The Iron Age 1890-11-13: Vol 46

‘THE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 138, 1890. IRON AGE Direct Process of Making Iron and Steel. In our issue of September 18, 1890, we illustrated and very fully described the Steel and Iron Improvement Company |have in operation, under the same roof | with their open hearth furnace, a furnace for testing the behavior of different kinds of iron ore under the gas treatment, and in this they employ, not a horizontal, but Is claim that this is not the case. The The Steel and Iron Improvement Com- pany designate their system the ‘‘ ore and pig open hearth process” as applied to steel manufacture, because it calls atten- tion to the points both of similarity and of difference which it exhibits as related to the pig and ore process. Like the lat- Adams direct process. We are now en- abled to present a complete description of the Adams apparatus and process for the manufacture of open hearth steel as it is at present employed at the works of a vertical current. Moreover, we are in- formed that they contemplate the manu- facture of iron sponge in considerable quantities, for use in various metallurgi- SSO y SManny STACKS 80 FT. HIGH SSG SSAA AQ_.@@ MQQ_EEE. Z RFE ccc ae Li dpaddddddadd “eg =. —— 7 Li tl: i Ze “aoe hI ry a Bo AWW JW \ N = 4 a \ \ N — a pa N Ur N == ae N |G AS ae ——y aad Spee N UK VSS... SS -= ced UN Uae ~~ Zz Vl. ctincaas SSO © ar, A Ci EE | Jf if “THLE DAMPER, | | eal | 3 | } | | TD { FURNACE ROOF ter, the raw materials from which it de- rives its product are pig metal and iron ore in its native condition. latter, which uses the pig metal as the Unlike the y ™~ MWC SS SK ‘Letdlddddddddddddddddddddstiiidds: Z Le SSH ooo Le Utd Lite Udit tz, ccccccccccccccccczcze Z ile WY Z ddd tdiddddddddd ddd Udell 4 zz S PIPE Udddlt — oa NZ ZZ, Va SSH oo Z Ae GY WY détecceftt li a WZ a uu FLOOR LEVEL J FLOOR LEVEL ' ’ ; ! : SECTION BB. ; SECTION AA. 1 km eee 78 - ee wee — - -- - — - - - - - - - - -- + ---—- '$-———— — 4 ©--- ------ e'33 -— —-~—-~— >| k ae eceesee eagemoce@cea Brick-wall over-all 2543" — ——~---—-- -------- ee > ct 7 @----- §46—-—-- « mel3iange ~~ ~-56-—--- Se a. — -= ot eee = ee we ~ a _# — = em Y Hh Hi | Zp YS IN Yan VY l == —YY| EN \ MS SS G eae HALF SECTION AND HALF TOP VIEW THE ADAMS REDUCING FURNACE. Park Bro. & Co., Limited, of Pittsburgh. |cal and chemical processes, securing the The following account is prepared from sponge in a cold state without reoxida- data, in part collected during visits to the tion, and that in the apparatus designed plant and in part from the records of ac-| for this purpose they have adopted the tual working, both at Pittsburgh and In-| vertical current as being in that particular dianapolis : construction the more convenient of the An idea seems to be prevalent among|two. The choice, therefore, between a those who have given the subject atten-| vertical and a horizontal movement of the tion, that the horizontal movement of the | reducing gas is a matter of detail, gov- current of gas which effects the deoxida- | erned by considerations of convenience in tion of the ore is the essential feature of | the construction and operation of each ap- the Adams process. Those interested in | paratus. = ier OD a Lin ning Y/ HI enV} \ 44°------ ~ ss ah Seen ocean leading, the ore as the subordinate in- gredient, the new method uses the ore as the larger, the pig metal as the lesser, con- tributor. In the pig and ore process the ore is charged direct nto the bath of pig, and its function is to desiliconize and de- carbenize the iron. In the ore and pig process the ore is charged into a separate chamber, where it is deoxidized; thence it is dumped into the bath of pig, the func- tion of the latter being to dissolve the spongy iron and mingle it with itself in 836 THE IRON AGE, November 18, 1899 one homogeneous body of liquid iron com- itively low in silicon and carbon, and ‘hence capable of being quickly desilicon- an brought to the carbon point de- sired. what it is expected to establish by more | flue and at the other end wit extended practice. checker work chamber of their ae reducing chambers. The draught _ are provided with air inlets controlled be valves, through which air may be admitt y to burn with the waste combustible ed passing through. Each of the reducin chambers has a hopper at its top for th introduction of a charge of ore, and a hoppers are closed by suitable doors a valves in order to exclude air ein Pol chambers during the reduction of the = At the bases of the chambers are aan doors lined with fire brick, which are = pivoted as to serve as drop bottoms Be- low the chambers is a metal chute to re- RATIO OF WROUGHT IRON TO PIG. As the wrought iron, according to the new system is cheaper than the pig by so much as it costs to convert the ore into pig, itis plain that, other things being equal, the larger the ratio of ore to pig the better. But there must be some pig in order to provide the initial bath. At Indianapolis the reducing apparatus was separate altogether from the two open hearth furnaces (18 tons each), which it supplied with the wrought iron part of their stock. Owing to questions of con- venience connected with the delivery of | ceive the reduced ore or s onge from th the iron sponge out of the reducer and | reducing chambers preliminary to its md into the open hearth furnaces, no attempt | sage into the open hearth furnace was made to increase the ratio of ore to | which a conduit made of black lead leads pig beyond equal parts of pig and of me-| The top of the conduit is closed by a fire. tallic iron in the sponge. All that was| clay tile damper, which prevents the - learned in the Indianapolis working, | diation of heat from the open hearth fur- therefore, was this: That there was noth-| nace. In the operation of the apparatus ing in the operations to indicate that a de- | all of the reducing chambers may be used cidedly increased ratio of ore to pig could | at once, or any one or more of them sepa- be used if it could be got into the bath | rately from the others. This is of advan. promptly at the time the bath was ready | tage, since it permits the use of the fur- for it. ; nace to suit all requirements of operation At the Black Diamond Works the iron | of the open hearth furnace and affords fa- sponge being constantly ready and at com- | cilities for continuous operation and re- mand by simply pulling a lever, the op-| pairs, which would not be possible in the portunities are complete for working out | use of a single large reducing chamber, the problem; but, owing to the very lim-| The general operation of this furnace will ited time since operations began, and the | be understood after an inspection of that interruptions due to imperfections in the| formerly described, the construction in open hearth arrangements which have had | both cases being founded on the same to be corrected, nothing has as yet been! principle. Without going into details we been positively ascertained beyond the| may say in general terms that there are fact that there is no difficulty whatever in | four chambers set above the open hearth working with 1 of pig to 2 of wrought | furnace, and surrounded by the necessary iron. But much that is suggestive beyond | arrangements for saturating the ore with this has already been developed. Until} red hot natural gas, while completely ex- the Pittsburgh work was started it re-|cluding the air therefrom. Into these mained an open question whether the/| chambers the ore, in quantities sufficient working of a heat would be accelerated or | for a single heat in the open hearth fur- delayed by using a large proportion of pig. | nace, is charged, the time of charging It has now become evident that when the/| being so regulated as to insure a thorough sponge is dropped into the bath it is, |deoxidation of the ore before it will be owing to its bight red heat and its cellu-| needed in the bath. Experience shows lar structure, so readily melted that this|that for the ore now in use—compact, fact, in connection with the other fact | non-specular, red hematite from the Min- that a bath of metal composed largely of | nesota mine, Lake Superior—one hour is wrought iron requires much less time to | amply sufficient to give the desired reduc- bring it to the desired carbon point thana|tion. The pig iron for the bath is charged like bath composed largely of pig, renders | into the hearth of the molting furnace as it certain that the pig is not desirable for usual and brought to a molten state, and quickening the process, and the problem | jnto this liquid bath there is charged from of the ratio of it to be employed is re-| time to time, as each previous charge is duced to the single question of what I melted, the contents of one of the four re- amount of pig should be used for the pur-| ducing chambers. Everything goes on ac- poses of the initial bath. The indications t cording to the ordinary methods of an point to a ratio of from 1 of pig to 3 of open hearth furnace working pig and iron in the ore, to 1 of the former to 4 of| wrought iron, the sole difference being the latter. that the wrought iron is dumped in four separate masses through the roof, instead of being thrown in piecemeal and by hard through one or more doors. WASTE. Since the pércentage of loss is greater in the wrought iron than in the pig, it is obvious that an important factor in an estimate of the yield of ingots from a given weight of stock charged is the ratio of wrought iron to pig in the composition of that stock So long, therefore, as this ratio remains undetermined, the question of yield must continue unsettled. But there is another circumstance which con- tributes still more largely to this uncer- tainty; to wit, the fact that there has not yet been had experience in actua] working sufficient to warrant a positive statement as respects the loss of the iron contained in the sponge. Taking the actual results thus far as a whole, they indicate that, with not less than one-fourth pig iron in the total charge, an estimate of 12} per cent. loss on that charge will be found to exceed rather than fall short of the facts. COST. Taking the average of ordinary open hearth practice, we estimate the cost ot COST OF THE DEOXIDATION OF THE ORE. it is claimed for the ore and pig process by its promoters that the cost of the iron sponge as delivered into the bath of the open hearth furnace is no greater than that of the raw ore, an apparent engima which they explain thus: The three items of expense are (1) the maintenance of the apparatus, including interest on the first cost; (2) the -labor, and (3) the fuel. The first cost of the apparatus is from $3000 to $5000 for a 20- ton open hearth plant. Allowing the same number of heats as in ordinary prac- tice—say 12 per week—240 tons, which may be put at 200 tons general average, making, say, 10,000 tons per annum, and reckoning 20 per cent per annum on the first cost, or, say $1000 per annum, we have 10 cents per ton for this item of ex- penditure. It may be objected that if we allow 5 per cent. for interest, we have but $750 per annum for maintenance. But this is an excessive estimate. There is nothing beyond a red heat in any part of the de- oxidizing apparatus, and nothing to wear out except very slowly. As regards the first item of cost, therefore, we can find nothing beyond 10 cents per ton. The next element of cost is the labor. In the new process, the labor involved is that of placing the ore in the reducing chamber, regulating the valves of the re- ducing apparatus, and dropping the bot- tom of the chambers to discharge the ore into the open hearth furnace. All of this labor is performed by the ordinary staff of the open hearth furnace with more ease than the handling of the scrap, &c. This is when natural gas is used. Where the gas is generated in producers, there must be added to this the labor necessary for the production of the gas required for the reduction process. The third item is the fuel. The extra quantity will be that required to maintain a red heat in the reducing furnace. It is claimed that there is an ample off- set to all of these expenses in the fact that owing to the greater fusibility of the spongy iron, the open hearth furnace can turn out three heats with it in the same time that it now yields two heats; in other words, gives 18 heats per week instead of 12. Referring now to the fuel question alone, aside from any other economies realized by this increase in the output, it is manifest that the total fuel per ton of ingots will be much less under the new system than under the old; the increase in work per ton to be performed being in red heat, the decrease in steel melting heat, and that the saving in fuel will cover the expenses of the maintenance of the reduc- ing apparatus also. It will be seen from this explanation, made by the promoters, that the claim that the cost of the wrought iron, de- livered into the bath of the open hearth furnace, should be reckoned as no greater than that of the crude ore, rests upon the increased output of the open hearth fur- nace when working on the ore and pig system as compared with the customary output under the system ordinarily pur- sued at present. As this acceleration of the open hearth process is vartly due to the improvements over the Indianapolis apparatus introduced for the first time in the Park furnace, the Steel and Iron Im- provement Company say that their ex- perience in actual working has been too short to justify them in claiming abso- lutely to make three heats for two, and § 4 that, so far as their experience has gone, |in a circuitous course. On each side of it points to that result. The claim is| the gas inlet flue is a draught flue. These therefore to be understood as intended to | draught flues at each end of the furnace signify nothing more than a statementof communicate at one end with a stack THE APPARATUS AND ITS OPERATION, The accompanying drawings show the construction of the furnaces now in use at the Black Diamond Works. Within the walls of the furnace are built four upright reducing chambers, arranged in two pairs set side by side. These chambers flare downwardly from the top to the bottom, so as to permit of the easy withdrawal of the ore and to prevent scaffolding. At opposite sides of each of the chambers are checker work chambers which open into the reducing chamber, and are pro- vided with horizontal partitions for the purpose of directing the gas back and forth through the ore in horizontal passes and for equalizing the temperature of the gas. At the outer end of each of the re- ducing chambers is a gas inlet flue, at one end of which is a gas supply pipe, while the other end of the flue communicates with the checker work chamber. Each gas flue is provided with partitions which cause the gas passing through it to travel November 13, 1890 sive of the cost of the masala ton of ingots turned out. ome elements of difference between the operating expenses of the ordinary open hearth system and that of Adams are, as already stated, these : Extra cost to the jatter in the fuel, labor and maintenance, as regards the reducing apparatus, and ad- vantage to it in respect of its increased output. It is manifest that we cannot adopt the rough and ready reasoning that if, under the old practice, two heats of 20 tons = 40 tons, cost $8 per ton = $320, then three heats, or 60 tons, should cost $320 + 60 = $5.33 per ton. There are items in the $320 of daily expenses, such, for example, as the labor of handling 60 as against 40 tons, that will not remain the same under the new system as under the old. Again, we have seen that though the item of fuel and maintenance do not count for much, they must assuredly be counted as something On the whole, taking into consideration the small extent of actuai experience yet had as a warning to leave a margin for disappointments, the parties interested placed this item at .50 per ton. we a same time it is to be borne in mind that the expenses of open hearth ractice are certain to be greatly reduced if the scale of operation is so much en- larged that a common casting pit for a range of melting furnaces can be substi- tuted for the present arrangement ; in fact, this reform has already been introduced at the new Homestead Works of Carnegie, Phipps & Co., where a single crew of casting pit men pour from the ladle and deliver the ingots from 16 melting fur- naces of 20 tons each. While, therefore, $7.50 per ton has been adopted for this item of cost, it is regarded as being not only a large allowance, but capable of material reduction hereafter. For the Pittsburgh district the figures stand as follows: Ore is taken at 12 cents per iron unit, and the cost of converting the ore into pig, as given in our article on the subject in our issue of March 7 last, at $7.69 per ton. The price of muck bar is not that of the market, but is arrived at by adding $11 to the cost of the puddling operation to the cost of the pig. Steel scrap is taken at our lowest quotation of September 10, say $21.50 per ton. 1. As regards really fine quality steel the present practice is to employ material such as foreign pig, or pig from foreign ore, exceptionally low in phosphorus, wash metal, &c., which bring up the cost of the material to $33 per ton, or: For enough to make 1 ton of ingots with CE OI es ciceiccccideccagasema 33. ‘ CR ao orci osccdsennsecensvece 8.00 Cost of 1 ton ingots, high quality....... $43.47 2. Present Practice. Average Soft Steel. 1204 pounds pig, at $19.69 per ton....... $10.58 1204 pounds muck bar at $30.69 per ton. 16.50 2408 (loss on charge 7 per cent). oo ee errr err COGR OE FRG MOR: co cccecicscaccancces $35.08 3. Present Practice. Common Quality. 1204 pounds pig, at $19.69 per ton........ $10.58 1204 scrap pig, at $21.50 per_ton........ 2408 (loss on charge, 7 per cent). CE GIN cine. Snvnecccsvicnverne COMBOS fee Ms oo siccdccics ccccvcs $30.13 Adams’ System. 853 pounds pig, at $19.69 per ton....... $7.50 1707 pounds sponge iron, at$12perton.. 9.15 2560 pounds (loss on charge, 1214 per cent). Other expenses 7.50 $24.15¢ Cost of 1 ton ingots, fine steel.......... THE IRON AGE. . PHOSPHORUS, SULPHUR, SILICON AND CARBON, The subject of the relations of the ore and pig open hearth process to these metal- loids naturally divides itself into two line of inquiry : (1) as to the results of the proc- ess in respect of the content of phosphorus and of sulphur which it leaves in the steel ; and (2) as to the effect of the phosphorus, sulphur, silicon and carbon on this kind of steel. Upon the first of these points it would appear that there has as yet been too little opportunity of studying the phenomena relating to sulphur to justify any conclugions. As regards phosphorus, on the con- trary every heat made contributes more or less light. What has already become manifest is this: That since the phosphoric acid in the ore is not reduced when the iron oxide is, but, contrariwise, drops down into the bath and melts into the slag, it will pass away with the slag if the latter be immediately tapped off ; but that if time is given, sufficient deoxidation takes place and the phosphorus is incor- porated with the steel. The greater or less degree to which the phosphorus is retained, therefore, depends upon the greater or lesser rapidity and completeness of the removal of the slag. As an example of excellent practice we have been shown the record of a heater in which the pig (one half the charge) analyzed 0.10 in phosphorus and the ore (other half of the charge) gave 0.18 phosphorus in the metallic iron contained ; while the steel produced showed phosphorus 0.055. Thus only 0.005 of the phosphorus of the ore was retained, 0.175 of it having gone off in the slag, the 0.05 being accounted for by the pig. On the other hand, where the slag is allowed to remain, as is customary in ordinary practice, until the steel is tapped out, the whole, practically, of the phosphorus is found to have gone into the metal. Taking the experience at Indian- apolis as a whole, with about 1,000 tons in all of metal, the pig iron showing an uverage of 0.1045 phosphorus, the ore being Ludington Stone, with 65 per cent. iron and 0.12 phosphorus, or equal to 0.18 phosphorus in the wrought iron from the ore; hence 0.14 phosphorus in the mixture, the results run from the lowest, namely, that just cited, 0.055 phosphorus to 0123 phosphorus in the highest:—a reduction of phosphorus in every heat made. Observe also that a non-Bessemer ore (having 0.12 per cent. phosphorus equal to 0.18 in the pig) produced good steel, as will be seen by the physical tests of Indianapolis steel presented below. Coming now to experience with stock low in phosphorus, the following data are presented: One heat at the Park furnace, from stock averaging 0.0525 phosphorus showed 0.042 phosphorus in the steel. The next following heat, from stock averaging 0.048 phosphorus showed 0.032 phosphorus in the steel. Upon the second point—to wit, the ef- fect of phosphorus, sulphur, silicon and carbon on steel made from materials which, to the extent of one half or over, have not assed through the blast furnace—much to already been accumulated to confirm 8.00 | an impression previously prevailing among ——~ | some steel makers that direct process steel 837 to be especially watchful of all steel mad® from sponge which had been exposed to sulphurous fumes of the underlying coke. The first heat of steel was made with such sponge, and was found to analyze 0.239 sulphur on testing; however, it worked perfectly tough under the severest tests for red shortness. Neither this amount of sulphur, nor, indeed, anything at all ap- proaching it, has ever since been found in any of the steel, nor has any indication of red shortness been discovered in any trial of it. From one heat of the following analysis, carbon, 0.19; silicon, 0.051; manganese, 0.77; phosphorus, 0.083; sulphur, 0.08, a bar 2 x 4 inches was hammered out and a % inch hole drilled in it, which was swaged out cold to $$ inch without crack- ing. From a lot tested by the Louisville Bridge and Iron Company a specimen of the following composition—viz., carbon, 0.18; silicon, 0.04; manganese, 0.46; phosphorus, 0.111; sulphur, 0.128 showed 72,100 pounds tensile strength, 52 per cent. reduction of area on a sample 1 x 44 inches. From another lot tested by the same company having the composition, carbon, 0.19; silicon, 0.098; manganese, 0.70; phosphorus, 0.114; sulphur, 0.115, atest bar 1 x $ inch gave 68,500 pounds tensile strength, 50 per cent. reduction of area. Three heats rolled, tested and analyzed by the Spang Steel and Iron Company, Limited, showed as follows: 1. Carbon, 0.13; silicon, 0.055; man- ganese, 0.60; phosphorus, 0.117; sulphur, 0.093, gave 60,000 pounds tensile strength, 36,000 pounds elastic limit, 25 per cent. elongation in 8 inches, and 52 per cent. reduction of area. Test bars taken from -inch plate. 2. Carbon, 0.16; manganese, 0.92; phos- phorus, 0.085; sulphur, 0.075, gave 64,720 pounds tensile strength, 36,610 pounds elastic limit, 234 per cent. elongation in 8 inches, and 50.35 per cent. redaction of area. Fracture 45° and silky. Test bar, 0.406 x 1.460 inches. 8. Carbon, 0.21; manganese, 0.98; phos- phorus, 0.114; sulphur, 0.08, gave 66,950 tensile strength, 42,570 elastic limit, and 20% per cent. elongation in 8 inches. Test bar Z inch. It was defective, and the re- duction of area could not be ascertained. A highly interesting field for special in- vestigation lies open for the future in the- determination of the extent to which the hardening elements, carbon and silicon, may be increased in this kind of steel without too near an approach to the dan- ger line as respects toughness. I Trade with Spanish America. Numerous manufacturers in New York and vicinity have organized as an export and trading company, and are making a strenuous effort to extend trade with Spanish America. They call attention to the report of the South American commis- sion appointed by President Arthur and quote approvingly from a petition to Con- gress, asking for the negotiation of com- mercial treaties, in which they say: ‘‘ The condition of these treaties should be the free admission of such merchandise as this could ‘‘ carry”? a much larger infusion of| country does not produce, in return for all these metalloids than steel made from pig, no matter by what intermediate proc- ess. Evidence on the subject began with the very first heat of steel ever made under Adams’ system. The sponge was made in a columnar mass, in a sort of kiln, and the operation was inaugurated by filling the reducing chamber with coke and burning Showing a difference in favor of Adams’ |it there, in order to heat up everything; system of $19.32 per ton in the manufact- | and as the column of coke settled the ore ure of high quality steel ; $10.93 in the|was charged upon its surface and gradu-| reserved home coasting trade; the re- manufacture of the general run of soft|ally replaced it altogether. steel, and of $5.98 for inferior grades. This coke being very sulphurous, it was thought best the admission free, or under a favorable scheme of duties, of our products—the benefits of such exchange to apply only to goods carried under the flag of the parties to the contract, and the removal on both sides from the vessels so privileged of all tonnage dues and national imposts, so that those vessels may ply unhindered between our ports and those of other contracting parties, though without infringing on the moval or reduction of burdens on the ex- ported products of those countries coming 838 THE IRON AGE. November 13, 1999 a within the benefit of the treaties and the avoidance of the technical restrictions and penalties by which our intercourse is at present hampered.” The manufacturers and traders referred to represent a wide range of industry, and their object is to renew efforts to secure legislation deemed necessary to the commercial welfare of the United States. - TT Embossing Press, The illustration represents a machine recently designed by the E. W. Bliss Com- pany, Limited, of Brooklyn, N. Y., for embossing medals, watch cases and sim- ilar work requiring great pressure. The machine embodies several novel features. In order to withstand the tensile strain of 1000 tons which is brought upon the body (that being the pressure the machine is designed to exert on the work), it is made of a solid wrought iron forging, the cen- ter of which is slotted out to accommodate the working parts. This wrought iron body or frame is securely bolted to cast iron housings at the rear, which carries the main crankshaft and driving mechan- ism. The mandrel on which the lower die rests is made of steel and has a vertical motion of about 14 inches. It is operated by toggle links made of tool steel, hard- ened and ground. The bearings of these links are cylindrical, being 23 inches diam- €ter by 12 inches long. The toggles are operated by a wrought iron lever extend- ing back between the housings, and the outer end of this lever is connected to the main crank by a powerful pitman. The crankshaft is a solid wrought iron forging 7 inches diameter, with crank slotted out, and is driven by a 6 foot gear, the ratio of gearing being 8 to 1. The driving shaft is supplied with a Hill friction clutch, with an automatic device recently designed by the Bliss Company, by means of which, when the treadle is depressed the clutch is thrown into opera‘ion, and when the main gear has made one revolu- tion the clutch is automatically thrown out and a brake applied, thus stopping the machine. In order to obtain the necessary adjust- ment of the dies to regulate the pressure, a steel shoe is provided above the mandrel, to which the upper die is attached. This shoe is held up in place by four rods pass- ing up to a yoke at top, and the weight Supported by four large compression springs. The upper side of the shoe is made slightly inclined, and a steel wedge inserted between it and the bearing in the main frame. The position of this wedge is adjusted by means of a screw which passes through the side of the housing and which is operated by the hand wheel shown. The total weight of the machine is about 26,000 pounds. SEE Pressed Steel.— Considerable interest attaches to the operations of the Fox Solid Pressed Steel Company, of Joliet, Ill., the control of which has recently passed into English hands. They manufacture a special line of products in the form of pressed steel articles for railroad equip- ment, such as freight and passenger car trucks, brake beams, center platés, steam chest and cylinder casings, locomotive smoke box fronts, drip pans, running boards, &c. They have three large hy- draulic presses, the largest of which weighs 450 tons. With this immense press, which has probebly the greatest capacity of any in the world, they are enabled to exert a pressure of 4000 tons on the surface of a plate 11 x 26 feet, thus producing forms hitherto unattainable at one heat and one operation. The process is the patent of Samson Fox, of Leeds, England, founder of the Leeds Forge Company, and inventor of the Fox Corrugated Boiler Flue, as well as many other useful and ingenious inven- tions. The property of the company com- prises 12 acres of ground, which is rapidly being covered by buildings required for their extensive operations. E. W. M. Hughes is the capable manager of the works, ————— ~ Some New Canal Projects. By a rather noteworthy coincidence several new canal enterprises are just now asking attention. In New Jersey a ship canal from the Delaware River to the At- lantic Ocean is under consideration. Its object is to secure a shorter route for ves- sels from Philadelphia to New York than that which begins by going scores of miles =—_—=—_ understood to be at least $25,000,000 and very likely the cut would cost more, ; The Dominion has a liking for cana) projects. It has just concluded to build another waterway at Coteau, Province of Quebec, on the north side of the St. Law. rence, at a cost of $2,000,000, in order to get around the Cedar Rapids. There jg now, on the south side of the river a canal for this purpose, the Beauharnoig but it is found that the increasing grain trade from the West to the seaboard justi. fies a more capacious canal, and the old one can be utilized for water power, The Dominion Government is now build. ing a new canal at Sault Ste. Marie, the future importance of which is as clear to it as to our Government. Near by, a EMBOSSING PRESS. in the opposite direction down Delaware Bay and doubling Cape May. The pro- posed cut would be across New Jersey, striking either Tom’s River, in Ocean County, just above Barnegat, or else Shark River, still further north, in Monmouth County, between Asbury Park and Spring Lake. A cut of 60 or 70 miles would be necessary, but it would be an easy one to make, through a flat country, and with no rocks in the way. South Jersey as well as Philadelphia would reap whatever ad- vantage there might be in the project, and accordingly the capitalists are now ciphering to find out whether the pros- pective tolls will justify the outlay. A larger enterprise is mooted in the Keystone State, that of a ship canal to Lake Erie. The Pennsylvania Legislature appointed commissioners for this purpose, and the surveys have been substantially completed. The commissioners favor a route along Beaver River to the lake. Whether the State will be willing to enter into this project is a little doubtful, since the minimum rough estimates for it are short canal, 50 feet wide by 12 deep, out intended for water power only, drawing its supply from Lake Superior, has been undertaken by private enterprise. Anal- ogous to this latter scheme and to one of the same sort on the Michigan side, but incomparably more important, is the pro- posed canal for utilizing the water power of Niagara. Finally, there is the mooted canal, 67 miles long, from Georgian Bay, the eastern arm of Lake Huron, to Lake Ontario. Such a conduit would shorten by several hundred miles the distance by water between Chicago or Juluth and Montreal, because it would completely skip Lake Erie, as well as Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and Detroit River, and take a short cut to the mouth of the Hum- ber River, west of Ontario. A modifica- tion of this project contemplates the sub- stitution of a ship railway tor the canal, inasmuch as it is thought that the latter would cost nearly $25,000,000. But such a railway, also, must be very expensive both to construct and maintain in that region. November 13, 1890 Boom Derrick. ntage possessed by this derrick, a Ta Thos. Carlins’ Sons, of Allegheny City, Pa., is that, when wire uys are used, the boom will swing around the entire circle. With the improved double sheave base and plate shown both the load and boom may be operated by wer, which may be located at any con- venient distance. By this means the radius or sweep of the boom may be changed while hoisting the load, thereby permitting the quick and accurate hand- ling of the material. The way of putting the hog chains of the boom and mast has the advantage of supporting them in the center as well as bracing them side- ways. The special half band overcomes the liability of ‘‘ kicking” as is the case | | THOMAS CARLIN S SORS Bh THE IRON AGE. on the gudgeon pin, thus reducing the wear. This derrick may have the boom rope of manilla in place of wire rope, and the base is frequently made with one wire and one manilla rope sheave. The sheaves are invariably fitted with graphite self- lubricating brushes and work on polished steel pins. When desired the derrick can be operated by hand. I Steam on the Canals. After a protracted trial steam canal boats have conquered prejudice and become established as indispensable to the equip- ment of the New York Statecanals. are perhaps 100 such boats already in serv- ice, and each is capable of towing from three to five other boats. One of the finest BOOM DERRICK. when a very long boom is used on a toler- ably short mast, as is frequently done in handling sand, where the derrick is on a boat. The boom sheave guard prevents the hoisting rope from getting off the sheave and jamming in the mortise. The gudgeon pin is made large and has a spider casting fitted to it, this casting also fits the solid band on top of mast. This is an im- provement over the old way, since by this means the strain on the pin is thrown on the band and there is much more bearing on the mast than the pin itself. The weather cap lies loose on top of the mast and prevents the water from getting around the gudgeon pin and spider. The guy cap is of cast iron, made with a groove somewhat in the form of a sheave, a heavy wrought iron ring being shrunk on when the guys are fastened around to this ring. The guys are attached to it by means of shackles or clevices and are generally galvanized wire rope with thimble spliced in them. The guy cap has a long bearing of the steamboats—the John B. Dallas —is 964 x 174 feet, and was built last spring by Morgan Brothers, of Lockport. Its machinery consists of a 14 x 16 inch cylinder engine, fed from a large boiler built to stand a pressure of 140 pounds to the square inch. The consumption of coal from Buffalo to New York is about 45 tons, at $3 per ton for pea. She can herself carry 6100 bushels of grain, and can tow four other boats of 8300 bushels capacity each, making the total capacity of the fleet 39,300 bushels. With two boats in tow the John B. Dallas makes the trip be- tween Buffalo and New York in a trifle over seven days, and with four boats in tow she makes it in about 104 days. Under the old style of boating it requires six horses or mules to bring two boats from Buffalo to this city in 13 or 14 days. The canal boatmen claim that only for the faulty management of the canals steam would be practically the only motive power in use to-day. The commercial There | 839- supremacy of New York, they urge, is de- pendent wholly upon the proper main- tenance of the canals, and urge that they should be deepened to fully 9 feet. LL Projectiles Electrically Welded. Lieut. W. M. Wood, U. 8. N., deliv- ered a lecture before the Society of Arts: | Institute of Technology, Boston, in which he described the new application of elec- | tric welding to the manufacture of pro- jectiles. Weextract from it the follow- | ing: At the present moment it looks as | though the projectile was about to gain another point over armor and become a still more important factor. Artillerists on shore are now directing their attention | largely to the use of breech loading rifled | howitzers or mortars. These guns are | fired at a great elevation, rarely less than | 45° and frequently at 60°. The projectile | has, consequently, a high curved tra- | jectory and plunges down on and through 'the decks of vessels or behind parapets.. |The decks of men of-war are frequently not protected at all, except over the en- gines, boilers and magazines, where a curved armored deck is used with a max- ‘imum thickness of from 4 inches to 6 inches. Four inches is the greatest 'thickness of the curved protective decks of our new cruisers and is the only armor | those now afloat have. DOUBLE SHEAVE BASE. The varying ranges of these howitzer thrown projectiles are given by increasing or decreasing the weight of the powder charge. In some recent experiments made by Krupp, in Germany, very satisfactory results have been obtained by projectiles thrown from this class of gun against horizontal targets representing the armored decks of ships. The defenses of Boston and our other seaboard cities are to comprise a large number of guns of this class. They fire both armor piercing and common shell. Redoubts and turrets on shore can be armored as heavily as you please, or guns and troops can be de- fended by that most excellent protection, the earthwork. Afloat, however, where every pound carried is a matter of serious consideration, the problem is a very dif- ferent one, and the weight of armor must necessarily be limited by the size of the vessel. A proper navy, however, will al- ways be made up of a number of vessels of various kinds, more or less dependent 840 on each other, from the gigantic battle ship fully protected by the heaviest armor down, including the partially protected cruisers, fast unprotected vessels, dispatch boats, converted merchantmen used as commerce destroyers or transports, tor- pedo boats, &c. Troops in the field are like the unar- mored cruisers, torpedo boats and converted merchantmen, practically unprotected. For use against these various defenses and where there are no defenses except dis- tance and advantage of position there are in use three general classes of projectiles (uot considering the more or less experi- mental dynamite and other high explosive shells). They are, 1, the armor piercing shell, used solely, as its name indicates, against heavy armor; 2, common shell, used against unprotected vessels and troops, for bombarding cities and earth works, for target practice, &c.; 3, shrapnel, so named from its inventor, ex- tensively used in field operations on shore against bodies of troops and at sea against open boats, topedo boats or any unpro- tected body of men. Leaving the ordinary bullet of the shoulder rifle out of the question, these projectiies range in weight from those of a single pound to the gigantic missiles of the 110-ton gun, which weigh about 1 ton and are driven by almost 4 ton of powder. Now, in order to show how much is gained in the constructicn of projectiles by the Thomson electric welding process, I will briefly describe the present methods of manufacture : First comes the armor piercing shell. To fulfill the Government requirements these must be made of a fine quality of steel, capable of being made very hard and still be tough. In the first operation it is forged or rolled into a rough solid blank. After this it is placed in a lathe and turned off accurately on the outside, and the powder chamber bored in the axis of the shell from the base, as in this speci- men. This ee is then closed by a carefully fitted screw plug, in the center of which is a smaller threaded hole into which fits the percussion fuse which ex- plodes the shell on impact. A groove is now turned in the outside near the base and knurled or roughened. This is for the copper rotating band, and the rough- ening is to prevent its slipping when the copper enters the rifling of the gun. Next the shell is hardened by one of the various processes, which are more or less satisfactory, and finally the cop- per band is forced into place by hammering or hydraulic pressure and turned off true to gauge. This completes the projectile, and you will readily under- stand that all of this work is slow, tedious and expensive. Any one who is familiar with the operation of machining high car- hon or tool steel will appreciate this. As a matter of fact, a 6 inch armor piercing shell which ovly weighs 94 pounds costs in the neighborhood of $65 or $70. Next come common shell. These at present are cast either of steel or iron, but even in this cheap form of production many difficulties are met with. In the first place, the shell usually has but one small opening to the inside powder cham- ber, and this only allows the use of a single ‘‘ print” to hold up the core which forms the interior cavity; consequently when the molten metal flows in it pushes this core out of place, and the resultant casting is eccentric—thin on one side, thick on the other—frequently so much so as to cause it to be discarded entirely. When the castings are received from the foundry they are first carefully calipered on the inside by a skilled operator, who uses a delicate instrument called a ‘‘ star gauge,” which expands within and enables him to determine the amount the casting is out of true, which he marks on the shell. It is then passed to the hands of THE IRON AGE. the machinist. He is obliged to place it in his lathe eccentrically, so that the out- side will be turned true with the inside, and you can imagine that even after all this care they are never perfectly concen- tric. Another serious difficulty met with in the cast projectiles is the liability to smal! blow holes or porosity, which, though they sometimes escape detection, always cause the rejection of the projec- tile when discovered. Through these holes the gases of the charge might be driven and thus cause a premature explo- sion of the shell in the gun. Steel shell of this description, of 6-inch caliber, cost about $30 each. Like the armor piercing shell, they are fitted with rotating bands and fuses, but are not hardened. We now come to the shrapnel. It was originally invented for use in the smooth bore guns of the past, and was then a hol- low sphere filled with small bullets, around which was poured melted sulphur as a matrix. A small powder chamber for a bursting charge was left in themiddle. It was provided with a time fuze which could be set so that the shell would ex- plode at the desired moment in its flight, scattering its contents and fragments in the face of the enemy. So far there seems to have been no very satisfactory shrapnel made for rifle guns. The difficulty is that the head or base has to be screwed on after the body of the shell has been filled with the bullets and matrix. This construction weakens the projectile very much at this point, and the head or base is apt to blow out without bursting the body of the shell or scattering the bullets, especially as the walls of the projectile have to be made thick enough to stand the threading. Hoping I have now made clear the gen- eral state of the art, I will explain wherein this new process differs, and will endeavor to illustrate it by the specimens I have here. First, instead of the solid, rough forged ingot, we have these three component parts, which, when welded together, will form a 6-pound armor piercing shell. Each piece is now finished to exact size, except that there isa little extra length to allow for the take up in welding. The head and base pieces are forged in dies to shape; the central portion is simply a piece cut from a length of solid drawn steel piping. It has all the additional strength due to the fibrous skin inside and out caused by the drawing process. To join these three pieces they are clamped into a form of electric welding machine designed for the purpose, and ia less than a minute are joined together and made a homogeneous mass like this. It only now remains to grind off the two burrs which you seein this specimen and cut in the groove for the rotating band. The front one of these burrs may be used to form an enlargement used in many forms of projectiles, called technically a ‘‘ bourillet.” It supports the front portion of the shell in the bore of the gun, the remainder not touching except at the rotating band. The other burr may be removed at the same time the rotating band groove is cut. The fuse hole has already been cut and threaded in the base piece. The shell is now ready for the hardening process. I wish to call at- tention here to the fact that the burrs are allowed to remain on the inside and thus form strengthening ribs, which help ma- terially to support the shell against the great crushing strain it receives on impact. You will see that we have thus formed a stronger and better shell with a minimum of labor on the individual parts anda few seconds’ work to join them together. In order to illustrate the wonderful strength that may be gained by this weld ing process, I have here a shell which was constructed exactly as I have shown. It was fired through a 3-inch plate of iron at the Naval Proving Grounds, at Annapolis, November 13, 1899 recently. You will see that it changed its shape in the slightent an mg nor has it even lost the copper rotetine band which was carried through the bat with it. Here is another which Qe a still more remarkable result. This projectile was fired against heavy steo armor, which has a resistance of about "5 per cent. more than iron and which was much heavier than a projectile of this size could be expected to perforate. It, how. ever, penetrated 5 inches, and then, owip to the elasticity of the oak backing of the plate, was thrown back about 30 feet as perfect in condition as before it was fired from the gun. The experience of the welding company has been that the metal seems to be strengthed at the point of welding, and this certainly seems to justify the supposition. After accomplishing results like this you will see that the manufacture of the common shell becomes a very simple mat- ter. Bythe welding process it is quite feasible not only to join iron to high car. bon steel, but to weld wrought iron or steel to steel castings or even to cast iron. Hence, in this case, it is only necessary to substitute common iron or low carbon steel tubing and stamped or cast heads and bases and perform the welding operation. The shell which is thus cheaply put together has all the advantages of wrought and none of the disadvantages of cast metal. If made of low steel, it may even be hardened to a certain extent, and thus have more or less efficiency against thin armor. In regard to the shrapnel, a single look at this section will show the problem and how it has been met. This is from a de- sign for the United States army 3.2 inch field piece. The head and base are steel castings, which have been heated and compressed to give them density.. The body is drawn steel a ¢ inch thick. The projectile was built as follows: First the head was welded on to the body. Next the brass tube which carries the flame from the fuse to the powder chamber at the base was crimped in at the upper end. The half formed projectile was then inverted and the bullets placed within and the matrix poured about them. Next the diaphragm which forms the front end of the powder chamber was put into position and the other end of the tube crimped in. The shell is now ready for the final weld, and you will notice that the base piece is provided with a shoulder, which after the weld is made will press closely upon the diaphragm and support it against the shock of the discharge. After the second weld is made the shrapnel has an unbroken surface inclosing its deadly bullets, and, like the other shell, is ready to be fitted with rotating band and fuse. To summarize, these shells can be pro- duced in the method I have described, so that a wrought steel projectile can now be manufactured at Jess cost than a cast iron one, which, except for — practice, is almost worthless; and as for armor pierc- ing shell or even molded steel shell, there can be no comparison as to cost of pro- duction. This same principle can also be applied to. solving a still more difficult problem, and one which has hitherto baffled the skill of the inventor—viz., welding the solid heads on to the large brass cartridge cases now used with the projectiles of rapid fire guns. A rapid fire gun is one having a non-recoil and pivoted mount. It is aimed and fired from the shoulder like an old fashioned swivel. They range in size up to as large as the 6- inch gun. The ammunition is fixed just the same as the bullet and cartridge of a shoulder rifle. At present these brass cases are constructed with great difficulty and at much expense by drawing up from the solid ingot, and no one is prepared to make those of the large sizes in this country. By the Thomson process, which also welds November 13, 1890 r, this will be.un easy mat- brass i ne cost should be less than one . estat that now paid by the Government ; those they are obliged to import. "a conclusion, I will say that it 1s a well known fact among ordnance experts that the breech mechanism and the principle of the construction of the present high wered gun