The Iron Age 1892-10-06: Vol 50

‘THE The Colburn Slottting Machine or Key Seater. Baker Brothers of Toledo, Ohio, have had in use in their works for some time past, doing all their key seating, slotting, &c., a machine which is the invention of L. H. Colburn, the superintendent, through whose courtesy we are enabled to present the following description of its principal characteristics. The engraving on this page represents the machine when employed in cutting the key seats in large pulleys, and shows very clearly the man- ner of supporting the outer guide bar! when in this posi- tion. The drawings on the following pages give a clear idea of the general arrangement of the main parts. The arm J, column K and standard L consti- tute the frame work of the machine. The lower guide bar Q has a vertical move- ment in a_ bearing made Y-shaped in front of thastandard, as shown in Fig. 6. Tne bearing being V-shaped, the wear is readily taken up by tightening the screws on the cap R. The lower guide bar is actuated by a train of gearing, as indicated in Fig. 6. The shaft S, jour- naled in the bearings M and M, carries on its outer left-hand end a set of friction pulleys T, T’ and T’. By means of an open and a crossed belt, a mechanism de- scribed below, a ro- tary motion is given to this shaft in either direction. On the shaft S is keyed a pinion, U, the teeth of which engage with the large gear V, keyed to the shaft W, journaled in the bearings N and N’. To the outer left- hand end of the shaft W is keyed another pinion, X, which en- gages with the large gear Y, keyed to the, shaft Z, journaled in the bearings O and O’. To this shaft Z is keyed another pinion, a, the teeth of which engage with the teeth in the rack of the lower guide bar Q. Thus it is obvious that a large| amount of power may be readily trans-| mitted to the guide bar Q. On the front end of the arm J is an ad. justable bearing, into which the upper guide bar 6 is fitted. At the upper ex- tremity of this guide bar is a hand wheel, C. At its lower extremity this bar is bored and threaded, as shown at Fig. 4. A bar, e, carrying a suitable cutter, 7, having at its upper extremity a thread, is adapted to fit | into the opening d. The lower end of the bar is fitted to the upper end of the lower guide bar, thus bringing shaft , cutter bar THE COI e and lower guide bar Q intu line with | fastened to it a pinion, n’, engaging with each other. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1892, The cutter bar is secured to the lower guide bar in the following manner: The guide bar has a projection in which a hole is bored, whose axis is exactly in line with the center of the V-shaped bearing in the standard L and the center of the bearing A’ inthe arm J. The lower end of the cutter bar is fitted to this bore in the lower guide bar, and a slot cut through both parts thus fitted together. A key is fitted into this slot, being prevented from jarring loose by means of a set screw. The thrust upward and the pull of the cut downward can be carried now, and the cutter bar « cannot be disconnected until the key has | been withdrawn. sBURN SLOTTING MACHINE OR KEY The two upper outwardly projecting sides K’ and K” of the standard L, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, are accurately bored as a bear ing for the rockers I and 1’. These rockers are segments of a circle whose vertical cen- ter lies in the plane of the top of the table k and in line with the vertical center of the cutter bare. These rockers are attached by suitable means to the slide /. To this} slide is fitted the table &, which is adapted | to slide in a direction corresponding to either of the arrows m or m’, Fig. 2. The) mechanism for accomplishing this purpose and for regulating the amount of move- | ment to be given the table is as follows: To the under side of the table & is fastened | the rack n, Figs. 5and7. Toa projection, | I’, of the slide / is fastened a stud, 0, hav- ‘ing at its upper extremity and securely | the teeth of the rack n. IRON AGE tremity of the stud o is a polygonal head, o. A wrench, p, adapted to fit the head o, having a rather long handle, is passed over the head of the stud 0, and the lower cap or flange o' secured to the head 0, thus preventing the wrench p from falling off. Having drawn the wrench into the posi- tion shown in Fig. 5, and thrusting it back in the direction of the arrow 4 to the position shown by the dotted lines, Fig. 5, and dropping it on the head o' again, it is now ready to be again drawn forward to its former position. It is obvious that the stud, moving in a rigid bearing in a projection of the slide 7, having firmly secured to it a pinion whose teeth engage with the rack, having mo- tion given to it by means of the wrench, will, through the me- chanism described, convert motion to the table to which the material is se- cured. The material to be operated upon being fastened to the table by suitable means, the machine is putin motion. By moving the handle of the wrench d toward the front of the machine the work is brought in contact with the cut- ter in the verfically moving bar e. On the projection 7’ of the slide / are two lugs, 7 and 7. On the front of the table are two ears, s and s’, either a part of the table or fastened to it. A screw, ¢, is threaded into ear s in line with the lug r. The depth of the cut to be taken at each stroke is gauged by turning the screw ¢ out- wardly away from the lug 7, the dis- tance from the lug r to the end of the screw at r being the depth of the cut. Another screw, t’, is threaded into the ear s and pro- jects through the lug r on the projection o of the slide 1. Firmly fastened to the ear s is a graduated plate, s'. Into the recess of the plate s” is fitted asleeve, ¢’, held in position bya flange at its inner end. The sleeve ¢’ is fastened to the screw ¢’ by means of a key, u, fitted loosely in the shaft and tightly in the sleeve. Tothe part of the sleeve ¢’’ ex- tending outside of the plate s’ is fitted a pointer or index finger, 7, adapted to be clamped in position on sleeve ¢’ by means of ascrew,v. To regulate the depth of the slot to be cut in the work, the screw t’ is first screwed in until its end contacts with the lug 7’, the work on the table hav- ing first been brought in contact with the cutter fin the cutter bar e. The index finger v is then turned around on the sbaft t’ to the zero mark on the graduated plate s’ and clamped in pesition by means of the screw vc’. The screw ¢’ is then turned out- SEATER. At the lower ex- | wardly the requisite number of turns, each ee f rane ie eee ee Se a EE OO et: ae, gee a -_ - ee el ip . ade, a ae . = a eer >) ad * a ee AML” Le we ”- ee ~~. alii 0 Bi Waa ee 5 op ee ——s - > —_ Tz pas a hd) ye - cal ~ > Fig. 2.—Side Elevation, THE COLBURN turn corresponding to a fraction of an inch and being indicated by the index finger on the graduated plate. The screw is then allowed to remain in its position, the work being fed in at each stroke by the other screw ¢ until the end of the screw ¢’ again contacts with the lug 7’, when the slot has been cut its required depth. To the under part of the slide 7, at both | sides, are fastened the quadrants w and w’, Fig. 7. Two ears, z and 2’, fastened to the standard L, overlap flanges on the rockers I and I’, thus holding them firmly to their bearings in the standard. By means of this mechanism the table can be tilted in either direction. The amount of slant or the degree of the taper to be cut can be determined by the pointer secured to the rocker I’, and moving over the graduated arc on X’. The desired angle being obtained, the table is held in position by clamping the quadrants to the standard by means of the screws z and 2z’. When it is desired to quickly bring the table from a tilted to a horizonal position, the screws <z and ¢' are loosened and the table allowed to move in its bearings K’ and K”' until a pin can be inserted into its bearing. Provision is made when the diameter of the work is such that the rim or spokes would come in contact with the column K | to overcome this difficulty. The column | is fastened to the standard L by means of a bolt passing through its entire length into a T-slot in the standard, and tight- ened at the top by means of a nut. The arm J has two bearings adapted to fit the out- side of the column and to be vertically ad- justable for different lengths of work and | varying lengths of movements, the latter conforming with the movements of the lower guide bar. The key shown in Fig. 8, near M’,, serves the purpose of keeping the bearing J’ in line with the cutter bar and the lower guide bar. When large work THE IRON 4) Fig. 4.— Vertical Section on Line .- October 6, 1892 Fig. 3.—Front Elevation. SEATER. is to be slotted it is placed in its furthest position from the cutter bar. Provision is made for the proper alignment of the bear- ing J’ in the new position of the column. Pulleys of any diameter can be slotted, and the slot cut in line with one of its spokes or in any other position desired, and with the two combinations contact of the column K with either the rim or spokes is avoided. The reversing device consists of a double screw lever clutch pulley. The machine is built by Baker Brothers, successors to Herbert Baker Foundry & Machine Works, Toledo, Ohio. Oo Making Great Guns. The great 13-inch steel gun at the Wash- ington Navy Yard, now nearing com- pletion, will be the largest ever made in this country by the built-up process. Fif- teen-inch guns were made during the war of cast iron, but they were smooth bores. The total length of this piece of ordnance is nearly 40 feet, its diameter at the breech is 1 inch more thun 4 feet and it tapers to a thickness of 21 inches at the muzzle. When finished the gun will weigh nearly 158,000 pounds. It requires more than 4 ton of powder to load this rifle for one discharge, but that quantity is expected to hurl an 1100-pound shell as tall as a good- sized boy a distance of 12 or 13 miles at the extraordinary velocity of 2100 feet per second. Close at hand this shot would penetrate 263 inches of solid steel, and at a distance ot 14 miles from the gun (which is about as far as such guns can be sighted and fired with accuracy in marine war- fare) the shot would still have vitality suf- ficient to smash the sides of a ship cov- ered with 214 inch steel armor. Very few such ships are afloat. This is the first of 12 such guns that are intended for the new battle ships, and with three others October 6, 1892 will find a place in the turrets of the ‘* Oregon,” pow building on the Pacific Coast. When finished its construction will have occupied six months, but better t.me can be made with the other guns of this caliber. I Another Chicago Steel Vessel. The contract by which the Chicago Shipbuilding Company will build a mag nificent steel passenger steamer for the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior Trans- portation Company was signed last week. Work will begin at the Calumet Shipyard immediately on the new boat. Its cost is THE IRON AGE. passageway extending the length of the| deck ; staterooms will be located on both sides of this passageway. Forward of the staterooms will be the smoking room. Out on the hurricane deck, on either side of the staterooms, will be a promenade 134 feet wide and about 275 feet long. This will be covered with awnings. The dining room, forward of the main cabin, | will extend the full width of the ship and | will be about 50 feet long. Hardwood throughout the steamer. The main saloon will be in mahogany and the dining room in birch. The ship will be lighted throughout with electricity. will have seven water-tight bulkheads. nn? cil q Vn p finishing will be used| The steamer | 615 EE oun Erie County, N. Y., is estimated at $225,- 000. The Adjutant-General of Pennsylva- nia says the trouble at Homestead will cost | the State upward of $400,000 for military service at that place. He has already drawn warrants to the amount of $282,899. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s bill for transporting troops, arms and tents is $52,000, and it is expected that the bills of the railroads of the State will be not | less than $100,000. Rapid progress is now making on the | construction of the new line of road be- tween Portland, Ore., and the Pacific Coast, at Astoria. The distance is 120 Fig. 6.—Cross Section on Line C of Fig. 2. Fig. 7.—Enlarged View of Front of Table Fig. 8.—Plan. THE COLBURN SLOTTING MACHINE OR KEY SEATER. to exceed $300,000, and it is to be ready for service on June 1, 1893. The dimen- sions of the steamer will be 275 feet keel, 295 feet over all, 42 feet beam, and 244 feet deep from spar deck, and 32 feet from hurricane deck. In the arrangement of cabin and state- rooms the greatest innovation on accepted models for lake passenger boats will be made. The main cabin extends from the stern about two-thirds the length of the boat. It will be lined on either side with a double tier of: staterooms, entrance to which will be from passageways opening into the main cabin. The outer row of cabins will be flush with the side of the boat, there being no promenade on the main deck, asis usual on lake steamers. A stairway leads from the main saloon to the hurricane deck, opening into a wide Bunkers for 250 tons of fuel will be pro- vided. The boat will have stateroom accommodations for 400 passengers, and will also carry 1500 tons of freight. In general outline the boat will be unlike anything now afloat on the lakes, and will be guaranteed to make 17 miles an hour. When the steamer leaves the shipyard | next June it will go directly on the run between Chicago, Mackinac Island and Sault Ste. Marie, in connection with the other steamers of the Lake Superior line. It is expected to make two round trips a week. This contract, in connection with others previously made, insures a busy winter at the Calumet yard. — — The military cost of the recent riots is approximately known. The bill against | miles. The line when completed will have _a@ transcontinental connection at Portland | over both the Union Pacific and Northern | Pacific lines, while the Southern Pacific | will give it a direct route to San Francisco | and southern California points. The Government of Costa Rica has added 26 articles to the free list under the proposed reciprocal arrangement, when such articles are imported from the United States. They are mostly articles on which the duty is now relatively low, and wheat, flour and kerosene are not among them. The Mexican Minister of Finance is pre- paring the draft of a new customs tariff, and it is rumored that it embodies great reductions. + een OO re nee ~ a Se ee na -" oo ~ wees 3) PO ee 2 se S WIP 7 ww wY 616 METAL-CUTTING TOOLS.Y. Chuck Drills. While not of the rotating class of tools, chuck drills may be properly considered with other forms of drills, as they partake of the same general qualities. The cutting edges, their angle, clearance, &c., are practically similar to those already de- scribed, with the exception of the absence of the point from the larger sizes, or more properly, the comparatively larger, as it is governed more by the size of the lathe than of the drill. When it is necessary to start a hole in the solid metal, of course a pointed drill is necessary, but for all sizes following, or all which are to be used in a drilled, cored or punched hole, the point is superfluous, and only makes so much un- necessary grinding, It is much the best plan to make all chuck drills from flat bar steel of the proper size. The practice of using old files for the purpose is not good economy, unless it be for temporary use. As it is very generally the case that chucked holes are deep in proportion to their diameters, it is very difficult to keep them true, even if started so, unless the body of drill is straight for the entire length which passes through the drill rest. As the latter holds the drill in position by the diagonally opposite corners, it is obvious that the point or axis cannot remain central as it was set at starting the hole if there be any variation in the width or thickne s, or both, of the drill body. Therefore, if old files be used the only way in which proper tools can be made of them is to forge them straight and of uniform width and thickness from end to end. As this will cost as much or even more than the extra price of new steel, it is poor economy in any case, Very little work is necessary in making a drill from new material, as it is simply a matter of flattening the end to the de- sired width and thickness and cutting off the corners. The widening should, of course, be equally divided each side of the width of the bar, so as to keep the latter central for guiding. The other end should be filed or ground perfectly square, and a good drilled and countersunk center—not a punched one—made carefully in the cen- tre of the bar section. On all metals ex- cept brass the cutting edges should be moderately lipped—that is, the lips should be ground on the corner of the grindstone, and not forged or filed. The forging of the end should not be carried further back than is absolutely necessary, as it will in- terfere with setting the drill rest as close to the work as it should be to guide the drill properly at starting. The size of the steel proper to use is that which measures slightly less than the drill size, measuring it across the corners, As the sizes of standard chuck drills vary by sixteenths of an inch, of course two sizes, at least, must be made from one size of steel, but it is not objectionable to make a difference of from 20 to 25 per cent. between size of steel and the largest drill. The best pro- portions for size of bar is a thickness of one- fourth the width, making 1 inch x } inch, 1} inch x ,*, inch, 1} inch x % inch, &c. This will hoid good up to quite large sizes—3 inches by 3, for instance, but beyond this the drill will have sufticient stiffness if the thickness be somewhat re- duced. For large work, particularly in cored holes, it is customary and desirable to fasten lags of hard wood to the drill body and turn them true on the centers, the size of drill. This serves to guide the drill and prevent its following the in- equalities of the core. For all pointless chuck drills the temper may be made to range from full hardness to straw color. For pointed drills the same temper is re- quired as before specified for ordinary a ee THE IRON AGE. drills. In using these tools bad work is sure to result from want of care or knowl- edge of the proper method of handling them. For castings having cored holes the drill rest should be set as close to the work as possible, and the drill end placed against the dead center of the lathe and the point inserted in the rest, but not touching the work. The rest can be roughly adjusted while holding the drill by hand firmly against the center, and at the same time giving it a forward twist. With the disengaged hand the wrench or hook can be placed on the drill, as close to the rest as possible, and the drill fed toward the work, the lathe having previ- ously been started. Take the cut care- fully and slowly, holding the drill very firmly with the wrench, and after it is nearly the full size of the drill, stop feed- ing and allow it to true up by revolving against the edges until all the spriag is out and they do not cut any more. The hole is then started truly central with the work, although the core, of course, is always more or less out of true. The lathe should then be stopped and the accu- rate adjustment of the rest made by vary- ing the hight as required to bring the drill truly central while held firmly in position in the rest. If it be out of center the hole will be larger than the drill, which, while of no importance except with reference to the last one to be followed by the reamer, is not workmanlike, nur will the drill work as it was designed to do. The first drill in a cored or existing rough hole should always be firmly held during the whole time it is cutting, or it will run out of true so badly by the time it is through that it may not leave stock enough for those that follow it to clean up. The same precaution is necessary when blow holes, hard spots or other inequali- ties in the metal exist. If the hole be true a very light pressure on the wrench, or even holding the drill by the hand, is suf- ficient to guide it properly. One precau- tion is always necessary, however, which is to hold the drill firmly agaiast the cen- ter when it is nearly through the hole, as otherwise it is almost sure to drop off as soon as the resistance of the cut is re moved, and the result is almost sure to be that the body of drill will catch and cause trouble, and possibly damage, before the lathe can be stopped. In withdrawing the drills it is always much safer to stop the lathe, though it is a very common practice to omit this precaution. For starting a hole in the solid, with the pointed drill, much subsequent trouble will be avoided if care be taken to have it truly central, and this cannot be accom. plished in a hurry. A very good method is to adjust the rest roughly and holding the drill by hand, without the wrench, feed it in for a short distaoce—barely enough to have the point fairly entered. Of course it will run out, more or less, but by gradually raising or lowering the rest or feeding it in or out, as the case may be, it will soon true up. This can easily be known by the entire cessation of the wabbling motion of thedrill. During the rest adjustment the drill must be fed in as fast as necessary to cause both edges to cut uniformly and the hole to be the full shape of the drill point. If this pre- caution be taken, and the dril! body bears equally on both top and bottom faces of the rest, there will seldom be any difti- culty in keeping the bole approximately true, no matter how deep it may be, unless there are blow holes or some other in- equality in the metal to throw it out. This presupposes the use of a drill having the shank fairly straight, otherwise the varia tions will surely cause it to run out of true unless the rest be constantly adjusted to meet them. Ordinarily, on medium sized work, the starting drill should be from § inch to } inch, and subsequent ones to cut about 4 October 6, 1892 inch on aside, increasing the diameter } inch each time, until the required size is reached. There is nothing gained by using a less number of drills, and thereby increasing the cut, unless the assortment of drills is insufficient and the job does not warrant their being made specially, in which case the work mav be done with such as are available. The use of twist drills for chucking is very common practice, both by placing the center in shank on the lathe center and holding the drill by a carrier and bar; and also by the use of a socket in dead spindle. Ino either case it is necessary to use the utmost care to start the hole perfectly true, otherwise the error will rapidly increase as the drill pene- trates, and finally will become so exag- gerated as to bind aud cause heating and breakage of the drill. In starting, as the drill rest is not available for any but flat drills, a very good plan is to run the heel of atool held in the tool rest against the side of the drill close to the work, and hold it in such a position as to prevent wobbling. The use of a rigid bar with carrier to keep the drill from turning is very risky, as in case the drill should catch there is great danger of breaking it or the lathe center, or of doing some other serious damage. The best plan is to use a stick of wood strong enough to hold all the necessary strain of cut, but which will break in case of a catch of any kind. As in case of the flat drills, it is important to hold the drill firmly against center when the point is going through, as it is even more liable to catch on account of the twist and angularity of the lips to cutting edges. Rose Reamers. Rose reamers are improperly so called, as their function is purely that of a drill. They should always be made with an odd number of grooves and a corresponding number of cutting edges, so that each of the latter shall come opposite a groove. Usually there are from five to seven, al- though on very large sizes it is better to have a larger number to avoid the extreme width that would otherwise be necessary. The principal use of the tool, at least that for which it is most valuable, is for drill- ing out cored or other existing holes, which are not accurately centered for the required position. They are generally used in the drill press, though sometimes in the lathe and horizontal drilling machine. The shank is best made to fit the standard taper socket, as the tool requires to run perfectly true The body should be very slightly tapered from point to shank, to afford a shade of clearance—that is, the cutting end should be enough larger than the body to prevent the latter from bind- ing as it penetrates, but not sufficiently to cause it to lose its value as a guide, nor to decrease the size of hole as the tool be- comes shortened from repeated grinding. The grooves should be made with the right-hand side radial, as it forms the face for cutting edge. It should be well filleted at the bottom and curved on the left-hand side. Preferably, the work should be done on the milling machine, though if more convenient the shaper or planer will answer. The standard grooving cutters made by Brown & Sharpe and others will give the correct form of groove, provided they are set to give the radial face. The shape of the cutting edges, as to clearance on bottom, should be similar to that of other drills; and the side clearance, if any, must be very slight, and notapproach too near the leading edge, which would im- pair the guiding action by decreasing the surface of cylindrical portion of body. If properly made in other respects, side clearance is not essential, and had best be omitted entirely. Where cylindrical grinding facilities are available, it is best to finish up the body of the tool a little above size, finish cutting edge clearance and harden; then October 6, 1892 THE IRON AGE. 6IT grind to exact size, finishing with a fine wheel. For all except small sizes the tool may be used full hardness, or, if drawn at all, only toa light straw color. Of course this will be too hard for small diameters, as there would be danger of breakage, and they should, therefore, be tempered accordingly—say dark straw color or brown. Care should be taken to have the entire length of the body of uniform hardness, and not allow the upper portion to be soft, otherwise it will surely cut the first time it is used to that depth. The cutting edges should always be sharpened by grinding on an index grinder, If there be no regular machine of the kind available there should be one improvised, as it is very difficult to grind the edges alike by hand ; and unless they are properly done the cutting will neces- sarily all be done by the leading edges, while the others are idle, and the efficiency of the tool is correspondingly impaired. In using the rose drill on rough holes the best method is to insert a center of wood or sheet: iron and scribe with the dividers a circle of the exact size of drill. Then, with a good sharp chisel, chip to the line, keeping the angle of cut uniform and as nearly as possible that of the drill edges. This will gener- ally start the hole true as laid out, and there is very little danger of its forcing if once the guiding action of the body of drill is brought into effect, no matter how much one-sided the cut may be, provided, of course, that it does not run out alto- gether; in which case the hole will not clean up, and a larger size must be sub- stituted if the work will admit of it. Reamers. Reamers are made of various shapes and kinds. There are the standard straight pattern, standard tapers of different de- grees, and special shapes innumerable. The first named is one of the most par- ticular of all the tools used in a machine shop, as on its accuracy und good con- dition, and, of course, proper use, depends the accuracy of all holes and parts working in them. The admirable modern system of duplication and interchangeability of parts would be manifestly impossible unless the greatest care and necessary facilities for absolute exactness of sizes be used, and the reamer is one of the most important factors for maintaining the desired accu- racy. As a properly equipped toolroom will always contain a set of standard male and female guages, a frequent testing of the reamers is conveniently made, and should be, as a very slight amount of wear on the keen edges of the tool will make a very perceptible difference in the size, and thereby destroy the accuracy of interchangeable fitting, which will defeat the object of the system. There are many different makes and patterns of reamers in the market, some of which contain alleged improvements of one kind or another which are claimed to make them better (or worse) than the ordinary form. That the latter, however, is capable of doing as good work as it is possible to do with any of the innovations can hardly be questioned, and it is always a good rule to stick to a good thing when we have it. Many of the best shops prefer to make, rather than buy, their standard reamers, although for less accurate work they will use the manufactured ones on account of their lesser cost. It is important to select only the best quality of steel obtainable, having the greatest possible uniformity of temper and homogeneity. By some tool makers the mild-centered steel is preferred, as it is stronger and less liable to break in hard- ening. Before using the forgings should be very carefully annealed, as it has con- siderable influence on the after operation of hardening. The centers should be drilled and countersunk—the drilling not unnecessarily deep-—and the ends squared | —viz., the muffle, the sand bath, holding perfectly true, except that there should be a slight depression at the center to protect it from injury. The turning should be slightly above size, to allow for finishing by grinding. For the grooves the form given by standard cutters is correct, but as the tool is only intended for the merest scraping cut, there is no necessity for making them deep, and it is much better not. Always make an odd number of grooves, as if an even number be used it brings the cutting edges opposite to each other, which will cause the tool to stick and chatter, and work badly in all respects. The edges should be made quite thin, say ;4, inch for sizes from 1 to2 inches. The number of grooves should be sufficient to retain the approxi- mately circular form, and not that of a polygon. Of course, if there be no milling machine, the grooving may be done on the shaper or planer, on the ordinary inosex centers; but, in order to secure the desir able uniformity of depth of grooves and thickness of teeth, it will be best to go around first with the roughing cut, feeding down slowly and gauging the depth by a mark on thecollar of the feed screw corre- sponding with one on the bearing. After completing the roughing cut for all the grooves, the tool should be ground and given a keen edge with a fine Washita or other good oil stone, and carefully reset. Then feed down to a mere scraping cut, fasten the feed screw, and index around the entire number of grooves without changing the position of the tool. This will give uniformity and smoothness, and will obviate the necessity for any but the slightest amount of filing or other method of finishing to give the required smooth- ness of surface. Of course it is assumed that, in the ab- sence of a milling machine, other im- proved facilities for this class of work would also be lacking, and that hand finishing would be necessary. Where they are available, however, it may be omitted and the finishing be done after hardening. The tool should be recessed as low as bot- tom of grooves for about } inch on al- inch reamer, extending upward from the top end of the teeth. The square at top upon which the wrench fits should be carefully finished — preferably milled on the index. Leave a slight amount of the round to prevent sharp corners, and the top edges chamfered, to facilitate its en- tering the wrench. In hardening the heat- ing is best done in a charcoal fire, slowly and uniformly, and the tool plunged quickly into a bath of fresh soft water, so that the entire neck is immersed, and kept moving steadily in a circular motion until perfectly cold. If springing is to be avoided the tool must be carefully poised in a vertical position, over the bath, with- in 1 or 2 inches of the surface, and plunged in the full length of body, with as quick a movement as possible. It is also important that it be kept in the water until the temperature is as low as the lat- ter will make it, for, if withdrawn prema- turely, there is great danger of hearing that sharp little ‘‘click, click,” which means disaster in the shape of a cracked and spoiled reamer. After withdrawing it from the bath, the tool is best tempered as soon as convenient, as there is always more or less danger from shrinkage strains, and conse- quent cracks, until the equalization by drawing is accomplished. For most makes of steel the color should be a clear straw yellow, and, in order to avoid the danger of being misled by the uncertain indica- tions of the color guide, it is well to have a fine float file handy with which to test the hardness as the drawing proceeds. This shou'd be done on all parts of the reamer, to make sure it is not progressing more rapidly in some parts than others. There are several methods of doing this heating over the forge fire flame, and others of a crude and uncertain nature. The two first named are very good if intelligently used ; if not, they are capable of atrociously bad results. The point to be particularly ob- served is slowness of heating, and as a means to this end, the temperature of the muffle or bath should be but slightly higher than that necessary to impart to the steel to give the desired temper. By this means the heat has a chance to be- come absorbed gradually and uniformly by the entire mass of the reamer; whereas if the heating medium be of a much higher temperature, the thermal conductivity of the metal will be insufficient to prevent the thinner portions (the teeth) from becom- ing heated above the degree required, and consequently the essential portion of the tool will be made too soft, while the body of the metal is much too hard. This is the greatest objection to the method of heating over the flame, although by the exercise of exceptional skill it may be made to give very satisfactory work, by manipulating the tool so as to give the heat a chance to equalize. The safest plan is to dip the tool—preferably in oil— as soon as the required temper is reached, as the drawing does not stop immediately on withdrawing from the heat, and there is danger of its running too low. The tool is then ready for finishing; and, with improved facilities, this will consist in placing it on the index centers in the grinding machine and grinding the grooves true and clean, obliterating all tool marks, and giving a sharp edge to the faces of the teeth. The next operation will be to place on the centers in the grinding lathe and grind the entire length, from the end of the teeth to the square at the top—the body above the neck being just the barest shade smaller than the diameter of the teeth, and the latter tapering slightly at the point. The last and all important move is giving the necessary clearance to the teeth, back of the edge. It is safe to say that there are more badly working reamers from want of a proper knowledge or appreciation of this fact than from any other cause, or all others combined. The usual fault is too much—many times too much! And the result is that the cut is so rank as to cause the reamer to stick and jam—cocking first on one side of the hole, then on the other—jumping and chattering all the way through; and finally, when withdrawn, an examination of the hole shows it to be much larger than the reamer, and of a cross section which might be geometrically described as an “irregular” polygon. This is not an overdrawn view of the matter, as may be affirmed by any observant machinist of average experience. But, on the other hand, the same reamer, with proper clear- ance, will not only work smoothly and easily, leaving a clean bright hole, but the all-important item of size is absolutely assured—that is, the hole will be the size of the reamer, no larger, and certainly not smaller. Now, as to the method of giving this clearance, of course, there is more than one, but certainly none better as to results nor more easily accomplished than the fol- lowing: After the cylindrical grinding, leaving the reamer on the centers, take a, good sharp-cutting Washita oil stove and, by hand, stone back the clearance by start- ing near the edge and working carefully to aveid touching the one back of it, stone the whole length of the tooth, in- creasing the amount of clearance uniformly from nothing at edge to the back. It is astonishing how very little stoning will give the desired result, and though the method may be an antiquated one,modern improvements have, so far, failed to excel it. A reamer so made, of course, is only intended for hand use, and for the removal of only so much metal as is a proper cut se ana ae S P ee ee ~ > mm >) © a“ pay at ae es 1 i pm FE phy ig oe out ,° afi m, ee)’ “Le Zh V2 - mae rw >> or - Am? smn: eo SES. SS mvs ~ne, “ss * \ ve >) »)) —_ = = a D mm. e - tli for standardizing the hole. It works | equally well in all kinds of metal, and if used with plenty of oil, will be very dur- able, retaining its edge and size for a long time. In use for cast iron, the size of hole may be varied by the use or omission of oil. With it, the reamer will cut what may be termed ‘‘ normal” size, whereas if used dry the hole will be a shade larger. Where there are no facilities for wheel grinding, another old-fashioned method may be resorted to as a very eflicieat sub. stitute. Place the reamer on the centers of an ordinary engine lathe, and the afore- mentioned oil stone in the tool rest, where it may be held firmly in the position of a turning tool by placing wooden liners at the top and bottom, and placing a tool across it, passing through the tool post and the other end supported by a block or anything of proper hight to make it par- allel. The screw of the tool post can then be set down carefully and the stone will be held very-securely. Run the lathe backward on the fast speed, feed the stone up to the work very carefully, and as soon as it touches, feed back and forth quickly, by hand, the entire length of teeth and shank, feeding up the stove very gradually until it has worn to a good wide bearing. The caliper or standard ring guage should be used frequently, as the stone cuts much more rapidly than would be supposed, and after it is once made too small it is exceedingly difficult to make it larger again. After the proper size is reached the clearance can be stoned as de- sired. It need hardly be said that it is utterly impossible to make a reamer for accurate work by finishing it before hard- euing, as even an infinitesimal amount of springing during the process will be very perceptible in the sizeof hole. There is no shop so poorly equipped but that good work may be turned out by competent workmen, and it is in the fertility of re- sources, as well as by skill in mapipula- tion, that the latter are distinguished. The number of tools whose sizes are fixed, and upon which the accuracy of work depends, is not large, and there is no excuse for their not being made and kept of the proper size. It certainly pays to put a small amount of expense into facilities for de- creasing that of the work for which they are intended, and it is very short-sighted policy which fails to recognize this fact, and act on it. The new building for the Boland Trade School, to be erected on Madison avenue and Fifty-first street, will cost about $175,000. The school will be conducted very much on the successful lines which have long been in practice in the cele- brated trade schools of Colonel Auchmuty in this city. The fundamental idea of the management will be to give the boys such a practical knowledge of. the trades that master workmen wili be glad to secure their services in their shops and there give them the further training of experience until they shall become skilled in the craft they take up. It is calculated that the trade schooi can be run at very little ex- pense beyond the regular cost of taking care of the boys, for a number of skilled workmen have already volunteered to devote a part of their time to teaching classes, 7 W. K. Vanderbilt has given orders to Laird & Co. of Liverpool, England, for a new steamer that shall be at least 350 feet in length and broader in beam than the ‘* Alva,” to succeed that ill-fated vessel. The new craft will be about 2000 tons. _ The American Type Founders’ Com- pany, just orgatized, claims to comprise 23 houses and to have $9,000,000 capital. Three large firms remain outside. THE IRON AGE. Test of an Ellis Tresidder Compound Armor Plate. We are indebted to Captain Tresidder for a series of photographs illustrating the results of a trial made on August 4 at Shoeburyness with a compound armor plate manufactured by John Brown & Co. of Sheffield by the Ellis-Tresidder meth- ods. The plate was 8 feet by 6 feet by 10 inches, bolted by eight bolts to 3 feet 8 inches of oak and 1-inch iron skin plate. The gun was a 6-inch B. L., the charge being 48 pounds and the range 10 yards. The striking velocity was 1950 foot-sec- onds. There was a blister deep in the iron back and the object of the trial was to determine how far this affected the re- sistance. A hole was drilled to it from the back from which to survey it and this hole was plugged with 14-inch screw plug. The fifth shot struck fair in the center of the blister. The following table gives the results ob- tained : Position of impact. Projectile. Right bottom | Holtzer steel, corner. 100% pounds. | Holtzer steel. | Shot broke up, point fell out. Maximum October 6, 1892 When finished it will be launched in the Mississippi a few yards from its present position, floated down to the Gulf of Mexico, and thence to the United States naval station at Pensacola, Fla. The price to be paid is $113,500, with an added bonus should the speed prove greater than 24 knots. There are good grounds for believing that this new engine of destruc- tion will be called the ‘‘ Dubuque.” ———————— EE An Interesting Wages Statement. The Railway Age has made a very striking inquiry into the question of raising the wages of all railway employees which is being agitated. From it we make the following extracts: There are about 860,000 employees in the service of the railways of the United States. An increase of wages of 30 cents a day to all employees (supposing one half of the entire number to work on Sundays and the other half to be paid for only six Pieces of shot Result. recovered. Shot broke up, point fell out. Maximum 73 pieces penetration measured 2.17 inches. Bulge weighing at back 0.39inch. No cracks. 334g pounds. 21 pieces weigh- Left top penetration measured 1.0 inches. Bulge|”’;, meal want 100% pounds. | at back 0.12inch No cracks; small piece Pb any § chipped from bottom right corner. Shot broke up, point lodged. Maximum pen- etration estimated 3 inches. Bulge at 16 pieces Right top Holtzer steel, back 0.53 inch; one fine superficial hair weighing corner. 1014 pounds. crack in face from Kound 2699 to right 74 pounds. edge; another small piece chipped from bottom corner. Shot broke up, point lodged. Maximum pen- Holtzer steel, 1004 pounds. Left bottom corner. etration estimated 3 inches. Bulge at back 0.47 inch; one fine jagged superficial hair crack from Round 2701 toward center 1544 pounds. 29 pieces weighing and another from Kound 2702 toward left. Shot broke up, point lodged. Maximum pen- On center of blister near cen- ter of plate. Holtzer steel, | 10014 pounds. | blister. 1 etration estimated 5 inches. Bulge at 37 pieces weigh- back 1.2 inch: high, with vertical crack 1 ing 16 pounds foot long through inspection hole of 9 ounces. eS ————sS=$Sss$sSmm —————o On the removal of the frame a small piece of the right top corner was found to be loose and was knocked off. The side timbers and the corner hoops of frame were scored with thousands of small in- dents caused by the minute fragments of shot escaping tangentially to plate. oe Torpedo Boat No. 2 Nearly Completed. Torpedo Boat No. 2, for the United States navy, now being built by the Iowa Iron Works of Dubuque, Iowa, will be finished by November. The plans and specifications have been furnished by the United States Government, though many of the minor details are by the Iowa Iron Works. This is the plan: Hull 150 feet long, 15-foot beam, 11 feet deep, made of steel angles and plates, the outside to be of galvanized steel 4 inch thick. The steel in the deck is made specially from Govern- ment specifications, On the deck is placed a conning tower, a conical box, about 6 feet in diameter and 7 feet high. From this tower the vessel is steered and handled, the power which regulates the discharge of the torpedo originating here. In the bow, 2 feet above the water line, is the torpedo tube, 12 inches in diameter, 10 or 12 feetin length. There is also a space on deck from which a torpedo may be fired. The boat is furnished with quad- ruple expansion engines with twin screws; the boilers are of the Thornycroft pattern. days in the week) would make—being $101.70 to the man a year—a total in- crease in payment for wages on all the railways of $87,000,000 annually. But during the year 1891 the entire amount of money paid in dividends on all the stock of all the railways of the country only amounted to $89,000,000. So that a general increase in wages of only 30 cents a day would just about wipe out the entire revenue of the railways of the United States available for dividends. The least productive lines, of course, are those of the West and Southwest. But the employees are scattered all over the coun- try, and the burden of increased wage- payment would have to be borne in the Southwest as well as in New England. Thus, there are 20,000 employees in the State of Texas—which at 30 cents a day amounts to over $2,000,000 annually. But in the Interstate Commerce Commission’s territorial division, which includes the State of Texas, the total dividends were something less than $4000, and, in the language of the statistician to the com- mission, net earnings were a minus quan- tity. Where would those $2,000,000 for an increase in wages come from? Where is any increase in expense, for that mat- ter, for wages or any other purpose, to come from for the railways of Texas ? Take again any of the larger granger roads, employing from 25,000 to 30,000 men. The increase of 30 cents a day would mean to such a road from $2,500,- 000 to $3,000,000 a year. What road could pay that ? October 6, 1892 THE IRON AGE. 619 es —————————— el: 0 0—0—0qo9Lj|| oo. OO (0 ( ——ooOnn>sas| A general increase of wages to all rail- way employees of even 10 cents a day would, within two years, send two thirds at least of the companies which are nominally solvent to-day into bankruptcy ; and would produce such a universal panic, such an utter wreck of credit, that every employee would suffer fifty times more than he would gain by any advance. TT Ball Bearing Compound Jack. A O. Norton of 45 Oliver street, Boston, has recently brought out the ball-bearing jack of which engravings are here pub lished. Theright hand view clearly shows Armour’s Elevated Electric Road. To P. D. Armour, the well-known Chi- cago packer, saysthe Western Electrician, is due the credit of having introduced into his immense establishment at the Stock Yards, in the World’s Fair city, what is very probably the first elevated electric railway of any size in this country. Six thousand feet of 3 foot gauge track is now finished, and extensions of about 2 miles more are under way. The Armour elevated railway system connects all the warehouses and slaughter- ing houses, and is so planned that the en- tire product of the establishment will be handled by electricity. The elevation of BALL-BEARING the construction. Mounted on the outer end of a short horizontal shaft is the ratchet lever by means of which the jack is operated. On the inner end of this shaft is a bevel gear engaging with a similar gear on the lifting screw. Placed between the cap on top of this screw and the under side of the top of the case are hardened steel balls arranged as shown. The bearing supports the entire load lifted, while the introduction of the balls reduces friction to a minimum and corre- spondingly lessens the power required to do the work. It is evident that this jack can be made light, and at the same time strong and durable, and that it can be used in any desired position. I Tests of the Meneely roller bearing, manufactured by the Meneely Bearing Company, West Troy, N. Y., have been made recently on Delaware & Hudson Canal Company trains, running between Albany and Troy, N. Y. Two four car trains, each weighing 102 tons, were run 18 round trips, 270 miles. It is stated that the coal burned by the locomotive hauling the train equipped with Meneely bearings was 14,800 pounds, or 55 pounds per train-mile. The locomotive of the other train, equipped with ordinary bear- ings, burned 11,100 pounds, or 41 pounds per train-mile, an apparent saving of 25 per cent, A dynamometer test showed that a pull of 3276 pounds, 32 pounds per ton, was required to start the train with the plain bearings, and only 252 pounds, 2 pounds a ton, was