The Iron Age 1914-02-26: Vol 93 Iss 9

Established 1855 New York, February 26, 1914 Vol. 93: No. 9 Wisconsin Steel Company’s New Bar Mill Continuous Reduction of a 4x4-in. Billet and Rolling to 4-in. Rounds Without Reheating—Ex- tending the Capacity of the South Chicago Plant Just at the close of 1913 the Wisconsin Steel Company completed and placed in operation at its South Chicago plant a new bar mill, designated as its No. 4 merchant mill. The previous mill capacity of the plant included a two-high reversing 35-in. blooming mill making billets down to 4 x 4 in., the No. 1 merchant mill rolling all of the bar shapes from “4 in. up to 1% in. and the No. 2 merchant mill rolling bars from 1% in. up to 2'2-in. rounds, together with flats, angles, zees and skelp. In order ral View of the No. ds of 14-in. Rough, Two Stands 16-in 4 Merchant Mill of the Wisconsin Steel Company Belgian Mill, Five Stands of 12-in from 4x 4-in. billets without reheating. The ar- rangement that has been worked out accomplishes this, or, what is perhaps the more interesting fact, makes possible the reduction of a 5000-lb. ingot to 1/,-in. rounds with but one reheating. The general layout of the No. 4 merchant mill as indicated consists of 14-in. roughing stands ar ranged for the continuous reduction of the billet, followed by two stands of 16-in. rolls which provide the medium of flexibility in the mill, five stands of a ——$— —— From Right to Left the View Shows Four Mill and Two Stands of 8-in. Mil with the Morgan Hot Beds in the Background ip the full range of sizes, particularly in the ‘mailer bars, and to provide capacity for rolling the _ ial requirements of the International Harvester Ompany, leaving the other mills free for other spe- — ns, a mill designed to roll down to %%-in. ‘ounds and with sufficient flexibility so that small s of any of these could be rolled with high ‘ became necessary. The limitations of the ‘!tuation also ineluded the fact that the blooming ild deliver no smaller than 4 x 4-in. billets, presented the problem of rolling 4-in. rounds 12-in. mill and two stands of an 8-in. mill on which the smallest sizes are finished. The complete reduction to %4-in. round is accom- plished in 15 passes. This is made possible in large measure by the gearing ratio of the roughing stands which is arranged so that the continuous reduction made here breaks down the billet from 4x 4-in. to 1144-in. oval in four passes. Four passes in the 16-in. stands accomplish further reductions as low as an oval for 7/16 in. square; one pass through each of the remaining 7 stands completes the rolling. 537 - Ms Ere ere a Si iy, * ln Sian Gale J treme 538 Where skelp is to be rolled the material is finished on the 12-in. mill. The range of material to the rolling of which the mill must accommodate itself includes in addition to the wide variety of shapes already mentioned, some special shapes, including what is known as “harvester bar,” which runs about 4.85 lb. to a foot and is equivalent to an angle shape with an additional leg. Some of the other sizes rolled on the mill include %4-in. small flats, wagon- box strips 34 in. x No. 13 gauge, 14 x 5/32-in. ovals down to 7/16 x 5/32 and 9/16 x \<-in. flats. The original plan for the mill was based on an output of about 2500 tons, the idea being to install an inexpensive mill to roll the odds and ends. It quickly became obvious that the equipment required for the 2500-ton mill would in most respects be equally capable of handling 6000 tons if the mill were laid out on the latter basis, and at little or no additional expense. Except for certain limitations of space and shearing capacity the mill as it stands is therefore capable of rolling on double turn 6000 tons monthly, and has been installed at an excep- tionally low cost for that capacity. The mill at present lacks a flying shear for cutting the finished THE IRON AGE February 26, 1914 the furnace much closer to the fire bed than - otherwise be possible and continues the rey greatest temperature of the furnace in its , location. A view of this end of the furns shown, together with the mill table which delivers to the roughing stands. The charging end of the furnace is also shown herewith. The billets are transferred from the cars op which they are brought from the blooming mi|| by the 15-ton Alliance crane to the charging platform, The charging pusher is the full width of the fur. nace chamber so that the two rows of billets are moved along the skids simultaneously and jn parallel. The furnace has been made unusually long, in part because of the firing arrangement and also in the natural endeavor to use the heat ab- sorbed through as wide a range of temperature as possible. As a result a thorough and uniform heating of the billet is secured, which contributes materially, it is believed, to the exceptional reduc- tions accomplished in a limited number of passes in the mill. The views of the furnace show the elevya- tion at which it is built. This hight was required primarily to establish a level affording sufficient ‘ould n of rmal i) is canal Merchant Mill N22 680x115" Loaaing Dock r Ra reaeisas ananenbapaibatinatenateeapemnenmapemmemeedannimmas =e --Scale House __Logaing Dock Multiple gf Shear Scrap Shear» ‘Cooling Bed Scale Trough — (4 Sctxfe Pit -Locomotive House oo oo Merchant Mill N24 ei 370x84 Plan to Show the No. 4 Merchant Mill of the Wisconsin Steel Company material as it is delivered to the cooling beds, and the present length of the mill limits the cooling bed to a length of 175 ft. With these exceptions ad- justed and with the addition of a second heating furnace the main drive, roll stands and other equip- ment of the mill are regarded as easily capable of delivering the larger output. The heating furnace is of the continuous type with a 10x 45-ft. heating chamber. The billets are carried on water cooled skids in the usual manner. The furnace is equipped with a Morgan gravity dis- charge with a special modification required by the firing of the furnaces with coal screenings from the bituminous field of Indiana and Illinois. The firing of this coal is done with a Jones underfeed stoker equipped with an automatic ash cleaning device. Instead of the overhead connections customary with furnaces burning producer gas, which permit a simple incline drop for the billet from the hearth to the mill table, the necessity for having the stoker grates below the hearth line and in front of the furnace required the arrangement of the discharge with a compound or reversed incline, the billet roll- ing off the hearth in the usual manner, striking against a water cooled baffle plate and delivering at a reverse angle to the tables which lie under the hearth. This arrangement brings the hearth of pitch in the concrete sewers under the mills to permit washing the mill scale through a long under- ground conduit into the scale pit, which has done duty for the No. 1 and No. 2 mills since they were built. The angular gravity discharge and the neces- sity for having the mill tables directly under the furnace also entered into the consideration of the furnace elevation. The laying out of the mill to give it its flexibility begins in the heating furnace with the spacing of the skid pipes. These are 20 in. apart, to carry billets of the minimum length of 2 ft. Inasmuch as the cooling beds are but 175 ft. long and 175 ft. of 4 in. round weighs about 30 Ib., it is necessary to start with the shortest billet available. The 4 x 4-in. billet of 24 in. length weighs 108 Ib. Referring to the view showing the roughing stands, and also to the general view of the mill, it will be noted that an hydraulic shear has been placed between the furnace and the first stand and also between the roughing stands and the 16-in. mill. It is not feasible to roll a shorter than 24-in. billet in-a continuous mill, but as indicated above, a billet of even this length would deliver a 14-in. round over three times too long for the cooling beds. So these billets are sheared after the roughing passes, while the long billets, which after one shearing are adapted in length to the February 26, 1914 THE IRON AGE 539 H Furnace Gravity Discharge to the Roughing Mill Approach Table, the Four Roughing Stands and Hydraulic Sh« re f the larger sizes of finished product for wi they are intended, are sheared in advance of the roughing passes. In view of the rapid reduction in cross-section pieces being rolled, the speeds at which the mills operate, particularly the relative speeds of the four stands of the roughing mill, are interesting. The approach table for the roughing stands is geared to a speed of 314 ft. per minute, and the run-out table from the last roughing set to the 16-in. mill to a speed of 400 ft. per minute. The following table gives the maximum and minimum speeds of the mills: VW ium and Minimum Speeds of the Mills Engine at 90 r.p.m 50 r.p.m l4-in. mill 14.84 8.24 et 14-in. mill . 19.57 10.87 set 14-in. mill . 30 16.66 set 14-in. mill 42 23.33 mill 137 76 ill 281 167 mill 617 34: ‘he rolls of the 14-in. mill are 14 x 20 in., 4 ft. 6'5 in. over all; of the 16-in. mill, 16 x 32 in., 6 ft. 2 in. over all; of the 12-in. mill, 12 x 20 in., 4 ft 4 in. over all; of the 8-in. mill, 8 x 12 in., 2 ft. 11! in. over all. As has been mentioned, the mill design was in fluenced by the feature of quick roll changing made necessary by small tonnage runs. This feature is particularly prominent in the design of the 12-in mill housings. These housings are arranged with open top and straight side windows to permit all three rolls being lifted out with the crane at once, yet at the same time, in order to avoid the trouble with similar mills, that of the rolls getting out of line, the housings are equipped with screws, both top and bottom, and the middle roll bearing is screwed down against a plate inserted in a slot be- tween the middle and bottom roll bearing, thereby fixing the position of the middle rolls and keeping them in line. The plate is easily removed when changing rolls, permitting all three rolls to be lifted out at once. The housing cap, instead of being bolted on, is held in place by a tapered key as shown in the view of the 12-in. stands. This arrange- Charging End of the Continuous Heating Furnace a —_—s AAR ee. ree! naa eres a ~_—— 540 THE IRON AGE The S-in. Mill Pinion Housing and Driv ment is not new as applied to the housings of small mills, but has ndt been generally carried out for all of the housings throughout a mill, as in this instance. The pinion housings are the closed type, designed so that the bearings run in an oil bath. The entire mill is driven from a main drive which is a C. & G. Cooper-Corliss tandem-compound condensing engine 30 x 54 x 60 in. in cylinder sizes. The engine is designed to run at an average speed of 80 r.p.m. with a variation from a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 90 r.p.m. The 14-in. roughing stands are driven through a train of machine molded gears direct from the main shaft. The 16, 12 and 8-in. mills are driven with a belt drive. The drive for the 8-in. mill is carried across under the floor of the mill through a 7-in. jack shaft. A gen- eral view of the main drive is shown among the illustrations. The condenser waste water is piped around to the end of the mill approach table under Belt Drive for the 16-in., 12-in. and 8-in. Mills The Roughing Stands ’ Drive Is to Be Guarded by a High Grating February 26, 19}4 rried Across the Mill by a Sub-floor Shaft the heating furnace and is used to flush down the mill seale through the concrete flume mentioned. This flow of water, added to the cooling water from the rolls, is sufficient to carry even the heaviest scale from the roughing stands. A similar flume extends out under the 12- and 8-in. mills where the water from the rolls is ample for washing the scale down. The cooling bed is a standard Morgan type placed so that there is a straightaway run from the last set of the 12-in. mill up to the drag roll and the run-out table of the cooling bed. This is made necessary for the delivery of skelp and flats from the 12-in. mill. The small stock is looped through the 8-in. mill so that the angle of ascent to the hot- bed is very slight. As indicated in the plan and views of the mill the cooling bed is paralleled by a depressed loading track and is accompanied with the installation of a vertical shear for cutting to length. A shear is also installed for cutting left : The Have a Direct Gear Drive from the Engine. 7 1914 26, ‘el y THE IRON AGE The Fin Stands of the 12-in. Mill over lengths into multiple sizes. A third shear is for cutting up scrap. [he engineering for the mill was done by the staff of the Wisconsin Steel Company and the mill was built by the United Engineering & Foundry Company. Unusual attention has been given to the excellence of construction in the mill building itself. Steel skeleton; Federal tile roofing; heavy corru- gated steel wall covering, with the lower half of the wall equipped with vertically sliding doors, so that the mill can be thrown open in mild weather and tightly enclosed in bad weather; Tungsten high electric lighting; monitor roof ventilation, overhead gangways wherever safety is in- | are some of the features. The building has erall length of 370 ft. and is 84 ft. wide with lean-to for housing the main drive and the shop. This roll shop is equipped only for the rements of this particular mill and is auxiliary main roll shop of the plant. It has two 26-in. ised Morgan Cooling Bed Showing Drag Roll, Honsings Shear 54] Are Arranged to Facilitate Qu R c} res and one 18-in. roll lathes which are driven with enclosed gear drives, and the large lathes are equipped with two sets of housings for turning two rolls simultaneously. The Wisconsin Steel Company is also increasing the capacity of one of its blast furnaces and in stalling an additional store to meet the larger heat ing requirements. motor The officers of the Chester Stee! Castings Company, Chester, Pa., are that they are spending considerable money on provements ticularly to improvements and labor Saving devices be ing installed in the open-hearth foundries and shop. In addition which are made with a view of increasing the output, the entire plant is getting a thorough overhauling. being rebuilt and all heavy duty so much encouraged with the outlook plant im and betterments. This applies more pat pattern to these changes being Furnaces are cranes being put are in the best condition for service for Cutting to Length and Distributing Skids and Cradle The American Steel-Rail Situation* Mechanical Practice of American and Canadian Mills—Effect of Wages Based on Tonnage—Larger Rail Sections —___— —BY ROBERT W. HUNT —_——— One of the most serious and important economic administrative problems facing American railroad authorities to-day is that of their rails, and it is one to which much thought is being given, not only by the executive officers of the railroads and the manufacturers of the steel rails, but also by State and national commissions. It is realized by many and admitted by some that the present situation is one which cannot continue. The roadways of rail- roads must be made more secure, or the weight of rolling stock and the speed of trains must be les- sened; and the desired result must be attained with the minimum outlay of money, both in expenditure on plant and in cost of operation. If the invest- ment per mile is too large, or through the lessening of tonnage and efficiency of equipment the cost of operation is too great, the desired and demanded cheap service cannot be rendered to the public. Therefore, the weight of equipment cannot be greatly reduced, and lessening the rapidity of serv- ice would be far from satisfactory; consequently, the safety of the roadway must be secured with the least practical outlay. It is imperative that the roadbed should be prop- erly graded, with the fewest practically possible curves; that it should have good ballast, be well drained, have good ties properly spaced, and be laid with sound rails of suitable weight, efficiently joined together, and that the whole property be carefully and intelligently cared for. IMPORTANCE OF SOUND RAILS My province is to treat of the sound rails. During the last few years there has been renewed interest in and discussion of this question, and I know that many rail makers not only have been and are de- sirous of maintaining the highest standards of manufacture which they may have attained, but have been and are seeking to better their product, in several instances devoting much time and money to that end. At the same time, they realize that the cost of any improvement in quality which they may accomplish must be kept within certain com- mercial bounds; and that fact is as fully under- stood by their patrons as by themselves, and it should be kept in mind by all who discuss the ques- tion. As a matter of record, I present in the table a summarized statement of what may be called the mechanical practice of the steel-rail mills of the United States and Canada. WAGE RECOMPENSE BY TONNAGE It will be noted that the several works differ in their practice as to kinds of -steel, size of heats, size of ingots, kind of blooming and rail trains, number of passes in the rolls of both trains, and as to direct rolling into rails; also as to the details of the finishing departments of the several mills. In consequence of such variations, there are, of course, differences in the operating practice of the several plants. One thing that, in my judgment, has had a great effect upon the quality of the product of *A paper presented at the New York Meeting of the Ameri- can Institute of Mining Engineers, February 18, 1914. all the mills is that the workmen have been and are paid on a tonnage or piece basis, with, in some cases, an additional prospective bonus based on quantity of product. Unfortunately, after the pro- duced rails had left the works, there was but little chance of the identity or individuality of the work- men in the different departments of the works, who made them, being connected with them. It is true that a number corresponding with that of the heat of steel from which they had been rolled, and the month and year in which they were made, and the name of the works, were branded on each rail, but to actually identify the steel maker who made the steel, the heater who heated it, the roller who rolled it, the shearman who cropped the blooms, etc., would have been a complicated and practically impossible proposition. One result was that if, for any reason, such as delays from acci- dents to machinery, etc., the quantity of product was threatened, there was temptation to in some way cut corners, the workmen knowing that if the rails were once out of the mill they need not worry over any individual responsibility. This feeling was simply human. In an endeavor to meet this and other phases of the situation, some two years ago I ventured the establishment of a system of more constant and thorough inspection of rail making than had been generally, if at all, practised. In this movement I received the support at first of several and later of many of the railroad companies of this continent, and I am happy to say that I have also received the loyal support of the officials of the several steel companies. This system of inspection I explained in a former paper, presented at the Cleveland meet- ing, October, 1912, entitled ““Recent Developments in the Inspection of Steel Rails.” SOUND RAILS ONLY FROM SOUND INGOTS I have repeatedly shown that without sound in- gots there will not be any certainty of producing sound rails; and that, as each ingot is an individual steel casting, some means should be adopted of test- ing for soundness the rails produced from each in- got; and until reliable ways of casting sound ingots are adopted the importance of such testing should not be overlooked or underestimated. It is possible to make sound ingots. It will cost more than the present practices; but is that a good argument against it? Whether that increased cost should be added to the selling price of rails is a commercial question outside of the province of this paper. The increased cost of individual ingot testing is so small that it should not be a matter of much commercial importance. INCREASE IN RAIL SECTIONS There is another feature of the situation which demands and is receiving serious consideration from railroad officers, consulting engineers, the steel works officials, and others. That is, the de- sirability, if not the absolute necessity, of increas- ing the weight of rail sections. A number of such sections have been designed, and some have been rolled, and the rails are in use; but there is a metal- 542 -y 26, 1914 ving Mechanical Practice of Rail Mills in the United States and Canada NOTES ay a ' ‘ i = oo aug lols [ofete[=tafatet=[alstaTa g Se lied 58 | Hous Teese ae hd alalelslelsielsielelsisielele| Io [ae Hest ttt tt tt faa tala le © | ake ilstal Ialsls slalstalst taisls é \isesed|oleol [elo slelstetet Tetele S 3|=abed}ss| «| 2) ~[eel~|o[ele[u ies] [[a[m| s 6 | (ebay [=[sl~[~[~[=[-[-|-|«| [ea]a| 5 | jeaealel | s|sl3\s|_[sls/3| eeeaee| || s]ol<lele[elelelul [olele| a8] [55] 2] >| «| [gains] «| ~lsa| [| Be geri] [~[e[-[~ [ofa [— “ bag] e| =| 6 |3l3|-lslelslsls/ [sist | ai] <|o[ elo [<[e[oleol[n| ag ~ 2tGek coopera telesales : eT TT ETT re eel at ae AMERICAN nn ee ec tt emai RAIL MILL PRACTICE L NAL MINA . OF NAL 0 AV UGE) BRAND | BRAT __ FOR 100° RAIL x MIND OF STEEL at 7 - by “a n f - oaks pasts ec vias Th . 0 ger “oh ; . or ot - ™ he may THe | A BLOOMING MILLI 5 Fa asstsior or} — c ' 3 7 i B.00 & 80% fate S " INGO’ San LF | AS ROLLED 1! s [11 [26 [28-1 [120 | 30 [pomefo fe Ls res fas [1 2 : REET , Fee : 333i iH THE IRON AGE 543 lurgical feature involved which should not be over- looked. The experience of many railroads has been that their earlier rails, which were of lighter sections, gave better service than the later heavier ones, and the track men will tell you that when they cut one of the old rails they found a close, fine-grained structure, while the larger rails show a more or less coarse one. The old lighter rails permitted the fining effects of the rolling to penetrate, and, the mass of metal in their heads being comparatively small, the effect of the interior contained heat passed off sooner. The foregoing conditions result in the webs and flanges of all rails having a finer structure than their heads; therefore, as we in- crease the size of the rail sections we will certainly decrease their proportionate strength, and under present manufacturing conditions the heavier rails will have less resistance to the abrasive wear of the traffic. Nevertheless, there seems to be a necessity for heavier rails, and so much the better, if we can also make them proportionately stronger. CHANGES IN RAIL ROLLING Excepting in the ability to roll rails by the use of fewer passes in the rolls, and to handle the opera- tions mechanically and automatically, there have not been any radical changes in rail rolling. The plan of rolling reductions has remained much the same. Some experiments have been made, and va- rious schemes have been proposed, but none of them are in active use. In my judgment, the present situation demands serious consideration, even though it should require very radical changes in the rolling machinery of the existing rail mills. If we must have rails with more metal in their heads, as well as thicker webs and flanges, it is most impor- tant that the work of reduction and formation from the, say, 8 x 8-in. section of the blooms shall be applied in a way to penetrate and fine the metal in the rail heads. I shall not here attempt to particularize the way, but no doubt a modification of the universal mill, as in the Gary mill for structural sections, will sug- gest itself as one possible way, and I know of sev- eral schemes which contemplate putting work on the top of the heads in addition to only the sides, as is the case with the present mills. If that must be accomplished to solve the problem, it can and will be done. Once more I emphasize the truth that the physical treatment of the metal is of at least equal importance with its chemical composition. British Tin Plate Association As early as February, 1913, several meetings of prominent makers of Welsh tin plate took place with a view to controlling the output, production being con- siderably in excess of the demand. Developments since then have resulted in the formation of an association. Competition for orders has been so keen and so seri- ously felt in recent months that the movement has gained the co-operation and approval of a large ma- jority of the producers. The practical loss of the American and Canadian markets has been a deciding factor. The plan proposed is similar to the one recently adopted by the British galvanized sheet industry, as reported in The Iron Age January 15, 1914. The out- put is to be controlled by a pooling arrangement, each member’s allotment being in proportion to its average output over a certain period. For exceeding the allot- ment payments must be made into a pool. No attempt is made at direct control of prices. When the associa- tion was formed 432 of the 530 mills in South Wales were represented and other companies expressed ap- proval by mail. = Ae eee, ety Res ———e, ae ee SU ee PI . Front and Side Views of th 544 AUTOMATIC DRILLING MACHINE A New Multiple-Spindle Vertical Turret Type for Rapid Production Work The Windsor Machine Company, Windsor, Vt., has added to its line the Gridley automatic mul- tiple-spindle drilling machine which is designed for drilling, reaming, counterboring and facing parts which are difficult to handle in the usual way, at the same time producing a saving of time and floor space. The machine is of the vertical-turret type and differs radically from other machines of its class in that the spindles are adjustable both radi- ally and circumferentially, which permits their loca- tion at a common center or at different points. Holes can be drilled, cutting into one another or as far apart as the capacity of the machine will allow. The spindles are also individually adjustable ver- tically so that the tools may be placed in position to act upon any point or at any depth regardless of the location of the others. As all the spindles are sup- New Gridley Automati« ported from the center column around a practically complete circle, the thrust on one side balances that on the other, and therefore the column receives no undue strain from heavy feeds. The work is held in chucks or fixtures on a work table which rotates, as indexed, around the center column. At the front of the machine is the idle position where the finished piece is removed and the blank inserted. In one of the cuts a blank is shown mounted in the fixture, while the die in the fixture at the right hand is finished, and is ready for re- moval when the table is indexed to bring it to the loading space. The table indexes one point each time it is low- ered to take the work away from the tools. The time required to produce one finished piece is that of the longest operation plus the idle time required in indexing. As many spindles can be built into THE IRON Multiple-Spindle Drilling Machine AGE February 2 1914 the machine as may be required by the class 0! wor, which is to be handled, but the usual number js fy, to nine. In order to divide the time of the varjoys operations into the nearest possible uniform periog it is sometimes advisable to use two or more spin- dles on a given hole at the same time, each doing its share of the whole depth. Each spindle can he geared to the correct speed for the tool which it ear. ries. In cases where unusually heavy service js re. quired of one or more tools, special heavy spindles can be employed. Two methods of holding drill bushings are em- ployed in drilling a layout of holes to insure acey- rate spacing between them. When only a few drills or other tools need guide bushings the holders are arranged each with an adjustable vertical and hori- zontal arm as is illustrated in one of the engray- ings. When a large number of holes are to be drilled a plate is furnished extending around the center column between the work carrying table and the spindle. In this plate are large holes, one in line with each spindle, and over each hole is clamped a small adjustable iron bushing which can be quickly set to the required position. In arranging the machine for a new job the bushing holders only are changed. On some classes of work only one or two of these may require adjusting. For drills and some _ other tools hardened steel bushings are used, but those for tools with onl short flutes are of bronze. No trouble is experienced at high speeds under this method, and the guides also act to prevent chattering. There is little difficulty in setting the machine for opera- tion on different pieces of work. The tools are inserted in their holders, a perfect sample of the size and finish of the piece to be made is placed in the chuck or fixture, and the table advanced by hand until the piece is located at the spot under the first spin- dle where the operation com- mences. The spindle is then swung into exact position, and the guide, either bushing holder or bracket, is securely fastened in the proper position. After raising the table to its highest cutting point the spindle is ad- justed vertically to secure the proper depth of the hole. The operation is repeated until each tool is properly lo- cated. Then by referring to the table of spindle speeds the proper gears are placed on the center shaft and spindles, and brought into mesh. Located at the lower left side of the machine are the change gears which give the different speeds to the vertical center shaft. Here also are the feed gears, giving the different tool feeds to the table. At- ter the proper speed and feed gears are in position the table is brought up to the position where the first tool of the set to cut nearly touches the work. At this point a cam pin on the operating disk is set to throw out the fast feed clutch, which will allow the feed gears to drive the table at proper tool feed. After the table has reached its highest point and the tools are through cutting, the second cam pin on the operating disk is set to throw in the fast feed clutch. The machine is then ready to start and ositions and THE IRON Plate Guides fe I me it indexes a blank is placed in position. machine is provided with a gear-driven oil p, oil tank and separate oil supply with adjust- Ample drip room is able nozzle to each spindle. provided with self-draining drip tank, strainer and room removing chips without turbing the oil guards. ior Standard Motor Com- pany, Mason City, Iowa, has ac- lired the plant and business of the Nevada Mfg. Company, Ne- ida, lowa. Some of the oper- of the Nevada plant will lhe nsferred to Mason City he plant will continue in tion and its activity will eased. Sample of Semarang, Java, Exposition of manufacturers attention the months of September, Oc- and November, 1914, to celebrate entennial of the return of the East Indies under Dutch rule political affairs in Europe had eadjusted, following the defeat of Napoleoen and his banishment to St. growth in the commerce of lands, of which Java, Sumatra, and Celebes are the principal is been phenomenal in the past the imports expanding from 0,000 in 1900 to $130,000,000 in nd the exports from $100,000, to $180,000,000. They have a pop- n of 30,000,000, and the projectors exposition believe that it will of- portunities for American manu- rers wishing to introduce their such as machinery adapted for igar mills, machine shops, ship- c., and also articles of luxury, white population consists of peo- means who are liberal buyers. itive population has shared in eral prosperity of the past ten t is called Exposition to be held in the city of Semarang, Work to AGE 545 years, which has increased its purchas- ing power. The representative for the United States is T. Griedanus, who has opened an information bureau at 136 Wate: street, New York. The Fletcher Engineering Com- pany, consulting engineer in reinforced concrete, steel and mill construction and power plant design, Bridgeport, Conn., has been reorganized under the name of the Fletcher & Thomson, with offices at Bridgeport and at 30 Church street, New York. Leslie E Fletcher is president; C. L. Thomson treasurer, and Wallace Sinclair tary. Inc., secre The Gage Structural Steel Com pany, Chicago, was recently awarded contracts for a refrigerating plant Montevideo, Uruguay, 24 tons; old storage plant at La Plata, Argentine, 300 tons, and Australian Meat Company, Eton, Australia, 1100 at Expo tons Effect of Manganese on Cast Iron The effect of manganese on the mechanical proper- ties of cast iron is dealt with exhaustively by F. Wuest and H. Meissner in an article in Ferrum for January by The Midvale Steel Company’s net profits for the ,year ended October 31, 1915, are reported at $767,931. the M ® 6 3 o chine 8. 1914. Some of the conclu sions are these: Manganese up to about 1 pe! cent. raises definitely the tensile and bending strength. With a higher percentage of manganese the strength decreases. The hardness increases with increase manganese. manganese the With the hardness remains tolerably constant in of ir creased separation of graphite. Small amounts of manganese up to 0.30 per cent., with about s 1.50 per cent. silicon, increase the formation of graphite. in low content consequence the The Adjustable Vertical Horizontal Ar ms for Holding Guide Bushings s?> = eS eee Oe ee 4 * - 32 Special Heat Treatment of Steel Castings Effect on Bolsters and Locomotive Frames in Improving Their Strength and Value Without Impairment of Ductility The subject of increasing the strength of steel castings by special heat treatment is of increasing importance and of considerable difficulty. In the opinion of some users the present methods of the producers of simple annealing or air tempering are inadequate to bring the desired results. It is not surprising, therefore, that the proposal of the user, especially a railroad, to heat treat its own castings should be taken up seriously. For some time the Pennsylvania Railroad has been experimenting on the effect of the special heat treatment of steel castings, particularly bolsters and locomotive frames. An important paper, em- bodying a summary of these experiments, was pre- sented at the New York meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, February 18, 1914, by C. D. Young, engineer of tests of the railroad, O. A. D. Pease and C. H. Strand, the major portion of which is given below: In an effort to employ cast steel of a stronger structure than that found in the annealed steel cast- ings, the possibilities of heat treatment which will increase the strength without materially decreasing the ductility may be resorted to. An abstract re- port (which is a brief outline of what has already been done by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at its shops and test laboratories at Altoona, Pa.) is of material interest, as it indicates what may be done with steel castings when properly treated, thereby permitting in railway service greater strength of cast steel parts without any increase jp weight or space. The question of the heat treat- ment of alloy steel castings is not taken up in this paper, The obscurity formerly surrounding the heat treatment of steel has been for the most part re. moved by the development of our knowledge of the critical points of steel, pyrometers, furnace cop- struction, and the testing of the finished product. The operations of the heat treatment proper are taken up under the heads of (1) heating for quench- ing; (2) quenching; (3) drawing. HEATING FOR QUENCHING Heating for quenching is best conducted slowly, especially in the case of castings of variable thick- ness. Cracks may occur either in heating or in cooling, due to different temperatures at different points of the casting. The castings should be thor- oughly soaked at the maximum temperature (gen- erally 1500 deg. to 1600 deg. F.), 1 hr. being sufficient for sections 1 ft. in thickness. The mini- mum temperature which will produce the desired hardening effect will, in all cases, be found to be the most satisfactory, as the grain coarsens when the critical range is exceeded to ‘too great an extent. All temperatures should be governed by a checked pyrometer with the hot junction to the heated ob- ject, and with several couples in a large furnace to insure a uniform temperature. —— THE QUENCHING OPERATION The casting should be transferred as quickly as pos- sible from the furnace to the quenching bath, and in the case of large castings, such as locomotive frames, this is by no means a simple matter. The larger castings are best handled by means of cranes and rollers. The quenching agent employed is generally water or oil, preferably the former, because of its cheap- ness and drastic cooling effect, more readily breaking up the coarse cast-steel grain. With intricate castings it is gener- ally best to use oil. With water it is possible to have a large tank and a large run- ning stream, serving to main- tain a uniform temperature. Castings should never be thrown in to rest on the bot- tom of the tank, but should be agitated to prevent the for- mation of a coating of vapor, retarding the quenching ef- fect. It is also best, when- ever possible, to quench the thicker portions first. Whenever possible the ee ee Fig. 2—Bolster B18 drawing should be done in & 1 ae Fig. 4—Bolster B29 bath of some kind, such as Photomicrographs of Commercially Annealed Cast Steel Bolsters. Reduced About One-third from an Original Diameter of 100 546 lead, barium chloride, a ba- lary 26, 1914 hloride-salt mixture, or the case of large cast- iis is manifestly impos- ind great care should be exé ed in obtaining a uni- fol temperature in the dr: g furnace. The use to wl the casting is to be put determines the drawing tem- perature, railroad work, by reason of the shock and vibra- tic f the road, requiring high ductility at the sacrifice of .e strength. e results of some ten- sile, chemical and _ micro- gr e tests of commercially annealed and experimentally heat-treated cast steel bolsters accompany this paper. The following table shows the heat treatment and the results of tensile and chemical tests: —~Commercially annealed B NO. scsisveodWoas v6 ree B43 B18 E Ib we we : : its 30,950 36,700 1 lb ane é cee Wees Wee 57,610 78,665 E 2 Se Serer ‘ , i 14.8 6.0 R C QREOR, Woeesccsst ve wb os 26.8 4.5 CG, per COG auccee cae ia« ‘ 0.31 0.51 m.. per Cie vasa ea P 0.82 0.68 s eet os * 0.34 0.31 | cent . 0.016 0.045 S., er cent cess ecb sees ee O46 eb 4S 0 ee 0.010 0.030 Annealed at, deg. F........ ‘ oo 1,500 1,550 Qi hed 1 water at, deg. I : . D O, Gi Wek cmc te resshaandewe vies Examination of the accompanying photomicro- graphs, Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, shows the inefficiency of the manufacturer’s annealing, which is by no means uncommon. The contrast between the an- nealing samples and the treated samples is readily apparent. Figs. 1 and 3 show a coarse needlelike ferrite formation, traces of the casting structure, 2 | annbated rd a Annealed — Boks L p S sihentanad Heat-Treated | “| | t —j—__-+ eh + + ee 0 02 7.0 1 0.40 0.45 o” Os CARBON, PER CENT g. 7—Chart Showing Tests of Large Castings obliterated by annealing. Figs. 2 and 4 show structure of some experimental high-carbon ters, which are not sufficiently ductile. Figs. 5 6 show excellent heat treated structures, with a fine ferrite network. The heat treatment of - castings would have been more satisfactory a drawing temperature of 1100 deg. F. instead 00 deg. F. t x Fig. 5—Bolster B10 Photomicrographs of Heat-Treated Cast Steel Bolsters Reduced About One-third THE IRON AGE 547 Fig. 6 folster B15 from an Original Diameter of 100 -Heat treated- B2 B29 B10 B39 B15 BB 56,070 41,990 44,663 61,940 61,390 54,930 74,020 69,783 80,393 87,890 92.750 84,290 12.3 5.3 13.2 4.3 11.7 17.3 16.0 D.9 19.0 7.7 15.4 27.3 0.35 0.49 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.30 0.63 0.70 0.62 0.88 0.76 0.62 0.36 0.34 0.26 0.41 0.37 0.36 0.036 0.036 0.042 0.014 0.041 0.032 0.016 0.042 0.030 0.025 0.029 0.018 1,550 1,550 1,580 1,640 1,600 1,600 1.600 1,600 1,600 900 900 900 900 The plot, Fig. 7, shows the average results of a considerable number of tensile tests made from large castings. It will be observed that the heat treatment increases the elastic limit about 50 per cent. and the ultimate strength about 25 per cent., without any material change in elongation. The heat treatment to produce these results is also shown in the plot. In the event a fair amount of ductility is required, it is not desirable to have the carbon content above 0.35 per cent. Individual re- sults will vary from 5 to 10 per cent. from the average results, ‘The American Society for Fire Prevention The American Society for Fire Prevention was or- ganized February 11, with offices at 51 Chambers street, New York City. The society proposes to urge the enactment of laws and regulations to provide safe- guards against fire, to compile and furnish information concerning fireproof materials and methods of con- struction and to conduct tests of building materials and safety devices. It is very broad in its membership qualifications. It plans to issue a monthly organ known as “Fire Prevention.” Abram W. Herbst, for- merly chairman of the committee on buildings of the Board of Aldermen, New York City, has been chosen director of safety of the society, and he is assisted by an advisory board, including architects, consulting en- gineers and others. The General Electric Company reports recent sales of electric apparatus to the following: Bergen Point Iron Works, Bayonne, N. J,. eight 110 to 125 hp. mill type motors, 36 motors ranging from 25 to 100 hp., 120 two-motor coal car equipments and 16 transformers; Atlanta Steel Company, Atlanta, Ga., a 500-kw. syn- chronous motor-generator set; Bethlehem Steel. Com- pany, South Bethlehem, Pa., a 3000-hp. induction motor; Pennsylvania Steel Company, for Steelton, Pa., a 500-kw. motor-generator set; Jeanesville Iron Works Company, Hazelton, Pa., a 300-hp. motor; Allegheny Steel Company, Brackenbridge, Pa., two 12-hp. and four 40-hp. motors. Low Carbon Pig Iron for Iron Castings How Its Use Has Improved the Properties of the Product and Made German Founders Independent of Certain English Irons An important contribution to the metallurgy of cast iron appeared in Stahl und Eisen, November 27, 1913, in an article by Alexander Zenzes on “The Application of Additions to the Charge in Produc- ing High Value Cast Iron.” A large portion of it follows : In scientifically managed foundries it has been known for some years that the strength of cast iron depends not only on its chemical composition but also essentially on its structure; that a good cast iron, on which the severest demands as regards strength and density can be made, must have a structure of fine grain. This can be attained with certainty only by melting iron in a crucible, because there is no essential change in the original definite mixture due to the absorption of foreign ingredients. The best crucible cast iron is characterized by a low carbon content, which is not more than 3 per cent. In a cupola it is difficult to produce a good cast iron with less than 3 per cent. carbon because the cupola charge of pig iron seldom has less than 3 per cent. carbon and because also carbon is absorbed from the coke. The addition of steel scrap to produce higher tensile strength, though somewhat in favor, has also similar disadvantages arising from the use of coke, from the absorption of sulphur, etc., so that real success is never attained in this way. ed USE OF ENGLISH BRANDS IN GERMANY A few grades of cold blast charcoal pig iron, such as the English brands Frodair, Coldair, etc., have found special favor in Germany as an addition to cast iron to bring about a dense iron. They serve in many foundries, despite their high cost, as a cure- all without which dependable results are impossible. The analyses of these irons, recognized as especially valuable English brands, are by no means entirely good, especially as regards sulphur, manganese and phosphorus. The feature which confers on them the valuable property of producing a cast iron of very fine structure combined with density and strength is their low total carbon content. In his capacity as managing engineer of a large Rhineland metallurgical plant, Alexander Zenzes was active in the iron foundry where iron of quality was made and where large castings with a minimum tensile strength of 18 kg. per sq. mm. were poured. The average thickness of all kinds of castings to be produced varied between 5 and 100 mm., and therefore it was not possible to keep one cupola in operation which could produce the necessary com position for these different transverse sections. Manifestly the strength of cast-iron sections is de- pendent on the structure; and the structure, in uni- form foundry practice and conditions, is dependent on the chemical composition, which, however, can- not be changed so often nor in such short intervals as would be demanded by the thickness of all of the pieces to be poured. In spite of this, it was possible to pour each piece in the grade of iron as to com- position corresponding to the transverse sections. Daily 10 to 15 tons of castings were to be poured for which a high tensile strength was demanded. Two small cupolas of 3 to 4 tons capacity produced two grades of cast iron. One cupola, with a charge of No. 3 hematite (1 to 1.5 per cent. silicon), steel rails, scrap and Siegerlander alloy, produced a go- calied hard iron of the following prescribed com. position: Per cent. Per cent Carbon ci eek oe 3.00 Phosphorus ...... 0.10 Ei 3 Wig ss 1.00 A ae 0.10 Manganese ....... 0.50 CHO eae se oie 0.10 The other cupola, with a charge of No. | and No. 2 hematite, low manganese iron, and scrap, pro- duced a so-called soft iron of the following com- position: Per cent. Per cent Carbon ty Phosphorus ....., 0.10 Silicon Tere SNE cS sae os ee 0.07 Manganese >. 0.05 SOO Ske oe ban 0.10 To pour castings with a thickness of less than 10 mm. the straight soft iron was used; for those of 10 to 15 mm. thickness, a mixture of 2/3 soft iron and 1/3 hard iron; for those of 20 to 25 mm., 4 hard iron and 4 soft iron; for castings of 30 to 40 mm. thickness, 2/3 hard iron and 1/3 soft iron, and for castings of greater thickness only the hard iron was used. The hard iron of the cupola was blown with tolerable certainty of a constant quality because the ingredients of the charge had a constant composi- tion. Nevertheless the superintendent had a sample taken of every tap of the cupola, making the hard iron by taking a test with a spoon from the partly filled ladle after quickly stirring it. When the test piece, poured in sand and cooled in water, showed the expected ameunt of separation of graphite, the partly filled ladle was then at once filled with the amount of iron from the soft iron cupola necessar) to make the mixture desired. This resulting mix- ture was then properly stirred with a rod of iron fastened to a piece of rail after a piece of lead had been thrown into the ladle. In this manner the volatilization of the lead as weil as the stirring gave the gases a chance to escape. Each day a test piece one meter long and 30 mm. thick was taken of the hard iron, the soft iron and the resulting mixtures, and tested for bending and other properties. EXACTING CONDITIONS MET Manifestly in this manner it was possible to pro duce every desired mixture, and therefore any cast- ing of a definite weight and limited cross-section. The most exacting demands as to density of struc ture and as to tensile strength and resistance to pressure could thus be satisfied. The results were decidedly satisfactory. No modifications were pos sible, and all chemical calculations for soft iron, hard iron and the finished product were the result fundamentally of the silicon content. A chemical laboratory was available and always open for use. Tensile strength tests of the products were taken almost daily. From the numerous tensile tests and also especially the bending and pressure tests, 1) conjunction with the chemical analyses, Mr. Zenzes became convinced that in the case of two test pieces of similar chemical composition as regards Si, Mn, P, S, and Cu, an essential difference in tensile and pressure characteristics could ensue. The literature on the subject, as well as all previous practical ex- perience, could offer no solution of this phenomenon. It was manifest, however, from the square test pieces used to determine the resistance to pressure, 548 Febr 26, 1914 THE IRON AGE 549 vo pieces of like chemical composition as si, Mn, P, S, and Cu, but of entirely si ff trength, the hardness of the pieces poured and differed in degree. From this the , was drawn that the carbon content was neasure of the physical properties of cast LTS WITH CARBON UNDER THREE PER CENT. nalyses for total and combined carbon af- rd lly the right explanation: that of two test piect similar structure and chemical composi regards Si, Mn, S, P, and Cu, the tensile +rength is greater the less the percentage of total arbon and the higher the combined carbon in a ‘est piece of gray structure. In the best cast iron with gray structure the percentage of combined car from 0.80 to 1.00; of graphitic carbon ‘bout 2 per cent.; and the total carbon not over 3 er cent. Investigation of the cupola iron showed that the carbon content of the hard iron was mostly inder 3 per cent., and therefore there resulted the pest breaking tests with a tensile strength of 28 to \) kg. per sq.