The Iron Age 1905-04-13: Vol 75 Iss 15

THE si SD :Saezvmy Ml 0 15:2) ess ” R Of [ait rtm: he 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. 75: No. 15. Reading Matter Contents...... page 1280 Alphabetical index to Advertisers ‘‘ 171! Classified List of Advertisers.... ‘* 163 irertioine and Subscription Rates “ 170 Forster Pulleys LIGHT and STRONG Forster Pulley Works CUBA, N.Y ~~ CORDAGE THE AMERICAN MFG. CO., 65 Wall Street, N. Y. SEE PAGE 120. THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Cenn. | Bristol’s Recording Instruments. For Pressure Bomperatare and Electricity Gold Medal, St Louis E xpestiton. All Ranges, Low Pricer, and Guar. anteed. Send for C irculars. SAMSON SPOT CORD Also Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TURNBUCKLES. Branch Office, 11 Broadway, New York. Cleveland City Forge and iron Co., ae Cleveland, O, TURN BUCHIES. MERRILL BROS., eenilg ETD inet 465 to 471 Kent Ave . Brooklyn, E.D...N.Y Mill Ginder. rard Building, Phila. WE Seomeee Bank, Pittsb’g. Pl ' awe Bldg., NewYork. cepathuamennaaimcanaan eae of Tra: de, Boston. For PERFECTION and PROTECTION see AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S * Ad, Page 23 New York, Thursday, April 13, 1905. m&.00 a Year, ena Postage oARY oF 2 Copies, 15 Cen | A 22 Cairtvidees are preferred by all boys. The U. M.C. Co. has spent years edu- cating the boys to call for “The U Kind” | (Trade Mark). U. M. C. advertising and U. M. C. quality insures quick sales, keeps the goods sold Ss and brings the buyer back for more. Dealers—Don't neglect to carry a full line of U, M, C. 22 Cartridges. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Agency, 313 Broadway, New York City. Depot, 86-88 First St., San Francisco, Cala. »>(CAHALL BOILERS # PAGE 120 CAPEWELL HORSE NAILS “THE BEST IN THE WORLD” HIGHEST AWARD IN ALL COMPETITIONS GOLD MEDAL AT LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION St. Louis, 1904 MADE BY THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL CO., Hartford, Conn. JENKINS ’96 PACKING Can anything be more annoying than a leaky steam joint, not to mention the expense caused by a loss of. steam? The remedy is easy, and is yours by the use of Jenkins ’96 Packing, which is guaranteed. Write for Booklet, “ Points on Packing.” JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, CaO Chicago, London. “Sed” ld Roe Sle ae, Drawing Stamp THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING COMPANY (Water and Rail Delivery) pace 29, MAGNOLIA METAL. Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearings. BRIDGEPORT, Corn. San F isco, Montreal, Boston and Pittsburg. ace We mapetnorere all grades of Babbitt Metals a at competitive prices, +e sy, a. 2 FEES “if ( t f ¥ s Ly & tthe, tio Fx wi ess t 2 THE IRON AGE - tet acer \oheet and Roll Brass COPPER; ™,,| wir WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN GERM AN SHEET —_ GILDING METAL, COPPER RIVETS ROD Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kerec SILV ER WIRE ee Trimmings, &c. MANUFACTURERS OF aoe THE PLUME & ATwooD Mr6. Co BRASS “QUEEN'S RUN* Pere VAN! |1OW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE.|% MURRAY Sr. NEW YORE. ie ia ST TT ea HAPES 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON. Ve SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER 109 LARS SB; CaNOAeO. ele SSNPS Os) |TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND| sousso xz: BRONZE TUBING. :::::::: _rwowaston, con. | _warERBUnY. Conn._ ~ — SCOVILL MFG. CO., . ? WATERBURY BRASS CO.|f “sxx” BRASS, ants WATERBURY, CONN. GERMAN SILVER aster e 99 John St., New York. Providence, R. I. widgepot Deoxiized Boze &\9 "sweat Sonss™ TIN PLATES Metal 64, Brass Shelis, Cups, ee BRIDGEPORT, GONN. Buttons, Lamp Automobile Castings a Specialty. Special Brass Goods to Sider. FacToRizs: WATERBURY, CONN. Deport NEW YORK, WE HAVE SOME 8, CHICAGO, BOSTON. Follansbee High Tensile Strength. Beothers Ce. Pie |! Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. || HeMy Souther Engineering Co. ORD, CONN. Write Us. euttieaetenanin qutnneil and Sm mg ; ; | scm ee Areata Se | Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., ni <iilamnaaaiaaeds Artnur T. Rutter & Go. AND MANUFACTURERS OF 2 SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. 5O Becadway, Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. NEW YORA. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lith hers’ Selected Sheets for Paper ood Gabinete. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Stove and Washboard Blanks. Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet B » © d Ger- ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. mse - Qin Deans i German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube, UR eLakRDHOWO ELECTRIC” best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Alnminum C&ST!NGS,, WIRE, “t's Touch.” Se eee een eee Een TROLLEY, reso, Bronze end CASTINGS TELEPHONE FPOUNDERS— FINISHERS. and ww. G. ROWELL Co., Bridgeport, Conn. TELEGRAPH HENDRICKS BROTHERS LINES. Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, eriaeevert, BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., Brasiers’ Bolt and Sheathing GEORGE KROUSE COP PEHR, HEAVY CASTINGS COoOPrPTw zt nH. wie As» RIivVvVaTs. esis anette Compe Siti a Sestiogs. ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. pBrazing Metals. Hard Composition and 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. Phosphor Brouse Castings A tpeciaility. 160 to 164 Morgan Street. JERSEY CITY. N, J. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, April 13, 1905. A Record Production of Pig Iron. Consumption at the Rate of 2,000,000 Tons in March. The statistics of the production of pig iron in March mark another great record in the industrial development of the United States. As our figures given below in de- tail show, the output of the anthracite and coke fur- naces amounted to 1,936,229 gross tons. To this must be added the production of charcoal iron, which we esti- mate at about 34,000 tons, thus carrying the total to 1,970,000 tons. Our reports on the stocks of the merchant furnaces indicate a decline in the stocks of over 30,000 tons, so that the conclusion is warranted that during March the apparent home consumption slightly exceeded 2,000,000 tons. The statistics of production given in the following table are compiled from the official reports of all the furnaces in the country except three, whose aggregate output does not exceed 6000 tons: Monthly Pig Iron Production. November. December. January. February, March. (30 days) (31 days) (31 days) (28 days) (31 days) New York.... 67,735 72,752 78,864 66,185 96,180 New Jersey... 28,308 21,464 23,841 20,487 29,292 Lehigh Valley 39,069 44,581 53,207 49,407 55,319 Schuylkill Val. 39,165 45,335 44,956 39,102 44,998 Lower Susque- hanna and Lebanon Val. 41,526 39,999 37,318 34,161 39,590 Pittsburgh dis. 382,316 412,433 461,490 411,135 510,265 Shenango Val. 106.326 131,417 144,278 131,748 155,266 West. Penn... 82,787 92,478 98,765 96,551 97,569 Md. Va. and Kentucky ... 51,499 86,165 72,601 62,170 78,337 Wheeling dis. 64,517 86,306 105,995 93,865 99,737 Mahoning Val. 129,774 149,397 161,462 145,590 154,140 Cent. and No. 98,610 103,522 121,902 97,638 123,438 Hocking Valley and Hanging BOGE. csccee 24,295 27.336 27,730 22,094 30,539 I1l.,Mich.,Minn., Wis., Mo. and Ce ken nes . 192,488 184,873 200,631 199,104 253,325 Alabama .... 115,789 144,670 117,575 99,624 127.316 Tennessee, No. Carolina and Georgia .... 22,401 23,339 31,232 28,482 40,918 Totals. .. . 1,486,605 1,616,007 1,781,847* 1,597,343* 1,936,229 * Two small furnaces estimated with a monthly production of 4700 tons. Production of Steel Companies.—Returns from all the plants of the United States Steel Corporation, the Cam- bria, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Lackawanna, Wheeling, Ashland, Republic, Jones & Laughlin, La Belle, Bethle- hem, Calumet and Colorado companies show the follow- ing totals of product month by month. We present also separately monthly figures of the production of spiegel- eisen and ferromanganese, which is included in the total: Production of Steel Companies.—Gross Tons. Spiegeleisen and -—Pig.—Total production ——, ferromanganese. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1904. 1905. January..... braun 502,994 1,129,042 6,673 21,002 PEN 6s 2.6 cena 756,260 1,027,937 12,961 22,431 ReeGarces «bears 913,412 1,232,255 23,128 21,280 April ....... 966,850 a ee Rass se PAG i ales tee 1,067,886 O87504 <......: SEG os 3555 CE emt un 1,021,839 788,822 ash be 24,950 July ....... 987,855 i Ba cr ade tel i. «ances August...... 993,564 747,570 A nig atavanec 19,280 September... 956.363 936,494 ........ 20,723 October..... 829,215 a ee Se nd ek November.... 553,067 | 0 eee December.... 406,730 1,019,841 ........ i ae Deducting from the total monthly production the out- put of the steel companies we reach the following series of figures, which represent closely the make of the mer- chant furnaces. Taking into account the fluctuations in the stocks, we arrive at the apparent consumption from month to month: Statistics of Merchant Furnaces.—Gross Tons. Apparent 1904. Production. Stock. consumption. GEN gir ungeon akceled 420,657 — 21,615 442,272 WD ited daw cdueee an 452,151 — 45,722 497,873 Ee eee Pee 538,005 — 71,364 609,369 ME < cnctenisswisine coaeius 587,081 — 13,688 600,769 Ee er er 609,461 +101,433 508,028 CR cis mtn awine Cee eT 506,917 + 75,104 431,813 WS x anecds nea a ebace teas 515,927 + 49,960 465,967 PE Slick cn cin kare ke ae 425,175 — 39,743 464,918 NOE Snes caevade's 421,348 — 73,883 495,231 Gee Cavotaeanctalees 483,823 — 26,656 510,479 OVGINEE <icccuwescctcess CORR — 70,198 594,419 TIE Sccwateeac nee. 596,400 — 55.760 652,200 DR Seay nedewewane C0Gi.ee” 4 «esee< 6,273,338 1905. EEE ii. gbevennuennees 652,805 — 26,594 679,399 EGE whauvcncaaeeceen 569,406 — 25,694 595,100 PRONG vvcdewsiddwacdend 703,974 — 31,489 735,463 Capacity Operating. During March the furnaces quite generally got into full swing, there being few complaints of hampering of operations. The following table shows the number and capacity of the furnaces in operation: Coke and Anthracite Furnaces in Blast. -—— April 1.———,__ -——March 1.—, Locaticn Number Number Capacity Number Capacity of furnaces. of stacks. in blast. per week. in blast. per week. New York: Buffalo district. ...10 10 18,400 9 13,454 Other New York....11 5 3,808 4 8,530 New Jemey.cicccccece 8 5 6,408 5 5,010 ee 1 206 1 179 Pennsylvania : Lehigh Valley...... 27 18 12,313 17 10,650 eee 2 2 300 2 450 Schuylkill Valley.13 10 10,161 10 9,776 Low. Susquehanna. .10 5 6,194 5 6,549 Lebanon Valley....11 7 5,250 2 1,912 GE vs ccccéien 1 1 527 0 0 Pittsburgh dist... .39 38 112,860 38 99,375 IR ao 0 cin piu oie 3 3 2,370 a 3,000 Shenango Valiley...21 19 35,750 17 32,937 Went, Pets 6s 00s2 «Bh 15 20,106 17 23,140 ME co cedvoces 1 0 0 0 0 oo er 5 3 6,378 3 5,737 Wheeling dist........13 11 22.521 11 23,466 Ohio: Mahoning Valley...16 16 34,800 16 36,397 Central and North- ern and Michigan.18 16 29,566 14 27,172 Hocking Valley.... 2 0 0 0 0 Hanging Rock..... 12 9 6,896 9 6,250 SI é caude wane owe 21 18 41,061 17 36,910 WE Suds esas 1 1 1,407 1 1,434 Minnesota ........ on 1 1,117 1 978 WE dvvctocenge 5 5,600 5 5,376 PEMIOOEED nc fn ds 00.00 40 1 1 760 997 CHEE Wasacaceuné 4 3 5.503 2 3,785 MER as cccecndes 1 0 0 1 547 The South: EN. 6 axe Swans 23 12 9,815 12 9,387 Kentucky ......... s 3 1,495 3 1,115 pO Pe 44 24 28,749 24 26,000 OUND noc ccces 16 14 8,284 13 7,145 Ge ieec'en dts 1 1 959 1 500 North Caroiina.... 1 0 0 0 0 Tess S. c< 277 439,564 265 403,157 During March there were blown in Franklin in New York, Macungie and the second Lock Ridge in the Lehigh Valley, Sharon and the third Shenango in the Shenango Valley, two Bird Coleman, two Colebrook, Robesonia, one Lebanon and Sheridan in the Lebanon Valley, one South Chicago, one Bessemer of the Tennessee Company, Helen in Tennessee, and Allegheny in Virginia. There were blown out Pequest in New Jersey, Dunbar and Empo- rium in western Pennsylvania, Dora in Virginia and one Clifton in Alabama. Wo y i i} a ag : oo] K H ae 1224 THE IRON AGE For a series of months the active anthracite and coke furnace capacity fluctuated as follows in gross tons: Coke Coke capacity capacity per week. per week. April 1, 1905......... 439,564 ee eee 384,825 PEE Be vc cccesiecs 403,157 Jume 1........ceeeess 388,178 Bebruary 1.....0.c000> 405,792 May l......csceceees 873,496 FaMeaG 2... cececsnes 877,879 Amell 1. oo vrccccsvens 386,215 December 1, 1904..... 857,846 March 1.........s00% 347,424 BIOTEMNGE Lio ccccsces 834,249 Pebrekty 1.... cscccss 335,339 GO 2. ccvctscsvcd 319,249 January 1, 1903...... 346.073 September 1.......... 291,573 December 1, 1902..... 336,617 Amemet 1...0cccccccsee 246,092 November 1......200% 330,110 Ss 272,301 ee. S voc v0 00 oeeem 337,837 PONG Bos cciewescssacet 336,197 September 1.......... 328,243 tt ere 368,244 BER Aico cc cvececcve 328,745 GE Bes vcaceucs ven BOOT . BERG Bedicsc ccnccsecictemee DORE Bis kaciicavcasetd 308,751 PE Rive spn os bb ORD wE 337,492 PURTRET Bin cicisccvnct STA BOS MAP Becciscccsvccces 337,627 January 1, 1904...... i a a ere 331,140 December 1, 1903..... 244,156 DE Ritencospsanes 316,039 ae er 273,715 Debruary 1....0ccce08 825,440 OGRE Do oc cn ovconsd 353,142 January 1, 1902...... 291,992 September 1..:.....+% 860,197 December 1, 1901..... 317,358 RE Bass cee.ved new 853,681 Stocks. Believing that a classification of the merchant stocks by general geographical divisions would aid in a correct appreciation of the situation, we have arranged them in three groups: The Eastern, which includes New York, New Jersey and the Schuylkill, Lehigh, Lower Susque- hanna and Lebanon valleys; the Central Western and Northwestern, which includes western Pennsylvania, the Shenango and Mahoning valleys, the Hanging Rock re- gion, central and Northern Ohio, and Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri, and the Southern, which includes Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The stocks, of course, do not include the holdings of the steel companies: Merchant Furnace Stocks. Dec. 1. Jan. 1. Feb. 1. Marchi. April 1. ee” vi vaese dks 88,142 84,967 85,054 79,996 68,912 Central and North- WES. i céivoe ess 210,080 174,729 156,455 135,861 116,967 DOE otis nes oens 160,572 148,338 134,931 134,889 133,378 ee 458,794 403,034 376,440 350,746 319,257 The principal decline in the stocks in the Central and Northwest has been in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. There has. been a slight accumulation in IIli- nois. In the South, Alabama and Tennessee have some- what larger stocks on hand, but this has been more than offset by reductions in Virginia. —_—_»-+-e—_—_ British Iron and Steel Statistics for 1904. The statistics of the production of pig iron, Bessemer steel and open hearth steel in Great Britain in 1904, ac- cording to J, 8. Jeans, secretary of the British Iron Trade Association, are as follows: Pig Iron, The total production of pig iron in 1904 amounted to 8,562,658 gross tons, against 8,811,204 tons in 1903, 8,517,- 693 tons in 1902 and 7,851,830 tons in 1901. The decrease in 1904 as compared with 1903 was 248,546 tons. Great Britain is a large importer of iron ore for the use of its blast furnaces. The imports of iron ore in 1904 amounted to 6,100,556 tons, against 6,314,162 tons in 1903, of which there were imported from Spain 4,648,335 tons in 1904 and 4,945,086 tons in 1903. Bessemer Steel, The total production of Bessemer steel ingots in 1904 amounted to 1,781,533 gross tons, against 1,910,018 tons in 1903, 1,825,779 tons in 1902 and 1,606,253 tons in 1901. The decrease in 1904 as compared with 1903 was 128,485 tons. Of the total production in 1904 there was produced by the acid process 1,129,224 tons and by the basic process 652,309 tons. Nearly one-half (304,817 tons) of the basic Bessemer production of 1904 was produced in the Cleve- land district, in which district the production of acid Bessemer steel has been gradually declining in recent years, until in 1904 the production fell: to 10,449 tons. Open Hearth Steel, The total production of open hearth steel ingots in 1904 amounted to 3,245,346 gross tons, against 3,124,082 April 13, 1905 tons in 1903, 3,083,288 tons in 1902 and 3,290,791 tons in 1901. The increased production in 1904 as compared with 1908 was 121,263 tons. Of the total production last year 662,064 tons were basic steel and 2,583,282 tons were acid steel. Since 1901 the production of basic open hearth steel in Great Britain has almost doubled. It will be observed, however, that the aggregate production of open hearth steel in Great Britain has made no progress in the last four years, the output in 1904 being a little less than in 1901. ——___4-o___ -- Metal Trades Strike Imminent in Chicago. Following the defeat of the brass workers and the ma- chinists in their ten months’ strike in Chicago, a flank movement has been executed by the officers of these unions by which they hope to force Chicago employers to reinstate the strikers and to abandon the open shop prin- ciple. This movement consists of the formation of a defense association, embracing five different unions, or, in other words, a working agreement which includes in it blacksmiths and helpers, brass crafts, machinists, molders and metal workers. This joint association or amalgama- tion is known as Metal Trades Council No. 9 of Chicago and vicinity. An ultimatum has been sent out by this association embodying the following demands: “ Work- ing time shall be nine hours for all shop work, work to be done between 7.30 a.m, and 5.30 p.m. Time and a half shall be paid for overtime and double time for work after midnight and on holidays. Disagreements shall be re- ferred to the Advisory Board of the Metal Trades Council.” The ultimatum follows with a schedule of wages that must be paid, the schedule being an average of 10 per cent. higher than present wages. It is stipulated spe- cifically, however, that blacksmiths shall receive a 5 per cent. increase beginning May 1, 1905. Brass workers’ wages are graded from 25 cents an hour for monitor hands to 32% cents for lathe hands and brass finishers. The minimum rate for die makers and tool builders is given at 37 cents and for machinists at 32 cents, with 50 cents an hour for outside erecting work. Molders’ wages are set down at $3 a day; core makers, $2.75. Metal workers’ wages are as follows: Machine and saw hands, 25 cents ; helpers, 22% cents; finishers, fitters and riveters, 80 cents; makers and mechanics handling blue prints, 83% cents; bench hands, 22% cents; coppersmiths, 38 8-9 cents; mechanics and outside work, 55 cents; outside helpers, 35 cents. Eight hours is to constitute a day’s work for outside erection. _ Employers have been given to understand that the cause of each of the five trades named has been made the cause of all, and that failure to agree to the terms of any one named will lead to a strike in all crafts in the shop. Inasmuch as the Metal Trades Association and the Brass Workers’ Association have both squarely defeated the machinists and the brass workers and have positively refused to have any further dealings with what is left of these unions, they cannot in justice to this position consider the demands made by Council No. 9, In other words, while they might agree to make concessions to the blacksmiths or the molders or the metal workers, they say that they will not under any circumstances reopen negotiations with the machinists or the brass crafts, and therefore unless the demand is withdrawn a general strike in the metal trades is inevitable. Employers are given until May 1 to accede to the demands named. This is looked upon by the Chicago employers as a last des- perate effort on the part of defeated and discredited unions to induce more fortunate craftsmen to snatch their chestnuts from the fire, and the present attitude of the powerful associations of employers interested is that the demands are untenable and that there is little or no en- forcing power back of them. Shops involved are now operating successfully on the open shop basis and union threats have no longer the terrors for them that they once had. As this is a “ last ditch” stand, however, it is probable that a fight will be necessary before the final surrender of the coterie of labor leaders which has been waging the machinists’ and brass workers’ strikes for nearly a year. April 13, 1905 The Bliss Automatic Planchet Cutting Press. In The Iron Age for April 6 were illustrated two Bliss rolling mills for rolling the metal to the proper thickness preparatory to cutting it into blanks or plan- chets which are subsequently to be made into coins. After the metal has been rolled to the exact thickness it is passed through the planchet cutting press, as shown in the accompanying illustrations. Many improvements have been made in this machine, after much study given to the subject of coin blanking before it was designed. Experience has shown that a high speed automatic blank- ing press is best suited to the requirements. Accuracy and ease of die and punch adjustment, as well as easy access to the double feed rolls, are features for which THE IRON AGE 1225 lengths of 3 to 6 inches without appreciable loss. When not in use it can be swung on a trunnion to the right of the press frame out of the way. The slide which carries the cutting punches is very long in its guides, is strong and rigid and has an easily adjusted connection. <A treadle lock is attached to the press when the roll feeds are attached, and with it the clutch can be locked down for continuous running. The cutting capacity of the press when the automatic roll feed and scrap cutter are in use is two planchets of the dollar size at a stroke, three of the half dollar size, four of the quarter dollar size, four of the nickel size, four of the cent size and five of the dime size. The metal is usually rolled to a width suitable for a single dollar, so that dollars and half dollars are cut one at a Fig. 1.—Front View. Fig. 2.—Rear View, Showing Scrap Cutter. The Bliss Automatic Planchet Cutting Press. provision has been made, and the metal can be handled without an extra operator. Important features of the machine, as illustrated, are the adjustable swinging double roll feed and gauges, which are not disturbed when the feed rolls are swung out of the way, leaving a clear die space with no hind- rance either in front or back of the die table. In presses where the feed rolls are dropped down in front or rear of the die table they are in the die setter’s way, as they project far enough to be troublesome, and when ready to be placed back into position it usually requires two men to lift them into place and properly secure them. In this machine the die setter can do all this work alone, as he has no lifting to do, but simply swings the rolls into place. The indexing device is not disturbed when the rolls are swung back. The dies, punches and strippers can be easily removed without disturbing any other part and others can be set in their place. This is done quite frequently, often sev- eral times in a day; therefore, time saving devices are necessary in such a machine. Another new feature of this press is the scrap cutting device, which can be set so that the scrap metal can be chopped up fine at each stroke of the press or cut to time, quarters are cut two at a time, and nickels, cents and dimes are cut three at a time, and as the speed of the press is 100 strokes per minute, from 100 to 300 blanks can be cut in that time. The feed rolls and scrap cutter in the press will take metal as wide as 5 inches. By re- moving the feed rolls and the scrap cutting attachment, and fitting single dies to this machine, it can be used, if necessary, aS a coin proving press. It is built by the E. W. Bliss Company, 11 Adams street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Ne There is remarkable activity in building lines in Mil- waukee this year. The building permits issued for the month of March show an increase of 250 per cent. over the same month a year ago, the increase being from $354,480 to $917,530. For one week alone there was a gain of almost $170,000. During the last week of March 183 permits were issued, having an aggregate value of $296,107. If only a part of the same ratio of increase is continued during the months to come, this year will be the greatest in building operations that Milwaukee has ever experienced. January and February showed in- creases of over $100,000, as compared with the corre sponding months in 1904. say East Sa 1226 The Backlund-Burman Traveling Charg- ing Machine for Blast Furnaces. In The Iron Age of December 29, 1904, there was illus- trated and described an improved form of furnace charg- ing apparatus, designed by Knute Backlund and Birger F. Burman, Sparrows Point, Md. This device was to be GUIDE ROLLERS GROUND LINE THE IRON AGE April 13, 1905 one point above the bell or to vary the distribution ac- cording to temporary conditions of the furnace. In not a few cases in modern furnaces uneven stock distribution has caused rapid destruction of furnace linings and made it necessary to blow out and reline the furnace after a too short campaign. The same engineers have now en- deavored to overcome these difficulties by a combination of old and new methods; employing the skip hoist as a eee Tl / | } | — ac H lo. Te ino acs | Fig. 1.—Traveling Charging Machine for Blast Furnaces. <—— SKIP HOIST FURNACE THE IRON AGE Fig. 2.—Arrangement for Serving Two Furnaces with One Traveling Charging Machine. 4 t ry used together with a skip hoist, and the principal advan- ee ae means for raising the stock to the furnace top and hand A ——— tage was stated to be the facility for charging the belli or making repairs quickly, the whole apparatus being self contained and mounted on wheels and rails. In older furnace plants, however, where it is desired to reduce the cost of production by the introduction of automatic charg- ers, it is often found impossible to build a skip hoist for each furnace without making other extensive and costly alterations in the plant. Nor has the self dumping skip labor or special mechanical means for distributing it on the bell. The construction of a furnace charging apparatus mounted on wheels suggested having a furnace top which could travel to a place removed from the furnace where the stock could be hoisted, discharged and distributed on the bell ready for the furnace. The general arrangement of the apparatus as it was finally designed is shown in hoist, as a means for filling the furnace, given entire sat- isfaction. Experience has shown that it is almost im- possible to distribute evenly a mixture of the stock from Fig. 1.* This device has been given the name travel- iiiecseeeninannlllineumennaeneaeaaittiens aeal * Patented in United States, Great Britain and Germany. ‘ a April 13, 1905 ing charging machine, and, briefly stated, consists of a substantial steel frame mounted on wheels, with a pair of girders on top of the frame work carrying a hydraulic cylinder in the center, the bell suspension rod being con- nected to the plunger of the cylinder, while a cylindrical | | | THE IRON AGE Fig. 3.-—Section of Furnace Top with Charging Machine. THE IRON AGE 1227 leased through a valve controlled by an electromagnet. Other equipment of the machine comprises a tank holding the hydraulic pressure medium, preferably a mixture of glycerine and water, and an electric motor driving the The lifting cylinder, pump and motors are in- wheels. | be HS | ony || 1 } v =-8 Fig. 4.—Elevation of Furnace Top with Charging Machine. ENGINE HOUSE Doooc*oo on gooc%oooo BOILER HOU STOVES () JOOOO0O000 |¢ sTOCK FURNACES 950 FT. — -— STOVES OOOO00000 COKE BIN ORE HOIST THE (RON AGE Fig. 5.—Furnace Plant of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company, Sydney, C. B., Showing Typical Arrangement of Four Blast Furnaces. hopper or stock chamber is carried on the bell. To keep this hopper central and guide it in its vertical move- ment guide rollers are placed on the frame, which bear against rails attached to the hopper. On top of the frame work is placed a filling hopper, the position of which can be easily adjusted as may be desired. The pressure in the hydraulic cylinder is obtained from a motor driven force pump placed on the frame and the pressure is re- closed in fire and dust proof casings. The electric cur- rent for operating the machine is controlled from a posi- tion at the hoist. The same operator who does the hoist- ing operates the machine. Fig. 2 shows an arrangement for charging two fur- naces with one machine. All the hoisting of stock is done at a point midway between the furnaces. The latter are connected by strong bridges with tracks for the traveling 2. a ER it Ra, SoM tes ea a 7 i EP a ST oss en es 5 1228 charging machine, which carries a complete charge with each trip from the hoist to either furnace. To prepare a charge for the furnace the charging machine is placed with the filling hopper under the skip hoist, and as the contents of the skips are dumped on the bell they are trimmed and distributed at will, which can be done by manual labor in comfort and safety away from the furnace. The furnace is normally closed by a cover, movable by usual means, and provided with explosion doors. The cover fits on the tunnel head ring, completely preventing gas escaping. There is no other machinery on the furnace top. With the charge completed the charging machine is moved to the furnace, the cover re- moved and the machine stopped on the center of the fur- nace. The discharge valve is then opened and the bell drops, carrying the stock chamber along. ‘The bottom flange of the stock chamber will rest on the tunnel head ring, while the bell continues its downward movement discharging the stock. Immediately after the stock is discharged the pressure pump is started, raising the bell ENGINE HOUSE THE IRON AGE OneR HOUSE — STOVES JODO OLLI cm™ April 13, 1905 preveuts escape of gas. When it is necessary to remove bell or hopper, &c., from the furnace the charging machine may be used as a traveling crane for this purpose. As a typical arrangement of a modern American fur- nace plant a plan of the Dominion Iron & Steel Com- pany’s furnaces at Sydney, Cape Breton, is shown in Fig. 5. The furnaces and stoves are built in one line parallel with the stock yard, and the stock bins extend over the whole length of the furnace plant, with coke bins located opposite each furnace. For each furnace there is an in- clined hoist with two skip cars. There is no stockhouse over the bins. In Fig. 6 is shown a proposed plan of a four-furnace plant of the same capacity, drawn to the same scale as Fig. 5, and arranged for charging with traveling charg- ing machines. In this plan the greatest extension of the plant is in the other direction. The furnaces are lower in hight, built on an elevation, at a distance of about 75 feet apart and connected by bridges. There are two skip hoists for the four furnaces. The stoves are placed on the ground level in two groups, with the boiler house be- tween. The stock bins occupy less than half of the space of those in Fig. 5. It is evident that a plant arranged in this way can be constructed with far less investment of capital. In most modern furnace plants a large number of storage bins are built at great cost, but no stockhouse or other means of protection for the stock is provided; consequently the freezing of ores in the bins is a source of constant annoy- ance during winter in cold climates. In a furnace plant arranged as in Fig. 5 a stockhouse may be built at com- BOILER AND STOVE CHIMNEYS METAL TRACKS FURNACES CINDER TRACKS TRESTLE TRACKS - ———— - —450 FT, -ABOUT—— - ————. - ——_|_ THE RON ace 7 , | Fig. 6.—Proposed Arrangement of a Four-Furnace Plant for Charging with Traveling Charging Machine and stock chamber, and the machine is moved from the furnace and the cover put back in position. An adverse criticism of this method of charging is that the employment of hand labor for preparing the charge and the escape of gas during charging are a re- turn to old methods, but it is obvious that the advan- tages gained in fuel economy and metallurgical efficiency will more than offset these disadvantages. The principal advantages are the great saving in first cost of plant, the low cost of operating and the simplicity of the apparatus and facility for making repairs without shutting down the furnace. The condition of the furnace lining can at all times be examined, and the distribution of the stock can be varied as may be desired. Another form vf traveling charging machine is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, representing a section and a side eleva- tion of a furnace top with the usual bell and hopper. For the sake of gaining head room the furnace bell is sus- pended from a horizontal beam, which is moved up and down by a pair of hydraulic cylinders. A frusto-conical shaped hood, with slots for the bell beam, is placed on top of the hopper. On the upper end of the hood is a heavy flange, forming the seat for the stock chamber of the charging machine. In this case the charging machine takes the place of the distributing cylinder and bell in the latest forms of charging apparatus. When the fur- nace bell drops the charging machine seals the top and paratively small expense which during winter may be kept warm enough to prevent freezing. With furnaces placed closer together and of lower hight, together with a smaller number of stock bins, much time and power are saved in conveying and hoisting the stock, considering the many trips that have to be made in a day’s run. The stock yard may be located anywhere and the stock be brought in in hopper cars. If there is a coke oven plant connected with the furnace plant it should be located near the furnaces. A couple of bins of moderate size could be constructed above the furnace top level near the hoist for filling the charging machine, and the coke could be con- veyed from the coke platform directly to these bins by means of belt conveyors. This would reduce the breaking up of coke caused by multiplied handling through cars and bins. So much has been accomplished during late years in methods and plant for the economic production of steel— direct process, continuous processes, continuous mills, me- chanical conveyors, &c.—that it is a question whether the limit of perfection has not already been reached. For further reduction in the cost of production we have to look to the blast furnace department. A great number of furnaces of mammoth size—100 feet or more in hight— have been built during the last decade. Although noted for great quantity of product the experience with these largé furnaces has not been altogether pleasing. The fuel April 13, 1905 consumption has generally been too high for economy, and the loss caused by shutdowns has been great. Large fur- naces were built in England many years ago, but soon proved a failure, and at the present time the prospect in this country is a return to moderate sized furnaces. The operating of a large furnace plant involves the handling of millions of tons of materials annually. The most important factor entering into the cost of production is the freight charge on raw materials. In most cases the furnaces are located near the sources of fuel supply on account of difficulties connected with shipment of coke. But since metallurgical coke is now successfully made in retort coke ovens with recovery of by-products it is prob- able that in the future the furnaces will be built nearer the ore fields and coal shipped there. This will effect a great saving in the handling of the ore, nearly half of which is earthy matter, while in coal nearly all is avail- able. In the furnace plant of the perhaps not distant future the boiler house will probably be entirely eliminated, and all power generators and blowing engines driven by gas from the furnaces and coke ovens. With dry air, good water supply, electricity as motive power and improved charging apparatus, there will be little left to be desired for economic production in the blast furnace plant of the future. —__~+o_—__ The Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association. Quite a large attendance marked the one hundred and forty-sixth regular meeting of the Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association, held at the Manufacturers’ Club in that city on April 5. The paper to be read be- fore the meeting attracted not only a strong representa- tion from the local foundries, but a number of visitors from Brooklyn, Baltimore, Reading and nearby places. Thomas Devlin, president of the association, called the meeting to order at the usual hour. After routine business John A. Makem was introduced, who read a very interesting paper on the subject “ Foundry Cost Accounts.” He outlined, first, a system of accounts 'where costs are kept on all orders for castings - second, one where costs are kept on each particular line of product, and, third, a system of estimating costs where it is de- sired to keep them on new patterns only. The paper included also a discussion of general manufacturing ex- penses, embracing depreciation, &e., with special refer- ence to cupolas, air furnaces and patterns. A large part of the data was taken from actual foundry practice, and so divided as to permit of computation on different methods to suit individual cases. Owing to the diffi- culty of following the details of the paper, the discus- sion which ensued partook of an individual mention of the methods employed by various foundrymen in esti- mating their costs. These differed in many cases, some basing them on the money value, others on the weight of product or pound system, while the percentage and the hour systems were also used. It was finally decided to postpone discussion of the paper until the next meet- ing, the members in the meanwhile to have an oppor- tunity, by reason of the paper being printed in The Iron Age, to study the system in detail, and so be better pre- pared to discuss the various points presented. It will be found in another part of this issue. A vote of thanks was tendered Mr. Makem, after which the meeting ad- journed to the roof garden of the club to enjoy a planked shad luncheon. —_~-o___— One of the most remarkable receivership reports ever submitted to the Court of Chancery at Newark, N. J., was made on April 4, when that of Robert E. Jennings, who was appointed receiver of the Carpenter Steel Com- pany on November 5, 1903, was filed. The report shows that every claim and creditor of the Carpenter Steel Company has been paid in full, without discount of any sort, and that the receiver now has on hand more than $38,000, from which amount are to be paid the receiver’s fees and expenses. The report, after setting forth the reorganization plan formulated by the receiver and its acceptance, shows that his receipts have amounted to $736,805.45, and that he has disbursed $698,520.35, thus leaving a balance of $38,285.10. THE IRON AGE An Instantaneous Centering Tool. There is the least waste of metal in turning objects from round or bar stock if the centers can be found with perfect accuracy before placing in the lathe. To locate the centers with precision is ordinarily somewhat tedi- ous without the assistance of a special machine. The centering device illustrated, invented by C. A. Fiske, 161 East Sixty-seventh street, New York City, is unique for its simplicity and compactness, and makes possible the instant locating and marking of the center of stock up to 2 inches in diameter. The principle of the device is apparent from the en- graving, and little explanation is necessary to make its construction clear. The four projecting prongs might be compared to the jaws of a universal chuck, for although they have no gripping power, they are constrained to move simultaneously and symmetrically from or toward their common center, or, in other words, they are always maintained at equal radii from the center. Each prong is the laterally bent end of a narrow strip, one end of which is a rack, and all four racks engage a small pinion concentric with the center of the tool. The pinion is con- nected with a knurled knob on the back of the device, An Instantaneous Centering Tool. which when rotated causes the prongs to recede uniform- ly from the center. When the knob is released a coiled spring tends to return the prongs to the center. To use the tool the prongs are first opened by turning the knob, and the piece to be centered is inserted be tween the prongs, as indicated in the illustration by the piece of phantom stock. The knob being then released the prongs close on the stock and adjust the device so that its center coincides with the geometrical center of the cross section of the stock. The marking is performed by striking with a hammer the end of the rod projecting from the back. This rod is in effect a center punch, slid- ably mounted in the holder. It has a tempered point at the face end, which is removable for grinding or replac- ing, and is normally held recessed from the face of the holder by a spiral spring. When the marking has been made the device is slipped from the end of the stock and in less than a minute’s time the operation has been performed and with perfect accuracy. —————as~—-o—____—_—_- A sensitive fire alarm which acts only upon the genera- tion of a sudden wave of heat has been devised by an Danish inventor. A U-tube 4 inches high is partly filled with mercury, with sulphuric ether above, and both ends are closed. Over one end is a nonconducting cap. A gradual rise of temperature will warm the entire appa- ratus, while a sudden rise, as in a fire, will so rapidly heat the ether in the side which is not insulated as to cause a rapid expansion on that side, forcing the mercury up into the other arm and closing a contact, which rings an alarm. ee 7 VP srs Sess ee ees eer i | 1230 Gas Blowing Engines.* BY TOM WESTGARTH, MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND. Probably the pioneers in driving blowing engines with blast furnace gas upon a practical scale were the Société Anonyme John Cockerill of Seraing, Belgium, and B. H. Thwaite of London. The Cockerill Company exhibited the first of its 800 horse-power gas driven blowing en- gines at the last Paris Exhibition, and it was quite a revelation to engineers and iron makers. The care with which the engineers prepared their designs is shown in that they are at present building engines of the same type with but few modifications. The vertical blowing engine with two horizontal gas cylinders designed by Mr. Thwaite has been modified as to the air valves and certain working parts, and is interesting as being an early instance of the arrangement, since largely used, of the combined vertical and horizontal engine. The first really large installation of gas blowing en- gines was built by the Cockerill Company for the Differ- OUTLET | THE IRON AGE April 13, 1905 rather light. Horizontal Kérting engines, driving ver- tical air cylinders, are installed at the Lackawanna Works at Buffalo, There are two gas engines to each blowing cylinder—either of the engines being capable of doing the work. These gas engines were built in New York and the blowing engines by the Southwark Foundry & Machine Company, the air cylinders being fitted with its patent balanced sliding valves, further particulars of which will be given. There are eight of these engines now erected and a similar number in progress. The blow- ing cylinders are each 76 inches diameter, 60 inches stroke, designed to blow up: to 30 pounds blast pressure and to run at 80 revolutions per minute normally, but up to 90 revolutions when required. A 1200 horse-power blowing engine built by. the Cock- erill Company has two single acting gas cylinders and one double acting blowing cylinder. A considerable num- ber of these engines have been built by the company and its concessionaries. Another 1200 horse-power Cockerill engine, with one double acting gas cylinder, has just been completed and represents the Cockerill Company’s latest THE IRON AGE Fig. 1.—Spring Loaded Disk Type of Valve Used on the Air Cylinder of the Cockerill Gas Driven Blowing Engines. dange Works in Germany and consisted of six 800 horse- power blowing engines and three dynamo engines of the same size. Some trouble was experienced with parts of these engines when they were set to work, owing to lack of knowledge in the art of sufficiently cleaning the gas, but these difficulties were soon overcome and the installa- tion has been most satisfactory and is now being en- larged. According to the latest information there are now in Europe and America about 157,000 indicated horse-power of gas driven blowing engines running or under construc- tion, all being in Europe except the engines at Lacka- wanna, of which particulars are given later on. In the United States many of the leading iron makers and en- gine builders are seriously considering the adoption of .gas engines, and already several engineers have bought concessions for building engines of various types. Another early gas driven blowing engine was that built by Messrs. Crossleys of Manchester, on the vis-a-vis arrangement and fitted with a form of air valve hav- ing very large clearance spaces. It has two single acting gas cylinders and two single acting blowing cylinders. The Oechelhauser blowing engine, which is built in Glas- gow, is probably more or less well known. The Premier gas blowing engine has two single acting gas cylinders and one double acting blowing cylinder fitted with Cor- liss valves. The engine is a neat design, but it appears * Abstract of a Iron and Steel Ins sper pres uted before the West of Scotland ite, Fet wary, 1905. practice, The gas and air inlet valves are on the top of the gas cylinder and exhaust valves underneath. This arrangement has now been adopted as the standard by this company. This engine is also fitted with the South- wark Foundry & Machine Company’s patent sliding air valves. An 800 horse-power gas blowing engine built for the Summerlee & Mossend Iron & Steel Company, Limited, at Coatridge, represents present standard practice, ex- cept that it is now preferred to place the gas and air inlet valves on top of the cylinder and as a rule to make the gas cylinder double acting, so as to keep its size down. The engines are of very heavy design. They weigh about 190 tons each, of which the fly wheel is 30 tons, and they are designed to run at about 75 revolutions per minute and to blow up to any required pressures. The engines referred to have each one single acting gas cylinder, 5144 inches diameter by 55 inches stroke, arranged to work on the Otto cycle. They are fitted with duplicate electric igniting gear and are started by means of a benzine car- buretor or compressed air, as is most convenient, an electrically driven barring gear being fitted to operate on a rack on the fly wheel. With very little practice the attendants can almost invariably start the engines at the first try, and the arrangements are such that so long as the barring engine is in gear the electric current cannot pass to the igniting gear, so that the engines cannot be started until the barring gear is thrown out. The en- girfes are very completely water jacketed throughout, including pistons, piston rods, exhaust valve with its April 13, 1905 chamber, &c., and by an ingenious arrangement a float is provided in the tank collecting the waste water from the jackets and so arranged that if the flow ceases the electric igniting gear is disconnected and the engines stop automatically. These engines are controlled by an air cataract governor, with the usual hit and miss arrange- ment, but when the inlet valves are placed on the top of the cylinder it is usual to control the engines by a power- ful ball governor, which varies the cut off of the gas sup- ply valve. An arrangement is provided for holding open OUTLET hsataielaateattiaiaaiill YY q 4/4 Jf 7 / Wy ec EEN” THE IRON AGE 1231 air valve of the Southwark Foundry & Machine Company, now largely used by the Cockerill Company for fast run- ning steam and gas driven blowing engines, especially where high blast pressures have to be dealt with. The valve is largely used under the same conditions in America and is fitted to the gas blowing engines at Lackawanna. The arrangement is one by which the clearance can be reduced to less than 1% per cent., and as the outlet valve does not open until the pressure is equal on both sides there is practically no friction. The valve is operated Eg ss“ \ — iS NN SVJ ‘ | > Y , \ i , a —™” 4 h} } we Ao -_-e,_-OCOCO.Orr--—------—---——— = a yi INLET THE IRON AGE Fig. 2.—The Ehrhardt & Sehmers Air Valve, Somewhat Similar to Fig. 1 but Suitable for Higher Pressure. some of the inlet valves in the air cylinders when start- ing the engines. These valves can also be held open for a part of the piston stroke, so that the volume of air may be reduced a little when excessive pressures are required, thus keeping the total work sufficiently constant for the requirements of the gas engine. The crank shaft and other important bearings are fitted with ring lubricators as used in dynamo practice, and the cylinders, with their internal parts, are lubricated under pressure from a OUTLET VALVE by the air cylinder attached to the end of its spindle, but, as you will see, there is also positive means of operat- ing the valves in case the air cylinders should not act quickly enough. A doubt is often expressed as to the continuous run- ning and also as to the regularity of gas engines. In a years’ running of two 700 horse-power gas engines, driving dynamos at the Cockerill Company’s works, each engine having two single acting cylinders and running at 120 revo- THE tn © AGE INLET VALVE Fig. 3 —Balanced Sliding Air Valve, Designed by the Southwark Foundry & Machine Company for High Speed Blowing Engines. pump upon the engine with suitable sight feed connec- tions. The question of valves upon the air cylinder of a gas driven blowing engine is a very important one, because of necessity such an engine must run continually at a high speed. Fig. 1 is a detailed drawing of the ordinary spring loaded disk valves used by the Cockerill Company for ordinary low pressures with satisfactory results.