The Iron Age 1917-01-25: Vol 99 Iss 4

ry, $1 or us ing ble ‘ich ter are nce eft: ous dedi any. cen but hear kes. New York, January 25, 1917 STABLISHED 1855 ————— uy WER ELEC ia VOL. 99: No. 4 iS gla ge 95 : e 0 Ie Ce ee 2 COLE OVILLE Ki ~ Me, th a Shortcomings of Munitions Makers Why There Have Delays in Been Production and Losses in Money—Net Result BY G. F. YEAR and a half ago a group of American A manufacturers agreed to deliver several mil- lion rounds of 3-in. ammunition and several llion rifles during the year 1916, and some have failed to supply their quota. Foreign engineers, acting as special commissioners or inspectors, have critically examined the personnel, organization and equipment of some of our largest manufacturers orporations which were known throughout the world for the quantity and quality of their work. They have noted inability to produce the required munitions, inexperience in interchangeable manu facture, and lack of knowledge of the use of gages and instruments of preci- on; and on the strength what they have found in ese establishments have le such a general indict- of inefficiency that nitions: future trade relations ild be seriously affected this erroneous judgment ere uncorrected. The effect of some of criticism in the United tates has been to cancel the causes of fail Haste in pushing specifications without through replacement filled contracts for muni The record of con Satisfactory WO words, Mr. Mat HASTE AND CHANG! the terms o Change in securing modifications of original of specificatior Most other causes grew out o Notwithstanding MATTESON” brought failure to a few, but only a few, companies lf we condense all our knowledge of the causes of the failures into two words, we have: haste and change. In order to determine whether the haste jnd change were warranted, it will be necessary to review a little modern history so that we may recall the conditions which obtained at the time of plac ing the munitions contracts. pressed, factories were idle, material was cheap, labor plentiful and Russia’s need of munitions great. Here was an opportunity to improve busi ness, to start our factories, to give employment to + labor, and to organize our industries so that they Business was de could be of assistance in the defense of our country when needed. The finan cier and manufacturer, pos sibly without their usual investigating f the contract itteso vs, expre ure n MAK INE caution in orders which one result was to be indus trial organization for home defense without expense to the nation as promptly toi produ or in accepted for munitions, of idequats protectior these tw erns whict idhere After a ceptance, the to forestall the plac- to the requirements and used their own or first order was apportioned of new contracts, to ganizations is altogether satisfactory, and among several corporations some factories and to the general final result, all plant onsid each having an organiza machinery to Canada. ered, is an army of trained men and ; tion which was sufficient is the ability and effi- icy of our manufactur- engineers and mechan- have been questioned, in answer to charges have been made with tle discrimination it is certainly in order to pre- the facts. @Y for the emergency iv | { What Export Records Show glance at the value of our munitions exports ir trade balance will show the enormous quan- which have been forwarded in the past year which clearly prove that most of our munitions ifacturers are doing good work at a fair profit. an injustice to Americans to charge all with iieciency because of the acts of the ambitious but perienced men who through ignorance of fac- management and manufacturing methods have lilting engineer, Ridley Park, P equipment for making wa! United States is involved in war for its own standard lines of manufacture Ameri can engineers and manu facturers have been con tent to invent and construct those things that lessen the labor of others and make this world a good place to dwell in. They neglected the study of instruments of destruction and war, and the present emergency found but few who had any knowledge of munitions The captains of industry immediately sought among our military officers for experienced men to act as advisers and selected many of our most honorable, efficient and best trained officers from all branches of the military service material read) the event that SMULICI TPT NER The Error of Modifying Specifications Some of these officers, who had been out of the military or naval schools but a few years, had but little manufacturing or business experience, and in 245 = oF Re jsewraye'- a nie a7 THE IRON some cases were placed in positions of great respon- sibility and authority. Their knowledge of muni- tions was limited to the American type, differing materially from the Russian type, which had been most minutely specified, and they succeeded in their efforts to have some of the parts modified to the American type. This change of type-was a grave error, for the consent to change automatically annulled the care- fully tested original specifications and made no pro- vision for replacement of specifications. In all such cases from that day to this there has been one con tinual tragedy of change of form, material, clear- ance or tolerance, requiring an endless change of gages, tools and equipment. The indirect method of purchase which separated the manufacturer and purchaser developed in most annoying delays in obtaining official approval of necessary -or desired changes. Immediately after it became known that large orders of munitions had been placed in this country, there were spectacular changes in the machinery and metal markets. All standard lines of machinery were sold out and orders would be accepted only for long delivery. Prices of metals, acids, etc., were doubled—over night, as it were. The corporations having munitions contracts suddenly found an in creased demand for their standard product. This required the use of their regular equipment, which had been idle a few months before; and some, rather than interfere in the least with their regular prod uct, decided to purchase new equipment and con struct new buildings for their munitions contracts, thus entailing expense and delay. The emergency was pressing, and engineers were quickly engaged to design and construct buildings for housing the machinery for gigantic undertakings. They were given but meager details and in some cases onl) general instructions specifying the estimated floor space required. Haste in Securing Buildings and Equipment Some of these buildings were designed without reference to the laws regarding the use of explo sives or safety of employees, for these receive but scant consideration in military circles. The plans of one engineer showed the general offices on the second floor over a storehouse for hundreds of tons of powder.. The directors took serious exception to this, and new buildings for powder storage were constructed at the safe distance from the office build ings which the law required. Many buildings were of the convertible type and were constructed more with reference to their future than present which accounts for the frequent sight of heavy ma chinery swaying on poorly designed floors. These are isolated cases where material was wasted and time lost by not taking sufficient time to collect the information required by the engineer. Incomplete specifications and poor judgment of purchasing agents in placing orders for machinery and material with irresponsible manufacturers or jobbers were also the cause of much loss of time and money. If the orders were filled at all, it was with very inferior material, the product of some mushroom concern which started over night to reap great profits by building imitations of standard ma- chinery or by refining scrap. In either case, a new order was required to be placed with responsible manufacturers at the rapidly increasing market prices. These orders for extra equipment of machinery and building material, thrown on an already over- burdened market, defeated the purpose of early de- livery of munitions which was intended, for it with- use, AGE January 25, 1917 drew men and equipment from the productior other much-needed supplies throughout the cou: The buildings were completed in record time, as fast as the roof of one section was finished, loads of the much-advertised single-purpose chinery were unloaded and installed. It is sad relate that but little of this machinery was ever any practical use. Most of it, however, was re} and refitted and its inevitable journey to the s pile somewhat delayed. What Came from the Rush for Production Then came the call for men. High wages did not bring a quick response from the better work- men. The records of early mysterious fires and blown-up factories left no incentive for the weak or timid. To control the motley crowds required men of strong arms and unquestioned courage and these qualities were preferred to knowledge of inte: changeable manufacture or the use of instruments of precision. In the early days it was not uncom mon to see a workman tighten a screw on his ma- chine with a snap gage or to see a foreman check- ing the setting of a micrometer with a 2-ft. rule. It required time to develop skilled workmen from the material available and frequent changes were necessary in an effort to retain only the best. the machinery was installed the young and inexperienced managers started the cr) of production. It mattered little whether the ma- terial was satisfactory, whether the proper gages were on hand or whether the machinery was in proper conditions to operate; nothing must inter- fere with production. The advice, experience and pleading of their subordinates amounted to noth- ing; they must have production. It mattered not if the machine bearings were hot, they must be run till they sizzled. It mattered not if a foreman showed signs of breaking after thirty-six or forty- eight hours of continuous duty; he must produce and produce. It is little wonder that capable en- gineers and laborers alike, after a few months of this high-speed work, suffered nervous and physical exhaustion. This condition called for new men, who followed along for a little while at the pace required, but eventually lost out, only to be re- placed by others. Conservation of machines, ma- terial and men was neglected. Wasteful effort was applauded if it produced. Warnings that a day of reckoning must surely come were unheeded. The stockholders and directors must have favorable re- ports and the factory must produce. In some factories the day of reckoning ap- proaches; in others it has arrived. Excuses have continually been made for delayed shipments and the waste of material has been covered from the directors and stockholders; but now it is necessary to send replacement orders for hundreds of thou- sands of dollars’ worth of material which has been spoiled in manufacture and rejected. The inevitable result of inefficient management is apparent. As soon as Some of the Causes of Delays There were some annoying delays in the early days of manufacture due to the willful destruction of machinery or equipment by some misguided em- ployees who thus sought to prevent the delivery © munitions. Some sub-contractors took orders which they never intended to fill; and as there was n° penalty in their contract for non-delivery, they suffered no loss. The munitions contract imposed most exacting conditions of inspection by appointees of the pur chasing nation. Among such were included a feW¥ eminent engineers who were a great help to the iary 25, 1917 ‘facturer; others, who were medical students, painters, clerks, stenographers, reporters- having no previous knowledge of munitions- appointed as inspectors of most important with power to stop all production for most | excuses. Some had relatives whom they de- employed by the same firm at high wages; soon made it apparent that the line of suc- lay in the path of least resistance to their de- _and their relatives were employed. elays were also caused by the scarcity of small lard tools, such as drills and milling cutters. manufacturers had the equipment or trained necessary to make the accurate gages which equired in such large quantities. The pre required by the purchaser of munitions was reat that standard taps and dies would not pro- threads of sufficient accuracy, and special milling machines had to be developed and rate means of thread measurement introduced any factories where such refinements were etofore unknown. ich were the conditions under which some of munitions contracts were operated, earning all profits if not entailing loss to the stockholders. ther firms adhered closely to the original speci- tions: did not desire change of design; worked closely as possible to the dimensions given; iarded against the substitution of “something just rood’; delivered what the purchaser desired and at he was willing to pay for and thereby earned the confidence of the staff of inspectors and had lit- tle difficulty in producing work to their satisfac- tion. These firms supplied gages in sufficient quan- tity and maintained their accuracy; carefully se- lected their material; used their regular organiza- tion and equipment as far as possible; did not over- work either men or machinery, and quickly corrected errors as soon as detected. They were thus able to ake early delivery of accurate work in quantity suit their contract requirements. This policy is the usual procedure in most American factories, ind has proved uniformly successful in the manu- facture of their regular product as well as of muni- The Net Showing Chere is now an army of trained men and suffi- t equipment is available to supply our country’s eed in case of war. A period of business depres- has been changed to one of greatest prosperity ; ployment has been given to all at the highest es; manufacturer and mechanic have been bene- ted by the exchange of ideas and by the develop- ent of methods of precision due to the munitions ntracts, and great wealth has been brought to s country in payment for the vast amounts of nitions exported during the past year. This ndicates that with but few exceptions our erican manufacturers are producing good work are maintaining the high standard which is ersally expected of them. manufacture of tungsten in the Liverpool dis- England, has become important in the last two The ore is mined in limited quantities in Corn- Cumberland, but it was exported previous to The first steps to make tungsten in England iertaken by a Liverpool firm which established orks at Garston, Liverpool, and deliveries were in the first half of 1915. A second undertaking of the co-operation of 31 of the largest steel rs of England, who erected a plant at Widnes, in ne district. Ferrotungsten is now sold at the im government price of 5s. 6d. ($1.34) per Ib. erican price is about twice this. THE IRON to —_ ~) AGE Horizontal Machine for General Boring Another application of its portable cylinder boring bar has been made by the Pedrick Tool & Machine Company, 3640 North Lawrence Street, Philadelphia, Pa., in a horizontal machine for boring and drilling miscellaneous work. A new design of feed mechanism, automatic in action and reversible, provides three changes, and the speed for g holes of different diameters is varied by changing the driving gear. Ar other feature is ability to use the bar either as a traveling or a fixed one, as well as the use of auxiliary bars where the hole to be bored is smaller than the diameter of the main bar The machine consists of a bed of heavy construc tion with a T-slot near each edge of its upper surface Two housings, which can moved to suit the work, are fitted to the bed and T-slots « oth sides of the housings provide a means for holding bar supports in position at the desired height above the bed A table equipped with a cross-slide and intended to be placed at right angles to the bed s provided for various classes of work. A recently developed driving mechanism to which an electric motor can be connected revolves the boring The Boring Bar in This Horizontal Machine for Miscellans ous Work Can Be Used Either as a Traveling One with a Longer Travel than Usual or as a Fixed One Upon Which Cutterhead Travels bar. The main gear of this mechanism is divided, the teeth in one part being opposite the spaces in the other, an arrangement relied on to eliminate backlash. The gearing between the motor and the driving mechanism can be changed and it is possible to con nect the former to either the primary or the inte mediate shaft. In this way different speeds for boring holes of varying diameters can be obtained. The main bearing for the bar is a long quill with cross-heads at both ends which are bolted to the front housing. The quill is bored to fit the bar and the cross members are faced from the bore, thus giving the proper align- ment of the bar irrespective of its location on the housing. The bar is raised or lowered to the desired height by a handwheel operating an elevating screw and provided with a ball thrust bearing. A new type of feed mechanism is mounted at the end of the bar. This operates at a constant rate, is reversible, provides three changes and is automatic in action. The feed screw is located in a recess on one side of the boring bar, which, it is explained, gives a long, continuous feed. By removing the half feed nut and sliding the bar through the bearing, quick return of the bar is secured. A taper hole in the end of the bar is provided in which auxiliary bars or drills may be fitted when holes smaller than the main bar are to be bored. In this case the main bar travels and feeds the smaller one. In addition to being used as a travel- ing bar, it is possible to have the boring bar remain fixed in position while the cutterhead travels. The travel of the cutterhead or the bar itself is accom- plished by the same mechanism. If the hole to be bored is large enough for the convenient operation of the main boring bar, the work is placed on the bed. The bar with the proper size of cutterhead in place is then pushed through the hole and through the rear bearing on the back housing. In this way the bar i rigidly supported at both ends and the cutterhead travels along the bar, boring the hole to the diameter wanted. aaa eee ete. ea re iit a 3 is = a a eee Ae % emia : ‘ Two Years’ Growth of an Abrasive Industry The Expansion of Grinding Wheel Plants to Keep Pace with Rising Demands —The Norton Company as an Example BY W. E. FREELAND HE greatly increased use of stee] and iron in in the hardening of the shaft to protect it ag the two years just past has had marked effects the wearing action of the sliding gears, more or upon industries closely related to metal work distortion took place. To solve the problem of ing. One of the most notable examples is found in taining a perfect and smooth spline a special the grinding wheel industry, particularly in those chine was designed which uses a formed wheel | plants which use artificial abrasives and so are not grinds upon three of its faces at each single | hampered by the effects of the war upon the pro of the wheel through the spline. In the olden ¢ duction and importation of natural abrasives. a pulley was crowned by turning its face to Unless one has been in close contact with the de shape of an inverted V. In modern practice the { velopments in grinding machinery and grinding of the pulley is ground by a formed grinding whe wheels, he has had little to call his attention to the t® produce a continuous convex surface. Every rapid strides made by the grinding wheel industry engineer will quickly grasp what this means in which was literally but an infant in the opening '!m power transmitted and in life of belting. years of this century. In the twenty years that What is true in this expanding field of grinding have passed since the introduction of artificial abra- practice is true in all the others. When the ek sives, grinding has passed from the stage where it trical industry needed to cut off tungsten wire wit! was only a finishing operation to its present stage, out distorting the ends by shearing and with th where it has become a major manufacturing process. least possible loss of the valuable metal, the tect During this period of transition it has drafted some nical experts in the manufacture of grinding wheels of the best engineering talent of the country into brought out a special wheel 4 in. in diameter an its service: some to design better grinding ma only 0.015 in. thick—so thin it is translucent and chines; some to develop better artificial abrasives; almost transparent—that does the work excellent! some to improve processes in grindinz wheel manu The sandstones of huge bulk and varying tex- facture; and others to discover new applications ture that have so long been a feature of saw and ax: of this method of machining with its possibilitie manufacturing are rapidly being replaced by smaller of rapid production and marvelous accuracy. artificial abrasive wheels. This change has been It is notable that the development of steel alloy brought about largely by the ability of the grinding has practically kept pace with the progress of grind wheel makers to produce wheels to meet the precise ing wheel and grinding machine manufacture. One conditions of the operations. The surfacing of has but to step into any large plant turning out saws, the grinding of axes and the shaping of claw- products made of manganese steel to see what grind hammers are good examples of the triumph of scier ing means in this field. Here on planers, lathes and _ tifically controlled artificial products over Mother many other machine tools the cutting tools have been Nature removed and in place of them are motor-driven One of the latest products that bears tribut: grinding wheels. The successful machining of this the achievements of grinding engineers is the alun num piston that is beginning to be found in the better grades of automobile engines. Here ern steel-alloy machine parts that resist the cutting quired a study of both the wheel and the lubricant action of a single large tool yield readily to the to bring success. For, as those who have tried millions of cutting teeth that form the surface of an’ will testify, there are few materials more difficult abrasive wheel As the technique of the alloy to grind than aluminum. In the preceding instances makers has increased, the technique of grinding ha there have been set forth the beginnings in the field matched it—and won. So, too, on softer materials of grinding; the end is not in sight, for every da) grinding has been finding an ever-widening field of brings forth new problems, and a large group of usefulness. men is now engaged in solving them for the benefit Probably no class of grinding problems has of all industry. larger interest for the manufacturer of machinery To see what has happened to the grinding whee and tools who has caught a vision of its future than industry in the past two years it is only necessar the use of formed wheels on the various types of to briefly sketch what one company has been doing precision grinding machines. The use of formed to keep pace with the enormously increased demand, wheels solved one of the greatest problems that the Norton Company, Worcester, Mass., one of the arose in the early days of the manufacture of shrap- oldest and largest of the artificial abrasive and nel and high-explosive shells in this country two’ grinding wheel manufacturers. This compan) vears ago. With a wheel shaped by a radial truing makes both the oxide of aluminum and the carbide device to the precise form required, the grinding of silicon types of artificial abrasives under th of the nose of such shells proved the practical way trade names of Alundum and Crystolon. The ore to get a large production and accurate shape. Many from which the aluminous abrasive is made is mined a set of gears is now running quietly and smoothly at Bauxite, Ark., where the company has a plan in our factories because the contours of the teeth for the calcining and first preparation of the bauxit¢ have received their final form by the use of a wheel ore. At Niagara Falls and at Chippawa, Canada, shaped to the precise contour desired. it makes the artificial abrasives, using the power When the splined transmission shaft was intro- generated by the falls to supply its large needs for duced into the automobile, the shaping of the spline electric current for use in the electric furnaces. A!! brought forth a new type of milling machine. But the wheels are made at the Worcester plant. 248 tenacious metal is one of the more recent achieve ments of grinding. The hardened surfaces of mod January 25, 1917 ce Jan. 1, 1915, the fixed assets—buildings, . nd equipment—have been increased approxi- four times; the number of hands has grown bout 900 to almost 4000; and the kiln ca- has been more than doubled. Thus has this int responded to the demands of the metal industries. The Manufacturing Organization le. as the chart shows, the organization plan essentially different from other manufactur- canizations, it has been developed in several to noteworthy points of efficient service. In duction section of the organization are found eatures that have been evolved to meet the needs of this business. The planning de nt is responsible for the progress of the work ess. It maintains a record of all production during each step of their progress and from THE IRON AGE 249 see that standard methods of manufacturing are maintained and suggests changes and improvements in the various operations. It makes time studies and sets the piece rates, subject to the approval o! the works manager. The research department has extensive labora tories and, as the business is highly technical in character, is an important part of the organization It trains the field demonstrators and sends them out to help customers solve their problems when so in structed by the sales department. In its laboratory and field work it is an important service factor and in this connection is a most useful adjunct of the sales service. It has been the pioneer in much of the development of grinding both in the production of special wheels and in the opening of new fields of usefulness for grinding wheels. The drafting division of the plant’s engineering department is divided into four sections—buildings | : hy ~ 4 _é | awa GER — i ‘ - —— aa aN ' wo “ “ s a ee { oe 7 , ny \posnnay] a -—- “> S 2 hors rows] Lan - ‘ . ( a 4 —_ Bt j ; y ¥ - Mpc l. / I on | _=— | : on ” ~ \esern “ — Ney — ene ma ine | re < 4 = ae a a ords furnishes to the sales department the equipment, wheels and surveying—and each sectior ipon which shipments of goods which must be tured can be promised. It is the aim of the to keep sufficiently large stock on hand of ed Or partially finished wheels so that orders tandard sizes, grain and grade can be filled tock. Wheels not standard are made only on The planning department assigns work to arious departments by issuing the manufactur rders to the department and the return of the notifies the planning department that the completed. The record of the progress of rder is kept on the back of a file copy of the This department also notifies the abrasive nent of the future requirements for grain the abrasive mill can be guided in its crush- erations by these notices as to the size and es required. The planning department keeps permanently in all the larger departments to lers together and to see that no order is un- ed. ds department is charged with oversight perating methods. It constantly investi various manufacturing departments to has a planning draftsman at its head, all under a chief draftsman. A service planning section sees that work is done on the scheduled time, is re sponsible for the repair men and the repair mate rial getting on the job at the same time, and watches and reports on the progress of the various jobs. The master mechanic, the power department, the watchmen and the garage are under the charge of the plant engineer. The master mechanic is in charge of the machine shop, the carpenter shop and the general department, including masonry, general labor, elevators and stable. The power department has charge of power equipment, piping and electrica equipment and wiring. There is one chief watch man, two sergeants and thirty watchmen. The department of health and sanitation come under the works manager but operates in close con nection with the department of employment and safety. This department is under a chief surgeon who has three assistant doctors, four male nurs« on day duty and one male nurse on night duty, one woman nurse who has oversight of the women employees and assumes in part the 250 THE IRON AGE January 25 duties of a matron, and one clerk. The hospital thoroughly equipped to take care of accidents and sickness cases for first treatment. Patients unable to return to work are sent to the city hospitals or to their homes. All new employees are given a search ing physical examination and workmen who have developed heart or other weaknesses are regular]; examined to see that their work is not increasing their ailment. Every effort is made to conservs the experience of workmen and, where advisabl easier employment is found, if possible, for met engaged in labor which is aggravating their al ment. The hospital staff follows up accident at the employee’s home or at the cit he is able to come to the shop hospital for treatment hospital un In sickness only first aid is given and the hospital staff does not make house calls. The sanitation the workroom and toilets is under the charg the hospital and regular inspections are made How Orders Are Handled The service factor is given much att sales department. The order division alone con prises a force of sixty clerks. After an incoming order has been passed by the credit department, is turned over to the order editors, who look up from the files the records of previous similar orders and write the customer if further details are nece sary before the order can be filled. From the ed tors the order is passed to the stock supervision division which advises the order department if the order can be shipped from stock or from stock orders in process and the shipping date, or reports that the wheels ordered must be made. The orders are then passed to the transcribing section of the order de partment which acknowledges the order to the cus- tomer and makes out one original order and four duplicates on the factory form. These forms then go to the checking section which checks the forms against the original order and separates them for distribution. The original order goes into the gen eral file. The routing of the first factory order form is this: To billing department for list price, to plan ning department, to stock department or manufac turing department, to packing and shipping, to serv ice section (order tracing) of order division where the shipping date is placed on the third copy, to stock supervision for notation on its records, to bill ing department for invoicing, to planning depart ment for shipping record, to permanent file in order division under alphabetical index. The second cop) goes directly to the order division file under a nu merical index. The third copy is held by the serv ice section of order division and destroyed when order is completed. The fourth copy goes to the salesman. The fifth copy goes to the billing depart ment for its records and then to file in the planning department. The stock supervision division keeps accurate records of stock on hand and in process and issues stock orders. One stock ledger has sheets for standard stock wheels showing the balance on hand, on order, and the date in the kiln. These sheets also show the minimum stock requirement, the minimum factory order and the record of orders applied from wheels in process. In the same binder are also placed sheets of another color which show wheels in stock which are not standard stock requirements Another binder contains forms which show wheels sold that are not standard stock wheels. If the record of any wheel in this binder shows that it is selling regularly in sufficient volume, it is made a standard stock wheel. A section of the sales department gives its whole attention to the making of quotations and section takes care of all reports of dissati and all other complaints from customers an: a report after investigation upon every cor This section corresponds with the custon endeavors to remove all causes for complain correct the matter complained of to the cu satisfaction. The publicity division has charge of al ising, publications and exhibits. ‘The sale tion division has charge of trials and den tions, investigates conditions in the variou lds and compiles information of grindin and methods. accounting department is thorough! » bookkeeping is done wholly upon 1 hand-written records are made. G are made of departmental costs in tl production departments and these cha tted to the foremen for their guidance. are gathered upon the Hollerith machine f; pecial form of job ticket. Other costs ar ured upon adding machines for which a sp been designed and built. Addressing are used for heads of ledger pages and ot! ilar work, including the marking of pay er elopes. There is a timekeeper in each department inder a chief timekeeper. These timekeep rs out the description of the job on the job cards. C plete records are kept of orders placed for raw rials, cars received and cars in transit. The ventory cards are checked weekly by a r physical inventory and a weekly report made each major supply to show the amount on order, the amount in transit, the amount on hand and th probable period before the supply will be exhausted There is a chief paymaster and the shop force divided into four sections so that there are four pay-days during the week. ; Procedure in Employment loremen desiring men send a requisition to th employment and safety department. An applicant for work is seated in a reception room until | turn comes. He is first interviewed to gain a ge! eral idea of his availability. If there appears t be a possible opening for him he is held for further interview. The employment supervisor or his as sistant then interviews the man and if he is need he is given a physical examination by one of t! hospital staff. He steps directly from the empl ment office into an examining booth and from that into an inner room. After the records are fill out he is conducted by a boy to the foreman w! has the final decision as to whether the man shal be employed. The number of rejections by foremet is very small. The boy then takes the man to t! timekeeper who explains the shop routine to him The boy then gives him a temporary pass, good u! til the first pay-day, and shows him the factor entrance which he will use. In his first pay e velope he receives a regular pass which is in t! form of a small card bound with tin. This car has thirteen numbers on it and the paymaster punches out a number on each pay-day. A new pas issued each quarter. The employment section of this department has two interviewers, one clerk, two errand boys two special men. One of these men is provided with an automobile and follows up men who reported by the foreman to be absent three from their work. The other special man spends all his time interviewing workmen and their foremeé! He gets a report from the foreman which is in effec a report on both his suitability for his preset davs t ; rn ce tained. the era } | 25, 1917 s capacity for earning more pay on the or on some other one. Each man is once every six months. Interesting s are constantly being made by this tracer, n his own talks with the employees. Men ferred from one department to another onsent of the general foreman and the n concerned. Men are not discharged di- the foreman but the employee is sent to yyment department with a special report may request his discharge. If the fore- vrong, it is usually easy to convince him. ull; man is placed in some other depart- er Work of Employment and Safety Department ire five sections of the employment and lepartment: cater- the use of a ship- ese are loaded on a mo- a . truck at 11.50 a. m. i i ‘ sent to the several rooms. A midnight Y O1 ich day. Nine drink tickets engineering, and e, modeled after On ners . . * 28@ Here 3; cooker, which is Btenscin nt to which the nen are permitted to will and purchase Id LOO gal. of milk cases of soda are orrespondence su- ployment, corre- supervision, There are two features of the ng department. ransport hot cof- ‘a= ips, ete., from the » | | kitchen to the vn lunch rooms. ft is also main- The other feature establishment of milk stations in ginger ale or ‘ ior a quarter. or watches the work THE IRON AGE 251 in enamel. The safety engineer and the centra safety committee select the three best suggestions each month for which cash prizes are awarded. This section takes care of all the clerical work incidenta to accidents, makes all compensation payments anc visits the man’s home if necessary to do so. It als has charge of fire and elevator inspections, whic! are under the charge of one man. The fire depart ment has four hose companies, four inside hose and salvage companies and four chemical companies A feature of this organization which does not ap pear on the organization chart is the employment 01 committees to analyze the many problems arising a large business. These committees vary greatl) in their functions and in the composition of thei: personnel. The fundamental idea which has bee! effectively worked out is to establish intra—or inter—departmental com mittees as the scope of the subjects studied ma: require. The major com mittees form a close link between the departments and do much to elimi nate friction and to aligr the whole organization in active co-operatio! to achieve a definite ob ject. The committees analyze the problems and present a digest of the salient facts to the de partment heads or chief executives... This plan en ables the management t avoid exhaustive study of details and yet keep i: close touch with ever phase of the business. The company has gone largely into the housing field and has one of the notable in dustrial villages of the country. It also is pro moting an interest i gardens and a prosperous Norton Agricultural So ciety has resulted. It has been preparing 2' { h dictator and the > a 3 =e a ae ee so pa nd . ene on acre f Porm | and ae tC Le he pla! IK atl fou I LV acres oft tarm ian a ber and makes present time over ee Pn al of mith Saad ae aaies oe a garden site for next yea! stions of the + thee nag Bhai ge oe n are Dermistes <0 leave §=and the gardens are now necessary to desire nearly all allotted. letter clear or or to properly express the spirit of the Che training division conducts various for students who are preparing for the sales ont hout +l, + or other departments of the company. irses are varied to meet the individual e student for the work he is to take up length of the courses varies according to to be accomplished. safety engineering division inspects fre- » see that needed mechanical safeguards led. If the cost is small it is authorized them. If the cost is large, the matter is with a central safety committee composed | department heads. Educational work is carried on and a suggestion system is in 60 per cent of the many suggestions are found available and are adopted. A } 18s awarded for the first suggestion sent in ployee and adopted; a pair of cuff links for 1. Both bear the company’s trademark The same _ activities that have been going on at Worcester have beer duplicated on a smaller scale at the other plants of the company. The plant at Chippawa, Canada, has been increased practically four times in size and the plant at Niagara Falls to the limit of land and power available. The raw material plant at Bauxite, Ark., has been enlarged to keep pace and is about four times its former size. About 30 houses have been built at Chippawa of a character nearly as good as those at Worcester and several houses have been erected at Bauxite for foremen The receivers for the Central Iron & Steel Company Harrisburg, Pa., in a report to the court, state that th« cost of dismantling the Chesapeake Nail Works was $3,915.70, and the value of the scrap obtained $14,896.9 The cost of the dismantling is to be paid out of the sun obtained for the scrap, and the balance used by the con pany for improvements to the open-hearth furnaces Pe iting es at j ; ; } he be BITUMINOUS GAS PRODUCER* An Experimental Unit of the Recirculating Type Giving a Tar-Free Product As the result of experimental work begun at the Uni ersity of Wisconsin and continued at Purdue Unive! sity the author has developed and patented a recircu- lating gas producer admitting the use of bituminous fuel. The coal is trapped in at the top, the only air inlet being below the grates. The combustion ‘all takes place immediately above the grates. The finished gas is drawn The Experimental 50-Hp, Ree ducer for Bituminous Fuels Laboratory of Purdue irculating Ga Installed Universit ff from the fuel column into the annular chamber A, which is formed in the firebrick lining of the produce1 From here it passes out through the pipe B. ucts of distillation and the other recirculated gases are The prod drawn into the pipe C by the steam blower D. gases are then delivered into the header EF, and from there into the distributor F’. This distributor is so cor structed as to deliver an equal amount of the recirculat ed gases to every part of the grate area, and in such a way that the gas burns as it mixes with the air, largely in the lower part of the combustior of the fuel The recirculated gases burn to CO, and H,0, and in pass ing through the incandescent zone above, the CO., taking up one more carbon atom, is changed into CO and the H,O is split up into free H, and CO. Thus the finished gas obtained from the tars and the other hydrocarbons is the same as that from anthracite coal, and instead of being wasted the tars are converted into useful gas. Ths vas from this producer should therefore be free These zone from tne fluctuating hydrocarbon content that has been the of so much inconvenience in connection with the from most bituminous plants. Che halftone is » source gas from a photograph of 50-hp. *From a fa t » favette, paper by OO. ¢ Ind., presented at the in Society of Mechanical Eng THE IRON AGE January 25, 1917 stallation of this producer in the laboratories of | University, Lafayette, Ind., for experimental pury Peepholes A are provided to enable the operator amine the temperature of the fuel column. In tl test part, where the temperature changes are tl important, this is especially easy. A tube with a side of it may be thrust into the center of the pr: and the rod removed. By looking through the tu temperature of the fuel at the end of the tube may } estimated. By drawing the tube out slowly and watch. ing the temperature at its end, comparatively slight ferences in temperature between the outside and th: cer of the fuel column may be detected. This is often great importance in interpreting producer performanc These peepholes are drilled through the shell and tapped %-in. pipe size. Nipples 6 in. long are screwed into these holes and are capped on their outer ends by stand ard unions with glass packed in them. The smal! out iets shown at the sides of many of the %-in. pipes ar used to draw off samples of the gas to be tested for tar The trap B is filled with water and catches any tar that may be thrown down in the steam blowers or the recirculating pipes. The header C communicates with the gas-distributing device under the grates. The steam blowers D and the recirculating pipes are in duplicate one being used and one held in reserve. The gas from this plant is cooled in a coke-filled scrubber. From this scrubber the gas goes directly to a 43-hp. Fairba: Morse engine. If three things are accomplished the gas will be free from tar: (1) all of the tar must be driven out of the fuel while it is still above the openings which commu cate with the annular chamber, (2) all of the tarry va pors driven out of the fuel in the distillation zone must be drawn out and recirculated, and (3) the recirculated gas must not be allowed to form a cold path for itself between the grates and the outlet on the one hand, nor form an explosive mixture with the entering air on the other., as the former would allow the tars to get into the the Producer Showing th Is of Construction finished gas, and the latter which might prove serious. Inability to meet the first requirement has | would cause the cause of failure of several recirculating producers. . . ¢ DY is a poor conductor of heat, and little heat can pass * lal 25, 1917 from one lump of coal to another. The heat- n in the fuel column of a standard up-draft 1e to the hot gases from the incandescent zone ip through the entire fuel column on the way he recirculating producer the finished gas is of the fuel column at about mid-height. If rases that pass through the fuel above this the products of distillation the heat-carrying ll be absent above the annular chamber, ana vill remain cold until after it passes this point. rcome this a blower of sufficient capacity must o recirculate a considerable part of the hot m the ineandescent zone along with the proa- tillation. It is thereby possible to maintain as eratures in the fuel column at the top of a re- ng producer as in the up-draft producer, and the be heated until the last trace of tar has been ir ff before it reaches the gas discharge level. positive stream of gas passing from the bottom oducer to the top past the annular chamber also producer to meet the second requirement, as prevent any of the products of distillation that re en off from the coal above the discharge level fror ing up and passing out at the discharge. the third requirement is where many recirculat- lucers have failed. The gases from any given the grate area will tend to establish their own path between the grates and the outlet. If nert, or do not mix with air and burn in the yn zone, or, mixed with air, do not burn the he combustion zone, they will not have any heat tion with which to establish an incandescent [hey will therefore form a cold path for them- cht through the zone that should be incandes- | escape through the discharge outlet unburned al icked. To avoid this, the recirculated gases must be evenly distributed over the entire grate area. To prevent the formation of an explosive mixture, the gases and air must burn as they mix. In this producer this is accomplished by having the gas introduced into the air in the restricted area between the grates, thus enting them from backing up and mixing with the r below the grates. combustion takes place as in a standard up- ite plant. The air all comes from underneath through the ash before reaching the fuel. The f carbon in the hot ash at the bottom of the com- is exposed to the pure air which supports so all of it should be burned up In either plant or the recirculating plant the quantity of the ash is due largely to the care with which the tended, and should be the tarry small vapors are burned in a highly oxi no lampblack is formed fuel being burned after it has passed through nt zone, as it is in the standard anthracite the tendency to clinker is avoided No worse duced in this plant than in the anthracite proper care and a good coal they can be phere, so aft rature necessary to eliminate the tar in r more than 1250 deg. Fahr. The gases will producer at a temperature somewhat higher 00 to 1600 deg Still considerably less is heat in the gas can be removed from the producer while it the plant is capable of of the run beir continuous opera- gz limited only by the life of homa Iron Works, Tulsa, Okla., has found rowing so rapidly that it has been deemed » divide the company into different corpora- separate companies have been formed, ahoma Iron Works, Oklahoma Tool & pany and Oklahoma Structural Steel Com irst named will take care exclusively of turing and wholesale end of the organiza- . its own products are concerned; the andle all retail and jobbing business as ll supplies, tools, mill supplies, etc., and ave charge of designing and erecting es. J. W. Sloan will be president of each . Bourne will be secretary and treasurer iw will be purchasing agent. THE IRON AGE 253 Bench Lathe with 7-In. Swing A bench lathe having a special continuous oiling sys tem for the spindle bearings has been brought out by H. W. Cotton, Inc., 233 Broadway, New York City. In addition to being employed as a lathe, it can also be used for grinding work. The bed of the lathe is 36 in. long and is made slightly wider than is the general practice, this con struction, it is emphasized, tending to give a rigid bed. The spindle is of the customary 3 and 45 deg. angle type, and the collet employed has a capacity for work up to % in. in diameter. Lubrication of the spindle is accomplished by a chan nel extending around the outside of the headstock bear- ings. From the oil well in the headstock the oil is car ried to the spindle through a piece of felt placed in a slot in the bottom of the bearing and extending to the spindle. This arrangement, it is pointed out, permits any foreign matter which may be washed into the oil This 7-In Bench Lathe Has a Special Arrangement of Oi! Channels and a Piece of Felt to Lubricate the Spindle Bear ings Continuously and Prevent Grit from Causing Troubl chamber to settle at the bottom and at the same tinie prevents grit from reaching the bearings. The construction of the slide rest has been strength- ened, and distinct and easily read graduations are pro- vided. A two or three speed countershaft is employed