The Iron Age 1903-03-12: Vol 71 Iss 11

ss “a Od topsuyse _#P-P061 wep I uvUOsTtUg A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery and Metal Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 William St.,. New York. Vol. 71: No. 11. New York, Thursday, March 12, 1903. 5.00 a Year, including Postage Single Copies, Ten Cents Reading Matter Contents......... page 56 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘* Classified List of Advertisers _ Advertising and oe Rates“ 75 Guaranteed for Nitro Powders. Grade K. Made with Remington Blued Steel Barrels, $25.00. Grade K ED. Made with Damascus Barrels and Automatic Ejector, $35.00. Send for handsome new Catalog, just issued, containing complete description of Guns, $25.00 to $750.00. Mailed free. REMINGTON ARMS CO., IGTIOoOn, N. WZ. 313-317 Broadway, New York. 86-88 First Street, San Francisco, Cal i Belts, Sold by all Gun Dealers. Not Retailed by the Manufacturers. Money. mm Greatest: trencth READY TO APPLY FiNisHEDVOINT With Least Metal Send for Circulars and Free Samples. THE RRISTOLCO., Waterbury. Conn SAMSON SPOT CORD ye GAHALL BOILERS» cy —_==34 g———_—- Ee : CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS Also Massachusetts and Phenix rands of Sash Cord, SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TURNBUCKLES. HARTFORD, CONN. 0 Oo 2 2 aaah te y x Cc Branch Office, 11 Broadway, New York. | : NEW YORK Branches - PORTLAND, ORE. > eee Sy Forge and IronCo., - Cleveland, 0. 1; pe : aeewanen: » & : Sen 2 }< cuicaco, DETROIT, BALTIMORE, a SHE say | 1M ST. LOUIS, CINCINNATI, NEW ORLEANS, o eS 3 S2| || seston, SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER. v + | THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL COMPANY 5 m 2 3 F ounpRY IRON. Girard Building, Phila, Lewis Block, Pittsburgh. PILLING & CRAN kmpire Bldg, New York § Board of Trade, Boston. REGULAR PATTERN. JENKINS BROTHERS’ VALVES Perfectly tight under all pressures of steam, vils, or acids. Warranted to give satisfaction under the worst conditions. Received the At the Pan-Amer- Highest Award Gold Meda ican Exposition, Insist on having the genuine stamped with Trade-Mark. JENKINS BROTHERS, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Ghicago. THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING C0, HOT AND COLD ROLLED Successor to 159. STRIP STEEL. The WILMOT & HOBBS MF6. CO, PGs MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all one Bearings. Fac-Simile of Bar. . Beware of imitations. ~ MAGNOLIA METAL C0., : owitrs aa Sole Manufacturers, 511-513 West {3th St., Fe ree orn we meant poston, Chicago, Fisher Bidg. NEW YORK. grades of Babbitt Metals at competitive prices, APOLLO BEST BLOOM GALVANIZED IRON Some work almost re- quires Apollo. Any iron will do for reugh work. Is there any advantage-in using inferior iron MAA a American Sheet Steel on | New Yorks eat oe Sa ez eo pte ae 1 Oe . staining, atte Seni sap pre weansss pee ipa i ng Sete Eien ci Hy 979 4 oes WERE ee ae fae ay Eta t fie “ y RS a done wes eee +) a ™ " v Leet a Ne Oe ears: ater ye emer we parity ile we arse tea teeter i H i i me <TC meee 7 ee 2 THE ANSONIA RASS p” COPPER CO. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MaRK REGISTERED.) Condenser Piates,Pump Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. Seamless Tubes for Boilers and Condensers. 99 John Street, . . New York. Randolph-Clowes Co., Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET BRASS & COPPER. BRAZED BRASS & COPPER TUBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES TO 36 IN. DIAM. New York Office, 253 Broadway, Postal Telegraph Bidg., Room 715. Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bldg. @sewveere. THE IRON AGE, ; |WATERBURY BRASS 60. ESTABLISHED 184 Main Office and Mills at Waterbury, Conn. N. Y. Store, No. 122 to No. 180 Centre St. Providence Store, No. 131 Dorrance St. and No, 152 Eddy St. GERMAN SILVER IN SHEET, ROD AND WIRE for Key Stock Cutlery Metal Electrical Purposes Plated Ware also “Pope’s Island White Mletat” for like uses when extra drawing and spinning is required. WRITE FOR SAMPLES. Ran. PIAA AAAPATAITA OS OW GENUINE No. 1 BABBITT. Handiest Metal you can use, as there is practically no shrink in it. ver tried it? Saves in every way—Time, Money and Patience. GREATEST DURABILITY. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze Bridgeport. Conn. 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. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. WN PAE Hts 68°74 West Monroe St., Chicago. NaN a UIA TNO CUNT CONIETICM:VUTIIDDILITT edo R SMa kta GhAss SOREWS, BUTS AND FITTINGS FOR ELECTRICAL PURPQSES @& 6TOOR. v. & WELCH “Fc co. 68 SUDBURY STREET, BOSTON. BRASS, BRONZE and ALUMINUM CASTINGS. Founders, Finishers, W. G. ROWELL & CO., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. HENDRICKS BROTHERS PROPRIETORS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, MANUFACTURERS 0) Braziers’ Bolt nana Sheathing COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Deslers in ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. Nel Neic eketeheeNE THE PLUME & AtTwooo Mré. Co,, MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WiR BG 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 YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, ROLLING MILL : FACTORIES TWOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO., Manufacturers of BRASS, CERMAN SILVER Sheets, Rolis, Wire, Rods, Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Coods. SPECIAL BRASS GOODS TO ORDER Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS: NEW YORK, CHICAGO, BOSTON. and Metal Company, ¥| JOHN DAVOL & SONS. AGENTS FOR ee Nee NN Ne Ni Ne NN ee Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., 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” WiIiRLE. “1's Toucan.” TROLLEY, TELEPHONE Mittal a8 and TELEGRAPH LINES. Bridsesort, BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Conn. 19 Murray St., New York. No better counter i ee made, SO (2) Qg g 4 Whecl, $3.00 i. 5 Wheel, $3.25 Guaranteed. R. A. HART, BATTLE CREEK, MICH. The Brush Storage Battery Patent Expires. The last barrier in the way of the general manufac ture of electric storage batteries was removed on March 3 by the expiration of the Brush patent on storage bat tery electrodes. The Electrical Review, commenting on the fact, says that there may not be a great increase in the number of factories, but the magazine looks for im- provement and extension of the use of power batteries. The electric motor car manufacturers, it says, will profit more than anybody else by the new order of things. Lighter and better batteries for motor cars will appear, and the highly developed products of the Euro NEW BOILER SHOP OF THE pean makers can be imported. In this way the prices can be kept reasonable, and the performance of electric motors greatly improved, with a resulting increase in their popularity and an augmenting business for manu facturers, both of machines and of batteries. Slight change is expected to occur in the power station bat- teries. The Brush patent, says the Reriew, was one of the most remarkable patents in the history of the electrical art. It covered completely the art of making plates by mechanically applied material, as a paste, powder, or in any other form. There have been repeated assaults on it in the Federal Courts, and enormous sums of money were spent in litigation to have the patent declared in valid, but in every instance it came forth victorious. “To sum up,” concludes the Review, “the result of the expiration of the Brush patent will be to improve HE IRON AGE H 12, 19038 and extend the use of power batteries, though not 0 ark- edly, and to increase greatly the quantity and quality ot the cells for motor car work.” iiss lait tas iain New Boiler Shop of the Titusville Iron Company. What is probably the largest boiler shop in the coun try has just been completed by the Titusville Iron Com pany of Titusville, Pa It measures 421 x 200 feet, and is divided longitudinally into four bays of 50 feet each. In the building, equipment and general arrangement are embodied features by no means common in a shop to be devoted exclusively to boiler making. In the first place, rITUSVILLE [RON COMPANY ample provision has been made for insuring plenty of light, both through wide windows in all of the side walls and through skylights in the center roof. That the il lumination is entirely adequate will be appreciated upon examination of the elevations, Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Heat is provided by a 250 horse-power tubular boiler of the com- pany’s own make, placed in a building at the center of one of the long sides of the shop kach bay is traversed by a crane, the outside ones be ing of 5 tons capacity, and those in the center of 15 and ~U tons. The arrangement of the tools and tracks is shown in Fig. G6. A spur from the railroad enters the Washington street end of the building, where the finished work is kept. At this end are also placed the sto plates and heads and stack work. ‘The tools, as indicated in the plan, are so grouped as to make the work continuous as oe es — x ae t ~~ 27 cnbvnnshdle’ ete aes Th SS e re we Wie. Se aes nee eda aon oper) o% a as Oy eR OR, Sly t m Le QE oo ae i" . {3 : a far as possible. Tools intended for handling heavy work are served by jib cranes. An admirable method of driving the tools has been adopted. Both individual and shaft drive are used, the nature of the machine and the work it does governing the method in each case. In line with each outside row of columns is a shaft extend- ing about one-third the length of the shop. Each shaft is driven by a gas engine of the company’s make lo- cated at one end. These two shafts drive all the tools which are operated practically all the time. All the other tools, where the power required makes it feasible, are provided with individual drives. The method of carrying the shaft hangers is peculiar, and is to be commended for its simplicity, and for the fact that while it is completely out of the way it is so conveniently placed as to permit of the tools being lo- cated at either side of the row of columns, as may be most desirable. The method of carrying the shaft will be understood from the half-tone engraving, Fig. 1. The hangers are bolted to the girder uniting the columns, and are so situated as to bring the shaft in the center line of the columns. To permit the passage of the shaft the web of each column is pierced with a hole. eo Why American Goods Are Supplanting German Goods.—Erport, a trade paper, published in Berlin, devoted to extending German foreign trade, devotes a series of articles to studying the methods by which American goods 2 THE IRON AGE. March 12, 1903 wise pound foolish” policy, and give their agents decent, fixed salaries, so as to enable them to withstand the “flattering offers of their American competitors,” add- ing: “ This is all the more important since American competition in the world’s markets will evidently grow keener during the next ten years.” or The Merchants’ Exchange of Buffalo, N. Y., in con- junction with the Manufacturers’ Club and backed by the manufacturing interests of that city, are making spe- cial efforts to secure the convention of the National As- = = = a Tue IRON AGE Tus IRON AGE Fig. 3.—East Elevation. NEW BOILER SHOP OF THE TITUSVILLE IRON COMPANY. are supplanting German goods in foreign markets. The articles consist largely of letters from Germans living in Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Australia. The writers ex- plain that the German houses are being beaten because they are unwilling to guarantee agents fixed salaries, as the Americans do, and also because they depend on send- ing out catalogues, whereas the Americans keep stocks of goods in established agencies, where buyers are able to purchase after seeing the goods, and therefore prefer to deal with Americans. The German agents, it is added, are largely taking service with American houses, be- cause of the better terms offered them and owing to their handling exclusively American wares. The Ger- man manufacturers are urged to abandon their “ penny sociation of Manufacturers for 1904, and if successful will amply provide for its entertainment in their city, now coming to the front as a manufacturing center, and at nearby Niagara Falls, where the power development has brought and is continuing to bring many immense industries, some of them of novel and interesting char- acter. This year’s meeting will be held in New Orleans, beginning April 14 and extending through the 16th. The National Association of Manufacturers has a member- ship of about 2000, representing every class of industry in the United States. In the eight years of its existence the association has done an educational work of vast im- portance in the export field, and has been instrumental in aiding our manufacturers to lay the foundations of an enormous export trade. March 12, 1903 Industrial Notes from Mexico. DuRANGO, March 3, 1903.—Machinery and apparatus valued at $4,514,437.06, gold, were imported into Mexico during the first five months of the current fiscal year. The order for heavy locomotives recently placed by the Interoceanic Railway Company with an English firm is said to have been awarded to the latter in prefer- ence to United States manufacturers on account of bet- ter terms and lower prices. The Mexican Central Railway Company, Limited, have ordered from an English company a number of bridges of various lengths. The Mexican Coal & Coke Company have placed an 200 THE IRON AGE. 3 make a start. Glass workers from European countries continue to arrive under contract to work at the plant. Negroes from the Southern States are being engaged in large parties to work at the Monterey Steel Works. J. J. D. a $$ The Eastern Iron Company.—Some time since the Secaucus Furnace, at Secaucus, N. J., was purchased by an organization formed under the title of the Eastern Iron Company, who also control mines at Gouveneur, N. Y. The officers of the company are: Chase Andrews, president; Frederick Crane, vice-president; S. L. Mer- shon, secretary, and J. M. Clark, treasurer. The general manager of the company is Albert Trinler, who was for- dace Mae pm {7 1-c. TOC. 15 TON CRANE a, ena 17 6-Cc. TOC.:—— 6 N 5 TON CRANE ii \ 50 0 THB IRON Fig. 5.—Cross Section. MECHANIC | 4 | LAY Our FLOOR STOCK PLATES AND HEADS STREET STACK SHOP | + 30 x 10 PLATFORM TO UNLOAD PLATES | OFFICE AND TOOL ROOM GAS ENGINE 771= oy + ' ' ' ne 4 ORILL_ O ORILL FRONT SHOP BLAST LINE R.R. TRACK Latue! ORDERED BOILERS emery wHeetO STORAGE TESTING LINES ORDERED BOILERS STORAGE ” WASHINGTON STOCK BOILERS HAND CAR TRACK TUBE SHED — STOCK BOILERS & a 32 C. \TABLE PUNCH. Coaec U ee 26e'c. [] oc ASSEMBLING ENGINE AND PUMP ROOM STREET PUNCH 67 FITTING FLOOR STEAM LINE TO ROLLS we FIRE So zs SHEAR <= Lo } = 4 BEVEL s LI PUNC 4 oJ - © ' So | | | ORILLS STREET ASLING FLOOR | RIVET FORGES VE HAND CAR FLOOR | J MACHINES j ail WATER] i) _ = , Co 1 |] 7. ££ {CLOSET} 2 cuTTeR|| +) J) FUUE HOLE FLANGE PUNCH SHEAF 7 NCH PERRY fagl BAR IRON, RIVETS, COAL AND COKE SHED Fig. 6.—Plan. NEW BOILER SHOP OF THE order with the American Car & Foundry Company for 20 freight cars. The Mexican Central Railway Company will soon commence active construction work upon their new ex- tension from Gutierrez, a station upon the main line, to Durango. This will cut off about a third of the distance now to be covered to reach the capital from Durango. A local paper in Monterey has this item relative to the working of the blast furnace just blown in at the works of the Monterey Iron & Steel Company: “In no respect has the iron proved inferior to any, and the op- erators at the plant declare that the product which is now being piled up to the extent of hundreds of tons is of the best quality. Since the blowing in there have been slight difficulties in the operation of the fur- nace, but no more than at the inauguration of any simi- lar concern in the United States.” The new glass factory at Monterey is about ready to TITUSVILLE IRON COMPANY. merly the manager of the National Steel Company’s plant at Sharon, Pa. Improvements are now being car- ried out at the Secaucus Furnace, and it is expected that it will be ready to blow in about May 1. a a ee The American Tool Works Company.—Recent changes in the personnel of the American Tool Works Company of Cincinnati have placed the management of the business in the following hands: Franklin Alter, president; Henry Luers, secretary and treasurer; J. B. Doan, general manager; A. E. Robinson, general super- intendent. The month of February resulted in next to the largest month’s business in the history of the com- pany. The plant is exceptionally busy in all depart- ments, and the outlook for the future business is pro- nounced very bright. Extensive alterations and im- provements are now being made, adapted to the com- pany’s increasing business. ‘They have just brought out several new tools. ee ss 4. THE IRON AGE. Mechanical Stokers.* LY EDWIN FITTS, PITTSBURGH, PA. The greatest loss in hand firing occurs just after the charging of fresh fuel in large quantities and it is due to the fact that there cannot be a sufficient supply of oxygen brought up through the bed of fuel to supply the excessive demand at such times. The smaller each charge of fuel is and the less time elapses between charges, the less are the variations in the quantity of air demanded. This brings us to mechanical stoking and an almost continuous supply of fresh fuel, requir- ing no variation in the quantity of air supplied, with the udded advantage that there is no opening of fire doors with the accompanying loss. First Stoker Patented in 1841 in England. As to the history of mechanical stoking we may note that the first to use the idea of progressive burning of coal was James Watt. He distilled the coal on a dead plate at the mouth of the furnace and then pushed the coke back over the grate area by hand. In this way a fairly good combustion can be obtained, but the labor is very excessive. Many variations of this plan were brought out from time to time, but the first mechanical stoker was patented in 1841 by John Juckes, an English inventor. This was of the tread mill type and is in extensive use to-day, having been changed in detail of construction, and is now known as the chain grate stoker. There are a number of different makes of chain grates on the American market, and for fear of being consid- ered biased toward one maker I will describe them as a class. The term treadmill type comes from the fact that the grates are built like the apron of a treadmill and pass over sprockets at the front and rear of the furnace. The grate surface is horizontal and the grates are moved trom front to rear on the top, by power applied to the front sprocket shaft. Immediately at the front of this grate surface is a hopper extending the entire width and having at its back side a plate, which can be raised and lowered to govern the thickness of the bed of fuel. Im- mediately back of this hopper and extending the entire width of the grates is a fire brick arch. The proportion of the entire grate surface covered by this arch varies in the different makes of chain grates. In the operation the hopper is filled with coal, which is carried back by the movement of the grates and begins to burn as it comes underneath the igniting arch. The bed of fuel continues to move back until it reaches the rear end of the grates, when what is left is dumped over into the ash pit below. The fuel bed is not disturbed in any way during the period of burning. The Murphy the First American Stoker, 1878. The first distinctly American invention of a me- chanical stoker was the Murphy, brought out by Thos. Murphy of Detroit, Mich., in 1878. Besides being the first American stoker the Murphy was, I believe, the first invention in which a sloping grate surface was used. The sloping grate stokers of to-day can be divided into two classes, the side feed and the front feed. Of the side feed type we have two, the Murphy and the De- troit. The Murphy stoker consists of two coal magazines, one at each side of the boiler, which form a portion of the boiler walls and extend back a depth depending on the grate area demanded. The bottom of these maga- zines is a flat plate built up of castings and steel angles in such a way that the top surface where the coal lies is cast iron and directly beneath this is an air duct. lying on top of this plate, called the coking plate, are inverted rectangular cast iron boxes having racks on their under side at each end. Beneath these boxes is a shaft extending the entire depth of the furnace and having segments of gears which mesh with the racks on the stoker boxes above. As this shaft is rotated through a small are by means of an arm at the front of the furnace the stoker boxes are moved from side to side on the eccking plate. As the box moves toward the eenter of the setting a charge of coal is pushed out 4 * From a paper read on March 3. 1903, before the Mechanical Section. Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania March 12, 1%38 toward the edge of the plate. Resting against the edge of this plate and sloping down to the center of the fur- nace at an angle of 40 or 45 degrees are the grate bars. Running along the center of the furnace is a heavy cast iron bearing bar, upon which the grates rest at their lower end. Supported by this bearing bar and taking the space between the lower ends of the grates is a hol- low cast iron bar, having projections on its outer sur- face, which is made to rotate and grind the clinker into the ash pit below. The grates are straight casting and are made in pairs. One grate of each pair is stationary and the other is made to rise and fall about 2 inches at its lower end. Forming the inner side of the coal maga- zine and coming down to within 5 inches of the coking plate is a heavy ribbed casting known as the arch plate. Extending the entire depth of the grate surface and rest- ing on the arch plates at each side is a fire brick arch. This arch is built with an air duct on its upper side, which is connected with the outside of the furnace by means of the passage in the coking plate already mentioned and with the fire space by means of small openings in the cast iron skew backs, on which the arch rests. The ob- ject of these passages is to admit hot air above the coal at the point where the volatile matter is driven off. The moving parts of the stoker are all actuated by a small eugine standing at one corner and forming part of the stoker itself. This is made to drive a reciprocating bar extending acress the front and connection is made to this by removable links. Any one part can be operated independent of all other parts. A distinctive feature of this type of stoker is the large coking space per square foot of grate area. This description covers the Detroit or Morrow furnace in all but one particular. In this stoker the coal is fed to the fire by means of a screw at each side. Front Feed Type of Stokers. In the front feed inclined grate stokers there is a coal bopper extending across the front of the boiler and having at its bottom a ‘“ pusher,” which is given a re- ciprocating motion, and pushes the coal out at the lower side of the hopper on to a dead plate, where it begins to ignite. As the coal is moved out into the fire space it gives up its volatile matter and the solid portion is forced on to the sloping grate surface and burns there. Immediately back of the coal magazine and extending from side to side of the stoker is a short fire brick arch. These features are common to all makes of this class, but, of course, there are variations in the details of con- struction. In the Roney, which is the most widely known of this class, the grates are so arranged as to form a series of steps extending from the dead plate down to the dumping grate at the rear of the furnace. These grates extend from side to side of the stoker, and by means of a mechanism at the front are made to as- sume the stepped and an inclined position alternately. This allows the fuel to gradually move down the grates and the refuse is finally deposited on the dumping grate, from which it is removed from time to time by the at- tendant. The Brightman resembles the Roney very much. The grates are straight bars having lateral lugs on each side which overlap the lugs on the next bar when in posi- tion. These bars lie in the furnace in the direction of the axis of the boiler and each alternate bar is sta- tionary. The movable bar is given a slight horizontal motion and the fuel bed is thus agitated and made to move down the incline of the grates. At the rear of this incline is a clinker basket, into which the unburned ma- terial drops and from which it must be removed by the operator. The Wilkinson is another stoker of this class. The feature of this stoker is its grate bars, and the means used to introduce air to the bed of fuel. Each grate is a hollow casting having the top surface a series of steps. In the riser of each of these steps is a slot. At the up- per end of each grate is placed a small steam nozzle, which serves to inject air into it and so by slots out into the bed of fuel. The grates are given a slight re- ciprocating motion in order to force the fuel down the incline. At the rear of the grates the unburned portion of the fuel falls into a closed ash pit. THE March 12, 1903 A number of other front feed stokers have been placed on the market from time to time, some of which are now manufactured, while others have proved total failures from either an engineering or business stand point. The ones that I have mentioned will cover the general features of construction. tUnderfeed Stokers. All stokers so far mentioned can be brought under one head and termed over feed. Another type in which an entirely different principle is used is known as the under feed. In this case the fuel is forced up from un derneath and burns on top of a heap, which forms in the midile of the furnace. A volume blower is used and air is forced up through the heap of coal from openings in tuyere blocks which are located at the point where the fuel is supposed to give off its volatile matter. There are two makes of this class of stoker. In the Jones the coal is forced in beneath the heap in large charges by a steam ram. The American is a copy of the Jones in all but its feeding device. Instead of a ram, a cone shaped screw is used, being driven by a small reciprocating steam motor. <All stokers of the underfeed type must have the unburned refuse removed through the front of the furnace, in the same manner as in hand firing. Mechanical Stokers Prevent Smoke. In making a comparison between mechanical stoking and hand firing the most noticeable item is the smoke. With a properly constructed stoker used in connection with a stationary steam boiler having its heating sur- faces and passages for gases properly designed and con- structed, no smoke should issue from the stack, whether the fires are being cleaned or not. Of the cloud of smoke hanging over the city of greater Pittsburgh, about T5 per cent. comes from soft coal burned under stationary boilers. Of the smoke so made 98 per cent. can be avoided and a saving of at least 15 per cent. be made in the cost of steam generated. A point that has often been made against mechanica! stokers is that they will not work a boiler to its full ca- pacity. This may be true of a stoker in which the bed of fuel is not disturbed, allowing the clinker to cement together and thus shut off the passage of air through the fire. But with a stoker which is self cleaned, having its entire grate surface free from clinker at all times, there is no trouble in working a boiler from 40 to 60 per cent. above its normal rating and securing good economy and smokeless combustion. Here is a point that should be considered in first cost of plant. You may have a 500 horse-power boiler and decide to put in a certain stoker, because it costs less, that will not work the boiler to more than 10 per cent. above rating. Another stoker, which may be a little more expensive to install, will work the boiler easily to 25 per cent. above its rating, giving good economy, and in case of a sudden demand can be made to force it to 50 per cent. or more above rating. In both cases your boiler cost is the same, but in the first case you have but 550 horse-power, while in the second you have 625 and can get 150 horse-power or more. It is very easy to see which is the cheaper when cost per horse-power developed is considered. The Saving Accomplished Over Hand Firing. As to the saving that can be made by the use of me- chanical stokers, about the only reliable figures are those taken from the books of manufacturing concerns where an account is kept of the boiler house expense per unit of output. These figures can generally be obtained from the manufacturers themselves, but could hardly be em- bodied in a paper of this kind. When fuel alone is con- sidered the saving will seldom fall below 15 per cent., and in large plants when the total cost of maintenance is considered, including labor and cost of repairs, the saving will be much above this. In 1895 an investigation was carried on at the Ohio State University which is of much value in this connec- tion. A series of tests was made to determine the amount of saving that could be made by stoker firing over hand tiring. The conditions were as near alike as possible in both cases. When the same high grade of coal was used for both methods a saving of 16 per cent. was found in favor of the stoker. When a cheap grade [IRON AGE. of coal was used in the stoker and an expensive smoke less coal for hand firing, a saving of 50 per cent. was shown in favor of the stoker. A number of other com parisons between different coals were made and the re sults were embodied in the report of the university trustees of that year. The strenuous advocates of hand firing will point the finger of scorn at the many so-called total failures of mechanical stokers. But did they ever look into the cause of these failures? I will admit that schemes ot stoking have been invented that were not practical, but this is not saying that the whole subject is impractical. I have in mind now a case where an entire stoker equipment was condemned and thrown out because the arm on the damper shaft was not put on parallel with the damper. They tried to work the fires, supposing the damper to be open, and when they could not of course the stokers were at fault. They tried hand firing with the same result, and then found the cause. Cases of this kind were formerly of frequent occurrence. One thing that is often met with is a boiler plant having good boilers and stokers and a stack insufficient to give ample draft. Connecting the boilers and stack will be a flue so constructed that the draft is almost entirely shut off. If your boiler plant is not giving you satisfaction look it all over and the chances are, if you have been wise and bought a good stoker, that you will find the trouble at some other point. The question to-day is not shall we use a stoker, but what stoker shall we use. This is true no matter what the size of the plant may be. Ore Concentration by Oil. LONDON, February 28, 1903.—The concentration of ore by the oil method seems to be growing in popularity. Many experiments have been made, and all point to the practicability of the system. Copper ore is being con centrated by oil both in Wales and Cornwall; the ore is low grade, and the success undoubted. Plant has been ordered for one of the British Columbian companies, apd Norwegian concerns are busy experimenting. Now comes the news that two well known companies, Le Roi No. 2 in British Columbia, and the Lake View Com- pany in Western Australia, are to erect initial plants at their mines. The tests in Cornwall show that the labor cost in running a small plant is under 9 pence per ton—this, of course, irrespective of the costs of crushing the ore be- fore the pulp is delivered to the oil process. A leading South African house in London associated with Rand mines have submitted the oil reduction plant to the scrutiny of its experts, and have taken an interest in rights to use the system in South Africa; while the well-known mining machinery manufacturers, Fraser & Chalmers, have also identified themselves with the new process. For some time operations have been con- ducted in London so as to afford the facilities of test- ing the ores from different parts of the world and dif- ferent mines, and, in particular, proving the capacity of the plant to deal with gold and copper ores. One im- portant advantage claimed for the process is its ca- pability of dealing with refractory ore containing mixed minerals. It may be remarked that a plant to deal with 100 tons per day would require power—exclusive of that required for crushing the ore—equal to but 7 or 8 horse- power. The cost of a 25-ton-per-day plant—termed one unit—would be, f.o.b. London, about £750; but the cost works on a sliding scale in case of more than one unit. The approximate cost of a four-unit plant to deal with 100 tons a day would be £2100. Among other advan- tages claimed is that the plant is of no great weight, and that there is no excessive wear nor costly portions, such as rubber belting and similar contrivances used in jig- gers or vanners, where there is great wear and tear. The water required to deal with the ore can be used over and over again, as also can the oil. The waste of oil—and that not waste really—is very slight, approxi mately an absorption or partial loss of about 1 gallon to 1 ton of ore. The working of the plant is especially cleanly. 8. G. H. Ps Se . ee inst Weees om an 2 ee . EP mee oe RR ee eS Penge Bo A eplbinatpiter See at OA I Ak NG OE tan te anes ae THE IRON AGE. The Demand for Coke. Noteworthy Facts on Possible Increase in the Production. BY FREDERICK E. SAWARD, NEW YORK. No trade in this country has shown so great an im- petus within the past year or two as that of coke for metallurgical purposes. The tonnage is growing, but it hardly keeps pace with the use thereof, hence the follow- ing facts may be of interest as showing what has been and can be done. The production of coke in Alabama in the year 1902 amounted to 2,232,326 tons, against 2,180,625 tons for the year 1901. While an increase of only 51,701 tons is shown, it must be admitted that this is a good showing in the face of the fact that large receipts were had from other sources and there was such a strong demand for coal that no effort was made to increase the pro- duction of coke. The estimate is made that during the year 1903 the output will be increased by 250,000 tons. No less than 500 new coke ovens will be put in operation during the next 90 days, and these will add to the total output. The old ovens are to be worked to their fullest capacity, thus enabling home production to offset the necessity for importations of this class of fuel. One of the latest items in this connection is that Atlanta capitalists have purchased a _ tract of land at Gadsden, Ala., and formed a _ corpo- ration with a capital stock of $100,000, under the name of the Big Brushy Coal & Coke Company. Mines will be opened near Littleton, Ala. A large coking plant will be built and coke will be manufactured. The Maryland Steel Company at their plant near Spar- row’s Point, Md., will have 400 by-product ovens when work now under way is completed, say in about 90 days; the first battery of 50 has been completed, and the out- put is 300 tons of coke daily, which will be used in and about the works for fuel; the plant comprises the most modern appliances of every description for economical] handling of the coal and coke. The possession of this coke plant will enable the Maryland Steel Company to manufacture their own coke, securing economies not only in the mere process of coke making, but by saving the by-products. The coke output of the Connellsville district for 1902 aggregated 14,138,740 tons. This output is about the same as the year before, but was greatly restricted by lack of railroad equipment. Nearly 2000 additional ovens are to be built and the 1903 production will show a great increase. The tonnage from this district is now running at the rate of 250,000 tons a week, and would be greater but for insufficient car supply. Advices are that the Weaver Coal & Coke Company have taken out a sheaf of charters and contemplate the creation of a number of towns with civic utility enterprises in In- diana and adjoining counties, including coke ovens and adjuncts, and this will add to the supply from the Alle- gheny section. By the way, there have been figures much above normal recently quoted for coke made in the Connellsville district; one operator is said to have sold all his supply up to July 1 to a furnace in the Mahoning Valley at $7 a ton; this is a very high figure, and no such value can be expected to continue after the numerous ovens now building in various parts of the country are completed, yet one can hardly look for any $3 coke for some months to come. The Connellsville Central Coke Company own a large body of coking land in Fayette County, in the Lower Connellsville region. They also have in operation 200 coke ovens and have decided to build 150 more dur ing the early portion of this year, making 350 ovens in the plant. With these it is believed that 500,000 tons of coke annually will be made for the market. This company are one of the many new corporations hurry- ing into the coke trade since the retirement of the H. C. Frick Coke Company from the open market. The Wabash extension will develop coal lands in Green County, Pennsylvania. The engineering corps are working toward Waynesburg from the river, making the last survey. Just how soon this work will be com- March 12, 1903 menced in point of construction is not known. It is stated that coal developments, the erection of coke plants, &¢c., will soon follow the Wabash building into Green County. An important development by Pittsburgh parties is of a tract of 4600 acres in Barbour County, West Vir- ginia, on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The company are making arrangements for the immediate de- velopment of the property, and have submitted plans for the construction of mine cars, electric haulage and steel tipples to a Pittsburgh mine equipment firm. The new company are known as the Pennsylvania, Cleve- land & West Virginia Coal Company. Another inter- esting transaction is that by which Berthold Floersheim of Pittsburgh turned over to a company known as the Hampton Coal & Coke Company, comprising Pittsburgh and Eastern men of capital, the tract of land recently gathered together by him in Upshur County, West Vir- ginia. It contains four workable veins, the Masontown, “Big Eleven,” and the upper and lower Kittanning seams. The coal and coke made from the coal are of a superior quality. The Wabash, the Baltimore & Ohio and other coal roads making important extensions through Upshur County will give facilities for compet- ing transportation which will be unequaled. The Sheffield Coal & Iron Company of Sheffield, Ala., have now secured a supply of coke for their own ac- count from the coke plant of the Stone Gap Colliery Company, who have just completed a portion of their ovens at Glamorgan, Wise County, Va. This is a practical and another evidence of the necessity that the iron industries of the country secure, at first hands, a full and regular supply of coke. Don H. Bacon, chair- man of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, in the just-issued annual report of that company, says in regard to the coke supply for company uses, that competent men are giving careful attention to the pro- duction of coke, with the result that the percentage of yield has increased, the quality improved and the quan- tity consumed per ton of pig iron made has been les sened. The by-product ovens at Everett, Mass., are doing a great business. There has been a heavy call for coke, owing to the drop in prices from $8 to $7 a ton on this fuel for domestic purposes, and the New England Gas & Coke Company have been taxed to their utmost to make deliveries as agreed. Heavy calls come from the suburban towns and cities for this fuel, where the price of anthracite still remains at $9 and $10 a ton. This enterprise, founded by Henry M. Whitney, in his ef- forts to make use of the Nova Scotia coal property in which he had large investments, has proved to be of the greatest benefit to certain portions of New England. Upward of 2000 tons of Nova Scotia slack has been car- bonized daily, with a resulting 1200 tons of coke from 3800 ovens. As compared with our Connellsville district, it is in- teresting to note that the great coke making district in England, that of Durham, turned out only 4,701,437 gross tons last year from 12,571 ovens. Surely this does not compare favorably with work on this side of the water. At the close of the year 3692 ovens were unemployed. oo The Chapman Yard Hydrant.—The Chapman Valve Mfg. Company of Indian Orchard, Mass., have added @ new yard hydrant to their line of manufacture. These hydrants are especially designed to meet the require- ments of service in railroad yards for washing cars and filling water tanks; for water works service, where a number of families obtain their water from one source of supply; for stables, carriage houses, stock yards, street washing and lawn sprinkling; in fact, for any service where it is important to have a water supply that shuts off below the frost line, and are self draining to prevent freezing. They are made either for operation by means of the ordinary screw and hand wheel or by spring lever, the downward pressure of which opens the valve, the spring drawing it back and closing the valve automatically when this pressure is released. The hydrants are of extra strong design in all working parts and are made with the Chapman automatic drip valve at the bottom of the post. March 12, 1903 THE JRON AGE. 7 The [losely Commission Unrepentant. Lonpon, February 28, 1903.—The Mosely Commission is now back and its members have been expressing themselves freely about their experiences in America. If the promoters of this scheme imagine that the British labor leaders have come back impressed with the over- whelming superiority of American methods and Ameri- can workmen, and are in consequence likely to stimulate their own followers in this country to increased effort, then I fear nothing but disappointment will result. The opinions thus far expressed by that section of the com- mission concerned with the engineering and metal trades, while giving full credit to all that is best in American workshop practice, are none the less quite emphatic that we do things better in this country. For example, Matthew Arrandale, the secretary of the United Machine Workers’ Association, refers in his annual report to his recent visit to America. A short paraphrase of this report is suggestive. It indicates clearly enough what an intelligent workman thinks of American practice. He states that the planers in Ameri- can shops are known as machinists, a term,which in- ly upon inferior workers. It differs from the English piece work system, in that prices when once fixed may not be reduced. Mr. Arrandale is convinced, however, that the worker in this country is as well off as the work- ers are in America. Our people, he states, work as hard here as they do there, our machines run quite as quickly, and could our employers see their way to pay men for their ability, as they do in America, no doubt the same amount of work could be got out of the machines, for while in America the employers recognize that the more money that can be earned the more profit is left for the employer, in this country the employers object to a man earning more than a certain amount, let his capabilities be what they may. One other point, he continues, is that in many cases they will not take on a strange man who is over 35 years of age; yet once a man is taken on and gives satisfaction the firm do not discharge him or reduce his wages when he becomes old in the service of the firm. The Ameri- can worker receives much higher wages than we do in this country, but, on the other hand, the necessities of life are much higher than here. House rent is much dearer, railway traveling is much dearer, food in many THE SCHWARTZ MELTING FURNACE. cludes fitters, turners and any others capable of taking a job of any description and completing it. Their rate of pay is $3.25 a day, or 13 shillings 6% pence, for nine hours, the week being one of 54 hours. At slotting men average 1 shilling % penny per hour, drillers get 8 shil- lings 4 pence a day, and the men engaged on milling machines average about 10 pence per hour per machine, but almost invariably they work two machines. With regard to night work, 12 hours is the specified turn, which for five nights equals a 60-hour week. There is no extra pay for night turns, but if men cannot be had for ordinary pay most firms will add 2 to 3 pence per hour extra. The one-break system is general through- out the country—that is, men have their breakfast be- fore they go to work in the morning. If a man is not at his work at 7 o’clock he is not allowed to start until noon. Throughout the States there is a strong desire on the part of the employers to specialize both men and work and machinery. Referring to tool makers, Mr. Arrandale says that they aim at introducing labor saving machinery, but nowhere did he find much attempt to introduce wage saving machinery. The employers seemed to value the machinery more than the people, being ready to pay any price for a machine, while the human agent is often regarded as of no value. He found the bonus system in operation in a great many places, the effect being that every inducement is given to men to earn the most pos- sible. This is all right for the best men, but bears hard- cases is much dearer, and more money is spent by the American worker in amusements than is done here, while domestic life altogether is not nearly so comforta- ble in America as it is in this country. On the whole, he comes to the conclusion that the lot of the worker in this country is equal to, if not better, than that of the worker in America. a & Et SS ee The Schwartz Melting Furnace. The engraving here presented shows a special design of the Schwartz metal melting and refining furnace, man- ufactured by the Hawley Down Draft Furnace Company of New York and Chicago. Instead of the removable bottom plate, as in the regular pattern, the entire upper part of the cone is arranged to be lifted off by the aid of an overhead hoist or crane. The cone is provided with hooks for this purpose, and a special arrangement is made for the blast pipe, with sliding sleeve instead of a stuffing box. The oil pipe is provided with a special brass union, allowing coupling or uncoupling readily. The joint between the removable cone and the bottom shell is made by bolting angle iron rings together. A charging door of the usual dimensions is provided at the top of the cone, so that the furnace may be used in the regular way as the ordinary pattern. This fur- nace has been designed so that large pieces of metal or scrap may be introduced without first breaking into pieces, as is necessary in the original type. ee aetna 38 . - - Pee at he vas aS eS ae Sree Dy etal oe 8 THE IRON AGE. Labor Crisis in the Scotch Shipbuild- ing Industry. GLASGOW, February 20, 1903.—The absorbing topic here and in the North of England for the past fortnight has been the wages controversy in the shipbuilding and engineering industries. So sharply did the situation materialize that until a few days ago it seemed as if we were drifting rapidly to a complete lock out, not only here, but all over the country. A situation so critical is of such grave importance to the iron and steel trades on both sides of the Atlantic that it merits our atten- tion. That labor relations in the shipbuilding industry should reach a crisis surprised no one who has been watching the course of the trade during the last two years. There is, indeed, room rather for surprise that the crisis did not occur sooner, considering the depres- sion which has marked some of the shipbuilding cen- ters for several months past. North of England Yards Take the Initiative. It so happened, however, that while employment was steadily and even rapidly receding in the North of Eng- land yards during last year, and especially during the latter half of it, the shipyards on the Clyde were pretty well engaged on contracts. In the North of England so empty became the shipyards by the cessation of orders for ocean ‘‘ tramps,” which are their principal product, that notifications of reductions in wages were made some four months ago. After a great deal of discussion all the trade unions through their local branches agreed to accept the reductions proposed, except two. The ab- stention of these two brought about a state of dead- lock. The workers who refused to accept terms which the other trade uwhions recognized to be justified by the state of the trade were those belonging to the carpen- ters’ and joiners’ and to the plumbers’ societies. It so happens that the Joiners’ Union and the Plumbers’ Union contain a majority of members who ar