The Iron Age 1916-12-14: Vol 98 Iss 24

cate! 2 New York, December 14, 1916 ESTABLISHED 1855 Bethlehem Ore Dock VOL. 98: No 24 in New York Harbor Features of the Hulett and Mead-Mor- rison Unloaders Provided to Serve the Various Classes of Ocean-Going Vessels Several unusual features have been provided in the new ore unloading dock of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Constable Hook, Bayonne, N. J., which will be ready for the unloading of ore from boats in the latter part of this month. The unloading plant consists of an electric substation, a machine shop, a Hulett automatic unloader of the stiff-leg type, and a Mead-Morrison unloader having a grab bucket operated by the rope system. Two types of ore unloaders were installed because of the differ- _—s ", eet Iron Ore Unloading Dock of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Constable Hook. On the which is located at the slip end of the main frame. This receiving hopper discharges by motor drive into a 30-ton scale hopper mounted on a larry car, which travels on a runway on the main frame so as to register the scale hopper directly above rail- road cars on any of the four tracks beneath the machine. This weighing arrangement insures all cars being loaded to their indicated carrying ca- pacity. The operating range of the machine is such that the bucket can extend 66 ft. from the face of left is a Hulett Stiff-Leg Machine and on the right a Mead-Morrison Grab-Bucket Unloader ences in boats that will be unloaded. The Hulett machine is especially adapted for unloading modern ore boats with many large hatches, while the Mead- Morrison unloader can operate advantageously in tramp steamers having restricted openings. The machines operate on 62-ft. 10-in. runways extending the entire length of a pier 1060 ft. long. The pier is provided with four railroad tracks un- der the unloaders. The slip alongside is dredged to a depth of 35 ft. of water at low tide and is connected with the main ship channel to New York harbor by a channel 35 ft. deep, 250 ft. wide at the bottom and 1400 ft. in length. THE HULETT MACHINE The Hulett unloader operates a clam-shell bucket of 17 tons capacity. This is rigidly attached to the lower end of a rotating vertical stiff leg carried by a walking beam mounted on a trolley which tra- verses a runway on the main frame. The main frame is propelled along the pier to line up with the cargo hatches of a ship being unloaded. The bucket discharges its contents into a 50-ton hopper the wharf, 44 ft. above and 10 ft. below the water at low tide. All the operations of lowering and hoisting, opening and closing the bucket, rotating the bucket leg, trolley traversing and moving the machine along the dock are under the control of one operator who is located in the bucket leg just above the bucket. In this location the operator travels with the bucket and is thus enabled to have an un- obstructed view of it in all positions. The weighing of the ore and its discharge into cars are under the control of another operator, lo- cated on the traveling larry car. The total weight of the Hulett machine is 850 tons and is carried on 48 wheels. The power equipment is as follows: Hoisting one 300-1} motor Trolley traverse one 100-hp. motor Bucket operating one 100-hp. motor Bucket rotating one 10-hp. mot¢ Receiving hopper one 100-hp. motor Larry travel one 30-hy Larry hopper one 30-hp. mi Propelling gear one 100-hp. motor This machine will average one trip per minute, handling 17 tons per trip when working in the 1329 1330 hold of a ship with no obstructions to the free action of the bucket. The 6000-Ib. overbalance of the walking beam is just sufficient to allow the bucket to lower by grav- ity. This gives a low-power consumption per ton of ore handled, as the walking beam is nearly bal- anced. The bucket has a long reach for scraping the bottom of a boat in cleaning up, handles large quantities of ore per trip and is very easy of con- trol. This type of unloader is used to a large ex- tent at Great Lakes ports. However, the installa- tion at Constable Hook is the first machine of this type at tidewater. Some modifications were re- quired to-adapt this machine to unload ocean-going tramp steamers, as well as modern vessels with open holds, such as are now being built by the Bethlehem Steel Company. THE MEAD-MORRISON MACHINE The Mead-Morrison rope system unloader op- erates a 5-ton rope-suspended clamshell bucket. It employs a hinge type of boom of sufficient length to allow the bucket to reach 60 ft. from the face of the wharf. The overhead clearance is 48 ft. above the water at low tide. The bucket discharges its contents into a 50-ton receiving hopper at the front end of the machine on the main tower. Motor- operated gates on the receiving hopper control the discharge of the ore into a 30-ton scale hopper, mounted on a traveling larry car, which conveys the ore to the railroad cars on any of the four tracks beneath the machine. The operator of the ore bucket is located in a stationary house near the top of the main frame at the wharf side. The rope- system machine weighs about 250 tons and is car- ried on 40 wheels. The motor equipment lows: is as fol- Hoisting Tre 1 Prope Propelling g Rece Larry car trav 12-hp L arry hopper This machine is capable of making two round trips per minute, carrying five tons per trip when the bucket has free access to the cargo. It can use a smaller clam-shell bucket which will reach the cargo in a tramp steamer having stanchions be- tween decks, narrow alleys along shaft tunnels, etc., which would be inaccessible to the Hulett unloader. The clam-shell bucket can be removed and a hook substituted for handling small scoop buckets where it is necessary to shovel the ore by hand. ELECTRIC SYSTEM AND CONTROL The electric-control apparatus on the two un- loaders was furnished by the Cutler-Hammer Com- pany and the motors by the General Electric Com- pany. The electric power to operate the unloaders is purchased from the Public Service Electric Com- pany of New Jersey, at 2200 volts, 2-phase, 60-cycle, alternating current. The unloaders use direct cur- rent at 250 volts, with a complete metallic circuit. A sub-station was installed to transform the al- ternating current into direct current. All the sub- station apparatus, which was furnished by the Gen- eral Electric Company, is as follows: ~ y 5S. ¢ t Ww is 600 r.p.m., 2 volts d single-phase transfo rs (two t r ver ) h ra 270 kva., 22 8 s cycles, oil-insulated, self led ‘tor generator flywheel balancer of 250 kw pacity, 250 volts dc. speed range 7 r.p.m The armature shaft of the machine carries a flywheel consisting of a number of steel plate disks THE IRON AGE December 14 riveted together. This wheel weighs 12.: and when running at full-rated speed has a eral speed of 22,000 ft. per minute. The ; absorbs energy from the source of supply w! power requirements of the unloaders are lig gives out energy to the unloaders at ma power-demand periods, by virtue of the stored in the flywheel. The maximum dema: the generating station supplying the sub-stat reduced so that a lower power rate can be se as the electric power is purchased on a max demand basis. One rotary converter and th: wheel set are of ample capacity for operating unloaders. An underground conduit system of six 750. c.m. lead-covered copper cables connects the station with the contact rails that feed the loaders. This contact rail system consists of ty 85-lb. standard railroad steel rails, one above ¢! other and 750,000 c.m. bare copper cables clamped to the rails for continuous bonds. Porcelain insu- Jators with hook bolts through rail supporting brackets clamp the head of the contact rail, and the contact shoes on the unloaders run on the unde: side on the base of the rails. The machine-shop equipment consists of a Put- nam 42-in. x 10-ft. engine lathe, a Reed Prentice 16-in. x 4-ft. lathe, a 32-in. shaper, a 5-ft. radia] drill, a 31-in. sliding head drill press @nd a double- ended emery grinder. Eagh machine tool is equipped with individual motor drive for 2-phase, 250-volt, 60-cycle current, which is supplied by two 15 k.v.a. transformers in the sub-station. The ro- tary converters will operate only when the unload- ers are in operation. The complete lighting is for 250 volts, alternating or direct current. A one- story brick building contains the machine shop, office, storeroom and sub-station. All the dock equipment is calculated to unload any class of ocean-going vessel with a saving in time and expense. The Lehigh Valley Railroad serves the ore dock and is interested in it. Indicating Critical Point in Heat Treatment The Gibb Instrument Company, Inc., Highland Building, Pittsburgh, has put on the market an instru- ment, known as the Crit-Point, for determining the criti- cal point in the heat treatment of steel. The construc- tion of this new device is clearly shown in the accom- panying drawing. The temperature at which this critical point is reached in each steel is determined in the laboratory by the aid of apparatus, and in practical application the 2 _ % Fra ms > ~~ : ‘ j Asbestos Covering aT Copper Conductors i a \ = Advantage Is Taken in This Indicator of the Fact that Stee ses Its Magnetic Properties when Brought to the Crit Point in Heat Treatment furnace temperature is raised somewhat above point. The steel is put in and is brought up to what is supposed to be the temperature of its crit point. It is a well-known fact that steel in the process of heating loses its magnetic properties when brought to its critical point and the Crit-Point ¢ advantage of this infallible phenomenon. . somber 14, 1916 y rough the medium of magnetic coils, contact is i with the steel in the furnace. A magnetic indi- , is placed in the circuit, which is connected : gh a small step-down transformer with a source ternating current and immediately indicates or not the steel has reached its critical point irface of the steel in time becomes non-magnetic, ther words, is brought up to the critical] point. s indicated on the meter by an approach of the toward the red line indicative of the critical As the heat penetrates the steel, and the inte- S brought to the critical temperature, the needle e indicator continues to approach the critical- mark. The Crit-Point, it is pointed out, does not re temperature. When the critical point is indi- n the meter, no indication is given of what the rature might be. The knowledge of this tem- ture is irrelevant; the steel is at or above the il point. A Switchboard of the Dead Front Type The switchboard department of the General Electric pany, Schenectady, N. Y., has developed a type of hboard for general power and lighting service up 00 volts in which live parts are inaccessible from front of the board. The live parts of the current potential receptacles are recessed to make acci- contact with them difficult. Further protection ifforded by grille work screens having hinged doors spring locks. In this way it is impossible for any ther than an authorized person holding the key t« r the space at the rear of the switchboard. lisconnecting switches are employed between all oil 1it breakers and busbars and provide for the con- and rapid isolation of the breakers from the for inspection, changing oil or repairs without The board is equipped with calibrating recep- the front of the panel instead of the usual iting switches at the rear, an arrangement which, Parts Are Inaccessible from the Front of This ting-Current Switchboard Except the Current a! Receptacies Which Have Their Live Parts Necessed to Make Accidental Contact Difficult pointed out, permits safe and convenient calibra- f instruments and meters from the front, the in- of plugs in the calibrating receptacles connect- the tes#ing instruments in series with the one under- g test. Removable fuse receptacles of the screw g type are provided and enable the secondary poten- transformer fuses to be replaced from the front of switchboard without danger of contact with live third annua! safety exhibition of the Ohio Indus- Commission will be held at Columbus, Ohio, March 10. Arrangements for the exhibits will be made a arly date, and Memorial Hall has been selected as iquarters. Manufacturers may obtain further infor- from J. Y. Bassell, Columbus Chamber of Com- THE IRON AGE 1331 Hack Saw Machine with a Treadle The L. S. Starrett Company, Athol, Mass., has put a hack-saw machine on the market. Aside from the fact that the machine represents a new line for the company, it is of interest in that it has a _ treadle for raising the saw frame, an oil dashpot control for A Tread Arrangement Is Employed to Raise the Saw Frame in This Hack Saw M hine Instead of Requiring the Oper Lift It the descent of the blade, a stroke adjustment and a frame-locking device The saw frame is mounted on a rectangular slide with a bearing 11% in. long. An adjustment for wear is provided as well as a quick-acting tightening device to hold the blade at right angles with the work being cut. The stroke of the saw is adjustable for stock ranging from 1 to 6 in. in diameter, and it is possible to use practically the entire length of the blade, which, it is emphasized, insures uniform wear and faster cut ting. The descent of the saw to the work when the ma chine is started is controlled by an oil dashpot. This arrangement, it is explained, makes the machine with the frame up and is relied upon to prevent the latter from dropping and breaking the saw The blade is also gradually lowered to the work with the result, it is pointed out, that the teeth do not bite in rapidly and become stripped or the saw broken. The treadle at the right of the base is employed raising the saw frame. In this way the weight of the operator brings the saw up instead of requiring an ex penditure of his strength in lifting, a feature which tends toward greater speed. The saw is prevented from dragging on the return stroke by an automatic locking device, which also keeps the frame at any height when the machine is stopped for setting the work. A tank for cutting compound and a pump are lo- cated in the interior of the base If desired, they can be removed readily for cleaning, although it is ex plained that this is seldom required, since the chips are retained in the pan of the bed and are easily taker away. While the machine is intended to take the builder’s standard 14-in. blade, 12 or 13 in. blades car also be used. The over-all height is 48 in. and the distance from the floor to the top of the table is 28 in. The floor space occupied measures 14 x 32 ir : it possible to start Another Stainless Steel this country (U. S. 1,197,256) a non-tarnishable alloy Harry Brearly, Sheffield, England, has patented containing Y to 16 per cen or chromium and less thar 0.70 per cent carbon 4 typical composition has 0.30 per cent carbon, 0.30 per cent manganese and 13 per ent chromium. Smal! amounts up t or 2 per cent of nickel, copper, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium are said to be without effect on the untarnish able properties 7 ————— ae The Power-Forging of Chain Cables’ How the Substitution of Power for Hand Welding Produced Better Chain and Worked an Economic There has been developed, during the last two years, at the Boston Navy Yard, a power-forging process for the manufacture of chain cables. Chain cables up to 234 in. diameter were manufactured by hand without any serious mechanical difficulties. Three-inch cables, however, presented difficulties due to the size of the metal and the hard labor re- quired of the chain makers’ helpers. The Panama Canal Commission required 3-in. guard chains for the Panama Canal and called for Fig. 1—Hand Welded Triplet No. 2, Open Link Chain. let No. 2, Open Link Chain, After Test to Destruction. quired. Stud Link Chain. an ultimate breaking stress of 525,000 lb. for stud- link chain and desired the same strength for 3-in. open-link chain. It was found necessary subse- quently to reduce the requirement to 500,000 Ib. and later to 450,000 lb. Private chain makers were unable to make the chain as good as that manufac- tured at the navy yard. Illustrations Figs. 1 to 4 show test triplets submitted to the Panama Canal Commission by the private manufacturers. It will be noted that the hand-welded links are irregular in shape or reduced in diameter adjoining the weld, *Abstract of a paper read at the twenty-fourth general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engi- neers, New York, Nov. 16, 1916. *+Naval constructor, United States Navy. Revolution BY FREDERIC Note irregular shape of middle link. ( Note lifeless appearance. Fig. 3—Hand Welded Triplet No. 1, Stud Link Chain. Tested to Destruction. in the Industry G. COBURN+ and are obviously links. The inferiority of hand-made welds is due + the fact that the helpers cannot hit hard enoug! with their sledges to drive the scarfs togethe The welding surfaces are not smooth since they ar: made by peening, forming pockets which retain slag which is not worked out by the hammering. Frac- tures in old chains show that not over 10 per cent of the surface was welded. The strength of the inferior to the power-welcd& Fig. 2—Hand Welded Trip- Broke at 364,000 Ib. 525,000 Ib. re Rough and irregular. Fig. 4—Hand Welded Triplet No. 1 Broke at 390,000 Ib. 525,000 lb. required chain was due to its form, assisted by the tacking together of the scarfs. In the large chains it is impossible to finish the inside of the link at the welded end, thus leaving a hole and reducing the sectional area. Another serious defect in hand- welded chain is the wasting of material in the fire just back of the weld. The power-welded process as experimentally de- veloped consists briefly of shearing the bar to length in a power shear; bending up the end in a 6-in. Ajax upsetting machine; forming the scarf under a 2500- lb. steam hammer; bending the link by hand around a mandrel; welding the link under 350-Ib. single frame steam forging hammer, finishing the link under dies fitted to 3000-lb. double frame forging 1332 14, 1916 Et Ve Power Welded Triplet No. 3, Open Link Chain 3, Open Link Chain. Tested to destruction ed It exceeded the requirement for stud link chain per fathom, and runs 6 links per fathom hammer; trimming off the “flash” by hand. The hain made by this process looked well, but would not meet the breaking stress requirements. This fault was remedied by heat treatment. It had been suggested that the chain be quenched from a temperature above the critical point and ibrated, if possible, with a view to stiffening and strengthening it. The opposite treatment, how- ever, namely, an air quench from a temperature slightly above the upper critical point was found to Smooth forge, regular in Looks tough and well put together: Figs. 7 Ultimate strength 612,000 Ib For THE IRON AGE shape Fig Broke at Triplets battleships of the Power Welded Triplet 32.000 Ib 525,000 lb. re- This chain weighs 595 Pennsylvania class ind 8—3\4-lIr Test be the one needed. The reason for this is that that severe hammer blow on the link by the steam ham- mer stiffens it in the welded quarter and partial annealing is required to soften it enough to make the quarters deform under the shearing stress which obtains there. This permits the total stress to run up until the fracture can be obtained by a combina- tion of shear and tension. The power welding and heat treatment process permitted the manufacture of open-link 3-in. chain which would stand a stress Fig. 9—Upsetting the Bolt 10—Scarfing the Bolt 1334 THE IRON AGE December 14. Fig. 11 Sending the Bolt Ready to bend as high as 550,000 to 560,000 lb. The work done up to this point was of an experimental nature, and on July 31, 1914, authority was given by the Navy De- partment to proceed with the chain making on a manufacturing basis by means of the power-forging process. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916, Threading the Preheated Link the Boston Navy Yard manufactured about 9 miles of chain ranging in diameter from 21% to 3% in. inclusive. The cost of the 314-in. chain was prac- tically $6.00 per foot or 6 cents per pound, which cost is still considered high because it will be pos- sible to effect further improvements in the manu- facturing process. The relative rate of speed of the hand-welding and power-welding process is as fol- lows: The production of 3%4-in. cables by hand- welding was three links in two days per gang, at which rate a single gang would require seven years to make the cables for a battleship of the Pennsyl- vania class. The production at the present by means of power welding is at the rate of 20 links per gang per day. In the manufacturing process, the bar iron, after being sheared into lengths or bolts, is transported in baskets, a ton or more at a time, to the upsetting and scarfing machine. Each scarfing unit consists of a special furnace, an upsetting machine and a drop hammer arranged practically in the are of a circle. The furnace is charged with from 6 to 12 bolts, depending upon the diameter. Each bolt is heated for a length of about one foot and is then upset in the machine, as shown in Fig. 9. In the same heat the bolt goes directly from the upsetting Fig. 12—Bending the Bolt Prying scarfs apart machine to the 2500-lb. hammer, where it is scarfed as shown in Fig. 10. The flash from the drop forg ing is removed and the process is repeated to scart the opposite end of the bolt. From the scarfing operation, the bolts go to the link-bending plant, consisting of a hydraulic forg- ing press of capacities of 40, 60 and 100 tons re spectively. Ordinarily only the 40-ton cylinder is used and the process of bending the link is illus trated in Figs. 11 and 12. The mechanism for bending the link is mounted on a sole piece bolted to the body of the press. It consists of a stationary mandrel of the size and shape of the inside of the link. The bolt is clamped into the press with one of the scarfed ends fitting snugly one end of the mandrel. When the press comes forward the small wheel, shown in Fig. 12 as touching the link, wipes Fig. 14—First Welding Operation on Dolly Dies ‘ember 14, 1916 bolt around the mandrel, leaving it in the posi- shown in the illustration. The small wheel is ried on an arbor attached to a toothed wheel re- ing about the geometrical center of the man- The wheel is rotated by a sector which ro- s about an arbor fixed to the sole piece of the hanism. It is pushed and pulled by a link se- ed to its end and to the head of the press. As as the chain link has been wiped around the ndrel, the scarfs are pried apart with a crow bar. The welding plant consists of two hammers, a \)-lb. double-frame steam forging hammer, and 50-Ib. single-frame steam forging hammer. both rated by compressed air. The 3000-lb. hammer fitted with dies, similar to drop-forging dies, in which there is an impression of the shape of the This impression is not the final shape of the mpleted link, but is such that when the link is ; _ \ Fig. 15—Second stretched to proof stress, it will take the shape speci- fied on the standard plan. Immediately after the link has been completed the chain, a new link is threaded through it, being brought from a preheating furnace. The chain being made is carried on a low jib crane with a trough running from the end of the jib to a point about 4 ft. from the ground. The new link hav- ing been threaded in, the chain is swung over to the large hammer and closed down in the dies. The link is then heated for the first welding heat in an oil forge of the ordinary type, excepting that it has an unusually large area of flame duct and combus- yn chamber. The division of labor in welding is: One man operate the hammers, one to operate the hoist | swing the crane, a mechanic and his helper to grab the link with a special pair of tongs, and a fifth mber of the gang, who tends the fire, helps with chain under the hammer, swings the crane and sts in setting the stud. The scarf is thoroughly hammered under the -lb. hammer, which is fitted with special dies horns in the form known as “dolly dies,” and lag worked out from between the welding sur- This is the most important part of the weld- While the link is welded in the 350-lb. process. THE IRON AGE 1335 hammer, it is not in perfect shape. It is, there- fore, re-heated and when at welding heat is struck several blows by the dies in the 3000-lb. hammer, thus forming the link perfectly and completing the welding. The plant illustrated is one in which the process was developed but new plants will consist of one double-frame 1800-Ib. steam drop hammer, on either side of which will be installed a 250-lb. single-frame forging hammer, one being left-handed and the other right-handed. This arrangement permits two gangs to work on opposite sides of the large ham mer, each having its own crane, fire and small ham- mer, and dividing the cost of the large hammer be- tween them. All experimental work was done with cast-iron dies. Early dies were made by “rule-of-thumb” and a process of trial and error, which, however, gradu- Welding Operation ally developed into an engineering problem. Steel dies were next put in service and experiments made with cut and cast-steel dies, in which the latter proved to be superior, being cheaper and lasting fully as well. At the writing of this paper a pair of cast-steel dies have been in service 24 hours per day for almost every working day during a period of eleven months. They are still in good condition. It is interesting to note the economic signifi cance of this power-forging process of making chain, as it is an excellent illustration of the divi- sion of labor which always results in the applica- tion of power for operation. Where one gang per- formed the operations of scarfing, bending, welding, finishing, etc., it was impossible to substitute a ma- chine for the gang. But when the process was di- vided into its integral parts, then it was found that each little part was a simple one, to be done over and over again, and lending itself to the application of power. It has also this significance—that where the hand-welding process required a high-grade me chanic on each operation, the power process r« quired a high-grade mechanic on only one operation that of welding. The other operations are so simple that a helper can be used, the helper being carefully taught the particular part of the process that he will have to perform Sulphide and Oxide Inclusions in Steel’ A New Metallographic Method for Distin- guishing Them—Light Gray Spots Not Al- ways Sulphides — Some Practical Examples BY GEORGE F. COMSTOCK phists that all light-gray inclusions seen with the microscope in polished sections of steel are manganese sulphide. Examples of this belief are continually appearing, as for instance in the paper by Dr. Henry Fay on manganese sulphide as a source of danger in steel rails,+ and in Lieutenant- Commander Cook’s paper on “The Metallography of Steel for U. S. Naval Ordnance.’’+ Slate-colored inclusions are considered to silicates, and dove-gray inclu- sions, manganese sulphide. To show the danger in the latter un- qualified assump- tion, it should be sufficient to ex- amine the edge of any piece of steel I: seems a common opinion among metallogra- be that is covered with a _§ fairly thick scale, and that has been pol- ished in such a way as to prevent the scale from breaking away entirely below the polished surface. This can be done by protecting the scaled edge of the specimen with some soft metal, or fusible metal applied molten, or ordinary red fiber such as electricians use for insulating. An examination of this scale, if the polishing has been done well, and the sample is preferably unetched, will show it to be light gray, and apparently “man- ganese sulphide.”” We know, however, that scale is chiefly iron oxide, and contains sulphur only as an impurity. Its similarity in appearance to man- ganese sulphide is shown in Fig. 1, which is a transverse view of the edge of a small hot-rolled steel rod, magnified 200 diameters. The steel has been etched with picric acid, but the gray scale can be plainly seen at the edge of the metal. The very dark material beyond the scale is the red fiber in which this specimen was clamped. to prevent the scale from falling away during polishing. In the course of several years’ work with the microscope on rail steel and other commercial steels the writer has not infrequently seen light-gray in- Fig. 1 *From a paper to be presented at the Tn Panne a meeting of the Ameri- can Institute of Min- ing Engineers in New York in February, 1917. The author is metallographist, physical testing laboratory, Titanium Alloy Mfg. Company, Niagara Falls. N. Y. +A Microscopic In- \ vestigation of Broken Steel Rails: Manga- nese Sulphide’ as a Source of Danger. Proceedings of the American Society for ; Testing Materials, 2 Vol. 8, p. 74 (1908). ‘ . tTra nsactions - Transverse View of the Edge of a Small Hot-Rolled Steel Rod, Etched with Picric Acid, Magnified 200 Diameters Pe | a Le ee , : a ; ; . ° we. 3 ‘ ; - : ta ‘. 7? ' : clusions that, from evidence given by sulphur prin or for other reasons, did not seem likely to be s phides, and in some cases these were known with: any doubt to be oxides, like the scale above m« tioned. Finally, a case of some importance aros where it was desired to know definitely whether ce: tain light-gray inclusions were sulphides or not, and it was not possible to decide the question from their color alone. Reference to the standard textbooks on metal- lography did not help much, the only real test described for dis ¢ ror tinguishing ox- ides from _ sul- phides _ involved heating the pol- ished sample in a current of care- fully purified hy- drogen, and this method was con- sidered as too complicated and necessitating too much preparation and practice. Etching with weak organic acids was not found satisfactory, and neither was the method of using a drop of sulphuric acid and watching for bubbles of hydrogen sulphide gas. Tried with known sulphide inclusions, both these methods at- tacked the steel itself too strongly, or else, if the acids were weakened, had no effect either on stee! or sulphides. It was finally decided to get together a few specimens containing sulphides, and others in which oxides were known to be present, and to try various solutions on them until one was found that would attack one type of inclusion and not the other. This work had not progressed very far when it was remembered that boiling alkaline sodium picrate, which is used to darken cementite, having no effect on ferrite and very little on pearlite, was always found to attack the sulphide inclusions in a sam- ple, leaving black pits instead of the light-gray spots seen before etching. Fig. 2, for instance, shows some sulphide inclusions in a polished section, un- etched, cut from a segregated streak in a steel rail, where. sulphur prints indicated the presence of high sulphur. This same _ spot etched with boil- ing alkaline dium picrate 1s shown in Fig. 3, where the phides are seen to have been black- ened by this re agent. The dark- s0- sul- American Institute Sulphide Inclusions in a Polished Section Cut from a Segregated Streak in a ening seems to de of Mining Engineers Steel Rails. Magnified 130 Diameters. Fig. 2 is unetched and Fig. 3 has actual Vol. 53, p. 238 (1915) been etched with a boiling alkaline sodium picrate due to an actu: 1336 ember 14, 1916 THE ition of the manganese sulphide in etching liquid, so that instead of smooth polished surface, we now ve a surface full of pits or hollows, ere the sulphides were, and as se hollows do not reflect any light | k into the microscope with vertical imination, they appear black in the ld of view. Figs. 4 and 5 show ne other sulphide inclusions in a shell-steel billet, before and after etching, respectively. In this lower- rbon steel the ferrite-pearlite struc- ture*is brought out faintly by the etching, but not enough to interfere th the distinct blackening of the ilphides. When this etching with boiling alkaline sodium jicrate was tried on steel known to contain oxides, the problem of distinguishing oxides from sulphides was solved at once, for the oxide inclusions were found to be absolutely unattacked. Fig. 6 shows a cross-section, unetched, of a seam in the base of a steel rail. These surface seams are always filled with seale, or oxide, although the light-gray color has sometimes led observers to believe that man- ganese sulphide was present. The fact that such seams give light streaks instead of black spots on sulphur prints and etched sections, however, shows Sulphur is W f ection of a Seam in the Base of a Steel Rail 6 is unetched, and Fig. 7 has been etched as in the that oxide and not sulphide is really present in them. -This seam, etched with boiling alkaline sodium picrate, is shown in Fig. 7. The oxide is seen to be entirely unattacked. The application of this solution to etching all grades of steel for distinguishing between oxides ind sulphides has not been described before, so far s the writer is aware. In ease of application and ertainty of results it is much superior to other methods that have been suggested for this purpose. One advantage is that the solution used is one that every metallographist should have on hand for etch- ng cementite in high-carbon steel. This same solution can be made to serve two purposes. It was first dis- covered by Kourbatoff, who recom- mended it for darkening cementite be- use it does not attack ferrite or pearlite. The writer makes up the solution according to the formula given in Sauveur’s Metallography and Heat Treatment of Iron and Steel, the procedure being about as follows: gr. NaOH are dissolved in 60 to 70 c.c. vater, 2 gr. picric acid are added, and solution is heated until the picric acid ssolved, when the volume is brought » 100 c.c. by adding more water. in using this solution to etch pol- Diameters IRON Inclusions in a unetched Magnified 130 Diameters foregoing cases Cracked Steel Casting Showing Large 7 ig AGE Diameters Fi is Fig Shel Billet, Magr 30 is been etche fied 1 Lime Steel and Fig h ad the s ished-steel specimens, it is brought to boiling in a beaker on a hot plate, the specimen is immersed in the solution, and boiling is continued for 10 min. Then the specimen is removed, washed, and dried. The polished and etched surface may be wiped dry with chamois skin without affecting the results. If the specimen contains cracks, this wiping is neces- sary, and repeated washing and drying may also be necessary, to remove the last traces of the sodium picrate from the surface to be examined. The solu- tion may be used many times, but as the boiling makes it more concentrated water should be added occasionally to keep the volume about 100 c.c. Some illustrations of the practical use of this method for distinguishing oxides from sulphides follow. A sec- tion of a steel casting, which cracked while hot and in which the presence of oxides might therefore be expected, was polished. An experienced eye could perhaps tell which of the inclu- sions were sulphides and which were oxides, but the distinction at best would not be convincing. After etch- ing by the method described above, however, the difference between the two kinds of inclusions became evi- dent. The arrangement of these sul- phides was noteworthy, as a network was strongly suggested. By this method of etching it can easily be shown that the small inclusions often found in a network arrange- ment in the ferrite of well-deoxidized steel castings are merely finely divided sulphides. An instance of such inclusions was described by Dr. Henry Fay in a paper on “Some Causes of Failures in Metals,” Proceedings of the American Society for Testing Materials, Vol. 11, p. 439 (1911), and well illus- trated by his Figs. 16 and 17 on page 450. These are said to be “slag” by Dr. Fay, but their appear- ance is exactly similar to numerous occurrences. of sulphides which have come to the writer’s attention. A large complex slag inclusion, also in a cracked Complex Slag Inclusions unetched, and Fig. 9 is etched as photomicrograph Magnified 130 S is in the preceding 1338 THE IRON AGE steel casting, is shown unetched in Fig. 8. The light-colored rough-looking part of this inclusion at the center of the field of view was bright yellow, and hence considered to be sulphide of iron. The other light-gray portions, including the spots in the dark- gray part, were supposed at first to be manganese sulphide, and the darker part, manganese silicate. But when etched with boiling alkaline sodium picrate, only the yellow constituent was attacked, showing that it alone was sulphide, and the light- gray constituent was oxide instead of manganese sulphide. The appearance after etching is shown in Fig. 9. A section cut from a bar of ingot iron that was red-short and cracked in rolling is shown in Fig. 10, taken before etching. Most of the inclusions found here were light gray in color, but many of them had yellow parts attached to them at one or both ends. The yellow substance, which is very rarely seen in steel, was taken to be sulphide of iron, and the gray inclusions were at first supposed to be manganese sulphide. But the manganese content of this ingot iron was found to be very low, and the sulphur also was not high enough to allow the presence of so many sulphides. Consequently, it was doubtful whether these gray inclusions were sulphides or ox- ides, until the sample was etched with the boiling alkaline sodium picrate solution, when it was appar- ent at once that they were oxides, and only the yel- low substance was sulphide. The inclusions of Fig. 10 are shown after etching in Fig. 11, where the dis- tinction between oxide and sulphide is very plain. One of the largest particles of the yellow constitu- ent was noticed, before etching, to have a spotted appearance, and when examined under high magnifi- cation it was seen to be full of very fine gray spots. This is evidently a eutectic of iron oxide and iron sulphide. Under the microscope, the large unspotted dark-gray areas, with the black pits due to fracture in polishing, were oxide, and the spotted area the eutectic. The oxide is darker than the sulphide. After a short etching with boiling alkaline sodium picrate the eutectic, but not the oxide, was attacked, for the former was now darker than the latter, and its structure blurred and indistinct. These notes are presented in the hope that the simple method here described will appeal to metal- Section Cut from a Bar of Ingot Iron That Was Red-Short Rolling, Magnified 130 Diameters. Fig. 10 is unetched, and with a boiling alkaline sodium picrate lographists in general as being worthy of trial in cases where the identity of light-gray inclusions in steel is in question, so that in future sulphides need not be called slag; and the error of calling oxide or scale inclusions manganese sulphide merely because their color is light gray may also be avoided. The greatest possible economy in the use of high- speed tool steel is recommended by the local munition authorities in Germany by means of the display of an official notice in factories and workshops. December 14. Screw Punch and Die Testing Press A screw press designed to aid toolmakers j production of accurately fitting punches and di been developed by the Manhattan Machine & Works, Grand Rapids, Mich. An effort has been made to provide sufficient space for mounting the die in any desired position, as well as providing ample room between the bed and the ram. Another point, upon which emphasis is laid, is the convenience of handling, it being a one- man machine, in which the toolmaker does not require any help. The press consists of a bed measuring 18 x 36 in. and having a clear space of 26 in. between the standards. The top of the bed has 52 holes, % in. in diameter, tapped in the upper surface to enable the die to be mounted in any desired position. The handwheel for operating the punch shank is 24 in. le a ‘ The Die Being Tested Is in diameter and is mount- Clamped on the Bed of the ed between the standards. Press and the Punch Is ° Forced Down by the Hand- A maximum clear space wheel of 24 in. is provided be- tween the bed and the ram, thus, it is explained, en- abling the die to be blocked up on parallels and pro- viding clearance for springs, cams, etc., as well as permitting the action of the punch in the die, the timing, etc., to be inspected. Another advantage claimed is that the punch can be lined up with the die and then raised high enough to enable the pressure pads, stripper plates, springs, etc., to be mounted with- out removing the punch from the press. One Day of Rest in Seven Discussion Working hours in continuous industries is one of the topics to be discussed at the annual meeting of the American Association for Labor Legislation, and William B. Dickson, second vice-president and treasurer of the Midvale Steel & Ordnance Company, is to lead the discussion on “Practical Aspect of the Weekly Day of Rest and the Eight- Hour Shift in Continuous Industries.” This particular session will be held on Friday morning, Dec. 29, at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Another one of the sub-divisions of the topic an- nounced is: “One Day of Rest in Seven by State and Federal Legislation,” dis- cussions to be led by John A. Fitch, editor, industrial department of the Sur- vey; and another, “Eight-Hour Shifts by Federal Legislation,” led by Prof. John R. Commons, University of Wisconsin. After-the-European-War problems are to be discussed at the banquet of the association, Friday evening, and at 4 luncheon meeting, Saturday, Dec. 30, at the Hotel Sinton, Cincinnati, health insurance is to be the topic. and Cracked in Fig. 11 etched The testing of two series of steel columns of the American Railway Engineering Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers by the United States Bureau of Standards has been temporarily inter- rupted, with the object of studying the data already obtained and making further supplementary tests 0” specimens cut from the columns. A paper on the strength of steel columns in tests has been completed and it will be published as a technological paper by the bureau. Management and Engineering Meetings Measuring the Manager; Humanizing the Plant; Evaluating the Business; and Study- ing the Machine Shop Discussed in New York E inefficiency of the manager; more about | he human factor in industries; the need of a neans for collating machine-shop information for the common good, and the undeveloped but necessary place of the mechanical engineer in indus- trial preparedness were conspicuous topics in the discussions of the meetings held last week in New York of the American Society of Mechanical En- gineers and on Saturday of the Taylor Society, the society organized some years ago to promote the «ience of management, and renamed last year. As usual, the meetings on mechanical engineer- ing subjects were numerous with simultaneous ses- sions on different days. The Taylor Society meet- ing, following the meeting of the mechanical engi- neers and attended by some members of that organ- ization, found itself like the mechanical engineers, for example, emphasizing a need to open the man- ager’s eyes to his own inefficiency, and also dwelt at length on the human factor. In this respect the management meetings were noteworthy for the relatively small consideration given to the mechan- ism of management, which has formerly received most of the attention, discussing instead the worker from the standpoint of human relations. The subjoined account covers these various topics and also some of the information developed on gas- power subjects, and on the heat treatment of chains. Machine-Shop Practice Data to Be Compiled At the session of Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 6, of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, held under the auspices of the sub-committee on machine- shop practice, two papers were presented. The first of these, by Carl G. Barth, consulting engineer, Phila- delphia, was on “Standardization of Machine Tools” and contained suggestions regarding standards of speed and feed series and standardized power for machine tools, ete. It dealt with the subject of standardization of the machine equipment of a shop as a whole, standard speed and feed series, the power of machine tools, tool- posts for lathes, lathe centers, T-slots and milling and vertical drilling machine sockets. Universal Speed and Feed Series The author strongly urges the adoption of 9 universal speed series by all machine-tool builders for all machines such as lathes, boring mills, milling and vertical drilling machines, ete., with the available speeds in geometric progression. The same procedure is recommended for feeds except for lathes where the feeds for plain turning are obtained as a constant fraction of those employed in screw cutting. The adoption of a standardized amount of power for each size of machine of a certain type is recommended as enabling the greatest advantage e derived from the adoption of a standard speed series. Both, however, must be adopted if the fullest advantages are to be realized. The form of toolpost recommended for lathes is that which has been in use for some time. The universal adoption of Brown & Sharpe standards for lathe centers and sockets for milling and vertical drilling machines is recommended, as well as the universal abandonment of the tang as a method of driving drills, a key drive being employed. It is planned to review the paper at some length in an early issue. Codifying Machine-Shop Practice The other paper, “A Proposed Plan for the Activities ' the Machine-Shop Practice Sub-Committee,” by H. K. Hathaway, consulting engineer and vice-president Tabor Mfg. Company, Philadelphia, advocated a plan leading to the more rapid and positive development of machine-shop practice as a science and to make available and readily accessible to all engaged in that practice the knowledge now existing in scattered and unrecorded form as well as that which might be added as the science advances. He recommended the grouping and ‘odification of the data in accordance with a logical e of classification and indexing which would bring together in the most accessible and usable form every- pertaining to each of the divisions and sub- divisions of the science, and the working out of a definite plan of action for procuring from members best qualified papers dealing with each subject covered by the classification, with the result that the papers when properly arranged would constitute a classified refer- ence library. Another and even larger undertaking recommended was the prosecution along predetermined lines of research that would result in definite advance- ment of the art, such work at present being almost entirely left to the enterprise of individuals or com- panies, with the result that there is no co-ordination of effort. The first part of the plan in the author’s opinion might be undertaken at once and a classification of machine-shop practice arranged to permit of easy expansion and correction was appended to the paper. HOW PROPOSED WORK SHOULD BE DONE This paper produced considerable discussion. In a written discussion submitted by Henry Hess, Phila- delphia, general supervision by the research committee of the society of the work of the sub-committees en- gaged in the researches outlined by the paper was suggested, as well as co-operation with other technical societies. Robert C. H. Heck, professor of mechanical engineer- ing, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., asked for data on average practice on speeds and feeds in machine shops. R. J. S. Piggott, power engineer, Remington Arms- Union Metallic Cartridge Company, Bridgeport, Conn., agreed with the author as to the desirability of having data available. He mentioned conditions in a munitions shop where thirty-one cutting compounds formerly used had been reduced to seven. He stated that the work should be done earnestly or not at all, and blamed the attitude of secrecy on the part of manufacturers as being at the bottom of American inefficiency. With reference to the classification system proposed by the author he took exception to the statement that the Dewey decimal system would not serve, and stated that the latter could be expanded as needed. F. L. Eberhardt, Gould & Eberhardt, Newark, N. J., commended the paper as giving a plan for collecting interesting data, but suggested that a time limit of one year should be fixed in analyzing results given in the trade and technical journals, ete. He thought the sub- committee should co-operate with the research com- mittee of the society and believed that the greatest opportunity of the sub-committee was to bring out at the annual meeting the latest developments in shop practice. Dr. William Kent said that at the present time the machine-shop branch of mechanical engineering was 1339 ¥ 1340 THE IRON AGE the least scientific and that the proposed plan afforded an opportunity for change. He suggested that the com- mittee procure questions from machine-shop men as a basis for research work and endeavor to answer 10 questions and conduct one extended research each year. He was opposed to the Dewey classification system and favored a letter one rather than the mnemonic system proposed. MEAGER INFORMATION ON MACHINE TOOLS John J. Ralph said that data did not become obsolete as soon as was thought. He spoke of the lack of information about requirements for machine tools and said that machine shops did not know what tools were on the market. He suggested the compilation of factors about machine tools, such as floor space, depreciation, suitability, etc., with a view to weighing these various elements on a percentage basis if desirable. The method of testing tools for accuracy