The Iron Age 1902-01-23: Vol 69 Iss 4

“TRO. -AGE 2 A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery and 1 Riss Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co,., 232-238 William St., New York. -_- . ~ $5.00 a Year, includ Vol. 69: No. 4 New York, Thursday January 23. 1902 ROO. a enn incheding Pees Advertising and Subscription Rates “ Reading Matter Contents ........ page 581) Alphabetical Index to Advertisers “ 145 |) 200004 $ oefostostoetoeioatoaioesonsoesoeteetoetoasoasoaroetoetoetoatoatoscoetoetoatoetbatnatoatoet Classified List of Advertisers .... “ = : " $ 3 Remington No. 4 Single Shot Rifle. o, oe. oagoet °, > 2. - Roscoe oe o, * +, > eee eres retreatment $ Now supplied with Take Down attachment at no additional cost. oe. 2 oe. 7 Superior in quality and workmanship, “ By Far The Best ” mod- erate priced rifle on the market. List Price, $8.00. o, oe. rete a * eteeeeteteees Apply to your dealer for Catalogue and Discount. THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn, REMINGTON ARMS CO., o, a rer, 2, oe a tt nite a ge ere Bristol’s Recording $ ILION, N. Y. 2g be ene eee $ 313-317 Broadway, N. Y. 425 Market St., San Francisco, Cal, 7 Silver Medal, Pate Lercsttion, | Mrdaatectectesreesttetetetetectreoeeetetetrteteteteteteenenetntetetetetetreeceeetettetatetetet ; ; All ane Low Prices, aad Guar- ‘send for Circulars. SAMSON SPOT CORD CAHALL BOILERS sm RS Sa Pate, ‘iti attawe| CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS. TURNBUCKLES. - rg NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, Branch Office. 11 Broadway, New York CHICAGO, a ice. f F mieerelire Sites) te aN mR UCEKLIES. ; DETROIT eee MERRILL BROS BRANCHES: cinciNNATI, 405 to 471 Kent Ave . SAN FRANCISCO; ve. Brooklyn, E.D., N.Y. PORTLAND, ORE., BUFFALO, aa ahh ne) (lo BALTIMORE, 0 eres PILLING & GRANE, Seis HARTFORD, CONN. Jenkins Bros.’ Valves are manufactured of the best steam metal, you want the BGO sak Why experiment with cheap valves? If a want the , your dealer for valves manufactured by | . : APOLLO BEST BLOOM GALVANIZED IRON a a eR ER a Whatever advantage be- : member all genuine are stamped with Trade Mark ihe cut? cut. longs to-galvanized iron and JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Bostos. liberal dealing goes with Brass Prices High, $0 Use Bright “Swedoh” Stamp- See 195 Apollo, ing Steel. Easily Brass Plated and Save Money, pase Costs not a cent, and re- MAGNOLIA M METAL. ~-lieves-you-of much anxiety. ‘MasnoLi METAL CO., aredont eae manasa THE IRON AGE. THE ANSONIA Brass p” COPPER CO. BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. ESTABLISHED 1846. Main Office and Mills at Waterbury, Conn. Manufacturers of Brass,German Silver, Ingot Copper. Copper, Tob in Bronz @ |" SHEET, ROLL, ROD, WIRE, BRAZED and SEAMLESS TUBING, Brass Brazing Wire, Spelter § Solder. Rivets and sid White: Metallic Eye- lets, Shells, (TRADE-MaRK REGISTERED.) Condenser, Plates, Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. 89 John Street, bY te New York. Randolph-Clowes Co., Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET BRASS & COPPER. Ferrules and Small BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS bey & COPPER TUBES- =) TO 36 IN. DIAM. Deoxidized Babbitt. NEVER HAS BEEN BEATEN, New York Office, 258 Broséwag, Postal Tel- Chicago egraph Bldg. Visher B Bld ce. Boston Office, Cor. Oliver and P Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co, hase Sts, BKIDGEPORT, CONN, Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co.,” LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. 2 Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. eo , Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. ‘ : Seloctext Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. UNS DET SGoEe-74 West Lroe ‘sa aoe Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals. cm ania oar ol | Beare P= wre aa.08 Brass and Aluminum Founders, [ a Phosphor Bronze Bearing Castings. es R.A.HART, BATTLE CREEK, mich. |W. G. ROWELL & CO., Bridgeport, Conn. HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETURS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Braziers’ Bolt an onan BSheathing COoOoPprrPwriszsR, COPPER WIRE AND Riv2ETs. Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST... NEW YORK. Fr WOTFRBURY BRASS (OTHE Puowe & Arwooo Mes. Co, Brasswares of every Description. Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WIiIRG PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORE. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE | ROLLING MILL : TusmAsTOn, CONN. SCOVILL EMF Manufacturers of BRAS°, GERMAN SiILv. Sheets. Rolls, \ Rods, Bolts and Brass Shells, Cups, Buttons, Lamp Co. SPEUIAL BRASS GOODS TT Factories, WATERBURY, (0 DEPOTS : NEW YORK, CHICAGO, Be JOHN DAVOL & SO AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper (¢ DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER LEAD, ANTIMONY, 100 John Street, - New York Arthur T. Rutter SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. FEARING 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. Copper and Brass Rod. “PHONO-ELECTRIC” WIRE. «1s rovan.” TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH LINES. Brideevort, BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Coan. 19 Murray St., New York. ‘THE IRON GH THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1902. A New Machine for Ore Unloading. There will be installed on the docks of M. A. Hanna & Co. at Ashtabula, Ohio, prior to the opening of the next season of navigation, a new form of apparatus for unloading iron ore from lake vessels which is com- monly accounted an improvement upon the Hulett auto- matic ore unloader, which attracted so much attention when introduced on the unloading docks of the Carnegie Company at Conneaut, Ohio, a year or two ago. More strictly speaking, the new invention should perhaps be described as a new device of distinctively original type, but suggested by the automatic unloader previously mentioned. The new machine is not so ponderous as the old form of automatic unloader, and it is claimed that the cost of operation will be considerably less. In the Hulett automatic unloader, several of which have been in use for a full year past on the docks at the clam shell is, in the case of the new machine, pro- vided with a mechanical helper in the hold of the ves- sel. In the type of machine first introduced the de- pending mast, which, by the way, contains a cage for the operator, revolves in a-complete circle. Inasmuch as the clam shell bucket has, when open, a radius of 9 feet, it was supposed that it could not only reach over the space intervening between the hatches, but that its arms would also reach to the bilge of the vessel. It was not believed originally that more than 10 per cent. of the ore forming a cargo would have to be shoveled by hand to within range of the scoop, but in actual practice it was found that the percentage was some- what higher than that, and in consequence it has been necessary in most instances to supplement the services of an automatic unloader at Conneaut with a force of from 12 to 15 hand shovelers. In the plant under construction at Ashtabula no NEW MACHINE FOR Conneaut, the principal feature is a leg or mast de- pending from a heavy walking beam and supporting at its lower end a clam shell bucket. In the new ma- chine the fundamental factor is found in a new style excavating bucket, which. instead of depending from a heavy mast, is suspended by chains from a trolley. The new and old style buckets are each operated on the clam shell plan, but here the similarity ends. The new bucket weighs about 4 tons, or less than the old style, but it presents a proportionate reduction in ca- pacity, inasmuch as it will hold but 3 or 4 tons of me- dium grade soft ore or 2 or 3 tons of crushed hard ore, as compared with the 10-ton capacity of the clam shells at Conneaut. This new excavating bucket has been thoroughly tried in iron ore, and the experiments have proved that in the case of many of the soft ores it can pick up more than its own weight of ore. An important qualification of the new excavating utensil is found, of course, in the fact that it works with the ordinary type of conveyor. Another radical departure from the plan of the auto- matic unloaders first introduced is found in the fact that ORE UNLOADING. effort will be made to have the clam shells pick up other than the ore immediately under the hatches, which, it may be explained, are 8 feet fore and aft and spaced 24 feet centers. After the ore—estimated at 50 per cent. of the entire cargo—originally lying di- rectly under the hatches has been removed by the ex- ecavating bucket the remainder of the ore will be drawn under the hatches and within range of the scoop by means of an auxiliary machine fitted with a scraping device. This mechanical assistant is built as a part of the same conveyor which supports the excavating bucket, and may be operated simultaneously with the latter without interfering in any way. The scraping device is provided with a depending tube, in which the oper- ator is stationed, on the same plan as im the depending mast of the type of automatic unloader at Conneaut. Indeed, this feature of the machine is closely patterned after that part of the original Hulett unloader, and the whole principle of the new invention is to more dis- tinctly separate the loading and conveying functions of the machine. ae ane wey ee. « ee wens THE The operator, whose cage is in the depending mast, is thus directly over the scraping device and is in full control of all its movements. An electric motor oper- ates the scraper, which has perpendicular, horizontal and rotating movements, and has a “reach” of 15 feet from the center of rotation, thus affording it, as will be seen, a radius of action somewhat greater than that of the large clam shell in the original Hulett unloader. The main advantage in this new piece of apparatus is found in the fact that it is designed simply to scrape or drag the ore into position under a hatch where the excavating bucket can reach it, and consequently there is no necessity for the heavy and ponderous construc- tion which was essential when the excavator had to not only scoop in the ore, but also withstand the strain of lifting several tons of ore out of the hold and back over the dock. It is claimed that these two devices working in conjunction will take out as great a propor- tion of a cargo of ore as can ever be handled by purely mechanical means, and that not more than one or two men will be required for hand shoveling. The new machine is being built by the Webster, Camp & Lane Machine Company of Akron, Ohio, who constructed the automatic unloaders on the Carnegie docks at Conneaut. It was designed by F. BD. Hulett, but the operating machinery was designed by G. H. Hulett, who was responsible for the entire plan of the original automatic unloader. The apparatus to be in- stalled at Ashtabula may be designated as the third step in the evolution of his ideas regarding an auto- matic unloader, for after building the initial unloader at Conneaut he conceived and carried into execution a project for amalgamating two such machines into a single apparatus, one being of considerably lighter con- struction than the other. In this apparatus the opera- tion of the lighter mechanism was supplementary to that of the heavier. The more powerful portion of the machine was designed to remove the great bulk of the ore from underneath a hatch, and when it moved to the next hatch the other portion of the apparatus, ac- curately gauged to exactly the necessary distance be- hind it, performs the cleaning up work. It is claimed that the new style automatic unloader to be introduced at Ashtabula will have the further advantage that it will be capable of a much wider range of work, particularly in transferring iron ore from ships to stock piles, than was the original auto- matic machine, since the ponderous construction of the latter entailed a very costly expenditure of time when it was desired to place ore on a stock pile some distance back from the dock. Indeed, the original automatic un- loader could only be used with satisfaction when it was possible to load ore directly on the railroad cars provided to carry it to the furnaces, for when it was desired to stock the material it was necessary to have the clam shell bucket unload into small cars, which in turn operated on a trestle carrying the ore out to the stock piles at the rear of the dock. All this will be obviated in the new machine, which will be capable of transferring direct to stock pile without loss of time. A reduction of the cost of unloading iren ore to a small percentage of the present cost is also claimed for the new machine. ——— aoa The officials connected with the Chicago Drainage Canal are sanguine of Government encouragement for the project of continuing the navigable waterway af- forded by the Drainage Canal from its terminus at Joliet te the Mississippi River. This canal has for its primary object the disposal of the sewage of Chicago. In the construction of the canal, however, a sufficient depth was provided to make the entire 40 miles naviga- ble for vessels of large size. It was hoped from the in- ception of this project that the United States Govern- ment might in time be induced to deepen the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers, so as to make a continuous navigable channel from Lake Michigan to the Missis- sippi River over this route. Efforts are being made to secure an appropriation of $200,000 to be expended by the Government in making a survey and estimate of the cost of constructing a waterway 14 feet deep. It is IRON AGE. January 23, 1902 expected that if this appropriation is made the work of survey will be completed within two years, and an ap- propriation can then be asked for the work of con- struction. So much interest is being taken in this proj- ect for improving Western water communication that the hope of its consummation seems to be reasonable. ee The Cedar Point Furnace. Pilling & Crane, Girard Building, Philadelphia, have leased the Cedar Point Furnace, owned by Witherbee, Sherman & Co., Incorporated, located at Port Henry, N. Y. The furnace is 16 x 71 feet in dimensions. equipped with tire brick stoves, and has previously had a capacity of 100 tens per day. It is to be thoroughly remodeled and modernized, equipped with new boilers and an additional blowing engine, bringing its capacity to 5000 to 6000 tons per month. There will be used principally concentrates, Old Bed 21 and Harmony ore from the mines of the Witherbee, Sherman & Co., mix- ing, if necessary, other suitable ores to secure best re- sults in the furnace. The fuel will be anthracite and eoke, and the product principally basic pig, although foundry, mill and malleable iron may also be produced. Frank EK. Bachman, at the present time superintendent of the Buffalo Union Furnace Company, Buffalo, N. Y., has been secured as general manager, and Frank C. Roberts & Co. of Philadelphia have been engaged to co- operate with him in remodeling the plant. It is expected that the plant will be in operation by April 1. A cor- poration will be organized to take over the lease. es Central Pennsylvania News. HARRISBURG Pa., January 21, 1902.—The middle of the first month of the year found all of the works in this city and vicinity in operation and prospects even better than they were a fortnight ago. With the first week of the year there was more inquiry and considerable book- ing of orders. All of the rolling mills here and at Lebanon have placed orders for summer and fall de- livery, and the spring promises to be very busy. On the first of the year the high water mark in number of men employed is believed to have been reached, as every works had its full force employed. At the Penn- sylvania Steel Works the December roll totaled 7744 names. These figures will be increased before many months as additional departments are put into opera- tion. In this city there are to be some additions to mills, and there is talk of a new pipe works. No. 2 Paxton Furnace in this city has been blown out for repairs, but will be started in February. On and after February 1 the Paxton furnaces will be un- der the management of Mr. Amsden, lately with the Tidewater Steel Company of Chester. Charles Forney, the present superintendent, will take charge of a plant in the western part of the State. Molders in the Wilkes-Barre-Pittston-Scranton dis- trict asked for a new scale of wages. They want $2.75 per day. The Middletown Car Works have taken up the man- ufacture of steel frame cars, and have many orders on their books. ' The Pennsylvania Steel Company have taken orders for many rails for late delivery this year. One large or- der is for the Mexican national railways. The Lebanon Rolling Mill Company’s charcoal plant has been removed to Lickdale, near that city. It is said that a better supply of wood can be obtained at the new site. The American Iron & Steel Mfg. Company are in- stalling additional boilers at their Lebanon works. s. ee Representatives of Amalgamated lodges and other labor organizations in the Wheeling district met on Sunday, January 19, to arrange for the national conven- tion of the Amalgamated Association, to be held in Wheeling in April next. The Board of Trade of Wheel- ing will co-operate in providing finances. . Shipbuilding on the Lakes. Annual shipbuilding statistics of the great lakes show some interesting conclusions, as well as some remark- able totals. There are in lake yards so many ships un- der way that no new orders can be delivered before the spring of 1903. In fact, several orders have been refused simply because lake builders cannot deliver in time for the vessels to be of use during the coming season of navigation. This condition of things bids fair to con- tinue into another year. There are plans in the offices of shipping concerns on the lakes that will go far to- ward maintaining lake yards at their present condition during the winter of 1902-1903. And while the construc- tion of freight ships has been almost the sole line of ac- tivity on the lakes for many years, with the exception of the three big ships, “‘ North Land,” ‘‘ Northwest” and “‘ Manitou,” there is to be a boom in the passenger line, and a number of fine ships for service from Lake Erie to lakes Superior and Michigan are soon to be laid down. Shipbuilding on the lakes for the past four years can be summarized as follows, omitting the intermediate year 1900: 1902. 1901. 1899. Number of ships......... 48 59 26 GE <o vvbesegestaessn 46 54 20 WOE cine teyaceaeine << 2 6 6 Built by American Ship- building Company...... 34 34 Built by independent oo eee ee 14 25 26 For lake service......... 46 54 26 For ocean service........ 2 5 en Cargo GRig@icedccvcseces 38 48 15 Trip capacity, tons..... 190,000 174,000 71,400 Season capacity, tons... 3,700,000 3,300,000 1,430,000 Steam propulsion........ 44 54 20 Towing barges........... 4 5 6 COME ccccnvasneduevacees $10,875,000 $11,740,000 $2,980,000 While there were more ships under way on the lakes a year ago than there are now, their seasonal capacity was less by 400,000 tons, so many of them were small craft, passenger boats and tugs. After years of experiment and argument on the part of lake shipowners and builders, three things have ap- parently been settled at last. The most important per- haps is that of the economical size for cargo ships. Up to two years ago lake builders were constantly striving after bigger ships. They forced the Government to con- tinually deepen and enlarge its connecting channels by being always in the lead with ships that could move on a greater draft than was available. They gradually increased their capacity, until in ten years they advanced from a maximum of 3000 to 8000 tons. Two years ago they built ships that carried 8000 net tons on a draft of 18 feet. The question was, When would the ultimate size be reached and where was the limit for profitable lake ships? Now, none of these biggest ships are being built. The type seems to have been abandoned. The universal agreement as to the proper size is a ship about 400 feet long, varying perhaps 30 to 40 feet either way, 50 feet beam and 28 feet depth, with a capacity of from 5000 to 6000 tons. This agreement was foreshadowed a year ago, and now it is very evident. Every one of the 28 cargo ships under way by the American Shipbuilding Company is of this class of handy business boats. There is consensus of opinion after long trial and ag- itation on another point, and that is that the towing type of barge, to be pulled by a steamer, isnot economical. Three and four years ago it was the plan of the leading builders of lake tonnage that they should have two barges for every steamship, the barges to be pulled from port to port by the steam vessel. To-day there is not one steel barge under way for American owners. Of the four building two are for a Canadian interest, and the re- maining are of wood, to go with the steamers of a line owned by a shipbuilding yard. The experience of 1901, when many barges were wrecked and when steamers suffered much delay in ports waiting for their consorts to be made ready, has crystallized the sentiment against barges into solidity. It is now universally believed that no valuable ship and cargo should be afloat without some means of propulsion if the cable between it and January 23, 1902 THE IRON AGE. 3 the steamship ahead is broken by severe weather, and that the immense additional weight of barge and cargo, which often reaches 10,000 gross tons, is too much for any steamship to be obliged to care for in extreme weather. The strain of such a weight hanging behind and buffeted by head waves and winds seems almost enough sometimes to pull the stern out of a ship. Another change, more manifest than ever, though It has been coming for years, is the elimination of the wooden ship. But two of these are now under way, neither of them steamers. There is now but one shipyard on the lakes that builds vessels of wood. The spasmodic attempt of lake shipowners to build vessels for combined lake and ocean service, doomed from the first, the statistics of this year show to have been utterly abandoned. Not one ship for this service is now under way. The two ships for ocean service shown in the tables are of a size so large that when once taken to the sea they can never return. Even these two were under way more than a year ago, and are not to be con- sidered in the development of lake shipbuilding ideas in 1902. They are both 7000-ton ships, too long to be floated out of the lakes, and will be cut in two before leaving Lake Erie, and jointed together again below the St. Lawrence canals. Even this class of competition with the shipbuilders of the Atlantic Coast, thought for some time to have important bearing on the future, will prob- ably be abandoned if the lake yards can find sufficient work to keep them even fairly busy. The new ships destined for lake cargo use will give an increased capacity on the lakes for the coming year, re- ductions by wrecks deducted, of about 3,000,000 tons for 1902. It is possible that the commerce of the lakes will increase this much in the year; the average increase for each of the four preceding years was 2,350,000 tons, counting the business of Lake Superior alone. But last year the actual capacity of the fleet then in commission was diminished about 3,000,000 tons by a short season and by delays and detentions at docks, so that if there are no such delays the coming season the vessels of 1902 will be able to readily move 6,000,000 tons more freight than last year. This will mean a total increase of more than 10 per cent. Passenger traffic of the great lakes is increasing to such an extent that present accommodations are not suf- ficient. It is expected that by the spring of 1903 there will be at least five splendid and commodious passenger vessels added to the steel fleet of the lakes, all for the long interlake service, as distinguished from the ships running between Buffalo and other Lake Erie ports. An interesting feature of the present situation is that not a ship is building for interests directly controlling large freight tonnages, like the United States Steel Cor- poration, whose constituent interests were, before its formation, chief among the builders of vessels. Inde- pendent vessel owners control all the new tonnage, some of them with assurances of business in long time con- tracts with grain, coal, ore and other traffic departments. D. E. W. —— The remarkable development in the use of sheet metal for purposes for which cast metal or wood were formerly used is a pronounced feature of construction work to-day. As an illustration of this development the Ferracute Machine Company of Bridgeton, N. J., advise us that they recently furnished to a foreign gov- ernment an outfit of machinery for making the sliding carriages which deliver the cartridges into rapid firing guns. These sheet metal carriages weigh only 2 pounds each, whereas the phosphor bronze carriages for- merly used weighed 30 pounds and cost about ten times as much as those of sheet metal. Moreover, the sheet metal carriages have the additional advantage that a much larger number can be carried on mule back and other forms of transportation. The company have been officially advised that the carriages made by their ma- chines have proved very successful in use. There is un- doubtedly a growing tendency to replace castings and forgings with sheet metal in many different lines of work. Sow pigeon Se eee eee ° Se om tae Pangaea ~ send tem cepenc tee oe THE IRON AGE. January 23, 1902 ° ing mills and planing machines the torsional strength The Sellers 28-Foot Boring and Turn- of the cross head or cross rail to resist the tool pressure ing Mill. is measured by the strength of the casting at or near the housings. The depth at this point—that is, the distance from the front to the back face, must obviously be kept as small as practicable, and the front must be hollowed out in a trough like form to afford room for the screws The 2S-toot boring and turning mill which we here il- lustrate, desigped and built by Wm. Sellers & Co., In- corporated, of Philadelphia, represents in several re- | = ns THE IRON AGE — etl ee eel eon nl —— MILL, neal —— oe ae —_- BORING AND TURNING 28-FOOT SELLERS THE spects 9 new departure in machines of this character. and feed rods. Not only is the size very great, the diameter of the table being 18 feet 4 inches, and the swing 28 feet, but there are certain features of marked originality. Probably the iost striking of these novelties is the manner in which the cross rail is stiffened to resist torsional The resulting section is not one well adapted to withstand torsional strains, and no amount of ‘back swell” in the center of the beam will increase the torsional strength at the weakest section, although dpubtless of importance in resisting the horizontal forces. In the boring and turning mill before us the housings stresses. In the usual construction of boring and turn- are made of rectangular section, the front and back January 23, 1902 THE IRON AGE. edges being parallel. The cross rail is extended back to the rear face of the housings, where an additional pair of elevating screws and clamping shoes are provided, The cross head bar measures 7 feet 6 inches from the front face of the housings to the clamping point on the rear, while the depth is 40 inches. When this great beam, which is thoroughly braced by internal diagonal webs, is secured by the front and back to the housings, a degree of rigidity is afforded hitherto not obtained in machines of this character. The front of the cross head is further stiffened to resist the vertical loads due to the saddles and boring bars by a curved beam measuring over 48 inches deep in the middle and bolted to the top of the cross rail between suitable cast abutments. When the cross rail is clamped up for work it is so thoronghly braced to the two housings that no furthe! connection between them is needed at the upper ends than such a member as may be required to carry the ele vating machinery. This is provided in two 20-inch | beams, which support in their center the electric motor used for raising and lowering the cross rail, as well as the necessary shafts, wheels and bearings. Two saddles are provided, each carrying a 12-inch boring bar of 7-foot stroke. Attached to each of the sad- dles there is a convenient platform for the operator, and from this position he can control all the movements of the saddle and boring bar. The feed screw for horizontal adjustment is stationary, and both saddles have nuts en- gaging with the screw. Each saddle carries its own feeding mechanism, with change wheels for altering the speeds of feed, and there are within the cross rail two shafts from which power may be taken. The first, which is used for regular feeds, is driven by the driving gear of the boring and turning mill, and runs at a constant speed in relation to the table, while the other shaft is operated by a motor on the back of one of the overhang- ing ends of the cross rail, which may be stopped and started from either saddle, and is used to drive the rapid traverse mechanism. The saddles can be moved along the cress rail or the bar raised or lowered by rapid pow- er traverse, and with great nicety. The operating levers are so interlocked that the rapid traverse cannot be thrown in for one saddle unless it is disengaged from the other, so that it is impossible for the operator on one head to move the opposite head acci- dentally. Convenient levers are arranged for throwing in the various movements, so that the operator has_per- fect control of the movement of the boring bars in every direction. The vertical feed is accomplished by the heavy screw passing within the boring bar, and is sufficiently power- ful to enable the bar to be used for slotting large key seats where desired. The great length of the cross rail, nearly 39 feet, makes it necessary to provide intermediate bearings, and ingenious drop hangers are provided, which will move out of the way as the saddles travel along the rail, but when in action they hold the shafts effectively in closed bearings. The table is provided with external spur gearing, pro- tected by an overhanging edge, and is carried on two wide, flat annular bearings, and centered by a spindle 25 inches in diameter in a bearing adjustable for wear. To insure a thorough lubrication of all the table bear- ings a centrifugal force pump is provided, which deliv- ers the oil to the vital points, and the overflow is col- lected, passed through filters and returned to the pump tank by gravity. This system has proved eminently sat- isfactory in practice, and the lubrication has been all that could be desired. The table gear is 45¢-inch pitch, 11-inch face, and the driving pinion is on the vertical shaft at the rear of the machine. Two changes of gearing are provided, and in the machine shown the drive is directly from an electric motor of 20 horse-power through a variable speed coun- tershaft. ‘ This machine was built for the British Westinghouse & Mfg. Company. , —_—_—_—_—~> The Coke Situation at Chicago.—The coke situation has recently improved considerably at Chicago. The Illinois Steel Company were able to start up more of ~! their furnaces the past week, and now have nine stacks in operation at their South Chicago Works. The one stack out of operation at this pliant is undergoing re pairs. They blew in one of their Milwaukee furnaces on Saturday. Ali their furnaces are now in operation at Joliet, one is running at their Union Works, one at Milwaukee, and one at their North Chicago plant. The Calumet Furnace of the South Chicago Furnace Com- pany is in operation again, and it is expected that the new furnace of the Lroquois Lron Company, also at South Chicago, will be running by February 1. This puts a new face on the pig iron situation at Chicago, and will greatly relieve the Western iron trade. The Eight-Hour Law in Government Work. WASHINGTON, LD. C., January 21, 1902.—The original programme of the House Committee on Labor to limit hearings on the pending eight-hour bill to three days’ discussion, with the understanding that the first hearing would be given on the 16th inst., and the arguments tinally closed on the 30th inst., so that the bill might be reported to the Hlouse on February 1, has been complete- ly upset, owing to a development which had not been counted upon by the committee. Chairman Gardner, the author of the bill, has decided to become a candidate for the United States Senate, and as the Senatorial canvass in New Jersey is now well un- der way, the eight-hour bill has become a matter of sec- ondary importance to him. As a result, when the Com- mittee on Labor convened on the 16th inst. the chairman was absent, and the roll call developed the fact that but tive members were present, or several less than a quorum. The iron and steel interests were represented by ex Secretary Herbert and Mr. Micou, who appeared for the Union Iron Works, Bath Iron Works, Midvale Steel Company, &c.; Judge McCammon, for the Carnegie Steel Company. Bethlehem Steel Company, and other inter- ests; Judge Payson, for the Newport News Shipbuild- ing & Dry Dock Company, &c., and General Williams, for the Cramp Shipbuilding Company. Several repre- sentatives of labor organizations were also present, and the hearings would have begun at once had the com- mittee been able to Summon a quorum. After some discussion it was decided to adjourn until the 23rd inst., but the announcement being made that Chairman Gardner would probably not be in Washing- ton on that day, it was intimated to the various interests present that arguments would probably not begin until January 30. As the committee is pledged to devote at least three regular meeting days to hearings, it is ob- vious that the bill will be delayed not less than two weeks, and cannot be reported before February 17. This outcome, although unexpected, is very satisfactory to the interests desiring to be heard against the bill, as a num- ber of prominent manufacturers from the Pacific Coast and other remote points have signified a desire to appear and argue against the bill. It now seems probable that the bill will not be taken up in the House before March 1, and its opponents therefore feel more confident than ever of their ability to defeat it in the Senate. We 6. —_a The Inland Steel Plant.—The Inland Steel Company of Chicago are pushing as rapidly as possible: the work of construction on their new open hearth steel plant at Indiana Harbor, Ind. The erection of the buildings has been delayed by difficulty in securing satisfactory ship- ments of the structural steel required for this purpose, but in the meantime the work of laying foundations for the steel furnaces and the machinery has been proceed- ing, and, now that building material is being received more rapidly, it is expected that no serious delays will be encountered in completing the works. From present appearances it is believed that the plant will be in con- dition to be producing steel some time in April. The works will consist of four 50-ton open hearth furnaces, a blooming mill and sheet mills. They will turn out light and heavy sheets up to % inch thick. The daily output of steel will be from 400 to 500 tons, and it will all be worked up in the company’s finishing depart- ments at Indiana Harbor and at Chieago Heights, Hl. eAtee saute MR are —~ ale rere ee ee en “ghee sii kgdine “REL, re Nee See a ees take ee ee ne is ee ee on ES 2a 3 + uae an ee a eg ae » eke f ~ ee 6 THE The Manufacture of Locking Bar Pipes in Western Australia. BY STAFFORD RANSOME, The relative merits of cast iron and riveted or welded wrought iron and steel pipes, for the purpose of convey- ing water under pressure, have long since been deter- mined by theory and by practice. It is only lately, how- ever, that the “locking bar” pipe has come into the field as a serious competitor to the established types of piping for this particular purpose. The principle of the “locking bar” pipe, which is merely a method of express- ing what one knows more familiarly as a pipe having one or more longitudinal seams joined together by a channel bar of soft steel, the flanges of which are pressed onto the edges of the plates until a tight joint is effected, is by no means new. Nearly 19 years ago—to be exact, on April 28, 1883--letters patent were granted to Edwin Quadling for a pipe which is substantially similar to the Ferguson locking bar pipe, the making of which we are about to describe, except that the finished edges of the plates were slightly different in form. Another pipe, somewhat resembling this idea, was that patented by Frank Arthur Williams on July 28, 1892; but in this two longitudinal stringers were used in making a joint, a channel piece and a key. The Ferguson locking bar pipe has only one form of joint, and the essence of it is that the edges of the plates to be jointed are dovetailed, and, to attain this form, are upset, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. - DA iy f Vy Vy ee 4 } 428 aon) a Mee CGKG Ibs: per foot THe IRON AGB Fig. 2.—Joint Ring and Locking Bar. So far, however, the difficulty with all pipes with this class of joint has not been so much the securing of a tight joint, as the designing of machinery which would effect this with sufficient rapidity and certainty. This Mr. Ferguson now claims to have done, and I was there- fore very glad to have the opportunity of inspecting his factory at Falkirk, on the outskirts of Perth, in Western Australia, where these pipes are being made for the Coolgardie water supply. Where This Pipe is Used. Before dealing with the manufacture of these pipes, it is as Well to point out the extent of the contract for which they are being made. On October 14, 1898, the Western Australian Government gave out contracts to the amount of £1,025,124 for locking bar piping alone, for the 325 miles of main supply between the first reservoir in the Greenmount ranges and Coolgardie. These contracts were taken up in two equal portions by Meysham Fergu- son of Western Australia, the inventor of the system, and G. and C. Hoskins of New South Wales, who are manufacturing under license from the inventor. When IRON AGE. January 23, 1902 first the Coolgardie scheme was mooted there was no question as to this type of pipe being used, and tenders from all available sources had been invited. When, at the last moment, Mr. Ferguson made his offer he was able to underbid all his competitors and to satisfy C. Y. O’Connor, the Engineer-in-Chief to the Western Australian Government, that his pipes would fulfill the requirement. The actual prices paid for these pipes delivered at a station close to the works is £16 10s. per pipe, 28 feet in length by 30 inches internal diameter, made of 14-inch open hearth acid steel plates. In all there were 60,856 such pipes to be made, and 1000 more with plates 5-16 inch thick, for which the price was £21 per pipe. These prices are exclusive of joint rings, anchor plates, water or air valves, or any other fittings, pipes of special form, or distributing mains or branches. It is also exclusive of the extension of the scheme to Kal- goorlie, some 40 miles beyond, which has since been decided on. Thus, whatever the past of this sort of pipe may have been, it will, in its new form, start life with a commer- cial test of such severity as to settle its practical value beyond any question. When I visited Meysham Ferguson’s works in July last they had been in operation for nearly 12 months, and the industrial routine had attained its normal swing. The installation of the special machinery which had been designed and manufactured by the inventor in Australia is naturally of a very expensive class. This is merely on account of the great bulk of the pipes to be manufactured, and the necessity for the rapid handling of the awkward plates; for 44-inch steel, some 4 feet wide and 28 feet long, has a tendency to wriggle itself into all sorts of shapes. Once installed, however, the manipulation of the machinery and the materials is sim- plicity itself. The Factory. This factory has no pretentions of beauty inside or out. It is made up of buildings of no particular design, roofed, and partially walled with galvanized iron, built onto a framing of equally unpretentious wood work. These buildings cover an arrangement of machinery which the owner admits might be improved upon in a new factory. As with the building, so with the machinery; it Is rough looking, but serviceable. Yet, if these ma- chines are rough, they are extremely ready, and it is Mr. Ferguson’s boast that with them he could turn out a mile of 30-inch pipes in a day of two eight-hour shifts. At the time of my visit to his works he had not attained this ideal, which would mean 187 pipes, and he reckoned his average output to be about 100 pipes per day. He had, however, succeeded in turning out 54 in four hours, which, if kept up, would have meant 216 in the day. The two machines which are worthy of particular de- scription here are, firstly, that used for reducing the plates to width and forming the dovetails on their edges; and, secondly, that which closes the joints of the formed up pipes. The Machines. To revert to the construction of the two special ma chines, which between them may be said to have solved the problem of the commercial value of this class of pipe, the planing and upsetting machine and the, closing machine, these were patented by Mr. Ferguson on De- cember 6, 1897. The former consists of a massive bed, on which the plate to be operated upon is firmly fixed. To this bed is fitted a proportionately substantial cross head or carrier, which travels in either direction on undercut slides along the full length of the bed. The motion is imparted to the carrier by a longitudinal screwed shaft; and, owing to the great length of this screw, and the heavy nature of the work it has to per- form, a half speed screw, carrying a threaded bracket, is automatically and simultaneously brought into play. This bracket serves as a traveling support for the main screw, adjusting itself throughout its course to approxi- mately half the distance between the carrier and the driven end of the screw shaft. There are two screw ‘shafts and their attendant supporters, one on each side of the bed. The reversing of the carriage is effected by the ordinary open and cross belt system. The object of January 23, 1902 THE IRON AGE. 7 this machine is to reduce the plates, already of an ap- proximate width, to an exact, uniform width, and, further, to upset the edges in such a manner as to impart to them a dovetail form. The cutters which reduce the plate to width are fixed in two smaller carriers, which are attached one on each side of the main cross head or saddle, and travel with it. The upsetting rollers are fixed in the main saddle itself. The cutters precede the rollers in their work, and both cutters and rollers are set in progressive series, the first to operate being the furthest from the center line of the machine, and each successive one being slightly nearer that line. The heavy work falls on the earlier cutters and earlier roll- ers, the final ones being reserved for finishing off the work. There are sufficient cutters and rollers to com- plete the work on both sides of the plate in one passage of the saddle from end to end of the machine. The ac- tion of the horizontal upsetting rollers naturally tends to leave a slightly irregular or wavy line at the edges of the dovetail, and this is corrected by a pair of vertical rollers, set to thickness, between which the edges pass Fig. 4.—Diagram MANUFACTURE OF LOCKING BAR mmediately on leaving the upsetting rollers. The se- vere nature of the work carried out by this machine en- tails powerful appliances for holding the plates in posi- tion while under operation. To effect this two strong girders are placed above the bed throughout its entire length. These girders are connected by cross pieces at intervals, and the framing thus made serves to carry four vertical bydraulic cylinders with rams acting down- ward. The two larger of these serve to effect the pressure and the two smaller ones to relieve it, lowering and lifting respectively the pressure pieces to which their lower ends are attached. The piece under opera- tion lies on the bed with its edges slightly overhanging on each side, and the pressure apparatus is immediately above it, exerting its influence over the whole upper surface of the plate. A plate can be fixed and finished on this machine in less than five minutes. Closing Machine, The patent closing machine is a marvel of simplicity and ingenuity, and, to make its action clear in a few Tue Inon AGE A SECTION A-A Fig. 3.—Joint Ring. words, 1 would say that it treats the locking bar as if it were one long rivet, extending from one end of the pipe to the other, and closing it all along its course, inside and out, by hydraulic pressure. In this it differs from those machines in which there was an endeavor to make a tight joint in this class of pipe by means of exerting a pressure on each side of the seam. The pipes being made of two plates of equal widths, Fig. 3, the locking bars and joints are exactly opposite each other in the formed up pipe; thus both joints can be closed by pressure, or pres- sures, exerted in a straight line. The main portion of the machine consists in a rigid upright frame with hori- zontal bridge pieces or cross heads. In the lower portion of the frame, at its center, is a hydraulic cylinder with vertically acting ram, to the upper end of which is at- tached a closing tool, some 4 or 5 inches long, having in it a groove which conforms to the external shape of the closed locking bar. To facilitate an understanding of the working of the closing tools I append a diagram, Fig. 4, THe IRON AcE of Closing Tools. PIPES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA in Which the one above referred to is marked A. Sus pended from the upper bridge piece is a corresponding tool, fixed, and having no adjustment—an anvil, in fact, LD. The pipe G G to be closed is passed between these two tools, with its seams so placed that a line drawn from one to the other would be vertical. When the pipe is presented the external surface of the lower locking bar rests on the closing tool A, and the external surface of the upper locking bar H is just under the fixed anvil D. Assuming that there were nothing to take the thrust inside the pipe, the effect of exerting pressure on the pipe in this position would be to crush it without closing any joint. The thrust is taken, and further hydraulic pressure exerted, on the internal surfaces of the joints by means of a mandrel attached to a rigid arm, the length of which is determined by the length of the pipe. Above and below this mandrel, at its extremity, are two closing tools, C and B, which find themselves between and in a direct vertical line with the two. external tools A and D. In this case, however, it is the lower one, B, which is the fixed anvil, taking the thrust from the out- side tool A; whereas the upper one, C, is an active clos- ing tool brought into action vertically by means of a horizontal sliding block with an inclined upper surface, E. The thrust from this tool is taken by the anvil D. A connecting rod, F, effects the contact between E and a horizontal ram and cylinder, which forms part of the mandrel itself. After exerting a pressure, the vertical play of the closing tool C permits it to fall back, so that the pipe is no longer in the clutches of the tools, and the pipe can be fed further along into the machine. With regard to the working pressure that these pipes will have to carry, the specifications for the pumping engines provide for a maximum head of water of 450 feet. Inferentlally, therefore, we may assume that these pipes will have to convey water under such a pressure. The maximum pressure, however, does not oecur over very long lengths, and the 5-16-inch pipes are provided: eee Ae oI EAM AE i aE I them at, ae eee ee AL NO Re THE IRON for the very heavy pressures. On four out of eight sec- tions of the Coolgardie system the maximum water head 4s put at 260 feet. These pipes will mostly be laid on or near the surface, and as they will have to submit to a variation of 75 degrees F., the test as to the practicability of the Fergu- son joint as a permanent institution will be a very com- plete one. The joint rings between the lengths are of welded steel, and it has been recommended that a pro- vision of % inch per 100 feet should be allowed for ex- pansion and contraction.—London Engineer. Canadian News. Locomotive Works, ‘SS. R. Callaway, president of the American Locomo- tive Company, was in Montreal some days ago, and had interviews with Sir William Van Horne and Sir Thomas Shaughnessy of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and with Chas. M. Hays of the Grand Trunk. He was interviewed as to the report that his company are con- sidering the establishment of works in Canada. He said in reply to a direct question, ‘ We should like to and probably will establish locomotive works here, but nothing has been decided yet.” ‘ You know,” he con- tinued, “it takes a lot of money to establish locomotive construction works. We have already spent $2,000,000 since the amalgamation. The machinery and plant were a good deal run down, and had to be renewed, so that at present we are devoting all our energies in that di- rection. Afterward, when we get time, we will look over the ground here.” His company had orders, he said, from the Grand Trunk, Michigan Central and other roads. The tendenc