The Iron Age 1907-07-11: Vol 80 Iss 2

THE Published every Vol. 80: No. 2. Reading Matter Contents ..... page 1/29 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ 195 Classified List of Advertisers “* (go 184 Advertising and Subscription Rates‘ FORSTER PULLEY WORKS, Cuba, N. Y. The American Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines 65 Wall Street, New York THE BRISTOL COMPANY Waterbury, Conn., U.S. A. New York: 114 Liberty St. 753 Monadnock Bldg. Bristol’s Recording Instruments For Pressure, Tempera- ture and Electricity. Simple, Accurate, Reliable. All Ranges, Low Prices, and Guar- anteed. Send for Catalog R. SAM SON SPOT CORD Chicago : Also Linen and Italian Hemp Sash Cord SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. TORNBUCKLES Branch Office, 11 Broadway. New York. Cieveland City Forge and iron Co.. - Cleveland, O. DROP HAMMER MERRILL BROS. BROOKLYN N.Y. Mill Cinder Girard Building, Phila. Pilling & Grane Machesney BId., Pitts’g Empire Bld., New York There may be some sub- stitute for HIGH QUALITY —but so far it has not been discovered. See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S Ad. on Page 16. Thursday Moraing by New York, Thursday, July 11, 1907 : BOILERS See page 55 New York IRON AGE David Williams Co. 14-16 Park Place, New York. $5.00 a _ Year, including Postage. { Single Copies, 15 Cents. IT FIRES FIVE SHOTS IN ONE SECOND AND | CAN BE RELOADED IN 4 i HALF SECOND | CA Se SS ' att AMTIEA TL AUTOLOADING RIFLE Big game hunters have need for a rapid fire rifle, “big enough for the biggest game.” The new Remington Autoloader meets the requirements. It is extremely accurate and delivers 5 smashing knock-down blows inone second. Big game hunters have judged the Remington SUPERIOR .35, .32 and .30-30 Remington calibres. Are yu STOCKED? They SELL. Remington Arms Company, - 315 Broadway, Ilion, N. ¥. Agency, New York City. eter WATER TUBE 064e Babcock @ Wilcox Co. 85 Liberty Street THE LARGE AND STEADILY IN- CREASING DEMAND FOR ‘*THE CAPEWELL ”’ HORSESHOE NAIL Is attracting wide attention among HARDWARE DEALERS who appreciate the fact that a large demand results in QUICK SALES; quick sales in more frequent DIVIDENDS, and a higher annual RATE of INTEREST upon every dollar invested. Made by The Capewell Horse Nail Co., JENKINS BROS. VALVES do not require constant regrinding. When necessary to repair, a new Disc will usually make the valve as good as new. /enkins Discs are inexpensive, and can be readily applied by any one without taking valve from the pipe. All parts interchangeable. Write for booklet. All genuine bear Trade Mark as shown in cut, JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicagu. “Seton” Cold ole Stel ir Drawing = Stamping Hartford Conn. THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING COMPANY pee Water and Rail Delivery) BRIDGEPORT, CONN. MAGNOLIA METAL Best Anti-Friction Metal for all Machinery Bearing. Fac-Simile of Bar. Beware of Imitations. SS MAGNOLIA METAL CO. Owners and Sole Manufacturers, 113-1156 Bank Street, Chicago, Fischer sidg. . NEW YORK. San Francisco, Montreal and Pittsburg. We manafacture all grades of Babbitt Metals at competitive prices. 2 THE IRON AGE (SHEET — |The Plume & Atwood Mfg. Co. enern | ROD Manufacturers of Electrical BRASS: wee Sheet and Roll Brass Sheets? [COPPER | wire WIRE Printers’ Brass, Jewelers’ Metal, Welll! Just try us, Mubeail” “* BIGERMAN | SHEE T SILVER ROD eancpeene st a, —_ en Meconone urners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. | WIRE Fn FOLLANSBEE LOW BRASS, SHEET BRONZE, Room 508 Heyworth Bailing, ast Madi- BROTHERS |B scaness srass ano copper a sea COMPANY ff T!xc. BeazeD BRASS AND), ctr own, warekitconn BRONZE TUNG 1: °: 20 —_—_—_—_—_—— aa German Silver and Gilding Metal, Copper Rivets and Burrs Pittehurgh SCOVILL MFG. CO. se a alc es WATERBURY BRASS CO., pregame DEEP DRAWING WATERBURY, CONN. eee oe John St., New York. Providence, R. I. uane qaat Seciien aaa maar Fn Ih wenn eee eee een, TIN PLATE Bridgeport Deoxidized Bromze|| specist Brace Goods to Order. and « Metal Co FACTORIES: ° WATERBURY, CONN. SHEET STEEL BRIDGEPORT, CONN. ee ig geen eee. / Phospher and Deexi@iegd Qs NICKELING STOCK Henry Souther Engineering Co. A SPECIALTY remo ys ” HARTFORD, guile 8 Composition, Yellow Brass and Alumi- Consulting Chemists, Metallur- num Castings, large and small gists and Analysts. Complete Pnysical Testing Laboratory. Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. eee ee ee. SM ELTERS OF SPELTER 256 Broadway AND MANUFACTURERS OF N E WwW 7 oO R Ww SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID. Risl sdkebiis Mee, Cane Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. St | Al : C. r Sil i Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. eel, uminum, erman Silver, Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Stove and Washboard Blanks. German Silver. Copper, Brass ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper eee N LLCO “rhowo-euecra 105 -109 So, Jefferson St. Chicago. - Se ; : WIRE. “!T’S TOUGH.” Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals, Brass and Aluminum SASTINGS <7 TROLLEY, a? TELEPHONE GERMAN SILVER | cmt: aA and The Seymour Mfg. Co., - - Seymour, Conn. TELEGRAPH HENDRICKS BROTHERS oer PROPRIETORS OF THE Mills BRIDGEPORT BRASS COMPANY, | ' i “Gene. Bro awej ten Be Now York Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, en MANUFACTURERS OF g2e Ah, Braziers’ Bolt aan: Sheathing of i , re PHOSPHOR-BRONZE COPPE: Fe GERMAN SILVER COPPER WiiRD AND RIVETS, SS Importers and Dealers in THE RIVERSIDE METAL Co. ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. , RIVERSIDE, N. J. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, July 11, 1907. The Clover Leaf Concrete Mixer. A concrete mixer without wings, vanes, deflectors or other means within its interior for effecting the mixing of the concrete would be very inefficient under ordinary conditions. The Clover Leaf concrete mixer, made by the Clover Leaf Machine Company, South Bend, Ind., and shown in the illustrations, derived its name from the peculiar form of the drum, which makes it to dispense with the usual interior devices. Three simul- taneous mixing movements are obtained when it is re- volved, causing distribution from three different angles at once. The device is no longer an experiment, having been tried out under various conditions to demonstrate the effectiveness of its performance. Other features worthy of note are its light weight and the ready access possible and the bottom going to the top, while the remainder is carried up by the same angles aided by the centrifugal force of the machine, and is effectively distributed the full width of the machine and over the portion previously doubled over. There are, therefore, practically six dis- tributions to the mass every revolution, or from 80 to 90 distributions per minute. The mixing receptacle is oscillated from end to end twice each way each revolu- tion of the machine, or from 50 to 60 times per minute. These end to end movements, together with the doubling over and carrying across of the concrete by the direct action of the machine, insure thorough intermingling of the ingredients. Where the mixer is to be used in cement, stone and brick plants it is equipped with an appliance for convey- ing water to the mixing drum, a receptacle being placed Fig. 1.——A Portable Gasoline Engine Driven Concrete Mixer afforded to all parts by removing a single door, which exposes the whole interior. The machine may be fed or discharged while running and may be partly or entirely discharged at any time, since no lessening of the speed is necessary for discharging. The dumping is done by tilting the machine endwise, which is easily accomplished, since it is balanced. The consistency of the batch may be watched, as it is in full view all of the time. Fig. 2 shows a sectional diagram of the mixer, illus- trating by arrows the courses taken by the material while the mixer is being revolved. Since there are no inside vanes or deflectors, the charge is allowed to pass freely over the inside of the receptacle, and the angles being in line of the movement of the materials are constantly scoured by the action of the moving mass. It is im- possible for the heavier and lighter aggregates to become separated. The entire mass commingles during the process of mixing, insuring uniform concrete both with respect to the fine and coarser materials and the even distribution of the cement. The charge is doubled over and scattered each time the angle passes up, and it is guaranteed that the mixer will not ball or roll the con crete. The curves or angles of the drum double over the greater portion of the mass, the top going to the bottom Ind. send, Leaf Built by the Clover Machine Company, South and inside the charging hopper, to which is at- tached a perforated pipe extending inside the machine, affording an even distribution of water and the avoiding of slushing. To afford access to the interior of the mixer a section of the drum is constructed so that it may be ubove removed, exposing the entire interior of the mixing receptacle. The company also builds a hand power mixer, the receptacle of which is of precisely the same form as that used on the power driven machine. A perfect mix, it is claimed, can be obtained how slowly the receptable may revolve, as the material is doubled over and not rolled three times at each revolution of the drum. This is independent of the speed and is an important ad- vantage in a hand operated machine. The mixer can be arranged to be operated by one man with a single crank, but two cranks are sometimes provided for higher speed operation by two men. In this case charging and dis- charging is accomplished by removing the door, the drum being revolved so as to bring the opening where all the material falls on a chute to the floor. The water is in- troduced by a pipe extending through one of the trun- nions. Deflectors are employed in this machine to keep the material away from the ends of the drum and work it regardless of toward the center. While not as desirable as the oscillat- ing movement employed in the power driven machines, it serves the purpose and reduces the cost of this type of machine. Three sizes of power driven machines are made, Nos. 4, 6 and 8, respectively, taking standard charges of 414, 6% and 9 cu. ft. and having daily capacities of 25 to 35, 50 to 60 and 70 to 90 cu. yd., respectively. These capaci- ties are given in loose, dry material when worked into wet concrete. The power required is 2, 3 and 4 hp. The power driven machines are generally equipped with the New Way air cooled gasoline engine. It is one particularly convenient for the purpose, being very com- pact, of few parts and generally convenient in operation. It requires no water cooling and is guaranteed to carry its full rated load any length of time in any temperature without overheating. The gears are incased and run in oil, and cement cannot get into the working parts. One oil cup lubricates all of the bearings. The crank case is hinged and the parts are so few that it can be taken Fig. 2.—Diagrammatic Section of the Clover Leaf Mixer, Illus trating the Movements of the Contained Materials. apart and reassembled in a very short time. There is no packing, no gasoline pump, and there are no delicate parts. The machine weighs about 440 lb., which is very light compared with its size, which is 3 to 3% hp. —_——_3-- General Appraisers’ Work in the Fiscal Year. The annual report of the Board of United States Gen- eral Appraisers for the Government’s fiscal year ended June 30, and given out Monday, shows that the work of the customs tribunal, which is the medium for the adjudication of differences between importers and the Government regarding questions of value and classifi- cation of foreign merchandise, has been conducted in an efficient manner. The report states that at no time since the organiza- tion of the tribunal in 1890 has the business of the board been in such excellent condition. More protests have been decided than ever before, while the report declares that every protest can be decided within 60 days after sub- missal. Marion De Vries, president of the board, said that he was much gratified at the showing made by his associates and the clerical force. Notwithstanding the fact that the Dingley tariff has been in existence 10 years, on the 24th of this month, it appears that customs liti- gation is increasing in volume. During the year the board received 58,443 protests on questions of classification, as against 40,892 during the previous fiscal year. There were decided 80,765 classifi- cation protests, as against 33,557, a net gain of 22,322 more protests decided this year than received, as against 7335 more received than decided in the previous fiscal year. It is stated that 21,173 more protests were de- cided this year than in any previous year since the or- ganization of the tribunal. There has been a substantial reduction in the number of protests on the suspended files. The volume of reappraisement appeals has been heavy, numbering over 7000. Of the classification protests aris- ing the past year, 48,670 emanated from the portswof New York and 14.773 from other ports. 86 THE IRON AGE July 11, 1907 The Lubricating Properties of Graphite. From an interesting article on the above subject by H. C. Woodruff, general manager of the United States Graphite Company, Saginaw, Mich., we take the follow- ing: There are two forms of graphite—flake, or foliated. and amorphous, or nonstructural. Though chemically the same, the latter is capable of finer pulverization and with careful treatment may be reduced to an impalpably fine powder absolutely free from grit or any sort of harmful impurity. Flake graphite, on the other hand, no matter how finely pulverized, always retains its original mica like or crystalline structure. Amorphous graphite is adhesive in the highest degree. This is one of the first requisites of an efficient lubricant in that to cool a hot bearing it is absolutely essential that the lubricating agent shall stay put where applied. To illustrate: Take a pinch of finely pulverized amor- phous graphite and rub it in the palm of the hand, on paper or on some other convenient surface and observe its action. Note that the more one rubs the more effective is the lubrication, for this form of graphite is not easily removed from surfaces in frictional contact, but maintains constant and effective duty right at the point of contact and is at its best under heavy frictional pressure. Then, too, as an impalpable powder it readily and quickly pene- trates and distributes itself in a smooth, slippery, even coating between the tightest bearings, filling every pore, crevice and interstice, thereby evening irregular bearing surfaces and reducing friction to a minimum. A microscopic examination of apparently perfectly smooth bearings—cylinder surfaces for instance—will dis- close many minute irregularities, which, in the nature of things, must be productive of more or less friction. This friction of course means wasted energy—a condition that more often than not means an overheated bearing. To-over- come this friction effectively and utilize this otherwise wasted power, a lubricant possessing considerable “ body ” is required ; that is, a substantial lubricant of such anature as to eliminate as far as possible these microscopical ir- regularities and provide a bearing offering minimum re- sistance to the surfaces in play. Experience has not only demonstrated time and again that oil in itself will accomplish this only to a certain extent, but it has also taught that pure, soft, finely powdered graphite, properly and judiciously applied, will do wonders, so that it only remains to make the proper application of the right sort of graphite. It has, there- fore, long been the endeavor of intelligent engineers to secure a graphited oil—that is to say, an oil in which graphite floats or is held in.suspension without precipi- tation sufficiently long to perform its duty, for it is easy to see the great advantage to be derived from the use of an oil having every drop impregnated with solid lubri- cating matter. This seemingly simple problem, however, is one that has until lately baffled engineers of experience, but it has now been found that amorphous graphite when reduced to an impalpably fine powder will, when mixed with oil in the proportion of about one teaspoonful to the pint of oil, remain in perfect suspension long enough to feed through lubricator tubes without clogging, thus causing every drop of oil to carry its mite of graphite. Amorphous Scilla iar Dominion Steel Affairs.—Montreal advices state that the annual meeting of the shareholders of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company, which originally was called for July 5, has been postponed indefinitely. Special author- ity for taking such action was obtained by the manage- ment from the Nova Scotia Government. The present management is in favor of carrying the suit against the Dominion Coal Company to the courts, but the opposition, which claims to have secured control of the company, is desirous of effecting a settlement as soon as possible. On July 6 George Caverhill and W. G. Ross of Montreal were selected to fill vacancies on the board caused by the resignations of F. S. Pearson of New York and F. R. Wood of Toronto. July 11, 1907 Huge Ore Shipments Planned. DuLuTH, MINN., July 6, 1907.—The tremendous ore shipments planned for this year from the Mesaba range are tearing things to pieces all along that district. There was never a year in which so many changes in the sur- face conditions have been made. More mines are chang- ing from milling and underground to steam shovel, and bigger holes are being torn in the ground than in any previous season. As an instance of the sort of work going on, it may be interesting to note that during June 210,000 cu. yd. of overburden were moved off the Can- isteo, the record month by at least 50,000 yd., and 125,- 000 yd. came out of the adjacent Holman property. At the Canisteo Superintendent Greenway is working six or seven shovels in stripping. During May the removal at this mine was 150,000 yd. Railroad Preparations, Some idea of the vast shipments that are expected may be gained from the season’s schedules of the various railroads operating between the mines and upper lake ports. For instance, the Duluth, Missabe & Northern, which last year moved 11,220,000 tons of ore, is sched- uled for a total traffic this year of 14,000,000, and the Duluth & Iron Range will handle, if it comes up to plans, almost precisely 1,000,000 tons more than the 8,200,000 it moved in 1906. The Great Northern will also increase its record of 6,130,000 tons by nearly 1,000,000. In other words, the two Minnesota iron ranges, whose total shipments of 1906 were 25,600,000 gross tons, are scheduled this season for a business approximating 30,- 000,000. These schedules are the estimates made soon after the beginning of the shipping season by shippers of the ore sold by them, or that they expect to forward during the year. They are, to be sure, liable to be changed and are quite pliable, but the shippers endeavor to reach them and in some cases exceed early estimates. Last year sev- eral independent shippers were able materially to increase shipments over the estimates made early and on which the railroads based car allotments and dock space. It may be considered settled that, allowing for unexpected contingencies of strikes, accidents to transportation fa- cilities and the like, from 28,000,000 to 29,000,000 tons of ore may be moved from Minnesota this year. Michi- gan districts last year shipped 12,800,000 tons, and have averaged for the past three years not far from 11,200,- 000. They are easily capable of a production in 1907 of 12,500,000, and will doubtless reach that amount, barring accidents and unforeseen contingencies. A grand total of better than 40,000,0000 tons is, there- fore, a reasonable estimate. It will be no trouble to make that total, so far as any one of the factors is con- cerned, unless it may be with the unloading docks and lower lake railroads. The Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railroad in June moved the vast volume of 2,156,000 tons, and expects to do better for several succeeding months. The Duluth & Iron Range, with No. 5 dock out of commission, handled 1,303,000 tons in the month. This dock has now been completed, and is in service. It is the largest and fastest of that company’s large equip- ment. The Great Northern, with its No. 3 dock incom- plete, handled 1,218,000 tons in June. It also is now using this new big shipping pier. A New Steel Pier Planned. A most important step has just been taken by the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad, in the decision to con- struct for the coming year’s traffic a steel ore shipping pier. This pier will be 850 ft. long, exclusive of ap- proaches, and will run out into water 40 ft. deep. Plans have been made and schedules of material are being prepared. Bids for the foundation will be opened soon, and the substructure will be put in during the present season. Piling will be driven and cut off below water level, to be capped with concrete piers about 10 ft. high. On these the steel structure will rest. The ore pockets will be wood lined. The dock will be 67 ft. high from water level to tracks. While this dock may cost several times as much as a wood structure of corresponding capacity, it will wipe THE IRON AGE 87 away the ever present serious danger of fire, and will doubtless outlast many wood piers. The life of a wood ore dock is from 10 to 14 years, depending on the creosot- ing of main timbers, and the life of a steel dock should be more than 50 years. It is believed that the ore trade has reached a point where the ultimate form and size of structure may be considered settled, and should there be change in future a steel dock will offer much salvage to the wreckers, while a wood pier will give little or none. Should a steel dock have been built, say, 10 years ago, it would to-day be obsoiete, and would be of value merely for the material it contained, such has been the advance in the size of lake ships, and, consequently, in the hight and capacity of docks. But it would seem that the limit of depth for lake ships must be pretty nearly reached, and that docks as now constructed are high enough. The first cost of a steel pier cannot be much less than $8000 or $9000 per pocket, or about $1,200,000 for the proposed dock, including approaches. Three wood docks of the same size might be put up with that money. Ore chutes of the Escanaba type that have been put on the newest locks of both the Duluth, Missabe & North- ern and Duluth & Iron Range will be used in the steel pier. These chutes are the full width of the pockets, and unload with less labor and more speedily than the old types. They have, however, introduced a new class of strain on structure, and in planning ore shipping piers in future careful study must be made of this. The new Great Northern ore pier, completed and placed in service last week, has 374 pockets and a stor- age capacity for 100,000 gross tons. It is 73 ft. high above water and 68 ft. wide. It is the largest ore pier yet built on the lakes, and gives the road a total storage capacity for some 250,000 tons of ore; but this is to be increased next year by another, which the road proposes to erect and for which ground has just been purchased. On the Western Mesaba. The Oliver Iron Mining Company is now preparing to increase its Western Mesaba activity by work at the large Arcturus deposit, where a contour survey is now under way and where an experimental washing plant will be installed very soon. The company has not yet added to the experimental washing plant that was in- stalled at the Canisteo properties last fall, but is confi- dent that it will work successfully, as it is even now making a product above the rated capacity of the works. There is, to be sure, a very considerable loss of fine ore, but this will probably be unavoidable, and it really makes less difference than would appear at first thought, as it is immaterial whether the loss of dust is in the washery or out of the furnace stack. Of course, it is greater in the washery. With this fine ore out the product is ex- cellent for the furnace, being coarse, somewhat porous, and rather free from silica, while a large part of it will be within the Bessemer limit in phosphorus. Lake shipping facilities have been growing with the demand, and not far from 4,000,000 tons capacity has been added since the close of navigation last fall. Many new ships are not yet in service, and it is estimated by large shippers that not less than 5,000,000 tons capacity will be available for business at the close of this season, additional to the amount in commission last fall. Prof. C. K. Leith, formerly of the United States Geo- logical Survey, is engaged this summer in a slight revi- sion of Mesaba Government reports and in bringing the range geological map down to date, in view of publica- tion anew in the final Lake Superior geological mono- graph, which will be in the hands of the printers soon. His monograph on the iron ore fields of southwestern Utah, field work on which has engaged his attention for some time past, is in the hands of the printers, and prob- ably will be issued by the Government this year. It will be the first and only comprehensive and scientific study and review of the district, and will be received with much interest, for the Utah fields are undoubtedly of im- portance. D. E. W. sian nian lilciinaaniicaic The Barrow Steel Company, Ltd., of England, has purchased 20 square miles of hematite iron ore territory in Algeria, and will at once develop the property, which lies within 100 km. of the port of Algiers. 88 THE IRON Autogenous Welding. Use of the Oxy-Acetylene Blowpipe in Repair Work. The comparatively new oxy-acetylene blowpipe has made possible the satisfactory repairing of fractured heavy castings and the accomplishing of other work by) the adding of new metal or welding parts, hitherto con sidered commercially impracticable. To be able to weld together a broken frame of a heavy machine; to fill in defects in steel or gray iron castings with a homogeneous metal; to add metal to nickel steel forgings, whici through imperfections would otherwise be useless; to re- place metal broken off from an expensive metal part—all these and many other feats are possible with this in tensely hot blowpipe flame. The oxy-acetylene system of welding has been given a thorough test under manufac- turing conditions at the works of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, Worcester, Mass. The company manu- factures pressed steel parts for automobiles, bicycles aud many special designs in deep drawing and cold forging, and was led to install this plant from the ap- preciation of the practical value of the process in con- nection with such work, but its usefulness in other work has also been amply demonstrated. In this welding process oxygen and acetylene in a blowpipe flame are employed for obtaining the required heat. Each gas is generated in a separate apparatus, and conveyed through separate pipes to the blowpipe. The process has been made commercially valuable by develop- ing a cheap means for producing oxygen. By combining a chemical product known as epurite with water, pure oxygen is as easily obtained as is acetylene by uniting calcium carbide and water. The Oxygen Generating Apparatus consists of two lead lined generating chambers arranged with a scrubber and settling chamber between. The gen- erator is filled with the required amount of lukewarm water to which a charge of epurite is added, and while this solution is being stirred with a mechanical agitator a solution of iron sulphate and water is added, which acts as a catalyzer. The oxygen, liberated, passes from the generator through the scrubber and a water sealed trap to the gasometer; from the gasometer the oxygen is compressed to 10 atmospheres (147 Ib.) by an air com- pressor into a pressure storage tank. It is then con- ducted through %-in. copper pipe, from which branches of %-in. copper pipe lead to the blowpipe connections. Reducing valves are arranged so that the operator can vary the pressure of the gas at the blowpipe at will. Each blowpipe is supplied with 22 different sized noz- zles, for varying the size and power of the flame accord- ing to the thickness of the metal to be welded. The Acetylene Generator is of the water feed type, composed of a cylindrical shaped tank, which serves as a gasometer and regulator, connected by three water supply pipes to three carbide receptacles or trays, half cylindrical in shape, each con- taining six compartments. Each tray holds about 12 Ib. of lump carbide. The acetylene is used under a prac- tically uniform pressure varying from 2.2 to 3 lb. The pressure is obtained and maintained by two water levels in the gasometer, by which the supply and pressure of the gas are automatically governed. Any pressure in excess of 3 lb. escapes through a vent or blowoff outside the generator building. From the regulator and gasometer the acetylene is conveyed through a 1-in. main pipe, with a %-in. branch leading to each blowpipe connection. A feature of the acetylene apparatus is a safety appliance located between the blowpipe connections and the acetylene gasometer. This consists of a 1-in. pipe leading into and two 1-in. pipes leading out from a rect- angular metal chamber; the inlet pipe connects with the gasometer and one outlet conveys the acetylene to the blowpipes, while the other vents to the outside air. The inlets and outlets are separated by a water sealed trap, which prevents flame from reaching the generator and gasometer by burning back through the blowpipe supply pipes. July 11, AGE 1907 The Construction of the Blowpipe. The blowpipe, which is made of brass, is specially designed on the injector principle, and carefully propor- tioned for its intended purpose. It is about 24 in. long and weighs 2 lb. It has two inlets, which remain en- tirely separate practically the entire length of the blow- pipe, and enter a mixing chamber with a common outlet at the point of combustion. Acetylene is rich in carbon— containing 92.3 per cent.—and when mixed with air in a Bunsen burner a flame at a temperature of 3100 degrees F. is produced. The combustion of acetylene combined with oxygen produces the hottest flame known (6300 de- grees F.), which is nearly the temperature of the electric are. This is about 1200 degrees higher than the oxy- hydrogen blowpipe flame. “In lighting the blowpipe the acetylene is first turned on full; then the oxygen is added until the flame has only a single cone. At the apex of this cone the maxi- mum temperature is obtained, and in welding this point is held from \% to \% in. from the metal to be welded. Too much acetylene produces two cones and a white color; an excess of oxygen is indicated by the flame as- suming a violet tint. Theoretically, two and one-half volumes of oxygen are required for complete combustion of one volume of acety- lene. Practically, however, with the oxy-acetylene blow- pipe the best welding results are obtained with 1.7 vol- umes of oxygen to one of acetylene. To establish the proper conditions for autogenously welding two metals it is necessary to bring them to their melting point with- out oxidizing or carburating. When the combustion is not complete the flame consists largely of carbon mon- oxide, and this, being converted at its extremity into carbon dioxide, forms with the hydrogen, a relatively cool jacket which protects the molten metal and the inner cone from loss of heat. At the moment of initial combustion, when the ace- tylene is decomposed into elements of carbon and hydro- gen, a heat of about 300 B.t.u per cubic foot of gas is generated. The total heat, however, generated per cubic foot of acetylene is about 1500 B.t.u., which aside from the initial decomposition is furnished mainly by the com- bustion in oxygen of the carbon into carbon dioxide and in lesser degree by the combustion of hydrogen into water vapor. Pure acetylene at a pressure less than 30 lIb., even when passed through white hot pipes, is perfectly safe, but when mixed with oxygen or air is dangerous. An ex- plosive gas mixture inclosed in a pipe ignites at a cer- tain speed which increases as the square of the pipe sec- tion; therefore, to render safe the use of oxygen and acetylene in the blowpipe flame, the gas mixture is given a speed by pressure greater than the rate of propagation of the flame. No flux or molds are required to weld metals such as iron, steel and copper, but for alloys— namely, brass, bronze, &c.—a little borax or boracic acid, moistened with water, is used simply to prevent the vol- atilized zinc from being deposited on the joint, destroy- ing the weld. The Welding Done by Fusion. This process welds by fusion, forming a perfect me- tallic union of the parts, which is imperceptible after fin- ishing. It is not brazing. The Worcester Pressed Steel Company employs it in place of riveting and soldering and for other forms of metal construction not heretofore possible. Two sheets of metal may be welded by plac- ing their edges in contact, and following along the seam with a blowpipe. Tanks of almost any shape may be made by forming the body and edges separately, and, in assembling, tracing the seams (joints, butt and flush) with a blowpipe. To insure strength the joint is slightly overloaded by melting upon it a wire or rod of same material as the metal to be welded at the same time the edges are fused. The unfinished joint is stronger than the body of the metal, and the finished joint is practically equal in strength. Test pieces develop the fact that the weld of two pieces of steel has at least 85 per cent. the strength of the metal itself, and this without treatment by means of which a weld may be given practically the full strength of the metal. July 11, 1907 Interesting Repairs by Welding. Not only is this process adapted for making tanks, boilers, tubing, cylinders, pipe joints and angles, and for replacing brazing aud riveting in many instances, but it effectively welds cast iron. In the foundry this apparatus saves defective castings in iron, steel, brass, copper, &c.. for the blowholes can be readily filled and broken cast- ings welded as strongly as new. In repair work it is especially valuable, and many expensive castings, forg- ings and machined parts may be saved from the junk pile by an hour’s use of this blowpipe. Metals % in. and less thick can ordinarily be welded cheaper than they can be riveted. Steel and copper tanks for high and low pres- Fig. 1—A Broken Press Ram Welded with an Oxy-Acetylene Blowpipe. sure of almost any dimensions can be effectively welded in place of riveting; broken steel shafts and other forg- ings repaired; cast iron welded with copper or steel, and blowholes and similar defects in castings and forgings made good. A typical instance of what can be done with this ap- paratus in repairing heavy castings by welding and re- placing metal is illustrated in Fig. 1. The ram of the press had been so fractured that it was utterly useless. To replace the heavy part would have been expensive, for the machine was old and a special casting would have had to be made and machined. The die end of the ram, 6 in. in diameter, was broken off for a third of its circumference and 4 in. upward. The part was hollow, being bored out to receive the shank end of a die that was heli in place by a 1-in. set screw which was included in the fracture. The casting was about 2 in. thick. A fracture had also developed at the shoulder of the ram, a genuine crack that had probably resulted from brittleness cnused by crystallization of the metal under constantly repeated shocks. The machine was taken down for convenience in the welding of the ram, and because it would be necessary afterward to return and rebore it and drill and tap the set screw hole. No attempt was made to replace the pieces that had been broken off at the die end of the ram, The metal was replaced with steel by means of the blowpipe. The opera- tion was typical of the general process. The fractured surface was first heated to melting point and then thor- oughly cleaned of oxides. The initial heating is some- what slow, because the metal by its conductivity absorbs beat rapidly, and until the whole is thoroughly heated the full effectiveness of the blowpipe in welding cannot be realized. The surface being cleaned and at melting heat, the operator takes the blowpipe in one hand and a steel rod in the other and begins the work of building on the new metal. The rod used in this work is about % in. THE IRON AGE 89 The flame keeps the surface at melting heat and at the suine time fuses the steel rod, which acts like a stick of solder under the intense flame. The process is con tinued, the steel building up weld upon weld until the part is replaced. In this case the first steel applied was of high car- hon, because the cast iron was high in carbon, thus affect- ing a more perfect union of the two metals. But after 2 surface of high carbon steel had been obtained a softer steel was used for the remainder of the work. A part so repaired shows no trace of the weld when machined. The ram repair was completed in about seven hours, but this included the long preliminary process of heating the cast- ing. The crack of the shoulder of the ram was merely filled with steel, the general process being similar to that just described. The surface was heated to the melting point, cleaned of oxides as thoroughly as possible and tke metal melted in, running down into the crack, and then ‘verlaid to give still greater strength. The repair was not machined, because nothing but appearance called for it and that was unessential. Another interesting repair, of which no photograph ex ists, was the welding together of the broken parts of a thick casting. One side of the frame of a press was fractured en tirely across at the throat. The casting was 1% in. thick, with reinforcement at the front 3 in. thick. It was neces sary to make a weld of that thickness and 12 in. long. The inetal was first chipped away along the fracture, forming un obtuse shallow V, focusing on the fracture. It was impossible to satisfactorily remove the metal on the in side of the frame, because the space was too limited to swing a hammer, but some metal was chipped away from the inside, and it was easy to operate the blowpipe on this surface. A thickness of % in. was left at the crack, 2 depth of metal well within the limits of action of the flame. The steel was then filled in as has been described, and slightly beyond the surface of the casting. The frame was as good as ever for practical use, and the expense was slight as compared to the cost of replacing the frame. The repair job shown in Fig. 2 is of another class, that of light castings. An automobile gear case from % to % in. thick had been broken into three pieces; the large part carried the main axle, another the driving shaft, and the third was a small piece about 3 x 5 in., which was Fig. 2.—A Repaired Automobile Gear Case that had been Broken into Three Pieces. lost. A casting from a plaster pattern was made to re- place the missing piece, and the three parts were theu welded together by the blowpipe flame. The case would have cost about $80 to replace and three months’ time to procure it. The welding was accomplished with a delay to the owner of one day and at a cost to him of $12.50. Another application of the blowpipe is in the treat- ment of defective automobile crank shafts which would otherwise have to be scrapped. Flaws develop in the forgings, consisting of holes from \% to % in. deep and from 1 to 3 in. long. These holes are filled in with the same grade of steel as the forgings, usually nickel steel. Small strips are melted with the flame arcter toe ovs<*- An ar pac Di have been cleaned away, and when the work is done the forging is as if it had never possessed a flaw, for a homo- geneous piece of metal has been formed. rected are shown in Fig. 3. Shafts so cor- Any shaped hole can be easily cut in steel plates up to 6 in. thick, as with the blowpipe the operator can ac- complish cutting feats impossible with a saw. In cut- ting, the flame is proportionately elongated by pressure to penetrate to the bottom of the cut. The intense heat is so localized that the kerf is practically the same as if a saw were used. The Worcester Pressed Steel Company has accom- plished difficult autogenous welding with alum- inum, practically overcoming the trouble from the oxide which forms on the surface of aluminum when exposed to the atmosphere. Although aluminum melts at a com- some Fig. 3.—Broken or Defective Automobile Crank Shafts After Welding. paratively low temperature (1200 degrees F.), it rapidly conducts and absorbs heat and requires a comparatively high local heat to obtain the best results. It has been learned that by cleaning the surface while it is subjected to the flame and instantly covering the surface with a nonoxydizing alloy of aluminum which has a strong affin- ity for the pure metal, such surfaces may then be welded together. Tests have shown that a weld such as this is stronger than the metal itself. If this process can be de- veloped commercially it will be possible to weld sheet aluminum tanks and other similar receptacles and parts, replacing cast metal. With the demand for extreme light- ness in aeronautics and other applications of the com- bustion engine the advantage of welding aluminum will readily be seen. el -— The Niagara Forged Steel] Company, Buffalo, N. Y., has increased its capital stock from $50,000 to $100,000, and has purchased a plant at Depew, a manufacturing suburb, located on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. It is equipping the new plant for the manufacture of railroad specialties—brake beams, truck frames, bolsters and other ear forgings—and also for the production of open hearth steel and castings. In addition to the two-story brick factory building and machine shop now on the property the company will erect a steel frame building at, once for the open hearth department. <A branch company has 90 THE IRON AGE July 11, 1907 also been organized at Toronto, Canada, to manufacture the same line of railroad specialties. —__-e—___ Capital in Canadian Manufacturing. Toronto, Juiy 6, 1907.—A bulletin issued by the Cen- sus and Statistics Bureau of Canada on the subject of the country’s manufacturing industry has reference to the capital employed. The two previous bulletins giving manufacturing statistics for the same quinquennial period (1900 to 1905) related to the value of output by localities and to the value of output by products. In the first of these it was shown that the output in 1905 amounted in value to $715,035,000, as against $491,053,000 in 1900. According to the bulletin which has now ap- peared, the capital employed in Canadian manufactures has increased from $446,916,487 in 1900 to $843,931,178 in 1905. Large as was the increase in the value of the coun- try’s output in the period, it did not keep pace with the increase in the capital applied. Whereas in 1900 the capital engaged was $446,916,487 and the output was $481,055,375, in 1905 the capital engaged was $843,931,178 and the output $712,664,835—that is to say, in the earlier of the years compared the manufactured output amount- ed to $34,138,888 more than the value of the capital then invested in manufactures; in the later of the years com- pared the capital involved amounted to more than the value of the output for that year by $131,266,343. This change in the ratio of output to capital is ground for satisfaction rather than otherwise, though according to some commentators it is a thing to be regretted. Clearly the ratio in 1905 was more normal than in 1900. There must be some imperfection in a country’s manufacturing organization when the output of a single year is worth more than the purchase price of the whole of the coun- try’s manufacturing plant and equipment. The real ex- planation of the difference lies in the fact that the coun- try’s manufacturing outfit was brought from quite a backward state in 1900 to one of greatly increased effi- ciency by 1905. In the former year there was an over- whelming business for a plant in a state of unprepared- ness for the era of prosperity that had by that time set in. In 1905 the adjustment of manufacturing capacity to the requirements of the country’s expanding trade was more or less completely effected. By the beginning of the century Canadian manufacturers, though much encour- aged by the healthy state of trade of the three or four years they had just passed through, had not acquired the confidence that they have since gained. They had not yet become fully accustomed to prosperity or assured as to the chances of its continuance. They were warned by experiences in the early nineties against the danger of venturing out boldly. More than that, money could not so easily be enlisted in manufacturing enterprises as it could afterward. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 there were on all hands evi- dences that this doubt and hesitation were at an end. These years and subsequent ones were characterized by a great growth in the country’s manufacturing capacity. New factories sprang up in all the industrial centers of Canada, and nearly every manufacturing concern added to its plant, and in most cases increased its buildings. Further, the new works were much more substantial and much more costly than the old ones. It was manifest that the manufacturing enterprise of the country had become animated by a new spirit. Money was liberally applied to plant and buildings,-instead of as before being stinted in these applications. Manufacturers were no longer afraid to put up works on the assumption of a long lease of good times. There is reason to believe that the industries possessed by the country in 1905 were better worth the total valuation of the Census Office put upon them than were those possessed by the country in 1900. The new industries, as has been said, are sub- stantial; they are equipped for elaborations and for pro- gressive transformations, of which there was little prom- ise ten years before. In 1900 there was much more crudeness, and many concerns with practically no plant were then counted as manufacturing businesses. Pro- duction has not fallen off. It has simply had a better foundation of capital supplied to it. 0. A. 0.7. July 11, 1907 Scaife Mechanical Filter Strainers. Mechanical filters are distinguished from the sanitary or slow sand filters by the use of a gelatinous blanket formed by the action of the coagulant on the filter bed, by the method of washing the filters, and by the higher rate of flow through the filter bed. To have an efficient mechanical filter it is absolutely essential that proper provision be made for washing it, which means breaking up the sand bed to carry off the collected mud, silt and bacteria. There are many devices for breaking up a filter bed to enable the wash water to carry off the mud, &ce. mechanical rakes which agitate the sand bed during the washing process—i. e., when the flow of water through the filter is reversed; air agitation combined with the water, or air introduced separately, as desired, and an efficient strainer. In most cases no other means than the pressure of the water from the strainer need be used in the washing process, and it is all that is necessary under ordinary conditions if the strainers are properly designed and dis- tributed. In all cases it is very important that an effi- Fig. 1.—Mechanical Filter Strainer Made and Used by the Wm. B. Seaife & Sons Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. cient strainer be used to bring perfect distribution of the wash water to all parts of the filter bed, no matter what devices are used in connection with it. Of the many strainers that have been put on the market most have been circular disks of perforated metal, the perforations being either round or narrow rectangular slots. In the ordinary operation of the filter this type of strainer gives satisfactory results, that is, it prevents the sand from passing out with the filtered water, but when it becomes necessary to reverse the flow of water to wash the sand bed a very great quantity of water is required and little or no velocity is obtained, due to the size and number of the openings in the strainer. It is important in washing a filter that the wash water have a high velocity. This is hardly possible with the ordinary type of strainer, such as is generally used, be- cause such a large number of them are required to give sufficient flow of the effluent from the low head in the filter. With the majority of strainers the area of the openings is many times larger than the area of the sup- ply line which carries the water for washing the filter. The small perforations in the strainers cause a great THE IRON AGE gI deal of friction, and the area of these perforations must be very much in excess of the actual area of the pipe outlet from the filter, in some cases as much as four or five times as great. This being true, an enormous quan- tity of water must be introduced to get an appreciable velocity, and even then it is difficult to get a jet sufficient from each strainer to give a thorough washing. The patented strainer illustrated in Fig. 1 is a rad- ical departure from those generally in use. It consists of an inner and outer cone, the inner cone being movable and of such shape that the openings in the outer cone are partially closed off when washing. The number of openings which are closed off can be adjusted in each Fig. 2.—-The Seaife Mechanical Filter Strainer in Action. particular case, so that the area discharging water into the filter bed can be accurately adjuste