The Iron Age 1916-11-02: Vol 98 Iss 18

e SS New York, November 2, 1916 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 98: Ne 5 A Successful Shop Suggestion System How a Large Agricultural Implement Manu- facturer Has Secured Ideas for Improve- ments in Product and Working Conditions BY H. A. pudding is in the eating.” A suggestion system cannot very well be eaten, but if it is well digested and the patient seems to receive benefit from the treatment, it is an indication that the prescription had some merit. The system which will be described in this article has been in actual use for about three years. It is being conducted to-day in the same manner as originally planned. The suggestions are gathered in twice a month, on the first and fifteenth. Naturally as time goes on the number of suggestions becomes less each time the collections are made, but the quality im- proves. At first we got suggestions on everything in this world and beyond, interspersed with good ideas, however. Sometimes the ideas are very vague; the meaning is hidden. We have found that it is a paying proposition to talk the matter over with the person sending in the suggestion when the meaning is not clear. When the meaning can- not be mistaken the questions of adaptability and the amount of the payment are decided without the Suggestion Committee knowing the name of the I has been wisely said that “the proof of the RUSSELL employee who sent in the suggestion. In other words, the matter is decided entirely on its own merits. At the inception of the system the following printed leaflet was put in each employee’s pay en velope. This, however, did not include the office force, foremen or assistant foremen. It is cer tainly the duty of these employees to make sugg« tions without extra payment for so doing. The printed instructions read as follows: Suggestions from our employees will be welcomed, and will be paid for if of value and put into use No particular forms are necessary, but we here explain our plans devised for the purpose of obtaining the best results. 1. It is requested that the person making the sug gestion does not sign his name; we wish the mer the suggestion to be passed upon without any to the position of the person making them 2. A method is provided whereby the author of tl suggestion can identify himself in case it is accepted if not accepted he need not disclose his name 3. The names of those whose suggestior cepted will be posted Ipor the | j tin board SUGGESTION SHEET A. B&B FARQUHAR CO. LTo Date 191 SUGGESTION NUMBER = Fill is a wumber of af least thee figures The following is a brief description of my suggestion | ee eatin rin Cinna yl ey — or 984 to time, together with a brief statement of the merit of the improvement or other valuable idea accepted. (Where, however, the winner does not desire his name disclosed, the name will be omitted.) 4. Payment for the suggestions accepted will be made promptly after acceptance, in accordance with a schedule of amounts fixed beforehand and depending upon the nature and value of the suggestion. 5. Details as to how the suggestions may be handed in, what subjects they may cover, and other necessary information, are given beyond. To briefly summarize the additional details that were a part of the printed leaflet, certain parts will be quoted: Please use the printed form of suggestion sheet. Suggestion boxes are located close to the time-slip boxes, in each department. Place your unsigned sug- gestions in these boxes at any time. There is a space provided at the top of the sugges- tion sheet for the number you choose. The number should have at least three figures (326, for instance). The number is for the purpose of letting you know whether your suggestion has been successful, or not. The Suggestion Committee will post the winning num- bers upon the bulletin boards. If one of these numbers is yours, you are requested to notify your foreman or assistant foreman or one of the time clerks. This will enable the committee to see that you get proper pay- ment for your suggestion, and to give you proper recog- nition and credit for it by posting your name (unless you request that your name be not posted), with a brief description of your valuable idea. If anyone whose suggestion is not adopted will com- municate with the committee the reason for its rejec- tion will be explained to him. All suggestion boxes are locked. Collections will be made about the first and fifteenth of each month. Each suggestion will be carefully considered by the committee upon its merits. No suggestion will be rejected except found to be of no value, or of insignificant at least three-fourths of the committee. together after being f value, by Suggestions may include the following subjects: Improvements In Factory and Office Our Product Conditions Miscellaneous Quanti Sar ’ ; ’ s pli ila gs ‘ Reliability irder Ss r Packing | Prevention of firs Transportat Shipping Preventior 1cci- naterials Handling dent storage of supplies Routing Lighting Complaints of ex Fi sh Ww sting ond « Desigt oO i with sue W kmans! g } Materia Awards will be entirely at the discretion of the committee. The committee will, however, consider themselves bound to distribute awards somewhat in accordance with the following classifications of sugges- tions, values and amounts. Classes of Suagestions Suggestions which are neither original, nor of appreciable money value, but which should be adopted, perhaps being modified before adoption. Suggestions which, while having no appreciable money value, may be the means of avoiding an accident. Suggestions which are not original, but of real money value. Suggestions which are original and have some money value. The awards range from $1 up to $10. This higher amount will be increased whenever the sug- gestion contains unusual merit. It is sometimes necessary to trace back the origin of a suggestion. It is quite possible for an employee to overhear a conversation between two foremen who may be discussing some particular improvement. A sug- gestion will be turned in by the employee. If it contains the expression of a better idea than de- THE IRON Novemb AGE veloped from the foremen’s talk, the of course, entitled to an award. The percentage of suggestions that accepted and paid for has averaged, in almost 30 per cent. The average wou! were it not for the fact that duplicates cates of the same suggestion are turn: suggestion with the prior date receives If a suggestion is turned in that ma some matter that has been discussed at meeting of department heads, the emplo, an award, if his suggestion is the cause . the matter to a head and the change ment is to be made. While the employ: 1 opportunity of learning what has been discussed the meeting, he would naturally feel that gestion must have had merit or it would been adopted. At least he feels that it is gestion that has been carried into effect. Many good suggestions have been turn: number of them have covered subjects with whict the suggestor would have but little acquaint and yet the germ of the right idea was thers some of the implements manufactured here ther will be but a very small difference in the diameter of the cold-rolled shafts. Possibly for years the difference in the diameter of the shafts styles of corn shellers may have been only 116 i: Nobody paid any attention to the matter until the suggestion system started. Then a came in, the shafts were made of a uniform size and the required stock of cold-rolled steel was 1 duced, and instead of having to machine two sizes of shaft boxes the one size would do for both styles of corn shellers. To mention one or two awards that were given, and which indicated a certain amount of thought on the part of the suggestor, the following will serve as examples of a great many more that have been received: sug suggest Place a window in the door of the room used by the outside carpenters for the storage of tools. This will permit the watchman de- tecting a fire in this room before it gets much headway. Investigation showed that a fire could have had a good start before the watchman could have seer it, unless he had made a practice of going off his usual route. The window has been put in and the watchman can see the reflection of a flame a considerable distance away and on his regular route Another suggestion was as follows: Put a chain hoist on an overhead movable carriage in the paint vault for raising the heavy barrels of paint from the floor to the bucks. This latter suggestion came from a man who did not work in the paint department, but who had been sent there one day by his foreman with 4 message. Before this suggestion was adopted had been necessary to gather three or four men together and by hard work roll the barrels, welg®- ing 700 to 800 lb., up the skidway. There was, % course, the chance of an accident, while with the hoist there is hardly a possibility that the operate’ can get hurt. Another suggestion resulted in the landing pat form shown being built. The stockroom 1s clos to this landing, and a 15-ton traveling crane pass® overhead. When a heavy box or barrel was to brought up from the first floor to the stockroom, * small chain was passed around the box or barre and hooked into the rings on the crane cha! When the gallery was reached it was necessar) ) c . \ 41916 the crane chain so as to bring-the the railing. The heavier the pack danger was there connected with the w, with the new platform, it is not :wing the chain out of the perpendicu- inger is eliminated. separate Safety Committee,* or tees, whose duty it is to make all the hey can, so as to avoid the possibility of any nature. If an employee not on mmittees turns in a suggestion cover- itter of prevention of accidents he is vard. There is a factory fire depart- ‘quipped and interested. The members estions regarding equipment, placement nd fire escapes, etc., but even with the nterest the members have shown, occa- ne other employee will turn in a sug- pertains directly to the prevention of method of fighting a fire that makes the nent kick itself, individually and col- re to summarize the good points of a inned suggestion system, it would be state that it not only develops new ng the workers, but brings out the old ve you never had a man in the shop say often wondered why you did not make provement before”? If that man had known s worth money to him to have called some tention to the improvement, he would not ted until the improvement went into effect ressing his opinion. T New Thrust Bearing of the Ball Type f ball thrust bearings distinguished by the brass ball retaining ring has been placed cet by the Rochester Ball Bearing Company, hester, N. Y. This arrangement has been lace of sheet metal retainers which some- rapidly and permit particles of steel to fall es. This subjects the balls, as they run particles, to shock and extra wear which illy ruin the bearing. ily these bearings are made with either round general use or a V-groove for high-speed nditions, but special bearings can also be id ent Developed Ball Thrust Bear rass Ring Is Employed as a B Retainer Self-aligning spherical seat washers n the thrust bearings intended for heavy he larger sizes of bearings the retainers is shown, but are not in the smaller ones rage Fan Company, Kalamazoo, Mich., now office in Chicago to care for local in- fan equipment. The office is in charge of e, and is located at 123 West Madison tf organizing these committees and the way form their duties was the subject of an THe Iron AGB, July 8, 1915 A descrip- fire department also mentioned and the € to reduce the fire hazard in the plant AGE, Sept. 30, 1915 THE IRON AGE An Internal Cylinder Grinding Machine The Reno-Kaetker Elect Company, Cir Ohio, has recently perfec ted an interna grinding chine primarily inter ded for inders. Its use general machine shop grinding automobilk work is said to very satisfactory) pecially curacy is an import- ant proposition. The machine only weighs 400 lb... sequence it Is where ac and as a con- easily transported, and its within the reach of the jobbing shops. As will be noted, the machine of a vertical bar with a circular rack which is fed around and down at the same time by the horizontal mo- tor operating through gearing. Inside the main bar is a sleeve which contains the grinding spindle. This sleeve is eccentric to the main bar, permits g cost is ? . smaller machine consists which inding cyl- inders of different sizes. Flexibly coup led to the grinding spindle is a vertical motor which rev } oives the grinding wheel at s) v a high speed. A hand 2 wheel is provided for A Angle increasing or decreas- i £ ing the throw of the grinding wheel for various sized cylinders and for regu lating the depth of cut to be made. The whole opera tion of setting up and grinding takes very little tim and after a little experience with the mechanic, it is emphasized, can curate work. machine a good produce rapid and a The capacity of the machine is for cylinders fron 3% to 5% in. in diameter with a The machine is 45 in bed plate and takes a floor space of only 2 sq. ft. The bed of the machine is 12 in. wide by 20 in. long. The face plate is 12 in. wide by 15 in. long with an elongated hole. The main bar is raised by hand and a shifting 1 ut 10% in. long i from the floor line to top o! is provided for automatically feeding this bar up o down. The hand adjustment for revolving the main bar and for tilting the face plate is also a feature of the machine so that the cylinders can be placed at the proper ar gle for grinding. The Electrical Alloy Company, Morristown, N. J recently purchased a tract of land for the purpnse of considerably increasing its manufacturing facilities The first new building, 101 x 160 ft., is under way and will be ready for occupancy by Dec. 1. The compan; is doubling its annealing capacity and adding extensively to its machinery to take care of its increasing business Its products are round, flat and shape wire and strip in special alloys and pure metals, its specialty | sistance wire extensively used for motor-starting boxes field rheostats, electrical instruments, heating devices etc. The new plant is located along the Erie with a siding entering the factory peing re Railroad The Carbo Corporation, manufacturer of steel poles and fence posts, has moved its main office from Chi- cago to the factory at Chicago Heights, Ill, in order to be able to fill orders more promptly QRS ee ft Reuse = eft es seen ani vem - a ee Structure and Properties of Steel Ingots’ Advantages of Casting Wide End Up—Use of the Hot Top—Segregation and Ghost Lines—Effect of High Casting Temperature BY A. W. OTHING can be done to prevent the shrinking of fluid steel as it passes from the liquid to the solid state; and the only means of providing against the inconvenience of it is to arrange for fluid metal to be kept at a higher level ready and able to flow into what otherwise would be a shrinkage cavity. This means that an ingot must always solidify from the bottom upward, which it does naturally when cast into a taper mold with the wide end up; or in general terms, the metal in any plane must solidify earlier ena ee » t.* « “ Sees 3 — Daren rH: ‘3 ta raf «oer, ee Gz. - CE AS FNS er e Roms oh 4 © Me ah TO eG en 4-8 mgitudinally, Dis Soft Center than the metal in any higher plane if shrinking cavities are to be avoided. ADVANTAGES OF WIDE END UP A fluid ingot cast with the wide end up shortens less rapidly than one cast with the narrow end up, and it is therefore more likely that the upper crust of frozen metal will resist the pressure of the atmosphere when the fluid underneath ceases to support it. This to some not very great extent will help to keep the upper and interior part of the steel fluid; it is more valuable, however, because it may prevent oxidation of the in- terior of the pipe and thus facilitate its welding when it comes later to be rolled or forged. It may also be observed that the pipe in one case takes the form of a long pointed cavity and in the other a short cavity with rounded end. Apart from the relative volumes of material thus made unsound, and likely to be scrapped, the former, occurring in ingots cast with the narrow end up, is more likely to cause ingots to clink in the reheating furnaces. These are all points of minor importance in them- selves, but experience shows that they lead sometimes *Concluding portion of abstract of a paper presented at the autumn meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute in Lon- don, England, Sept. 22, 1916. The preceding portion appeared in THE IRON AGE, Oct. 26, 1916 986 AND H. BREARLEY to grave consequences, and it is therefore to note that in these minor respects the so reliability of the ingot are improved by the wide end up. The disadvantage of a shrinkage cavity face has been oxidized by exposure to the at; recognized no matter in what kind of steel it ; it is widely believed that other kinds of shri; cavities will weld up without the steel bei: worse. Such a view is not quite in harmony with actua experience, and it may be said that the quest and cannot be quite settled, as has been infer boring holes into ingots or cogged bars, and then after sealing hermetically, observing their be! forging. The central and unoxidized shrinkage cavities lying in straight-sided ingots below the feeder head were one time during the progress of setting filled with liquid steel which fed the crystallites of purer metal growing from the walls of the cavity. But while the fluid meta sank downward the crystallites remained, and whe: the ingot becomes a billet or bar that part of it formed by the free-standing crystallites is purer, i. ¢., con- tains less carbon and other segregating elements thar the surrounding material. This means, of course, that some part of the bar or bars will have a soft center and cause disappoint- ment if made into chisels or drills, or if made into accurately drilled objects, such as rifle barrels. This kind of defect is most clearly visible to the naked eye in the fracture of steels containing between 0.90 and 1.1 per cent of carbon, but it can also be detected lower and higher carbon steels by polishing and etching. The position of a soft center in a steel bar is the sam as that of a hard center, and the one may occur ! far behind the other. Fig. 9 is a photograph of a ba! which has been split longitudinally in order to disclose the soft center. The harder the steel the more important it be that the ingot should be free from these axial cavities and that not only because the danger of clinkir greater and the chances of welding up the cavities are less, but because the harder material at forging rolling temperatures is less ductile, and under distor- tion the cavities may actually extend. CASTING HIGH-SPEED STEEL INGOTS This observation is notably verified by the behavior of high-speed steel, and on that account ingots of hig! 1] speed steel ought always to be cast in taper molds with Fig. 10.—Defects in Hard Steel Bars, Unweldable «! un nating from Cavities Existing Near the Axis of the *"5 2, 1916 and fed by means of a white hot sleeve neglect of this precaution is one of the ises to which the well-known splitting sth of high-speed steel tools may be as- shows examples of defects in self-hard eldable at any temperature, which orig- ties existing near the axis of the ingot. d taper mold is not generally used for der end is less than 4 in. across; the at, with the usual taper, the narrower small to be struck directly by the without fear of its having previously he side of the mold. When a stream of trikes the side of the mold the ingots are itched.” A catched ingot is regarded as ecause it scars the surface of the ingot either to a ikin to a lap, the surface On the sur- hard steel, elf-hard steel g 'may lead { ! sverse cracks } 1 bar. } ny cases part } steel which ' ie of the in- f idheres to it, { q ily solidified itively cold be- rising in the hes up to and The cold strip hen adheres and } eee amy iy veny RA Ts 1 hil | of the ingot, t - regarded as ¥- trip of metal VAY surface is (45 ess In contact W428 vot. eZ Das y St how- + : ls BAL = nelts ; SBI er pe! or as NWA OT ANOTN WANTINIA IZA OTA oF ne Fig. 11—Effect of Sloped Opening ir Runner Brick that the material immediately beneath a ngy. The sponginess is caused by oxida surfaces of the strip of steel before the the ingot mold covers it. The oxide film the carbon of the fluid metal, as soon as e into contact, and small quantities of noxide or dioxide gases are liberated just that part of the ingot mold were rusted SOUND INGOTS ks of sound ingots in a comparative sense. indness is never attained, but the imper- ch give rise to no blemish or defect in the or final stages of manufacture are dis if they are also equally unobjectionable the article they are commercially neg- ay happen, however, that apparent trifles course of manufacture grow into serious ises of defects in service, and to trace ind fix the responsibility becomes a lengthy matter. is of tons of ingots known definitely to be the absolute sense are rolled into girders, and other forms, and appear to yield no e on that account. Some others break and f life and other misfortunes as a set-off costs of manufacture arising from the | which is thought to be good enough, but is It could possibly be made. In respect to shrinkage cavities this is accomplished by top end of an ingot, or by avoiding oxida- irfaces of the cavities in order to increase of welding up. To a certain extent this Oo THE IRON AGE 987 latter aim is secured by bottom-casting, but direct attempts to secure its success have been made in othe! ways, é. g., inverting the partly solidified ingot. Individual steelmakers are to be found who conte that bottom-cast ingots can be made perfectly sound in the usual mold by using a long ig trumpet and feedir it with hot metal : This, on the face of it, is highly improbable, however long the trumpet is made, as the steel in some parts of the runner brick will certainly freeze across, and thus hermetically seal up the ingot before the interior parts of the ingot have solidified As to volume of shrinkage cavity, there is not a great deal to chooss between a bottom-cast and t« p-cast ingot which have been poured at the same rate; the advan tage enjoyed by the former is that its cavities are likely to be sealed from atmospheric oxidation If the feeding of a bottom-cast ingot through the trumpet be left out of account and we imagine th mold to have been instantly filled with fluid metal, then it does not matter whether the filling took place from the top or the bottom. The position and size of the shrinkage cavity would be the same in either case, except that with a closed top mold a thicker upper crust would form and'there would be small chances of bridges forming beneath it. The first advantage ther of bottom-cast ingots is that shrinkage cavities ar more likely to be clean and weld up. The metal rises in the mold more slowly on bottom casting both on account of the mass of grouped ingots and also because each mold is filled against the pres sure of the column of metal in it. The steel freezes through ‘contact with the mold while it is being cast, and at the end of the casting period the solid shell would be thicker, if bled, than the shell of a top-cast ingot of the same size; this is all to the good so far a volume of shrinkage is concerned. Moreover, the ingot is fed under pressure by meta! from the trumpet so long as the runner bricks remain open, and this again lessens the volume of shrinkage cavity. The clean skin expt cted on ingots cast from the bottom is not always realized. When cast too slowly the ingots are folded on the surface, and when steel! is run down the trumpet too quickly to begin with it rises like a fountain through the bottom and splash the sides of the molds. When cast at average speed the molten metal runs rather sluggishly to begin with along the cold runner bricks, and when first sighted, at the bottom of the mold, appears as a nodule of pasty metal. By pressure from the increasing head of fluid in the trumpet pipe the nodule is forced out of the hole and the metal enters more or less quietly Runner bricks are made and laid in the cast plate by human agencies; and sometimes the openi hipped or has a fash one side. Either incident w ause the metal delivers s sloped and sometimes it under pressure to be diverted from the vertical, and that part of the mold in direct line with the sloped opening in the runner bricks will be washed by the incoming steel, and may have a cavity melted out of it. This is represented diagrammatically in Fig. 11 The mold is attacked in this manner at varying heights sometimes as much as 16 in. from its base Deflection of hot metal to one side f the mold favors the formation of cracked ingots. This remar} ought to be decorated like a recurring decimal when applied to the ‘asting of hard steel ingots. If the \ A i ‘ J ny i 5 Ya ; Fig 12 Detall of Mold Recommended for Botton (‘asting and for the Superimposed Feeder Head wre tte eal erga 4 : | ee a _— pile i ee allan mace A ae 982 runner brick does not open in the axis of the mold the incoming streams cannot possibly form an ingot whose temperature is uniform, and the chances of the surface of the mold being cut are increased. THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS METHOD The most advantageous arrangement, within the authors’ experience, for casting groups of ingots is a solid-bottom mold having a central hole provided with a small taper fireclay sleeve as shown in Fig. 12. This arrangement insures the formation and feeding of the Fig. 13 Segregates and Ghosts Sulphur Print (Right) of An Result (Left) of partly ina Ingot casting mold Illustrating partly in a steel and sand ingot by a stream of fluid steel entering on and pass- ing up the axis of the mold. The fireclay sleeve is also long enough to give direction to the incoming fluid, and both damaged ingot molds and longitudinal cracks in ingots are practically eliminated. When cast in this manner the mold must necessarily stand with the wide end uppermost. If we assume a mold to be full of fluid steel at a uniform temperature, then the solid ingot could be sound only if it had been cast with its wide end upper- most. But in all top-cast ingots the fluid occupying the lower part of the mold is colder at the moment casting is finished than is the metal occupying the upper part of the mold, and this to a certain extent depending on the dimensions of the ingot and the speed of casting, is favorable to sound ingots independent of the direction of taper of the mold. For these and similar reasons it is not permissible to apply rigidly the results of observations made on small ingots with ample taper to much larger ingots cast with so small a taper that they can be stripped only with a machine. Much variation of opinion and a great deal of the recent controversy about sound ingots arise from neglect of this important difference. The difference, however, is one of detail, not one of principle, and the inverted mold should be adopted as the safest means of securing freezing of the ingot from the bottom upwards, whatever may be the size of the ingot. USE OF THE HOT TOP As a means of feeding the unavoidable shrinkage cavities in the upper part of an ingot, the simplest and most effective device is the white-hot fireclay head or dozzle used by the crucible steel maker. No feeder- head and no system of producing really sound ingots involve so small a percentage of waste. But the de- vice has not been applied to very large ingots, nor to groups of ingots cast through the bottom from a com- mon runner. A refractory head in the form of a brick lining in the upper part of the mold or, more econom: ically in some cases, as a superimposed piece as indi- cated in Fig. 12, can be operated with a discard of THE IRON AGE Noven 2 4 L916 10 to 15 per cent of unsound and segre; Apart from shrinkage cavities the is advantageous in another important steel is cast on the cold side, as certai be to facilitate cogging in the forge . cracking, there forms on the upper fluid steel a crust of crystals which m and thrown back on the sides of the n thereof may be washed into the ingot a: holes and other centers of weakness. In form of mold this frozen surface is bei: the steel rises, into a constantly decreas it must ultimately break up or allow the sice! t» a, over it. In the inverted mold, on the ot! nd. the frozen crust is rising always into a large keeps its edges free and permits it to becoming thicker and stronger; consequent less danger of the crust being broken, and to produce groups of ingots at a lower casting perature. SEGREGATION AND GHOST LINES The principles of ingot-making already briefly «| scribed are applied in the following pages to a few the problems arising in ordinary works practice. (pn, of the most difficult of these is segregatio: occurrence of ghost lines in large ingots. If an ingot can be made to consist entire]; narrow crystals, the segregates are crowded into the center and toward the top of the ingot. But a lar ingot could not be made to consist entirely of suc} crystals, and somewhere between the outside and cent of a cross-section there is a more or less clearly defined boundary between crystals growing inward from the outer shell of solid steel, owing to heat conduction, and crystals deposited from the mother liquor whose tem- perature has fallen to freezing point. This boundary line can often be seen on a well-made sulphur print of common steel. Talbot has shown, and Neu also at an earlier date, that when the sides of a partially solidified ingot are squeezed together to form a rough bloom, the cross- section of such a bloom shows purer material in the center and outside than on a median area. By reasoning along similar lines we observe that in very large ingots (such, for example, as are used Fig. 14 -Relative Shrinkage and Contraction in Hot Cast Ingots in making gun tubes) the wall of compact crys‘ starting from the interior of the mold drives before " as it thickens, a fluid envelope of impure meta! which diffuses readily with the hotter metal nearer the cen? No’ 2, 1916 THE IRON AGE 989 remain quite liquid. When this in- eaches the upper limit of its freezing more flocculent kind of crystal begins the compact walls, and thus restrains free movement of the liquid segregate moment occupies the same position. are prepared to assume a somewhat nt of the interior liquid it must happen vated fluid becomes imprisoned and solidi- two kinds of crystals meet, and as a it is from that position inward that ind. ndness of Sir William Beardmore we are it the sulphur print of a portion of an illustrating segregates or ghosts of the d to (Fig. 13). The explanation given may {1 both deductively and by actual observa- efore applying these methods it should be he maker of gun tubes first trepans a core enter of the ingot or from the center of a made from the ingot. He does not care very her the discarded core contains ghosts or not, y important commercially to have no ghosts, is possible, on that part of the ingot which ately near the bore of the gun. got cast in a loam mold the ghosts were ributed almost to its edge, and it was not pos irt of the tube to secure test-pieces which ection This condition arose obviously fron cumstances were unfavorable to the forn t of extensive experiment it has been affirmed er results are obtained, i.e., there is less trouble st-pieces cut from «2 gun forging, when the tu! is high This arises from the fact th temperature is favorable to the growth of chill arise also because non-meta i< impur due to segregation, have a better chance of center and top of the ingot when the casting wn has permitted us to refer to a direct experi- this subject He prepared a longitudinal se large ingot which was cast partly in an iron na loam mold The result is shown very l Mr. Ashdown has allowed us to examine sults of his many large scale experiments along i we were gratified to find them in agreement observations and deduced conclusions of large ingots have been known to affirm the corners of such ingots (generally due t mperature) may be taken as a sure sign that good one, ie., good in respect to freedom side the trepanned core. The effects of high ture in the direction indicated ma'y be ad- edy is a desperate one, and it may well her it were not better “to bear the ills we have ose we know not of.” If we bear in mind the ntrolling casting temperatures these remarks without further comment, why gun ingots made tly identical conditions are diversely satis- EFFECT OF HIGH CASTING TEMPERATURE The net effect of a high cast temperature is harm- | it is doubtful whether an exception should be gun ingots. It increases the amount of total ‘ge; it increases the number of contraction cav- ntercrystalline cracks (Fig. 14); it adds to the of the ingot along planes which lie between ers and center of the ingot, and it heightens er of clinking in the reheating furnace. ng to the higher coefficient of shrinkage of is compared with steel, and its smaller resist- nsile stresses, it is possible to exaggerate the ‘y to occur in steel ingots. In Fig. 14, for . Stearine ingot cast in an inverted mold from rably high temperature is seen to be defective ts base. Nothing so visually discomforting kely to occur in a steel ingot, but it is advantage rather than otherwise to have n the steel we make widened into visible the material used for experimental purposes. Py e can be used also to illustrate the general segregation, and to demonstrate some of of spongy and blown ingots. Its value for irposes can hardly be over-estimated. Hollow Set Screw Threading Machine The %-in. double-head bolt itting machine of the Landis Machine Company, Waynesboro, Pa., now equipped with special carriages and holding device for threading hollow safety set screws. While this the work for which the fixtures were primarily oped, they can also be employed with other st can be held in a similar way and has a continu thread. The carriages proper are stationary and support two spindles that are free to move in a horizontal plan: Weights attached by chains to the spindle In{ levers are relied upon to bring the spindles to the threading die, which is of the builder’s standard and also to exert a continuous force in that direction ( e* iil ope rating thus making it unnecessary for the operator to advan the stock for the threading operation. The spind! heads are bored and fitted with mandrels to hold thé set screws. A collar, which is adjustable for cutting A Standard Double-Head Threading Machines | with Special Carriages to Produce Hollow Safet ~ Screw any desired length of thread, is located on the rear of each spindle. In operation the set screw to be threaded is placed upon the mandrel and is automatically forced into the die head by the spindle. When the threading operation is completed, the screw remains in a tube extending through the spindle from the face of the threading die head to the rear of the machine. As subsequent pieces are threaded they pass into the tube and force the pre viously finished pieces along. When the screw threaded first reaches the end of the tube it is ejected by this action and dropped into a receptacle placed at the rear of the machine. If desired the machines can also be used for thread ing standard bolts. When this work is being done, automatic opening and closing attachments are en ployed for the die heads and the spindle heads are fitt with bolt sockets for the different diameters within tl range of the machine. Large Foreign Demand for Ferrovanadium Ferrovanadium exports from the United States have reached a total of 1,062,932 lb. for the first eight months of this year and are constantly expanding, as the fol lowing table, compiled from Government data, shows Tot il, Per Mont? Period Pounds Pounds To Sept. 1, 1916 (eight months) 1,062,932 132,866 Fiscal year ided Jur 191¢ 1,113,076 92,75¢ Fiscal year ended June 320, 1915 755,905 62.99 Fiscal year ended June 30, 1914 626,641 52,220 Caler.dar year, 191 840,26 70,022 Calendar year, 1914 770,079 64,173 Calendar year, 1913 604,287 ),357 While the exports reached over 1,000,000 Ib. for the 12 months ended June 30, 1916, they will amount to 1,594,396 lb. for 1916 if maintained at the present rate. a i i i ee i: 1 ater 990 THE IRON AGE Noven 19] BIDS FOR NEW WARSHIPS atin thc dca This price base irrent rices Navy Departmen seives Bids f Battle. rial at the yards of the Fore River St avy epartment Receives Bids for 4 Battle- : - ‘ ] s com! vil unm request, su = . — " 7 - » oa ° 7 : . ships and 20 Torpedo Boat Destroyers the Navy Department and to the Fed t If current unit < ts f labor ind Yr , . 4 . ed 1 Pa } exe r f hic WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 30, 1916 Notwithstanding ged during U recution Of tH ‘ rice for which we are prepared to bu ne abnormal ‘-Ondlti S tine shipbuilding ind iro! I I t | tl costs exces 2 o and stee ndus S, is ! ne set Dy Cor : + ‘ pr or the vesse b nc? é gress in the naval a LtIOI Dmitted t t If these osts eas t is pre the Secretary « he O 25 r battleships, ernme have tl fit of the 1 Colorado, Maryland gton and West Virginia or t ‘ be redu and for 20 torps oat de yers, Nos. 75 to 94. The ent . T . "Ty < or ’ presentation of DIGS WaS marked Dy some ! ‘ pro- he Fed I Comn } t of t Government or ed t posals on p: t of the shipbuilder the Wil oa ; ey aes lj , . > or I t I y oO <« } re i operatic S liam Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company s z - : - proposed that the commis n shall adjud ‘ mine t Supr t y y nf TT ¢ oO to pure ae I ion ‘ rure, Du of ne t pu la lecreases a hov ited It is pré battleship ; ost plus a commiss tf 10 pe ent ‘ of a vear fron e date of this while the Fore Rive Shipbuilding Corporation sub e year thereafter, the commissior mitted a rnate prot ~ Ss. one conditioned Ipor tine ‘ r I reased <« t I t ] assumption by the Government of any increase in cost tl t : vessels as ee ae = Se ae gy as ey i te the | 1 que to advances 1 I price ol materials or iabor, wnule , : vy s l tl sted ir iccord in the other the bidder proposed to carry that risk } I 2 s finding ’ t} proposal The num is conditions with wl he proposals t so elect, will be informed in adv l a lt ni 1aing a unanlill Ss del na tron tt ey: ow ft ( lers foray lified for f cor t. the hanges } ‘ t ‘ Sa submitted v irely take cars f the ynstru ‘ St s n offered bv the G nment. suggests that difficulties t ’ il his So ; * ¢ Ly e encounters I piacing mtractS tor tne re : maining vessels the ig naval progran ds for ’ < oO t ist t ont S ome f wi h w he , ed N01 ’ +} ren nos 1 T) y : l L/¢ ¢ } + ‘ } ' S 2 TT } } > RI > rT TT) > Bec I res t BATTLESHIP BIDS FROM FOUR BUILDERS r is ess t not ere = Four lilders compete for the constru I f the provis t re t . ‘ The } y et } tour Dattiesnips tne N x Yor < Ship l o ( ompany I il t e I : . . . ;: tir 5 y the succes neg three t Lamden, N J Fore R ver Shipbuilding ‘ rporatior . . 7 ’ | Q *} . S ild price for iterial increase during this Quincy, Mass.; William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine a ; ne ve I the st iZ nths, the cost of the > dine Camnany hiladelnhia -: na Noeuwnnrt Neu I A siti itl, Ph AUCiIPiia, ald * WDpO! Ne ws 6 for t) ce vessels would be more thar nrhriila oc lhe T ’ . y > T . y pbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Va We di t contemplate such a1 Ch } is ranged froy $10,060,000 te $11,475,000. as ‘ ve] ' t ‘ lisregarde: iwains he ( nn t’s ’ for hu and machine ecor of the two priz ry elements f $11.500.000 I ‘ nume is stipulatior ‘ ’ instable character \ 5 . t ler t } t cost mi y Tr y c FY pract 1 + pre ‘ 4 \ Le the to il . 1 t iy of These = re <A t ‘ > tne Tr ~ iT | ?? Navy S I t “a ever. point to the award ; = ng of one ssel ea t N } S lir 7 , ny, &s I v1lVeE » l { ‘ r t and Ww es ] riser t rt Ne Q . j & , ‘ mn . » , S Ss ow l ling & | ssig ment the th ess vether in } ex! certa Tr} Navy De ment Lr entertain the ( imp Con < ¥ 1 shit mic S10n DAasISs it u the terms < t} y ne \ T ~ r Tr T y sé = T 1 = Te t am, ne e ) ern g 7 p s | S { {, ‘ +} ‘ ‘ tc ner ¥ , ‘ ee +t re . ‘ "9 —T +o). atte . . . , . Ss : : ——, The proposals for the battleships wer« - 4) (0 + ‘ S lex P - I, . 4 4 + 4 a t iS aval BIDS FOR BATTLESHIPS able t mplet ssels t] t 1. th imnrec . ! . ‘ g 1 r x Der t Vv } \ ore : S “ : H Ly r 7 T ‘ . = , rr , . +} } . S this was nated ‘ . . : \ } g) } ad ( FORE RIVER'S ER WITH ITS BIDS 2 ves months, eact 2 te duct $27.7 mpressively esc! ed ett he Fore Rive < ; S Departme duct $ Sh 1 l line Corn + , mn , + t< minin ’ = 4 ; N) } ? Cort : . bids conditioned upon the assumpt the Gover: g . ’ re \ gC ment to furnish « men? oT T T re Sé T T ‘ YY? SP} y ite ’ es . tr r ¢ st t but iat s Was I t s ¥ ows Nove 2, 1916 with pine iS months, decking with pine decking, ” steam turbine machinery : ths, with pine decking... 11,016 {8 months, each =P 10,716,000 fitted as flagship add $40,000; both b fied form of contraet required; Gover! sk < increased costs ictor to assume risk of increased cost ent to furnish electrical propelling to install it but mot to guarantee pe! months, pine decking, each steam turbine machinery iS months, pine decking, each. 11,4 l flagship add $40,000 $10,87 juired., & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company wing to abnormal conditions of labor it will build one battleship on «x Government paying all nstruction, expenses including i.dditional 10 per cent overhead charg COMmMMILSS10! Shipbuilding € Dry Dock Company propelling machinery furnished b by contractor, De] . 17 ‘ } é h ] 7 ¥ luct $ ) vesse s fitte s change 1 conditi M I ‘ Parsons or ( tis tu I ri i installe I I A > ths, eacl 0 zg é l $35,000 vessel S fitted ti changes onditi« requi ! YT ‘ tract i per ce basis ed witl " xpediting « stru ESTROYER BIDS FROM FIVE BUILDERS for the 20 torpedo boat destroyers was builders—the Bath Iron Works, Bath, n Works, San Francisco, Cal.; Fore River Corporation, Quincy, Mass.; William ns Ship & Engine Building Company, Phila- le Construction & Dry Dock Com- The bid of the last named was dis- g in excess of the appropriation. The bids the four yards within the limit covered : iwards will therefore be made to al! of lepartment’s design. mnie d equipment Department’s design "s design. +} ths zZ 24 mo hs é 4 9 I ‘ > T ‘ x r y nh c re ‘ pe f } . 3 } S t = quit Wo s = rr = \ . | : S. « 0 { ® Ss « t covered | } ti propos ~ witl « r r ) ec} e te heo« } ¢ 5 ‘ + fF y e B a hs, eacl $1 sf tnrs ac THE IRON AGE ' vol ( is 2 vesse yi « Modifie On Nov. 1 the Department will open bids for four 35 knot scout cruisers and 20 naring Ww. L. ¢ Press for Stamping Washers from Sheets For making washers and other stamped special ties from either scrap or new sheet and plate mate rial, the Southwark Foundry & Machine Company, Philadelphia, Pa., has developed a line of With this machine it is possible to material, which would bring only a presses. utilize waste small am + amoun ; S ‘ : Ww hen sold aS scrap, DY COI verting it nt wasners of either standard or special types A complete washer is made at each stroke of the ram and the punched washer is throwr it automatically by a special arrangement. As the ram operates con tinuously, on! ne man is needed to attend to the machine as he can use rial. In both hands to hold the mate- addition to punching out washers the ma chine can also be used for different classes of stamp- ing, puncning, snearing, et VY ariou rms of specialty stampings may be turned out, and if de sired the press can be equipped with roller feed for automatically handling washer stock in.bands or bars. A single solid casting of the open-gap type used for the frame and supports the gearing, wi type except in the is of the single-reduction a motor-driven dies, etc. The plunger has broad wearing surfaces and is equipped with a bronze taper gib to take up wear. The die for cutting the outside of the washer and the piercer for punching the center hole simul- taneously are fastened at the bottom of the plunger. The punch is on the bottom, and is held in case oI machine, tne piunger, | camshafts, a sub- eatin i ‘ahr> © ad ne Sy 8, Gong wee ee nnn he eR Ga te intent sal ath Male nese ‘ ee a et : ; . 992 stantial punch holder block on the lower jaw of the frame. A stripper ring, which is operated from a cam on the back of the main shaft through con- necting rods and a lever, surrounds the punch. A series of knockout pins for forcing down the washer, which sticks in the upper part of the die mechanism and ascends with the plunger on its upward stroke, are located in an annular space between the piercer and the die. A bar passing through the ram and stopping against a pair of set screws located in lugs cast on the frame operates the pins. A vertical shaft having a steep pitch thread its upper end is located in front and to the left of the ram. The threaded portion passes through a nut at the top of the plunger, which, as it ascends and descends, imparts a rotary motion to the shaft. As the ram ascends, a hand or cup on the lower end of the shaft swings in under the plunger to receive the washer, which has been pulled loose by the action of the knockout pins between the piercer and the die. As the ram descends to make the next washer the cup swings out of the way and throws the washer into a pile or some receptacle that has been provided. The machine is equipped with a pulley or belt drive or a bracket and the gearing for electric motor drive as may be specified. The back of the main shaft is ordinarily equipped with a tight pul- ley, which is driven from a belt connection on the lower or flywheel shaft. In this case the machine is operated the same as a flywheel non-geared press for light work, and the flywheel, pinion, shaft and the large gear are removed. When operating in this way it is pointed out that the speed of the press is limited only by the skill of the operator in handling the material. Roughing Machine for Bevel Pinions The Gleason Works, Rochester, N. Y., has re- cently developed a machine for roughing spiral type bevel pinions. It is explained that while the build- er’s standard spiral type bevel gear generating machines will either rough or finish the pinions, it is possible by using the new machine to perform the roughing operation cheaper and faster. The cutter operates at a speed of 130 ft. per minute and one tooth can be cut in as short a time as 19 sec. The pinions, after being roughed on the new machine, are finished on the regular generating machine. The machine is entirely automatic and will rough either right or left hand spirals. The generating roll of the work spindle actuates a positive indexing mechanism, and for spacing teeth a notched dial with the required number of divisions is employed. The feed, which is of the positive type, is driven by a cam mounted directly on the cutter sleeve. The machine is driven from the countershaft by a belt. The driving pinion for the internal gear drive to the cutter is mounted on this shaft and all the other drives, including that for the pump, are’ taken from it. The cutters and the mandrels used with this machine are of the same type as those employed on the finishing machine and, of course, are inter- changeable. The adjustments for setting to the spiral angle can be easily and quickly made. The cutter is permanently set to the root angle and, it is pointed out, requires adjustment only as it wears or a new cutter is required. All parts are easily ac- cessible and can be readily oiled and adjusted. The attachments furnished with the machine include one index dial, a set of feed change gears, a cutter gage, an oil pump and connections, a set of wrenches and a countershaft. THE IRON AGE Novem! A Universal Machine for Bevel Pi Roughing Either Right or tH nions Preliminary to Finishing on a St g Type Bevel Gear Generating Machine The following table gives the principal sions and specifications of the machine: Maximum cone distance of any gear that « cut, BR, eeeteaseaveveavia _ Minimum cone distance of any gear that cut, in Troon. wi gant Longest face in terms of cone diameter Maximum ratio of pinion.... ‘ Staal Largest pitch diameter of § to 1 ratio, in... Largest pitch diameter of 2 to 1 Maximum diametral pitch from center of machine to spir ratio, in Maximum distance mOBS, BR. scvuvaces see Cutter spe ed per minute, ft. Minimum time for cutting tooth, se« Maximum time for cutting tooth, sec Diameter of driving pulley, in Width of driving belt, in Diameter of tight and loose pulleys, in Speed of countershaft, r.p.m Brown & Sharpe taper of hole in spindle Power required, hp Floor space, in Height, in Net weight, Ib New 30-In. Heavy-Duty Engine Lathe The Houston, Stanwood & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, has placed a 30-in. heavy-duty ard engine lathe on the market. It is of the dou! back geared type and has a three-step cone pulley Eighteen spindle speeds, ranging from 8.3 to 300 r.j are available and 24 rates of feed are secured with t regular change gears. By employing additional gears practically any U. S. standard or metric thread ca! obtained, as well as any rate of feed. The tailstoc! which is of the set-over type, is clamped by fou! and is also held in position by a pawl fitting a rack cas" in the bed midway between the V’s. The lead screw splined to act as a feed rod, and the apron is of ™ double-wall type. Any length of bed up to 30 ft. ca! supplied, and if desired a housing covering the entr headstock can be furnished to receive the motor ! motor drive. The New York sections of the American Elec chemical Society and the Illuminating to be bel ciety have arranged for a joint session to be helé * the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West Thir ninth Street, New York, on Thursday evening, Be An attractive program has been prepared, inc papers on “High Pressure Gas Installations, Chemistry of Gas Lighting,” and “The New Flexitle Mantle.” ‘