The Iron Age 1905-10-05: Vol 76 Iss 14

THE A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery auu ou oN ir ha WO satel ees - 8891FU0D IO | umes des steal IRON» Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 William St.. New York, Vol. 76: No. 14. Reading Matter Contents......page 914 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers “‘ 253] “* 245] | | | Classified List of Advertisers. . Advertiaing and Subscription Rates * 926 The American Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines 65 Wall Street, New York THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording Instruments. For Pressure Temperature and Electr icity. Gold Medal, 8t. Louis Exposition - All Ranges, Low Pricer, and Guar. anteed. Send for Circulars. SAMSON SPOT CORD Also Linen and Italian Hemp SEE PAGE 188. Sash Cord. Samson Cordage Works, TURNBUCKLES. Boston, Mass. Branch Office, 11 Broadway, New York. Cleveland City Forge and IronCo., - Cleveland, O. DROP HAMMER MERRILL BROS. Brooklyn, N Y. IRON ORES. Girard Bupting Phila. PILLING & CRAN Farmers’ Bank, Pittsb’ 4 pom Bldg., NewYork: i of Trade, Boston. The habit of thinking “APOLLO BEST BLOOM” when Galvanized Sheets are wanted has made many a man a great success. See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE ‘COMPANY’S Ad on page 14. New York, Thursday, - 7006 $58.00 a Year, including Postage. J? 9 J° Single Copies, 15 Cents. October ALE U. M. C. Cartridges do not miss-fire or miss- sell No U.M.C. hang- fire in the gun or hang- sales in your store. They ‘“ go”’ because they have a definite energy of their own. It springs from the quality, repu- tation and advertising behind them. A U.M. C. Cartridge to fit every gun in the world. > ery cat ee The Union Metallic Cartrid e Company, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 86-88 First Street, San Francisco, Cal. AGENCY, 313 Broadway, New York City. »° STIRLING-CAHALL B0iLers SEE PAGE 143 Capewell Horse Nails are used on the Race Tracks of the World THE TESTIMONY OF A CELEBRATED HORSE- SHOER ON THE GRAND CIRCUIT. BILLINGS PARK, Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 26, 1904. THE CaPpeweLt Horse Nat Co., Hartford, Conn. GENTLEMEN :~—W hile I consider the Capewell nail the only safe nail to use, Ican es- pecially recommend,them where pads are used (rubber, felt er leather). They never break, and I can safely say, during all last season I did not have a shoe lost or thrown off. For artistic finish, easy and accurate driving, and absolute safety in every respect, Capewe}l Horse Nails are in a class by themselves Y ours very cordially, JAMES CLARK. Hartford, Conn. “py Lhe Capewell Horse Nail Co: yo can buy joint packing for less money than JENKINS ’96, but will it last? You can maintain an absolutely tight steam joint with JENHINS ’°96. It is guaranteed. All genuine bears Trade Mark as shown in the cut. JENKINS BROS., SEE i BRIDGEPORT, Conn. | New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. (Water and Rail Deltvery) PAGE 4, MAGNOLIA seca Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery bee mara Pac-Simile of Bar. Beware of imitations. AGNOLIA METAL CO.., Gunssatet Sets saaufacturers, 3-116 Bank Street, We wen an nee {Babbin aikale at Chicaga, Fisher Bicy. NEW YORK, competitive prices THE IRON AGE SHEET —_| THE PLUME & ATwooo Mré. Co., BRASS ROD MANUFACTURERS OF ANAT secret y m | Sheet and Roll Brass SHEET euiiiions COPPER; ™,| wire WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN wns oo ROD Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kere- SILVER ee hen rt LOW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE.| 2° MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. Sees MAL a2d| | CE AMLESS BRASS AND COPPER me ge eRe LeNAENE aD) |TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND) sous MILL : FACTORIES : THOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN, BRONZE TUBING. $3 8 8 8 8 8 8) gue Ny lf you want reaily good Tin "tsa" [WATERBURY BRASS CO.,{§ SCe VILE. MEG: 6O., you, come to us. Then BRASS, “QUEEN'S RUN” AN “Lock Haven” \ PECIAL you will have no WATERBURY, CONN. GERMAN SILVER, cnece to complain] 199 John St, New York, Povdenc, RI |ff Suoete, eile, Wis Brothers Special Brass Goods to Order. Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, rouaneseo | | Bridgeport aaa BIONZE &)f *""sectons, “iamp Gooas. Seen. FacTrories Pittsburgh, ey : Penna. cml GONN. WATERBURY, CONN, + . ° Depots: Automobile Castings a Specialty. | new vorx. CHICAGO. BOSTON. High Tensile Strength. Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. || HeMy Souther Engineering C9, HARTFORD, CONN. Write Us. Consulting Chemists, Metallurgists and Analysts, Complete Ph Testing Laboratery; Expert ‘Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., }}/—————————"—— wiiiipiieeetlatie Arthur T. Rutter & Co. SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. 2506 Broadway, Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. NEW YORK. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Stove and Washboard Blanks. Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. man Silver. Copper, Brass and ~ mee oo Wire. Brazed and ess Brass and Co 2 Tube. BRASS Srenthmed ji i} TEAR one ant meee ek INISHERS ot 99 88-7424 West Monroe St. 7-0 ae yearcl-Light a RICA CUE IC SEU re CASTINGS, OIL and GAS "s"atsainen 2 CASTINGS Bigiele Lantells. ww. G. ROWELL CO., ridgeport, Co Send tor Circulars and Klectrotypes. HENDRICKS _BROTHERS THE BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO.. Bridgeport, Cenn. Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, areal ee Ee Beso. 17 No. 7th St., Philadelphia. 85 to 87 Pearl St., Boston. MANUFACTURERS OF Brasiers’ Bolt and Sheathing GEORGE KROUSE COPPER, HEAVY CASTINGS COPPER WwiREnE AND RIVETS. Manstactaser of of kinds of Importers and Dealers in Brass and Composition Castings. Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antititghy, etc. Brazing Metals, Hard Composition aad 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. Pasupher Castings 0 Specialty. 160 te 164 a no JERSEY CITY, N. J. 9 —_ ~~ HE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, October 5, 1905. The Rothberg By- The coke oven designed by Dr. M. E. Rothberg belongs to the horizontal flue type, of which the Semet-Solvay oven can be considered the prototype. The Rothberg oven, which is shown in the accompanying illustrations, differs from the Semet-Solvay in that the vertical wall A, Fig. 1, divides the flues in the center and that standard brick is used instead of tile or special shapes in the construction of the oven. One set of flues serves for heating two adjacent ovens, while the Semet-Solvay has a solid .-all between ovens, which necessitates separate flues and burners for each oven. The Rothberg oven chamber is built from 33 to 40 feet long, 16 to 22 inches wide and 6 feet 6 inches to 7 feet G inches high. It has a capacity of from 7 to 11 LAA Ad Md —YIIVL a = Half Section through Oven. Py A WI GG Half Section through Flues. Product Coke Oven. By observation through peep holes, B, it is easily determined which course the gas should take to keep the heat of the oven uniform. The damper below the sec- ond burner P’ is adjusted in similar manner. The prod- ucts of combustion after passing through the flues F are led through the flue K under the oven and down through the flue N to the off gas flue R leading to the stack. Before the waste gases reach the-stack they can pass through boilers and generate the greater part of the steam necessary to operate the plant. The stack draft is regulated on any oven by the damper C. By admitting the gas into the different flues and by using a regulating damper a very uniform temperature is main- tained. Air can also be admitted through any of the A MOON RX SV 9 n" fn} A Aap oy dd pad be oad fey ed Map dap A te ped tl pe ped Ps F AAAI RAW > Sasa nfs A MMQLYIII f g YZ OEE ~s THE !RON AGE Fig. 2.—Section on A A, Fig. 1. Fig. 1.—The Rothberg By-Product Coke Oven. tons of compressed coal or from 6 to 9 tons of loose coal per charge. The average coking period is from 24 to 30 hours, but has been reduced to 22 hours on tests. The size of the oven and the coking period depend entire:s on the quality of the coal and the purpose for which the coke is to be used. Metallurgical coke must be practically free from volatile matter (not more than 2 per cent.) and requires naturally more time to coke than the product to be used for domestic purposes, which can contain as high as 8 per cent. volatile matter. The Rothberg oven has no regenerative chamber and no hot stoves, the air which is taken in through the openings S, 8S, Fig. 1, being heated in the recuperative flue M, to a temperature of 700 degrees F. Each second heating flue, F, is provided with a damper, G, as shown in Fig. 1. From the recuperative flue M the air passes through the vertical flue E and meets the gas from the ‘first burner P. From this point the flame is either forced through the flue F to the center of the oven and back in the next lower flue or is allowed to pass to the next lower flue by moving the damper G. : , peep holes B in case it is necessary for the proper com- bustion of the gas. The advantages of these ovens, as stated by the de- signers, include the following: The cost of construction is reduced by the elimination of the solid wall, the re- generator and hot air fans. The air is sufficiently heated in the inexpensive recuperative flues. The ovens are easily operated, a uniform temperature being maintained without difficulty by the use of the regulating dampers, as every part of the oven is under independent control. Further, the operating expense is reduced by cutting out the hot air system. Rothberg Coke Ovens at the Cleveland Furnace. Adjoining the blast furnace plant of the Cleveland Furnace Company, Cleveland, Ohio, are two blocks of 40 Rothberg ovens each, one block of 40 ovens having been in operation for seven months, the other 40 ovens for three months. Views of this plant are given in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The ovens are 16 inches wide, 6 feet 6 inches high and 36 feet long. They are designed with a view to charging compressed coal. The coal is of such 856 THE a nature that strong coke to withstand heavy burdening in the blast furnace can only be produced by stamping the coal before charging in the oven. The same coal charged loose produces a very spongy, soft and brittle coke. The coal used is slack from Washington County, Pa., and is of the following average analysis: Per cent. Volatile eee ee 34.50 Fixed carbon 54.50 le a caseekh a Wha ness oe bse des benno Rede ket eee sean han 11.09 Mn di en den 100.00 Sulphur (about) 1.00 Fig. 3.—Coal Side of the Rothberg Coke Ovens, at Cleveland, Olio. IRON AGE October 5, 1905 loose dry coal in the usual way and the coking time was 22 hours. This shows that two hours is lost in driving off the water in the stamped coal. of the coke made is as follows: The average analysis Per cent. Fixed carbon (about) 84.50 Volatile matter. 1.50 Ash 14.00 SOUR. <0 . 100.00 Sulphur (about)... 1.00 the coke is 1.83, with a cell and 58.87 per cent. cell wall. The specific gravity of space of 41.13 per cent. a ee Cleveland Furnace in the Background. Fig. 4.—Coke Side of the Rothberg Coke Ovens. The coal is crushed to pass through a 3-16-inch mesh and for convenience in handling in charging boxes it is found necessary to add 12 to 15 per cent. of water. The weight of a charge of compressed ceal is about 714 net tons, the volume being decreased about 25 per cent. in stamping, but the increased capacity of the ovens with stamped coal over that of loose coal is only 15 per cent. This is due to the necessity of the charge of coal being somewhat smaller than the oven. The yield of coke is about 71 per cent. and the coking time has averaged 24 hours. This is considerably higher than required when dry coal is charged. Several ovens were charged with The coke is very hard and in the blast furnace comes down to the tuyeres practically the same size as charged. It shows very little crushing in the furnace and with- stands the action of the gases well. The percentage of breeze in the coke is small, not exceeding 1.50 per cent. This is due to the stamping and to the fact that the coke is pushed from the ovens into a car, quenched and taken directly to the furnace without rehandling. Work of the Cleveland Ovens, The records of the ovens for the first four months, from March 1 to July 1, 1905, show the following results: October 5, 1905 THE IRON AGE 357 Ovens in operation....... eT ee Eee Te ee ee 40 Coal carbonized, tons................ wae a hand doth coenwe Sbse re SE RUNG 65. 6.0. Sedat we wames ‘ a. 21,800 Tar produced, gaillons.........+...... as ear os +.020,000 Tar produced per ton of coal, gallons.... a eintecenisloe ee AMMONIA Bae CNEg), POUMMH. .0 once ck ccc detec eeswss Ammonia gas per ton of coal, peunds (equal to 19.36 149,000 pounds ammonia sulphate)..... Sl ateadh nana aaah’ ssw 4 Number of ovens charged.......... a larnata ... 4,638 Average coal per charge, net toms....... te eae i 6.6 Average coke per charge, net tons. ....ccccccccscvccseeces 4.7 During the four months considerable delay to the coke plant was caused by the blowing out of the blast furnace for relining, which necessitated running the ovens much below their capacity for a time. The coal yields 9960 cubic feet of gas per ton of dry coal. For two months the gas burning under the ovens was determined by measurement and found to be 6700 cubic feet per ton of coal carbonized, leaving the re- mainder, or 3260 cubic feet, available for other purposes. The by-product plant is similar to many others in operation in the United States and need not be described. The plant, of which details are given above, had orig- inally ovens with vertical flues and regenerators, which were replaced by Rothberg ovens, the by-product plant and piping remaining as originally installed. The Coke - inland and export quotations, for the latter have been advanced, so that home consumers merely pay about 10 shillings more per ton than foreign purchasers at the present time, as compared with approximately 20 shil- lings in excess a year or so ago. Naturally the higher the export prices of partly manufactured steel the bet- ter are the German finishing mills able to compete in external markets, where such mills are able to compete at all, while at the same time larger inland sales are more profitable to the syndicate than export business at lower prices. The report does not include in the accounts the entire deliveries of 4,994,000 tons of steel. All it embodies for the financial year is a turnover of £12,727,- O37, representative of 3,043,050 tons of raw steel, or 2,619,971 tons of partly finished and manufactured steel. On the latter basis the average price works out at about {4 17s. 2d. per ton, while the average is £4 3s. Sd. per ton for raw steel. Some information should surely be forthcoming in regard to international arrangements, yet the report is absolutely silent in respect to the working agreements with the Belgian and French producers of joists. It is equally reticent concerning the international rail con- vention, which embraces British, German, Belgian and PPC Re Ghee.» taal Fig. 5—View of Coke Ovens, Coal Compacting Plant, Gas Holder and By-Product House. Oven Construction Company, with offices in the Rocke- feller Building, Cleveland, Ohio, controls the Dr. Roth- berg patents and designs and constructs plants under them. ————— poem — Higher Prices on German Export Steel. In reviewing the report of the German Steel Syndi- eate on its first 13 months’ operations the London Hn- gineer comments as follows on the reasons for the in- creased sales of semifinished steel in Germany under the syndicate régime; also on the absence of any information in the report relative to international arrangements: It is stated that since the syndicate came into ex- istence the inland market has exhibited a greater pur- chasing capacity for semifinished steel, inasmuch as the quantity sold averaged 72 per cent. of the total output, the remaining 28 per cent. being exported: whereas in ante-syndicate days the exports averaged about 40 per- cent. of the total production of ingots, billets and blooms. The larger amount of business transacted in the home market in the past year is apparently attributed to the efficiency of the syndicate. While this may to some ex- tent account for the increased inland sales, owing to the greater confidence manifested since the establishment of the combination, it is highly probable that another cause has rendered very considerable assistance in bringing about this result. We refer to the increase in the syndi- cate’s export prices for semifinished steel, or, in other words, to the reduction in the difference between the French works, and as a consequence nothing is said about the suggested inclusion of the American rail makers within the scope of the latter agreement. [This was not only suggested, but was accomplished.—EbitTor.] In fact, the reserve exhibited on international questions is as- tonishing, and our readers must form their own conclu- sions as to whether the agreements in point are working well and likely to be continued. The report also ap- parently refrains from referring to the activity of the syndicate’s London agency and the exclusion of British merchants outside of that organization from the business in semifinished steel, although it states that the foreign business in shapes is now mainly conducted by associa- tions of merchants which have been constituted to ob- viate unhealthy speculation and also to secure for the syndicate influence in regard to the prices charged by the merchants in ordinary trade. On the whole, the re- port is remarkable for the meager amount of information which it sets forth, although it is doubtless a diplomatic document both from the German inland point of view and the standpoint of the international iron and steel trade. a a The first all-steel railroad car built in England was brought out early last month. It was built by the Brush Electrical Engineering Company, Limited, and its ap- pearance is expected to answer fully some of the unfa- vorable advance comments in England on this type of ear. It has been urged that the vibration would be ex- cessive and the traveling rough, but experience in the United States has borne out neither of these objections. ee 858 THE IRON AGE The Espen-Lucas Portable Boring Machine. A new 72-inch portable boring, milling and drilling machine has recently been introduced by the Espen-Lucas Machine Works, Philadelphia, Pa. This tool was par- ticularly designed for a large electrical manufacturing plant to be used in heavy milling and boring work, but is equally well adapted to many kinds of general machine work. It is very rigid and heavy, being built to carry an 18-inch high speed steel inserted tooth cutter head. The range of speeds is large, and covers all the feeds necessary for drilling holes from as small as %& inch in diameter up to the largest the machine is capable of boring. The spindle is made of hammered crucible steel, is October 5, 1905 tion for operating it is securely held to a floor plate by suitable clamps. ——>-e______ The Gardner Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, which some time ago purchased the Pattern Maker, a monthly journal for employees in pattern shops, has just brought out Wood Craft as successor to the Pattern Maker. The first issue of Wood Craft has 86 pages, 9 x 18 inches, and contains interesting and well assorted articles applicable to various wood working lines. Lead- ing articles deal with “ Wood Working in a Camera Plant” and “ Roycroft Ideals and Cabinet Making,” both being attractively illustrated. ‘The new journal is well edited and promises to take an important place in the field it has entered. G. H. Gardner is president of the A Portable Boring, Milling and Drilling Machine, Built by the Espen-Lucas Machine Works, Philadelphia, Pa. 4 inches in diameter, and feeds through a gun metal sleeve, the traverse being 24 inches. It is supplied with a pin hole to retain bars and milling tools in place, and has a No. 6 Morse taper hole in the end. The head has a vertical adjustment of 72 inches, and can be securely clamped in any position for milling. The column carry ing the spindle head has a feed of 12 inches in both direc tions, giving 24 inches to the spindle head for milling purposes. For boring and counterboring the spindle feeds in either direction and is specially geared for heavy work. The machine shown in the engraving is driven by a 9 3 to 1 variable speed Crocker-Wheeler motor. The gear ing is made of hammered crucible steel cut from the solid, and the bearings are all lined with bronze. A sling is provided at the top of the tool, so that it may be handled by a crane, and moved from place to place, or om one building to another if desired When in posi Gardner Publishing Company and in charge of the busi- ness interests of the new publication. Robert I. Clegg is editor. Both are experienced in trade journalism. Charles C. Davis of Germantown, Pa., has patented a process of cementing, or carburizing, armor plate. Car bonaceous material is packed between two armor plates and a direct electric current is passed through the car- bonaceous material and the plates, facilitating the ab sorption of carbon. The plates are maintained at a tem- perature of from S800 to 850 degrees C. A cargo of 4500 tons of Wabana ore from Belle Isle, Newfoundland, was unloaded at the dock of the North- eastern Steel Company, Middlesbrough, England, last month. This is the first cargo of Newfoundland ore to be imported into the northeast of England, though ship- ments have been made to Scotland and Germany. October 5, 1905 The Niagara Double Crank Power Press. A large and heavy double crank power press has re- cently been put on the market by the Niagara Machine & Tool Works, Buffalo, N. Y. This machine was espe- cially designed for embossing sheets of steel, such as ceiling and side plates, &c. Its ample proportions and the great power exerted make the machine capable of producing sharp The construction is of the built-up type, the frame consisting of separate cast- ings for the bed, uprights and crown piece. The work- ing strain of the dies is withstood by four 4%, inches in diameter, which pass through the uprights and are secured by heavy forged nuts. If desired the rods can be shrunk in place. The shaft is a heavy steel forging S inches in diam eter in the bearings, 9% inches in the crank pins and 9 inches in the center. 32 inches wide The uprights are 82 and 9 inches thick over all. The impressions. steel rods machine cemplete A Heavy Double Crank Power Press, weighs about 45,000 pounds. It is back geared, with a ratio of 30 to 1. that the operators can remove and feed sheets between strokes without stopping the slide. Both pitmans can be sim- ultaneously adjusted by a reverse ratchet motion. The ratchet, as shown in the accompanying illustration, is located between two each of which pawl. The two pawls rachet in directions, one being used for raising the slide and the The speed is so regulated collars, carr:es a engage the opposite other for lowering it. The moving of the slide is controlled by a clutch operated either by a foot treadle or a hand lever. By depressing the foot treadle the shaft is caused to make a complete revolution, the slide stopping when at the top of its stroke. With the hand lever the operator can start and stop the press instantly at any point of the up or down stroke. — > + & friction used to some extent as a difficulties The most now being former Aluminum is pattern metal, the soldering it having been solved. alloy for soldering consists of 1 part of aluminum, 1 of phosphor tin, 11 of zine and 29 of tin. the more easily volatile of these metals the aluminum is connected with satisfactory To avoid loss of melted first, then zine is added in small pieces, then tin THE IRON Built by the Niagara AGE 859 in small pieces and lastly the phosphor tin. Yor the soldering no acid is used, but the surfaces to be joined are first covered with a thin coat of the solder in the usual way and then brought together and heated with the soldering copper or a blow pipe or torch until the solder already upon them is melted, when pressure is applied and the joint is made. Aluminum must be heated to about 660 degrees F. before it can be soldered. Some discussion has gone on in England recently over the proposal to introduce the skyscraper steel structure in London. B. H. Thwaite, the well-known metallurgical engineer, writes very favorably in London Public Works of the American tall building. He says there are in the United States many examples of artistic excellence in the lofty buildings of New York, Chicago and other cities, pointing out also that steel frame buildings are costly and can be erected more rapidly than any other less Machine & Tool Works, Buffalo, N. Y. type of permanent buildings. The London County Coun- cil, however, interprets the Building acts as opposing the erection of steel frame buildings in the way that would render them most advantageous. An effort is being made to secure some relaxation of the rules in respect to the use of steel. The rails on, the belt line railroad around Philadel- phia are the heaviest used anywhere in the world, weigh- ing 142 pounds per yard, or 17 pounds more than any fitted. They are ballasted in concrete, with 9-inch girders to bind previously them. All the curves and spurs which were made especially the Pennsylvania Steel have the same heavy rails, for the Pennsylvania Railroad by Company. An officer of the railroad states that this sec- tion of road ought to last for 25 years without requiring repairs. The section is considered superior to any other in existence. The German Iron Founders’ Association held a meet- on September 18. The papers read in- cluded the following: “Blast Furnace and Foundry Coke,” by Dr. Wiist; “ Modern Molding Machines,” by E. Baur; “ The Composition of Pig Iron,” by P. Goerens, and “ Chemistry in Foundry Work,” by C. Henning ing at Eisenbach so i British Iron Prices Advancing. Lonpon, September 23, 1905.—Whether the market warrants it or not, advances in price are just now the order of the day. The galvanizers this week have made a further advance of 5 per cent., the minimum selling price for 24-gauge corrugated sheets being £11 5s. per ton, f.o.b. Liverpool. It is held that this shows the in- creasingly prosperous conditions of trade uniformly en- joyed by the works, although the idea was recently ex- pressed that prices were perhaps advanced too quickly and might possibly react upon the demand. Of this, how- ever, there is no sign so far, while liberal orders con- tinue to pour in from the Colonies and South America for forward delivery. The activity in this trade is said to be unprecedented. Several works have raised their limit to £11 15s., which shows an advance of about £2 per ton over the extreme prices accepted last winter. In Sheffield the rising price of raw materials is a sub- ject of common discussion. Sheffield manufacturers of finished products are nervous because of the simultaneous revision of prices, not only of Lincolnshire and Derby- shire forge and foundry irons, but also in hematites and Swedish material. Fortunately there is no sign at pres- ent that the coal owners will be able to force the ad- vance they have long been looking forward to. The up- ward movement in raw materials is not of speculative origin, and there are elements of stability about it which have been wanting from the fluctuations earlier in the year, and there is a feeling that it is a fixed tendency indicative of the greater activity in all branches of the iron and steel trades. So far the advance is not shared by semifinished material, either in iron or steel, and it is this fact which gives point to the complaints of the man- ufacturers. They do not like to see their increased output accompanied by disproportionately larger accounts for raw material. With regard to pig iron prices, the upward move is due to a distinct improvement of trade at the foundries. Iron molding has lagged considerably behind the steel trade in feeling the effects of the general improvement, but it is now coming into line, and consequently there is a better tone in the iron market locally than for a very long period. Contracts are being made for heavy sup- plies extending well ahead, apparently with the feeling that prices are more likely to harden than to recede. Hematites, West Coast; are now 69 shillings, less 2% per cent.; East Coast, 64 shillings 6 pence, less 2% per cent. Finished iron and steel billets, both Bessemer and Siemens, have not been generally advanced, but the current rates are more “armly held to all around. Worst of the Depression Over, In these circumstances the feeling is growing that the worst of the depression has been seen, though it is surprising how loath manufacturers individually are to admit that they are themselves doing better. There can, however, be little doubt as to the fact, for quite a number of the leading firms have extensions of plant in hand, and they would hardly be likely to risk fresh capital outlay unless pretty well convinced that confidence may be placed in the immediate future. The disquieting feature of the situation is the constant tendency for the larger and more widely known firms to share in the improve- ment of trade and to progress generally in far greater proportion than the run of firms in the second and third rank. This tendency is to be remarked, of course, in all forms of industry, and it is now invading the Sheffield steel trades to an extent little suspected by outsiders. In the high speed tool steel trade, for example, it is the biggest houses that are going ahead most rapidly. Firms with great names for much more important classes of work are now exploiting their reputations in such things as tool steel, drills, milling cutters, or, again, by taking a share in the file trade and engineers’ tool trade, lines which have hitherto been left to specializing firms which are not themselves engaged in the heavier branches. This modern tendency undoubtedly makes for efficiency and cheapness, but it is full of grounds for anxiety on the parts of the firms which are finding new and powerful competitors almost every day. THE IRON AGE October 5, 1905 Depression in South Africa, I have had occasion several times during the past year to draw attention to the unsatisfactory commercial condition of South Africa. The latest reports are cer- tainly very depressing. For example, the South African Manufacturers’ Association has issued a number of re- ports from ‘the various leading industries “ showing their ruinous position and disabilities consequent upon the present unfair customs tariff.” The Select Committee’s proposals—which are supported by both parties in the Cape Parliament—include the protection of the nine chief industries of the colony, the amount of the proposed duty being stated in seven cases, while the protection of the many budding industries of the colony is recommended in general terms. The Manufacturers’ Association’s pro- posals deal with the following: Biscuits and cakes, candles, carriage, wagon and cart building, chem- ists and druggists, confectionery, engineering, furniture and cabinet making, galvanized iron, zinc, copper and other sheet metal; joinery and wood, leather, milling, mineral waters, pottery, bricks, &c., printing, tailoring, and tobacco, cigars, &c. A very vivid account of the depression appears this week in the Westminster Gazette from a correspondent at Cape Town. He says: “The depression in all branches of mercantile business throughout Cape Colony, and more especially at the seaports, has, it is stated, reached a point which can only be defined as critical in the extreme. The tale of bankruptcies grows longer week by week ; forced sales of landed property, securities. and merchan- dise are of daily occurrence; the banks have practically ceased making advances, even to clients of long stand-* ing; and Government and municipal bodies have been compelled to inaugurate relief works in aid of the starv- ing, for whom no other employment can be found. Cape Town is suffering more severely than either Port Blizabeth or East London, because it depends almost entirely upon its local trade, and its commerce with the up-country dis- tricts is insignificant.” 8.¢. H. ———_»--o—__—_—_ The relative economy of direct electric motor driving over the group system in textile mills has been given by M. H. Merrill in recenfly quoted figures from a large New England mill, in which a 200 horse-power motor operates 52 ring spinning frames. The cost of the motor was $2060 and of the belts and shafting $634, making a total of $2694. With direct connection 52 3-horse-power motors would be required, at a cost of $5260, showing a difference in favor of group drive of $2566 so far as first cost is concerned. The interest on this sum at 5 per cent. is $128 per year. Actual tests showed, however, that 87.5 horse-power was required to drive the shaft load alone with no frames in operation. The smaller effi- ciency of the small motors reduces this net difference to an equivalent of 18 horse-power, which, at $25 per horse-power year, gives $450 as the excess annual cost for. power of the group system as compared with the individual. The net balance shows $322 per year in favor of the direct connected drive, this amount being the interest on $6440. Boiler corrosion is due to other causes than mere hardness of the water. The present methods of water purification usually leave a residue of sulphate of soda in the water, which becomes more and more concentrated as time goes on and is found to attack the boiler to a considerable extent. Nitrates and chlorides, which are also found in the water, are even more corrosive than the sulphates, and worst of all is chloride of magnesia. It is therefore necessary to keep the concentration down below the point where these salts will attack iron or steel. As the water in the boiler will not be uniformly mixed the concentration is apt to be a maximum where the evaporation is greatest or at a point of greatest heat in the boiler, and these points are likely to be the first attacked. It has been recommended that a boiler be emptied once a week and thoroughly washed every two months in order to avoid the accumulation of these solu- ble salts. October 5, 1905 A New Method of Preventing Pipes in Large Ingots.* In the manufacture of large steel ingots for forgings or other purposes it is often necessary to allow for a discard as high as 25 or 30 per cent. of the total weight on account of the “ pipe” formed as the metal contracts in cooling. The use of a sink head lined with fire clay or other refractory material, for the purpose of keeping the top of the ingot longer molten, is successful to a cer- tain extent and results in a shorter pipe, but does not altogether eliminate the piping. Covering the molten metal with charcoal or similar material has the great disadvantage that a considerable carburization of the upper third of the ingot often results, while if slag or sand is used a portion is often drawn into the interior. The use of hydraulic pressure to compress the steel while passing from the molten to the solid state has the de- sired effect, but the cost of installing and operating ma- chinery for this purpose is in most cases prohibitive. The process here described, which in most countries is protected by patents, has been in use for a year at the Gutehoffnungs Works in Oberhausen, Ger- many, giving good results on ingots up to 60 tons weight. It is based on the theory that external heat is necessary to keep the steel in the sink head molten until the ingot is solidified and all danger of piping has passed. This heat is obtained by blowing peery cold air through incandescent coke, so regu- lating the pressure that in the fuel chamber only carbon monoxide is formed, combustion to carbonic acid being completed in the space above the sink head. The original article reproduces photo- graphs of four ingots cast by this method, which show almost complete freedom from pipes. The weight and amount of discard necessary with each of these ingots were as follows: No. 1, weight 11.6 gross tons, discard 7.3 per cent.; No. 2, weight 17 tons, discard 4.98 per cent., No. 3, weight 17.2 tons, discard 5.52 per cent.; No. 4, weight 16.4 tons, dis- card 3.6 per cent. The accompanying illustrations show the arrangement for ingots from 10 to 60 tons. Fig. 1 is an end elevation, Fig. 2 a side elevation and Fig. 3 the plan. The method of operating is as follows: The chamber K is filled to the top with pieces of hard coke about the size of a man’s * From F. O. Beikirch in Stahl und Zisen. TO THE BLOWER Q,_.coon Aer 4 \ THE IRON AGE 861 fist. About an hour before the ingot is poured the fuel is brought to redness by means of a gentle blast, the flame which escapes at A being used to warm the mold and more particularly the refractory lining of the head. Shortly before the steel is poured the apparatus is drawn Fig. 1—End Blevation. back out of the way and at the same time the full pressure of blast is put on, so that by the time the mold is full, in 15 to 25 minutes, the fuel is at a bright red heat, ready to be replaced over the mold. As may be seen from the illustra- tions, the apparatus is placed on a car- riage, which can quickly and easily be moved forward or back. As cold blast is used the blower can be placed close to the casting pit, so that the whole arrange- ment is very simple and compact. —————— »++e—__—_—__ Attention is called by the London Times Engineering Supplement to the fact that while the present price of tin is high there are fewer tin mines worked in Cornwall ao ree ees 1 a —— Fig. 3.—Plan. than there were some years ago, when tin brought only half as much. Some of these mines closed down owing to low prices and have not been reopened. It is be- lieved that they could now be worked to advantage by adopting electrical power and making extensive use of rock drills. Some of the mines were closed because of unfavorable leases. It is said that the two essentials to the recovery of the Cornish tin mining industry are new capital and a more liberal policy on the part of holders of mineral properties. BD) : Fi | As the guests of Witherbee, Sherman & Co., Port Henry, N. Y.; Pilling & Crane, Philadelphia, and the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company, a number of members of the Eastern Pig Iron Association spent two days last week visiting the principal mines and furnaces of the Lake Champlain district. Starting from New York on Monday evening, on the Albany night boat, the party used a special train from Albany and reached Mineville, the seat of the mining operations of Wither- bee, Sherman & Co., in the forenoon, being received by S. Norton, the general’manager. Among the guests were B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., president of the association and presi- dent of the Thomas Iron Company ; F. C. Smink, president of the Reading Iron Company, Reading, Pa.; Edgar 8. Cook, president of the Warwick Iron & Steel Company, Pottstown, Pa.; W. 8. Pilling of Philadelphia, secretary of the association; David H. Thomas of Hokendauqua, Pa.; J. C. Rand, president of the Spanish-American Iron Company ; Leonard Peckitt, president of the Empire Iron & Steel Company, Catasauqua, Pa.; Frank Amsden of the Paxton furnaces, Harrisburg, Pa.; A. A. Fowler of Rog- ers, Brown & Co., New York; R. L. Ahles of Pequest Furnace; Edward Thomas of Catasauqua, Pa.; L. W. Francis of Witherbee, Sherman & Co.; Abel I. Culver of Albany, second vice-president of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company, and Axel Eckstrom of Albany, con- sulting electrical engineer of the Chateaugay Ore & Iron Company. A full descrfption of the mines and plant of Wither- bee, Sherman & Co. was published in The Iron Age, De- cember 17, 1908. Since then, however, very extensive im: provements have been made and plans then developing have been brought to maturity. Developments at Mineville. The party first visited the Smith mine, whose equip- ment has been completed. It consists of two two-stage electrically driven Ingersoll-Sergeant air compressors, serving seven drills each, driven by two 75 horse-power General Electric induction motors, a Wellman-Seaver hoist driven by a 100 horse-power motor and a 100-gallon electrically driven mine pump. The electric power is furnished by the central power plant already described, synchronized with the current from a water power plant located 11 miles distant at Wadham’s Mills. From the present development there an average of 250 horse-power is available." There is under construction a second water power plant at a point 2 miles above the first locality, which it is expected may yield 650 horse-power addi- tional, as a maximum, this enterprise being carried out by Col. Daniel F,. Payne. At the Harmony property an interesting development is being made. The ore as it comes from the mine is damp enough to cause fine ore to cling to its surface. The result is that it is very difficult to do satisfactory cobbing by hand. Experience has shown that a mag- netic machine can distinguish between ore and rock when the human eye fails to do so. The entire output of B shaft is, therefore, to be put through a mechanical cob- bing plant, being first crushed in a 30 x 18 Blake crusher and then put over a Norton magnetic cobbing machine. The rejections then go to the regular separating mill. The Harmony cobbing plant is designed for a capacity of 600 tons of rock per 20 hours. At the £.e Harmony hoisting and compressor plant a new transformer house is being added to step down the voltage of 6600 of the water power line to 3300 volts. The No. 1 concentrating mill was remodeled within the brief space of three weeks in order to meet the changed conditions brought about by the introduction of magnetic cobbing at the Harmony mine, and Mill No. 2 now takes care of the Old Bed mine ores. The ore is crushed to %4-inch size and is put over a single drum Ball & Norton machine, which takes the pure ore out of the product. The rock is then crushed to 4-inch size and is treated in four belt type Ball & Norton machines. * THE IRON AGE October 5, 1905 The Eastern Pig Iron Association on Lake Champlain Among the other improvements under way is a motor generator set at the Old Bed power plant for mine light- ing, connecting to the alternating current. The direct cur- rent is used for the are lights and for the separating machines. The old steam unit is to be held in reserve for heavy loads. There is also being built a two-stage air compressor driven by a 200 horse-power motor, which will have a capacity of 1200 cubic feet of free air. Witherbee, Sherman & Co. are having a thorough geo- logical surface and underground survey made of their whole property. The territory above the Smith mine is being prospected by diamond drilling to block out ore bodies for future development, and at Barton Hill work is progressing which holds out the promise of opening bodies of Bessemer ore. After luncheon at Memorial Hall the party returned to Port Henry to inspect the furnace operated by the Northern Iron Company, controlled by Pilling & Crane of Philadelphia. It is under the management of F. E. Bachman, who is general manager also of the Standish Furnace, leased by the same interest. The Standish Furnace Plant. After spending the night at the famous Hotel Cham- plain, at Bluff Point, the members of the association pro- ceeded on Wednesday morning by special train to Stand- ish, near Lyon Mountain, to inspect the Standish Furnace, which is being built by the Chateaugay Ore & Iron Com- pany, controlled by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company. The furnace has been leased to the Northern Iron Company. The furnace occupies the site of a charcoal furnace, which was replaced by a larger stack, in which both charcoal and coke iron was made. Some of the records made there by H. R. Hall have been presented in full by him. They settled the question of the use in the furnace burden of fine magnetic concentrates exclu- sively. The furnace ran for about 18 months in all, and it was then determined, in line with the broad policy of the Delaware & Hudson Company of developing the ore resources of the district, to practically rebuild the stack. Virtually it is a new furnace plant. Standish Furnace, which is to go into blast early in November, as rebuilt is 80 feet high by 15% feet bosh. It has a 9%-foot hearth and is 11 feet in diameter at the stock line. It has the Firmstone modification of the Longdon top, the stock being handled by the Crane ver- tical hoist. The gas is taken off by four downtakes lead- ing into one, with the object of retarding the velocity of the gas and thus promoting the deposit of dust. The gas first enters a dust catcher of the ordinary construc- tion and then a gas washer of special design. The en- tire stack is new, but there are three Roberts hot blast stoves 16 x 71 feet, which served the former furnace, and one new 16 x 71 foot Foote stove. The engines are one new Allis 44 x 84 x 60 inch vertical and one old 30 x 60 x 48 inch Southwark. The boiler plant.consists of four old water tube boilers of 156 horse-power each and two new Stirling boilers of 300 horse-power each. The plant is provided with a complete bin system to handle the ore into buggies. Its estimated capacity is 175 tons. Using Chateaugay concentrates exclusively it will make a spe- cial low phosphorus Bessemer pig. We understand that - the product has been sold to a leading interest for a considerable period for consumption in New England for the manufacturé of open hearth steel. The Chateaugay Iron Mines, The party then visited the nearby mines of the Cha- teaugay Ore & Iron Company, at Lyon Moun- tain in connection with which very’ extensive plans for remodeling on modern lines are _ be- ing worked out. The Lyon Mountain deposits have ‘been known and worked for many years, but the openings are scattered along the length of the upper vein and ap- pear to have been conducted without any comprehensive general plan and in a very unsystematic manner. It is October 5, 1905 proposed now to sink a vertical shaft in the hanging coun- try, which will reach the ore body at a depth of about 650 feet. At about the 600-foot level tunnels will be driven to reach the present workings, and these tunnels will be the main transportation level, to which the ores will be delivered by gravity and in which the rock will be handled by electric traction to the shaft. The Chateaugay deposits, there being two, the upper and the vein, are very large and “have been opened out and traced for a considerable distance. Careful meas- urements made have led to the estimate that there are now available for mining, above the new tunnel level in the upper vein alone, 20,000,000 tons of ore, and it is believed that the back vein will furnish a like amount, The workings, however, have been confined so far al- most entirely to the upper vein. The plan is to mine the whole deposit, rich and lean, leaving ample pillars to support the roof. The Chateaugay deposits furnish a rock practically all of which must be concentrated. It is a proposition to handle economically a very large tonnage both in mining and in milling. Modern progress in the application of electricity to mining in the line of concentrating the power generation for scattered operations in the milling of ores and in magnetic separation has revolutionized the utilization of comparatively low grade ore bodies like those of Lyon Mountain. Their checkered career, with scattered openings and with wet concentration, is no criterion for the future, particularly now since the fear of fine ores so long harbored by furnacemen is dis- appearing after the records achieved by Bachman, Hall and others. The work being done at Chateaugay and at adjoining mines of the Arnold Company, to be referred to later, is therefore being watched with interest by iron makers and engineers. There can be little doubt that to the Eastern iron industry a very important source of supply of rich ores will be opened up, a fact which is not yet being generally realized. , The one fact of great importance, so far as Chateau- gay is concerned, is that the ores are very low in phos- phorus and for that reason have long been the main de- pendence of the Eastern makers of low phosphorus pig iron. We append complete analyses of the crude ores, the concentrates and the tailings: Con- Crude ore. centrates. Tailings. Per cent. Percent. Per cent. WHO. SOUMMIER. «cic cs dece cei tex 31.48 60.128 4.57 er 15.81 28.850 3.60 Manganese OBlG0. 0. cccsesececcs 0.115 0.107 0.124 GL cdee geekdewe kes koee base ene 33.16 6.880 58.56 DEG. cicawees Vi cpuee sree es 4.90 0.900 10.72 BES itedeecedenennterdv¥rewean 4.96 0.660 8.24 SE, ges BRC eR dN Kw Kees Keene's 2.10 0.405 4.06 Phosphoric acid... .cccccccccccces 0.043 0.023 0.064 DRIP o. ccvilvevsesiesddenwooss 0.027 0.022 0.035 MR eats adheres awed 00 0.427 0.417 0.457 Iron protoxide (in gangue)....... 2.83 0.257 4.76 POE Sn vdbatee eds bub adese bi 1.438 0.494 1.61 Me his te eSi dBi dc udaN maps oe 2.283 0.777 2.99 PR nated dns hie si ndodae'es we 0.25 0.040 0.12 TOM asked basdicsvcscveess 99.823 99.960 99.910 Eg oir 53 oe sew a nae ceaewts 36.50 64.72 9.70 Teom (mebemetic).. ..cccccvcccoces 34.30 64.53 6.00 PEE, a wc vs cat wee tvatepeoee 0.019 0.010 0.028 DE cw owaeenedesccedeceade 0.089 0.083 0.096 SID: ics eelenaids aSeivies ects 0.256 0.250 0.274 As a part of the comprehensive plan of development ot the Chateaugay mines the company has planned the building of a large central power house. The first sec- tion of the plant is now being provided for. It will con- tain three 350 horse-power Stirling boilers, one 500-kw. General Electric Curtis turbine, already ordered, and one 25-kw. Curtis turbine as an exciter and feed water heat- ers, &c. A condenser plant is to be put in at a later date. The plant will include a two-stage air compressor capable of delivering 2000 feet of free air at