The Iron Age 1914-10-22: Vol 94 Iss 17

LUVCLEOUODEEED TE DEUTU TEA EUT AT EEED UTED EPRETEA EEE T ED AREER OA REARDAN AN EATL AN ENET TOA EEUD EA ARRSAAAARAUALUAGRREAUU EEE OET THU UTNE ETE New York, October 22, APUELAPULEOUAUEUAUDNAREOEDUEEDU AEE GEEEOEEDOGAEDAEEL AEA EAET GEL U ETA RSON ATE TEEN EELDEETTATE UAE DEE EE TANT AULEA ERD ER LEED N EL PT ETE EEA ETE EEE UNE AN TUTE ee EGE 1914 Vol. 94: No. 17 Adaptability in a Jobbing Steel Foundry Illustrated at the Prime Steel Company, Milwaukee, Where Quantity Production, Shrinkage Diffi- culties, and Exceptional Accuracy Are Involved In the ordinary sense the jobbing foundry is not equipped to handle work for which only highly competitive quantity prices prevail, and out of which a profit must be made by methods of quantity pro- duction. But the Prime Steel Company, Milwau- kee, Wis., has adapted itself to such a problem in the casting of 1000 steel car bolsters making use of simple expedients that allow handling the work at much as desired in process of comp! ready for setting over on the pouring a closed quickly and little effort. A couple of gaggers wedged under the trunnions are sufficient to keep the flask from rolling when the molder with working on the mold. The molds are rammed on a jolt rammer. For the drawing of the patterns a metal vibra Making Up the Mold for a Car Bolster Showing tl D r R g | Tw I 4 reasonable cost. The bolsters are of standard tor shoe is fastened to the under side of the match length nd are cast in a two-part mold from cope ‘board. An air line brought to this point of the and dr brass-capped patterns mounted on match floor permits the use of a vibrator which fits into boar s illustrated in Fig. 1. The bolsters are of the shoe and effects an easy drawing of this long _ that the flasks and molds are too heavy to pattern by hand. The illustration shows the drag he pulated by hand, while turning the molds he crane is much too slow. nown in the illustration, two heavy parallel str surmounted by lengths of rail were laid On r with a span suitable to the length of ne The flasks are cast with trunnions pro- . ; m the ends so that when the flask is set rails the mold may be rolled over as pattern and flask in the backs The casting is poured from one end and Fig. 2 shows a floor of molds being closed up for open molds the body cores are conspic The equipment in the cleaning ing up the castings includes a portable sulky grinders rround pouring. * On the two 10US. room for finish attery of P< ry .anson snr mente nneumat Ay} ; \ : i< chipping hammers 929 Steel Company shows the mold ope! Showing a , witl Another interesting job now going through this foundry is the casting of the converter tops illus- trated in Fig. 3. The difficulties to overcome arise out of the thin metal section of the casting, or in other words, its size as compared with its weight. These tops have a diameter of 13 ft. across the bot- tom flange, 6 ft. across the top opening, are 9 ft. 8 in. from top to bottom on the high side, but weigh only 15,000 lb., the shells having a thickness of only 1144 in. The metal for the casting was treated with ferrotitanium, the alloy being added in the ladle, and much of the success in securing castings free from cracks and of uniform thickness is attrib- uted to that treatment. A skeleton pattern is used and the cast is made in a three-part mold, the drag portion being built in a pit and kept 6 in. below the joint of the con- crete lining of the pit because of the excessive pres- be Fig izes about 1% in THE IRON the cor Views from Top and Flange Sides of Two Steel Casting Converter Tops at the Prime Steel Company. in thickness ; AGE Floor of Bolster Molds Ready for Pouring The for es set and cope ready for placing. sure. The cheek which is built in a 14-ft. flask and the cope are shown in the general view, Fig. 4 The piece is poured through one central gate at the top with eight runners. Another job, interesting because of the precau tions taken to insure great accuracy and exact dupli- cation, is illustrated in Fig. 5, in which the pieces are shown assembled and being machined. The piece is a runner blade, eight of which when as- sembled form a propeller for the pumps now build- ing at the plant of the Nordberg.Mfg. Company for the city of New Orleans. The blades when fitted together constitute a perfect screw and it is ac- cordingly necessary that each blade be cast at just the right angle and that the weight of all of them be exactly alike. For this reason it was decided not to use a pattern but to make up the job in cores. These cores and the boxes for them are Metal aver castings weigh only 15,000 Ib. THE IRON AGE 931 Steel Foundry Showing in the Foreground the Pattern, Drag Var the Moid ‘ ( Cope for Casting a 13-Ft. Converter Top. The concrete lined molding pit is also showr 4 6. There are three parts, as shown, while at the same time material may be shoveled ted on the plates and the other two bolted out from the doorway with convenience and with suspended from the frame. out waste. The vestibule prevents the material ; » Steel Company has recently added a_ from rolling or sliding out into the main passages mprovements at its Dutcher works. way, where a track is laid for a transfer car, a of the foundry, 70 ft. in width, has _ illustrated. The storage system w also include led to an over-all length of 476 ft. and a central elevated hopper for sand, which will be end a new system of storage bins has ee] talled. These bins are placed so that the e stored may be loaded into them by ravity from the elevated tracks of the railroad h passes the plant. The bins are of frame con- ind the entry ways from the foundry for the stored materials present an interesting ent. This is shown in Fig. 7. The entry iled and the inner door is closed with re- ards, a small opening being left at the The bin may thus be filled to capacity, opeller, the Mold for Which Is Illustrated brought by conveyor and continuous elevator from the bin into which it is discharged directly from the car. From the elevated hopper the sand will be drawn as required. The mold-drying oven, of which a view is shown in Fig. 8, has just been completed. It is 20 x 24 ft., with a hight of 12 ft. from the top of the oven cars to the roof. It is bottom fired from the outside of the building, and is equipped with a pyrometer for the regulation of temperature. The oven door is a rigid steel plate shield and is raised and lowered in Fig. 6. The propeller hub is shown at the left. T propeller for one of the New Orleans drainage pumps 932 THE IRON AGE October 1914 Fig. 6 An Interesting Molding Job Made ip in Cores in Three -rarts The suspended portion of the mold consists of two part nd is 1 ersed as shown frotr the positior n which it fits over the third section on the foor in order to show the joint rill I the ! ! s the ore box for one of the suspended portions and in the backgrour re pneumatically by means of an 8-in. Curtis cylinder. is facilitated by the recesses placed in the walls at The molding facilities of the foundry have also intervals of 3 ft. been enhanced by the building of the concrete lined Special attention has also been placed upon the casting pit shown in the foreground of Fig. 4. facilities for finishing up the castings after they This is 14 ft. wide, 36 ft. long and 8 ft. deep, with come out of the sand. There is a cleaning room at 18-in. concrete side walls, 24-in. ends and bottom. each end of the foundry, one for the light work and It is equipped not only with tie irons on both sides the other for the heavy castings. This arrange and at the ends, but there are cast in the reinforced ment prevents any clogging of work arising out of concrete bottom steel eyes spaced at regular in- the confusion of small and large pieces. Both tervals for the attachment of turn buckles or other cleaning rooms are equipped with sand blast, air rigging for holding down heavy cores, or for bind- hammers and both electric and acetylene welding ing down the copes, when the pit is partitioned off apparatus. For correcting distortions in the cast- to accommodate more than one mold. This dividing ings developed in the process of cooling, a 500-ton of the pit into smaller pits, 12 x 14 ft. or 7 x 36 ft., hydraulic press has recently been installed. The i View Some of the Storage Bins of the Prime Steel Company 22, 1914 39 operates a crucible department and strates some of the heavier and more sses of work handled in that department. NG PRICE OF CASTINGS* An | tigation Into the Practices of Estimating Foundry Costs and Profits BY A. 0. BACKERT ertain the methods pursued by foundry- timating the selling price of castings, an 7 on was conducted, 1000 letters having hee} ed to all of the members of the American Association and leading jobbing indries of the United States. A series of eleven tions was asked and a total of 109 replies was ceived. It frequently has been stated that the foundrymen who make careful estimates work is not large, yet the bulk of the replies received indicates that an earnest effort is being quote intelligently on new work. It cannot I, , nen ~ i made ied that the practice of guessing at the sell- ld Drying Oven, 20 x 24 x 12 ft., Which Improvements Recently Completed by the Prime Steel Company ng price of castings is still too prevalent for mfort and it is hoped that some standard sys- estimating will be evolved which can be wed by foundrymen generally. The ques- submitted follow: u determine the selling price of your cast ploy an estimator to compute the selling ow any special rule or formula in prepar does your overhead expense bear to your 1 include in your overhead expense? ng an estimate, what allowance do you figurs s such as haulage, special rigging, pattern re- reentage of profit do you estimate on each estimated percentage of profit vary on heavy estimate labor cost on a job and what do s estimated cost? u estimate the cost of molten metal in the se your estimates on data previously ob t ost system? resented to the American Foundrymen’s September 9 The author is secretary THE IRON AGE 933 It was surprising to note that practically one half of the foundries employ estimators and op erate estimating departments, while a number dele gate this work to one of the plant executives. Onl) one empirical formula was reported for estimating the selling price of new work. Many foundrymen are averse to accepting formulas at their value, be lieving them to be the obscure symbols of the ab struse sciences. shops a However, in several well-managed similarity of formulas has been found, which would indicate that the adoption of a uni versal system would not involve many difficulties. This formula used by several foundrymen, follows: W+L+1% L c I the se W represents the weight of the casting and this multiplied by the cost of the metal in the ladle gives the cost of the metal in the casting; L all labor, including molding, shipping, etc., and 142 L represents the overhead charges; C represents contingencies and includes casting losses, haulage, special rigging, pattern re pairs, etc., and P represents the profit. The ratio of overhead expenses to direct labor represents coremaking, melting, Two Interesting Motor Truck Jobs for Which C ngs Were Made in the Crucible Department of the } e Stee: Company The axle housing weighed 1375 lt cost was found to vary considerably and as high as 3:1 was reported. Numerous interesting replies also were received in answer to the question re- garding percentage of profit estimated and in most cases competition governed this entirely. With few exceptions, all the foundrymen answering the ques- tions submitted reported that they based their esti- mates on data previously obtained from their cost system. This would indicate that an earnest ef- fort is being made to arrive at accurate costs, but evidently the systems in use are inadequate or they are improperly applied. The Toledo Pipe Threading Machine Company, Toledo, Ohio, has moved into its new plant at 1421 Sum mit avenue. The building is an up-to-date fireproof structure, 110 x 160 ft. With its quarters the company will be able to increase largely its output. new 934 DECARBURIZATION OF STEEL* Effect of Various Salt Baths Used for Heating Before Hardening BY A. M. PORTEVIN The use of baths of molten alkaline salts for heating steel parts prior to hardening is becoming more and more widespread in industry. They al- low, indeed, of the much more rapid heating of small parts, and of adjusting, as accurately as pos- sible, the temperatures of heating. Besides this, superficial oxidation is avoided, or at any rate con- siderably reduced. But—and in the author’s opinion insufficient attention has hitherto been paid to this fact—superficial decarburization occurs, and this becomes strongly marked in cases where the heat- ing is prolonged. The author has carried out a series of experiments with the object of investi- gating this decarburization, the results of some of which are here given. Samples of a hyper-eutectic steel containing 1.46 per cent. carbon, and in the form of little cylinders 20 millimeters in diameter and 10 millimeters deep, were maintained for varying periods in molten potassium chloride at 1000 deg. C. For each period ae - The Bath Contains Potassium Cyanide of remaining in the bath a sample was examined, after heating without quenching, under the micro- scope; another was heated to 750 deg. C. and quenched in water. This served for the hardness determinations. The results have been tabulated in Table 1. It will be very clearly seen that with an increase in the length of time the sample remains in the bath there is an increasing decarburization, marked both by an increase in the depth of decarburized layer and by the lowering in the carbon percentage of the surface, which falls to 0.2 per cent. This decarburization is most noticeable after quenching, being revealed more particularly by testing with the Shore sclerometer, which is readily explained by the fact that this test applies only to a small depth, whereas the result of the Brinell test is influenced by the hardness of the subjacent layers. Table 1 Decarburization of Steels in a Molten Potassium thloride Bath at 1000 deg. C. ' = 7 t ° ' £ ~ “5, m 0 > @ Soo bos 5 Sa asi~ a" Oo. oa 2. ks ns ae 25 2Si= 2°o o§ 2° : “oF Se S BS Ee » 25 cs E Sag & S5s O ov x Lh % 0.9 2.39 79.8 9 0.4 2.94 41.0 5 0.2 2.89 32.0 *From a paper prepared for the abandoned fall meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute THE IRON AGE October 22, 191, By experimenting at 900 deg. C., ead of at 1000 deg., the decarburization is nai ly less deep, but almost as great so far as the erficia lowering of the carbon percentage is concerneq should, however, be noted in the compar)«:ns that may be drawn from these results, that +); stee employed in the experiments at 900 de, ' tained only 0.78 per cent. carbon (Mr 25 cent.; Si., 0.37 per cent.). Experiments were made with this sa: the salt bath described by Brayshaw for use jn pj hardening furnaces. The degree of decar is, so far as its importance is concerned, quite , parable with that found with the pure sodiyn. chloride bath; in any case the influence of the sma) amount of ferrocyanide added with the object of counteracting the decarburization does not appear very efficacious. It seems improbable, however, tha: the ferrocyanide can have no action, and besides. the experiments were made over again after the addition of a larger proportion of ferrocyanide to the potassium chloride (10 per cent.). By working at a temperature of 900 deg. C. on the same steel (0.78 per cent. carbon), and with the periods of remaining in the bath of one quarter. two and 5 hours, a decarburization is again found Small Photomicrograph Shows the Needles in the Ferrite in a Sample Taken at the Boundary of Carburization When th The Large Photomicrograph Illustrates a Case of Carburization Equilibriun which is even deeper, but less intense, in the sense that the superficial carbon percentage does not fall so quickly (Table 2). Care had been taken to place in the bath, at the same time samples 0! Table 2.—Decarburization and Carburization at 900 deg in a Bath of Potassium Chloride to which 10 per cent. « Ferrocyanide Has Been Added Steel containing 0.78 per cent. of carbon Lancashire iron Duration Thicknessof Percentage Thicknessof Percentag: of decarburized of decarburized oe. heating, layer, 1/10 carbon at layer, 1/10 carbo A hours millimeter surface! millimeter surracs \, 2. 0.5 2.5 0.2 3° 4.0 0.35 3.5 0. 5 6.5 0.25 4.5 v iEstimated microscopically. carbon-free iron (Lancashire iron), which remained immersed for similar periods, and it was founc that these samples had simultaneously undergone carburization. The interesting point is that the depth of this carburization increases with the dura- tion of the heating, whereas the percentage of super ficial carbon appears to remain very nearly constal. Unfortunately the phenomenon becomes complicate? by the decomposition of the ferrocyanide, which - evidenced by the production of a muddy deposit & the bottom of the salt bath. The author has ea lowed up the investigation of this phenomenon! " replacing the ferrocyanide by cyanide, and Ae therefore solely with mixtures of potassium chloride 22, 1914 Oct ssium cyanide that he at present concerns ires of cyanide and cyanate of potassium ' ‘bled the author to establish equilibria of , ation between the steel and the bath, and » pature that it is possible to observe, simul- tané _ in the same bath, the decarburization of hard steels and the carburization of dead-soft steels. this there were added to the potassium increasing quantities of potassium cyanide proportion of 75 per cent. of the total weight mixture, and there were immersed in the nixture at 900 deg. C. samples of hard steel 078 per cent. of carbon, 0.37 per cent. of silicon, nd 0.28 per cent. of manganese) and of carbon- free iron which were left for varying periods. Sub- sequently the depths of decarburization and of car- hurization were ascertained under the microscope, together with the percentage of carbon superficially. Table 3 gives the principal results obtained. Decarburization and Carburization in Mixtures of ind Cyanides of Potassium. Steel Contain- ing 0.78 Per Cent. of Carbon Thick- Thick- ness of ness of buration the decar- Percent- thecar- Percent- ge of burized age of burized age of KCN heating, layer, superficial layer, superficial hours millimeter carbon millimeter carbon 4 0.09 0.25 0.18 0.25 2 0.37 0.30 0.37 0.25 5 0.75 0.25 0.62 0.30 Y% 0.12 0.35 0.10 0.15 2 0.37 0.20 0.37 0.20 f 0.68 0.25 0.50 0.25 4 0.06 0.25 0.12 0.25 2 0.48 0.20 0.44 0.25 5 0.69 0.25 0.44 0.25 It will be seen that, under the same conditions, decarburization and carburization occur simul- taneously, according to the grade of steel, and if the longest period of heating (five hours) be taken into consideration, there will be found, as the aver- age superficial percentage of carbon in the steel, for all three mixtures: in the carburized layers, 0.26 per cent.; in the decarburized layers, 0.25 per cent. The two phenomena appear, therefore, to tend toward a common limit which would be the car- bon concentration of the steel which remains in equilibrium at 900 deg. C. in the chlorocyanide bath. This limit appears, in the mixtures experimented on, to be independent of the quantity of potassium cyanide present in the bath. Incidentally it has been noted, microscopically, that very frequently when these baths contain cya- nide of potassium, and likewise when they contain ‘errocyanide of potassium, there appear, in the lerrite, subjacent to the carburized layer, needles of an appearance similar to those described by Braune in his researches on the influence of nitro- gen on iron and steel. The round photomicrograph gives an example taken at the boundary of car- vurization. Some areas of pearlite are still dis- ‘inguishable on one side of the figure, but the ferrite frains are traversed by needles. These needles are present in too small a number for it to be possible ‘o ascertain whether, within one and the same grain, ‘here may be. (which is improbable) more than, at most, tour directions. s phenomenon of carburization equilibrium brought out in an even more striking man- ier, as follows: A highly case-hardened iron is and a section made at right angles to the ‘Se-hardened surface. By these means there is ob- in the section a progressive decrease in entage of carbon, or, in other words, a com- d continuous scale of the different shades On the samples thus prepared, the pre- THE IRON AGE ceding experiments are carried out, and there will be found, on examining under the microscope, a section perpendicular to the surface just referred to, the simultaneous decarburization of the zones rich in carbon, and the carburization of the zones low in carbon. This is brought out very clearly and very strikingly in the large photomicrograph which is given by way of a commentary on and a conclusion to this paper. American Shipbuilding Company’s Report The American Shipbuilding Company has issued its annual repert for the year ended June 30, 1914. The income account compares as follows with the preced- ing year: ; 1913-14 1912-13 Net earnings $712,061 $849,874 Depreciation, interest, et 432,757 243,400 Balance $279,304 $606,474 Preferred dividends 276,500 153,000 Surplus $2,804 $53,474 The general balance sheet as of June 30, pares as follows: 1914, com issets 1913-14 1912-13 Plants and properties $18,740,530 $18,965,312 Material on hand.. ci 530,331 611,175 Stocks and bonds.... - 1,873,209 2,377,214 Advances to subsidiaries 351,397 Uncompleted contracts 4,959 838.281 Cee havan chee Fi ; 587,579 157,282 Accounts and notes receivable 1,484,925 2,325,88 Deferred charges to operations 57,744 ORE kt whats ke wdsaone ees $23,630,676 $26,075,149 Liabilities oo sy, | en eee ee $7,900,000 $7,900,000 COORG RI a co 0a wns cae ds ue ke ws 7,600,000 7,600,000 Accounts and notes payable...... 672,852 3,226,065 PY | tee se Te ce Pere .. af v'e 60 Pee GE aa vecanbreteneouetarecs 250,000 Appreciation in real estate, buildings, GON cc teehe i%tetensgis teases ve 1,137,481 se Reserve fund .. Se I a ce ae ale Garg. dill. oa ee 787,718 Profit and loss surplus 5,441,235 6,561,367 TOGA 60 os ve $23,630,676 $26,075,149 In his accompanying statement to _ stockholders, President Edward Smith said: “Owing to the general business depression which has prevailed for the last two years, especially in the iron and steel trade, the business on the Great Lakes for the year ended June 30, 1914, has been unsatis factory. We believe that when the steel business re- vives business on the Great Lakes will also be much better, but, in view of the prevailing and continued de- pression, the directors have deemed it unwise to make any declaration of dividends for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1914, in excess of the 3% per cent. already paid. “The financial condition of the company is most satisfactory. During the past year its liabilities have been reduced over $2,000,000, thus putting it in excel- lent shape to await the revival of business. The con dition of the property at the various plants has been maintained, and necessary but large expenditures have been made to change and enlarge the dry docks, which enlargement has been requisite owing to the increased size of the vessels constructed on the lake. During the year the company built 16 vessels with a carrying ca- pacity of 83,100 net tons.” The St. Louis public school system has been ex- tended, in its night division, to include unit courses for men employed in the mechanical trades, covering pattern making, foundry practice, blacksmithing, ma- chine shop practice, cabinet making, mechanical draw- ing, etc. The courses will be taught in such units that the student employed during the day may combine them in any way he may desire and continue them until proficient in all the units applicable to his trade. The plan is to give thorough training, not alone in the student’s special employment but in all the allied sub- jects. es Titanium Ores in the Blast Furnace Important Results of the Port Henry Experiments—Concentrates Smelted Con- taining Over 12 Per Cent. Titanic Acid BY EDWIN F. The successful smelting of titaniferous iron ores has taken a long step forward. This has been achieved by the experiments of the MacIntyre Iron Company at Port Henry, N. Y., on the production of pig iron from the titanium-bearing Adirondack iron ores of New York State. In The Iron Age for Octo- ber 2 and 9, 1913, announcements were made of the plans of the MacIntyre Iron Company to lease the Northern Iron Company’s blast furnace for this purpose and the scope of the experiments, and The Iron Age.for March 12 and June 18, 1914, gave brief accounts of the progress of the work. The lease of the furnace having expired with July, the experi- ments have been completed and the results available results that are highly important and interesting. The test is probably the largest and most extensive of the kind ever undertaken. The object of the work has been to determine to what extent the vast deposits of high-grade titan- are Sanford Hill or Titaniferous Iron Ore Magnified 20 Diameters The Light Grains Are limenite and the Dark Ones Magnetite iferous iron ores of the Sanford Hill district in New York State could be concentrated and successfully smelted into a marketable pig iron. Many problems have presented themselves that were unexpected and many of the pre-existing theories refuted, but the general result has been more satisfactory than anticipated. COMPOSITION OF THE ORE Without doubt the concentration of the original ore is one of the difficult problems entering into the success of the enterprise. To eliminate as large a percentage as possible of the titanium-bearing por- tion of the ore, the ilmenite, is the object aimed at. The average composition of the large deposits of this important ore is represented by the complete analysis in Table 1 of about 1000 tons of old ore, which was later concentrated by one of the Wither- CONE bee, Sherman & concentrators formed the basis of the first run of the ex; lable 1 lnalusis o 7 ypical Sample of Sa Silica ..ccs.« ; ~~ SiO, .. ferrous oxide oa wae Ferric oxide . Fe.O Alumina .-- AlsOs Titanium oxide . TiO, Manganese oxide MnO Vanadium oxide . VzO Chromium oxide . CreO Calcium oxide eee? kee Magnesium oxide MgO Alkalis K.O and Na,O Phosphoric acid P.O Sulphur ; Ss ; Carbon dioxide COs. Carbonaceous matte! Combined water Total iron Fe Titanium ... Ti Manganese Mn Vanadiun ‘ cee Chromium oo oe Nickel . . ne Phosphorus ce Iron Mountain Ore Containing Only Traces of Titanium, Mag nified 20 Diameters, Showing Light Grains of Ilmenité Dark Ones of Magnetite The high titanium content as well as the high quality of the ore is evident from this analysis which is said to represent fairly the great mass 0 the ore of the district under investigation. The titanium in the large titaniferous deposits of New York State at Sanford Hill exists in the ore principally as the mineral ilmenite, which }s non-magnetic. The more normal ores of this dis- trict, the Iron Mountain ore in particular, owned by Witherbee, Sherman & Co., contain very little ilmenite or titanium in any other form, This 1s ™ ore which has been used in the charges with te Sanford Hill ore in the experiments. An illuminat- ing comparison of these two important ores 1s tur nished by some of the photomicrographs, prepare by the Titanium Alloy Mfg. Company, Niagar Falls, N. Y., which illustrate this article. The re tive amounts of ilmenite are shown comparative 936 te »2, 1914 rtion of white grains in the respective ynhotographs of the ores. PARATION OF THE CONCENTRATES rinal plan of the MacIntyre Iron Com- for the concentration of the ore at the r this purpose a modern magnetic con- as erected. This plant was only partially and ultimately had to be abandoned in the es of the undertaking owing to its in- in design to the work intended. It is that each brand of ore, whether titan- fey otherwise, requires a concentrator es- ' odified and designed to do the most effi- ( rk. Nevertheless, the concentrator at the Sant Hill mine turned out a considerable amount trates which were used in the charges in July. es the concentrates made by the MacIntyre ly npany, others were produced by some of the concentrators of Witherbee, Sherman & Co. The i000 tons of ore, which was mined several years an analysis of which has already been given, was concentrated by the No. 2 concentrator f Witherbee, Sherman & Co. with excellent results. re had been stored for some years at North Delaware & Hudson Railroad. To bring it to this point it had been hauled to the end f t tate road near Newcomb, N. Y., by wagons r logging locomotives. It was stored there until the snow disappeared and then shipped by auto trucks to North Creek. The distance covered was (‘reek n the 12 miles on snow and 18 ,by auto truck. Its trans- portation from North Creek to Mineville was by rail. An analysis of the concentrates made from this ore is given in Table 2. Owing to the destruc- tion by fire of Nos. 2 and 3 concentrators of Wither- bee, Sherman & Co., the other two, Nos. 1 and 4, were used to produce concentrates enough to supply The product produced by No. 1 con- is given also in the table. The new lern concentrator, No, 4, at the Barton Hill mine produced a cencentrate of about 13 to 13.50 per cent. tanium oxide and 55 per cent. iron. tne turnace. entrator Concentrates of Titaniferous Iron Ore. No. 2 No. 1 concentrator concentrator W. 8S. & Co W.S.&Co Concentrator of MacIntyre Iron Co. Per cent Per cent. Per cent octane een 4.11 56.47 55.95 54.82 = 2.50 2.35 2.55 2.70 Trace 0.004 0.003 0.004 \ 0.17 0.20 0.18 0.22 A1,0O 4.60 3.68 3.98 4.98 } 0.45 0.45 0.12 0.15 MgO .. «oe 0.95 1.62 1.87 Acid, TiO. .13.78 11.83 11.80 13.98 1 Oxide, VO, 0.629 0.415 0.40 0.546 | Oxide, NiO.... 0.350 0.052 0.049 0.0475 r, § 0.054 0.137 0.119 0.137 Cr,O,.. 0.123 Trace 0.244 0.280 rom these analyses it is evident that the degree neentration varies, depending somewhat on the entrator used. The best product came from the ‘o. & concentrator of Witherbee, Sherman & Co., where the content of titanium oxide was brought inder 12 per cent., whereas in the other t was scarcely under 14 per cent. The results lave demonstrated that there are many points to be | in the designing and manipulation of a con- or in order to produce an ore low in titanium e contribute more materially to the success melting. PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENTS plan adhered to in conducting the experi- smelting the ores was to commence with a t one-sixteenth titaniferous ore. After a ‘run on such a charge, the titanium ore was ncreased to one-eighth, then to three-six- to one-quarter and to five-sixteenths. The THE IRON AGE 937 balance of the ore charged consisted, of course, of the regular normal ore of the district. The first charges were made on February 3, 1914, when one- sixteenth was used until February 6, or three days. Then the charge was increased to one-eighth. This 2 4 Samples « lror or Titaniferous Ore ( 1) Polishe t 1 Mag filed Two Diameters Light Grains Are I)lmenite d Darl Ones Are Maenetite was continued for seven days, to 16. During this 10-day period, foundry iron was made. The only trouble experienced during these 10 days was an excessively fluid slag, appearing principally when one-eighth was the charge. But even then there were only a few breakouts due to this fluidity. The analysis of the foundry iron made during this period, where one-eighth was used, is given in the following average range of five casts: or from February 6 dry Pig Iro Wade When One-eighth Titanium Ore Was Charged Silico: Si :.000 1.850 > 500 2 000 2.700 Sulphur Ss 0.027 0.035 0.021 0.021 0.015 Phosphorus P 1.622 0.609 0.620 0.642 0.650 Manganese Mr 0.440 0.480 0.500 0.410 0.320 Titanium i: 0.494 0.500 0.59 0.569 0.599 Vanadium Vv« 0.058 0.062 0.067 0.07 0.069 Gr. Carbon, G.C 3.280 3.230 3.390 . 70 3.470 Com. Carbon C.C. 0.510 0.540 0.370 0.250 0.230 Total Carbon T.C. 3.790 3.770 3.760 3.820 3.700 Chromium Co 6.038 0.035 0.039 0.036 0.038 Analyses of the Slag Produced at the Same Time Ran About as Follows Per cer Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent Silica, SiOQ,..... 31.70 29.60 13.00 31.90 0.90 Alumina, Al,O, & Iron Oxide, FeO 14.90 14.9¢ 15.36 ] ) 15.10 Titanium, TiO,. 3:00 £04 1.6 0 > 70 Sulphur, 8S... 1.60 2.05 1.75 1.40 2.05 Lime, Cao 10.30 Magnesia, MgO 9.21 The pig iron made on a charge of one-sixteenth titanium ore differed very little from the above, nor was there any appreciable difference in the working of the furnace. The pig iron was normal in every respect. Operations, using titanium ore, after February 16 were abandoned owing to the failure of the con- centrator at Sanford Hill mine and the delay in ar- ranging for concentrates made at the concentrators of Witherbee, Sherman & Co. On June 3, experi- mental operations were resumed, the furnace in the meantime having been operated on the regular ores of the district. The variation in the charges and the periods of operations were as follows: June 3 to June 5—One-eighth titaniferous ores June 5 to June 9—Three-sixteenths titaniferous ores June 9 to June 20—One-fourth titaniferous ores June 20 to July 31—Five-sixteenths titaniferous ores * 938 THE IRON AGE During this run of nearly two months malleable iron only was made. The following figures give some analyses of the iron made during each varia- tion in charge: Malleable pig iron made when one-eighth (%) titanium ore was charged: Per cent. Per cent. Per cent Silicon, Si..... i. a 1.10 0.90 0.80 Bulpher, G...60<0. ~ . 0.023 0.025 0.027 Phosphorus, P...... eee 0.174 0.166 Manganese, Mn... . 0.52 0.42 0.47 Tene, “Tass ss Peer ee ek. 0.468 0.436 Vanadium, Va..... es tlt 0.048 0.048 Analyses of the slag made at this time showed a per- centage of titanium oxide (TiO.) from 2.58 to 4.68 and of sulphur from 1.55 to 1.70 per cent. This slag con- tained about 31 to 34 per cent. of silica (SiO,) and 10 to 11 per cent. of alumina and iron oxide (AI,O, +- FeO). Malleable pig iron made when three-sixteenths (3/16) titanium ore was charged: Per cent. Per cent. Per cent Silicon, Si.. 0.95 1.05 0.77 Sulphur, S...... a . 0.023 0.038 0.029 Phosphorus, P. . . 0.165 0.176 0.152 Manganese, Mn..... se Gon 0.48 0.47 Titanium, Ti..... . 0.574 0.394 0.493 Vanadium, Va...... jak a occ 0.058 0.071 Analyses of the slag showed a percentage of titan- ium oxide (TiO,) from 2.96 to 3.22 and of sulphur from 1.75 to 1.85 per cent. This slag contained about 29 to 30 per cent. silica (SiO,) and 7.50 to 10 per cent. alumina and iron oxide (AI,O,; -+ FeO). Malleable pig iron made when one-quarter (%4) titanium ore was charged: Per cent. Per cent Per cent Per cent Silicon, Si.. . 0.95 1.00 1.30 1.35 a ae ee eee 0.025 0.023 0.029 0.015 Phosphorus, P 0.132 0.196 0.176 0.290 Manganese, Mn.... 0.53 0.68 0.59 0.21 yy TC a . 0.628 0.449 0.332 0.395 Vanadium, Va..... 0.066 0.066 0.080 0.080 Analyses of the slag showed a percentage of titanium oxide (TiO,) from 5.65 to 7.10 and of sulphur from 1.65 to 1.80. This slag contained about 30 to 34 per cent. silica (SiO,) and 10.74 to 13.75 per cent. alumina and oxide of iron (AI,0; + FeO). Malleable pig iron made when five-sixteenths (5/16) titanium ore was charged: October 29. 1914 34 further augmented it. There was mo: to high sulphur than with a charge ‘eo dolomite and calcite. in general, observations of slag t: averaged about 150 deg. F. higher than with yop. titanium ores, though temperature observation. previous to this were not entirely dependable | tendency and r Pept ey perat ures was observed that sulphur can be higher jy : titanium slag without as much sulphur going jpt, the iron as compared with ordinary practice: ; may be that titanium in this case is not as active an acid as silicon. A comparison of furnace practice and conditions when working with ordinary Port Henry concep. trates and when using portions of titanium ores jg furnished in Tables 3 and 4, the figures for the former being based on operations in May, whey normal Witherbee-Sherman ores were used, and for the latter on those in June and July, when the titap. ium mixtures were run. According to the common belief, high fuel consumption usually attends the use of titanium in the furnace, but the data here presented shows this not to have been the case jp these experiments. SOME PROPERTIES OF THE PIG IRON Some of the pig iron produced during these ex. perimental runs has been sold to various consumers but very few results had been reported at the time these data were collected as to the effect the titan- ium content may have on the metal made from it As a rule, in iron foundry practice, it has been found thus far that thesuse of the titanium foun- dry iron will carry more scrap without chilling on the same silicon and produce a softer casting. The castings are also reported as being slightly stronger. When about 20 per cent. of this new iron is used to replace ordinary iron in a cast, tests on regular 1%4-in. square bars have shown an increase in strength of from 465 to 575 Ib. as tested by the Titanium Alloy Mfg. Company. Taking irons of varying silicon content and comparing them with Table 3—Furnace Data When Operating on Normal Ores Per cent. Per cent Per cent First Second Third Last! a ee eee ee ree 0.70 1.70 week week week days Sulphur, S...... ... 0,036 0.041 0.03 in in in I Phosphorus, P... .. 0.168 0.112 0.138 Foundry iron May May May Ma Manganese, Mn -+++ 0.50 0.42 0.40 oe. eee 64.13 63.13 63.15 60.0 Titanium, Ti........ 0.494 0.34 0.456 Coke per ton ofiron,Ib ..... 2,269 2,336 2,328 2,781 Vanadium, Va......... 0.108 0.106 0.114 Stone per ton of iron, Ib... 172 807 964 ] ; Limestone, per cent of ore _ a Se Analyses of the slag showed a percentage of titan- chergen soa nen ee 22.10 22.70 27 39 36.8 . -< .¢ ' ‘ ¢ Cu. ft. of wind per ton of fuel 55.6 53.7 5 § ium oxide (TiO,) from 9.02 to 10.21 per cent. and of = otal make ian, tons... 1,602 1.636 1,611 1,881 Table 4—Furnace Data When Operating on Titanium Mictures. First Second Third Last 9 First Second Third Last! week week week days week week week days in in in in in in in in Malleable iron June June June June July July July July® TiGiG' POF COME. 6 nic vew'sc-0 cctewun ce Se See 55.55 57.52 59.16 57.34 63.40 66 23 Coke, per ton of iron, Ib.. jen Sista sei a ico ale 2,260 2,403 2,255 2,365 2,246 2,354 2,453 2,272 Stone per ton of iron, Ib.... S esa cita aoa io: eee eee 987 942 810 865 1,017 8? Limestone, per cent. of ore charged oe ble wets ee 24.40 24.20 21.30 29210 28.7 26.4 Cu. ft. of wind per ton of fuel... ia woh elo leu ee 63.00 63.20 61.80 66.30 57.4 62. Total make of trom, TOW. .... 65 6s beac ces cis wile seen Waite 1,511 1,415 1,369 1,688 1,466 1,287 1,383 1,74 *Stock in furnace deducted from materials charged. sulphur from 1.45 to 1.70 per cent. This slag contained about 25 to 30 per cent. silica (SiO,) and 12 to 15 per cent. alumina and iron oxide (AI.O; + FeO). FURNACE CHARGES AND PRACTICE From June 3 to 20 the charge contained *4 cal- cite and 4% dolomite; from June 20 to July 6, %2 calcite and 1% dolomite; from July 6 to July 16, 1, calcite and 34 dolomite, and from July 16 on, 1% calcite and 42 dolomite. The slags, when 34 cal- cite and 14 dolomite were charged, were slightly more fluid than the slags made with non-titanium ores, using % calcite and 1% dolomite, which had been standard practice. An increase to 144 dolomite slightly increased the fluidity, and an increase to the titanium product of the same silicon percentage, the latter was the stronger. The MacIntyre Iron Company made five casts of the titanium foundry iron and five casts of Bul- falo iron, each set of the same silicon content, 10! comparison. After each was melted independently, 50 per cent. of stove plate scrap was added. Bars made from these experimental casts showed the titanium-bearing iron to be the strongest, but te increase was not large. The chill on remelted Bul- falo iron with 2% per cent. silicon was practically the same as the titanium iron with 1.80 per cet silicon. Basic iron containing titanium is bei used by some of the steel companies to determin the effect, if any, on the product. el 22, 1914 rhe experiments have shown that the use of 25 or more of titanium concentrates in the harge renders it difficult to make an iron ¢ 2 per cent. or more of silicon. It can when only one-eighth of the charge is ti- onium ore. This is due to the fact that titanium silicon in the iron. The silicon in the iron one-half of the titanium content is about sue the silicon content of iron made from ordi- nary ores under like furnace conditions. It is, how- .. considered rather surprising that so much titanium remains in the iron. rhe furnace troubles that arose were unexpect- edly few. They were confined to a short period when slag appeared at the tuyeres too quickly after the cast was made; it would not settle into the hearth, or rather the tuyeres would not clear them- The conditions resembled a dirty hearth. On July 22 the first indications of hanging or slip- ping manifested themselves but they were not ex- No serious scaffolding took place during he run, and the slag was fluid and acidic, contrary to the general belief that the presence of titanium auses a thick and infusible slag. ner pe: les selves. esslve. - oxide FINAL CONDITION OF THE FURNACE The blowing out of the furnace took place on August 3. It was subsequent to September 1 that the Northern Iron Company cleared the hearth to n extent which enabled an examination of the in- terior. The reproduced drawing shows the hearth of the furnace, the solid line indicating the original brick work; the broken lines, the various layers of material found. This consisted, as can be seen, much more largely of cinder than of iron and graphite. Except in the outer layers graphite was notably absent. The result of the examination of the furnace is given in the words of the superintendent, F. E. Bachman, as follows: Nitrocyanide of titanium was looked for very care- y, but none could be found in any place with the exception of possibly a few copper-colored crystals which one of the foremen reported having seen in the ayer of fused brick in the extreme bottom. He, how-* ever, did not retain this so that the presence of this ompound in any portion of the hearth is uncertain. Samples of material from the various layers were submitted to the FitzGerald Laboratories, Niagara Falls, N. Y., with the request that they determine their meiting points. They reported as follows: First layer F., second layer 2570 deg. F., inner layer deg. F., outer layer 2498 deg. F. The temperature ‘ slag flowing from the furnace was observed during ‘ne run and found ranging from 2460 deg. to 2885 leg. F. These temperatures were read with an optical Pyrometer as the cinder flowed from the runner into the cinder ladles. 1 he condition of the furnace above the tuyeres was ‘olows: Beginning at the top, the top bricks were ‘ back a maximum of 8% in. and a minimum of 6% he inwall brick showed a wear of 4% in. maxi- bove the mantel. On the thin wall section from ‘to the top of the bosh where the lining was 13% in. thick of hearth and bosh quality ie bricks were cut back till practically none re- _ They were replaced on the upper 8 ft. with ‘| carbon coating ranging from 2% to 3% in. in _ Below the 8-ft. point this carbon coating ‘ly increased in thickness until at the top of the ‘was 6 in. This thickness was maintained until “ete ‘tely above the tuyeres where it gradually ; ) dee .8il deg 2642 > a t} i to the original 18 in. at the tuyere circle. Criginal thickness of the brick at the bosh was here, however, was a small section of the bosh '“Clately over the iron notch and above the Nos. 1 ‘= ‘uyeres, which had been banked, for a long time to blowing out, where the carbon coating THE IRON AGE 939 reached from 18 to 24 in. in thickness on the bosh walls. After blowing out, a distinct ring was noted at- tached to the carbon lining at a point 17 ft. above the tuyeres. This ring was 6 to 8 in. thick and about 1 ft. high. About 36 hours after the wind was off it fell with the exception of a section of about 5 ft. in length, breaking into coke and dust. This 5-ft. section seemed to have been attached to the carbon coating more | 53 — SC ero" . + 6% 4 | \ rt 4 rt } [riche ot ee ¥ 4 = : ~ & is : ay Oe ~~ mS! ) 2 aver Cind - 5 a ~ By ® fand « ~ Y > " a t N. = —_ “Tr Sew _ Cross-Section of the Hearth of the Furnace at Port Henry after the Run on Titaniferous Iron Ores. The Solid Lines Indicate the Original Brick Work The Dotted Lines, the Various Layers of Material as Found tightly. On its removal a smooth wall showed behind it. The furnace had been blown down to a level 3 ft. below the bottom of the ring referred to. From this point to the tuyeres some coke adhered to the carbon coating; on its removal a smooth wall was shown be- hind it. Whether or not this was in place before the furnace was blown out, I am not able to judge; in no place was it over 12 in. thick. This series of tests has excited wide attention among the blast furnace men of the country and visits to the plant from among those interested have been numerous. Waterbury’s Varied Products The Chamber of Commerce of Waterbury, Conn., has issued an interesting illustrated folder which sets forth the industrial importance of the locality. The folder gives especial attention to the great diversity of the industries of that city, which is chiefly known to fame because of its being the greatest center engaged in the manufacture of brass and copper goods. The slogan adopted by the Chamber of Commerce is “Waterbury Has Something on Everybody.” The reason for the adoption of this slogan is set forth in the following description of the varied character of Waterbury products: Brass ware, brass and copper rolled, bread and bakery goods, buttons of every description, carriages and wagons, electrical machinery and apparatus, foundry appliances and machinery, automatic machines of every description, hardware, etc., lumber, doors, casings and all kinds of dressed lumber, mattresses, spring beds, mineral and soda waters, printing and book-binding, sausages, stamped ware, silver and silver plated ware, tobacco and cigars, awnings, tents and sails, boot and shoe finding, boxes, fancy and paper, brass castings, brass finishing, clocks, Ingersoll watches, women’s clothing, confectionery, copper- smithing and steel and iron work, cutlery and edge tools, flour and grist mill products, gas and electric lamps, fixtures and chandeliers, grease and tallow, hosiery and knit goods, instruments (both measuring and recording), professional and scientific instruments, iron and steel forgings, lamps and reflectors, malt liquors, marble and stone, models and patterns, monu ments and tombstones, needles, pins, hooks and eyes, paint, patent medicines and compounds, rubber and elastic goods, soap, stationery, chemicals and acids, tools, upholstering materials, wire, wire rope and cable, insulated wires, seamless: and brazed copper, brass and German silver tubing, wood, turned and carved. 940 THE IRON STEEL ORE STOCKING TRESTLE* An Interesting Permanent Structure in the Lake Superior Iron District BY STUART R. ELLIOTTT Auli A comn I I etnod stock ny I I ore = t ‘ gravity system, extending the tracks on the pile of ore as it advances. The tracks are laid with suffi- cient grade to run the cars to the end of the pile The rs are brought back either 1 puffer or “ ; S rammers. F hi g i rge pr s sys re es WU nignt tne € tnere r : t The tracks are difficult and expensive t maint re kee n proper alignment. Delays hoisting are frequent and expensive Also where the available stocking roo s limited, often the gravity system cannot be considered. It has bee proved at mines of large production that it is more economical to erect wooden trestles and to use som¢ mechanical means of stocking. On the other hand, the cost each year for erecting and dismantling wooden trestles is heavy. With certain classes of re the yearly breakage in legs will amount to as en 1a ‘ 99 a + . . +, ] = ei (Ul + £ « nucn aS oo per cent. An actual record Kept Of a trestle at a large mine shows that in six years t a single stick of the original timber was in use. The price I tir er ana trest egs 18 steadli n- reasing ant t is only a matter t a limited time when legs w e difficult to procure at any price Ir 9UY, whe! t W as 1¢ ul uu ne .* ssar to SINK i new snalit t the Negaunee r € I began t ollect data in order to make s ary esti- mates as to the comparative st wood and stee Several sketc nes stee] tre = > were eu tte to J. F. Jackso1 f the Wis sin Bridge & Iro1 Companv wt nrer re } sname ecketrhec nd su a - Eg Ss g Aue S Neg ; AGE Octo! mitted approximate estimates for st Comparative estimates made from He aT al W make final drawings and to submit trestle, which were accepted and ths structed. nclusively that if a practicable stee! constructed, it would mean a lar 1y mine which had a life of 10 yr. isconsin Bridge & Iron Company) The average wooden trestles used land-Cliffs Iron Company cost approx ++ The cost for labor each year in ers amounts to $1.20 per ft., a stocking trestle has to be renewed in al A wooden trestle must be dismantled t« ith a steam shovel. A permanent steel trestle would provide against delays, as juld not have to be disturbed to load with stear Ww W shovels and it would therefore be possi! ore at any time. Ona steel trestle permanent ould be maintained in the best possible for stocking and the tracks being in perfect aug ment, no delays would be caused by cars fall For all of the above reason particularly on account of the large saving from the trestle. over a long period of years, it was decidec a