The Iron Age 1912-12-12: Vol 90 Iss 24

DEEL ey OT Lee Established 1855 New York, December 12, 1912 Vol. 90: No. 24 Starting Bessemer Steel Making in America’ The Story of Captain Robert W. Hunt’s Part in Making Steel Production on a Large Scale Commercially Possible It would be false modesty on my part if I failed to acknowledge the great personal gratification which is given me by the honor you have bestowed upon me. A large part of my pleasure is caused by my knowledge that the reception of the medal by me is gratifying to the grand man in whose honor it was founded, and whom, for so many years, I have been privileged to know as my more than friend. My only sad thought is that his ill health keeps him from being personally with us tonight. Engineering Equipment at the Time The history of the early days of the Bessemer process is almost, if not really, ro- mantic, and would be impos- sible under present condi- tions. Since that time so great progress has been made in chemical and other metal- lurgical research that what was then almost mysterious is now not only understood but known to be controllable under recognized laws. When we recall that Bessemer him- self announced that iron con- taining more than a trace of phosphorus was unsuitable for his process and that later analyses of steel made by him and others about that time have given nu- merous instances of con- siderably over 0.10 per cent. of that element, we can ap- preciate that the then sup- posed chemical knowledge was not very accurate, and in- deed was calculated to deter progress. Experience with refrac- tory materials had been very limited, particularly when used in contact with molten metal at high temperatures. Engines to blow air at high pressures and in large vol- umes were undeveloped. The use of electricity as power was unknown, and many other quick-acting and labor-sav- ing developments have been of subsequent years. What Personal Friendships Accomplished I recall those conditions by way of emphasizing that things which would to-day be easy were then hard; but we had the benefit of an element which, under our then *Speech of acceptance of John Fritz medal for 1912, awarded December 5, at the Engineering Societies Building, to Capt. Robert Woolson Hunt “For his contributions to the early development of the Bessemer process.” 1371 rete Wi Kounds environments, exercised a greater power than I believe would be possible to-day; and that was personal friend- ships. In the earliest days of the Bessemer process in America there were but two Bessemer plants, at first con- trolled by rival interests. They were soon merged under one controlling power so far as the Bessemer and other patents were concerned, but remained distinct in other commercial aspects. The result was that the men oper- ating the quite slowly projected additional plants were com- paratively few in number and were naturally drawn to- gether by their common difficulties and the fascinating problems incident to the effort of overcoming them. This spirit of comrade- ship was largely inaugurated and fostered by the com- manding intellect and, more than all, by the love-compell- ing personality of the man who became the consulting engineer to most of the works—Alexander Lyman Holley. A bond of brother- hood existed under which one man’s difficulties were the concern of all the others, and the means by which one over- came a trouble was at once added to the knowledge of all the others. I do not believe such a condition would to- day be at all possible, but it existed then, and what a co- terie it developed!—A. L. Holley, George Fritz, Captain William R. Jones, John E. Fry, Robert Forsyth, and, a little later, D, N. Jones, Owen Leibert, Theodore R. Wolf and Horace Smith, with Uncle John Fritz as our con- stant adviser and monitor. William F. Durfee, John C. Thompson, John B. Pearse, H. S. Nourse and others were also among the early workers and did many notable things, but they were not exactly considered as members of the “Order of the Bessemer Boys.” The Early Bessemer Trials in America Personally, it was my fate to be sent on May 1, 1865, by the Cambria Iron Company, in whose employ I was as chemist to the experimental Bessemer, or rather, as it was then called, Kelly process plant at Wyandotte, Mich., in which the first heat of pneumatic steel blown in America had been made in the fall of 1864, and from that day in May until March 31, 1888, my life was directly connected with Bessemer steel making. While I was not quite at its ce no oe a eo ge Ee ae a ral ae — rd 5 - Oe eo eee 1372 American birth, I was called in a long time before the troubles incident to such occasions had been overcome. The converters at Wyandotte had a capacity of only 2% tons and were located in the casting house of a char- coal blast furnace so that direct metal could be used, and under William F. Durfee’s direction it was accomplished, but the regular, or I had better say irregular, practice was to use metal which had been melted in an air furnace, thus following the European practice. Later, under Z. S. Durfee’s direction, we made a heat from iron melted in a cupola located in an adjacent foundry, and still later I re- placed the air furnace by a cupola, and this inaugu- rated tiat which later became the regular American practice. We also, in a@ somewhat crude way, used the bottom casting of ingots. Later, at the Pennsylvania Steel Company’s plant, and more thoroughly at the Cambria plant, while under my management, that practice was per- fected, A. L. Holley, William R. Jones, John E. Fry and I uniting in the protecting patents. The American Blooming Mill The Cambria works had the fortune to roll the first steel rails made in America on a commercial order, from ingots cast in the Pennsylvania Steel Company’s plant at Steelton, Pa., the rail mill at Steelton not being completed and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company being anxious to try some American-made Bessemer rails. I had charge of the rolling under the direction of George Fritz, the chief engineer and general superintendent of the Cambria works, and the event was made more notable by Mr. Fritz’s experimentally demonstrating that the reduction of steel ingots info blooms by rolling was preferable to performing that work by hammering, as was then the universal prac- tice. Hence the American blooming mill. Successful Tapping of Slag from Cupola At Cambria we first perfected the practice of tapping slag from the cupolas in which the iron for conversion was melted, and thereby made possible a much larger output of steel. Previously it had been only possible to keep a cupola in operation not exceeding 24 hours; the cinder tapping increased the run to three or four times as long a period. First to Make Special Steels by Bessemer Process The years of 1877-78 were dull ones in steel rail making, and as the Albany & Rensselaer Steel’& Iron Company, Troy, N. Y., had extensive iron merchant mills in addition to its steel rail mill, and as the general superintendent of the company I was naturally anxious to have the stecl works and as many trains of rolls as possible kept busy, and taking lessons from the Swedish exhibit of Bessemer steel products at the Centennial Exposition in 1876, | induced our people to take up the making of special steels by the Bessemer process. In that work I had the able assistance of Dr. August Wendel, the company’s chemist, and I believe I am safe in claiming that we were the American pioneers in making such steels, which embraced steel for carriage and wagon axles, drop forgings of all kinds, scythes, rifles and musket barrels, springs and even rock drills, the steels ranging in carbon ‘content from less than 0.10 to 1 per cent., and the Troy products enjoyed an enviable reputation. Dr. Wendel and I uhited in securing several patents covering what we considered important features of the production. Automatic Machinery for Rail Mills Following a change in a large part of the ownership of the Troy works, among other alterations and additions, we remodeled the rail mill, and | embraced the opportunity to put in automatic machinery for handling the steel while being rolled into rails. It had required 14 men; we reduced this number to four, and lessened their physical labors. Max M. Suppes was the master mechanic of the works and .gave me valuable assistance, and we united in some of the patents protecting it. ful working of the plant, Capt. William R. Jones, general superintendent of the Edgar Thomson Works, attached automatic tables to that rail mill, under license from us, and as he added some new features which he protected by patents, he pooled his interests with Mr. Suppes’ and mine, and together we subsequently granted licenses to a number of the principal rail mills. Naturally, the able gentlemen THE IRON Following the success- December 12 AGE in charge of the different mills made improvements our plans as they adapted them to their several re ments. Other engineers have devised labor-saving matic rail rolling machinery, but such is the history o Hunt, Jones, Suppes tables and the beginning of Ameri automatic rail rolling. While overcoming the many difficulties which we countered while perfecting the Bessemer process and ma ing it and its products successful both technically and fina: cially, we demonstrated the value of numerous details, th importance of some of which seem to have later becon lost sight of until they are now being, in some instance- rediscovered and hailed as heretofore unknown truths However, if their importance shall thus again becom recognized and beneficial results are obtained, good wil! have been accomplished; but perhaps seeking informatio: from history might be a less costly way of finding facts In accepting the honor of receiving this medal, | fee’ that I am thereby also acting as the representative of thos others who did so much in making early American Besse- mer history—alas, alas, almost all of them have passed to the Great Beyond, and we who are yet here can only cherish and rejoice in the memory of their help and friend- ship—a priceless heritage. ‘But why could they have not also been spared to witness the wonderful fruition of their labors? Johnstown’s Importance in Steel President Farrell on Early Achievements and the Cambria Company's Progress A testimonial banquet was tendered by 160 of the lead- ing business and professional men of Johnstown, Pa. Thursday evening, December 5, to President James A. Farrell, of the United States Steel Corporation; . William H. Donner, recently elected president of the Cambria Steel Company; Daniel Coolidge, president of the Lorain Steel Company, and John A. Reis, vice-president of the United States Steel Corporation. The guests of honor arrived in Johnstown on Thursday morning and made an inspection trip through the Cambria Steel Company and the Lorain Steel C ompany plants. The arrangements for the ban- quet were in the hands of a committee of which J. L. Replogle, vice-president of the Cambria Steel Company, was Chairman, and it was a notable success in every way. The principal address of the evening was. made by James A. Farrell. and short addresses were made by Messrs. Donner and Coolidge. Mr. Farrell paid tribute to the ability of those who had led in the development of iron and steel manufacture in Johnstown, referring with ap- preciation to the work of Powell Stackhouse and Charles S. Price. In speaking of the part Johnstown had taken in the upbuilding of the steel industry, he said in part: “The first Bessemer steel rails rolled in the United States on order were produced here in 1867, although ex- periments had been carried on prior to that time by the North Chicago Rolling Mill Company. Here it was that William Kelly, an iron manufacturer, who discovered the pneumatic principle of the so-called Bessemer process sev- eral years before Bessemer himself successfully employed it in producing steel in commercial quantities, found at the works of the Cambria Iron Company an opportunity to conduct experiments in a converting vessel similar to that now used in the Bessemer process, and to the Cambria Steel Company belongs the credit of having built the first converting vessel. This converter, which was installed for experimental purposes some 50 years ago, has been re- served as of historical value, and can still be seen in the offices of the Cambria Steel Company. “Capt. Robert W. Hunt, who was award the John Fritz medal for this year, was the original iron works chemist of this country—starting with Cambria in. 1860— and in July of ro11 he celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the first regular rolling of steel rails here. * * * “The gentlemen who advertised for cordwood for fuel for the Cambria forge in 1817, and the firm whose nail factory produced 20 tons of nails in this vicinity in 1820. no doubt had their trials and tribulations. While the methods of to-day cannot be compared with those of generations ago, I believe changes in commercial prac- tices have been as radical as those in manufacturing: but. marvelous as has been the progress, there is need to pre- ember 12, 1912 e what we have gained and to correct where we have n deficient. The necessity for technical training is ap- ent in these times in the conduct of large operations, not more so than the qualifications necessary to merit val in commercial life. It must be a source of Satis- tion to the citizens of this community to know that right heir midst are industries, facilities and resources which nish opportunity for your young men to achieve suc- s, providing they have the will and desire to take up a n’s work with a man’s spirit, cultivating thoroughness application to fundamentals, These elements are as able of development in workshops as in colleges. It is no doubt gratifying to the citizens of Pennsyl- nia that their State is first in the Union in the produc- of coal and pig iron, and that their proportion of country’s pig iron capacity of 35,000,000 tons is I5,- 000 tons, nearly equal to the whole of Germany’s pres- capacity. In your own city, in addition to the steel lustry, you have developed many important manu fac- res, and all indications point to a great future for your nmunity. ‘William H. Donner, whom it has been my pleasure to w for many years, is eminently fitted in experience, THE IRON AGE 1373 New Gas-Fired Heat-Treating Furnaces The Gilbert & Barker Mig. Company, Springfield, Mass., has brought out a new design of gas furnace for the treatment of metals. The characteristic feature is the replacing of cast iron by sheet iron wherever possible, the cast metal being confined to the bottom and legs. The sheet iron is reinforced with angle iron for strength. Some of these furnaces are shown in the accompanying engraving, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 being the semi-muffle oven, the end forging and welding and the cyanide hardening fur- naces respectively. In designing these furnaces the theory is that sheet iron will stand expansion much better than cast mate- rial, a factor which is held to be especially important in furnaces of the smaller size. For this reason the pattern tile has been replaced by a built-up construction of small tiles with a few slabs where necessary, bound together by a special cement. The semi-muffle and the end forg- ing and welding furnaces are built in 16 sizes. The heat- ing chamber of the semi-muffle furnace, Fig. 1, varies from 5 to 7% in. in hight; 6 to 21 in. in width, and from 8 to 42 in. in depth. The dimensions of the end heating furnace Fig. 1—The Semi-Muffle Oven Furnace Fig. 2—End Forging and Welding Furnace Fig. 3—Cyanide Hardening Furnace i a New Line of Heat Treating Furnaces Using Gas as Fuel Built by the Gilbert & Barker Mfg. Company, Springfield, Mass. ergy, courage and foresight to guide the great organiza- n of the Cambria Steel Company and, with the co- eration of his lieutenants, Vice-president J. L. Replogle d General Manager E. E. Slick (whose careers as itives of Johnstown afford an inspiration to the young this community), and the support of the officials and iployees of this great works, the continued success of company and the attendant prosperity of your city assured.” W. M. Duncan, receiver of the Wheeling & Lake Er.e allroad, has applied to the United States Court in Cleve- nd for authority to issue $4,081,000 worth of receivers’ rtificates for new rolling stock and improvements. The penditure of $3,100,000 is proposed for 3000 freight cars; ‘450,000 for 20 freight locomotives of the consolidated pe; $319,000 for improving the dock equipment at Huron, io, and $112,000 for bridges. The Reading Iron Company, Reading, Pa. is planning r considerable improvements to its plant at Seventh and iurel streets, which will include an addition to the pipe ill and a dipping plant. for forging and welding, Fig. 2, range from 1% to 3 in. in hight, 5 to 36 in. in width, and 2% to 10 in. in depth. The round pot cyanide hardening furnace illustrated in Fig. 3 is built in ten sizes, varying in diameter from 3 to 16 in., and having an inside depth of from 5 to 18 in. The Navy Department, December 6, awarded contracts for building six torpedo boat destroyers, authe rized by the last session of Congress. The Wm. Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company, Philadelphia, will build three vessels at $842,000 each: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, one at $810,000; Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Mass., one at $845,000, and New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, N. J., one at $873,500. There were two bidders from the Pacific coast but their prices were too high. The Executive Committee of the National Metal Trades Association was entertained by the Executive Committee of the Chicago Branch at a dinner Wednesday evening, December 11, at the Hotel La Salle. Chicago. An informal reception followed the dinner. Members of the Chicago Superintendents’ and Foremen’s Club attended the re- ception. i pe ie i, ay ere + een treet ne ered Ce te ee ee ae eee ~ = a Lie ete Reaction ate > Sa Dailey on nps os 1374 Grinding Machine for Large Mill Rolls The lack of a machine for handling rolls up to a maximum diameter of 32 in. and having a body length of 108 in. led the A. Garrison Foundry Company, Pitts- burgh, Pa., to develop a machine of its own. Before de- signing the machine a number of experiments were made to determine whether it was wise to attempt to finish a roll from the rough entirely by grinding, and the results showed that while this was not desirable, a grinding ma- chine of proper design could be used to advantage in dressing and regrinding the rolls instead of the combina tion of a lathe and a grinding machine. The special fea tures considered in the design of the machine were the rapid removal of stock and the class of labor used in routine mill work, together with the use of two grinding wheels. As a result of the experiments mentioned, the machine was designed to remove stock much more rapidly than the usual polishing machine and the machine has been made as mechanically simple and as foolproof as possible In this connection mention should be made of the auto- matic motor starters to render it impossible for the opera- tor to abuse the motors in starting the machine. The gears which rotate the roll have double spiral cut teeth, and all the teeth in the headstock train are cut. The use of two grinding wheels, one.on each side of the roll is found of special advantage in making it possible to grind a cylinder to within 0.0005 in. of the correct di- mensions without the use of calipers. The grinding wheel arbors are designed for easy handling and quick renewal. The carriage is reversed and the wheels are fed auto- matically at the end of each cut, and there is also a hand wheel for necking and grinding the neck fillets. It is also possible to tusn a roll either hollow or taper it at the ends by adjusting the machine, the attachment for these opera- tions being simple and accurate. The machine is driven by three independent motors One of these drives the roll and traverses the carriage, while the other two, which are directly connected to the grinding wheels, are supported by and travel with the carriage. This arrangement does away with overhead belts or any other construction that might interfere with the use of a crane in bringing the work to and from the THE IRON AGE December 12, | machine. Full electrical equipment is furnished, in ing automatic starters and a pump driven directly {; the macine. Mesta Machine Company Contracts Important contracts recently taken by the Mesta chine Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., include the follow; Three Mesta horizontal, tandem, four-cycle gas engines the Canadian Car & Foundry Company, Montreal, Can: these engines are 800 hp. and will operate on producer ¢ Three Mesta horizontal, tandem, four-cycle gas engines the Alpha Portland Cement Company, Cementon, N. \ Soo hp., operating on producer gas. A large roll lat! for export to Italy. The company states that orders { miscellaneous steel castings, cut and machine molded gea: sand, steel and chilled rolls and sundry rolling mill chinery are coming in regularly, and give assurance tha the plant will operate at practically full capacity for tl entire year 1913. Some of the most important shipment made last month were a 44 and 84 x 60-in. Mesta high spe: blowing engine to the Shenango Furnace Company, Sharps ville, Pa., being the second engine of an installation, th: first having been shipped last month; a 108-in. barometri condenser to the Carnegie Steel Company at Mingo Jun tion, Ohio. A large reversing engine for the Youngstow: Sheet & Tube Company will be ready for shipment within 30 days. This engine will weigh approximately 1,300,000 lb., and is the engine for which the castings for two larg: bed plates required about 260,000 Ib. of metal apiece. This engine at maximum speed will develop about 35,000 hp \ 5-kw. size of gasoline electric generating sets has been developed by the B. F. Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park, Mass. The motors are of four or six cylinders and of the automobile type. The San Francisco quarters of the H. W. Johns-Man- ville Company have been removed from New Montgomery and Natoma streets to the corner of Second and Howard streets \ Grinding Machine for Handling Mill Rolls Up to a Maximum of 32x108 In. Built by th. » A. Garrison Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa High Carbon:in Charcoal Pig Iron’ Investigations Showing It to Be the Cause of Weakness and Low Chill— An Unknown Modifying Factor omnes ee J. E. JOHNSON, JR. [In the introduction to his paper the writer referred to the conditions in the Lake Superior charcoal pig iron le in the summer of 1910, when the Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company took over six furnaces in the ce Superior district. Southern and Eastern warm-blast charcoal irons were bringing $23 to $33 a ton, while ke Superior charcoal irons of far superior analysis were a drug on the market at from $14 to $16 a ton. An vestigation to determine whether this marke* condition represented actual differences in the values of the pective irons was undertaken by the company and is still in progress. The paper gives some of the results the inquiry thus far.—Eprror. ] Properties Not Shown by Analysis \n investigation [by the Lake Superior Iron & Chemi- | Co along the lines of consumption showed that ferent irons have different characters totally indepen- dent of their analyses. I do not for a moment intend to mply that the accepted opinions concerning the control of arbon condition by silicon, fluidity by. phosphorus and hilling qualities by manganese are not in a general way rrect. I do intend, however, to declare that the presence r absence of these elements alone will not account for all, scarcely for a half, the facts which have long been known, not to us, but to those who used high grade irons for special purposes, Investigation showed that there were foundries using hemistry not only for silicons and sulphurs, but also for carbon determinations and advanced work of that kind. We found that such foundries had proved by the most irrefutable tests that they could take a certain iron of a given analysis and produce certain results with it in chill, depth and uniform interlacing of chill with gray, hard- ness and toughness of chill combined, with corresponding resistance to abrasion, freedom from pits and from local iailures of various kinds. With another iron of the same analysis they could not produce these results at all. This was true not only of charcoal iron as compared with coke, but of one charcoal iron with another. We found that some car wheel manufacturers knew how to produce and did produce regularly, when they could sell them, wheels that would give service of many thousand miles in excess of that given by other wheels of their own make, made to be sold to people who insisted on having low price rather than quality. We were shown pieces of castings made with these different mixtures which con- tained ocular evidence sufficient to convince the most obsti- nate that there were physical variations not dependent on similarity of analyses in any recognized element. As a result of these conditions there have grown up branches of the foundry trade forming a relatively small fraction of the whole, but of enormous commercial im- portance nevertheless, whose whole product is based on their being able to secure and to use irons which give them ualities beyond those obtainable from the ordinary coke foundry irons. These are particularly the manufacturers of chilled rolls and of chilled car wheels, though there is a growing demand for irons of high strength and close zrain without great chilling qualities, for many purposes, notably gas engine cylinders and the like. Our investigation has now been in progress for two ears, but we do not yet consider that we are within measurable distance of the final solution of the great uestion why one iron should be so different from an- ther of the same analysis. But experiments on the fur- ices themselves, covering the widest possible range con- ‘stent with commercial operation at all, have indicated to s methods whereby the quality of the iron may be vastly mproved, Grading Card for Lake Superior Irons Experience with Lake Superior charcoal irons taken in njunction with frequent analyses had led to the adop- Portia of a preliminary paper on “The Effect of High Carbon the Quality of Charcoal Iron,” presented at the Clev meet- of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, October, 1912. 1375 tion of a grading card, based on silicon, chill and mangan- ese content, which is given herewith: Manganese Manganese car wheel malleable Silicon Chill grade, grade. average, against lower limit, upper limit, Grade per cent. plate percent. per cent. AA Scotch *3.00 A Scotch 2.75 B Scotch 2.50 C Scotch 2.25 No. 1 Soft 2.00 0.70 0.70 No. 1 Special 1.75 0.70 0.70 No.1 Foundry 1.50 0.70 0.70 No. 2 Low 1.25 0.70 0.70 No. 2 High 1.00 No chill 0.70 0.70 No. 3 Low 0.80 Feather 0.60 0.60 No.3 Medium | 0.65 wy" to 34” 0.55 0.55 No. 3 High 0.55 4%" to %” 0.50 0.50 No. 4 Low 0.45 %” to1\%” 0.45 0.45 No, 4 High 0.35 1%” to 2” 0.40 0.40 No. 5 Low 0.30 Near white 0.35 0.35 No. 5 High 0.20 White, spot of graphite 0.30 0.30 _No. 6 White 0.10 Clear white " And over It will be noticed that there is an assigned depth of chill for each analysis. To gauge the chilling qualities of an iron it is the custom to have a heavy block of cast iron planed on one side, which forms a portion of one side of the pig mold for one pig in every third bed. The chill on this chilled block is the one referred to in the grading card given above. The grading card was based on the three principal lines of consumption of these irons, as follows: 1. Straight foundry work, especially that of the bet- ter class where strength and density of grain were re- quired, but not chilling qualities. 2. The production of chilled casting, principally car wheels and chilled rolls where manganese was supposed to be beneficial. 3. The production of tnalleable cast iron, in which low manganese is generally specified. It will be noticed that the silicon limits from one grade to another are very narrow and that the grades run much higher than No. 1. This is probably, to-some ex- tent, because the small quantity of sulphur present does not neutralize much of the effect of the silicon, so that the latter reaches the limit of its effect much earlier than in irons with higher sulphur; consequently No. 1 soft char- coal, with ‘2 per cent. silicon, corresponds in some of its qualities, with No. 1 soft coke iron with 3.25 per cent. silicon. For the foundry trade silicon is needed for scrap- carrying purposes and the like, as with coke irons, and irons with more silicon than No. 1 soft are graded as Scotch irons. Because of the rapid variation in grade, with small variation in silicon, the practice was early established of taking a sample for silicon analysis from every third bed and grading the iron by the results of these silicon de- terminations. Two manganese determinations were also made on each cast. This grading card was established several years ago, and while it has recently been amplified the silicon limits of the grades are practically unchanged. Good Irons and Bad Irons When we began our investigation one of the great diffi- culties was to find out what was good iron and what was bad. Was a strong iron necessarily a good iron, or a weak iron necessarily a bad one? It will seem incon- oY Rp PA be * nd ae 5, eee ieee ra oe ti ae c ag eat ee Dn aaa hs a ae area e ceivable, but it took a year and one-half before we found anyone to give us a definite answer to this question. It was finally answered by the superintendent of the car wheel foundry of a large railroad system, who by his practical knowledge of the business and by physical tests of the irons he purchased, combined with judicious mix- ing and excellent foundry practice, produced wheels that stood an average of 95,000 miles in service, as against an average of from 30,000 to 45,000 miles for the wheels of the ordinarily commercial wheel foundries. This gentleman assured us that for his purpose a good iron was a strong one, and a strong one a good one. The standard of strength with him was a 2-in. square bar, broken transversely on centers 12 in. apart. If the strength for a given grade was up to certain limit and the chill of a certain depth, the iron was good. If not, the iron was undesirable for his purposes and was rejected. Two Trade Traditions Confirmed There were two well-established traditions in the busi ness when the investigation was begun. One was that an iron with a white chilled spot in the center of the pig, which is sometimes produced, was weak and utterly worth- less: for the manufacture of chilled car wheels, or for any other purpose requiring a strong tough chill. This is com- monly known as “spotted iron.” The second was that an iron was made under certain conditions in which the grain was exceedingly close, verg- ing slowly into a chill of greater intensity than the silicon contents of the iron would explain, and that this was a very strong tough iron, particularly suited for cylinder castings on account of its high strength and exceedingly close grain, taking a high finish. In consequence it was given an individual name, “special cylinder iron,” and saved for certain customers to whom it was particularly valuable, though it is a lamentable fact they formerly got it without paying anything like an adequate price for it. This iron is produced as the result of certain unusual fur- nace conditions, and may have any silicon contents from 0.5 to 2 per cent. : The first positive results of the investigation were to prove that this special cylinder iron was far stronger than normal, and that on the other hand the spotted iron was far weaker, thereby confirming thoroughly the traditions of the practical men, whom it had been the custom to deride. We soon found that one carbon determination per day was not enough, and we then added an extra man in the laboratory and began to get total and graphitic carbons on every cast in addition to the six silicon and two manganese determinations for each cast. We added also a phosphorus and sulphur determination for each cast, and by means of the latter destroyed the beautiful delusion that good char- coal iron ordinarily contains about 0.01 per cent. sulphur, since accurate determinations show nearly all of it to con- tain from 0.015 to 0.020 per cent. even when made from the best of ores, and very much higher if there is more than a trace*of sulphur in the ore. Spotted Iron The opinion gradually took shape in my mind that the spotted iron, the normal iron and the special cylinder iron were the members of a continuous series of increasing quality and that if we could find out the cause of the spotted iron and the proper method of prevention, we would have at least part of the problem solved. This view has gradually been confirmed by the progress of the investigation, and we have further found some of the factors which tend to increase the strength of the iron and move it from the normal to the special cylinder quality. We do-not feel that we have yet reached the complete solu- tion of these matters in such a degree as would make their publication safe and desirable, but we think we have suc- ceeded in finding the cause of the spotted iron and in connecting up its analysis and physical qualities. Fig. 1 is a photograph of a representative piece of spot- ted iron. It shows the white spot in the center with two rudimentary branches extending toward the upper corners of the pig. At first it seemed that the location of the white spot indicated that it was a segregation product, and analyses were made of the gray portion outside and of the white spot, with the result of finding that the total carbon was about 0.5 per cent. higher in the former than in the 1376 THE IRON AGE December | latter: but there was no material variation in t! elements, certainly none in either the silicon or th. ganese, which would account for the internal chill, of its being slowly cooled. The ordinary explanation of this phenomenon ha that the center of the pig was still liquid when the . had solidified, and that the expansion which accom; the evolution of graphite was not permitted to tak: on account of the contractior of the solid envelope liquid interior, but as iron of all grades cools unde: cisely these conditions and only a small percentage oi spotted, this explanation could not be regarded a< factory. : Laminations in Spotted Iron Gradually investigation and observation developed fact that the irons in the low and high No. 4 grades wer most apt to be spotted, but that a tendency to spot was son times shown in softer grades, notably the No. 3 iron, even though the pig itself might not show any trace of spot. For instance, the test pins in these grades might have a ver) small spot, even when the pig had none at all. We have repeatedly heard the term “high cleavage” used in connec tion with the Lake Superior charcoal irons by experienced users, and we gradually found that certain irons whic! had this tendency to spot showed a degree of lamination where they were chilled or partly chilled that was almost beyond belief. In the corners of some pigs there could be seen with the naked eye alternate layers, perfectly white and solid gray, the white leaves being no thicker than ordinary writing paper, the gray perhaps twice as thick. It was obvious that such iron must break along the faces of these leaves of white, and that the term “high cleavage” ex- pressed its quality more accurately than any other equally simple term. Observation gradually brought out the fact that while the special cylinder irons showed a tendency to chill much more than their silicon contents would lead one to expect, these irons with a tendency to spot, even though not actually spotted, showed a chill much lower than their analysis would warrant, and more than a year ago we began the practice of marking such iron with a distinctive mark and forbidding its shipment to manufacturers of chilled car wheels or any similar article, because we found the testing machine confirmed the ocular judgment that these irons were of the general nature of spotted iron, and, therefore, very weak. We had photomicrographs made of the iron shown in Fig. 1, particularly of the spotted por- tions which are reproduced in Figs. 2 and 3. It is obvious that the masses of detached plates of which these areas are made up simply abut against one another and are not in any way interlaced, so that a very low intensity of stress will cause cleavage along the face of one or the other of them. We finally recognized the structure shown to be that of eutectic cast iron of 4.30 per cent. carbon. Earlier determinations of the carbon were repeated and it became evident that the first opinion that this was a segregation product was correct, and that the white chilled spot was the eutectic of 4.30 per cent. carbon, which had gone to the same relative position in the pig as that in which we find the segregated portion of a steel ingot, and for the same reason: that both had remained. molten on account of their low freezing temperature after all the other portions of the mass were solidified. From this point the investigation took up the two ques- tions, What are the causes of this action? and How far does the action extend and how serious are its effects in industrial work? More Cleavage in Hyper-Eutectic than in Hypo-Eutectic Irons The iron shown in Fig. 1 was analyzed for carbon at eight points. It was found that the spot contained the highest carbon, except the gray portion immediately above it, which was only slightly higher. Further investigation made it clear that the cleavage condition, visible to the naked eye, is vastly more extensive in a hyper-eutectic spotted iron than in a hypo-eutectic one, and that it extends to the very exterior of the pig in the former and is more and more restricted to the center as the carbon is lower in the latter. The fracture of the iron at the exterior ©! the pig shown in Fig. 1 is not particularly high cleavage. whereas the iron shown in Fig. 4 is of most peculiar appea'- ance. There are close-grained spots scattered all over its face, not perfectly white, but visible upon close examinatio ember 12, 1912 THE IRON AGE 1377 naked eye as plates of solid white alternating with flakes of this material shown. The graphite is fine, scat rs of gray—in other words, the most accentuated con- of cleavage to be found. This cleavage condition is manifested particularly in the upper corners of the ind from one of these corners of this pig a specimen taken, which was polished and photographed without so as to show the lamination and the orientation of graphite. This appears in Fi and The same le, etched and at the same magnification, is shown in >, and under higher magnification in Fig. 8. n order to prove if a contrast existed, we took a similar er of the pig shown in Fig. 1 and prepared a specimen e same way. The result is shown in Fig..9, unetched. will be seen at a glance that the laminated condition nuch less and the graphite much less ‘oriented in this cimen than in the other. This iron being a hypo-eutectic n the portion which froze first was austenite and there only puddles of eutectic left to the long lly Oo c &>- 5 make Tew secondary ind © 1s indication of tered and nodular, an indication of its being graphite, while some of the graphite in. Figs large and in relatively flakes, an being primary. 5 long ts \llusion has been made to irons which had a tenden« to spot without being actually spotted occur in the No. 3 been noticed in the These irons usually grades. In addition to No. 2 and even softer grades witl close spot in the center, surrounded by m material. After getting this clue it was relatively easy to the results of the test bars that some of those this fracture were likely to the normal strengt! for their grades, and by examining. the upper corner of the pig it was possible in some of these cases to detect slight traces of cleavage. Accordingly a specimen was prepared from the upper corner of a pig of high carbon No. 3 these, irons ha oOpen-graine d re find from asts with be below EFFECT OF HIGH CARBON IN CHARCOAL PIG IRON. Fig. 1—Typical Spotted Iron. Fig. 2—White Portion of Fig. 1. Spotted Iron, Very High Cleavage. g Iron in Fig. 4, Showing Laminations. Fig. 1, Unetched. Fig. 3—White Portion of Fig. Fig. 5—Corner of Pig Iron in Fig. 4, Unetch Showi jnati Fig. 4, Unetched, Showing Laminations. Fig. 7—Corner of Pig Iron in Fig. 4, 1 OS ios. Lape Etched and With Much Greater Magnification nm in Figs. 5- Note Relatively Slight Laminations Compared with Figs. 5 ang 6. . Fig. 4—Low No. of Pig Iron re r of Pig soriviaiaia c of s. Iron - + 7 st iif . ; AY ‘ “ . = whi pees 1378 photographed without etching. The original pig is shown in Fig. 10, and the microphotograph of an etched specimen in Fig. 11. The cleavage planes and the orientation of the rows of graphite appear. It is concluded that some of the graphite in the hyper-eutectic iron is primary, and if so 1t will naturally occur in relatively large flakes quite thin in relation to their length and breadth. Further, the graphite not having any continuity of structure is obviously at the mercy of the eutectic crystals, and when the latter begin to form they can push the graphite flakes around so that while the long axes of the flakes may not be aligned the flakes as a body are arranged in windrows. This condition is plainly evident in Figs. 5, 6, 7,8 and 11. Fig. 12 is the same as Fig. 11 at a higher magnification and shows the same condition within its limited field The Effect of Higher Silicon It will be noticed that the plates of eutectic shown in Figs. 11 and 12 are considerably more broken up than the similar areas in Fig. 3. This is considered to be the result of the greater silicon content of the pig shown in Fig. Io than that shown in Fig. 1, and is reflected in the solid gray fracture of the latter as compared with the partly white fracture of the former. The effect to break up these .plates of eutectic into pearlite and cementite, and then, in some cases, to break the latter up into pearlite and graphite. If this be true then we should have an orientation of the graphite even in irons so high in silicon as to have left scarcely any traces of the original of silicon is obviously eutectic. In order to prove or disprove this hypothesis we took a pig of low No. 2, in the corners of which we found faint indications of cleavage, and prepared a specimen from its upper corner. The orientation of the graphite was plainly visible and there were long windrows of white dots, repre- senting all ‘that was left of the cementite, which once com posed part of the eutectic plates. Darker flakes between rows of graphite were plainly observable the windrows of white: dots. The grounds for believing that this was a hyper-eutectic iron in Fig. 11—Corner of Pig Iron in Fig. 10, Etched which the silicon had forced down the eutectic point to about 4 per cent. instead of 4.30 per cent. are the fact that the segregated spot was lower than the rest of the pig in carbon and the presence of the residual plates of eutectic in the corners. We have endeavored to obtain specimens of coke iron containing white spots in the center, but so far without My recollection is quite distinct, however, that these irons are not infrequent in basic practice. We shall take the first opportunity to determine whether the same conditions hold in those irons as those here shown. success. Chill and Casting Temperature Allusion has been made to the fact that irons, either spotted or with a tendency to spot, are commonly deficient in chilling qualities as well as strength. The reason has not yet been worked out. It has been established beyond THE IRON AGE December 12, 2 the possibility of a doubt that it is not dependent on the carbon in iron. We have seen two irons of th No. 4 grade, of which the carbons were identical the limits of chemical error (4.06 and 4.07 per cent yet the chill on one was about % in. deep and on the about 34 in. ‘deep. It is entirely possible that part of the cause may temperature at which the iron is cast. The tendency the chill to be reduced by casting at a higher temperat It is fairly well established that high hearth temper (other things being equal) tends to promote high car It may, therefore, be that deficient chill and high car are the joint results of the same cause—high hearth perature—rather than having any relation of cause effect with one another. It must be borne in mind, | ever, as stated in the beginning, that there is some factor, perhaps more than one, affecting the quality of iron in addition to analysis in the ordinary elements, e\ including the results herein contained concerning carb We have had this fact forced on our attention in so ma ways that we feel called on to reiterate it at every opp tunity. Conclusions Thus Far Reached Some of the conclusions noted in the paper are t following: Spotted irons are products of carbon segreg tion. This may take place in irons containing either m or less carbon than the eutectic ratio, but is less marke: and less likely to have ill effects the further the carbon is below the eutectic ratio. When the fracture of an iron shows high cleavage the edge it is almost sure to be up to or above the eutectic ratio and to be a weak iron. Close spots not associated with cleavage may occur in irons of good quality, especially where the silicon is com- paratively high. While the work described has shown the cause of spotted irons and irons of high cleavage and the reason for their corre- sponding weakness, it is strongly believed that there is another con- Fig. 10—High No. 3 Iron With Tendency to Fig. 12—Corner of Pig Iron in Fig. 10, Spot Etched, With Much Greater Magni- fication Than in Fig. 11 dition or substance that makes for strength and for high chill with a given silicon content in just the same way that high carbon makes for weakness and low chill with a given silicon content. There are many things indicating that with this unknown condition properly fulfilled a relatively high carbon iron may be stronger and better than an iron of much lower carbon with this condition absent. Illus trating this are cold blast irons which command a price much higher than that of any other pig iron, yet are quit high in total carbon, frequently well over 4 per cent. The author says in conclusion: “We are continuing the investigation to determine what the remaining unknow? condition may be. We think we have proved that high carbon by itself makes an iron weak and poor, but low or moderate carbon by itself is not enough. It is my hope that we shall eventually discover what causes good iron to he good, as well as what causes poor iron to be poor.” ember 12, 1912 Motor Truck Development ifty thousand motor trucks and delivery wagons is ved to be a conservative estimate of the number now se in the United States, according to the publicity de- nent of the commercial vehicle section, National Auto- ile Shows. Carefully compiled reports made at the nning of the year showed that there were then, in d figures, close to 30,000, and State and city registra- ; of motor vehicles compared with those of a year be- proved that the number of these vehicles is doubling ally. stimates of the probable production for the coming vary widely, because many motor car manufacturers regulate their output to correspond with demand. ed on the rate of increase in the past, the output should h about 50,000. Rapid as’ has been the yearly increase e number of pleasure automobiles, the percentage of ase in trucks and delivery wagons has been almost great. There are more makers of commercial in America now than there are manufacturers of sure vehicles, the list comprising more than 300 names. y one-third of these will display their new models at national automobile shows in New York and Chi- from January 20 to 25 and February 10 to 15, re- ‘tively. Motor vehicles are used for industrial, commercial, nicipal and federal purposes by more than 250 distinct nes of business. More than 4000 are operated in New irk City and more than 2000 are registered in Chicago. Che total average cost of operation and maintenance of zasoline machines ranges from about $8.50 per day for a ton truck to $18.50 a day for a 10-ton truck. The aver- ve for electric vehicles is approximately two-thirds of these figures, but their mileage is proportionately less. It osts a little more than $5.50 a day to keep and use a one- rse outfit, and $8.50 a day for a two-horse team, but a irse or team cannot average more than 15 miles a day wainst from 50 miles for a 5-ton motor truck to 100 or ire for a 1-ton truck. The actual cost per ton-mile of hauling with horses in the city is from 14 to 18c. with a double team, and from 20 35c. with a single horse. The cost per ton-mile with notor trucks, all items of overhead expense included, is irom about 7c. for a 5-ton truck to 11 1/3c. for a 1-ton ruck. In department store work with electric vehicles the st of delivery varies from about 4c. to roc. per package. The lower cost of doing work with power wagons is, wever, only one of the principal advantages realized trom their use. Their increased speed and mileage capa- ilities enable a store to reach out into new territory too ir to be served by horse delivery and to gain new cus- tomers by the quicker service. They also are more de- endable and regular than horses in bad winter weather ind during the midsummer season. All large users testify this. e as Physical Valuation af Railroads The Adamson bill for the physical valuation of rail- ads passed the House of Representatives December 5 1 a viva voce vote. It impos