The Iron Age 1912-04-11: Vol 89 Iss 15

Established 1855 New York, April 11, 1912 Vol. 89: No. 15 Making an Expansion Boring Tool The Machine Shop Operations in Manufactur- ing the Matthews-Davis Boring Tool—Trays and Portable Racks as Part of the Equipment In its new shop only recently completed in St. Louis and in which all of the equipment is not yet placed, the Matthews-Davis Tool Company has established a number of methods and machining operations which have already greatly increased the output and are of decided interest. One is at once impressed with the steadiness of the operating force, the speed of their work and the general strict attention to a maxi- mum output, as contributing to the high “output to equipment” ratio. This general appearance, together with the knowledge that the manu- facture of the Davis boring tool includes the making of many parts which might be machined on a piece-rate system, might indicate that such a system was in use. On View of the Slotting O Opposed End Millers tation by the Cutter Slots Are Machined by basis. Fig. 2—Special Broaching Finishing Cutter Slots in the Too) Heads 993 Machine for Fig. the contrary, all of the work is done on a straight time The efficiency of the machine operators is to be accounted for, both because of the methods of developing the em- ployees themselves and also because of a thorough study of the required and proper time allowances for each machine operation. In practically every instance the machine operators in this shop have been developed from the beginner stage to machinists under the present management. The size of the shop has permitted a close con- tact between employer and employce, the direct result of which is shown not only in the development of skilled operators in the course of a very few years from untrained boys, but more particularly in the 3—View of the Tool Head Set in Ad- justable Table Vise on a Boring and Tap- ping Machine 904 cstablishment of a spirit among the employees which ac- cepts, in the attitude of receptive co-operation, such changes and improvements as may be represented for example by reduced time allowances for various machin- ing operations. Each operator, machine and machining operation is numbered. For each of these operations a certain machin- ing time allowance has been established under working conditions. * A daily analysis report form is made out and arranged to show the exact time by which the scheduled allowance is exceeded or bettered. Where the scheduled rate is mot maintained the employee doing the work 1s ap- proached in a spirit of fairness and with the co-operation of the shop superintendent is shown wherein the fault lies which resulted in the excess time required. In addition to holding the machine operators up to a high standard of efficiency, this system of time accounting is a part of the general system of unit costs adopted by this company. The work is put through the shop under lot numbers where the tools are standard, in quantities of 50 to 100, but the cost system in use permits of a much closer analysis than simply the particular lot and admits of tracing the cost directly to the particular machine and the particular operator on a given day. The manufacture of the Davis expansion boring tool, the features and design of which are too well known to require description at this time, is completed in twelve principal operations. All of the tools are machined from solid forged round stock of special high carbon steel, par- ticularly suitable for accurate machining. The first opera- tion is the sawing of the stock into required lengths for the tool heads which work is done on a No. 5 Marvel high-speed saw with automatically operated feeding table. In the second operation the end of these sawed pieces is drijled and threaded on a turret lathe. The third operation consists of roughing up to jig size on a Hendey patent head lathe. Operation No. 4, illustrated in Fig. 1, is the milling out of the cutter slots on automatic slotting machines. Operation No.’5 is illustrated in Fig. 2 and consists of broaching these slots on a special broaching machine. Operation No. 6 consists of boring out the tool heads to receive the expansion mechanism. In the smaller sizes this work is done on a 21-in. high power Cincinnati Bick- ford upright drilling and tapping machine. For the heavier tools the work is done on a 4-in. Baker Brothers boring and tapping machine, of which a view is shown in Fig. 3. Operation No. 7 consists of turning up, drilling and threading the blanks from which the expansion wedges are milled. This is done on a 3-in. improved Landis turret lathe. Operation No. 8 is performed on a No. 2 Cincin- nati Universal milling machine designed with special feeds and stops and illustrated in Fig. 5. The work consists of machining the expansion wedge. .Operation No. 9 covers the boring, finishing and threading of the master bushings for the expansion mechanism which work is also done on a turret lathe. Operation No. 10 includes the fitting of the tool heads with the expansion mechanism and con- sists of vise and bench work, the particular vise and location being numbered in a manner similar to a particular machine. Operation No. 11 includes the grinding of the tools to finished sizes on a 10 x 72 in. Norton Universal grinding machine. The final operation, No. 12, covers the inspection of tools in the stock room preparatory for shipment. The slotting or slot milling operation No. 4 illustrated in Fig 1, is almost entirely automatic. The smaller tools are machined on a Pratt & Whitney machine and the larger tools on a machine of Bement-Niles design, the only prac- tical difference being one of size, as the operation is per- formed in a similar manner. The toois are set in jigs on the reciprocating table of the machine which is essenti- ally a two-spindle horizontal end miller, as illustrated. The travel stops are set to the length of the slots. The two opposed end millers feed automatically toward the center of the bar the feed being limited as the tools ap- proach the point of breaking through by an automatic stop and reverse. By the use of this machine and method the time required for cutting slots was reduced to a small fraction of the previous allowance. The broaching machine, illustrated in Fig. 3, is a special machine designed by the company and is complete with THE IRON AGE Apri! 'y IGI2 three separate high speed steel broaches. It is ted for the full range of work from smallest to largest |, The machine is simplicity itself, the operating mech: sisting of a pulley driven worm and worm w! base of the machine operating the vertical scr: a thrust collar. The broach is connected to by means of a cross head moving in slotted ¢: in the upright columns of the machine. In connection with this machine an interesting device has been rigved fo, cutting the broaches for this operation. The machine anq rig in question is shown in Fig. 6. The broach is mounted on a table jig consisting of a quadrant block set oy swivel base so that the angle of the machining operation may be varied in both planes. The manner of mounting the three miller cutters on the horizontal bar with relation to the work is clearly shown in the illustration. In connection with the boring out of the tool heads on the Baker boring and tapping machine shown in Fig. 3 the jig in which the piece is set up on the table is of par- ticular interest as well as the guide collar rigging mounted on the main post of the machine. This table jig is ar- ranged to be moved forward and backward by means of a micrometer screw, the graduated dial of which’ is shown at one end of the jig. This device makes possible an ex- ceedingly exact-drilling of such tool heads as are bored for more -than one set of cutters and expansion mechanisms, The drilling of the holes for the expansion mechanism consists usually of three operations—first, centering the hole by running a small drill through; second, the drilling operation with a full size drill, and third, boring out the hole with the Davis boring tool as a substitute for ream- ing. For the two drilling operations the guide bracket is fitted with two concentric collars, the inside one having an exact center bore corresponding to the small drill, and an exact exterior finish fitting.into the bore of the larger collar which corresponds to the diameter of the large drill. The machining of the expansion wedge is an interesting operation, the stages of which are shown in Fig. 4. The first three pieces at the left are two views of the wedge blank showing the work of finishing, drilling and tapping done on the turret lathe. The fourth piece shows the first roughing cuts made in this blank on the machine shown in Fig. 5. This roughing operation is the first part of operation No. 8 mentioned above and performed on the special milling machine. The piece is mounted in a chuck arranged to rotate either in a horizontal or ver- tical direction, the roughing operation being completed with the piece in a vertical position and the end miller traveling with a simple cross feed. The fifth piece in Fig. 4 shows the piece after the wedge bevel is cut. This \s done by setting the chuck as shown in the view of the machine, Fig. 5, at an angle. Stops are provided on the vertical and horizontal feeds of the table so that these two feeds may be combined without loss of time, giving tor the cutting action an elliptical path of travel. The machining of this wedge from the blank can be completed in less than 25 min. The remaining pieces in Fig. 4 are the expansién wedge fitted with a micrometer screw and dial and one 0! the smaller tool heads showing the cutter slots and bore for the insertion of this expansion mechanism. A set of cast iron trays for catching filings and drip- pings from the tools have been designed and also portable table racks upon which machine operators may convert ently place finished parts or tools. In Fig. 7 these are illustrated. With reference to the trays underneath the lathe shown, attention is called to the apron which pro- jects out under the gearing and catches all of the oil drippings. It has been found that both the trays and tables not only contribute very decidedly to the neatness of the.shop, but eliminate a large portion of the lost time not easily accounted for in the handling of small tools and pieces by the machine operators. In connection with these facilities, racks and shelves are provided, so *™ ranged that in separately labeled compartments all of the tools and jigs for a particular operation are kept ' gether, conveniently located to the machine where they a‘ required. In the stock room where the finished parts at stored, instead of open shelves, the compartments a been fitted with hinged drop doors which swing down 4" are supported in the manner of a shelf. The convenience of open shelving is thus afforded in conjunction with 4 much neater and better arrangement of the stock. Mm con- in the through S screw aes cut a yl2 ‘ THE IRON AGE 905 ing and tempering of the cutters for these sents a very critical portion of the tool manu- The department for this purpose is equipped < & x 3-ft. 8-in. Stewart special gas furnace and ndard Stewart cyanide hardening furnace. The res of the furnace and oil bath are electrically Illustrating the Several Stages in Machining and ssembling the Expansion Wedge from the Bar Stock Machining the Expansion Wedge Bevel on a Special Fig. Milling Machine lled, the pressure of gas is constantly indicated lometer readings, and the operation is made auto- y exact to the greatest possible degree. The oil ath is also periodically tested for the presence of ‘ther impurities. r first aid in case of an electric shock are being y a Commission on Resuscitation from Electric lhe commission was organized on the initiative of nal Electric Light Association, and is composed ers of the American Medical Association, the | Electric Light Association and the American Electrical Engineers. The commission recom- e prone method as the best in the hands of lay- \intaining respiration, and a chart, to be issued i1uspices of the National Electric Light Associa- ing prepared giving the details. >trauss Bascule Bridge Company states that its de- ridge has been adopted by the Canadian Pacific Company for a span of 108 ft. 8 in. over the ewan River near Medicine Hat, Canada, and by ian Canal Commission, Washington, D. C., for a ft. 2 in. over the Gatun River at Colon for the Railroad. The company’s offices will be removed trom the Fort Dearborn Building to the Monroe South Michigan avenue, Chicago. Yale Students Visit the Mesta Plant On April 2, 54 members of the senior class of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University; in charge of Professors Brackenridge and Roe, visited the plant of the Mesta Machine Company, West Homestead, Pa. The Fig. 6—Special Rig Devised for Milling Broaches 7—View Showing Cast-Ttron Portable Table Trays and Cast-Iron Trays Under the Lathe Beds purpose of this tour, which includes visits to the largest industrial plants of the cotintry, is to give the undergrad- uates some idea of the operations in the manufacture of articles that are largely based on engineering principled. Among the special features of the trip to the Mesta plant was the inspection of the company’s gear cutting depart- ment, where teeth can be cut in steel and iron gears hav- ing a maximum diameter of 30 ft., and also the steam- hydraulic forging press, that the company is building. This press, which was illustrated in The Iron Age, Janu- ary 5, I91I, is constructed according to the patents of Heniel & Lueg, Duesseldorf, Germany, and the sole manu- facturing rights for the United States and Canada are owned by the Mesta Company. The power plant, equipped with power units built by the company, which at present is being operated from power generated by one of the company’s gas engines, was also visited. Another very interesting feature was the inspection of a large iron cast- ing made for an engine bed plate. The weight of the casting, when sink-heads, gates, etc., are removed, will be 252,000 lb. This bed plate is for an engine that is being built for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngs- town, Ohio, and when completed will weigh about 1,300,- 000 Ib., and in all probability will be the largest engine of its kind ever built. Six ladles of iron were required to make the casting, and all of these were taken from the five large air furnaces at practically the same time. The Tata Iron & Steel Company’s Plant + A Description of the Blast Furnaces and Steel if Works Built in India Under the Direction of American Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineers # a yu Through the courtesy of Julian Kennedy, consulting er engineer, Pittsburgh, we are enabled to present a descrip- rr tion and views of the steel plant of the Tata Iron & Steel = Company, Ltd., at Sakchi, Bengal, India. The inception eS of this enterprise was in 1902, and to the late J. N. Tata, . an influential Parsee merchant and manufacturer of Bom- bay, India, belongs the credit of originating the idea, the design originally being to furnish steel rails, structural ~S shapes and merchant steel bars. Mr. Tata came to the es i United States some years ago and made a trip covering the larger steel plants, being a guest of a number of the re prominent steel manufacturers. His idea was that to % build a steel plant in India would do much to develop the Het virgin resources of that country, and also improve the i eed social condition of its natives by breaking down to some eRe extent the castes that exist in India. After a thorough es} aa] athe 4 4 a8 a 8 it as oe ia * a} rr je (With Supplemental Plate) construction plans in some detail and data concerning machinery contracts which had been let with varioys American and European manufacturers, chiefly the latter The iron mines, which were developed as the result of the exploratory work begun by Mr. Weld in 10903, are at Gurumaishini, 44 miles from Kalimati. The width of the vein as shown at Rajara Hills 180 ft. where the ore runs 67 per cent. metallic iron and 0.06 to 0.08 per cent. in phos. phorus. The ore is mostly drift. It is picked up in bas- kets by women and carried to the stockpile; thence it js hauled to the furnaces by rail. The coal supply is abou 120 miles from the steel plant, the dolomite quarries 12 miles distant and the limestone about 450 miles. Man- ganese deposits are also located about 450 miles from the plant. The volatile content of the coal ranges from 19 to 28 per cent. and its average ash is about 18 per cent View from Skull Cracker Looking Northeast, Showing the Power House with Air Intakes for Blast Furnaces at Each End, the Chimneys of the Boiler House in the Rear and the Blast study of different sections of the country, a site for the steel plant was selected at Sakchi, which is two miles from Kalimati, the latter city being located on the main line of the Bengal & Nagpur Railroad about 150 miles almost due west of Calcutta. The Tata Iron & Steel Company was organized in August, 1907. After the death of J. N. Tata the conduct of the enterprise devolved upon his two ‘ sons and his nephew, members of the firm of Tata Sons & Co., dealers in diamonds and silks, with offices in London, Calcutta and other commercial centers. Mineral Resources In The Iron Age of July 12, 1906, the Tata project was described at some length, with an account of the preliminary investigations as to ore and coal carried on . under the direction of C. P. Perin, New York, who was retained as consulting engineer, and C. M. Weld. An article in The Iron Age of September 23, 1900, gave the 906 Furnace Equipment and Water Tower at the Right Coal costs $1.04 a ton at the works, and the estimated yield is 75 per cent. Coking costs 65 cents a ton and the total cost of coke in bins at the furnace is put at $2.05. Preliminary Work In November, 1907, Julian Kennedy, Sahlin & 0. Ltd., 52 Rue du Congres, Brussels, Belgium, were appointe¢ designing and consulting engineers. Early in 1905 Mr. Sahlin, with W. O. Renkin, Pittsburgh, who acted as rest dent engineer for the firm, went to India and, after look- ng over the ground, selected Sakchi as the best place 10° the location of the plant, on account of its proximity © the ores and coal, and because of the fairly level sit afforded and the favorable climatic conditions. The clearing of a dense jungle was the first work done. This was started in March, 1908, and after it was finished work on the foundations of the different buildings was beg". Native labor was largely employed under the direction © 2>LEMENT TO THE IRON AGE, APRIL 11, 1912 — cal ODD 7 sr s pec acc HM PE ALA AKA MSA AA AKAMA MAMA ALL MANTNTP pn KEES SA ECE — a i 7 . = ——————————$————<——— i AU i LE AS PRE Ame RCI Lente ated ATUVEEYTY PULINELTELEVE LEY) CY LLEPLELERU NYY Pe UY ELT EPEAT PE Ly eee Tey TI ©) MENYPULETULE TOTTI T VILL N —~ FYVPT TEN ' : =a SETI Tir 1m ar mm D ren? 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O oc RD Fa Bas f Si tiiitieersieesetenenelll nent nice eeeeerienemianeel TL rr oiler House | 5 re ee ne ee ee eee eee ge es ue Ge acpond a Ee See ae a SF ie a del ila ok a ol ce iu nat tena aeiel fase seen + ye o--- 90 ------- aie SP Se oe a i --Main Drain ih are ares, ae ti iy 78 bike 4 it Pm PGR SPEER ETETO PP = 3 | | x Gas Producer eS Q Steel | — he = ey 25 fon Seale a ss reer 4 ut : 1 ial id Bee ar i Brick Shed The Tata Iron & Steel Company, Sakchi, Bengal, India. General Map of the Works, Which Are Near Kalimati, 150 Miles West of Calcutta. The Product Is Rails, Structural Shapes and Merchant Bars, and the Works Include 180 Coke | Ovens, with No Utilization of By-Products at the Present Time; Two 250-Ton Blast Furnaces Receiving the Blast from Turbo-Blowers; Four 40-Ton Open-Hearth Furnaces with Adjoining | Gas Producer Plant; an Unusual Arrangement of Blooming Mill and Rail Mills Including the Driving of These Mills from the Same 12,000-hp. Steam Engine. | a eee i Cpoling CT Fn TTT TT rom Skull Cracker Looking Fast. Showirg the Coke Ovens e Right and the Ore, Stone and Coal Storage Bins for the Blast Furnace at the Left \merican workmen. At one time cholera threatened to erfere seriously with the work, but the sanitary and ther conditions were improved under the direction of Mr. Renkin, and a visitation of this dreaded disease was warded off. At different times Mr. Renkin had as as 8000 men, mostly natives, employed clearing the jungle and doing the preliminary work on the plant \s has already been stated in these columns, common native labor was paid the equivalent of 4 to 6 cents per \merican money, all native labor in India being very tly paid. However, skilled American and European labor in India is high, as men object to going to India, vages for such labor being higher than are paid in this intry or in Europe. This is borne out by the fact that or costs at one of the furnaces of the Tata Iron & Steel Company, Ltd., that is now in blast amounts to 51 nts per ton of pig iron, which is considerably above the verage at some plants in this country. [he company owns a site of about 30 acres at Sakchi, which the plant proper is located, but has landlords’ eases on a very large amount of adjacent land which can quired later if needed. A town has been laid out large number of bungalows built, which are occu ied by the American and European workmen Coal Crushing House THE IRON and Coke Oven Plant, Showing the Coke Pushers; View Looking Northwest. AGE Starting Up the Plant Considering the unfavorable conditions surrounding the build- ing of the plant, good progress was made, and in October, 1911, the coke ovens were finished. The electric light and water serv- ices were first started in Septem- ber, 1911, and on December 2 one of the two blast furnaces was put in operation. In January, 10912, the gas producers and heating furnaces were started, and on February 6 last the first ingot was bloomed. The steel works was not in operation at this time, and a small lot of ingots was brought from England to try out the blooming mill. The steel works started late in February, and on February 20 the first rails were rolled. The delay in starting the steel works was on account of the shortage of cars, the plant in Process of Construction having been scheduled for full operation in the latter part of 1911. All the buildings have been iaid out with special attention paid to ventilation, on account of the extremely hot weather in India, and in the construction of the open-hearth building large louvres were provided in the sides, as shown in one of the accom- panying illustrations, in order to keep the men as cool as possible. The accompanying ground plan gives a very clear idea of the layout of the plant, which was made thoroughly modern in every way, and as well equipped as the best American and English steel plants. The Blast Furnaces There are two fully equipped modern blast furnaces, 20 x 8o ft. in size, each capable of producing 250 tons of iron every 24 hr. The furnaces are similar in design and in construction to the furnace of the Punxsutawney Iron Company, Punxsutawney, Pa., each furnace being equipped with four Kennedy two-pass hot-blast stoves, each 20 ft. in diameter and too ft. high. A single central chimney serves each group of four hot stoves. , The material is carried from the bins into electric larries, the latter made by the Brown Hoisting Machinery Company, Cleveland, Ohio, and from the larries it is charged into the automatic skip hoists, which take it to the top of the furnaces in the usual way. The hoisting engines were furnished by the Otis Elevator Company. It is not neces- AAA ee ™ na? c Mire Le er ak I pte ee —— —— —— L .ULUmL CTC & Hoist Engine House and Bottom of One of the Skip Bridges Gas Producer Building, Immediately Behind Which is the Open-Hearth Furnace Building with Its Louver-Like Ventilating Siding sary to have an ore yard in connection wi.h the plant, as there is no winter and the ore can be delivered on cars from the mines during the entire year. The slag is re- moved in self-dumping slag cars. The hot metal is to be carried from the blast furnaces in 30-ton brick-lined ladles. In the casting house these are suspended under a 60-ton traveling crane, which serves both blast furnaces. The Steel Plant includes a 250-ton gas-fired mixer, which serves four 40- ton stationary open-hearth furnaces with liquid metal. The scrap and ore are charged into the open-hearth furnaces by an overhead charging machine and the steel is cast into 16 x 20-in. molds, standing on metal cars. Each ingot weighs about 2% tons. The cranes, charging machine, etc., wcre furnished by Ludwig Stuckenholz Aktien-Gesellschaft, Germany, Wetter a.d.Ruhr. There are three vertical soaking pit furnaces, each accommo- dating one charge of an open-hearth furnace of 16 ingots. The blooming mill is a 40-in. two-high reversing mill. The mill is driven by a three-cylinder, 12,000-hp. engine, designed and built by Ehrhardt & Sehmer Gesellschaft, Saarbriicken, and is similar in design to the engine at the steel plant of the Grand Crossing Tack Company, Grand Crossing, Ill. The blooming mill is similar in design to the No. 1 blooming mill of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown, Ohio. The mill and tables were built by Duisburger-Maschinenbau, Duis- burg, Germany. The rollers on the tables in connection THE IRON AGE April 1 12 with the blooming mill are driven by connecti instead of by gears, as is the usual practice . country. The steam hydraulic bloom shears w: {e- signed and built by Breuer, Schumacher & Co, Kalk, Germany. Attached to the Ehrhardt & Sehmer engin drives the blooming mill is also a 20-in. two-hig] ing rail and structural mill, with three stands of rolls traveling tables, runout rollers, hot saw and cooli for rails and beams, as well as a finishing deparimen: and inspection benches. This rail and structural mil! was designed and installed by the Duisburger-Maschine Rai's from 40 lb. in weight up to 90 Ib. are rolle the capacity is 400 tons per day. On the structura a full line of shapes is rolled, including beams and chan- nels from 5% x 2% in. up to I2 x 4 in., and als: from 4 x 3 in. up to 6 x 6 in. The company will als: bulb angles 4 x 2% in. up to 10 x 3% in. bulb tees & x in. up to 10 x 6 in., zee bars 3 x 3 X 3 in. up to 8 x 314 x 3% in., and also rounds 4 in. to 8 in., squares 4 in. wy 8 in. and flats 5 in. x 2% in. down to 5 x 5/16 in \ separate building accommodates a 16-in. bar mill drive Bosh of One of the Blast Furnaces. THE IRON AGE rdt & Sehmer engine, and consists of a 16-in. id finishing train and two 1o-in. finishing intended to roll light rails from 8 to 4o Ib. ind also I-beams 2 x 114 in. to 4x 3 in. On in. trains, merchant steel bars and lighter be rolled The Power Plant er plant comprises 8000 hp. in Babcock & ers of 500 hp. ynits. Of these 5000 hp. are ist furnace gas; 1000 hp. are equipped with system for burning coke breeze and 2000 hp. y hand. The electric plant consists of three volt direct-current turbo-generators, having a apacity of 2250 kw., and two 500-kw. three- tension generators for supplying current for e pumps at the Subernarekha River pumping [here are also three Sulzer centrifugal pressure handling the hydraulic lines to the furnaces, These pumps furnish a working pressure of square inch for various purposes throughout the works square inch without trouble. Two air com- For blowing the blast furnaces three turbo blowers View of the Mixer in Open-Hearth Building. View of Charging Side of Open-Hearth Steel Furnaces Looking from the Southeast. pressors built by, the Norwalk Iron Works Company, have been installed. Each blower is capable of taking rwalk, Conn, furnish air at a pressure of 90 lb. per care of one blast furnace. The turbo blowers, as well as _ the steam-driven hydraulic pumps, are run ' —— ' condensing. The blowers were built by rd ; Escher, Wyss & Co. The two air intake steel towers are shown at opposite ends of the view of the power house. The motors used throughout the works were built by the Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft The Coke Plant The works coke plant is located south- east of the blast furnaces, as shown by the map. The coke ovens, 180 in number, are of the Coppee (Brussels) design. They are non-by-product ovens, but are so ar- ranged that they can easily be made into by-product ovens if it is found desirable. One difficulty lies in the fact that the tem- perature of the water is not low enough to condense the ammonia gas, the water tem- perature commonly being 98 to 110 deg. The ovens are supplied with a complete coal-crushing and storage plant. They have been supplying one furnace with coke since December last, and the quality of the coke is reported very good. Water Works A pumping station with a capacity of > narging Machine for the Ogen-Hearth Furnaces, Showing also the General Characte of Traveling Cranes. nae bie Ses. Soe Soaking Pits, Showing Covers Ready for Locating in Position 1,000,000 cu. ft. of water per 24 hr. has been installed. The station is located on the Subernarekha River, across which a low weir 12 ft. long has been built. The pumping station is connected with the works by a line of steel pipe 30 in. in diameter and gooo ft. long. The water is lifted 420. ft. from the river to the works’ reservoir, or cooling tank, which latter has a capacity of about 35,000,000 cu. ft. and covers a ground surface of % sq. mile. The water is lifted from the reservoir, or cooling pond, to a THE IRON AGE April |, 1912 buildings in connection with the plant, was furnise, erected by A. & J. Main & Co., Ltd., Glasgow, tland The fire brick for lining the hot-blast stoves in blast furnaces, as well as the open-hearth furnaces aking pits, etc., was all shipped from Europe and put in place by imported German and Belgian bricklayers. The cemen; for the foundations of the steel plant was m fur- nished by the Rheinische Westfalisches Cement Syndicat, G. m.b. H. Bremen. Some cement was furnished by the Société Anonyme John Cockerill, Seraing. Rans , crete mixers were used. The capitalization of the Tata Iron & Steel Company is $7,000,000, and there is a bond issue of $2,000,000. The board of directors is made up of native Indians, hut the general manager is R. G. Wells, an American. The : eral superintendent.is A. E. Woolsey, formerly at th South Works of the Illinois Steel Company, South Chi- cago. The master mechanic of the plant is J. \ Brophie, formerly connected with the Republic Iron & Steel Company at Youngstown, Ohio. He has a force of native workmen under him, together with some Amer- icans. The one blast furnace now in operation is being operated by Americans, about 30 men having gone over to India for this purpose. The open-hearth department is being operated by Germans and the rail mill by English- men. Pattern shop and foundry operations are directed entirely by Chinamen and the coke oven department by Welshmen under Belgian supervision. Addendum Located at the approach side of the blooming mill is a Breuer - Schumacher steam hydraulic bloom shear, while at the run-off side is a smaller hy- draulic billet shear. The rail blooms are delivered on the in- going table; whence they are taken by an overhead gripper crane to the rail mill, which is the usual method of working. The rail mill, for several stand pipe 100 ft. Ehrhardt & Sehmer Three-Cylinder Engine Driving Blooming Mill and Rail Mill, years at least, will high, shown in the view of the power house and blast furnaces, and the waste water is returned again to the reservoir or cooling tank, by a system of shallow cooling ditches. All pumps are electrically driven and were. built by Sulzer Freres, Paris, France. All water for boiler feed, hydraulic apparatus and town service passes through one of two sand filters fed from the river pipe. Miscellaneous Equipment A complete machine shop capable of doing all kinds of ordinary repair work for the plant and to finish heavy machin- ery is housed in one of the large buildings of the works. There is also a modern foundry capable of making castings up to 30 tons in weight, and also a blacksmith and roof shop for repair work. An ample store- house has been provided, built ant proof, for housing all supplies for the works. Four British standard, or 5 ft. 6 in. gauge locomotives, built by the American Locomotive Company, Pittsburgh, handle the switching at the works. They take freight from Kalimati to Sakchi over the company’s own tracks, a distance of about two miles. The plate work for the furnaces, stoves, mixer, etc., was furnished and erected by August Kloenne, Dortmund, Germany. The structural steel for the buildings at the blast furnaces, as well as for all other Showing Blooming Mill in the Background not be required to roll more than 600 to 800 tons per day. In case of any delay which would render the bloom too cold for direct rolling, it can be Steam Hydraulic Bloom Shear on Ingoing Side of Blooming Mill - . the reheating furnace by transfer crane and the same crane delivered to the rail mill. The tables for the rail mill have been so designed an be used for rolling beams and channels up desired. The three-cylinder Ehrhardt & Sehmer ich operates the blooming mill and rail mill has <1 3/16 in. in diameter and the same stroke. larger than the engine driving the blooming e Grand Crossing Tack Company, the cylinders ngine being 40 in. in diameter and 4o in. stroke. The Rail Question in Canada :to, April 8, 1912.—The Government’s Tariff Com- Bill received its third reading in the House ot ; and was passed on to the Senate. The Senate some amendments, all but one of which were ac- the Government. On the point of that amend- ther the Government nor the Senate would yield. hen Parliament was prorogued April 1 the bill run through the Parliamentary course necessary ts enactment. There ‘canetherefore be no Tariff Com- ion until Parliament meets again, which is expected the autumn or early next year. In the meantime n be no progress toward tariff revision after the decided on by the Government. The outlook is the patience of both of those who want more Runout from Blooming Mill, Showing Billet Shear THE IRON AGE Bleom Reheating Furnace in Tata Rail Mill tariff protection and those who want a reduction of the duties. The Hamilton Spectator says that the question of adequate protection to the iron and steel industry de- mands early and complete reconsideration. At a dinner given at the Canadian Club in London, England, about View of Traveling Table from the Ingoing Side of the Rail Mills of the Tata Iron & Steel Company three weeks ago, J. H. Plummer, president of the Domin- ion Steel Corporation, said that the United States had not taken any steel business from Canada but that the slack- ness of trade in the former country had compelled Cana- dian manufacturers to do business at very close prices. He added that after all Canada had done to develop the iron and steel industry she filled only about half her own market. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Company, Match 26, President Harris said that prices had recently been the lowest in the Canadian steel trade because of the dump- ing of surplus American -products on the Canadian market, which, he said, was rendered possible by the very inadequate Canadian steel tariff. He said he did not consider it creditable that nearly one-half the iron and steel used in Canada is im- ported from other countries. Some weeks ago, as duly reported in The Iron Age, the Legislature of Saskat- chewan passed a resolution calling upon the Dominion Government to remove the duty on steel rails imported from the United States, and pointing out that short- age in the supply of domestic rails caused great delay in railroad construction in the West, where additional lines are much needed, and that the cost of construction was materially enhanced by the rail duty. The Dominion Steel Corporation made prompt denial of the statement that the ig 2 : View of the Rail Straightener domestic supply féll short. J. D. McArthur, Winnipeg, one of the largest railroad builders in Canada, says that in the construction of the Edmonton, Dunnegan & British Columbia Railway, the scarcity of rails is the chief diffi- culty. He is. quoted as follows: “While we are not ready to lay any steel, at present or for some little time, we have got to book our orders :a long time in adyance. The steel makers in Canada tell us that they will not be able to let us have any steel this year. All they can turn out for some months ahead is already ordered. Under the circumstances we are asking the Dominion Government to allow steel to come in free of duty.” Mr. McArthur said that other railroads are in the same difficult position. The Grand Trunk Pacific, he was informed, was short of at least 500 miles of steel that it hoped to have been able to lay this year. General Manager MacLeod; of the Cana- dian Northern Railway Company, is also quoted as saying that the scarcity of rails retards construction and that the Canadian rail mills are a year behind their orders. In the session of Parliament that was this week brought to an end a very large aggre- gate sum was voted as subsidies to railroad undertakings. The following section ap- pears in the acts providing for such rail- road aid: “The Governor in Council may make it a condition of the grant of the subsidies herein provided that the company shall lay the railroad with new steel rails and fastenings made in Canada, and shall pur- chase all materials and supplies required for the construc- tion of the railroad. and bridges, and the rolling stock for the first equipment of the railroad, from Canadian pro- ducers, if such rails, fastenings, materials, supplies and equipment are procurable in Canada of suitable quality and upon terms as favorable as elsewhere, of which the Minister of Railways and Canals shall be the judge.” GAs ee IRON AGE Apri 1912 The Proposed Department of Lal WasHINGTON, D: C., April 9, 1912.—A new « tn to be known as the Department of Labor, wil a lished within 18 months if Congress approves | “peak cently introduced by Representative Sulzer, of } y = for that purpose. The Sulzer bill was refer; he House Committee on Labor a fortnight ago. T} oii tee amended it in several particulars, of no get ater est, and by a unanimous vote authorized the 1irmar Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, to have it reint: ed it the House. During the present week it will be fayorabh reported to the House and placed on the calendar. 4M; Wilson will bring it before the House when the Labo; Committee is reached in its regular course, and expects | pass it without material opposition. If Congress adjourns early in June it is doubtfy whether the Labor Department bill will receive consider; tion in the Senate at this session. Should it be favorably reported by the Committee on Education and Labor, a effort might be made to pass it as quickly as it can be reached during the few remaining weeks of the sessio It is certain to encounter some opposition in the Senate. however, from those who object to the creation of addi tional departments, the argument being that the number ot executive departments is already large and that the func tions of a Department of Labor are very satisfactorily discharged by the Bureau of Labor. It is to be said on the other hand, however, that the agricultural interests of the country are directly repre- sented in the Department of Agriculture; that the results that have followed the creation of this department have been of great value to the farming and allied interests; that the laboring classes, to use the term in its broad in- dustrial sénse, are entitled to greater dignity and attention than can be found in a mere bureau of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and that it is only common justice to grant them this new honor. Nor should it be forgotten that a Presidential election is impending and that both parties are eager to catch the labor vote and are not above using a proposition of this character to effect their purpose. Turbo Flowers in the Power House of the Tata Iren & Steel Company, Showie the Assembled Machines and Also Giving an Idea of the Interior Construction Should the bill become law before the close of this session President Taft will have the appointment 0! the first Secretary of Labor, a bit of patronage that he wit no doubt dispense with a view to the best political turns before the election next November. Already ™ politico-labor circles there is some discussion as t0 the man who may be selected. Samuel Gompers, president of the Federation of Labor, is reported as saying that - does not desire the appointment or, at least, that he wil make no campaign for that purpose. John Mitchell, @ member of the Executive Council of the Federation % ss nother man who would loom up prominently retaryship, should he evince a desire for it, and Dr. Charles P. Neill, present chief ot the Bureau Dr. Neill succeeded the late Carroll D. Wright go. For some years previously Dr. Neill has rs a& -hair of Professor of Political Economy at the niversity of this city. He has shown admirable the work and has made a reputation quite that of his distinguished predecessor. He is a road culture and scholarly attainments and is igh esteem by President Taft who frequently him regarding all matters having a labor basis. ill creating a Department of Labor provides that tary of Labor shall be a member of the Cabinet the Department of Commerce and Labor shall be called the Department of Commerce and the f that department shall be called the Secretary erce. The bill provides for three assistant sec- es, who shall supervise all matters relating to labor in manufacturing and the transportation indus- labor employed in mining, fisheries and agricul- d to labor employed in the building and the mer- lustries. In each of the principal divisions of ns t Coke Car of the Tata Iron & Steel Works, Showing Blast Furnace Plant in the Background department there is to be established a Bureau ot atistics which shall collect and report at least once each year full and complete statistics of the products and their listribution, and the condition of labor in each of the dif- terent industries. Under the provisions of the bill the Secretary-of the Department of Labor shall have power to act as mediator ind to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor dis- utes, whenever in his judgment the interest of industrial peace may require it to be done; and that all power and iuthority heretofore possessed or exercised by the head any executive department over any bureau, office, ‘st es alae Rie eas RAID 44 tli ff THE IRON AGE Character of the Metal Cars branch or division of the public service by this act trans- ferred to the Department of Labor, and any business aris- ing therefrom or pertaining thereto, whether of appellate or revisory character or otherwise, shall hereafter be vested in and exercised by the head of the said Depart- ment of Labor Representative Sulzer, speaking of the bill, says: “This bill, written on our statute books, will go far to allay jealousy, establish harmony, promote the general welfare, make the employer and employee better friends, prevent strikes and lockouts, stop boycotts and business paralysis and every year save millions of dollars of losses which re- sult necessarily therefrom.” J.G The Krupp Centenary The first week of August has been fixed for the cele- bration of the centenary of the great Krupp works at Essen, Germany, which will be attended by the Kaiser at the head of a brilliant galaxy of his fellow-German sov- ereigns, generals, admirals and civic dignitaries. The Krupps have also decided to invite distinguished represen- tatives of the steel and iron industry in all parts of the world, including several from the United States. A fea- ture of the festivities will be a series of sham battles Men armed with weapons of the era of the Emperor Maximilian I will make such headway as they can against an army equipped with modern rifles and artillery. The World’s Copper Production Statistics compiled by Henry R. Merton & Co, I td., London, give the world’s production of copper in tor! at 873,460 tons of 2240 lb., of which the United States is credited with 492,650 tons. This is considerably in excess of the production of any previous year. The output in 1910 was 855,685 tons; in 1909 it was 839,425 tons, and in no preceding year did the production approach these fig- ures. In 1905 the output was only 682,125 tons; in 1900 it was 479,514 tons, and in 18905 it was 334,565 tons. Electric Crane on Runway, Tata Iron & Steel Works, Showing the Skull Cracker at the End Against Metal Schedule Tariff Reductions Senate Finance Committee Shows How Iron and Steel and Machinery Industries Would Suffer from the Underwood Bill The majority of the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate, Boies Penrose, chairman, presented an adverse report to the Senate April 5 on the so-called Underwood bill revising Schedule C of the Payne- Aldrich tariff act, otherwise known as the metal schedule. A minority report will be presented by the Demo- cratic members of the committee. this recommendation are reproduced in full below. 1. The schedule of duties on metals and manufactures of metals, now effective, was adopted less than three years ago, after a most careful consideration of manufacturing conditions, labor cost, and other material facts, and after open and exhaustive hearings by the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives extending over a period of eight months, at which all who desired were afforded full opportunity to present their views both for and against the proposed revision then under con- sideration. It does not appear that any further investi- gation has been made by the Committee on Ways and Means, or that any hearings have been held to ascertain whether there is any necessity for a revision of the ex- isting schedule. On the contrary, hearings given by this committee to all persons desiring to appear either for or against the proposed revision indicate a widespread op- position to the revision of present rates proposed by the pending bill. The representatives of 245 different indus- trial concerns from 18 States, viz, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, West Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama, In- diana, Rhode Island, Idaho, Washington, Missouri, and Georgia, have appeared before this committee and pro- tested against the enactment of said bill, or against specific paragraphs thereof. Representatives of organized labor have also appeared and protested against the entire bill, while the representatives of 225 manufacturers of machine tools have appeared before this committee and stated that the provision of the said bill placing machine tools on the free list will compel them to close their factories, and will throw their employees out of work. The Present Metal Schedule Shows Important Reductions 2. The metal schedule of the Payne-Aldrich act materi- ally reduced the rates of duty of the Dingley act, which it superseded. Of the 69 dutiable paragraphs in the said schedule of the Dingley act, the rates of duty upon all of the articles covered by 40 of the paragraphs were reduced by the Payne act; those upon the articles covered by 8 paragraphs were in part reduced and in part increased, and no changes were made in the rates covered by 18 paragraphs. In only three of the paragraphs were the rates wholly increased. The reductions upon the prin- cipal articles covered by said schedule were,as follows: On iron ore, from 40 cents per ton to 15 cents per ton. On pig iron, iron kentledge, spiegeleisen, and ferroman- ganese, from $4 per ton to $2.50 per ton. On scrap iron and steel, from $4 per ton to $1 per ton. On bar iron, muck bars, square iron, etc., from 6-10 cent per Ib. to 3-10 cent per Ib. On round iron, in coils or rods, from 8-Io cent per lb. to 6-10 cent per Ib. On iron in slabs, blooms, loops, etc., to 4-10 cent per Ib. On beams, girders, joists, and other structural iron, from 5-I0 cent per lb. to 3-10 cent per Ib. On forgings of iron or steel, from 35 per cent..ad valorem to 30 per cent. ad valorem. On hoop or band iron or steel, from 5-10 cent per lb. to 3-10 cent per Ib. On railroad bars and T rails, from 7-20 cent per Ib. to 7-40 cent per Ib. On railroad fishplates or splice bars, from 4-10 cent per Ib. to 3-10 cent per Ib. f 5-10 cent per lb. On tin plates, terne plates, and taggers tin, from 1%’ cents per Ib. to 11/5 cents per Ib. A liquidation of the duties collected under the Payné- The majority report recommends that the bill be not enacted. Its reasons for Aldrich act on all metals and manufactures thereof im- ported during the six months from October 1, 1900, to March 31, 1910, as compared with the liquidation of the duties that would have been chargeable upon the same im- portations at the rates pro