The Iron Age 1899-07-06: Vol 64 Iss 1

THE A Review of Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. ad, ; the Hardware, Iron and Metal Tradc. » 32-2383 William Bt., Vol. LXIV: No. 1. New York, Thuridey, ‘Tidy 6 "“ROa Year, including |! es, Ten Cents ales A EBY Reading Matter Contents Classified List of Advertisers . Alphabetical index to Advertisers *‘ Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 155 ie Factory-Loaded Paper : dvi ‘tay mins SF we 400 § “ss ells BLACK OR SMOKELESS POWDER—ANY GAUGE—ANY WADDING New York. TUDOR IRON \ WORKS ST. LOuUIS, Mo. MANUFACTURERS BOLTS »» NUTS. Bristol’s Patent Steel Belt Lacing. | SAVES Time, Belts, Money. Greates reatest Strength ApPly «= FINISHED JOINT ~=with Least Metal. Send tor Circulars and Frée Samples, | THE BRISTOL CO , Waterbury, Conn. SeEAON SPOT CORD Also Maséachusette wee Phenix Brands of Sash Cord | SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, - Boston, Mass, TURNBUCKLES, : 14 Broadway, New Forge and iron Co., - — - wy Cleveland, 0. HAMMERS. MANUFACTURED BY L BROS., Brooklyn, N.Y. toy Phosphorus Pig | PILLING & CRANE, temic cicecl battsnargs. If a sheet, or part ofa sheet, of galvanized iron has any defect, send it back at jobber’s or our expense— the same as when business is slow. polio Tron and Steel Company, Pittsburgh. ALWAYS RELIABLE AND ACCURATE. A NEW WORLD’S RECORD was made at Peoria, Ill., May 8, 1899, when C, A. YOUNG BROKE 213! TARGETS STRAIGHT with factory-loaded ammunition made by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. AGENCY, 313 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. WINNERS OF HANDICAP, 1893, '94, '95, "97, '98, "99. CAHALL BOILERS "= CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS, BOSTON, DETROIT, CINCINNATI, SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, ORE., BUFFALO, BALTIMORE, NEW ORLEANS. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COLIPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. BRANCHES : Compare Weights WHEN YOU ARE TOLD THAT JENKINS ’96 IS MO & EY FCI EXPENSIVE THAN OTHER PACKINGS. /ENKINS STANDARD PACKING Average weight, \%” * Jenkins ‘96,"’ 11 lbs to the square yar Loan DICS> %” Ked Packing, 14 “* At 50c. per pound “JENKINS °96” is not only_very cheaper, but the best joint packmg manufact JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadetr’ Brass Prices High, So Use Bright “Swedoh” Stamp- ing Steel Easily Brass Plated and Save Money. MAGNOLIA M Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machtuery Bearings. Beware ‘mitations. Gevuine Magnolia Metal is made ur rs of which ‘me name and by +4 Ww are stamped on the un- — in United States” p~ box and bar, and MAGNOLIA METAL £2. ( Owne:s an@Sole} 9ee & ne* «) -~ IRON AGE THE Ansonia Brass ra fore Co. BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. ingot Copper. Waterbury Brass Co. E«tablished 1845. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and Ger- man Silver Wire. Brass and Copper Tubing COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. PERCUSSION CAPS, TAPE MEASURES, METALLIC EYELETS, Tobin Bronze MARK REGISTERED londenser Plates, So 70 tr Lir are and Hexagor Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings ngs, Round, Bars, for Pump 99 John Street. New Vork. Brass Ketties, Brass Tags, Powder Flasks, ; Shot Pouches, &c., AND SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. PH WES HICK’S PRIMERS, BERDAN PRIMERS. ANDOLP Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shells LUISA CONN, a Specialty. e —MANUFACTURERS OF=— DEPOTS; 60 Centre St., New York. 126 Eddy St., Provi- dence, R. |. 38 Mechanic St., Newark, N. J. TEETIBRAS Sh. COPPER. S MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN, NEW YACHT COLUMBIA All Her BRONZE CASTINGS are made of our. Ordnance Bronze Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. BRAZED BRASS &. COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES’ 38 "DIAM. 5 Py * extRN DEPOT, 226 Lay ra) E Sr, ~ feito Vem am f WEW YORK ROOM 20B. POSTAL TELEGRAPH 8106, 253 BROADWAY. PHILADELPHIA, ROOM 320 PHILA. BANK BLDG. CINCINNATI, 0. ROOM 3086 NEAVE BLOG. BAaNS H } OFFICES, | Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, wtaeenidintionsh weal inhiesnaiaiaaaa SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. BRASS GOODS MEG. 00. Mirs. of Stamped Brass, Silver and Mickeled Goods, Hrass Labels tor Cans an Rubber Moulds. Address all SPECIAL ecmmunica - GOODS tlons to the MADE TO taci ORDER, BRONZE DOOR HKBRNOBSB, Roses, Combined Rose and Escut I eas Cards, Mucilage Brushes M: ! 7 Chambers St., New York. heon Plates, Socket Shells, &c., Novelties of new ce FACTORY: Patent Mirror Pin fign made to order. 86-92 Third St., So. Brooklyn, ‘ENDRICKS BROTHERS, ‘ille Copper Rolling Mills, MANUFACTURERS ¢ wiors’, Bolt and inode pana COPPEFt. RE AND Ri "VETS. and Dealers in a, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. F ST., NEW YORK. THE PLUME & ATwood Mré. Co., MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Braes Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kere- sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, ROLLING MILL l THOMASTON, CONN. | FACTORIES : WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS SHEET, WIRE, TUBES, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Nipples, Pumps and Oilers for Bicycles, Braziers’ Solder, Aluminum. Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS : New York, Chicago, Boston. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, New York. WILLIAM 8. FEARING, 256 Broadway, NEW YORK, SELLS TO THE TRADE Sheet Brass, Fancy Sheet Brass, German Silver, Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire, Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tubes, Brass and Cop- per Rods, Brass Ferrules, Pure Copper Wire, Sheet and Ingot Copper; Spelter, Tin, Antimony, Lead, &c. DeaIGH-Light” OIL and GAS o send tor Circular THE BRIDGF Bridge 14 Murray St., N, * 85 to § Con NTRA® ee SEND IN Y ~ wae ' pe they have been in practically continuous operation. ‘THE IRON AGE. THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1899. The Improved South Chicago Bessemer Works. The Bessemer works of the Lllinois Steel Company at South Chicago were built according to designs prepared by Robert Forsyth in 1880. They were completed and made their first blow on June 14, 1882, since which time Until this year no radical change has been made in the casting pit, the original arrangements having been found satis factory in this long period of practical test. As laid out in the plans, three 10-ton converters were placed in a straight row at one end of the building. An elevated the plan, Fig. 3, as receiving cranes Nos. 1 and 2, and casting cranes, also shown as Nos. 1 and 2. The steel, after being blown and recarburized, is poured into the ladle of the receiving this delivered to the casting from there it is Each of The offset in No. 2 reaches over the casting track for No. 1. receiving from ladle of the teemed crane, ladle it is crane, and molds. into the ingot these cranes has a capacity of 14 tons. that The serves Thus the whole arrangement is designed to enable the work of pouring and casting to go on con- tinuously with part of the plant if another part should be disabled. casting cranes are centers so cranes are so placed that each one two converters. View of Both Casting Cranes in Fosition for Teeming Into Ingot Molds. THE IMPROVED railroad was built in front of the converters for the con- veyance of liquid metal to them from the mixers in ladle cars. Later these vessels were changed to 14-ton capac- ity. No change, however, was made in the method of casting, which continued to be done in the original cir- cular casting pit. The many advantages to be derived from casting on cars made a change desirable in this re- spect, and after a careful study of the requirements of the situation the company’s own engineers evolved the plan shown in the accompanying illustrations. They were not only limited in space by the dimensions of the building, but were also hampered by the elevated track running along in front of the converters. Two distinct and separate casting tracks were desired, so that in case of accident one might always be available and the work of casting go on uninterruptedly. This object was finally accomplished by the use of intermediate cranes, shown on SOUTH CHICAGO BESSEMER WORKS. These cranes are operated by hydraulic power from platforms shown on the general plan at the side and ina corner of the building. ‘The ladles on the arms of the cranes are moved back and forth by horizontal plungers, giving them a considerable range of adjustment in that respect. On the general plan receiving crane No. 1 is shown in position before converter No. 2 to receive a heat of steel, while receiving crane No. 2 is pouring a heat from its ladle into the ladle of casting crane No. 2, and casting crane No. 1 is teeming steel from its ladle into the ingot molds. The workmen who attend to the details of filling the molds have a safe elevated passage way, or platform, as shown both on the plan and in the interior view, Fig. 1. These details are further brought out on the drawings, Figs. + and 5, showing longitudinal sections of the works. The change to this method of casting was made in the 9 | THE IRON latter part of February last. All possible arrangements had been made in advance for the purpose of economiz- ing time, and the works were shut down for only two weeks while the change was being made. It has proved highly advantageous, both in respect to the improved quality of the steel made and the increase in the product. The double pouring facilitates the desired chemical reac- tion after recarburizing, and produces a more uniform grade of steel, while the greater ease with which the in- got molds are handled in and out of the casting house enables the work of blowing to be pushed faster. In the month of May the production was 69,282 tons of ingots, fully 10 per cent. above the best previous record for the works with the circular casting pit. _>:————— The New Lodge-Shipley Works. When the Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Company felt the pressure of expanding trade and realized that they could never successfully handle their proportionate share of it in their old quarters at Culvert and Pioneer * ’ ¥ °°) - AGE. tools. The center division is used as an aisle for vari- ous purposes. It is spanned by three traveling hand cranes with pneumatic hoists. The tracks were made strong enough to support heavy electric cranes in case they should ever be used. In explaining why the hand cranes were adopted, Mr. Lodge said that it is his experience that the loss of time in handling with cranes comes from the time required in moving them from point to point, and in one set of men waiting for their turn while others are using the appli- ances. So this shop has three roller bearing cranes, one for the lathe department, one for the planers and the third for the erectors. All the heavy work is done on ma- chines placed along the sides of the center aisle. Two of the cranes have a capacity of 4000 pounds each, and the third 12,000 pounds. By an arrangement of loose pul- leys and clutches the power can be cut off from any portion of the shop desired without in any way interfer- ing with other portions. After having considerable an- noyance from slipping belts, the company have recently put in several Williams pneumatic pulleys. Among the peculiarities of equipment are the number of planers, which have beds of extra length; two of these have 30 feet beds and three are 24 feet. Mr. Lodge claims a 25 per cent. saving in time and labor over the use of the ordinary short beds. The shops are plentifully July 6, 1899 , Are ‘er ok eye Fig. 2.—Casting Crane Swung Around After Casting. THE IMPROVED SOUTH CHICAGO streets, Cincinnati, they took steps to procure an up to date plant. Mention has been made in The Iron Age from time to time of the progress of the new shops which were constructed on Colerain avenue, in what is known as the Camp Washington district of the city. The uew plant has now been in operation several months, long enough to prove that it is a success in every mechanical detail. The building is 90 x 337 feet in measurement. For 40 feet back from the front it is two stories in hight, the remainder being but a single story. Lengthwise it is divided into three divisions, each of which is 30 feet in width. The lantern skylight covers the center divi- sion, while the wings of the roof shelter the side ones. The hight of the roof at the skylight is 30 feet. The windows on each side of the lantern are 9 feet in hight, and continuous from front to rear of the building. This arrangement, taken with the great number of side win- dows and the angle at which the roof slopes, gives a maximum of light. One of the peculiarities of the archi- tecture is that the hangers for the shafting are incor- porated into the overhead structure in a manner that does away entirely with the clumsy, overloaded, crowded effect under the old methods of hanging. When the shop was ready for the putting up of the hangers and shaft- ing, the value of this construction was further demon- strated by the fact that it took two men only one week to put the 500 hangers into place, and that the same two men put up the entire shafting in the week following. The south division of the floor carries the lathes and other tools, the boiler and engines and heating and ven- tilating outfit. The north has the offices, supply depart- ments, benches and assembling of the smaller machine BESSEMER WORKS. supplied with Towsley. trucks, which, in conection with the cranes, enable the transportation of weights with a minimum of time and laber. The plant is heated with a hot air equipment, put in by the Buffalo Forge Com- pany, and when last winter the temperature fell to 20 degrees below zero no trouble was experienced in keep- ing the thermometer at 75 degrees F. For a while com- pressed air was used in the tempering department, but on account of the expense that method was abandoned for the use of a small Sturtevant blower, which answers the purpose as well and at a trifling cost. Every man in the shops has a number corresponding to that of the ma- chine or station at which he works, and his key at the time clock and his supply checks are all numbered uni- formly. in, oe The Buffalo single vertical class A automatic engine recently exhibited at the Madison Square Garden Elec- trical Exhibition has been sold through the New York office of the Buffalo Forge Company to the Wilson Smokeless Coal Process Company, 11 Broadway, New York City, to be used for running a pressure blower in connection with the boiler plant of Paris World’s Exposi- tion, to be held in 1900. The Bethlehem Steel Company announce that they are now prepared to furnish steel castings to the trade. They have every facility for doing this class of work, an@ their experience in Government work has peculiarily fitted them for the manufacture of steel castings of the largest dimensions and highest quality. oc SR I oor eee July 6, 1899 English and American Workmen. The London Engineer, in discussing the question of the position of workmen in this country and in England, says: The volume of the trade of this country must in- crease ; if it-does not it will rapidly fall off, for there is no standing still. Now there is not sufficient labor in the country to permit of any considerable extension of pro ducing power on present lines. Speaking not long since to the managing partner of a very large firm in the Mid lands, engine and general machinery builders,he said: ** I sincerely hope I shall have no more orders for months. If THE IRON AGE. 3 and will run day and night for months and it may be for years. Why is it that no enterprising capitalist starts a locomotive building works? Very largely the answer to these questions is that materials cannot be obtained from which to build the new works, nor can men be got to work the tools if they were there. It is beyond question that Great Britain is just now working up to the utmost limit of her capacity as far as everything connected with steel or other metals is concerned. There is good reason to believe that in the near futare there will be no slacking back and that if Great Britain cannot supply the demand other nations, and notably the United Sates, will. ww 7 >S>>\y[¥SS> = — : CLLLTTTLLTTILITO i I = [ } - 6, wil —"* - = = 3" 2 me 13.0 cr — — _ - 4 —: peace In I t ] j | \ZZZZZ Za —_— 'e CONVERTER | (A ; NQ.1. / f led | — -—_ — —_- 4 \ } ja | | VESSEL RUNNER — 1 prone : ——_— Se OPERATING bs PLATFORM "Tt NO.1. —— -—— +s ; rt CRA » aaron secentne OX oA | - | | 1F = > Qe = « btn = | & sas | OPERATING PLATFORM oo — > 4-5 ; FOR CAST.CRANE 4 oe i a ~~ CASTING CRANE | -— TO STRIPPER + \ 7AN , _ | — ito NO. 1 t te - oo x Fig. 3.— THE IMPROVED SOUTH I get them I must refuse them. I begin to understand as I never did before how small a country England is. There are not men enough to do the work that is waiting to be done.”’ If our readers will turn to the letters of any of our country correspondents they will see from time to time that the books of the unions show only a most trifling percentage of men ‘on benefit ’* Fora considerable time past it has been next to impossible to obtain good fitters and erectors and machine minders. The chronic scarcity of molders has been intensified. There is in this country an enormous capital seeking investment. How is it, why is it, that some of this does not find its way into the con- struction of engineering shops’? Take, again, locomotives: All the works in the kingdom are running day and night, CHICAGO >) = A RAC 4 - r- = , ad Hib) ATING joi en sleet ‘at Ley 20%, EE a te aan i = ANC ——— ———— a | 1 A “PING l s | 1 ‘>; Plan Converting House. BESSEMER WORKS. The solution of the difficulty obviously lies in aug- menting our production. We must build three locomo- tives where we now build two, and so on; but this can only be done by augmenting the productive power of the workmen. We cannot put on three men where there are now two; machinery must come to our aid. It was stated during the recent conference that a machine riveting plant, as used in Newport News in the United States, will save 50 per cent. in labor. This means that one man will do the work done by two men now. Experimental plant of the kind is now on its way, we understand, to the Clyde. If it answers expectations the union will be asked to say what action it proposes to take. We shall not be surprised if the men refuse to have it. Such a policy will 4 THE IRON of course, in the long run, be suicidal; and in any case the machinery will take its place in our shipyards on its merits just as all other machinery—such as the power loom and the boot making machines—comes to stay. But the question which presents itself as most pressing at this moment is not the future of any machine or system of con- struction, but—why should the working engineer in the United States be so different from the working engineer in this country? The curious thing is that the English and Scotch element is very strong in United States shops. It is a very great mistake to assume that American labor saving machines are the invention of American brains only. English head workmen are common in American shops, and they will do there with the greatest cheerful- ness that which they would not doin this country at all. There must not only be a reason for all this but a reason Our readers may take our word that can be ascertained. AGE. July 6, 1899 ers. They are claimed to he the only concern of the kind baving machinery especially designed for their specific business, patented abroad as well as in this country. by which they are enabled to contract for cleaning boilers under a time limit with bond for heavy penalty for non- fulfillment, or to sell or lease tools for cleaning all makes of water tube boilers having straight, horizontally in- clined or vertical tubes and those having curved tubes, such as the Climax, Stirling, also the Hazelton, having closed end tubes; the latter three types being heretofore considered difficult to clean. Although they started in 1895 with a well equipped factory they are constantly enlarging their works, putting in additional machinery, and have more than doubled their force of workmen since the first of the year in their endeavors to keep up with orders. They have a flexible shaft which is unique in its way; having been compelled to design one to enable } } i } } \ 1} i] i 4 ag GENERAL | he — v- Ss —~ -_—_.* . * Lrg A i ee A hop te BRE 15 A es Ste ET = 7 CHICAGO CITY DATUM Pee - — - a 0 ‘ ? 4 Fe as | a , : GENERAL LEVEL is - me Re peep ooo c.c. DATUM Fig. 5.—Longitudinal Section, Looking North. THE for it, that it is a matter of clearly increasing importance to ascertain why it is that a workman in the United States will do almost twice as much as he will do in this coun- try. Nobody thinks of putting this question. The Eng- lish workman will tell you that it is because the American is ‘“‘hustled’’ by nigger driving foremen. That, our readers may take our word for it, is not the case. The American works cheerfully. Is it the climate? Is it the food’ Is it the social habits and life of the people? The sooner English employers address themselves to finding an answer, and if possible introducing the changes which are necessary to augment the turnout of the English workman until it equals that of the American artisan, the better. In that way and in that only can salvation be found. oo The Union Boiler Tube Cleaner Company of Pitts- burgh, Pa., were organized in 1895 for the purpose of in- troducing wn entirely new industry, that of removing scale from the interiors of the tubes of water tube boil- IMPROVED SOUTH CHICAGO BESSEMER WORKS. them to clean boilers having curved or other tubes in- accessible for a stiff rod. The Chicago & Aurora Smelting & Refining Company Aurora, lll., now a part of the American Smelting & Re- fining Company, have abandoned the manufacture of babbitt metal, excepting to fill a few orders on hand, although they had made a specialty of the manufacture of this material for engines, rolling mill works, &c. C. H. Reeves, Jr., who was in charge of this department, has therefore resigned his former position and become identified with Merchant & Co., Incorporated, of Phila- delphia, New York and Chicago. Merchant & Co., In- corporated, have been operating smelting works for some years in Philadelphia, and have al- ways been active in the manufacture of bab- bitt metais, and are now in a position to supply the trade with identically the same grades of babbitt metal as that which has been produced by the Chicago & Aurora Smelting & Refining Company. : { : ene: witha eaten tse Son cada Sua alaseibe SSkias bards 0 RT NN = a ihe APS SEE GT at ee cee ee PRO a veal tid ea Nae ign 0m July 6, 1899 Ft ed SH eT seen The Knecht Friction Sensitive Drill. The driving mechanism of the sensitive drill built by the Knecht Bros. Company of Cincinnati consists of two cones between which is held a friction roller. The power is transmitted from the lower cone to the friction roller, which transfers it to the upper or spindle cone. The roller is adjustable radially with the cones. The speed of the spindle is increased or diminished instantly, without stopping the machine or shifting the belts, by simply sliding the friction roller frame from one extreme to the other, a distance of only 4% inches. Any speed required by a drill of any size may thus be obtained. More or less driving power may be applied to the spindle as the size of the drill or nature of the work may re- quire. The tension of, the friction roller between the cones can be adjusted as required by turning the head adjusting put under the lower cone, making enough power to turn the drill used. If for any reason the drill should bind, the roller will slip and thereby stop the spindle. This is an important provision for obviating the danger of breaking drills in metal of different degrees of hardness. The cone that drives the spindle is mounted on a sleeve or bushing, which extends through both bear- ings in the frame, the spindle being relieved thereby from any lateral pressure. This spindle sleeve or bushing has ball thrust bearings. On the bar on which the fric- tion roller frame slides are marked the sizes of drills within the range of the machine, so that the operator can ees THE KNECHT FRICTION SENSITIVE DRILL. get the proper speed for any drill without loss of time. This allows the operation of the machine to the best ad- vantage in running the speed of the drills at best effi- ciency. There are gradugtions on the sleeve passing through the spindle head. indicating the depth to be drilled. The stop used on the spindle sleeve may be readily removed when not in use. It can be set so as to drill any number of holes a fixed depth without referring to the graduations on the [THE IRON AGE. 5 sleeve. The machine is driven by an endless belt, and provision is made for taking up the slack. The square table can be swung aside so that work can be held on the lower knee. The main dimensions are: From column to center of spindle, 614 inches; maximum distance from end of spindle to round table, 42 inches; vertical adjustment of round table, 28 inches: vertical adjustment of spindle head, 13 inches; throw of spindle, 3 15-16 inches; size of holes drilled, 0 to 9-16 inch; total hight, 6 feet 4 inches, and floor space, 20 x 34 inches. —_ Blacksmiths’ Power Hammer. The Novelty Iron Works of Dubuque, Iowa, have de- signed the Boss blacksmiths’ power hammer, here shown. It is intended particularly for work too heavy BLACKSMITH’S POWER HAMMER. for hand but not of a character to require much power. It can be operated with 1 horse-power. It occupies a space of 24 x 46 inches, is 6 feet in hight and its ship- ping weight is 1000 pounds. The hammer head weighs 40 pounds, will accommodate dies for a great variety of work and is arranged to run in planed guides, thus being capable of doing rapid and accurate work. The length of stroke is adjustable, as is also the space between the hammer and.the anvil. The anvil is separate from the machine and is solid enough for all requirements. The dies are set diagonally, so as to accommodate work of extra width or length. The tightener is reversible, so that the hammer may be driven on either side of the line shaft without crossing the belt. The hammer stops in- stantly and at the highest part of the stroke, being under full controll at all times in its speed, force of blow, stopping or starting. The machine will forge iron of any size up to 234 inches thick without adjustment. ei The fifth annual convention of the National Associa- tion of Manufacturers is to be held in Boston next spring, and a meeting of the New England vice-presidents of the association was held at the Exchange Club, Boston, re- cently, in response to an invitation sent out by George T. Coppins, vice-president for the State of Massachusetts. Plans for the convention were discussed in a general way, and it was decided to recommend to the Executive Committee of the association that the convention should be held during the third week of May, 1900. Steps were taken to arrange details and to inaugurate a general movement throughout New England to increase the membership of the association so that this section of the country shall be more fully represented when the con- vention is held. Mr. Coppins was made chairman of the Jeneral Committee of Arrangements, the other mem- bers, of which are George A. Draper, L. O. Garrett, E. B. Pike, M. H. Tarbox and Arthur H. Low. According to a customs circular of the India Office hoop steel, galvanized, is assessed for duty on importa- tion into British India at 1 per cent. ad valorem. 6 THE IRON AGE. The Utilization of Furnace Gas for Power.-— Il. A second paper read before the Verein Deutscher Eisenhuettenleute was that of Professor E. Meyer of Goettingen, who dealt with the subject from the stand- point of the maker of the gas engine. He intreduced his remarks with a general discussion of the arrangement of that type of gas engine which was prevalent at the time when the question of utilizing blast furnace gases for the production of power first came up. Fig. 1 shows a sketch to illustrate the general type. The cylinder of the motor, closed at the forward end, has two openings at the back end in the cylinder head closed by two valves. Through one of them an explosive mix- ture of gas and water is introduced into the cylinder while the piston is moving upward from the inner dead center, this constituting the first cycle. While the air is drawn in the gas at the same time flows into it from a point immediately in front of the air valve as soon as the third valve, the gas valve, opens the gas supply pipe entering into the air supply. When the piston has reached its outer point the air and gas valves are closed, so that when the piston returns, making the second cycle, the mixture is compressed. Then when the piston has again reached its inner dead center the compressed mix- ture is ignited by an electric spark. It burns suddenly under evolution of a high temperature and high pressure, the piston is driven outward with great force, forming the third cycle, the products of combustion expanding. When the piston returns, making the fourth cycle, the products of combustion are exhausted into the air through the exhaust valve. The piston, now having reached its inner dead center, begins the whole cycle over again by drawing in a fresh supply of mixture of air and gas. This is the principle on which the four-cycle motor is based. The card is shown in Fig. 2. Since the mixture is drawn in the pressure is below that of the atmosphere on account of the resistance in pipes and in valves. Dur- ing the period of compression the pressure rises to five to six atmospheres, and when ignition or explosion takes place to 15 to 25 atmospheres. The expansion line then follows. At the end of the latter the point may be readily observed at which the exhaust valve opens, since the pressure suddenly drops to nearly that of the atmosphere, but since there is a frictional resistance in the valves and AIR EXHAUST ©) SS, | Fig. 1.—Four-Cycle Gas Engine. ‘di pipes the line is only one-tenth to two-tenths atmosphere above the atmospheric line. Therefore there is in the ecard a positive area of work obtained and a negative area of work lost, the difference between the two furnish- ing a measure for the indicated work done by the engine. In order to utilize as much as possible the temperature developed through the explosion in the gas engine, and in that manner secure as low a consumption of gas as pos- sible, the card in the gas motor must be given as favor- able a form as possible and all losses of work must be reduced. The most favorable form of card is obtained when the combustion either takes place entirely at the dead center or at least during the first eighth of the stroke. The most important consideration is the degree of compression. The more the explosive mixture is com- pressed during the second sycle the lower is the gas con- sumption, other conditions being equal. This is being recognized more and more in recent years, and the tend- July 6, 1899 ency has been toward an increased compression; but since during that compression the temperature of the compressed mixture goes on increasing there is some danger that when excessive pressures are reached the mixture may be prematurely ignited, or a sudden igni- tion may lead to serious blows. This limits the upper range of the compression. Loss of work grows out of the resistance in the ad- mission and in the exhaust, they amounting to about 5 to 8 per cent. of the total work produced. Then there is the loss of heat through the cylinder walls, which must be cooled with water so that the valves may be kept tight and the lubrication may be secured. The loss due to this source of waste is about 15 to 30 per cent. of the theoretical work. A third source of waste is incom- plete combustion of the gas employed. This occurs only onliien — Fig. 2.—Diagram of Four-Cycle Gas Engine. when the mixture of gas and air is not complete. It is difficult, however, to so provide for the mixing that dur- ing the short time available every particle of gas meets the adequate quantity of air. In order to attain this the stream of gas must enter the stream of air during ad- mission, and a subsequent injection of gas with the aid of a gas pump into the cylinder which is already filled with air must always lead to incomplete combustion. A number of difficulties were expected in operating gas engines with blast furnace gas. Above all, fear was expressed as to the difficulty of igniting furnace gas, which often burns but poorly under steam boilers; but in compressing gas and air mixtures—an operation which goes on during the second cycle—a means Is available to cause a certain ignition of even very weak gas. This is due to the fact that the temperature rises as the com- pression increases, and the latter may therefore be car- ried on until the temperature of ignition is almost reached. Then the passage of an electric spark secures ignition with certainty. In the case of furnace gas, how- ever, compression may be carried on a good deal further than it is with illuminating or producer gas without run- ning the risk of premature ignition and accompanying shocks. The low calorific value of producer gas—from 900 to 1000 heat units—would, it was feared, lead to un- usually large dimensions of the cylinders; but while 1 ce. m. of illuminating gas requires for its combustion in the cylinder of a gas engine an average of 7 c. m. of air, 1 c. m. of furnace gas calls for only 1 c. m. of air. In a cylinder having a capacity of 8 c. m. there would, therefore be only 1c. m. of illuminating gas, but 4 c. m. of furnace gas would find a place in it with the requisite volume of air for combustion. Although, therefore, the calorific value of furnace gas is only one-fifth that of illuminating gas, the development of heat in the cylinder —and this is what measures the amount of work done— is at least four-fifths as great in the case of furnace gas as it is with illuminating gas. In other words, using furnace gas about 20 per cent. less of heat is developed, and therefore about 20 per cent. less of work is done in the same cylinder as compared with the use of illuminat- ing gas. This theoretical consideration is borne out by experience, since a 120 horse-power illuminating gas en- gine, when driven with furnace gas, developed about 100 horse-power. Small fluctuations in the calorific value of furnace gas do not affect the maximum power developed by a motor, as shown by the above theoretical considera- tion and by actual experience. Besides it appears that the fluctuations in the calorific value of furnace gas are very light in current practice. According to Professor Meyer’s experiments at Differdingen the fluctuations measured by a Junker calorimeter amounted to only about 4 per cent. from the average. The calorific value was 950 heat units per cubic meter at Differdingen; it was 960 at Oberhausen and 950 at Hoerde, both referred to zero and 760 mm. barometer. The fluctuation in the pressure of furnace gas is met by interposing a holder into which the gas is driven by means of a steam injector or is carried through by suc- tion. A 60 horse-power motor at Oberhausen and an 880 horse-power engine at Seraing, according to local authori- ties, worked well even when the gas holder was cut out. a ' : 4 th inal tate tte els GA) cella Me. te. oe ~ eet eee § ta CR 5 sp eh ten gs July 6, 1899 The point which above all calls for more light through practical results is the purification of gas from dust. It must be taken into consideration at the outstart that the gas engine of itself counteracts in a most effective way the settlement of dust on its cylinder walls, since the gas is whirled about during the explosion and dur- ing the exhaust. It has been proven even now that an adequate purification of the gas meets with no serious difficulty, and it is only a question as to the size of the necessary apparatus, on which experience has not passed a final verdict and on which opinions still differ. As it is done in the case of purifying illuminating and producer gas coke scrubbers and sawdust purifiers are usually employed. In the Thwaite purifying apparatus an electrical appliance is added. In the axis of a vertical iron pipe of about 5 m. in hight a barbed wire is hung up. With the aid of a small electrical machine sparks are made to iump from this barbed wire to the walls of the pipe through which the gas to be purified flows. This, it is stated, separates the metallic dust. Such an apparatus would, therefore, only be necessary where such metallic dust is carried along by the furnace gas. THE IRON AGE. 7 dust as possible out of the hot blast stoves and boilers. According to the magnitude and general arrangement of this part of the plant the purification before the engine must differ. At Differdingen, where the gases carry very little dust with them, and where, furthermore, they are thoroughly cleaned at the furnace, any further purifica- tion before the engine is absolutely unnecessary. It must be taken into consideration, however, that with a smaller motor plant, which takes very little gas from the main supply, even a smaller proportion of dust is carried into the motor pipes than would be the case with a large plant in which the entire supply of gas available must flow into the engine pipe alone. The gas at Seraing car- ries a good deal of dust, and after leaving the furnace is cleaned but very little. If the operation of the gas en- gine is possible there, even without preliminary heat- ing, then that is due to the fact that during the last fall the cylinder head of the gas engine was so redesigned that as little dust as possible can settle in it, and that it is easily expelled by the exhaust. It is a general fact, too, that different systems and designs of gas engines vary very much in their sensitiveness to furnace dust, and it is Fig. 3.—Siz Hundred H.-P. Gas Engine Plant at Oberhausen.—b, Power Station for Coal Haulage.—c, Steam Pipe.—d, Switch Board—e, 600 H.-P. Gas Engine Driving Electric Plant of 3000 Volts.—f, Gas Washing Plant.—h, Purification Plant. A purification plant as used for the 600 horse-power motor at Oberhausen is shown in Fig. 3. It includes three coke scrubbers and four cleaning boxes filled with coke breeze. According to experience obtained with the 60 horse-power motor water is not used in this purifica- tion plant. At other works, too, the gas is cleaned even when the water sprays attached to the coke scrubbers are cut off, and the purification is done alone by dry method. At other places wet purification is considered necessary. The 60 horse-power furnace gas motor at Differdingen has thus far been run without any previous purification of the gas. The same is true of the 180 horse-power motor at the Cockerill Works, at Seraing, which have been running since last fall, day and night, without any previous purification of the gas. During that time neither the piston nor the valves have been taken out. I myself have seen the interior of the engine, and have satisfied myself that only a very thin and dry accre- tion has been formed. When these facts are compared with the experience of other works, where a large puri- fication plant is considered absolutely necessary, the fol- lowing considerations are worthy of study. Furnace gases carry with them very varying amounts of dust, ac- cording to the character of the burden, the blast pres- sure, &c. Immediately after passing from the blast fur- nace the gases at the different works are submitted to a varying amount of purification in order to keep as much au important matter in designing the engine to reduce this sensitiveness as much as possible. It is true that only years of practice will demonstrate to what extent purification is absolutely necessary and whether with well cleaned gas the life of the engine is not greater than it is with unpurified gas. The impression certainly is derived from the study of present experiences that gas engines may be supplied with furnace gas as readily as with illuminating or producer gas, that the compression may be driven to a higher point without there being any occasion to fear great or disagreeable pressure, pre- mature ignitions or blows. My experiments made at Differdingen showed that 30 per cent. of the heat units in furnace gus may be converted into indicated horse- power in a gas engine. Therefore the most difficult problem for the gas en- gine makers to solve is to produce these engines, thus far built in relatively small units, of a size and of a type fully adequate to the requirements of the blast furnace industry. As may be readily understood, there are diffi- culties involved in building very large gas engines. Since there is only one working stroke in the four cycles the dimensions of the cylinders become very large. In order to attain uniformity of operation very large fiy wheels must be employed. During the explosion temperatures are reached above 1500 degrees Celsius, so that the cyl- inder walls must be cooled. When, however, the cylinder 8 THE IRON AGE. dimensions grow it becomes increasingly difficult to cool the inner parts of the engine by lowering the temper- atures of the cylinder walls. Then there are the differ- ences in the expansion through heat of the different parts of the cylinders, the large valves are easily warped, &c. During the last years, however, these difficulties have been more and more overcome. Cylinders developing 150 horse-power are now running steadily. As it seems that engines of from 500 to 1000 horse-power are entirely adequate for the requirements of the metallurgical industries. the work of building such engines has already begun. At the Deutz works engines are being bullt of which each cylinder represents 250 horse-power. Two such cylinders placed at opposite June 6, 1899 The Anthony-Bates Upright Tapper. The Anthony-Bates Machine Company of Worcester, Muass., have designed and built the upright tapping ma- chine here illustrated. The machine is belt driven from the countershaft, one belt driving all the spindles. Each spindle is provided with a lever, fork and clutch, by means of which each can be operated independently and stopped instantly. Also each spindle is furnished with a universal clutch for holding the square shank of the tap, and with a sliding head and length of tap can be used without changing the position of the pan, which can be rvised or lowered as required. By attaching a reversible THE ANTHONY-BATES UPRIGHT TAPPER. sides of the same shaft yield a 500 horse-power engine, and finally two such motors have been placed side by side to obtain a 1000 horse-power engine, the fly wheel or the dynamo being placed between them. It is true that then the engine has four cylinders, but this is the case also with 1000 horse-power steam engines. The cylinders are so placed that one is always on the working cycle, so that uniformity of operation of the engine is made possible without excessively heavy fly wheels. —<—>—___ A site for the proposed plant of the Gruson Iron Works has not been selected as yet. Several points on the New Jersey coast and on Staten Island are under consideration, and it is expected that a decision will be arrived at before the end of this month. As soon as the location has been decided the erection of the plant will be pushed vigorously. The offices of Capt. A. E. Pior- kowski, secretary of the company, are located at 31 Nassau street. head tap holder to the spindle the machine may be used for general tapping, and by reversing the tension spring on the pinion gear of any spindle it can be used for drill- ing at the same time. The holder for the nuts consists of two hardened steel guides, which are long enough to carry the nuts clear of the thread nut taps, thus pre- venting breakage. The guides are fastened to two way pieces used to guide the nuts under the tap, which is adjustable to any size of nuts. The machine will tap 8000 3¢ hexagonal nuts in ten hours. umn At a letting of cast iron pipe for Cincinnati, Ohio, re- cently, bids were submitted for two lots. On one of 950 tons, chiefly 60-inch, the United States Cast Iron Pipe Company bid $27.50, while the Camden Iron Works of Philadelphia bid $23 per ton. On the second lot, of about 5172 tons, the United States Cast Iron Pipe Company bid $30.50 and the Camden Iron Works $26 per ton. ) i July 6, 1899 The Paris Exposition of 1900. We have received from Paris a series of photographs of wash drawings which furnisha good conception of some of the principal features of the Paris Exposition, which is to be held next year. Architecturaily the greatest group is to be the new buildings near the Champs THE IRON AGE. % stream over the series of palaces and pavilions of foreign powers on the left, and the exhibition buildings for horti- culture Tower and the Trocadero in the distance. and agriculture on the right, with the Eiffel . SS ——E The members of the Central Plow Steel Company, composed of manufacturers of soft center plow steel made Nave of the Grand Palace. VIEWS OF THE PARIS Elysees, comprising the Grand Palace of Fine Arts and the Small Palace of Fine Arts. The magnitude of the former is well illustrated by the two pictures shown, with the general view of the siructure. Both of these build- ings are to be permanent additions to the architecture of Paris. Near them, crossing the Seine, is the famous Alex- ander III Bridge, of which French engineers and archi- tects are deservedly proud. We present also a picture of the Seine looking up EXPOSITION OF 1900, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, June 30, decided to continue the company for an indefinite period. W. H. Singer was elected chairman; Jas. W. Brown, vice-chairman, and Thos. Penrose, secretary, treasurer and general manager. W. J. Carlin, Pittsburgh, Pa., has opened offices in rooms 610 and 611 Lewis Block, Pittsburgh, where he will continue the business of buying and selling iron and steel plants, rolling mill machinery, steam shovels and general contractors’ outfits. 10 THE IRON AGE. Pennsylvania’s Iron and Steel Industry. The annual report of Capt. James M. Clark, chief of the Pennsylvania State Bureau of Industrial Statistics, just completed for.the calendar year 1898, shows that the production of pig iron in Pennsylvania during the State was 56,230 and their average yearly earnings were $496.81. Eighteen of the 20 tin plate works in Pennsylvania engaged in the manufacture of black plate were in opera- tion during the year and produced 344,064,000 pounds of black plate, or about 44 per cent. of the entire produc- tion of the United States. Of this production 222,528,000 Nave of the Grand lalace. VIEWS OF THE PARIS EXPOSITION OF 1900. year was 5,367,979 gross tons, the value of which was $53,331,228. The number of working people employed in the pig iron industry was 11,911 and the average daily wages $1.32. There were produced during the year in that State 3,357,784 gross tons of Bessemer steel, while the total steel production was 5,275.984 gross tons. The total production of steel billets and puddle bar was 5,537,249 net tons and its value $155,820,442. The num- ber of working people employed in this industry in the pounds were tinned. The number of people employed in this industry was 5036 and their average yearly earn- ings were $5841.58. Pennsylvania’s total production of tin and tin plate in 1898 was 261,934,000 pounds. me ee St During the month of June the ore receipts at Ashta- bula, Ohio, were 527,354 tons. The total receipts for the first six months of the year were 822,355 tons, an in- crease of 11,502 tons over the same period of last year. July 6, 1899 seamen namics 1 2 on NN. A lt Nl A i BR to Sorte aee ONES Nes! Et Shachidcalt isa abeeane atte =e ee ae ee oe July 6, 1899 The Discount System in the English Iron Trade. A circular has just been issued by the Midland Iron and Steel Trades Association inviting the opinion of the trade throughout the country upon the question of the abolition of discounts. It is pointed out that English and American firms are already charging net for pig iron and that the principal argument of the iron merchants against THE IRON AGE. 11 counts and promise of payment be continued to export merchants? Strong opposition is offered to the proposal by the merchants, who, it is stated, would prefer to pay a little extra price rather than have the discounts abol- ished altogether. Of a large number of manufacturers who have sent in their replies 90 per cent. answer the first question with an unequivocal affirmative. All of the remainder are in favor of a revision of the present basis, $4. SE 57, EOI priate ois ! 2 » feat © yr The Small Fulace. VIEWS OF THE PARIS EXPOSITION OF 1900. the proposal rests on a basis similar to that employed by the iron masters last June in their ineffective opposition to the action of the coal owners. Members of the trade are asked to express their opinion upon the following points: 1. Shall discounts be abolished altogether? 2. Or only partially—viz., on all accounts paid at latest on tenth of the month following delivery? 3. Should the extra 1 per cent. to merchants be withrdawn? 4. What, in your opinion, should be the maximum discounts (if any) ‘or prompt cash against invoice’? 5. Should usual dis- — — tom - i r c € I~ “7 - and only one replies to question 1 with a direct negative. The Scotch Iron Manufacturers’ Association, having met to consider the subject, passed a resolution in favor of the abolition of discounts on accounts not paid by the tenth of the month following delivery, and further condemned the payment of an extra | per cent. to merchants. Their feeling was that 1¢ per cent. should be the maximum dis- count for prompt cash against invoice, and th