The Iron Age 1907-11-21: Vol 80 Iss 21

THE IRON AGE Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. 14-16 Park Place, New York. Vol. 80: No, 21. New York, Thursday, November 21, 1907 SROS a “Yeoe, instading Postage Reading Matter Contents...... page 1502 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘' 213 Classified List of Advertisers “ 200 Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 212 Reed F. Blair & Co. Frick Building, Pittsburg. Pa. COKE, PIG IRON “HROME ORE FERRO MANGANESE SILICON SPIEGEL, ETC. The American<Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines Se UE Street, New York Steel Belt Lacing SAVES Time, Belts, Money. Greatest Strength with Least Metal Send for Circu=- BRISTOL'S lar QO and Free READY TO APPLY FINISHED JOINT Samples THE BRISTOL CO., Waterbury, Conn. New York and CHicaGo SAMSON SPOT CORD Also Massachusetts and Phoenix Brands. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. bathed et LDS ita OO — Cleveland City seset a and tronCo., - Cleveland, O. TURNBUCEILIES.| Te vcore SOFT COAL. Brooklyn. E. D., N.Y. Girard Bullding, Phila. Pilling & Grane Machesney Bidg.,Pitts’g Empire Bidg., New York | MF on a box of Roofing Tin is more than a Trade Mark —it is a mark of perfection and stands for the oldest and best Old Style Terne Plate ever made. See AMERICAN SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY’S Ad. on Page 16. SHOTGUN Powerful Penetration The Remington Autoloading Shot Gun has plenty of penetration. One sportsman writes, ‘I killed a goose at go yards and a Mallard at 76 yards with my Remington Autoloading Gun.” An ideal wild-fowl gun which loads itself, shoots hard and increases the pleasure The only gun of its kind on the market. List Price $40, within the reach of all. by lack of recoil. don't overlook this salable Kemington. Dealers, REMINGTON ARMS COMPANY, Write to M. HARTLEY Company, Sole Representative, 313-315 Broadway, New York City. WATER TUBE Oh4e Babcock @ Wilcox Co. 85 Liberty Street BOILERS See page 56 New York ARE YOU CARRYING ‘“‘CAPEWELL” NAILS IN STOCK ?? Hardware Dealers who do so find it very profitable. Most of the Horseshoers of the United States buy this brand, and our salesmen turn orders over to merchants who have a stock of ‘*Capewell’’ nails. Be Sure and Get Your Share of the Business !! Made by The Capewell Horse Nail Co., “"t"s:,"™ THE LARGEST MANUFACTURERS OF HORSE NAILS IN THE WORLD JENKINS ’96 SHEET PACKING The Original Unvulcanized Packing. Suitable for all steam joints. Not only does it make a tight joint quickly, but it makes a joint that wi///ast. Made in sheets, and also, to order, in GASKETS cut to any size orshape. All genuine is stamped with Trade Mark as shown in the cut, and is guaranteed. JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London IS UNEX- “SW GOO” GOld ROEM StGbl eset; Drawing a olamping THE AMSRICAR TUBE & STAMPING COMPANY SEE (Water and Rail Delivery BRIDGEPORT, CONN. baum 2 MAGNOLIA raiciion METAL The Standard Babbitt of the World We manufacture everything in the Babbitt Line. MAGNOLIA METAL CO. New Vork: 115 Bank St. Nicholas St. Montreal: 31 St. Chicago: Fisher Building. N THE IRON AGE BR ASS ae COPPER: ny GERMAN SILVER LOW BRASS, SHEET BRONZE, y we call special ATTENTION to the superior FINISH SHEET of our CHARCOAL BRIGHT TIN PLATES in the REGULAR as well as inthe DEEP DRAWING QUALITIES FOLLANSBEE BROTHERS COMPANY Manufacturers TUBING, BRAZED BRASS AND BRONZE TUBING WATERBURY, CONN. 99 John St., New York. PARRA AP ALAS PRR APIANAALBBACPETOREOAT OP TORATATACE Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Phosphor and Deoxidized PITTSBURGH Bronze 3 Composition, Yellow Brass and Adenia | DEBS Se eee num Castings, large and small NN a PISS SSE SSS UE fC C € 3 € C € € sc fC € £ = Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co. La Salle, Illinois. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID Special Sizes of Zine cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates 7 or Etchers and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. seus and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. UU a IML 105-109 So, Jefferson St. Chicago. RAN STRDIPAmE EVID PU SULA CUS e Re TCEe VU TUTTI jede abana GERMAN SILVER |! NICKEL "ANODES | Brass, Bronze, and Copper THE SEYMOUR MFG. CO. SEYMOUR, CONN. HENDRICKS BROTHERS Belleville Copper Rolling a Manufacturers of Braziers’ Bolt and Sheathing COPPER COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS Importers and Dealers in Proprietors of the Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. | 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORH..- WIRE WIRE | SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER | . | THOMASTON, Waterbury Brass Co. | Providence, R. I. | The Plume & Atwood Mfg. Co. Manufacturers of ‘Sheet and Roll Brass WIRE Printers’ Brass, Jewelers’ Metal, German Silver and Gilding Metal, Copper Rivets and Burrs Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain eae Bu rneré, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, & 279 Broadway, NEW YORK Room 508 Heyworth Building, East Madi- son St., CHICAGO, ILL. Rolling Mill CONN. Factories WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO. LANUFACTURERS OF BRASS, GERMAN SILVER, Sheets, Rolls, Wire Rods, Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods. Special Brass Goods to Order. FACTORIES WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS CHICAGO NEW YORK BOSTON HenrySouther Engineering Co. HARTFORD, CONN. ‘Consulting Chemists, Metallur- gists and Analysts. Complete Physical Testing Laboratory. Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. Artur Rutter 60. 256 Broadway NEW YORK Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and German Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. Copper and Brass Rod. “PHONO-ELECTRIC” WIRE. “It’s TOUGH.” TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH LINES. enor BRIDGEPORT BRASS COMPANY, Millis as Telegraph IE, iS een wey SSS By , Dew See 8t., Pike York eae Ay, PHOSPHOR-BRONZE GERMAN Rescate =i THE RIVERSIDE MeTaAL Co. RIVERSIDE, N. J. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, November 21, 1907. The Smurr & Kamen Automatic Wire Crimper. There is nothing new in the crimping of wire by pass- ing it between cog wheels, but there are features in the automatic operation of the machine here illustrated that are of special interest. It is manufactured by Smurr & crimped, and with the use of wheels with the required tooth pitch and properly adjusted in relation to each other, any distance between crimps and any depth of crimping may be obtained. The product of the machine is used principally in woven wire fences, railings, parti- tions, elevator inclosures, sign supports, and skylight and window guards. The machine is mounted on heavy cast iron legs and . Mig 1.—The Automatic Machine for Crimping Wire Made by Smurr & Kamen, Chicago Fig. 2.—Opposite Side of the Smurr & Kamen Automatic Wire Crimper. Kamen, 97 South Clinton street, Chicago, Ill., and is ar- ranged to cut off the wire to specified lengths and count the pieces. Another particular feature is the arrange- ment for stopping the machine if the wire becomes ‘tangled or caught. Either flat or round wire may be the crimping rolls and cutting off wheels are driven through spur gears from a belt driven heavy rimmed pul- ley, as shown in the two views herewith, of which Fig. 1 shows the operating side and Fig. 2 the driving side. When working with wire running in unbroken length 1448 directly from the reel, it is desirable that the feed shall be continuous. This is accomplished by a variable inter- mittent shearing device beyond the crimping rolls, to avoid interfering with the continuity of the feed, which is adjustable to cut any length within a given range. Each of the cutting wheels, shown in Fig. 1, carries two inserted shear blades that contact with their mates on the other wheel at each revolution, the two being geared together to run at the same speed. With the main drive running continuously, a variable cut-off would be impossi- ble if these wheels were revolved continuously. To secure the proper interval between their operations the lower wheel shaft carries a loose gear meshing with a gear in the driving train. ‘The sprocket wheel, driving a measuring chain of the common link type with interposed trip links, is attached to the left face of the loose gear, and the op- posite face of the latter, through a positive tooth clutch, engages the adjoining spur gear. Two projecting lugs set in a wheel on the upper cut-off shaft, directly over the chain sprocket, are successively engaged by the trip links in the constantly moving chain. The motion thus com- municated to the upper shaft causes the narrow faced gear on the extreme left in Fig. 1 to start the gear im- mediately beneath it, which is forced inwardly along the lower shaft by a divided or two-step cam working against a cam surface on the frame. By this means the cut-off mechanism is thrown into action for a half revo- lution of the shearing wheels, thus making a cut at the desired point as the blades meet and pass. The entire strain of cutting is borne by the gears, the duty of the chain being only to throw the train into gear, after which it runs idle until another trip link comes in contact with one of the actuating lugs. The drive of the cutting wheels is thrown out after each engagement by a coil spring be- tween the sprocket wheel and the cam spur. Fig. 2 illustrates the automatic stop by which the drive is disengaged if the wire kinks or tangles. It will be noticed that the wire reel is supported on a pipe frame on which it slides. <A flat bar fastened to the reel frame by a vertical leg extends into the body of the machine and by a wedge actuates a rod lever connected with a clutch in the hub of the driving pulley. If the uncoiling of the wire should be interrupted, the pull of the feed would draw the reel frame and stop bar toward the ma- chine and throw out the drive. The normal speed of the crimping wheels is 42 rev. per min., at which rate approximately 5000 ft. of crimped wire per hour can be run out from a single strand. The machine will take two strands of No. 9 or one of No. 3 round Bessemer wire, or %-in. No. 16 flat wire; with the latter better results are obtained by working single strands. The heavily weighted rim of the driving pulley provides sufficient momentum to prevent any noticeable retardation during the action of the cutting shears. Any length, varying by inches, from 13 in. to 14 ft., may be cut by changing the length of the chain and placing the tripping links the necessary distance apart. Each cut made is registered by an automatic counter. One set each of 1, 14 and 1% in. extension mesh crimp- ing rolls are supplied with each machine and extra sets are furnished upon order. The hand wheel on the side of the machine in Fig. 1 is used, when the drive is dis- engaged, to start the wire between the crimping rolls, to test the adjustment for the required crimping depth. The adjustment is made by the hand wheels above the upper crimping roll shaft, which raise and lowér the shaft through screws. Cut gears are used throughout the machine, all of which are taper doweled and pinned. ex- cept the loose gear mentioned before. Exclusive of the reel stand and table and the chain stand, the machine weighs about 1600 Ib., and it occupies a working floor space of from 4 x 12 to 4x 14 ft. ——_-+e —_ The Pittsburgh Emery Wheel Company, recently or- ganized at Pittsburgh to manufacture abrasive and grind ing machinery, has bought a tract of land at Rochester. Pa., and has awarded a contract for the erection of a two-story main building, 70 x 100 ft.. which will contain the grinding machinery and wheel finishing departments. Contracts have been placed for four kilns, which are expected to be ready by January 1. An order has been THE IRON AGE November 21, 1907 placed with the Erie City Iron Works, Erie, Pa., for the engine and boiler, but the contract for the machine shop equipment has not yet been given out. Charles G. Smith is president and Walter Hetzel is secretary. en ne The Baush Universal Joirt. The Baush Machine Tool Company, Springfield, Mass., has patented a new universal joint, shown with its de- tails in the illustration, which is designed to transmit power in either direction at high speed, for heavy as well as light work, and if required with a considerable angle between the coupled parts, as compared with the usual practice. The company has had much experience with universal joints in its multiple spindle drilling machines, and the new joint is a result. It will be noticed that the center block of the joint is in two parts, separated by a pin running through one of the forks. This pin is of the same size as the lugs on the sections of the center block which form the bear- ing ends and project through the other fork. This ar- rangement allows inserting felt between the two pieces of the center block, and the latter are slotted at right angles to their opposing faces to receive felt inserts. Assembled View and Details of the New Universal Joint Made by the Baush Machine Tool Company, Springfield, Mass. The purpose of the felt is to hold lubricating oil, which permits running the joint at very high speeds and for a long time without renewing the lubricant: The center block and pins are of bronze and the forks of steel, consequently all bearings of the joint are steel against bronze, which gives a small coefficient of friction. ——_—_.9---e————_—_—- The American Wheel & Vehicle Company, Penobscot Building, Detroit, Mich., has purchased a site at St. Antoine street and Trombley avenue for the erection of a new factory, the main building of which will be 157 x 200 ft. It is the purpose of the company to equip this plant with wood and iron working machinery which as far as possible will be electrically driven by independent motors. The Jeffrey patent wheel will constitute the chief product of the plant, which will have capacity to turn out about 69,000 complete sets per year. S. T. Allen is manager of the new company. On the eve of its dissolution by limitation, the syndi- cate ef the German Wire Rod Mills has been renewed for a period of four years. In the general meeting it was decided to maintain recent prices and to change the location of the headquarters of the syndicate to Duessel- dorf. November 21, 1907 The New Hendey 20-Inch Shaper. The friction clutch driven pillar shaper shown in the illustrations is the latest machine of its class brought out by the Hendey Machine Company, Torrington, Conn. It is a result of redesigning and improving the company’s former machine, and is heavier, has a flanged base, a heavier and deeper cross head, a taper gib between the cross rail and saddle with adjusting screws at each end, and a larger diameter cross feed screw, which, like the down feed screw, is fitted with a dial reading to thousandths of an inch. An entirely new feature is a safety stop attached to the front dog, which prevents the ram from being re- turned so far back as to cause the head, if set for an angular cut and at the bottom of its travel, to strike the corner of the base. The machine is especially adapted for tool making and die work. It has a stroke of 20 in., a cross feed of 19% in. and a vertical feed to the head of 4% in. The patent friction clutch driving mech- anism gives accurate and certain reversal of stroke and maintains uniform cutting speed the entire length of stroke, gives quick return and allows changing the length and position of the stroke while the machine is running. The reversing mechanism has a micrometer adjustment for the cutting stroke which enables the operator to adjust the stroke with great exactness after the dogs have been set and the machine started, making it possible to plane to irregular lines. drilled holes, &c. This mechanism is provided with a locking spring and point which in- sures the friction clutch remaining in the pulley the full length of the stroke, and makes the reversing positive even at slow speeds. The ram is driven by a train of double Operating Side of the New Hendey 20-In. Shaper. gearing inside the base, running in double racks doweled and screwed to the under side of the ram, affording a powerful and constant drive the full length of the maxi- mum stroke. A bar or shaft 2% in. in diameter can be passed under the ram when cutting keyseats or simi- THE IRON AGE 1449 lar work. The adjustable table is arranged to plane any desired taper by being hinged to the top of the saddle and provided with a screw at the bottom for elevating the forward end. The table is of box form, making it strong and rigid under heavy cuts. Work can be bolted directly on either side or the top, and the vise can be mounted on either of these working surfaces. When the table is re- Driving Side of the New 20-In. Hendey Shaper. moved the work can be fastened on the saddle or on the front of the column. The improved vise shown opens 8 in. between the jaws, and the round style vise, which can be furnished if desired, opens 5 in. Both are grad- uated, swing in a circle and have steel faced jaws. The machine has two cutting speeds: the range of strokes is from 8.55 at 20 in. to 171.14 at % in. for low speed, and from 10.1 at 20 in. to 202 at % in. for high speed, at the normal countershaft speed of 260 rey. per min. The table is 10% x 14 in., and has slots 9-16 in, wide. The tool post takes a %4 x 1 in. tool. Tie complete weight of the machine is 1990 Ib. ———+e.- - The next meeting of the Tri-State Mining Asso- ciation, comprising lead and zinc mining interests, will be held in Dubuque, Iowa, November 22. A programme is being arranged, including addresses and papers on various technical, geological and practical subjects, and many prominent men will speak. The morning session, beginning at 10 o’clock, will probably be held at the Julien Hotel, at which time all the members are expected to be present and participate in a general discussion of mining affairs. It is intended to hold the after- noon session in the assembly hall of the Public Library, at which time the papers and addresses will be delivered. In the evening those in attend- ance will participate in a banquet. Each member and visiting delegate is requested to bring a small sample of ore or concentrates. James Dolan, Platte- ville, Wis., is president, and George Girling, Mineral Point, Wis., is secretary. The Michigan Central tunnel under the Detroit River is making rapid progress, and it is said that before the end of the year the Canadian end will be completed and the last section of the steel tubes sunk in the river. 1450 The Oil City Gas Engine Starter. Gas, gasoline and oil engines have the disadvantage, as compared with steam engines, that they are not so easily started. If their size is small enough to permit it they can be temporarily disconnected from the machinery they drive and started by hand, but this becomes more labor- ious the larger the engine. Various schemes have been tried for starting such engines by compressed air, and these have their good points when they are properly handled. A new scheme is that brought out by the Oil City Gas Engine Starter Company, Oil City, Pa., which does the work by steam pressure generated in what is practically a flash boiler. It has this advantage over most compressed air starting arrangements that it can be used repeatedly if the first start fails to establish the operation of the engine because of incorrectly propor- tioned mixture of gas, failure of the igniter, or other cause. This starter has been used to give a gas engine as many as from 40 to 50 revolutions where the engine failed to pick up at once. The device was experimentally introduced on the market some time ago, but has been more lately thorough- ly remodeled and improved on the strength of experience had with the earlier forms. In its present form, illus- trated in Fig. 1, the starter has been considerably sim- plified and perfected, so that it heats up in one-half the time taken by the older form. One of the principal -A Gas-Fired Steam Generator for Starting Combustion Engines, Built by the Oil City Gas Engine Starter Com- pany, Oil City, Pa. changes is in the boiler. Formerly the water heating coil consisted of two copper pipes, one within the other, with a small space between to spread the water over a large heating surface, so that it could be rapidly evaporated. Now the outer copper pipe is covered with an iron pipe and the ends are made tight, so that no steam can enter between the copper and iron pipe to cause rusting, and inside of the copper pipe is a solid iron core which nearly fills it, leaving a space of about 1-16 in. all around, so that a small amount of water, usually about 1% pints, is thrown over a large intensely hot surface and is in- stantly converted into an almost dry vapor. This is col- lected in the dome, which is on the inside of the ¢oil, THE IRON AGE November 21, 1907 and is also heated by the same circular gas burner that heats the coil. The remainder of the parts of the starter, all of which may be seen in the sectional view, Fig. 2, have to do with the introduction of the water and the discharge of the steam. The water injection pump, mounted at the side of the starter and shown in detail in Fig. 3, is op- erated by a lever, the up-stroke of which causes water to be drawn into the pump cylinder from a cup or bucket hung beneath the inlet, and the down-stroke forces the water through the small pipe at the side to the lower end of the heating coil. A connected with an gauge Jo CYLINDER OF ENGINE SASLETY VALVE WATER INLET: Fig. 2.—-Sectional View of the Oil City Gas Engine Starter. upper extension of this pipe, being in communication with the coil, indicates the pressure in the starter, and shows when enough water has been injected to give the pressure necessary to start the engine. On the other side of the starter an outside pipe connects the upper end of the coil with the bottom of the steam drum, and at its extended upper end has a safety valve which opens if a dangerously high pressure is created. Both of the side pipes have drain cocks for removing the water after the starter has performed its function. The steam out- let from the drum is a pipe inserted through the bottom to a hight sufficient to insure the escape of only perfectly dry steam. This pipe is carried up at the rear of the starter and is surmounted by a quick opening lever valve, shown in sectional detail in Fig. 4. This valve is nor- mally held closed by the pressure within the starter and may be intermittently opened at the right time in the cycle of the engine to give a number of strokes if neces- sary to establish the regular operation of the engine. After the engine is running on its gas or gasoline supply the stop cock in the steam admission pipe is closed to prevent waste of gas pressure through the starter. November 21, 1907 In the operation of the starter the coil is first heated to almost a cherry red, then water is injected and in- stantly converted into steam, which, traveling through the coil, is superheated and passes in that condition into the drum. As before stated, the drum is also kept hot by the same flame that heats the coil, so that the steam has little chance to condense before it is needed by the en- gine. The steam outlet valve is placed as close to the engine as convenient, and is the only one with which the operator is for the time being concerned. Preparatory to starting, the piston of the engine has been set at the back end of the cylinder, with the crank just over the center of the impulse stroke, and the gas valve has been set DISCHARGE Jo Cott SUCTION PIPE Fig. ?.—Detail of the Water Inject'ng Pump. at the starting point. When sufficient steam has been generated the operation is as follows: The steam outlet valve is quickly opened for a short period allowing a portion of the steam to enter the combustion chamber of the engine, expand and force the piston forward on its impulse stroke with sufficient rapidity to keep the en- gine running for from 4 to 8 revolutions; in the mean- time the cylinder has drawn in its charge of gas and air and takes up its own cycle. When the steam admitted to the engine has done its work it escapes through the exhaust of the engine in the same manner as the burnt gases after the explosions. If the first start fails to es- tablish regular operation there still remains sufficient pressure in the starter to keep the engine running several more revolutions, but the lever valve must always be > 7T0\ ENGINE FROM STARTER Fig. 4.—Detail of the Steam Outlet Valve. opened when the piston is started forward on its impulse stroke. It is preferable in connecting the starter to an engine to place it so that the operator can keep one hand on the pump lever and the other on the steam outlet valve lever. He is then enabled to operate the pump with one hand and keep up the pressure of steam, while admitting it to the engine with the other, and in this way it is possible to keep an ordinary engine running for from 20 to 40 revolutions before the coil becomes too cool to gen- erate steam. Within 15 sec. after the coil of the starter is heated a pressure of 500 Ib. can be obtained, although in practice such a pressure is not necessary. The coil, which is made by the Harrisburg Pipe Bending Company, and the dome are tested to withstand a pressure of 800 Ib. The pop safety valve is set at some considerably lower pressure, usually 400 or 500 Ib., so as to guard THE IRON AGE 1451 against explosion. A high pressure is necessary to start a gas engine quickly and positively and this starter af- fords it. A great advantage over air starters is that there is no stored pressure to escape by leakage, and after trying to start the engine two or three times unsuccessfully it is not necessary to stop and pump up more pressure. The starter is ready for repeated trials if the gas is off or something wrong with the engine, which makes it neces- sary to try more than once to start it. It is also claimed that the high pressure superheated steam, as used in this device for starting the engine, has the advantage over air that it cuts and blows out the carbon and keeps the rings in the engine bright and clean. At present the starters are made in only three sizes, for 20, 20 to 35 and 35 to 50 hp., respectively. It is easily possible by enlarging the patterns of the coil and dome to make starters for any size of engine, and larger sizes will be made as soon as the demand warrants. They are adaptable to any make of The company builds upright four-cycle gas engines, from 1% to 3% hp., und horizontal two-cycle engines, from 5 to 30 hp. Both engines have been in use about five years, but have been improved upon and redesigned, and are now called the Starter Company gas engines. engine. also +e — — Recent Customs Decisions. Sheet Steel in Strips, After a litigation covering several years, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday handed down a decision in the case of the Government against Her- mann Boker & Co. of New York, regarding the classifica tion to be accorded sheet steel in strips. The merchan dise consists of cold rolled steel in coils varying from 50 to 200 ft. in length and % to 6 in. in width, and being 25-1000 in. thick or thinner. It was held to be dutiable both under the tariff act of 1894 and also under the Ding- ley law, as steel in all forms and shapes not specially pro- vided for. When the issue came before the appellate tribunal, the Government set up the contention that the strips should properly be returned for duty under the provision in the law for sheet steel in strips. The court, however, after a consideration of the arguments and the decisions of the Board of Appraisers and of the Circuit Court, finds against the Government and in favor of the claim advanced by the importer. Screw Rods, Judges Lacombe, Ward and Noyes sitting in the Court of Appeals at New York have reversed the Circuit Court in the case brought by George Nash & Co. to determine the classification of The question was whether the screw rods which are made of iron wire are dutiable at the rates for iron rods “cold drawn or pol- ished in any manner in addition to the ordinary process of hot rolling or hammering.” The merchandise in the process of cold drawing incidentally receives a_ polish. The Government insisted that on this account the articles are properly assessable at higher rates. The Court of Appeals sustains this contention, and reverses the lower tribunal, and finds in favor of the Government. screw rods. Pro Forma Invoices, A decision has been handed down by the Circuit Court of Appeals for the district of New York in the customs protest case of Muller, MacLean & Co. dealing with the question of pro forma invoices. It was held in the court below that where entry has been made on a pro forma invoice at a value that was erroneously stated too high, the duty might be assessed on the corrected value, though it appeared that the value stated in the pro forma in- voice was approved by the appraiser. The latest decision takes an opposite view of the procedure to be followed. Nickel Anodes, Hermann Boker & Co., New York, have been defeated in the Court of Appeals in an attempt to secure the re- duction of duty on nickel anodes. The lower court is affirmed in holding that the articles are taxable at 45 per cent. ad valorem as manufactures of metal rather than as nickel in bars or sheets. 1452 The Duplex Steel Making Process. A Proposed Arrangement of Plant. BY B, C. LAUTH, In view of the marked tendency toward the substitu- tion of open hearth for Bessemer rails, a patent recently granted to T. S. Blair, Jr., of the Lackawanna Steel Company, on an arrangement for a duplex steel plant will be of interest to many readers of The Iron Age. Kirst, a word as to the advantages of the duplex method over the straight open hearth plant for large tonnage, such as is required by the rail mill. The present open hearth practice has developed along the original lines laid out by Dr. Siemens and Mr. Martin, which made for quality and not for tonnage, with the result that as the requirements for output grow the open hearth plant be- comes cumbersome. It depends too much upon the indi- vidual skill of a large number of men, just as puddling, for the same reason, outgrew its usefulness. On the other hand the great tonnage made possible by the duplex method, without deterioration of the quality of steel pro- duced in the open hearth, brings it down to an operating proposition similar to the Bessemer process, where only a few really skilled men are required. It provides great fiexibility as regards the ores that ean be used. The blast furnace department may be op- erated to its own best advantage, depending upon the mineral conditions that are encountered, practically with- out regard to the succeeding steps in the operation, be- cause the converters have only to blow down the silicon and a part of the carbon to the desired point—for rail steel probably from 1 per cent. to 1.25 per cent.—to fur- nish the basic open hearth furnaces with an ideal metal for their operation to the best advantage. Imagine open hearth furnaces constantly supplied with iron devoid of silicon, of whatever carbon content they require, already at a temperature equal to that required for finishing a heat, and nothing to do but “clean up” the metal and dephosphorize. How many heats a day will they make under such conditions? Drawbacks of the Methods Siugly. In the Bessemer method the blast furnace department is constantly struggling against the natural conditions to keep the phosphorus and sulphur down within the limits that can be used at all by the steel mill, and the steel mill is constantly operating against the untoward condi- tions of many casts from the furnaces which are too high in phosphorus, or in sulphur, or both, and the ever- present devil of oxide of iron in the finished steel, making it pipe and crack and do all the other things we do not want it to do, in other words, roll red short and show the most unaccountable tendency to fail in tests and show up unexpected flaws in the finished article. There is no mystery about these if carefully traced back to their origin. The method invites them. In the open hearth method, as at present commonly practiced, the poor old blast furnace department finds another ever-present little red devil—silicon. It will not be ousted, and yet the vigilant basic open hearth man will not have it in his ‘iron. We are all familiar with the open hearth superintendent’s reasons for this. He must not have it if he is to do good work. And yet in most cases he is obliged to work up a very large amount of “off” iron, too high in eithér silicon or sulphur, because it cannot be disposed of otherwise, and so his department suffers in both tonnage (for these “ off” heats both re- quire a long time in the furnace to work down and tear the linings to pieces, often requiring many hours to get the furnace bottom in a condition fit to charge a heat upon) and in cost of operating, for the same reason. He has abnormal repairs with decreased tonnage. Advantages of the Duplex Method. In the duplex method the blast furnace superintendent can run his furnaces to the best advantage to fit the min- eral conditions. The converters are relieved of all re- sponsibility as to the points that heretofore have given the most trouble—phosphorus, sulphur and oxidation— THE IRON AGE November 21, 19U7 and the basic open hearth is relieved of all its troubles, chiefly silicon and acid slags, and has the metal delivered to it at the high temperature required for its work of purification. All of these essential features seem to have been con- sidered and provided for in Mr. Blair’s design for the combination of the best features of the Bessemer and basic open hearth practice. In the first place, to take ad- vantage of the great tonnage made possible by this meth- od, some new means of getting the blown metal from the converters to the open hearth furnaces had to be pro- vided, because the familiar way of taking the metal direct from the converters down the open hearth platform, either by means of overhead cranes or ladles on cars over the charging platform longitudinally with and in front of the open hearth furnaces, so interrupts the work on each furnace that a large part of the gain in tonnage is lost. The charging of each furnace so interrupts the operation of the other furnaces that the gain in output is insignificant. The same applies to the casting pit. The product of the furnaces, considered separately, cannot be taken care of, if they were producing what each is capable of under the new conditions, Features of the Proposed Plant, In the design presented here, a plan view of which appears in Fig. 1, several features are distinctly novel and absolutely essential to the utilization of the advantages offered by the duplex method. 1. The converters are placed at an elevation that per- mits of their discharging the blown metal into ladles on cars at the level of the open hearth charging platform, and the arrangement of tracks for these ladle cars to de- liver the blown metal from the converters to the open hearth furnaces is such that each furnace is operated quite independently of, and without interfering with, any other furnace, so that each furnace may be worked to its own full capacity. 2. The same conception, that of making each furnace unit completely independent of every other, is carried out in the casting pit. The pouring platforms extend coincidently with the spaces between the furnaces and transversely of the pit, with branch tracks for the mold- carrying cars, leading to a track which will take them to the ingot strippers or mold yard. By this arrange- ment the product of each furnace may be handled with- out regard to the work of any other furnace, thus en- abling unhampered disposition to be made of the product of all the furnaces, however great it may be. 3. The open hearth furnace employed is especially designed to fit the conditions: Great tonnage, with all the metal of the charge delivered to the furnace molten and at a high temperature, free from silicon, and having the desired carbon content to provide the necessary “boil” for the operation of dephosphorizing and clean- ing the bath of oxides. The furnace is very long in the hearth—60 ft. between ports—with a bridge wall, chilled as shown in Fig. 2, in the middle of it, dividing it into two hearths 30 ft. long each, so that two 60-ton heats will be finished with the same labor, and approximately the same fuel, as is required for one 60-ton heat in the customary operation. This dividing of the 120-ton hearth area is done for the purpose of reducing the cost of installation of machinery to handle the product and to take advantage of the fuel economy in very long hearths, The two baths of metal will be treated as one heat, charged and tapped practically simultaneously. 4. The storage and delivery to the open hearth fur- naces of all materials other than iron provides economi- cal and prompt handling. All refractories and supplies of every sort are stored at one end of the open hearth building, and in such position as to provide a bottom house for the converters, and thence delivered by means of a belt conveyor to small bins at the back of the charg- ing platform, thus keeping all such supplies off the charging platform, but in constant supply at the fur- naces, and leaving the floor in front of the furnaces clear of everything but the furnace tools. Experimental 50-ton heats have been made in 1% hr. Allowing 4 hr. per heat, for bottom delays, &c., each of the furnaces will produce 720 tons per 24 hr., and they will probably actually produce at least eight heats a day, 1453 AGE THE IRON / November 21, 190 ‘33UQ YJIBOH UedQg YoVg Jo Uolju10dO JUIpUedepuL sINIVg 0} SB OS paSuBAIy ‘SY¥IOM [09JS xoldnq 103 ueg pesodo1g—'| UUVA—NIVHL 1OW LOONI GOUVYA JOVYOLS CGIOW S3INddNS AYOLOVHIIY GNY NOUS | wOdLVId BOVNENA INZAO WO1LL08 SNVd NIONIUD | } a } 4 + 1) tt epig + , pos < 3 T ¥ 4 LSIOH WOABANOOD 1138 \ li ‘ + | | AMOLVYOBYI _— ‘ J \ +—+# ; w+ \ ] emi as! Lid id aSINVONVA PF IWC r | INOLSIWID ‘3LIGINE * i a0 4 ; sNIe 30V | ‘ me | {| ™ _ \ | } | + T = ~ ma —— = — an ee , “ fey td SS ——— = — - ; ZeT~ \ i \ m \ | a so] | ( m2 . 27 a | ) @4 yy a SYZ9NdGOud SYD 4 2 ; | 4} \ | canal | 4vAa12 WOO + S32 wos uaXIW NOL 00€ | | SdWNd 3DIAUIS Qnyv O334 sz N08 id BUNSSIUG ; HLINVaH N3e + \ \ uvVdSHOnts VA\'241N0700 AS. BNOM te 314 39144 ISNOH I4dieas ti 2148344 WOO 4a71I08 1454 THE or 960 tons. But assuming the former figure, we have a plant something like this: Two 20-ton converters, with a third converter for accidents and repairs if you wish. At 15-min. 8 heats 160 tons an hour 3840 tons a day 99,840 tons a month capacity. Four open hearth furnaces at 120 tons a heat (divided into two 60-ton heats) at 6 heats a day = 2880 tons a day = 86,400 tons a month—say, 80,000 tons a month. Such a plant will approximately, $1,500,000. An open hearth plant built on the present lines, to pro- duce this tonnage, will cost approximately $5,000,000 and will cost. fully twice as much per ton as the above to operate. Again, to increase the capacity of this plant 50 per cent., to, say, 120,000 tons per month, will cost only two more open hearth furnaces, and their equipment of ma- chinery and building, about $400,000, the converters being easily capable of furnishing the blown metal for the ad- ditional requirement. Under this arrangement no spare open hearth fur- naces are required for repairs if the Blair patent inde- structible port is used, as shown on the left of Fig. 2, a description of which was given in The Iron Age of No- vember 7, 1907. This has been proved out at the Lacka- cycles cost, om & + < <) ‘Y 4 K jeecauececaasens: ey | = sey = IRON AGE November 21, 1907 one exception this is the only type in which large units are being built in this country to-day. The gas engines built by the Wisconsin Engine Com- pany bear some of the distinctive features of its large Corliss engines, and utilize in design most of the Sargent patents. The design is remarkably simple and embodies features which are of considerable interest to the engi- neer and power user, as follows: There is but one poppet valve for each explosion chamber, and as this is located on the bottom of the cylinder, the cumbersome and un- sightly air and gas pipes, as well as the stairs, galleries and railings found on most horizontal tandem engines, are entirely eliminated ; provision is made for preventing the dangerous pressures caused by possible pre-ignitions, and the engines are started automatically. Tests of even small Sargent engines show a heat consumption of less than 9000 B.t.u. per brake horsepower hour. This company has recently shipped some large steam engines to such concerns as the Lllinois Steel Company, Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, Packard Motor Car Company, American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Amos- keag Mfg. Company, New Hampshire Spinning Mills, National Tube Company, City of Milwaukee, Carnegie Fig. 2.—Elevation, Partly in Section, of Open Hearth Furnace with Bridge Wall in the Middle, Also with Blair Indestructible Port. wanna Steel Company’s Buffalo works, and no open hearth furnace of any type whatever need go out for a general repair again if this port construction is used. A roof, back or front wall can be replaced any Sunday when the furnace flues are being burned out. About once a year the checkers will have to be replaced, which requires about 48 hr., but if advantage is taken of the Sunday burning out, only about 36 hr. of steel producing time of the furnace is actually lost, once a year. _—___~4-+ Another Manufacturer of Large Gas Engines. As an indication of the rapid development in the man- ufacture of large gas engines, it is of interest to note that another manufacturer of large Corliss steam engines has entered the gas engine field and is bidding strongly for engines in medium and large sizes. The Wisconsin Engine Company, Corliss, Wis., which has built some very large and successful steam engines, is building gas engines for all services in sizes from 400 to 5000 hp. The engines utilize natural gas, producer gas, coke oven gas or blast furnace gas in the Otto cycle (4-cycle), and are of the horizontal tandem and twin tandem double acting type. This company controls the Sargent patents on internal combustion engines, and has employed as the engineer of its gas engine department Charles E. Sargent, who in 1898 designed the first horizontal tandem double acting gas engine. This was a wide departure from the accepted practice of those days, when the most promi- nent manufacturers of gas engines declared such a type was impracticable and doomed to failure. The largest and most successful gas engines, however, are of the hor- izontal twin tandem double acting 4-cycle type, and with Steel Company, American Woolen Company, United States Envelope Company, and Carnegie Natural Gas Company, and has built up an exceptional reputation for shipping on time. It promises to do as well on gas engine orders. —_o--- oe ____—___ The World’s Petroleum Production. The following table, taken from an advance chapter from ‘“‘ Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1906,” on the production of petroleum in 1906, by W. T. Griswold, of the United States Geological Survey, gives the figures of the world’s production of crude petroleum for the last three years: World’s Production of Crude Petroleum, 1904-1906. 1904. 1905. 1906. Country. Barrels. Barrels. Barrels. CEE TT RGRE, 0's i cveneus 117,080,960 134,717,580 126,493,936 Russia 78,536,655 54,960,270 59,043,829 Sumatra, Javaand Borneo’ 6,316,169 7,334,310 7,399,024 Galicia 5,947,383 5,765,317 5,467,967 Roumania 3,599,026 4,420,987 6,378,184 India 3,385,468 4,137,098 4,015,903 Japan 1,418,767 1,341,157 *1,341,157 Canada 552,575 634,095 569,753 Germany 637,431 560,963 579,101 49,524 37,720 42,419 25,476 44,027 *50,000 40,000 *30,000 *30,000 217,589,434 211,411,173 Italy All GERGTG.. ccc sce Totals 213,983,524 * Dstimated. The slight decrease in production noted in 1905 as against 1904 is shown also in 1906 as against 1905. This is due in 1906 chiefly to the decrease in output in the United States. November 21, 1907 THE A New Ferracute Redrawing Press. A horizontal double ended screw press adapted for redrawing sheet metal tubes and shells from 1 to 6 in. diameter and 18 in. deep, designed by Oberlin Smith and built by the Ferracute Machine Company, Bridgeton, N. J., is shown in the accompanying illustration. By using the automatically swinging punch shown at the left end of the press, a depth of 24 in. can be obtained. The double ended construction allows the return stroke to be utilized, giving double the capacity at a slightly in creased outlay, by providing an operator at each end. A special feature of this press is the gravity feed afforded through the inclined trough near the right of the machine. This trough is adjustable sidewise to suit work of various lengths and a slight rotation in a ver- tical plane adapts it for different diameters of shells. An adjustable block accurately gauges the position of the shell, thereby preventing uneven drawing. It is provided with an automatic “let off” device for delivering the lower shell in the feeder to the punch at the proper time. The clutch shaft contains two friction clutches, one for each direction, giving positive control when operating IRON AGE 1455 No. D375, is 16 ft. long, 6% ft. weighs about 15,000 Ib. wide, 4 ft. high, and It was built for the French Goy- ernment for drawing heavy cartridge shells for cannon. Included in the order were three upright crank presses with dial feeds for the earlier operations upon the shells. ‘icipanaticmasiadlibillMaaiaiaiciiaes The Steel Corporation’s Stock Exchange Statement. The United States Steel Corporation in its application to the New York Stock Exchange for the listing of $30,- 000,000 additional sinking fund gold bonds, given in pay- ment forthe 252,000 shares of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company common stock, recently purchased by the corporation, states that in addition to the above 252,000 shares of the 'Tennessee Company stock purchased it had acquired to November 11, 10,729.6 shares of addi- tional common stock, full paid subscription receipts for 2017.5 shares of common stock and 20 per cent. paid sub- scription receipts for 5249.25 common shares. The balance sheet of the Steel Corporation as of June 30 last is submitted, from which the following statement of surplus is taken: Capital surplus provided in organization, $25,000,- A Double-End Screw Press Designed and Built by the Ferracute Machine Company, Bridgeton, N. J. either way. The shifter rod carries adjustable collars or stops by which the length of stroke is regulated. ~ The press is of simple design, consisting in the main of massive castings connected by 5-in. steel rods which take the tensile stresses, and at the same time act as slide bearings for the cross heads, guiding the screw and preventing all lateral motion. This design allows the construction of presses of different lengths to suit work of greater or less depth. The steel screw is 6% in, in diameter, and is driven by a phosphor bronze nut set in the center of the main gear. The friction of the thrust is reduced by roller bearings. Oil cups are provided on the slides and shaft journals and the gears are protected by sheet metal guards. The press can be run continuously or intermittently as desired, the operator being able to stop or start the press at any portion of the stroke by means of the shifter. A pressure of 100 tons can be exerted when the press is driven at a speed of 700 rev. per min. of the ¢<lutch shaft, but, for continuous work, 600 revolutions will be sufficient; at this speed the screw has a horizon- tal motion of 15 ft. per minute. The company also builds an upright screw press for similar work, but which does not have the advantages of the double end and gravity feed features. It con- tains, however, a device for quick return of the screw which effects considerable saving in time. The horizon- tal machine can be built single ended if a large output is not essential. ‘The press illustrated is designated as 000; balance of surplus accumulated by all companies from April 1, 1901, to June 30, 1907, $61,738,311; total surplus exclusive of subsidiary companies’ inter-company profits in inventories, $86,738,312; undivided surplus of subsidiary companies, representing profits accrued on sales of materials and products to other subsidiary com- panies, on hand in latter’s inventory, $17,049,442; total surplus, $103,787,754. The income account of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company for the nine months to September 30 last follows: Net earnings from operations after deduct- ing all charges for current repairs and maintenance, $2,266,510; other income, $65,794; total income, $2,332,- 304; less interest on bonded debt, dividends on guaran- teed securities and other charges, $602,283; net profits, $1,730,021; less depreciation, $293,467; interest on com- mon stock subscription payments, $57,362; net income, $856,023. ——__.¢--—_—_—__ Russia’s vast annual financial requirements are shown in the Government budget presented last week to the new Duma. The total expenditure for the empire for next year is placed at $1,257,500,000, and the ordinary re- ceipts at $1,159,000,000. The acknowledged deficit is $94,- 500,000. The increase over last year for the army and navy is set down at $28,500,000, for railroads $5,000,000, for education $3,500,000, for agriculture $6,000,000, for postal communication $1,500,000, for the public debt $7,000,000 and for other purposes $6,000,000. 1456 The Excelsior Friction Driven 15-in. Drill. The manner of obtaining speed variation is the feat- ure of principal interest in the Excelsior sensitive drill herewith illustrated and made