The Iron Age 1912-02-01: Vol 89 Iss 5

Established 1855 THE IRON New York, February 1, 1912 \GE Vol. 89: No. 5 The Latest Thin-Lined Blast Furnace The American Steel & Wire Company’s Central Furnace D at Cleveland, Ohio — Gas- Blowing Engines and Special Safety Devices One of the most modern blast furnaces and at the same time most completely equipped with safety appli- ances is Furnace D of the American Steel & Wire Com- pany’s Central group at Cleveland, Ohio, which was blown n in July, 1911. The furnace plant is located on the east side of the Cuyahoga River near Jefferson street and Broadway. Its A, B and C furnaces had an average daily capacity of about 1400 _ tons. [hey received their blast from seven vertical steam, com- pound condensing Allis-Chalmers en- gines, the steam being provided by three boiler houses, one containing 16 Cahall boilers of 4000 hp. and the other two containing 16 Stirling boilers of 4800 hp. The sys- tem of regenerative stoves consisted of four per furnace, all but one being of the two-pass, side-com- bustion type, with from 42,000 to 44,000 sq. ft. of heating surface in the checker work. The exception was one three-pass, center combustion stove. There is a cast- ing machine equip- ment of two double machines which handles the Sunday Jessemer iron and all of the basic iron, the Bessemer iron during the week being (delivered in 15-ton ladles to the mixers at the steel works, a distance of 6% miles from the fur- inetal ladle cars run ver the Newburg & South Shore Railroad, which has a ‘irect connection. The ore is delivered direct from boats to the furnace docks or to cars, which, in turn, are switched to the furnace bins. The capacity of the dock is about 700,000 tons. In connection with the plant there is also a gas-driven, c. electric-generating station consisting of four units, General View of Top of Furnace Showing System of Downcomer Pipes, the Four laces. The _hot- Heavy Top Galleries and the Stairways Leading to Them each being twin-tandem, four-cycle Allis-Chalmers gas engines, driving a 1000-kw. generator. This station fur- nishes all of the power for drivin the Cuyahoga Works and part of that for the Newburg Wire Works. The Original Thin-Lined Furnace Modified At the time when the construction of this furnace was being considered furnaces with thin, water-cooled linings were receiv- ing attention in this country and were operating with more or less success at the Lucy plant of the Carnegie Steel Com- pany and the South Chicago plant of the pany. But it could not be said that they had been established to a point beyond stage. At that time two types of con- struction were rep- resented, the first consisting of a 12- in. lining and a rolled plate shell having overlapping water troughs rivet- ed to the shell; the second, of cast-steel segments bolted to- gether, while the cool- ing was effected by water flowing over the surface. Since then a third type has been built consisting of a_ rolled-steel shell 1% in. in thick- ness, which is cooled by water sprays so that there is a thin film of water flow- ing down the sur- face. There has also been developed a form of thin lining with water passages in the cast iron seg- ments or staves, as illustrated in these columns December 28, I9II. It was decided to experiment further on these lines in the construction of this furnace, and the rolled-steel shell seemed to be the advisable one to build. There had been one serious objection to the troughs riveted to the shell; leaks had occurred and were liable to occur 2e7 7 Mechanical and ¢; iCeTS, PITTSEURGH, PA, Illinois Steel Com- , the experimental ° ee I Sees aa ee THE IRON AGE February 1, bo allowed them to extend 2 ft. above the bottom of t c cavation. Concrete was put in the excavation to a th of 10 ft., just bringing it to yard level. There ar: 0 foundation jackets, the bottom one being 47 ft. in eter x 8 ft. 6 in. in height and 1% in. in thickness. is rests on the concrete and is filled with fire-clay p:; brick. The second jacket is 42 ft. x 4 ft. 6 in. x 1 n. and is filled toward the outside with fire-clay paving k and in the center with second quality fire brick. The hearth jacket is 24 ft. 6 in. x 8 ft. Io in. x 1 The base plates for the furnace columns are imbedde.) jn the brickwork near the top of the second foundation jacket. The columns are made of cast iron and are eight in number. The furnace is so constructed that if it js found advisable to change to a thick lining it can be done by tearing down only the present shell and its troughs. The Heavy Cast Steel of the Mantle Section and the Rolled Steel On this account, and to take the weight off of the shell. of an Upper Section of the Furnace Shell in Works of the the columns were so designed at the top as to support the Willham B. Pollock Company, Youngstown, Ohio “ ; : superstructure for carrying the furnace top and_ skip bridge separately from the shell. The bottom ring of the shell consists of heavy cast through the rivet holes in the furnace shell. To do away with this a 1-in. shell was built and holes drilled and it me ; steel in eight sections and its cooling troughs are cast : tapped in it so that the troughs could be fastened on by nea oe es ; f : a ; solid in connection with it. The eight sections are bolted eg means of cap screws. The holes were not drilled through BD» wets a" ; ; together and rest on the furnace columns. There are also : the shell so that there was no danger from leaks. : - . two 1%-in. bands around this built-up ring to hold it asi ices Wines Caniiination rigid. The shell above this section is of rolled steel, the 7 first ring being 144 in. in thickness and the balance 1 in. . The stack was built for an average daily capacity of in thickness. The diameter of the stack varies from 2; a 500 tons. The general dimensions are as follows: Hearth ft. 3 in. at the first ring to 18 ft. at the top. The top diameter, 16 ft.; bosh diameter, 23 ft.; stock line diam- ring is reinforced by a 6 x 6 x I-in. angle ring outside Ri eter, 16 ft’; height, 95 ft.; bell diameter, 12 ft and a cast-steel segmental ring inside, which supports the ; £ : The ground on which the furnace is built is part hopper, etc. The straight seams in the shell are triple-riy & Y; of the old river bed and there is an underlying bed of eted butt joints and the circular seams are double-riveted eg quicksand. It was necessary therefore to take consider- lap joints. There are eight troughs other than the mantle able precaution in building the foundations. The piling trough mentioned, which are about 7 ft. deep and so ar- * ; . 5 ' ‘ * - : . 7; was driven on a basis of 38 tons per pile, with a factor of ranged that at all points of the shell below the down- a safety of six, which amounted in surface to 9 sq. ft. to comers there is a casing of water not less than 6 in the pile. The piles averaged about 36 ft. in length and _ thick. As previously mentioned the troughs are fastened were driven to about 8 ft. below the yard level, which to the shell by tap bolts. «* ue rm a ati | — C | ROT ha 2 Sep: ot “+ Key to Cleaning Apparatus A- Secondary Gas Washer 3 B- ey Gas Washer =F C-Centrifugal Dust Catcher Oe D-Dust Catcher 2D S¢ Ouj General Plan of Furnace D with Hot Stoves, Gas Cleaning Apparatus, Gas Blowing Engine House, Ore Bins, Etec. ity 1, 1912 THE IRON AGE furnace lining below the mantle is of standard design; however, the bands are of very heavy con- \ sectional cast-steel tuyere sts on the hearth jacket which has een mentioned, and this is held by two 1%-in. steel bands. The plates above the tryere jacket are to rest on the outside in cast-iron The ends of these boxes also form the 1%4-in. bosh bands between plates thin lining begins at the bottom of t-steel mantle ring and extends all to the top. The brick are made in d squares, the squares being 12 in. x in. in size and brick of the usual in grind, but burned quite hard. laid as closely to the shell as stock line is protected by cast-iron plates. These plates are L shaped nto the brick, the brick at this point ; ee . Si i P View Showing Heay Platforms, Ladders and Stairways Around the Top of the Washers ud up in a mixture of cement and and Goggle Valves—Connection aonaneeny Made to Furnace Platforms here are I5 courses of 30 plates at Open Stairway spaced about 1 ft. 8% in. center to peg te ge ay ea takes place by feeding into the top bucket and from it [he skip bridge is centrally supported by a strong into the three below. From the last of these four the i tural tower and the lower part rests on an abutment water is discharged to the drain. Each of the troughs S ch it can slide. The bridge is so designed as to below is fed separately from the supply line and discharge ; practically no bearing on the furnace top, and all water taken direct to the drain. In each of these troughs there is is carried by the superstructure. The ar- mentioned there is a baffle so arranged that the water zement of bells and hoppers is of the usual design for which is fed in must travel entirely around the shell be- skip system, and there is in connection with them fore being discharged. -Each section of the mantle cast- chee revolving distributer. ing is fed separately. All of the troughs are connected to a stand pipe and the high-pressure system, thereby in- suring against a possibility of a failure in the water eee om Cooling System he hearth is cooled by 2-in. extra heavy pipe welded supply. ne end, set just inside the hearth jacket and extending Dust Catchers and Gas Mains down to the bottom of the second row of hearth blocks. [hey are spaced about 9 in. apart and the feed pipes, which are of 34 in. diameter, extend to their bottom. The vater is allowed to flow in and out the top of the 2-in. es and then down over the surface of the hearth jacket. \round the shell the replacement of the cooling water The gas is taken from the top of the furnace by four aa openings into as many riser pipes which support bleeders. ee % The downcomers are connected into each of these and finally connect in such a way as to discharge into the large dust catcher by two openings. This dust catcher is 30 ft. x 30 ft. in the straight and is lined. An uptake pipe is in the top of the dome, and to this the pipe is con- nected through which the gas is discharged. The gas Nils then passes through three centrifugal dust catchers in series 14 ft., 12 ft. and 12 ft. in diameter respectively. These dust catchers have long Z bars arranged vertically so as to trap the dust. The discharge pipe from each passes out the top of the dome, but extends down inside near ae to the bottom of the dust catcher. e: The lining of the dust catchers and mains stops just | before the first centrifugal dust catcher. Out of the top Z of the third centrifugal dust catcher the gas goes into a ee water-seal gas valve, so arranged that the gas from an- +29 other furnace can pass through it and above the sealing water, which shuts off the furnace being described, there- by allowing the washers to remain in use. The seal of all valves mentioned is from 6 to 8 ft. of water. The gas leaving this valve passes into one of the parallel systems of washers, the reasons for which will oh be made evident by referring to the accompanying plan = view. Each system can be cut off by water-seal valves and the other remain in use. The systems are made up PITT Celeste Elevation of Blast Furnace Plant D of the American Steel & Wire Company's Central Group at Cleveland Poked: ag Oe Sen pe ee | op * . WS teal a Pabie Bu . ata dos ® - é 290 THE IRON AGE February 1, i912 tom of the secondary, where it passes up and out , top through a water-seal valve and into the upper To this main are connected all of the pipes leading ; stoves for this furnace, the object being to allow Large 30-ft. Dust Catcher and Three Centrifugal Dust Catchers—A Safety Feature in the Platform to the Infrequently Used Manholes of two 20-ft. x &o-ft. baffle washers in series. The gas passes in at the bottom of the primary, goes to the top View Showing Platform and Stairway to Top of Cast House Roof, : s 1 Angle Railing Along Top of Gas Main and Platform for Oiling and then down through a central pipe and in at the bot- Hot Blast Valve Sheave View of the Stoves Showing Blast Piping, Lower Part of Skip Bridge and Railed Walks and Bridges at Top of Stoves THE IRON AGE Swe pt ; VLlde Le Tide La CUE Details of One of the Cast-Iron Wearing Plates at Bell of Stack—13 Rows with 30 Plates per Row CLLZZE: LZ. pass to be put in containing a Venturi meter, through which the amount of gas supplied to the stoves, or all of the gas produced, could be de- termined. There is a connection to a lower common 6-ft main which gives a relief for the excess gas over that required by the stoves. CLL. {ie 7k Hot Blast Stoves SSS SSNS S The equipment of hot blast stoves consists of four of the two-pass, side combustion type, 22 ft. diameter by too ft. high. They are connected by a large flue.to a stack 220 ft. high by 1o ft. 6 in. inside diameter. The linings are of Harbison-Walker Clearfield brand first and second quality. The checkers, which are 6 in. square, are made by the use of brick 8 in. x 6 in. x 4 in. The total heating surface, including combustion chamber, dome and checkers, is about 46,000 sq. ft. The shell of the stoves is extra * heavy, having %-in. sheets for the top and bottom rings and %-in. for the intermediate rings. | N | Y rt 1, |G 4 Cast House The cast house is 56 ft. wide by 134 ft. long, built up on heavy columns to carry a 40-ton crane. The roof is of plate steel with a steep pitch, in order to enable ma- terial to fall off freely. . The floor is built on brick arches between the beams, with concrete above. The entire bottom of the furnace below the cast house floor is left open and in plain sight. y Yih” = , Va SS te g Y LZ UALLLOOD AS we = y SS ~ RAS WS SS SSS SS SS SSS . Blowing Equipment With this furnace there were : ess installed two horizontal, twin tan- s . dem Allis-Chalmers gas engines, the size of the gas cylinders being 44 in. x 60 in., while that of the air tubs is 80 in. x 60 in. These tubs are of the Slick type with a positively operated discharge valve. The capacity of the tubs per en- gine is 670 ft. per revolution. The engines are built to operate dis- charging full wind at their maxi- YY o— speed and 22 Ib. pressure. bove this pressure it is necessary Vy yy to unload one end of one air cyl- 4 Wield inder, by which a pressure of 28 Ib. can be handled at the maxi- mum speed. Connections were also made whereby two of the other Vertical Section of the Thin Lined Furnac furnaces can be blown from this of the American Steel PSR cos So LS SS) RES ISSR SS IN iS Shy SSN S SSS Was s NNN SY SNA S 4 4ULLAh htt 4444 4) 46t4 CGI tt Z CA A14 7 Oey 7 ac+-- ao------ 292 THE IRON AGE station. The total weight of one of these blowing engines is 1,903,225 Ib. The Stock House and Equipment The trestle and bins are all of steel and of as large capacity as was possible to put in the limited amount of room. There are 10 each of coke and ore bins, having a capacity of 20 tons of coke and 150 tons of ore per each bin. The coke and ore bins are parallel and the larry cars beneath run to the same point for dumping into the skip cars in the pit. All of the stock is delivered to the trestle in cars, there being no direct ore-handling stock bridge. Owing to the arrangement of the trestle it was impossible to use a central coke bin without rebuilding the part of the trestle already in use; therefore the line of coke bins and coke car was installed. The gates to the bins are curved slides 20 in. in width, to which is fastened a lever arm by means of which the gates are hand operated. The larry cars were designed by the American Steel & Wire Company and built by the Scottdale Foundry & Machine Company. They are elec- trically operated by 35-hp. motors. The hoisting machin- ery was furnished by the Otis Elevator Company and is a double drum hoist operated by a 200-hp. motor. Its capac- ity is a lift to the top of the furnace of 12,000 lb. in addi- tion to the weight of the skip car. Pumping Machinery ’ In order to supply the increased demand for water for the washers and cooling of the furnace, and to insure suffi- cient pressure at the heights necessary, three centrifugal pumps were installed in connection with the existing in- stallation. They are rated as follows: One two-stage, 2800-gal. capacity per minute against 142-ft. head and driven by 150-hp. Burke motor on 25-cycle, 440-volt cir- cuit; two six-stage, 1400-gal. capacity per minute, against 362-ft. head and driven by 225-hp. Burke motor, same cir- cuit as above. Safety Features \side from the special feature of its being thin lined, furnace D is noteworthy for its safety devices. From looking at the installation it almost becomes a question as to which of these features is the headliner. Every effort has been made and neither time nor money spared in order to make the equipment as safe to life and limb as possible. It would seem that the danger which may exist has been reduced to a minimum, and otherwise dangerous places made “foolproof.” \ll couplings, collars, keys, set screws, etc., are of the safety type and all gears are fully provided with gear covers. In building the railings, platforms, etc., no angles or other structural material were used of less than 3% in. in thickness. The great extent to which heavy walks and platforms were built is clearly shown by the accompanying illustrations. There are three ways of getting to or from the top of the furnace. 1. The usual and easy way by a bridge from the stove platform. This bridge can be reached by ascending to the stove platform by way of a winding stairway around the stove draught stack, or by other stairs leading to the B & C furnace stove platform, which is connected to those of D furnace. 2. By climbing an inclosed ladder to the top of any one of the washers and thence across connecting bridges and finally a bridge leading to the furnace platforms. 3. By climbing an inclosed ladder to the top of the large dust catcher and thence by a small bridge and stairs to the furnace platforms. \t the top of the furnace there are four platforms or galleries connected by stairways, and so constructed as to make all of the furnace working parts easily accessible. The first is the usual charging floor platform and is made very large and roomy. The second is at the top of the stock-receiving hopper and from it the bell rods and large bell cylinders and counterweights can be reached. The third is for reaching the small bell cylinder and “bull wheels” for the skip cables. The fourth is made up of bridges connecting the bleeder valve platforms. The bleeder valve is of the safety type, having in ad- dition to the regular valve a bell hung inside of the pipe in such a way as to prevent large pieces of stock, such , as coke and limestone, from getting out during a “slip.” February 1, igj2 This does not in any way interfere with the pri sure relief. The bottom of the skip bridge is covered with pl: 5 that material falling from the skip cars or from «the; sources cannot endanger men below, but is caugh: and allowed to roll down the plates until near the | n where it strikes a plate at right angles and is detect, into a coke buggy by means of an attached chute. Although there are four other ways of reachine th, cast house, there is a large bridge over the main lin tracks of the Newburg & South Shore Railroad by means of which the furnace men or those going to and from th furnace to the office or gate can do so without crossing the railroad tracks. In order to show further the extent to which th: element of safety to. the men was considered, the follow ing figures are given. They are based not on the total for platforms, walks, etc., but upon the additional in- stallation to promote safety over that ordinarily built Walks: Including crane runways, hand railings SR NHENIES Sores 3s.icteSus 4 «sa 113,000 Platforms: Around goggle valves, bleeders, chimney, hot blast valve sheaves, skip sheaves, water valves and furnace test rod. 208,000 Bridges: From washers to furnace, dust catcher to furnace, along top of stove dome, etc... 105,000 | Other stairways: Extra to bustle pipe, to top sheaves, between goggle valve platforms, to strainer and valve platforms, etc.......... 22,000 || Ladders: To hot blast valve sheaves, to top of gas washers, to top of dust catcher, to gog- gle valves and to furnace test rod platform. 26,000 |b Cages around counterweights: At hot blast valves, bleeder valves, dust catcher, etc.... 4,000 II Miscellaneous: Bin gratings and other small WMC TING GEC. aie cba s ood eos uc te ee Re elle 1,500 Il er 479,500 Il These figures together with the descriptive matter pre eding them will serve to show what has been done to safeguard workmen; and consistent with it equipment on the other furnaces of the Central plant is gradually being put into the same condition. The Underwood Tariff Bill Passes the House Quick work has been done by the House of Representa tives in disposing of the Underwood bill for the revision of the iron and steel schedule of the tariff. The bill was reported to the House on Thursday, January 25, and was passed on Monday, January 29. The vote on its passagé was 210 to 109. Only minor changes to correct typographi- cal errors were made, despite strenuous efforts to amend it by Republicans and by the Colorado delegation, all Dem- ocrats. The bill as passed is identical in every essential with the original draft as ratified by the Democratic cau cus. Most of the Republican insurgents voted in the affirm ative, but there was sufficient disaffection in this wing o! the minority to cause doubts as to the fate of the bill when it reaches the Senate. Senator Cummins has a bill which he is ready to propose as a substitute, largely based on his opposition to the transformation of specific duties into ad valorem duties. Other progressive Senators have proposi- tions to offer when steel revision is ready to be fought out on the floor of the Senate. The regular Republican mem- bers of the Senate Finance Committee are already figuring on hearing various persons interested in the steel industry who have applied to the committee. The Thomas Iron Company is preparing to blow in its No. 3 furnace at Hokendauqua, Pa. When operations are begun its No. 1 furnace, at the same Igcation, will be blown out. This company has recently blown out several of its furnaces and has no intention of increasing its active capacity. Henry C. Holsman, architect and consulting engineer, announces the removal of his office to 1218-1219 Fisher Building, Chicago, Ill. The lines along which he special- izes are the design of high-class commercial and industrial buildings and mechanical transportation and engineering The lron Age of January 25 a report was given of xamination of President James A. Farrell of the d States Steel Corporation before the Stanley Com- at Washington. Additional facts, chiefly developed ir. Farrell’s second day’s testimony, are presented be- lt was apparent that the committee developed some different answers to some of its questions from what expected, particularly as to alleged special prices to international Harvester Company and as to prices ed foreign consumers for domestic steel products. s not known to the committee, apparently, that the rnational Harvester Company, through its subsidiary, \Visconsin Steel Company, has been a competitor of the Steel Corporation and of other producers of steel bars. No Dealings with Harvester Combine reply to a question Mr. Farrell denied that the Steel Corporation is on close terms with the International Harvester Company. Before the Rules Committee it had charged by advocates of an investigation of the Harvester Company that the latter and the United States Steel Corporation are controlled and dominated by the same majority stockholders. President Farrell, when asked whether the Steel Corporation, as alleged, grants special allowances to the Harvester Company, said: “We do not. We have done no business with the International Harvester Company for five or six years The Harvester. Company has boycotted subsidiary com- panies in the United States Steel Corporation. Begin- ning with a mere quibble between salesmen, it has resulted in complete estrangement between the International Har- vester Company and the United States Steel Corporation. We do not even do business with them.” Export Prices Sometimes Higher ludge Bartlett of Georgia and Representative McGil cuddy of Maine put questions to Mr. Farrell designed to out the low prices at which domestic steel products sold abroad as compared with the prices to home ccn- Mr. Farrell cited instances of higher prices real- n Steel Corporation exports than on sales at home domestic ‘price on barbed wire in 1911 was $1.85 at ills. The export price on barbed wire was $2, de- red ready for export. The domestic price on nails $1.55 a keg; the foreign price $1.65 at New York, to h must be added the cost of transportation, which oreign consumer would have to pay. he price of standard steel rails to domestic buyers is $28 The price of American-made steel rails to consumers id in cases cited by the witness was $31.70. The Corporation paid the freight. “We pay the freight,” Mr. Farrell, “but the consumer pays the price. Our io the foreign consumer is $31.70. After we deduct ireight the result to us is $24.98, but the foreigner not get his rails at that price. The difference to consumer abroad is the increase in freight charges e price of rails is today lower than in any other country the world. The price in Great Britain is $28.50, in rmany $28.75, in Belgium $28.13, in France $32.81, in ‘ussia $35.46, in Italy $36.80, and in Canada $32. The on steel rails in various countries is: Germany, France, $17.70; Russia, $28.60; Spain and Italy, \ustria-Hungary, $12.32, and Canada, $7.84. The ' on rails entering the United States is $3.92.” ‘epresentative Gardner. sought an explanation of the that the price of standard steel rails had remained at $28 a ton for ten years, when the price of all steel products had fluctuated. Mr. Farrell explained the $28 figure for years had been regarded as a fair and because the cost of manufacture of rails had ily increased no one would lower the price. Mr. ner asked why the price was not raised. \ tes President Farrell’s Further Testimony Prices on Export Steel Products—Relations with the International Harvester Company —The Publication of Production Costs 293 “I believe that the price will be raised,” Mr. Farrell re- sponded. “I do not think it will remain at $28 a ton much longer. The Republic Iron and Steel Company, which has a rail mill, has not operated it because it thought the price did not bring a fair return.” Mr. Farrell ex- plained that the United States Steel Products Company, the subsidiary company handling the foreign business of the corporation, owned a steamship line known as the Isthmian Steamship Company, which it was forced to build because it could get none of the foreign steamship companies to handle its freight to countries in Central America. The export business of the Steel Corporation had increased, he said, from $31,000,000 in 1904 to $69,- 000,000 in IQII. No Agreement on Prices To the question whether the Steel Corporation was not bound, in changing prices, to tell its competitors, Mr. Farrell answered in the negative. “There is no under- standing that such notification should be given,” he said. “Whenever a change of prices is made competitors find it out within ten minutes. If I should meet a competitor on the street or at lunch I would not hesitate to tell him we were going to make a change in prices if one had been decided upon.” President Farrell denied that the Steel Corporation gave any rebates or discounts to the Standard Oil Com- pany on tin plates for cans. “The minutes of the Car- negie Company,” said Mr. Stanley, “show that rebates were given to the Standard Oil on tin plate.” “Since I have been President of the Steel Corpora- tion,” said Mr. Farrell, “all tin plate has been sold to the Standard Oil Company and all other companies at a flat price.” : Returning to the question of prices, as between’ com- panies, Mr. Farrell said: “I do not believe the prices of any two steel manufacturers in the United States to-day are alike.” “Why has Judge Gary said that the day of competition has passed?” asked Representative Beall. “Tl think he referred to destructive competition,” said Mr. Farrell. “As a matter of fact, steel prices to-day are very low. There is no doubt that reports of some corpo- rations soon to be made will show that they are not get- ting the cost ‘of manufacture out of the present prices. Some of the smaller concerns are perilously near bank- ruptcy. On Exchanging Costs of Production The question was asked whether steel manufacturers did not disclose costs of production among themselves and, if so, why that information should not be given to the committee. He insisted that they did not go into the question of costs, even at the Gary dinners. Answering a question as to his own statement at fhe Gary dinner of January 11, 1911, that he believed the policy of the cor- poration was to co-operate as fully as possible with its competitors to maintain fair prices, Mr. Farrell said that he still believes in that policy because it enabled the pay- ment of fair wages to labor. Mr. Farrell was asked whether there was not a meet- ing of steel men immediately after the Republic Iron & Steel Company made its reduction in prices, at which an- nouncement was made by Judge Gary that the cut would be met. He said that was true. “But it is the smallest manufacturer in this country who makes the market. It is a mistake to suppose that the United States Steel Cor- poration makes the market. If some one offers to sell an article at $1 we cannot sell at $1.25. The Republic Com- pany made its reduction because it expected to accomplish a reduction of 15 per cent. in wages, and it was surprised the other companies did not follow suit. The Republic has since been advancing its prices of its own volition be- cause it found its cut rates unremunerative.” oe ‘F oe Seep are tap ia Bit cae AE er caged eS. a a) aw 2 he in ye at thane gee * PRO as ieee eR Nal Oe eee. MA rae. wt, 294 THE IRON “In your speech at the Gary dinner in January, I9II, said Representative Beall, “you spoke of maintenance of fair prices.” “T still have the same thought. I have urged fair prices to maintain wages for employees. Many small con- cerns in this country are now striving to reduce wages. We do not want to do this.” When asked for detailed statements of costs of rails, tin plates, sheets, bars, wire rods, ingots, etc., Mr. Farrell protested against such publication, as it would give for- eign competitors innermost trade secrets. “Why, with that information in the hands of foreign manufacturers, our foreign business would not be worth a dollar in twelve months,” he said. Chairman Stanley insisted that it was necessary to have that information to ascertain the difference of cost of pro- duction here and abroad. “Come what will, if it is within the power of the Federal Government I propose to know oy Mr. Farrell, in submitting a summary of cost sheets, said that he was perfectly willing to allow the commit- tee’s representative to examine the original from which the summary had been prepared. He said it was costing the corporation 50 cents a ton more to make pig iron now than in 1909. He added that he would not object to the publication of composite costs of making pig iron or blooms, but he would object to the publication of costs of more finished products. If they were made known com- petitors would estimate bids of the corporation to a frac- tion before they were opened. Pelton-Doble Combination Announcement is made of the absorption by the Pelton Water Wheel Company, of San Francisco and New York, of the entire rights, including patents, goodwill, patterns, etc., of the water-wheel business formerly conducted by the Abner Dobie Company, San Francisco. W. A. Doble, former head of the Abner Doble Com- pany, goes to the Pelton Water Wheel Company as its chief engineer, vice George J. Henry, Jr., who, until, re cently, occupied that position. A particularly strong combination is thus formed, as these companies have for years been recognized as pio neers in the development of hydroelectric engineering, and their merged. experience, together with the patents now controlled by the Pelton Company, constitutes an organiza- tion with the best of facilities to cope with any problems in the field of hydraulic engineering. In addition to Pelton and Doble tangential water wheels, the Pelton Water Wheel Company manufactures the ‘Pelton-Francis turbine, adapted for medium heads and large powers, besides a line of high-grade centrifugal and turbine pumps. Pelton oil pressure governors are also a feature of this company’s product. The Atlantic. department of the company, with offices at go West street, New York City, has recently completed a large and well-equipped machine shop in Harrisburg, Pa. Thus the two points of manufacture facilitate deliveries to all parts of the world. J. V. Kunze, who has been manager of the Pelton Water Wheel Company since 1893, has been elected vice-president of the company, but will continue in charge of the New York office. The pipe foundry of the Oregon Iron & Steel Com- pany, Oswego, Ore., was destroyed by fire on the morn- ing of January 9, the main building being a total loss, though some of the outbuildings were saved. The loss is estimated at about $50,000, largely covered by insur- ance. The loss was mostly on the machine shop, foundry and coke shed. The plant was erected 23 years ago. The company has a contract for 3800 tons of water pipé for the city of Portland, which will probably be turned over to Eastern manufacturers. At the recent annual meeting of the stockholders of the Brier Hill Iron & Coal Company, owning and operating Grace furnace, Youngstown, Ohio, the following officers were elected: H. H. Stambaugh, president ; Fred Tod, vice- president; R. C. Steese, secretary and treasurer; J. G. But- ler, Jr., general manager. The directors include the officers and David and John Tod. AGE February 1, 19 Ball Bearing Grinder In addition to its No. 1 plain and surface grinder, + LaSalle Machine & Tool Company, LaSalle, IIl., has add a ball-bearing tocol to its line. In the construction of t! new grinder every precaution has been taken to prot: the working parts from wear. To the upper end of | feather is fastened a dust ring, which protects the elev: ing screw and the post bearing from grit and emery du A weight inside the column is used to counterbalan the knee and the table. The table, which has a verti travel of 12 in. on the guides and can be fed % ij by the micrometer feed, has a working surface of 8x in., and can be raised to within 2 in. of the spindle cent The wheel will grind to the center of a surface 9 in. wick and a horizontal hand wheel, which encircles the post and engages it by the screw thread, provides a fine adjustment + A New Type of Grinder Equipped with Ball Bearings Built by the LaSalle Machine & Tool Company, LaSalle, Ill. of the table for the depth of the cut. This hand wheel carries a large dial graduated to read in thousandths of an inch, while the opposite side of the grinder is equipped for plain work. The spindle is of steel and runs in ball bear- ings at the rate of 3000 r.p.m. The bearings are reamed simultaneously to insure perfect alignment. The moving parts have adjustment for taking up the wear and all the adjusting screws are case hardened. The following table gives the principal dimensions and specifications of the new grinder: Distance to spindle center, im.......sceccsevesese 40 Distance between wheels, in..........sececseceee 15 RRO OT RS oo sk is os 6. caist a deCas arene 3% 2B ee A ee ero rer ror 7 2% Diameter of driving pulley, in............ee.eeee 10 Face width of driving pulley, in.............e.e0- 2% Diameter of tight and loose pulleys, in............ 5 Face width of tight and loose pulleys, in.......... 2% Countershalt pend, £. Os Mi. os6006ccccccsecnnceste 1,000 oe. SS RR ae NS eter ee 18 x 24 ee ee eee rn ee 340 Ceated shaping weight: Di coven ocr weessacicnne ~. 450 a ee ee ee err eres 475 The equipment regularly furnished with the machine includes two 7x 1x 3%-in. grinding wheels, countershaft, wheel guard, water pot and chuck. The Supreme Court of Ohio has declared constitutional the Ohio workmen’s compensation law, and it will there- fore go into effect March 1. ruary I, 1912 THE IRON AGE 295 Duplex Milling Machine ivy Construction and Flexibility of Operation, vo Features of a Recently Developed Product of the Newton Machine Tool Works nstructing a duplex milling machine which would race all the modern features of construction, and while y and rigid would at the same time possess flexibility operation, was the object borne in mind of the cal adjustment and square lock bearings on the uprights with very broad faces. The adjustment is made by taper shoes and the alignment is controlled by the builder’s special single guide bearing, an arrangement which is said to eliminate unnecessary friction. Hand in-and-out ad- justment on the wing is provided for the uprights. The work table is entirely surrounded by an oil pan, has a spiral gear and angular rack drive, as is shown in lig. 2 and the clufches for controlling the feed and fast traverse can be operated from either side of the machine. A gear feed box giving uine changes of feed, ranging from 0.027 to 0.283 in. per revolution of the spindle, is fur- nished. [he machine is driven by a_ 15-hp. Westinghouse motor having a speed range from 600 to 1200 r.p.m., and giving_~— spindle speeds of 7.1 to 49.2 r.p.m. The drive to the spindles is by a large diameter worm wheel, having a bronze ring with teeth of steep lead meshing with a driving worm. of hardened steel, fitted with a rol- ler thrust bearing, and both are incased for lubrication which is the builder’s standard con- struction. As illustrat- ed in Fig. 1 the drive Fig. 1—The Operating Side of a New Duplex Milling Machine Built by the Newton Machine Tool Works, for the spindles 1S Inc., Philadelphia, Pa. Newton Machine Tool Works, Inc., Twenty-fourth and Vine streets, Philadelphia, Pa., in designing its latest ma- chine. Fig. 1 shows the operating side of the new machine, while a view of the rear or driving side is given in Fig. 2 To bring about the measure of flexibility desired, the spindles of the machine are mount- 1 in sleeves, have straight and taper bear- ngs and are arranged vith broad face key and through retaining bolt. he spindle sleeve is justed by a pinion eshing in the sleeve rack, and fine adjust- ment is obtained by a m and worm wheel is graduated to give measurements as as 0.001 in. The lameter of the spindle 5 43@ in. in the driving orm wheel sleeve and in. less in the driv- gear. The spindle, ich is fitted with a srown & Sharpe is arranged to the cutters by a ey, and they are held in place by a through retaining Each spindle has a hand adjustment of 6 in., and the mum distance between their ends is the same. The max- distance between the ends of the spindles is 60 in. ; the um distance between the table and the spindle cen- in.; the minimum distance, 2 in.; the width of the ng surface of the table, 30 in., and the width of the table over the oil pan is 36% in. The length of the is sufficient to mill pieces up to 11 ft. long. The le saddles are counterweighted and have hand verti- clutched and can be stopped or started by the lever shown in front of the saddle, which can be done without it being necessary for the operator to leave his regular position. Fig. 2—The Rear or Driving Side of the Machine Showing the Spiral Gear and Angular Rack Drive for the Work Table The net weight of the machine is 48,000 lb, and the floor space is 18 ft. wide by 15 ft. long, these being the maximum dimensions. The St. Louis Steam Engineers’ Club has acquired per- manent quarters in the Odd Fellows Building in St. Louis and has opened with library, retiring and entertaining rooms all handsomely furnished and also a large audi- torium. The club is increasing rapidly in membership and has frequent lectures on technical subjects. Bi apie cara ad apy gh ik ea Bg, ae nar PNR a a OE ha Rene ‘nia a ee Se oe RA. oe: 4 aelee re roe abe Nic: ima Sa : ~fagars : . " ~ Ra SaRen® ret ‘largely reduced. The Production of Sound Steel How Material Can Be Produced Which Will Be Free From Segre- gation, Blowholes = or Piping BY SIR ROBERT A. HADFIELD The question of producing sound steel is quite as important a factor in meeting the requirements of the times as ever it was. By sound steel is generally meant material free from (a) segregation, (b) blowholes, and (c) piping. Unless these requisites are fulfilled trouble and breakdown of the material may occur in some stage of its history. Fortunately, as a rule, the remedy which obviates or overcomes any one of the difficulties tends to improve all. For example, steel which is sound and free from blowholes is less liable to segregation or inter mingled slag, and the ingots made therefrom, if prop erly fed, will have the defects under (c), that is piping. Methods Devised to Overcome Diffi- culties Many simple devices as well as complicated ar rangements have been suggested and tried to over- come the difficul ties in question, as, for example, fluid compression from the top, also from the bottom; feeding and set tling by gas gen- erated heat; com- pressing or squeez- ing from the sides, and many other devices. These have given more or less satisfactory results. There are, however, some disadvantages in Fig. 1—The Hadfield Process of Avoid- ing Piping and Segregation by a Blast of Compressed Air Through a Bed of Charcoal these systems, such at the Upper Part of the Ingot Mold as the expense of , application owing to the heavy cost of apparatus, and so on For some time I have been working at methods which I believe are simple yet efficient. Although the following description refers to patented methods, yet in view of the great importance of obtaining sound material I ven ture to think it may be of general interest to the readers of The Iron Age. A system of this kind with suitable modifications could be applied to the manufacture of sound ingots for rails and other purposes. The terril!e results of railroad disasters, such as that on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, show the importance of obtaining sound material in the ingots from which the rails are to be rolled At the works of my company, Hadfield’s Steel Foundry Company, Ltd., Sheffield, England, large quantities of special steels are made, in which it is absolutely essential to have material perfectly sound and free from defects such as mentioned under the bases (a), (b) and (c). The method now described has enabled the desired object to be fulfilled both cheaply and efficiently. Moreover, it has the important advantage of enabling not only sound- ness to be obtained but also a much larger percentage of the ingot to be used, and this with perfect safety. As will be seen from the results of the experiments de- scribed, in many cases no less than 93 per cent. of the 296 fluid steel in the mold is made utilizable, and this at small expense, Granted, therefore, sound piping or settling steel in the first instance, which is easily obtainable by ordinary care in manufacture, there seems to be no. reason why ingots should not be made sound, free from blowholes, piping and segregation. This being so, rails or other articles rolled therefrom should be of the highest grade. It is true that large quantities of rails as now made are of excellent quality, but it is just the “tenth” case which it is important to improve. It is the bad heat here and there, the bad ingot now and then, which give the fatal rail which in service fails, involving catastrophe and all the troubles consequent upon such disasters. The Hadfield Method The following description of the Hadfield method covered by United States letters patents Nos. 933,751, 954;183 and others—of casting steel ingots, castings, etc., insuring soundness, freedom from piping and absence of segregation, may be of interest. The method of carrying out the process is shown | the accompanying Figs. 1 and 2. As will be seen, this consists in heating the metal in the upper part of an ingot or other mold and maintaining it in a liquid con dition by the combustion in contact therewith, or in close proximity thereto, during the cooling and shrinkage of the metal in the lower part of the mold, of solid fuel—for example, charcoal—by means of a blast of compressed air which is caused to impinge on the fuel while the fuel is directly or indirectly supported by the metal below; also the interposition of a layer of fusible material, such as iron slag, which has no injurious action on the metal between the metal and the fuel. The cost of carrying out the method is trifling com pared with the large saving gained in reducing loss and waste of material. Moreover, the quality of the product is improved; for example, in making rails produced from such ingots, not only would there be less discard but the material would be sounder. During the last few years many thousand tons of ingots have been made by this patented process, which has been found of great ad vantage. \s a specific example, it may be mentioned that ingots have been made weighing about 4000 Ib. each, in which the tL 2 Sd Pee rc Fig. 2—An Enlarged View of the Upper Part of Fig. 1. The Mold is for a 15-In. Ingot piping and discard do not amount to more than about 7 per cent. This small loss is not the only advantage, the chief one being that material is obtained which 1s quite sound and free from hidden pipes or other defects on the whole length of the ingot. ry I, 1912 THE IRON AGE 297 ________ iia Cll lll lll Fig. 3—Ingots Treated by the Hadfield Process gz. 3 shows the results of this patent method as car out upon ingots weighing about two tons each. The em can be applied .equally well to either smaller or ircer ingots, for all kinds of purposes. It is estimated na large output the saving by this method would om $2 to $3 per ton. Thus, on a large tonnage of ls of thousands of tons an- there would be a very con- saving each year, as well taining sound ingots free blowholes, piping and seg- experiment the segre- nly a few inches below eding head placed at the top ingot was almost entirely \t about 3 in. below the the sinking head the ges of sulphur and phos- s were practically the same the original steel, namely, 3 per cent. each. following is a description ngots made in heat No. ¥5 steel, and shown in Fig. e sand “head” was 14 in. where it joined the ingot, ng to 9 in. square in a length The steel was filled up sinking head to a depth of he remaining 2 in. of the ead being filled with a layer und slag, having a_ thick- about 1% in. The slag on the molten steel, then ing descended bodily to feed the cooling shrinkage of the ingot. The head of 9376-2185 was drilled and analyzed to find if there was segregation. The results are shown in the table below. It will be seen that even C is almost normal in its composition, and D, a little lower down, has practi- cally the same analysis as the bulk of the ingot. The original analysis in this heat, as shown by the test ingot, was: Carbon, 0.50; silicon, 0.16; sulphur, 0.033; phosphorus, 0.037; manganese, 0.80. Position of test piece below \nalysis _ ‘ surface of feeding head Carbon. Sulphur. Phosphorus. Rete OR, SOROS. oa a dike an 1.41 0.175 0.135 eer ne 1.20 0.12 0.10 C—3% in below.......... adn 0.59 0.041 0.041 D—where ingot itself commences 0.50 0.033 0.037 This ingot, with the sinking head described, is a still further advance in the improvements effected in this mat- ter, the segregation being very slight. It would appear that 93 per cent. of this ingot may be utilized for com- mercial purposes. Further Experiments with the Hadfield Process The following further experiments with this patented method were carried out: Two heats were made of Had- field’s mild and ordinary steel. In the first the carbon was 0.20, silicon 0.40, and manganese 0.60; in the second the carbon was 0.45, silicon 0.50, and manganese 0.80. The ingots were prepared in the manner described in the Had- field patents; that is, sufficient slag was placed upon the upper portion of the molten steel in the ingot mold, then charcoal and blast applied by means of the special blow- pipe arrangement. Each ingot was provided with a sand- top, placed at the top of its ordinary length of the cast- iron mold. The exact method is shown by Fig. 1. The following were the results obtained: Mild Steel——Seven ingots were cast from heat X9428- 1843, and seven cast from heat X9438-1843. Total weight, 6 tons 17 cwts. 2 qrs.; forged, 25.3.08. Tons. Cwts. Ors Lbs Per cent Head scrap .. r,s ae s 0 0 6.0 Billet scrap siaaiay ] 2 0 1.0 Forge waste eis 0 2 2 0 1.8 125 billets ...... 6 5 2 0 91.2 17 : 0 Total waste 8.8% iting carried out by means Fig. 4—Ingots of Various Types of Steel Cast by the Hadfield Process charcoal and blast in the described in the patent specifications. The head terward cut off the ingot, and was-found to be free iping or segregation. Following are the details: ghtofingot. Weight of sandhead. Weight of sound ingot. Irs Lbs Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. 0 2 2 10 36 0 i8 b.) (290 Ib.) (4,050 Ib.) is is equal to a waste of about 6.7 per cent. will be seen from Fig. 3, the steel has “fed” well, ally the whole of the molten steel in the head hav- Ordinary Steel.—Seven ingots were cast from heat X9387-6 and seven cast from heat X9396-6. Total weight,