen- eral construction of modern American blast furnaces and those of Europe and the older class of American plants. The older furnaces were expected to remain in blast for tour or six years, making 30 or 40 tons per 24 hours, machinery being small and run- ning slowly, hot blast stoves being few and not greatly heated, and as a consequence, a comparatively small quantity of water being needed for steam raising and tuyere and valve cooling. The present practice of making 100 to over 300 and sometimes over 400 tons of pig iron per 24 hours, means a much less life to the lining of the furnace stack and stoves, and to all the machinery and iron work exposed to hard service and heat, necessitating important changes in design, material and construc- tion, to the end of ultimate economy; and this increase affects enormously the de- mand for water. Water containing much earthy matter, or liable at any time to be- come charged with mud or any substances which would be likely to clog pipes of about 1 inch diameter inside, is certain to cause more or less trouble about a furnace, whether in the tuyeres causing deposit from which they may be burned, or other cooling pipes, or in the boilers. Indeed, this one consideration makes all the differ- ence in the style of boiler best suited for the plant, and the number of them neces- sary to be held in reserve during times of cleaning or repair, furnace conditions meaning in general any continuous service. The increased demand for good water has a most important bearing on the de- sign of a furnace plant, because if there is any scarcity of water the plant cannot be increased economically, nor can its output be made larger by any improved method of management or change of stock, this last often being at the root of the cause of increase. Many existing furnace plants, otherwise good in every way, cannot in- crease their output to a great extent, be- cause their water supply is limited and their space for settling and cooling water to be used over again after passing through the cooling pipes is circumscribed. In competition with these a well designed furnace, other conditions being equal, will surely have an advantage hardly to be counted in money value. From 500,000 gal- lons to 800,000 gallons per 24 hours of cool water are needed at a furnace making 130 tons in the South, with a head of at least 30 feet to insure the rapid flow of water through tuyeres and coolers so as to prevent deposit. This means a large stand pipe or tank from 40 to 100 feet high, and cool- ing reservoirs in some form, room for which must be provided in the plan, unless there is ample water supply at all times, an infrequent condition at most furnace locations otherwise favorable. I know of a plant of two fine furnaces that has to depend upon a well with pump attached for its whole supply of water, which is , never ending source of expense, this ques. tion of water having been almost ignored in the design and location of the plant Location thus has an important bearing on construction, _ In designing a furnace plant many ques. tions arise as to the location of certain of its component parts with regard to that of others. These parts usually consist of the following: 1. The stack or shell of the furnace proper. 2. The downcomer, or pipe conveying the gas to the boilers and hot blast stoves 3. The boilers to provide steam for running the plant. 4. The blowing engines and house. 5. The hoist for stock. 6. The stock house to assemble, keep dry, sort and weigh materials in. 7. The cast house to protect the pig bed of sand from the weather, and the men who have to work in it from this also, 8. The hot blast stoves. 9. The gas flues leading from the down- comer to the boilers and stoves. 10. The chimney for creating draft and carrying off the burnt gases. 11. The water tank. 12. The pumps and electric light plant, if used. In addition to these there is often an extensive trestle for bringing cars of stock to a sufficient hight, usually about 21 feet above the stock house floor, and sometimes a considerable reservoir for water large enough to allow heated water to cool fer use over again. It is often the case, too, in the South that coke ovens are located close to the furnace, and these— 250 to 300 per furnace—with their coal bins, take up considerable space. This is generally an economical practice, because coke breaks up in rehandling, causing loss, and deteriorates from moisture. Assuming that satisfactory ground has been selected for the erection of a furnace plant, it will, in general, be of such char- acter that there will be a level spot some 200 feet by 100 with a gentle slope in the direction of the cast house to provide for the easy removal of product. As the general level of the furnace plant is usually kept from 5 to 10 feet above the stock house floor level, it will be well to select this portion of the ground with regard to as small an amount of excavation as possi- ble; in many cases this is taken as ground level, and the hearth level, stove level and others raised to suit by subsequent filling. Let it be supposed that it is decided to locate the stock house at right angles to, and in the rear of, the furnace stack. Take the case of a furnace to be 75 feet high and 17 feet bosh diameter, a very usual proportion and size at present in use in the South, expected to produce with the ordinary class of materials of average quality about 130 tons of pig iron per 24 hours, this being nearly average work of the best plants at present using Southern coke, brown or red fossil ore, and the best limestone, coke and ore being of fair quality. For this furnace the stock house will be 65 feet wide and 150 feet long, or larger, and the center of its length will be placed opposite the center line of hoist tower, if used, furnace stack and cast house. The hoist tower will have two lifts or cages, and be built clear of the stock house, occupying a space about 12 x 23 feet. The hoist tower is generally located so as to be quite clear of the eaves of the stock house in the rear, and at the same time at not too great a distance from the furnace stack, to avoid a long and heavy ‘* bridge” or platform at the top, between it and the hopper, the old name, ‘‘ tunnel head,” having gone outof use. Sufficien’ ptember 11, 1890 THE IRON AGE. 407 Se —SSSS~EEEEEC—OC0nreESG—_QQuqQeGuVuzeeSEeE>E>E>E>E>E>>=>EEEE—E—— Es LINE OF PLANT i | NOILWA313 LNOYWS BOILER-GAS-FLUE—— } oust fy CATCHER i U7 | er CAST HOUSE END ELEVATION 408 THE IRON AGE. distance only is required for the passage of a team aud wagon between the hoist tower columns and any stove or dust catcher construction that may be in the rear of the furnace shell, at the same time providing for bustle pipe connection, hot blast main, stove cooling water pipes, &c., according to the construction of the furnace; one thing thus depending upon another from the start. Sometimes the retaining wall at the back of the furnace, and upon which the columns of the stock house stand, is flared toward the hoist tower to permit easier ingress of the stock buggies. The columns of the hoist tower are usually six, provided it is not a brick tower, and require foundations about 24 inches wide, which it is well to have in- dependent of the retaining wall aforesaid, these setting some 2 feet below the stock house floor level. A wall is a_ better foundation than mere blocks of stone set under the columns. The depth necessary depends, of course, upon the nature of the ground, and if this is rock with nearly level strata, nothing more is needed than excavating to a depth of 2 feet below the level ox the stock house floor, and making the rock ‘‘true ” for the feet of the columns to rest upon. There is little need of holding down bolts for these, as the hoist tower isa sort of cage, usually 21 feet by 10 or 11 feet, and if set level and built ‘‘ plumb” is not likely to be disturbed by anything less than an earthquake. At any rate, forces tending to overturn it would scarcely be counter- acted by the holding down bolts usually employed. The distance from center of hoist tower to center of furnace is regu- lated as above, but varies from 35 to 50 feet ; more than this is not good, because of the extra weight and size of ‘‘bridge” or platform necessary to connect hoist and furnace, and the extra travel of stock buggies and ‘‘ top fillers.” Now this dis- tance locates the most important founda- tion of all, that of the furnace stack, and there should be underneath the hearth level for a 75-foot furnace at least 10 feet of solid material, much more if the ground is at all uncertain. The hearth is the one part of the furnace liable to give out without much sign of its disintegration. Iron will eat down under every part in the most unexpected way at times, as wit- nessed by the enormous ‘‘ salamanders,” so-called, or masses of iron so often found on the blowing out of a furnace. If this molten iron eats its way down until it strikes water, or even in some cases moist- ure alone, an explosion of the most serious nature may take place. Honest work is needed here more than anywhere else, and the depth of the foundation must not be limited by considerations of first cost alone. If water appears it is necessary to provide a sure means of carrying it away by gravity, and this alone may mean, in many cases, a total change of level for the plant. Beyond the foundation for the stack, which will be about 30 feet in diameter, this including, of course, that of the col- umns as well as the hearth, will be laid out the two parallel walls of the cast house, these being from 50 to 60 feet cen- ter to center, and generally ‘‘ stepped off” to a level at the lower end some 30 to 36 inches below the hearth level, as the slope or grade of the pig bed is about 1 in 50 to insure swift enough travel or flow for the metal during a cast. From 125 to 135 feet are generally enough for length of cast house as now used; where possible a side cast house being favored, some 27 feet wide. It has been the practice at some furnaces to use stone foundations only at the actual piers of the building, but I have seen some very bad settling of the walls of the cast houses where this practice has been followed, especially where the trench was partly filled with loose stone, no mortar being used until the actual rubble wall was begun. 8 feet wide, dug to solid ground, filled for about a foot deep with wide flat stone, well laid in mortar or cement, thena wall ot stone up to the stepped levels before mentioned, will make, if honestly done and ‘good bond” everywhere, a wall foundation suitable for any ordinary brick cast house. These walls should be 30 inches wide rub- ble, and the brick 18 inches not including pilasters. I have seen several cast houses blown down by wind before their com- pletion, that were of 12 inch or 13 inch brickwork. If an iron building is to be erected instead of brick, foundation bolts, usually {g-inch, and about 5 feet long, will be built in the wall, and the piers here may be square, with lighter curtain walls between, these being only necessary to confine the sand of the pig bed. The end wall is, of course, the same thing as the side walls. If an iron building is used, the columns of it are usually about 15 feet from center to center. All these foundations should be laid off carefully by a competent transit man, and it should be remembered during the whole excava- tion and construction that center lines and bench marks must be thoroughly pre- served, care taken here saving endless confusion and tbe endless remeasuremeut and delay consequent thereon, that I have seen where inexperienced parties were em- ployed to do this work. An uncertainty about a measurement that cannot be easily verified, will often delay a body of work- men very seriously. Centers should be located in plain sight on the walls, as soon as erected, for subsequent use. (To be continued.) RR Specifications for Cast Lron Pipe. In our issue for July 24 a paper was pub- lished on the above subject, which had been read at the February meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, by Thomas W. Yardley, of Chicago. A brief but interesting discussion of this sub- ject now appears in the recently published Transactions, which is reproduced below for the benefit of those of our readers who would not otherwise see it: DISCUSSION. J. C. Bayles, East Orange, N. J. (com- munication to the secretary): As a pur- chaser or user of cast iron pipe or any other kind of pipe, I should not be satis- fied with so much of Mr. Yardley’s speci- fications as relates to coating and testing. I should in every case demand that the pipe be tested before it is coated. This is especially true of cast iron. Any form of coating suitable for a pipe which is to be shipped and handled will conceal a multitude of small defects in casting, such as blow holes, sand holes and even small shrinkagecracks. In 1887 the Commuission- ers of the Health Department of New York City found it necessary in the discharge ot their responsibilities relative to the plumbing of new buildings, to amend the plumbing code by the insertion of a clause forbidding the use of dipped, varnished or painted pipes. The reason for this action was the discovery that even a thin coating, of very little value as a protection for the iron, couJd be made to conceal so many foundry defects, and permitted so much carelessness on the part of makers, that sound pipes were the exception rather than the rule. The value of such a coat- ing in enabling pipes to pass a test is shown in much of the light riveted pipe in the market. I have seen a pipe put together with small cold rivets, headed by pressure, which, after coating with coal tar and asphalt, has shown in the testing machine a capaoity to carry with- out leaks a test pressure much higher than Mr. Yardley prescribes for the strongest and heaviest cast iron pipes he mentions. A trench | Before coating the seam would hay September 11, 1890 , € sho a continuous leak from end to end, The fact that a coated pipe will hold water under a considerable pressure in the test. ing machine seems to me to speak more for the coating than for the pipe. A cork inserted in the end of a gun-barre| will usually be found in place when the explo- sion of the charge has burst the barre] Experiments show that a plug of mud, or even of snow, will do the same, As q manufacturer of pipes, I should be very much pleased to have consumers specify that none should be tested until they had been coated. We should have very few wasted. For cast iron pipes the test pressures prescribed by Mr. Yardley seem to me much higher than is necessary, The caulked joint is not adapted for high pressures, and cast iron pipe is seldom em. ployed under pressure greater than a lead caulking will stand. It is not unusual ip waterworks practice for the lead to blow out of pipe joints at pressures much below those which the pipe will carry safely and comfortably. This is especially true if opportunity is offered for such changes of temperature as will produce a measur- able contraction and expansion with the changes of the seasons, The strength of the pipe cannot be greater than the strength of its joints, and with the hub and spigot connection the usefulness of cast iron pipes as a pressure conduit has well defined limitations. In buying it for any purpose for which that kind of pipe is adapted I should be content with half the test pressures prescribed by Mr, Yardley, but should insist on having the test made before the pipe was dipped— and, for that matter, 1 should require a very much better coating, after testing, than a coal pitch varnish applied at 300° F. Mr. Yardley (communication to the secretary): Cast iron pipes for water works were first used by the New River Waterworks Company, of London, Eng- land, in the year 1810. In 1822 the greatly increased demand for water made it necessary for the company to enlarge the mains. In taking up some of the pipe laid in 1810, many were found rusted so much that they were unfit for future use. This fact coming to the notice of Dr. Angus Smith, he commenced a serics of experiments in the preparation of a coat- ing of varnish to be applied to the inner and outer surfaces of pipe to be used for carrying water. His experiments demon- strated the fact that his varnish would not stop the rust when it had once com- menced, notwithstanding the rust was covered by the varnish. It was then he adopted the system of coating pipe as soon after cleaning as was practicable, and re- quiring the pipe to be heated to 300° F. before immersing it in the bath. In 1858. some of the pipe being taken fron the trenches, in which they had been under ground for 30 years, the varnish was found hard and bright, and the pipes that were broken gave no sign of rust. So satisfactory was _ t