The Iron Age 1891-06-11: Vol 47

canine Press for Straightening Heavy Shafting. The power press, operating in connection with a train of roll, as illustrated, is in- tended and built for the use of forges, iron ks and large shaft makers, The press is desi ned to make the present tedious and process of straightening heavy designé expensive Hi BS SF iy 7 | THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1891, | of a toggle joint the plunger is brought in contact with the bar with enough force to | bend it. The arrangement of the crab clutch allows the plunger to return to its highest position and remain there until the operator is ready to use it again. This arrangement gives the operator plenty of room in which to move his work. A screw, working in a thread cut in the plunger boxes, admits of the plunger being I! | ‘ =o be. ‘- eeky Si ois : ae mg ” ~ a . THE IRON AGE Anti-Friction Metal Decision. —Sev- eral years ago the promoters of the Magnolia Anti-Friction Metal Company bought from Samuel Singley all his in- ventions in anti-friction metals or alloys. A judgment has recently been handed down by the Supreme Court of New York restraining Mr. Singley from divulging any of the formulas or trade secrets pur- chased by the above company, and from THE BRIGHTMAN POWER PRESS FOR SIrRAIGHTENING HEAVY SHAFTING. bars a rapid and an easy one. The shaft {raised or lowered to accomodate the va-| making or selling any anti-friction metal. to be straightened is placed on revolving | rious sizes of shafting. The press, asillus-|This decision is of great value to the parallel rolls, when the kink or bend is| trated, will straighten shafting from 1] Magnolia Company, who, by well-directed easily detected by the eye. The outside|inch to 10 inches in diameter, and the | effort and the inherent value of their anti- or high place in crook is then chalked and |length is only limited by the space on | friction metal have established a lucrative: the bar moved so that the chalked part is | each side. The builders, the Brightman | business. uppermost and directly under the plunger. | Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio, also A movement of the hand lever of the right | make a smaller press of the same general side of the frame engages a crab clutch to | design for straightening both shafting and cam shaft, on which a large gear wheel | tubes, the former from 1 to 4 inches in runs. The cam forces the connecting rod| diameter and the latter from 1 to 10 in frame of machine outward, and by means! inches. mI News has been received from Mexico that a large amount of German capital will soon be applied to the development . the petroleum deposits in the State of ebanee: sane ice E 1108 THE IRON AGE. June 11. 1897 at $5000. Two Worthington duplex dnsley, and prices are higher than ip 1884 SOUTHERN STEEL. compound pumps with 9} inch plung- | and 1885. fers would be needed for the entire Cost of Open-Hearth Plant. —— plant, of which one should be charged to | ——— —— —___ ici . ‘Dac soTeeRp | the Bessemer. a= I ‘ESS DISCUSSED | : icaiticain Lie THE DUPLEX PROCE | Four boilers of 100 horse-power each Luetscher. Corrected, ‘are not enough for this plant. Fully (Concluded from page 1061, June 4.) 1000 horse- power—i. e., 10 boilers— i ahaa Aes: weliie s ; will be required for the Bessemer and producers, platforms, | Cost of Piant. }open hearth plants. One of these, and] &c................... | $150,000 $150,000 I am not sufticiently familiar with the | possibly two, would be spares. oe 2 es trucks for sili " ii ‘i di spares » necessary w clean- eee ees pae hare ’ 0,06 local conditions and cost of buildings to | $Pares ‘ome nece . a to allo 4 c< a Locomotive for above... 6,000 ‘oop criticise the figures given for Ensley. 1|'"8 and repairs. If oil or gas firing be! hydraulic hoists. .... 3,000 33,000 ' “4 = the cell if used probably eight boilers would be} Casting pit ............ 2,000 2-000 bave, therefore, taken t © estumates as} enough. $3000 is probably enough for | 4 Wellman cranes...... 5,000 7,000 they were for a plant in Eastern Penusyl boiler house feed-pumps and _ general : steel Peer hanes sis 4,000 6,000 vania, with good railroad facilities and a| service pumps, but would not include the "ae pececmiestiemn 5,000 5,000 . | B .- wevccccccscccs ov, », cheap labor market. | water supply. 100 ingot molds........ 13,000 13,000 The labor rates on which my estimates| The casting house should be built as eas tree eee sees 8,000 8,000 are based are as follows: Ordinary labor, | Strongly as the rest of the buildings, as . — eee 4,000 5.000 8 ; . . : : rc PeOCPOSSADHOS RED D6 6 ’ 0, 11 cents; bricklayers, 25 cents; good ma- provision should be made for putting in Buildings, 350 x 120 x 40 hipists, 25 cents: ‘‘handy” men, 15 to 20 | Cranes, if they should ever be WGI. FEU MO. cocci cececcass 45,000 12.000 chivists, 25 cents; "eae | Would, therefore, cost $1 per square foot | Tracks, steam hammer, cents; horse, cart ard driver, 25 cents; | at jeast. This would amount to $7000 for} &C........-......0e 3,000 33,000 carpenters, 18 cents, and stone masons, 15 | the building. How much the chills would to 22.5 ceuts—all per hour and ten hours | cost I do not know. I should think, how- Total............... 8258,000 858.000 to the day. Mr. Luetscher’s figures are in | ever, that $3000 would fit them ont fairly Unprovided for ..... “33°00 ‘men all cases tabulated first. well. Engineering, &c........ teeeees 26,000 The blast-furnace ladles would cost $500 Estimated Cost of Bessemer Plant. and the blown-metal Jadles $550 if titted $281,000 , -' with stopper rigging—say, $10 000 for the etd $510,000 Luetscher. Corrected. Buildings. 70 feet x 100 feet x 50 feet........- $10,000 $7,000 2 converters at 26000... 12,000 20,000 2 cupolas at S4000...... 8,000 12,000 Blowing engine........ 12,000 18,000 Hydraulics............- 3,000 2,000 Hydraulic (pressure) PUMP 2... cc cccvccseles -covneee 5,000 Hoist for cupola metal. 2,000 2,000 400 horse power of ROODE, cannes senee 4,000 5,000 Boiler bouse and pumps. 3,000 3,000 Casting shed, 60 feet x 120 feet, and chills for blown metal.......... 6,000 10,000 12 pig-iron and 6 blown- metal ladles. .... a 12,000 10,000 | 1 locomotive tor pig iron (#5000), and 1 for hlown metal (36000) .. 14,000 9,500 Cupola hoist a 2,500 7 pig-iron ladle cars.......... ..... 7,000 3 blown-metal CAPS. ...-|...0. sese 3,000 Platforms (depending on ID cna bebe hence [ecnewdteses 10,000 Foundations and engine DUNN 3 2a cease kas Leche teanaced 10,009 Bottom oven and grind- PMG io céinccnsnes] cawweunees 3,000 2 Baker blowers and en BENOs nc ona an veckcckstbiwsNen sone 5,€00 NIE. «ics. cee lowdserse sh 1,0.0 TC $86,000 $145,000 Unprovided for......... 14,000 30,000 Engineering and erect- MEN; Kinddevnthehed so wpthibeen einen 15,000 Grand total........ $100,000 $190,000 Iron buildings substantial enough for all practical purposes can be erected for about $1 per square foot of area covered. $6000 is not enough for a 10-ton converter, with its supports and bottom iack. Such acon- verter will certainly cost $10,000, probably more if only one is erected. This does not include a stack. A blowing engine can be bought for $12,000 which will do the work required. It would, however, be both cheaper and better in the end to have two engines, either of which could be forced to blow ahe heat alone if necessary. Such engines «ould be bought for $9000, but might cost $10,000. I do not understand whether pumps are included in the estimate for hydraulics or mot. The pipe alone would cost that much, in position, for a complete plant. I have taken the piping at $2000 and the pumps |18 ladles. The locomotive for blast-fur- |race metal ought not to cost over $6000. | If narrow-gauge tracks be used for blown |metal, or if the ladle alone be run ona broad-gauge track, then a locomotive for this service could be bought for $3500. The other items [ have included in my estimate are not in the other estimate at | all. A cupola hoist for stock is necessary. Seven cars for blast-furnace metal and three for blown metal are the least it would be practical to get on with. Probably ten would be found necessary for the blast furnace. This would give three ladles at the blast furnace, three in transit, three at the Bessemer and one spare. The platforms | are a very uncertain factor, as so much de- pends on the length of the approach from | the blast furnace. $10,000 would cover jall the platforms inside the Bessemer building. The foundations and engine house would certainly cost $10,000, and probably | more. | brick, entirely separate from the other buildings. An accumulator is a | Sity. I have had considerable experience in building from estimates as incomplete as the above, and it leads me to believe that not less than 20 per cent. should be added for omissions and contingencies. It would be a piece of good luck if they did not | amount to more in the present instance. Ido not think any competent engineer would design, furnish plans and superin- tend erection for less than 10 per cent. For this amount, however, he would su- pervise all purchases of machinery and have a competent man always on hand at the works. themselves, the necessary salaries to be | charged against the construction account would not ve far from the same amcunt. In making a cumparison between the plant proposed above and a standard two | (10-ton) vessel plant, the following items are saved in the former—i. ¢.: a pit, pit crane, and four ingot cranes, The pit would cost about $1500, the ladle crane $3000, four ingot cranes $5000, tracks and foundations, say $3000. This would make a total of $12,500, say $13,000. Add this to the above estimate (mine) and it makes a total of $203,000. Such a plant could be built in this region for that amount of money, but it would require the closest kind of buying at the prices of 1884-5, and theutmost economy in building to in- sure this result. I should say that at least 10 per cent. more would be required at The latter I prefer to be made of | neces: | If the company erect the plant | Fe ne The estimates for the open-hearth plant , seem to have been more fully and carefully worked out than those for the Bessemer plant. Without a study of the design for the p'ant it will be impossible to criticise most of the items. The price for the four Wellman cranes is too low, as at least three of these cranes should be fitted with power for racking and swinging move- ments. The ladles would cost $500 each with stopper rigging. Five boilers would be required, as explained ‘above. The estimate for hydraulics seems to me high enough to cover the cost of the second Worthington pump. As the estimates for this plant seem to me to be much nearer the probable cost, | have only udded 10 per cent. for contin- /gencies and 10 per cent. for enginecring. Cost of Blooming-Mill Plant |Luetscher. Corrected. | 4 heating furnaces, with! producers, &c........| $20,000 £24,000 Charging crane.........| 5,000 5,000 Mill, including engines, | housings, rolls, tables} and enears,.......... WODO8 bis cacczccs ee, eee 16,000 Manipulator............ ree 2,000 ee Reh. te cabins 17,000 IE ass eras sowie awe-ws Jocceseccees 24,000 Shear tables............ rere 2,500 REE Sou vovineeawceslecens.caees 8,000 LMOGiING CPATIOB...0.60.06csjecccecsss . 2,500 Crane for rolls.......... 1,200 | 1,200 10 boilers, 100 horse- power each........... 10,000 | 10,000 Locomotive ............ 6,000 | 4,000 Building, 80 x 250 x 30 DM acta crn onsen 15,000 | 2,000 NR cas coc (nck icassercaee 10,000 Unprovided for ........ 12,800 27,800 ONTO BEG ia es ils édescinses's 14,000 ME hansbeks. phaes $120,000 $185,000 Five thousand dollars each hardly seems to me to be enough for the large heating furnaces required; $6000 would be nearer the probable figure. Fifty thousand dollars is not enough for the mill and the other items included under this head. Tre figures I have given amount to $67,- 000, and probably $70,000 would be nearer the true figure. Any mill now erected for rolling soft steel should be large and strong enough to finish blooms or slabs on edge up to 36 inches wide at least. The shears should be able to cut at least 36 x 7 inches. June 11, 1891 ee These shears should be of the hydraulic type, with two powers and speeds, They would require special pumps or intensifiers. | think this plant could certainly be built for the sum named—i. ¢ , $180,000. Cost of General Items. Luetscher.| Corrected, | | Office building and| 2.000 drafting room. ... ~y building! 2,000 Laboratory 2.000 2,000 and outfit......-++ eee ’ Testing machine, drills, 2,000 2,000 BC. ccc ce ccceccs-secee = ; Electric light plant.... 7,000 10,000 Store house, oil house 3.030 and repair — een QD pane ene e eens Blacksmith and ma-| 15.000 chine shops.... «+ ++..{°7 7°77" ""*] 1300 Store house......eee00/ °°" 7" 100 Oil house....eeee eee ef 2500 Clay and brick shed. .. O00. by Locomotive......++es+. 1'000 1000 Round house.........-- 6'000 10°000 Water works...... «+++ 4000 | 8000 peuee*- jacinade ween 6'000 10°00 aides Wrervrrr. 3000 3'000 TIGQZO@. «2c eee er eereee ee ee $44,000 Total Buildings which would answer for the office and laboratory could certainly be put up for $2000 each, but they would soon become inadequate. $2000 is not enough to put in a testing machine for the output of such a plant, most of which would be subject to inspection. The electric plant which could be put up for $7000 would not be enough for so extensive a plant, and one which would require both the arc and glow lamps. The estimate for store houses and ma- chine shop is utterly inadequate. The smallest machine shop which would apn- swer for such a plant would cost at least $10,000, and $15,000 could be spent on it to the greatest advantage. The black- smith shop would cost about $3500, in- cluding a 1000-pound hammer and tep fires. A plentiful supply of water is a vital necessity 1n a modern steel plant. Of course I do not know the local conditioas, which may be very advantageous as to lo- cation of source of supply and storage ca- pacity. A plant with capacity for such a consumption would cost about $10,000 or more. This is based on a lift of 40 feet from the source of supply to the storage tank, all water to be used over again as much as possible. $6000 is not enough to drain so extensive a plant, even with a very short main or outlet drain. The drains through- out the plant should be so arranged as to admit of all the service-water pipes and hydraulic pipes being placed in them. This means that they must be large enough to give plenty of room to work on all these pipes. The trackage allowed for seems to me to be inadequate, but of this I cannot be sure without some idea of the general design of the proposed plant. The bridge, of course, is a purely local item, and may be taken as estimated on. The summary would, therefore, be as follows: Summary of Estimates. Luetscher. | Corrected. Bessemer department, 2 vessels, 2 cupolas. .... $100,000 $175,000 Open-hearth depart- ment, 6 furnaces of Oe WO, ssionavnee ise. 280,000 284.000 Blooming Mill depart- ment, 4 furnaces. .... 120,000 167,000 General items.......... 44,000 68.000 Plans and superintend- ence, Engineering, | WG: vevecedundtcccaton 16,000 55,000 Tee ha ik .| $560,000 | 749,000 560,000 Difference $189,000 2 Ee a rr. THE IRON AGE. The item for engineering, &c., in my estimate, may seem rather high. It is, however, only 8 per cent. on the estimated cost of the complete plant. As this plant would require at least two years in which to build it, and would require almost the exclusive attention of the designer, I do not think this an excessive amount. A large force of draftsmen and assistant designers would be needed if the work was to be completed in two years from the beginning of the drawings. Besides this, a large amount of investigation and study would have to be put upon it, principally in Europe, before the final design could be decided upon. My personal opinion is that the cost of such a plant in the South is more likely to be over $800,000 than under that amount. I have not considered his smaller alterna- tive plant, as I think that its capacity is too small to allow the cost to be kept down even to my estimate. In my opinion a working capital of $250,000 is entirely too small for such a plant, with a product of 1800 to 2000 tons of finished product per month. Thbis amount of money would possibly be enough after the plant was in successful operation, with established credit. It would even then require very clever financiering to keep the concern afloat. This sum, how- ever, is utterly inadequate to cover the in- evitable ‘‘ experience account ” of the first year or two and also to provide working capital. The company would have all the trouble of placing so large a product, made by a new process, at a distance from present markets. It would have the disadvantage of being far from the supplies of skilled labor such as it would need in the metal- lurgical department. Besides which the managers themselves would have to be educated, with very few if any places in which experience or information can be previously obtained. Even if a process is well understood and many of the men are accustomed to the work, it takes from three to six months to get a new plant into fairly smooth working order. The men require that long at least to learn how to work together to the best advantage. Add to this the fact that a little understood process has to be developed, and it can easily be seen that the task of making a} commercial or even a technical success is | by no means an easy one. The company should be prepared to lose at least $150,000 in the first eighteen mouths. I do not believe that they could escape under this sum, and | think it much more likely that $250,000 would be sunk in that time. This ‘‘ experience account ” is inevitable. In conclusion, I must say that Ithink the duplex process entirely unnecessary even in Ensley. Like working with direct blast- furnace metal, it is a very fascinating idea, but to my mind it is of very much less general application. It would require very peculiar local conditions for its success, and these conditions would be confined within very narrow limits. I[t seems to me that it would be much cheaper to im port enough ore to enable the blast furnace to make suitable pig iron for either the basic Bessemer or open-hearth process alone, without attempting any form of duplex process at all. -I am sure this could easily be done at Ensley, and with proper blast-furnace management, the amount of ore necessary to be imported for making pig suitable for the basic open hearth would not beso very great. If basic Bessemer pig were wanted the problem would bea simple one, after a small amount of basic slag had been made. If a duplex process is inevitable, then it seems to me that it would be better to line the vessel with basic mass as well as the furnace. “If the silicon in the pig iron be kept down to 2.00 cent. the wear on 1109 the lining would not be so very great, con- sidering the short time the metal would be in the converter. I suppose the vessel lining would last for 300 blows at least, and probably for more than that number. Finally, I would respectfully recall to the mind of any intending investor Mr. Punch’s well-known *‘ Advice to a young man about to be married.—Don’t,” adding, ‘at least, not yet.” I Record of Lake Steamers. The great progress made in the cheap conveyance of heavy freight on our inland lakes is admirably illustrated by two series of figures for which The Iron Age is in- debted to one of Cleveland’s leading busi- ness men, identified for more than 30 years with its phenomenal development. The following is the record of a steamer from the time it commenced fitting out to the end of its fourth voyage, June 25, 1888, it being assumed that she had no coal left in her bunkers, when as a matter of fact some fuel was left, of which no account was taken, however: After having completed four round trips she had carried eight cargoes aggregating 15,022 gross tons, the average cargo being 18774 gross tons. The mileage made dur- ing the four voyages was 7102 miles. The coal consumption was 5534 tons, costing at $2.37 per ton $1315.38. The average coal consumption of each trip of 17754 miles was 138,775 net tons, which cost $328.84. The average cost for coal of carrying the average cargo of 18774 gross tons 1 mile was, therefore, 18.6 cents, thus making the fuel cost of moving 1 gross ton 1 mile ;}, cent. The quan- tity of coal necessary to move 1 ton 1 mile figures out 1.3 ounce of coal. The second boat was a new steamer with triple-expansion engines, 42 inches stroke and 24, 38 and 61 inch cylinders, equipped with Scotch boilers 14 feet in diameter and 12} feet long, the working pressure being 153 to 160 pounds. The following is the record of this ship for the whole of the last season: Average load, 2572.408 gross tons. Average draft, loaded, 15 feet 10 inches. Freight carried, 79,7441¢ gross tons. Average mileage, 28 round trips, mies. Total mileage, 35,184 miles. Average speed, light, 13.0002 miles. Average speed, loaded, 12.4237 miles. Actual time sailing, 117 days, 23 minutes, 55 seconds. Average time in port, 115 days, 12 minutes, 40) seconds. Coal used per mile, light, 202.02 pounds. Coal used per mile, loaded, 212.35 pounds. Average, 207.20 pounds. Average coal! consumption per gross ton per mile, 1.288 ounces. It wiil be observed, therefore, that the fuel consumption per ton of cargo per mile is a little more than 1} cunces of coal. 1256.57 sn eal a Tests on Corrosion of Llron and Soft Bessemer Steel. On March 16, 1891, a piece of iron plate and a similar one of soft Bessemer steel, both clean and bright, were placed in a mixture of yellow loam and sand, with which had been thoroughly incorporated some carbonate of soda, nitrate of soda, chloride of ammonia and chloride of magnesium. The earth, as prepared, was kept moist. F. H. Williams, chemist of the Riverside Iron Works, Wheeling, reports that at the end of 33 days the pieces of metal were taken out, cleaned and weighed. Rvesuits : Iron, loss by cor- rosion, 0.84 per cent.; steel, loss by cor- rosion, 0.72 per cent. The pieces were re- placed and left 28 days longer, or 61 days from beginning of test. Results: Iron, total loss by corrosion 2.06 per cent.; steel, total loss by corrosion, 1.79 per cent. 1110 ener eee ene ere eee Seen eee The Edison Electric Per-| cussion Drill. The Edison General Electric Company of New York have recently put upon the market in commercial form an electric percussion drill which is the invention of H. M. Marvin, of Syracuse, N. Y. It is an old and well known idea that a sole- noid through which an electric current is passing may be so governed as to produce a reciprocating motion in an iron plunger. This is the principle made use of in this drill, but the methods by which it is carried out are new and original and have been found to produce better results than have been reached heretofore. From the patents granted to Mr. Marvin we take the accompanying drawings and descrip tions of some of the apparatus by means of which this is accomplished. In the construction of tools of this character it has been customary to employ two solenoids or electro-magnets adapted to impart by their alternate action a reciprocating movement to the tool. In the operation of such tool it has been customary to shift the current abruptly from coil to coil by some form of circuit controller. But it has been found that while such devices may answer where the amount of energy thus shifted is slight and the coils employed are small, when it is desired to employ large electro-magnets and great amounts of energy it is very desirable to give to the current an undulatory or pulsatory character—that is to say, to admit to the coil first an extremely small amount of energy and to gradually increase this cur- rent until a maximum is reached, when the current is as gradually reduced to a minimum again. In one of the patents provision is made for operating drills by directing alternately into the drill coils currents, the impressed electro-motive force of which is maximum at the start or beginning of each impulse, falling to the minimum at the end of the stroke, whereby the maximum energy is applied at a time when the greatest pro- portion of work is to be done—that is, in reversing the direction of the core and starting it on its stroke, while the current falls off to zero at the time when the least energy is required and when the shifting of connection is made, thus avoiding spark. The generator is so designed, and the wiring is such as to produce the necessary changes in the direction of the flow of the current and the resulting alternations in the polarity of the solenoids, thus avoiding the use of intermediate switches or current shifting mechanism and con- fining the sparking, when such occurs, to the generator. Electrically Reciprocated Tool. Figs. 1 to 3inclusive show an electrically reciprocated tool. The improvement in this case consists in combining with the two coils of the drill and the two working circuits including the same a generator of alternating or pulsating currents adapted to develop in the working circuits alter- nately such pulsations as distinguished from a generator which produces pulsa- tions of current in one circuit, from which they are directed into others. This plan has peen found to be the most successful way of operating tools of this general description. It secures absolute precision in commutation or the directing of the current impulses through the two coils by the simplest form of mechanism. The tool is composed of a magnetic plunger and two oppositely acting coils, the generator having a single induced or current gener- ating circuit, two working circuits from the generator to the tool, and a commuta- THE IRON AGE. tor or current shifter mechanically con- nected with the movable element of the generator and adapted to connect the terminals of the generating coils alternately with the working circuits. A A represent the field magnets of a dynamo. The armature is a cylindrical magnetic core wound with a coil, B, which June 11, 189) ee —— shaft. The other terminal is connected with a half ring, E, also carried by the shaft. Both rings are insulated “from the shaft. A chagte brush, F, bears y 0n the ring D and two brushes G H are placed in position to be alternately in contact with the half ring KE. These brushes form the terminals of two electric Fig. 3. Fig. 4. ELECTRICALLY RECIPROCATED TOOLS. may be composed of any number of sec- tions, but it may be considered as a single coil or induced circuit. On opposite sides of the core are secured projections C C around which the coil is wound and over the sides and ends of the core, generally in two sections meeting midway between the projections so that the wires at the ends are parallel. One terminal of the coil is permanently connected with a con- tinuous ring D carried by the armature circuits, of which the conductor R forms the common return. The drill consists of a magnetic plunger, I, which carries the drill and two oppo- sitely acting coils J K, which, by their alternate attraction, reciprocate the core. One of the coils, as J, is connected with the working or line circuit formed through wires L and R, and the other with the cir- cuit formed by wires M and R, so that the current pulsations developed in or delivered THE IRON AGE, June 11, 1891 _ into these circuits alternately will produce a reciprocation of the plunger. effected by the relative positions of the ; " half ring E and the brushes G H, which | is shown in Fig. 4. Another Method of Operating the D This is rill. Another method of accomplishing this B represents an end 1111 R' R? are three concentric contact rings, R being a continuous plate to which the conductor 1 is connected, and R' R? being subdivided rings, the adjacent blocks or ELECTRO-MAGNETIC DRILL SYSTEM. issuch that the coil B is connected with each circuit alternately at or about the time when from its position relatively to the field of force it begins to develop a current impulse or alternation. view of a current distributor whose func- tion is to alternately direct to the two coilg M' M® currents of a pulsatory na- ture, or currents gradually rising and falling from minimum to maximum. R Fig. 6. sections of which are connected through resistance coils s s s, after the manner of rheostats. The blocks L and P of the rings R? and R’', respectively, are of greater width than the other blocks in the rings. To the block N, the middle of the series in the ring R', is connected the con- ductor 3, while to the block K is con- nected the conductor 4. The insulated arm E swings around on the post X and is driven by the pulley and belt F T. The arm carries the brush DP that establishes sliding connection between the three rings. The coils s increase in resistance from the blocks N and K to the blocks P and L respectively. The action of the system is as follows: Suppose a current to start from the bat- tery A and flow thence through the con- ductor 1 to the plate R. Thence it passes through the brush D to the ring R? by way of block K at the instant shown. From block K it flows through conductor 4 to coil M', and through coil M!' to con- ductor 2, and thence by conductor 2 to battery A, completing the circuit. Thus it will appear that coil M’ is ener- gized by a current of maximum intensity unimpeded by any external resistance, and the bar M is drawn down into coil M'. The current at this moment energizing coil M? is extremely feeble, since in leav- ing brush D and passing to block P of ring R' the current is compelled to pass through all of the coils s sss 88 in order to reach conductor 3, connected to block . N, and these coils are in the aggregate of extremely high resistance. Now, as the brush arm E and brush D revolve around the post X, the brush D makes contact with the coils s s s successively, and thus 1112 THE IRON AGE. June 11, 189] gradually introduces these coils into the|J’ bears upon the segments H’ H” alter-, are employed in such position that the circuit, thereby increasing the resistance | nately, The arrangement of conductors|half ring on leaving one brush comes of the circuit and reducing the current | M,N and O is the same as in the former|in contact with the other. One brush flowing through the coil M'. When the| figure, and during the movement of the|of each set, as T T’, is connected to the resistances connected into ring R*® have | generator rising and falling current im-| return wire O, and the others, as y y’ been largely introduced into circuit with : the coil M' and the current therein has become considerably reduced, brush D begins to make contact with the blocks in the ring R' and to cut out the resistance coils s s 8, connected in this ring, from the circuit of the coil M*, and the result is that the current in the coil M* begins to increase. This action continues, the cur- rent increasing in coil M’? and diminishing in coil M' until it has become extremely small in coil M' and a maximum in coil M’, and plunger M is thus drawn up into coil M’. An important feature is the arrange- ment of parts adapted to start the current in one coil while it still has considerable onions? strength in the other, as thereby the Fg. 6 stroke is cushioned when the tool meets no|_ . object, and, further, the plunger is never ELECTRIC DRILL SYSTEM. left without an exciting current, and in consequence its magnetism never falls much below the saturation point, and the| pulses are delivered in alternation by | are connected, respectively, with the heating incident to great fluctuations of | brushes K’ J’ into circuit M O and by| wires M N. By this disposition rising magnetism is avoided. brushes L’ J’ into circuit NO. By this |and falling current impulses are sent in Electro-Magnetic Drill System. disposition it will be noted that the im- alternation through the drill coils, the im- Th leads page pulses in each conductor M, N or O are all | pulses in each conductor being all in one e principal feature shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is found in the generator, which eS Se. — is constructed with the special object in view of supplying to one set of conductors a dinect or continuous current, and at the same time supplying alternately two other sets of conductors with rising and falling current pulsations. A, in Fig. 5, is the shaft of the gen- erator. The field magnets for this and the other generators are not shown, being of any ordinary construction. The armature is wound with a continuous coil, B, which at a number of points is connected with the segments of a commutator, C, the con- struction so far being like the Siemens or Gramme machines. The brushes D D bear upon the commutator and deliver continuous currents into a circuit, E E, which includes the field-magnet coils and may also include such devices as a direct- current motor, F, or electric lamps or other devices which require for their operation a direct current. Secured to the shaft, but insulated from it, are the half ring G and the complete ring H, connected, respectively, to diametrically opposite points of the armature circuit. Two brushes, K L, are in position to bear al- ternately upon the half ring G, and from these brushes lead the conductors M N of two circuits, which include the coils M’ N’ of one or more reciprocating tools, and have a common return wire, O, which leads to a brush, J, that bears continuously on the ring H. By means of this con- struction it is evident that in addition to the commutated current delivered into the circuit E a rising and falling current im- pulse will be delivered into each of the circuits M O and N O for each revolution of the armature, and it will also be noted in this case that while the current im- pulses in each of the conductors M and N will be in one direction those in the re- turn wire O will alternate in direction. In Fig. 6 an equivalent result is se- cured by a somewhat different disposition. The armature commutator and circuit E are the same in this case as in Fig 5. The shaft, however, carries a ring made up of two segments, H’ H”, and two half rings, G’ G”. The segments H’ =. H” are connected, respectively, to two op- posite segments of the commutator C and ELECTRICALLY RECIPROCATED TOOLS. the two half rings G’ G” are connected, respectively, with the segments. Three brushes are employed. Brushes K’ and L’| A third dispositiog is shown in Fig. 7. Electric Drill System. , are in positions to bear upon the half rings | In this case two insulated half rings, R S,| Fig. 8 represents a method of operating G’ and @”, respectively, the latter being in| carried by the shaft A, are connected to| drill by directing alternately into the drill such relation to the brushes that contact | diametrically opposite commutator seg-| coils currents the electro-motive force of is made with one ring at a time. Brush|ments. With each half ring two brushes! which is maximum at the start or begin- THE IRON AGE. June 11, 1891 g of each impulse, falling to the. mini- mum at the end of the stroke. On the shaft of an ordinary continuous current machine are secured insulating disks, to the peripheries of which, on opposite sides of the shaft, are secured plates covering a half circle. These segments are connected, respectively, to diametrically opposite commutator segments and the brushes bearing on them are connected by suit- able conductors to the two drill coils 8 T. The opposite ends of the drill coils are joined to a conductor leading to a single brush that bears on the com- mutator, and which is in such position with reference to the other brushes that when the segment or plate on one disk is just about to come in contact with its brush, the commutator segment to which the plate is connected will be 180°, or nearly so, from the point of contact between the commutator and the brush bearing thereon. It follows from this that currents are delivered in alternation tothe two drill coils, and that the electro-motive force of the currents is at maximum at the begin- ning and falls to a minimum at the end of each stroke. pin | Electrically Reciprocated Tools, The method shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 employs an alternating current machine having two windings on its arma- ture and four collecting rings, to which the terminals of the two windings are re- spectively attached. With such machine is associated a direct or continuous cur- rent machine, one branch of the circuit of which is divided and carried by suitable connections through the two circuits of the alternating current machine in such a way or direction that while the current in one coil will be opposed by the direct cur- rent it will be re-enforced in the other. The other branch of the circuit from the continuous current machine leads to the junction of the two drill coils, and the ends of these latter are connected to the free terminals of the alternating current generator. As a consequence, each drill coil will receive an undulating or alternat- ing current of rising and falling potential, the periods of maximum potential of one current coinciding with the minimum pe. riods of the other, and conversely. The armature A of the alternating cur- rent machine is wound with two coils B C arranged to produce currents of the same | phase. The armature carries four col- | lecting rings E F G H, the first two being | connected with the respective terminals of the coil B, the others with those of the coilC. Tis a generator or source of con tinuous currents, the wiring being as plainly shown in the drawings. By the rotation of the armature A the electro-motive force of each coil or wind- ing BC isalternately added and opposed to that of the continuous-current gene- rator I in the two branches of its circuit, respectively. Assume now that the arma- ture is in the position of a beginning of a period or current alternation. Then the current from generator I is passed through each drill coil without modification. For convenience it will be assumed that this is a current of 100 volts. The maximum electro-motive force of the armature A may be further assumed to be 100 volts. As the armature A rotates, the electro- forced oraugmented. When the armature A has made one quarter of a turn the op- posing and re-enforcing electro motive force developed by its coils has reached its maximum or has become 100 volts, which is the same as that developed by the generator T. The impressed electro- motive force of the circuit through the coil B has therefore become zero, while that through coil C has become maximum or | 200 volts. The rings then change sign, and the electro-motive force of the circuit through coil B is therefore assisted, while | that through coil C is opposed; hence the | electro-motive force through coil B con- tinues to rise through the next quarter of a revolution up to a maximum, while that of coil C, which is opposed, falls to zero. This action continues alternately, as will be | now understood. The curves of the cur- rents from coils B and C are represented | by X and Y respective in Fig. 11. The system has certain advantages of | considerable importance, as commutators for directing the current into the two drill circuits are dispensed with and sparking avoided. [t will also be observed that the coils of the drill are each continuously supplied with pulsating currents, the di- rection of which is always the same. The magnetism of the drill core is therefore never reversed: Description of a Drill. From a paper recently read by H. Ward Leovard before the Association of Mining Engineers of Quebec we take the follow- ing description of one of these drills: Fastened upon a suitable tripod or column is a piece of boiler tube 7 inches in diameter and about 24¢ feet long. In the forward half of this casing are placed two hollow cylindri- cal coils of wire in the form of solenoids, each about 8'¢ inches long, having an outside diameter of about 6°4 inches so as to makea loose fit with the casing, and an _ inside diameter of about 2 inches. These two solenoids are placed so as to be against each other end to end in the casing. The bit plunger plays freely through the center of these solen- oids, and is supported by two bearings placed just beyond the outside ends of the two solen- oids respectively. The back portion of the casing contains a spiral spring of the form frequently used for car springs. The plunger is composed of a central portion made of wrought iron about 14 inches long, and both the forward and back portions of the plungers, which are made of aluminum bronze, are rigidly fastened to this iron portion. ‘The forward portion in about 13 inches long, and carries the bit socket. The back portion is spirally milled for a length of about 9 inches, so that the cross section of this portion is hex- agonal. At the extreme back end isa steel buffer which strikes against the cushioning “ie. The spirally milled portion of the plunger is similar to that used in other percus- siou drills and causes the drill to revolve upon itt axis one-sixth of a complete turn with each stroke, The ends-of the coils of wire are brought to contact pieces at the top of the adjacent ends of the two solenoids, where there is a socket for receiving the terminals of the cable, and thus making electrical connection with the drill. There are three conductors leading from the generator to the drill, one of which is con- nected to one terminal of each of the solenoids, and the other two conductors are connected to the two remaining terminals of the solenoids respectively. The generator is of the simplest kind, the coils on the armature having their terminals connected to two insulated collars on the shaft. One collar is a continuous metallic ring, and upon this rests a brush which is connected with that conductor which 1s common to both The other collar is metallic for half solenoids. motive force developed by one of the|of the circle, and the remaining half is insu- coils, as B, which is connected with rings E F, is of such sign as to make brush K of positive and brush L of negative sign; hence the electro-motive force in this branch of the circuit opposes that of the generator T. The electro-motive force of the coil C, on the other hand, from the order of its connections with the brushes K’ L’, makes brush L’ positive and brush lated from the armature wires. Upon this half ring rest two brushes diametrically opposite each other, and each brush is connected to one of the two remaining conductors leading to the solenoids in the drill. The operation of this drill will be read- ily understood from the descriptions we have already given. TT Townsend, Wilson & Hubbard Bolt K’ negative. The electro-motive force of |Company offer for sale the valuable real the generator I, therefore, through coil B| estate, plant and business in Philadelphia, g Opposition, while that| at which location they have been for the C is gradually re-en-| past 25 years. meets an increasin through the coil 1113 Fuel Gas at Springfield. For more than two years past the Spring- field Iron Company of Springfield, Ill., have been conducting a series of experi- ments having in view the improvement of the manufacture of fuel gas for metallur- gical and other purposes, and saving as by- products the ammonia and tar which are always generated in the manufacture of gas, but which have never heretofore been secured from any gas but illuminating gas made in closed retorts. These experi- |ments have been under the direction of Dr. Alphonse Hennin, who has devoted a great deal of time and study to this branch of industrial chemistry. The result of | these experimeats has been the invention by Dr. Hennin of a process for making a fuel gas containing as high as 60 per cent. of combustible matter, and at the same | time obtaining larger quantities of ammonia and tar per ton of coal used than have ever before been secured by any process. A | United States patent has been allowed cov- ering the invention with broad claims, and applications have been made for patents in all of the principal countries of Europe. The Springfield Iron Company have now in operation at their works two large pro- ducers 10 feet in diameter and 15 feet high, making gas by this process, and are building three more of the same size. These, when completed, will consume 40 to 50 tons of coal per day, and make 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 cubic feet of gas per 24 hours. The apparatus consists of cylindri- cal producers, 10 feet in diameter and i5 feet high, made of wrought iron and lined with fire brick. The fuel is fed into a hopper at the top of the producer, and the bed of fire is supported on a grate near the bottom. The combustion which gen- erates the heat for distillation is main- tained by blasts of steam and air, which are introduced radially through tuyeres just above the grate. The novelty of the invention consists in so regulating the relative proportions of steam and air as to maintain in this lower portion of the pro- ducer an incandescent zone or bed of fuel at a sufficient temperature to decompose practically al) of the steam admitted, and at the same time so regulating the supply of fresh fuel that the upper portion of the producer is kept at a temperature suffi- ciently low to allow the formation of am- monia and prevent its decomposition. I —— On June 2, General Manager C. M. Hudson, General Superintendent. W. A. Vaughan, General Solicitor Wm. A. Baxter, General Traffic Manager Edwin Fitzgerald and other officials of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad paid Mobile, Ala., a visit of inspection of the new docks and facilities for handling coal for water shipments, erected there recently by their system, similar and in opposition to those at Pensacola, Fla., of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The test of the entire plant was satisfactory, and they hope to make Mobile one of the largest coaling ports on the Gulf of Mexico. With these facilities at Pensacols, Mobile, and those at Greenville, on the Mississippi River, of the Georgia Pacific Railroad, there will undoubtedly be a large amount of Alabama coal from the Birmingham dis- trict shipped for home and export con- sumption, which will necessarily curtail consumption of Pittsburgh and West Vir- ginia coals, heretofore holding the river and gulf markets, especially as output and development of the Southern mines are being developed to keep pace with the de- mands. Recently 5000 tons were shipped from Blockton, Ala., by the Export Coal Company to Pensacola and loaded into vessels for foreign ports—consuming only four days from the time the coal left the mine until it was en route by water. 1114 THE IRON AGE. June 11, 189) The Practical Aspects of Electric Welding.* BY FREDERIC A. C. PERRINE, TRENTON, N, J- The plant with which I have been inti- mately connected, though not one of the heaviest, is still one making a great num- ber of successful welds in a day, and is one in which the joints are required to be of the highest character and are subjected to the severest tests. The first machine actually sold by the Welding Company was bought by the Roeblings. This was of the direct type, having a double wind- ing on the armature, and the welding done on an apron immediately above the col- lector terminals of the heavy alternating coils; the pressure was applied by a handle regulated by the workman, the pro- jection also being regulated by a scale stamped on the cam of the handle. Though considered crude, this machine did satisfactory work, often for 24 hours a day and six days in the week, for about two years, having made about 370,000 i in telegraph wire during its useful e, After the automatic machines were brought to a reasonable perfection we purchased a generator capable of welding up to 4 inch copper (40,000 watts) and in- stalled one large transformer and seven smaller ones of capacity from No. 4 B. & S. copper to No. 18 B. & 8. These have been at the works something less than one year, and show a daily record of over 1000 welds in copper and iron wire. Seward & Son of New Haven, Conn., have at work a machine of somewhat uni- versal character, its employment being principally in uniting Norway iron to Swedish steel, in such shapes as are re- quired in carriage irons and fifth wheels. In this work the burr is removed bya drop hammer at the same heat by which the weld has been made. The crescent tires of the hundreds of bicpcles manufactured by the Pope Mfg. Company are welded and afterward formed by dies at the same heat. The material is soft steel. These people also have a ma- chine for brazing their small parts. Besides using the electric welding ma- chine for their telegraph wire, the Trenton lron Company of Trenton, N. J., have boidly attempted to make a weld in a wire rope to avoid the tedious, and, with their locked wire rope, impossible, operation of splicing. With the locked wire rope, which is itself but a single strand, the only successful method of joining opposite ends has been to fasten securely around each a cast-iron collar, and after abutting the ends in a welding machine, to cement the whole together and afterward to break off the cast-iron collar, leaving the rope as a solid bar for about 2 inches at the weld, Among the new solutions of old prob- lems accomplished by the electric welding process is that of the manufacture of spin- ning rings by the Hopedale Machine Com- pany of Hopedale, Mass. With a welding machine it is possible to form these little tings, about 24 inches diameter, from a iece of bar iron, and after the burr has a reduced by a series of dies, to finish as before, with the result of a decreased cost and an equally satisfactory product. * One of the largest and most complete plants at present