The Iron Age 1906-02-22: Vol 77 Iss 8

HE Su Pook Af J Wo ma ra uo- OTo fs Sous IRON® <A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machinery and Metal Tiades. Published every ol. 7: No: 8 Reading Matter Contents iphabetical Index-to Advertisers ‘‘ lassified List of Advertisers ” 178 STES Shaft Couplings 4 by Forster Pulley Works, Cuba, x.y. The American Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines 65 Wall Street, New York THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. Bristol’s Recording Instruments. Vor Pr re Tem and Electr icity. Gold Medal, St. Lewis Exposition. All Ranges, Low Prices, and Guar. anteed. Send for Circulars. SAMSON SPOT CORD Also Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord, SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TURNBUCKLES. Cleveland City City Forge nay penton. Cases ied, 0, DROP HAMMER MERRILL BROS. Brooklyn, N. Y. Mill Ginder. —— Bulflding, Phila PILLING & CRANE, fssircTsit” Now Fork A GOOD ROOF makes a satisfied customer, and satis- fied customers are permanent ones. Don’t run chances of losing 2 good Use our MF Brand and know that he is satisfied and that you both are safe. customer, See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S Ad. on Page 1s. Thursday Morning by New York, Thursday, February 179] 171 ]) dvertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ David Williams Co. 14-16 Park Place, New York. 22 a<» $8 00 a Year, eens Postage. Single Copies, 15 Cen — Zz Preamanesa®™ 7906. DEALERS—Remington, Marlin, Stevens, Winchester and Savage rifles all consume U. M. C. Cartridges. Do your sales show that you are getting your share of the popular de- mand? Send to U.M.C. Advertising Department for window display hangers, literature, etc. The demand for U. M. C. Cartridges comes from every direction. THE UNION METALLIC CARTRIDGE COMPANY, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. AGENCY, 813 Broadway, New York City. DEPOT 86-88 First Street, San Francisco, C ‘al. STIRLING nents _— CO. See Page 46 ‘*The Best in the World’’ Capewell Horse Nails DRIVE THE BEST——HOLD THE BEST THE SAFEST TO USE MADE BY Capewell Horse Nail Company HARTFORD, CONN. JENKINS BROS. VALVES are manufactured from the highest grades of material, and each valve is carefully tested before leaving the factory. They are absolutely guaranteed. All genuine bear our Trade Mark as shown in the cut. Send for booklet, “ VALVE TROUBLES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. JENKINS BROS., New York. Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. "Gold Rotled Steel esters Drawing w« = “SHetol (Water and Rail Delivery Ro celled for HE AMERICAN TUBE & NY STAMPING COMP BarpeErrort, Coxx. PAGE MAGNOLIA METAL: Best Anti-Friction Meta) for all Machinerv Bearings. Fee-Statie eo] Bar. re ae festetnoe, ia MAGNOLIA METAL CO., Owners and Sole Manufacturers, 3-115 Bank Street, San Francisco, Montreal, and Pittsburg. Chicago. Fisher Bidg. NEW YORK. We manufacture a = cumsethive THE IRON AGE _ —. THE PLUME & ATWOOD MF6. Co, a Sheet and Roll Brass (UilICOPPER, 2 “uaa WIRE PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN GOODS Ce RRIVE AAI ( SHEET =— [eves ano ‘ensue ern, conven nore AND BURRS. SILVER ROD Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero. WIRE sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, . &c. rg . ' on GRONEE. MURRAY ST., NEW YORK SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER] ” 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO. METALLURGY |TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND] ,cvisrou con. | warensuny. conn BRONZE TUBING. ::: 2:28: OF CAST RON ——— SCOVILL MFG. CO. ——— —_|WATERBURY BRASS CO., wera BRASS, A book of proven worth to Blast WATERBURY, CONN. GERMAN SILVER, Furnace Managers, Foundrymen and /|99 John St., New York. Providence, R. I. Sheete, Bete, Wie Rede. Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shells, Gups, Hinges, Iron Chemists. : - ‘ ies —_ Wl £5 ‘occas eo exmemmemenenassinn f raCTORIES: "9 _ WATERBURY, CONN. BRIDGEPORT, GONN. Depots: Price, $3.00 Prepaid. Automobile Castings a Spe cialty. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. BOSTON. High Tensile Strength. DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY | Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. || HERI] bouther Engineering C0. 14-16 Park Place, New York. Write Us. RTFORD, GO oie Chemists, Detaliurdiet and Analysts Complete Physica! Testing Panay Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., I Arthur T. Rutter & Co SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. aint 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, Alaminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. man Silver. Copper, Brass and ipomttonediass anh aap Babe. UNNI UM or ay Seeks Bscped ansaid aide toey aha Chicago. search-Light ry CASTIN Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Aluminum CASTINGS a in eae B's'akzinea's, CASTINGS fighele Lanes Ww. G. ROWALL Co., Bridgeport, Conx. LS Send fer Circulars and Klectrotypes. HENDRICKS BROTHERS THE BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO., PROPRIETORS OF TH Bridgeport, Cenn. Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Broadway and Martay St New York. ? Ne. 7th St., Philadelphia. 85 to $7 Pearl St., Boston MANUFACTURERS OF ————S—S———_—_—_ = Brazsiers’ Bolt and BSheathing COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. ELECTRIC WELDING There's no work too difficult for us to do, Better write and learn what we do and how well we do THE STANDARD WELDING CO., Cleveland. Manf’rs Standard Seamless Tubing. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, February 22, 1906. Modern Features of the United Otto Coke Oven. The United Coke & Gas Company, New York, has been developing in recent years not only the Otto by- product coke oven itself, but also a number of details bearing on the charging, quenching and handling, which possess interesting features. From a work just issued from the press, entitled “A Short Treatise on the De- structive Distillation of Bituminous Coal, with Special Reference to the United Otto System of By-product Coke Ovens,” we have selected the following data: General Design. The details of this type of the United Otto oven are | properly protected from the heated brick work above, this protection also serving to retain the heat in themselves. the ovens The oven chamber is closed at either end by doors, as in the Otto-Hoffmann oven. The construction of the oven walls is a point of vital importance. Shaped brick of the best grade of refractory material, of moderate size and simple design are used, complicated and irregular shapes and those of larger size being avoided as being more liable to cracks and distortions. The time-honored method of laboriously chipping bricks of uneven thickness to form an even course in laying the oven walls has been abandoned entirely and all cutting is done to exact dimensions by large grinding wheels, which labor and result in a quality of workmanship far beyond anything previously economize the high priced masons’ a od % A % * l= Fig. 1.—General Design of the United Otto By-Product Coke Oven. shown in the cross section in Fig. 1, which also gives the arrangement of the coal conveyors, coal bin, pusher and quencher. The oven itself is a rectangular retort from 33 to 43 feet long, 7 to 9 feet high and 17 inches average width (with or without taper), the dimensions varying with the characteristics of the coal that is to be used. The retort walls, top and bottom, are composed of re- fractory material, and the masonry is supported on a steel and concrete substructure, so as to be entirely independ- ent of the regenerative chambers below. This avoids the cracking of the oven walls and the consequent loss of gas liable to occur from the expansion and contraction of the heated regenerator walls beneath the oven struc- ture. Access is also given to all parts of the oven for inspection and incidental repairs. The open substructure admits of a complete anchoring system joining the buck- stays above and below, and holding the oven walls se- curely in place. The steel work of the substructure is considered possible. A practically gas tight wall of great strength is thus obtained. The resistance of the wall is enhanced by the vertical flue system. As will be seen in Fig. 1 the heating flues run perpendicularly along that portion of the oven wall against which the coal can exert any pressure. The divisions between the flues form vertical strengthening ribs. This is of especial advantage when coals of only slightly shrinking or even expanding nature are to be coked, such as is the case with all low volatile coals. The greater unsupported wall area necessarily ex- posed to the pressure exerted by such coal in a horizontal flue system is liable to result in a crushing in of the side walls and destruction of the oven. The strength of the United Otto vertical flue construction has been demon- strated by the long life of ovens charged with highly ex- panding coals. A further advantage of the vertical flue system is its 660 THE ability to withstand the compression loads, due to the weight of the oven superstructure. This does away with the necessity of supporting walls built between the heat- ing flue systems of each adjacent oven, and serving to carry the load of the superstructure. These have been found essential in the horizontal flue system, as might readily be expected from the weakness under compression of the thin horizontal flue walls extending the whole length of the oven. These division walls add to the cost of the masonry and to the length of the gas mains, rail- road tracks, platforms and other equipment, as well as increasing the space required for a given block of ovens by about 65 per cent. Heating System, The heating of the ovens is accomplished by the use of gas returned from the condensing house through the Fig. 2.—Electrically Operated Charging two mains shown beneath the middle portion of the ovens in Fig. 1. The air for combustion is supplied to the re- generator by a fan, this method aiding in the equal dis- tribution of the supply to each oven and reducing the amount of stack draft necessary. This not only allows the use of a smaller stack, but makes a more even balance of the pressure in the flues. The gas is admitted through a burner at each end and four or six burners in the bot- tom, placed symmetrically on each side of the middle line. This avoids the use of bottom burners above the regenera- tive chambers, where they are less easy of access for cleaning and regulation. At the same time it makes it possible to properly heat ovens up to 43 feet in length, in- stead of 33 feet, which was the limit of the Otto-Hoff- mann oven heated with the end burners alone. This results in an increase of oven output of approximately 30 per cent. and a corresponding saving in the operating cost per ton of product. The surface of the checker brick in the regenerators is so proportioned as to render the most efficient service in absorbing the heat from the waste gases. : IRON AGE February 22, 1906 Operation, It is worthy of notice that from the time the coal is unloaded from the cars into the elevator until it is in the oven it is handled by machinery. The railroad cars usually employed are of the modern self dumping type and discharge into a hopper below the track, as shown in Fig. 1. An automatic feeder delivers the coal to a con- veyor in regular amounts, thus preventing choking. If the coal is to be crushed, as is usually the case, this con- veyor delivers it to the crusher and from there an eleva- tor takes it to the bin above. If several varieties of coal are used the mixing is effected by suitable equipment before the coal enters the crusher. The discharge of the coal into the bin is regulated by an automatic device that insures a regular distribution. The discharge from the bin to the coal larry below is by gravity through a num- hd fee " 3 baer a ee eel Larry at the Sparrows Point Plant. ber of chutes and is controlled by a single lever, the larry being provided with stops, so that about the proper quantity of coal is drawn. This amount in turn may be checked by scales, with which the larry may be provided, so that an accurate weight of each coal charge is ob- tained. This is done by one man, who also operates the motors transferring the larry to the oven to be charged and dumps the coal into it through the separate spouts which correspond with openings into the oven top. For- merly the small larries were pushed by hand from a dis- tance along an elevated track to the ovens. In more modern plants the operation is performed by the elec- trically operated charging larries, examples of which are illustrated in Fig. 2, showing the Sparrows Point plant and Fig. 3 the Duluth plant. The mechanical leveler, which evens off the irregular surface of the coal as it is dropped into the oven, has done away with hand leveling, which was manual labor of the severest kind. The leveling bar is carried on the pusher and is operated through an opening in the oven door. It consists of a light steel beam, carrying a head of February 22, 1906 THE IRON AGE special design, and provided with a rack on the unde side, and is driven in and out of the oven by gears ope- rated by a motor 661 are disconnected from the gas mains, the doors are re- s moved and the coke charge pushed out of the oven by the The travel of the leveling head back ram or pusher, shown on the left hand side SERRE rSapIN nen — a TT , aL - SS sae A V/V VS ~— a Cee aes oo) Fig. 3.—E Electrical Charging Larry at the Duluth Plant and forth through the piles of coal serves to reduce it all to an even hight and tends to increase the actual amount of coal charged by eliminating voids Coke Quenchin roids. It is . operated by the pusher man without loss of efficiency This device is shown in Fig. 4 The coke on being pushed from the oven may be re- -y. ceived and quenched in one of several ways When this leveling is ; 7s. In the older method of quenching a wharf or platform wide enough to Fig. 4.—Leveling Machine at Lebanon, P completed the oven is sealed up and the valve leading to the gas main is opened. There are two of these mains provided, the one for the rich gas and the other for the fuel gas. F ake the whole charge of coke is built at the level of the oven floor, ’ and when the coke is pushed out on it the mass is pulled down by hooks and quenched by a hose When the coking period has elapsed the ovens After sufficient time is allowed for it to cool and drain it 662 THE is loaded by hand into cars standing on a depressed track at the outer edge of the wharf. This method of quench- ing has the advantage of simplicity and low initial cost and allows a selection of coke for various purposes, but is high in labor cost. It is practiced in nearly all German and English plants and in several plants in America. In some cases the approximately level platform is replaced by an inclined way. In order to avoid the high labor cost of the wharf an inclined car has been used. The platform level with the oven floor is wide enough to serve as a gallery for the attendants, and beneath the outer edge of the gallery the upper edge of the car moves in a direction parallel with the length of the oven battery. The car itself is built of cast iron plates carried on a steel or timber frame work and runs on a railroad track below. It is operated by IRON AGE February 22, 1906 car is in successful operation at the Duluth plant is shown in Fig. 5. A form of coke quencher shown in Fig. 1, known as the Moore quencher, has been introduced. It consists of a rectangular receiver, of the approximate shape of an oven and large enough to easily contain the whole coke charge intact. Its walls are of cast iron and are of cellu- lar construction, so as to admit of water cooling. The top and bottom are tightly covered in with cast iron plates and the ends are provided with closely fitting doors. A cast iron link conveyor, driven by a motor, runs on the and bottom. The whole machine moves on rails parallel to the face of the oven battery and is operated by electric motors. When it is desired to push an oven of coke the quencher is placed exactly in front of it and connection is made by means of swinging doors and a drop bottom Fig. 5.—Inclined Coke Quenching Car at the Duluth Plant. electricity and is long enough to take a whole charge of coke. When an oven is to be pushed it is brought to a position opposite the door and the coke pushed out across the gallery falls into one end of the car, being kept in by the sides and bottom gate. During the pushing operation the car is moved along so that the coke is distributed over the inclined bottom in an approximately even layer, which is cooled by water from a hose. When the quenching is complete the door at the bot- tom of the slope is opened and the coke runs by gravity into the railroad car placed on the track adjoining. These ears effect a considerable saving in labor and handle the coke with rapidity, but suffer seriously from deprecia- tion because of the alternate heating and cooling and the corrosion by the waste water, which becomes acid by the oxidation of part of the sulphur in the coke, and require special protection. They do not improve the appearance of the coke over that quenched on the wharf, as the coke is exposed to the air during the quenching, which causes it to be dark in color in both cases. A similar type of so as to guide the coke from the oven directly into the receptacle. The movement of the coke is assisted by the motion of the conveyor in the bottom of the quencher chamber. When the charge has been pushed from the oven into the quencher the doors are closed and the quenching water is admitted. The violent generation of steam is taken care of by the vertical stacks shown on the roof of the quencher. The quencher chamber is completely filled with steam and remains so until the charge is quenched, practically excluding the air, so that the silvery gray color of the coke is preserved, as in the beehive product. When the quenching is complete the door farthest from the ovens is opened and the coke is discharged into the railroad car below by operating the conveyor. The first machine of this type was installed at Sharon in 1903, three others being added with slight modifications in de- tail in 1904. Two were installed at Cambria in 1904 and two additional ones are now under construction for this plant, together with one for the Wyandotte plant. February 22, 1906 Caking Fine Coal for Coking. Advantages of Stamping and Compacting at By-Product Ovens. BY ALFRED ERNST, CLEVELAND, OHIO. Coke serves in the blast furnace as a medium for melting or for the production of heat and also for re- duction—i. e., to produce CO—while in the cupola the coke is used for producing high temperature by as nearly complete combustion as possible, or, in other words, to produce CO,. CO is produced by 2C + 20 = 2CO, and CO, is produced by C + 20 = CO,. Therefore in produc- ing CO double the amount of C is burned by the same amount of O as in producing CO,. The physical struc- ture of the coke, therefore, or its free surface, is of great importance in connection with its use in the blast furnace or cupola. Blast furnace coke, according to the above, should be porous in order to offer a large surface to the oxygen of the air—i. e., to accelerate the produc- tion of CO, which will be of advantage for quick work- ing of the furnace. The denser the coke the quicker it will burn. On account of its smaller volume it will offer less surface to the reducing action of O of the blast and will therefore produce more CO,. Dense coke should be employed in the cupola for economic practice. ne and Its Drawbacks, Blast furnace coke besides being porous should be hard, in order to resist the pressure of the ores resting on it in the blast furnace and also to resist the abrasive action of the ores in their downward motion. The re- sistance of coke to crushing, though, is not of such im- portance as its friability, as the weight exerted by the masses in the blast furnace per square inch of area amounts to only a fraction of the lowest crushing strength of coke. The friability of coke depends first on the con- dition of the cells, whether the walls of the cells are hard or soft, and, second, on the density of the coke— i. e., the size of the cells—as with equal hardness a den- ser coke is less friable than porous coke. The friability, therefore, regulates the proportioning of different cokes. The denser the coke the larger pieces can be used, while porous coke under equal conditions requires smaller sizes. The disadvantages of a friable coke are the losses by unloading and reloading. The forming of scaffolds in the blast furnace can be attributed to a great extent to friable coke, as the small pieces broken off by the action of the moving burden will form, together with the ore dust, dense masses which cannot be penetrated by the gases. Small particles of coke or coke dust will escape with the gases from the top of the furnace, while in other cases small pieces of coke caused by soft cell walls affect the combustion in the blast furnace. The coke in its downward motion is enveloped by a hot current of CO,, which oxidizes the carbon. Hard coke withstands this action to a higher degree than soft coke. Every par- ticle of coke used up by COZ in the upper part of the blast furnace causes double loss by decreasing the tem- perature at the spot where this action takes place, and by actual loss of coke, which should only be burned in front of the tuyeres. Poorer Coals Used by Compacting. In order to combine porosity with strength in coke re- quired for blast furnace work its structure must show many but small cells, or the percentage of cellular space must be large, about 45 per cent. The Connellsville coke combines with its excellent chemical properties such de- sirable physical qualities that it must be considered “standard” for blast furnace practice. But with the immense annual increase of pig iron production the Con- nellsville coal fields and other good coking coal de- posits are taxed to their utmost, and other grades of coai will have to be used for the manufacture of coke. There are deposits containing millions of tons of coal high in volatile matter which can only be used as steam coal, as the coke produced from them in the beehive oven THE IRON AGé shows great porosity, fingery structure, low specific weight and soft cell walls, therefore a very friable coke which breaks up into small pieces and cannot be used for metallurgical purposes. If coked in the retort coke oven it shows the same structure, besides developing longitu- dinal shrinkage cracks. By stamping or compacting this coal into a cake before charging into the oven the poros- ity of the produced coke will be diminished and the den- sity increased. The stamping does not reduce the devel- opment of cracks but rather increases it, as the same quantity of gas is distributed over a smaller volume and in proportion to this volume more cracks will form dur- ing the process of distillation. It has been repeatedly proved that if this same coal is mixed with low volatile coal, stamped and charged into the by-product oven, it will produce porous coke with many small cells, without the fingery structure and free from shrinkage cracks. At the retort coke oven plant in Cleveland, Ohio, where this practice is followed, the coke produced has proved to be superior to Connellsville coke in respect to its physical properties. Mixing Flue Dust with Coking Coal, Experiments have been repeatedly conducted for mix- ing flue dust from blast furnaces with coal before charg- ing into the coke oven, with a view to making stronger coke and also regaining a certain percentage of flue dust. The first experiments of this kind were made at Johns- town, Pa., in 1899, and since then at different places, until last year at the Cleveland ovens a run of six weeks was made on this mixture, using about 4 per cent. of flue dirt. While the coke actually showed a stronger structure, it is questionable whether the lower yield of by-products and the loss of the fixed carbon consumed in the ovens by the oxygen of the ores will be compensated for by the gain in utilizing the flue dirt. By compacting or compressing the coal before charging we have therefore undisputed advantages, as certain kinds of coal are rendered suitable for coking which otherwise would not coke at all, and while it is only im- perfectly understood how the process is effected by ex- ternal mechanical influences the fact is that compacting the coal improves its coking qualities. Output Increased by Caking the (coal, Besides the great: advantages of utilizing poor coking coals and improving the structure of coke as to hardness and density by stamping the coal before charging, the output of available coke is also increased, as the percent- age of small coke and breeze is reduced to a minimum. While by compacting the coal can be reduced by 30 per cent. of its original volume, the output of an oven will only be increased from 5 to 10 per cent. A certain amount of clearance must be left between the cake and the oven walls, and the coking time will be increased slightly on account of the time required to evaporate the water which is mixed with the coal in order to give it more plasticity for compacting. It has been ascertained that it takes from two to three hours longer to coke a charge of stamped wet coal than the same volume of dry coal. On account of the clearance between the cake and the oven walls the coal cakes less to the walls and the push- ing out is greatly facilitated, besides a material decrease in wear and tear of the walls. The time required for charging an oven with a compacted cake is about one quarter of the time for top filling and leveling, while the labor amounts to the same in both cases. Up to the present time the compacting of coal to pro- duce a cake 14 inches wide, 6 feet high and 36 feet long, with sufficient stability to charge it into the by-product oven, has shown satisfactory results only by means of stamping. Experiments on a large scale were conducted to briquet coal to a cake of the above dimensions—that is, applying pressure on both sides—but have completely failed to produce any results whatever. The object of these experiments was to reduce time and labor for fill- ing the box and compacting the coal, but the cumber- some and very expensive machinery constructed for the purpose failed to meet the requirements except as to the quick filling of the box. The writer has ascertained by experience that it requires about 500 pounds per square 5 tj } i i 664 inch to compress ™% mesh crushed coal contain- ing 12 per cent. moisture 30 per cent. of its volume. There are different systems now in use for stamping coal into a cake, but the principle in all cases remains the same—i. e., to produce the cake in a suitable charg- ing box—filling the box in layers and pounding each layer by means of falling weights. The coal must be prepared for this process in order to secure proper results. In using poor coking coal containing high volatile matter it must be mixed with a certain percentage of low volatile coal, as mentioned before. These two kinds of coal should be crushed to 4 mesh or smaller and deposited in separate bins, from which they are drawn off in proper proportion by means of measuring gates into a mixing machine or disintegrator and elevated to a bin with de- livery openings of such shape as to suit the different sys- tems of stamping. A very important factor for the successful stamp- ing operation is the thorough mixing of coal with a cer- tain minimum percentage (about 8 to 10) of water. This operation should take place directly before fill- ing the box, without an intermediate storage, in order to avoid difficulties which arise in the attempt to empty a bin filled with crushed wet coal. In cases where the coal must be washed on account of impurities there is no alternative but to deposit it in this wet state in a bin and draw direct into the stamping box, as the coal contains sufficient moisture for stamping. An even flow of coal in this case can only be secured by mechanical scraping devices. Methods of Stamping. The different systems of stamping are: 1. To employ two stationary stampers located close to the discharge chutes of the bin and a certain distance apart, equal to one-half of the length of the cake, with a charging box traversing underneath. 2. One or two traveling stampers and a stationary box. 3. Multiple stampers of sufficient number, the total area of which equals nearly the horizontal cross section of the cake and a stationary box. The stamping station is either located at the end of the pusher track or parallel in front of it, naturally in close connection to the coal bin. The coal is filled into the box over the top by means of two revolving gates, the box traversing back and forth in the first case, where sta- tionary stampers are used. In the second case, with trav- eling stampers, the box is either filled by means of a trav- eling bucket attached to the stamper carriage or by a scraper conveyor and chute running the whole length and parallel to the box, or by a scraper bar attached to the stamper frame and scraping the coal out of a slot in the bin. In the third case, using multiple stampers, the box is filled by a rotating feeding barrel of the length of the cake, provided with a segmental pocket the cubical con- tent of which equals a layer of coal in the box. The box is filled in several layers and the layers stamped in suc- cession. The stampers, either stationary or mounted on a car- riage, consist generally of plain steel bars, flat, square, round or of I beam shape, or toothed racks, and are provided at one end with a steel shoe 12 to 24 inches long, of a width corresponding to the width of the cake and weighing 250 to 300 pounds. The engaging and dis- engaging of this lifting bar is accomplished by different devices, as friction cam rollers, screw wedges, pawls or by electro magnets. The stroke is constant, 18 inches, and the hight of the stamper adjusts itself as the level of the coal in the charging box rises, the blow exerted being therefore constant. The stampers generally have a speed of from 60 to 70 strokes per minute. Means are provided for fixing the stampers securely in the highest position to permit of the removal of the charging box after a cake is stamped. An efficient and complete arrangement is probably that in which two stampers the proper distance apart are mounted on a movable carriage traversing a track over the charging box. This carriage is provided with a rigid scraper bar, which delivers the dry coal from the bin into two mixing machines for mixing coal with wa- ter, also located on the carriage, which deposit the coal THE IRON AGE February 22, 1906 by means of their paddle screw shafts in front of each stamper in the box. The System of Multiple Stampers. Very quick work can be accomplished by multiple stampers, as a cake of coal 14 inches wide, 6 feet high and 36 feet long can be stamped in from 10 to 12 minutes. These stampers, sufficient in number to fill the length of the charging box, are suspended from an overhead frame work, which has a vertical reciprocating motion. Each individual stamper is held to this frame by means of an electro magnet suspended from it, the electric connection being made to a revolving switch located at the operator’s stand. Contacts are made in such a manner as to break the circuit of each magnet successively, thus allowing the stampers to fall one after the other. When all the stamp- ers have dropped the movable frame is lowered by means of a bell crank arrangement until all the stamper tops are in contact with the magnets, when the whole system is raised to its uppermost position. The lifting mechanism is provided with a device to raise the stampers to the re- quired hights. The first layer of coal in the box is gen- erally 24 inches, and all following about 12 inches high, and each layer stamped until the cake has sufficient sta- bility to be charged into the coke oven. This system is successfully employed at the by-product coke plant in Cleveland, Ohio. The charging box either travels direct on the coke pusher tracks in front of the ovens or is transferred to a special car running on the pusher tracks or to a platform attached to the coke pushing machine, depend- ing upon the system of stamping employed and upon the location of the coal bin in reference to the batteries of the ovens. Charging the Cake Into the Oven. A coal charging box is provided, with a movable bot- tom or peel of sufficient strength to withstand the con- stant pounding of the stampers and a powerful mechan- ism'for running the peel with the cake of coal into the oven. This operation must be performed as smoothly as possible, as any vibration will tend to break the cake. The sides are built up of heavy steel plates properly braced, as there is an immense strain exerted on them during the stamping operation, and are provided with a device for opening, as the cake before moving out of the box must clear the sides. In order to accomplish this the sides of the box are supported by short links with pin joints, at- tached to the side posts of the solid frame work of the machine. They are also provided with vertical adjust- ments. To the lower corner of each side plate there is fastened a pin and roller which engages with a cam on either side of the peel. When the peel is set in motion it pushes forward on the sides, causing them to rotate about their several points of support, thus relieving the cake of coal. The cams on the peel on the return engage with the pins on the rear end of the side plates and draw these into their original position, locking them. - The box is provided with a rigid front door, firmly locked in order to prevent any vibration or any deteriora- tion of the cake during the process of stamping, and with a movable rear door which follows the rear end of the cake into the oven, disengaging automatically 1n order to avoid any labor in front of the hot ovens. The charging is done by running the peel on which the cake rests into the oven, lowering the oven door and with- drawing the peel, thus stripping the cake from the peel. Care must be taken to relieve the pressure of the cake against the door fastenings and buck staves of the oven when stripping, by bracing the oven doors at that time against the front end of the charging machine. One set of stampers and one charging box can easily supply 60 ovens for 24 hours’ coking time, and two operators are re- quired to manipulate these machines. iain tai The Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Association of Pittsburgh held its annual banquet at the Hotel Schenley, February 12. Among the speakers was Eugene N. Foss of the B. F. Sturtevant Company, Boston, whose subject was “Our Place in the World’s Markets.” The address was a strong argument in favor of reciprocity with other countries. February 22, 1906 The Dyblie Reversing Valve. The reversing valve shown in the accompanying illus- trations is adapted to open hearth, soaking pit and sim- ilar furnace installations. It differs radically from most of those now in use and possesses interesting features. Its place is between the gas producer, or source of air supply, and the furnace; if both gas and air are employed Its purpose is to of course two valves will be necessary. Fig. 1.- automatically alternate the supply of gas or air from one end to the other of the furnace. This valve was developed some time since by J. A. Dyblie, chief engineer of the Joliet Works of the Illinois Steel Company. The first valve has now been in satis- factory and constant use at the company’s works for THE IRON AGE 665 valve one of the running positions. Fig. 3 shows the raised and turned ready to drop into its water seal to reverse the path of the gases from that shown in the preceding figures. The furnace, stack and gas, or air, flues are led up to a group of four openings forming the quadrants of a circle. In Fig. 1 openings A and B are connected to the furnace, C to the stack and D to either the gas or air supply. In a valve of this type there is no overload flue connection whatever. Over the openings to these flues is placed an inverted cylindrical box, pro- vided with a single partition running across on a diam- eter, as at E, Fig. 2. The edges of the box and its eo H FURNACE B THE 'RON AGE Plan of the Dyblie Reversing Valve, Showing It in One of the Running Positions. partition dip into a water seal casting, F, preventing any escape of gases to the outside air. With the valve in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that there is a free opening between ports A and D, and between C and B, consequently the passage of the gas or air will be from D to A, thence into the furnace, return- THE IRON AGE Fig. 2.—Elevation of the Dyblie Reversing Valve, Showing It in One of the Running Positions. about five years, with only trifling repairs. A number of other valves of the type have been in use at the same works for more than two years with no repairs what- ever, and the company is to install 48 additional valves as a result of its experience. The selling rights of the valve have now been acquired by the Morgan Construc- tion Company, Worcester, Mass., which will offer it com- mercially. The type has been adopted for the open hearth plant of Milliken Bros., Staten Island. Figs. 1 and 2 show a plan and elevation of the valve in ing through B to C and thence into the stack. If, how- ever, the valve is turned through an are of 90 degrees, so that its partition rests along the line T T, Fig. 1, the passage of the gas or air would be from D to B and thence from the furnace through A and C to the stack. To reverse the valve it is necessary to raise the valve body sufficiently to permit the center partition to clear the edges of the water seal before the valve is turned, and consequently the edges of the partition are made shorter than the lips at the circumference, as shown in 666 Fig. 3, to permit the turning of the valve without breaking the outside seal. This is accomplished by a simple mechanism. The weight of the valve is borne by the wheels G attached to the spindle H, which is arranged to permit free vertical movement. The wheels G ride on cam bars J, which are operated by two cylinders K and L. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that if the bars J are pushed toward the left the wheel will ride up the cam and the whole valve will be lifted. The turning of the valve is effected by the roller M, which is rigidly connected to the cam bar J and which engages a channeled arm, N, rigidly attached to the valve. As J moves to the left the roller M engages the channeled arm and turns it and the valve through the desired are. As the cam bar J reaches the limit of its travel the wheels G descend on the opposite incline and the valve settles into its new position. The whole process is repeated in opposite direction in reversing the valve. By the use of two cylin- ders an operating mechanism without inside packed joints is provided. The valve is counterweighted, as shown at O, and turns easily on a ball bearing collar, P. The valve proper is surrounded by a second cylin- drical box open at the top, which is filled with water THE IRON AGE February 22, 1906 Metals and Their Ferro Alloys. At a meeting of the Institution of Mining and Metal- lurgy in London on January 18, 1906, a paper was read by Dr. O. J. Steinhart on “ Metals and Their Ferro Alloys Used in the Manufacture of Alloy Steels.” The author grouped the metals and their ferro alloys used by steel inakers in the following order of importance: Manganese, nickel, chrome, tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium, and experimentally cobalt, titanium, uranium and tantalum. The requirements of stee] makers as to the purity of the elements added to steels are very stringent. The con- sumption and production of nickel is steadily increasing and the output for the present year will be between 13,000 and 14,000 tons. The price ranges between £150 and £185 per ton. The leading Sheffield steel works now control an independent supply of the metal, and the well-known Sud- bury district produces more than half the world’s output. The total yearly production of ferrochromes is between 4000 and 5000 tons, and a suitable ore for the production of ferrochrome should contain at least 50 per cent. of Cr, O,. Ferrochromes usually contain 6 per cent. of car- bon, but very pure alloys are made to enable chrome to be employed in low carbon steels. Tungsten has created ° THE (RON AGE Fig. 3.—Elevation of the Dyblie Reversing Valve, Showing It Raised and Turned Ready to Drop Into Its Water Seal to Reverse the Path of the Gases from that Shown in Figs. 1 and 2. and forms a water jacket. Water is permitted to flow into this jacket up to the top of the overflow pipes S, Fig. 2, through which it passes into the water seal be- neath and thence to the overflow and to waste. Cleaning pockets, R, are provided at the edge of the water seal to permit removing mud or other impurities from the cross channels of the water seal without removing the valve, which cleaning is a matter of only a few minutes. A valve of the water seal type has been obtained, with all surfaces in contact with the gas water cooled, yet without a closed water jacket or one that cannot be reached for cleaning while the furnace is in operation and without interrupting the flow of gas. No high pres- sure water is needed for cooling, and in case of inter- ruption of the water surface it would be possible to keep the valve filled with hand buckets. The valves are built in sizes equivalent to 16 to 48 inch under the ordinary rating. ———~+- oe —____- M. A. Hanna & Co., Cleveland, will manage the Penn- sylvania Railroad coal and ore docks at Sandusky, Ohio, the coming season. New machinery is being added, the ore unloaders being equipped with clam shells and elec- trie scrapers. A call has been issued by the Executive Council of the National Civic Federation for the annual meeting, to be held in New York on Monday, March 19. fresh interest latterly by reason of its application to the manufacture of self hardening rapid tool steels. The prin- cipal ore is wolframite, which in the pure state should con- tain over 70 per cent. W O,. Prices have varied in an extraordinary manner, but at the present time a 65 per cent. ore is worth £85 per ton. The world’s production of wolfram ores is about 3000 tons per annum. Metallic tungsten powder as employed by the steel maker is in the hands of about half a dozen German makers. Molybde- num, belonging to the same group of elements as tungsten, is less reliable and more difficult to prepare in the pure state. Vanadium has come into prominence latterly. The ores used for the manufacture of ferrovanadium contain about 10 per cent. of V, O;, and such an ore is worth 4 to 5 shillings per kilogram of such contents. R. A. Hadfield in discussing the paper said that the price of manganese, which once stood at £86 per ton and had fallen fo £12, is again going up, and it appeared. to him that the price of nickel would advance considerably. He hoped prices would not be advanced unnecessarily. Carbon steel might be very largely improved. A number of people who sell alloys have an altogether mistaken notion as to the carbon contents. Nearly all steel re- quires carbon and a certain percentage in the alloys is not injurious. For a large number of steels there is no neces- sity to produce ferrochrome at £15 per ton when chrome alloys can readily be obtained at a much lower price. Nothing has been done seriously as regards the use of tungsten for armor plates, chrome being an element so much cheaper. February 22, 1906 The Determination of Chromium in Steel. BY EDWARD HERMS.* The method given below for the determination of chromium in steel, while as accurate, will be found as rapid as and requiring less skill than any other method and is not interfered with by the manganese in the steel. This method is a combination of the methods of Fred. Ibbotson, Technics, February, 1905, and Harry E. Wal- ters, Journal of American Chemical Society, December, 1905, with the method of Galbraith, given in Blair’s “Chemical Analysis of Iron.” I got low results by Ibbot- son’s and Walter’s methods and high results by Gal- braith’s method. I could not get rid of the permanga- nate in Galbraith’s method, even by boiling a half hour. and the abundant manganese dioxide was difficult to filter. I found no trouble, however, by combining the two methods, and a determination is readily made in three-quarters of an hour. I tested the accuracy of the method by adding a standard solution of potassium bi- chromate to various solutions of steel free from chrom- ium, but containing 0.72 per cent. of manganese. Dissolve 1 to 5 grams of the steel in from 30 to 90 c. cm. of dilute sulphuric acid (1 to 4) and add, when dis- solved, 3 to 5 grams ammonium persulphate to the lesser amount of steel and 10 grams to the larger amount and heat a few minutes. Add slowly a few small crystals of potassium permanganate, which should be decomposed at once into manganese dioxide. If too much permanga- nate is added there will be difficulty in filtering. If it is found necessary to add a larger quantity of perman- ganate than will filter readily, this may be avoided in the next trial by adding more persulphate. After adding the permanganate the liquid should be boiled 15 to 20 minutes to insure the complete destruction of the per- manganate. The liquid is then filtered by suction to remove manganese dioxide, washed with water and a standardized ferrous ammonium sulphate solution added in excess and the excess determined by a standard solu- tion of potassium permanganate. I used a solution of 1 gram permanganate to 1 liter of water and a ferrous ammonium sulphate standard to match. In testing the accuracy of the method I found 0.03458 gram chromium against the theoretical 0.03452 gram chromium. A check gave 0.03437 gram chromium. Work- ing on 5 grams of steel I found 0.0180 gram chromium against the theoretical 0.01726 gram chromium. This corresponds to 0.36 per cent. of chromium against the theoretical 0.345 per cent. ———_3--+- oe _____ Exports of Pipes and Fittings.—In the second six months of 1905, the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor, gathered the statistics of ex- ports of pipes and fittings by weight as well as by value, the latter alone having been given previously. In the six months ending with December, 1905, as we are in- formed by the bureau, 153,701,262 pounds of pipes and fittings were exported, valued at $4,175,267. As the value of all exports of pipes and fittings for the calendar year 1905 was $8,293,816, the presumption is that the exports for the year were about twice those of the second six months, or in the neighborhood of 137,000 gross tons. This tonnage is to be added to a total for 1905 of 1,009,- 290 gross tons of various iron and steel products of which weights have always been. given in the statistics of the bureau. The designation “ Pipes and Fittings” appears to include cast iron pipe and fittings as well as wrought pipe and fittings, ———__ +e New Crucible Steel Casting Plant at Buffalo.—The Buffalo Crucible Casting Company has been incorporated at Buffalo, N. Y., with $150,000 capital stock, to manu- facture crucible steel castings, especially light castings for use in machinery, automobiles, &c. The directors are Ik. G. Ripple of the Buffalo Foundry Company, John L. Osgood, Alfred W. Thorne, George Bleistein and Frank L. Bapst. The site for the company’s plant will be decided upon soon and the plans for buildings prepared as soon * Chemist of the Commonwealth Steel Company, Granite City, VL THE IRON AGE 667 as the ground space is determined. It is expected that a working force of about 100 men will be employed at the outset. oo The Trimont Mfg. Company. This company, manufacturer of wrenches at Rox- bury, Mass., is to erect a new building, 54 x 75 feet, for its annealing, pickling and case hardening depart- ments, replacing one of the buildings which was destroyed by fire several months ago. The company has purchased an adjoining property formerly occupied as a brewery and is making extensive alterations, converting the building for its various purposes. This is a considerable task because of the different business of the previous tenants, but one that will result in a fire proof plant conveniently arranged for the company’s requirements. The machine shop was not burned and its capacity will be largely increased in the new building. The forge shop is already installed in the new building and a 7000-pound steam drop hammer, built by the Chambersburg Engi- neering Company, Chambersburg, Pa., has been installed and another of 2000 pounds has been contracted for, adding to the battery of hammers which escaped the fire. A five-ton traveling jib crane has been ordered of the Case Mfg. Company, Cleveland. An industrial railroad will be installed, connecting the steel storage with the forge shop and encircling the latter room at the rear of the hammers, that material may be delivered con- venient to each. A new McIntosh & Seymour engine of 270 horse-power, a Crocker-Wheeler 150-kw. generator, two 170 horse-power Robb-Mumford boilers and a B. F. Sturtevant Company economizer and blower system con- stitute the power plant. The machinery will be operated by electric motors, in units. A pump will take the neces- sary water from a capacious artesian well. Modern ma- chinery will be installed throughout. The company will have 100,000 feet of floor space. The increased capacity is greatly needed because of the rapid enlargement of the business. Be The New England Foundrymen’s Association. The monthly meeting of this association was held at the Exchange Club, Boston, February 14, with a large attendance. President Walter B. Snow was in the chair.