The Iron Age : Vol. LII : No. 11 : September 14, 1893

The Iron Age * /*' Thursday, September 14, 1893. Hydraulic Machinery of R. D. Wood & Co. R. D. Wood & Co. of Philadelphia have one of the largest and most notable exhibits in Machinery Hall, at the World’s Fair. It is located near the power plant and occupies a space 66 x 25 feet. Large as this space would seem to be it is by no means adequate to show specimens of all the leading products of this firm. They are, as is and a hoist of 50 feet. Two hydraulic swing cranes are also shown, one at each end of the exhibit. One of these is a fixed jib riveter crane, of 3000 pounds capacity, with a hydraulic lift which suspends a portable riveter from the jib. The supply of water is taken from an internal tube, which also serves to feed the riveter suspended from it. The valve allows adjustment within £ inch. The other swing crane is a brack¬ eted rising jib crane, of the moving “open” or “shut,” as indicated by these words on the top castings. At the other end of the pipe is a Taylor revolving bottom gas producer. Grouped near by are gate valves from 32 inches down, specimens of cast-iron pipe made at Camden, N. J., in 1842 and buried until dug up to bring to the World’s Fair, but in a remarkably good state of preservation. There is also a bronze wheel for an 1100 horse-power Geyelin- Jonval turbine. A center seal for gas Fig. 1.—Automatic Hydraulic Shear. HYDRAULIC MACHINERY OF R. D. WOOD & CO. well known, manufacturers of cast-iron pipe, hydraulic and gas-making ap¬ pliances and an important line of ma¬ chinery. Their exhibit is so designed that it represents strikingly the special features of their business. A hydraulic traveling crane of 15,000 pounds capac¬ ity, having three motions, is erected in a runway covering the entire space. It is shown in operation and is an admir¬ able specimen of the firm’s achieve¬ ments in this particular line. They have a crane of this type at work at Madison, Maine, having a span of 150 feet, with a bridge travel of 820 feet, cylinder type, 6000 pounds capacity, 20- foot radius, specially adapted for use in boiler and plate shops, but capable of general service. Extending across one corner of the space is a 72-inch cast-iron water pipe on a platform with steps at both ends. Multitudes of visitors walk through this pipe and examine it with much curiosity, having never before seen such a mammoth pipe. Standing like sentinels at one end of this pipe are a pair of patent indicator valve posts, whose function is to show to every passer by whether the valve under it is works is on an intricate casting of large size. In the rear, on racks, are shown the Mathews patent fire hydrants. More of these hydrants are used in making the central inclosure for an office, where they are placed vertically. In all some 40 hydrants are used, and each bears the name of the city in which it has been adopted. Those used in the frosty North are conspicuously long, as compared with the type adopted in the South, where there is no danger of freezing. In the rear of the office space is a brick set bench of gas retorts with Matton’s self-sealing mouthpiece, in Digitized by Gougle Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 466 THE IRON AGE. September 14, 1898 which the pressure for sealing is ap¬ plied at three points. Of further inter¬ est to gas engineers are Mitchell’s pat¬ ent scrubber and Hopper’s gas gov¬ ernor. On each side of the entrance to exhibit is a stand pipe of the kind used for filling water carts, &c., their swing ing arms meeting in the center and forming an archway. Illustrations of gasometers and other large work under¬ taken by the firm are made by photo¬ graphs and drawings framed and hung up in suitable places. Hydraulic Hacklnery. Although R. D Wood & Co., have but recently embarked in the manufact- ture of hydraulic tools, they have al¬ ready attained prominence in this branch and their exhibit is extremely interesting. It is, in fact, the only ure, enabling a low-pressure system to be used for delivering high-pressure water for individual machines. These tools are all shown in operation, and attract much attention by their massiveness of construction, ease of handling, per¬ fection of control and absence of gear¬ ing. Hydraulic Shear. The automatic hydraulic shear shown in Fig. 1 has a 25-inch gap, is provided with a 1000-pound crane and is in¬ tended for spitting or cross cutting up to £-inch steel plates. The head is cast round, and a steel cylinder lined with brass fitted to it with a bayorftet joint; the ram is of ca9t iron and bolted to it; a rectangular slide carries the blocks for the shear blades. The slide and the bed of the machine are made so that the ram comes against it, opening the valve and admitting pressure, and again causing the ram to move out. Hydraulic Punch and Riveter. The automatic punch or horizontal riveter shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may, by simply changing the tools, be arranged to punch a £-inch hole through } inch steel plates, or close l^-inch rivets. When used as a punch the stroke is ad¬ justable between i and 4 inches. The gap is 30 inches. The machine is fitted with return gear and adjustable stops for regulating the length of the stroke. The body is of cast iron with a cast- steel cylinder lined with brass ; the slide is also of steel and is cut away to enable the work to be seen and at the same time giving the head a much lighter appearance. The slide is re- Fig. 2.— Hydraulic Punch. Fig. 3.—Hydraulic Riveter. HYDRAULIC MACHINERY OF R. D. WOOD & CO. display of such tools made at the ex¬ position. They show a very complete plant, consisting of a pressure pump for 750 pounds per square inch, an in¬ verted accumulator, giving a constant pressure in the mains leading to the machines, an 8-foot gap 70-ton plate closing fixed riveter, a triple-power, flush top fixed riveter, with head of new design, having the slide cut away to enable the operator to get a clear view of his work, a new sliding body portable riveter of heavy design, a 12- mch gap bear riveter, a 36 inch gap portable riveter of the parallel type, an automatic hydraulic punch or horizon¬ tal riveter, which will punch £-inch holes through £-inch plates or close 1£- inch rivets, an automatic hydraulic shear with a 25-inch gap for splitting or cross cutting up to f inch steel plates, aad a continuous hydraulic intensifier for supplying water at any desired press- □ igitized by Google different types of blades or dies can be readily attached. The valve gear dif¬ fers from that on the punch, in that it is operated entirely by an auxiliary cylinder; it can be made to run the ma¬ chine continuously. The little miter valves connect with the two sides of a piston, in one with the main valve spindle. Opening the one or the other causes the valve to move in the required direction. A permanent stop is arranged on a rod at the bottom end of the stroke, and at the top a wedge-shaped catch gear, which can be thrown in or out at will. The machine is started by pull¬ ing on the hand lever, the ram descend¬ ing till it comes in contact with the bottom stop. This opens the little valve and causes the cylinder to throw over the main valve to exhaust, and the main ram is forced back by the “ push- back ” cylinder. At the top of the stroke, if the wedge piece is pulled out, cessed at the sides, and in these stop pieces, formed on the inside face of the slide bars, project, forming a positive stop for the slide ; to put in a new leather, the bars have simply to be wedged out, and this allows the ram to be pushed far enough down to expose the leather, and so enable the operator to put in a new one. A light stuffing box is provided at the mouth of the cyl¬ inder to prevent water leaking past the main leather from falling down over the work. The main valve is operated in either direction by a lever ; but to make the return stroke automatically, a pair of miter seat spring valves and small cylinder are arranged. At the bottom of its stroke a projection on the 6lide moves the operating lever, which in its turn opens the auxiliary valve, admit¬ ting pressure to the small cylinder ; this throws over the main valve and opens it to exhaust, the push-back con- Qriginal from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA September 14, 1893 THE IRON AGE. 467 nected up to constant pressure forcing back the main slide. This gear can, if necessary, be made a continuous run¬ ning one, and for certain classes of work it may be advisable to make it so. Hydraulic Intenulfler. The automatic hydraulic intensifies Fig. 4, is intended for increasing the pressure available in a plant, say 100 to 750 pounds, up to the pressure (1500 pounds) at which these machines work. Two cylinders, inches in diameter by 24 inch stroke, are fixed horizontally to a channel iron bed; in these piston rams with ram front 5 inches in diam¬ eter work through stuffing boxes, or¬ dinary hemp packing being used; the piston is packed with hemp also. To the end of the rams* wrought-iron projecting pieces are fixed, and these slide along two rods which are con¬ nected by levers to a cross shaft at the end of the bed; a second shaft under¬ neath this one carries a cylinder, with its piston attached to the upper rod; the small cylinder contains a spring for throwing open the valves when it is pushed over the center by the outgoing ram. The operating valves are of the usual miter-seat type, operated by levers, which are connected by rods to a cross lever at the front end of the main cylinder; the upper rod works through an eye in the lever, with ad¬ justable stops on each side. The 750 pounds pressure enters the main valve body at the back, and there is free con¬ nection from this to the front end of the main cylinders, check valves being provided to prevent the high-pressure water from returning. The pressure valves are at the back, and the exhaust at the front end of the body, one side being open to pressure while the other is to exhaust; the inlet to the back end of the cylinder is directly under the valve body. The high-pressure water is led away from the top of the front end of the main cylinders, a check valve being placed at each cylinder to prevent the water returning from the one to the other. The operation is as follows: Water at 750 pounds pressure is admitted to the rear end of one cylinder, the opposite valve being open to exhaust; the first ram is thus forced out; constant press¬ ure being on the front of the second ram all the time forces it in, the water in the rear of it escaping through the exhaust pipe. Toward the end of the stroke the arm on the ram coming in contact with the stop pushes the lever over the center, and the spring cylinder closes the first valve, at the same time opening it to exhaust; the same move¬ ment reverses the valves of the second cylinder, causing the second ram to be forced out, till it in its turn throws over the spring cylinder, and so on; in this way a continuous running intensi- fier is made possible, and a pressure of 1500 pounds per square inch obtained for workiDg some of the tools. The Burden Decision. Justice Edwards of the Supreme Court has rendered a decision in the action brought by I. Townsend Burden against James A. Burden, John L. Arts and the Burden Iron Company of Troy, N. Y. The case was an important and unusually interesting one. The Burden Iron Company are one of the largest cor¬ porations of their kind in the country. Their hoseshoes are known the world over. Their plant is large and their property includes farms, residences and extensive mining interests. I. Town¬ send Burden, plaintiff, and James A. Burden, principal defendant, are broth¬ ers; John L. Arts, general manager of the company; Nicholas J. Gable and James A. Burden, Jr., defendents, trustees with I. Townsend Burden, James A. Burden and John L. Arts of the Burden Iron Company. The action was instituted by I. Townsend Burden in 1884. In the complaint he alleged that James A. Burden, president of the company, and John L. Arts, general manager, conspired to deny him, the vice-president, a voice in the company’s affairs to the detriment of his interests. I. Townsend Burden in the bill of particulars asked for a receiver for the Burden Iron Company, asked that the court order the by law conferring the full management of the corporation upon Mr. Arts be rescinded, the action of the company in increasing the num¬ ber of trustees from three to five be an¬ nulled, the residences and farms and the stock the company held in the Port Henry Iron Company and other prop¬ erty *be withdrawn from the funds of the company, and that the corporation be enjoined from using the products of the Hudson River Ore & Iron Com¬ pany. The defense contended that the ap¬ plication for a receiver was unwarrant¬ ed, there being a large surplus above the liabilities ; the powers conferred upon the general manager were neces¬ sary and the increase in the number of trustees legal ; the farms and residences and other property had been transferred to the Burden Iron Company by I. Townsend Burden and could not be withdrawn without the consent of the trustees ; the transactions of the Hud¬ son River Ore & Iron Company were perfectly legitimate. The plaintiff cited that James A. Bur¬ den and John L. Arts had entered a collusion to deny him a voice in affairs; the increase in trustees was in violation of an agreement at the time of incor¬ poration, June, 1881 ; the power of the manager was too great, he doing a busi¬ ness, financial and manufacturing, of $2,500,000 annually, having given no bond or security; his annual salary of $12,000 was too much ; the trustees were mismanaging the farms and mak¬ ing useless expenditures; James A. Bur¬ den and John L. Arts were interested financially in the Hudson River Iron & Ore Company and using their con¬ nection to further that interest. The decision is in favor of the com¬ pany. The increase in the trustees was legal. The power conferred upon the general manager by the trustees was lawful, and the petition to withdraw the property of the company from the funds of the corporation was denied. The transactions with the Hudson River Iron & Ore Company were within the powers of the two companies. The affair had been prudently and honestly managed, and the business profitable. Since the commencement of the con¬ troversy Nicholas J. Gable and James A. Burden, Jr., have been chosen trus¬ tees to succeed Rev. William Irvin and Richard Irvin, Jr. The amount of the capital stock of the corporation is $2,000,000, and it is divided into 2000 shares of $1000 each, of which James A. Burden and I. Townsend Burden own 998 shares each, while the remain¬ ing four shares are distributed among the other three trustees. The Burden Iron Company are one of the most suc¬ cessful iron manufacturing corpora¬ tions. It is expected that there will be an appeal on the most important law points involved in the case. Western Foundry men’s Association. The regular meeting of the Western Foundry men’s Association will be held Wednesday evening, September 20, in rooms 702 and 703. Temple Court Build¬ ing, Quincy ana Dearborn streets, Chicago. Some effort was made to have this meeting take place in Engi¬ neer’s Headquaiters at the World’s Fair, but the details could not be satis¬ factorily arranged, and it will therefore be held in the usual place. There are some interesting topics to be discussed, and an election for president will be held. George M. Sargent of the Sar¬ gent Company has been nominated for this position. The officers of the asso¬ ciation are very anxious to secure a good attendance at the meeting, and the notices have been issued early so that they can arrange their business to en¬ able them to be present. It should be borne in mind that interest in the work of the association is best promoted by full attendance at the meetings. Some of the transactions to which producers have been driven by the ne¬ cessity for raising money will have their effect a good deal later on. A large Southern iron company finding it nec¬ essary to secure money, raised in New York the sum of $180,000 on pig iron, giving the capitalist the option, for six months, to buy the iron at any time at prices agreed upon. We need hardly add that these prices are very low—in fact, below the cost of production. Fig. 4 .—Hydraulic Intensifier. HYDRAULIC MACHINERY OF R. D. WOOD & CO. Digitized bn v Google Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 408 THE IRON AGE. September 14,169$ The Collection of Dust Produced in Workshops.* BY R. KOHFAHL, HAMBURG, GERMANY. On February 20, 1883, the United States Patent Office granted to F. Prinz two patents relating a “ dust collector for flour mills.” A company was organized in Milwaukee, which pushed the manufacture of the new machine with energy, and it was soon widely spread over those establishments of the country for which it was des¬ tined. ... The Prinz dust collector afforded a perfect filtration of the dust-laden air close to the places where it was pro¬ duced. The cleaned air could be al lowed to re-enter the room from which it was taken, while the more or less valuable dust or bran was continually collected, and, therefore, ready for any further process. These advantages offered by the new machine were of such quality that it was rapidly intro duced into most of the flour mills of the country. From the United States the Prinz dust collector was exported to England and Germany. ... In Germany a very good chance was given for the ap¬ plication of dust collectors, and in con¬ sequence many new constructions were brought upon the market. It became evident, however, very soon that differ¬ ent kinds of dust also required different handling. The very fine dust, for in¬ stance, in mills for Portland cement, for phosphate, for slag or for chalk is far more difficult in treatment than the dust of flour mills, which for the great¬ est part is composed of the coarser par¬ ticles of bran. Such more difficult problems of dust removing the Prinz collector has not quite been able to master, nor have the competing apparatus given more satis faction, which were but imitations of the former in part. To create a ma¬ chine suitable also for the more diffi¬ cult cases it became necessary to find out the reasons for the failure of the known constructions, and then to invent a new one which would be free from the faults of the former. It is to a form of dust collector which has stood the test on the most different problems of dust removing, and which really may be called a universal apparatus, that the author desires to call attention. Before, however, describing this dust collector the author will try to explain the reasons of the limited applicability of the Prinz collector. Assuming as well known the construction and opera¬ tion of this machine, two sections of which are given in Figs. 1 and 2, the author expresses his belief that the said reasons are to be found in— 1. The rotating cage. 2. The arrangement of the filtering cells around a horizontal axis. The strain of the ribs forming the cage or balloon changes at every rota¬ tion of the latter, and this circumstance must damage at last the coherence of the cage. The exact working of the ap- S oratus, and especially of the back raft of air, depends upon the air¬ tight contact of the tube 1 with the in¬ ner ribs 2 of the cage. If these ribs cease to form an accurate cylinder the close contact is destroyed, and now more or less of the back draft of air entering the tube 1 will be lost by leak- | the dust-filled space is punctuated. If age. J the air in the apparatus is at rest for THE COLLECTION OF DUST PRODUCED IN WORKSHOPS. * Abstract of paper presented at the World’s Engineering Congress, Chicago, July, 1893, American Society Mechanical Engineers. As to the arrangement of the filter- some time, every particle of dust will ing cells around a horizontal axis, atten- sink down under the influence of grav- tion may be called to Fig. 1, where all ity until it hits on a solid wall. It will Digitized bn Google Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA September 14,1898 THE IRON AGE. 469 be seen that only from between three or five of the lower cells the dust can fall down unhindered unto the bottom of the casing. Between all the other cells, however, the falling dust will be stopped by the walls of the cells and will rest on the filtering cloth ; more¬ over, in the cells of the upper part of by far the greatest part of the time. Therefore the arrangement of the cells around a horizontal axis must be called an inappropriate one. Nagel Sc Kaemp Hunt Collector. In the dust collector here to be de¬ scribed, which also uses a back draft of open at the top and extending through the upper horizontal wall of the compart¬ ment 4. From the said cylinder branches off a hollow arm, 7, having at its lower side an opening adapted to register with one of the cells, the flanged edges of the said opening being in slid¬ ing contact with the partition wall 2. Fig. 5.— Sectional Plan. Fig. 6 .—Sectional Plan. The Nagel & Kaemp Dust Collector. THE COLLECTION OF DUST PRODUCED IN WORKSHOPS. the balloon dust will enter from outside of it. Of course, gravity will act in the dust collector, when set at work, exactly in the same manner. The dust¬ laden air being drawn radially in be¬ tween all the cells, gravity will dimin¬ ish the obstruction of the flannel through the air draft only at the few lowest cells, while at all the other cells it will increase the obstruction; and this in¬ creasing action will last for every cell nntll it has become again one of the lowest by the turning of the cage—i. air for the cleaning of the cloth, the said disadvantages are totally avoided. The cloth covered filtering cells 1 are screwed unto a strong horizontal plate, 2, the openings of which, shown in Fig. 6, correspond exactly with the open upper ends of the cells 1. The plate 2 divides the lower part 3 of the chest from the upper part 4 of the same. The upper compartment 4 is connected by the pipe 5 with a suction fan, and within it there is placed a rotative hol- i low cylinder, 6, closed at the bottom and To the cylinder 6 a hammer, 8, in the shape of a bent lever, is fixed, which is operated from the shaft 0 by a cam and the rod 10, The cylinder 6 is provided with teeth, the number of which is equal to the number of cells; it is ro¬ tated by a pawl, 11, in such manner that the hollow arm 7 will always come to rest for a short time exactly over one of the cells. A creeper, 12, discharges continually the dust collecting t in the chest. The dust-laden air enters intoj[the Digitized b Google Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 410 THE IRON AGE. September 14,1893 lower part of the chest by a pipe ex¬ tending preferably into the cylindrical inner part of the cage. It then spreads radially between the cells and the lower part of the chest, and is filtered through the vertical flannel walls. As the ex¬ hauster blowing off the cleaned air evacuates the upper compartment 4, and indirectly also the lower compart¬ ment 3, fresh air from the surrounding room will, on account of its higher pressure, flow through the cylinder 6 and the hollow arm 7 into that single cell just covered by the said arm and pass through the cloth of this cell into the compartment 3. At the same time the hammer 8 imparts several blowB to the tame cell, the cloth of which is thus perfectly cleaned by the combined action of the back draft of air and the blows of the hammer. The arrows in Figs. 3, 5 and 7 indicate the move¬ ment of the air. It will be seen that in this dust col¬ lector— 1. The cage is fixed immovably to a solid and stationary plate; that, 2. The instrument for iotroducing the back draft of air rests and slides on this stationary plate, and therefore can be kept easily and constantly in air-tight contact; that, 3. All the filtering cells being ar¬ ranged vertically, the dust can fall down unstopped from any point be¬ tween the cells as well as from outside of them; and that, 4. Gravity at each point diminishes the obstructing action of the dust-laden air, hut increases the cleaning action of the back draft. These advantages account for the great superiority of the dust collector herein described over the competing machines as proved by practical ex¬ perience. The former reacnes the same capacity with far less amount of filtering surface, and with the same surface does a greal deal more work. The machine is at the present time built in four sizes, with wooden or iron chest, with or without an exhauster, with or without a mechanism for the automat¬ ical discharge of the dust, the latter be¬ ing a creeper for the smaller sizes and a hopper boy for the larger. The ribs of the cage are always made of wood on account of a more convenient fastening of the cloth; only in such excep¬ tional cases as for the filtration of hot gas, iron is used also in this place, while at the same time the cloth is so im¬ pregnated as to become fire proof. The chest is provided with large doors on each side through which the cage can be brought in conveniently. The cage itself is composed of four quadrants, from which each cell can be easily de¬ tached, thus facilitating the changing or repairing of single cells. Tae dis¬ tance from one cell to the other is wider than usual in order to prevent the choking of the intermediate spaces, and is particularly wide in dust col¬ lectors for cotton mills, the dust of which is fibrous and iodines to cohere. Each dust collector is also furnished with a vacuum gauge, indicating the difference of the pressures of the air in front of the cloth and behind it. If the machine is started in the right way and not overcharged, the indication of this vacuum gauge does cot change at work. This could only happen if by any sudden overcharging of the col¬ lector the clogging of the cloth should be increased above the normal. It is, therefore, possible to convince one’s self of the normal condition of the fil¬ tering surfaces without opening the doors of the chest, by only glancing at the vacuum gauge. This renders very easy the control of the machine at work. A few words may be devoted, finally, to the theory of the apparatus. Sup¬ pose po to be the atmospheric press¬ ure, pt the pressure of air in the lower compartment 3, and p 4 that in the upper comparment 4; the dust will oe pressed against the cloth with the pressure p% — p it and will be blown off from it with the pressure p 0 — p*. Each cell being subjected to the obstruction by dust for a far greater time than to the cleaning back draft, the pressure p 0 — p» must evidently be larger, mostly exceedingly larger, than the pressure p% — jp« . The difference of these two pressures must be the greater the more difficult the handling of the dust to be operated on proves. The experiments made with the Nagel & Kaemp dust collector have taught that for the proportion p 0 — p% : p% — pi the figure 2 to 3 will suffice for the most easily operated kind of dust; as, for instance, the light bran from middlings purifiers, while it must be raised to the value 5 to 10 for other kinds of dust, or even to 10 to 20 in the most difficult cases. The means for adjusting the said proportion exactly to that value which experience has taught to be necessary for a certain kind of dust in order to keep the cloth clean exist in the correct regulating of the quantity of dust-laden air offered to the collector. This quantity may be greater for coarse, heavy or fiat dust, and must be diminished for fine, light or globular dust. Of course, it is a matter of experience what quantity of dust- laken air the collector may be charged with, and, consequently, what cross section must be given to the suction pipe in each special case. The experi¬ ences gathered in this respect with the Nagel & Kaemp dust collector extend very far, as the machine has already been tried and is now constantly work¬ ing with excellent success in the follow¬ ing branches of industry: Flour mills, pearling mills, rice mills, grain ele¬ vators, cement manufactories, potteries, mills for chalk, for Thomas slag, for granulated slag, for phosphates and ar¬ tificial dung; manufactories of soda, of oil, of conserves, of chocolate, for peel¬ ing coffee; jute manufactories, cotton mills, paper manufactories, works for cleaning caipets or feathers, mills for sulphur, for tartar, for sugar and for cinchona bark. As the Nagel & Kaemp dust collector up to date has been able to master such very difficult problems, and as it has consequently acquired great apprecia¬ tion in Germany, the author hopes and thinks it likely that it will make its way in time also in the United States and elsewhere. Now that the worst is over a number of curious incidents of the recent finan¬ cial panic are cropping up. This is one of them: An insurance company paid $10,000 due to a person in a small town in Kansas, who duly deposited the check in a local bank. The latter gave it to an express company for collection with peremptory instructions to collect in currency and ship. The check was duly presented at the New York bank, which offered a certified check payable through the Clearing House and pleaded that payment in cash would be embar¬ rassing. Currency was insisted upon. The bank officers sought the aid of the insurance company, who insisted on standing aloof from the transaction. The bank officers then determined to have some revenge, and when later in the day the express company’s agent called there were delivered to him, in duly sealed packages as they came from the mint, 10,000 silver dollars. The freight cost the Kansas bank between $300 and $400, and it has probably concluded that it does not always pay to insist upon the pound of flesh. WORLD’S FAIR NOTES. E. W. MIm Company of Brooklyn, N. Y., and their Stiles & Parker Press Company, make a very large and interesting exhibit of presses, dies and special machinery for working sheet metal at Column L42, in Machinery Hall. All the machines shown are belted up and can be put in operation for the instruction of visitors. They comprise specimens of the Nos. 34 and 14 Bliss toggle drawing presses. Nos. 18, 10 and 21 Bliss adjustable power presses. No. 054 Stiles straight sided double-crank press, two Stiles drop hammers and Nos. 0, 1, 2, 3, 34, 4 and 5 Stiles power punching presses. The No. 14 toggle drawing press is a huge machine used in the manufacture of large sheet metal ware, weighs 70,000 lhs., will take in a blank up to 44 inches in diameter, and will draw to a depth of 14 inches, mak¬ ing 7 strokes per minute. This ma¬ chine, however, is not the largest built by the company. Their No. 200, not exhibited, takes a blank 60 inches in diameter and draws to a depth of 18 inches. The No. 34 press takes a blank up to 20 inches in diameter and draws to a depth of 5 inches. The two presses shown serve their purpose in illustrat¬ ing the system on which these machines are built. Cams are entirely dispensed with, the blank-holder being operated by means of toggles. According to the size of the press, one or two rock shafts are used to which the blank-holder slide is connected by means of toggle linkB. These rock shafts are operated from the main shaft by a peculiar system of link work which imparts through the blank holder a thoroughly uniform pressure to the blank. The strain arising from the pressure put upon the blank is trans¬ ferred through the straightened toggles directly to the frame of the press in¬ stead of falling on the main shaft. In the larger sizes the company’s new au¬ tomatic friction clutch is used. Its ac¬ tion is practically instantaneous, avoid¬ ing entirely the heavy shock which, in the regular clutches, tends to destroy the clutch parts, frequently causing expensive delays and repairs. The ad¬ justable power presses are specially adapted to cover nearly every kind of blank cutting, perforating, forming and combination die work, covering a large proportion of the operations needed in the manufacture of cans, pieced tinware, brass goods, trimmings, &c. In the presses shown there is a knock out attachment for discharging the work from the upper die, thus dis¬ pensing with springs, which often prove unreliable. The large double crank press exhibited is intended for operating very large but accurate cutting and per¬ forating dies, as, for instance, for arma¬ ture rings, and is built very solidly and substantially. The drop hammers shown are of two styleB, one being in¬ tended for forging, embossing, design stamping and other work requiring the dies to be keyed in the bed, while the other is adapted to sheet metal stamping. The power punching presses, of which such an extensive line is shown, are adapted to nearly e?ery kind of blank cutting, punching, perfont- Digitized bn Google Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA September 14. 1898 THE IRON AGE. 471 ing, forming and bending, covering a large proportion of the operations needed in the manufacture of hardware, locks, cutlery, guns, sewing machines, typewriters and other articles made out of sheet metal. The pitman is made of steel, the crank pin runs in gun metal bushings, and the presses are further fitted with the Stiles eccentric adjust¬ ment, permitting rapid and very ac¬ curate adjustment and transmitting the pressure entirely through solid metal instead of throwing it upon screw threads; also with a patent graduated adjustment marked to inch, and with the Stiles automatic clutch, which allows the shafts to be turned for set¬ ting dies while the wheel is in motion without endangering the operator. In showcases samples are exhibited of the work done by these machines, covering a very great variety of shapes in differ¬ ent metals, Warner 4c Swaaey of Cleveland, Ohio, make an interesting exhibit of machine tools at Column J 48, Machinery Hall. Among these is shown the Warner gear generating and cutting engine, which has attracted much attention among mechanical en¬ gineers and was the subject of a piper read at the Richmond meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engi¬ neers in 1890. Another machine, made only to order, ia an automatic boring and tapping machine for iron and brass work, designed for boring, facing, chamfering and tapping the pipe ends of globe valves, cocks, packing nuts for valves, union nuts and a variety of articles where bonng and tapping are required. There are three two-jawed chucks in this machine, which are con¬ structed in the form of a triangular disk. The disk revolves on trunnions between the ends of the four spindles. Two of these spindles carry boring and facing tools; the other two carry the taps. In operation, a valve is placed in one of the chucks and the disk indexed around, bringing the valve into position in front of the boring spindles. While it ia being bored and faced a second valve is placed in the next chuck. Aa soon as the first valve is bored and faced the disk is again indexed, bring¬ ing the bored valve ioto position to be tapped and the rough casting into po¬ sition to be bored and the third chuck into position to receive another casting. A third indexing of the chuck brings a completed valve into position to be re¬ moved and to be replaced by another casting while the other operations are taking place. All the processes are automatic, except the putting in and taking out of the valves and the index¬ ing of the chuck disk. When union nuts or similar articles are to be bored and tapped, two are held in each chuck in place of the valves, as above de¬ scribed. The other machines shown are such as the firm carry in regular stock, comprising a horizontal boring machine, vertical milling machine, re¬ volving turret screw machines, monitor lathes, a forming monitor, universal monitor lathes, hand lathes, a double¬ head key lathe, cock grinder, two-spin¬ dle valve milling machine, &c. The firm also have an exhibit in the Manu¬ factures Building devoted to telescopes and astronomical work, which includes the great telescope just built on the or¬ der of Charles T. Yerkes for the new Chicago University. Jareckl Kfffc. Company of Erie, Ps., have sn exhibit of pipe- threading and cutting tools st Column K 47, Mschinery HalL Their exhibit Digitized by Google is very tastefully arranged, the large threading machines being placed along the sides of the space, while in the rear a pyramid of shelves has been built to hold pipe fittings and specimens of the work done on the machines. A unique arch, formed of threaded cast-iron pipe, fittings and branches, has also been built across the rear, towering above the pyramid. The machines shown are designed to cut and thread pipe from £ inch to 12 inches in diameter. They are operated in a variety of ways. Some are driven by hand, others by electric motors, some by belt from the expo¬ sition power plant and others by at¬ tached engines. They are shown in actual use and receive much commenda¬ tion from pipe fitters for their ease of adjustment, convenient arrangement and good work. The dies are quick- ! opening and adjustable, each set of four pieces cutting two sizes of pipe. A large assortment of the Jarecki screw plates and pipe cutters is also shown. One of the features of the exhibit is a showcase containing highly polished specimetsof valves, nczzles, oil cups and other goods, arranged in a most attractive manner. N, P. Bo waiter of South Bend, lnd., has an exhibit of his balancing ways for machine sh^p use at Column O 88, and of speed or motion indicators at Co'umn B 47, both in Machinery Hall. The first named exhibit is made in conjunction with the Mackinnon Pulley Company, manufact¬ urers of Little's separable pulley. Me- nasha, Wis. Mr. Little’s ingenuity hss been exercised successfully to make the exhibit attract attention. Separate pul¬ leys, with the detachable portion of the rim removed, are mounted on shafts supported at the ends on the Bowsber balancing ways. A very slight start makes the pulleys oscillate back and forth for an indefinite time, and crowds are thus attracted by what they at first suppose is an exhibition of perpetual motion. The perfect level of the bal¬ ancing ways and the partly removed run of the pulley are the essential ele¬ ments to this quite curious display of protracted motion. Hill, Clarke Sc Co. of Boston and Chicago make a huge collective exhibit at Column E 88, Ma¬ chinery Hall, of machine tools manu¬ factured by a number of concerns for whom they are BelliDg agents. These comprise an automatic cam-cutting ma¬ chine, four universal milling machines, two automatic gear cutters, six plain milling machines and a cutter grinder, made by the Barnard Milling Machine Company of Boston; a 15-inch turret lathe with automatic chuck, by Bardons & Oliver of Cleveland; five cutting-off machines, for 2 to 6 inches, by the Hurl but Rogers Machine Company of South Sudbury, Mass.; a universal grinder, by Landis Bros, of Waynes¬ boro, Pa.; eight lathes, from 14 to 22 inches swing, and a 26-inch planer, by Flather & Co. of Nashua, N. H.; a 26- inch lathe, by the Gleason Tool Com¬ pany of Rochester, N. Y.; and six up¬ right drill presses, five lathes and one radial drill press, by Prentice Bros, of Worcester, Mass. The Brainard mill¬ ing machines include one capable of cutting cast-iron ^-inch deep and 14 inches wide at the rate of 14 inches per minute. A special vise is shown in connection with these machines which can be instantly adjusted to take work of any size from £ inch up to 5 feet, and which holds the work as near the platen as it is possible to put it. The Flather lathes have some new features, one of them showing a new method of applying the Slate taper attachment, securing numerous advantages. The 22-inch lathe of this make has plain pulleys for the feed belt and three pairs of gears inside the head for driving the stud, instead of the usual feed cone. The Gleason lathe has a new device for preventing more than one feed from being thrown in, which is thoroughly effective. In close connection with Hill, Clarke & Co. is found the exhibit of The Bender machine Company of Torrington, Conn., whose new Nor¬ ton lathe has excited much interest among users of machinery. Three of these lathes are shown—namely, 14, 16 and 18 inch. Without changing gears, this lathe cuts 12 threads and also makes 12 different cuts for turning. When changes of gear are made, each additional change gives 12 additional screws or cuts per inch. Samples of the work exposed, showing several kinds of screws cut on the same bar, arrest the attention of the pass ng visitors. Since the machines were installed as ex¬ hibits an improvement has been made in their operation by two belts being put on instead of one, which enables dif¬ ferent feeds to be run and also causes the carriage to go back rapidly without reversing the lathe. This is done by merely throwing the clutch over into the faster motion. Other machines shown by the company are three shap¬ ers, from 15 to 25 inches; three planers, from 10 x 10 to 27 x 27 inches, and a 14-inch engine lathe. Boiler ExhlblU. In the vicinity of Column M, 21 to 28, Machinery Hall, are some interesting exhibits of boiler parts. The Babcock & Wilcox Company of New York, whose boilers will be found in service in the powerhouse, have taken *pace here for a display of boiler parts. They have erected a fence composed of a sec¬ tion of boiler tubes attached to a header, the headers forming the posts. The exhibits comprise tubes twisted and drawn into double bow knots, sec¬ tions of tubes hammered flat while cold without cracking, saddles, heads, oast and wrought headers, &c. The cast headers are used for low-pressure and the wrought headers for high-pressure boilers. The wrought header is of such an intricate form that it is re¬ garded with much curiosity by iron workers. A glats case contains a very pretty model of a high-pressure boiler, partially set, so as to show the manner in which auch boilers are built. In sharp contrast with this modern piece of work, showing the most perfect boiler made to-day by the B. & W. Company, is the original inventor's model or this boiler. It was made by Stephen Wilcox in 1856, and was the first water-tube boiler with inclined tubes connecting water spaces at front and rear with aa overhead water and steam reservoir, producing a continuous round of water circulation by a cross flow of the furnace gases. The model is a very small one, made of tin, but from it has sprung the B. & W. boiler, of which over 1,000,000 horsepower are in use to-day. The National Water Tube Boiler Company of New Brunswick, N. J., have built a small pavilion which shelters a number of sections of their water tubes, arranged to show the con¬ struction of this part of their boiler. Some of the header plates are removed to permit the interior of the headers to Original from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 472 THE IRON AGE September 14, 189$ be examined and to show the means by which they are connected. The headers are joined together by nipple which take up the strains caused by a unequal contraction and expansion. The tubes are further perfectly straight between headers, so that they can be easily re¬ moved and others inserted. These boilers are also to be seen in actual serv¬ ice in the power house. A handsome model is shown of the company’s Stand¬ ard rocking grate bars. The model iB in all respects an exact reproduction of these grate bars in miniature. With their use it is only necessary to open the fire doors when fuel is fed into the futnace. The clinkers are crushed by the bars and drop into the ash pit. Several specimens of marine boilers are here displayed by Charles Ward of Charleston, W. Va. The boilers of the United States coast defense vessel “Monterey” are of this type. They will be recalled by our readers on ac¬ count of the severe criticism to which they have been subjected. They passed through this criticism triumphantly, Chief Engineer Melville having written a most explicit denial of the statements that the Ward boilers were injured after the test8 were made. These tests, ac¬ cording to his official statement, were the most severe ever applied to any boiler. Some 200 of these boilers are now in use in Government vessels. Sev¬ eral sizes are shown, varying from that used by a launch up to the size re¬ quired for a large vessel. They are constructed of tubes, set vertically in a cast-steel ring, then bent over in a smaller circle at the top and inserted in another circular steel casting which is riveted to a small dome. The fire chamber is surrounded by the tubes. The special merit of these boilers to shipbuilders and repairers is that they can be wholly built up between decks, so that they can be replaced when worn out without tearing out the decks. The Niles Tool Works Company of Hamilton, Ohio, make an exhibit of machine tools which is altogether worthy of this great establishment. It is located at J 51, in the extreme west end of the annex to Machinery Hall. The first thing that strikes the visitor’s eye here is an immense planing ma¬ chine, so huge that it occupies almost the entire front of the company’s space, while its cross rail towers almost to the rafters of the building. It will plane 12 feet high, 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. There are two heads on the cross rail and two side heads, besides an out¬ side bracket with provision for an extra head, which can be moved from one side housing. The feeds are posi¬ tive and automatic in every direction, and each head has an independent feed in any direction. The entire machine weighs 270,000 pounds, the table alone weighing 35 tons and being a single casting. Two of these machines have recently been built by the Niles Tool Works Company, one of which is now in operation at the works of the General Electric Company at Lynn, Mass., and the one on exhibition is for a large en¬ gineering concern in the State of New York. Turning to the other tools, a 6- foot boring and turning mill is next seen. This machine, swinging 78 inches in diameter, takes in under the tool holders, when the rail is raised to the top, 36 inches. The boring barB have 24-inch traverse. The cone has six steps for a 4-inch belt, and is strongly back geared. The range of feed is from ^ to inch. The table is driven by an accurately cut internal spur gear. The cone transmits power to a pair of heavy, cut bevel gears, thence to a steel pinion driving the in¬ ternal spur on the table. This construc¬ tion insures a steady running machine without chatter, and free from any lift¬ ing tendency. The driving cone is placed at the side of the machine, and the belts are as convenient as those on a lathe. Each mill is strongly back geared, giving a wide range of speeds. An annular bearing under the outer edge of the table is provided, and when heavy pieces are to be worked the spindle step is relieved and the table allowed to rest lightly on this outer bearing. Thus adjusted the machine works with all the steadiness of a heavy planer and all the precision of the meat accurate lathe. The boring bars are octagon in sec¬ tion, accurately fitted to their bearings. One bar is brought exactly central with the spindle. This form of bar is very stiff and rigid, and at the same time convenient to handle. The tool hold ers are steel forgings, arranged to hold the tools in any required position, and may be removed for other tool holders if desired. The bars may be set over at any angle, and are quickly handled by means of worm and worm wheel. They may be fed in any direction indepen d- ently of each other. Many attempts have been made to se¬ cure a balancing device ior the bars that will compare in efficiency and simplicity with the company’s patented device. The device, simple as it appears, is worthy of consideration. A single chain is attached at one end to an arm rigidly secured to the rail, and a similar arm on the other end of the rail carries a pulley over which the weighted end of the chain falls. There is a sheave on the face of each tool bar, and each saddle carries two sheaves straddling its bar, and the chain is looped over the single sheave and under the tool-bar sheave. This is a very simple and perfect ar¬ rangement, and possesses many advan¬ tages not apparent at first sight. The feed 8 are operated by a friction disk, and have a range from to A inch. The feed is thoroughly reliable and very simple in construction and operation. It may be instantly varied to any degree within its range. At the end of the rail are a pair of gears, by means of which the speed can be in¬ creased or decreased 100 percent, with¬ out shifting the friction disk. The feeds are independent. The saddles or bars may be fed in the same or in opposite directions at the same time. The rail is of box-girder form, with wide bearings. It is raised and lowered by power. The saddles are made right and left, so that they may be brought close together. The right-hand saddle has quick hand traverse by rack and pinion. A horizontal boring, drilling and milling machine is shown which will bore or drill holes, or mill off any sur¬ face 9 feet or more in length by 6 feet in width. The machine consists of a heavy column 10 feet 6 inches high, mounted on a bed plate of any length to suit requirements. The column is moved along the bed plate by power, operating through worm gear ana rack. The column is 31 inches wide on the face and is fitted with a heavy saddle 40 inches square, carrying the spindle. The saddle has a vertical traverse on the column of 6 feet and is raised and lowered by a heavy screw. It is balanced by counterweight hung in the column. The boring and milling spindle is of ham¬ mered steel, 44 inches in diameter; it slides in a heavy revolving sleeve and has a traverse of 4 feet. It revolves in either direction, right or left hand, re¬ versing by lever conveniently located, and has eight power feeds, ranging from inch to 4 inch per revolution o