The Iron Age 1912-09-12: Vol 90 Iss 11

THE [RON AGE Established 1855 New York, September 12, 1912 Vol. 90: No. 11 Iron and Steel of Ancient Origin The Oldest Specimens of Iron and Steel in Existence Found in India and Egypt A paper of absorbing interest was presented at the lron and Steel Institute meeting of May 9, in London, England, by Sir Robert A. Hadfield, entitled “Sinhalese Iron and Steel of Ancient Origin.” This paper, however, was of far wider than indicated in the title, as it em- bodied much information obtained by the author in re- searches in other portions of India and in Egypt as well as a great deal of matter secured from the writings of others who had preceded him in investigations of this fascinating subject. Sir Robert showed at the meeting specimens of iron and steel from some of the buried cities of Ceylon which he obtained from the Colombo Museum through the kindness of the Governor-General of Ceylon, Sir Henry McCallum. Analyses and other metallur- gical information regarding these specimens are given in the paper. In The Iron Age of January 4, 1912, an article scope ~ ‘emarkable Specimens of Ancient Egyptian Iron: No. 1, Knife with a Cast No. 5, ally contributed for that issue by Sir Robert was shed which treated to some extent of ancient Sin- se irofand steel and reproduced photographs of some the specimens referred to. A reprint of the paper read he [ron and Steel Institute meeting gives a consider- number of plates showing the specimens of iron now - Colombo Museum which were taken from the fol- ng buried cities of Ceylon: Anuradhapura, 437 B.C 9 A.D.; Polonnaruwa, 769 A.D, to 1319 A.D.; Sigi- 479 A.D. The articles thus shown comprise parts gricultural implements, cutting instruments, tools for ing and other trades, spear heads, etc. The specimens er several hundred, are unquestionably 1200 to 1800 years old and are in a remarkably good state of preserva- hior Doubie Axe, Crucible Steel Made in India Long Before England Made It Among other authorities quoted, Sir Robert refers to a repoit by the Director of the Colombo Museum, Dr. \rthur Willey, in which the statement is made that the ancient. Indian method of making steel in clay crucibles seems to be identical with the method thought to have been invented in England in the middle of the eighteenth century, referring, of course, to the crucible process cred- ited to Benjamin Huntsman. Papers contributed to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1837 and 1839 by J. M. Heath appear to establish the fact that processes of making iron and steel have been used in India for many thousands of ‘ears and that it may be taken as established that the crucible process has been used in Ceylon for a long period of time.~ Heath not only claims that the Hindoos had been 400 B. C. Nos. 2 and 3, Hatchets, 700 B 4, Knife, 700 B.. ¢ Bronze Handle, 800 B. C. familiar with the manufacture of steel from time imme- morial, but holds the opinion that the great stone works of Egypt could only have been carried out by tools of iron, probably of cemented or hardened steel, an opinion in which Sir Robert coincides ; Dr. Coomaraswamy, who was until a few years ago the principal mineral surveyor in Ceylon, is cited in supplying evidence that the ancient Hindoos were not only skilled in manufacturing steel and iron but in working these prod- ucts and in tempering steel. It is claimed, indeed, that ‘Damascus blades were fashioned from Indian iron. The ondanique or Indian steel of Kirman, which Marco Polo mentions, was so called from its comparative excellence, and the swords of Kirman were eagerly sought after in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by the Turks, who & | NS Ma Ae Sp nrc ee oe nr tee fig OLR eee cnt Be GP oa smpgenee encom ne a Sanit Ree ee, on i baad sah eee ean ne ener i iy 570 THE IRON AGE gave great prices for them. Arrian mentions steel as imported into the Abyssinian ports, and Salmasius men- tions that among surviving Greek treatises was one “On the Tempering of Indian Steel” The manufacture of crucible cast steel by the Sin- halese is now almost an extinct industry, as steel can be imported from Europe more cheaply than it can be man- ufactured locally. The Delhi and Dhar Pillars Another section of the paper treats of the great iron Delhi and Dhar pillars in India. The pillar of Delhi is a solid shaft of wrought iron and has a total length of 23 ft. 8 in. of which 22 ft. is above and 20 in. below ground; the upper diameter is 12% in. and the lower diameter 16% in.; the total weight is about 6 tons. It ends in a bulb like an onion, held in place by eight short thick rods of iron on which it rests and which at their lower extremity are let into blocks of stone in which they are secured by lead. The iron of which the pillar is made seems to have been originally in blooms of about 80 Ib. weight each. In a communication to The Iron Age, dated August 21, Sir Robert states that he had been able to obtain specimens from the pillar, frem which on analy- sis the following results were obtained, being probably the first time that a complete analysis has been given of the material of which it is composed: Per cent. Carbon 0.080 Silicon 0.046 Sulphur 0.006 Phosphorus i hianae ker ee Manganese Ne hearee nil Total of elements other than iron.......... ‘ 0.246 . 99.720 99.966 Specific gravity, 7.81 per cent. Ball hardness, No. 186. “It will be noticed,” says Sir Robert, “that the mate- rial is an excellent type of wrought iron, the sulphur be- ing particularly low, indicating that the fuel used in its manufacture and treatment must have been very pure (probably charcoal). There is no manganese present—a somewhat special point, as wrought iron usually contains manganese. The iron was ascertained by actual analysis and not by ‘difference.’ ” For the specimens from the pillar which were thus ana- lyzed Sir Robert is indebted to J. H. Marshall, Director- General of Archeology in India. On this subject the fol- lowing excerpt is taken from a report of the executive engineer of the Delhi Provincial Division to the Director- General of Archeology: “Mr. Marshall said that, in hand- ing over to Sir Robert A. Hadfield the two kinds of chip- pings taken from the iron pillar at Qutab near Delhi, one consisted of rust scales taken off with the help of chisel and hammer strokes from an area of 14 in. by 5 in., and the other kind consisted of chippings chiseled out of the pillar itself, weighing a little over two ounces. Both kinds were taken from below the surface of the limestone platform built around the pillar. The iron pillar above the surface of the platform is absolutely free from rust, but the lower portion below the platform, which had been in contact with lime, had rusted. The circular platform at the bottom of the pillar had to be partially removed, which, together with the time occupied in obtaining the chippings, took about two hours. The portion of the platform removed is now being rebuilt.” The iron pillar at Dhar, which is 33 miles west of iIndor, and was described by Vincent A. Smith, of the Indian Civil Service, in a paper to the Royal Asiatic So- ciety in 1898, had a total length of no less than 42 ft. The three existing pieces measure 24 ft., 12 ft. and 6 ft. in length, while a fragment is missing The column, there- fore, was approximately double the hight of the Delhi pil- lar. Mr. Smith says: “While we marvel at the skill shown by the ancient artificers in forging the great mass of the Delhi pillar, we must give a still greater measure of admiration to the forgotten craftsmen who dealt so successfully in producing the still more ponderous iron mass of the Dhar pillar monument with its total length of 42 ft., which, like the pillar at Delhi, is of the Gupta period, or about the year 321 of our Christian era.” On July 17, at the 250th anniversary conversazione of the Royal Society, held in Burlington House, Sir Robert showed the chippings from the Delhi pillar and also ex- September 12 hibited, in addition to his own Indian and Ceylon tion, five remarkable specimens of Egyptian iron he was enabled to present through the courtesy Flinders Petrie, one of the most eminent English | ologists. A reproduction of a photograph of Egyptian specimens, furnished by Sir Robert to Th; Age, is given herewith. These specimens, although - 27 centuries old, show no oxidation and look as if had just come from the forge. The double axe, No. 1. at the top of the engraving, dates about 4oo B.C.: the two hatchets, Nos. 2 and 3, about 700 B.C.; the small ‘kn No. 4, about 700 BC., and the large knife at the bottom. No. 5, which is provided with a cast bronze handle, about 800 B.C. The double axe is 10% in. long, and has a hole 134 in, in diameter; the larger hatchet is 4 in. wide at the cutting edge, the blade is %4 in. thick at about 1 in. from the cutting edge, and % in. thick under the handles: the corresponding dimensions of the smaller hatchet are 3 in,, ¥% in. and ¥% in.; the smaller knife is 9% in. long, the handle is % in. wide, the blade % in. wide, tapering down at the end to % in.; the larger knife is 14% in. long, the handle % in. wide, with a thicker portion % in. wide, the blade being % in. in width, tapering down to % in. at the tip lron and Steel Institute Fall Meeting The autumn meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute will be held at Leeds, England, September 30 and October 1 to 4. The list of papers announced is as follows Nitrogen and Iron. By J. H. Andrew. The Solubility of Cementite in Hardenite. By Dr. J. O. Arnold and L. Aitchison. The Solubility or Diffusion of Hardenite in Ferrite. By Dr. J. O. Arnold and C, Chappell. The Gases Evolved on Heating Steel to Its Melting Point in a Vacuum. By G. Wesley Austin. Allotropy in General and that of Iron in Particular. By Dr. C. Benedicks. A New Type and Method of Construction of Large Gas Engines sy A. E. L. Chorlton. The Thermal-Magnetic Transformations of 25 Per Cent. Nickel Steel. By Dr. E. Colver-Glauert and Dr. S. Hilpert. A New Method for the Improvement of the Soundness of Steel Ingots by the Aid of Thermit. By Dr. Hans Goldschmidt. A Method of Producing Sound Ingots. By Sir Robert A. Had field. A New Method of Revealing Segregation in Steel Ingots. By Sir Robert A. Hadfield. The Magnetic Properties of Manganese and Nickel Steels. By Dr. S. Hilpert and Dr. W. Mathesius, Worcester, Mass. The Question of the Existence of Commercial Hyper-Eutetic White Iron Free from Manganese. By Dr. H. M. Howe. Steel Works Yields. By P. Longmuir and W. H. Robinson. Some Aspects of Wire Drawing. By P. Longmuir. The Manufacture of Open-hearth Steel, with Reference to Im- provement in Yield. By F. W. Paul. Rolling-Mill Practice in the United States. By J. Puppe, Breslau. The Growth of Cast Irons After Repeated Heatings, Parts V and VI. .By Prof. H. F. Rugan, New Orleans. The Iron Ores and Mineral Resources of Chili. By Charles Vattier. Arrangements have been made for visits to various iron and steel plants in Leeds, including a number 0! large foundries, a coal mine and a coking plant. The Gary Screw & Bolt Company’s Catalogue The Gary Screw & Bolt Company, Gary, Ind., is send- ing out its catalogue No. 1 and official price list, 5% *7%4 in. This catalogue has a complete marginal index and 1s tastefully published. It is bound in a stiff paper cover. The full line of products manufactured by this company includes machine bolts, carriage bolts, coach and ‘ag screws, blank bolts and bolt ends, stud bolts, turned and finished bolts, foundation bolts, stay bolts, truss and bridge rods, patch bolts, hot and cold pressed nuts in all finishes, and a complete line of set and cap screws. An elaborate illustration of each of these products is made possible through the use of highly finished paper. The tables ol sizes and list prices are presented with respect to sube'vr sions, arrangement and clearness of type in a manner to promote easy reference. Tables of weights and areas 0! bar stock are incorporated. Supplements to this catalogue are to be issued from time to time as occasion may T quire. bs Sep: mber 12, 1912 Malleable Casting Practice * Discussion of Commercial Tendencies BY DR. RICHARD MOLDENKE, WATCHUNG, N. J. s well known, the production of malleable castings ied out in America almost entirely with a view of ng the “black heart” variety, while in Europe the steely fracture is the rule. The latter material may rcadily machined and finished up with little loss of strength, while the “black heart” suffers seriously if the skin casting is removed. The differences lie primarily heat treatment given the two varieties of malleable astings in the percentages of phosphorus and sulphur sed, and finally in the uses they are put to. Tendency Toward Making the Least Weight Do the Work e question of strength is not always a serious one in alleable castings work, so long as a casting is intended to nished up as part of a machine tool, or where the : thus expended forms the principal item. Something : little better than cast iron is wanted, and the malleable ng machines up easier than the steel one. Where, wever, no labor whatever is intended to be expended n the malleable casting, as is practically always the case th the “black heart” American variety, there is the some- t natural tendency toward making the least weight do work. Were this commercial consideration always accompanied th the proper understanding of the characteristics of the terial involved, there would be no harm done. But vhere the consumer forces the manufacturer to take hances his better judgment would not sanction, then it becomes a serious matter. In the first place, this continual lemand for a better grade of material is a good thing for development of an industry, since stricter specifications ire made and methods of production are improved; in rt, a pound of iron is made to go further in the ‘ser- ice of man than it could before. On the other side the following may be said: That in the entire range of the isting industry there is a present tendency toward run- ng up the more striking characteristics of a material to 2 point of excellence at the expense of other but none the ss valuable ones. For instance, instead of making use i the ordinary malleable casting, as readily made from | irons under standard conditions, a grade of cast iron made with the plentiful addition of steel to the mixture, nd advertised as “semi-steel,” is substituted on account of ts lower cost. Again, instead of using the steel casting ‘irect, where a high tensile strength is desired, a very-low- otal-carbon malleable casting is made to do because it is Caper _ The result of this short-sighted policy is the production a series of supposedly high-grade materials which in reality are very unreliable. The principal sufferer is the consumer who does not make any specifications, but gets bulk of the metal that has to be made to satisfy the one does. The latter, who may need only a limited quan- asks for the almost impossible, and the product is robably entirely unsuited for general work. Attention is directed to the above tendency in America at this time, because the export of “black heart” malleable castings is beginning to be a factor in international trade. ‘ith a present American production of some 800,000 tons I these castings, and a capacity of over 1,000,000 tons an- ly, there is bound to be some investigation on the part nsumers in other countries relative to the merits of material in question. This in turn compels the pro- rs of those countries to take notice and will naturally ect their practice. 3 The Use of Steel Scrap that the matter may be better understood, a few nec- details of production are given: In regular mallea- elting practice, both in Europe and America, a limited nt of steel scrap is added to improve the material. fects an initial reduction in the total carbon with a ent increase in the tensile strength of the finished es. With the very best of irons, short heats, first- innealing conditions, and in fact the carrying out of ‘cesses which are calculated to give the best results, nted to the International Association for Testing Materials, ngress, New York, September, 1912. THE IRON AGE 57! it is not possible to get a very. high tensile strength with- out sacrificing some of the shock-resisting properties for which the malleable casting is justly famous. Thus, the ordinary “black heart” product, as tested transversely by means of the I in. square test bar placed on supports 12 in. apart, should stand a load of 3000 Ib. applied at the center, and give a deflection of at least 4 in., and in exceptionally good material the deflection may run even beyond 2% in. The tensile strength of such test bars will not run much over 42,000 Ib. per sq. in. It is quite possible, by a heavy initial reduction in the total carbon through steel scrap additions, to obtain tensile strengths of above 58,000 Ib. per sq. in., and when extreme care has been exercised in the melting and annealing processes to keep oxidation of the metal down to a minimum the de- flection will still be good. The chances are, however, so very much against this, even in the highest type establish- ments, that whoever insists upon this high-grade materiai and bases the calculation of his structures involving risk of life upon them makes a serious mistake. He had much better specify the steel casting in the first place. As a mere item to show the delicacy of the manufactur- ing process there may be mentioned the fact, well known to the producer but perhaps not at all to the consumer, that with composition and manufacturing processes iden- tical up to this point, castings taken from saggers dumped on Monday morning—the one day when the annealing ovens are discharged cold—are much softer, bend and twist better, and are in every way more desirable as malleable castings, than those obtained the other days of the week. Yet the tensile strength of such -castings is considerably below those dumped out. hot. Oxidation Not Cheaply Corrected The malleable casting differs from all others in that any attempt to correct the oxidation of the metal in a heat before pouring so increases the expense that it cannot com- pete with cast steel. With the addition of much scrap steel to a charge, with the personal equation of the prob- able low type of melter, and with the probable variations in the annealing temperatures, an attempt to work for very high tensile strengths is not followed by reliable re- sults. The chance of oxidizing the iron in addition to the silicon and manganese is such that a more or less open crystalline structure results, with consequent penetration of further oxygen during the annealing process, weaken- ing the casting. This may be readily seen from the effect of changing to coke irons from the charcoal varieties. Charcoal irons, with their high total carbon and compara- tive freedom from oxidation as blown in the furnace, when compared with the coke irons, gave the foundryman a chance to obtain good castings in spite of slight unavoid- able variations in his practice. In American practice, at least, the change to coke irons has compelled the raising of the silicon specified in pig irons, in order to avoid this chance of initial oxidation as much as possible. Until we have better melting methods (possibly when the electric furnace has been sufficiently developed along lines of economical production), and until we can obviate or cheaply correct any undue oxidation of the molten metal before it is cast, it would be wise to lay more par- ticular stress upon the development of the malleable cast- ing commercially along lines of greater softness rather than high strength. Where the latter is essential the steel casting is certain to replace it sooner or later. On the other hand, with the specifications so shaped that the re- silience of the material is made prominent for ultimate development, the excellences of this peculiar product of the casting industry will be brought out and the material kept in its proper sphere of usefulness. Activity at Shipyards—Commissioner of Navigation Chamberlain has issued this statement: “The shipyards of the United States during the current fiscal year will be more busily employed than in a decade, according to re- turns filed with the Bureau of Navigation. On July 1, 1912, the shipyards reported that 120 steel vessels, aggre- gating 254,000 gross tons, were under construction or under contract to be built, against barely 100,000 tons at the same time a year ago. The influence of the coming opening of the Panama Canal is manifest, as upward of 80,000 tons is building for use through the canal.” a i ms ec CRO a RRR ARI ST Ie “mB SI a ia es pas dal 7 “< ‘ a . lil = i hy alt 4 , ~~ £ * paige * 5 te ee ge . Nf Mace her Be eel’ Wg 73 2 bes apitanteae e pehy _ il : kas iit eee ae eg ee 60 a a : SPR Va a ee age NaS Sa a oe i ie eh ek ee ok ee eee Making Copper-Clad Steel Products Interesting Details of the Process Employed by the Duplex Metals Company—The Plant a Good Example of Steel Frame Factory Construction Efforts by a number of producers of copper-coated steel products to manufacture such material with a suf- ficiently heavy and uniform coating of copper satisfactory for commercial products have established the fact that the weakest spot in the product was at the point of the contact between the two metals. With the necessity of overcoming this weak- ness as an objective point, the Duplex Metals Com- pany, Chester, Pa., has de- veloped a process by which it is able to obtain a product in which the association or welding of the copper and steel has been perfected. After extensive experi- ments, by which some me- chanical means was sought to get the copper to hold to the steel, that of welding the two metals through the medium of a copper-iron al- loy was developed. Some 50 years ago a copper-coated iron wire was made by wrapping strips of copper around an iron wire and then tinning the whole, but the product was not a success, In 1880 a bi-metal- lic wire was made after a process, it is stated, of cast- ing a sleeve of copper around the middle of a steel ingot and by subsequent rolling the copper was spread in both directions on the surface of the steel, producing a rod which was afterward drawn into wire Several other developments of processes to manufacture so-termed bi-metallic cop- per-coated ste el followed, } but were discontinued 7 “4 . . 1 “Tre Fig. I—A Section of the Mold FElectro-plating steel wire with the Billet in Positi: with copper was also given some attention About 10 years ago John [erreolt Monnot, who had given the development of copper-clad steel considerable attention in France, came to this country and after ex- haustive experimental work on the development of the process here described, organized, in 1905, the Duplex Metals Company, which leased and later acquired the rolling mill plant of the old Combination Iron & Steel Company at Chester, Pa. Here extensive developments in the manufacture of its copper-clad steel products, as well as improvements in methods and equipment have steadily followed until at the present time it has an en- tirely modern plant, particularly adapted for the manu- facture of finished and semi-finished copper-clad steel materials. In the early days of the history of the con- cern the copper-coated steel billets did not weigh over 20 lb., but now billets weighing over 800 Ib. are success- fully treated. The development of this copper-clad steel product has been along practical, rather than theoretical lines, in that each copper-clad product, instead of being theoretically estimated as to load, conductivity, service, etc., has been put to severe practical tests, before being placed on the general market. Chemistry, micro-metallurgy and heat treatment have had an important bearing on the making of the product, every step of which is controlled by, nite time and temperature operations. From a metal gical standpoint the microscope played an important In the photo-micrographs shown herewith, Fig, 2 re sents a cross-section of a 5/16-in. steel billet, before coating with copper, while Fig. 3 shows the weld area ip a longitudinal section of a %-in. copper-clad steel rod. The theory and what has also been shown to be the fact, on which the success of the Duplex Metals Com- pany’s process is based, is that an actual weld of the copper and steel takes place, not directly, but through the medium of a copper-iron alloy, the formation of which represents the first step in the process. On this alloy a commercial copper jacket is cast, which immediately associates itself with the copper-iron alloy. This is illus- trated more clearly in the reproduction of a comparative corrosion test made of a copper-clad and an unwelded copper-covered steel rod. In Fig. 5, which represents the former, corrosion has set up at or near the center of th: steel and has proceeded more or less slowly toward the copper, being less active at the copper contact point and forming a crater-like cavity. In Fig. 6, which represents the unwelded rod, the action of the corrosive agent set in at the point of contact of the two metals and pro- ceeded more or less rapidly along that contact and through the steel, until the latter was dissolved. In the copper-clad rod the steel was dissolved but there also remained a honey- combed area of copper-steel alloy, which was insoluble in the reagent used for dissolving the steel. This phenome- non has been explained on the ground that in copper- clad material there is a definite union of the copper and the steel, and that certain products of this union possess properties which retard ionization and do not accelerate corrosion. In the unwelded rod there being no definite Fig. 2 . Fig. 3 Fig. 5 ‘ Fig. 6 Microphotographs of Various Copper-Clad Sections union of the copper and the steel, and therefore no other compounds being present, the differences in the polarity and potential between the copper and the steel accelerate corrosion. The practical test as to the perfection and strength 572 Coy er 12, 1912 velded area itself is more clearly illustrated in 1 which it will be observed that the section of the ’ vs clearly the demarcation of the copper and the his has been sawed through the copper coating the steel, after which the various sections have upward and show clearly the bending of the tion inside of the weld area of the copper and ief the process appears simple, including the for- copper-iron alloy, the casting of the copper illoyed ingot and the heating and rolling of the ind the wing of making ls, ete. tails at ge of the how- ivolve no complica- the proc- Che raw steel I speci emical J nalysis, usually x 6 x 30 in., are rst drilled and to admit rt rod in- ed to hold it ertical po- n in the mold in which the alloying and welding opera- tions are done. THE IRON AGE 573 face of the billet before immersion in the copper bath. The furnace, Fig. 7, is of a rotary type, lined with magnesite brick and having a capacity of 25,000 lb. of copper. Fuel oil is used for melting, the burners being located at either end of the furnace. At the center of the furnace a circular crucible is constructed, which is a part of the furnace itself, and when the furnace is in a semi- upright position it acts as an outlet for the gases and also permits the crucible to be maintained at the constant tem- perature of the furnace. When the ingot is ready to be treated, the furnace is rotated on roller bearings so as to bring the cruci- ble into an up- right position, the platform at- tached to it covering the pit at the floor level, Fig. 8. The po- sition of the fur- nace is shown in Fig. 9. The bil- let with its at- tached flange is lowered from the mold _ into the crucible con- taining the melted copper, the length of im- mersion being governed by the temperature and the time neces- sary for the formation of the alloy. On re- It is then pickled Fig. 8—The Billet Immersed in the Copper in the Crucible moval from the in a bath of muriatic acid to remove scale, rust and other foreign matter, after which it is washed, preheated and maintained a bath to prevent oxidation. [he mold is of cast iron, in two sections, the billet ing centered by a short coupling attached to the base rod, extending through the top of the mold and held ition by a three-jaw chuck. A section of the mold the billet in position is shown in Fig. 1. On closing mold strips of asbestos fiber are used in making a int. The mold with the billet is then carried, by erhead tramrail system, to the furnace where the rocess of alloying is conducted, acetylene gas being into the mold to prevent oxidation of the sur bath the mold and the ingot are carried on the same overhead tramrail system to another rotary furnace, where commercial cop- per is. maintained at a definite temperature. After the ingot and the mold are set on a base block, designed to hold the ingot and mold in a relative vertical position at the base, molten copper at a predetermined tempera- ture is poured into the mold by plumbago crucibles and unites with the alloyed surface of the billet. After cool- ing the molds are stripped’ from the copper-coated ingots, and the latter are placed in the specially constructed, con- tinuous heating furnaces shown in Fig. 10. These fur- naces, which are open at both sides, are top fired with fuel oil, the direction of the flame and the heat being Fig. 7—The Rotary Furnace Containing a Bath of Molten Copper in an Upright Position 74 THE IRON AGE downward through openings in an arch extending across the furnace. The floor of the furnace is checkered, so that an even distribution of heat is maintained through- out. The billets are laid on water-cooled pipes, extend- ing above the bottom of the furnace, thus providing for an even distribution of heat throughout the billet. From Inverted Crucible acting as Chimne Fig. 9—Details of the Melting Furnace the heating furnace the billets are carried by overhead tramrail systems to the various mills for rolling to the desired shapes and sizes. The rolling practice is similar to that of steel and it is interesting to note that notwith- standing the differences between the physical properties of the copper and steel, the two metals, when welded by this process, flow practically as one and the proportional areas of the copper and the steel remain practically a constant from the larger to the smaller passes. Considerable attention has been given to the metallurgy of copper-clad steel by Wirt Tassin, until recently metal- lurgical engineer for the Duplex Metals Company, who in an article in The Iron Age, June 9, 1910, referred par- ticularly to the micro-metallurgy of this product Test Room f the rack Industria September 12 Physical constants for copper-clad wire of 40 | conductivity have been determined by various au A mean of twelve samples submitted to the ( Department of the United States Army, at the States Arsenal, Watertown, Mass., was as follows + ( True elastic limit, Ib. per sq. i Johnson elastic limit, Ib. per sq. in Modulus of elasticity before stressing, lb Modulus of elasticity after stressing, lb Tensile strength after repeated stresses, As the value of copper-clad products for mec! purposes lies in the strength and non-corrosiveness, that amount of copper necessary to prevent rust quired. Two things affect the relative proporti steel and copper: the size of the finished product and | use for which it is intended. Regardless of any condition there must be a minimum thickness of c covering the steel. For electrical use, strength and sistance must be considered, whether a small wire of per cent. conductivity, or a larger one of 30 per cent conductivity, or one of 40 per cent. would best serve. The Duplex Metals Company makes regular grades of 30, 4o and 47 per cent. conductivity solid copper wire. As the Fig. 10—Details of the Heating Furnace drawing of copper-clad wire requires special knowledge, particularly as to correctness of the shape of the die, proper lubricant, speed, annealing points, etc., all the wire is drawn under its own direct supervision to the Brown & Sharpe gauge. The Plant The plant, a plat. of which is reproduced in Fig. 11, is located on the Delaware River front at Chester, Pa, Duplex Metals Company, Chester, Pa. Platform Pickling Room L! Weter Heater Se Ler 12, Ig12 gs a site of 11 acres. The buildings which, when nt was acquired, were all of frame construction, een entirely replaced with structural steel frame es. All the equipment is modern. Electricity is most exclusively for power purposes, and the out- the plant, as now equipped, 25,000,000 lb. annually. rolling mills and metallurgi- {| mechanical departments are {1 in one main building, meas- 184 x 260 ft., with a 60 x 79- tension at one end. Railroad extend across one end and th sides of the building and the wire, nail and other de- ents at the rear of the main 4 ng. The metallurgical depart- s at the rear of the main build- Here are received the crude illets, which are unloaded by tric crane, and the machinery 4 rilling and tapping them, the ng tanks, the mold heating fur- and the platforms for adjust- e billets to the molds are con- ently placed. An overhead tram- stem carries the molds to the melting furnaces for alloy ent. Two 25,000-lb. rotary es are provided, each with an endent fuel system, using electrically-driven positive ire blowers, which are so arranged, however, that can be used with either furnace, should there be any ‘down in the system. These furnaces are entirely 4 vered with heavy sheet-iron casings, carrying the heat e tside the building. Adjacent are two 10,000-lb. plain ry type furnaces for melting the copper for casting on lloyed ingot. An overhead tramway system carries copper-clad billets from the mold stripping floor to the iting furnaces, where a mechanical charging machine harges them into the heating furnaces, which are located jacent to the 23-in. mill rolling 8 x 8-in. billets down to which is shown in Fig. 12, and the 60-in. plate and eet bar mills, which are driven by a Corliss rolling mill Furnaces for heating slabs and plates, an an- furnace, rotary shears, straightener and slab shears ated conveniently near the mills. A cold-roll mill ited near the upper end of the building. In connec- vith this mill, portable coiling, slitting, slotting and ing machines are used, each being placed in position the mill, according to the class of work to be done. point are also located the pickling tanks and other ment necessary for cold rolling: A battery of small ngine THE IRON AGE rotary melting furnaces used for the recovery of copper from scrap is also situated near by. ; The to and 12-in. mills for rolling a 4-in, square billet down to % or % in. illustrated in Fig. 13 have their own battery of heating furnaces. Adjacent to the 10-in. mill is the stock platform te which is } delivered wire rods, etc. for | transportation to the wire draw- | ing or other departments. An industrial railway reaches prac- tically every department of the plant from this point. The 12- Fig. 12—The 23-In. Mill for Rolling an 8 x $-In. Billet to 4 In. in, mill is driven by a Porter-Allen and the 1o-in. mill by a Buckeye engine. The steam power plant for the mill engines comprises a battery of three 250-hp. engines and is located close by the rolling mill department. An efficient system of overhead cranes serves the rolling mill depart ment. A bridge crane covers the 23-in. and the plate mills; electric fib cranes serve the various furnaces, tanks, etc., while a complete system of industrial railway tracks facili- tates transportation in every department. The laboratory is located at the right of the metallurgical department, while the machine shop, which contains the usual comple- ment of machine tools, is situated in one corner of the plant together with the electrical department and the pipe fitting and other mechanical repair departments. The wire drawing department Fig. 14, is located at the rear of the metallurgical department, occupying a building which, including the annealing and pickling rooms, meas- ures 60 x 100 ft. The wire mill equipment is of the usual type, specialized in some instances for the particular class of work, large blocks, single blocks, continuous machines, straighteners, etc., being advantageously grouped. A num- ber of nail machines utilize the short lengths of wire in the manufacture of the various sizes of copper clad nails. nt Fig. 13—The 12 and 10-In. Mills for Reducing a 4-In. Billet Ra Ot ere Ei era Pon ee a aa es SEI TTR ase 7 ens os a Sars en ee ae Pye P i, ee Re nie a oa ie as See ee ee nes . 7, a ety 2 el ee ae ee iS Tien OTE at or se ge RR ed - ha ee inked. as Raabeties. Ag “ PERT AM = eaves ewe, ste <sdibinn anaes are en “er a ee | | gem vat nt THE IRON te th \ td oo Fig. 14.—A View Adjacent to the wire mill is the storage and shipping room and a testing room, where previous to shipment every coil of wire is tested for conductivity and gauge by representatives of’ the Wire New York. In close proximity to the main manufacturing buildings are located the blacksmith sh rious other buildings. Inspection Bureau of storage and va- At one side is a battery of crude oil storage tanks, having an aggregate capacity of 100,000 ps, rooms gal. in the of copper clad products, every billet being inspected finish. Each and rod is inspected and all of the former are designated by serial numbers, which carried throughout the the Careful inspection is made of a Inspections play an important part manutacture tor bar finished surtace are various stages to finished coil of wire sample from every coil of rod for perfection of surface and weld before it is delivered to the wire drawing de partment Che in which the Duplex Metals Company specialize include electric transmission wire, various wire products nail bond and signal wire, cotter pins, springs and series are and incandescent wire. Insulated and waterproofed wire are also made with a copper coating, although the company does not include the covering of the line wire wire in its In addition to the wire lines it manufactures copper- clad strips and sheéts, the latter up to 54 in. wide, and small shapes up to 3-in. angles and channels. A very con siderable portion of its product is being exported, going to both Continental Europe, England and the South American countries. A stock of 300,000 to 500,000 lb. of copper and the same quantity of steel billets is carried as well as cop- per-clad steel bars, wire rods and semi-finished materials. The Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania held its opening meeting for the season of 1912-13 last week in its rooms in the Henry W. Oliver Building, Pittsburgh. A paper on the “Ohio River Highway Bridge at Sewick- ley” was presented by V. R. Covell, deputy county engineer of Allegheny County. The Duncannon Iron & Steel Company, Pa., put its 12-in. mill and puddling double turn Duncannon, has furnaces on September | AGE 4 Wie a SUS OT SS YS SS SS ‘ae iy * r ie > zz | | - 5 the Wire Department A Portable Electric Drill Test The following report on a series of tests made by the University of Cincinnati on a %-in. electric drill manu- factured by the Standard Electric Tool Company, Cin cinnati, Ohio, shows a remarkable performance: Data of est on Standard %” 110-lolt Portable Electric Time in seconds lest of Depth Volts Watts of hole Mater 95 ) 5? Ste numbDert 110 450 ad a 67 Ste 650 , . 35 Stee first test ‘oad on rhe watts of the varied owing to the drill, as the feed was too rapid to be regular. Test performed by A. H. Stewart. Attested to by A. M professor of electrical engineering varying Wilson, hese tests were made by placing the electric drill in an upright position under the spindle of an upright drill press, and the press feed used to force the drill against the work. [ests Nos. I and 3 were made under the must unfavor- able circumstances met with in electric drill practice. Test No. I was made at a low voltage and the drill was worked extraordinarily hard, and test No. 3 was made at an ab- normally high voltage and the drill again worked much harder than it would ever be possible for it to be worked in actual practice. In either of these cases the drill was not damaged in the least, either by the high mechanical strains or by overheating. Test No. 2 was made under normal conditions both as to voltage and load applied to the machine, approximating as nearly as possible to operating conditions where the tool would be in continuous service. The time required to drill a %-in. hole through 2 in. of steel is quite noteworthy in the above tests, which show that at even the reduced pressure of 95 volts it can made to drill at the rate of I in. in 26 sec. The Rateau Steam Regenerator Company, 140 Cedar street, New York, has granted a license to the Ingersoll Rand Company to manufacture the patented Rateau regu lator for mixed flow turbines. The General Electric © n pany, the Southwark Foundry & Machine Company and t! Ridgway Dynamo & Engine Company have been for some time manufacturing under a similar license from t Rateau Steam Regenerator Company. Se ember 12, IgI2 Motor-Driven Forced Draft Blower striking example of the simplicity and efficiency of m of a motor-driven blower for furnishing the air rnaces and forges is clearly brought out by the nent installed several months ago at the plant of lerchant’s Dispatch Transportation Company, East qa ster, N. Y. The blower consists of a No. Io steel a special type blower, built by the Buffalo Forge Com- E Buffalo, N. Y., and directly connected to a 75-hp. CL Westinghouse induction motor. rmerly the company used a belt-driven outfit for ing air to a large number of oil burning furnaces, ll as for burning crude oil in the forges where the is heated for forming and bending and welding in mstruction of the cars built at this plant. Con- le trouble was experienced, due to breakage and ge of the belts and on account of the lack of floor both the blower and the motor were placed up in yf trusses. As compared with the old outfit, the motor-driven outfit occupies so little space that ild be installed in a much more desirable and ad- geous position, and by reason of the absence of all trouble due to shutdowns on account of them was ited ard the service has been satisfactory. The air is dcliveread ai a pressure of 8 oz. per sq. in., and the oil at a pressure of about 5 lb., this being obtained by placing the oil in a large overhead tank. The blower is of the steel plate pressure type and has a capacity of 10,000 cu. ft. per min. at a pressure of 11 oz. per sq. in. The whole unit is built to resist ttt rains of high pressure duty, such as are encountered in delivering large amounts of air, and the housing is built a “4 tor-Driven Blower Supplying Forced Draft to a Number of 3 ning Furnaces in the Plant of the Merchant’s Dispatch i rtetten Company Built by the Buffalo Forge Company, gauge steel plate securely riveted and bolted to- and further reinforced by an angle-iron frame. ' steel plate is also used for the blast wheel, which nted upon a malleable-iron spider. The vanes ar« to the steel plate flanges and the priritipal ones so riveted to the spider arms. Power for driving n is transmitted from the squirrel cage rotor of ‘tor to the spider of the fan through a direct con- consisting of a special design of flexible insulated ng. The base which supports both the blower and tor is built of heavy steel plate with angle-iron ing, motor is of the constant-speed induction type THE IRON AGE 577 and is designed for operation on a three-phase, 60-cycle, 220-volt alternating circuit. The full load speed is 1120 r. p. m. and the capacity is 75 hp. This is greater than is necessary to deliver the rated output of the fan, but this size of motor was selected because:of the fact that more air is sometimes needed for the furnaces. The capacity of the outfit is 14,000 cu. ft. of air per min. The New Ohio Constitution A number of important amendments to the constitu- tion of Ohio were adopted at a special election held in that State September 3. Forty-one amendments were voted on separately and practically all were approved by the voters. The only amendment that met with over- whelming defeat was one giving women the right of suf- frage. The amendments were in line with sentiment that has been cropping out for some years, and a vigorous campaign was conducted in their behalf, in which labor organizations took an active part. Amendments adopted that particularly affect employers and labor were as fol- lows: Giving the Legislature authority to pass a compulsory workmen’s compensation law. A workmen’s compensation law was enacted by the last session of the Ohio Legisla- ture and is now in effect, but it does not compel em- ployers to contribute to the State insurance, the Legisla- ture not having power under the old constitution to enact a compulsory compensation law. Providing an eight-hour day for workmen engaged on any public work carried on or aided by the State or any political subdivision thereof, whether done by contract or otherwise. Giving the Legislature authority to pass laws to reg- ulate the hours of labor, establish a minimum wage and to provide for the comfort, health, safety and general welfare of all employees. Providing that the amount of damage recoverable by civil action in the courts for death caused by the wrong- ful act, neglect or default of another shall not be limited by law. At present the amount of damages that can be recovered in such cases is limited by law. Giving the Legislature authority to pass laws regulat- ing proceedings in contempt and limiting the power of the courts to punish for contempt. A paragraph of this section deprives the courts of the right to issue orders of injunction in any controversy involving the employment of labor except to preserve physical property from injury or destruction. This prevents the issuance of an injunc tion to prevent personal violence during strikes and other labor disputes. All persons charged in contempt proceed- ings with the violation of an injunction are granted the right of a trial by jury. At present the court judges de- cide on the guilt or innocence of the accused in contempt proceedings. Making compulsory the abolishing of prison contract labor. This section permits the employment of prisoners in the production of things needed by any county, State or municipal institution, or in the building of public roads. Among other of the most important amendments adopted was one establishing the initiative and referen- dum. September 4 was the thirtieth anniversary of the be- ginning of commercial incandescent lighting. On Septem- ber 4, 1882, Thomas A. Edison started in operation the world’s first central station. At three o’clock in the after- noon, in an old brick building, a converted warehouse, in lower Pearl street, New York, steam was turned into a single dynamo and current was sent through underground cables into about 400 lamps distributed throughout a ter- ritory of a square mile, bounded by Wall, Spruce and Nassau streets and the East River The net surplus of freight cars on the railroads of the United States and Canada as reported by the American Railway Association was only 9750 on August 29, as against 43,901 two weeks before. There were net shortages of 3768 in box, flat and coal cars and a net surplus of 13,518 in all other cars. Ai cde Lain ching rf ee ee Ee all a y . a Sieh aiee ean all een aan Test Bars for Chillable Cast Irons A New Method for Determining Con- traction, Deflection and Strength in the White and Gray States of the Same Metal BY THOMAS D. WEST This paper presents an original system for making comparative tests of the relative contraction, deflection and strength of chillable cast iron in both of its distinct forms: all-chilled or white, and all gray. The writer, for the past two years, has been experimenting with chillable irons in foun- dries making a specialty of chilled castings, and this has led him to see the great importance of a test system which can show the relation be- tween the physi- cal properties of the white and gray states of the same metal, especially for such castings as chilled car wheels and rolls. The system pre- sented herein was originated TNL be et a * Y ~~ not only for the purpose of creat- ing methods of studying and possibly improv- ing the ductility and strength of Fig. 1 Fig. 2 the white iron, Design of Chiller and Flask for Obtaining without impair- the White and Gray of Chillable Iron ing the gray or mottled from the same tap or ladle of metal, but also to offer a system that might lead to the adoption of some standard for testing chillable irons Until some practicable form and size of test bars tor chillable irons and methods for making them are adopted as a standard, a person desiring positive knowledge will obtain little satisfaction in any study of test records or in making comparisons of his own findings with those ot others. Round Bars Cast On End The first important factor in the system advanced herein is the use of round bars’ cast on end in preference to square bars cast flat. The round bar cast on end, aside from offering the greatest assurance of solidity at the point of fracture when broken, gives a form that is the least affected by variations in the pouring temperature of metal, dampness and grades of sands and irregularities of the molder’s manipulations in the general work of making test bars. With reference to soundness, it is to be said that few things are more aggravating, after expending much care and labor in testing bars, than to find thc fracture showing shrink holes, blow holes or sand holes Objection has been made by some to round bars, be- cause they do not afford good bearing points to rest them on for testing purposes. The three-point bearings seen at A, B and C, Fig. 9, remove