The Iron Age 1890-12-25: Vol 46

“THE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1890. IRON AGE Horizontal Boring and Drilling Machine. On this page we present an illustration of a horizontal boring and drilling ma- chive, which has been designed with little regard to the existing type, and which has a feed motion which would seem to offer many advantages. It was designed by the Newark Machine Tool Works of Newark, N. J., and although it has been in successful use for some time, it is now illustrated for the first time. To begin with, the feed arrangements have been put on the opposite side of the machine from where they are usually put, thus bringing the operator into the same HORIZONTAL BORING AND position with regard to the cone pulley, and the various hand wheels and levers by | which the machine is operated, that he oc- cupies at the lathe, which is believed to be an advantage, since the lathe is the standard machine tool with which all ma- chinists are familiar. This machine is not the only one in which the parts are so ar- ranged, but the usual practice is to place them on the other side, so that the cone pulley and hand wheels come at the right of the operator, inetead of the left, as they do on the lathe. The feed det:"!s have, it is believed, been reduced te the simplest possible form, considering the ends attained by them—viz., a great range of feed with any required number of variations, and which can be changed either in rate or di- rection with the greatest facility. For securing the changes in the rate of feed the Sellers friction disks have been adopted, the vuaterials chosen for their construction, and the method used for regulating the pressure of the central disks upon the upper and lower disks, in- suring their satisfactory operation under DRIL | the heaviest duty. Any rate of feed from 4, to } inch is instantly avail- able by the simple movement of a lever. These friction disks drive a worm shaft which extends to the rear of the machine, and is there providéd with two worms, one right and the other left hand, these worms being cut upon a sleeve which is fitted to the shaft, and can be moved along to make either of the worms engage with the wheel, which is an ordi- nary spur gear. Thus the feed may be in either direction at will, and a cutter after passing through a bore can be run back for the finishing cut when desired with- out disturbing it in the bar. The clamp by which the bar is secured to the feed slidle grips it by friction only, instead of LING MACHINE, BUILT BY THE having holes through for a pin, and thus | it can be gripped at any point, instead of a limited number of points only. The table can be raised or lowered from the side or end of the machine, as may be most convenient, and the platen has the usual movements in either direction, in|} addition to which a platen is furnished where desired which can be turned around on the table to any-angle. Special pains have been taken to make all the parts of the machine amply heavy for the duty they have to perform, particular attention being given the yoke which supports the outer end of the bar, since weakness of | this part of the machine is quite too com- mon, and where it occurs greatly limits | the capacity of #¢he machine. It has| been customary to grade these machines | by the swing—that is, by the distance) from the center of the boring bar| to the top of the table, but the Newark | Machine Tool Works grade their machine | by the diameter of the boring bar, which | limits the diameter of the hole which the | machine can bore and which measures, | NEWARK MACHINE TOOL The swing, length of table and size of car-. riage the makers change as required. The machine from which the engraving is made is called the ‘‘ C”’ machine, and has a 3-inch bar with a table 5 feet long. It will swing over the platen 3 feet 3 inches, and over the table 4 feet The platen is 30 inches long, 17 inches wide, and has a motion across the bed of 24 inches The machine measures over all 10 feet 9 inches and weighs 7500 pounds. It will bore holes up to 18 inches diameter. Other machines of the same design are built having bars 4, 5 and 6 inches diameter, and with other parts in proportion, the largest machine weighing about 17,000 pounds. The squar- ing attachment shown is furnished with each machine, and the swing or size of WORKS. platen or table can be altered to suit special requirements. — A comparison of the statistics of travel on the East River bridge and the Third avenue horse car line in this city, which is about to introduce cable traction, is in- structive in various respects. During the year 1889 the Third avenue line carried 31,458,000 passengers, and the bridge railroad carried 33,954,773. The receipts of the Third avenue line were $1,572,- 861.07, and of the bridge railroad $931,- 973.39. The operations of the surface road paid a dividend of 9 per cent. on the capital stock and $223,283.85 interest on the bords, and left a surplus of $47,496. The cperations of the bridge last year, after paying $500,140.58 for real estate, rolling stock and improvements, left a balance on hand of $255,676.32. The pay roll of the bridge amounts to $580,000 a a year; that ot the surface road to $560,- 000. The total expenses of the bridge are $1,075,436.71 for the year. The total ex- penses of the surface road are $1,085,- therefore, the capacity of the machine. | 404.32 for the year. 1120 THE IRON AGE, December 25, 1899 ———————————————— eee NAVY ORDNANCE. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. The following table gives the number of sets of forgings so far ordered, the num- ber of guns completed, and the number of guns now under construction at the Wash- ington Gun Foundry : Caliber, | Forgings Completed —- * | ordered. guns. 7 : _ | struction. 4-inch....| 35 4 12 5-inch.... + i. | Ritgiteaeetantl 6-inch....} 128 77 25 8-inch....} 35 15 2 10-inch... . 25 4 3 12-inch.... S Seics suoas iaakvus secon 13-ineh.... 12 Of the above guns, the 4-inch and 5-inch may properly be classed as *‘ rapid firing guns,” employing fixed ammunition—that is to say, having the cartridge case, charge and projectile combined in one. The 5-inch gun is the largest that present in- vestigation and experience indicate as properly adapted to the quick firing feature. The combined weight of the cartridge case, charge and projectile in this gun is estimated not to exceed 100 pounds, which can be handled without difficulty. Beyond this it is inexpedient to go, as the great weight of the projectile prevents the rapidity of fire which is this gun’s essential feature. A specimen of the 4-inch gun has been completed and tried, and has given highly satisfactory results, two types, differing in their breech mech- anism, having been manufactured. The adoption of rapid firing guns of large caliber has made it neces- sary to develop a plant for the manufact- ure of suitable cartridge cases, and an agreement has accordingly been made with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company of New Haven, Conn., to supply 15,000 cases, with the option to the Department to order 10,000 more at a reduced price. The company have nearly completed the machinery necessary for making these cases, and their delivery will soon begin. Passing to the heavy guns, the first is the 6-inch, the length of which has been increased from 30 to 35 calibers. The performance of the new gun is satis- factory, and specimens will soon be made with a still longer bore, a gun 40 calibers in length having been designed for this purpose. Of the 8-inch guns, six of the new de- sign, 35 calibers in length, have been manufactured, tested, with good results, and issued, and a new 8-inch gun, 40 calibers in length, has been designed, which it is proposed to mount on cruiser No. 12. The great advantage of this gun, as of all long guns, is the flat trajectory of the projectile, due to its high velocity, which makes it possible to use the gun successfully at ordinary battle range with- out accurate measurement of distance. Of the 10-inch guns, four that make up the armament of the Miantonomoh are completed, and three of the four for the Maine are in an advanced stage of manu- facture. No 12-inch guns have yet been made, but forgings for one gun have been re- ceived from the Bethlehem Iron Company, and the gun factory is ready to pro- ceed with the manufacture of these guns as fast as forgings are delivered. The design for the 13-inch gun, 35 cali- bers in length, has been completed, and the tools for its manufacture are in course of construction. Twelve sets of forgings of this size have been ordered from the Bethlehem Iron Company for the bat- teries of the three new battle ships. All contracts with private firms for the 6-inch Carriages | - | rotal Cost, Labor. | Material, —— Average of— First 10... | $4,428.10 | $2,133.21 | 55 manufacture of heavy guns have been| second 10... 3,027.41 1,283.32 OE.8 a completed in the course of the past year, Fat ag ye oH 85 3,442.09 and the guns have been proved and issued | fifth10....:, 17708100! L116 00 Hie to the service. No further contracts of this character will be made with private firms, the capacity of the gun foundry at Washington being suflicient to handle forgings as fast as they will be received. The ordnance work of the past year has included the completion and installation of the armaments of the Baltimore, the Philadelphia, the San Francisco and the Miantonomoh, while those of the Newark and Concord are ready. The 8-inch guns of the Charleston are also ready, and will replace four of her 6-inch guns on her return. The manufact- ure of the new armament for the gunnery ship Lancaster has been begun. It is be- lieved that with the increased rapidity of delivery of forgings from the Bethlehem and Midvale companies and the develop- ment of the Washington Gun Foundry, bat- teries can hereafter be furnished to new ships as fast as the latter are com- pleted. The Midvale Company are now en- gaged in putting up a plant for forgings of large calibers and by the early part of next year will probably be able to do ma- chining up to 10-inch guns, and to cast and forge up to 13-inch. There will, there- fore, be two firms in the United States ready to supply any gun forgings that are likely to be needed. The improvements at the gun foundry during the past year include the erec- tion of the 110-ton overhead traveling crane, the completion of the shrinkage pit, gun carriage shop and office building, the construction of a railway siding fiom the Baltimore and.Potomac Railroad which has greatly facilitated deliveries and ship- ments, and the purchase of a shifting en- gine and of several special machine tools. I desire to call particular attention to the extraordinary reduction ip the cost of making guns and carriages which the gun factory has accomplished. The tables given below make a comparison of the average cost of the 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10- inch gun manufacture, first, under the old contracts with private firms; secondly, at the Washington Gun Factory in 1888, and finally, at the same place in 1890, from which it appears, to take a single example, that the 8 inch guns, for manufacturing which the Government, under the old con- tract, paid $8500 per gun, aside from the cost of forgings, were manufactured by the Washington factory in 1888 for $5163 and in 1890 for $2772. A similar reduction is to be noticed in the cost of 6-inch carriages, the average of the first ten manufactured being $6556, and the last ten $2824, a reduction chiefly in labor, as the material, though dimin- ished in cost, has not shown a proportion- ate variation. . The tables are as follows: ——— —_ = = — — The act approved June 30, 1890, appro- priated, for the purpose of enabling the Secretary of the Navy to manufacture and experimentally test, under rules and cop- ditions to be —— by him, a subma- rine gun and projectiles for the same $30,000: Provided, that no part of this money shall be expended until the owners of the patents to be tested under this pro. vision shall agree by contract to give the Government the option, within a specitied time, to contract, at such price as shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of the N avy, for the exclusive right on the part of the Government to manufacture, by contract or otherwise, such submarine guns and projectiles without the payment of any royalty on the same: Provided, that such submarine gun and projectiles shall prove satisfactory, on due test, and be approved by the Secretary of the Navy. In pursurance of this act, the Navy De- partment, under date of September 19, 1890, entered into contract with the Ericsson Coast Defense Company for one submarine gun and six steel projectiles, the gun and projectiles to be fixed and se- cured in position on board the steam vessel known as the Destroyer. It is proposed to make a thorough test of this system of submarine artillery, which possesses undeniable advantages, if applied to = types of vessels, such as the ram designed for work at close quarters. The experiments will be con- ducted at the torpedo station at Newport. Cast iron common shell and shrap- nel have been manufactured at Wash- ington and supplied to the new ships as fast as needed. The manufacture of cast steel common shell has been discontinued for the present, the results obtained not having proved satisfactory. Efforts have been made to develop in this country a process of making common shell of forged steel, as this shell possesses marked ad- vantages, and it is hoped that before long specimens may be obtained for test, and that the manufacture may be domes- ticated in the United States. The specimens of armor piercing pro- jectiles hitherto received from private firms in this country, tempered by various processes, have not proved satisfactory, and the only present prospect of securing what we need is by the adoption of some one of the processes in use abroad. A contract has been made for a quantity of ee to be manufactured in America y one of these processes, and the Depart- ment is still endeavoring to bring about some arrangement by which it may obtain other armor piercing shells of the best quality of American manufacture. The great number of inventions, pos- sessing more or less merit, in the way of light rapid firing guns, has multiplied the number of types in use in all the navies of the world. The manifest disadvantage of this extreme diversity of types, each with Guns. |\Average time Average cost of of manufact- manufacture. ure in : : sae ° hour days. | its special ammunition, on board a single aad ship, has led the Department to look with Yr : favor upon a plan to limit the smaller Caliber. | 24° | rapid firing pieces to the 6-pounder and BSs | ae a 1-pounder calibers, and to abandon as fast Fee | Cun Bactory, | Gun Factory: |as is practicable the 3-pounders and the 25 ioe 47 mm. and 37 mm, revolving cannon. 5° | The Driggs Ordnance Company have be- Ss | 1888. | 1890. | 1888. | 1890. | bun work on the ten 6-pounder and ten |———|—— | 3-pounder guns and ammunition ordered 6-inch....| $3,400 $2,049] $1,298, 115 60 | last year. S-inch....| 8.300 Sie ae i)| The Hotchkiss Orduance Company have eg ee . a filled their original contratct with the De- December 25, 1890 Seen partment for 94 Hotchkiss guns and am- munition, with the exception of steel shell for the 6-pounder and 3-pounder, in the manufacture of which, of the proper quality, considerable difficulty has been experienced, Deliveries have also been made under later order. TORPEDOES. This country has been thus far abso- lutely without a successful automobile tor- pedo. This fact has been referred to more or less from time to time, in reports and papers, for several years past, but it does not seem to have received the attention which its gravity demanded. Vague hopes and expectations that something would turn up gradually fixed themselves upon the Howell torpedo as the probable solu- tion of the problem, although it was still in an experimental state. Finally, on January 5, 1889, a contract was made with the Hotchkiss Ordnance Company, the manufacturers of this weapon, for 30 torpedoes, of which 10 werggto be de- livered by June 1, 1890, and all By Septem- ber 1 of thesame year. This contract has not yet been filled, owing to the loss of two torpedoes at preliminary trials and the failure of the company thus far to produce a weapon that fulfills the requirements of the contract. An extension of the con- tract time has been granted, and the man- ufacturers hold out expectations that they will be ready for another trial and for making deliveries by the Ist of January, 1891. Notwithstanding these expectations, the necessity of possessing a practical torpedo was 80 great, and the question whether the Hotchkiss Ordnance Company would be able to produce one answering the require- ments of the contract so doubtful, that the Department would have fallen short of its duty had it not made an effort to meet, in some other way, the necessities of the sit- uation. Negotiations have therefore been undertaken with the Whitehead Torpedo Company with a view to domesticating the manufacture of their torpedo, the most suc- cessful yet produced in the world. Favor- able terms have been made, and an order will shortly be placed with an American firm for a number of Whitehead torpedoes. If the Hotchkiss Company shall finally succeed in producing a torpedo to answer the necessary conditions, the two designs will be subjected to competitive tests, with a view to ascertaining the expediency of definitely adopting one or both of them for service use. In the meantime the bureau is coptinuing its investigations with other designs. Of torpedoes other than the automobile, one, of the Patrick design, a torpedo elec- trically directed from the shore, has under- gone a successful test. Two others remain to be supplied to complete the three ordered February 26, 1889. It is proposed to use these torpedoes for purposes of in- struction in connection with the Naval War College. ee Enormous Horse-Power.—It isa very easy matter to talk about 18,000 or 20,000 horse-power, but few persons realize what it means or the enormous force that it exerts. The new White Star steamships, for instance, or the Inman Line’s City of New York develop from 18,000 to 20,000 horse-power. They have 12 boilers and 72 furnaces, worked with forced draft. Assuming that the engines will require 18 pounds of steam per horse per hour, then 160 tons of feed water must be pumped into the boilers every hour and 160 tons of steam will pass through the engines in the same time. In 24 hours the feed water will amount to 3840 tons, occupying 138, 240 cubic feet. This amount of water would fill a length of 493 feet of a canal 40 feet wide and 7 feet deep. Taking the condensing water at 30 times the feed THE IRON AGE. water it will amount to 4800 tons per hour, or 115,200 tons in 24 hours, or for a six-day transatlantic run not less than 691,200 tons, or 24,883,000 cubic feet. This amount of water would fill a cubical tank 295 feet on the side—a tank into which the Roman Catholic Cathedral, steeples and all, or the Jimes building could be put and completely covered up. The coal consumption is not less inter- esting. Four hundred tons a day are burned on the 20,000 horse-power press- ure. This would fill 400 wagons. It re- quires for its combustion 8609 tons of air, occupying a space of 222,336,000 cubic feet. It is impossible to put these figures in a shape ona that they may be grasped by the average reader, but enough has been cited to show, nevertheless, that the circulating pumps and fan engines of such ships are a hard-working lot. a The Joliet Steel Works Club. On Saturday, 20th inst., occurred the first anniversary of the opening of the club house of the workmen connected with the Joliet Works of the Illinois Steel Company. It was celebrated by appro- priate exercises, held in the auditorium of the club house in the afternoon. A special train was run from Chicago via the Rock Island road, conveying the officers of the company und a number of invited guests to attend the exercises. Many of the latter had never seen the club house, and after they arrived there some time was allowed for an inspection of its features. The workmen of the company were found scattered through the building, taking advantage of its opportunities for physical and mental exercise and amusements. These features of the club house have been set forth on previous occasions in our columns. At 4.30 the exercises began in opened the programme with an overture, which was well rendered on brass and stringed instruments. 8. Fewtrell, chair- man of the club, who presided, then made an opening address, marked with strong common sense. W. Crane, superintendent of club, then read the first annual report, presenting statistics of membership, giv- ing full accounts of the results obtained in the various classes, and in every respect highly commending the members of the club for the interest taken in it and for the most excellent care taken of the prop- erty. The club has had on its list during the year 1350 names, but owing to re- movals and other causes, unnecessary to enumerate, there are now 854 active mem- bers. The club has been proved to be a thorough success in every respect and the officers of the company are well satisfied with the showing for the first year. A paper has just been started, called the Steel Worker, the first number of which has appeared and which is expected to be an interesting feature of the club work. Mr. Crane made a strong plea for the maintenance of interest in the club by the workmen. — The Philomela Ladies’ Quartette ren- dered some charming vocal music, after which an address on behalf of the trustees was delivered by W. R. Stirling, first vice- president of the Illinois Steel Company. Mr. Stirling having been the originator of the club, his appearance on the platform was the signal for an outburst of hearty applause from the assembled steel workers. His first sentences showed the interest he took in the people of Joliet, as he dwelt upon the calamity which had befallen a number of the company’s workmen, who had been killed or seriously injured by the collapse of a blast furnace. The people of Joliet were assured of the company’s ear- nest Sympathy with them in their deep the auditorium. The club orchestra the 1121 bereavement. Mr. Stirling then pro- ceeded to make an earnest appeal to the workmen present to endeavor in every way to improve their minds, and to apply themselves diligently to make the most of to the examples set them by men whom they knew who were born without being specially favored by fortune, but had earned advancement through the deligent use of the opportunities given them, which were their opportunities. He referred in every case not to be compared with the advantages now possessed by themselves. Mr. Stirling’s address was an eloquent ap- peal to the judgment and reason of the men, and his earnestness excited their en- thusiasm. After vocal music by the quartette, an address on patriotism was delivered by Harlow W. Higinbotham of Chicago, but a native of Joliet, born there when the Indians still inhabited the surrounding country, and the boundary line between civilization and barbarism was sharply de- tined in that locality, now the site of a large manufacturing city. Mr. Higin- botham’s address was a stirring appeal for the cultivation of patriotic sentiments, and was well received by the audience. An address was then made on behalf of the club members, by H. W. Spencer, who portrayed in eloquent terms the pleasant rolations existing between the Illinois Steel Company and their Joliet workmen. The exercises closed with the singing of the National Anthem by the entire audi- ence, Ee Nickel Steel. An interesting question has been raised in regard to the priority of invention of nickel steel. In a letter to L’Ancra, of Saint-Dizier, Charles Walrand, a well know French metallurgist, refers to ex- periments carried on at the Forges de Montataire, in rolling ferro-nickel with varying proportiuns of the latter metal. The idea of those who undertook these experiments was to ascertain whether ferro-nickel could not be made to replace copper and white allows in their applica- tion because of the property of ferro- nickel of not being subject to oxidizing influences. At Walrand’s instigation a certain number of physical and chemical tests were made of the specimens rolled, among them some possessing extraordi- nary qualities. The alloy used as a base varied in composition as follows : Per cent. Cs icc cccuencncact<edacusanees 0.15 to 0.05 PN. occ co ncacesisandsdvaes 0.02 to 0.05 ot si ceiies Leal 0.50 to 0.04 ME 6 vacates veedcneleidesdadenawesssetees 3 Iron 74 Mechanical tests gave the following re- sults: 1. On 15 mm. rounds, turned to 12 mm. diameter, a 200 mm. specimen, before an- nealing, tensile strength, 89 kg.; elonga- tion, 19 per cent.; after annealing, tensile strength, 81 kg., and elongation, 29.5 per cent. Flats, 56 x 6 mm., tooled to 17 x6, before annealing, tensilestrength, 80.5 kg. ; elongation, 40 per cent.; after annealing, tensile strength, 73.6 kg.; elongation, 33 per cent. 3. 26 mm. rounds, turned to 12 mm. diameter, without annealing, tensile strength, 87.9 kg.; elongation, 43.5 per cent. Rounds, 12 mm. of the diameter tested without tooling, without annealing, tensile strength, 69.2 and 72 kg., and elongation, 37 and 40 per cent., respect- ively. The results of these tests led to negotia- tions with the Societe le Ferro-Nickel, who were owners of the patents and the Creusot, with the idea of applying the ferro-nickel to special work. 1122 THE IRON AGE, December 25, 1890 Cold Saw Cutting Off Machines. means of a friction roller and plate. The|speed is regulated by moving the roller pressure of the plate against the friction | toward or from the center of the plate. roller is automatically regulated according} Fig. 2 shows a machine designed for _ There have been many experiments made | to the amount of power required to do the} cutting ship plates for shipbuilders, safe in cutting metals by means of the large milling cutter or saw. The sawing of thin : or light material, such as slotting the heads of screws and other light work, has always been done successfully. Beyond that little has been done in this country, although for many years saws of this description have been used in foreign countries. For some time the Newton Machine Tool Works of Philadelphia have been engaged in the design and construc- tion of cold saw cutting off machines, and now have six sizes of standard machines and a number of special sizes. Fig. 1 represents the No. 2 machine, which is of the same general design as the standard machines. The work is placed upon the table, which can be adjusted to bring the work in proper position for the saw tocut. The clamping apparatus can be drawn open on one side, the work laid en the table, when the clamp is swung back into place and clamped. The saw is a hollow ground milling cutter clamped to | the end of the spindle and running in a} bath which cools and lubricates it. The | Fig. 1.—Standard Cold Saw Cutting Off Machine. Fig. 3.—Armor Plate Cold Saw Cutting Off Machine. COLD SAW CUTTING OFF MACHINES. periphery of the saw always travels at the| work. The thrust of the worm which manufacturers and others, It will cut up game speed. The automatic feed can be| drives the feed screw is taken up by the| to 4} inchesin bight and 8 feet long. varied, according to the work to be done, | plate passing against the roller, and the| The armor plate machine shown in Fig. from 4 inch to 2 inches per minute on all | heavier the cut the closer the plate will|3 is constructed upon the same general the machines. This is accomplished by| press against the roller. The feeding| principles as the others, but is made December 25, 1890 THE IRON AGE. : 1123 doubie, so that two edges can be cut at the same time. The armor plate coming from the mill has rough edges which must be trimmed down before it will be ac- cepted by the shipbuilders. This tool will cut plate up to 10 inches thick and up to 137 inches in length. One bed is sta- tionary and the other is adjustable_on three rails to suit plates of different widths. In each of the tables are placed three rollers so mounted that, after the plate has been cut, they can be raised to support the plate, which can then be rolled off the machine. The machine illustrated in Fig. 4 is in- tended for the use of bridge builders, structural iron works and others who have long beams to be cut off at different angles. 'This machine does not differ from the | others except that it is driven from one | point and is set on a revolving bed which allows the beam to always remain in one position and the machine to be swung round to whatever angle it is desired to cut the beam off. This tool can also be used as a rotary planer. The saw is fast- ened to the head by means of six counter- sunk screws, the head being screwed to the end of the spindle the same as the face plate of a lathe. This can be removed and an ordinary face milling cutter put in its place and the machine used as a rotary planer. . The stock yard machine shown in Fig. 5 was designed to take the place of the present high speed saws. It is claimed that it will do the work much cheaper and better, and that, as it does away with the high speed of the other, it will reduce the danger of breaking saws and the excessive Ss wear of belts and bearings. An important = item here claimed is the small amount of ; power required to operate the slow speed saw, this being about one-tenth that re- quired to drive the quick speed saw. The illustration Fig. 6 represents a | simple saw grinder. As the saw is turned, | tooth by tooth, the emery wheel is drawn across it and both the face and bottom of the tooth ground, A saw 18 inches in diameter can be sharpened in about three minutes. Fig. 7 shows specimens of work done | by these machines, which are now in use in some of the most prominent bridge, lo- /comotive and steel works. —_——————_EE English Strikes.—A report on strikes in England last year has been made by J. Burnett, labor correspondent of the Lon- don Board of Trade, from which it ap- pears that in 1889 strikes took place in Fig. 6.—Saw Grinding Machine. Fig. 7.—Specimens of Work Done on Cold Saw Cutting Off Machines. COLD SAW CUTTING OFF MACHINES. 1124 THE IRON AGE. December 25, 1890 ——s=$=aoswaauamaaa9ama9aa9SMaSaaaoS TT OOOOoOoOoMH OS 3164 establishments in that country. As in 1888, and due to the same reason— namely, a rising labor market—67 per cent. of the strikes were due to claims for advanced wages, although in some cases there were other points of dispute involved. Of those for advances in wages, 48.3 per cent. were successful. The proportion of those partially successful was 31.5 per cent.; 10.7 per cent. were not at all suc- cessful, and the results were unknown in the remaining strikes. Of the financial aspect of strikes some interesting particu- lars are given. Taking 597 of the strikes, the loss of wages is estimated at £652,000, while the loss to each individual would be a little over £3. 5/. For 930 of the strikes the loss for the 344,840 persons engaged is taken at £1,122,500. In 216 instances it is shown by employers whose men have been on strike that the value of | fixed capital laid idle was £14,450, 962; | while in 162 instances the ratable value of property laid idle was £268,684. In 233 strikes the estimated outlay caused for laying down and reopening the works on strike was £169,219. On the other hand, the returns sent in by trade unions show eS burned on the 17th inst., seriously incon- veniencing a number of manufacturing concerns occupying rooms in it. The total loss is put at $100,000. This is the third time that the building has been burned. ——— Electric Low Water Alarm. The electric low water alarm we present an engraving of is positive in its action, and its construction is such that there is nothing to get out of order. The alarm consists of a cylindrical casting, which is attached to boiler or water column by un- screwing the lower gauge cock and screw- ing in the alarm, after which the gauge cock is screwed in the casting and can be used as usual. The casting contains an improved float which is connected to the atmosphere through the stuffing box by means of the hollow rocker arm, to which the index is attached. that in 369 strikes the amount expended : : in support of men by strike committees or © trade unions was £63,636. The returns also show that in 446 strikes the weekly wages earned before the stoppage amounted in the aggregate to £153,504; while the estimated loss of wages in 292 of these strikes was £294,175. EEE Labor Saving Machinery. In opposition to Powderly, who is re- ported to have made a fiery attack upon labor saving machinery in an address to the Farmers’ Alliance, at Ocala, the Chi- cago Tribune volunteers a vigorous de- fense. He spoke of ‘‘ defrauding work- men of tue right to work,” &c. The editor says: Imagine a man talking thus to an audi- ence made up chiefly of Southern planters who, but for the cotton gin, instead of producing yearly 8,000,000 bales of cot- ton, would not grow 500,000. It is owing to labor saving inventions that the cotton seed, which the planters used to throw away or burn up, has been converted into a commercial product which yields the 4 Hy-& draulic cotton compressors, by reducing = the bulk of the bale of cotton, whether ; South over $20,000,000 yearly. shipped by sea or land, have lowered the expenses of transportation so much as to make a saving of from 1 cent to 2 cents a pound. Imagine the feelings with which the Western Alliance farm- ers from Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas must have listened to the} Chinese anti-labor-saving harangue of the | head of the Knights of Labor. These; men know that their farms would be valueless to them were it not for steel prairie plows, for twine-binding reapers, mowers, power threshers and cleaners, and scores of other implements, and— most important of all labor-saving de- vices—a well-equipped railway to carry the products of their farms to a distant market. It is knavish of Powderly to talk as he does when he knows that the labor-saving devices of the last half- century, by increasing the productive power of the workingman, have added 50 per cent. or more to wages in this country and England, and nearly as much in Ger- | many and France. They have increased the purchasing power of wages 50 per cent. because of the greater cheapness of commodities caused by them. Therefore they have doubled fully the rewards of laber, while lessening the amount of toil required of the individual. —————— — The Burton Block, a well-known manu- Electric Low Water Alarm. a positive preventative of the float filling with water and becoming inoperative. The alarm bell is an approved wood box bell which gives a clear and distinct sound. The battery is of the dry kind, and requires no charging or attention. The alarm can be attached to any style of boiler, either in the lower gauge cock di- rectly into the shell of the boiler or into the water column. When in operation, as soon as the water is below the first gauge cock, the float and index fall, mak- ing the connection or contact, and causing the bell to ring, which will continue un- til the water reaches its proper level. This device is a new adaptation of the low and high water alarm made by Love- ove & Co. of 143 North Third street. Philadelphia, Pa. SE At a meeting of the stockholders of the Westinghouse Electric and Mfg. Company it was decided to issue $3,000,000 pre- ferred stock. George Westinghouse, president of the company, submitted a statement of the condition of the com- pany, based on figures furnished by a committee appointed to examine into the This connection is | facturing building at the corner of Clinton | affairs of the company. The report stated and Van Buren streets, Chicago, was' that the assets are $6,280,000 and the liabilities $3,642,045.97. The money de- rived from the sale of the preferred stock will serve to pull the company through the present stagnant state of business, The capital stock of the company is $10,000, - 000, of the par value of $50 per share. It was decided to vote on the motion of issu- ing the $3,000,000 worth of preferred stock by ballot. One hundred and two thousand four hundred and thirty-five shares voted in favor of the issue and 135 against it. The report of the number of lights and stations controlled by the com- pany was as follows: Number of central] stations, direct current arc, 71; number of central stations, alternating current arc 66; number of central stations, incan- descent, 357; number of central stations that have increased their capacity since they started, arc stations, 17; incan- descent, 101; total light capacity, direct current arc, 5280; alternating current arc, 5510; incandescent, 651,300; number of street car motors, 407. Co-operative Stores in the Coke Re- gion.—It is announced that the United Mine Workers of the Connellsville coke re- gion are about to begin a movement for the establishment of co-operative stores. The plan proposed is the organization of a company with a capital stock of $25,000, to be used in the erection of a general store building, from which branch stores located at all points throughout the region will secure their supplies. The sum of $2000 has already been subscribed by the miners at one plant located near Scottdale, Pa., where there is plenty of land, and where good railroad facilities are offered. Should this organization of a co-operative company in the coke regions be successfully effected, and the advan- tages of such asystem be made fully mani- fest, the miners of the other coal and coke regions will also form companies on the same basis. Business is to be com- menced next February, or after the an- nual agreement with the Sperators has been formulated. ——— The Illinois Steel Company of Chicago have just issued a very complete book of rail sections, comprising 68 pages. The actual size of each section is given, to- gether with the dimensions of its various parts. In connection with the cuts of special patterns appears the name of the road for which they have been designed. The lightest section shown is that ofa 30-pound rail and the heaviest 90 pounds, but the company state that they are pre- pared to furnish rails of any section from 8 to 100 pounds. A greater variety of patterns is shown of the 56-pound rails than any others, namely 12. The 60- pound rails come next with 11 patterns. Of 52-pound rails there are 6 patterns. Of 65, 70 and 75 pound rails there are 5 pat- terns each. The 85-pound sections shown are used by the Pennsylvania and the Bur- lington roads. The 90-pound section was rolled for the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railway Company, now building an elevated road for city pas- senger service. Sections of tram rails are also shown, as well as a street girder rail of the Illinois Steel Company’s standard. A page of interesting information about track materials gives the quantity of each class of materials required to lay a mile of track. The general offices of the company are on the tenth floor of the Rookery, Chicago. Julian L. Yale is general sales agent. The New York offices are at 46 Wall street. An explosion of gas under the skylight of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s art gallery, on West Fifty-seventh street, carried away a portion of the roof and threw fragments of pipe and sheet iron as far as the entrance of Central Park, two blocks distant. December 25, 1890 THE IRON AGE, 1125 Ct ————— Car Scale. One of the most difficult problems which railway managers have had to con- tend with is the devising of some method by means of which the actual weight of the Joad carried on each car could be obtained at any point on the line. The main consid- erations were accuracy and rapidity, while, of course, simplicity of construc- tion and durability were prominent feat- ures. Attempts to weigh the cars of a moving train as the train passed over stationary scales have not given satisfac-‘ the knife edges in the short arms of the tory results, owing mainly to the impact| levers B come in contact with the plates of the whee!s as they struck the plat-| on the bolsters A. form, and which, of course, varied widely. | ward motion the second knife edges on the The accurate wei ghing of the load carried by each car is of the utmost importance, cars without more or less interfering with | connected by the links I to one of the traffic. | levers C; GG the supports and bearings for levers B, bolted to the sills of the car. All the levers of the scale are fitted with hardened steel knife edges, which when weighing rest on hard bearings. The! operation of the scale is as follows, the several parts being in position, as shown in section in Fig. 1: By working the pump oil is forced through the pipes K into the cylinders F, raising the pistons P and with them the levers C. These levers are connected by the links H to the long arms of the levers B. As these are raised | Continuing the up- levers B come into contact with bearings in the lower ends of the standards G; the} since it is now well known that railroad | further motion of the levers raises the car companies transport more freight than/off the trucks, the distance it is raised they receive pay for owing to overloading | being limited by the stops in the cylinders and again, the difficulty of weighing the| F; the long arm of each of the levers C is the knife edges in the short arm of the scale beam rest on the bottom of openings in the standard N, the outer end of the scale beam rests in a movable support (not shown) fastened to the top of the scale box, and connected to the door in such a way as to allow the counterpoise to drop into a recess in the bottom of the scale box and free the knife edge on which the counterpoise hangs when weighing. Thus all the knife edges are not only relieved of the weight of the load and the parts of the scale, but they are removed from contact and cannot be worn or injured by the jarring of the car when in motion. a Coal versus Gas in Pittsburgh. A special correspondent of the Pitts- burgh Dispateh presents data relating to the situation in Pittsburgh on the fuel short arms of the lever D, which is raised The drawing here presented represents! to its bearings in the standards J; the a device which is a radical departure from | long arm of the lever D is connected by the link M to the scale beam E, which takes its bearings in the standard N at- tached to the under side of the top of the the usual custom, since each individual car carries its own scale, which is supported from the bottom of the car body, and Fig. 1.—Elevaticn of E'alf of One Side of Seale. Fig. 2.—Sectional Elevation of Half of One Side of Seale. THE WANAMAKER CAR SCALE. which in turn is made to raise the car} scale box. body clear of the trucks, and as the car body balances the scale the reading on the scale beam shows at a glance the net weight of the load within the car. It is evident that this reading can be obtained at any and all times, when the cars are not in motion, by the simple movement of | the hand. This device is the invention of C. B. Wanamaker of Indianapolis, Ind., and may be described as follows: This scale is composed of a system of compound levers, similar to an ordinary platform scale, so arranged as to lift the body of | the carfree from the trucks by means of | hydraulic jacks and take the weight on the levers. The drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, are views of one-half of one side of the scale, one- half in section and the other half in eleva- tion, the other side being a duplicate ex- cept the lever D and the scale beam E. Fig. 1 shows the parts in the positions they occupy when not in use, and Fig. 2 the weighing position; A A cross section of the truck bolsters; B B the main levers; C C the second levers; D the third lever, which is composed of a shaft having four short arms and one long one, placed across the car near the center; E the scale beam, inclosed, along with a small force pump and tank of oil, ina box at one side of the car near the middle; F F the hydraulic cylinders bolted to the sills of the car and fitted with the pistons P P; the upper ends of these pistons form bearings for the This scale beam has an adjust- ing poise, O, a sliding poise, counterpoise and movable weights. The pump has a relief valve by which the pressure in the cylinders F is limited to that necessary to | lift and hold the maximum load and pre- vent damage by the application of too much muscle to the pump handle; this valve is also connected to the door of the scale box in such a manner that on closing the door the oil is let out of the cylinders and returns to the tank, allowing all parts to assume their normal positions, the pis- tons descend, the car body follows until it rests on the trucks; the levers fall away |from their bearings on the standards G into supports attached to these standards; the short arms of the levers B leave the bolsters A, the lugs on the long arms of the levers B drop into hooks L on the cyl- inders F; the links H rest on the backs of the knife edges in the long arms of the levers B; the backs of the knife edges in the short arms of the levers C rest on the links H, the pistons fall away from the second knife edges in the levers C, the knife edges in the long arms of the levers C rest on their backs in the links I, which rest on the back of the knife edges in the short arms of the lever D, the shaft of the lever D rests on the bottom of openings in the standards J; the back of the knife edges in the long arm of the lever D hangs in the lower end of the link M, which hangs on to the back of the second knifé edge in the scale beam, the back of question. According to recent reports, there are 14 mills here (not including McKeesport) that have changed back to coal in the puddling furnaces, although in two of these some of the furnaces are yet work- ing on gas. In these mills there are 454 puddling furnaces, while the total number of furnaces in Allegheny County, includ- ing McKeesport, is 1152. Atthe National Tube Works Company, McKeesport, every department of the four rolling mills is again using coal. About 15,000 bushels are being consumed daily. The company intend erecting a coal elevator on the river bank near their works, in order to transport the coal from the barges to the mills. They recently erected at their No. 4 mill 15 double puddling furnaces, and these will now have to be torn down, owing to their not being adapted to the use of coal; either natural or artificial gas must be used in these furnaces. At the Clinton Mill, on the South Side, five double puddling furnaces are standing idle, while the single furnaces are using coal. At the Republic Iron Works, on Twenty-fifth street, South Side, they are | still in a condition of gas shortage. The new puddle forge, consisting of 14 double | puddling furnaces, will have to be torn |down. The old forge, comprising 26 single furnaces, is back to coal, and a part of the finishing department is likewise back to coal. It is thought that the re- cent gas strike by Jones & Laughlin, whose mill adjoins there, will urge the Republic to try forgas. At Howe, Brown & Co.’s mill, on Sixteenth street, coal is being partially used. In the Millvale mill the puddling department is equivalent to 36 single furnaces, but only 21 of these are built single. At this mill there are two quadruple furnaces, being about the only furnaces of their kind about Pittsburgh. In one turn the total output of one of these furnaces is about 12,900 pounds, while of a single furnace it is 2500 pounds. The Pittsburgh Forge and Iron Company are using coal in all their puddling and scrap furnaces, and artificial gas in their heating department. About 7000 bushels of coal will be required daily at this mill. At the Lockhart [ron and Steel Works, Chartiers, the puddling furnaces have been changed back to coal, as has also the puddling department in the Soho mill of Moorehead, McCleane & Co. Lindsay & McCutcheon and Chess, Cook & Co. are now using coal entirely. The consump- tion in these mills is almost 10,000 bushels per day. At Painter’s mill, in the West End, 16 puddling furnaces in the new forge were on last week, and 44 off owing to the shortage of gas; in the old forge 24 furnaces are idle and under repairs to resume coal during the week. The firm is experimenting with the Archer process of fuel gas. It is understood that the La Belle Steel Works of Smith Bros. & Co., in Allegheny, also the United States Iron j hh AR te ! " i | : f i ‘ i 1126 and Tin Plate Company, Linden Steel Company, Duquesne Tube Company and the Pittsburgh Tube Company are experi- menting on this process. At the American Iron Works of Jones & Laughlin the puddle furnaces that were changed back to coal when the gas gave out are now being returned to gas, the company having struck two wells of their own that furnish them more than an ample supply of gas. The works are now running full in all departments, with the likelihood of continuing so throughout the winter. The old wells have been plugged and reserved for possible future use. In the Upper Union Mill of Carne- gie, Phipps & Co., Thirty-third street, there is still considerable trouble on ac- count of the gas shortage. During the last month the puddling department has been making only from two to three heats per turn, but the finishing department is working full, turning out about 275 tons of finished iron and steel per turn. At Oliver Bros. & Phillips, lack of gas has made it necessary to fall back on coal in the puddling department, Of 42 furnaces, 28 have been changed, as tar as we can learn, and the