The Iron Age 1916-07-20: Vol 98 Iss 3

New York, July 20, 1916 TABLISHED 1855 A Machine Shop With Notable Features New Six-Story Plant of the National Acme Mfg. Com- pany, Cleveland—Electric Attachments, Novel Work- bench Location and Space-Saving Floor Entrances An interesting type of a modern machine shop, having various features that are regarded of un- usual merit in shop arrangement and in the methods of routing and handling material and finished prod- ucts, as well as along the lines of safety, has recently been built by the National Acme Mfg. Company, is a one-story erecting shop of the same length and 55 ft. wide, the roof of which extends above the ceiling of the second floor of the main building. The balcony extends around this shop connecting with and being on the same level as the second floor of the main building. This makes the erecting shop a A View of the Well Arranged Erecting Shop Directly Adjoining the Main Building Used for Erecting the I . a : jie | ré : ‘ ner. matic Machinery and Having a Crane Runway that Provides Ample Room for Handling this Large Machinery Cleveland, Ohio. The company’s entire department for building automatic machinery, with the excep- tion of the spindle department, is located in this building. The shop occupies a fireproof structure con- structed according to the latest factory design, 218 ft. long, 51 ft. 7 in. wide and six stories in height. The building has a steel frame reinforced with con- crete and faced with red shale brick. Adjoining the main building as an extension to the first floor continuation of the first floor of the main building and the balcony above the former a continuation of the second floor. The convenient and space saving arrangement of the building in respect to the entrances to the various floors and to toilet-room facilities, etc., are interesting. There is a departure from the prac- tice of having a centrally located time clock that must serve all employees on entering and leaving the plant, and which usually causes delay and crowd- 125 © py we Seat es ee pe Me oP a, ae eee PRS be EEN PERE i SE = - A AoE 1 et OT ee Nh PNR a a en Fre cent, SR A View of the Assembly Floor Showing One of the Electric Conduits Suspended from the Ceiling with Outlets for Cur- rent for Portable Electric Drills and Lamps, Taking the Place of the Usual Column Outlets ing. Instead, a time clock it re27'1-4 on each floor for the men on that floor. There is an extension on one side of the building near one end to provide space for a wide inclosed iron stairway used by the workmen and given over to the toilet rooms on each floor, to an electric passenger elevator for the fore- men, office employees and visitors, to a 5-ton, 8 x 12-ft. freight elevator and to a pipe shaft. THE IRON AGE July 20, 1016 The time clocks, lavatories and steel lockers located on each floor at the top of the stairs or ¢ os. to points of entering and leaving the shop, the | tories directly adjoining the toilet rooms locate: jy the extension. A double row of white enameled | yoy wash basins is provided on each floor, fourteen bi ws to the floor. A concrete floor is provided in the ]avya- tories and toilet rooms and the units in the laiter are divided by slate partitions. Another enc! iron stairway is provided at the opposite en the building for the convenience of the workme) j going from floor to floor. The shop is joined with the main factory building across the street by a « ered concrete bridge which connects the two build- ings at the third floor. The building is provided with steel firep: doors that shut off all stairways, and with Kinnear curtain type of doors at the entrances to the pas- senger and freight elevators, and is equipped with the General Fire Extinguisher sprinkling system, and also with an auto call system. All wiring js placed in conduits. A skylight is provided in the greater part of the roof surface of the erecting floor, and there is another skylight in the monitor section that extends the length of the main building above the top floor. The ceilings are 15 ft. high on the first floor, 10 ft. high on the top floor and 12 ft. high on the in- termediate floors. The building is divided into three 16-ft. 10-in. bays by two rows of 15-in. concrete columns spaced 12 ft. on centers lengthways. The lower parts of the columns are protected at the cor- ners with steel. The floors are concrete slabs, the first floor ceiling being a 91'2-in. slab and those above 8-in. slabs, designed to carry a dead load of 139 and 120 lb. per square foot respectively. The ground floor, including the erecting floor, and the second floor are covered with creosoted wood blocks, and the other floors with matched maple flooring. The erecting shop floor has a 10-in. concrete founda- tion, so that it is possible to install heavy machinery Benches Are Placed Between the Columns on the Erecting Floor, Providing Twice the Amount of Space that Would Be Available Were the Benches Located Along the Side Wallis y 20, 1916 where on this floor by removing the wooden ks and without providing additional foundation the machines. The ceilings and upper part of walls are white enameled, and the columns and walls to a height of 5 ft. are gray. These were ntly adopted as standard colors throughout the re plant, the bins and other equipment usually ted being in the slate color. The paint is a ial preparation designed to bear washing when walls become dirty, and was furnished by the n-Con Laboratories, Detroit, Mich. \laterial being routed through the shop for the us machine and assembling operations starts the top floor and is moved downward. The chuck partment and tool rooms are located on the sixth r, lathe and grinding work is done on the fifth r, milling on the fourth floor, small planer work boring on the third floor, sub-assembling on the nd floor, and erecting, final assembling and test- on the first floor. An up-to-date shop hospital so located on the first floor, with a physician nurse in attendance. The erecting shop is a large well-lighted and arranged building. Its roof of concrete slabs | wired prism glass is supported by steel trusses. s served by a 15-ton Pawling & Harnischfeger tric crane with a 3-ton auxiliary. The crane has 10-ft. span, and its runway is 26 ft. above the , or about on a level with the second story ceil- ng of the main building. The balcony that extends around the erecting floor is 11 ft. wide and is in- closed with a wire railing or screen. Scraping and fitting are done on this balcony floor. The erecting floor is used largely for erecting the company’s new 334-in. automatic machines, that weigh complete about 25,000 lb. At the side of this floor at the edge of the baleony are located a number of heavy ma- chines, including a 54-in. Colburn vertical boring mill, a 48-in. x 8-ft. Lucas precision horizontal bor- Room. Two lines of shafting in THE IRON AGE 127 t a ee : os x SOK an ae ™ The Switchboard, Showing Automatic Circuit Breakers that Take the Place of the Usual Switchboard with Knife Switches ing mill, two 42-in. x 48-in. x 12-ft. and a 48-in. x 72-in. x 14-ft. Cincinnati planing machines. This machinery is all motor driven by direct-connected individual motors, all belt drive being eliminated on the floor except a few small lathes and shapers at one end beyond the crane runway. ‘esting Department on the Third Floor, Showing the Monorail Trolley and Track for Conveying Machinery from the Flo Shippi é é Machine Suspended from the Hoist oor to the Shipping Department and a Ma this bay for testing machinery are also shown in a Sling Ready to go to the Shipping er ee ~ pe Fe Ei MOE SERIE Se : i 3 Re fr ‘f A B. cP e-em es a.” 128 THE IRON AGE The machinery in the main building is driven from two motors on each floor, one for each line shaft. The motors are hung from the ceiling, and the line shafts are supported on post hangers at- tached to the sides of the building columns. Silent chain drive is provided, with metal guards around the chain. A departure from the usual shop arrangment is found in the bench room on the first floor, where the benches, instead of being located along the wall, are placed between the rows of concrete posts. This arrangement solved the problem of having sufficient bench space which otherwise would not ‘have been available. These benches are placed between alter- nate columns along two rows of columns, leaving the alternate spaces clear. Each bench, 12 ft. long, is built around the columns to which it connects, July 20, ] 6 A Comparison of Steel Prices and Waves of Common Labor (With Supple ment) THE IRON AGE is permitted to reproduce a recently prepared by the Republic Iron & Company in which the fluctuations in price leading steel products in the years 1899 to | inclusive, and in the first four months of 1916 compared with wages of common labor at works in the same period. The steel prices in plotting the diagram are the monthly aver: taken from THE IRON AGE’S quotations. The rat: for common labor are those paid at steel work the Middle West. In connection with the chart, which is reproduced in the accompanying supplement, a curve is plotted Typical Entrance to One of Shop Floors, Showing at the Head of the Staircase the Time-Clock, Lockers, Lavatory and Door to Toilet Room Along the side wall back of the wash-stand is a steel tank supplied on each floor in which to dum] liquid refuse and provides bench space for three men on each side. The benches are supported by iron legs with a vise above each leg, insuring solid support for the vises. The legs and vises are placed in staggered positions, so that men on opposite sides doing such work as filing will not interfere with each other. It is fig- ured that this arrangement provides twice as much space as would have been available had the benches been located along the side wall. A machine shop novelty is provided in a circular steel tank about 36 in. in diameter, located on each floor near the wall adjoining the lavatory, in which is dumped the pails of water and pumice stone used in wet rubbing the machines and parts. In the old building this refuse was dumped into the plumbing water closets, which were frequently clogged by the large amount of solid matter contained in the pails. This material is dumped into a hopper at the top of the tank, the sides of the hopper extending down to nearly the bottom of the tank. The solid matter settles in the bottom and the liquid passes out (Continued on page 129) from a recent issue of the New York Times An- nalist, showing the purchasing power of a $10 bill in the years 1890 to 1915, inclusive. This pur- chasing power curve is significant in that it shows the almost uninterrupted decline in the period 1899- 1915 covered by the price and wages chart. It is interesting to note that in the period from April, 1899, to April, 1916, the wages of common labor were reduced but twice; namely, in June, 1904, and April, 1909. The first of these reductions lasted until May, 1905, or nearly eighteen months, while the second was only of sixty days’ duration. It may be remembered that in April, 1909, the inde- pendent steel companies reduced wages 10 per cent, but this 10 per cent was restored within sixty days. The striking feature of the heavy line on the chart, representing wages, is that the curve based upon !' would show a strong upward sweep from a level o! $1.25 in 1899 to $2.42 in 1916. Thus the wages © common labor have almost doubled. In the mean- time the purchasing power of a dollar has decline¢ from about 104 to 70. or about one-third. se \ cas & SUPPLEMENT TO THE IRON AGE, JULY 20, 1916 FLUCTUATIONS IN PRICES OF STEEL PRODUCTS AND IN WAGES of (STEEL PRICES FROM THE IRON AGES TABLES,LABOR RATES COMPILES BESS. STEEL BILLETS ———————._ TANK PLATES: —--—--—----——- FT STEEL § —y oC Qi __TANK PLATES BEAMS ed ee ae > rg ee = PRICE PER IOOLB.OR RATE PER DAY in ol <= o 2 BESS. STEEL BILLETS Se, | 1899 AVG Yad 3Zilvd 4¥O'S1 OO! Y¥3d 351ud COMMON _LABOR Te 1915 (MUMBE — #2 oD 77215 LIQS — OF ATEN DOLLAR BILL _! " < ! O~ o~ © 2a o Ce Te Cc. uu Toe ba = a 2) cO < and z= Oo = = O VU ui. © WD us 7 STEEL BRS ——-——-—- Sn pietniibepeioniaeee ne ee a SE RE I ae rr op te peter nena It Natt De, te 20, 1916 Machine Shop With Notable Features (Continued from page 128) igh an overflow pipe at the top and is dis- rged into a 5-in. waste pipe extending from the of the building to the sewer system and inde- ient of the lavatory and toilet-room waste lines. tanks have hinged covers and vents so that rs from them will not escape. When the tanks me filled with solid material the tops are lifted nd the material is removed. An efficient arrangement is provided for handling finished machines from the final assembling and ting department to the shipping department, the tter a room, 70 x 100 ft. that extends from one end the erecting floor. A monorail trolley track ex- is the length of the building near the outer wall the assembly floor adjoining the final testing partment. On this side of the assembly floor two vs of hangers are provided all complete for test- This monorail curves around through the end the erecting floor and out into the shipping room. [he track is provided with two 2-ton Yale triplex hoists hooked in multiple. Slings are placed around he machines, and they are run out on these hoists to scales in the erecting shop, where they are weighed, and from there to the shipping floor, where are crated. Large machines on the erecting r after being crated are handled by a steel grap- ple placed over the crates. Headless screws on the bottom of the grapple grip into the bottom of the wooden crates, preventing slipping. This method of handling not only saves time, but the danger of accident resulting from the machine getting out of balance when lifted with chains is eliminated. The electric control equipment is interesting in that instead of using ordinary knife switches, oi! circuit breakers, more generally used for high-volt- age lines, are provided for the low-voltage current, and each circuit has its own circuit breaker. The alternating current used enters the plant substation it a pressure of 11,000 volts, and is transformed to 140 volts. There are nine of these circuit breakers, the Westinghouse type, on the oil-switch panel, ne being provided for each floor, one for the crane and elevators and one for the lighting circuit, the irrent for the latter being stepped down to 110 ‘ts through a secondary converter. The arrange- ment eliminates open switches, busbars and fuses. "he panel is provided with a polyphase wattmeter. (he switchboard, enclosed in a wire cage, is located one corner of the erecting floor. Each motor its own starting box and all switching off is at motor. Starting boxes have no-voltage release ittachments, so that no-voltage release relays are t required on the circuit breakers. By having sufficient general overhead artificial ghting, drop lights are eliminated. The artificial ghting is provided for the most part by 100-watt ps in 18-in. dome Abolite reflectors. These are iced in a row in the center of the balcony floor on evel with the roof trusses on 12-ft. centers, along the outside bays of the main building and in the enter bay as needed. An original method of pro- ng outlets for local lighting and for electric ls is found on the assembly floor. Instead of ¢ plugs in the columns, metal electrical conduits provided that extend from the ceiling to about above the floor or in easy reach of the work- These conduits have two outlets, so that a able electric drill and lamp can be connected to itlets at the same time. These overhead outlets e electric current are found much more con- THE IRON AGE 129 venient for the men on the assembly floor than a column outlet, and they permit the use of shorter cords and keep the aisles free of cords over which workmen are apt to stumble. Outlets are also pro- vided in the alternate building columns for use if needed. Similar overhead conduits with one outlet for lights are provided above the planers on one of the upper floors. The Russian Dog-Eared Railroad Spike The dog-eared railroad spike in standard use on the Russian railways, and now being manufactured in large quantities in this country for export to Russia, is bein tried out by the New York Central Railroad, which has distributed over 150 kegs to five divisions on its lines. The only instruction given to the supervisors was to use them. Reports from the track maintenance corps have in nearly every case been favorable, and the indications are that with certain variations this type of spike may replace the standard now universally used The standard track spike is 61/16 in. long, % in. square and‘has a flat, rounded head, offset to give a yy bearing surface on the rail base of about % in it 1 : Z 7 ’ : ‘ f . a t - 2 > ae 3 pe / a * 7 ~ 4 — 5 I . qo - Oh hee : s , rt = : ‘ e ant | % oral st ‘ © © ‘ t ¥ | ~< ~< 44 po oa T i = ’ : ¥ - re I 2 Dimens a aft were: t/ 6 a (94m The Standard American Track Spike of the Chisel Type and the Russian Spike, Showing the Radical Difference in the De sign of the Spikehe weighs about 12% oz. The Russian spike has the same sized shaft as the American, and is about % in. longer. Both are of the chisel type, but the Russian spike has nearly % in. longer taper, as the foreign specification requires that the spike can be driven and pulled six times each way in an oak tie. Both have about the same weight, but the Russian spike has a bearing surface on the rail of only about % in. It has, however, a depth of head of over % in. as against that on the American spike which varies from 11/32 to 9/16 in. The head of the dog-eared spike has two distinct ad- vantages that have appealed to American railroad men. The first is that its shape enables it to resist corrosion, as from brine, much better than the thinner head on the American standard spike. It is also much easier to pull, as the ears are at the top of the head, which is much higher than the American spike head, and therefore stands out above the shoulder of the tie plate, enabling the track man to pull it more quickly and readily. Some com- plaint has been made that the flat top is not a good sur- face to take the blow in driving, which tends to break off the ears. These objections are considered well founded, but it is believed that by putting a bulge upon the top and with one or two other minor changes the new type of spike will prove superior. ae pinnae SSRs a » ate gh we 1% ee POET Pe er es et SLB pe EP LA he Bi Pa ae + a oetatientaieedadneneaiieniaetinaaimenimeniemetemmentantimminmema tesa. a thasteae cated eambennedan ealinn=s acamaemeamniiien:-.auerammenetemmee es , eee : rr z SEE &. a TA Ae / | W es -——— ———— Elevation of a Uniflow Steam Engine Built to Drive a Rod UNIFLOW ENGINE FOR ROD MILL First American Installation for This Service to Be Made at Youngstown BY 0. J. ABELL In the adaptation of the uniflow engine to roll- ing mill drive, practice in this country has followed that of Germany, as it has in numerous other re- spects. The first engines of this type to be built for rolling mill service in this country have just been completed and shipped by the Nordberg Mfg. Company, Milwaukee, for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company. The larger of the two engines will drive a 12-in. Morgan continuous rod mill and the smaller a 9-in. rod mill. At the Réchling Steel & Iron Works, Voélklingen, a 30-in. three-high mill is being driven by a unit of this type, the engine operating under an average load of 4000 hp. but having a maximum continuous capacity of 6300 hp. and a short duration peak load capacity of 8000 hp. Under wide variations of load, as in that Ger- man installation and also under extreme overloads, a minimum increase in steam consumption, as in- dicated in the characteristic flat steam consumption curve, is the prominent feature of advantage which renders the uniflow engine so suitable to mill drive where sharpest fluctuations of load are almost con- tinuous. Tests have shown that a 200 per cent load can be carried with a 10 per cent increase in steam consumption. As is now very generally appreciated, this type of engine is highly efficient, the peculiar design of the cylinder contributing to a minimum loss of steam from initial condensation. As indicated in the accompanying cross-section, the exhaust steam ports are located centrally in the cylinder, the one row of ports alternately exhausting at either end of the cylinder as the piston uncovers the ports at one or the other end of its travel. The cylinder heads, therefore, are in contact only with live steam View of the Cylinder Head and the Cylinder of the Larger Engine before Assembling, Which Illustrates the Massive Design of the Castings THE IRON July 20, 1516 Mill at the Plant of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co and are farthest removed from the steam at its low temperature point so that they are not cooled down prior to the admission of the high-pressure ste and condensation is a minimum. It also foll that this type of cylinder is adapted to a maximum range of temperature between the admission and exhaust, or, in other words, admits of a maximum expansion of the steam. In this respect this engine is comparable with the tandem-compound type and has the important added advantage of requiring much less piping in the way of connections and much less floor space per horsepower. This Nordberg engine is a horizontal Tangye frame, single poppet: valve, uniflow cylinder type with side crank and flywheel arranged to run un- der. Its design is entirely that of a heavy-duty unit, the general sizes and specifications of the two en- gines being as follows: Large Small Engine Engine Brake horsepower at 20-in. vacuum: Average . ; = ; one ie 1,400 600 Maximum . cee stale ore ; wcihea ss 2,100 1,600 Speed, r.p.m.. ionsen aa « > a eg ee, 55-110 Diameter of cylinder, in ae ie a ; 44 37 oy 8 een oer :wa iets 50 48 ene $80,000 360,000 Weight of frame, Ib . 5 108,085 74,340 Weight of cylinder, Ib.............. .. 19,005 Weight of front cylinder head, lb.. . 14,240 Weight of rear cylinder head, Ib oa 14,155 Normal steam pressure, Ib... 170 Normal superheat, deg. Fahr 75 7 Maximum steam pressure, Ib . 200 200 Maximum superheat, deg. Fahr ‘ ‘ 100 ] Diameter of main and outboard bear- ings, in ; : oe 25 2 Length of main and outboard bearings, in. 4( 36 Size of crank pin, in........ ; . BRR 12x12 Size of cross-head pin, in.... eae! be 854 x14 Diameter of hollow piston rod, in 13 10 Diameter of flywheel, ft.. beat 16 10 UGH GL TUE, Ble odo ob hAN ken ereuse 110,000 90,000 The general design of the cylinders is shown by the longitudinal section of the cylinder and in the view of the cylinder and cylinder head. The cylin- der is a plain cylindrical casting, all valve chambers and steam passages being contained in the heads, which are bolted to the cylinder. This prevents distortion and strains due to expansion and con- traction with the use of high pressures and super- End View of the Large Frame Showing the Heavy Rein: forcement of the Flange to Which the Rear Cylinder Hea¢ Is Bolted ly 20, 1916 Bed of the Larger Engine Mounted on the Table of a Large Combination Drilling and Facing Machine eats. The cylinder walls re of a thickness sufficient reserve ample strength ter all necessary reboring iring the life of the en- ne. The steam valves are f the double beat, balanced yppet type, the valve cages eing separate castings which are ground into the . heads with a steam-tight joint. No packing is re- quired for the valve stems, which are accurately ground and polished and work in ground and lapped bushings. The valves are operated from a lay shaft by a releasing valve gear with spring dashpots, the cut-off being under control of the governor through the wide range of loads. The speed regulation controls within a 4 per cent fluctua- tion at full load. The steam enters the cylinder heads at the bot- m, all piping being carried under the engine room or, sweeping up over the heads and jacketing them before entering the valve at the top. The exhaust is through the ports in the center of the linder, uncovered by the piston near the end of ts stroke, an encircling exhaust belt delivering to the sub-floor pipe. Relief valves of the poppet type with a cataract dampening device are located near the bottom of the heads. In case of loss of vacuum and overcompression these valves automatically pen and connect the clearance space of the cylin- der with the steam space in the head and the com- inicating steam piping. The casting of the principal parts of these en- rines, the frames, cylinders and cylinder heads, nvolved unusually exacting requirements in the matter of core work. The castings were poured in iry sand. All ribbing and reinforcing of the frame was done with cores on the inside of the casting the segmental flywheels were cast entirely in res + 4 nad uu Tests of the web strains in I-beams and girders been conducted at the Engineering Experiment ition of the University of Illinois on a number of . beams and 24-in. built-up girders. The investi- tions were conducted by Prof. H. F. Moore and Prof- M. Wilson, and the results are described in bulletin 86, copies of which may be obtained upon applica- to W. F. M. Goss, director, Urbana, Il, VV 5 THE IRON Cross-Section of Uniflow Ty trally AGE 131 Steel Wheels for'Army Trucks In a paper on “Automobile Experiences in the Great War,” presented at the semi-annual meeting of the Society of Automobile Engineers, June 12 to 16, W. F. Bradley, European correspondent for the Class Journal Company, New York, discusses as follows the extent to which metal wheels for automobiles are being adopted in place of wooden ones: One of the most important developments of the war is the adoption of the all-metal in place of the wood wheel. Although the wood wheel may continue in use for some years on commercial trucks, and pos- sibly will not be abandoned for touring-car purposes, it is already doomed for army trucks. The primary objection to the wood wheel is that, even if well made of good material, in the first instance, it requires atten- tion from time to time to keep it in proper condition. ' pe Engine Cylinder Showing the Large Heads and the Cen- Located Exhaust Ports and Exhaust Belt This defect is most apparent when the trucks have to remain out of doors day and night, indeed on all occasions except when in the repair shop. Another ob- jection is that if the vehicle catches fire—and the enemy’s guns are constantly on the search for convoys working back of the lines—the wheels are liable to be destroyed, and it becomes a difficult matter, if not an impossibility, to get the truck away. With metal wheels it is nearly always possible, when the fire has burned itself out, to tow the vehicle home. Apart from the body, it is surprising how little a burned-out truck will suffer in its essential organs. Practically no army trucks are now being built in Europe with wood wheels. All the Austin and other trucks supplied to the Royal Naval Air Service for use in France in a short time had their wood wheels changed for those of the steel-disk type. Generally, when replacements become necessary, cast-steel or disk wheels are substituted for wood. A small number of American trucks have been changed in this way. For trucks of 34-ton capacity and upward the cast- steel wheel of the spoke variety is extensively employed by French and Italian makers, and also by the British. The latter, however, are also partisans of the disk type. For the lighter units, such as light trucks on twin pneumatic tires, and motor ambulances, the steel- disk wheel has made a remarkable jump into favor. These pneumatic-shod wheels can be detached by re- moving four to six nuts. Incidentally, four studs and nuts, adopted by some makers, are considered an insuffi- cient attachment. Six should be a minimum. The de- tachable wire-spoke wheel has not been given a more extended application, although it has held its own on touring cars used by staff officers. SS ae Sigs 4 i fe RR CR apres > oP” wee egy! oi ie tangs zs » > a ee Sig org Wit piaeieae THE IRON Automatic Duplex Slot Milling Machine A recent addition to the line of machine tools built by the Garvin Machine Company, Spring and Varick Streets, New York, is a duplex slotting machine. It is entirely automatic in operation, and once the piece to be machined is put in place no further attention is required on the part of the operator, the machine stopping as soon as a slot has been cut. Among the work that can be handled is the milling of drift slots in spindles and elongated holes in toolpost slots, the cutting of keyways, the slotting of castings, tools, etc., the making of mor- tise cuts and open fork ends and taking cuts in both ends of a single piece of work where it is necessary that the slots be in line. As the work can be done from both sides at once, the time required is, of course, correspond- ingly reduced and it is also possible to handle two sepa- A Full Automatic Duplex Machine for Milling Slots in Spin- dles and Tool Posts, Making Mortise Cuts and Simultaneously Taking Cuts in Both Ends of a Piece rate pieces at once automatically and without effort on the part of the operator. As compared with the old method of jig drilling and slotting out, partial sawing out or butt milling, the new machine is said to effect a material saving in time. A cam and adjustable lever provide for the move- ment of the table at a uniform speed, and the length of stroke can be varied between % and 4 in. conveniently and quickly. Speed changes are provided by a cone pul- ley and a set of change gears, short slots being recipro- cated quickly and longer ones at a slower rate. The cam has a large sized groove in which a hardened roller rests and is driven by a worm gear. The spindle heads are designed for high-speed work and the spindles taper at both ends. They run in solid bronze boxes having an adjustment for wear and a hard- ened step bearing to take the thrust. Each head can be adjusted independently on the bed to take care of differ- ent lengths and conditions of cutters, the position of the work on the table, etc. Simultaneous movement of the headstocks is provided by a handwheel, and it can be ad- justed in or out to any distance without interfering with the setting of the machine. The heads are fed into the cut simultaneously and automatically by a right and left pitch screw controlled by a ratchet wheel. When the work of milling a through slot is almost completed one of the heads is backed away automatically, thus ena- bling the other to continue to advance and complete the slot. In this way, it is pointed out, no partition is left in the bottom. The feed is by a pawl and ratchet and can be adjusted, as well as arranged to lift out automat- ically and stop feeding when the required depth of cut is reached. Feeding takes place at each end of the stroke and it is emphasized that uniformity of the prod- uct is secured without depending on the operator. The work can be set at any angle on the table to produce a taper end of the slot. Two-prong fishtail cutters are AGE July 20, 1916 used to produce slots ranging from 4 to 1% in. in wi and the changes of speed for different sizes of cutte provided by a friction cone pulley on the countershaf All the working parts of the machine are located . side of the bed and are readily accessible. The eq ment regularly furnished with the machine includ steel oil pan with tank- and strainer and pump and | ing. Adjustable fixtures for holding round work wu 1 in. in diameter can be supplied at a slight extra cos Crompton & Knowles Pension Plan The Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, employin; 2,000 hands in its plant at Worcester, Mass., and 60) in its factory at Providence, R. L, has issued not of a pension plan effective from July 1, based on average monthly wages and length of service of employees. As the company lost many old employee: at the time of the general machinists’ strike in Wo: cester last September, one portion of the text of the notice extends the benefits of the pension plan to these men if they are again in the company’s employ by Aug. 15. As the business has been long established, and many men old in years and long in service are in its employ, the text of the notice, as given below, is of interest as showing the conditions which have actu- ated the company in instituting the pension system. “Many of the largest labor employing concerns of the country will not hire a new employee over 45 years of age, no matter how experienced he may be, and while there may be occasions when experienced men beyond this age may get temporary employment, in normal times many avenues of employment will be closed because of age. Furthermore, with the necessity of physical ex- amination as a condition of employment, as now re- quired by many employers, it will be increasingly diffi- cult to obtain employment. “In view of the above, the company feels it is espe- cially fitting at this time to establish a liberal pension plan for its employees, and trusts that it will furnish them an added incentive for faithful and efficient serv- ice. “An idea of the material benefit of this pension plan will be apparent when it is considered that a retired employee who obtains the minimum pension will receive each year an amount equal to the income from $4,500 at the usual savings bank rate of interest, namely, 4 per cent. “A retired employee who has had an average wage, prior to retirement, of $60 per month, will receive on this basis an amount equal to the income from $4,500, if he has had 25 years of service; if 30 years of service, an amount equal to the income from $5,400; if 35 years of service, an amount equal to the income from $6,300; if 40 years of service, an amount equal to the income from $7,200. “If the average wage of the employee who is re- tired has been more than $60 per month, the principal represented by his pension income is correspondingly increased. “In consideration of the fact that, due to the abnor- mal conditions of the past year, many former em- ployees to whom this pension plan would be of vital consequence are now in other fields, and in further view of the fact that it is the desire of the company that this recognition of our employees be as comprehen- sive as possible, it has been decided to reinstate such former employees for whom places can be found, and give them full credit for their former service in their pension records, providing such reinstatement be made before Aug. 15, 1916.” The Brown Hoisting Machinery Company, Cleve- land, is erecting for the Donner Steel Company, Buf- falo, two 251-ft. electric ore handling bridge cranes equipped with man trolleys, and is extending a crane now in use in the steel plant to the same length as the two new cranes. The company also has a contract for trestles and coke bins. In addition it has recently taken orders for a rotating cantilever electric. crane to be shipped to Japan, an ore bridge for the Dominion Iron & Steel Company, Sidney, N. S., and a bridge for the General Chemical Company, Chicago. 20. 1916 THE IRON AGE 1s. New Extras on Steel Bars and Small Shapes tandard classification of extras on steel bars nall shapes, issued on July 1 by the Carnegie Company, gives a new classification for channels, increase in the extras, and also a new classi- for tees and for ovals. It divides the former half ovals and half rounds into separate The hexagons now include a 3-in. hexagon at the | 14-in. hexagon at the bottom of the range of New extras are also asked for machine cut The extras for rounds and squares, for flats, ingles and for bands remain as they have been of the new classifications, which are the first the classifications issued Sept. 1, 1909, are as Channels y it under 3 in. wide x vier ).15¢c. extra wider, but under 3 in. wide x \%& i! 0.25c. extra ; in. x 3/16 in nd heavier 0.25¢c. extra \.y in. X Me in 0.35c, extra , in. x 7/64 in ‘ 0.50c, extra 7% in. x 3/16 in. and heavier 0.30c. extra d 7% in. x % in . 0.40c, extra 7%, in. x 7/64 it 0.55c. extra 6 il ind heavie1 1.20c. extra I 1.40c. extra 64 in. and heavier 1.80c. extra { in . . -.00c, extra r intermediate sizes, the next higher extra to be charged Tees d wider, but under I wide x i heavier 0.20 extra 4 x 1% x 3/16 1 nd heavier 0.40c. extra 1% x1%x & ).50c. extra 3 xX lt . O¢ xtra %*x & it ).60c. extra % x 3/it 0.60c. extra ‘ % x \%& in . 0.70c. extra 5s x %& il 1.30c. extra »x kl 0% ; 1.80c. extra Unequal leg tees are subject to special prices, which will furnished on applicatior For intermediate sizes, the next higher extra to be charged ll cases Hexago ir ).15c. extra 11/16 i ).25c. extra 1/16 it 0.35c. extra 0.55¢c. extra 0.65c. extra 0.75¢c. extra 1.00c. extra , the next higher extra to be charged Half Ro ds 0.20c. extra 0 c. extra ' rh Ne extra t 0.70c. extra t 1.10c. extra ite sizes, the next higher extra to be charged Half Ovals Gauges shown are Birmingham Wire Gauge x % in. and thicker..... is 0.25¢e, extra ; x Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 3/16 in 0.35¢. extra tf in. x Nos. 10, 11, 12 and %& in 0.50c. extra 15/16 in. x 3/16 in. and thicker 0.50¢. extra 16 in. x Nos. 10, 11, 12 and \ in 0.65c. extra 16 in. x Nos. 13, 14 and 15... 0.80c, extra 11/16 in. x 5/32 in. and thicker 0.60c. extra 16 in. x Nos. 10, 11, 12 and \& ir 0.75¢. extra 16 in. x Nos. 13, 14 and 15. ).90c,. extra 6 in. x %& in. and thicker... 0.80c. extr 16 in. x Nos. 13, 14 and 15... 1L.05¢. extr 6 in. x 3/32 in. and thicker.. soc. exts x Nos, 14 and 15...... 60c. ext diate sizes, the next higher extra to! ] g Ovals ® il ind thicker 0.20c. ext! to 5/16 ir 1.d0C. extr 2 1. to 3/16 in { extr 16 in. and thicker ) 35e. extra 16 in. to % in 0 i. extra n. to 5/32 in.. 0.60c. ext % in. and thicker pac. extra f & il o 3/16 in 0.70c. extr . iT 1 95c, extr x 3/16 in. and thicker 5c. extra n. to 5/32 ir 1.20c. extra ; extr te sizes, the ext higher extra to be charged Rounds and Squares 1% In. and Larger to Snecified Lenaths ting to lengths over 48 it 0.15¢c. extra gz to lengths over 24 in. to 48 0.25c. extra wy itting to 1 » und les I ir I I : Ww t } es thar Tt } : <tras I t ) r I x r iS . I . ‘ - rt \ pplic Extras ichine « Zz 3 s , flats will t irnished « cu ng o Spe j As Other tl Macl ‘ ° i ? a rt @ tting gths ttir gt \ y t} v etha ~ xt . \4 Increasing the Yield of Gasoline The late increase in the price of gasoline is ascribed in a paper by W. R. Hamilton, to be presented at the Arizona meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in September, to the following causes: l. A decrease in the production of refinable oil of about 6,000,000 gal. in 1915. 2. Steadily increasing consump- tion. 3. Discontinuance of gasoline imports. 4. Heavy exports to Europe. An increase in the production of gasoline may come possibly from the following sources: 1. Increased pro duction of light oil. This promises nothing more than temporary relief. 2. Increased production of casing- head gasoline, or the recovery of the lighter hydrocarbons usually lost in oil production by volatilization. New production of gasoline from these sources is limited and canuot be expected to have any marked effect. 3. Low- ering the grade of market gasoline, by which is meant the including of high point fractions in gasoline as the cut is made at the refinery. Before the demand for gasoline increased, the gravity of market gasoline was 65 or 70 deg. Baumé. The boiling point of “last over,” or “end point” of the distillation of such gasoline was little higher than 200 deg. Fahr. The present standard is now over 59 to 61 deg. Baumé with an end point of 320 to 380 deg. Fahr. The production of marketable gasoline has thereby been increased. This cut can be still further widened and the production thereby prob ably increased from 30 to 50 per cent. 4. Innovations in refining methods such as the Rittman, Burton, Snell ing and other processes. The Burton process, controlled by the Standard Oil Co., has not been successfully ap- plied to California asphaltic oils, where the presence of a large proportion of saturated hydrocarbon has in troduced problems not found in Eastern oils. The Rittman process differs from the others in that the action takes place after the liquid has been vapor- ized. By subjecting the vapor to pressure and heat, a rearrangement of the molecules is effected, liberating the carbon which is removed from the plant without difficulty. Of the processes making use of a catalytic agent, the McAfee process, controlled by the Gulf Refining Com- pany, is the most promising. The catalytic agent used is aluminum sulphate and results from experimental work are said to be excellent. Structural Business in June The records of the Bridge Builders & Structural! So ciety, as collected by its secretary, George E. Gifford, 50 Church Street, New York, show that in June 58 per cent of the entire capacity of the bridge and structural shop of the country was put under contract This makes June the leanest month in new fabricated projects since February, 1915. In the fifteen months in tervening business has been closed at the rate of about 138,000 tons monthly, while June’s total is about 100, 000 tons. In March, April and May of 1915, as plant ex tensions under the influence of war business were get ting under way, the amount of fabricated work contract ed for averaged 107,000 to 108,000 tons per month, whil« for the seven months preceding, those following imme diately on the outbreak of the European war, the month lv average hardly exceeded 5100 tons—December, 1915, was the high month with about 208,000 tons. oe ee Fore Wy yee “nly yy | Sorting agi Has Beam ates oo ma. ean RL Mt TE eahrag FLAP ME A ne a a tg 2 ~<a ae ee x - re - ae adllinapeleinpaintupiessaane est < teas ae ee ee eee ae “ - a bea Senha a 0 th peers aes eae cane tn. are ee Tip ete 8 te +See eS: S Oe ee ee EL NTT ane ae THE IRON AGE July 20, 1916 RETURN LINE POWDERED tet i COAL BIN PULVERIZER AUTOMATIC Lonel t wi el 7 yi ts Ve Cat ores eS I tae Bie eb nee te CONTROLLER U Led te <~ feelin : it ras . raven a ™* BLOWER “Moz, is. ETT PP ee eee a > — oo be , . oprerrr errr SS PPTITTTr 7 POWDERED COAL BURNING the direction of A. A. Holbeck, chief engineer of its powdered coal department. The powdered coal is Plant at the Works of the Standard Steel Car distributed by being blown by means of an air . current through a pipe, which makes a circuit Company at Middletown, Pa. around the plant, returning to the blower. There A notable example of the utilization of pow- is a branch pipe to each furnace, which may dered coal for drop forge and other heating fur- be cut in and out as desired. The plan of the naces is obtained in a plant which has been in Middletown installation is here reproduced and operation over a year at the works of the Middle- the striking feature is that the powdered coal town Car Company, Middletown, Pa., which works distributing main is 2125 ft. long. It contains are controlled by the Standard Steel Car Com- thirty-seven elbows and spans a craneway five pany. It is an installation of the Holbeck system, times. The general scheme of the Holbeck sys- made by the Bonnot Company, Canton, Ohio, under tem is also illustrated, together with types of ay y FORGE SHOP { i Y YAN Wi. Y o . | Air Blower ERECTING SHOP A| | | | | bod 2: ; HO} i L “ e| = 1 | | | \ “~ 1 r~ A /\f i}! (\) VRi0-40 TI fy pe el Blower oe Air Blower The heavy black line shows the pipe line through which the coal dust is carried by an air current all around the shop and over © in motion. Branch pipes to the furnaces are fitted with valves and the amount of coal and air blown from the source of supply i8 delivered mainly through underground piping with an uptake to each burner. Sheet ™ J 20, 1916 ces to which it has been satisfactorily } ed he plan drawing covers part of the pulver- or coal preparing plant. Bituminous run of or slack coal is deposited in the track hopper reciprocating feeder feeds the coal into the er of a two-rollecoal crusher. This delivers 24-in. belt conveyor, which carries the coal boat of a bucket elevator, means of this and a 12-in. conveyor the coal is dis- red into a _ 100-ton coal er. he crushed or slack coal is _ as required, from the coal er through a 6-in. spiral vor to the hopper of a Rich- yn automatic scale, where it veighed in 100-lb. lots and ed on through another 6-in. eyor to the rotary coal This coal dryer employs el shell revolving at the rate r.p.m. It is set at an in- tion of about 34 in. to the A slow fire is maintained the fire chamber, placed at the very end. The products of bustion pass up through the irver in direct contact with the thus evaporating the mois- in the coal and carrying it suspension and up the stack. The coal is exposed to the heat for about 20 min. A 9-in. spiral conveyor receives the coal as it is leaving the dryer and onveys it to a small coal storage bin placed between the pulver- i THE IRON AGE 135 izers. The pulverizers are equipped with vacuum Separators so that it is necessary for the coal to be pulverized to a fineness where it will float in a partial vacuum before it can leave the pulver- izers. The exhausters, indicated on the plat- form in the diagram, bring about the partial vacuum in the separators and exhaust the pow- dered coal from the separators and blow it into the collectors. The collec- aster Blower tors extract the coal from the air and deposit it into the storage bin. The air returns to the pulverizers to be used over again. The coal dust is fed from the storage bin into the distributing system by a 6-in. double flight con- veyor. The distributing sys- tem includes a blower fur- nishing air at 12-oz. pres- sure and a circuit of sheet ! metal piping for convey- ing throughout the works the coal dust in suspen- sion in air. Branch pipes are run from the main pipe to the burners and furnaces. The amount of fuel to each burner is con trolled by a valve in the branch pipe. Furnaces consuming as low as 10 lb. and as high as 400 Ib. of coal per hour are served. The length of the distributing main has al ready been mentioned. The large flue shown, 600 ft. long, connects many of the furnaces with a chim- ney stack, 6 ft. in diam- eter by 100 ft. high, so that the gases and products of combustion may be taken out of the plant. ! For drop forge work y the best results are ob- wenn 5 e I D i be iL > — = ¢ , > “’)y ‘tot = , “mployed to keep the co : ; wo U : ee i = ‘era a / ] & >» kK 26 = = a2 > = => f " ee ee > ras _ 2. s "4 ar 1? ¥ mn fy Wi " ; , ei s/ower the pulverized coal bin. So long is the line that a booster blower, as indi ated, is iccording to the number of branch pipes, and the products of combus‘ion, leading to chimneys, that is furnaces, in operatior Air to support combustion as at A, B, C, D and E. 136 THE IRON AGE LR Ry AG Nm wm | ) i. anni oteeteheteeedemniomnininn chore ah tation tat a ela AA ty 2 te yes a. ee wav § sg tained by using a furnace with a combustion chamber, as shown in one of the sketches in the diagram cut. This chamber acts as a gas pro- ducer. The pulverized coal is almost instantly converted into a fixed gas and passes over the bridge wall, in the hot state, into the heating chamber where it meets additional air, thus burn- ing and developing a high temperature. Forging heats, it is stated, are obtained inside of 20 min. from the time of starting the fire, which is started by igniting a small piece of oiled waste and plac- ing it in the burner and turning on the coal dust. Another type of furnace shown is the under- fired furnace. In this case the combustion cham- ber is dispensed with and the stock introduced into the furnace from the top. For some work, such as drawing out or heat- ing on the end only, this style of furnace gives very good service, but where it is necessary to heat the stock all over the combustion chamber furnace, it is stated, will give the best satis- faction. Mr. Holbeck has found that 10 lb. of pulver- ized coal is equivalent to 1 gal. of fuel oil. With coal at a cost of $3 per ton pulverized, this would be equivalent to fuel oil at 14%4c. per gallon. He says that 75 lb. of coal dust is equivalent to 1000 cu. ft. of natural gas, or with powdered coal at a cost of $3 per ton the coal dust for equal condi- tions requires natural gas to be 114c. per 1000 cu. ft. Vertical Sand Belt Machine in a Pattern Shop Vertical sand belt machines have been used in box factories and other plants for a number of years, but very few of them in wood pattern shops. The Modern Pattern Company, Springfield, Ohio, installed one of these machines several months ago and the resultant saving effected in its use is said to be somewhat surpris- ing. Recently the firm completed a rush order of a pattern for a large strainer body. This pattern was in two pieces, the parting line being near the center and requir- ing a height of nearly 14 in. on each half. It was built up in the usual way. The cut was laid out on the part- ing line and the table set at the required angle to give the necessary draft to the pattern. This job was com- pleted in 22 min., whereas if the work had been laid off on both sides it would have required from 2 to 3 hr. to complete the job. This is only one of a number of jobs that has been done on the machine since it has be2n in use. The machine was made by the J. A. Fay & Egan Company, and has a No, 2 garnet cloth belt, 14 in. wide and 10 ft. long, which gives a total cutting surface of nearly 12 sq. ft. The top sand belt platen, or pulley, is 24 in. above the table, thus giving 336 sq. in of total cut- ting surface that can be utilized. Carlsruhe Cleanser Made in United States A preparation for cleaning metal surfaces prepara- tory to plating, for example, has been placed on the mar- ket by James H. Rhodes & Co., 162 William Street, New York. It consists of a combination of sodium, alum