The Iron Age 1904-10-13: Vol 74 Iss 15

THE IRON we ato a A Réview of the Hardware, Iron, M Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. 9 <I asm, AGE aa Trades. wy = St.. New York, Vol. 74: No. 15. Alphabetical index to Advertisers “‘ 161 || List of Advertisers.... ‘ 153 | and Subscription Rates 160 | ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE | large assortment of Price Books for the Hard- ware and Metal Trades Sent on request. DAVID WILLIAMS CO., — New York. 232-238 William Street, THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording € ; Instruments. z Ey Fer =e : Silver Medal, Paris Exposition. MM antesds’ Bend for Cheuars | << SAMSON SPOT CORD Alse Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TURNBUCKLES. eel Crovetand Ghy Forge add ese Cae aeelsid: 0. TURN BUCH UES: MERRILL BROS., i SD? 485 to 471 Kent Ave . Brooklyn, @.D...N.¥ SOFT COAL. Girers rard Buflding, Phils, be PILLING & CRANE, isrotrcniien New ¥. oy “Uncle Sam’s Delight.” See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY, Page 23. New York, 7 on October 13, 1904. Reading Matter Contents....... page 50/— $5 00 a Year. ee Postage. Single Copies, 15 Cen No. 6 TAKE DOWN RIFLE. This little rifle is an ideal boy’s gun yet good enough for any man. Dealers have placed large orders for this gun for it is popu'!ar everywhere owing to the take-down, peep-sight features. Lists at $4.00. i THE.REMINGTON ARMS COMPANY, ILION, N.Y. Agency, 315 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Ne eG PLATE PATTERN. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL GO.,, Hartford, Conn. 0 0 5 2 La pewe 2OPrse IN@Hs : 8 > NEW YORK, Branches: PORTLAND, ORE, 7 PHILADELPHIA, BUFFALO, 0 CHICAGO, _ DETROIT, BALTIMORE, 8ST. LOUIS, CINCINNATI NEW ORLEANS, u BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER, > 4 m 2 » Chicago, Fisher Bidg. Sithout tellag JENKINS” BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Lenden. : St Gold Rolled Stel essen DIa Wing a slap THE AMERICAN et alls a & aoe re COMPANY — and Rail Delfvery) “MAGNOLIA METAL. , Pa ae MAGNOLIA WETAL €0:, Owner and Sole Manafactrern 13-116 eee NEW Y ‘ PLAIN PATTERN REGULAR WEAD. PLAIN. PATTERN REGULAR WEAD. Depot, 86-8 First St., San Francisco Cal, e Ee EXCELSIOR STRAIGHTWAY BACK PRESSURE VALVE is simple in construction and weil made. Being fitted with the Jenkins Disc, oa never sticks. Can be relied upon at all times when ving exhaust steam for heating; or when used as a relief or free exhaust on a Working parts can be quickly thrown in and out of a ane g valve apart roe ‘We'maateccare Srl ead of Babe ais 8 2 THE IRON AGE. Mn BRASS; =. eee e sucer SNBBt and Roll Brass COPPER — WIRE WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN GERM AN SHEET SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. S LV ER ROD Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero- / ' / WIRE sene So ae Lamp J UEEN’S ae ‘Dp Pre gan Ape LOW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE. | 2 MURRAY sT., NEW YORK. vow etna Na FAM RASS 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. aah SEAMLESS B AND COPPER 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO. ee SSP NA S\ee wees! |TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND ROLLING MILL : FACTORIES : BRONZE TUBING. sheeeetea THOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN, WATERBURY BRASS CO.,/JSCOVILL MFG. GO., MANUFACTURERS 0) WATERBURY, CONN. 99 John St., New York. Providence, R. |. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., BRIDGEPORT, GONN. Automobile Castings a Specialty. High Tensile Strength. MANUFACTURERS OF er ee 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 Telegytiph Building, Room 715. Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bldg. Rolls, Rods, Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shelis, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods. Special Brass Goods to Order. FACTORIES: WATERBURY, CONN. Depots CHICAGO, NEW YORK, BOSTON. Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. JOHN DAVOL & SONS Write Us. DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., 100 John Street, - Sent ews. LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER Arthur T. Rutter & Go SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. 256 Broadway, Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. NEW YORK. Stove and Washboard Planks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and WU ae German Silver Wire. ’ Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. a Copper and Brass Rod. 7 — aa shicag ey Te nae pe _ anaes THE BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Uo iB ‘ ) vn Te etre aiare tt Gah ee onze. Baht Great BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 19 Murray St., New York. rass, Bronze and C A a T I N G % 85-87 Pearl St., Boston. @ Aluminum #2 17 N. 7th St., Philadelphia. FPOUNDERS-— FINISHERS. MANUFACTURERS OF W.G ROw™mIL co, Bridgeport, Conn! BO. = SHEET HENDRICKS BROTHERS od®., | TUBING Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, |“°PP°’ | WIRE. Lamp Géeds ef all Kinds. Brasiers’ Bolt ax ama Sheathing BRASS AND COPPER GOODS COPPER scoventrsy EE lil 9 COPPER Winhtl AND RIVES. inl Machinery and Mill”. Work. abies ams. H. Ingot Copper, Block Tin, ‘Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, ete. | Thurston, “"croth. Tilustrated. 431" 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. For sale by David Williams Co. 282 William St. N. Y. 08 phar gee Oo REE: ORT aS RENE PS Sas ee eee "Paka ete THE “THURSDAY, The New Foundry of the Hilles & Jones Company. In attempting to perfect facilities and methods of man- ufacture it is often the case that the designer gives al- most his entire attention to the plant within doors, to the neglect of the exterior and the building itself. It is worthy of remark that in the new foundry recently erected by the Hilles & Jones Company at Wilmington, Del., this has not been the case, a fact that will be readily appreciated by an inspection of the exterior view, Fig. 1. It will be seen that this building has a large part of its exterior of glass, affording unusually good lighting to the shop within. Ventilation has been given THE NEW FOUNDRY OF THE equally thoughtful consideration. ‘The principal points of interest in the new building, aside from its novel i xd of construction, are the outdoor facilities for the ha ing of raw material and product, and the modern interior equipment for all processes attending the man- ufaciare of castings, both large and small. The present article aims to give a complete description of the new foundry, followed by a brief account of the most im- portant features in the other parts of the plant, sufficient to indicate the extent of the entire works and show the relation which the new foundry bears to the pre-existing buildings. These older factors include a pattern shop and storage, an erecting shop, machine shop, various sheds and storehouses, and an old power plant, which has been superseded in the supply of all power except lighting by } new power plant. The latter will ultimately be added o, and will become the regular source of all power, while ihe old plant will be held as an emergency auxiliary. IRON AGE OCTOBER 13, 1904. The Foundry Building. The building occupies a site 210 x 250 feet on Locust und Ninth streets, and is new with the exception of a wing along one side and a iow brick building at the rear, which have been made parts of the complete structure. The walls of the new part are of concrete to a hight of 14 feet, and are of glass set in iron framework the re- mainder of the distance to the roof. A monitor 20 feet wide and 7 feet high at the center, having glass sides and top, extends the length of the building along the ridge. The windows in the monitor and the alternate lights in the lowest row along the side walls are hinged at their centers, and may be opened or closed by chains. Ham- mered glass 4% inch thick is used in the walls and mon- itor. It is interesting to add that the total glass area is 4 / | } } ee HILLES & JONES COMPANY some 19,000 square feet. The roof consists of blocks of reinforced cinder concrete, laid in an iron supporting frame, pointed with cement and covered with magnesia roofing material, which is both fire and water proof. Gollick & Smith, engineers and contractors of New York City, erected the concrete work in the roof and walls. They control patents on the systems of reinforcing used in both places. The American Bridge Company furnished and erected the steel frame of the new building. The heating and ventilating plant is not yet completed, but is now in process of erection. It will be a hot air plenum system, and will use apparatus furnished by the New York Blower Company, consisting of a steam driven fan blowing air, which has been heated by contact with steam coils, through galvanized iron distributing pipes to the various parts of the building. The air will ordi- narily be taken from the outside, but in extreme weather the larger part will be taken from the inside of the build- 2 THE IRON AGE. ing. This will insure a comfortable shop for the work- man, with abundance of fresh air at all times, as the cubical contents per occupant is very large. Interior Arrangement The location of the foundry with respect to the other parts of the works is indicated in the diagram Fig. 2, and the arrangement within the foundry giving the dis- position of the work and the handling facilities is shown in greater detail in Fig. 3. The charging floor extends from the rear of the building to a point within 80 feet of the front, and is itself 180 feet long, 10 feet of it pro- jecting from the building, forming a platform to receive material from an outdoor traveling crane. The charging platform is about 40 feet wide, and is approximately in the center of the combined floor of the old and new parts. It is 19 feet above the floor. An elevated railroad trestle leads from the tracks of the Philadelphia, Balti- more & Washington Railroad into the building alongside of the charging platform. The rails are at a hight of 15 feet from the floor, bringing the floor level of the cars to the level of the charging platform. On this trestle SN CHARCOALe October 13, 1904 open directly upon the charging floor. The floor itself is of plate iron and on it are laid narrow gauge tracks for the handling of material over its area. At a point near the cupolas a Fairbanks platform scale is inserted in the line of the track for weighing the proportions of the charges. A plan of the tracking on the charging floor is given in Fig. 3, being marked A. The track marked B is on the main floor of the foundry. The narrow gauge tracking and equipment, including 10 or 12 cars of box and flat type, were furnished by Arthur Koppel of New York. A view of the large castings foundry looking from the Locust street end and showing the charging floor and cupolas is given in Fig. 4, and a view taken on the charg- ing floor looking toward Locust street is shown in Fig. 5. The capacity of the foundry is 15,000,000 pounds per year, and single castings can be made weighing as much as 150,000 pounds. The first heat was run on June 20 last. The space under the charging floor accommodates a sand storage and mixing space, a blower room and a large double core oven. It is double in the sense that it may Brandywine Creek THE IRON AGE Fig. 2.—Plan of the Layout of the Hilles & Jones Works. coke and iron are brought to the charging floor and large castings are removed from the foundry. A jib crane on the charging floor, having an air hoist, is used for handling coke and iron from cars on the trestle to the charging platform. Large Castings Department, The large castings department includes the space be- tween the charging floor and the Ninth street side of the new part of the building. It is served by two cranes of 75-foot span, which also cover the elevated trestle. They are four-motor cranes and were built by the Shaw Blec- tric Crane Company of Muskegon. Mich. One has a capacity of 40 tons and the other 20 tons, and each has a 5-ton auxiliary hoist. These cranes are used for the handling of large patterns, ladles and castings about the foundry, and also, as just indicated, for loading finished work. When a casting requires machine work other than can be performed by pneumatic or hand tools it is taken on a low platform car along a short track leading from the center of the side of the foundry over and through the erecting shop. Finished castings are shipped directly from the erecting shop, as a spur from the main line of the railroad connects with its track system. The cupolas, two in number, are placed at about the center of the length of the building and rise through the charging _ floor at one side. The doors for charging the cupolas be used in halves by closing a sliding partition midway of its length. A separate fireplace serves each half. The sliding partition and the doors at both ends of the core oven are of the Kinnear rolling iron type. Two tracks of standard gauge width extend through the oven from the core room to the foundry. The two new cupolas are Paxson-Colliau type, fur- nished by the J. W. Paxson Company of Philadelphia. The smaller one has a shell 63 inches in diameter and a capacity of 9 tons of metal per hour. The larger one has a 76-inch shell and a 14-ton per hour capacity. The blowers serving these cupolas are in the room set apart for that purpose under the charging floor and, being near by, the pipe lines are short. The blowers are of Wil- braham Green positive pressure rotary ‘type, furnished by the J. W. Paxson Company. The smaller one is a 5-A size, with a capacity of 22 cubic feet per revolution, and is driven at a speed of 225 revolutions per minute by a 35 horse-power Westinghouse motor. The larger blower is a 6 A, with a capacity of 35 cubic feet per revolution, and runs at 200 revolutions per minute, being driven by a 50 horse-power Westinghouse motor. Five: ladles of various sizes are on hand for use according tc, the requirements, the two largest being of 15 tons capac- ity each. The outdoor crane at the rear of the building may | 3 Taenetr Sr_ o eee ne a a ee October 13, 1904 be seen in Fig. 6. It is a 5-ton Shaw electric crane and covers a span of 40 feet. In addition to serving the trestle and charging platform in the yard beneath it it is used for breaking castings, a large weight being raised by means of the hoist and dropped upon the casting to be broken. Among the interesting machines in the foundry is a magnetic separator, built by the Dings Electro Magnetic Separator Company of Milwaukee, Wis. It is used to recover the available iron from cupola cinder, gangway scrapings, chipping room dirt and foundry offal. The machine has a capacity of 100 to 150 cubit feet per hour, or as fast as one man will naturally shovel the material, and is driven by a % horse-power contained motor, making it possible to shift its location at any time with little trou- ble. The separator consists of a cylinder inclined from its inlet to its discharge end, and is of wire screen with the exception of a solid part of brass near the discharge end, where all the fine dirt has been separated from the Main Foundry 7-0" to-¢- Runway | || | ee THE IRON AGE. 3 the core department. That section lying between the core department and the large foundry opposite the end of the charging platform is served by a Shaw electric 10- ton crane of 40-foot span. This space is used for fitting up flasks. On all large castings and on smaller standard work heavy iron flasks are used, which reduce the dan- ger of accidents and produce work true to the patterns. These flasks are built upon a unit system, and consist of standard cast iron sections, flanged at their edges and bolted together. From them may be assembled flasks of any hight or rectangular dimensions in even foot units. A large stock of these flask parts has been made a feature of the foundry equipment. The core room proper contains a 5-ton Maris crane of 46-foot span. The blacksmith shop and carpenter shop are used only for such work in their lines as is required in the foundry, such as the making of flasks or flask parts, wrought iron clamps and reinforc- ing pieces, &c. The smith shop contains a forge, and a rattler and emery wheels, which are accessories to the Locust St, Flask Fitting o << Department 5 fii vl! te a | ! \ ial Floor ae ‘| Stock for Core Ovens uh and eens te - ame Carpenter Shop Taylor St. Stack for Core Ovens he co a Fa Special Small oO Castings Foundgy oe ood a a a +________} —c Elevated R.R. Track 731TH — ! a A I or Bien ob, | S | | ~ 36’0"Top of Rail a.) THE.IRoN AcE Fig. 3.—Plan of Foundry Building and Part Elevation, Showing the Interior Arrangement. material. Through this brass ring the poles of numerous electro magnets project. These are automatically mag- netized while passing under the work and demagnetized at the highest point of their travel, dropping the iron which has been raised with them into a chute extending out from the open end. The cylinder is high enough from the floor to permit wheelbarrows to be placed underneath to receive the different separations, and yet is low enough to permit of conveniently shoveling the material into the machine from the floor. It requires only about % horse-power for both its electrical and mechanical opera- tion and makes three separations—sand, coke and iron. The pieces of coke, slag and nonmagnetic material too large to pass the screen are delivered from the end of the cylinder into a chute extending under the separator. Another interesting machine that will be used in the foundry is a portable mold dryer built by Thomas Shedden & Sons of Paisley, Scotland. It is arranged to be placed directly over the mold to be dried, and contains a coke furnace, through which a draft of air is forced by a Buffalo Forge Company’s motor driven blower. The air is directed down into the mold and escapes through the runners. Other Departments in New Building. The old wing contains the small castings foundry, cleaning rooms, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop and cleaning department. The rattler and emery wheels are belted from a short line shaft, which is driven by a 25 horse-power C. & C. motor. The small castings foundry uses an old 50-inch cupola, and contains a hand jib crane, both of which were left in place at the time alterations were made. In this depart- ment it is the intention to use molding machines for as much of the work as possible. One built by the Tabor Mfg. Company of Philadelphia is at present in use, and more will be added if the work justifies it. Adjoining the small castings foundry in the space un- der the charging platform is the sand storage and mixing department serving both foundries. A sand sifter is in- stalled in this space, which consists of two revolving screens of hexagonal cross section, %-inch mesh, over- hung on a shaft which is driven at the center through a worm and worm wheel by belt from a % horse-power mo- tor. The outer ends are open to receive the sand, and the inner ends are closed, and carry cams operating bell crank bumpers, which jar the screens and detach all the dirt adhering in the meshes. Pattern Shop and Storage. The pattern shop and storage building is located on the opposite corner of Locust and Ninth streets. It con- tains two stories and a basement, wherein all the line shafting and countershafts for the power using ma- 4 THE IRON AGE. chinery except the cranes is located. The pattern shop is on the main floor, and all the machines, including a band saw, jointer, circular saw, surfacer and two lathes, are belted through the floor to their respective counter- shafts beneath. The power is furnished by a 35 horse- power Westinghouse motor direct connected to the line shaft. The second floor is the pattern storage. One 2% ton Maris Brothers crane with electric hoists and hand travel, handles the heavier patterns, and two other cranes of same make and size serve the pattern shop. For lifting patterns from the main floor to the storage floor the upstairs crane is used. There is a section of the floor near the rear of the building which is removable for this purpose. The large covers which close it are easily removed by the crane and set to one side while transfers are being made. A systematic proceeding marks the handling and stor- October 13, 1904 tion, 5 feet in diameter at the top and 100 feet high, and was erected by the Alphons Custodis Chimney Construc- tion Company of New York. The draft is controlled by a damper regulator made by the Patterson Mfg. Company of Baltimore, Md. One engine generator set is now in operation, and space is reserved for an additional one when required. It consists of a 14 x 14 inch Ball & Wood 150 horse-power engine, running at 250 revolutions per minute, direct con- nected to a 100-kw. Westinghouse generator. The cur- rent for power purposes is distributed by a two-wire 220- volt system. On the switchboard in the engine room there is a three-pole two-throw generator switch for con- necting the generators to the bus bars. In its lower posi- tion the system is thrown upon the city service. There are also a circuit breaker, a rheostat, an ammeter and a voltmeter for the generator; a circuit breaker for the Fig. 4.—The Large Castings Department, Looking Toward the Rear, Showing the Charging Floor and Cupolas. age of the patterns in the pattern storage building. The smaller patterns are placed on racks, which are num- bered and lettered, and a record is kept of the location of each pattern, and whether or not it is in use. When a pattern is called for by the foundry it is taken from the racks in the storehouse and placed in a rack in the foun- dry. After the pattern has been used it is placed in an- other rack, which is marked “ For Finished Work,” and from there it is returned to the storehouse. The New Power Plant. The power plant is another new building, and has a complete new equipment. The steam generating plant at present consists of a 264 horse-power Babcock & Wil- cox water tube boiler, containing 2640 square feet of heat- ing surface and 59% square feet of grate surface. Space is left for a second boiler of equal capacity. The fur- naces are fitted with McClave shaking and dumping grates. The boiler is fed by a Worthington duplex 7% x 5 x 6 inch feed pump, or in case of emergency by a Metropolitan injector. The feed water is taken from the city service, and is heated in a 600 horse-power Wain- wright closed Taunton heater. The smoke flue connects to the base of the stack, which is of radial brick construc- crane motors and a circuit breaker for the blower motors; two two-pole switches for each of the crane and blower motor lines, and double-pole double-throw switches for the lighting. Erecting and Machine Shops. The old building which contains the machine shop and erecting shop is three stories high and has a fire proof vault running up through the three floors. The first story of this is used for a too] room, the second story adjoins the main office and is used for storing papers, &c., and the third story is directly off from the drafting room and affords a fire proof storage for tracings and blue prints. The erecting shop is served by a crane of 75-foot span, built by the Morgan Engineering Company, Alliance, Ohio. It has a capacity of 60,000 pounds and a 7000- pound auxiliary hoist. At one end of the erecting shop is a jib crane with an air hoist, and two similar cranes are placed at about equal distances along one side. At the opposite end of the erecting shop there is an 11 x 10- inch duplex high speed Westinghouse engine, which is beltei to two line shafts, each for the drive of a planer. One of these is a 72-inch by 16-foot widened pattern ores October 13, 1904 Gray planer and the other is an 8-foot by 16-foot Pond planer. Next to the main erecting shop there is a shop which contains the larger machines and is also used for some erecting work. The most important tools in this shop are an 11%4-foot x 32-foot Pond planer and a lathe, built by Israel H. Johnson, Jr., of Philadelphia, having a 40- foot bed, with an 8-inch hole through the spindle. This is capable of turning a screw 6 inches in diameter, triple thread of 6-inch pitch, and is one of the largest screw- cutting lathes ever made. The hole through the spindle allows a bar to be turned of any length which it is pos- sible to get within the shop, as it may be advanced through the hole in the spindle 40 feet at a time. Screws 80 feet long have been made on this machine. There are two other long lathes, one being a 32-inch x 19-foot THE IRON AGE. or 86 inch Greene Corliss engine, built by the Providence Steam Engine Company, Providence, R. I. It develops 100 horse-power, runs at 64 revolutions per minute and is belted to a 35-kilowatt Crocker-Wheeler generator for lighting the machine shop. This equipment will eventual- ly be held as a reserve only and all electric power will be furnished by the new plant. The old boiler house contains two Hilles & Jones boilers, boilers being another line of manufacture in which this company at one time engaged. The boilers are of 75 horse-power each and have McClave shaking and dumping grates and McClave Argand steam blowers for forced draft. There are three Worthington pumps in the boiler house, one a 7% x 8% x 10 inch vacuum pump, one a 6 x 4 x 6 inch feed pump for the boilers and one a 14 x 7 x 10 inch fire pump. Air under pressure Fig. 5.—View Taken on the Charging Floor, Looking from the Rear Toward Locust Street Pond lathe, and there is also a Bullard 24-inch turret lathe. Smaller machines are contained in the section adjoin- ing the larger machine shop, which has a mezzanine floor. Among the machines in this shop are a Betts slotting ma- chine, hydraulic press, small Gray planer, Betts boring mill and a Niles vertical double head boring mill, a Pond planer, a Hilles & Jones radial drill and a Hilles & Jones smal] slotter. The latter were built by this company when it undertook the manufacture of all classes of ma- chine tools. As is well known, its work now is confined for the most part to punches, shears and heavy machinery of the same order. In the back part of this shop there are a Gray planer, Betts boring mill, emery wheels for dry and wet grinding, sheet emery disks, a pillar crane, a Dreses & Mueller radial drill, a Betts 78-inch x 25-foot planer, another boring mill and two small planers. Other small machines, such as shapers, milling machines, auto- matic and screw machines, are contained in the second story of this section. The Old Power Piant. The engine room of the old power plant, which was used before the new one was erected, is contained in the machine shop building, and the boiler room in an exten- sion adjoining the erecting shop. The engine is a 16 x for pneumatic tools, hoists and other purposes is piped to all parts of both the old and new plants. The present compressor is one of Ingersoll-Sergeant make, type—lo- cated in a room adjoining the old engine room. At one corner of the old building, adjoining the small machine shop, there is a blacksmith shop which contains several forges, a Newton cold saw for cutting off bars as large as 8 inches in diameter; a Hilles & Jones shear for cutting up bar iron, a special tempering furnace for tempering tools required for the class of work made by the company, such as shear blades, punches, dies, &c., and a Bement steam hammer. Early History and Organization. For more than 50 years machine tools of various types and designs have been built at this location, the original shop having been constructed about 1850. After about 20 years existence as a general manufacturing and jobbing machine shop, under various management and ownership, the partnership of Hilles & Jones was formed by Wm. 8S. Hilles and Henry E. Jones. From this time un- til the present much care, money and labor have been ex- pended in developing those specialties in the line of ma- chine tools for which this concern has a very wide repu- tation. The manufacture especially of punches, shears, bending and straightening rolls and plate planers has Nn on se a aa a a ee 6 THE IRON AGE. become the main output of this establishment, which has thus grown from very small beginnings by careful and yet progressive development into a large and thoroughly equipped plant. The present officers are as follows: Al- fred R. Jones, president; T. Allen Hilles, vice-president ; Robert W. Smith, general superintendent; Lawrence T. Jefferis, treasurer and manager foundry department, and Henry J. Bailey, secretary. ——___~ +e The Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association. The regular one hundred and fortieth meeting of the Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association was held at the Manufacturers’ Club on the evening of October 5. Presi- dent Thomas Devlin called the meeting to order at the usual hour. No business of special moment was brought October 13, 1904 the Foundry Foremen’s Association adjourned to meet in two weeks to hear the report of the committee and with the expectation of gaining further accessions to its membership. —_>- Drawback on Brass Tubing and Steel Stub Strips. WasHINGTON, D. C., October 8, 1904.—The Treasury Department has prepared a series of regulations for the allowance of drawback paid upon imported brass tubing used in the manufacture of condensers for steam boilers manufactured by the Wheeler Condenser & Engine Com- pany, New York City. In liquidation the quantity of brass tubing in condition as imported which may be taken as a basis for the allowance of drawback may equal the Fig. 6.—The Yard at the Rear of the Foundry, Showing the Outdoor Crane and the Spur Trestle Leading Into the Foundry from the Main Line of the P., B. & W. R. R. Tracks. before the association. The treasurer reported a balance of $1801.34 in hand, with all bills paid. Announcement was made of the death of David T. Matlack, an old member of the association, and a com- mittee, consisting of Howard Evans, Josiah Thompson and William Hanson, was appointed to prepare suitable reso- lutions. Frank C. Everett, secretary of the Associated Foundry Foremen, addressed the meeting on the benefits to foundry foremen resulting from membership in that organization and urged the formation of a Philadelphia branch. To facilitate the work of forming such a temporary organiza- tion the Foundrymen’s Association adjourned, August T. Williams of the Enterprise Mfg. Company was elected temporary chairman and W. P. Cunningham of the American Bridge Company, Philadelphia, tem- porary secretary of the meeting, and an enrollment of 20 members for the new organization was secured. A com- mittee of three, consisting of F. P. Stapleton, Philadel- phia; James B. Strain, Chester, Pa., and G. M. Benkert, Philadelphia, with the chairman and secretary as ew-officio members, was then appointed to formulate a constitution and by-laws for a permanent organization, after which quantity consumed, as declared in the drawback entry, after official verification. The regulations issued by the Department under date of May 7, 1903, establishing a rate for the allowance of drawback on locomotives made by Burnham, Williams & Co. (Baldwin Locomotive Works), Philadelphia, with the use of truck axles, piston rods, &c., manufactured by the Standard Steel Company, Burnham, Pa., from imported steel blooms, have been extended to include stub strips when shipped in a complete locomotive or separately as parts thereof in the manner set forth in the manufactur- er’s sworn statement filed at the port of exit. W.L.C. 3+ —_______ Although there is common complaint that railroads are not buying bridges or making other improvements that cost money, we are officially informed that the Chi- cago & Northwestern Railroad has recently made im- provements, including 62 steel bridges on masonry and 13 on pile supports aggregating 3496 feet in length and containing 2524 tons of steel. The department of main- tenance of way of that road has also replaced wooden bridgés aggregating 11,246 feet in length with masonry arches, box culverts and cast iron pipe. Nearly 15 miles October 13, 1904 of track has been ballasted with crushed stone, 203 miles with gravel and 78 miles with cinder and slag; 2,333,616 new ties have been laid, and heavy steel rails have re- placed lighter ones on 446 miles of trackage. —— — - »>-e__—. The Casting of a Large Chilled Roll. The largest chilled roll ever cast by the Philadel- phia Roll & Machine Company, Philadelphia, Pa., was poured at the works on September 23. This roll was 36 inches in diameter and 184 inches long, its rough weight being 44,250 pounds. The casting of this roll completed a record tonnage for five days in this class of work, 235,250 pounds of air furnace charcoal iron having been poured in that time almost entirely into chilled and sand rolls, the exception being 3440 pounds for rolling mill castings. The chills and flasks in which this roll was cast weighed 64,200 pounds, and their preparation for casting required nearly ten days. On the morning of the above date charging of the air furnaces was begun at THE IRON AGE. in Scotland, in West Cumberland, in Lancashire, in Notts and Leicestershire, in South and West Yorkshire and in Cleveland. The total quantity of different descriptions of pig iron produced in the first half of 1904 compares as under with the output of the first half of each of the two previous years: 1902.—Tons. 1903.—Tons. 1904.—Tons. Forge and foundry.......1,861,337 2,096,313 1,850,463 BEING once cccccccccscekssGuee 1,716,069 1,606,660 DUN Ah ukiduekd ae atean 364,050 456,371 506,970 GPs tects ics caw 104,286 110,245 84,872 NG db icok twee eeauas 4,096,478 4,378,998 4,048,965 The production of Bessemer steel ingots in the first half of 1904, according to returns sent into the British Iron Trade Association by steel manufacturers, was 865,- 683 gross tons, which compares with 911,670 tons in the first half of 1903 and with 888,378 tons in the first half of 1902. The greatest output for the past half year was attained in Cumberland and Lancashire, where four works produced 263,658 tons of steel ingots. One of the A Large Chilled Roll Cast by the Philadelphia Roll & Machine Company Being Finished in a 56-Inch Roll Lathe. 7 o’clock; the metal, which was composed of a mixture of charcoal irons consistent for the intended purposes of the roll, was all charged cold and completed in two hours’ time. The necessary chills, flasks and runner boxes were then lowered into the casting pit and put together in sec- tions. Seven hours were required to melt the charges, after which time samples were drawn, and the chill being found to be of the proper depth, 1 to 1%4 inches, prepara- tions were made for casting. At 4.20 in the afternoon the furnaces were tapped into two ladles with a capacity of over 10 tons, each served by an overhead electric crane; two minutes were required for pouring, rapidity and accuracy of pouring being very essential for the suc- cess of the casting. After cooling the roll was stripped and prepared for finishing. In the illustration herewith this roll is shown mounted on a 56-inch roll lathe in process of finishing. —_—_»4-e____—_ The British Half-Yearly Iron and Steel Output, The London Jron and Coal Trades Review states that the production of pig iron in the United Kingdom in the first half of 1904 has been ascertained by the British Iron Trade Association to have been 4,048,965 gross tons. This is a decrease of 330,033 tons on the output for the first half of the year 1903, which amounted to a total of 4,378,998 tons, and is a decrease of 47,513 tons on the pro- duction of the first half of 1902. When, however, the 1904 figures are compared with those of the first half of 1901 they show an increase of 164,421 tons. Out of the 15 iron making districts into which Great Britain is divided for the purposes of these returns 11 show a decrease, and the remainder show an increase in 1904, compared with 1903. The most notable declines appear to have taken place features of the steel industry of Cleveland for 1904 has been the entire cessation of the manufacture of Besse- mer acid steel, the two Bessemer works employed in that region having in 1904 produced basic steel alone. The total output of acid Bessemer steel for the first half of 1904 was 553,071 tons, while the output of basic Bessemer steel was 312,612 tons. The greatest production of acid Bessemer steel was reached in Cumberland and Lanca- shire, and the greatest production of basic Bessemer steel in the Cleveland district. The production of Bessemer steel rails in each district for the first six months of 1904 compares as under with the output for the corresponding six months of 1903 and 1902: 1902. 1903. 1904. Tons. Tons. Tons. I: Wins ods cwenisewece 73,119 120,117 85,093 CEN. ditvensedace 6cens 92,316 104,653 100,613 Sheffield and Leeds......... 53,000 46,200 105,172 Cumberland and Lancashine. 191,985 212,994 232,893 Des + War ekeende ciees 410,420 483,964 523,771 The output of open hearth steel ingots in the United Kingdom for the first half of 1904 was 1,670,129 gross tons, compared with 1,639,239 tons in the same period of 1903 and with 1,710,602 tons in 1902. The districts show- ing a decrease on the corresponding months of 1903 were Wales, Sheffield and the Lancashire-Cumberland section. The make of acid and basic steel in the first six months of 1904 compares as under with the first six months of 1908 : 1903.—Tons. 1904.—Tons. BABB kiddd die cheese ee cdss ceteecnsdces 1,368,588 1,326,882 WOE wc csc cchesedeecescndescescéucs 270,651 343,247 BOOMER. 6c ce ccccccccescaccesoccces 1,639,239 1,670,129 The total number of open hearth furnaces available for use at the end of the first half of 1904 was 480. 8 THE IRON AGE. The Battle Ship Nebraska Launched. The battle ship “ Nebraska ” was successfully launched at Moran Brothers’ shipyards, Seattle, Wash., on October 7. An interesting feature of the day was the presentation of a check for $100,000 to Moran Brothers by the citizens of Seattle by way of bonus and as a mark of appreciation of their enterprise in establishing works in that city capable of turning out battle ships. Eighteen years ago these brothers opened a little machine shop, 10 x 15 feet, on the water front, for the purpose of repairing the ma- chinery of small craft. To-day their plant covers 5 acres. The “ Nebraska ”’ is the first battle ship constructed on the Pacific Coast north of San Francisco. She is a sister ship of the “ Georgia,” “ Virginia,” “ Rhode Island” and “New Jersey.” Her cost is $3,733,600. The ship has a displacement of 15,000 tons; length, 441 feet 3 inches; beam, 76 feet 2% inches; draft, 23 feet 9 inches; speed, 19 knots; indicated horse-power, 19,000; engines, two four-cylinder triple expansion; boilers, 12 water tubular. Her main battery consists of four 12-inch guns, eight 8-inch and 12 6-inch guns. In her secondary battery she . Fe Ti Pir ae ee one ae Sy G ISN , Tp 3] N MV Fig. 1.—Vertical Longitudinal Section carries 14 3-inch guns, 12 3-pounders, 16 small guns and four 21-inch torpedo tubes. +e “Electric Motors in Machine Shop Service” is the subject of a paper read before Section B of the Inter- national Electric Congress, recently held at St. Louis, by Charles Day, of the firm of Dodge & Day, engineers, Nice- town, Philadelphia, Pa. The paper and two previous ones by the same author, “ The Requirements of Machine Tool Operation with Special Reference to the Motor Drive,” read before the New York Electrical Society, and “The Machine Shop Problem,” read before the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, contain information of much value to those interested in the installation of motors for driving machinery, either individually or in groups. In the past few years Dodge & Day have en- gineered the installation of a large number of motor equipments, and the author is by experience well quali- fied to handle the subject authoritatively. Edgar B. Seidel, Waterbury, Conn., is to incorporate his crucible business as the Waterbury Crucible Company as soon as the extensive addition to his plant, including a large kiln, has been completed. ee WGA DOOOODdO pee ier i eee October 13, 1904 The Reed Speed Changing Mechanism. The usefulness of mechanical means for varying the speed of driven machinery is too well known to call for any discussion. That the need of such a means has been appreciated is witnessed by the many forms of speed variators that have been brought forward from time to time. In studying these various forms one is impressed by their wide dissimilarity, indicating the versatility of the inventive mind in tackling a comparatively new prob- lem. They all show many unique ideas, but perhaps none is more interesting than the one recently patented by C. J. Reed of Philadelphia, Pa., and sold by the Reed-Morrill Electric Company of that city. The construction of this new speed jack, as it has been appropriately named, is best shown in the sectional view, Fig. 1. The mechanism is interposed between the driving pulley and the driven pulley of the machine, or its countershaft, and depends for its action upon the ex- pansion and contraction and simultaneous contraction and expansion of the peripheries of its own driving and driven pulleys, respectively. The change in the circum- | THE IRON AGE of the Reed-Morrill Speed Jack. ferences of these pulleys is effected by moving the sec- tions of which the rims are composed radially toward or away from their centers. The belt lengths being con- stant, this naturally changes the distances between cen- ters of each pair of belted pulleys. The change is pro- portionate for the two pairs, so that what one loses the other gains, and the belts are kept taut by allowing the mechanism to swing, its shaft being mounted between rocker arms for this purpose. Fig. 2 illustrates the posi- tions of the speed-jack for low, medium and high speeds of the driven pulley. Referring again to Fig. 1, A is the supporting rock shaft, upon which the rocker arms are keyed. C is the pulley shaft, which it will be observed is provided with ball bearings, making its running as frictionless as pos- sible. The rim sections D are serrated at their ends and engage with spiral threads upon scroll disks B. To reach these scroll disks the ends of the rim sections pass through radial slots in other disks, F, known as guide plates. The face of one of these guide plates is shown in Fig. 3, which is a section on the line y y of Fig. 1. The guide plates are notched about their circumferences and are held against rotation with respect to their related parts by rings having projections engaging the notches. October 13, 1904 These are called tie rings and serve the additional func- tion, in connection with other rings of channel section which surround them, of stiffening the edges of the guide plates. At their centers the guide plates are shrunk on sleeves, G, which run on the shaft C. Between the two pulleys is a single scroll disk threaded on both sides. All of the scroll disks are pinned to the shaft C. It will be noted that the shape of the threads on the scroll plates and the ends of the rim sections is such that the belt tension has no tendency to cause side strain, so that lateral stiffening is not of great importance. However, DRIVING PULLEY CONSTANT SPEED fos \ Ss DRIVING PULLEY CONSTANT SPEED THE IRON AGE. 9 gears K. These are keyed on studs, to which are also keyed pinions, L, intermeshing with an internal gear, M, which is connected with the left hand guide plate. If the friction disk J is stopped while the mechanism is running the guide plates are revolved in relation to the scroll disks, and the latter, being oppositely threaded for the two pulleys, cause the rim sections of one to recede from the shaft, while those for the other approach the shaft. If the friction disk I is stopped the opposite result is obtained, as its effect is reversed through a train of bevel gears. The clutching of one or the other of DRIVEN PULLEY LOW SPEED DRIVEN PULLEY MEDIUM SPEED DRIVING PULLEY CONSTANT SPEED ORIVEN PULLEY HIGH SPEED THE IRON scr Fig. 2.—Diagram Showing the Positions Taken by the Speed Jack with Various Ratios of Transformation. the middle scroll is self supporting with regard to what- ever side strain may occur; the right hand end scroll has the hub platé H, and the left hand end scroll has the support of the gear mountings of the guide plate mechan- ism. The guide plates.are all connected together through Fig 3.—Cross Section on the Line y y of Fig. 1. the tie rings and sleeves G, as has been described, so that a movement of one is imparted to all. It is by moving these guide plates with respect to the scroll plates that the adjusting of the circumferences of the pulleys is effected, the rim sections being caused to travel in the threads of the scroll disks. The movement of the guide plates is obtained through a train of spur gearing con- nected with two friction disks, I and J, which normally revolve with the shaft. J connects with a spur gear loosely mounted on the shaft, which intermeshes with the friction disks is accomplished through the shifter N, the upper end of which connects through a rod with a sliding block, O. Moving the shifter to either side causes the sliding block to clamp one or the other of the some- what flexible friction disks between a friction surface on the sliding block and one on a stationary block, P. Coiled springs on the rod connected to the sliding block regulate the gripping action of the clamping surfaces and give some elasticity to the movement of the shifter, and lock nuts on a guide bolt just below positively limit its movement. The speed jack is manufactured in various sizes and styles, with various maximum ratios of transformation, adapting it to a great variety of uses. Ordinarily, each pulley is made for one belt and is crowned, but when desired one pulley is made with a face of double length with two crowns, for use with open and crossed belts, or with a straight face to permit a shifting belt to run on tight and loose pulleys. As will have been understood from the description of the mechanism, it supplies for itself whatever power is needed to make the changes in speeds. The manipulation of the shifter requires but little effort. There is no tendency for the apparatus to undergo automatic change from one speed to another when the shifter is not touched. —— »+-e—__. A substance called petrolignite is being adopted as a material for the decks of ships, being under trial in the French and German navies, as well as the British service. It is prepared from sawdust, mixed with certain min- erals, and formed into slabs, under high hydraulic pres- sure, and has been placed upon the market in England. Its valuable properties are that it is noninflammable, and is not slippery when wet. It is said that it will not har- bor germs, and that in tropical climates it will resist the attacks of white ants. It is very hard, and like hard wood, can be worked with tools into any shape. 10 THE IRON AGE. A Water Wheel Generator Set at the World’s Fair. Among the exhibits in Machinery Hall at the World’s Fair in St. Louis is one group which is interesting on ac- count of the way in which mechanisms built in six differ- ent States are combined into one working exhibit. This exhibit illustrates, on a small scale, the generating of electric current with water power as the source of energy, indicating the practice which prevails on the Pacific Coast, in the Rocky Mountains, in New Mexico, and wherever high heads of water are available. Since there is, of course, no high head of water at the World’s Fair, the only way to show such a plant in operation was to combine with it a high lift pump to furnish the necessary water power. This is the first time that a mine pump and water wheel have been shown in active operation at a universal exposition. The joint exhibit represents the co-operative work of seven manufacturing and engineering concerns, and con- October 13, 1904 Mass., and is known as type J, and acts directly upon the Doble needle nozzle. The balanced relief valve was fur- nished by the same company. The Builders’ Iron Foundry, Providence, R. I., furnished the 10-inch Venturi meter, with its register and manometer, and the Schaeffer & Budenberg Mfg. Company, New York, supplied the tachometer and the Metropolitan recording pressure gauge. By means of the indicating and recording instruments, which were specially tested previously, the efficiency of the water wheel will be observed and a record kept throughout the time of its operation. The tachometer is attached directly to the shaft instead of being belt driven, so that the. possibility of error from belt slip has been avoided. It may naturally be expected that the efficiency and output, excluding the loss in the pump, will be some- what better than that obtained in a practical installation where the water supply is drawn through a pipe line and is subject to friction loss through the line and the gate valves. The efficiency of a pipe line in a commercial plant A Doble Water Wheel and Crocker-Wheeler Dynamo, Forming One of the Generating Units in the Intramural Power Plant at the World’s Fair. sists of a steam driven pump furnishing water under 300 pounds pressure to a tangential water wheel, the latter being directly connected to a railway generator furnish- ing direct current of 550 volts and forming a part of the Intramural power plant supply. The speed and output of the water wheel generator set are regulated by a needle nozzle which is operated by a hydraulic governor. The quantity of water delivered to the wheel is measured by a Venturi meter, the pressure by a recording pressure gauge and the speed of the set by a tachometer. In case of light load the surplus water furnished by the pump is taken care of by a by-pass terminating in a relief valve. The water wheel was furnished by the Abner Doble Company, San Francisco, Cal. It is a tange