The Iron Age 1901-04-18: Vol 67 Iss 16

THE. A 9 a tm use n Hisu at IRON..AGE A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinet i UNOS gs rades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. 232-238 William St.. New York Vol. 67: No. 16. New York, Thursday, 45.00 a Year, including Postage. Single Copies, Ten Cents. April 18 got. Reading Matter Contents....... Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ Classified List of Advertisers . & Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘ page 56 15! 153 67 a. ion Mo. © Wew York. THE BRISTOL ‘COMPANY, \ Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording Instruments. Fer Pressure Temperature and Electricity. Silver Medal, Paris Exposition All Ranges, Low Prices, and Guar- anieed. Send for Circulars. SAMSON SPOT CORD h tte and Phenix Also Mivands of Sash Cord. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. | oa Branch Office. 11 Broadway, New York. Cleveland City Forge and tronCo., - Cleveland, O TURN BV CHUES a rnc, Ree Fou ou ndry Brooklyn. E-D., N = lron. PILLING & CRANE, « Lewis flocks Bitaburan. APOLLO BEST BLOOM | GALVANIZED IRON Other things equal, the | man who uses Apollo gal- vanized iron, makes the most money. American Sheet Steel Company Battery Park Building New York A New U. M. 0. .22 Short Smokeless Cartridge AT A REDUCED PRICE. Little Noise. No burning grains of powder from the rifle’s muzzle. Comparatively _ Cheap. Your Dealer has it or can get it for you. Send for Illustrated Felder Describing the New .22 Shert. THE UNION METALLIC CARTRIDGE CO., 315 BROADWAY, N. Y. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. ACCURATE, SMOKELESS, CLEAN. = UAHALL BOILERS * CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS, BOSTON, DETROIT, CINCINNATI, SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, ORE., BUFFALO, BALTIMORE, NEW ORLEANS. >. aay OF CONG) APA 13 1901 BRANCHES: re (, Nikvi.7 YNIAN nrro> THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. Jenkins Bros.’ Valves are manufactured of the best steam metal, and are fully Seer cn Why experiment with cheap valves? If you want the T ask your dealer for valves manufactured by Jenkins Brothers. Re- member all genuine are stamped with Trade Mark like cut. JENKINS | BROTHERS, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston. Brass Prices High So Use Bright«Swedoh” Stamp- see 1A) ing Steel, Easily Brass Plated and Save Money. pase #14 MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearings. Fac-Simile of Bar. aw eirau Beware of imitations. 266 and 267 West St., London, Chicago, Montreal, Pittsburgh, o MAGNOLIA METAL CO.,_ C0., and Sole Manuf. Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia. NEW YORK. = - ~ . THE IRON AGE. THE [AANSONIA BRaAss p” COPPER CO. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. Ingot Copper. SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MarkK REGISTERED.) Condenser, Piates,Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. Waterbury Brass Co. Established 1845. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, German Silver, Co opper, Brass and Ger- man Silver Wire, Brass and Copper Tubing. COPPER RIVETS AND BURS. TAPE MEASURES, METALLIC EYELETS, Brass Kettles, Brass Tags, Powder Flasks, Shot Pouches, &e., AND SMALL BRASS WARES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION 99 John Street, New York, Randolph-Clowes Co., Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF a Specialty. DEPOTS: 60 Centre St., New York. 126 Eddy St., Provi- dence, R. [. 38 Mechanic St., Newark, NJ. MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shells THE PLUME & Atwood Mré. Go., MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass —aAND— WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Brass 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 : FACTORIES : THOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS SHEET, WIRE, TUBES. SHEET BRASS & COPPER. BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES TO 36 IN. DIAM. New York Office, 258 + ode Postal Tel- egraph Bidg., Room Chicago Office, 602 Fisher r Bldg. Boston Office, “or. Oliver and hase Sts. Deoxidized Bronze Best Acid-Resisting Metal in the United States . Send for Price. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., BRIDGEV?PORT, CONN. Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Nipples, Pumps and Oilers for Bieyeles, Braziers’ Solder. FACTORIES, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS: WEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER « AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY. 100 John Street, New York. Arthur T. Rutter, SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. FEARING, 256 Broadway, New York. Sheet Brass, German Silver, Cop- per, Brass and German Silver Wire, Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tubes, Small ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. OUNDERS BRASS Finisners J.J.RYAN & CO. 8 e-74 west Monroe St. Pp eblal-t-cos Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Alominum le Tubing a Specialty. Brass and Copper Rods, Brass Ferrules. Sheet and Ingot Copper; Spelter, Tin, Antimony, Lead, etc. “PHONO-ELECTRIC” al No better counter made. 4 Wheel, $3.00 5 Wheel, $3.25 Buy A SEAMLESS LINENOID FOR $25.00 AND Paddle Your Own Canoe. Crane Bros., Canoe Builders, Westfield, Mass. SEND FOR CATALOGUE. R. A. HART, Guaranteed. BATTLE CREEK, MICH HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, MANUFACTURERS OF Brasiers’ Bolt and Sheathing COoOoPrPwisEHR, COPrPrER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. tingot Copper, WIRE. “t's Tousn.” TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH LINES. sriaeesert, BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Conn. 190 Marray St., ‘THE IRON AGE Tuurspay, Aprit 18, 1901. The Burdict Automatic Bolt and Nut Machines. Several of the bolt and nut machines embodying the latest improvements, made by O. C. Burdict and built by the Howard Iron Works of Buffalo, N. Y., are here illustrated. Bolt Headers. The Class A machines, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, are rod machines, the bolts or rivets being cut from the heated rod and finished at one revolution of the wheel. THE ARONAGE tended for the same class of work, but makes longer sizes. The third will make carriage bolts and rivets from % x 2 inches to % x 5 inches, and the fourth turns out carriage and track bolts and rivets from % x 2 inches to 1 x 5 inches. Automatic Threaders, The Burdict automatic machine for pointing, thread- ing and tapping bolts and nuts is shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. It is designed to thread machine, carriage and tire bolts from 4 x 1 inch to & x 34% inches. The blanks, whether to be threaded, pointed or nutted, are shoveled Carriage Bolt Header. The completed articles are turned out at the rate of from 80 to 135 per minute, whether carriage bolts or rivets, according to the length and diameter. The dies are the length of the bolt or rivet required. One is stationary, while the other is bolted to a cross head moving in guides and actuated by an eccentric centrally located on the main shaft. The arrangement of the several parts and their relation to each other will be understood from Fig. 3. The heated rod is fed through a tube by hand to a gauge placed in front of the mova- ble jaw. The movable die in this jaw cuts off the blank, carries it to the stationary die, and holds it firmly until it has been headed, after which it is pushed out. The machine is well built, very massive and strong. They are made in four types, the first intended to produce carriage bolts 3-16 x 1 inch to % x 2% inches, and rivets from 4% x % inch to ®% x 2% inches. The second is in- THE BURDICT AUTOMATIC BOLT AND NUT MACHINES. into a revolving pan. A simple mechanism carries down a pair of fingers, and as the pan revolves these pick up several of the blanks. The fingers are then raised, when the blanks slide down to a quadrant, which carries them to a pair of gripping jaws, which hold them firmly. A four-jaw threading die, shown in Fig. 6, then comes into play and cuts the thread to a certain length, after which the die head is opened and drawn back. At this time another blank is ready and the same motions are repeated. The operation is identical on both the pointer and nutter. ‘ The blank nuts to be tapped are shoveled into a sta- tionary hopper, from which they are picked up by a simple mechanical device which drops them into a sliding way. They then drop down in line of the tap, from which position they are carried up to the tap. After this the tap is brought forward and freed from the tapped F _— ED ————— ——— -- nr ne ane ae ee NS - ’ ee ee ES poor vw: - THE IRON AGE. blank, when another blank nut comes up and pushes out the one that has been finished. These machines will thread or tap from 4500 to 6000 bolts or nuts per day. Hexagon Bolt Header. The six-lever or “ hex-header,” intended for hexagon heads only, is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. This machine is April 18, 1901 plished with a minimum delay. The feed is so controlled that it is impossible to enter the blank at the wrong time. The machine is operated by one lever convenient- ly placed at the operator’s left hand, and it is, there fore, not necessary to remove the hand from this lever during the entire operation of forming the bolt head The fly wheel, main shaft, with the main slide connec ro Fiy. 2.—Side ~ Tus IRon AGE } Flevation Fig. 1. , oo kT 7 Fig. 3.-—Pian Fig. 1. THE BURDICT AUTOMATIC provided with six levers and six forging slides, with a hammer or forging die in each for each side of the nut, and by this method every corner is made sharp and perfect. The blanks are first sheared to the required length and then heated in a furnace especially designed for the purpose. The dies and plunger are of uniform size and made of as few pieces as possible, so that the change from one size of bolt to another can be accom- BOLT AND NUT MACHINES. tion with the lever and forging die, and the hammer slide, are continuously in motion, there being no clutch used to start and stop the machine with every bolt made. A simple device is used when the heated blanks are between the closing or heading dies, which carries the blank forward and between the hammer dies up to the plunger, where it is upset and forged. It is then brought back by the same mechanism. These headers are built April 18, 1901 THE in four sizes, for hexagon or square heads, the latter having four levers and the others six. The fiiisetiie. Fuel & Iron Company. The Improvements Being Made. The report that John W. have become largely interested in the Colorado Fuel & Iron Coinpany lends additional interest to the recent develop ments of that Gates and associates property as an iron producing concern SSCA i Fap ® ais < Cai IRON AGE. 3 which erection of iinprovemeuts, of ‘The rod mills the following statement gives mills, tin plate mills just been decided upon. It will zive the company facilities for taking care of the Pacific the details. sheet and has only (‘oust markets and also the requirements of the Orient, to which the plant is the nearest in the world: Blast Furnaces.—Two new blast furnaces are under construction, cach 21 feet bosh by 95 feet high, each four with electric each 21 x 110 feet, Steam is to be supplied furnace, and the equipped with Cowper stoves, and skip hoists. horse boilers at each by 3600 power Jaw ig. 4 Grip Barrel of {utomatic Threader Assembled Mig. 5. THE BURDICT For many years the company were important chiefly as the great producer of coal and coke in the Rocky Moun- tain region. For a long time the iron manufacturing department was incidental and was not notably success- ful. ‘The company, however, gradually became a factor of importance in the Western steel rail trade, and a good deal of money was spent in the improvement and modernizing of the plant. The supply of iron ore had long been one of the problems of the company, this being solved by the acquisition of very important de- posits in Wyoming and New Mexico. Last year the company began very comprehensive {utomatic AUTOMATIC Threader. BOLT AND NUT MACHINES blast will be furnished by three Tod vertical steeple type cross compound condensing blowing engines with S4-inch diameter air cylinders at each furnace. One fur- nace should blow in in May; on the other the founda- tions are in and all material is ordered for it. These furnaces will bave no cast houses except runner sheds, as the metal will be run into ladles. Four Aiken cast- ing machines ave being instalied. Two other large fur- naces are contemplated: As soen as the two old fur- naces go out of blast they will be raised and remodeled; skip hoists, new hlowing engines and new boilers will be put in. RS POI ne a a el Ai 4 THE IRON AGE. As the supply of raw materials can be depended on almost every day in the year, the new stockyard will consist of one line of steel bins at the back of all four furnaces. These bins will be 1200 feet long and 40 feet high. In addition a steel stocking trestle 2000 feet long and 40 feet high will be put in to stock raw material. The bins and trestles are so arranged that loaded railroad cars will run by gravity onto the upper end of the bins April 18, 1901 nected with the steel works by a 28-inch wooden pipe, 5 miles of which was laid from the new reservoir and 1% miles from the old. A stand pipe 18 feet in diam- eter and 150 fect high is being constructed and will be connected direct to the new reservoir pipe, that reser- voir being 150 feet higher than the works. It is the in- tention to use the new reservoir for daily use and the old one, which is only 34 feet above the works, for emergencies. Two Srow cross compound condensing Tre IRon AGE Fig. 6.—Blevation Fig. 5. THE BURDICT AUTOMATIC BOLT AND NUT MACHINES. and trestles, and will be run by gravity over them and to the ground at the lower end. All this work is under contract. Charging will be done from the bins into skips by means of motor driven charging cars. If material is to be used from stock pile it will be loaded into steel dump railroad cars by steam shovels and then switched to bins. Water Supply.—A reservoir holding 500,000,000 gal- Jons has been constructed; the ditch from the San Carlos River, where the water supply is obtained, has been en- larged; the old reservoir will be enlarged so as to hold 800,000,000 gallons, and each reservoir has been con- pumping engines, each of 5,000,000 gallons capacity, have been ordered for this. Bessemer Department and Rolling Mills.—Plans are about completed for a new Bessemer mill complete, hav- ing two 15-ton vessels, two 300-ton mixers, and to con- tajn four iron and three spiegel cupolas. This mill will be modern in every particular. Contracts for boilers and engines have been let and the balance will be con- tracted for at an early date. The rail mill, which will also roll structural steel, is being thoroughly remodeled. Boilers with a capacity of 3600 horse-power have been installed, two new trains will be added and the old en- gines will be replaced by compound condensing engines. April 18, 1901 THE An entirely new finishing end will be built and six new ingot heating furnaces will be added. These improve- ments are all under way, and when completed the mill will be modern in every particular and with a capacity for rails of 550,000 tons a year. New heating furnaces are being put into the plate mill and the finishing end is being added to. This will make the plate mill modern in every respect. Shops.—New shops have just been completed and equipped with the most modern tools. The shops now consist of one building 350 feet long by 100 feet wide, of which 250 feet are used as a machine shop and 100 feet as a boiler shop. This is a modern building of steel aud brick construction and is commanded by traveling cranes. The second new shop is a steel and brick build- ing 350 feet long by 55 feet wide, of which 200 feet are used as a roll shop and 150 feet as a blacksmith shop, the roll shop being commanded by traveling cranes. The old shop building, built of brick, is about 450 feet long by 60 feet wide, and is now used as a pattern shop, carpenter shop, pipe fitting shop and storehouse. All of these buildings are heated by the Sturtevant hot air system, just installed. Plans are nearly complete for a 7.—Herayon Bolt Header. Fig. THE BURDICT AUTOMATIC new foundry 250 x 100 feet, and contracts will be let shortly. Boilers have been added to the power plant and two new electric units have been contracted for, each unit consisting of one 500-kw. 220-volt Westinghouse gen- erator, direct connected to a cross compound condensing Allis engine. Worthington surface condensers have been contracted for and the first is now being erected. Automatic spike machines are being put in to replace the: old hand fed machines, and a large warehouse for the products is being erected. The cast’ iron pipe foun- dry has been remodeled and twin flasks and fixtures put in. Extensive yards are being put in at the works to pro- vide for the increase of business. A new office, laboratory. dispensary and hospital are being built. Other contemplated improvements are an open hearth plant, sheet mills, tin plate mills, rod mills, steel rail- road car and wagon plant and modern merchant mills. The Laramie.—This plant is being generally over- hauled and the production increased. Iron Mines—The mines at Sunrise, Wyo., have been developed. The ore is a good red hematite, equal to the best Lake Superior, and is mined by steam shovel. The Fierro, N. M., mines have also been recently developed. From these two properties and from Orient, Col., are IRON AGE. 5 taken the ores used at Pueblo. All the mines have been developed largely to provide sufficient ore for the new furnaces. The quarry at Lime, Col., 7 miles from the works, has been extensively developed and is now a very com- plete plant, a Gates crusher crushing the stone before loading into cars. Seven new coal mines are being opened and 1300 new coke ovens being constructed in various parts of Colo- rado. This will increase the output of coal about 8000 tons and of coke 2000 tons daily. Railroads.—Auxiliary railroads have been built and equipped from the Colorado & Southern Railway to Sun- rise, Wyo., 14 miles, to haul the iron ore from Sunrise. Another line has been built from the Denver & Rio Grande Railread to Placita and Coalbasin, Col., 33 miles, to transport coal and coke. A road is also being con- structed from a point just west of Trinidad to Purga- tory, 15 miles, where large coal mines are being opened and coke ovens constructed. A branch extends 6 miles further for timber. This road connects with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railway and the Coiorado & Southern Railway. ED) \ G\\ by, C WY Y] ] _A \\ yt 7 ; — | ss, I \\A —) ve / Oey : } A r. ry | @®O 470 \. Uss_— wo | | tte = Ko 300 0 4 faa fa Fig. 8.—Cross Section Fig. 7. BOLT AND NUT MACHINES. Track laying is now progressing and it should be com- pleted within two months. All these railroads are built in the most substantial manner. Three hundred 50-ton steel dump cars have been ordered for them. The loco- motives are of the heaviest type and everything has been done to promote economical operation. A large acreage of coal and iron lands has been re- cently acquired, so that now the company probably pos- sess more reserves of iron and coal in proportion to their output than any other company in the United States. The J. S. Stearns Mfg. Company, Ludington, Mich., have announced to all employees of the works, including several hundred men with homes and families located in different parts of the city, that prizes of from $5 to $10 each will be offered by the firm to employees keeping their homes in best repair and yards in most attractive condition during the summer season. They also offer prizes of $10 each for best beds of flowers on the prem- ises, best vegetable gardens of 600 square feet, best lawns, &c. The contestants must enter the list by May 15, and a committee consisting of four pastors of churches and an editor will visit the premises of each contestant on the first day of July, August and Septem- ber and make notes of the conditions found. The prizes will be awarded during the month of September. The Iron and Steel Institute Meeting. The annual meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute will be held on May 8 and 9, 1901, in London. The fol- lowing is a list of papers that are expected to be sub- mitted: 1. * On the Properties of Steel Castings.” By Profes- sor J. O. Arnold, Sheffield. 29. “On the Physical Properties of Steel.” By J. A. Brinell, Fagersta, Sweden. 2. “On the Heat of Formation of Carbides and Sili- cides of Lron.” By EK. D. Campbell, Ann Arbor, Mich. t “On the Use of Hydraulic Power in the Manufac- ture of Iron and Steel.” By R. M. Daelen, Diisseldorf. >. “On British and American Rolling Mill Practice.” By William Garrett, Cleveland, Ohio. 6. “On Dust in Blast Furnace Gas.” By A. Greiner, Seraing, Belgium. 7. “On a Water Cooled Blast Furnace Bosh.” By Axel Sahlin, Millom. 8. “On the Economical Signiticance of High Silicon in Pig Iron for the Acid Steel Processes.” By Axel Sahlin, Millom. 9. “On Crystals of Carbo-Silicide of Manganese and Iron from a Blast Furnace Burden.” By J. E. Stead, Middlesbrough. 10. “On the Effect of Copper in Steel Rails and Plates.” By J. E. Stead and John Evans, Middles- brough. 11. ‘On the New Bessemer Shop and Heating Pits at the Works of the Barrow Hezematite Steel Company, Limited.”” By J. M. While, Barrow-in-Furness. 12. “On the Measurement of Young’s Modulus for Iron Rods by Tension and by Bending.” By H. E. Wim- peris, Elswick Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 13. “ Note on a Medal Struck in Steel, presented to the Institute by Mr. E. J. Ljungberg.” By the Secre- tary. Among those who are proposed for membership are J. M. Camp of Duquesne, F. H. Crockard of Wheeling, W. Va.: ©. S. Robinson of Denver, Col., J. E. Tatnall of Pittsburgh, and E. L. Wiles of Wheeling, W. Va. $< —_____ The Pennsylvania Steel Company. The Philadelphia Financial News prints the follow- ing: In view of the practically unanimous sanction given the Pennsylvania Steel reorganization plan by special vote of the stockholders, the following exhibit, prepared by a director at the time of the promulgation of the plan, is of interest now. in connection with the recapitalization plan the fol- lowing figures are of interest, as showing the charges ahead of the stock in the present company, and in the company it is proposed to organize: Present New company. company. Interest on first mortgage............ $150,000 $150,000 Interest on consolidated mortgage...... 210,000 90,000 Interest on floating debt.............. eee Ce Ce oe ae Charges ahead of preferred stock...... $427,000 "$240,000 Dividends on preferred stock.......... 105,000 1,155,000 Charges ahead of common stock....... $532,000 $1,395,000 Thus the present preferred stock has charges of $427,- 000 and the present common stock of $532,000 per year ahead of them, while the new preferred has charges of only $240,000, which must be met before it shares in the earnings of the company. The amounts which would have been saved to the company in 1900 and in 1901 had the new capital been available and invested in properties supplying coke and ore are as follows: 1900. 1901. oe eee wr $942,000 Re a "ete 1,304,400 434,000 En ea ... +++ $2,907,800 $1,376,000 The prices which the company had to pay in 1900 in the open market for their supplies of coke and ore were abnormally high, since 1900 was a year in which prices were on an extremely high level, and therefore the sav- ing which the company would have been able to make in that year is beyond what would be shown in an aver- THE IRON AGE. . April 18, 1901 age year. In 1901 prices of coke and ore are about what may be expected in normal years, and the saving alone is enough to pay all fixed charges of the new company and a full dividend on the new preferred stock. AS ha i a The Eclipse Oil and Steam Separator. The vertical oil and steam separator made by the John Davis Company, 51 Michigan street, Chicago, is provided with a bathe plate, at the bottom of which is a trough connected with the chamber below by a pipe. ‘The steam passing through the separator strikes the battie plate and the condensation or oil runs down the plate into the trough through the pipe into the chamber below. The dry steam passes around underneath the trough, around the pipe and out the opposite side, and does not come in contact with the water after the latter has been separated from the steam; consequently there is no chance of its picking up particles of water after v &™ e- - 6) THE ECLIPSE OIL AND STEAM SEPARATOR. they have been separated. A valve is placed on the bot- tom for drawing off the condensation and a water glass on the outside to show the amount of water always in the separator. The arrangement recommended, how- ever, is to connect the separator with a trap, leaving the valve always open, which will automatically take care of the condensation. The contract for the construction of the new pro- tected cruiser * Milwaukee” has been awarded to the Union Iron Works, at San Francisco, at their bid of $2,825,000. The award was made on the recommenda- tion of the Naval Board of Construction, who pointed out that the amount bid by the Union Iron Works was considerably less than 4 per cent. above the contract price on similar ships built in the East, whereas the law allows 4 per cent. additional on ships built on the Pacific Coast. Moreover the Pacific Coast has received only one out of eight vessels, whereas it was the evident pur- pose of Congress that at least two of this ‘class of ves- sels should be constructed there in case the price was not excessive. The French Ministry of Marine has given orders for the construction of 20 additional submarine torpedo: boats, the work being apportioned among the Govern- ment shipyards at Cherbourg, Rochefort and Toulon. Apr of April 18, 1901 THE A Notable Crane Equipment. We iliustrate berewith a portion of the crane equip- ment installed by Alfred Box & Co., Philadelphia, Pa., for the Seaboard Steel Casting Company, Chester, Pa., and which is probably one of the most up to date equip- ments in use in any steel casting plant at the present time. Ten cranes in all were required for the needs of the foundry and machine shops of the company, and each was specially designed for the particular class of work required of it. A great surplus of strength was provided, and the journals supplied with very liberal bearings, and each bearing fitted with bronze bushings. All the cranes are furnished with large motors in order to meet any emergency and prevent delays and interruptions caused by breakdowns, &c., due to heavy overloading. All parts of the cranes of similar capacity are interchangeable, and only a small number of spare parts need be carried on band. One of the features of the design of these cranes is that the gear wheels are cut from solid blanks of open — Ss a. ag SS THe IRON AGE A NOTABLE hearth steel of 60,000 tensile strength the maximum strength. The motors and controllers are of the General Electric inclosed type and are the average at double the power actually required; this enables them to be kept in continuous service without heating and be equal to the heavy duty generally im posed upon cranes in a steel casting plant. The bridge girders are of the double web or box type, with extra wide cover plates to avoid any chance of torsional strain when suddenly starting or stopping the crane when heavy ily loaded. The five cranes shown in the illustration are of 60-foot span each and serve the main floor of the foundry, all traveling on one runway extending the length of the building, some 560 feet. They consist of two of 30 tons capacity each, one of 25'tons capacity, and two of 10 tons capacity each. One 30-ton crane is provided with double trolleys to enable the copes of large and long molds to be raised with ease and without damage to the mold. These cranes. serving an aggregate floor space of 33,600 square feet, permit of no lost time for want of a lift, or the quick handling of molds, sand, &c., and the trans- ference of molds to the casting floor and castings to the chipping department is rapidly and conveniently done. Two cranes of 5 tons capacity and 20-foot span each serve the east bay of the foundry and are used for handling small work. One crane of 20 tons capacity and _ in order to obtain IRON CRAN rated on’ AC ik. =~] another of 5 tons capacity and west bay, plant. machine shop is served by one crane of 30 tons capacity with a 60-foot span and having an auxiliary lift of 5 tons capacity. The power required for these cranes is supplied by the company’s own plant, two Milwaukee generators of respectively, and the entire operation for 30-foot span serve constituting the gray a por tion of the iron depart ment of the The consisting of 200 and 100 kw. capacity equipment, which has now time, has given complete satisfaction, both in regard to power and the ease with which the cranes are handled for their respective work. <i ——_— McClure & Co.’s New Building.—F. J. Osterling, architect, of Pittsburgh, has completed plans for a six- story brick warehouse and offices to be built at the north- west corner of Second avenue and Block House Way, Pittsburgh, by McClure & Co., manufacturers of tin plate, in that city. The lot fronts 100 feet on Second avenue and 75 feet on Block House Way y, and the build- ing, which will cost about $65,000, will cover the entire been in some 1E EQUIPMENT site. The floor. rear offices will be on the front portion of the first Large elevators will be located in each of the two corners. The walls will be of red brick and terra cotta. ILIron columns and girders and floors are specified, and the construction throug will be what is known as “ combustion.” <A large vault will be built in the basement, while about half the space on the first three floors will be rented out for light manufactur- ing purposes, the rest of the building McClure & Co. in their and metals. W ood hout slow being used as a business of tin The present offices and warehouse of on Second avenue, Pittsburgh, but their business has outgrown these quarters and a larger build- ing was necessary. The building will be located on * Point ” district in Pittsburgh, and will do much toward beautifying and improving the ap- pearance of that part of the city. warehouse by plate this concern are new what is known as the oe ny The sixth ciation of on June 4, annual convention of the National Asso- Manufacturers will be held in Detroit, Mich., 5 and 6. The opening of the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo in May will enable manufacturers to arrange for a trip that will take in both attractions. The members of the association are taking unusual in- terest in and a large attendance important matters will be discussed. this year’s gathering, is expected. Many RE I~ ns 8 ; THE IRON AGE. The Hill High Speed Vertical Engine. Illustrations are herewith given of the chief features of a new high speed vertical automatic engine which has been placed on the market by Wm. E. Hill & Co., Kala- mazoo, Mich. The firm are manufacturers of saw mill machinery and have designed this engine to meet a spe- cial demand which they have encountered. The valve is of the piston type and perfectly balanced. Steam is taken in the center and exhausted at the ends. The valve is hollow and allows the exhaust and water to pass by readily. The exhaust passing the ends of the valves obviates the leakage at the valve steam, as that only has to be packed against the exhaust steam pres- sure. The adjustment of the cross head is shown in Fig. 3. In this case the piston rod screws tightly into the cross head, and the connecting rod is attached by means of a taper pin, so that lost motion can be readily THE HILL HIGH SPEED VERTICAL ENGINE. taken up. The adjustment of the shoes is simple, as one set screw is backed out and the other tightened in order to make the adjustment. The connecting rod has one end made solid, in which the brass is inserted and held firmly in place and attached by a wedge shaped block moved by two set screws which work into the wedge and not against the outside, putting all the strain on the wedge where it belongs. On the other end of the rod the strap is held firmly by two bolts, while the brasses are held and adjusted in the same manner as at the solid end. These engines are tested at 80 pounds initial pressure, on which pressure the horse-power is based. The cranks are forged steel and connecting rods cast steel. These engines are built in nine sizes, rang- ing from 3 to 20 horse-power, and designed to be oper- ated at a speed of 425 revolutions per minute for the . Smallest size down to 300 revolutions for the largest size. a = ——— The Neafie & Levy Ship & Engine Building Company, Philadelphia, Pa., successfully launched on the 6th inst. the steel passenger and freight steamship “ Zulia” for the Red D Line, Boulton, Bliss & Dallett, owners. The April 18, 1901 new vessel is 277 feet 6 inches in length, 37 feet in breadth and 19 feet 3% inches in depth. She will be equipped with triple expansion engines and 12 feet 3 inch by 12 feet 8 inch boilers. Her displacement will be 2200 tons, and she will have a speed of 12 knots per hour. When completed the “ Zulia” will ply between New York and South American ports. _ — Shipbuilding Active.—The Bureau of Navigation of the Treasury Department has issued the following state- ment: Vessels built in the United States and officially numbered during the nine months ended March 31, 1901, were 753 rigs, of 246,793 gross tons, indicating for the current fiscal year a probable total construction, in- cluding .canal boats and other unrigged craft, of over 460,000 tons. The increase for the first three-quarters of this year over the corresponding period last year has Asnwnxs Bi pare MD Fig. TL TTTTTT RAL LLL Fig. 3.—Cross Head. been 50,825 tons, of which 40,912 tons are credited to the great lakes. Steel steam vessels numbered 56, of 128,369 tons, compared with 59, of 102,322 tons for the corresponding period last year, the lake shipyards show- ing an increase of 33,500 tons and the Atlantic seaboard a decrease of 13,000 tons. The decline, however, will be made good by the end of the fiscal year, when several large steamers, recently launched, are numbered. The principal factors of the new tonnage are 13 large lake steel steamers aggregating 59,860 tons, 19 large wooden schooners of 35,470 tons and five large steel ocean steamers of 29,683 tons for the Hawaiian trade. Oo Pittsburgh has recently grown to be the second largest car wheel producing city in the United States. There are upward of 1000 car wheels made in that city daily at the present time, and there will probably be a fur- ther increase in the near future, as the supply is not equal to the present demand. The t McClintic-Marshall Construction Company of Pittsburgh have signed the new wage scale of the Struc- tural Iron Workers’ Association. April 18, 1901 THE IRON AGE. 9 The Wilmarth & Morman Friction Counter- shaft. The new friction countershaft designed by the Wil- marth & Morman Company of Grand Rapids, Mich., possesses unusual driving power, is easy of operation, noiseless and gives the workman complete control of his machine. Its driving power will not be questioned when it is pointed out that the friction shoes are screwed into contact with the rim, a tight engagement being thus ob- tained with a very small effort at the shifter lever. The force required to engage this clutch is so small that with the tip of the finger at the shifter handle the friction is set tight enough to slip the belts. The friction gradually engages and the operator can apply any desired amount of driving power to his machine. The extent to which this feature can be utilized is shown by the fact that a piece of work may be put on the lathe centers and cut in two with a parting tool without danger of breaking the tool, because the friction can be set just tight enough to drive the cut and to slip when the piece comes apart and pinches the tool. The self oiling boxes are so supported as to be free to swing in all directions, and will not bind the shaft if the hangers are put up squarely. No tools are required to adjust the friction and the belts are not thrown off for this purpose. The pulleys run on sleeves set screwed to the shaft and con- taining the oil holes, so that the belts need not be thrown off for oiling. The method of operating the shoes will be under- stood from Fig. 2. Working in a groove in the shaft is a rack which is moved by the shifter. Engaging with the rack is a pinion which is carried by a rod having a hole in each end. These holes are right and left threaded to receive screws attacked to the shoes. It is evident that the movement of the rack forces the shoes into and out of contact with the rim. ee Aluminum Plating. A German engineer, Herr Sichelstiel, has reported to the Nuernberg section of the Verein Deutscher In- genieure about the Warkwitz process of aluminum plat- PATENT APP'O FOR mended for kitchen utensils. The lecturer also said that there would be no difficulty in coating aluminum wire 0.8 inch in diameter with 0.08 inch of copper, in or- der to get good conductors for alternating currents, for which we need only a well conducting outer copper shell. The following results were obtained with sheet iron, aluminum foil, and iron plated on both sides with alumi- num, the combined metals consisting of 70 parts by volume of iron with 15 parts on each side of aluminum. The figures are the average of six tests; the two strengths are expressed in tons per square inch, the Fig. 2.—View Showing the Working Parts. eclongations in percentages. The tests were conducted at the Bavarian Technical Museum: Iron. Aluminum. Plated iron. Temeiie streme@th.....cccowes 21.14 9.14 11.87 Shearing strength......... »« 10 5.14 7.36 eer ee 28.5 5.70 16.7 The test pieces were further passed through presses, and hollow semicylinders were shaped of them; cracks THE WILMARTH & MORMAN FRICTION COUNTERSHAFT. ing. If plates of aluminum, which melts at 700 degrees C., and of copper, melting point about 1100 degrees C., are placed upon one another and heated, the aluminum will unite with the copper. But it will form a hard, brittle alloy, rich in aluminum, which is of no use for binding a further layer of aluminum. At lower tem- peratures the two metals will not unite. Yet Warkwitz proceeds somewhat as described, but his aluminum sheet is exceedingly thin, forming, when pressed on hard to avoid all oxidation of the copper, a copper alloy which contains very little of the other metal. This alloy welds under the rolls with other sheet aluminum, and thus the plating is accomplished. In the case of iron and steel the process is less simple; but, on the whole, the same method is applied for uniting any metals of widely differing melting points; for instance, for copper- ing zinc. Aluminum plated copper and iron can be worked like white metal, and are, therefore, recom- and peeling were not observed. It is claimed that alu- minum plated zinc, prepared in this way, would be cheaper than when obtained galvanically. ——— The fire losses continue heavy. During March they reached a total of $15,036,250 in the United States and Canada, according to the returns of the New York Journal of Commerce, as compared with $13,992,000 in the preceding month and $13,349,200 in March, 1900. For the first quarter of this year the fire waste has footed up $45,603,200, or nearly $5,000,000 above the losses shown in the first three months of 1900 and 1899, both of which were quarters in which unusually heavy losses were sustained. The Phoenix Iron Works, Pittsburgh, have estab- lished their Chicago agency with the Mechanical Equip- ment Company, Fisher Building. 10 THE Labor Troubles in Scotland. Stoppage of Iron and Steel Works. GuLascow, April 3, 1901.—The second quarter of the commercial year begins in Scotland with every indica- tion of a prolonged period of strife in the industrial world. One of our principal shipyards, that of the Fair- field Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, was brought to a stand last week by a strike of “‘ black squad” and ““white squad” over a very simple and what to out- siders may appear as a very trivial affair. This yard is a very extensive one, and in traversing the super- ficial area from the entrance gates, where the time records have hitherto been kept, to where their jobs may lie, the men lose a good deal of time—say from three to ten minutes at every entry. It is computed that on the average about 15 minutes per man per day are thus lost, and this over an army of 3000 men is no small thing. The management, therefore, last week in- stituted a new arrangement whereby the men’s time would be taken, not from the entrance gates, but at check cabins, so distributed over the yard as to bring each man close to his work, and to enable the men to reach their jobs quickly doorways are placed at various convenient points, so as to obviate crowding and delay at the big gates. This the men resent. They want to be paid for their two or three daily strolls through the yard, during which they are rendering no more service to their employers than if they were sauntering along the king’s highway. So they have gone out on this tremendous issue and have thrown the whole shipyard idle. The dispute concerns several trade unions, and the point of interest is whether the executives of these trade unions will support the Fairfield strikers with strike pay. Their difficulty is that the members of the same trade unions are working in the company’s engine shops, where has been peacefully in operation for a long time the very system which it is now desired to apply to the shipyard. But this is nothing to the trouble which is impending in the shipbuilding and iron and steel industries in con- sequence of the disputes, actual and prospective, in the coal trade. While these lines are being written it looks as if we were going to have one of the largest and bitter- est strikes in the trade even seen in Scotland. In a recent communication reference was made to the reso- lution of the miners in the Scotch Federation not to work more than five days per week after the first of this month. This was understood to be designed with the object of so curtailing the output that prices would not fall away any further, and therefore the coal masters would have no excuse for proposing a further reduction of wages when the present wages agreement expires on April 30. The coal owners in Fifeshire and the east- ern counties, however, promptly and flatly refused to agree to the five-day policy and insisted that their men should renew contracts on the old system of 11 days per fortnight and eight hours per day. Unless this were done the Fife coal trade, which practically depends on the export business, would be ruined, as the coal own- ers could not compete with the unfettered production and active competition of Newcastle and the North of England. As the Fife colliers could not deny the justice of the arguments of their employers, they with- drew from the five-day movement. This might involve their expulsion from the Miners’ Federation, but they did not care—they were not going to sacrifice their pres- ent and prospective bread and butter to please the Lanarkshire colliers. But before any rupture in the Federation could occur a crisis in the coal trade was precipitated by the colliery engine men. These men, who attended to the working of the engines on the sur- face and underground and upon whose care and watch- fulness depend the lives of all the men in the pit, as well as the bringing to bank of the fruits of their labor, have been in the habit of working for 12 hours a day. Their work is not arduous and exhaustive like that of the miners, but it is highly responsible, and a strain of 12 hours continuous responsibility is admittedly too much. The coal owners, after some higgling, offered to IRON ‘railway haulage. AGE. April 18, 1901 reduce the working day to ten hours, but the men insist on eight hours at 12 hours’ pay, which is equal to an advance of 50 per cent. in wages. To make such a wage demand when coal is coming down and miners’ wages have just been reduced was impolitic, to say the least of it. Of course it was not conceded, and the engine men “struck work.” This did not seem of much con- sequence, people thought, as there are plenty of engineers in the country eager and willing to work. But when new engine men were sent to the pits, the colliers re- fused to go down if “strangers’’ were placed at the winding engines. There was a specious appearance of reasonableness in this attitude, which seemed to be based partly on sympathy with their fellow workmen and partly on a justifiable regard for their own safety when underground. But the real reason why the colliers took up this position is believed to be they wanted to keep the pits closed for two or three weeks so as to forestall an intention they suspected on the part of the coal masters to propose a further reduction in wages after the 30th inst. Whatever the reason, to the surprise of everybody, half the collieries in the west of Scotland were brought to a stand quite unexpectedly this week, and while these lines are being written some 35,000 men are idle. It is to be feared that the mere submission of, or ar- rangement with, the engine men will not see the colliers back in the pits. That this move is only the beginning of a long strife, iron masters evidently think, for they began at once to damp down the blast furnaces. Then the makers of finished iron, who are not in the habit of carrying stocks of fuel, but who obtain their supplies day by day from contiguous collieries, at once began to shut down works. The steel makers, who carry rather more stocks of coal, are able to run a few days longer, but are preparing to shut down at the end of the week. Unless the dispute is arranged in the meantime, which is more than doubtful, there will not be a single iron or steel works in Scotland in operation next week. Of course the stoppage of coal will not be absolute even within the area of the strike, and there are also the pits in the eastern counties to fall back upon at a longer But the large consumers are deter- mined not to be made the catspaws of either colliers or coal owners, and they will rather stop than pay one penny more for their coal while the producers squabble. The moment the trouble at the pit head was reported the coal masters began to quote higher prices, but to their surprise they found no takers. And, of course, higher prices will simply operate to shut off the export trade from the western coal ports. The Scotch coal exports have already fallen off by 480,000 tons as compared with the corresponding period of last year. This week ex- ports from Glasgow have practically stopped and chartered vessels are being, wherever possible, diverted either to the Ayrshire ports (for the Ayrshire miners have not as yet come out on strike) or to the ports on the east coast. The general expectation in the trade is that the coal masters will treat the going out of the col- liers just now as a breach of contract, under which wages and other relations were to remain undisturbed until April 30, and will refuse to allow the colliers to re- start (even after engine men are arranged with) until they have consented to a further reduction. The prospect of a prolonged strike in the coal trade, even a partial one, would have sent pig iron up with a bound but for the prompt action of the iron and steel makers, which compels smelters to choose between damping down and stocking. As it is, coal is too dear for smelting purposes, even without the premiums which will be demanded while the strike lasts. Fuel and ore have not come down in proportion to the decline in pig iron, which, again, some consumers say, has not come down in proportion to finished material. Last week the Scotch steel makers reduced the price of steel ship plates to £6 per ton less 5 per cent., and the North of England makers, who had-previously been getting £6 5s. less 2% per cent., had to reduce also in order to prevent Scotch steel from reaching their customers. Their prices are still about 20 to 25 shillings per ton above the lowest prices touched for plates before the great revival in April 18, 1901 THE shipbuilding. But they are moderate, and those ship- builders who did not cover all their material when book- ing contracts now on hand must be doing uncommonly well. The effect of the stoppage at the collieries and in the iron and steel works will not be immediately felt in the shipyards, for most, if not all, of the shipbuilders are understood to have good supplies of material on hand. Last year there was a great deal of annoying waiting for steel, &c., but this year the reverse has been the case. Therefore the shipyards can keep on working for some time, even if they do not draw on England, America and Germany for plates. They are more likely to be bothered for want of orders than by want of material, for the contracts booked this year for new ships have been few and far between. In the first quarter of the year Scotch shipbuilders have put into the water 112,250 tons of new shipping, and in the same period they did not book more than 50,000 tons of new orders. Therefore the work on hand is about 60,000 tons less than at the beginning of the year, and there is yet no appearance of r