The Iron Age 1913-07-03: Vol 92 Iss 1

cca Ze Established 1855 New York, July 3, 1913 Vol. 92: No. 1 A Six-Story Continuous Foundry Building Details of the New Structure of the Ford Motor Company and Other Plant Exten- sions—Supervision of Machine Equipment BY OLIVER J ABELI Twelve months ago the Ford Motor Company was building and shipping motor cars at the rate of 500 a day A description of the plant and the methods with which this not include the branch erected in a number of cites and does assembly plants being The expansion in buildings is being paralleled by the buying of much additional ma- sufficiently astonishing production was accomplished was presented in The Jron Age of June 6 and 13, 1912. Within the period of one year the output has been increased to an average of 1000 cars in each day of 9 hr., and the plant itself, including equipment, is still as much in a transition chinery and larger quantities of materials. The equipment of the machine shop already includes over 5000 individual tools. companied by marked refinements in the handling of mate- Intensively, the increased production has been ac- rials. Throughout the plant, in the stockrooms and in the operating departments, pieces are no longer tallied by indi- vidual count but are handled in boxes or cartons of In the coreroom, for example, for a certain core a tray is made which will hold just 50 and for other cores similar trays are made. eliminated and shippers period of growth as it was then. A year ago the buildings completed and projected totaled a floor area of sq. ft., or about 29 acres. ,270,000 crates, The new buildings, construction of which has now been authorized, will increase that total to 44 acres of floor area, the additional 14% acres being divided into 36,112 sq. ft. of office space, 530,400 sq. ft. in three manufacturing buildings and 67,600 sq. ft. in crane- ways. All of this new construction is at the Detroit plant SO In the stockroom, bins have been required to supply all small parts in boxes or cartons which are piled up on the floor. By reason of this change the cost of handling stock mate- are i ee LULU} I et ee 1—General View of the Foundry Coreroom Showing the Arrangement of the Core I Making Benches, Sand Fig spouts and Sand Gallery Fig 2—The S Storage Hop] in Mixer rials is now slightly less than the expense involved in handling half the quantity of stock a year ago With reference to machine equipment the tendency has THE IRON AGE July 3, 1913 been toward greater specialization in the design of the machines for milling, drilling, tapping and grinding. Of this more detailed mention is made later. In addition to the installation of increased machining capacity, two other departments have contributed to the greater production, namely, the foundry and pressed steel departments It may be said that the Ford foundry has been an ex- periment to a greater extent than is true of any other part f the plant. In the beginning, the castings were made at a nearby town on a contract arrangement. That foundry vas subsequently purchased and moved to Detroit and the work put on a piece rate basis. The castings were still costing too much and the piece rate basis was discarded and straight time substituted under a more strenuous supervision from the standpoint of production. By reason a proper arrangement and division of tasks the last basis of operation began to demonstrate its effectiveness [he foundry as described a year ago was at that stage of development. Since that time it has been doubled in floor area and made continuous in operation. The latest stage f development is to be provided for in one of the new buildings for which plans are being completed and con- stitutes a departure from previous practice, entirely unique. The New Foundry Building This new building is to be about 850 ft. long and six stories in hight. It will be arranged to make the manu- facturing processes from raw materials to completely machined castings continuous and consecutive within one building the fifth floor the core making floor; the fourth floor will be a continuous molding and pouring floor; the third floor will be occupied exclusively by tumbling barrels and grind- ing machines for cleaning the castings; on the second floor the metal pattern making and light machining will be pro- vided for, and on the first floor the heavier cast-iron ma- hining. Raw materials for the cupolas will be elevated to the sixth floor charging platforms, the coke from a track hopper by a bottom dump bucket hung from a crane and pig iron and limestone in industrial buggies on ele- The sixth floor will be a cupola charging floor; Fig. 3—View of the Continuous Machine Showing the Central Row of Sand Spouts and Molding Machines with the Carriers on Either Side. The Overhead Sand Conveyor is Also Shown July 3, 1913 vators. An overhead hopper is to be provided for coke storage above the charging platform with bottom gates that will discharge the coke directly into the cupolas. The pig iron and limestone will be charged directly from the buggies in which they are elevated. Conveyors and gravity slides enter largely into the handling of the ma- terials in process. The cores will be brought down from the fifth floor to the molding floor below on a vertical chain elevator with horizontal stake flights. From these vertical elevators the cores will placed on belt con- veyors which traverse the molding floor, passing the floors on which the molds are made, so that the workman who sets the cores has but to lift them from the conveyor to the mold. This conveyor returns on the floor below and carries the castings which have come down from the shaking out tables on the molding floor, via a gravity slide, along to the tumbling barrels. Opposite each tumbling bar- rel the conveyor is to be equipped with a diverting gate arranged to turn the castings into any particu- lar barrel desired. Fig. 4+—One End of across on inclined tables to the grinding machines, from which they are dropped into spiral slides which deliver them to the machining floors below. The arrangement of each floor corresponds in the lon- gitudinal location of equipment to the arrangement of the continuous molding machine units on the molding floor For the various kinds of castings, cylinders, cylinder heads, pistons, etc., individual units will provided with cupolas between each two units and in other respects will be self-contained. The continuous equipment will be gen- erally similar to the units now installed in the present foundry. The design of this building provides an espe- cially stiff construction, primarily, to eliminate vibration which, if excessive, would greatly increase the number of bad castings where the molding floor is so high in the building. The weight of the cupolas, approximating 58 tons when charged, also requires unusual construction, and the plans provide for the cupolas being directly over the side wall foundation of the building. The foundry now operating is 148 ft. wide and 4oo ft. long. In this entire floor area there are no partitions, the Fig. 5—Partial View of the Cupola Installation and a Portion of Endless I Beam Trolley Loop on Which Hot Metal is Handled to the Continuous Carriers THE IRON AGE Suspended Platforms and the Manner in Which the Em From the tumblers the castings slide ve One of the Continuous Carrier Units Showing the Design of the pty Flasks and Weights are Hung After Shaking Out coreroom, molding floors and cleaning rooms being con- tinuous. The coreroom and foundry as they are now equipped have been in a measure a laboratory of experi- ment leading up to the proposed new building arrange- ment. A number of interesting devices are included in the coreroom, a general view of which is shown in Fig. 1 The core making benches are placed ; iround the four sides of the room, as shown in the illustration, and the core ovens and racks for holding the cores in the intervals be fore and after baking occupy the center of the room. For bringing the sand to the core makers’ benches a gallery has been built extending all around the room directly above the benches, and from this gallery spouts are dropped directly over the bench. The sand which is stored in the bins that parallel the foundry building, a description of which arrangement was given in a previous article, ts transferred by a 3-ton gantry crane to a hopper built into the wall of the building so that the discharge foot valves deliver the sand directly into buggi mentioned. A view of thi ‘s on the gallery above hopper, together with the core sand mixers, is given in Fig. 2, and it is apparent that, with the greatest portion of the hopper inside of the building, even in severe weather the sand runs freely and does not 1 1 freeze. The buckets into which this sand is loaded are Fig. 6—A Detailed View of the Overhead Scraper Type Sand ¢ veyor f the Sand Handling Machine Fig. 7—View THE IRON AGE July 3, 1913 Te ‘TA IAL i Li + in | | nN J Looking Along the Cleaning and Grinding Side of the Foundry. From the Grinding Machines the Finished Castings Slide Out Through the Wall Chutes Shown to the Loading Platform Illustrated in Fig. & made to fit into ports in the floor on the gallery, which excellent lighting of the coreroom, attributable to the use of ports are the upper end of the sand spouts. The type of core oven used was built by the Ford Com pany in its own shops. These ovens have the revolving doors arranged with a table on each side of the steel door plate, so that while the cores in the oven are baking, green cores may be loaded on the shelves preparatory to being swung into the oven. The core ovens are gas heated, gas having been substituted for fuel oil throughout the \s in all other departments of the plant, no plant accumulation of materials is permitted, under ordinary conditions, and the steel pipe shelves offer sufficient storage capacity for the green and baked ccres in transit. These trays are marked for the particular cores for which they are to be used and are made with legs of sufficient hight so that they can be piled one on the other when loaded with cores. The Fig. 8—The Delivery Platform Which Extends the Full Length of the Foundry and is Traversed by an Overhead Electric Trolley that Delivers Castings Directly to the Machine Shop Fenestra sash in the sidewalls and the rocf panels with Drouve operating mechanism, is very apparent Continuous Pouring Machines \t the present time the foundry floor space is about evenly divided between floor pouring and continuous ma- chine pouring, the former operation being essentially. as continuous as the latter. The one half is divided into eight cylinder floors arranged in two parallel rows of four floors, with sufficient space between the rows for the mold ing machines, upon which the cylinder molds are made up The schedule of work provides for the making up of 90 cylinder molds per day on each floor, which number is frequently exceeded, as on May 13, when a total of 878 cylinders was cast. The molds are laid down on the floor in parallel rows of from seven to ten. The operator of one machine makes the drag half of the mold continuously, and a row of drag molds are first laid down following. which the venting, blacking-up and skin drying of the mold The and round cores, order. is cf ymiple ted. } barrel in housing cores, jacket cores, and finally the box are set Che mold is made so that the port set into it and cannot be misplaced, which is also the housing The other set by The parting is then put on the mold, and by this for all of the molds are made and are put on. The locking up aud gating of the molds follows. Pouring follows immediately, or with a very short interval of delay. A watch held on the various operations in making up the cylinder molds showed that 5 min. was required for mak- ing and setting down the drag; another 5 min. for venting, parting, blacking-up and setting the port cores, and 1% min, skin drying the mold. The setting of housing cores in seven molds and placing chaplets required but 1% min., and adjusting these cores with a level gauge an addi- tional 3 min. Both barrel were placed in each mold in an elapsed time of about 1 min., while the adjust- ing of these cores to gauge required about 134 min. for the seven molds. The making of the cope took approximately 6 min., and less than % min. to put on the drag. The lock- ing up and gating of the seven molds required about 7 min. Each row of cylinder floors is located directly under a craneway spanned by a 2-ton, floor-operated crane carrying an electric hoist. The iron is poured directly from 1000-b. ladles hung from these cranes and into which the iron is run direct from the cupola. The craneways extend to the end of the foundry and over the shaking out tables. Al- most immediately after the mold is poured the flasks are: port cores, cores, consecutive cores are { true of gauze time cores. cores are ct pes for cores July 3, 1913 Che cylinder castings are shaken out in most instances when still red hot and are laid out valuable yard space. Is put ( nunplete picked up in pairs by a second crane and carried out. in the air to cool in the less It is an interesting fact that from the into the drag mold to be laid in the yard the is approximately 1 hr., and frequently than that, though sometimes running up to 1% hr. on the of the molding floor. Operating at surprising that 125 tons ot foundry daily, but it is exceedingly time the sand until the rammed up cylinder is out elapsed time less least favorable this iron portions not is melted in this that out of the &78 castings mentioned above only 52 were bad The month to month varies between 10 and I2 per cent. rate it is altogether creditabl from In the foundry to be built the cylinders will be poured on continvous machines in the same manner as other castings poured in the present foundry. There are in operation two continuous units, and a third is to be installed in the near future. The general character of these machines is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 consists of twin flask carriers with parallel and located one on side of a double 18 strippet molding machines to which the sand is spouted down from the riers, as well as the sand elevator and conveyor installation, built Ford Motor Each of the carriers consists of 39 platforms or trays, sus pended at a hight of 16 in. above the floor by a like number of steel angle hangers, hung from an endless trolley 12 ft above the floor. This trolley is actuated by and travels around two 10-ft. sprockets, spaced 36 ft. center to center average of bad castings new are Kach unit axes each row of sand conveyor immediately overhead. The flask car were from designs of the ompan\ and mounted on supporting structures so as to rotate m a horizontal plane. Thus the flasks carried on these plat- forms travel in an elliptical path, the long axis of 46 ft. and the short axis 10 ft. ° which on of the Cylinder Milling Machine Gré THE IRON AGE 5 Which Over 10 Cylinders Are Surfaced Daily Sand Handling Machinery The sand handling equipment for each unit has capacity tor handling approximatety 40 tons o: sand per | tinuously. The general arrangement of this apparatus and to the | bull ladle brings the hot metal from the cupola to the carriers is shown in Fig. 5. N ew with relation to the molding machines eam trolley upon which the suspended sand is fed into the machine by y a screw conveyor trom a floor opening, being delivered at the foot of a bucket ele vator, centrally placed at one end of the unit logether with the return sand from the shaking out tables and the waste from the molding machines, the new sand deliv- ered by the elevator to overhead screens and mixers from which the sand passes by gravity to the horizontal con- veyor, from which the sand drops through spouts to the molding shown in Fig. 6 machines below \ view ot this convevor 1S It consists of a trough through which a steel bushed chain Ccairying a steel scraper rigidly attached at every sixth link pulls the sand at the rate ibout 32 ft. per min. In the present arrangeinent the excess sand flows down a spout to a separate conveyor under the floor, which returns to the foot of the elevator, the upper chain conveyor returning idl This design is to be revised so that the scraper conveyor will make the complete loop, re- turning below the floor with the excess sand. The waste sand from the molding machines will fall through floor gratings to the return conveyor, and is carried back with the excess sand from above Che shaking out tables are at the same end of the ma- chine as the sand elevator, one for each carrier. The sand shaken out from the flasks falls through the table grids on horizontal belt conveyors which carry the sand from the tables to a central floor hopper through which it passes to the sand return conveyor and to the sand elevator The empty flasks after bemg shaken out are hung on pegs on Fig. 10—View of the Craneway in the Pressed Steel Deparment in Which the Heavy Presses Are Located 6 THE IRON the hanger of the platform from which they taken. From the shaking out tables the direction of travel of the carriers is toward the hot metal end, passing the molding machines on the inside of the loops. Here the empty flasks are taken on the plat- forms. The pouring crew works on the pouring against the direction of motion to secure steadier pouring, the travel of the carriers on this side being away from the hot metal end and toward the shaking out tables. The melting equipment of consists of 4 Newton cupolas, 3 of them 60 in. in diameter and one 72 1n. As much as 61 tons has been obtained from one of the 60- in cupolas in one day. Until the 72-in. stalled very recently the three others were day. The first started at in the morning, the second at third at The bottom was dropped in the first one at two o'clock, and it was re- quired to be ready for service again the next morning at For a time the cylinders were cast from an iron of different analysis than the other castings, but it was found that this specialization involved a greater expense than the making of all of the castings out of the one iron. In one day approximately 118% charges of 1 ton each are made. The average melting ratio is ten to one. Same were off and new molds put outside, the foundry cupola was in- operated every one was seven ten, and the twelve seven. Machining the Cylinders and Pistons During the past year the machine equipment has been rearranged and increased so that the machine shop now occupies the new building just being finished in June, 1912, as well as the former floor space. Scarcely a single ma- chine is where it Many tools have been added for each of the various machining operations, auto- matic lathes, grinding, cutting and drilling machines, but the most interesting expansion has been made in the equipment for machining the cylinders and pistons. The finishing of the top and bottom of the cylin- der, the water jacket boss on one side, the intake and ex- haust manifold bosses on the other side, and the crankshaft bearings are operations performed on production milling machines of special design, shown in Fig. 9 heads are also milled on similar machines Was a year ago. screw, fear The cylinder AGE July 3, 1913 The milling of the crank case flange and the crankshaft bearings of the cylinder is simultaneous on the ene ma- chine. The table and fixtures of this milling ‘machine ac- commodate 15 cylinders at a time, arranged in three rows of five each. The machine is equipped with three vertical mn the front of the housing, fitted with face mill- ing cutters, and also a horizontal spindle on the rear of On this horizontal spindle three special cut- ters formed to the finished outline of the shaft bearings are carried. spindles the housing. Che three cutters, front and rear, correspond to the three rows of cylinders. The face cutters sweep the flanges, followed by the special cutters which mill out the bearings. Similarly the cylinder head joint and the cylin- der bosses on each side are finished simultaneously on a milling machine equipped with a horizontal spindle in front of the housing and three vertical spindles at the back of the housing. The horizontal spindle carries six cutters in pairs for facing both sides of the cylinders in each row. The vertical spindle cutters follow, sweeping the tops of the cylinders for the head joint. For the above four operations there are 10 milling ma chines, six for the bottoms and four for the tops. The relative number of machines for each job is determined by the machining time, the milling of the crank case flange and shaft bearing requiring about 8 min. as compared with 5% min. for the top and Thus the 10 machines provide for the milling of 135 cylinders per hr., and as sides. the rough cylinders are set up on one end of the table while the others are being machined, the process is practi- cally continuous and at a rate comfortably in excess of 1000 per day. The tables of the special milling machines for facing the ends of the cylinders accommodate 14 cylin- ders at a time. The cylinder heads are milled on a ma- chine equipped with three vertical and two horizontal spindles, one of the latter on each side of the table. Cor- respondingly the fixture provides for mounting the heads in five rows, three on top and one on each side, with the faces of the heads vertical. row, or thirty in all. For the cylinder boring operation a special machine is now in service. This machine is unusually rigid and the There are six heads in each Fig. 11—A Portion of the Sheet Siock Carried for the Metal Stamping Department aa ie July 3, 1913 boring spindles are designed without any adjustment, the machine being built exclusively for the present Ford cylin- ders. The work is completed in a roughing and finishing cut and is fed to the cutting tool by an upward table feed. Into the selection of a tool for the boring of the camshaft bearings, the question of economy of setting up time en- tered largely with the result that a double-end special lathe is used. In the previous article relative to this point, at- tention was called to the 45-spindle specially designed machine for drilling the cylinders. A battery of these drilling machines has now been put in service. A tool of similar design has also been developed for the multiple tapping of the numerous threaded holes in the cylinder for the cap screws, by which the head and manifold connec- tions are secured. Several tools of this character are in- stalled, each tapping in the neighborhood of 16 holes simultaneously. The tool posts of a special semi-automatic multiple spin- die vertical turning lathe for rough turning the pistons and cutting the piston ring seats carry tools for four opera- tions, the sequence of which is provided for automatically. The first tool begins the turning of the piston circumfer- ence, feeding from the top down, during which operation the facing and chamfering of the top of the piston is also completed. At the completion of the turning operation that tool is raised to starting position by return feed, the head which carries the tools for forming the piston ring seats meanwhile feeding into position and completing that operation. The complete rough turning of the piston is thus completed in about 444 min. and the machining of the four pistons which the machine accommodates is tifed in rotation so that the actual cutting time is as nearly con- tinuous as possible The installation of a pressed steel department at the De- troit plant has also been completed. Probably the most in- teresting feature of this plant is its capacity for consuming sheets of which 100 tons are formed daily into parts other than bodies or engine pans. A view of the stock of sheets carried is Fig. 10. At the time of the writer’s visit, com- plaint was being lodged with the sheet makers filling the Ford contracts that deliveries had been such as to allow the stock to run down to only 3200 tons, a supply de- cidedly too small for comfort. For the several hundred different stamping operations various types of presses are installed. With the exception of the largest machines, which are individually driven, belt drive is used through- out in all departments of the plant. As shown in Fig. 11, the largest presses are located in a craneway spanned by a 5-ton crane and with a center aisle for stock. In the re- mainder of the department the materials are mechanically handled from trolleys. The arrangement of the presses is such that the presses performing consecutive operations are immediately adjacent. Thus the press operator of one machine lays down his finished piece conveniently, but where it may be picked up with equal convenience by the feeder of the following press. Supervision of the Mechanical Equipment Supervision of the machine equipment of the Ford plant is a duty of the engineering department. For the require- ments of this supervision that department has outlined the following unusually pertinent suggestions. They are de- cidedly applicable to any shop: 1. Place original requisitions for machinery required after properly determining the adaptability of machine for operation intended. 2. Eliminate excess cost of machines by proper specifi- cations with the idea of obtaining only such equipment or attachments as are absolutely required for the operation intended. 3. Maintain a complete record of machinery break- downs, thus locating their weak points and preventing a recurrence by remedying them, and insisting on having weak points strengthened when purchasing more equip- ment of the same type. 4. Prevent the excess purchase of machinery, (a) by keeping record of machines made available by change in car design; (b) by properly timing and determining actual production of machines, and (c) by effecting proper distri- bution of machinery, making it necessary to work all machines to their full capacity. 5. Keep a record of the location of all machines, there- by (a) facilitating the tool drafting department in obtain- THE IRON AGE a | ing necessary dimensions for tooling and assigning such tools to proper machines without delay; (b) an aid to the purchasing department in determining any discrepancies be- tween machines received and invoice specifications versus receiving record, and (c) ready access to any machine at all times for any reason whatever. 6. Keep a complete record of all machines purchased: (a) Date when purchased. (b) Whom purchased from. (c) Date received in factory. (d) Operation assigned to. (e) Detail description with extra equipments. 7. Effect quick delivery of all machines by obtaining a promised delivery date and a systematic following up of it, with the idea of obtaining the most needed machines first. 8. Predetermine the most advantageous location for machines purchased, thereby facilitating prompt placing of the same when received in factory. 9. Supervise the proper serial number tagging of all machines, keeping a complete record of same. 10. Make a daily report of machines received. 11. Make a daily report of machines promised to be shipped to date. ‘12. Follow up all machine orders through the proper channels, thereby preventing any unnecessary holdup or delay in issuing the formal order to the manufacturers or dealers. 13. Order all special factory equipment and insure prompt delivery and installation of the same. 14. Keep a complete record of all operations in con- nection with T-parts, together with (a) All machines assigned to each and every opera- tion. (b) Machine production per hour. (c) Number of machines required for each operation. (d) Schedule production in 8 hr. (c) In connection with the operation sheets a record is maintained of the additional production required in order to keep up repair parts as required by the Service Depart- ment each month. It is necessary to do this in order to provide the additional machinery required to produce the added production. 15. All design changes as made by the Drafting Depart- ment are carefully gone over and machinery required by such changes is immediately anticipated. If the design effects the elimination of operations, such machines are made available and then assigned to other operations which are short of machines, or, if they cannot be used in the factory, they are sold or otherwise disposed of. 16. Arrange all T-part operations in groups requiring machinery of the same nature, style or make, thereby mak- ing it possible to ascertain whether or not all operations of the same capacity are being worked to the full produc- tion of the machine. The International Harvester’s Steel Plant At Chicago, June 24, in the hearing in the Government suit for the dissolution of the International Harvester Company, the cause of that company’s engaging in the man- ufacture of steel was inquired into. Herbert F. Perkins, president of the Wisconsin Steel Company, a subsidiary, and who is also at the head of the purchasing department of the Harvester Company, ex- plained that before the building of the steel plant the defendant company confronted two difficulties—first, the wide fluctuations in prices of iron and steel largely used in manufacturing harvesting machinery, and second, the delay in obtaining special parts. He said “We set the prices of our product at the beginning of the season and had to adhere to them, and it cut seriously into profits when iron and steel advanced on us. So we built a steel plant of our own where we could be assured of a consistent supply at an average price, and were able to obtain special parts as needed.” \ railroad bridge 36,000 ft. long has just been com- pleted in central Japan at Teuryugawa at a cost of $375,- ooo. It has been constructed entirely of Japanese ma- terials. 8 THE IRON AGE An 18-In. Universal Turret Lathe For use in shops where general jobbing and repait work is handled and where only a small number of pieces are to be made, the Acme Machine Tool Company, Cin- cinnati, Ohio, has brought out a universal turret lathe, which is built with swings of 16 and 18 in. It is equipped with a geared friction head, chasing attachment and hand rest, and one of the special fields for which it is adapted is the tapping or threading of a small number of pieces which would not justify the cost of taps or dies. It is emphasized that for machining a large quantity of parts, the regular turret lathe will be found more serviceable. The head which is cast solid with the bed has fricticn back gears. This gives two speeds for each step of the driving cone pulley for turning and threading or for turning different diameters on the same piece without stop- Ihe Recently Developed Acme Universal Turret Lathe Which Is 16 and 18 In. ping the machine. For the protection of the operator, all the gears are completely inclosed. Hammered crucible steel is used for the spindle, which is finished by grinding and is mounted in renewable bearings of babbitt metal. The round turret has six holes fitted with set screws. the arrangement of these holes being such that stock up to the full diameter of the hole can pass through the turret and thus permit short, stiff tools to be used in turning long work. The backward movement of the slide automatically indexes the.turret and the locking bolt is placed at the front end of the slide and works in hardened and ground taper bushings. Swivel and set-over adjustments are pro vided for the turret slide, which is graduated for swivel ing and has an adjustable stop. Both the lever and screw feed are furnished for the longitudinal movement of the slide. A ball crank handle and screw with a large mi crometer dial to insure exact diameters provides the set- over movement of the turret which can be used in con- junction with the adjustable stop at the rear of the cross slide. If desired, the stop, which determines the center position of the turret can be shifted, so that it will pass beyond the center in either direction. Side wear is taken up by taper gibs on both sides of slide. The saddle rests on an adjustable taper base and a binder handle on the front of the saddle provides for positive and quick clamp- ing of the saddle to the bed. The chasing attachment is arranged for chasing straight or taper right and left hand threads, with the same leader and follower, three leaders and one three-prong follower for cutting 11%, 14 and 18 threads, being regularly fur- nished. The taper attachment is adjustable and graduated. As stated, the lathe is built with swings of 16 and 18 in.. the larger size being the one illustrated. The 16-in. lathe can be furnished with a plain head, in which case the floor space required and the weight are slightly reduced. The regular equipment of the lathe includes a spindle with external thread, a round universal turret fitted with set screws, a chasing attachment, a hand July 3, 1913 rest saddle with two hand rests, a tool tray, a counter- shaft and a set of wrenches. If desired, an automatic chuck, standard cut-off or forming rest or motor drive, can be supplied. Williams & Co.’s Buffalo Drop Forging Plant J. H. Williams & Co., manufacturers of drop forgings, Brooklyn, N. Y., have let a contract for the construction of the initial buildings of their Buffalo plant to the John W. Ferguson Company, Paterson, N. J., the steel work, amounting to 650 tons, being sublet to the Lackawanna Bridge Company, Buffalo. All the buildings contracted for will be of brick and steel construction, one story, with a total floor space of 87,500 sq. ft. The stock and finishing buildings will have saw-tooth roofs and the other buildings flat-decked roofs with monitors. Steel sash will be used in all the buildings. The forge shop will be laid out for about 36 hammers. The capacity of the Buffalo plant will be nearly one-half that of the Brooklyn plant and the buildings are to be arranged with a view to future growth, so that if it should be determined later to move the Brooklyn plant to Buffalo exten- sions can be made in such a manner as to provide the most economical arrangement. It is planned to use Niagara power for the operation of the plant; but the power house will be arranged to admit the installation of equipment for the generation of electric power by the company, if de- sired. It is expected that the build- ings will be completed by the end of this year and that the new machinery required will be purchased early in 1914 and not before. The machinery equipment will consist of hammers, presses, shears, drill presses and small machine tools of various kinds. The plant will be located in the Black Rock district on a go-acre site at Ken- more avenue and O’Neil street to which ample railroad con- nections are provided by a spur from the Niagara Falls line of the New York Central Railroad, which is also used by the Lackawanna and Lehigh Valley Railroads. Built with Swings of Important evidence has recently been taken in London on commission in connection with litigation which will proba- bly take place shortly in this country. It is being taken in behalf of an American company which some years ago registered a patent in the United States for the manufac- ture of steel containing vanadium, and which also holds patents for vanadium steel in the United Kingdom and Germany dating from 1907. The witnesses in London in- cluded a number of Sheffield manufacturers and merchants, as well as some metallurgists, among them Professor Ar- nold. The defendant will be a steel manufacturing firm of Pittsburgh, and if ‘the suit is successful the stopping of the manufacture of vanadium steel, except under license, in the United Kingdom and Germany will be attempted. The Aldrich Pump Department of the Allentown Roll- ing Mills, Allentown, Pa., manufacturer of the Aldrich triplex and quintuplex electric and power driven pumps, has opened a branch office at 636 McCormick Building, Chicago, in charge of W. N. Flickinger, who for the past six years has been its general Eastern representative. A strong increase in Westérn business and the desire to facilitate transactions prompted the opening of this office. It is reported that the New York Central Iron Works, Hagerstown, Md., which has been in financial difficulties for some time, has been adjudged a voluntary bankrupt. Daily prints place the assets at $126,671 and liabilities at $215,368. Pending the selection of trustees, the papers name J. C. Lane, Charles D. Wagaman, M. P. Moller and D A. Stickwell as receivers. ee Ae tes July 3, 1913 THE IRON AGE 9 Scrap Prices at Chicago, 1903 to 1913 The subjoined tables give the monthly prices of five leading classes of old material at Chicago from Janu- ary, 1903, to June, 1913, inclusive, averaged from weekly quotations in The Iron Age. Heavy Melting Steel Scrap, per Gross Ton 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1S09 1910 1911 1912 1913 qnneey eaux’ SV40 Rd Ree eReeeeseeeaede $18.05 $10.13 $14.88 $14.95 $16.80 $11.05 $13.94 $16.00 $11.75 $10.75 $12.60 CONE 0 6.6:64650 005 606 Cs 00a bbNa NO eee 18.13 10.88 14.13 13.63 15.75 12.50 13.56 15.50 12.06 10.75 12.13 BE concuds 00.00N Rees eu BR eea es aes 18.31 11.50 14.45 13.00 16.00 11.44 12.13 15.00 12.15 10.94 12.08 PE Advan ae ah SRR eS aREER Ee DEE ee 18.35 11.25 14.38 13.50 15.75 11.05 12.35 14.44 11.75 11.56 12.50 MP ardceoavdeccbwed Caeweseenenaesneen 17.63 9.75 12.55 13.70 15.60 10.62 13.44 13.56 10.50 12.05 11.25 DE Siiis Gua Chew der case wonees Piccoabes 16.50 9.30 11.95 13.13 16.25 11.62 14.50 13.15 10.38 12.12 10.44 DE catatiacs aw Ke ee hu CO KENe ARE Goa 16.30 9.00 12.75 13.13 16.12 11.75 14.06 12.38 10.69 11.69 - August CaN Gnb ee awh OR ow eRe RSRAOER Ee ent 16.00 9.25 13.15 14.10 15.10 12.88 15.00 12.25 11.05 12.25 Se rrr ter oe ee roar oe 13.75 10.00 14.38 16.50 14.75 13.00 16.00 12.25 10.70 12.81 October 35.0006 090s 0 d4400OS e KERR OLE 12.80 10.88 14.50 16.60 14.70 13.45 16.43 12.25 10.00 13.95 DE, .scckhg cueedcancaveatsuaeeees 11.25 12.55 15.20 17.50 12.63 14.88 16.00 12.25 9.75 13.69 DPURNOEE. i.c'bsak ceca Sacer eeareceeokess 9.00 14.15 15.25 17.13 11.50 15.17 16.00 12.10 10.25 12.88 Old Steel Rerolling Rails, per Gross Ton ORS iwc wade win ka dees eels siane $23.50 $11.75 $16.00 $16.50 $19.00 $12.30 $15.81 $18.00 $13.69 $13.00 $16.50 Pe Scesien \e beslauueecemamene pei 23.50 13.13 15.13 16.25 19.00 13.00 15.12 18.00 13.63 12.80 15.50 PE odd eecdcdn wns dbeed eavesennanden 22.13 13.00 15.30 15.70 19.00 12.19 13.06 17.80 13.65 12.75 15.00 MEE 44655 ew R0 cesses eeacdoeaeewenaia 22.00 13.00 15.44 15.75 18.50 12.60 13.20 17.69 13.44 12.88 14.63 DEG. itckvcscektanss cued haadneusamnul 22.13 11.88 14.06 16.00 18.60 12.94 14.44 17.12 13.49 13.50 13.95 yun’ pose ued 4h40 046 ne uWe ce ee db ee eRe 21.00 10.80 12.95 15.88 18.94 13.94 15.50 16.50 12.38 13.50 12.69 NE idiirid. dash ae WSS eRe hs nk oe a 19.00 10.31 13.56 15.50 18.00 14.50 15.40 15.88 12.25 13.50 jaan PR cctiteresivreseea nts weesoneneene 19.00 11.50 14.35 15.90 17.00 15.63 16.12 15.31 12.65 14.00 POE cicchesntscasdantaveescetenee 17.33 11.81 15.25 17.63 16.75 16.18 17.15 15.25 12.75 15.00 SE weep enacsde dane sackanaeaeaas 15.40 12.38 15.63 18.63 17.15 15.80 18.00 15.25 12.44 16.30 PORE a. cads scans cas cosmanneneatincs 13.50 14.75 16.30 21.15 15.06 17.19 18.00 15.06 12.30 16.50 EM oie ecb dcdccdsacudemcdeeadeuad 10.60 16.00 16.50 21.00 12.94 16.95 18.00 14.20 12.50 16.50 Old Iron Rails, per Gross Ton qeaeery TCR TTR oT eT $24.00 $14.00 $21.13 $23.00 $27.40 $15.60 $18.81 $20.00 $15.00 $15.19 $17.05 NOE na eigd'wa ye anccak ae aKws omen 24.00 16.50 20.00 21.75 25.50 17.12 18.25 19.25 15.25 15.25 16.25 MEE. Dakhabsiaeksevanwcatwansecandes 24.00 16.60 19.60 20.75 25.00 15.44 16.94 19.00 15.35 15.31 16.25 MEE caaekeeeaeth lesa kehd desea eens 23.75 16.88 19.75 20.88 24.88 15.00 16.10 18.50 14.69 15.56 16.19 DD haveds Usps seucacaasacnneeescciaa: 23.75 15.88 18.50 21.25 24.50 14.81 16.63 17.62 14.69 16.25 15.90 _ cue Céad nen eraeweseuedes eu tck eheee 21.00 14.65 17.15 21.25 24.50 15.50 17.00 17.00 14.38 16.25 14.75 Ml divecGhaviddavent@asbies adededanwe 19.70 14.13 17.81 21.25 23.75 15.90 17.00 16.75 14.25 16.25 (a ME. -k45 6dN00.5'05-644 00 cESR ARERR CR Uae 18.50 15.32 19.35 21.90 20.65 16.56 18.38 16.25 14.25 16.30 NED, Gocdyaiuuuscadascanecemenss 17.75 16.00 20.88 23.50 20.25 17.35 19.20 16.00 14.50 16.88 CN. waeeuda Ss iwas eden enkes ace owean 17.00 16.69 22.13 26.00 20.05 18.00 20.75 16.00 13.88 17.95 PGE Wikeidebece caacaracebeaveaat 16.25 20.13 22.90 28.00 17.63 18.38 20.62 16.00 14.75 18.25 DOES ics hov staacasaoevewertenraes 13.00 22.00 23.00 28.00 15.50 19.50 20.00 15.70 15.00 17.68 No. 1 Railroad Wrought, per Net Ton DE <cewxGa ine nc.cdy waadautuk a aaae $19.50 $10.85 $18.19 $17.30 $16.35 $11.20 $13.8: $14.88 $11.75 $11.63 $12.70 POO 265 ctUtwaednesta was mieeaaes 19.50 12.50 17.00 15.88 15.50 12.44 12.88 14.69 12.00 11.30 12.19 WO cick vatsavinsase wees sesateedakene 19.75 12.80 16.40 14.88 15.25 11.25 11.43 14.45 12.30 11.44 12.08 PE ct dcnehessennnneae~daudconkawmaan 20.40 12.50 16.06 14.50 15.25 11.00 11.90 14.19 11.69 12.31 12.31 EE Onin c'uin Vole WSR a ae el date waa eee 19.13 11.38 14.19 14.50 15.45 10.75 12.81 12.87 11.38 12.75 11.25 une Kkewihee dedtevubesed et ane es eaten 16.13 10.50 13.50 13.50 16.06 11.69 13.38 12.75 11.25 12.57 10.50 SD ah ine ah anh aR ea ale ae oe 14.65 44 14.13 13.50 15.06 12.15 13.16 12.44 11.00 12.06 Gite PCO Eee ee Cee Tee Pree re he 14.19 11.13 15.45 14.50 14.40 12.69 14.44 11.94 11.10 12.50 DD dc Vincecudveeaenanaceeeiebees 14.06 11.85 16.31 16.13 14.38 13.44 15.35 11.94 10.94 13.13 CE avcene ke vaws wade baawhdsunGuanbe 13.55 12.50 17.00 17.50 14,60 13.60 15.94 11.75 10.44 14.25 TD iV cakckuvndieeneenwaneenes 12.00 15.44 17.50 18.00 12.32 14.38 15.31 11.94 10.20 13.50 BOG onde cdcacikdpiavaeawnne wenn 10.00 17.55 18.00 17.25 11.00 14.83 14.75 11.65 10.75 13.06 Heavy Cast Scrap, per Net Ton fomuaey TTT eT TTT Terre iT re rere $17.30 $10.50 913.88 $14.70 $17.80 $12.95 $13.06 $14.88 $12.19 $11.25 $12.90 IEE? 1s ard 5a wind ctl Sateen eax alg Ga 16.63 11.38 13.1 13.50 18 25 13.00 12.75 14.88 12.13 11.25 12.56 DOE bdeackkiendiccacxumcunceunketaee a 12.00 ae 12.75 19.50 12.12 12.19 14.50 12.25 11.31 12.50 Md wis bickbads .oeekarewenea eae awaes 17.80 11.13 13.81 12.94 18.88 12.05 12.60 13.69 11.81 12.06 12.44 Da watenesasndudsd banks ?tekeuaeianee 16.75 10.25 12.50 13.40 18.55 11.50 13.31 13.13 11.00 12.20 11.60 MM i ard safle aad og an ea ae oe en aaa 14.63 8.80 12.40 13.50 18.94 12.00 13.81 13.00 10.75 11.81 10.63 ME sbdcawhbentas ives eaceacweteaeictens 14.20 8.94 13.38 13.50 18.44 12.15 13.44 13.00 10.50 11.75 omnes August chs OGS5 Cees sé eeareastebeeeeewed 14.00 9.88 13.20 14.00 16.75 12.75 14.06 12.75 10.55 12.15 POE ° inde 4 vas aadhawenacaswarnes 13.00 10.70 13.38 15.38 16.81 12.88 14.75 12.75 10.10 12.81 SND 2 Sk ovuk naG wemnnueueaeeenwe tons Bae 10.05 13.63 15.90 16.25 13.25 15.63 12.50 10.25 14.20 DOE citevedavadeseneawetaiuacdened 11.63 12.69 14.30 17.50 14.00 13.75 15.12 12.50 10.35 13.50 PONSNG ceuander acu ckeeadercceetaanes 10.50 14.15 15.00 17.50 13.00 13.92 14.75 12.30 11.00 13.2 Billet Prices for Twenty-seven Years The subjoined table gives the average monthly prices of Bessemer steel billets at Pittsburgh from 1886 to 1912 inclusive. The prices are per gross ton and are averaged from weekly quotations in The /ron Age. Prior to 1886 steel billets were not a regular merchant commodity, seldom being mentioned in market reports. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. sraaeey soce 33.00 34.50 29.38 28.15 36.65 25.60 25.00 21.56 16.12 14.90 16.80 15.42 14.93 16.62 ‘february ... 33.13 35.44 29.38 27.81 35.25 26.00 24.36 21.62 15.75 14.95 17.38 15.25 15.06 18.00 a erer 33.00 36.00 29.13 27.25 31.88 26.25 23.00 ° 22.66 15.55 14.84 17.09 15.44 15.25 24.30 AE - stance 32.00 34.75 28.63 27.00 28.38 25.35 22.81 22.44 15.69 15.44 19.53 14.60 15.06 25.37 Be gn wéeaen 30.50 32.38 28.35 26.90 27.55 25.50 22.41 21.69 18.00 16.30 19.50 13.82 14.85 26.75 TUE. -veabace 30.75 31.40 28.06 26.75 30.25 25.25 22.97 21.70 18.12 18.63 19.12 14.06 14.65 30.10 Ee daar 30.33 31.50 28.00 27.13 30.70 25.50 23.50 21.06 18.00 20.75 18.85 14.00 14.50 33.12 August ..... 30.00 32.50 28.40 28.20 30.38 25.31 23.81 20.45 17.15 21.75 18.75 14.00 15.85 35.40 September .. 30.50 31.80 29.00 29.50 30.13 25.00 23.65 19.31 17.19 24.00 19.75 15.60 16.00 38.37 October .... 31.63 31.63 29.25 33.70 28.70 24.90 23.53 18.06 16.00 21.90 19.75 16.44 15.56 38.75 November .. 32.00 31.00 29.00 34.00 27.39 24.16 24.94 17.37 15.57 19.13 20.00 15.57 15.06 36.50 December ... 32.90 29.00 28.44 35.60 26.25 24.20 22.40 16.69 15.12 16.97 17.50 15.00 15.80 33.75 1900. 1901. 1902, 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. coaunny enusteaseceae 34.50 19.75 27.50 29.60 23.00 22.75 26.25 29.40 28.00 25.00 27.50 23.00 20.00 FOMTURED ociccvaveves 34.87 20.31 29.37 29.87 23.00 23.50 26.50 29.50 28.00 25.00 27.50 23.00 20.00 BEIRGD vite svcesscuas 33.00 22.88 31.25 30.62 23.00 24.00 26.70 29.00 28.00 23.00 27.50 23.00 19.75 BOGE Si ésudeccnksieues 32.00 24.00 31.50 30.25 23.00 24.00 27.00 30.12 28.00 23.00 26.75 23.00 20.00 DESY ccccsccccccscces 28.90 24.00 32.20 39.37 23.00 23.50 26.40 30.30 28.00 23.00 26.12 22.60 20.80 TE ccc akinatesanses 27.25 24.38 32.37 28.87 23.00 22.00 26.63 29.62 25.75 23.00 25.30 21.00 20.87 Se Neasbeiiseuniens 21.00 24.00 31.75 27.60 23.00 22.00 27.25 30.00 25.00 23.50 25.00 21.00 21.50 RE ceccsntasaeeed 18.20 24.20 31.06 27.00 23.00 24.00 27.80 29.25 25.00 24.13 24.62 21.00 22.12 September .......+... 16.93 24.88 29.50 27.00 20.00 25.00 28.00 29.37 25.00 25.00 24.40 20.75 23.62 CE aecsnnsens aus 16.50 26.70 29.70 27.00 19.50 25.62 28.00 28.20 25.00 26.25 23.75 20.00 26.00 November ........... 18.95 27.00 28.50 24.00 20.25 26.00 28.88 28.00 25.00 27.13 23.30 19.50 27.00 December 2. cccvcccses 19.75 27.50 29.12 23.00 21.20 26.00 29.50 28.00 25.00 27.50 23.00 19.25 27.00 10 THE IRON AGE A Compensating Quadrant Crane The Derrick Type of Hoisting Apparatus Designed for Light and Heavy Work ——-BY HARRY W. BROADY”- —-——-- Since the publication in The Jron Age of November 28, 1912, of a brief description of a hoisting apparatus known as the compensating quadrant crane, the building of several cranes of the new design and many tests enable a more complete presentation of its struction than was heretofore possible is intended for a and The crane, which features con- wide variety of applications and for heavy as well as light work, is the invention of Capt. A. P. Lundin, president Welin Marine Equipment Company, Long Island City, N. Y., and Axel Welin, Welin Davit & Engineering Company, London, England. The new crane is of the derrick type. In the larger sizes the jib is fastened at its lower end to two quad- rants. In smaller cranes the jib and the quadrant are cast in one piece. The circumferential part of the quad rant has both a finished surface rolling in a slot and teeth engaging in a rack. The slot and the rack are cast in the bottom plate. A framework is built up on the bottom plate, consisting of a frame forward and one aft, with a connecting top piece. The actuating screw works in bearings in this top part, which also holds the bearing at the top of the post. The bearing at the bottom of the post is a part of the bottom plate. This actuating screw swings the quadrant by a nut which slides on a guide on the top part of the frame. The bottom plate has four rollers for slewing, that roll on a beveled flanze on the post plate. Four features which are distinctive in the compensating quadrant crane are: 1. The rolling quad- rant arrangement giving the jib a movable pivoted point. 2. The actuating screw arrangement with the application and direction of the derricking forces on the jib. 3. The horizontal travel of the load. 4. The compensation tend- ing to reduce bending in the jib in proportion to the load. There are two different compensating devices. The first, which is shown in Fig. 1, is obtained by the use of two parallel links pivoted in one end near the top of the jib, and in the other end holding two sheaves over which the hoisting ropes run. This end of the links is held by a chain that runs over the sheave at the top of the jib and is connected by a rod with a three-arm dog pivoted at the top of the back frame. The other two arms of the dog are connected with the lower back end of the quad- Fig. 1—One of the New Welin Derrick Type C rant Cranes mpensating Quad rants by chains running over sheaves on the bottom plate. In the second device for compensation, which is illustrated in Fig. 2, the fixed end of the hoisting rope is fastened to the jib at a point near the top, and runs back and forth over sheaves on the back part of the frame and on the top of the jib. The hoisting machinery is of the kind usual in cranes — — *Chief engineer, Welin Marine Equipment Company July 3, 1913 The slewing is secured by a system of gears under the bottom plate, which engages an annular rack in the post plate. The derricking is accomplished by the actuating screw, which has a worm or spur gear drive. sary counterbalancing is The neces- cared for by a_ well-secured weight. The driving power can be of any desired kind. lhe crane shown in Fig. 1 is a 2'-4-ton, three-motor crane, one motor for hoisting, one for slewing and one for derricking. Levers, controllers and all other neces- sary parts for operating the crane are worked from the platform By rolling the jib on narrow circular flanges of a large radius and controlling the position of the supporting point by a rack, no large bearing surfaces are needed. The friction in the rack is almost negligible, as it is spur gear friction. The quadrant being part of a circle that has its center in the center line of the actuating screw, and this center line being parallel to the tangent of the quadrant at its supporting point, the force applied in the screw is alway