The Iron Age 1906-04-26: Vol 77 Iss 17

exkaxex LIL HLPLILLT : } THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, April 26, 1906. The Power & Mining Machinery Com- pany’s Slag Car. Because of the rough handling to which a slag car is regularly subjected, a large factor of safety was used in the design of all the parts of the machine illustrated. Special pains were also taken to make it simple to operate cn account of the class of labor usually employed for the purpose. The car is a new type recently designed by the Power & Mining Machinery Company, Cudahy, Wis. The two views are of a 10-ton slag car, of which 15 were re- cently built for the new Garfield plant of the American Smelting & Refining Company near Salt Lake City. Each car weighs 27,000 pounds empty, or 47,000 pounds when filled with slag, and is 15 feet long over all and 6% feet high. Fig. 1 shows the car in filling and transporting operating lever. For hand dumping to the opposite side the hand wheel would be placed on the other squared end of the screw. When tilted to the extreme position the side of the bow] makes an angle of 50 degrees with the vertical, so as to readily allow the slag skull to slide out. The bowl in dumping is carried to the side of the car by the rolling of the trunnions, so as to dump outside of the rails. An apron in the middle of the truck prevents any drippings from falling on the track. The entire body of the car is carried on eight power- ful springs placed under the front and rear supporting frames and resting on the main bearing boxes. These bearing boxes are fitted with phosphor bronze bearings which are kept lubricated by removable oil waste boxes. The two supporting frames are tied together by two 100- pound rail securely riveted to them and extended to carry the Tower automatic couplers. These are provided with THe IRON AGE Fig. 1—A Slag Car Recently Designed by the Power & Mining Machinery Company, Cudahy, Wis. position, and Fig. 2 the position assumed by the parts when dumping the ladle. The bowl is made in five sections, the bottom being made in one piece with four quarters forming the top. This allows of any burnt out or broken parts being easily replaced. These sections are bolted together and tied to 2 steel supporting ring by key bolts. The supporting ring is riveted to pinion toothed trunnions which roll on a racked track. Both the pinion and the rack have open- ings between the teeth to prevent their being clogged by any slag which might be spilled into them. The trun- nions are rolled by a sleeve which is operated through a lever by a 12-inch air cylinder. This cylinder is designed to operate on 60 pounds air pressure and to tilt and hold the pot in any position. The air valve for this cylinder is a simple four-way cock conveniently operated from either side of the car by sliding handle rods. All the levers and other operating parts are made of steel to reduce the weight of the machine without sacrific- ing strength. A hand wheel and screw is also provided so that the bowl can be dumped by hand, if an air supply is not available. Pin connections are used to release or attach the parts to the hand screw or the air cylinder. When these are arranged as illustrated, the bowl can dump only to the one side, but the dumping may be re- versed by connecting the trunnion sleeve to the other the usual side crank handles for releasing the coupler. One of each pair of wheels is provided with a bronze bushing, so that it can revolve on the axle when going around a curve. Slag cars of this design are made in various sizes up to 15 tons capacity, and with or without the air cylin- der. _ +++? ———$——_— — The Schwartz Steel Process. A new process of steel manufacture has been evolved by E. H. Schwartz, Chicago, inventor of the Schwartz melting and refining furnace manufactured by the Haw- ley-Down Draft Furnace Company of that city. In the refining process a Schwartz furnace is used with oil as the fuel. Steel is successfully made by this process in a 90-inch furnace of this type having a capacity of 6000 pounds at the foundry of the Otis Elevator Company, Chicago. For melting a portion of the metal to be refined a cupola is used. although a part of the heat is raised to the melting point in the furnace. The cupola is charged with one ton of low phosphorus pig iron con- taining about 1 per cent. of silicon and 2300 pounds of re- turn melt steel scrap. While this charge is being raised to the proper temperature 800 pounds of return melt steel scrap and 2400 pounds of low phosphorus pig iron are rear erto e eae Perel deengenner * os oe nite tntanasiegaicntalllpenanaesaienngilitar micapnieit pa ne nye 1 RP LOS 1390 THE IRON AGE being heated to about the melting point in the furnace. The cupola charge when melted is poured into the Schwartz furnace, and on account of the large amount of steel scrap, it is claimed that the entire carbon content is below 2 per cent., and is further reduced to 0.25 per cent. in approximately 2% hours by the oxidizing flame in the furnace. The metal is superheated by burning the carbonic oxide liberated during the refining process, and the high heat necessary to burn this gas is obtained from two converging blow pipe tuyeres located near the top of the furnace. The flame enters the furnace in two converging jets, passes down on the metal bath, makes two revolving turns and then passes out the spout. The inventor states that a temperature of over 4000 degrees EF’. is obtained in the furnace, and that a perfect oxidizing tiame can be controlled by the 14-inch needle point valve located at the side of the furnace. After the heat has been applied to the entire furnace April 26, 1906 with a mixture of steel scrap, as desired, and this is melted in a cupola with a low blast pressure and suffi- cient coke. The remaining 40 per cent. of the charge is melted in the furnace and consists of pig iron, either malleable Bessemer or charcoal. The cupola charge is poured into the furnace when the latter has reached the melting point, and the steel charge is melted for about one-half hour. If necessary, ferrosilicon can be added to the metal to secure the proper silicon content. It is claimed for this process that a greater amount of scrap can be used than is used either by air furnaces or in open hearth practice. sa a The last issue of the Progress Reporter, which is pub- lished from time to time by the Niles-Bement-Pond Com- pany, New York City, is devoted to the machine shops of the Bethlehem Steel Company at South Bethlehem, Pa. The treatment is largely pictorial, there being about e - Fig. 2.—The Power & Mining Machinery Company’s Slag Car in Dumping Position. charge for 1% hours tests are made, and 15 minutes be- fore pouring ferrosilicon and ferromanganese are added. Aluminum in quantities of 2% pounds per ton of steel is placed in the ladle before the heat is poured. While the pig iron and steel scrap are being melted in the cupola, sulphur and phosphorus are absorbed from the coke, but the total furnace charge is lowered as the initial charge in this vessel shows no increase of either sulphur or phosphorus owing to the use of fuel oil. Ex- tensive tests have been made that show no increase of either sulphur or phosphorus from the oil. The pig iron and scrap are gradually charged into the cupola, and as a blast pressure of only 9 ounces is maintained, oxida- tion is reduced to a minimum. Approximately four tons of steel can be made by this process in 4 hours, and eastings ranging from 2% ounces to 2500 pounds can be poured. Eighty gallons of oil for a ton of steel are consumed and the cupola melt ratio is about 1 to 6. By the use of two Schwartz furnaces a cupola will not be required, and the inventor claims that a high grade of acid steel can be made. Steel is also made by this process in a plant installed at West Drayton, England. It is further claimed that malleable iron can be made by the use of this furnace and a cupola. In this case 60 per cent. of the charge is to consist of return melt scrap thirty full page engravings. General views are shown in the main machine shop, where there are immense gun lathes and other heavy tools; in shop No. 3, devoted to the machining of armor plates, and in No. 4, which is a small gun shop. Other illustrations show near views of tools notable for their size, power or producing capacity. Among such may be mentioned gun lathes of from 60 to 85 inch swing, large engine lathes, sloting machines, verti- cal milling machines, horizontal boring and drilling ma- chines, a 72-inch crank boring machine, 72 and 84 inch planers, 14-20 foot boring mill, and numerous smaller boring mills, engine lathes, gun barrel drilling machines, slotting machines, rifling machines, a vertical and _ hori- zontal planer of the post type used in the armor plate shop, &c. All of the tools are of a special nature, and the fact that they are shown in operation makes them especially interesting. A study of the pictures impresses one with the extraordinary work which is being turned ° out in this plant and the remarkable tools that make it possible. ——> > March exports of all kinds of merchandise totaled $145,522,342, being the largest for March ever reached. The imports were valued at $133,625,066, which is the largest total for any month in the country’s history. April 26, 1906 The New Peerless Hoist. The new type spur geared chain hand hoist, illus- trated herewith, embodies features which have beretofore not been developed. Safety combined with durability, speed and power have been the main points sought, and the manufacturers, Edwin Harrington Son & Co., Incor- porated, Seventeenth and Callowhill Philadel- phia, Pa., believe that in the new Peerless they have the most efficient hoist of its type yet produced. Fig. 1 shows a general view of the hoist suspended from a hand trav- eling trolley. The hoisting mechanism, as shown in Fig. 2, consists of a train of balanced steel spur gears. These, to insure perfect bearing on the surface of the teeth, are cut from drop forged blanks to reduce friction and wear and to give free and smooth action. The sustaining mechanism streets, consists of two friction Fig. 1.—The Peerless Hand Hoist, Made by Edwin Harrington, Son & Co., Incorporated, Philadelphia. disks, between which there is a leather washer. The hand wheel is screwed on the threaded hub of one disk, and in the act of rotating in hoisting, clamps both disks tightly together, in which position the two parts rotate as one without slipping. The other disk has teeth cut in its periphery, engaging a pinion which is carried on a swinging arm, the teeth of which are of such form that in hoisting they revolve noiselessly in the one direction. When the raising motion ceases the teeth, unable to re- volve in the reverse direction, lock in such a manner as to throw the pinion backward until its teeth engage a steel dog, forming a positive lock and automatically bind- ing the frictions and holding the load securely at any de- sired point. When the operator desires to lower the load it is only necessary to rotate the hand wheel in a reverse direction, which releases the friction and permits the load to be lowered smoothly and rapidly. The load may be held at any desired hight by discontinuing the reverse rotation of the hand wheel, when the disks automatically tighten and the load is securely held. THE IRON AGE 1391 A single load chain is used with this hoist, making it more compact as well as reducing the weight. Any dan ger of slipping of the load chain is eliminated by the chain guide and stripper. The new flaring hand chain guard. permits the operation of the hoist at one side without having the chain drag the guard. All working parts of the hoist are thoroughly pro- tected from dust and dirt by tight cases, and all parts on as shown in Fig. 2, een ae ee 4 nreenornan ie which there is any strain are designed with an ample fac tor of safety. These blocks are built in sizes ranging from 1000 to 40.000 | ounds ++o ; The Atlanta Steel Hoop Company’s Improve- | ments. The Atlanta Steel Hoop Company, Atlanta, Ga., will have its new steel plant in operation in about 30 days. oe arse * 4 4 . <a 5 ae’ Be THe IRONAGES he vislaghilabibbim: - — eared Chica aia ties at - ue Fig. 2.—A Broken Out Section of the Peerless Showing the Mechanism. Hand Hoist, This plant is being built by the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Company, Cleveland, Ohio, and consists of two 35-ton open hearth furnaces and a reversing blooming mill de signed to roll ingots to 1%-inch square billets. A semi- continuous Morgan rod mill, to roll wire rods and other products, and a continuous heating furnace, with gas producers, &c., have been built by the Morgan Construc tion Company, Worcester, Mass. A complete wire draw- ing plant and a nail factory, making all sizes of wire nails, have also been added. The wire drawing ma- chinery was built by the Turner, Vaughn & Taylor Com- pany, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and the nail machines were furnished by the National Machinery Company, Tiffin, iF Ohio. The rod mill, wire drawing plant and the nail factory are now running. The Atlanta Steel Hoop Com- pany started in business in 1901 with an 8-inch train of rolis and has now grown to the above proportions. Its products have hitherto been hoops, cotton ties, bars, bands and light steel rails. S. T. Weyman is president and G. W. Connors secretary and treasurer. PLES SE" Gas Power Economics.—I.* With Special Reference to the Iron and Steel Industry. BY F. E. JUNGE, NEW YORK. The following presentation is founded on the experi- ence and facts gained in the course of several years of actual practice devoted to the careful study of the gas power problem in Europe. It is advanced at a time when the more serious and responsible leaders of the iron and steel industry in this country seem at last to have been aroused to the possibilities offered by the employment of more economical methods of production, and is submitted as a proof of the commercial superiority of blast fur- nace gas power plants over steam plants, whether recip- rocating piston engines or steam turbines be used. Among the various realms of application which lend themselves to the efficient utilization of waste gases in these industries, those of the gas engine drive for electric generators, both direct current and alternating current, and for blowing engines, have now been developed to a perfect state of standardization and commercial economy. Whether or not it is better to drive the various forms of rolling mills electrically and from a gas engine driven central station, or by scattered gas engine drives, or whether the steam engine is yet the most economical and reliable prime mover to install for this kind of work are questions which cannot be regarded by the critical observer as having been finally decided. Speaking, as I must, of foreign achievements in this modern branch of gas power engineering, I have on an- other occasion} set forth such principles of construction and scientific methods as are to be observed in the rational design of gas power prime movers proper. I shall, therefore, confine myself in this article to the elab- oration of a few approved and practical methods and data which during my last year’s visit to Europe have come under my personal observation. In comparing industrial developments we must, of ° course, remember that inequalities in conditions, whether they be geographical, economical or governmental, must always largely affect the point of view and the judgment on questions that are of common interest in engineering matters, especially when the comparison concerns the divergent practice of countries like the United States and Germany. Electric Centralization in Germany, In a small country with limited natural resources, but which are located closer together and are more evenly distributed than they are in the greater part of America, and which have to supply a concentrated industrial area, industries will naturally locate within the coal mining and iron producing districts, and by the employment of high tension electricity will easily extend the commercial radius of power distribution over the whole area of the country. This most natural method and which is pre- scribed by the geographical conditions prevailing on the Continent—to make the coke and iron producing fields be- come power producing fields as well—is, of course, also the most economical, especially since electric centraliza- tion and electric drive all over the works, including aux- iliaries, have been adopted in all the latest and largest Suropean plants. An illustration of the extent to which electric centralization has been carried in Germany may be drawn from the practice obtaining in isolated coal mines, which often possess no prime movers for driving the various pumps, hoists, fans and other machinery. These mines have a transformer substation, equipped with motor generators and fly wheel sets, serving to equalize the load fluctuations, while high tension electric current is obtained from a central station, sometimes located in a city many miles from the mines. For instance, 50- eycle current of 10,000 volts is transmitted over a dis- tance of 9 km. from the city of Essen to the Matthias Stinne Coal Mines, where 2000 horse-power is used for driving the various machines. In another case a coal * Enlarged from an address read before the American Insti- tute of Electrical aaa, New York. t Power, New York. THE IRON AGE April 26, 1906 mine which supplies good coal for coking purposes has a coke oven plant attached to it and utilizes the waste gases thereof in a gas engine driven central station, while the surplus power is distributed by electric transmission to the substations at neighboring mines. This possibility of utilizing the energy in waste gases by distributing and selling it for light and other purposes in the neighboring industrial districts forces the German engineer in the determination of the commercial economy co-efficient for a heat power plant, to place more value on the factor of heat cost than can be imparted to it under the conditions prevailing in this country. How seriously the difference in the valuation of this factor affects the prime mover problem in central stations can best be seen by comparing the estimated calculation made by Iffland to determine the respective merits of various engine drives for a combined coke, iron and steel plant, where the coal mines are located so close together as to fall within the commercial distribution circle of the electric central sta- tion and are operated from it. The normal power re quired by all the engines is 42,000 horse-power; there- fore the maximum simultaneous capacity which the plant must be able to carry permanently is 21,000 horse-power, which is produced from the waste blast furnace and coke oven gases. Comparison of Gas and Steam Driven Central Stations, We shall consider only two cases: First, a gas engine driven central station; second, a steam turbine driven central station. All the auxiliary machines are operated from the central station. On account of the difference in consumption of the reversible and nonreversible machines the total capacity of the central station required is found to be 25,000 kw., it being advisable with complete cen- tralization to provide for an ample reserve. The power equipment in the first case consists of eight gas engines, each having 6000 horse-power normal capac- ity, and 4000 effective kw. (cos. o=0.8). In the second case, five steam turbines each have 10,000 horse-power normal capacity and are directly connected to alternat- ing current generators of 6800 effective kw. capacity (cos. 6 =0.8). The normal capacity of the gas engine driven central station is therefore 32,000 kw. total, and of the steam turbine driven station 34,000 kw. Most of the machines used in the plant are in constant operation the year round. Now, assuming that the waste gases have no com- mercial value whatever, the actual cost, including initial capital outlay and operating expenses for generating one brake horse-power hour, is as follows: Cents. For gas engine driven central station...........+e+eee48: . 0.44 For steam turbine driven central station.............6++ 0.42 For purposes of comparison, I give the figure that would be obtained by driving with steam engines all over the works. One brake horse-power hour would then cost 0.75 cents. In this case the steam turbine would be the most economical prime mover. However, the assumption that the blast furnace and coke oven gases are given for nothing is erroneous. The gases must first be cleaned, as this increases their heating capacity and makes them applicable for use in gas engines; but this process re- quires an expenditure of one cent per 30,000 cubic feet; moreover, they actually have a value as fuel for steam raising. In the plant under consideration, we shall there- fore compare the power value of the waste gases when used in gas engines to what obtains when burned under boilers, and so must appraise the gas at a rate correspond- ing to the reduction of the coal bill. If power can be distributed abroad the appraising of the gas depends on the disposal of the surplus power and varies with the locality. Estimating coal at $2.50 per ton and assuming that 7 kg. of steam are raised from 1 kg. of coal, then the value of the blast furnace gases which are to be used in gas engines is $150,000. The value of the blast fur- nace and coke oven gases available for raising steam is $325,000. With this valuation, the former cost per brake horse-power per hour is modified as follows: Cents. Gas engine driven central station.............. veseen -. 0.54 Steam turbine driven central station. ..........ee5eeeee - 0.66 With steam engine drive the cost would be 98 cents. It will be seen that the correct valuation of the fuel up April 26, 1906 THE IRON AGE 1393 sets the former results entirely in favor of the gas engine driven central station. Basing the results on the cost of production per ton of marketable goods, of which this plant sells 300,000 tons per year, we arrive at the fol- lowing : Gas engine driven central station, $2 without and $2.48 with appraising the gas. Steam turbine driven central station, $1.93 and $3.02, respect- ively. With steam engine drive the cost would be $3.35 and $4.42, respectively. It is seen that the gain effected by the selection of gas engines instead of steam turbines for the central station amounts to 50 cents per ton of annual capacity. The figures are of special significance, as they show how much the whole prime mover question hinges on the valuation of the factor of heat cost. The conditions change, of course, if a plant possesses only capacity for iron and steel smelting and has rolling mills but no coal mines attached to it; and they are again different for a steel plant with rolling mills, but without coal mines, blast furnaces and coke ovens. It is only in the last named case that the pure gas engine drive—gas engine central station and seattered gas engine auxiliaries—is the most economical method. Data and Facts from Actual Practice, However, since theoretical assumptions like those in the foregoing calculations are always regarded by skeptics as uncertain, we may as well base our considerations on such data and facts as were obtained on the Continent in the course of several years of actual practice. We shall, in the following comparison between the respective merits of gas or steam drive for various forms and local- ities of application, omit the consideration of some items which, on account of their dependence upon local con- ditions, are apt to make the numerical results rather problematical. By this, I mean especially the items of first cost, interest, amortization, &c., which, according to the latest data obtained in Germany, are found to bear a ratio of blast furnace gas engine plant to steam boiler and engine plant of 1 to 1.3, while in this country the items of first cost can hardly be regarded as being even on a parity. Some power plant engineers hold that the excess cost of a gas plant over a steam plant runs from 7.4 to 14 per cent., so that, if the annual saving in opera- tion were capitalized at 5 per cent., it would take less than two years to cover the surplus capital invested. Others assume that the capital outlay for a first-class steam and for an internal combustion plant are equal. Another feature of uncertainty is introduced into the estimate by the varying practice of rating gas engines, a matter which indeed needs urgent standardization. If there were any disappointments experienced with earlier continental gas power plants, they were, aside from neg ligence in gas cleaning apparatus and methods, almost entirely due to an overrating of the normal capacity of the gas engine, which, owing to the impossibility of carry- ing an overload over what is determined by its cylinder suction capacity, cannot be expected to compete with a steam engine of the same nominal output. The cost of water which is consumed in the boilers of steam power plants and for washing and cleaning pur- poses in gas power plants is another uncertain item, widely varying with local conditions. If it is omitted in the following comparison, this operates in favor of the steam plant, which consumes by far more water. The cost for purifying and back cooling, too, is much higher than in a gas plant. We shall also confine ourselves to figur- ing the comparative cost of operation of the central sta- tion proper without including in our calculation auxiliary machines. The calculation will therefore include: 1. Expenditures for maintenance. 2. Attendance and up- keep. 3. Fuel expenses. As was mentioned before, the method of appraising the blast furnace gas consists generally in determining the amount of coal which is saved by burning the waste gases in gas engines instead of under steam boilers. But this rather superficial method of valuation gives the gas price regardless of the cost of cleaning and is altogether incorrect. A better practice developed on the Continent is based on the reasoning that the gas in the gas engine cylinder is utilized just as directly as the steam is in the cylinder of a steam engine. We shall, therefore, appraise the gas according to its heating value, but com- pare with the amount of steam generated and not with the corresponding quantity of coal used. It may be said, however, that no standard method of valuation can be accepted, but that each individual case must be treated separately and in accordance with the local conditions. Results in the Minette District ef Germany. The following data, recorded by Ehrhardt, were ob- tained in the Minette district of Germany, where one metric ton of coal (0.9842 ton English), having a heating value of 6500 calories (11,700 British thermal units per pound), can be bought at from $2.62 to $3.57, according to the location. Taking an average steam pressure of 8 atmospheres (113.84 pounds per square inch), which has a total heat value of 660 calories (2619 British thermal units) and feed water entering at 20 degrees C., there are necessary for generating 1 kg. (2.2 pounds) of such steam 640 calories (2539 British thermal units). A medium boiler plant with 66 per cent. efficiency will generate under these conditions from 1000 km. of coal: 1,000 * 6,500 0.66 6,700 kg. of steam. 640 $2.62 to $3.57 1,000-kg. of steam, therefore, cost from 39 to 6.7 53 cents, depending upon the price of the boiler coal In addition there are wages for firemen and general upkeep of boilers, running the cost per 1000 kg. of steam up to from 56 to 71 cents. Similarly we find: 1,000 « 900 1,000 eubie meters of gas 1.000 900 eal. 0.66 — —— - 640 928 kg. steam, 928 kg. steam, at a value of 1.000 (0.39 to 0.53) 52 to 66 cents Or, in English units, 1,000 cubic feet of gas cost 1.47 to 1.89 cents, and 1,000 pounds of steam cost 25.5 to 32.3 cents, the price varying, of course, with the cost of coal and the location of the plant. To determine the factor of gas consumption and total gas cost, it can be taken that large gas engines have an average mechanical efficiency of 82 per cent., which is the mean of the two extreme results, 84 and 80 per cent. having been obtained in reliable tests, although in the latest types 92 per cent. has been recorded. Hence, 1 effective horse-power 1.22 indicated horse-power. At full load an engine of this kind will consumé 2.8 cubic meters (98.8 eubie feet) of blast furnace gas, having a calorific value of 900 calories (100 British thermal units per cubie foot). Considering that the work required for running the engine at no load is approximately invariable, but that with decreasing load the gas consumption per indicated horse-power is somewhat increased, the follow- ing tabulation for the fuel consumption is obtained : At 100 per cent. load, 2.8 cubic meters (98.8 cubic feet) gas per 1 effective horse-power hour. At 90 per cent. load, 3.0 cubie meters (105.9 cubic feet) gas per 1 effective horse-power hour At 80 per cent. load, 3.2 cubic meters (112.9 cubic feet) gas per 1 effective horse-power hour. At 66 per cent. load, 345 cubie meters (121.8 cubic feet) gas per 1 effective horse-power bour. At 50 per cent. load, 3.7 cubie meters (130.6 cubic feet) gas per 1 effective horse-power hour. These figures do not give the best results which can be obtained with large modern gas engines, or under specially prepared test conditions, but they may be relied upon as giving what has been obtained during several years’ continuous practice. The losses due to radiation and condensation in the pipe lines have been accounted for by assuming the total steam consumption of engines running all day and night to exceed the net consumption by from 10 to 12 per cent., and with engines running only in the day time by from 15 to 16 per cent. The gas pipes do not, of course, show up any loss of the kind. (To be continued.) 2» e —-_——_ The last week in March, in which 1026 patents were issued. including trademarks, labels, prints and designs, was the greatest in the history of the Patent ‘Office at Washington. The trademarks for the week numbered 377. The average issue of patents, trademarks, &c., is 700 to S00 a week, and the activity in the Patent Office is found to follow very closely the prosperity of the country. ae Wa eenlagtugey “FA teow - outs = os be TONE halt hea Pega 5 ie ee ees eG ry onan — — eel it be Bae 1394 THE IRON AGE A New Underwood Portable Milling Machine. The new special portable milling machine illustrated was the outgrowth of a temporary emergency rig to do work on a large machine in place, which has been elab- orated and made one of the large line of special tools built by H. B. Underwood & Co., 1025 Hamilton street, Philadelphia, Pa. Being motor driven, it is self contained and may be taken to the work. It is particularly useful for work on large machines which have been assembled and on which the work could not be performed in the ordinary way without taking them apart. The tool is designed for straight line work, with a number of sur- faces in line but on different planes. The carriage has a travel of 8 feet and has automatic feed. The cross slide has a hand feed and a travel of 12 inches, while the vertical spindle has an up and down travel of 10 inches. A taper hole in the spindle is adapted to receive taper shank mills. The carriage carrying the head and motor is moved along the bed much as a lathe carriage is moved on its bed, by a crank connecting with a pinion engaging a rack. The carriage may be clamped to the bed at any point by a hand wrench. The up and down movement of the head is effected by a small hand wheel at the top, which connects with a worm engaging A Special Portable Milling Machine Built by a worm wheel on the same shaft with a gear meshing a rack on the slide. For more rapid movements the worm is disengaged from the worm wheel and a hand wheel on the shaft with the worm wheel is used directly. A _ hori- zontal movement at right angles to the bed is effected by the lowest hand wheel, which operates a long screw, supported at both ends in the casting supporting the motor and the head slide, and working in a nut on the carriage slide. The bed of the machine is mounted on a subbase, either for performing work in a vertical position, as shown in the illustration, or in a horizontal position, accu- rate adjustment being allowed by means of set screws operating against taper space pieces securely holding the two beds as solid as in one piece. This subbase has long slots and projections by means of which the machine may be secured to the work by clamps or bolts. The weight of the machine and subbase complete is 2500 pounds, and while that shown in the cut is equipped with a two horse-power Westinghouse motor, a one horse- power motor is sufficient to drive the machine in general practice. ee a ae “ Superior, the City of Opportunity,” is the title of a pamphlet published by the Superior Consolidated Com- pany, 30 Broad street, New York, dealing with the de- April 26, 1906 velopment and present status of Superior, Wis. Nat- urally the importance of Superior as a shipping port is given prominence, but there is also an array of facts showing that it has made an advance in manufacturing lines. The statistics of the commerce of Superior are not as recent as they might be, wheat shipments being given for 1900 and ore shipments for 1902. In the case of the latter it is to be noted that the shipments from Duluth are included with those of Superior under the general designation ‘“ Superior harbor.” ——__s-- oe The Duty on Old Fish Plates. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 24, 1906.—The Secretary of the Treasury, acting upon a recommendation by the Attorney-General, has given notice of his acquiescence in the decision of the United States Circuit Court for the western district of New York, holding certain old railroad fish plates to be dutiable as scrap steel under paragraph 122 of the Tariff act rather than as fish plates under paragraph 120. The decision is of much importance to the trade and will be something of a surprise, as it had been confidently predicted that the Government would appeal the case. The issue is a broad one, involving the THE FRON AGE H. B. Underwood & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. line of demarkation between scrap steel and articles which, though possibly available for further use, have nevertheless been discarded and sold for remanufacture. In deciding this case, Judge Hazel said among other things: “Counsel for the Government, at the hearing and in his brief submitted, conceded that the single question to be determined by the Court is whether the condition of the fish plates as to shape and form has been so changed that it is impossible again to use them for the purpose for which they were manufactured. The testimony, which was not considered by the board, preponderatingly shows that again to use the articles as fish plates was wholly impracticable. Three disinterested witnesses experi- enced in the construction of railroads testified that the articles were in such a bad and worn condition that they were wholly useless for rail or track purposes, that they were fit only to be remanufactured and had no commer- cial value except as scrap steel. This uncontradicted showing is persuasive of the claim asserted by the im- porters, and the suggestion by the Government that the rails could still be used by contractors and others engaged in mining and logging for the purpose originally intended ig beside the point. No such evidence is in the record, the exhibits being insufficient to establish the suggestion.” w. %. © April 26, 1906 Trade Unions May Not Coerce Their Own Members. In line with the disposition of the courts as asserted in a number of decisions in recent years, to subject labor unions to the payment of damages for injury done to the business of an opposing employer, is a decision given on March 19, 1906, by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The original case was brought by S. G. Purvis & Co. against Local 500, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, et al. Besides affirming the liability of a union for damages because of its unlawful acts the decision is of great interest in that it holds unlawful cer- tain acts of unions which the latter have engaged in with impunity, and to an extent undermines the foundations of union power by denying the right of the union to com- pel its members to obey orders directed against the business of a noncompliant employer. S. G. Purvis & Co. operate a sash, door and blind fac- tory and planing mill and lumber yards at Butler, Pa. They refused to unionize their shops. Local 500 put the firm on the “unfair” list. The District Council of Pitts- burgh, Allegheny and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners followed this declaration by putting a boycott on the firm and its product. It also, by use of the union label, caused members of the union to reject material coming from the mills of the plaintiffs. Work was stopped on certain buildings, the men being called out because. material was being secured from S. G. Purvis & Co. These things were done after agents of the union had told members of the firm that if they did not agree to operate a union shop the only alternative was to quit business, as the union intended to inflict injury upon them if they persisted in their determination to run an open shop. The result of the trial in the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County, Pa., was the issuance of an injunction against the defendants and the assessment against them of damages to the amount of $1770 sustained by the plaintiffs because of the stopping of work, by order of the union, on contracts in which the firm’s material was being used and because of the boycott ordered. The injunction was definitely directed against practices which the unions have in many cases carried on without let or hindrance, particularly ordering their members to take steps inflict- ing injury on the business of an employer. After enjoin- ing the union from circulating notices of its boycott on the plaintiffs, and from requesting customers or pros- pective customers to have their work done by union mills, as well as interfering with the business of persons pur- chasing material from the plaintiffs, the court’s order makes this special reference to orders given by the union to its members: Or from interfering and from combining, conspiring or at- tempting to interfere for said purpose with the business of the plaintiffs, by the enforcement under pain of penalties and for- feitures, of Rule 7 of the working rules adopted for the govern- ment of local unions under the jurisdiction of the Carpenters’ District Council of Pittsburgh, Allegheny and Vicinity, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, which pro- vides that ‘** No member shall be allowed to work any material coming from any nonunion mill, and shall comply with this rule when the local unions are so informed and instructed by the District Council,” or by other like coercive rules, the natural and necessary effect of which would be to deter the members of said trades unions or others from working upon buildings or other constructions to which the plaintiffs were furnishing mate- rial8, or contractors, builders or owners of said buildings or other constructions, or others, from purchasing materials from the plaintiffs ; or from interfering or from combining, conspiring or attempting to interfere with the business of the plaintiffs for the purpose of injuring them in their business by the enforce- ment of fines or forfeitures, suspension or expulsion from mem- bership in any of the locals within the jurisdiction of the Car- penters’ District Council of Pittsburgh, Allegheny and Vicinity, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, for failure to observe Rule 7 of the working rules adopted for the government of focal unions under the jurisdiction of said Car- penters’ District Council of Pittsburgh, Allegheny and Vicinity, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, or for failure to observe any of the rules adopted and in force in that union, or that may hereafter be adopted, which would be coercion of said members interfere with the business of the plaintiffs, or from otherwise restraining, coercing and intimidat- ing any one or more of the members of said union for said pur- pose from working for any contractors, builders, owners or THE IRON AGE 1395 other persons because they are doing or desire to do business with the plaintiffs; or from interfering and from combining, conspiring or attempting to interfere with the business of the plaintiffs by the issue of union labels to any mill within the jurisdiction of the Carpenters’ District Council of Pittsburgh, Allegheny and Vicinity, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, such issue of labels being made for the pur- pose of interfering with the business of the plaintiffs. From the doing of any and all of which acts and things for the purpose of injuring plaintiffs in their business and thereby compelling them to unionize their mill or have such injury continued, the said defendants, each and every one of them, their officers, com- mittees, agents, employees, servants, members, associates and all others that may act in concert with them, or by their direc- tion, are hereby enjoined and restrained. In every particular the Supreme Court decision of March 19 affirms the above finding of the Common Pleas Court and thus definitely puts bounds to the authority of a trade union over its own members. The Supreme Court says of the contention of the union that it sought only to persuade and not to coerce, that “their means of per- suasion are the destruction of the property of those whom they would persuade. Coercion may be accomplished without threats or violence, and the attempt to so accom- plish it was made in this case.” The Supreme Court says that “the members of Local No. 500 who were found working material from their [plaintiffs’] mill were co- erced by the compelling power of the union to quit work on pain of trial, fine or expulsion, with its attendant an- noyance and possible ostracism in case of their refusal. The principle upon which the cases, English and American, proceed is that every man has the right to em- ploy his talents, industry and capital as he pleases, free from the dictation of others, and if two or more persons combine to coerce his choice in this behalf it is a criminal conspiracy.” Se ” The Iron and Steel Institute’s Annual Meeting. The arrangements for the annual meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute in May are set forth in a circular dated April 10, issued by Secretary Bennett H. Brough. It will be held May 10 and 11 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George street, Westminster, London. The Bessemer gold medal for 1906 will be presented to Floris Osmond of Paris. The awards of the Andrew Car- negie gold medal and research scholarships for 1906 will be announced. The following is a list of papers that are expected to be submitted: “The Influence of Silicon, Phosphorus, Manganese and Aluminum on Chill in Cast Iron,” by E. Adamson, West Hartlepool; “ The Influence of Manganese on Iron,” by Prof. J. O. Arnold, Sheffield ; “The Relation Between Type of Fracture and Micro- structure of Steel Test Pieces,” by C. O. Bannister, Lon- don; “Compression of Steel Ingots in the Mold,” by A. J. Capron, Sheffield; “The Manufacture of Rolled Solid Steel Car Wheels and Tires,” by P. Eyermann, United States: “Brittleness in Thin Steel Sheets,” by E. F. Law, London: “ Chain Making Machinery,” by E. Lelong, Couillet, Belgium; “The Use of Oxygen in Removing Blast Furnace Obstructions,” by C. de Schwarz, Liége, Belgium; “ Volume and Temperature Changes Occurring During the Cooling of Cast Iron,” by Prof. Thomas Tur- ner, Birmingham; “The Influence of Copper in Steel,” by F. H. Wigham, Wakefield. The following reports on work carried out during the past year by holders of Carnegie research scholarships will be submitted: “ Hardness of the Constituents of Iron and Steel,” by Henry C. Boynton, Cambridge, United States; “ Heat Treatment of Wire,” by J. Dixon Brunton, Musselburgh; “ Quaternary Steels,” by L. Guillet, Paris; “Influence of Carbon on Cast Iron,” by W. H. Hatfield, Sheffield; “The Preparation of Carbon-free Ferroman- ganese,” by E. G. Ll. Roberts and E. A. Wraight, London ; “Deformation and Fracture in Iron and Steel,” by Wal- ter Rosenhain, Birmingham. A circular has also been issued relative to the ap- proaching visit of American engineers and the joint meet- ing of members of the Iron and Steel Institute and the American Institute of Mining Engineers in London dur- ing the week commencing July 23. The information given in this circular was well covered in the paragraph pub- lished on page 1278 in The Iron Age for April 12. SCY Gina 7 f : 4 { Lm at este ak A “Sk ere meee eS es oe ws ae ee RET ae Retiwe e oa ra Fae nae 1390 THE IRON AGE A Hoefer Special Drill. The novel drill illustrated might properly be called a multiple-spindle radial drill, although it has no resem- blance to either of the tools commonly known by those names. The ordinary radial drill is more strictly a radial arm drill and is often so classified, and the ordinary multiple-spindle drill has its spindles parallel, whereas in this tool the four spindles are radially disposed to drill to a common center. It was recently built to order by the Hoefer Mfg. Company, Freeport, Ill, for drilling flanges on tubing four holes at a time. The heads of each spindle are gibbed on radial arms and are adjusted toward and away from the center to permit drilling holes in a circle from 3 to 40 inches in diameter. Under each of the spindles is a sliding head, the four together constituting an internal chuck for hold- ing the pipe to be drilled. The projecting segmental lugs are for small pipe, and larger pipe is held on the larger segments. The sliding heads in which the spindles re- volve are fed toward and away from the center auto- A Special Multipie Spindle Drill Built by the Hoefer Mfg. Com- pany, Freeport, Ill. matically by screw feeds. These screws are adjustable to take care of long or short drills. The drill spindles are driven by a three-step cone pul- ley, shown on the countershaft at the rear of the ma- chine, and on this shaft are located the four pulleys from which radiate the belts to the four pulleys on the outer ends of the radial arms. These latter pulleys are on shafts which drive the spindles through bevel gears. Any of the spindles may be adjusted toward or away from the center independently of the others, The cone pulley on the lower right hand arm drives a cone pulley directly over it for the feeding mechanism. The latter cone pul- ley drives a worm and worm gear through which power is transmitted to one of the feed screws by bevel gears. This screw carries a bevel pinion meshing three others in the center of the machine, from which the other screws are driven. The screws can be operated to feed the spindles by hand, either rapidly, through a crank on the worm wheel of the feed drive, or more slowly through 2 hand wheel on the worm shaft, as is plainly shown on the upper radial arm at the right of the machine. On each spindle is an adjustable drill gauge to prop- erly center the hole. The feed bas also an adjustable au- April 26, 1906 tomatic stop, so that holes may be drilled to any given depth, at which time the automatic stop trips the feed. —_—__-—_-_+_»-o— = Prosperity in Scotch Metal Working Industries. GLascow, Scotland, April 13, 1906.—The volume of trade for the first quarter of the year in iron and steel and in products into which they enter constitutes a rec- ord in the industrial history of this district. All the leading branches have been working at high pressure and double shifts and the output has been enormous. The aggregate would have been even greater had there been more liberal supplies of steel and iron. The produc- tion of steel locally has been greatly increased in the past six months, but is yet unequal to full requirements. Notwithstanding the active conditions which have pre- vailed a quiet tone now rules in iron and steel in the fear that the best of the good times have passed. But though there has been a pause there has been a well sustained demand for finished iron and steel and inquiry indicates a probable early expansion. In the engineering industries activity prevails. Mar- ine engineers are best off of all, but the locomotive and electrical sections are very well to do and prospects are encouraging. Makers of sugar machinery are busy on export orders. Boiler makers have never been better employed on land and ship boilers, the former largely for the colonies and the East. Tubemakers have well filled order books and pipe founders are better employed than for some time past. Sheet mills have had an excellent quarter and have still plenty of business, while car build- ers are overwhelmed with contracts. Scotch shipbuilders have had a record quarter, the vessels put into the water during the past three months having been 81 in number and 137,640 in tonnage. This compares with 55 vessels of 114,716 tons in the first three months of last year and with 75 vessels of 117,940 tons in the first quarter of 1899, the previous record. The March contribution to the total this year was 595 vessels of 60,304 tons. Such an enormous amount of tonnage turned out in three months means that our ship- yards have been exceptionally well employed on con- struction work, apart from the large amount of repair work customary at this season. The launchings are by no means equaled by new contracts booked in the quar- ter. These do not exceed 60,000 tons. They would have been