The Iron Age 1909-03-04: Vol 83 Iss 9

THE IRON AGE Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. 14-16 Park Place, New York. Vol. 83: No. 9. New York, Thursday, March 4, 1909. SBC? 9 ate, ingtgtieg Postage. Reading Matter Contents...... .-page 768}, a as ————_——— Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘ 294 Classified List of Advertisers ” 283 Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 802 REED F. BLAIR & CO. PRICK BUILDING, PITTSBURG, PA. STANDARD CONNELSVILLE COKE vy The Shooter’s Comfort POUNDRY PURNACE CRUSHED was the prominent thought of the in- ventor of the Remington Autoloading Shotgun. A large steel spring con- sumes the recoil and prevents bruised shoulders. A solid steel breech is absolute protection to the face. In addition this modern and perfected wild fowl gun is a repeater of five shots. which loads itself. yen don't carry “the modern gun for the modern hunter,"" send for The original and only Genuine *‘STILLSON WRENCH ”’ fs manufactured by WALWORTH } MFG. CO., Besten, U. S. A. Syrnseme r registered Trade-Mark catalogue and particulars. Shooters a want it. List price $10. THE BRISTOL COMPANY Remington Arms Company MANUFACTURERS OF Ilion, N. Y¥. The Wm. H. Bristol Electric Agency, 318 Broadway, New York Pyrometers For High Temperatares THE BRISTOL CO Cee WATER TUBE G%e Babcock @ Wilcox Co., BOILERS See page 61 - ee York SASH CORD ; AND ALL KINDS OF BRAIDED CORD ia saat A Most Difficult Problem Boston, Mass. To manufacture horseshoe nails stiff enough to drive into the TURNBUCKLES hardest hoof without crimping—Flexible enough to clinch without breaking—Tough and strong enough to hold the shoe under the ee tremendous strains and wear in service. BASIC PIG. || THECAPEWELLHORSENAIL COMPANY omental Hartford, Conn., U. S. A. Pilling & Crane . moore ino York. The Largest Manufacturers of Horseshoe Nails in the World TAPES OFKAIN RULES MADE IN AMERICA and THE BEST IN THE WORLD THE LUFKIN RULE CO., Saginaw, Mich., U.S.A. New York London, Eng. ‘Wind isor, Can. JENKINS ’96 PACKING will pack the most uneven surface, making absolutely leak- less, durable joints. The pressure and heat cause the pack- ing to vulcanize, fill up inequalities of surface and afford a perfect fit. Itis easily and quickly applied in either hot or cold joints. The Genuine bears our Trade Mark. JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago “Swedoh” Cold Rolled Steel ssuec n Drawing «Stamping THE AMERICAN TUBE & STAMPING COMPANY SEB (Water and Rail Delivery) BarpesPort, Corn. PAGE MAGNOLIA ,,%éron METAL The Standard Babbitt of the World We manufacture everything ip the Babbitt Line. MAGNOLIA METAL CO. New York: s15 Bank St. Chicago: Fisner Building. Montreai: 31 St. Nicholas St THE SERVICE OF MF 32 Pounds Coating ROOFING TIN measured by time, protection and satisfac- AMERICAN SHEET AND TIN PLATE COMPANY Frick Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. See our ad on page 17 BRASS}"*,,. COPPER} *. GERMAN (steer SILVER y WIRE LOW BRASS, SHEET BRONZE, SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER TUBING, BRAZED BRASS AND BRONZE TUBING: : +: « + ee Waterbury Brass Co. WATERBURY, CONN. 99 John St., New York. Providence, R. lt. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Phosphor and Deoxidized Bronze Composition, Yellow Brass and Alumi- num Castings, large and small The highest standard of quality is attained and maintained in FOLLANSBEE STEEL SHEETS FOR DEEP STAMPING DRAWING AND SPINNING ENAMELING NICKELING FURNITURE D AUTOMOBILE ; SHEETS Bright Charcoal Tin Plate OF THE Highest Grade MADE BY FOLLANSBEE BROTHERS COMPANY PITTSBURGH Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co. La Salle, Illinois SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order, Rolled Battery Plates Selected Plates for Etchers and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY — (GERMAN SILVER « In Sheet, Wire, Rods, Blanks and Shells | NICKEL ANODES BRASS, BRONZE, COPPER in all forms | \. THE SEYMOUR MFG. CO., Seymour, Conn. fi HENDRICKS BROTHERS Manufacturers of Sheetand Bar Copper, Copper Fire Box Plates and Staybolts, Wire and Braziers Rivets Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block, Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, Bismuth, Nickel, etc. 49 CLIFF STREET - “ NEW YORK ™”* The Plume & Atwood Mfg, Co. Manufacturers of Sheet and Roll Brass, Wire, Rods, German Sliver and Brass Goods In great variety Rolling Mill Thomaston, Conn, Factories Waterbury, Conn. Branch Offices Chicago St. Leuis and San Francisco ANTIMONY ‘*A. S. P.’* Brand (English Star) C. W. Leavitt 2 Co., Agents New York New York SCOVILL MFG. CO. Manufacturers 0: BRASS, GERMAN SILVER, Sheets, mc ~ aang and Brass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp dealt. Special Brass Goods to Order Factories WATERBURY, CONN. pots ; NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON HenrySouther Engineering Co. HARTFORD CONN. Consulting Chemists, Metallur- gists and Analysts. Complete Physica! Testing Laboratory, Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. Arthur T. Rutter & Go, 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube.. Copper and Brasa Rod. “Search-Light”’ GAS Bicycle Lanterns Send for Circulars and Electrotypes. The BRIDGEPORT BRASS Co. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Postal Telegraph Building, Broadway and Murray Street, NEW YORK. ~ PHOSPHOR-BRONZE GENMIAN SILVER THE RIVERSIDE METAL CO. RIVERSIDE, N. J. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, March 4, 1909. WESTINGHOUSE GAS ENGINES AT GARY. Mechanical and Operative Features of the No. 3 Gas Driven Blowing Plant of the Indiana Steel Company. The adoption of gas engines at the Gary works of the Indiana Steel Company for the furnace blowing and electric generating plants was the first real recognition of the gas prime mover in American steel manufacture. Except in Germany, where success has been so con- spicuous, the only forerunners in America are the gas power plant of the Lackawanna Steel Company, Buffalo, and the more or less experimental application by the United States Steel Corporation in the vicinity of Pitts- burgh and Chicago. The No, 3 Gas Blowing House, The first of the three gas power houses placed in commission is typical of the general construction of the Nos. 1 and 2 blowing houses, which are to follow. The pressed air mains. Fig. 1 shows a general view in the blowing house, taken from the south end. The building is laid out with 26 bays, 23 ft. wide, aggregating 598 ft. long and 104 ft. wide. All the units are spaced 46 ft. centers, including two steam blowers, a standard dimen- sion carried out in the other gas power houses also. Fol- lowing are other of the more important dimensions: Data on No. 3 Blowing House. NO oe 5k os 6 eek Uo an GNP H60 00s be cep pece 28 ft. a ee SGT ils ioe sc cacehe tee ciceecece 12 ft. BE OO So ok oie ic iS cen e cee et sccweccccccns 26 ft. Cylinders, center line to center line ‘ Length of blowing unit over all Width at coriter Of GOAT - CARE. i... ccc ccc cect cece 5 Kt Hight at top of spring cages 14 ft. 10 in. Elevation at center line of engine Fig, 1.—Intcrior of the No, 3 Blowing House at the Indiana Steel Company’s Gary Works, Looking North, systems of blast control, air starting, ignition, water sup- ply, lubrication and organization of operatives will be the same as contemplated for the remaining plants. This No. 3 blowing house is located at the extreme northern end of the power property next to the lake front, adja- cent to the No. 11 and No.-12 furnaces, which are in operation, and the primary washers. The group of fur- naces, Nos. 9 to'12, served by the No. 3 blowing house, will also be duplicated for the first, second and fourth groups now under erection or contemplated, Nos. 5 to 8 served by No. 2 blowing house and Nos. 1 to 4 by No. 1 blowing house, these being provided for at the southern end of the property. Thus there are three independent groups which will be connected only by a 5-ft. gas main extending between the various blower houses and op- erating somewhat as an emergency tie line. The air blast lines for each group are not interconnected. In operating functions these groups are therefore practical- ly self-contained, except for the low service water sup- ply, and the air compressing plant through which the gas engines are started; this is located at a central point in the electric station, as later noted. The general assembly drawing, Fig. 2, shows in plan and elevation one of the eight gas blowing units, to- gether with air blast, water, gas, air, exhaust and com- Tee OE GIN, ba nn 60°} vss le tila gees dé ob 6200 0% 24 ft. Size of cylinders, diameter Size of cylinders, stroke Main bearings Crank pins Piping—Alr and gas at inlet Air leaders Pe MOOS. oc on oa de ddd crak oe bmke's Gas supply leader SE: WORE aire cc Dalene dae diode. 0 6 eke eis SIE, Can 60 5 Goins REA Sret 04 ¥ic 0.088 ba8 a 2 TEENS CCC ack ce oC NER es Ove Oh ace es.cge 2 Water main Compressed air main... ...ccccsececdvedeccee - 30 in. iad a 3'6 Ck6 CON ae co 0 0 Oe mee oes eee 12% x 20% ft. BE NEN WOON GiG de 6 ole a 0c 00,0 cnn 0.0 0.0.0,05 6 0 Gbetas 6 Oe ae Depth of water jacket Ratio crank to connecting rod Main shaft..... 21% in. and 34 in. max. diam, he ben a bik AM ns one kn ek k WW hse ee 675 ft. per min. Compression per square inch, maximum Rating of unit, free air per min.................33,000 cu. ft. Rating of unit, maximum speed 75 rev. per min. Rating of unit, delivery pressure Maximum rating (28,000 cu. ft.)........ceeeecceseccsre 30 Ib, Corresponding engine capacity (rated max.) ..3400 to 3900 i.h.p. As steam reserve is a necessity for starting the fur- naces there is a plant of 16 water tube boilers for each group of furnaces, which supplies steam to a pair of steam blowing engines in the No. 83 blowing house; a 54 x 30 in. 16 x 17 in. THE IRON AGE March ' Bdid Nivuc + ‘J SNOILVONNOd BNIDNS “ w3L3WOSYD WOUs = 9 MIvIC_MBLVM 43981 \__99 7 —yaiww —1374N0O €- N3BM198 8. syoeens wuOsiVc, \ \ ’ --—-- awasve~— — NORA SL¥M-9 7 ’ = [ Drier tates : ’ 4 O4iv bBLVM LBUNO 8 Tr ws Poste noosa besten we need veka AWA BLM oq: 0 —_—— ' “Fe mnie Mis = ie Ea — ay 4 WeOJLVe epee hb we” tL ee FE r a Oi ae ALIOWdVO 14719 G0e “Vid 06 WOOTEAE MOF Pi aaa isndixa 9 = = ye pee Seay gegen ggeraagy’ AG DNOT 09+ NIVW~BIY yi por ee > = \_f"Bdid 437N1 Iv 28 A ” 4 “ : Lee xr id OnlLu@ae uly See e TUNNEL 4 | 4 nel a / EXH <7 o< Ni HPS 3 fin aaah maim Tas —_ =. — XHAU3T SNIVW isvis 9 ¢ w ATER LOUVRES 22 AIR INLET > TERIVALVE | wi i LET MANIFOLD |} IN { a 4 eects ING VALVE | 30 Nemapiam S 30° ARTING BLOW PIPE FROM } GASOMETER A BWATER OUTLET oe t 52) ii. TLE 4 atl Pt u 01S ° o ‘ cence cetttiene pela <aeineeensctsnnin= nae: eHaan is, Ainl8 8 ot! Bitaia Ps ie “ae fa . 4 u ts Ys . eS SS a | iif S | ® OF BUILDING TRAP WITH WATER ——— ” . AT SOUTH SIDE ‘ g J H | Z 1 § He ° ne a secant taeda hs Os aa a> = > ojte-% \ anutiiiede ees —Plan and Elevations of Qne Complete Blowing Unit, Showing Arrangement of the Piping. oi.” - 3 ~— 97-07%— OVERALL LENGTH-SF-ENGINE — 9 Fig. 2. Tbs Ni MG Oy W3SHM Ald . iy tT —I0°1'9 01 1334-0+2%14 to) 1 Tes , 3 6 BLAST MAINS 5 fe hy f | i : KX id L819 92 | | _. ye FO_.v_aate~-—~ on AWAVONIGVOINN 30 30vs —- ZAIWA /ONIGVOINN £ | | \ ‘ “ x IN. BASEMENT CRANE GIRDER LA “ee, ' . 7 4 o TER VALVE 8% ” 12 bwor EMERGENCY RELIEF VALVE iW BASEMENT = 2°” J Q a =< > b QD a NORTH END March 4, 1909 THE IRON AGE : 715 pair of 2000-kw. steam turbines in the electric house; a steam turbine driven pump in the pump house; fire pumps, hydraulic pumps and steam for miscellaneous purposes around the plant, such as steam coils for oil settling tanks and for preventing the holder, primary washers and gas valves in the various distributing lines from freezing during cold weather. This boiler house is fitted for burning blast furnace gas. Thus it will be seen that the steam power which is necessary to start a group of furnaces, also provides reserve power at essen- tial points, which provides the necessary security of op- eration. This same steam reserve will be provided in each of the blowing houses to be built, as well as the electric houses, so that nothing short of a general dis- ablement will result in the stoppage of blast at the fur- nace tuyeres. Distribution of Capacity. The eight gas blowing units aggregate in capacity 265,000 cu. ft. of free air per minute, and the two steam burdens have assumed their normal condition), will develop 66,000 ih.p. in gas engines well loaded, which is more than sufficient to operate the blowing house and half of the electric house. Air Blast Operations, The normal blast pressure for which this plant was designed is 18 lb. per square inch. Occasional increase in pressure to 25 or 30 Ib. maximum is provided for in case the furnace burdens show a tendency to mass. At 1S lb. pressure the work required to compress 33.000 cu. ft. of free air per minute is 2000 ih.p. Assuming a ratio of SO per cent. between the indicator cards obtained from the air and gas cylinders, this would be equivalent to 2500 i.h.p. in the gas engines. At the maximum rate of work 28,000 cu. ft. of free air per minute compressed to 30 Ib. pressure would correspondingly require about 2500 air horsepower or 3000 i.h.p. in the engine cylinders. In fact, one of these Gary units was tested at air de- livery pressures as high as 59 Ib. for some hours. A Fig. 3.—View Between the Two Engines of One Blowing Unit. units 45,000 cu. ft. The layout contemplates that for cach pair of furnaces three gas units will be required with a spare, the steam unit being held entirely in re- serve. These 450-ton furnaces each require 44,000 cu. ft. of blast per minute. As each blowing unit supplies 33,000 eu. ft. of free air per minute, the proportion of capacity will be evident. For the returning gas a clean- ing plant capable of handling nearly 176,000 cu. ft. per minute is required. Here it is to be noted that the gas for the hot blast and steam boiler plant is only partially cleaned in the dust catchers and primary washers, which removes the greater part of the heavier foreign matter. It is estimated that about 30 per cent. of the blast furnace gas produced is required in the stoves, leaving 70 per cent. available for outside purposes, or deducting 10 per cent. for boilers and loss in washing, somewhat over €0 per cent. for gas power. Consequently the sec- ondary cleaning plant of tower and Thiesen washers needs to take care of only about 105,000 cu. ft. per minute. Kight units are provided of 15,000 cu, ft. each. which leaves ene unit for reserve. This amount of puri- fied gas, which now averages. about 95 B.t.u. per cubic foot, and will approximate 90 B.t.u,: (after the furnace normal day’s run shows an average of about 18 Ib. blast pressure, with an occasional increase to 25 for a period of, perhaps, one-half hour, and also an hourly drop to about 5 Ib., occasioned by changing over the stoves or by casting. Blast mains are in duplicate, each separately con- rected to the two air tubs and controlled by individual valyes, During a cast, or when changing over the stoves, it is necessary to drop the pressure from 5 to 10 Ib. This duplication, is. necessary, as one furnace may re- quire full blast pressure, while the other is casting on reduced pressure, To facilitate these operations a 12-in. snorter pipe, J, Fig. 2. is employed to relieve the pressure on signal from the furnaces. Thus it may be that one air tub of a unit is discharging at full pressure on the upper blast main, while the other is doing comparatively little work at reduced pressure on the lower main. All the other valve operations are controlled at the furnaces. With a pair of furnaces working at full blast and three blowing units supplyirg them there would be a total period of from a quarter to a half hour once in 5 hr. when reduced pressure is necessary, which totals about 2% hr. a day, or only 10 per cent. of the time. This Oe a eee erecta 716 duplication of control valves is evidently necessary to “straddle” the load, and a twin engine works out very satisfactorily in this respect. Small variations in pres- sure of 1 to 2 lb. may .be obtained by an unloading valve, K, Fig. 2, which simply by-passes one of the air valves on the discharge of the compressor, thus reducing its capacity proportionately. The Blowing Unit. As the details of construction of the Westinghouse horizontal double acting gas engine were described in The Iron Age, April 30, 1908, it is only necessary to re- view here certain of the essential features, which have the most important bearing on the successful operation of the plant as a whole. The general disposition of parts is shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 3 is a view taken in between the cylinders of the engine. i Oy ry AIR JWECK VALVE SS Fig. 4.—-Cross Section of an Engine Through the Valve Centers. These large units are set down to the floor level with openings 17 ft. wide between supporting piers to provide access to the exhaust valves. This works out quite favorably, giving a depressed floor between the two sides 5 ft. below the main floor, with galleries running along the cylinders at the floor level, as shown in Fig. 3. Here is ample space for working at the lower parts of the engine and handling them by the traveling crane, avoiding entirely the bad feature of an exhaust valve pit, which was encountered in early attempts to locate the engine at the floor level. Underneath this depressed floor, which is of steel plate, runs the exhaust line. The engine itself is in all respects identical with the build- er’s standard design for a 2000-kw. electric unit with four-stroke cycle double acting engine. : Of the various materials entering into the construc- tion of these blowing units, the most important are as follows: Air furnace iron is used for cylinders, heads, pistons, main frame, air tubs, flywheel, inlet and exhaust valves, cams and levers, &c. This iron has 50 per cent. greater tensile strength and is much finer grained than cupola THE IRON AGE March 4, 1909 iron, making it especially suitable for engine cylinders. Cast steel is employed for crank disks, crossheads and air tub pistons. Forged steel is employed for shaft, piston rods, aid tub rods, connecting rods, crosshead pins, lay shaft and distance rods. The rods are forged down from the piston hub at the center and later bored out for the water duct, which affords ample opportunity for discovering internal faults, piping, &c. The lay shaft is on the outside supported by pedestal bearings independent of the engine. This arrangement avoids the use of a spiral gear drive for the lay shaft, which, instead, is driven by spur and bevel gears, each provided with a hunting tooth to equalize the wear and practically eliminate back lash. Both inlet and exhaust valves are driven from a single eccentric, a, Fig. 4, which simplifies considerably both the valve gear and valve setting. The rolling cam motion employed for lifting the valves, relieves these eccentrics of the greater part of the work. Resembling a toggle motion, they exert great effort at the moment of opening, followed by rapid lift and easy seating. The pressure required to lift one of these exhaust valves at the moment of release may be as high as 2% tons. This gear also permits a valve setting in which exhaust and inlet periods overlap, which makes possible a more perfect cylinder filling than would otherwise be possible, and also a certain amount of scavenging due to the inertia 6f the incoming and outgoing col- umns of gases. An important feature is that the piston rods are interchangeable, end for end, and if necessary may be transferred from one engine to another. -The pistons are se- cured by external muts forced up and turned off flush with the a face. The piston, Fig. 5, is cast in le piece, symmetrical in ‘section about both axes, and without. chaplets,”plugs or internal ribs. The core is-supported. from inside the opening, as shown.’ This construction places the inner wallor hub of the piston under direct compression, relieving the bending strains on the rod considerably. These rods are not cambered or otherwise compensated for deflection, which is bare- ly discernible; and just suffices to keep the packing’ rings free. All rod packings are of the: quadrant metallic ring type, not water cooled, but lubricated from the force feed pumps. Air and gas piping are entirely separate from the cylinder body (see Fig. 2), ap- proaching the valve chamber at the top from opposite sides, so that the mix- ing of gas and air is not until the inlet valve is reached. The cylinders, Fig. 6, are built in two parts, linked together at the center, but cast with heads at the bottom of the mold to obtain the most homogeneous metal at this point where most needed. Furthermore, this design permits of the separation of the jacket and cylinder walls, which avoids shrinkage strains and the effects of differential expansion in the two walls, which are at different temperatures. Although Fig. 4: shows solid, cylinder and jacket walls are cut apart at all openings (b) and bushed. Fully one-third of the cylinder jacket is removable, so that easy access can be had to the remotest jacket spaces. A mud ring (c) is provided at the bottom of each cylinder exhaust jacket, which may be quickly slipped off without disturbing the exhaust valve cage, thus opening the entire jacket space for cleaning with a hose. Cooling System, Cooling water is provided at a pressure of about 35 lb. for all the parts from a 16-in. main running the length of the building. A single valve, W, Fig. 2, controls each side of the engine, and plug valves in each water circuit are provided, so that the rate of flow, once set, need not be changed. These separate circuits serve all the im- portant parts, each having a visible overflow, so that the quantity and temperature of the jacket water can March 4, 1909 be determined at any time. Each exhaust valve circuit has a separate overflow. Being insignificant in amount, the water is wasted, but other circuits are arranged in series so far as possible. Cylinder jacket water enters first through the exhaust cover chambers, escaping into the cylinder at the bottom, just under the exhaust port —the hottest part—ascending around the cylinder jacket to the top, where it overflows, thus always keeping the jacket full. To further economize water the pistons and heads are in series on the counter-current principle. After passing the front and rear heads of the forward cylinder in series, the warm water enters the piston rod at the middle cross head, thence through the piston and out at the front end. In all cases water enters at the bottom and overflows at the top of the chamber to be cooled, so as to always keep the parts full. This series system provides a fairly even temperature at all four packing glands, which would be impossible if both pistons were in series, one hot and the other cold. Tele- scopic supply pipes are used instead of knuckle joints, which are difficult to keep tight in case of water carry- Fig. 5.—A 42-In. One-Piece Gas Engine Piston. ing silt or other foreign matter. This is extremely im- portant, as many lubricating oils show a tendency to emulsify when agitated with escaping water, which not only clogs the system, but occasions a considerable waste of lubricant in the settling tanks. The four individual exhausts for each cylinder enter a 80-in. exhaust manifold (one for each side), which communicates with an § x 10 ft. brick tunnel running the length of the building and discharging into a 100-ft. stack at either end. All exhaust water from the engine drains into the exhaust tunnel, and its presence serves not only to cool the exhaust gases, but also to reduce their volume and consequently the back pressure on the engine. The resulting vapor incidentally forms an ef- fective muffler. Deflecting nozzles, C, Fig. 2, are pro- vided at each entrance to the manifold to direct the ex- haust gases and reduce the resistance of exit. For sealing each of these manifolds while men are working on the engines there is a dip at D, which may be filled with water and thus operate as a gas tight valve. Drain valve M controls this seal, also seal O for jacket overfiow. During cold weather these engine exhausts are run dry to utilize the heat for warming the building. Gas and Air Supply. Along the west wall of the building extends a 7%4-ft. steel gas main, resting on structural wall brackets and com- municating to each blowing unit through a 24-in. supply pipe, with gate valve B and pressure regulating butter- fly valve, E, Fig. 2. The latter is required to reduce the pressure of the gas delivered to the engine exactly to atmosphere, so that air and gas may be drawn into the engine always at the same pressure, and hence have the THE IRON AGE 717 Fig. 6.--A Complete Cylinder Assembled. same proportion, as determined by the respective inlet valve settings. This butterfly valve operates automatic- ally from a small gasometer, F, shown at the rear of the engine (also in Fig. 7) which communicates with the en- gine side of the butterfly. This again eliminates the necessity of hand control during operation. Similar but- terfly valves, located at the entrance of each inlet valve, enable the operator to set the proportion of gas and air at any desired point, depending upon the richness of the gas to obtain a most efficient mixture. This he is able to do by the sound of the exhaust and by noting the point of maximum lift of the governor. An especially neat feature is the method of conveying air to the engines. A duct or riser is built into the engine room wall opposite each line of cylinders. Open louvres at the top, protected by wire screens, give free access to outside air, Governing. Speed control is accomplished by a relay type oil pres- sure governor, the actual moving of the large valves be- ing done by an oil pressure cylinder working under a pressure of 50 to 60 lb. from a plunger pump driven from the engine lay shaft. Should the pump. fail, ‘a small gravity accumulator serves to maintain pressure Fig. 7.—Gasometer Pressure Regulator for Operating a Butterfly Valve in the Gas Inlet. 718 until reserve valves can be opened. A centrifugal safety stop device is provided at the rim of the.fiywheel, which trips the main igniter switch at a predetermined “over- speed. Even with the governor out of order the engine may be kept in service with the mixing. yalyes wide open and regulated by a man at the main throttle, Any ten- dency to racing could then be corrected by holding down the gas regulator red, F, Fig. 2, which. is close to the main throttle, as also shown in Fig. 3. «7. Compressed Air System, The compressors, which ‘are.in the electric house, are 14 x 18 x 12 in., two-stage machines geared to 50-hp. motors, and each provided with automatic valyes unload- ing at 200-lb. pressure. The compressed air is supplied through a single 30-in. lap welded pipe main, extending the length of the building at the rear beneath the operat- ing floor shown in Fig. 2. The nozzles at I leading to each side of the unit are welded to the main, and Van Stone high pressure joints connect the various sections. The quick throw valves H are only used at starting and reinforced by a 4-in. high pressure gate valve I. Ignition Current, Three igniters are provided for each combustion chamber, located equal distances apart around the cyl- inder, as shown in Fig. 4. Not only is practically cer- tain ignition assured. as all three would hardly fail at once, but more rapid combustion, and consequently higher efficiency is obtained, as has been found by tests. These igniters are separately fused, so that a short circuit of one will not render the others inoperative. Both poles are insulated from the cylinder body, so that a double ground is necessary to complete a short circuit of an Fig. 8.—An Igniter and Magnetic Trip. igniter. Grounding, hewever, usually occurs from sweat- ing inside, consequently vent& to the atmosphere are pro- vided (see Fig. 8). The make-and break system js used exclusively on these engines. The jump spark and other high tension systems have-.preved uncertain with the high compression used with blast furnace gas; due to the in- creased dielectric resistance offered by the dense mixture. Tee Gary engines are equipped with magnetic. trip gear, controlled by a rotary contractor, or timer, driven from the engine lay shaft, as shown in Fig. 9. It is thoroughly protected by an iren casing and runs fp oil. By rotating the casing through a few degrees, as indi- ‘ated by a graduated scale, the ignition may be advanced or retarded at will, while the engine is in operation, so as to obtain the best combustion with:a given gas. -The magnetic trip which has recently been perfected is shown in Fig. 8 in contact with the igniter stem. , The electro- inagnet inside, with current of 1 ampere (all that is. re- quired at the igniter terminals), will exert a pressure of 35 lb. on the igniter lever. Being in series with the igniter, the reactance of the magnetie winding suffices for the spark coil action necessary. Ordinarily, the igniters receive current at about 110 volts from a small motor generator set supplying each THE IRON AGE March 4, 1909 of the engine panel boards. The motor generator, in turn, is driven from the alternating current bus of the electric power station. Automatic apparatus is being constructed which will instantly throw the engine igni- tion circuit over to storage batteries in case of trouble, and as the north and the south sections of the blowing house. will be separated in this respect, the possibility of a complete shutdown is exceedingly remote. All ig- niter wiring is run in protected conduit and thoroughly insulated with metallic junction and outlet boxes. Lubrication. Both cylinder and engine oil is handled by automatic means, grease cups being used only on small, slow mov- ee a Se Ree 2 Fig. 9.—-Detail ‘@howing the Auxiliary Lay Shaft Operating ,. Cylinder Oil Pumps and Igniter Timer. ing parts, ‘such as links, valyegear pin, &c. The continu- ous rettra system is used with settling tanks, filters and pumps in series. From a 2500-gal, storage tank resting upon the dower chords of the ‘roof trusses, ojl is dis- tributed to some 30 different parts on each blowing unit at a positive static head ef about 25 ft. A single valve controls each ‘side of the pnit, but the various circuits are served by. four groups* of sight feed manifolds. These, once adjusted for the proper rate of flow, need not be changed. All this oil is returned to a common header leading to the basement filter plant, where it passes through three settling tanks, 15 x 34% x 4 ft. deep, heated by steam coils to separate out the sludge. This sludge is caught and used in other machinery around the works. A pair of vertical separating tanks removes the last traces of water. Finally, the oil passes to a pair of special filters, from which it is pumped through a meter back to the roof tank. The fresh make up oil is drawn from a 25,000-gal. receiving tank, large enough to hold a tank car load. A second 25,000-gal. tank is pro- vided for overflow or storage. Cylinder lubrication is also taken care of by auto- matie force feed: pumps driven from the engine lay shaft, Fig. 9. The eight individual circuits leading to various parts of each cylinder (including rod packings and ex- haust valve stems) are accurately timed, so that oil reaches the cylinder only just before the end of the ex- haust stroke. This allows two complete strokes of the piston before combustion takes place, during which the oil is effectively spread over the surface of the cylinder. The oil is injected only in small quantities and at the most effective moment. These cylinder oil circuits run about 12% drops per minute on the large engines at full speed, the packing somewhat more and exhaust valve stems about half. All these lubricators are in plain sight to observe whether the oil is running freely or not. Any stoppage would back up oil in the feed, in- dicating the location of the trouble. Starting. In starting the air tubs are first unloaded by means of the snorter valves J, Fig. 2. With the ignition current on and pressure of gas supply ample, the quick opening air valves H are thrown, supplying the various combus- tion chambers in proper succession. In two revolutions the engine usually catches ignition and rapidly comes March 4, 1909 THE IRON AGE 719 up to speed, autonratically cutting off the compressed air by means of check valves d, Fig. 4, at the cylinder, which close as soon as the pressure of combustion exceeds that of the supply. In the meantime, the main valves for water and engine oil have been opened and the com- ‘pressed air is shut off at the main, while the main gas throttle is opened cautiously to prevent overspeeding. After this the regulator F, Fig. 2, may be assisted to reach its position by the operator grasping the rod G, which is near the throttle, as shown in Fig. 3. In case of shortage of gas the engine tends to create a consid- erable suction, or when the quality of the gas varies con- siderably it may be expedient to set the inlet butterfly valves so as to secure the proper mixture, which may be returned to position as soon as normal operation is re- sumed. In normal starting the pressure in the com- pressed air main is reduced only 7 lb. per engine, which gives a very large margin of capacity for starting the entire plant, even if this were done in quick succession, as would seldom be the case. The most effective results OUTLET VALVES projections from the supporting spider; by removing a few bolts the eccentric is free for adjustment, after which it may again be locked in position. The weight of the air tub cylinder is carried by horizontal guides, which serve to maintain a central position. Wear is then compensated for by shims of suitable thickness. Both heads are packed with a single spring ring, which also serves aS an opening edge of the inlet valve. To lubricate the cylinders the ordinary method of attaching force feed pumps must be reversed, therefore, they are mounted on the cylinder direct, which avoids a telescopic joint. Owing to the freely exposed surface, these blow- ing cylinders run very cool, and only when operating at maximum pressure for a considerable time does the tem- perature increase perceptibly. Water Service, The pump house located to the south of the upper group of furnaces serves the entire works at about 125 ft. head, and contains five 25,000,000-gal. turbine type motor driven pumps. and a sixth unit of equal capacity > PACKING INLET PORTS Se. enisenaitenanamet” = AIR TUB ECCENTRIC fancies lapaenenleitial GEAR COVER = S _— == { — a ar i ‘ | | ' | —_—_—_— -—-——= 7 se asomy ie ===, eve Pt eae ee ae oa “Sg” " idawudeo ade FACE FOR FRONT CYLINDER GROSSHEAD DISTANCE RODS AIR DISCHARGE ROCKER SHAFT Fig. 10.—Plan and Elevation, Showing the Air Tub and Its Drive. are obtained by throwing both air valves wide open, rather than to attempt starting on one side and with pressure throttled. Less air is used in a quick start. In a typical start of the No. 2 unit the right air valve was shut in 5 sec., the left one in 15 sec., all cylinders were then firing, and in 40 sec. the engine was up to speed. Air Blowing Tub. The blowing cylinders are of the Slick air tub type, in use at Bessemer, Homestead and elsewhere. Fig. 10 shows the arrangement of the forward part of the blow- ing engine with the air tub cylinder and heads in section. The cylinder is movable, operating as a cylindrical valve from the main shaft eccentric A. Circumferential open- ings, B, serve as inlet ports, while the piston is receding. The outlet ports are constructed in the form of a four- sided cage, with superimposed sheet steel flap valves. External cover plates, C, provide means for removing the entire cage in one piece. The outlet valves are ex- tremely light and pliable, being made of spring steel, and, therefore, have practically no inertia. The valve setting is entirely a matter of eccentric adjustment. The eccen- tric is loose on the shaft, but locked in place by toothed driven by a steam turbine. The latter unit is complete with a surface condenser, and is intended as a reserve, taking steam from the north boiler house. The ititakes of these pumps are each protected by a \%-in. mesh, bronze wire screen stretched over structural frame work. These screens slide in vertical ways, so that cleaning may be done alternately without danger of fouling the water main. This pump house serves the gas engines, furnaces, washing plant and all other operations, except the hydraulic operated tables in the mills. It is supple- meuted by a group of pumps located at the south end of the No. 3 blower house, which contains these hydraulic pumps and also the -hoiler feed pump and underwriters’ fire pumps, all steam driven; the exhaust is utilized for heating the feed for the No. 3 boiler house. Gas Cleaning. This plant differs from those in the Pittsburgh Dis- trict, in that thé closed: top type of furnace is. employed— i. e., With no explosion door. All of the large piping is’ designed to withstand a maximum pressure of at least 35 lb., which has been found by the explosion’ of a perfect mixture of blast gas and air. Relief vents, however, dre provided at several points in the open water seals of the 720 primary, secondary and Theisen washers, so that an ex- plesion in the furnace which did not choke itself out in passing through the tortuous passages of hot blast stoves and piping would relieve itself at one of the above- mentioned vents, This has proved to be the case. The dust catchers are of standard construction, but the primary washers are an improved type of Mullin washer, consisting of a central conical distributer sus- pended about 1 in. above the surface of the water, which is maintained at a constant level by an open overflow. The edges of this cone are deeply fluted, resembling in plan the form of a star fish, so that a large surface is presented to the gas which is thus forced to spread out in a thin sheet over the surface of the water. Here the greater part of the suspended dust is deposited and drawn off below. In the tower static washers, the gas is forced to ascend through a lattice work continuously wetted with Korting sprays. It is also passed through several sheets of falling water obtained by conical baffles arranged in series at the base of the washer, replacing the individual baffle washers usually provided. In the Theisen house final cleaning is accomplished, and the gas delivered to the mains with only 0.02 grains per cubic foot foreign matter. This is ample for gas engine work, and in the Pittsburgh District exceeds at times the pur- ity of the air at the engine intakes. A similar cleaning plant at the Bessemer Works has shown gas as clean as 0.002 grains at times, averaging about 0.02, while the effect of a slip in the furnace is to increase this consider- ably. All of the overflows from the water seals of primary, tower and Theisen washers are returned to settling basins 20 x 40 x 12 ft. deep, arranged so that the heavier material will have an opportunity to settle out, and may be reclaimed, thus avoiding clogging up the sewers with this material. A central division wall provides two compartments, one of which may be in use while the other is being cleaned. As the Theisen washers normally deliver gas at 5 to 7 in. pressure, it is apparent that a break in the sup- ply main or its own water seal would create danger of air being pumped into the holder, resulting in an ex- plosive mixture. To prevent this a large butterfly valve is installed between the Theisen house and holder, which may be closed in such an event, while the holder would then receive gas through the main from the blower house below. If the holder should spring a leak or otherwise be out of order, large gate valves geared down for hand operation, installed in both inlet and outlet riser, with a third valve in a by-pass between, allow the holder to be entirely cut out of service, the gas system then relying on the holder below at No. 2 blowing house. Another butterfly valve in the holder intake line is arranged to close automatically when the holder has reached its upper limit. Attendance, In normal operation, No. 3 blowing house will be in charge of a chief engineer for each operating watch. Each engine crew will consist of but three men—an en- gine man and two oilers. These oilers will handle the blast valves during furnace -operation, and the water, gas, oil and air valves, when starting up, with the engine driver in direct charge of the throttle. This makes a power house crew of about 20 men for handling 25,000 hp. in gas engines. The No. 3 blowing house was started the first week of January, 1909, and during the month four gas units were put into commission, sufficient for the first pair of furrfaces. The remainder are completely erected and will go into service as soon as Nos. 9 and 10 furnaces are blown in. - —__3o-+ eo The Dominion Bridge Company, Montreal, Canada, has advised the Standard Bridge Tool Company, Pitts- burgh, that the Thomas spacing table and punching ma- chine built by the latter had made a record of 59,914 holes in 9 hr., against a record of 40,000 holes when the work was done by hand. The builders claim that the machine is good for 100,000 holes with proper crane serv- ice and continuous operation for the same length of time. THE IRON AGE March 4, .1909 A G. & E. Metor-Driven High-Duty Shaper. Individual motor drive as applied to a 34-in. quick stroke high duty shaper manufactured by Gould & Eber- hardt, Newark, N. J., is illustrated herewith. ‘The motor is a direct current adjustable speed type SA Westinghouse 5-hp. motor. The speed may be adjusted by a standard Westinghouse drum controller over a range of 400 to 1600 rev. per min. in a series of 15 for- ward and six reverse steps. The latter are provided for use in making the preliminary adjustments where it may be necessary to reverse the motion of the’ ram. Connection between the motor and the shaper is by a silent running Morse chain, protected by a chain guard. The motor is conveniently located on the rear of the shaper housing, which makes the outfit compact, and it may be located at any point in the shop. The use of the adjustable speed motor with this wide speed range does away with the necessity for me- chanical speed changes and gives a large number of steps. This permits setting the speed always near the A 34-In. Quick Stroke High Duty Shaper, Built by Gould & Eberhardt, Newark, N, J., Equipped with Motor Drive. correct one for any given piece of work. Inasmuch as the tool has a reciprocating motion and hence is not cutting on the back stroke, it is essential that it should be run at as high a speed as allowable to secure the most economical production. Convenience of control is secured by locating the controller on the right side of the machine, just above the various handles by which the adjustments of the feed and the stroke of the ram are made. The heavy gear wheel which carries the crank of the shaper acts as a flywheel and overcomes fluctua- tion, so that the chain runs smoothly without perceptible vibration. This method of connection eliminates belt slippage and provides a positive drive. By means of the.clutch and brake device controlled by the long curved lever, shown below the controller, the shaper may be instantly stopped without stopping the motor. This saves time in setting, adjusting and ex- amining the work and also lessens the wear and tear on the motor, which would result if it were necessary to stop and start it for every adjustment. —_——_++-e—_—_ The Bettendorf Axle Company, whose works are at Bettendorf, a suburb of Davenport, Iowa, has completed its plans and will soon begin the erection of an impor- tant addition to its plant in the form of a large steel foundry. This addition will cost in the neighborhood of $400,000, and will supply the principal proportion of steel castings used in the company’s rapidly growing railroad car business. Contracts for the buildings and two 25-ton open hearth steel furnaces are now being let. At a recent meeting of stockholders of this company the Board of Directors, consisting of W. P. Bettendorf, J. W. Bettendorf, L. P. Best and Theo. Krabbenhoeft, was re-elected. March 4, 1909 THE The Taxation of Iron Properties in Minnesota. The first biennial report of the Minnesota Tax Com- mission, recently published, contains interesting details of the work of the commission in the valuation of iron ore properties. The total valuation of such properties in Minnesota for 1907, exclusive of the personal property belonging to operating companies, was $190,094,438, in- cluding the value of iron lands amounting to $2,257,700. The assessment for 1908, not including iron lands, was fixeil at $176,340,749, or $11,495,989 less than in the previous year. The difference is accounted for by changes in classification, shipments from the mines and the al- teration of tonnage estimates originally made by the commission. That the tax burdens of iron mining com- panies have been very heavily increased can be appre- ciated from the fact that the valuation of all iron prop- erties in Minnesota in 1906 was $70,000,000, A total of 2116 mines, prospects and miscellaneous acreage proper- ties required to be passed upon by the commission. The report commends the attitude of the mining companies toward the commission’s work and their disposition to give all information that would help to reach a fair valuation. Articles have already appeared in The Iron Age, par- ticularly in the issues of September 12 and September 19, 1907, indicating the classification of iron properties adopted as preliminary to assessment for taxation. The factors taken into consideration in such valuation were geological conditions, difficulty of mining, character of the ore and character of mining rights. The operating mines were classed under five groups and the prospects under four groups. The reports submitted by the mining companies and the owners of mining properties in the northern part of the State indicated 1,192,509,757 tons of ore, with a total valuation for taxation of $186,204,- 002. Of this total, 912,768,880 tons is owned by the Oliver Iron Mining Company, the value as assessed be- ing $137,562,048. Of the total of 262 properties for which the above tonnage of ore was reported, 93 are shipping mines and 169 are prospects. Of these, the Oliver Iron Mining Company has 33 shipping mines and 143 prospects. Tonnage vs, Ad Valorem Taxation, The report expresses the opinion that ad valorem taxation of the mining properties in Minnesota has reached a reasonable degree of efficiency. The present classification and basis of rates are said to be not in- flexible, and the commission promises to abandon them whenever it appears that inequality of assessment exists by reason of their use. The tonnage tax proposal finds favor with the commission. It argues that as the ship- ments of ore increase from year to year the assessment against iron ore properties will decline until nothing is left to represent them but holes in the ground. It is considered inevitable that in 30 years or so real estate now worth $400,000,000 will be valueless. The tonnage tax is favored as being easy to impose and collect and as establishing automatically a rough system of justice that is nearer equality than any system of assessment can be. The commission considers that the State ought to secure some share of the wealth found within its borders, which sooner or later will be exhausted. The best method is through a tonnage tax, it is urged. It is admitted that this is undesirable in the case of local governments, which require steadiness and certainty of income. Therefore a tonnage tax for State purposes and a direct tax for local purposes are favored. One of the commissioners dissents from the above view and considers that a flat rate tonnage tax upon ore would be unfair. The opinion of the attorney-general is em- bodied in the report. He holds that under the taxation amendment adopted last year a tonnage tax could be imposed in Minnesota, but that it would have to be in lieu of all other taxes and could not exceed a rate which would be substantially equal to taxes on other real property. It is stated that ownership in fee, since the great increase in the value of iron property in recent years, IRON AGE has in large measure ceased to be the principal method of control. The investment of capital in fees creates a permanent interest charge which mining companies are anxious to avoid. The highest valuation on ore estab- lished by the tax commission for purposes of taxation is 33 cents, and the lowest in the case of operating mines is 14 cents. In the case of prospects the highest value established is 15 cents a ton in the ground. 721 The Ore Tax According to Output in 1907 and 1908. It appears from the report that the total valuation put on real estate in Minnesota for taxation in 1907 was $882,130,972. In 1908 the iron properties were valued at $176,340,749, or about 20 per cent. of the total real estate assessment. Of the total of State and local taxes raised in 1907, real estate paid $22,904,338. Twenty per cent. of this would be about $4,580,000 as the amount paid for taxes on iron properties. While no inconsidera- ble part of this was paid on prospects and on mines which were not operated or,were operated to a relative- ly small extent, it is interesting to compute the average amount paid for taxation on ore properties per ton of ore produced last year. The production in 1908 from Mesaba and Vermilion range mines was 17,257,350 tons and 841,544 tons, respectiv