The Iron Age 1912-10-10: Vol 90 Iss 15

Established 1855 New York, October 10, 1912 Vol. 90: No. 15 Mistakes in Testing Steam Boilers The First of Three Articles Discussing What Refined Equipment for Testing Boilers and Furnaces Has Shown BY ALBERT A. CARY* In the reports of many tests of boilers and their attached furnaces and other appliances, there is shown a lack of the careful investigation which is needed to obtain an exact understanding of what their real performances are. Crude apparatus is too frequently used, together with uncalibrated instruments. Results of an apparently remarkable character are produced. They cause us to wonder and it is curious that most of the reports of such tests fail to give sufficient information to allow one to check them by an analysis—in other words, to test their rationality. Focussing on the Main Object of a Test The exact purpose for which a test is made is too often lost sight of. A concentration of observations upom the particular Accompanying part of the apparatus in use, the An Important Contribution to Industrial Engineering this is the first of finally separated. Such tests including such a large num- ber of careful observations are seldom made. Boiler and Furnace Separate Entities In my work I have been called upon to make tests of furnaces alone, to determine their efficiency or adapta- bility, and no attached boiler is required to obtain this information. In many cases the furnace is not used for steam generation, but for entirely different purposes. The boiler, on the contrary, is not capable of operation with- out the application of heat, but its individuality of performance is nevertheless obtainable and the restrictions limiting its per- formance should be noted. The boiler and furnace are thus seen to be two distinct pieces of apparatus and should be so re- value of which is primarily the object of the test, is too often lacking, and the individual value of this part is too often con- fused in the mixed result ob- tained by testing the whole at- tached apparatus as though they were but a single part. The purpose of the test may be to determine the value of a special furnace, or stoker, or method of setting, or else it may be to test the boiler itself or a superheater. As all these parts are combined, the test must in- clude all more or less completely, but the part under specific obser- vation should primarily be ob- served with the greatest care and refinement, while, sec- ondarily, its effect upon its at- tached parts must be observed with sufficient care to find its adaptability to the whole com- bination. It is unfortunately a fact that too many look upon the three related articles which will be a noteworthy addition to the literature on steam power and industrial engineering. The second article will illustrate the use and application of the apparatus which has been developed to make a per- fect boiler test. The third article will discuss a test showing the advantage of the care ex- ercised and the refined apparatus em- ployed. This analysis will include an interesting heat balance, an explanation how boiler and furnace efficiencf may be separated and an illuminating descrip- tion of the way that smoke is formed in furnaces, showing apparatus for de- termining the amount of non-gaseous matter discharged, and a semi-automatic means for recording the density of smoke, garded. The furnace is purely a piece of chemical apparatus where, by bringing about a chemieal ac- tion between the combustible constituents of the fuel and oxy- gen in the air (or fuel) heat is déveloped. The investigator of a fur- nace’s performance should have a sufficient knowledge of chem- istry, as applied to combustion, and he should have at his com- mand a proper equipment of the necessary chemical apparatus to make his furnace investigation sufficiently complete. The boiler, on the contrary, as compared to the furnace, is an absorber of heat, and it is a mechanical or physical piece of apparatus operating tnder physical laws. The efficiency of a boiler is largely governed by the performance of the furnace as the higher the temperature of the furnace gases supplied to it, providing it is properly pro- boiler and its attached furnace as one integral piece of apparatus. The same method of testing is used whether the trial is to determirie the value of some new or spe- cial form of furmace or whether a new form of boiler 's being investigated. Of course, if extreme refinement is used throughout such. tests, the same method of testing may be pursued in the case of testing either boiler or furnace, as, with the unusually complete collection of data obtained, the performance of each part may be ee “Consulting engineer, New York City. 831 portioned to absorb a large percentage of the heat sup- plied, the greater its econoray becomes. Watching Furnace Temperature in Testing the Boiler The testing engineer, when testing the efficiency of boilers, should pay particular attention to the furnace temperatures obtained, and if a sufficient temperature is not resulting from the furnace conditions found, he should discover the cause of furnace’s inefficiency and correct it if possible. Otherwise, he must make proper 832 allowances for the undesirable conditions existing and point them out in his report, as it is manifestly improper to charge the boiler with inefficiency for which it is not responsible. In securing the desirable high furnace temperature the conductor of the tests must keep in mind the limitations imposed by the coal he is using, due to the variable fusing temperatures of the ash of different coals. With many coals there is a limit of temperature for the fire bed. When this temperature is exceeded it will lead to the formation of a troublesome clinker. This soon reduces the efficiency of furnace and sometimes the refuse fuses to a pasty mass which has an even more troublesome effect on furnace operation, although a somewhat higher temper- ature in certain cases will largely eliminate the last- named trouble. With such troubles imminent, the fuel and its ash should be carefully investigated, and if it is found that the coal is exceptional, or not representative of the average fuel available for this plant, a change should be made in order to obtain a fair result in the test. The Confusing Deductions from Combined Efficiency The common practice of offering in a report the com- bined efficiency of boiler and furnace is apt to lead to confusion in deductions. Of course, if this combined efficiency is very high, we can conclude that both boiler and furnate are performing their functions satisfactorily, but in the greater number of tests, where such large per- centages of combined efficiency do not occur, it is diffi- cult to draw satisfactory conclusions. In the days. of James Watt it was common practice to report the number of pounds of coal required for an indicated horsepower at the engine. Such a report did not consider the various efficiencies of the boiler and the engine, both. of which contributed to the final result re- ported and advancement did not progress rapidly until their individual efficiencies were studied separately. The same is true of the boiler and the furnace when we consider only the efficiency between the coal pile and the steam outlet. :.In a certain case I recall results of a trial which were reported as giving a combined efficiency of 64 per cent,. This was considerably. below the guar- antee which had been given. Both the boiler and furnace manufacturers were loud in their denunciations of the other’s apparatus; but with the data collected during this trial there was little to show who was really at fault. As the combined efficiency is composed of the product of the separate furnace and boiler efficiencies, this result might have been. obtained by any of the following combinations : Furnace efficiency Combined efficiency Per cent. Per cent. 97 64 93.5 = 64 89 ee 64 86.5 64 80 64 76.6 64 Boiler efficiency Per cent 66 68.5 72 74 80 83.5 XXXXXX A boiler efficiency of 66 per cent. is certainly too low, under average working conditions, to be acceptable, while the corresponding 97 per cent. furnace efficiency shows excellent performance. On the other hand, 83.5 per cent. boiler efficiency is an excellent result, but. it certainly would be wrong to continue in operation with a furnace efficiency of only 76:6 per cent. Flue Gas Analyses Commonly Valueless The fiue gas analyses frequently reported are seldom of much value, as will be shown later. The samples of gas are so often taken from improper positions. They are so frequently collected by methods which do not obtain fair representative samples and little attention is paid whether they are obtained with an open or closed furnace door, or whether collected with the fire well burned down or with a fresh charge of coal just intro- duced into the furnace. By noting such conditions I can easily obtain a set of fine analyses or a set of poor results. Thus, in many tests, the value of gas analysis, as an indication of furnace conditions, is. of but little value, especially with disar- ranged apparatus, or with the use of poor absorbing re- agents coupled with careless manipulation. Under these . THE IRON AGE October 10, 1912 conditions it is not surprising to see reported surpris. ingly high COs, or analyses showing 82, 83 or 84 per cent. of nitrogen (by difference), which are impossible with our coals used for fuel. The Matter of Temperature Readings The temperature tests frequently found in reports of furnace and boiler trials, which are very important, are often open to question. The selection of proper positions to obtain fair average temperature readings does not always receive the proper attention required to obtain sufficiently accurate results, and proper correction for the direct readings of even accurate apparatus is too often neglected, The true temperature of the furnace is not easily obtained, and I have known of more than one case where with optical pyrometers the temperature of some posi- tion in the fire bed was used to determine furnace tem- peratures. It is easily possible to obtain all sorts of temperature readings by taking various parts of the fire bed or by observing the same position in different short intervals of time. Readings of the temperature of escaping gases into the flue outlet generally need considerable consideration. In testing two horizontal tubular boilers of the same size and in the same plant, I obtained the following results: Boiler No.1 Boiler No.2 Excess of air used in the fur- nace, per cent. 49 Excess of air found at the flue outlet, per cent 71 These boilers returned their gases over their tops to a flue outlet in the rear and the greater part of the air leakage occurred through this top covering. The temperature of the escaping gases, as indicated by the nitrogen filled thermometer, were in the No. 1 boiler 543 deg. F., No. 2 boiler 482 deg. F. Had there been no leakage of air through the setting, these gases would have been in the No. 1 boiler 607 deg. F., No. 2 boiler 561 deg. F. The infiltration of this cold outside air through the boiler setting reduces the apparent efficiency of the boiler due to its chilling effect, and such reduction in efficiency certainly should not be charged up against the boiler. as it was clearly the fault of bad masonry. In testing a water-tube boiler I found the following results: Excess of air used in furnace, 45.05 per cent.; excess of air found at flue outlet, 95.79 per cent. The average flue gas analyses found at these two positions was as follows: Furnace Flue 12.706 9.053 6.624 10.417 0.012 0.000 80.658 80.530 The mistake frequently made in taking the sample of gas for analysis from the flue outlet is clearly shown in this case, as it certainly does not indicate the conditions existing in the furnace. This test was made under natural draft conditions, but a following test made under forced draft showed no air leakage through this bad setting, but indicated, on the contrary, a slight leakage of the gases from the interior outward. The Matter of Firing the Furnace Means for determining or expressing the value of 4 fireman who stokes the fire with a hand-fired furnace is seldom used and we all ‘know that an expert fireman will obtain much better results than the ordinary average fireman generally found in boiler rooms. It is by the use of a very expert fireman in one case and a poor fire- man in another case that many an absurdly high guaranty has been apparently verified. T recall a case where the maker of an automatic furnace guaranteed that he would produce 10 per cent. better economy in a plant than could be obtained with their hand-fired boilers, and in his contract he carefully stipu- lated that he would conduct the tests himself. The test was made by him and he presented his results, which ap- parently showed that he had done even better than he guaranteed. Suspicion, however, was aroused and I was ber IO, I9I2 ned to determine whether the guarantee was really led. I found that he had used the stupid foreign .n he found at the plant for the hand-fired test, rently allowing him to keep the fire going in a most ul manner. But when it came to test his own he apparently used the most expert method pos- to obtain the highest possible results. the tests which I conducted I permitted him to take e, under my personal supervision, of his own fur- and his great expertness in handling the fire soon e apparent. When I tested the hand-fired boiler { a fireman who was well trained in stoking for instead of the worthless fireman at the plant, a pro- which called forth vigorous protests, but no fair narison could be obtained unless both furnaces were ed alike. The result was that the saving shown by him amounted nly about 2 per cent. The loss in the hand-fired ler was due to the necessary frequent openings of the urnace doors for coaling, slicing and cleaning, while in -ase the coal was fed to the grates and the ash was scharged automatically. Means for Ascertaining Expertness of Fireman Some may say that the quality of the gases will show the difference between the methods employed by different remen. To a certain extent this is true, but I use a vice (which will be described later) which automatically vives the exact number of seconds that the furnace doors 1re opened during the test and also the number of times the door is open, so that by making the allowance for the ime required for cleaning fires I can tell the average length of time of each furnace door opening. These esults along with the results shown in the analysis of the gases, when reported, will show how far the expert- ness of the fireman enters into the final results obtained. There is still further information gained by use of this apparatus as will be described later. | have found that a most important feature in tests of furnaces and boilers is the ability of the testing en- gineer to follow the occurrences taking place during the entire course of his test very closely at all times. By the old methods, which keep the testing engineer and his assistants on the jump every moment in taking the num- erous readings, he has very little time to note the changes taking place during the course of the test and it is not until after he has a chance to calculate results from his /bservations that he is able to note that something very interesting has occurred but has been overlooked. Then, by plotting out results and by reasoning from his obser- vations, he may succeed in finding the cause of some of the happenings, but not all. I have endeavored to build up a combination of testing apparatus which will tell me at any time during the ourse of the test, with a fair degree of accuracy, just how all conditions under observation stand as well as what s the performance of both boiler and furnace, so that any hange in conditions may be noted when they actually ccur and be carefully observed. _ This equipment was not originated at any one time, but nearly every test has. seen some additional piece of ipparatus or improvement, to supply information which ! found lacking, in working up previous tests. In pre- senting in the next article the description of this part of my equipment, I am hoping that it may contribute suffi- ciently to this important subject of testing furnaces, boilers and their attachments to emphasize the necessity t using the greatest care and expertness in obtaining esults which are used to give information, either to indi- ‘ual purchasers or to the public at large concerning the ‘rue value of such apparatus. In most cases such tests will produce much valuable information which will help the heprengi of the equipment in improving their products. © The rapidly increasing volume of business transacted by the Titanium Alloy Mfg. Company, Niagara Falls, ‘. Y., having rendered the transportation problem acute, 4 3000-Ib. Mack truck has been added to’ its equipment and will ply between its plant in the outskirts and points n the city. A garage has been built, 21 x 35 ft., of pressed d brick, sufficiently large to accommodate four automo- Kel ics THE IRON AGE 833 National Machine Tool Builders’ Association Below is given the programme of the eleventh annual convention of the National Machine Tool Builders’ Asso- ciation, to be held at the Hotel Astor, New York, October 16 to 18: Wednesday, October 16 First Session. 9:00 A. M.—Registration of members. 10:00 A. M.—1. Roll call. 2. Reading of minutes. 3. Report of Membership Committee, Chas. E. Hil- dreth, chairman. 4. Announcement of convention committees. (a) Auditing Committee. (b) Resolutions Committee. (c) Press Committee, (d) Nominating Committee. 5. Call for resolutions 6. Reports of officers. 7. Reports of committees. Second Session. 2:00 P. M.—Address, “Export Trade,” by W. A. & Sharpe Manvfacturing Company, Providence, R.’ I. Address, “The Use of an Association Catalogue in the Develop ment of Foreign Markets,” by Stanley H. Bullard, Bullard Machine Tool Company, Bridgeport, Conn. Address, “‘How United States Patents Might Be Made of Greater Value to Patentees,” by Samuel W. Banning, Chicago, III Thursday Third Session. 10:00 A. M.—Address, “What We Should Do in the Way of Influ- encing Tariff Legislation,” by Frederick A. Geier, Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. Address, “How Could the Association be Benefited by the Forma- tion of a Mechanical Section?” by E. J. Kearney, Kearney & Trecker Company, Milwaukee, Wis. Fourth Session. The committees enumerated below will meet promptly at the time indicated. (a) Lathe Committee, 2:00 P. M. (b) Sensitive Drilling Machine Committee, 2:30 P. M. (c) Boring Machine Committee, 2:30 P. M. (d) Gear Cutting Machine Committee, 2:30 P. M. (e) Grinding Machine Committee, 2:30 P. M. (f) Hand Serew Machine Committee, 4:00 P. M. (g) Planing Machine Committee, 4:00 P. M. Friday Fifth Session. (h) Radial Drilling Machine Committee, 9:00 A. M. (i) Milling Machine Committee, 9:00 A. M. (j) Shaping Machine Committee, 10:30 A. M. (k) Vertical Drilling Machine Committee, 10:30 A. M. (1) Turret Lathe Committee, 10:30 A. M. Sixth Session. 2:30 P. M.—Report of convention committees. Suggestions by members as to the work of the asso- ciation. Unfinished business. Election of officers. Selection of place of next convention. Executive session, “Heart-to-Heart Talk.” Adjournment. Viall, Brown The president of the association is E. P. Bullard, Jr., Bridgeport, Conn., and the general manager is James H. Herron, Cleveland, Ohio. Hamilton, Ontario, and its industries are made the sub- ject of a booklet issued by H. M. Marsh, commissioner of industries. By the use of numerous illustrations the im- portance of the city as a manufacturing center is empha- sized and data are given concerning some of the plants and their products. An interesting list is headed “Hamil- ton Plants of United States Parentage.” It contains the names of 39 companies, well known in various lines in the United States, which in recent years have built works on the Canadian side. The population of Hamilton is put at nearly 90,000 and the gain in the past year at 10,000. The Detroit Shipbuilding Company, Detroit, Mich., has booked an order from the George Hall Coal Company for two steel bulk freighters to be operated in the coal trade on the St. Lawrence River. Each steamer will be 247 ft. long with 43 ft. beam; capacity, about 3000 tons. The cost is estimated at $400,000. Mattie furnace of the Girard Iron Company, Girard, Ohio, was blown in September 26 after a long idleness. oe se ¢ . — eo on gine tae AL COS LIEGE OG ee Economies in Mold Making in the Foundry’ How and When to Use Different Classes of Machines—Third Article on Shop and Foundry Management BY STUART DEAN aon Making a mold involves a-great many small, simple operations which have to be carefully done. The least neglect or lack of skill in doing any one of these many small operations means the loss of the casting. Molding is usually done by having one man carry the mold through all its steps from the start to finish. This requires a high- class, physically powerful man who has served a long time at the trade. Each step in making a mold is simple and easily learned. Therefore, the tendency of the times is to have one man do one or two of the operations of mold making only and pass the mold on to others to do the following operations. The Jarring Machine in the Foundry System The jar ram molding machine fits into this system admirably. Under this system each man becomes more expert at his one or two simple operations of mold mak- ing than the best skilled mechanic. He saves time by keeping all his appliances for this one task right with him. His wage rate is lower than the rate of a fully skilled molder, because he is not paid for a complete knowledge of molding. Each of these men turns out more work thana molder would, because any slowing up makes the work accumulate. Each has to do his part of the molding as fast as the molds come to him, so as to get them off his hands and on the next man’s. All these points in the system reduce the cost of cast- ings materially below that of the old way. One foundry- man in Cincinnati put it this way: “Nine-tenths of the steps in producing a mold are plain operations that a laborer can do. Our aim is to make laborers do all these and use the skilled man on the skilled tenth of the work only.” The system is worked out as follows: One man, or a small gang of men, temper sand all day; a second gang fills the flasks, jars them and delivers them to the finishing gang, who draw the patterns, tool the molds, if this is nec- essary, and black them. The next man or men dry them. Most of the molds are left open until the last thing in the evening and then all hands jump in and place the cores, close the molds and clamp them. The gangs are kept down to as few men as possible. At blast time there is always a mold left open, not cored, another rammed with the pattern still in it. These molds are ready to start on the next day. The gangs start right in at whistle time turning out molds. All the sand in the foundry is kept at the jarring ma- chine. All the molds are taken to this point by the crane to be shaken out. The shaking out goes on all day, when- ever the laborers get spare time. Each flask is placed on the follow board the instant it is shaken out. This saves extra handling. This system of shaking out and cutting the sand as it is needed saves the expense of a night gang. It reduces the day labor gang to the minimum; uses the crane evenly all day and cuts out waiting on the part of the molders for the crane. A mold that cost $3 to make by the old system of one man molding will be reduced to about $1.90 by the gang system using a jar ramming machine. This system is adaptable only to molds larger than 24 x 24 in. inside measurements. Unit Output for Different Kinds of Molding A foundry having intricate core work on about half *Copyright, 1912, by Stuart Dean. the tonnage will find the output of castings per man con- nected with molding running about as follows: 400 Ib. per man at old style floor work system 550 lb. per man.at bench work. 625 Ib. to 830 lb. for small molding machine work 650 lb. for gang system at jar ramming floor work These figures will run higher for foundries making less difficult work. The relation of pounds output per man on the different kinds of molding will stay about the same The small molding machine will hold the record and the jar ram floor work .will follow next. A foundry using the gang system of molding will ar- rive at such a point of independence that the loss of the best molder in the shop is not felt very much. It is-gener- ally harder to replace the exceptionally good helper who has adjusted himself to the methods of the shop, knows where everything is kept, knows all the sizes of the flasks, brings out the cores and places them beside the molds, and fits himself into all the chinks of the foundry, than it is to replace a molder. The Scope of Different Molding Methods On all molds up to, say, 14 x 16-in. inside measurement of flask, the squeezer molding machine will produce faster than if the molds are made on the bench or by the jar ramming machine. On all molds 26 in. square and larger the plain jar ramming machine will produce faster than hand ramming. Molds between the squeezer size and the jar ramming machine size are not as yet made economically by the molding machine. There are machines on which the molds are hand rammed. The drags are deposited on the floor by the machine. There are others that jar ram the molds, but do not deposit the drags on the floor. This size of work will not be satisfactorily done until a machine is made that rams the mold by the jar ramming process, de- posits the drag on the floor and moves along, or is moved along, to the next position. Any molding machine to be a success must be a very simple mechanism—the simpler the better. Molds 14 x 16 in. inside measurement of flask and smaller should be made on a hand-squeezer rollover-pattern drawing machine that handles both cope and drag at one squeeze and draws the mold down and not up from the pattern. The pattern must be above the sand when being drawn, otherwise the pattern making expense will be greatly increased; only a very perfect pattern will draw down from a ceiling of sand without pulling the sand with it. A job’ with a hanging body of sand cannot be made by lifting the sand up off the pattern. Using the Squeezer Molding Machine Copes 8% in. deep and drags 8 in. deep, with the pat- tern extending 6 in. from parting, can be handled perfectly on the squeezer machine. The ramming will be done with the shovel handle on this deep work. Such a squeezer molding machine will hold the record tonnage output in 2 foundry. On small molding the greatest economy is made by reducing the motions that the man goes through in making a mold. This can be done on the machine that makes the cope and drag at the same time. The man picks up his shovel only once in making a complete mold. He fills the cope, drag and sieve with sand and rams the mold afl at one handling of the shovel. He strikes off both the cope and the drag at one sweep; puts on both bottom board and squeezer boafd at one movement; @ 834 a October 10, 1912 .yement clamps both cope and drag; they are both ueezed with a single motion, and the patterns are drawn th a return motion of the handle; the mold is closed i carried out as a whole in a single trip. On this kind of work the pattern board has the sprue | riser post of brass mounted on it. On the squeezer ird is a form that makes the pouring bowl on top of the id so that this hand work is eliminated. It is best to adopt a layout for the gates and risers it will cover all cases and never vary from this. The st layout for the gates and risers is at each end on the nter line, at each side on the center line, in each corner, ‘o near the center crossways, two in near center length- vays, and one exactly in the center. Nearly any combina- n can be worked with a standard outfit of squeezer ards by using this layout. Economies With the Squeezer Molding Machine Place vents permanently on the pattern board to save utting them in the mold by hand. A plain job in a 14 x 16-in. mold can be made in two minutes using bands in the flask, and in less time if solid flasks are used. This is timing the man on a single hour’s run. He will not be able to keep up this rate all day, but it shows how rapidly molds can be made on the small machine. The output on the machine depends entirely on the strength of the’ man. A very powerful man can put up 100 molds 14 x 16 in. between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00a.m. He will have to be physically fit for the task—built on the lines of a heavy freight locomotive. It takes 19 min. to change the boards, squeeze, etc., on such a machine. Teach the man carefully to make no false moves; to peen with the shovel handle a certain number of strokes— no more or no less; to lay his tools always in the same place, and to remove the sdnd with one sweep, not two, when striking off the mold. A green laborer the third day he works, if carefully taught, will make a 14 x 16-in. mold at the rate of one every 3% min. Laborers should shake out the small machine molds as soon as they are poured, pile up the castings, throw water on the sand and next morning temper the sand for the machine man before he starts. If he is forced to cut his wn sand he will not be able to put up a big day’s work. Some firms even go so far as to have a different gang pour ‘ff the molds from those that make them. A man can then go the limit all day without having to face the tiring task of carrying and pouring half a ton of molten iron it the hour when he is already worn out from molding. In piece-work foundries everything is in readiness for the molder to start in the morning, his sand is cut and the pattern is in his machine. The Case of the Jarring Machine Jar ramming is the only perfect way to ram molds larger than 24 x 24 in. Any saving in time made by the jar machine on smaller molds is lost in the labor of plac- ing the molds upon and taking them off the machine. It is safe to assume that the ramming of molds larger than 24 X 24 in. consumes 20 to 50 per cent. of a molder’s time, lepending on the style of the work. The jar ram ma- nine, by abolishing hand ramming, will save 20 to 50 per ent. of the molding expense. An hour’s ramming can be one in a minute; the ramming is perfectly done. The ven ramming prevents scabs and swollen spots on the astings. The molds come out very smooth, that is, no tiny par- ticles stick *to the pattern as with hand ramming. There is a slight sliding of the sand on the surface of the pat- ‘ern, or a slight give of the pattern that keeps all particles iree from any sticking tendency. The inside of a jar rammed mold is as smooth as velvet. The sqand is always nard and strong at the corner of the parting where the pattern meets the follow-board. No filling in of sand at ‘he parting after the mold is rolled over is necessary as with a hand-rammed mold. The sand is hardest next to THE IRON AGE 835 the pattern and is softer back from the pattern so that venting is unnecessary. This saves time and saves mar- ring the pattern with the vent wire. Preserving a smooth surface on the pattern saves the time of tooling the surface of the mold. The jar ramming machine must not only be served by the main foundry crane, but must have a quick handling boom crane of its own. The output of the machine is controlled by the speed at which molds can be put on and taken off. One minute is all the time that is required to ram a mold, so that one machine well equipped with mold- handling apparatus will ram all the molds for a large foundry. Working a Gang with the Jarring Machine Following is the time of making a mold on the jarring machine by the gang system working at the regular speed that is kept up all day. Foundrymen can compare this time to their own mold-making time and see how much saving the gang jarring system would give them: Drag 30 x 36-In. Inside Measurement, 18 In. Deep. 1 min.—Putting the pattern and the drag on the follow board. 1% min.—Clamping the flask and follow board together. 6% min.—Sifting sand around the pattern and shoveling in the sand. 2 min.—Sifting sand on top of the pattern. 2 min.—Shoveling the drag full of sand. 1 min.—Putting the sand frame on and filling it with sand. % min.—Crane placing drag onto the jar ramming machine % min.—Jar ramming. 1 min.—Putting bottom board on. ¥% min.—Clamping bottom board. % min.—Crane takes the drag to the molder to finish. % min,—Take off follow board. Note.—The time on all molds of a size will be about the same, no matter what the pattern be up to this point. This next item will vary with the style of the pattern although the time will be short with the gang system, as the men work rapidly. 10 min.—Finishing the drag up to the point of blacking. 4 min.—Spray black the drag. 5 min.—Drying with an oil torch. Nore.—Some foundries diminish this labor cost by drying the molds in ovens, instead of drying with a torch, which will pay if the foundry has the crane capacity, the room, and a handy oven arrangement. Cope 30 « 36 In., 6 In. Deep 1 min.—Put cope and’ pattern on follow board. 3% min.—Sifting sand upon the pattern, getting the jaggers and clay-washing them. 2 min.—Setting jaggers. 2% min.—Filling cope with sand. ¥% min.—Putting on a sand frame 7 in. high and filling it with sand. 1% min.—Crane taking cope to the machine. % min.—Ram cope. 4% min.—Take cope off machine. %4 min.—Take off sand frame and shovel off the extra sand from top. 1 min.—Strike off cope. % min.—Crane taking cope off machine and turning it over. 1 min.—Setting it down at mold finisher. 4 min.—Take off follow board. Nors.—The following time item varies according to the job: 10 min.—Draw cope pattern and finish the mold. 1 min.—Spray wet black the mold. The rest of the mold-making would run the same as ordinary molding when done at a rapid rate. Wet Blacking of Molds There is great economy in the wet blacking of molds. This can be done in one-fifth the time required for dry blacking. The total length of time, including the drying, will be about the same as that consumed in dry blacking with a camel’s hair brush. Spray the blacking on with compressed air by means of an atomizer. A casting made in a wet blacked mold will come out clean. A single light blow of a hammer will knock off the sand. Castings free from sand reduce the machine shop time. A dried mold has a hard, clean surface for the iron to lie against. The blacking hardens and cements all the loose corners to the mold. Use the coal oil torch for drying. Make your own coil pipe for the torches when they wear out. One laborer will dry a great many molds in a day and will become very expert at it. / on F , ea: 5 Ta J ; i) ; a, ee ee ao ee Se ee nn ree ee e “ — oe pe 836 THE IRON AGE A New Automatic Drill Chuck Several Special Features of the Wahlstrom Device Including the Use of Spacing Blocks After ten years of experimenting the Wahlstrom Tool Company, 346 Carroll street, Brooklyn, N. Y., has devel- oped an automatic self-closing drill chuck which is made in two sizes. It is not possible to hold taper shank tools in the chuck, but a straight shank drill, reamer or any other tool within the range of the chuck will be gripped, it being possible to insert or remove the tools without stopping the spindle. In the accompanying engraving there are reproduced a longitudinal section of the chuck together with trans- verse sections at two different points with the chuck open and closed. The chuck consists of a body having three radial slots a cut through its walls and opening into a central aperture, b, which receives the tool shank. The body has a shank for attaching the chuck to a drilling machine or other machine tool and it also has an annular shell, c, surrounding the body and rotatable thereon. This shell has three internal cam surfaces d and is held in posi- tion by two caps which are screwed fast to the annular shell. These caps also engage rabbets formed on the body and prevent a relative longitudinal movement of the shell and the body. There is also a coil spring surrounding the Section on X-X Chuck Closed YflulN Section on Y-Y Chuck Closed October 10, io12 internal cam surfaces because, it is explained, if that were done there would be danger of the jaws slippiny anq failing to operate effectively. The portion of the moye- ment of. the shell during which the jaws and cam syr- faces are kept apart is sufficient to permit a movement of the jaws equal to the eccentricity of the cam surfaces. By removing the spacing means from between the jaws and cam surfaces at the end of this partial movement a further throw of the jaws can be obtained by bringing the jaws and surfaces into direct contact during the second portion of the rotating movement of the shell. With this end in view a number of spacing blocks, g, normally lying between the jaws e and the internal cam surfaces d are provided. Each of these blocks has an enlarged head which tracks in a groove or channel formed in the cap and corresponding in eccentricity to the internal cam sur- faces. The inner and outer faces of the spacing blocks have substantially the same curvature as the cam surfaces so that a wide bearing surface is provided. To keep the blocks in line with the jaws during the first part of the rotating movement of the shells a series of recesses formed in the body is provided. The normal position of the jaws and blocks is shown in the upper left corner of the accompanying drawing. When the shell is rotated in a clockwise direction the jaws are free to move to the position shown in the upper right corner. During this movement the spacing blocks g Section on X-X Chuck Open VW i ZZ V7: Section on Y-Y Chuck Open Details of an Improved Type of Drill Chuck with Cam Surfaces Made by the Wahlstrom Tool Company, Brooklyn, N. Y. body within the shell, one end of which is fastened to the body and the other to the shell. For clamping a tool in the central opening there are a number of jaws, e, work- ing in the slots a. Each of these jaws carries a rocking gripper, f, which is pivotally mounted on the inner side of the jaw and held in position by annular caps, the outer end of each jaw having practically the same curvature as the internal cam faces d. To enable the chuck to accommodate as many different sizes of drills or other tools as possible means are pro- vided to space the jaws e from the cam surfaces d during a portion of the rotating movement of the shell. This has been done instead of increasing the eccentricity of the are moved outward by the eccentricity of the channels engaging their heads, but the blocks are retained in line with the jaws by engagement with the walls of the re- cesses formed in the body which are provided to keep them in line. When the jaws and the blocks are in this position the latter are free from the recesses and also from the body of the chuck. A further movement in the same direction permits the jaws to move to the position where the blocks are removed from between them and the cam surfaces, the two parts being guided by direct contact. Motion in a counter clockwise direction will first bring the parts back to the position shown in the upper right corner while a further movement will cause the wide walls y er 10, IGI2 recesses to engage the blocks and carry them along with the jaws to the position shown in the upper rner. maximum diameters of drill handled by the two ‘ chuck are % and % in., respectively. Gas Engine with a Simplified Valve Mesta Machine Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., has tly brought out a new line of gas engines possessing eatures of self-starting by compressed air, perfect ng, safety control against overspeeding, mechanical and break ignition, automatic lubrication and a very le type of valve gear. The valve gear is character- by the absence of an excessive number of parts so t chance of derangement is thus reduced. Fig. 1 shows of these engines installed at the plant of Wickwire thers, Cortland, N. Y., while the special type of valve d is illustrated in Fig. 2. In the design of the valve gear there are no trips, oil ys with their pumps and auxiliary valves and no cams, re being only one eccentric for each cylinder end. lindrical throttle valves of the butterfly type are used r gas and air and fur- nish the only means of regulation. It is claimed that they are so efficient that the engine runs with same steadiness for any load within its range, rrespective of any sud- fluctuations. The shape which the assumes for per- fect regulation is brought out in Fig. 2 and it is stated that it has not been found possible in practice to improve upon the shape of valve laid out on the drawing board from theoretical consid- erations. If for any rea- son, such as the presence of tar, grit, gum, etc., the valve should become sluggish and clogged, it can be easily pulled out while the engine is oper- ating on the other cyl- inder ends and can be cleaned without a shut- down, an additional gas valve being provided at each cylinder end for this pur- pose. Two igniters are supplied for each cylinder end and ey are located away from the valve gear side so that the ngineer can take them out and inspect them -while the ngine is in operation without being caught in the valve ar. The igniters are so located that one is above the enter of the cylinder and the other below and immediately bove the exhaust chamber. An interesting test was recently made on one of these engines when operating with the lower igniters only. In (his case the engine was tested until it would not carry any \dditional load and the same process was repeated with ‘he upper set. The engine was rated at 400 kw. and the ads carried with the lower and upper igniters alone in ervice were 300 and 305 kw’ respectively. One of these ngines has been in operation for 18 months at a total cost tne n Cll jueer 1 ¢ Fig. 1—An Improved Type of Gas th Fig. 2—Special Type of Valve Used with this Engine THE IRON AGE 837 of $9,596.43, during which the engine was operated 12,420 hr. out of a possible 13,000 hr., or almost 96 per cent. of the total time. During this period 2,340,000 kw.-hr. was pro- duced at a cost of o.41c. per kw.-hr. This figure does not include the interest on the first investment. Lake Superior Corporation The stockholders of the Lake Superior Corporation, at their annual meeting at Camden, N. J., October 2, heard a report of improving prospects and of increased capacity for production as given by President T. J. Drummond. The report told of the successful flotation of the Algoma Steel Corporation in the past year, with an authorized stock issue of $30,000,000 and the same amount of bonds. This com- pany took over the Algoma Steel Company, Ltd., the Lake Superior Power Company, the Algoma Commercial Com- pany, Ltd., together with the full interests of Fiborn Lime- stone Company and the control of Cannelton Coal & Coke Company. As a result of the consolidation, $5,000,000 of short- term notes issued by the Lake Superior Corporation and a like amount issued by the Lake Superior Iron & Steel Com- Engine Installed by the Mesta Machine Company at the Plant of Wickwire Brothers, Cortland, N. Y. pany, Ltd., were redeemed and canceled. Various exten- sions and improvements were undertaken, including a new blooming mill and a new rail mill; but even with these, still further extensions will have to be made to keep pace with increasing demand. The earnings of the first two months of the present fiscal year were quite satisfactory, and: orders on hand, it is stated, will insure operation at full capacity. The following directors were elected: T. J. Drummond, J. Tatnall Lea, Frederick McOwen, J. Frater Taylor, Walter K. Whigham, Herbert Coppell, Joseph 5. Dale, John T. Terry, Jr., D. C. Newton, Herbert M. Price, Thomas Gibson and W. E. Stabut. Mr. Stabut succeeds R. L. Austin, Dodwell & Co., Ltd., exporters and importers, have opened their own office in New York City, George W. Lane & Co., Inc., their late agents, having gone into volun- tary liquidation. Dodwell & Co. Ltd, have their own branch offices in Yokohama, Kobe and Osaka, in Japan; Hongkong, Shanghai, Foochow and Hankow in China, and Colombo, in Ceylon. They have for many years been do- ing a large engineering contracting business in the Orient, as well as being foreign agents for railroads and steamship companies, such as the Northern Pacific Railway Company, Barber line of steamers. Holt’s lines, etc. The New York office is located at 135 Front street. George M. Dodwell is manager and Paul L. Phelan sub-manager. Fred Dod- well,.a director of the company, will also remain here for the present. S. DIESCHER & SONS, Mechanicai and Civil Engineers, _PITTSBURGH, Ps, American Rolling-Mill Practice* Comparison of Blooming, Billet and Rail Mills in Germany and the United States —A Contribution to the Rail Question —_——-BY J. PUPPE, D.ING., BRESLAU.—— pened. ane ate S- web ek ned The development of the iron industry of North Amer- is much shorter than in Europe, generally not exceeding . on aa aa sw ecg cones 2 Suet ica, which has achieved as remarkable a record of progress in the last decade as in the preceding one, and the im- proved methods of working, especially in respect of roll- ing mill practice, still form an object-lesson of paramount interest to European iron manufacturers. Early in 1911 it was the author’s privilege, in company with Mr. Maleyka, chief engineer of the Siemens Schuckert works, and Werner F. von Siemens, to visit the majority of those iron works of the United States where typical American rolling-mill practice is followed, for the purpose of study- ing the latest methods and improvements. Among the works visited the following may be mentioned: 1. The Lackawanna Steel Company’s works, Buffalo. 2. The several works of the Carnegie Steel Company, viz., Duquesne, Homestead, the Edgar Thomson Works and the Ohio Works at Youngstown. 3. The Jones & Laughlin Steel Company’s works. 4. The National Tube Company’s works at McKeesport and Ellwood 5. The Bethlehem Steel Company. 6. The Indiana Steel Company’s works at Gary. 7. The Illinois Steel Company’s works. 8. Several works of the American Steel & Wire Company. J 9. ne American Sheet & Tinplate Company’s works at Van- ergrift. 0. The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company’s works. The various types of rolling mills are summarized in tabular form, and a few notes on their leading features, with special reference to certain peculiarities which are less familiar to European conditions. : Blooming Mills During the ’nineties blooming mills in the United States were almost exclusively constructed on the 3-high system, but since the introduction of the 4-in. billet the 2-high reversing mill. has been practically universally adopted. The 3-high mill was brought to a remarkable state of per- fection by the brothers John and George Fritz, and there are still a number of such mills at work, especially where one section only, or at all events a very limited number of sections, is rolled continuously. In rolling 4-in. billets, however, the great length of the pieces made it impracti- cable to use the 3-high, mill, as the lifting tables could not be made sufficiently long to accommodate them, and the 2-high reversing mill had to take its place. In contradistinction to German practice, where the blooming mill forms the link between the steel works and the mills for all sections down to 4 in. square and less, also for slabs and flats, in the United States it forms an integral part of a particular rolling-mill train, and per- forms the roughing down to a certain section only. Typ- ical instances of this practice may be seen at Lackawanna and at Gary. At the Lackawanna works the blooming rolls serve for roughing down the ingots for the billet mill, whereas the heavy rail mill has several stands of blooming rolls for that mill alone. At Gary, where the blooming rolls for the rail and billet mills consist of separate 2-high sets followed by a 3-high set, the arrangement has been planned not only with the object of getting the largest possible output, but has also been determined by the method chosen for driving the trains. In very rare instances the blooming mill supplies the plate mill with slabs, the practice at the works of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company affording one such example. In all other mills visited where slabs are rolled, a type of rolling-mill entirely unknown to the author has been developed, namely, the slabbing mill, which may be described as a universal slab and roughing mill. The blooming rolls are generally of quite small diame- ter, the pitch circle of the pinions measuring as a rule 35 to 40 or 42 in., the roll diameter being about 3 to 5 in. smaller. Latterly a 34-inch diameter has become the standard for such mills. On this account the roll length *Paper substantially in full read before the Iren and Steel Institute. 6 ft. 6 in., as compared with 9 ft. 4 in. in German mills, The arrangement of grooves is also different, the first groove not being at the side but in the centre, and consist- ing really of the smooth surface of the roll, which is kept at its full diameter at that part. The production of sec- tions varying greatly in size is attained by giving a ver high adjustment, in some cases three times as great as in European practice, where 40 in. is about the maximum, The same pressure can be applied to the rolls, while owing to the sma!l diameter less power is required for driving. The wobbler connecting the upper roll with the pinion must be of a length corresponding to the increased hight of rise, and in some instances it was found to measure 2