The Iron Age 1913-02-27: Vol 91 Iss 9

HE IRON AGE tablished 1855 New York, February 27, 1913 Vol. 91: No. 9 Steel Castings Without the Use of Manganese A Product of the Small Detachable Open Hearth Furnace—Results of Physical and Microscopic Tests EDWIN I roduction of steel castings in small open hearth salient feature is the pouring tl tal direct from has aroused considerable interest of late, and furnace into the mol without e of a ladle, insur there have been a number of installations of various types ing less loss of heat and a greater protection of the metal to produce castings, not only of ordinary but also of special It has been thought by metallurgists and practical stee] sition. Various qualities are claimed for such cast- asting men that a good carbon steel casting could be ma ings and they are active competitors with castings from and yet the use of manganese in the process bi spense the small Bessemer converter. It is claimed that not only with. W. M. Carr, general manager of the Alloy St is a metal of high temperature secured, enabling the pour- Casting Company, Wheeling, W. Va., has been worki1 ing of as sharp and intricate a casting as that made from out this theory in his furnace and the writer recently s converter steel, but a metal contaminated very little with ired some test bars of the metal for examination. Wit oxides and other impurities. A striking innovation in the Mr. Carr’s permission the results are here s n for tl small open hearth line is the Carr detachable open hearth benefit of those interested furnace of two tons capacity per heat, a description of \ heat of the following composition, amosg other which was given in The Jron Age of March 21, 1912. Its was made in the Carr detachable open hearth furna ? . ae b 27 Thiamet Ss imen ‘tebed N ies \ Views Representing About One-Third Reduction of Photomicrographs at 5/ Viameters. specimens Etched l 2 ; : Ter st 7 en a ae 61,530 65,000 65,48 ; F) strength, Ib.......22....eeeeess Jeaecsa std ewes ons a 43,000 41620 ; FE). , Uideetdemeeks sé sue batan eeeeee soeeee 8 ; : 7 © 4 R tion, per cent in 2 in ; : Ceeveussereseeerces ; 39 35.7 33 58.1 ec yn Pg cent ; ‘ péeeo 15.8 ce , 32.4 : 98.6 Pra : prc sce Bo ategh 8.52% babe tic aida AP Seen chee Gras as ‘ neslar % Grat wr Irregular sp PTR = caer pond ’ , yew Pa a ee ere ee ee See wate tage . 2 cs THE IRON AGE Februar Per cent still remain and the solution of the pearlite in Carbor 0.21 is incomplete. In photomicrograph No. 5 the Mang brace annealed condition of the steel is shown, all inte: Siicor nee being removed. Sulph Yoo T} li ; f ae a . 1 = : e possibility of producing first-class small oe ; : ings without using manganese opens up a wi The neat was manipulated in the usual Way eXce pt a - waa ’ a et usefulness. There is a large demand for any tnat no mangal Vas added Che sulphur peing iow I 1! { : : 11 : oe will produce small castings economically and these heats made it the more possibile to dispense with ' . _ “4° co = whether of special composition or_ not manganes It was found also that castings of this con nosition very rarely crack, The saving in the one item < manganese is considerable. Another advantage was found A Heavy Duty Motor Truck Axle Turning Lat! aie to consist in the fact that there is much less cutting action lo enable motor truck axles to be machined yn the hearth of the furnaces when manganese is absent have been formed or shaped, the American T Thes stings, it is claimed, are solid and free from Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, has brought out a blowholes or occluded gases, while the metal is tough and duty lathe. The machine-is designed to do away quit tile rhe inventor of the furnace is convinced trouble previously encountered in machining hile the use of manganese is necessar n son was done while the piece was straight. esses, it is not wholly so in his \ turther examina eration was completed, a die was used to form ti is steel was made physically and microscopically piece and it is pointed out that here inaccur tests of the steel in the natural or green state gave metimes resulted. f wing he general construction of this lathe is the i ae n : ; the builders’ standard line, but there are some oie wee 398 vhic were especially designed to enable this Elongats agfro- fide 16% : work to be handled. The eccentric chuck A een res anular tinguishing and most important feature of the nev Elastic limit, per c ensile strengt his chuck is fastened by heavy bolts to a ret Further tests ‘ tal in tl irious stages of its plate, B, which is screwed on the spindle nose annealed nditior re as follows castin s used for the chuck which locates the Partly anneal Thorous ring the axle bedring in line for turning. The ai oh similar to that of the universal chuck used on crar Seems Tesi 3° bh 416201 500 It 500 ithes for bringing the throws into position. Elongation in 2 i1 25.5 4 3 4 [he rough axle which is to be turned is Reductior f he ‘ Ss 1 teen . Fracture a Half ¢ res Cuy veen centers and the chuck center H placed a E.L., per cent. of s 6¢ Sf ngle to throw the end which is to be machine Any of these tests are g and pare favorably the proper position. When the axle has been placed be- with any regular open hearth or other carbor ist steel tween centers, the position of an adjustable V-block is having the usual manganes¢ ntent 0.60 to 080 per regulated by the nut C until the axle is held firmly cent. Especially fine are tests Nos. 5 and 6, where the tion. It is pointed out that this block possesses metal has been thoroughly annea y heating to above ntage of automatically centering the axle and eli the recalescence point and allowed t 1 slowly They ing any tendency to twist. The screws D, one bearing surpass the usual run of acid open hearth metal in elastic n either side of the axle, act as drivers and are adjust ratio, which usually averages 50 to 52 per cent. only. It is ifter the axle has been located in position. To offset also noticeable that the elastic rati f this steel in any veight of the eccentric axle, a counterweight, F, whi ndition is above the average fastened to the adjustable band E is supplied. Under the microscope the steel presents thing u1 lor steadying the work, a rotary steady rest of usual. I examined it very carefully for ion is furnished. While the turning operation and in a marked degree it was free I erformed, the axle is held in the rotor G, wl It is a common impression that any st es inside of a steel casting lined with a ren open hearth furnace must of necessi ast-iron ring. The construction of this ring is sucl xidized. But here is a steel so mack case of wear it can be readily replaced by a new yf manganese as a neutralizer of oxides of iron tee vithout interfering with the action of the rest proper. “ as good in quality and properties as any mpression grease cup and babbit and graphite inserts micrographs Nos. 1 and 2 represent this steel in the green provided for lubricating the rest. or natural condition. The large crystals are probably due For duplicating the position and depth of shoulders to the high temperature at which it was poured, these | the axle, longitudinal and diameter stops of the regu ing much larger than are usually found in castings poured type are supplied to control the travel of the tool during from the large acid open hearth furnaces. Photomicro- the different turning and shoulder facing operations. At graphs Nos. 3 and 4 reveal the metal in the partly annealed rdinary taper attachment can be used for turning t YTal + 7 d I ‘onditior he itlines of some f the larger crystals taper on the ends of the axle. The New 24-In. Heavy Duty Lathe for Turning Motor r Truck Axies Built by the American Tool Works Company, Cincinnati, ‘ ry 27, 1913 THE IRON AGE 529 \.w Type Back-Geared Power Press Interesting Details of the Latest Product of the Standard Machinery Company ty to operate either as a direct-driven machine or geared one, is the special feature characterizing N 6-B power press which has been brought he Standard Machinery Company, 7 Beverly street, 1e inclinable type and ed for blanking, swaging and forming, especially very quick blow is required and not a squeeze to that produced by the regular type of tog R. ] The press is of I ssing press. The path of the ram is directly he bearings which, it is emphasized, is an eature in a press that is to be used for this worl 1 for swaging and forming, the heavy tie rods I left in place but when argé sheets are t ‘ rods which are built s that thev xtend le from the upper bearing the ( art « n be ré er Chis arrangement er te 1 gives tne iximu VOrking ipa r g I 18 a nt ew I icw WI! the ick gea I I es large driving gear is given in Fig. z ll be noticed from Fig wv] st wheel le, there is an adjustable kr u iated | an eccentric rod mnected to the n the end of the crankshaft. This knockout le on the end of the crankshaft and is used for oe swaged material from be \W There is stable bar below the bed for this kn second kn ut in the ram of the actuated from a special knee on the rear of é nd operates through a slott e in the rear ram an examination of Fig. 2 noticed that 1 is at the extreme end « ft and t of ee with the driving gear wl s 4.4 times as large e€ pinion is in this pos n ‘ uchine will be lirectly from the 32-1n { ul l SS ft lleys . ameter of the gear gua slig larger thar - tside diameter of the pinion and draw rods are in ne in the holes in the pinion to draw it out. An ad et Bas collar sliding along the shaft retains the pinion elt te Mie d wilt e Laas ie reat after pushing it back for the purpose of driving a lace ‘ lheral : > 5% 1n l 4 ' ly j pul running t ' liamete 4 I ver need a en } g I +] ‘ ‘ ‘ nside of bronze $ gh to the f r T nnectior ‘ t arter an ment 1s ne t the hror } ng a the ¢ ver neact } } ‘ ' are ‘Sennen ‘ : readec in ipper I vl t phasized t t tly and renders bru sing 5 unk ver ect n possible The ball is fit nto the g and retained the roe ron ‘ ntrolled 1 , 5 I r > ne : i take 1 ted wit le, which n. des and the first knockout ment perates througl hole. The bed is 9 ' k » the } , The following ta ‘ . ; an ] 4 , nic > ’ Stroke, in Adjustment of s Size of bottom of slide, in “ux? Distan ween slide and j. ont n 9 Distar le center t L - Dept f be n : 23% Width : n ; Mae of ed : istance etweer 2 4 Speed, rp.a steve on Over-all hight, ft reuwe 8% Floor space required, ft 6x5% Weight of press, It 14.290 1—Front View of the New No. 6-B Back Geared Power Press Domestic shipping weight, Ib 15.300 Built by the Standard Machinery Company, Providence, R. I Foreign shipping weight, Ib 16.069 THE IRON AGE 530 The Motor Truck as an Economical Tool Some of the Conditions Effecting the Displacement of Horse Transportation BY ROLLIN W. HUTCHINSON, JR., M.E.* The economic considerations that enter into the sub- stitution of motor truck for horse transportation in prac- tically every line of commercial enterprise go deeper than most people would think. That the removal of horses from city streets tends to cleanliness, to sanitation and to the more efficient handing of congested traffic; that motor trucks by their greater speed and endurance, broaden their owner’s selling territory beyond what can be reached by horse service; that motor operation is more economical than horse operation, all these things are recognized, in a general way by business men. That there may be a con- nection between the high cost of living and the high cost of maintaining horse transportation equipment is not so obvious to the casual observer, though there is ample ground for connecting the two things. Increased Cost of Living for Horses The evidence in this connection lies in the increased cost of living, so to speak, for horses as for human beings. It has grown simultaneously and in nearly exact propor- tion, for animals and for men. Accurate calculations from the actual market reports show that in the last five years the cost of feeding a horse has increased 137 per cent. A horse’s feed is produced by the soil on which the food for human beings, whether grain, vegetable or flesh, must be raised. Even with the enormous acreage of unused land the United States imports each year more and more of the things that are grown in the soil, and it is plain that to reduce the cost of living for men, women and children, one of the easiest and most evident steps is to devote to producing food for them much of the acreage now, used for raising food for draft animals. This sounds theoretical and fantastic at first, perhaps, but the hard test of plain figures shows it to be practical and commonsense. Necessity of Housing the Horse Near the Work There is not a point at which the motor truck is not cheaper to maintain than the horse. For example: To give the highest working efficiency, a horse must be stabled near his work. Not only is the time it takes to drive him from the stable to the job just so much lost out of the working profit-units but every step of the way is taken from the distance he can travel in his day’s work. A horse being flesh and blood has limited endurance. A machine, if properly built and suited to the work, has practically no limitations. The necessity of stabling horses near their work to save both time and strength going to and returning from it, means a constantly increasing expenditure for housing. In cities, and even towns, stables frequently must be located in districts of fast-rising property values. The motor truck, on the other hand, suffering no weariness of the flesh and having from twice to six times the speed of the horse or even more, can be housed at any distance from its working base that may be desirable for economy. Furthermore, the garage is not the insanitary nuisance that the horse stable is. As a single motor truck, properly used, will do the work of 3 to 6 two-horse teams, it is fair to calculate that the motor truck equipment required for a given amount of work will occupy no more than one-fifta the floor space required for horse equipment. This ai’ows for the space occupied by wagons, horses, feed and so on. Obstacle in the Attitude of the Stable Master There are other elements in load moving costs which are not so obvious. The fact that many a master of transportation began as a stable boy, became a driver and has been promoted to his job at the head of delivery and trucking service because of his knowledge of horses and how to get the most out of them puts a good many busi- ness men at a disadvantage in solving transportation prob- lems, because their advice is not disinterested. Neither, for that matter, is the advice of a maker of motor trucks disinterested, perhaps, in a sense. But every successful business manager knows that part of his suc- *International Motor Company, Mack, Saurer and Hewitt trucks. February 27, 1913 cess is due to the fact that he has pushed the sale of his commodity, whether it is manufactured product or some kind of service, in the direction in which he knew it would absolutely make good. A motor truck concern which has proper regard for its future and its commercial stand- ing will not advise the substitution of motor trucks for horses unless there is a certainty of their proving profit- able, either by making a saving or by extending business, or in both ways. One of the most interesting of modern commercial advisory agencies is the traffic and engineering depart- ment of the motor truck companies which have real records of the performance of different types of machines extending over a considerable period of years. It is the experience of the engineers of this organization that the master of horse transportation when he figures the ex- pense of his department frequently overlooks or omits such items as veterinary expense, and loss of a horse’s time by reason of sickness, which involves having spare animals that cannot be used economically. For instance one large concern which motorized its transportation after a searching investigation, discovered to its surprise that its wagon service was costing $2,000 a year more than it had been reckoning on in the mere matter of veterinary ad- vice, to say nothing of treatment or the cost of having an animal’s work done for him while he is sick. A Horse Works Half the Number of Working Days Horses that are used carefully will not work more than 50 per cent. of the working days of the year. It is possible to get 75 per cent. of the working days out of a horse, but this is done at the expense of his endurance; he wears out more quickly. On the other hand, a good motor truck is in prime condition 90 per cent. of the time, taking out all the time lost on repairs and adjust- ments. And in 90 per cent. of the year’s working days, the motor truck will work practically 24 hr. a day if necessary; that is to say, it has no moods, it is never half sick; when it is in commission it is up to full effi- ciency the whole time. One of the minor economies of motor trucks fre- quently pointed out is that they do not eat when they are loafing. Fuel expense stops in a well constructed car every time the truck stops. There is no Sunday feeding, no holiday feeding; no Sunday or holiday exer- cising or cleaning, or other care. And while one man can look after horses, a competent mechanician, who may be a good mechanic instructed by a motor truck engineer, can give motor trucks the necessary supervision. Another important consideration is the difference be- tween motor trucks and horses as investments. A horse grows old every day, whether he works or not. He is wearing out with age all the time, even if he spends most of his hours in a stall. The motor truck wears only when it is in use; when it is idle there is no expense connected with it whatever, except the interest on the investment. And a horse accumulates interest on money invested in him in the same way. Few concerns would re-equip themselves with horse transportation now. A horse that has been used in de- livery or hauling service, especially on city pavements, is of little value for any other use when he is too far gone to be valuable for that. An old wagon or horse dray is absolute junk. It costs more to patch up and renew super- annuated horse equipment than it does to re-quip entirely with motor trucks that will do the same amount of work, Early Mistakes in Introducing Motor Trucks The use of motor trucks is still a recent thing. In the very early days, mistakes were made by both the builders and owners, and some of the wrong impressions which took root then have grown and spread since. For instance, to get the most value out of a motor truck by both saving money on present delivery costs ‘and ex- tending the selling area of business, it is nceessary, of course, to lay out the transportation system anew, making it fit the changed conditions. One truck will do the work of a horse and wagon a good deal better than the horse and wagon will do it, but it would be wastefully, be- cause, like every other machine, a motor truck must be kept in constant motion during working hours to earn the full profit of which it is capable. Unless a business uses at least three horse wagons, it cannot use one motor truck to advantage. February 27, 1913 The amount of money involved in motorizing a busi- ness has sometimes caused hesitation, even when the management of the business was convinced of the value ‘of motor trucks in a general way. Yet a study of actual experience shows that a good truck not only pays for itself surprisingly soon, but earns more in a short time to pay for the horse equipment -it has displaced, and after that it is a steady dividend producer. The practical and economic reasons are working to- gether for the rapid motorizing of every business which uses transportation. The economic reasons will, naturally, be the last to be recognized; but the everyday, practical reasons are in themselves sufficiently obvious to carry on the evolution with steadily increasing rapidity. The ex- perimental stage of the motor truck is passed. There are makes of trucks which have been in use so long and under such a variety of conditions that their performance is a fixed factor, which may be counted on absolutely. The wise business man with his skill in applying effi- ciency tests, and his measuring costs against profits, enables him to apply to this particular concern the tech- nical and engineering knowledge which the expert auto- mobile engineer will provide for him. A New Style of Duplex Milling Machine For use in manufacturing operations where the two opposite sides of light and medium pieces of work have to be machined true and parallel, the Garvin Machine Company, Spring and Varick streets, New York City, has brought out a new machine which is designed by the builder as its No. 2 duplex milling machine. The securing of accurate work depends upon the machine instead of on the care and skill of the operator in resetting, which, it is pointed out, can hardly always be uniform, and as two cuts are taken simultaneously, it is possible to turn out twice as much work in the same actual working time, while in ad- dition the time consumed in setting up the work for the taking of the second cut is saved on every piece as well. The following table gives the principal dimensions and specifications of the machine: SRO. OE DON lls 6 ia btk nes Ss éamwanedeneess és 8x 40 Ret ef ebOihe DOME, Mbit daccac desde sieves ce 24 Maximum distance between spindle ends, in......... 16% Minimum distance between spindle ends, in........ 3% Minimum distance between spindle and table, in..... 3 Maximum distance between spindle and table, in.... 9 B. & S. taper of hole in spindle. .................--No. 10 ge or rT errr ere 3 INGMNGR GE DONE COMI 6 ci cc icnesdacecnducess ts 12 Minimum feed per revolution of the spindle, in.... 0.005 Maximum feed per revolution of the spindle, in... 0.125 ee: ee I i Oa iar aasa dok ycuen Sekastae 3 Face width of countershaft pulleys, in....... ey 3% Diameter of countershaft pulleys, in............. ; 12 SOOR OL COMMISTONOTE, SF. Mili os.n's oki ccs caned oucceds 260 DEOOr GE SEO: Mer dendei se euxdoes chads yonas 74x73 Domestic shipping weight, Ib............. 2,465 Foreign shipping weight, Ib................. i 2,950 COE: OE SUNG: OR Didvins dacaevatiicctavasecestess 87 The heads have independent micrometer adjustment toward and away from each other, and the spindles are independently adjustable in a vertical plane by micrometer handwheels. In this way it is possible to adjust the cut- ters to the work in every direction and corners and ledges can be finished as readily as simple flat surfaces. The butt or face cutters used give a fine finish to the work and can be fed at a rapid rate without sacrificing the finish. The cutters are close to the ends of the spindles, being either on a shank or threaded directly on the spindle, which does away with the overhang and in consequence, it is pointed out, there is no scoring of the work such as is sometimes caused by the drag and spring of straddle mills. As the heads ‘are independent of each other, it is pos- sible to take different shapes of cuts on opposite sides of the work, which can be stacked up and the same operation performed on a number of pieces at once. The spindles are taper and run in solid bronze boxes of the builder’s standard design. The drive is by a linked train of gears from the driving shaft which runs along the rear of the bed. A cone pulley on this shaft which is backgeared in the ratio of 3 to I, provides speed changes. The feed is driven from the driving shaft to the left end of the bed by a series of change gears. Twelve feed changes rang- ing from 0.005 to 0.125 in. per revolution of the spindle are provided by the gears which are all covered and are handled from below. The table is deep and has large V slots. Its width, 914 THE IRON AGE 53! in., permits the work to be held in a fixture or two pieces of work secured side by side to be grooved simultaneously. An automatic trip and reverse is located in a convenient The New No. 2 Duplex Milling Machine Built by the Garvin Ma- chine Company, New York City position and a quick movement by a screw ball handle of 1 in. per turn is also provided. The feed screw is driven directly by a hardened steel worm gear and tool steel worm running in an oil bath. An oil pump and reservoir are provided to take care of the work of supplying lubri- cant and there are extensions to catch the drip of the table. The equipment regularly furnished with this machine includes a set of five wrenches, two arbor plungers, four change gears, a plain countershaft, an oil pump and two flexible tubes, oil shields and oil screens. In addition to the machine illustrated, there are three other sizes built, two of which are smaller and one larger. The larger machine is provided with two feed ranges, so that there are in reality five machines in all. New Annealing Furnaces at Midvale Works The engineering offices of Victor Stobie, Sheffield, Eng- land, refer to the adoption of the Stobie furnace for annealing tool steel bars by a number of works in Ger- many and Sweden. The Midvale Steel Company, Nice- town, Philadelphia, has ordered a battery of six Stobie annealing furnaces for the heat treatment of tool steel bars. The installation will be the largest in the world for this class of work, having a capacity of 7500 tons of steel bars per annum. The furnaces are producer gas fired, such gas being of low cost and under easy control. It is stated that a feature of the Stobie annealing furnaces built abroad is the provision for long length bars. In Germany furnaces have been built for bars up to 28 ft. in length and the usual length is 16 ft. Euro- pean tool steel makers are providing larger capacity an- nealing furnaces than formerly. The usual size now preferred is of 8 to 10 tons capacity and it is rare for less than two such furnaces turning out two to three heats per week to be working together. On the Continent Stobie furnaces have been installed with as high as 20 tons capacity per heat. In Great Britain the Stobie electric furnaces for melt- ing steel have been installed at a number of works. Mr Stobie is now erecting on Tyneside a large all-electric steel works in which the furnaces will be of his design. A Stobie electric steel furnace is also to be installed at a German steel works. The International & Great Northern Railway Company has ordered 10 locomotives and 13,000 tons of 70-Ib. steel rails for laying 150 miles of track. It is also announced that the company’s intention is to go ahead actively with betterments to the property by the present management in view of the fact that negotiations for the sale to the Missouri’ Pacific have been dropped 532 Steam Accumulator-Regenerators The Status of the Regenerative Processes for Utilizing Exhaust Steam Reassuring observations regarding the utility of the steam accumulator-regenerator as a means for utilizing the exhaust steam from the steam engine operated under varying loads or intermittently were made at a meeting of the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania held No- vember 19, 1912, in Pittsburgh. A paper on “The Theory of Steam Accumulators and Regenerative Processes” was read by F. G. Gasche, mechanical engineer of the Illinois Steel Company, Chicago, and this was followed by a spirited discussion, which with the paper was calculated to emphasize the large p!ace which this auxiliary of the power apparatus of the steel mill has already taken and promises to fill to even a greater extent. The paper in full, together with the discussion, was printed in the proceedings of the Society for December, and from this pub‘ication the fol- lowing information has been obtained: Mr. Gasche’s paper was a mathematical investigation of various types of steam accumulators. He took up the elementary form of accumulator, consisting of a closed chamber containing iron as the chief absorbing agent, and in which the mass of iron is distributed to as large an ex- tent as practicable to present the largest possible amount of surface exposed to steam. He then discussed the static water regenerator, in which water is employed largely as the heat reservoir, one form, it will be recalled, involving an arrangement of shallow cast-iron pans containing more or less water. The third type of the steam regenerator he discussed was that consisting of a reservoir containing a large body of water, which is circulated by means of a pump or equivalent apparatus, capable of delivering the water at a pressure to a spray in the upper part of the chamber. In the case of this forced circulation regenerator it was ad- mitted that the direct losses are through the actual resist- ance of the pump or other circulating apparatus. Finally, he took up the question of generators which induce the circulation. In these the steam to the generator enters through numerous small jets from submerged steam pipes into the body of the water within the regenerator. The application of heat below the surface of the water is held to favor the production of rapid water currents, the induc- ing of these currents in the way described giving the name ascribed to the regenerator. Among other details discussed was that of receiver space preceding a regenerator, such space being of value as a heat reservoir, but it is generally advisable, he said, to put the money required for its construction into addi- tional regenerator capacity. He concluded the paper with an enumeration of the points which may be taken into con- sideration in making a test of the regenerator. The Discussion The discussion was opened by L. Battu, president of the Rateau Steam Regenerator Company, New York City, who mentioned that quite a number of engineers have considered and still continue to consider steam regenera- tors as heat and storage reservoirs which have no other function than to furnish steam during periods of shut- down of mill engines. A steam regenerator, instead, is an equalizer for a flux of steam. It acts as a steam con- denser in which the circulating water, being a limited mass, is alternately heated by the fact that it condenses steam and cools by evaporation when the pressure in the vessel in which condensation takes place is reduced. Dry Steam from a Regenerator In a properly designed regenerator, the steam dis- charged is dry saturated steam, and the percentage of moisture contained is always less than 1 per cent. He said that throttling calorimeters had never shown more than 0.6 per cent. moisture. The drying of the steam is due to its passage through the water of the regenerator. He spoke of the satisfactory operation of a regenerator plant at the works of the International Harvester Company, South Chicago, now known as the Wisconsin Steel Com- pany, and of the plant installed at the Vandergrift works of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, described in THE IRON AGE February 27, 1913 The Iron Age of January 7, 1909. At the latter plant, a reversing bar mill engine exhausts into a Rateau low- pressure engine, delivering some 1700 kw. without increase of fuel. “Broadly speaking,” he added, “if it is considered that an ordinary reversing engine running non-condensing can by the Rateau process be made to develop 1500 kw., it will be seen that for a given amount of fuel more than twice the power is produced.” The Value of Mixed-Flow Steam Turbines The use of mixed-pressure turbines, he emphasized, brings about results which are far reaching. A turbine to which is delivered a homogeneous flow from the steam regenerator at the rate of 60,000 lb. per hour will be capable of delivering 2000 kw. on low-pressure steam, and if this turbine is made of the mixed-pressure type, it can very easily carry more than 3000 kw. on high pressure, the difference of power being due to the power developed by the turbine in the high-pressure section. It will then be capable of taking peak loads up to 3000 kw. J. A. Hunter, mechanical engineer of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, mentioned both the early and the later installations of regenerating apparatus. The first consists of a 500-kw. low-pressure turbine and a Rateau regenerator 40 ft. long and 8 ft. in diameter, with a capac- ity of 90,000 lb. of water at normal water level, receiving the exhaust from a 45 x 72-in. reversing mill engine. A back pressure of 3 lb. is maintained on the system by means of a relief valve set to blow at that pressure. A test of the regenerator showed that it would supply a suffi- cient amount of steam to operate a 500-kw. turbine at rated capacity for a period of 2 to 3 minutes. The recent instal- lation includes two 500-kw. mixed-flow turbines and an additional regenerator so ft. long and 9 ft. in diameter, with a capacity of 126,000 lb. of water at the normal water level. The regenerators have been arranged so that they may work in parallel, and when the installation was made, the exhaust from two 44 x 48-in. bar mill engines and several hydraulic pumps was added to the system. All of the exhaust steam is first passed through the oil separator of a feed-water heater, a sufficient amount of steam being retained in the heater to heat the boiler feed water. The remainder passes on to the regenerator and through the relief valve, if there is a surplus. Faulty Performance of Regenerators Prof. W. Trinks, professor of mechanical engineering of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, ex- plained that in several plants he had watched, the relief valve blew practically every time the reversing engine pulled a heavy load, and immediately afterward the live steam valve would open to the turbine, proving that steam absorption of the regenerator had been far from perfect. He mentioned a plant where the regenerator capacity was doubled after starting in the vain hope of doing away with these losses of exhaust steam. His point was that steam does not flow to the accumulator in a steady stream, but comes in puffs and gulps. “This passage of steam,” he continued, “occurs with the violence of an explosion, and the valve must be capable of opening and closing its full travel many times each minute without pounding it- self to pieces. Some of the valves required are over 36 in. in diameter, with moving parts the weight of which may reach as high as 1000 lb. and must oscillate up and down with a travel of some 6 in. or more for 25 or 30 times a minute.” He dwelt on this and other points more, how- ever, to suggest that some of the variables in the mathe- matical discussion of the author had been pverlooked when they might be sufficiently important to affect his results. He was also inclined to take with some caution the state- ment that the regenerator delivers steam with a practical absence of moisture. He felt that rapid evaporation means moisture carried with the steam, and referred to some tests published by Dr. Puppe, in Stahl und Eisen, in which moisture amounting to 24 per cent. was found in the steam delivered to the turbine, in spite of a large regenerator capacity. Performance of Regenerator Plant at Ensley, Ala. F. G. Cutler, steam engineer of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, Ensley, Ala., called attention to the fact that Mr. Gasche’s paper brought out that the February 27, 1913 capacity of a regenerator should be based on its capacity to absorb heat at high rates in relatively short periods rather than by its capacity to give off heat in time of deficiency over periods of 2 to 5 min. He referred briefly to some of the experiences of the No. 2 power- house of the Ensley plant, in which there are three 3000- kw. mixed-pressure turbines deriving their low-pressure supply mainly from two Mesta 55 x 66-in. twin reversing engines, driving a 44-in. blooming mill and a 34-in. rough- ing mill. The exhaust from these two engines is extremely variable on account of the stopping, starting and reversal of ‘the engine every few seconds, and the variation of work in each pass. As shown by continuous indicator cards the engines are each exhausting at the rate of over 300,000 Ib. steam per hour for short periods, while the average steam from each engine while rolling at an average rate is less than 100,000 lb. per hour, and in spite of this wide fluctuation in supply of exhaust steam, the five regenerators furnish the tur- bines with a steady supply of low-pressure steam without loss at the back-pressure valve, although the regenerators have not capacity enough to supply the low-pressure tur- bines with a full supply of steam over a period of 2 minutes. There are periods, he admitted, when the supply of ex- haust steam is greater or less than that necessary to operate the station, and at these periods there is either exhaust steam wasted, or live steam used, to make up the deficiency, but these do not both occur at the same time. The turbines are operated almost exclusively on low- pressure steam when the mill is in operation and when the mill is shut down high-pressure, steam is utilized that would otherwise have been wasted at the safety valves, although at no time is the back pressure on the engine car- ried above about 4 lb. gauge, and as these engines were operated non-condensing, the resulting power is obtained at practically no expenditure for fuel. The regenerators are of the induced circulation type and the size was deter- mined by an investigation of the mill engine operation by the aid of continuous indicators and a graphical plotting of an average mill cycle, from which the most economical capacity was calculated. Mr. Battu, in referring to the remarks of Professor Trinks, said that in the well-designed regenerator the relief valve will only open when the average amount of steam discharged by the mill engine is in excess of the low-pressure turbine requirements and after the regenera- tor had absorbed the maximum amount of exhaust steam; that if the low-pressure turbine requirements are less than the average amount delivered by the mill engine, it is self- evident that the valve must open and discharge the excess. He also emphasized that mixed-pressure turbines are capable of enormous overload conditions. He held that Professor Trinks had been unfortunate in witnessing the operation of plants in which the regenerators were not properly installed or proportioned. The paper was also discussed at length by R. S. Young- love, assistant mechanical engineer of the Illinois Steel Company, South Chicago; C. J. Bacon, steam engineer of the Illinois Steel Company, Chicago; D. Eppelsheimer, chief engineer American Rolling Mill Company, Middle- town, Ohio; J. N. Chester, consulting engineer, Chester & Fleming, Pittsburgh, and E. D. Dickinson, turbine engi- neering department of the General Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y. The Laughlin-Barney Machinery Company, Union Bank Building, Pittsburgh, has received an order from - the Crucible Steel: Company of America for the installa- tion of an inverted type drilling machine in its Crescent works, Pittsburgh. This type of machine is an innova- tion in heavy duty drilling. The drills are forced upward, and the machine is designed to drill 54 to 1%-in. holes from 12 to 22 in. in crucible steel sections. The Laughlin- Barney Company has also taken orders for a number of Newton machine tools, including five large cold saw cutting-off machines and several rotary planers for in- stallation in the Pittsburgh district. It has taken the ac- count and has been made exclusive agent in the Pittsburgh district for the Foote-Burt Company, Cleveland, manu- facturer of a full line of high-duty multiple gang and arch-bar drills and special drilling equipment. THE IRON AGE 533 An Interesting Safety Device for Tilting Carboys A recent contribution to the safety devices now on the market is the Flaherty carboy inclinator, which has been brought out by the Carboy Inclinator Company, 1269 Broadway, New York City. The device is intended to eliminate the danger which has heretofore existed in the carboy’s falling and breaking, thus injuring the workman by covering him with the dangerous liquids which are used in some manufacturing lines. To use the device, it is not necessary to raise the carboy from the floor, and this reduces the amount of effort required to handle the car- boy. Finally it is claimed that the inclinator is safe against spilling or splashing. As will be noticed from the engraving, the device con- sists of a set of curved rockers, a handle for clamping it in position on the carboy case and teeth for holding it securely in position. The inclinator is made of iron throughout, malleable castings being used. For con- venience in shipping, the inclinator can be taken apart in a few minutes and as readily reassembled. The inclinator is slipped over the carboy as shown in the engraving so that the flat strip at the left rests against the side of the case almost at the bottom. The straight A New and Interesting Device by Which Acid Carboys Can Be Tilted Safely Made by the Carboy Inclinator Company, New York City lever at the right is then thrown over through an arc of almost 180 deg. so that it is approximately parallel with the top of the carboy case and is at the opposite side of the handle. This clamp works with a cam action and forces the prongs shown just above the top of the case at the left into the wood while the hook at the right is forced into the opposite side and the inclinator is securely fastened in position. After this has been done, a slight pull on the handle, which is grasped in the man’s left hand, places the carboy on the rockers and it can be tilted to any desired position. The case is of course tilted more and more as the level of the liquid falls, until finally the carboy is inverted with the neck in a vertical position and the inclinator rests on the curve shown at the upper end. As soon as the liquid is all poured off, the carboy is returned to an upright position by a pull on the handle. If it is desired to use only a portion of the liquid at a time, it is a simple matter to bring the carboy back to the upright position. The inclinator is then removed from the case and attached to another one in the same way. The Roanoke Bridge Company, Roanoke, Va., is break- ing ground for an addition of 54 x 150 ft. to its present shop, which will increase its capacity to about 10,000 tons per annum. The branch offices of the company are located at Atlanta, Ga. Rock Hill, S. C., and Burlington, N. C. It is doing a general line of concrete substructure work, as well as steel work. 534 A New Portable Electric Drilling Machine In addition to the %, and % in. portable electri drilling machines which were illustrated in The /ron Age July 25, 1912, and January 9, 1913, the Standard Electric Tool Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, is building a 7%-in. ma- chine equipped with a screw feed. This machine is de- signed for use on direct-current circuits and is character- ized by a very rigid construction, the development of high power and the use of ball bearings throughout. The mo- tors used are of the series type and have the insulation of the windings impregnated by a special process. Case har- dened chrome-nickel steel gears which are supported at both ends and run in grease are employed to transmit power. A similar size of machine has been added to the line of alternating-current drilling machines. The mechanical construction of this style is simple and rigid and the elec- trical connection has been simplified to such an extent that the drills are practically fool-proof. They are designed especially for hard, continuous service. These machines can be connected to a lamp socket and will run without special attention. A special feature which is emphasized is that the mo- tors are non-racing. That is, the machine does not race when operating under a light load or idly, thus preventing the armature of the motor from burning out. A quick make and break switch gives the operator control of the drill at all times. As compared with the last previous machine built by the company, which was illustrated in The Jron Age, Janu- ary 9, 1913, this new machine has a screw feed by which the machine can be rested against a wall or other support and the drill point fed into the material by turning a wheel. The chuck used on the earlier machine was oper- ated by the insertion of a square key, but in the new ma- chine it is of the self-tightening type and is operated by the fingers. A Profiling Machine with an Automatic Feed A new automatic profiling machine has been built by the S. E. Spafford Machine Company, Hartford, Conn., for its inventor, Charles R. North, of that city. Two cams impart longitudinal motion to the work table and lateral movement to the head carrying the cutter spindles. Fig 1 is a view of the machine itself, and Fig. 2 illustrates the cam arrangement. While the path of the cutter on the work is determined by the cams shown in Fig. 2, so that sufficient accuracy would be possible, they act in conjunction with the former pin of the cutter head and the forming block of the work table. The cam adjacent to the work head controls the cross-drive of the cutter spindle by a crank lever, while the cam at the rear drives the work table through a con- necting rod. The elasticity required in the connection between the cams and the work head and the table is pro- vided by springs. The camshaft is driven by a worm and Fig. 1—A New with an North, Profiling Machine Charles R. Automatic Hartford, Conn THE IRON Feeding AGE February 27, 1913 Cams Fig. 2—View of the Which Impart Longitudinal Motion to the Table worm gear, a clutch permitting the drive to be engaged and disengaged at will. The clutch trips automatically when the work on a blank has been performed. Adjust- ment of the forming pin to the required depth of cut is secured by tapering the pin. No Tonnage Tax on Lake Ores MARQUETTE, Micu., February 22, 1913.—There will be no tonnage tax on the iron mines of either Michigan or Minnesota. This has been made clear by the action of the lower houses of the legislatures of both States. At Lansing, Mich., Representative Burns presented the prop- osition in inviting form. His resolution merely proposed an inquiry into the conditions surrounding the industry to ascertain whether the manufacture of iron and steel products in Michigan could not properly be encouraged by the imposition of a tonnage tax on ore that was not onsumed in the State. What Mr. Burns had in mind, he explained, was legislation that would make Michigan a greater beneficiary than at present from the millions of tons of rich ores that it produces annually. Considering the vote on the tonnage tax in the previous regular ses- sion, when the bill passed the House, and the purely ten- tative nature of Representative Burns’s proposal, the plan this year commanded a surprisingly small amount of support. The vote of the House killing the resolution reflected its belief that the mines should remain under the ad valorem taxation system and such a lack of faith in the economic feasibility of the steps by which Mr. surns proposed to encourage the development of an iron and steel industry in Michigan that it did not judge the plan worth the expense of an investigation. In the Min- nesota Legislature the tonnage tax was defeated on a close vote, 55 to 61. The bill was similar to the one vetoed by the late Governor Johnson. The Laclede Gas Company, St. Louis, officially announces plans for the construction of coke ovens near St. Louis with a capacity of 250,000 tons of coke per year. The plant will cost $5,000,000 and will be lo- cated on a 200-acre site owned by the company at the southern end of St. Louis. The coal will be brought by river from the West Virginia and Pennsylvania fields. The determina- tion follows the recent increase in the price of gas oil, of which the company has been a great consumer, The new plant will be a by-product plant and the gas produced will be used in the public service distribu- tion plant of the company, while the coke will be sold for furnace, foun- dry and other use. The first con- struction will be of 56 ovens in one battery. The equipment will be of Device Invented by ; : the most modern and scientific type. ~ a. February 27, 1913 Belt-Driven Grinding and Polishing Machines Improvements and additions to the line of grinding and polishing machines built by the Excelsior Tool & Machine Company, East St. Louis, Ill, include three types of swing frame grinding and polishing machines and a surface grinding and polishing machine. Two of the swing frame machines are designed for motor drive, while the other is belt driven and is furnished with a counterweight to com- pletely balance it. This machine which is designed by the builder as its No. 8-A style is illustrated at the left of the accompanying engraving, while the type No. 8-B which is motor driven is shown at the right. The No. 28 sur- face grinding and polishing machine is illustrated in the central insert. In designing the No. 8-A swing frame grinding and polishing machine care was taken to completely balance all the operating movements and it is pointed out that by the use of counterweights the only objection to this type of machine has been overcome. This machine is self- contained and the equipment includes the necessary belts, counterweights and a spindle wrench. There are three sizes of machine built for handling 12, 18 and 24 in. grind- ing wheels and the bearings in all sizes which are lined THE IRON AGE on Cr) un ery cloth. The construction of the machine is rigid and all the moving parts are balanced to avoid vibration and the bearings are made dust and oil proof. In the type No. 8-B swing frame machine, shown at the right of the accompanying engraving, it is intended that the motor shall partly balance the spindle end, while the backward and forward movement is balanced by the counterweight. In this design it is emphasized that easy movement