The Iron Age 1892-12-29: Vol 50

‘THE Bridge-Building Contracts. | A correspondent of the Glasgow Herald writes: ‘* Bridge builders may be inter- ested in an incident of which I have been informed by the London engineers of the Transandine Railway and which sheds much light on the reason why American bridge builders are making a position for | themselves in some of our foreign markets. | The longer bridges for the railway were | urgently required to complete the line and convert it into a dividend-paying railway, and British and American firms were asked how soon they could supply several bridges, 246 feet long and 197 feet long. The British firms desired eight months, ie NTT the American firms eight weeks, and the latter completed the job in that time at a price not more per ton than was asked by British firms, the price for the longer bridges being £16 10s per ton, and for the shorter £16 5s. per ton. The reason given by my informant for the difference in the time of delivery was that American firms build their bridges to a standard type, varying, of course, in dimensions to suit the span and the weight to be carried. They have, therefore, specialized their machinery, and thus they can work cheaply and quickly. British practice is different. Here the engineer provices his drawings, which often include little pet ideas, so that the builder cannot be prepared with special machinery. often on the steel mills. He has to depend | that I can see. Of course the | tees citizens of one State equal rights in THURSDAY. DECEMBER 29, 1892. IRON AGE bridge builders must most depend for| legislating on labor troubles, the United orders. I may state that only English firms were asked, and when told this I hinted to my informant that perhaps the Scotch firms who do so much in export bridge work might have done better than the English firms.” EE The Pinkerton Watchmen. The employment of Pinkerton men by private firms or corporations for the pro- tection of their property is entirely lawful and proper. This appears to be the opinion reached by the House Investigating Committee, who made the trouble at Homestead the subject of special inquiry. ete LTT A NEW COKE PUSHER. They do not thiok that any legislation against the Pinkertons is practical or con- stitutional, unless it be the prevention of their employment by railroads and com- mon carriers, which Mr. Boatner believes could be accomplished under the Interstate Commerce regulations. ‘‘If, however, this should be done,” he says, ‘‘ then we will have to provide some other protection for railroads and common carriers. The Government is bound to provide protec- tion, when it takes away the power fora corporation to protect itself. This protec- tion would, of course, rest in the United States Courts, in United States Murshals and their posse comitatus. This is the only possible anti-Pinkerton legislation The Constitution guaran American builders’ bridge design might | other States, and you cannot forbid the not conform to the esthetic tastes of |employment of whomsoever the people of Britons, but it suits colonies and most/|a State wish to employ, without violating foreign countries, upon which, after all,'that clause of the Constitution. As to States Government has absolutely nothing to do with that, as the State authorities and State laws are paramount in such questions.” —_—E— EE A New Coke Pusher. We are indebted to W. B. Cogswill for photographs of a new coke pusher, which was built recently by McLanahan & Stone of Hollidaysburg, Pa., for the Solvay Proc- ess Company of Syracuse, N. Y. It is used in connection with the experimental plant of Semet coke ovens for the re- covery of by-products, in which the Solvays are interested. The principal characteristics of the machine are brought out clearly in the drawings. The main frame consists of steel beams spanning a wide track and provided with a truck at each end carrying suitable wheels. The machine is moved along the track by means of the gearing shown in the engrav- ing upon this page, power being derived from the engine, which is located on brackets on one of the main frames, as in- dicated in the second vie w. The pusher proper consists of a heavy beam placed centrally between the two beams of the frame and arranged to run upon grooved rollers. Upon the forward end of the beam is the head entering the oven. The upper side of the beam carries a rack with which engages a pinion driven by a train of gears from the engine, which is provided with a link motion for re- versing. Near the inner side of the inner rail will be noticed a rail secured to right- ae ad aaa ae eed PY Mh Ea, Wee ae scree) we ’ oF cr———s we we a ww ser LE Ls 1260 angle brackets fastened to the cross ties and extending under the rail. Placed upon this end of the machine are rollers adapted to bear against this rail and re- ceive the thrust due to the work of empty- irg the oven. The machine throughout is built in the most substantial manner, and is so designed as to quickly and easily perform the work required of it. I a The Mesaba Range Towns. The Duluth, Mesaba & Northern, the | new road to the Mesaba range, gave an excursion on the 2ist inst. over its lines to the mines on therange. There were 387 in | | THE IRON AGE high. The town has a system of water works, Everything there has been hauled through timber by wagons. Resolutions complimentary to the road were adopted by the excursionists. EE = Great Britain’s Trade. In his speech before the London Cham- ber of Commerce quarterly meeting the president, Sir John Lubbock, referred to the condition of trade in the United Kingdom, and, while admitting that the situation of affairs at the moment was not satisfactory, contended that Britain’s foreign trade is fully holding its own. the party, including delegates from com- | Taking the foreign trade, that is, the ex- mercial organizations of Duluth, munic-| ports and imports, of France, the United officers, citizens and many ipal Other cities. The train left at 8 o'clock in the morning and arrived at the depot on the return at 11 p.m. Mountain Iron, a new town site at the terminus of the line, was first visited. The town is built directly over an immense body of iron ore. Steam shovels are engaged in stripping hundreds of thousands of yards of earth over the ore bed. The ore is to be loaded on cars by steam shovels at the opening of navigation. The surfacing runs from 18 inches to 20 feet, averaging about 15 feet. The town is quite a typical Western min ing community. The party returned part way and went then to Virginia, a new town, surrounded by seven big iron mines. Virginia is the most promising town of the range. The train was the first passen- ger train ever run into the town, and freights had been running less than a week. The town has a population of 700. Scores of new buildings are going up. Hundreds of carpenters were at work on new buildings on the day of the excursion in the extreme cold. It was 20° below zero at Virginia that morning. There are 150 buildings, two of them three stories from ' States and the United Kingdom for ten ee A NEW COKE PUSHER. years, the comparison is largely in favor of the latter. The figures are: 1880. 1890. I css ewuceukban £383,000,000 £368,000,000 United States...... 311,000,000 340,000,000 United Kingdom. ease 634,000,000 683,000,000 France’s commerce in the decade de clined £15,900,000; that of the United States increased £29,000,000, while Great Britain’s was augmented by no less than £49,000,000. In 1891 Great Britain’s for eign trade was £744,000,000. There had been a growth in ten years of £50,000,- 000. Taking exports alone into consider- ation, Great Britain is still in the lead. The figures show: 1880. 1890. France..... ir . £139,000,000 £154),000,000 United States... -» 172,000,000 176,000,000 United Kingdom..... 223,000,000 262,000,000 While Frarce increased her exports dur- ing the decade by £11,000,000 and the United States by £4,000,000, the figures of the United Kingdom grew by £39,000,- 000. a A large fly wheel in the White River Iron & Steel Works, at Muncie, Ind., burst on the 22d inst., instantly killing ~ | rN | nad December 29, 1892 Head Roller Perkins, formerly of Joliet; fatally injuring Engineer David Collier and seriously wounding Heater Eliza Ward. The works were damaged to such an extent that some time will elapse be- fore they can be repaired and again started up. $e At the reguiar meeting of the Western Pennsylvania Engineers’ Society held in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, the 20th inst., a paper prepared by W. C. Coffin, Jr., entitled ‘* Construction of Iron and Steel Tanks” was read in the absence of that gentleman by W. L. Scaife. At the next meeting of this organization to be held in January, officers will be elected, the can- didates being as follows: M. J. Becker, president; Thomas H. Johnson, vice- presi- dent; Walter E. Koch and Emil Swenscon, directors; B. N. Clark, secretary, and A, aS : % Wi \ Y WAS c. ¥ VEST att | ny LL E. Frost, treasurer. It was decided to hold the annual banquet of the society at the Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh, on Thurs- day, January 26 next. The Government of the United States of Colombia does not despair of having a ship canal at Panama. An extra session of Congress has for its special object the granting of authority to the President to contract with a new company for the act- ive prosecution of the work, or if ad- visable to extend the power of the old organization for one year. In at least one instance the penalty pre- scribed for violation of the Interstate Commerce law has been enforced, the manager of a lumber firm in St. Louis and one of the employees having been sen- tenced in the United States Court to 18 months in the penitentiary and $2000 fine. It was proven at the trial that weighers and ewitchmen had been bribed to secure low rates for the transportation of lumber to customers in Kansas and Colorado. December 29, 1892 ——————————————————————————eeeee————eeeOeeEeEeEeEeeeEeEeEeeeE eel == Power Transmitting Friction Clutch Palley. The Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Company of Bridgeport, Conn., have used with very gratifying results i in the running of sew- ing machines by power the friction clutch which we illustrate. The support A has bearings for one end of a hollow stud, a, through which is extended a wick or oil- feeding device, a', one end of which is immersed in oil in the cup a’. This hol- | low stud has lateral openings at intervals Fig. 1.—End View. THE IRON AGE of the pulley d, made as a hollow shell, having an inturned flange, d*, to prevent the oil entering the pulley from escaping. The bollow hub of the pulley d surrounds the stud a and at one end is provided with a wooden, rawhide, or other rounded plug, d@', against which acts the inclined face e of the lever e', pivoted at c?. When the lever is turned in the direction of the arrow 2, the inner end of the pulley d, driven by a belt from a suitable counter- shaft, is pressed firmly against the face of the pulley ec, which is thereby driven. This Fig. : Fig. 3.—Section on Line x of Fig. 2. POWER TRANSMITTING tofconduct the oil to the surface of the | stud and toithe hubs of the two parts of | driven. the clutch pulley, as shown in the section, Fig. 3. The frame is provided with an annular chamber surrounding the end ofSthe stud a, in which are the anti-fric- tion balls }. These balls, being sealed in the chamber, receive against them the washer b', against which rests the inner end of the hub of the pulley part ¢, loose on the stud and having at its side next the pulley d a friction surface, 2’, of leather. The pulley ¢ has an annular wall, c', which is extended into the center FRICTION CLUTCH PULLEY. latter pulley is belted to the machine to be The balls enable the pulley ¢ to be run solely by friction against one side of it and to be free from the results of friction at its other side. The oil passed through the hollow stud a to the interior of the hubs of the pulleys ¢ and d is by the curb c' delivered within the interior of the shell-like pulley @, the curb and flange d,. preventing any oil from passing out be- tween the pulleys and from coming in contact with the leather between the “pul- leys, as would be the case were it not for the curb and flange. 1261 The Cost of an Iron Tower. The Comptroller of Philadelphia has sent to the City Councils a statement of the results of an examination of the books and accounts of the Tacony Iron & Metal Company, contractors for the erection of the metal part of the City Hall tower. The following statement, he says, includes every dollar expended on the iron tower, embracing the plants, material on hand, £ 2.—View Opposite to Fig. 1. certificates of indebtedness and amounts due the company to December 1, 1892: Additions to storage and fitting nee $11, 912.48 Additions to iron foundry....... 924.45 Additions to bronze foundry........ ry 535.34 Additions to boiler house. . / eS 912.50 Small crane in clearing MNS econ 32.64 UT CEN otde accuchaed,. waecond . 1,821.0 Building and mac hinery for aluminum WN Sage svns c dnveusdacces rent 25 . 64 Smokestack in same. ‘ acd oa 285.58 Feed-water heater in same .. . 74.11 Repairs to large crane, iron foundry. 212.88 Two 15-ton cranes iniron foundry.... 2,604.58 Rotary planer for facing columns, &c. 1,977.33 Small rotary oven, iron foundry...... 166. 37 All core ovens and tower trucks ...... 997 .34 Traveling crane in erecting building 1,421.18 Iron soda tank 351.00 Renovating old iron work in marble GG cc Atdencudsccadauunnnied Sea 143.63 | New de rrick on tower.. pag 277 .64 ' Miscellaneous tower charges.... 69,040.31 | Main platform of tower sc affolding 17,288 .87 | Tower hoisting machine. 2,781.15 Cast iron construction of clock story. 57,848.88 Wrought iron construction of tower 19,705.13 Oicccccnas 6 Wrought iron construc tion ‘of tower éeceas ae ae 88,198.17 co, ee a ower bronze statuary.. a Cast-iron shell of tower dome .. 16,205.57 Erection of wrought iron of clock 5,462.45 32,480.15 3,437 .28 story see atcee ewedan a Aluminum plating entire shell of 2,390.57 24,024.00 PPT TET Tee Erection of cast iron of clock stc ry. Temporary foundation of tower at works.... Tower supe rintendent and salaries as per agreement. sgl. ddan eons $467,748.39 Total net cost. fe saat Add 15 per cent. ‘as per ‘agreement (ess salaries and certain items in miscellancus tower charges). 65,853 .63 $533,602 .02 EE GI nisdicncéneden'es The Comptroller says: The ‘‘ miscella- neous” items of $69,040.31 include a number of charges, the principal part of which is for labor and wages paid for con- struction, coal, draftsmen, time keeper, drawings, insurance, freights and hauling. —— Le — ——— ee a 1262 THE IRON AGE. December 29, 1899 ast Yield Wei 2 | C ght. Rate Cost { per ton. mone Cw Pa 2 Total. oe i TIN PLATE. _Iit. Pounds. rons. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. per ton. per ton, ; ‘ EE = ——— — ‘i Costs and Appliances. Black plates. (698 tons.) ; - ae ve Tin bar..... . 2,740.4 853 li 2 | 19 19.89 — $16,983.73)| $24.33 sie aa rte Credit, shearings and wasters.. 3.66.2 114 2 0 23 10,12 1,154.79 1.65 8. Through an oversight, the illustrations cbeaiiads +i ‘ x of the annealing furnace were not printed 2374.2 739 15 i Ge pwede $15,828.94|| $22.68 ¥e & ; ; 2 A | i ‘ ie ho tant elmer OE The tron Age. WO) cence: ceesee cose | 8724 160 | 10 | 38 | 27 1.34 | 1,554.15! $2.28 \i FP repeat the description. A furnace having] Vitrol (black).... = ....- 1.94.7 60 13 1 | 16 17.98 1,090.83)! 1.56 aif ; , ; . s_ | Stoves...... ape gio | § NAemaeecbeed gS 4k aahaeh yO aents és 610.66 | 87 hii these improvements as in use in a promi-| (rors Inn LIE EE el ee $27.56 | ye nent sheet works is shown in Figs. 24 Proportion of salaries and gen- ane 1.18 ee : . or s . : CRE GREIIES..«.... sens cvewscrcece pied pein Ueenne ee rcs | eee 7.74 || § WE (side elevation) and 25 (sectional plan), in | tnterest and bank charges. —....-- -. seeeee wees ee nga tek Aah oe s 15.70 65 . 4 i Rents, rates and taxes . ... ae ca Al-dmeaselt menks ceuAtve®: 49 (hace siete’ 56.16 .08 vo which the floor of the lower part of the Tonnage and other labor in mill .......... .... sc] sea] sevslice » « off QO o, Gale Ce Ase furnace is the top of a removable bogie, | Pickling labor ... ... ... sHicagheeenstweawas Saisie At SWO Uae, Seat lane AeaneeS nes 57 oe | Ae j Cold roiling labor............05. || ssseesees | seceee Koeeee| cone |reeens|| oe wees 265.24 || 38 ; ary B, re the pots P, and the “pre part DARBORTIS BBO oo.0i 0-0 cavcvcvce pace Smeaton | peabethe aaa e ee ai hate \eakaduwee 286.18 41 pee is a similar platform, A, traveling on cast- | Mechanics and others........... ; Mead aocth * Gas Bao Been, AY 425.78 ‘61 Tt iron balls. The joints J J are made tight — i %, # 4 with sand, and the large doors must also iain ical ai tai $97.71 , 1 : ; * s lack ate ar t¢ re o eehell Oekads > vk nieiwReadeace bed sae ieee 4 aa $07.7 i ie be carefully closed to the air. The arrows ihneatien aia ' . 4 will show that continuous regeneration of | Per box........... nena ich shall rade BEDa lL webs ante, dale Sxaoondl <eaweninal) sana $1.835 the air between the flame flues is taking | - 4 a place, and it appears that the economy in fuel is considerable. * DS yu i Se ght oo : WP e\ a CHIMNEY FLUE etl aerate y, . %) hs tl iy oe ; em 3 Fig. 24.—Vertical Section Regenerative Close Annealing Furnace. fe it i f Ay UF Sia | ” { ~« ae ge a=) ; " 4 g2 = a\ @ : ey) / 2 = = \ oy oO ' | ‘ | ' h | 9 De | ees ‘i Fig. 25.—Half Plan Regenerative Close Annealing Furnace. Second Annealing.—This is necessary | — = — ener aera ——_ = Ny ai piensa — . f i ; a . to remove the new harsbness of the plates. | Tin plates: (12,825 boxes, reduced to |Per box. Weight. Rate Total Cost : : A lower heat is required and the plates are common size). Pounds. |Tons, ewts., qrs, lbs.| per ton. * |per box. y) : this time dry so that cast-iron pots may ieee aaa é a » be used. 2 cost in land wages is Me , The cost in coal and wages i Black plates 0... ose. cose cee + [eosagegenefe ioe Boh Cas Ee : 2 included in that given under the head of | pin BE, Veer ee ee af 268 15 6 2 15 | $456.60 $7006.15 546 | - first annealing. Palm oil Kae a onan 104, 5 19 O | 59.35 353.39 | 027 PN e's Vitrol, white | ... peas 3 .| 8.51 2, 1° 8 19] 19.06 | 382.62] 029 soul ‘ Cost of Black Plates—On removal from c —_ —— tte teeeees 68.02 ee ee oan 'E - mh the furnace the sheets are the ordinary | £m" 2oxes.. eileen i= [eon esate) sanaiendonelegerl aeihar arsine A, <a ork ‘black plate” of commerce. In the cost Proportion of salaries and SEM sis tnses x csck-e anne] dupe '® [ngadirexnaniy on - _ Ve ; : . . nterest and bank charges........ .... .... Pere red Perper foot 2.52 | c eye, sheet given herewith (an actual one from Stas. ee ee ees oe ee wi 403.06 | (B81 . i cota UES: CURGUER) TD CURE FOU CI os. 00 000s xatiscisees ivevcanans [snssansosfeasecdunts om fionaleene|eugaeneai 275.84 021 ¥ . . », at » shearings and wasters over the period Tinning labor. ° Sebcse SES8006. oo [easesten esecce o |oece|cossesce 6 3078 .00 240 ; t aanies iinet _ | Rents, rates and taxes.... emawaet ésacka Bien) anol ses.) Weclian deeeeionen 28.32 - 002 { } covered was 366 pounds per ton of black Se plates produced. Steel bars were under Pet er ; $20 per ton at the time. In order not to} Cost of IE BEON. .«. aunassesscs. |sstserenbs hi cau g need eas R ceidedKauen ces eee eeleee $2.888 \ break the cortinuity of the cost sheet, it} __ oe : * is carried on into the finished tin plate on | a produce of 12,825 boxes, and it may be Y necessary to again refer to this. Cost of Tin Plates. December 29, 1892 THE IRON AGE. 1263 In addition it may be interesting to give the actual wages paid in amother works: Wages at Tin-Plate Mills. Pa crcicantacncwens 82 cents per dozen boxes. inten tack ovisceds 66 cents per dozen boxes. Furnacegmen............ 62 cents per dozen boxes. a 30 cents per dozen boxes. I Fi Sbcdaec cases 26 cents per dozen boxes. Opening NS aiula cao qance eiea $1.44 per 100 boxes. Weighing plates ............ ...80.cents per day. Bundling Shears........ ....... 60 cents per day. ERIM PUCMIIG. 00 occcccssccees $1.94 per 100 boxes. Swillers (two at) BEMORIOs 60550506 ‘ Cold rolling (boys at)....... .. Roll turning. .. Firemen (each) Smith........ weuweree «61 .. $6.48 per week. EE. ccuceceeavesi seadnsraaie $3.80 per week. | errr nrcr. e $7.68 per week. Laborers (each)..............+.- $8 cents per day. White pickhing..... ......... $1.76 per 100 boxes. Scouring (girls each at) Tinmen eee een eae cekne Bc vidde: adsadtccns gues 2 cents per box. , Dipping (extra).. . .$1.44 per 100 boxes. | eee hucaaeunns $1 per 100 boxes. eee sae Mee $1 per 100 boxes, Counting (women)... .. .. $2.80 per week. NE 5 checns vimes $9.60 and $7.20 per week. CHOE 2222. ...... $7.68 per week. Foreman (manager)....... $1.20 per 100 boxes. si ene $3.12 per 100 boxes. 48 cents per day. : a eee ees $8.40 per week. Engineers (each)................-- $6.48 per week. it Lean guneataceea’ $3.84 per week. $L44 per week. Firing pots and melting scruff. ..$4.82 per week. 6 cemts per box. | WM siiccin eed Gaadeedacves 6 cents per box. ios .$15.12 per week. pickling boshes, and high enough to admit of the evaporators, &c., being on a still lower level. If the ground does not allow this arrangement, the spent acid is collected in a well, from which it may be pumped by lead-lined pumps into the evaporators. The evaporators are wood boshes 10 feet by 6 feet by 5 feet, or any other convenient size, which are lined with sheet lead and fitted with coils of 1- steam may be passed. Fora four-mill works there should be three such boshes, as the rate of evaporation is naturally some- what slow. When the evaporation has reached that stage when it becomes appar- ent to the practiced attendant that the so- lution is saturated to precipitating point it is tapped off in lead-lined wood troughs to a series of wood-built precipitating boshes, which may or may not be lined with lead, the acid being now largely neutralized, but which must havea number of lead | strips in suspension in order to form cen- | ters of precipitation. When the supersat- urated solution is quite cool and has restea | quiet for 24 hours the liquid may be tapped off, and the suspended strips and interior White Piekling.—The slight coating of | will be found thickly coated with cop oxide induced by the annealing has to be | peras. There should be from 20 to 25 pre- removed and the plates rendered clean and | cipitating vats of the same dimensions as Figs 26 and 27,—THE TINNING STOW. bright in preparation for the tinning proc- , the evaporators, and the whole operation, ess, and to do this it is necessary to sub- ject them to a second pickling operation in clean dilute acid and a thorough wash- ing in fresh cold water. In some of the smaller establishments one machine does both the black and white pickling, but granting a machine capable of doing both, it is not advisable. The second pickling takes a comparatively short time and should be done at a labor cost of 2 cents per box and an expenditure of under 3 pounds of acid. After thoroughly swill- ing the plates must be deposited in tanks of pure running water to preserve them | from rusting in the air, until such time as! they are required in the tinning house. In cases where the tinning depariment is situated at a distance from the pickling machine, the plates may be transferred in wooden tanks filled with water and mounted on a wheel truck of convenient gauge. Before leaving this subject it may be re- marked that in many cases the spent liquor from the pickling boshes, instead of being a source of annoyance and river pollution, is by a small outlay made a source of considerable revenue. At all the best establishments it will be found that the liquor is conveyed in lead piping to a series of evaporators and precipitating tanks for the recovery of copperas. If the site will permit of it, the collecting or supply tank is at a lower level than the continuous as it is, should be easily worked by three men, who in the intervals of filling the various tanks are engaged in cleaning out the precipitate and wheeling it into stock. The outlay is chiefly in timber and sheet lead, and the weight of copperas recovered may be judged from the quantity of vitriol consumed in pick- ling. Tinning.—The first essential of the tinning house is good ventilation. It communicates with other departments by a narrow-gauge track, and it has a good light and fairly large floor space upon which the cleaning and dusting machines may be conveniently placed without ob- struction. Brick hoods and chimneys (45 to 50 feet high) supported on girders are raised over each tin set or pair of tin sets, and fire grates and flues are built beneath and around thetin pots. An 18x 24 inch | high-speed automatic cut-off steam engine | drives a line of shafting (down the length |of the building) for running the dusting |machines, and communicates right and left by belting with two lines of 3-inch shafting exterior to the building, from each of which, by clutches and gearing, four tin sets are worked. A friction clutch is usually adopted at each tin set with the double object of relief in case of anything damaging entering the tinning rolls, or for throwing off a particular set callie. Belts, instead of clutches and! inch to 14-inch lead tube, through which | |coal grate and flues, as shown. gearing, are in use, but they are not by any means advisable, as they are subjected both to the fumes inside and the weather outside. These exterior shafts and gearing are protected by a light wood hood ora small lean-to buildiag. The tin required in the process comes chiefly from the Straits Settlements and from Cornwall; it fuses at a temperature of 232° and is found at the present day to be fairly uniform in quality. It is neces- sary to hold a stock considerable in value, as the works of which we are speaking will use about 6500 pounds per week. Each pot contains from 400 to 600 pounds of tin. The flux or medium for facilitating the coating operation by removing the moist- ure and completely deoxidizing the surface of the sheets may be palm oil, chloride of zinc and ammonia, bitartrate of potassa, ammonial alum, rosin, muriatic acid and zine, &c., &. A large number of such mediums may be used with success, but it is well known that good palm oil, though not so expedi- ent, makes the best plate. It is not so cheap as some of the chemical fluxes, but for the better class plates it is absolutely necessary to the perfection and permanence of the amalgam of tin and iron. Tallow and other greases, if clean, may be used, but the smell is very distressing and they are apt to contain a deleterious amount of water. Whatever the flux, it must be free above all from dirt and grit, for par- ticles of such matter adhere closely to the plate as it is plunged into the bath and are roiled into the substance of it. It is but a short time (1866) since More- wood, Saunders, Cookley and others added tin rolls and other improvements to the now obsolete tin sets. Since then, and especially within the last five years, a very ‘large number of improvements have been made, until at the present moment there is probably a distinct design of tin pot for every tin works in existence. Some of the more successful of these will be re- ferred to, but an idea of the ends that must be met and the faults to be avoided in carrying out the process, or designing a tin pot, cannot be better presented than by a short description of the original tinning process. The affinity of iron and tin is consider- able, and there is no doubt that at the actual point of contact there is an alloy or amalgam. It is this fact that makes the recovery of tin from scrap tin plate so diffi- cult, and, indeed, almost futile. That this amalgamation may be perfect, two conditions are necessary: The wet plate must be thoroughly dried without causing oxidation of its surface, and it must betoa certain extent hot. To facilitate this the tin worker immerses his plates in a heated vessel containing melted grease and leaves them there until the water is quite separated. This vessel was called the tinman’s pot; it is marked A in the accompanying fig- ures (Figs. 26 and 27) and is heated by a B was the tin pot, in which the tin was covered with 3 or 4 inches of grease in order to preserve the molten metal from oxidation. This oxidation was and is one of the most troublesome of the difficulties encountered, as the ‘‘ scruff” which forms on the sur- face attaches itself closely to the plate on immersion. The tin pot B gave only a partial coating, and the plates had then to be removed to the washing or dipping pot C whicn was divided into two com- partments filled with tin and covered with a layer of grease. The plates were soaked for some time in the larger com- partment and then taken out by the wash- man, wiped on both sides with a hemp brush on a table or hob, D, and to givea final polish and take away tie marks of the brush dipped momentarily in the second com- partment of the wash pot C. This con- tained the purest tin, and as it became | , , os) | & Ewe re = 6 cree es ee eg pee 7 —S2 > — es a One ett A pe : . * y >> _ eran — a Pa DIT 9 Se ae Mm «mw ‘sta i SO n= eS eget ze - ~ = le see’. eae as oe = > s aS ae ow ee >= ao daa ee gi : “* 1264 charged with iron it was removed into the first compartment and finally into the tin pot, where it was most ferruginous. The tin plates were then plunged into the grease pot E, where the superfluous meta! ran off and the plate was lowered the first stage in temperature in order to | prevent the tin cracking on the surface. Fig 28. The cold grease pot F lowered the temperature still more. A small wire or list of tin now ran along one edge of the plate, and to remove this it was dipped in the list pot G, containing a slight depth of molten tin, in which } inch ot the edge was immersed and the wire melted, when it was detached by asharp blow with a stick. In all this there was considerable labor, a small output and an unevenly coated plate with a thick edge. It was appar- ent that a pair of rollers at the surface of the wash pot, through which the dipped plate might emerge, would go a consider- able way to obviate all these objections, and upon this basis the Morewood pot has had a long and useful life. It is part of the unique position and conservatism of the Welsh tin-plate trade that until quite recently nothing has been done toward the design of a pot that could be worked with less labor than Morewood’s, whose patent after all was but a small advance upon the old method, although still largely carried on. The sheets, in order to oil them thoroughly and separately, are plunged one by one into a grease pot, soakei for a considerable time in the tin pot (the pack being continually opened and moved about with the tongs), taken out by the washman and plunged into the wash pot, the superfluous tin wiped off, dipped in clean tin, passed through the rollers in the second compartment of the wash pot, raised by means of a cradle, lever and second pair of rolls, and finally passed on to the scouring department. The labor is a washman and tinman at 6 cents each per box and a riser at 24 cents The flux, whether resin, chloride of zinc, or palm oil, as will be seen in a number of examples given later, is in- closed in a cast-iron box resting on the top of the tinning pot. free of dirt, grit and scruff (oxidized tin) that most trouble is encountered, and It isin keeping this there are a number of contrivances for at-! automatic sweeps or brushes, which skim THE IRON AGE. taining this object. As the greases or acid fluxes become heavily charged with water from the wet plates, and are always boil- ing, there is a decomposition of water going on at the surface of the metal which more or less oxidizes it. The rollers col- lect this scruff and the plates become dam- aged. Fig. 30. December 29, 1892 the surface immediately prior to the dip- ping of the plate. Morewood has sub- merged metallic rubbers or washers, which have a reciprocating or alternating move- ment, and really supply the place of hand brushing. A pair of rollers set at a dis- tance apart and revolving in the oppo- site direction to the metal rollers, if in Figs. 28 to 30.—THE MOREWOOD TINNING POT. The finishing rollers in the grease pot are sometimes run in troughs containing clean coating metal in the manner shown in several succeeding figures; or, as they revolve partially immersed in the grease, the rollers are scraped or cleaned by wire brushes. Many pots are provided with contact with the metal on their under sur- faces only, will serve to keep the scum back. The Morewood Set.—Fig. 28 is an end section of an ordinary five-roll Morewood set. The plates are dropped on to the crad and riser, and lifted in the well know way until they are nipped by the ascend December 29, 1892 THE IRON AGE. 1265 ing rollers. The bottom of the pot may be sloped as shown in order to facilitate the metal being run or pumped out. These pots necessarily have a limited production. They can be driven only at such a speed as will allow the proper in terval of immersion. Morewood, in the endeavor to give aconcinuous and more | rapid succession of plates with a fixed time of immersion, designed the grease pots shown in Figs. 29 and 30, the latter of which is simply a reduplication or doubling of the former. The idea is a double cradle, C, rocking automatically in such a way as to present a plate to the nip of the up-going rolls while receiving another from the shoulder § of the hang- | ing links L. The pot is filled nearly full of grease up to the bottom of the funnels communicating by tubes with the clean metal troughs, T, under the first pair of metal rolls. The links L are guided in Plate 3 is at its lowest point, and plate 4 at its highest. The Hall Pot.—Hamilton Hall’s pot is shown in Fig. 31. Superposed upon it is a flux box with two pairs of rollers work- ing in grease, and the foot of the box is immersed a few inches deep in the metal. At the bottom of the pot is a rocking shaft, O, carrying two or more slotted arms, L, with projections, the whole of which forms the cradle. Working in the slot of the cradle are pins, H, attached to the rising bars E, which have lifting fingers and projections, G, and are attached to the revolving crank D. At the top of the cradle or guide is a stop, M, which pre- vents the service of plates until the proper |moment. The plates are entered by the | guides U, and caught at the moment of descent by the fingers G, by which they are kept down until the movement of the crank pushes the cradle L over into the Fig. 31.—THE HALL TINNING POT, slots, and worked by rods, R, attached to either ends of a lever, A, rocked by an eccentric. There are always three plates immersed at the same time and the work- man cannot damage the pot by putting in a plate at the wrong moment, as the stops, B, will not permit him. Fig. 30 is a duplication of Fig. 29, which gives a longer dwell in the metal. There are two double cradles, C C, con- nected as before by rods to rocking levers. Fingers F F are operated by tappets attached to the lifting rods, and these move the plates into the nip of the rollers as the cradles rise. They also prevent another plate being served until the cra- dles are free to receive it. A four-roll set is shown on one side and a five-roll on the other simply to indicate the action in each case. In the figure the plate 1 is descend- ing, but suspended by the finger until the cradle has reached its lowest point. The cradle holding plate 2 is about to ascend. position in which it stands in the figure. The fingers now raise the plate off the ledges and lift it into the nip of the rollers. The nipping is facilitated by the projections at the back of the rods E, as they give a slight lift or kick on the pins K K. A box, T, containing round pellets of metal or grain tin, is interposed between the two pairs of rollers, and cer- tain kinds of plates are benefited by the passage through such an arrangement, which wipes and improves them in ap- pearance. This pot is very highly thought of by a large clientéle in South Wales. The Taylor and Struve Pot.—Taylor and Struvé have designed a successful pot which has many features of interest and ingenuity, and which improves upon Tay- lor and Leyshon’s design. It is shown in Figs. 32, 33 and 34, The crank A com- municates by a link with the bell crank B, which operates the rod C, by which the nipper D is actuated. The various links and levers have a number of varying pin holes by which the machine can be adapted to different sizes of plates. The throw of the hook D is increased by means of a rack on the nipple rod engaging with a tooth segment on the back of the hook, as shown in enlarged views in Figs. 35 and 36. The nippers are shown in position to receive the plate in Fig. 32. upon the driving wheel, as soon as the plate A segment has been dragged down by the nippers, en- gages with the tooth rack E, which runs on rollers and acts on the whole apparatus in such a way as to cant over the guide F and so direct the plate into the exit rol- lers NN. The rack is then withdrawn by means of a helical spring, plainly shown in the figures, and the guide F is returned on its release by the balance weight. When the plate has been pulled down, as in Fig. 33, far enough to pass under the grease box, the guide F is canted over against the cast-iron grid O, so as to bring the plate directly under the rolls, and the cradle is lifted. At this stage the lever G yields or dips so as to prevent bucking or injury to the edge of the plates in thrusting them into the nip of the rollers. Meanwhile the guide F has been returned to its first position. The driving wheels of the machine may be thrown out of gear by the lever T. These two last machines have some features in common. They both work very successfully, and all the operations, except that of actually feeding the plates are entirely mechanical. In each great rapidity is attained. ee A French Steamship Mobilization Trial. In France, as in other maritime nations, the idea has been generally accepted for some years past that in case of war mer- chant steamers of high speed, if of suitable size and construction, would prove useful adjuncts to the regular naval force and, as auxiliary cruisers or as armed transports, would be able to render valuable service in various ways. In accordance with this view, the building of such steamers for employment in the French mercantile ma- rine has been encouraged by the Govern- ment, and in some cases the guns and their carriages and fittings have been provided for particular steamers and stored away ready for use should the occasion arise. While a number of the faster vessels of the great French steamship companies are classed as ‘‘ auxiliary cruisers,” the length of time required to prepare, arm and equip such vessels for service would detract seriously from their value unless the work could be done expeditiously. Delay would be inevitable in the absence of any sys- tematic plan prepared in advance and tested, and developed by practical trial. This was illustrated several years ago when a merchant steamer which had been built at an earlier period in such a manner as to meet the prescribed naval require- ments was taken into the public service, fitted out and employed in auxiliary work connected with the French operations in Chinese waters. On that occasion it was found that considerable time was required to make the necessary preparations, as changes had to be made in the vessel and her fittings which resulted in months of delay. Since that time improved methods may have been devised for dealing with the question of the mobilization of French merchant steamers, or changing such of them as are classed as auxiliary cruisers from a peace to a war footing. But these later ideas, even if formulated, were not subjected to practical trial, because vessels engaged in commerce, and particularly fast steamers maintaining regular service under postal contracts, are not ordinarily —- 2 ERWY WAS OO eT i was 4 Md a: ea as £4 ee a eee ——- Se —~ — —— ——— eee . $ eo} : ’ - a tif f as Saad a ete, ail —— ee gi lili = a ; 2 2 " BNF 1266 THE IRON AGE. Devember 29, 1892 available for experimental tests connected with military problems. An opportunity having offered recently, however, for such work, advantage has been taken of it to carry out a mobiliza- The preparations being completed, the ‘‘ Normandie” proceeded to Cherbourg, where she arrived on November 17, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Her naval officers and crew of seamen and gunnery specialists, ‘went to sea, carrying a special naval board of inspection, and on November 21 ex- ecuted firing practice, which is reported, ac- cording to the French newspapers, to have been quite satisfactory. Fig. 32—Vertical Sectioa tion trial in the case of the ‘‘ Normandie,” a vessel belcnging to the Compagnie Gé- nérale Transatlantique, one of the two great companies which receive the greater portion of the steamship subsidies paid by France. The ‘* Normandie,” with a continuous sea speed of about 16 knots, is neither one of the festest nor one of the slowest of the fleet of this company, which, besides slower ones, possesses nearly 50 steamers having a sea speed of over 12 knots, and ranging in size from 550 to 9209 tons, gross measurement. Of these there are ten which are faster than the ‘‘ Norman. die,” an iron single-screw mail and pas senger steamer of 6283 tons, gross meas- urement, built in 1882, and having the following dimensions: Length, 459 feet; breadth, 49 feet; depth, 34 feet. The ‘*Normandie” is subdivided into ten watertight compartments and has a double bottom. The six cylinders of her 6000 horse-power compound-engines are arranged in the usual manner for vessels of her class, so that the three high-pres | sure cylinders are all above the water Jine, | each one being vertically over the corre sponding low pressure cylinder. Her steering geer, both hand and steam, being exposed and without protection, would be extremely liable to injury. Prior to receiving her armament the ‘* Normandie” was taken to one of the French naval arsenals, where all the light upper works incident to passenger service | were removed and other changes made, including the preparations necessary to fit ber for receiving her battery. ing this work, which took some time, les sons were doubtless learned which will| ber 19, at 9 o’clock in the morning, she| 1} inch caliber. Fig. 34.—Plan. Figs. 82 to 34.—THE TAYLOR & STRUVE POT. all of course detailed and in readiness be- : In execut- | forehand, went on board the next morning, | mandie ” consisted of seven 54-inch guns she received her battery, and on Novem The battery put on board the ‘‘ Nor- and a number of machine guns of about Of the former, two were prove useful in expediting similar work in | was ready to receive her stores and ammu- | mounted forward to command a direct fire the future, should occasion arise. : nition. These having been supplied, she! ahead as well as on both bows and abeam December 29, 1892 THE IRON AGE. 1267 on either side; one was placed aft so that The Lightning Center Grinder. | friction device has a shank that fits into it could fire directly astern, and the other the tool holder and makes that adjustable, four were fitted as broadside guns. The Pedrick & Ayerof Philadelphia recently | so that the desired position and amount of machine guns of the secondary battery placed on the market the center grinder, | friction are entirely under the control of were mounted at suitable points about|of which we present engravings. The! the operator. When other angles than 60° the upper decks. It has been suggested that this vessel might now be attached to one of the regu- Jar naval squadrons for a time with ad- a vantage, but it is doubtful whether such a ) step will be taken at present. The trial which has been carried out | dealt with the individual vessel and her — preparation for service, but threw no light on the question of what function could be most successfully assigned to such vessels in time of war. That they will be able to render valuable service of a secondary order is certain, but their vulnerability is Fig. 1.—Grinder in Position on Lathe. Fig. 35.—Plan of Nippers. - - wae, MMA Fig. 36.—Enlarged View of Nippers. so great as to preclude their assuming with | any prospect of success the mission of the | regular naval vessel specially built for the | purpose of fighting other armed vessels. | ee Consul Newell in Nicaragua writes that | Matagulpa in that Republic is fast becom- | ing an important coffee growing region. | There are now under cultivation there| 5,000,000 trees, capable of yielding from | 1 to 5 pounds per annum—the latter in| rare instances—and two years hence the | country will have for exportation 25,000 | tons of coffee. The Government gives a} premium to immigrants who plant coffee | trees, but Mr. Newell advises no one to engage in coffee culture who has less than | $3000 to $4000 capital. Commodore Folger, chief of the naval THE LIGHTNING CENTER GRINDER. ordnance, is reported to favor the con- struction of a 16-inch gun, 5114 inches in length, weighing 246,800 pounds, and | angular clamp, with set screw and fol-| are required it can be readily changed. capable of throwing a ton missile 16 miles. | lower, is clamped to the tail-stock spin-| With the slotted handle the operator The cost would be about $120,500. Chief | dle; that locates the machine exactly in| moves the wheel over the center back and Folger’s resignation on account of ili place, and by screwingin or out regulates | forth, the speed being rapid and under health will take effect January 2. ‘the cnt to be taken with the wheel. The! perfect control. Fig. 2.—Grinder Detached. RSS a es ‘ j : ene eee te de aon ghere —_ir- mw B MELE he 1268 THE IRON AGE. The Conradson Lathe.—Il. (Continued from page 1208.) The several details of construction of the lathe are plainly shown in the several working drawings here presented. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, the upper half of the head being shown in vertical section on the central line of the spindle. The hoilow spindle is made with a solid flange in place of the usual screw for at The flange is taching the face plate, &c. Fig. 4.--Sectional Side Elevation. Fig. 7.—Plan View of recessed to receive a corresponding boss on the face plate for bringing the latter truly central. At the outer end of the spindle is the pinion for driving the feed gearing. The bearings in the head cast- ing for carrying the journal boxes of the spindle are bored taper, the boxes being turned to fit and are split longitudinally and held in place by large ring nuts at each end, the latter also serving for effect- ing the adjustment. A vulcanized fiber washer is inserted between spindle flange and box nut for the purpose of receiving the heavy thrust from forming tools used in turret. In the sectional por- tion of the drawing is shown the de- vice for engaging and releasing the -_ December 29, 1899 cone and back gearing. Referring to Fig. 3 (see The Iron Age of last week) there will be seen a vertical handle be- tween the large gear and the cone pulley ; and in Fig. 4 are shown the details of the operating device. The action of the de- vice is instantaneous, as, by one motion of a lever, aclutch engages and locks the gear to the spindle, a second clutch re- leasing the cone at the same time. These motions are reversed by moving the lever in the opposite direction. As the head is cast solid with the bed of the machine, it is of the utmost impor- Turret. THE CONRADSON LATHE, tance that the spindle and gear shaft bear- ings be bored perfectly in line with the ways, as there is no after adjustment pos- sible. For this purpose, the casting, after leaving the planer, is placed in a jig box of cast iron, made large enough to hold the entire lathe casting, and very heavy, to prevent springing. In this jig are bushed bearings for carrying the boring bars—the bearings, of course, being very accurately bored with relation to certain planed surfaces, upon and by which the lathe casting is set. It is then bolted securely in place, after adjustment by the ways, and all bearing holes are bored at the one setting—thus securing accuracy— not only of bored with planed bearings, but absolute uniformity, one lathe with another. Of course each size of machine requires a separate jig box. The many juoctions of the machine, to enable it to automatically perform the large variety of work for which it is de- signed, necessarily involve the use of a comparatively large number of parts. As even with the most minute detailed de- scription a careful study of the several drawings presented would be necessary in order to obtain a clear understanding of the subject, and as all essential parts are plainly shown, the constructive description may be omitted as superfluous and the operation (or more correctly mavipulation) only described. Referring to Figs. 8, 9 and 10, by revolving the spider 8 in direction of the arrow, Fig. 10, and through shaft s and bevel gears 7 and 7, we transmit the motion to the nut m on the triple-thread feed screw G, The screw being left-hand thread will therefore cause the nut to move to the left, and as the Fig. 6.—End Elevation of Turret. latter is carried in a bearing, 7, attached to an apron of the turret carriage, it causes & movement of the turret in the same direc- tion or toward the lathe head. By this ar- rangement the usual rack and pinion motion is dispensed with, as the screw answers for both hand and automatic feeds. Having moved the turret into proper position and started the cut, the handle lever ¢ is thrown upward to position show