The Iron Age 1915-01-21: Vol 95 Iss 3

POPUDRODAUE LEE Re PUUUUEOUUREDEDU EE OORUEDEDEOEOUEREEEEESS AQVUADEOUUUEDSEUTL EET RU ESEL TEETER } ! LLL SOPANUNUNOEOEUONEAE Established 1855 New York, January 21, 1915 Plant with Heavy Tools on Concrete Piling The Mead-Morrison Mfg. Company’s Works in East Boston — Unusual! Roof Construction and Modern Details The new works of the Mead-Morrison Mfg. Com- pany, Boston, Mass., afford an opportunity for most instructive study by manufacturers who are plan- ning to erect new shops or to add to existing plants, especially if their product is of a heavy character. The Mead-Morrison Company manufactures coal and ore handling machinery, and many of its in- stallations are of the largest types. To do this The Saw Tooth Roof Over wi the machine shops must have a full equip- of heavy tools, as well as the usual lighter machinery. The plate and forge shops must be able to handle very heavy materials. There must ll conveniences of power, ineluding compressed and electricity and means of conveying the within the departments and from one depart- to another. All these and other features mi which tend toward economical and high-class pr duction are found in the company’s plant at East Boston. The equipment throughout essent modern. The difficulties that were overcome in prepar ing the site for buildings of this character are ve interesting. The land lay covered at each high tide. tidewater level a The location : hig i Monitor and Its Wings desirable, however, and it was considered while to convert the place into a good property. A siding from the East branch of the Boston & Albany Railroad was available, Boston harbor is hard by, insuring pleasant breezes in the hot weather, and no other buildings are close at hand, that no conflagration hazard ex The general neighborhood offers homes for w worth building Boston sO ists. ork- 179 180 THE IRON AGE January 21, 1915 a ween ’ a | a . \ t T 4 i Bll | ih = = he — _ x -~ 2s 2 T é ee ] tl as rt — a + ‘ : ib L 2A es =—s , ‘i : 7 ctinge Shop Stoc} kt HARACTER OF THE ROOF DESIGN OF THE MEAD-MORRISON WORKS men, which is a not unimportant factor, for in good jined shop and containing the machine s times more than 900 men wili be empioyed proper, the erecting floor and the stock-room; Consequently the land was filled in, a proc plate and forge shops, 120 x 300 ft.; and the powe: vhich is continually going on as space for future use, in which is located a battery of water-tul buildings is created. Concrete and sand piles were boilers, a turbine-driven generator and a powe! unk, with centers close together, and these sup air compressor, with space for future development port the floors independently of the ground be lhe company has plans for the erection of a p: neath them, so that any settling of the earth is of tern shop, 80 x 150 ft. in size, and beyond that no importance. The layout of all heavy machinery foundry, the details of which have not been dete: was carefully determined, and concrete foundations mined. The tract of land is large enough to pe were put in for all such equipment. The under mit of still other additions, when the business s|! lving support is hard pan, below the point wher require them. the action of water can have ai nfluenc Th (he main shop building is of exceedingly inte: results have been most satisfactory. Steam, wate esting construction, as will be seen in the illustra und compressed air pipes and the electric cables are tions. The structure is notably well lighted, th carried in a 30-in. pipe, extending beneath the floors proportion of window space being very great. The from a pit in the power house through the entire sawtooth roof is employed in a somewhat unusual length of the buildings The laying of this pipe manner, in that it surmounts not only the main proved a very difficult task, because of the presence crane bay of the machine shop, but also each of th of water, but the result is one of great convenience. wings. The sawteeth are of exceptionally long Manholes at intervals give free access to the pipe angles. The engineers made some careful tests 4 for repairs or changes. and believe that they have achieved the maximum : The plant as it exists at the present time con of uniform illumination by the proportions em sists of a two-story office building, 50 x 100 ft. in ployed. : plan, a building 215 x 300 ft., known as the com The wing of the main building next to the office ee The Erecting Floor of the Mead-Morrison Plant, with Stock- Room at the Right 21, 1915 GENERAL SCHEME OF THE ted to the storage of materials and parts are ready to enter into the assembling ot The smaller parts are kept in a long steel racks, the alcoves for brass being pro with doors, which are locked to prevent pil Heavier pieces, such gears, drums, ves and shafts are stored on the floor. A run- nventory is maintained throughout this de ent. Between the stock-room and the erecting s a row of benches for the convenience of the In these departments the handling of pieces is done by two 10-ton cranes. The nder of this building, having a width of 120 given over to the machine shops. The crane is complete throughout, and an indus railroad connects the departments. In the er of the combined shop is the tool room where stand and special tools are given out, and where all special jigs, fixtures and tools are made. The great building devoted to the forge and plate departments notable for its equipment. The arrangement of the forges with their exhaust is shown in one of the illustrations on page The balcony, which extends along one side of structure, will be used for the template depart- ery. as men. ent is system 182 TY The Main Crane Bay of the Machine Shop, Covered by THE IRON L181 AGE MEAD-MORRISON WORKS ment. The railroad siding passes through the end of both the main building and the plate shop, an space is also provided for the passage of vehicles All materials are delivered at this end tne nop, and thence distributed. The siding also serves the coal pocket of the boiler house. The use of compressed air has been brought a high degree of efficiency in the Mead-Morris works. Every column has its valve. Rather novelty is the doing away with tanks in connect with the compressor. Instead, the air 1s cor veyed through 347 ft. of 4-in. galvanized iron pipe and thence through reduced the valves Experience has proved that tl 1 length ¢ large pipe affords ample storage ihe shop é a complete equipment for the testin; f the chinery which they manufacture The shop offices in one corner of the machine shop are partitioned off by steel walls, which are painted a dull green, and present a most attractiv These rooms include the appearance has complete nospitai whi equipment tor the care of emergency A large economy of space the Cases. ecured by plac flog ing the lockers for on top of the toilet room, as shown on page men on a mezzanine Tooth Roof Saw 182 THE IRON AGE January 21, 1515 The Forge Department, Mead-Morrison Works, Showing Ex \ haust System War Revives Machinery Exports ' The statistics of the Bureau of Foreign and Do- mestic Commerce, Department of Commerce, bearing on the exportation of metal-working machinery, includ- ing machine tools, sets forth in a striking manner the slp gt t M etal-W Machine From J ) JUN} Jur ; 1913 1914 191 1914 19 I rance $137. BOF $106.51 $93 206 $52. 876 $207.96 Germany 212,197 118,514 231,122 121, 75¢ 234,459 United Kingdon 323 074 309 S18 312,635 264,511 348 , 830 Other Europe 287 , 224 510, 671 312,875 256,486 504 , 706 4 Canada 199 320 66, 652 157 , 333 50,968 178, 147 Other countri 133,210 167,64 100. 266 63.650 101.818 Total $1,292,721 $1,079,810 $1,207,527 $810,247 $1,375,923 } : tei 4 ee A, a 44 + i A Mezzanine Floor for Lockers, Over the Toilet : t growth of such exports with the progress of the F pean war. It is demonstrated also that prior to thy war the exportation of machinery was _ ste dwindling until the climax came in August, when the exports to all countries totaled but $298,259, ag $1,375,923 in the same month of 1913. At that time. of course, shipping the world over was held up. [\ spite the increase in exporting, which the war de veloped, the figures for 11 months of 1914 are $1,799. 593 less than those for 1913 and $903,204 less than t for 1912, as set forth in the following table: Exports of Metal-Working Machinery for Eleven Mo 1912, 1913 and 1914. 1912 1913 19 France . . $1,358,799 $1,801,234 $1,44 yermany aie 2,871,972 2,579,508 *1,08¢ United Kingdon 2,747,882 3,218,852 4,246,174 Other Europe 3,030,353 3,441,502 3,10 Canada v a : 1,632,496 1,810,352 TI Other countries 1,570,751 1,357,194 1,82 Total $13,212,253 $14,208,642 $12,409 *For seven months, ending with July No exports to Germany are shown in August, Sep tember, October and November, and the December fig ures are not yet available. The United Kingdom, al ways a good buyer of American-made machine tools and machinery, was particularly a heavy purchaser i: October and November, 1914, while France more thar doubled her purchases in those months in comparisor with the same months in the preceding year. The larger table given herewith compares the exports of June, July, August, September, October and November, 1914, with those of the same months of 1913. The total exports to all countries in March, 1913, had a valuation of $1,477,635 and in March, 1914, of $1,075,896; in April, 1913, $1,439,634, against $1,308,821 in April, 1914, and in May, 1913, $1,387,278, against $1,235,590 in May, 1914. 13a 1914 Inciuding Metal-Workir Machine T.0's SEPTEMBER UcTOBER NOVEMBEE 14 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 $9,247 $198,642 $40,664 $120,089 $251,244 $132,648 $355, 809 115,590 214,611 148 ,050 183 , 606 255,670 312,693 322, 105 899,610 115,870 1,034,432 13,753 303 , 052 27 ,920 346,855 862,704 232 ,492 287 , 94 41,639 104,914 54,173 103 , 333 23 ,034 69 , 230 26,279 50,014 103 , 738 114,656 311,584 73,805 110,997 166,615 $298,259 $1,081,606 $550,106 $1,418,577 $2,110,397 $809,287 $1,871,171 Room in the Mead-Morrison Works 1915 ry 21, Sheet Working Machinery Clutch new special type of clutch for use on sheet working machinery has been brought out by the Canton Foundry & Machine Company, Canton, O} It is designed for use on squaring shears, Special Clutch That Has Been Developed for Use on Shear- Machines, Brakes, Presses and Various Other Types of Sheet Metal Working Machinery double-end punching shears, brakes, presses and power edgers, and is being placed on the different types of sheet metal working machinery made by this company. The clutch is quick and positive in action and is claimed to add the element of safety in the operation of the machine on which it is used. It is simple in construction and designed for long wear, not having parts that are likely to give out. At the side of the clutch block or sliding clutch member, which is on a sliding shaft, there is a lug which engages with a notcher on the boss or clutch bearing on the side frame, when the clutch is thrown out. The clutch is thrown in by pressing down on a foot treadle, which is held down until the lug is disengaged from the notcher and a quarter revolu- tion made and the sliding clutch member becomes engaged with that on the gear wheel by four teeth on the clutch members. As the sliding clutch mem- ber rotates, the lug rides around on the face of the boss until it has made a complete revolution. Then actuated by a spring, acting on a bell crank lever which is connected to a yoke in the moving clutch member, the moving clutch is automatically thrown out of engagement with the member on the gear wheel, the lug being reseated in the notcher, bring- ng the shaft to a stop. All parts of the clutch are + ast iron, except the yoke, which is a forging. Life-Saving in Steel Works The monthly Bulletin of the American Iron and Steel tute refers to the growing disposition on the part oth employers and employees to act well their parts safeguarding against accidents. It is stated that as result of this intelligent co-operation the number of iccidents in iron and steel works is constantly decreas- ing and preventable human suffering is thus being creatly reduced. The figures for recent years show ‘hat the Illinois Steel Company has reduced its number idents by 70 per cent.; the Inland Steel Company per cent., and the Jones & Laughlin Steel Com- by 71 per cent., while in the United States Steel oration the rate of reduction has been such that t+ men have been saved from serious injury or since 1906, THE IRON ZK AGE l Pipe Threading Die for Screw Machines A new die for threading pipe on hand and auto- matic screw machines and turret lathes of any type on which pipe threads are cut has been brought out by the National-Acme Mfg. Company, Cleveland, Ohio. This die is not intended to supplant the special dies used on various types of machines built for pipe threading, but rather as an im- provement over the button and spring dies used on turret machines on which duplicate parts re- quiring a pipe thread are made in quantities. The die is made on the spring die principle but inserted chasers are used and the die is held on a shank instead of in a holder like a standard spring die. The use of inserted chasers, requires, of course, that the die body be considerably larger in diameter than that of the standard spring die of equal cutting size. The prongs of the body are therefore very wide with plenty of metal to give stiffness under cutting strains. The prongs are broached for the chasers which extend back into the body only far enough to accommodate the longest pipe thread likely to be cut. The chasers are held in position in the slots by shoulder screws and dowel pins, the former passing through the body and seating the chasers solidly in the bottoms of the slots. The dowel pins are fixed into the body and fit into the holes of the chasers, to relieve the screws of end thrust. The chasers are accurately hobbed and cleared to cut freely. The shank is furnished rough or finished to fit the turret hole of any machine. The large or. die end of the shank has a free fit in the die body to allow the die to center itself on the work should the work be rough or not quite true. A heavy dog point screw passing through the die body into the shank and held by a counter-sunk hexagon nut, furnishes the drive between the die body and the shank. Adjustment of cutting size is obtained 4 New Die That Has Been De veloped for Thre Hand nd Automatic Screw Machines and Turret Lathes The Special Features of This Dic Are the Use of Inserted Chasers and the Holding of the Dies or Sha through the clamp collar, which is of an improved pattern. Four bearing surfaces are provided in the clamp collar to bear directly on the prongs, the stock between these bearing surfaces being cut away. It is claimed that this clamp collar gives a much truer and more uniform adjustment than the old type of clamp collar. The Pinney & Boyle Company, 1325 Palmetto street, Los Angeles, Cal., is completing a new plant at Vernon, a suburb. The structure is of steel and fireproof con- struction and contains 90,000 sq. ft. of floor space, about double the present capacity of the company’s buildings. It will be used for the manufacture of the present lines, including special tinware, sheet-iron products, gasoline pumps, etc. The present equipment of the company will be removed to this plant about February 1, and no large amount of new equipment is contemplated for the next few months. AN ANCHORED AIRSHIP Structural Amusement Device for Pacific Fair Weighing 620 Tons An anchored airship known as the Aeroscope, will be one of the conspicuous amusement features of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco. It is the invention of J. B. Strauss, of the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, Chicago. From the top of a steel tower 60 ft. in diameter at the base and 50 ft. high, extends a counter-bal- . anced arm 240 ft. long, which is manipulated in the same general way as a modern single-leaf bas- cule bridge, and at the outer end of the arm is a suspended car holding 120 persons and the whole contrivance rotates, the tower resting on wheels which travel a circular track. The object is to give the passengers a birdlike gliding sensation. Panama- eee Part of a New An ement Device Developed for the P tural Steel. The Structure Required 320 Tons of Stee The entire device is constructed of steel, even to the furnishings of the passenger car, and 640,000 Ib. of steel is required. The contract for fabrica- tion was let to the Modern Steel Structural Com- pany, Waukesha, Wis., early in June, 1914. Work was begun early in July by the George H. Griffin Company, Seattle, Wash., the contractor for the construction. A circular foundation of rock ballast, 70 ft. in diameter and 2 ft. thick was made to support a number of heavy wooden ties. A 90-lb. rail, forming a circle 61 ft. in diameter, was placed on these ties and the structure is supported by eight trucks, spaced at equal intervals. The 50-ft. tower, pyramidal in form, was built directly over the trucks and at a point 35 ft. from ; the ground, the sides of the pyramid make a sharper angle toward the apex, for the main trunnion bearings on which the arm rises and falls. These bearings consist of opposite cylindrical projections from the sides of the arms, forming an axis about which the arm is turned in a vertical plane. The arm is 215 ft. from this trunnion bearing to a similar one, from which the car is pivoted, and is built of heavy steel shapes. The opposite end of the ‘. arm extends 30 ft. on the other side of the main a THE IRON AGE January 21, 1915 trunnions, and carries a solid block of cor weighing 600,000 Ib., which is calculated to scrye as a counterbalance for the weight of the ong arm and the fully loaded car at its extremity. The car is two stories high and measures 19 « 33 ft. in plan. The sides of the car have large } lat, glass windows, and an unobstructed view is secure from each seat. The doors are of steel and be securely locked before the car can ascend, t} locking of the doors automatically completing the circuit which furnishes current to the operati; motors. As soon as the car has been raised fi- ciently to clear the adjoining buildings, two 15-h; motors, which are connected to the eight trucks are started and give the car the gliding effect The arm is raised by two 11-hp. motors in conne tion with a series of gears, the last of which mes! with a semi-circular rack, the slow movement this gear on the rack corresponding exactly wit} Ul ss i 2 bh) nternational ‘ Exposition Constructed Entirely of Str There Is a Concrete Counterweight Weighing 300 T« the motion of the arm. Automatic stops are pro- vided in case the mechanism should become de- ranged, and the whole structure is evenly balanced, so that it can be lowered by human power, thus doing away with the likelihood of a carload o! passengers making an enforced stay of hours in the air at a hight say of 265 ft. Propellers assist the motors in raising the arn The propeller blades, measuring 8 ft. from tip t tip, are located 27 ft. down the arm from the car and travel parallel with it, two 3-hp. motors being used to operate them. To keep the car in a vertical position at all times, a pipe-toggle system, consisting of two steel pipes, 3'o in. in diameter and extending from the tower along the sides of the arm to the car, was con- ceived. The ends of these pipes turn in journal bearings secured to the car and tower, and these four points form a parallelogram which maintains the car in a vertical position. To provide for the varying weight of the passengers, water ballast is employed, self-regulating valves controlling the amount of water used. When the car is entirely filled the tanks empty automatically, but if the loa¢ in the car should be 500 Ib. short of the maximum several uary 21, 1915 THE IRON AGE 185 int, the gauge would indicate that fact and valve would admit that amount of water and ‘lose. These tanks rest just above water pipes patented valves which, when they come in tact with the correct protrusion, open and admit proper amount of water. Portable Shaft Keyseating Machine fo enable keyseats to be milled in the ends or dle of shafting without removing it from the gers or boxes, a motor-driven machine has been ight out by John T. Burr & Son, 429 Kent Machine for Cutting Keyseats Which Is Clam} Shaft That Is To Be Machined, Thus Ay e It Removal from the Journal Boxe enue, Brooklyn, N. Y. The machine is portable | can be taken directly to the work to be done. a development of the builder’s portable hand erated machine which has been on the market for me time. The capacity of the machine is key ts 12 in. long, in shafts having a maximum diam ter of 5 in. A rolling support is provided under the cutter id at all times to enable the machine to operate thout jar or chatter and produce keyseats with traight sides and smooth bottoms. Automatic feed provided for use while cutting, and this can be eased at any predetermined point by an auto- atic trip. The feed screw has a squared end, and resetting the machine after the completion of a the feed is tripped and the screw turned with all handle provided for the purpose. The feed is of bronze and can readily be replaced from ck. The worm in the feeding mechanism is of teel and drops entirely out of mesh when the auto- atic trip operates. Lifting the ball handle on the | of the worm spindle serves to re-engage the eed. Two clamp heads are employed to hold the chine firmly to the shaft that is being keyseated. ie of these carries a feed nut and always remains k of the main or cutter head which is fed along shaft as the cut progresses, the roller binder ng tightened only sufficiently to take up the jar the cut. A removable outboard bearing is provided for cutter arbor, and the cutters are centrally located an-expansion collar placed between the main or collar and the cutter. The equipment of the hine includes a set of cutters, and by using one more of them simultaneously keyseats ranging \, to 11% in. in width may be milled, the varia- + y tion between any two combinations of cutters being 1/16 in. The main head and slide are machine finished and scraped, and an adjustable gib fastens the two parts together. The gears and the worm wheel are cut from the solid, and the cutter slide has an adjustable gauge showing the depth of ke seat being milled. The following table gives the principal dimer sions and specifications of the machine: M M Nu x Net a Motors for almost any standard voltage of direct or alternating current are furnished with the ma chine, the current required for operation being taker from the nearest lamp socket through a flexible cord and screw plug. The motor is mounted on a platform, which is bolted to the cutter slide, and transmits power to the spindle through a train of gears that is entirely protecte 1 DV a Cast-Iron case An Automatic Feed Water Regulator The McDonough Automatic Regulator Compan) Detroit, Mich., is manufacturing an automatic feed water regulator of the thermostatically controlled type. It is designed to secure a continuous feed and to vary automatically the amount of water fed to the boiler in proportion to the load. The rate of the feed is proportional to the evaporation and a pra tically constant water level is claimed to be main tained for light and uniformly varying loads. Sud den increases in the load, accompanied by a result ing rapid drop in the water level, do not, it is pointed out, cause the regulator valve to open suddenly and admit a large quantity of water into the boiler, there is a time element in the expansion of the tubes operating the valve which uniformly increases the amount of water fed. This arrangement is calcu lated to allow the immediate furnace heat to be used for the evaporation of the water already in the boiler and not for heating a quantity of cold water The regulator comprises two headers and two expansion tubes connected in parallel through a set of rigid links to the stem of the feed valve. As indicated in the accompanying drawing, the lower ends of the tubes are filled with water and the upper with steam under ordinary operating conditions Changes in the water level in the boiler produce corresponding variations in the regulator tubes and present a greater or less portion of the tube surface to the hot steam, causing them to expand or con tract accordingly. The inclined position of the regu- lator is to give maximum variation in exposed tube surface for a given variation in water level and corresponding sensitiveness to variations in load Views of : New Feed Water Regulat wit) Autor ‘ Thermostat Control Showing the Complete De 186 THE IRON AGE January 21, 191 * Bn a GPE EE Ps iene, mation ee Ri’ wee? iid le eA > = beer a Pe X-RAY INSPECTION OF STEEL A Novel Application in the Detection of Holes in Castings An article by Dr. Wheeler P. Davey, of the re- search laboratory of the General Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y., in the General Electric Review, describes the most recent commercial application of the X-ray in part as follows: Possibly the question of observing the pipe in a steel ingot by the use of the X-ray, thereby being able to determine just where the ingot should be sired shape and thickness. The amount still to taken from the faces was not more than 1% in. ar in some places was only 1/16 in., but when this wa removed it was found that some small imperfection had been cut into. These extended over an are: about five inches long and one and one-half inche wide. The mechanical department at once chisele away a part of the surface at this point, and ther sent the casting to the research laboratory to de termine if, by means of an X-ray examination, might be possible to reveal still other hidden blow holes or imperfections. A Coolidge tube, especially made for use on high voltages, was set up in front of that part of the cast ee SS Fig Radiograph of a Steel Casting Showing Flaw in the Later Punched cropped may seem still somewhat removed, at least in so far as commercial applications are concerned. There is no inherent impossibility in the process, however. It is the object of this article to describe in detail what has already been done in the way of an X-ray examination of a certain steel casting of which suspicion had been aroused as to its homo- geneity when in the machine shop. The original casting was 2% in. thick and weighed about a ton. When received at the Sche- nectady Works of the General Electric Company it had been machined down to approximately the de- Center of the Casting The Circle Shows Where a Piece Was from the Casting the Casting Fig View of the Edge of the nched Out sutton Opposite to That Shown in oO eo | lI 5 where the imperfections had been found. An yy 10-in. Seed X-ray plate was mounted immedi- ately behind the casting and the plate was backed by a large sheet of lead. The distance from the source of X-ray to the plate was 20 in. The tube was excited by an induction coil with a mercury-turbine interrupter. The current through the tube was 1.25 milliamperes and the potential across the termi- nals of the tube corresponded to that sufficient to break down a 15-in. spark gap between needle points. The X-ray plate was exposed two minutes. At the place where the radiograph was taken, the iary 21, 1915 hed casting was about nine-sixteenths of an inch The radiograph obtained is shown in Fig. 1. asting was then moved eight inches and an- er radiograph made. In this way a number of exploratory radiographs were taken through dif- nt points of the casting. \ll the radiographs showed plainly the tool narks on the surface of the casting. All but one showed peculiar markings which were of such shape as to strongly suggest that they were indeed the pic- tures of holes in the interior. In the words of the surgeon, it was decided “to confirm the diagnosis y making an exploratory incision.” A circular piece, one inch in diameter, was punched from the casting at a point where one of the radiographs in- dicated that a blow hole should be found. (Location of sample shown by circle on Fig. 1.) Fig. 2 shows that the surface of the casting was entirely free from blow holes at the point where the button was removed. Figs. 3 and 4 show the ends of the hole in the button. This has proved, then, that with the proper X- ray exposure blow holes or cavities may be disclosed in apparently solid metal of considerable thickness. A careful comparison of the X-ray photograph and the button photographs leads to the conclusion that very small air inclusions are made visible; and the fact that the tool marks are plainly visible on the X-ray plate confirms this fact. Such studies point to the desirability of great care in metal casting where imperfections, ordi- narily invisible, are of great danger, and where X-ray analysis or some other method is not used to check them. NOVEMBER FOREIGN TRADE Value of Iron and Steel Exports Less Than for October—Tonnage Imports Increase The gain in the value of the exports of iron and steel and manufactures thereof shown by the reports of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce for the months of September and October, 1914, was not maintained in November. These amounts, which rose from $10,428,774 in August to $16,445,832 in October, have fallen off slightly to $15,689,401 for November, a oss of 4.6 per cent. from the previous month and only ibout 78 per cent. of the total value for November, 1913. The value of the iron and steel and manufactures there- f imported in November, 1914, was $2,157,450, against 52,069,433 in October and $2,495,093 in November, 1913. The total values of exports of iron and steel and manufactures thereof in the 11 months ended with No- ember, 1914, was $184,922,071, against $271,818,459 in the corresponding period of 1913; while figures for im- ports were respectively $27,104,666 and $30,787,211. The exports for which quantities are given continue ‘0 approach the shipments for similar months in 1913. "hese amounted to 41.3 per cent. in August, 45.3 per t. in September, 66.8 per cent. in October and 79.8 cent. in November of the quantities exported in esponding months in 1913. While the November egregate was only 140,752 gross tons as compared th 147,293 tons in October, large gains were made in iron, wire rods, wire nails, galvanized iron sheets, teel plates and barb wire. The gains were: Pig iron, -4 gross tons to 10,139 tons; barb wire, 15,130 tons 1,791 tons; wire rods, 5716 tons to 7110 tons and seshoes, 905 tons to 1263 tons. Steel-rail exports pped off sharply from 22,057 tons in October to tons in November, and steel sheets exported were 9741 tons as against 10,003 tons in October. The ‘| value of iron and steel exports for which tonnages given was $5,782,134 in November, 1914, as against ‘37,007 in November, 1913. The average value per of these exports was $41.08 in November, 1914, as pared with $38.95 in November, 1913. * THE IRON AGE i o ¢ -) Details of the exports of these tonnage commodities in November and the 11 months ended with November, compared with the same periods of the previous calen dar year, are as follows: I rports os Iron and Steel November Kleve Months 1914 L913 19i4 L¥l. Gross Gross Gross (ross tons tons tons tons Pig iron 10,139 18,353 107,677 252,208 Scrap 1,334 11,334 1,62 89,740 jar iron 462 2.508 4.84 15,9¢ Wire rods 7,110 1,032 4,421 4,231 Steel bars 12,344 15.873 101,00 196,804 Billets, ingots ind blooms, n.e.s 7,033 1,052 47,066 89,61 Bolts and nuts 751 1.469 1,071 20,852 Hoops and bands 1,500 1,261 9.248 15,399 Horseshoes 1.263 110 4°16 1,13 Cut nails »8 250 285 1.40 Railroad spikes 321 51 6,769 10.749 Wire nails 4,895 593 82,249 10,574 All other nails, including tacks ; 321 277 2 876 . 610 Pipes and pipe fittings 18.886 *104,487 280.09 Cast pipes and fittings 10,231 o,314 Wrought pipes and fit tings . 8,267 t48,151 Radiators and cast-iron house ‘heating boilers 202 263 3.300 7.574 Steel rails 283 24,911 171,113 138,03 Galvanized-iron sheets and plates 1,440 4,129 $7,372 73,411 Ali other iron sheets and plates t38 1,106 7 21 7 Steel plates 10,508 >. 274 104,832 210.94 Steel sheets ~741 6.716 113.208 130.56 Structural iron and steel 11,146 802 171, 378.510 Tin and terne plates 4,837 2,500 5,572 5,421 Barb wire 17,791 7,426 85,514 74,188 All other wire 10,437 R844 74.548 99.2378 Totals 140,752 176,420 1,431,748 2,563,964 *Figure is for six months, January to June, inclusive +Figures cover period since June 30 In November the imports for which quantities are given amounted to 24,165 gross tons, as against 22,754 tons in October, 38,420 tons in September and 25,810 tons in November, 1913. In spite of the present hin- drance to foreign commerce, this country imported in November more scrap, structural iron and steel, steel rails, sheets and plates and tin and terne plates than in the same month in 1913. Bar iron and “all other” pig iron alone show an appreciable falling off. The iron and steel and manufactures thereof imported in November, 1914, showed an average value per grogs ton of $39.74, a lower value by $2.48 than the corre- sponding value for November, 1913. Details of the imports of tonnage commodities in November and the 11 months ended with November, 1914, as compared with the corresponding periods of the previous calendar year, are as follows: Imports of Iron and Stee November Eleven Months "914 113 i914 1913 Gross (7ross Gross Gross tons tons tons tons Pig iron (including t¢ silicon) 120.612 Ferrosilicon 251 318 », 842 +624 All other pig iron 11,174 13,443 129,383 22,765 Scrap 3,830 2.754 ; 42 84) jar iron 790 2 302 j 61 6.914 Structural iron and steel 1,212 6 10,051 10,618 Hoop or band iron. t648 Ingots, blooms and steel billets *17.76 Steel billets without a! loys 857 1,849 +1,63 All other steel billets TRS ° 452 6.492 #4470 Steel rails 2,339 1,621 ,320 8.766 Sheets and plates 497 17 1,241 2.70! Tin and terne plates 64 202 L180 15,939 Wire rods 918 1.279 6,876 15,158 *Figures cover period January to October nclusi ve +Figures cover period beginning October Figures cover period beginning Jul ] Imports of iron ore in November amounted to 90,222 gross tons against 114,341 tons in October, 109,176 tons in September and 179,727 tons in November, 1913. For the 11 months ended with November 1,300,315 tons were imported as compared with 2,370,878 tons for the same period of 1915. The Cambria Steel Company, Johnstown, Pa., has sold 66 houses, most of them built to acccommodate two families, to employees who are now occupying them. Prices ranged from $800 to $2100, and the employees will pay for them on a monthly payment plan. Model Factory Building for Small Plants Flexible Partition Arrangement in Toledo, Ohio—Struc- ture Designed to Accommodate Growing Industries with Modern Shop Rooms—Unusual Heating System Small light manufacturing plants located in rented quarters are often seriously handicapped by being compelled, for lack of better accommodations, to occupy old, out of date buildings with few of the advantages of modern factory buildings. With poorly arranged factory space in fire-trap structures and improper lighting, heating and ventilating, their overhead charges are high and consequently the cost of production is excessive. Some plants re- quire such a small space that the erection of a fac- tory building is not practical, and owners of other industries do not care to tie up their capital in fac- tory buildings. Toledo, Ohio, is a city that has solved the prob- lem of providing adequate factory facilities for small industrial companies and has solved this problem in an interesting manner. The carrying out of the plan adopted has resulted in the erection of a factory building that, in addition to being thor- oughly modern, is unique in a number of particu- lars, one of the most important of which is the flex- ibility of the interior arrangement so that a tenant can secure the amount of space he needs and can acquire additional units of space as the growth of his business warrants. The movement to erect the factory building originated with the Toledo Commerce Club, which, after investigating conditions, found that it was difficult to secure suitable space for light manufac- turing in that city. This lack of accommodations interfered with the establishment of new indus- tries there. It checked efforts to induce companies with plants elsewhere and looking for a new site, or a new company looking for a favorable location to locate in that city. The Commerce Club, as an organization, was unable to undertake the erection of a factory building, but a company known as the Toledo Factories Company was organized within the membership of the club, practically all the mem- bers being stockholders. To finance the project a $100,000 5 per cent. bond issue was authorized. The bonds were taken by some of the leading local banks, and $194,000 in common stock was sold. While the primary object was to help the city, the details of the project were carried out with the idea of making it a safe financial investment with a fair turn for the stockholders. Earnings have been sufficient to warrant the directors to authorize recently the pay- ment of dividends at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum on the stock. The site selected was a 3!5-acre tract occupying block on a car line convenient to the railroad depots, docks and downtown section of the city. In view of the fact that none of the tenants would re his raw material or ship his products in car lots, the advantages of the site selected, including the purchase of a large tract of land at a compara tively low cost, were regarded as overbalancing those a site adjoining a railroad siding. The building is a 4-story, reinforced concrete structure built in two main sections or units, each 200 x 90 ft. in plan and connected by an interme diate section 66 x 66 ft. This is taken up for the most part with the elevators, stairways and office space, and on the ground floor with the main en- trance and loading platforms. There is an extension to the second unit similar in dimensions to the one that connects the present two units ana to this will be connected two additional units, which the com pany plans to build when the demand for warrants the doubling of the present floor space The power plant is located in the basement of this section. No basement space is provided in othe! parts of the plant. The present units provide ap proximately 160,000 sq. ft. of rentable floor space. Three rows of reinforced concrete columns ex- tend the length of the building, the columns being spaced 22 ft. on centers, each way. With the ex ception of the space taken by the pilasters, the en- tire side wall space from the floor to the ceiling. which is 12 ft. high, is fitted with 12 x 18 in. plain glass set in Fenestra steel sash. There are 29,000 panes of glass in the building. The large amount of glass surface provides the maximum amount of outside lighting and as the interior space is so divid- ed that every tenant has outside window surface, every occupant has an abundance of light. The floors are of the slab construction and are designed spac 188 21, 1915 ary nd a weight of 200 lb. per sq. ft. The type of ng permits the use of heavy and high speed nery with no perceptible vibration, and the ling is equally adapted for metal working shops r other lines of light manufacturing where ma- ery is required. he building is sub-divided in space to suit the rements of tenants by means of 4 in. Egyptian artitions erected between the columns. The val or erection of partitions to suit the re- ements of tenants involves little expense. The divisions are made in units ranging from 1000 \(),000 sq. ft. Most of the tenants use 3000 sq. ft. A number started with 1000 sq. ft. and as r business has grown have increased their space 000 sq. ft. rental rates run from 19 to 24 cents per per year, depending on the size of space taken, average being about 20 cents. This price in les heat and ventilation, the installation of an natic sprinkler system and the ordinary water an extra charge for water not being made a considerable amount is used for manufac ng purposes. With the fireproof construction the building automatic sprinklers and other safe rds against fire, the insurance rate is much lower in old types of buildings having little or no tion against fire. The maximum insurance e for tenants is 15 cents per $100 per year. The two Haughton Electric & hine Company’s electric elevators, one a 3-ton + nace. rhe are connected by elevator and the other a passenger elevator. oading platforms on the ground floor directly the freight elevator. The heating and ventilating of the building is isual for a structure used for manufacturing Owing to the fact that the building is ipied by a number of tenants, there are frequent irposes. nges in partitions due to the changes in occu- . - 7 - a . . ’ = ~ Ostac a -; ' + - a a e ° . . - @ s . . - os . > o . 4 ‘ - Cn . ‘ . . - Om ‘ 4 . ° 7 ° . 7 . . 5 a we a. = ° = 7 a = | * s-¥ r = —~fam | 4 & 83-W St ; — er oe N ef .. Pe Ys ” a ~ an. 7 2 s . . . . . . . . . 4 »™ Jor ‘ -amm-: ‘ * Oe ‘ -cmm- ’ 5 ° . s . . . . - ” » ” = * * s 7 = = a Floor Plan to Indicate the Possibilities of Subdivision to Suit Needs of the Factory Tenants THE IRON AGE L&9 the desire of tenants to their floor space. These conditions flexible arrangement of the heating and ventilating system. Owing to the large amount of window sur little wall space was available for tion, and ceiling radiation was impracticable be cause some of the tenants desire attractive looking rooms. For these reasons the all indirect was determined upon. The principal advantage in heating the building with direct radiation lies in the fact that the rooms warmed without me chanical intervention. The plant was designed to accomplish this result without radiators by placing the heating surface at the bases of large vertical air ducts. This, it is claimed, has worked out with excellent results. All of the factory plied with fresh air without opening any of the outside windows. There are five main indirect heating chambers connected with a fan by large concrete air ducts arranged for easy inspection and cleaning and pr vided with electric lights so that one may walk freely to all parts of the distribution system. To minimize the operating cost, the fan and tempering panes and some increase necessitated a face very radia- system may be rooms are sup the necessity ol coils are placed adjacent to the boiler room, and the fan is driven by a steam engine, the exhaust steam from which is utilized heating ‘ulated at a vacuum, thermostati for Steam is cir traps and a vac ium pump being used in connection with the tem. The air delivery throughout the building provides a change for about every 15 mi Space is left for the future installation of an air washer, but owing to favorable surroundings, this is not required at present. The fresh air supply is taken into an air shaft and through a Sirocco fan with 138,000 cu. ft. per minute when oper from the outside a capacity of ated at 125 r.p.m. engine. The air is drawn through tempering coils and driven by a 50 hp. stean a temperature of 68 deg. being automatically main tained by means of the thermostat that controls by-pass damper under the tempering coils. As if passes through the tempering coil the air is hu midified by steam jets from three horizontal pipes located on the warm side of the coil hese jets are controlled by a diaphragm valve regulated b humidostat. The tempered air passes into a main 7 x 8-ft alr duct of concrete that extends the length of the build ing inder the corridor and fron which branche lead to five plenum chambers provided with four radiation. These heat Automatic ten perature control and dampers are provided through Vento cast-iron ng stacks take low-pressure steam sections of it the building, each room having a thermostat which controls the temperature without changing the volume of the air The thermostats, in order that they may not be unduly interfered with by a) flues where they are subjected to a constant fair sample of the air coming from the rooms which they con trol. They little lower than they located in the ordinary manner The flues are arranged in banks of five, four of these being heat flues, supplies a floor in that section of the building and the fifth being a vent flue for the first floor. A heat flue that supplies warm air for the first floor becomes a vent flue for the second floor and so on, so that only five flues are required to serve the four floors. Some of the separate heat flues are 30 x 30 in. and others are 294 x 30 in. When small subdivisions of the rooms are required horizontal supply and vent ducts are provided at the ceiling. The fresh air is taken into inauthorized person, are placed in the vent set to operate at a temperature ior in the rooms. are would be set were the one of which 190 The Character of the Interior Is Indicated in this View of the rooms near the ceilings through adjustable dif- fusers. In many of the rooms there are ventilation openings at both floor and ceiling, the lower open- ing being used in winter. The upper openings are for additional ventilation in the summer, or when fumes arise from manufacturing processes. The various groups of vent flues terminate in heavy ventilators on the roof. For heating and ventilating office rooms in the section between the two main wings there are two double flues, one on each side of the elevator shaft, and the tempered air as it comes from the flues is blown through the coils of radiators located before the outlets. The corridors are heated by tempered air that comes from the main air duct through the elevator shaft, this air supply being regulated by pneumatically controlled dampers. Direct radiation is provided for the toilet rooms. A re-circulating system is provided for use dur- ing the night when the building is not occupied and fresh air is not essential. The outdoor supply of fresh air is shut off and the air in the building is re-circulated, being drawn to the fan through the corridors and elevator shafts. To prevent the drawing in of outside air through the ventilators dampers are provided at the top of the vent flues that are pneumatically closed by a switch in the basement. Steam for the heating system and for power is furnished by two 250-hp. water-tube boil- ers, equipped with hand-fired smoke-consuming fur- naces. The accomplishment of results without direct radiators is said to have been most satisfactory as there are no obstructions, no local overheating and no radiators to interfere with in the moving of par titions. The fuel cost for heating for the season 1913-1914 was $3009. This is $1.22 per 1000 cu. ft. of contents for the season, or $16.80 per 1000 sq. ft. of floor surface. It is stated that the tem- perature of the building has been at 70 deg. at 7 o’clock in the morning during the coldest weather of the heating season, when the outside temperature has been as low as 3 and 4 deg. below zero. A test THE IRON the Dis AGE Casting Room of the Doehler Die-Casting Company was made during the severest cold weather, and when the temperature was 70 deg. in the center of the room it was 69 deg. one foot from the glass sur- face in the most exposed room in the building. Another unusual feature for a manufacturing plant are the sanitary arrangements. There are four toilet rooms in each floor, one each for the office and shop men and one each for the office and shop women, the two for the men being adjoining on one side of the corridor and the two for the women being on the opposite side. Each toilet room is provided with four washstands and two closets. Each bowl is vented, the air being taken through a porcelain duct connected with a pipe that leads back of the fixtures into a narrow chamber separating the two adjoining toilet rooms. Through these chambers an air shaft extends up to the pent house above the roof, where the air is exhausted by a fan. The closets are connected with flush valves, all the parts of which, except a push button, are located in the chamber back of the toilet rooms. In this cham- ber are located, where they cannot be tampered with, all pipes connected with the toilet rooms. Tenants are supplied with electric current, nat- ural and artificial gas, compressed air, steam for manufacturing purposes outside of power, this being furnished on a metered basis, and hot and cold water by separate lines running to each user from the cen- ter source of supply. Electricity for power and light is purchased from a commercial company, being stepped down from 4300 volts to 220 and 110 volt 4-phase 60-cycle current. As the building company buys the electrical current direct and apportions the cost among the tenants according to the amount that each uses, a lower rate is secured, because of the increased consumption, than if each user paid the regular commercial rate for the amount con- sumed. While the largest consumer can buy his current outside at the same rate he is now paying, other tenants are saving as much as 20 per cent. on power. Steam for manufacturing purposes is dis- tributed through a main riser with a header on each floor and supply lines from the header. January 21, 1915 ary 21, 1915 sesides the reduction of the power bills there ther interesting co-operative features in con- on with this plant. The building maintains a eral stock room where such general supplies as te, oils, electric lamps and fuses are furnished matter of convenience at practicaily cost. The agement has secured lower trucking rates than iid be available were each tenant acting inde- dently. An emergency hospital room is main- ed by the management at a central point, where t aid is rendered in case of sickness and accident. A restaurant is conducted in the building, under the sypervisio