The Iron Age 1891-04-16: Vol 47

‘THE JTRON AGE THuRSDAY, APRIL 16, 1891. The Ongley Register and Safety |*% watchman on his rounds reaches any par- would instantly print the number of sta- Signal System | ticular station; it also prints the number tions where such tampering occurs. The 5 _ , of the station from which the signal is| instrument itself stands on a handsome sent. Thus, if the station be No. 26 and} wooden base 3 feet 6 inches in hight, and The necessity for an efficient system of | the time be 9.50, these figures will appear|is inclosed in a glass case with nickel automatic safety signals for use in fac-| on thestrip. The locality or order of sig-| frame 20 x 15 x 8 inches in size. tories, warehouses and other places has led naling is immaterial. . to many inventions for the purpose, but| An important fact is that, if for some Fhe Staten. they are all, in many important respects, | very unlikely cause, the clock movement| Sometimes, in addition to the rounds re- more or less deficient. A system, to be/should stop, be damaged or in any way | quired of a watchman at night, there exist complete, should provide means by which | affected, this will not entirely prevent the | places where there is liability to conflagra- any neglect of the night watchman in the' registration. In such case only the time’ tion or danger to employees from machin- ‘ ®@) gy lal i - ff - ye Ir A NS. AY ry - SX Vf a Fig. 1. THE ONGLEY METHOD OF STOPPING AN ENGINE FROM ANY STATION. performance of his duties could be re-| would be omitted, the numbers of stations | ery by day. Sometimes machinery in swift corded in print. It should provide means | visited being printed as usual. From | motion becomes disarranged, causing se- by which an alarm could be promptly | these registrations it could be at once dis- rious damage; rapidly revolving wheels sounded in case of fire, and in establish- | covered if the watchman had failed in his | may break, bolts may catch, &c. It may ments where machinery is used to enable; duty. This quality is said to be possessed | be desirable for these reasons to be able to the engine to be immediately stopped, in| by this system alone The register can be| instantly stop the engine from various case of an accident, from any distant point, | used without special arrangement for from | places in a building. At such localities independent of the engineer. These feat- | one to 90 stations, and any number of | are placed stations, which are small iron ures are embodied in the system we are | watchmen may record upon the same reg-/| dust-proof boxes, from which project about to describe. | ister without conflicting. handles. When at rest these handles are The Register. | Should the system be meddled with, | at 0, but they may be readily turned to This instrument prints upon a strip| such fact would be at once detected by the | numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. of paper, 1 inch wide, the time at which | reading on the paper strip, as the register} Should it be needful at any time to stop —— ee oe WE ee a —_—— lie nll a ie ES AANA A A SE AL CELL CLL LOL CL IO ALLL SE ee bd ee - = ge te a Ee pm neal aed Pome a ee Se ed ee ae see a ee eed ee ee ee ee \] \t 3 es BeBe BRS. WON Yon Pes Day ang SO ea 48 Wes Seaway ee . ‘ 722 THE IRON AGE. the engine from any of these stations, how- ever distant, it is only necessary to place the handie over the figure 4, and then release it. Before the handle will have returned to its normal position—about ten seconds—the engine with all attached ma- chinery will have quickly and silently stopped, independently of any action on the part of the engineer, and more smoothly than if the engineer were standing with his hand on the throttle at the instant the signal was given. This part of the system is accomplished by a simple electric hydraulic valve, shown in Fig. 2, placed at any distance desired from the engine, being piped to a cylinder connected with the throttle valve, and which does not interfere with the engine’s usual working, whatever its size or style. The accompanying engravings show how this is accomplished. The hydraulic valve is actuated by the electro magnet when the handle of any station in the system is turned to 4. Water is thus ad- mitted to the hydraulic cyiinder, which is shown behind the right-hand dash pot in Fig. 1. From the piston of this cylinder extends a rod formed at its upper end with a rack which engages with a pinion on a shaft carrying a gear engaging with a pinion on the stem of the throttle valve. The raising of the piston closes the valve. This electric valve is automatic in its action, requires no resetting when its work is accomplished, and can be instantly and repeatedly used as may be required. It works with water press- ure taken from house tank, main or other supply, steam pressure being substituted if desired. At the same time the engine is stopped a special instru- ment (called a recorder) indicates the number of the station in the two lower squares, Fig 2, alsoin the upper square the number of times it is repeated. At the same time an alarm bell is set ringing and con- tinues to ring until the engineer or other person in charge replaces the numbers to zero by the use of the handle at the base of the recorder ; in this way no mistake can be made, as by the use of the old style of single-stroke bell. This is repeated four times, while the register in the office prints the number of station, the hour and the minute four distinct times. Should the engine be stopped from station 26 the recorder would then display these figures : 4 26 We will suppose the engine to have been stopped because some machine in a distant part of the works had become de- ranged. After the fault has been repaired it is desirable to start the engine. This is done by sending the signal 1, which then appears on the recorder, in place of the figure 4, and which means that the en- gine is to be started slowly. When the signal 2 appears it means that the engine is to run full speed. Figure 1 is used at night by the watch- man to register his movements. Figure 3 is to be used either by night or day for fire or burglar alarm, or for one watchman to call a comrade or patrolman to his assist- ance from a distance. If by day figure 3 is used for fire alarm, and there be a lack of water pressure in the building, so that a steam pump is re- quired, an extra valve may be arranged so that when the handle is placed at figure 3, and at the same moment a button is pressed in the bottom of the box, the steam pump will start and the gong in the engine room will repeat the number of stations three times, all of which will be, as usual, recorded by the register. When the handle is placed on figure 3 at night for the above cause, a continuous automatic signal begins which capnot be stopped by the person giving it, and which allows him to leave the station for any purpose while continuing to sound the alarm. The station from which this is given is, as usual, noted on the register, thus saving time in determining where the watchman can be found, In order to insure the perfect working of all the stations apparatus, &c., and to be able to test it daily, the building is wired in such a manner that the wires begin in the engine room and from thence run to all the various stations without Joops or branches from the main line, re- turning again to the engine room, at which point there is a station from which the engineer may, twice a day or oftener if he chooses, stop his engine by using the system. By so doing he completely tests every circuit, and should any of the wires, batteries or appliances fail to be in perfect April 16, 1891 system is controlled by the Ongley Electric Company of 1 Broadway, New York. OO The American brain is fertile in patent- able devices. Upto March 31, 1891, and since 1837, 444,652 patents had been issued from the Patent Office; and prior to that time about 10,000 had been issued without being numbered as by the present method. It is difficult to comprehend in spite of the figures that it is possible for 4815 patentable combinations to exist in devices for coupling railway cars, or that there can be 378 kinds of padlocks. In grain binders there has been such great activity that there are 1160 patents on them, while another aid to the farmer, the harrow, has 1300 patents to show in how Fig. 2.—Electrically Actuated Hydraulic Valve. working order he will be at once cognizant of the fact. It will readily be seen that this constant use is a perfect check on the accuracy of this system. The power with which all this is accomplished is but 12 cells of upen- circuit battery. It is evident that the several parts of the system can be installed independently. For example, if there is no machinery to be controlled, as in the case of hotels, warebouses, stores, &c., and only a watch- man is employed, then the register and fire alarm can be used separately. Again, if only the engine-stopping device is de- sired, it can.be furnished without the other portions. In short, divisions of or additions to the apparatus can be made to suit the reauirements of the case. This many ways clods can be crushed. The work of digging potatoes is made easy by 651 different devices to do it mechanically, and there are 241 devices to chop up corn- stalks and fodder. Then there are 307 different sorts of hoes. Reports come from China that the Chinese Government has recognized great possibilities for its country in the manu- facture of steel, and that the Government is about to go in for steel making on a pretty extensive scale. Already, it is stated, blast furnaces of 100 tons capacity are being erected in the vicinity of Han- kow, while Bessemer and Siemens: Martin steel plants are also to be put up at the same place. April 16, 1891 The Calculation of Blast- Furnace Slags.-Il. BY A. J. ROSSI, NEW YORK. We can admit, then, that we dispose of a certain mixture of ores, corresponding to a certain average analysis—for instance. such oreas givenin A. The same remarks apply to limestone and fuels used. The latter may be all coke or all anthracite, or a mixture of thetwo. We know in all cases the average analysis of the stone to be such as B and that of the ashes of the coal (expressed as per cent. of coal) to be such as C, With these data it 1s required to caleu- late a charge—that is, the relative pro- sep oem of ore, stone and fuel which must charged into the furnace—so that the slag resulting from the slag-making ma- terials will be of such a character as to have a fusibility corresponding to a dark grade of iron, such a slag, for instance, as type No. 5, a slag of the hypo- thetical composition, reduced in lime and silica, as follows: Silica 34.88, lime 65.12. Any composition of slag, ex- pressed in lime and silica, falling between the types tabulated (Table I) may be adopted and be obtained by proper charges. The hypothetical types figur- ing in this table represent simply certain standard compositions very frequently met with in blast-furnace practice, of which the fusibility is pretty well known or has been ascertained by direct experiments. But should any out composition falling between any two of these typical slags be thus adopted as the basis of calculation, for instance, a composition of silica 30, lime 70, falling between types No. 2 and No. 6, the calculations would be carried on in identically the. same manner as explained ‘further, only the saturation that such composition represents would have to be calculated, as it does not figure in the table. But if it is intended that 70 pounds of lime will saturate 30 pounds of silica, it is easy to find that 1 pound pas = 0.2428 pound of silica, and that 1 pound of silica will of lime will saturate take up = = 2.33 pounds of lime, and these figures should be used in the fol- lowing operations, As far as fusibility and accompanying grade of iron are concerned, we would have every reason to expect that they would fall between those corres- ponding to the types 5 and 6, closer to one or to the other, as the composition of this sub-type adopted would approxi- mate closer to No. 5 orto No.6. We may remark here incidentally that the type No. 5, which represents a slag actually run in an English furnace, is not likely to be met often in ordinary practice. As re gards type No. 6 it corresponds to a very basic slag made in a Scotch furnace run- ning on Scotch pig No. 1x, kish cinder. It is not an economical slag on account of its decreased fusibility, due to the increase of its basicity. The coal or fuel is an element in the calculation of the slag which is, within certain limits, independent of the ores and stone used. Its amount can never be less per ton of pig iron made, even if the latter is considered (as we will do it) as con- taining 100 per cent. of iron, than that necessary to furnish by its combustion the number of thermal units capable of melting one ton of pig iron and whatever slag there may be, and furnishing the heat for the decompositions and combina- tions which take place. A proper allow- ance must be made for the ashes it may contain. Practice and proper calculations have shown that with most ores an allow- ance of } ton of coal per ton of ore smelted, THE IRON AGE. containing about 10 per cent. of ash, is ample for 45 to 50 per cent. ores, cor- responding then to about 1} tons of coal per ton of pig metal. With good coke and anthracite yielding less than 10 per cent. of ash, the slag making materials furnished by the fuel to the slag do not enter but for a comparatively small per- centage in its composition, particularly when ores are below 50 per cent. in iron. This percentage is almost small enough in many cases to be neglected, and the coal ignored entirely in the calculation of the slag, whenever a close approximation is not deemed necessary. It would be easy to show, by proper figures, that having assumed in the calcu- lation of a slag, for instance, the preced- ing proportion of $ ton of good fuel per ton of ore smelted, any variation either way within even 25 to 30 per cent. of this quantity, } ton, would hardly affect the composition of the slag within 3 to 4 per cent. at the most, so that keeping the charges of ore and stone the same in a furnace, the quantity of coal could be varied according to circumstances with- out the necessity of beginning aaew the calculations to ascertain the composition or, at least, the type of the slag. Still, it can be done in all cases were a greater accuracy deemed of any impor- tance. In calculating slag it is generally admitted that half the manganese present in the ores, stones and fuel goes into the slag as oxide of manganese, and the other half goes to the pig iron. Whenever the quantity of manganese oxide is small, below 0.50 per cent. or even 1 per cent. as it is most generally in magnetites, it may be either entirely ignored or taken as passin as a whole in the slag as desired, or assum that half goes to make the slag, as already said. Manganese is met in the ores in differ ent states, either as Mn,0,, as it is gener- ally admitted it exists in magnetites, or as Mn.Os, sesquioxide, as in limonites and hematites, or as MnO, protoxide, as in spathic carbonates, or even as MnO, in special ores (pyrolusite), but which are not used in blast furnaces. It occurs in the slag as MnO, manganese protoxide. Whenever the ores contain important quantities of manganese, besides figuring as oxide of manganese of a certain oxidation, the metallic manganese is always given, and Table II will give at once how much 1 pound of metal will give of oxide in the state of oxidation in which the metal enters the slag. Below 3 or even 4 per cent. of manganese, is a very large amount for ores and enough to have them called manganiferous, in whatever state of oxidation the manganese may be present in the ores, it can be assumed without practical error in calculating a slag that it exists as protoxide of. man- ganese, if the metallic manganese is not given; 1 pound of manganese gives 1.38 pounds of Mn*0*; 1.40 pounds Mn’O* 1.29 MnO, and we see that the differences are small enough to be neglected. Very frequently alkalies are present in iron ores. We have had ores in our practice containing regularly 5 to 5 50 per cent. alkalies, enough to supply in the slag from 1.71 to 3.80 per cent. of alkalies, according to the proportion of these ores used in the charges. Alkalies are gener- ally tabulated as ‘‘ alkalies” without any special mention as to their being potash or soda or both. In such cases their per- centage is small enough, 1 or 2 per cent. or more, to admit, as perfectly sufficient in calculating a slag, an average equiva- lence in lime for alkalies, between 0.594 pounds for potash and 0.903 pounds for soda (Table Il), or about 0.75 of lime per pound of alkalies not. specified. Of course, if each one of the alkalies has been determined, the proper equivalence is ap- plied to each. Sulphur, silicon in the pig and losses of 728 iron by volatilization or otherwise, as well as by iron entering the slag, are not taken into consideration. In calculating the pig obtained it is reckoned as confaining 100 per cent. of iron. It would be perfectly possible to take all these different factors into consideration, but there is a certain margin in the fusibility of the slag; it is not such an absolute mathematical func- tion of its composition that a difference of 1 to 2 per cent., and even a little more either way, between the constituents of a typical slag and those of any slag cal- culated or assumed, transformed into lime and silica, could be considered as imply- ing a practical difference in the fusibility of the two compounds or their other char- acters, or involving a difference of cost or grade in the pig iron obtained. Let us assume, then, that we have at our disposal ores, stones and fuel of which the average analyses A, B, C are given as follows: Ash of fuel burnt: Anthra- cite coal, Le- Average ore Average lime- high, with 6.28 mix he stone used per cent, ash. A. B. J. Silica. ...20.00 Silica.... 6.00 Silica.... 3.35 Alumina 3.20 Alumina 1.15 Alumina 2.734 A a Lime.... 3.10 Lime.... 30.00 Lime.... 0.10% Magnesia 2.60 Magnesia 19.00 Magnesia 0.10 4 Ox. man- Carbonic a ganese. 0.20 acid. .. 44.20 6.28 % Phospho- ric acid 1.05 100.35 Sulphur. 0.09 Oxide of iron. . .70.00 100.25 Metallic iron 50 per cent. We have decided to obtain a slag, as stated previously, of such a character that its fusibility will be about that of the type No. 5, a slag which generally accom- panies the darkest grades of gray from No. 2xx to No. 1 foundry. An allow- ance of 4 ton of fuel per ton of ore smelted is ample; with ores at 50 per cent. of iron it would correspond to 1.50 tons of coal per ton of pig, and for any other percentage of iron in ores, say 60 per cent.., it could be readily found that it corres- 50 ~ 77 1.25 tons of coal per ton of pig, counting the pig iron as 100 per cent. of iron. If it were desired to be more accurate, the quantity of iron, 94 to 98 per cent., contained in aton of pig would have to be assumed. At any rate this has nothing to do with what we will take as a basis of our calculations, 0.75 ton of fuel per ton of ore smelted. Transforming all the analyses A, B, C into lime, using Table II, we have : ponds to 1.50 x A. Ore 1 ton. BNE « cdncccscdbdecsscastecencuetaweeese 20.00 Alumina = 3.20 x 1.631 = 5.22 Lime = { Magnesia = 2.60 x 1.40 = 3 Ox. manganese = 0.20 x 0.78 = 0.15 | and the ore is equivalent in 1 ton to: MN ica cdedesdeiseuscedauaedes 20.00 per cent. MMCS diccdadeesactotnedteasas 12.11 per cent. C. Stone 1 ton cans (eedendddécducicdwtanasduaeen 6.00 Alumina = 1.15 x 1.631 = 1.87) DIB oo dec cvcscescecccec= OROe Paes Magnesia = 19 x 1.40 = 26.60) and the stone is equivalent in 1 ton to: Silica..... i dehdintetswienvese 6.00 per cent. BR adc edness ¢sdecenseccngeneeee Gua B. Fuel ash, 1 ton of coal. GIS. Gidicadsccesccsvedeccateda 4 Alumina = 2.75 x 1.631 = 4.45 | Lime = 0.10........ = 0.10 + 4.69 lime. Magnesia = 1.10 x 1.40 = 0.14 and the fuel is equivalent in 1 ton to: ss 6. and et ta debeel maken hee ad 3.35 per cent Brit add cscesesconwetl tadekd 4.69 per eent ee > ot 2 Se i ie ' a a ! ~ : eI A. £4148 7 Bie wo: ee al sj é 724 As we use only $ ton of coal per ton of ore, the slag making materials derived from the gpal used per ton of ore amount only to three-quarters of the above analysis B, reduced to lime. or and we have thus, in 1 ton of ore and } ton of fuel required to smelt it: Silica = 20 + 2.52 = 22.52 per cent. of a ton. Lime = 12.11 + 3.52 = 15.68 per cent. of a ton. In order to make the proper silicate of type No. 5, one pound of lime takes up 0.536 pound silica. Therefore, the 15.63 of lime in coal and ore will take up 15.63 x 0.536 = 8.377 of silica, leaving, as unsaturated silica in the ore and coal, 22.52 — 8.377 = 14.143 per cent. free silica to saturate with lime from the lime- stone. The 6 per cent. of silica in the lime- stone will require, at the rate of satura- tion of type No. 5—that is, 1.866 pound of lime for every pound of silica—1.866 x 6 = 11.196 of lime, leaving of free lime, or the equivalent in the limestone, 58.47 — 11.196 = 47.274 per cent. free lime in one ton of stone. We have to saturate in coal and ores 14.1438 free silica; at the rate of saturation adopted it will take only 14.143 x 1.866 = 26.390 free lime. We have 47.274 of free lime at our disposal in 1 ton of limestone, and we have to supply only 26.390 free lime to saturate free silica in ores and coal, hence we need, 25.39 > 47.274 ton = 0 .5582 ton of stone. The charges are then per ton of ore: and if = reckon on [{ 2 tons of ore per ton atm af Tol of pig. wiineting 2 ore * 0.5552 ton of i at 100 per cent. { 1.50 coal per ton of ore and 3 ton of fuel of iron we find | 1.12 stone stone. per ton of pig ) yielded: ’ \ Taking the charges per ton of ore and referring to analyses A, B, C, we find that the slag will contain then: Silica: From 1 ton of ore and % ton of coal, as found From 0.5552 ton of stone calculated to be necessary 6 per cent. x 0.5552 ton... 3.35 . —— 2.87 Lime: From 1 ton of ore and %& ton coal............ 15.63 From 0.5552 ton of stone calculated to be necessary per ton of ore 58.47 per cent. x 0.5552 = ......... 32.74 48.37 and the composition of the slag is: Os on hs nacesncaneencsenecrepenaceent 25.87 TREO occ sevcccccccccncsvcvevevesevseess 48.37 BOL, «2. ccc vvessvavssecs estes seeees 74.24 Reducing to a percentage we find, as the composition of the slag: LES Sv ksannwndsoh96548ks056550 60a eT TTT TET ee 65.15 exactly a type No. 5 (bibasic slag), of which the composition : ee re ee eee 34.88 Te ee a ee ee 65.12 ee ee ee 100.00 Using the preceding charges and relative proportions of ores, stone and coal, we would have every reason to expect a slag of the above eomposition or of one very close to it, in ordinary and regular cir- cumstances of running and of ores, unless foreign elements in the ores (such as * Had the ores been 60 per cent. rich instead of 50 per cent., instead of 2 tons of ore per ton of pig Gee would have been requ only 2 x o-= 07 1.666 tons of ore per ton of pig, and the charges, obtained per ton of ore, as before, would have had to be multiplied by 1.666 instead of 2, as was the case with the er: o to obtain the charges per ton of pig reckoned at 100 per cent. iron. .| good Cuplicate of the former. The com- THE IRON AGE. chromium, for instance), intervene as a factor to change the grade of an iron to be expected from such a slag. We could quote a number of examples in which a slag calculated in this manner, a priori, has given at the analysis of the same slag, actually run from charges thus calculated, a composition near enough to be taken asa position given above is that of the type of the slag reduced to lime and silica, not that of the slag itself. If we want to find the complete composition of the slag, we have only, using the relative proportions of the different materials entering the fur- nace, calculated as explained, to apply to each one of the constituents of these materials the percentage in which they are present, as furnished by the analyses A, B, C, and we will find, making the cal- culation per ton of pig, for instance, the following composition. We could make the calculations per ton of ore smelted, and we would obtain exactly the same fig- ures for the ultimate analysis, all the quantities used in the operations being proportional : Materials Entering in the Slag Per Ton of Pig. From From From 1.50 1.116 2tons tons tons of ore. coal. stone. Totals. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. ee 0.4000 0.0503 0.0170 0.5173 Alumina....... 0.0640 0.0409 0.0128 0.1177 RS cies caw 0.0620 0.0015 0.3348 0.3983 Magnesia. ....0.0520 0.0015 0.2120 0.2655 Ox. manganese.0.0040) ...... 00.2.0 0.0040 Totals..... 0.5820 0.0942 0.6266 1.3028 The calculations explain themselves. There being, from analysis A, 20 per cent. silica in 1 ton of ore, this corresponds in 1 ton to 0.2 ton of silica, and in 2 tons of ores, relative proportions of ores in the charge per ton of pig, 0.2 ton x 2 = 0.4 ton, and so on. Slag- makin materials. Tons. The ores furnish to the slag............ 0.5820 The stone furnishes to the slag........ 0.6266 The fuel furnishes to the slag.......... 0.0942 Total slag-making materials....... 1.3028 And we may remark here incidentally that in this amount, 1.3028 tons of slag, the total coal ash enters only for 0.0942 ton, that is for about 7 per cent. only of the slag. In this 1.3028 tons of slag we find: Dn ccnuns cabs avesehsoeuyenen len 0.5173 ION. ss vidas eetawas es aeteeeee 0.1177 Rs vins ces odncekaeeatethess ave aaa 0.3983 5 5.5'26-ass ned nokeiitaaniness ated 0.2655 SE ONIN oo 5:55 cicaenvenhs cubes 0.0040 TTT ee ee 1.3028 Or reducing to a percentage, the analysis of the slag is: Airs ccc bbscand he bee vuweehedee ate 39.71 NG iia 53s Klin ebb i ab Shee 9.03 ic cians 6-2 4p helbetlpin ins bin nels dbs Aiea 30.57 i elie ire ed ek oui cane 20.38 Of course, if we transform all the bases into lime, we reach the typical slag adopted as the basis of calculation. We will illustrate it by making the calcula- tions in full: ee OEE, ee Alumina = 9.03 x 1.631..... PD rein tbsth een neat 4saih Magnesia = 20.38 x 1.40.... = Oxi. manganese = 0.31 x 0.78 = Or, Det. daciattubiadakcista seed 39.71 BAND. scence Wau sdan take Slee 74.06 Citak ete hs ns fs 113.77 Or, reducing to a percentage, we have, usipg only two places of decimals: April 16, 1891 BIG. io sso cnosccnerrccbspeggseseueso cay 34.90 BRP CE ee Ek eset oede we bbe ches eb eweN 65.10 Deeb dsdsi acd eds bows 100.00 Exactly the type expected: iav.c'6 neko. ene se ecahpenenane naae eet 34.88 Rss 6 scp in005 cenTKeeeh ip use aie saelg 65.12 : | Peres herr ee re 100.00 A slag of a certain type corresponds most generally to a certain grade of iron looked for, and blast-furnace practice cor- roborates this statement. The examina- tion of 70 slags run in blast furnaces, and for which the accompanying iron was known, beyond doubt, affords a very good corroboration of this assertion. The composition of the slag obtained can be expected to be what it was calcu- lated; or, at least, very near it, if the analyses of the ores, stones and fuel rep- resent well the average composition of these materials.. Should the iron prove to be rather lighter in grade than expected or wanted, the charges could be calculated, assuming for the slag, as we have ex- plained, an intermediary composition be- tween the type used first as the guide and the following. ) ice versa, should the iron prove to be rather darker ,than actually wanted, and that at the expense of a con- sumption of fuel not compensated by the advantages desired from the grade of iron obtained, a type rather less basic than the one first decided upon should be taken as basis of a fresh calculation of slags. hE Railroad Lake Rates. The rail and lake rates from Pittsburgh to St. Paul common points will go into effect April 21. The schedule this year is much higher than for last season, on some of the upper classes the advance being as much as 29 cents. The new rates for iron and steel will be, less than carloads, 374 cents; carloads, 28 cents. The rates last year were 27 and 224 cents. For the six classes the rates are 924, 974, 574, 40, 324 and 28 cents. The all- rail rate is 10 cents higher on the first three classes and 5 cents on the last three. There is some consolation in the expecta- tion of freight agents that these rates may be slightly reduced later in the summer. — I — A Sheffield paper takes a gloomy view of the prospects of ironmasters in England, discoursing as follows: ‘The signs of the times are all against them. Every- body seems to be playing a waiting game. A spurt in the shipbuilding trade would be a great boon, but there is no likelihood of it as yet. The important carrying in- dustry is not in a state to encourage addi- tions to the merchant fleet. There is un- certainty, too, in regard to the coal field. The miners, it is feared, may cause trouble. Without confidence as to the future, business men hesitate to take in hand new work. As a leading authority ‘! was heard'to put it this week, ‘Trade is being frightened.’ Pig iron can now be bought at 58s. 6d. per ton, delivered in Sheffield. Such a low price has not been reached since April of 1889. At such a figure iron cannot be made with profit. Thus the hopeful aspect of last year is being gradually clouded ever, and the outlook gets gloomier every day. Nor is it only in the iron industry that languor prevails. The collapse in the entine Republic has been so disastrous that the railway material trade, for which that country was the chief customer, has been rtially paralyzed. There is, happily, a air business in railway material with other markets. Although the exceptional call for war material, chiefly in armor plates, has now ceased, there remains work in hand adequate to keep the mills going ' for this year at least.” April 16, 1891 THE IRON AGE, 725 Threading or Cutting Pipe Machine. The engraving on this page represents the I X L special machine for thread- ing or cutting pipe by - ety or hand which has just been placed on the market by D. Saunders’ Sons of Yonkers, N. Y. It is arranged with the adjustable expand- ing die with interchangeable chasers, threading } to 2 inches. The cutting head is so constructed that either the ex- panding die or solid dies can be used. passing over. When the thread has been cut to the desired length the cutters or chasers are opened by a movement of the lever, and the pipe released without stop- | ping or reversing the motion of the ma- chine. One set of chasers can be with- drawn and another set inserted in a few minutes, and adjustment to size is readily | effected. These dies do not require to be moved | from their place while cutting off the pipe, as they expand to allow the pipe to pass | through into the guide in the cutting off POWER OR HAND THREADING OR CUTTING PIPE MACHINE. The die is placed on front of the cutting | head of the machine. the chasers or any other- part; also to re- cut old chasers without the die block they fit into. ‘ The following directions for using, set- ting and changing the chasers clearly ex- plain the construction of the die: When the cam ring B is turned until the lever and latch A lock in the stop C, the chasers, if properly adjusted, are closed and ready for threading the pipe. When the thread is cut to the re- quired length, reverse the cam ring by the | lever A, and atthe same time remove the latch, that will withdraw the chaser from | the pipe; then run back the carriage. |Now close the chaser by bringing the | lever and latch A to lock in the stop C again, then it will be ready for the next ;cut. To change the diameter to fit irregu- | lar size fittings, slide stop C backward or forward to enlarge or diminish the open- | ing of the chasers. This can be readily | done by loosening the nut that holds stop |\C. To change the chasers, remove the front plate D to allow the chasers to be | taken out, then insert another set of chasers for the size you wish to thread, in the order in which they are marked. Care should be observed in placing. the chasers according to their respective numbers, otherwise no thread will be cut. Then replace front plate D to keep chasers in position. Now lock the lever and latch A together by lock in stop C, loosen the nut of stop C, turn the cam ring B by lever A, and close the chasers on the gauge, placed inside of the chasers for the size to be threaded, keeping the flange on gauge up to ends of chasers. When ad- justed tighten the nut to secure sliding stop C in place, remove the gauge and then bring lever and latch A to lock in stop C. It is now ready to thread pipe to that gauge. —$—————EE_ Although no official report of the trial trip of the gunboat Bennington last week has been received at the Navy Depart- ment, private advices are to the effect that the estimated horse-power developed by the main engines was 3350. Allow- ing 100 horse-power for the auxiliaries, The chasers can be|the vessel would have exceeded the re- head next to the gripping chuck, which| taken out and sharpened by grinding. | quirement of 3400 by about 50 horse- permits of short pieces of pipe being} When too much worn they can be recut|power, and earned a small premium. threaded without the use of nipple sockets. The chasers in the die have throw enough to expand them to give ample clearance for the pipe to pass through into the guide in the cutting head without injury to the chasers, The chasers are readily adjusted from one size to another to the standard gauges provided with each machine. The gripping chuck is of substantial construction; the chuck on the back end of the spindle for cente.ing the pipe is self-centering. The cutting head is ar- ranged witha slide and cutting-off tool and self-centering jaws to steady the pipe while being cut off. The carriage is moved by rack and pinion worked by hand wheel on the side of the machine. When arranged for power the pulley, 12 inches in diameter by 3} inches face, is placed on the cross shaft, as shown. The machine is well adapted for jobbing ma- chine shops, for cutting off round iron and stee], and with the bolt-threading and nut-tapping attachment makes an excel- lent bolt threader and nut tapper. Adjustable Expanding Die. This die is also made by D. Saunders’ Sons. It belongs to that class of dies for screw cutting designed so they can be at- tached to any erdinary pipe-threadin machines in use for threading steam an Pre The distinguishing features of these are AVJUSTABLE EXPANDING DIE. SE A A ee oe * 2 ee ee ee ee Se = 7 aed the arranging of the die block or head|and used again, which operation can be |The constructors,"N. F. Palmer & Co., with a number of sets of chasers all fitting | repeated several times. have asked permission from the Navy De- into the same, to thread the different} The dies are carefully fitted by milling, | partment to send the vessel from their sizes of pipe. The head is adjustableand| planing and turning to steel gauges, | slips to the Brooklyn Navy Yard pending expanding, the thread being cut in once! thereby enabling the makers to duplicate! her acceptance by the Government. vw Cia ee eee ee ee ee ee o = SSS Serer ds dle es ee LS Seok Al vt m lil ze on i eee . el 726 Progress of Naval Construction. Secretary Tracy last week delivered an address in Boston, and in the course of his remarks gave an interesting sketch of the work of naval construction coming under his supervision. At the present time the Navy Department is engaged in the construction of 25 vessels, all but five of which were begun during this Adminis- tration, «lthough seven others had been practically designed. Two others will shortly be begun. The majority of these vessels are building by contract, but not a frame or a plate is shipped to the builders without an inspection and test at the mills, or is put into the vessel except under the eye of the supervising constructor and en- gineer. Eleven new vessels have been completed and placed in commission since the beginning of the Administration, and two more are nearly ready. After an animated controversy in Con- gress and in the press, Congress declared in favor of first-class battle ships and three were accordingly authorized last summer. These three ships—the Indiana, the Massa- chusetts and the Oregon—were contracted for in October, and are to be completed within three years. Their construction is such as to make them available for defense at avy point along the North American coast, on the Isthmus, or in the West Indies. Their design was a difficult prob- lem, for it consisted in placing the most powerful guns and the heaviest armor on a hull of moderate draft, suitable for the depth of our barbors. The problem, how- ever, was successfully solved, and for pure offensive and defensive power, the battle ships constitute by far the most important additions yet made to the navy. Of powerful commerce destroyers two types were designed, one, the New York, an armored cruiser, in which the four ele- ments of speed, coul capacity, armament and protection have been carefully bal- anced, with a view to securing a ship superior in all respects to the correspond- ing type abroad. Her speed of 20 knots is sufficient to overtake 95 per cent of all the skips of the world, naval or mercan- tile. Her radius of action and her arma- ment far exceed those of the ordinary cruiser, and she would not be a safe an- tagonist for a battle ship of the second class. The other type, represented by cruiser No, 12,18 one that the Department regards with peculiar interest and favor. She isa ees ship of 7400 tons, uniting a sufficient armament with complete protec- tion against light guns, and having a speed of 22 knots, and a coal endurance that enables her to sail around the world, a distance of 25,000 miles, without re plenishing her supply. The merits of this type, absolutely novel in its character, have so commended themselves to Con- gress that a similar vessel was authorized at the recent session. The first is under contract, the second under advertisement. Should a crisis arrive, I venture to assert that the protection of the United States will depend more upon these three battle ships and three cruisers than upon any other part of our naval force. Asa testimony to the opinion entertained of these latest designs of the Department, 1 will only quote the words of J. H. Biles, one of the foremost of English naval architects. Since the publication of Mr. Biles’ remarks, the naval attaché at London has written, under date of March 24, ** the paper on our new construction is the talk of the service clubs, and has pro- duced a profound impression. It is gener- ally acknowledged that the designs are in advance of their last here.” : In the subsidiary branches of naval con- struction we have made substantial prog- ress, The armor trials held at Annarolis in September last were undertaken with a view THE [IRON AGE, to test the comparative merits of the English system of compound armor, the French system of all-steel armor and a new system which, although it had attracted the at- tention of the Navy Department, no one had yet adopted, in which a certain per- centage of nickel was combined with the steel. No more comprehensive tests of armor plates have ever been held, and in none have the results been more clear and convincing. The complete demolition of the English compound plate was a revelation not only of the power of our guns, but of the weakness of the armor which was hitherto constituted England’s main reliance. The all-steel plate, although not entirely shat- tered, showed a marked inferiority to the nickel. Upon the recommendation of the Department, Congress immediatelv voted $1,000,000 for the purchase of nickel, and the armor test produced a sensation abroad April 16, 1891 Suspension Pneumatic Power Hammer. From Engineering we take the following description and accompanying engravings of a Thwaites suspension pneumatic power 4-bundred weight hammer of a new design, for planishing pipes and plates. As indi- cated in the perspective view, the mechan- ism is supported at the center of a cross girder resting on two cast-iron square pillars, box section, each bolted down to the foundations by four 14-inch diameter bolts. The measurements of these col- umns and girders are given in Figs. 2 and 8, the former an elevation of the hammer, and the lattera plan, partly in section, of the cross girder, while Fig. 4 is a cross section showing the arrangements for oper- ating the hammer. In the center is a cast- iron guide for working the ram, the guide being extended on two sides to receive the SUSPENSION PNEUMATIC POWER HAMMER. that has led to a revolution in theory and practice on the other side of the water. In ordnance as well as in armor we have steadily gained ground. The completion and development of the Washington Gun Foundry shows the best results not only in the quality of the work, but in its economy. As a remarkable illustration of this fact, the 8-inch guns, for which the Government formerly paid $8500 each, have been reduced in cost to $2270 each. Within the last year we have domesti- cated in the United States the manufacture of the Whitehead torpedo, the best of its kind in the world, and the most satis- factory description known of armor-pierc- ing projectile. Both of these are indis- pensable requisites to the efficiency of our naval force. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and the Queen and Crescent rail- way systems have established a joint agency, with headquarters at 193 Clark street, Chicago. Hartwell Osborn is the general agent and W. K. Northam is the contracting freight agent. disk crank journals, 2 inches in diameter by 34 inches long. The disk cranks are con- nected to a hollow steel ram by a connect- ing rod. The ram is divided inside into two compartments, each having a phos- phor-bronze air piston. These are con- nected together by a steel piston rod, the top air piston forming a connection for the small end of the connecting rod. The outside diameter of the ram is 3} inches, and the diameter of the air pistons 24 inches and 2j inches respectively. Cottered into the bottom of the ram isa steel pallet holder with a dovetail, so that the pallet ‘can be renewed or exchanged for one of another shape when required. Keyed on to the crankshaft is a flanged pulley 10 inches in diameter by 3} inches between flanges. There is also an overhead coun- tershaft with strap-shifting arrangement. At the side of pne of the columns a hand lever and quadrant is provided, as shown in the perspective view and on Fig. 2, for working ap arrangement for tightening the belt when the machine is working. To this arrangement is connected a powerful brake which stops the machine in a few revolutions. It will be seen that the brake Ap il 16, 1891 THE IRON AGE. 727 is applied as the belt is slackened for stop- ping the machine. For planishing pipes or tubes a long wrought-iron mandrel is provided mounted on two cast-iron car- riages, each having tour flanged wheels for rupning on rails. The hammer is arranged so that tubes 4 feet in diameter can be worked for planishing plates. A pallet is fastened on the top of one of the mandrel carriages, Figs. 5 to 8 showing the details of the carriages. The general dimensions are: Distance between pillars, 6 feet; hight 10N THROUGH A,B,C. 0. shelling an enemy behind earthworks or like defenses and out of the direct fire of field guns. Their range is nearly three The War Department has already pre-| times as great as the cohorn smooth bore pared for issue proposals for materials used | mortars, the projectile is more than twice for the manufacture of guns, under pro-| as heavy, and great accuracy of fire is ob- visions of the Fortifications act, to take|tainable. The weight of the piece is effect with the new fiscal year, viz: about 525 pounds, so that it can be easily Forgings for Big Guns. For 25 sets of forgings for steel field | transported in a wagon or moved about by guns of 8.2-inch caliber; for 16 sets of} men in the trenches. The armor-piercing forgings for steel field mortars of 3.6-inch| projectiles are to be manufactured by a caliber, and for 16 steel carriages for the | domestic concern, but upon specifications ~ —-9— -_—»> DETAILS OF SUSPENSION PNEUMATIC POWER HAMMER. under girder, 5 feet; hight from ground to | same; for steel forgings for 8, 10 and 12) that will secure the use of some one of the top of mandrel, 4 feet 14 inches, and | inch rifled coast-defense guns; for 8, {0 and | modern European patented processes. For length of strake, 5 inches. This machine is capable of delivering 500 blows per minute. The constructors are Thwaites Brothers, Limited, Bradford, Yorkshire. rc fF Dr. Gatling is said to contemplate im- provements in gun making that will shorten the time required for the con- struction of heavy ordnance about one- half, and a factory will probably be erected in Philadelphia. 12 inch armor-piercing projectiles; for ex-| their procurement an appropriation of cavations and iron work at the new south | $100,000 will be available. The work of wing of the Watervliet Gun Factory. For| construction at Watervliet, for which ad- the large coast-defense guns above referred | vertisements have so far been prepared, to Congress appropriated $800,000 for the will, it is estimated, cost about $75,000. procurement of the necessary forgings, as and the material will be assembled at the Watervliet factory and the finished guns} Italy’s exports to the United States last turned out. The 3.6-inch mortars mark a/ year were valued at $24,200,000. About new departure in military field operations. | one-half of the amount was fruit, and no They are intended to replace the small} small portion of it was sold by Italian sub- cohorns which are used in trenches for! jects, from push carts. on eS Ae so F = Se ney ee ee ~ id} ay 728 Punch, Shear and Bar Cutters. The accompanying engravings show some new machines designed by the Buf- falo Forge Company, Buffalo, N. Y. The first illustration shows a machine which the operator can work either as a punch, shear or bar cutter without a helper. Furthermore, no adjusting is required in changing the work, as the tool can be put THE IRON AGE. | rial are that it is non-corrosive, it requires |no paint for protection, and it is not sub- | ject to the destructive voltaic action ob- served in the usual coated sheet metal. The company claim that their metal is in many respects superior to copper, while it is furnished at a price not exceeding that of good quality tin plate. The composi- tion of this metal is stated to be of homo- | aluminous properties, as determined upon Fig. 1.—Buffalo Punch, Shear and Bar Cutter. to any of its uses at any time. Special claims are made for power, durability and compactness, and it is said that experience has proved it to be a most satisfactory ap- pliance. The tool is made in four sizes. No. 1 will shear }-inch strap iron 14 inches wide; will punch 34-inch hole in 4-inch iron and cut off inch. The No. 4, the largest size, will shear §-inch strap iron 3 inches wide; will punch }4-inch hole in }4- inch iron and will cut off ij inches. All the parts of the machine are made to standard size, so that when put together they form a well-fitted machine, and, furthermore, the parts are interchangeable. The especial mechanism of this combina- tion machine, as referred to by the manu- facturers, consists in a combination of levers so that the cutting is done from the bottom up. This, it is said, enables one man to do more work than two men could with the old-style down-cut machine where the pressure comes down against a dead weight. Fig. 2 is a general view of the Buf- falo Continuous Shear, a special feature of which is a combination of levers which enables one operator to do much heavier work than can be accom- plished by the old method of shearing iron. The parts of this machine are made to templates, so that repairs can be fur- nished which will be accurately fitted. The machines are all made with 3-foot lev- ers and are offered in four sizes, adapted to shear from 4-inch flat iron to @ inch flat iron. The punch shown in Fig. 3 embodies | the same principles of construction as the continuous shear. It is made in four sizes also, and will punch from }4-inch hole in 4-inch iron to }-inch hole in 4-inch iron. en The Stan-Alumin Metal Company of Canton, Ohio, are manufacturers of a new and patented material for roofing, shingles, eave troughs, conductor pipes, gutters and valleys, which they have named aluminous metal. The special features of this mate- by actual experiments and the most thorough tests. A catalogue has just been issued of the company’s productions which fully illustrates the character of the goods which they offer, such as metal roofing in rolls, metal shingles, eave mad A BUF FALO,N el troughs, corners, gutters, expanding and | plain round conductors, tinned adjustable conductor fasteners, tinned corrugated hinged hooks, the Woodruff eave-trough Fig. 2.—Buffalo Continuous Shear. April 16, 1891 &c. The company are also prepared to furnish pure aluminum in ingots, castings, bars, wire, sheets, &c., or aluminum al- loys of high grades, such as silver, copper, bronze, brass, nickel and silicon bronze wire. Argentine Republic Exports.—The following table shows the comparative ex- ports of the principal staples of the Ar- gentine Republic in 1889 and 1890: 1889. 1890. Wool, pounds.... ..... 12,000,000 260,000,000 Sheepskins, pounds .... 80,000,000 59,000,000 Frozen mutton, tons. . 16,500 20,400 Linseed, tons........... 28,200 30,700 NS re ee 450,000 710,000 IR 5 onan en 24,000 326,000 TRIO, COS occciccece 18,500 17,460 Cowhides,