The Iron Age 1893-04-20: Vol 51

Bement, Miles & Co.’s 48-inch Slotting Machine. The 48 inch slotting machine, built by Bement, Miles & Co. of Philadelphia, is driven by reversing pulleys through a train of powerful gearing to a rack on the cutting bar, giving a uniform downward stroke, variable in length up to 51 inches, and vertically adjustable to any required position, witha return motion of three times the downward speed. The belt shifter is provided with an automatic brake for overcoming the momentum of the cut- ting bar, and has a hand lever by which the operator can accurately arrest the mo- tion of the bar at any desired point of its stroke. The bar is counterbalanced, and, on account of its long movement and range of adjustment, is supported in a movable bearing. The distance from the frame to the front of the bar is 44 inches. The tool-lifting apron may be arranged to operate automatically, if desired, and may be secured to the cutting bar when there is no necessity for its use. The feeds are sitive, variable, and self acting in all irections, operating at the top of the stroke, and are so arranged that all can be controlled by the workman from one posi- BEMENT, tion. The compound tables have an ad- justment of 60 inches in each direction by hand by automatic feeds, or rapidly by power, and support a revolving rectangular table 54 inches in diameter (68 inches across the corners), which may be fixed in osition by corner clamps when the circu- ar feed is not in use. i os A Western mining journal states that plans are in course of execution for trans- mitting the power of the Snoqualmie Falls THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1898. IRON AGE to the city of Seattle, and utilizing it for running the machinery of the capital of Washington State. Snoqualmie Falls are formed by the descent of the Snoqualmie River over a precipice 268 feet high into a gorge which broadens out into a fertile valley. The falls are 55 miles from Seattle i} ,- | i HI } d ij WIL 5 j I ) His ! ) vf . mM f } , “ A i uf is) | ft * iM HH - i a ) ; : = i } ‘ WH y 4. Uy MILES by the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Rail- road, but in a straight line they are but 18 miles distant. They are one of the favor- ite Puget Sound pleasure resorts. Wealthy local magnates are said to have joined in the project and to have acquired the land on either side of the falls for the purpose of erecting the necessary works. The initial plant, which, it is said, will be in operation within six months, will generate 5000 horse-power. Although the capacity of the falls varies according to the vol- ume of water in the river, it is declared that even when it is at its lowest, in mid- summer, enough power will be obtainable to turn every wheel in Seattle, and to sup- ply light and heat when the city shall ave grown to ten times its present size. It is also intended to utilize the power for the hoisting engines of neighboring coal & CO.’S 48-INCH SLOTTING MACHINE, mines, haulage of logs in the forest and even for lighting the farm houses along the route of the cable. ——$—— At a meeting held by the committee ap- pointed to inquire into the most suitable site for the great International Exhibition to be held in Paris in the year 1900, the Champs de Mars was chosen. It is pro- posed that all the fetes and grand demon- strations shall be held in the neighboring wood of Vincennes. Preparations are al- h + . \ FRFEE. ‘Gece +f, He bi LIL wv ‘of: S ##4 Pe: Ap he! * * ; Sh etd pee Sno aut Tg eat caine LI aaah. LF F ie ae i .. if TR ee ood a ‘ me &: - ee » 890 ready actively going on for this exhibition, which is to bring the nineteenth century to an end in a blaze of glory for the Paris- ians, provided nothing in the nature of a revolution, or other inconvenient incident, occurs meanwhile to distub their plans. i —— Merchant Cruisers and Government Subsidies. At the meeting of the Institution of Naval Architects held recently in England an important paper on ‘‘ Merchant Cruis ers,” considered with reference to the policy of maintaining a reserve of vessels by the payment of Government subven- tions, was read by Lord Brassey, the president elect of the society. Lord Brassey’s thorough familiarity with naval and maritime matters is universally recog- nized. The ‘‘ Naval Annual,” bearin his name, is regarded as a standar authority. He is an expert, practical navigator, was formerly a member of the Admiralty Board, and after the Liberal j party came into power Jast year his ap- pointment as First Lord of the Admiralty was for atime regarded as not improbable. His views on any subject connected with nautical affairs are at least worthy of care- ful consideration. Without entering here into a discussion of the merits of the question, it may be stated in general terms that Lord Brassey believes the system of paying subsidies, in one form or another, with a view to the establishment and maintenance of lines of steamships of the highest class, to be so firmly established by the practice of maritime nations that even British ship- owners, if deprived of Government aid, would find it impossible to compete with vessels under fureign flags in such com- merce as tends to the development of steamships suitable for employment in time of war as auxiliary armed cruisers. While Lord Brassey admits that mail steamships, which have large hatchways and are not protected by armored decks and by minute subdivision into compart- ments, can never be a match for regular. built vessels of war, yet he claims that for certain services mercantile auxiliaries would be absolutely invaluable. He holds, therefore, that it is essential for Great Britain to adhere to the policy of paying Admiralty subventions, and even suggests that in addition to such payments it may be necessary in the future to increase the subsidies now in force for the conveyance of mails under the British flag. In sup- porting his position, Lord Brassey presents an array of statistics and data of much interest. The tonnage owned by Great Britain includes 9506 sailing vessels, collectively measuring. 3 602,546 tons, and 45588 steamers, of 8 912,522 tons. The United States, coming next in sailing tonnage, can show 3428 versels of this class, aggre- gating 1,166,963 tons. Germany, which stands second in steam tonnage, owns 765 steamers, aggregating 1,091,472 tons. Broadly, it may be said that England owns half the mercantile tonnage of the world. Considering more in detail the ships which would assume a new importance in time of war, and which in peace serve for the con- veyance of mails and passengers, it is stated that according to the latest returns published by the Bureau Veritas the merchunt navies of the world possess 45 steamers, each exceeding 6000 tons Of these 10 are French, 1 is Belgian, 7 are German and 27 are English. Of the 10 largest steamships of the: world 7 are British. Of the 14 ocean steamers of 19 knots speed and above engaged in the Atlantic trade 6 are British, 5 are Ger- man, 2 vow belong to the United States and 1 flies the French flag. “Lord Bras sey expresses the opinion that, owing to the large subsidies they enjoy, mail steam- THE IRON AGE. ers sailing under other flags are running a closer race every year with British lines of ocean steamers. The subsidies paid annually for ocean mail service conducted under their national flag by leading maritime nations are as follows: PD ios ive inde canceeneseeeeeee $5,071,000 IN. vc snmhints ec cethmunnadaehe 4,860, OE SPREE AS! 2,187,000 tae a 1,944,000 Ny CR onacccsonnanben obates 3,232,000 The total annual foreign trade of these nations may be stated approximately as follows: POD i scne asec asetasenentenken $1,458,000,000 SN oon kcbccactecetuaeetes 1,521 ,000,000 cise knock bubs beh hs ounces 539,000,000 DN ciinbebcxacknscansebekabuahy 885,000,000 ee re 8,596,000 ,000 In addition to the payments under the | mail contracts bounties are paid in several countries both for the construction of ships and in the form of mileage subsidies. The bounties paid by the French Govern- ment from 1881 to 1890, for the encourage: ment of navigation averaged about $1,448, - 000 a year. The bounty-earning services extend to the Brazils, the River Plate, New York, China and the Pacific. A feature of the bounty system which com- mends it particularly to French naval officers is that in calling into existence a large number of steamers a means is af- forded of supplying the navy with skilled firemen, who cannot be obtained from the maritime conscription, recruited mainly from fishermen. A policy of bounties on construction has been adopted in Italy, the amount b pe on the gross measurement of iron and steel vessels built in Italy being $9.72 per ton, with an additional premium on steamers having over 14 knots speed. The leading lines of steamships under European flags are enumerated in the fol- lowing list: No. of Aggre- Name of Company. Steamers. gate tons. Es os cicsbndeneces 103 240,000 Peninsular & Oriental....... 36 216,000 Messageries Maritimes.... . 61 202,000 North German Lloyd........ 66 197,000 Navigazione Generale........ 106 170,000 Compagnie Générale Transat- EE 5 cennbdessene 000s 167,000 Hamburg American......... 86 165.000 EAP eis «645548 rs 9 anniek 86 158.000 Austrian Lloyd’s............ 73 128,000 ss + cnet sscanenkas 20 96,000 err ee 26 86,000 Of these lines there are two, the British India and the Wilson, both under the British flag, which receive little or no Government aid; but it is worthy of note that neither of them has vessels of the high speed essential for armed cruisers. The Peninsular & Oriental Company re. ceive, under contracts with the British Government, $1,652,000 annually. Sub- sidies are paid by the French Government to the Messageries Maritimes Company of $2,692,000 a year, and to the Compagnie | Générale Transatlantique of $2,169,000 a) vear. Under the German flag are the North German L)oyd, receiving subsidies amount- ing to $1,069.000 annually, for services | extending to Shanghai, Australia and all parts of the Mediterranean, with speeds on the Eastern routes not exceeding 12. knots, and the Hamburg American Com pany, receiving a subsidy based on services | rendered, but the exact amount of which | is not stated. The Navigazione Generale, under the Italian flag, receives subsidies | amounting to $1,846,000 a year. The subsidies paid the Austrian Lloyd aggre gite $632,000. The White Star and the Cunard companies receive Admiralty sub- ventions, and alsoreceive pay for mail service under their contracts. The ‘* Teutonic’ and the ‘*Majestic” each receive on the average, per voyage, a little over $3000 | from the Admiralty and nearly $5000 from the British post office authorities. Since their transfer to the American flag the ‘* Paris” and the ‘‘New York” of the new American line should each receive April 20, 1898 under their present mail contract, accord- ing to Lord Brassey’s estimate, about $12,000 per voyage; but it is stipulated ‘that their owners shall have additional vessels of high speed built in the United | States. The concluding portion of Lord Bras- sey’s paper presents the view that the 000 | policy which he advocates tends to im- prove the means of communication be- tween the British colonies and the mother country, thereby leading to a closer union, a result which he regards as of the utmost importance. RR ‘The Taussig System of Smelting and Casting Metals. The Taussig system of smelting and casting metals in exhausted chambers. to 'which we referred in a note lately, was explained recently at Sheffield, England, | by George A. Pogson, British Vice-Consul _at Hamburg, to a number of persons in- ‘terested in the subject. According to a ‘report in a Sheffield journal, we glean the | following description of the iron furnace ‘seen by Mr. Pogson at Professor Taussig’s works at Bahrenfeld, which consisted of & | rectangular vessel 6 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. Two electrodes, apparently of wrought iron, were placed upright inside the furnace so that their surfaces of 8 inches by 4 inches faced the arc-shaped piece of iron which was to be fused; a channel of clay served the purpose of conducting the fused metal from its \clay melting bed into the empty clay -mold of a model propeller, the mold in | question being placed at a lower point in |the otherwise empty iron furnace. The wires connecting the flat metal electrodes. with the generating machinery were already ‘in position, as was also the exhaust pipe connecting the furnace with a steam air pump of about 20 horse power, which also drove the dynamos. The 80 pounds of pig iron in the clay bed having been | placed parallel with, but a few incbes in | Front of, the flat electrodes, the cover of the oven was swung on, the necessary ex- clusion of external air being effected by india rubber pads fastened to the furnace cover. Punctually at noon the cover was fastened down and the pump set working, the currents being switched on at the same moment, The indicator or exhaust pump soon showed an exhaustion of 92 per cent. of air. The electric indicators showed respectively 2500 to 3000 amperes and 2 to 24 volts. The gradual approach from red to white heat could be followed from the eyelets in the furnace. Fusion was ob- tained at about 12.8, the indicators show- ing great unsteadiness until the resistance had been reduced to nil by the current a allowed to pass freely through the fused metal. At 12.14 the furnace was opened and a minute or two later the clay was being chipped off and the perfect cast |of a propeller was exposed to view. It is stated that the expenditure of coal 'in this process is at most but 50 per cent. ‘of that necessitated by the most perfect system at present in use. It is alsoclaimed that by the use of metallic electrodes all contamination of metal by carbon is abso- lutely avoided, and oxidation and creation of air bubbles are, it is contended, by this new method of smelting in a vacuum, also avoided. Bronze, iron, steel, copper, brass, zinc, platinum, gold and silver have been successfully cast free from pores and bubbles by the Taussig process, the average expenditure of coal being 360 hundredweight per 1000 hundredweight of finished cast metal. It is stated that numerous samples of these castings have been tested in the proof rooms of the Royal Technical School at Charlottenburg, near Berlin, and the Gov- ernment reports of the tests show the most satisfactory results. April 20, 1893 The, Tebbetts Rolled Forging Machine. Until a comparatively recent date roll forgings have been made almost exclu- sively by means of a typ: of machine which carries a pair of straight dies forward and back without deviation to the right or left. Such machines are limited in their rate of production for the evident reason that considerable time is lost during the mecessarily idle return motion of the dies. THE IRON AGE. 891 still just as traly in a straight live as be- fore. Again, in a machine of that de- scription, the dies travel past each other at different speeds, for one is on the outer edge of a disk and the other on the inner surface of what is practically a hoop. Thus the latter progresses at a higher rate of speed than the former, an action which tends toward an uneven working of the metal. It is not generally known that there is a machine that aims to overcome these Fig. 1.—Plan of Dies. -_ . a? y woeer® f THE Forging with straight dies is open to another objection which becomes most ‘serious when small articles are being rolled. We refer to the tendency to form 8 more or less hollow product. In forging steel balls for bearings this evil is an especially grave matter, as the after proc ess of grinding and hardening (not to speak of uniform wear in the bearings) is dependent for success upon having forg- ings of perfect homogeneousness. It is possible to increase the producing capac ity of a straight-die machine by mounting the dies upon the edges of two properly arranged disks. But even when thus dis- posed they are liable to make the product hollow, because the motion of the dies is Fig. 2. —The Tebbetis Rolled Forging Machine. TEBBETTS ROLLED FORGING faults, a roll-forging machine which em- bodies a principle differing radically from that of other machines. This principle was fully covered by patents several years ago, and it would at the present time be more largely applied to commercial work had not much time been necessarily spent in perfecting the details of the apparatus and in developing it toa point when it should be ready to cope with practical daily work. This improved process is the invention of C. F. Tebbetts and is now under new management. The Enterprise Mfg. Com- pany of 17 Milk street, Boston, Mass., are at present in control of the business and have established a number of roll forging , machines in a well equipped factory which has been located at South Framingham, Mass., in order to take advantage of the water gas to be obtained there. It supplies them with fuel for heating the rods, with power and with hght. Although but recently established, the company already have several of their machines constantly at work filling orders. Incidentally it may be stated that the business of the Enter- prise Mfg. Company is not to sell machines, but to manufacture roll-forgings of every description. Thiscompany have, however, the entire control of the patents, and the roll-forging business under this process will be conducted exclusively by them. Many articles which are now being drop- forged could be more cheaply made and of a better quality, by this method. From the nature of the process, it is confined to the production of articles of a circular, or nearly circular, cross section. By means of special dies such shapes as hexagon- head cap-screws, piano pins, &c., can be successfully rolled. The accompanying diagram and view in perspective are self-explanatory. Fig. 1 represents the outlines of three sets of dies as they lie upon the circular tables. One set isin a position as if just inning to roll an article from the extremity of the bar shown, which is guided into position | by suitable rests. MACHINE. The peculiar features of these dies are that they are curved laterally and are moved in separately centered circles. The resulting advantages are that hollow or ‘ piped” product is not formed by the dies, which also co operate in such a way as to prevent the bar from sliding out of position. With laterally curved dies, the effect is to crowd the plastic material always toward the center of the article being rolled. That this actually does take place has been proved by the fact that among the mill- ions of forgings that have been rolled by curved dies there bas not been found a single hollow or piped specimen. An- other advantage is the freedom from ‘*cold-shuts” or undesirable lappings of 1 a Aids a Sn wy Z 892 THE IRON AGE. April 20, 1893 couled metal, and still another is the strengthening and toughening of the and even the windows have iron sashes. There are two tinning stacks with brick The Burtis Ammonia Valve. aden metal. |hoods. One of these stacks is fitted with } ; if. ee. The machine as at present constructed | what is claimed to be the largest pot in the} The Burtis valve has been designed it is represented in Fig. 2, which, by the|country. It is a Phillips pot, built 20| especially for the purpose of satisfactorily :) bea way, shows only one set of the dies in | inches wider than the standard, and will | meeting the demands of all kinds of am- . “Bie Bit: Ye) 7 x ¥ } : » *, 7% \ sy \ Pie or hpi oe 2 Jgfhem oe teow, Pe le ae = oe at I a Pe FES. a. ae Ue e”)6)h Coals Sbmh : vk bn tPF ad, < gee Ft game LAPD th a. Each of the two iron tables is | riven by a pinion engaging with a crown beveled gear which forms part of the table itself. Beveled rollers at the proper points relieve bearings and gears of all unnecessary strain. The upper table can be raised or lowered to suit the various thicknesses of product and dies. The rate of production of this machine is high, because there are never less than three sets of dies used on the tables, which revolve once every three seconds. There- fore, the theoretical daily production is 36,000. In practice a day’s work is 25,000 articles, because a certain amount of time is lost in feeding the rods into the ma chines. When very small articles are rolled, such as bicycle balls, lumbermen’s boot-calks, &c., five sets of dies are used per machine, increasing the actual daily output to 40,000. In certain cases it is take a sheet 50 x 23 inches. The other stack has five separate dipping pots or ket- tles, and is of special construction to suit the class of work done by the company. Another brick building, from 75 to 100 | feet long, will shortly be erected as a wing to the main building. The ground floor will be used for storing raw material and the upper floor will be devoted to special work. The tract owned by the company com- prises 10 acres, thus giving them ample room for expansion. It is situated in an angle formed by the crossing of the Wabash and Calumet Terminal railroads. Side tracks run into the grounds bet ween the buildings, all of which have been built so that their first floors are on a level with freight-car floors, for convenience in receiving and shipping freight. The Calu- met Terminal Railroad being a belt line, even possible to deuble that production | connection is thus made with all the roads by employing special dies, each pair roll- | ing two articles simultaneously. A large variety of work can be rolled by this process, and the metal may be iron, | steel, copper or brass. It has been found that in many instances a lower grade of | steel can be used to make certain articles than would be permissible were it turned | from the bar ina lathe. This is accounted | for by the fact that the characteristic |, action of curved dies is to knit together | the fibers of the metal, thus increasing its | tenacity. | | } | } The Burn Stamping & Mfg. Company. | An admirably designed plant for the manufacture of milk cans has just been | completed by the Burn Stamping & Mfg. | Company at Chicago Ridge, 16 miles | south of Chicago. The main building of | the works is a very substantial four-story | structure, 200 x 48 feet, with high ceilings | and numerous windows. Immediately joining, but separated by a fire wall, are | the boiler and engine room and an anneal. | ing house. Completely detached from all other buildings is a tinning house. A noteworthy peculiarity of the com pany’s methods is that they receive all their material in block sheets and do their own tinning, which they find much more satisfactory than to buy tinned stock. The | sheets used are of Nos. 18 and 20, as milk | cans require unusually heavy tin plate to | withstand the rough treatment which they receive. The first floor of the main build- | ing is devoted to the heaviest machinery, consisting of stamping presses, welding rolls, squaring shears and a full equip- ment of tools for making dies. A number of special machines of the company’s own design are used for some of the processes through which the material passes. The second and third floors are used for mak- ing up milk cans. Tinners’ benches ex tend around the walls and along the center. A gas plaot is being i d =| + dane reba on, So ge yond caps _enable them to meet a demand which is ufacture of gas for both il.uminating and soldering. The fourth floor i . S Ye SS Employment is given to between 150 and the] storage of made-up cans. A large freight elevator serves all floors. The ma- running into Chicago, which insures ship- ping facilities of the best character. sa eas pon (LMM ego — = ee LJ We THE BURTIS AMMONIA The leading officers of the company have had long experience with other con- cerns in the manufacture of the same class of goods, and are therefore under- taking no experiment. It is their inten- tion to manufacture all kinds of milk cans to meet the requirements of this | class of trade in any section of the coun- try from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Every city uses a special pattern of milk 'can, and local preferences must be faith- fully adheared to in order to secure such trade. While milk cans will constitute the bulk of the company’s business, they will also be prepared to do work for those who want special dies made or other work in related lines. Their equipment of machine tools was carefully selected to rapidly growing in and about Chicago. /200 hands. W. P. Ketcham is president of monia work, It is provided with a lead seat, which is firmly dovetailed into the body of the valve. Any scale or foreign matter settling on the valve seat is pressed into the lead, when the valve plug is screwed down to its seat, and will not prevent the valve from closing perfectly tight. Thelead seat also prevents oxida- tion and corrosion when in contact with the iron valve plug. The valve conse- quently will always remain tight and start easily from the seat without regard to the length of time it has been closed. Since the valve plug does not revolve with the screw in closing, but is brought down squarely and firmly, the danger of cutting the seat is avoided. The stuffing box is provided with a lead packing ring, which, by means of the jam nut handle, is firmly pressed against the screw, forming a tight joint, which does not require repacking. Each valve is arranged with a union end in order that it can be easily and conveniently connected or disconnected to pipe or ap- <I = i) et 3 | d Po Le) | ) MM LL LL GLitit) Ua ad VALVE. paratus. The threaded pipe-ends of the valve are counterbored to receive a pure rubber packing ring and gland, which form an effective and perfect joint. The opening of each valve has the full area of its respective pipe size. The valves, which are manufactured by Morse Burtis of 52 John street, New York, are tested before leaving the works. —— Dr. Peters, the well known American engineer, has recently visited the Mount Lyell copper mine in Australia, and re- ports the cupriferous deposit to be the second largest in the world, the Spanish Rio Tinto being its only rival. Mining plant and machinery for opening up the mineral beds are being installed, and a railway is to be at once constructed to connect Mount Lyell with Strahan, the nearest large town. chinery is run by a 65 horse-power Hamil. | the company, John T. Dale vice-president, ton-Corliss engine. Water is pumped at| W- 8. Burn general manager and superin-| The Columbian Steamship Company, in the rate of 50 gallons per minute from a|*endent, W. H. Burn secretary and M. J. | connection with the Panama Railway and 110-foot artesian well to a tank on the| Higley treasurer. The Chicago office and | the North American Navigation Company, roof, whence it is distributed through the _salesroom are located at 66 Lake street. | have issued a new tariff on west-bound building. The annealing furnaces are lo- | pocipee shipments, affecting several hundred kinds cated in a fire-proof compartment and are| The old locomotive, John Bull, built in| of manufactured goods. The new rates of large size. England in 1831, was taken out for an air- | are very much lower than have been here- The tinning house is a typical Welsh ling on the Pennsylvania Railroad and after | tofore in force either by rail or isthmus ey It is thoroughly fire proof, built of | a satisfactory trial was pronounced not too} and present a reduction of from 40 to 76 rick and iron. The roof is constructed | decrepit to run across the continent as far} per cent. from the latest reduction in rail rates. are _ SAE i of I beams, with brick arched between, ‘as Chicago. April 20, 1893 THE IRON AGE. 893 The Nau Method of Casting Sound Ingots, When steel is poured in a mold and left to solidify in the open air, the metal in contact with the bottom and the walls of the mold solidify first, which is soon followed by the solidification of the upper surface. The immediate result is that a metallic mass is obtained with an outside solidified envelope and an inner liquid portion. After further cooling, this inner portion becomes solidified at its turn, and by contraction gives rise to the hollow space which is found in every ingot a little below the upper surface, thereby consti- tuting a block of metal of unsound character. In order to avoid this defect, the metal should cool and solidify gradually, and in such a manner that solidification sets in first at the bottom of the ingot, and then proceeds gradually and successively to the In order to obtain these results the fol- lowing method has been devised and pat- ented by J. B. Nau of Allegheny, Pa. The accompanying illustration shows the general arrangement. Instead of teeming the steel, as is done in the ordinary prac- tice, into molds, the steel ladle with its contents is brought over a heating furnace of which the bottom is left out entirely, and in its place has a mold of sufficient capacity to receive all the steel contained in the ladle. This mold is mounted on a car, which can be raised or lowered by means of hydraulic machinery located in the foundation of the furnace. It is lined inside with refractory material of sufficient thickness to prevent a too rapid cooling of its contents. The outer iron casing of | which the mold is made, presents at its lower part a double shell, which is largest at the base and decreases to nothing at its upper point. The bottom of the mold, which may be lined also with refractory material, is a cast-iron plate with a coil of THE NAU upper regions, which must be the last to solidify. This manner of solidifying the metal will naturally prevent not only the formations of a hollow space in the upper part of the ingots, but even the blow holes that are generally found in the ordinarily cast ingots will largely be avoided. These blow holes are considered as resulting from the setting free of gases contained and dissolved in the liquid metal. When the metal solidifies first in the lower region, and when solidification proceeds in an ascending way, the gases first set free in the lower part of the ingot rise at once to the liquid region above, and by the time that complete solidification has set in, the gases have escaped in the oper air. The same may be said of the hollow space found in ordinarily cast ingots. If so- lidification takes place in an ascending way this hollow space will be avoided, for the reason that the liquid metal on top of the last solidified region would at once pour into the hollow space that might form in the center of this region. This dually ascending solidification can be obtained by having the upper sur- face of the metal ex to a high tem- ayant while the lower part of the metal exposed to a lower temperature. Sa Sake elt SRE METHOD OF CASTING SOUND pipes inside. This coil, as well as the double shell at the lower part of the mold, is arranged to admit of the circulation of water to cool the lower part of the ingot. The operation is as follows: The mold, after having been raised ia the furnace, is heated up toa suitable temperature. The metal is then cast through a hole in the roof of the furnace. The temperature in- side is kept high during the casting as well as afterward in order to keep the upper regions of the ingot liquid, while its lower part is made to solidify by means of the circulation of cold water. If found necessary, the mold can be lowered grad. ually in order to increase the cooling effect at the bottom, while the upper surface re- mains exposed to the intense temperature of the furnace. By these means it will be made possible to obtain the solidification of the ingot in an ascending way and to avoid the formation of a hollow space in the upper region. A sound ingot will be the result. Of course these means of cast- ing can only be used when heavy ingots are required, as in the manufacture of armor plate, for instance. The solidification can be obtained in two different ways. The metal can be made to cool rapidly upward, and segregation ot the non-metallic elements will be avoided to the same extent as it is obtained in the ordinary manner of teeming. Or the mass can be made to solidify slowly m an 4&s- cending way, and egation of the non- metallic elements will be fostered. An ingot of heterogeneous character, contain- ing more carbon in the upper than in the lower region, wil: be obtained, This will be of great importance inthe manufacture of armor plates, because it will admit of producing an ingot with more carbon on one than on the other side. Another advantage, however, that may be derived from this method is the facility with which ingots with different physical characters and different chemical com- positions on the opposite ends can be ob- tained. When the ingot has been solidified to acertain hight, and before the upper region has passed from the liquid to the solid state, a new addition of different composition and different nature canjbe made on top. INGOTS. The block of metal thus obtained, trans- formed later by means of hammering of rolling into a plate, will furnish a finished compound product, while the particular method of casting will largely contribute to avoid the blow holes and eliminate the danger of a hollow space. The all-steel plates obtained thereby, in an easy manner and after a very short time, will be sound, without presenting the defects that are met with in the com- pound-armor plates, defects resulting, without exception, not only from a bad weld between the two metals used, but also from hollow spaces found at the con- tact between the two metals. xipnsssicasililil ta ascii The contract for 25,000 tons of iron pipe has been awarded by the water com- missioners of Manchester, N. H., to the Warren Foundry & Machine Company, Phillipsburgh, N.J., at $26.60 per ton. There were four bids received, ranging from $26.60 to $26.90 per ton. The post office telegraphs in England were worked in 1892 at a loss of £389, 167. The aggregate loss sustained in working the telegraphs since their acquisition by the Government in 1870 is £4,463,686. ad a 4a x OO OT Zz aeaea al wt LAI ae BEE — LT meee oS LI” Cer wer es % d 2D 3 ws, r he \ \ % Ry 894 THE IRON AGE. April 20, 1898 The Mesta Patent Automatic Pickling Machine. ™ The first machine of this type was de- signed by Geo. Mesta of the Leechburg Foundry & Machine Company over a year ago, and was patented on October 18, 1892. The original machine, which was built by the above company, was placed in the tin plate works of Wallace, Ban- field & Co., Limited, over a year ago, and has been in successful operation ever since, contain the acid pickling fluid. H is a done by hand, as it is revolved on steam vat constructed in the same way contain- ing water to wash the plates after they come out of the pickling fluid. K is a piston valve through which steam is trans- mitted to operate the plunger C in the cylinder A. When the machine is in the position shown in the elevation, the plunger which carries the cross arms and crates can be given a vertical automatic motion of about 10 to 12 inches, thus giving the crates which contain the plates to be pickled and washed a vertical motion in y oO rQ mm as a &. mo —_——_ fo — || | ee TTT : i ‘wsocfR ORE mwem. oS oS U [ TED Os ws a \S tf CS Ho 1s a0 4 | p Om i A al.| LAW it it ' | | Ii | Fig. 1.—Elevation. THE MESTA PATENT AUTOMATIC PICKLING pickling about 30 tonsyof plate per day. Recently the same company gave an order for another machine of this type, and with the two machines they are now pickling the total product of their extensive sheet- mill plant at Irondale, Ohio. During the past year these machines have been placed in many of the latest American tin-plate works. The largest improved machine is illustrated in the ac companying illustration, in which A rep resents a vertical cylinder supported by the base B, C the plunger or piston sup- porting the arms D, to which. the crates are attached for carrying thé plates to be pickled. G is a vat built up of pine strips ,1 inch thick by 6 inches wide, to and out of the washing fluids at the rate of from 40 to 50 strokes per minute, After being agitated in this manner from five to ten minutes, the plates in the acid vat are thoroughly pickled and the plates in the water vat are thoroughly washed. By means of the hand lever shown on the valve, the plunger can be changed from a short automatic stroke to the long stroke, the full length of the cylinder, which is about 54 inches, thus raising the crates containing the plates out of the washing fluids and above the sides of the vats. Before this is done, however, a third crate is attached to the empty arm, containing a new lot of plates to be pickled; then by revolving the plunger, which can easily be which is holding it up in its position, thus reducing the friction to a minimum, the crates, cross arms and plunger are revolved to such a position that the third crate is directly over the acid vat; the crate which was in the acid vat would then be directly over the water vat, and the crate which came out of the water vat would be di- rectly over the track, on which is a truck to receive the washed plates. The plunger is then again lowered and put into the other motion to pickle and wash the plates WS 2°INLET PIPE BD 2 EXHAUST PIPE MACHINE. which are now in the pickling vat and water vat. This operation is continually repeated. The crates to contain the plates are of a new design, ard the patent for the same has been applied for. The advantage in this crate over others is that the plates can be dropped through the bottom, in- stead of lifting them out by hand, Instead of the crate having a rigid bot- tom there are six shafts running through the bottom, and on these shafts are small arms, which form the bottom of the crate and prevent the plates from dropping through. At the end of each of these shafts there are small arms keyed to the shaft, and on the end of one shaft there is a lever, to which all of the other arms are April 20, 1898 THE IRON AGE. 895 attached by means of pins. This lever is held in a vertical position, thus closing the bottom of the crate when the plates are to be dropped from the crate by removing the pin in the lever. The lever can be swung down into almost a horizontal posi- tion, thus opening up the bottom of the crate and allowing the plates to drop through. The advantage of this machine js that the entire machine is supported by one base, which is bolted to a foundation and needs no other attachments to buildings or supports ; it is simple in construction and effective in its work, as by no other motion can plates be so thoroughly pickled and washed as by quick vertical motion, dipping the plates in and out of the wash- ing liquids, PICKLING VAT" 8-1'to-top-cor-of- vat The British Tin-Plate Industry. A tabular statement showing the ex- ports of tin and terne plates from Great Britain from 1862 to 1892, inclusive, has just been issued by Bradley & Burch of London. The statement shows a remark- able development of the British tin-plate industry during that period. The total exports in 1862 reached 1,000,437 hundred- weight. In 1892 they were 7,911,600 hundredweight. The shipments of the previous year, however, were the highest on record—namely, 8,967,580 hundred- weight. During all these 30 years the United States took by far the greater proportion of the British tin plate ex- ported. In 1891, 6,502,860 hundredweight, or more than four-fifths of the total ex- CENTER OF TRACK Coast points and the intermediate terri- tory. The Atchison, under the terms of the agreement, secures the bulk of the east-bound traffic, while the Southern Saas will monopolize west-bound traf- c. Another great tower of iron and steel is being built in England at Blackpool, a seaside resort in Lancashire, which, al- though not so gigantic as the Eiffel tower, will yet be the highest structure in Great Britain until the Watkin tower is built. It is to be 500 feet high and is to absorb 2200 tons of metal. Half of the work is already completed, and it is said the struct- ure will be ready for use this season. The width of the tower at the base is 98 feet, which consists of four legs resting on SWILLING VAT TO TINNING HOUSE ~ THE MESTA The main difficulty at first found with these machines was to get a valve to regu- late the flow of steam to the cylinder, and that would be economical of steam and not liable to get out of order. This has been overcome entirely by employing a piston valve with a positive motion and cut-off. The new machine which was recently placed in the works of Wallace, Banfield & Co. has one of these valves, which re- quires only about one-half the steam that was necessary to operate the first machines of this type built. This machine was only designed for pickling sheets of tin- plate size, although one is now pickling plates 72 inches in length. PR The wire gun just successfully tested at Bridsborough, Pa., where it was made, is 19 feet long, weighs 3} tons, and is wound with 37 milesof wire. It costs much less than a built-up gun and was manufactured in less time. Fig. 2.—Plan, PATENT AUTOMATIC PICKLING MACHINE, | ports, were shipped to this country. Last | foundations of concrete blocks. The space |year this proportion was somewhat re- |duced, being 5,569,580 out of a total 'volume of 7,911,600 hundredweight of |exports. It is shown in these tables that the home consumption of tin plate in Great Britain has grown in the last eight years from 1,750,000, to 2,600,000 hundred weight. There are now in England and Wales, it is stated, 100 tin-plate works in existence, comprising 509 mills; and of these mills 409 are in operation, with an estimated productive capacity of 10,500,- 000 hundredweight per annum. In view of these facts and figures, it is small wonder that British manufacturers of tin and terne plates view with apprehension the growth of the industry in this coun- try. ee The Southern Pacific and Atchison have made a traffic contract that in effect will give the two lines a practical monopoly of all transcontinental business to and from California and Southern Pacific between the legs is to be used as a circus. In his speech at the Board of Trade banquet in this city upon the topic, ‘Finance and Commerce,” ex-Secretary Fairchild touched upon the subject of cur- rency. ‘*‘Governments,” he said, ‘‘ were the creation of the people. They could give no value to any commodity that had not an intrinsic pre-existing value, and the worth of paper money depended on the security of the Government. He be- lieved that much of the uncertainty and trouble about the currency question arose from a very popular misunderstanding of the question, and an almost universal be- lief in the power of governments to create value. The people of the United States,” he said, ‘‘ were not fools, they were among the most intelligent of the human race, and he believed they would save this country from the experiences of others during financial crises without first en- during the chilling reality.” EF 896 THE IRON AGE. April 20, 1893 The Storey “Solenoid” Electric Motor for Direct Machine Driving. In former issues we have called attention to the fact that the electric motor is rapidly making for itself a place as a driver of machine tools. Except in isolated cases, of high mechanical excellence, possessed of a maximum of electrical efficiency in proportion to the weight of material and free from the common defect, magnetic leakage. The motor is a plain cylindrical machine having end projections for the boxes and commutator, and the accompanying en- showing the two T-shaped fields. B in Fig. 2 shows the —— field pieces car- ried by the cap ends. C in both drawings represents the cross section and location of the field windings. D are the bolts which are used in assembling the main portion of the magnetic fields. One of the unique features of this machine con- Fig. 2.—Longitudinal Section through Poles Projecting from the End Portions. it has been necessary to introduce counter- shafts, the general arrangement being such as was described in our articles on the erecting shop of the De La Verne Refrigerating Machine Company of New York, and the works of Fraser & Chalmers of Chicago. Manufacturers of electric motors are now devoting much time to the adaptation of their motors to direct machine driving—in other words, the motor is car- ried by the machine it drives, making a || self-contained tool in every respect. We here illustrate the Storey solenoid motor, designed by the Hornell Iron Works of Hornellsville, N. Y., for direct ma- chine driving, and for which the Dahl Electric Company of 120 Liberty street, New York, are the agents for the Eastern and Middle States. The first effort made by I. E. Storey, the inventor of this motor, was in the production of a motor for the direct driving of a mining drill in which all the ordinary disadvantages of electrical application of power were met under ex- ceptionally difficult conditions, with the added trouble due to the extreme moisture and dirt of all kinds common to mining work. The first attempt was a complete suc- cess, and led naturally to the considera- tion of the general adaptation of the prin- ciple to other lines which cannot fail to suggest themselves to any intelligent worker whose study has tended at all in this direction. Following out his original intention, the inventor has since produced and patented in the principal countries of the world a type of motor unique in form, Fig. 3.—View of Field Magnets. Fig. 4.—Sectional View of Commutator, THE STOREY “SOLENOID” ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR DIRECT MACHINE DRIVING. graving, Fig. 1, shows a longitudinal sec- tion through the T shaped pole pieces, which project internally from the cylin- drical portion of the machine. Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the poles projecting from the end portions, Fig. 3 a eross section through the. poles, and Fig. 4 a cross section through the brush holder and commutator. A in Fig. 1 represents the cross section of the cylindrical portion, as noted above, sists in the construction of the field mag- nets, which, as shown, present four poles so arranged that while the center of the machine is of one polarity the ends are of opposite polarity, both ends being of the same polarity. From this it will be read- ily seen that while this is a four.pole ma- chine it has eight distinct magnetic cir- cuits, making the ee of the magnetic lines uncommonly short and of very low resistance, giving maximum efficiency for April 20, 1893 minimum quantity of wire. The coils C are wound on spools to size, are removed from the spools, thoroughly insulated, slipped loosely in the cylindrical chamber and occupy @ position in a plane perpendic- ular to the center line of the shaft, being held in position by the pole pieces A and B. The armature is of the drum type, toothed. The end caps F G serve for sup ports, and form the outside chambers for Fig. 5.—Emery and Buff Wheel Driven by Storey Motor. the self-oiling bearings. The end cap F carries the brushes which are shown in Fig. 4. The bearings are of peculiar con- struction and are of such a design that the motor can be placed in any position as long as the center line of the shaft is hori- zontal, the end of caps F being protected by acap projecting over the opening of the box, thereby rendering the boxes im- i | Vey: i) Fig. 6.—Drill Driven by Storey Motor. pervious to dust and moisture. In cases where there is much moisture these caps are replaced by stuffing boxes, From the above description it will be evident that the motor is practically a her- metically-sealed machine. Thus it is pro- tected on the outside against moisture, dust or any possible external injury, and being entirely inclosed no outside injury can possibly arise from any internal condi- tion incident to the operation of the motor, such as burning out of armature or fields, or sparking at the brushes. These features make the motor water, dust and fire proof, and hence adapt it to an enormous range of work. The peculiar form of the motor permits a union of beauty and usefulress THE IRON AGE. binations of motor and tool. In the en- graving, Fig. 5, is shown an emery and buffing wheel, in which the armature is placed upon the wheel spindle, the field of the motor constituting what we may call the frame of the machine. The next engraving represents a 12-inch drill driven direct by the motor. The high and con- stant speeds required by tools of this description permit the electric motor to be used for direct driving with very decided advantage. cn The McDowell Alloys. The McDowell semisteel and ferro- aluminum bronz: are two metals in many respects new to the industries into which they are being introduced, and a short de- scription of their peculiar qualities will be of interest to the various consumers of cast ings, as well as tomanufacturers of metal en- gaged in supplying their wants. The McDowell Steel Company, Room 305, The Rookery, Chicago, are the owners of the process for making these metals, either in an air or gas melting furnace, or in an or- dinary foundry cupola, and are also manu- facturers of the special alloys. The following are exhibits of successive heats of inch bars of semi-steel tested on a Riehlé testing machine. Tensile strengtb. Breaking By R. W. Hunt strain. & Co. Date. Pounds. Pounds. February 2. 3,750 aa February 3...... —— 0U0—titsCN pao PUMUGREY 4i..ccgecs Ce inte February 6.........¢ 3,950 Pemraary Fos. cccces —— 8 8 ~— wh ecacaid February 8.. er POE Gesccctcac ae: 3 = =——(fsfffé«*CWNtah February 10......... 4,400 wae? ROMSUOEG Ti ccccccees ee 060CCCCt—“‘i‘“‘“ ww POGUE BGckccicces ee 00 i«“‘é«‘ lm’ WURNEEET EO. ccasecc Ge 8 § weedes February 17......... ieee March Wa iw eenccccia Se 30,000 March Bhicccssets ee 35,000 The breaking strain of these 14 different heats, ranging from 3400 to 4400