The Iron Age 1918-12-26: Vol 102 Iss 26

me Onpy. of wk er 26, 1918 New York, _ TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - 1595 ADVERTISING INDEX - - - 440 | Buyers’ Index Section............-. 420 Contract Work Section........ 405 Business Opportunities . 397 Wanted Section Pees wkd 395 Help ana Situations Wanted 400 Clearing House Section 344 a " mnie gmnnnnary ryt i ‘ win OUEDRENUONET PROSE TY JPHETENPEOTT| HET ETETYENN AV OVOREYYEDOCPQO0PRPOPOOOOREEDAOEDOAELOG OTC AD RERED URED PREY POEET YATE! YPREDOTOEY #29821 ( 144012" HHMOLALUAGNSHOUHTLDUREUENNALTUOU4UUO PO CEEEOGEAATAOENOURREASENOQOUONPETEPNATERQOO AAU UOUEROOA HUAN ERERSTOOOOOU UBER OOO OOROOERBUSTEODO PALO TD EY HkGNA NHN) Wun Ui AAUUUUUNMNYALAALUGOUUL DOEARGAUCGULELLCONENOCETUUGUAEASUGS4CAUEUDEADEDAUFLGAGUCUE LAD SEAMS OAAEEERRMSECOSEOUOREALABERSEGD HA HAUAUOUULORERENONLO HOU ECGEA LAU OODEOEROREOUROE ADU HATHA TUT LEVPRTIVETELETEETOTPREREDLERTORATETONETERNTOER A TTHN EL PEET OPER TREY OD YT aeeranrramaererereniert HUE ICOMEPOTRUERED TOOT OTETHNOET ERMAN THEA PUONELEDYY AAG NEOER ATE ERE Oe EH ETT CLIMATE LETOVUADAT SENNA LOVOUNTEOETADTAEGENUAONEN ONT EA ETT ETE ‘ ‘ He whe WHE INYUAMRVRRTPTTTTTVTTTVESPOUOENVOSVOROOUFONPTUOTENAOQOOOOOQOOONEOSSOOQOOQOTOOOOONOCOE0000001 POO OOCOORRESOCROVREOEUUESEUNOCAREOECOONEDETVEDUNONSOOOEN?OOUDOONONOQOQUdTOCULtSLOO(OVQ\¢oqorper GeO cEEE}LOE Veer ep TnNRgepTCT ences erg LE eet Titi tren cme - LL AAULLU EET PETA AA ERSRASOOOOOEDONEETOTTET EOE ATES VARS UREN SORE PROTO CENA OELVOEEECUEETTOONOORD PORNO SOLERDOGOEOOD SOETOONUN 11 090040044 01001 OQUONUEEN ERED OH RENEE abd ds bbidi LAEONTAANANENT NSN HENNA TN LLANE DMNA NHN 0) THE KOPPERS COMPANY Builder of Ammonia Recovery Apparatus Benzol Recovery Plants Tar Distilling Plants Consulting Engineers on the Operation of By-Product Coke Plants and Auxiliaries PITTSBURGH, PA. b Hl HANNAN TULLE ete AULA - wee ul ee a ae AUAUUAUUUUO AALAND EAD ASEM ES WAULAV EN AAUAADAAAALAA AAA eres HITLIST ENTEPENTETITT USTLTETNETTRN ESN PNET EPREOUTEGTAGL SG? S14 U0HG AN AGSTANEGLUAUANALIIE rr rn uti — til - UCAAUAOAUOAARDAAAD AAAI AOU OEE Md bAAL AHA) UNUM THN EN UA MOEUEU AHA can iL ae “ . 0 ae — = ae MEM = Hut — — ae - _— a CTT TT TT) AUUNUAUOREUUENNUGNNLACU0EU CENA AEUUA UAE GEA EAE THE IRON AGE December 26, MMT LUOLSAAAONNBALADALDADAUSAEDOUONOAAONLEU LINO EUMAMLLI HU HALL 2% SNEMUAN AANA LALLEUAAIRALAGNL LEO UUEEL THEE iS sresueenuuennseeannenveneneeeeeeee sre @UEEOETESOETIOTASEOSEDD PERSE EEESESRRONERED OSS ESRENORPOEDOOO PO ONIRDOreonnOqnOUSHOnON;NO;;)L»OFCAE/LOFE)EOI ATONE ML nuns LSAT ETERS Ce NAL UEDUEDENDEDERERENSUDRRSDEDUSAURUGLONUNGAOUGUUUOVEVEUOEOADONLOOOELAEOSLOOOND OEE OOO OUUOUATLEUELIALLFLADESDOTDEPELOO DEED ED ELE A OUVAROAEURLADUEDULUEDOSD EULA OEU AAA TN AUUELNDUNDEEGEDSEONDASUEASAAEEUUEEOOELOEOGLLA\ HUERELERDODORNNDONRED ENDED OEDEDUTD UNDUE ORUNDIRDINOEOORDELOGOUONOLEDOCTEROELOOLU (CUA ORONL HEH HEAEO SERENE NUNNEUUURAADEED HURT TEN CHRONENTAE LENE ven nreeen anit UANULAAAUUNEALLNULACLUUODESSUUESUONATAOULUGAUUNNOEENANESALAECUCEDEEDOLESALLO CU UONUUASUOOALLUCALUEGUDRSNADOANESNNGROUOARESNOEDUCAEAALANQUCCUBUEGOUUEGOUSGAUESOGNGQDNUGCUNULANUNGACSGUEOGD DUSUOUCTOUUONOOGUL000 00) C0000 001 C000 DOU OOUPEPEAOGS CAAA CETTE WUDUOEL ANON A EEA ET AUOEOEUERLNYUNUEYOADUNONONSUaNUannNLANuNLENL i VVLLDUDASAT UDALL A EAOO DUDA AOAET DOUALA EDEN TN JOUVADUNNUOUDRNUNNUNEUONUONNDUAUGULLUNLUSEOGUHEOUOOUAULOLOCUUOALOACUNA DED ONSORAEUO EOD Aenean Ta HUNUUSUUGUEAUEAUANGLAANNGNAUHAL ELAN GLONONANLL = Ui CAUAETERUACLAE ETAL TEOUSEL TTT EA CET ERENT TATA EES DY EL EEE EDT EES EEREPURDUTET EPO NN ROE TPNH EY en Cnn NEA SNA ANEESESUSUSEDSEESESLESESSOESTERESUERSERERERSEDERONSEREONE EST ESNTESSNURENEDEN SEND RONOSNNDEEOENOSENTEDUEAUIEEOOREND ROOT SSSNEAORROOSEOOAEEAENESNOEENIELED SUURHLEDDU EDEN NNEANENENEONRAHENDeNuNenANED HENNA HONDO ELOOoNNeOseveronvOnieLarycseseenedanereaRaReNeSApRNDOanearutEAaneco coereeeesesRenneeecasenesceetits ESTABLISHED 185) i, CMO Lip Unique Features of an Illinois Foundry Electric Steel, Gray Iron and Semi-Steel Depart- ments—Continuous Operations with Large Production in Small Space—Use of Molding Machines BY CHARLES LUNDBERG Peoria, Ill., is new. Its departments produce gray-iron, semi-steel and electric steel cast- ings. The principal departments are of the con- tinuous type, metal being poured from 7.30 to 4.30 p. m., with 70 per cent of the castings coming from machine-made molds. This foundry possesses many features peculiar to itself, several of them having been evolved by W. J. Brandon, mechanical engineer and works manager of the Avery Co. Built from a base which was the old Kingman Plow Co.’s plant, the new foundry may be regarded as an evolution, inasmuch as many changes and experiments pre- ceded completion. The unusual features of the plant embrace a system of keeping molding sand in large wooden tanks which are automatically filled, an arrange- ment called the “circle,”’ which enables the making and pouring of over 320 molds a day in an area of approximately 6400 sq. ft. (80 x 80 ft.); a sep- R peoria, the foundry of the Avery Co., arate building housing four cupolas which dump into a basement, the working over of all molding sand in a basement beneath the main molding floor, thence elevated by bucket conveyors; the extensive use of jib-type cranes equipped with electric hoists, and the free use of small trucks or cars running on fixed tracks for the easy shifting of flasks and their assembly at designated points for pouring. Women are employed in almost every department of the foundry, and are working to the satisfaction of themselves and their employer. They do no grinding, nor are they found working around the tumbling barrels, but they do molding, make cores, operate machines and hoists, handle small castings, and do light chipping and cleaning. They work side by side with men, and frequently have resented any effort on the part of the men to assist them in their tasks. In the assembly department they assist in the setting up of tractors, especially the smaller gas engines. Their working apparel con- — Section of Foundry Where Light Work Is Done, a Feature Being the Large Wooden Tanks for Molding Sand, the Sand Entering the Tanks Through the Overhead Chutes. There are eight tanks and to each are attached four vertical squeezer- type molding machines. In the foreground is a grating over which the flasks are shaken out. The sand can be kept in good working condition for days Kee 1563 1564 sists of overalls and blouse, their hair being pro- tected by caps. At noon they throng the com- pany’s cafeteria with the men, and they display every indication of being content- ed and a happy element of the es- tablishment. They receive good wages. In its electric steel department the company op- erates a Booth- Hall electric fur- nace, producing mostly what is termed tractor IRON AGE December 26, 1918 The furnace has a rated ca- pacity of 1% tons, and ordi- narily makes five heats per day of 12 ur. i is charged at night ready for the first heat in the morn- ing, so that the first heat is ready to pour by about 7 o’clock, when the molders start to work. The power consump- tion ranges from 560 to 620 kw. hr. per ton, al- though records as low as 460 kw. hr. per ton have been made. Up to Nov. Portion of the “Circle,”” Where Pouring Is Done Within a 65-Ft. Circle steel ’ although Accommodating 60 to 70 Molds at One Time. After pouring, the flasks are 1,775 heats had high-grade semi- lifted by the large crane in the center and lowered through the circular been taken from . opening at the left tv a truck on the floor below All the work is done in steel, or special 4 space 80 x 80 ft. The empty flasks are hoisted through an opening outside the furnace. ; b the circle and distributed by monorail to their respective places. The flasks : gray iron, has al rest on trucks. Molding sand is elevated from the floor below by bucket The furnace is so been made in conveyors operated basic, the furnace. The steel runs 0.35 to 0.40 carbon, the manganese being carried high to insure toughness and good wearing qualities, such as are required in the company’s tractor pinions, of which a great many are made. The quality of the steel is such that these pinions cannot be broached, and the keyways are cut with a keyseating machine. The castings are very tough and resistant to wear, and on some the time of ma- chine work has doubled since electric steel has been used. and contrary to practice in many places the magnesite lining is car- ried to the roof, as the Avery Co. has found this to give best results. The furnace roof is of silica brick, and its life averages from 125 to 200 heats, which is considered unusually good for basic electric furnace operation. The hearth of the furnace lasts for an indefinite period. In a 2500-lb. charge for castings the following material was used: Punch- ings, 500 lb.; foundry scrap, 200 Ib.; old rail, 250 lb.; sprues, 1050 lb.; boiler plate, 500 Ib. Front of Tw» Cupolas Showing Monorail System With Electric Hoist to Carry Ladies to the Molding Floor, Seen in the Background December 26, 1918 About 10 Ib. of 70 per cent ferro- manganese and 25 lb. of 50 per cent ferrosilicon were added just before the heat was ready to pour, and be tween 2 and 3 lb. of aluminum were added tothe steel in the ladle to insure a thor- ough deoxidation of the metal. After the charge is placed in the furnace the night before it is customary in the morning to add about 5 lb. of car- bon from old elec- trodes to compen- sate for the loss of carbon due to the oxidation of the charge which often takes place overnight. Lime is used for forming a slag. Toward the end of each heat about 15 lb. of coke breeze is thrown on top of the slag to make it reducing. The metal is tapped from the furnace into shank ladles. The ladles are brought almost to a white heat by an oil heater, and to this is attributed a large part of the success attained. The ladles pour cleanly and there is no trouble in skulling. Some of the interesting features of this type of furnace consist of the auxiliary electrode, which the Avery Co., Peoria, Ill. THE IRON Pouring a Heat from a Booth-Hall Electric Furnace in the Steel Foundry of It has a capacity of 1% electrode to facilitate starting, and a solid conducting bottom similar furnace is being installed AGE 1565 insures quick heating and no trouble at any time in obtaining contact when starting the fur- nace; there is a special type of door that seals tightly when closed, and a sol- id conducting hearth without bottom contacts or any kind of water cooling. The Booth - Hall Co. co-operated in every way pos- sible to make the operation of the furnace success- ful, and the Avery Co. is now install- ing a second fur- nace of the same type. Mr. Brandon, when asked what he considered the most potent factor in the operation of an electric furnace, said: “Success depends not only on a good melter, but on a capable electrical department in charge of an en-. gineer to support the foundry. Foundrymen are not electricians. We have a first-class graduate electrical engineer with a competent assistant, and they are responsible for results.” The officials of the company are enthusiastic over the outcome of their electric-furnace invest- ment. It furnished a source of supply at a time tons, has an auxiliary A second and Another View of the Cupola Building Interior Showing the Turn Which the Monorail Makes at the End of the Room Farthest from the Molding Room. The cupolas dump into a : between tapping and charging floors is 25 ft. basement when the bottoms are dropped. The distance 1566 THE Where also are Avery Co.'s Foundry, Are Made Raw materials in this department Laboratory of the Chemica! Analyses of All Heats tested when jobbing steel foundries were filled with Gov- ernment work, reduced casting costs materially, and in the opinion of the company’s operating de- partment produced castings that are better than could be procured outside. The pouring floor is 40 x 160 ft. Four Cupolas in Separate Building Two No. 9 Whiting cupolas, lined to 72 in., and two No. 7 Colliau cupolas, lined to 48 in., all 55 ft. in height, are housed in a separate building of rein- forced concrete, 54 x 64 ft., one advantage of this arrangement being that the cupolas can be tapped without the usual waste of time incidental to mold- ers pausing to watch the operation. There are two large doorways between the cupola building and the main molding floor through which passes a continu- ous monorail serving all four spouts. A light and airy chemical laboratory adjoins the cupola room, a metallurgical chemist being responsible for the output of the cupolas. Both gray iron and semi- steel are melted. Between the tapping and the charging floors is a space of 25 ft. The building has a basement, a feature which makes for cleanli-¢ ness and absence of obstructions on the tapping floor, inasmuch as the cupolas dump onto the floor below. From the cupola building and under the entire plant, to the bank of the Illinois river, runs a tunnel through which refuse may be removed. The base of the foundry was the old Kingman Plow Works, but so much has been done in the way of alterations and additions that the foundry is practically new. Of course, much of the plow works proved valuable, including the larger buildings, es- pecially, although they were remodeled and enlarged. Section of the Avery Co. Foundry Illustrating the Free Use of Jib Cranes, Each Equipped With an Electric Hoist. Con- spicuous also are the smal and light trucks on which com- pleted molds are placed and then run out toward the center of the foundry for pouring IRON AGE December 26, 1918 The old boiler room was converted to a coke storage. Pig iron and scrap travels in a straight line from the stock piles to the cupolas, on cars which, after weighing, are raised to the charging floor on a high-speed elevator, the coke and other materials being similarly lifted. The charging floor has win- dows on all four sides. From a foundryman’s point of view the entire building presents a fine appear- ance, Only two cupolas are in operation simultane- ously, the daily production being 35 tons of semi- steel and 75 tons of gray iron. Since the war made pig iron scarce and expensive the proportion of pig used has been 30 to 70 per cent of scrap, this mixture, with increased quantities of ferroalloys, producing such good results that it is doubtful if there will be a return to the old practice, in which a higher percentage of pig was used. What is done, of course, will depend on the course of pig-iron prices. Ever in view in the Avery plant is the getting of hot metal as cheaply as possible at the spout. The mixture for semi-steel consists of 20 per cent steel plate, 35 per cent pig iron, and 45 per cent scrap. Control at Central Electrical Station The current for the electric furnaces, taken from the public service company, enters the plant at 13,200 volts, 3 phase, 60 cycles, and is brought down to 125 volts, 2 phase, by Pittsburgh transformers. As a means of cooling the transformers the air for the cupola blower is drawn through the transformer room, the inlet being at the roof and the outlet through a grating in the floor, thus insuring a constant change of air in the room, a system which has proved most efficient. The blower is of the General Electric centrifugal type, with a capacity of 10,000 cu. ft. per min., the pipe being of Armco iron, with joints acetylene welded. There is pro- vision for cleaning the interior of the pipe, and it is designed to accommodate another blower when that becomes necessary. The blower room also con- tains a motor-driven air compressor and a motor generator, and is a central station controlling the entire foundry. Blast pressure is indicated by Clark meters in both the blower room and on the tapping floor. Molding Sand in Wooden Tanks The main molding room, 80 x 450 ft., was origi- nally the forge shop of the plow works. Under half of this building, longitudinally, the earth was removed to create a basement, a task made greater by the fact that some large concrete foundations on which had rested forging machinery were in the way. Holes were dug and the huge concrete blocks were toppled over out of the way. This section of the molding room has a double fioor of wood on which is 1 in. of pitch and 6 in. of clay. The molding room is laid out in departments, there being one for light work, another for work of medium size, another for heavy castings, and lastly what is termed the “circle,” which merits a description. Every department has noteworthy features. In the jobbing department are made to order the parts of old and obsolete Avery machines, some of these dating back 35 years, while the mak- ing of parts for machines 15 and 20 years old is commonplace. First claiming attention in the light casting section is a row of eight circular tanks of wood, 6 ft. in diameter and 6 ft. in depth, which the em- ployees jokingly refer to as the “silo system.” December 26, 1918 From the top of each tank ascends at an angle a chute connecting at the center of the room with a vertical bucket conveyor. Sand is elevated from the basement to the roof, a distance of 45 ft., by the conveyor, then drops by gravity down the chutes and into the tanks. To each tank are attached four vertical molding machines of the squeezer type, made by the company, there being 32 machines in all. Convenient to each machine is an opening in the tank from which sand may be shoveled. Operations follow in this order: With every- thing at hand, the molder does his work in the usual way, then sets the flask to one side and pro- ceeds with another mold. After the pouring, which is done by hand wherever castings weigh less than 25 Ib., the flasks are shaken out over grates, each 8 x 8 ft. in area, in the floor, and the castings are dropped into chutes. The sand goes to bins on the floor below, where it is worked over, tempered, and then fed to a cutter head, after which it is elevated as previously described. It is to be noted that sand retains .moisture for days in the tanks, and thus remains in good working condition. The small cast- ings come to rest on large sheet-iron trays a few feet above the floor, from whence they go to the tumbling barrels. Small Trucks Carry Flasks to Center Down the center of the molding room run two lines of monorail for the relief of which there are ladle stands placed at convenient points. Medium- sized castings are made in a section opposite to that for light work. Here the molding is done with ma- chines standing near the wall, the flasks thus being placed on light trucks or cars which run on smal! tracks extending to the center of the room. When ready for pouring, a flask is pushed along toward the center of the room and thereby makes space for another car and another flask. Pouring and shaking out over the grates is facilitated by a num- ber of jib cranes equipped with 1 and 2-ton Sprague electric hoists. Castings of the larger sizes are not dropped into chutes, as there would be danger of their breakage. When the car system was first adopted the cars were made heavy, but they were later made so they could be easily handled by one man, and it was found they still possessed ample strength and durability. The heavy work department has 6 hand-operated overhead traveling girders on roller bearings and carrying 2-ton electric hoists. In the entire foundry are over 50 electric hoists of Sprague design. The company built its own jib cranes, all of which are ball-bearing. Great Production in Small Space The “circle,” a continuous foundry arrangement devised and built by Mr. Brandon, commands more attention from visitors than does any other feature of this unusual foundry. It occupies one end of the main molding room, where the earth has been excavated from underneath. In the center of a space 80 x 80 ft. is a 2-ton power-driven jib crane with a 20-ft. boom. At its base is an operator’s cage, moving with the crane. Around this crane, the turntable of which is ball-bearing, and at the circumference of a 65-ft. circle, are eight hand- operated jib cranes, each equipped with a 2-ton elec- tric hoist. Adjacent to the central jib crane is a circular opening in the floor 8 ft. in diameter. Radiating from the central jib crane are 18 tracks for light cars. The molds are made on machines at the outer edge of the circle, placed THE IRON AGE 1567 ha Ot ety | General View of the Foundry. Over a main aisle is a double monorail system, and on one side are cranes of the jib type equipped with electric hoists. .To the left is shown a ladle stand, of which several are conveniently located In the square columns at the left are bucket conveyors for raising sand from the floor below to the roof whence it falls by gravity through chutes into tanks on cars, and then are pushed toward the center and out of the way of the molder, who works until the track is filled to its capacity. From 60 to 70 molds can thus be accommodated in the circle. From the monorail communicating with the cu- pola room the filled ladle is transferred to the center jib crane and then the skilled crane operator plays an important part in the pouring. After the poured metal has had sufficient time to enable safe handling, usually about 5 to 10 min., according to the weight of the casting, the big jib crane picks up the flasks; one by one, swings them around, and lowers them through the circular opening in the floor. Each flask comes to rest on a car conveying it a few feet away and stopping at the bottom of another open- ing in the floor outside the circle. On the shake-out floor a young woman operates an electric hoist, the hoist performing the double function of assisting in the shaking out of the flasks and again raising them to the molding or pouring floor. The casting, still on a truck, and perhaps partly covered by sand to prevent too rapid cooling, goes to an adjoining cooling room. The metal flask has meanwhile been transferred to a monorail around the “circle,” and is carried to any desired place in readiness for another molding operation. The system allows the produc- tion of over 320 molds per day, and all is done in a space 80 ft. square. All the castings made in the “circle,” many of them large gears, are of semi- steel. Conveyors Raise Sand to Molding Floor At each corner of the 80-ft. square are bucket conveyors for raising sand from the basement to Work an apprenticeship here before they are put on larger or more Coreroom for Light Core Young women must serve important work. The department serves as a school Rear View of the Booth-Hall Electric Furnace Showing the Manner in Which the Charging Door Is Kept Tightly Sealed. The auxiliary electrode is seen in the upper background. This furnace is making about five heats per 12-hr. day the floor above. The sand is fed to cutter heads in the basement, the heads being driven by 5-hp. direct- connected electric motors running 900 r.p.m. Facing material is distributed to all molding de- partments at night. A cleaning room extends the length of the main building, and was created by roofing over the space between that building and a neighboring one. The company made its own mills by bolting large structu- ral-steel channels to suitable end pieces. All foun- dry scrap is drummed before it goes to the cupolas. A Pangborn sand-blast room is a part of the cleaning equipment. Between the cleaning building and that of a new machine shop is a covered railroad track, the two buildings being connected by monorails. After castings have been machined they are loaded, with those which require no machine work, on freight cars and taken a few blocks away to the assembly building, a structure 120 x 1080 ft. The company’s machine tools, except a comparatively few, have been removed from this building to the new shop. Machines operating on cold rolled steel have been left in the balcony of the assembly building. The foundry and machine shops are favored by the fact Section of Cafeteria Where Foundry Workers Are Served With Meals at a Low Price THE IRON AGE December 26, 1918 that the land where they stand slopes to the IIli- nois River, the result being that the basement of the foundry and the main floor of the machine shop are on the same level. All Cores Are Reclaimed Large and small cores are made in separate departments, each equipped with modern devices. Large cores are baked at night in double-end ovens. All core sand is mixed in Standard and Simpson core-sand machines at one end of the building hous- ing the core work, a part of the equipment being a Sly core-reclaiming machine, the use of which has been especially valuable since bonding mate- rial has been scarce and expensive. Both gas, coke, and oil-fired ovens are used in baking. Small cores are made by women, this department serving as a sort of school for beginners. All must graduate from this room before attempting larger work. The castings made by the company average 12 lb., the heaviest being about 700 lb. Work done on molding machines is steadily extending, the last step in that direction being the machine molding of pulleys. All gas-engine tractor parts are made with machine molds, and altogether 70 per cent of the output of the foundry is so produced. A point made by the management in connection with the fortu- nately passing antipathy of molders to machines, is that machinists have high regard for jigs and fix- tures and are eager to use them, therefore why should not the molder favorably regard those to be used in his work? With certain steel pinion, pro- duction by machine averages 75 per day per molder, while an outside company not using machines made but 25 per molder per day. At its Peoria plant the company manufactures all tractor and separator castings, and those re- quired in one size of tractor motor. Castings for six sizes of motors are made in its Milwaukee plant. The foundry described in this article has all been built since Sept. 1, 1916, the first heat having been made Jan. 15, 1917. Further improvements and additions are yet to be made. Over the stock piles a traveling crane is being erected. The laboratory will have additional apparatus for physical tests. History of the Avery Co. The Avery Co. was founded in 1878 by R. H. and C. M. Avery. Robert H. Avery, a young soldier, while in Andersonville Prison during the Civil War, conceived the idea of making a corn planter, and, it is said, with a smooth space on the ground as a drawing board and a pointed stick for a pencil, he made the first rough draft that illustrated his idea. When free, he went to Kansas, but it was not until. about 1874 that he built and put in successful oper- ation his first working, full-sized model, conceived: in Andersonville. In 1877 he returned to Illinois, and in copartnership with his brother started the manufacture of planters at Galesburg, IIl., in con- nection with other agricultural implements. The success of the business had been so marked, and was so increased in volume by the adoption of one of the pioneer wire check rowers then being manufactured in large quantities, that the firm in 1882 moved to Peoria, a location possessing many advantages, among them river transportation, rail- road facilities, and a better labor market, and in 1883 the firm of R. H. and C. M. Avery was incor- porated under the name of the Avery Planter Co., with an authorized capital of $200,000. The manufacture of steam engines and thresh- ing machines was undertaken in 1889, and in Sep- December 26, 1918 tember, 1892, the death of R. H. Avery called for radical modifications in management and program. In 1899 the business was reincorporated, with an authorized capital of $600,000, and the name changed to the Avery Mfg. Co. By 1907 the annual business had reached the volume of nearly a million dollars, and following the death of C. M. Avery, who had been the sole financial manager from the outset,, and when it was discovered the company’s charter was about to expire by limitation, the business was reorgan- ized under the corporate name of Avery Co., with an authorized capitalization of $2,500,000. The present capitalization of the company is $3,500,000, and the officers are as follows: J. B. Bartholomew, president; R. J. Boynton, vice-president; G. L. Avery, secretary; and E. A. Cole, treasurer. At the present time the Avery Co. is one of the largest producers of farm tractors, threshing machines, engine gang plows, motor cultivators, and other motor-driven farm machinery. Its factories, branches, and various offices, employ more than 3500 people. The main or No. 1 plant, at Peoria, is on a tract of 61 acres, while plant No. 2, a short distance away, is on a tract of 15 acres. The motor division of the company is a plant at Milwaukee, Wis., all new, and erected within the last 21% years, includ- ing a machine shop, motor assembly, overhead crane system, and foundry. The Avery Co. was the first industrial concern in Illinois to give its employees the benefits of a complete medical dispensary. This is maintained at all plants without any expense to the employees, and special attention is given to the liberal and kind treatment of employees who are accidentally or oth- “oO ot as OUI TRACK THE IRON AGE 1569 Type of Large Gear of Which a Great Many Are Made in the Avery Co.’s Foundry. This view is in the heavy work department. Like other departments it is served by a double monorail system, the hoists being electric erwise injured in the performance of their duties. This branch of the company’s activities is under the direct supervision of Secretary G. L. Avery, son of C. M. Avery, who has been actively connected with the institution since leaving college. == STEEL FOUNDRY } svete rovnary © Y Re : Sg oO TANAS O O10 Oo000 SAND ELEVATOR ~ ‘ MAIN tone ($5 S55 Pitti tits fouNORY ANNEX = MACHINE SHOP AND \** MOTOR ASSEMBLY 1 Ground Plan of the Avery Co.’s Foundry at Peoria, Il, of the buildings are the remodeled plant of the old Kingman Plow Co. sand, the crane facilities, and what is termed the ‘ The Western Malleables Co., Beaver Dam, Wis., has presented to the Western Malleables Social Club, a wel- fare organization of employees, a complete clubhouse located on the second floor of its new pattern shop. The clubhouse consists of three large rooms and an audi- torium, the whole representing an expenditure of nearly $5,000 for interior finish, draperies, furniture and other equipment. The formal opening of the club has been set for New Year’s Day. POWER S18 CRANE « $s | MANO Sano Fi | $s | Wo CLEANING ROOM ' PATTERN PATTERN STORAGE LOADING SHED SHAVINGS LUMP MACHINE SHOP TOOL ROOM AND CAFETERIA for Electric Steel, Gray Iron and Semi-Steel Castings. Most Especially notable are the tanks for molding ‘circle’ for rapid, continuous production Tables have been prepared by the Statistical Section of the U. S. Employment Service showing requests for help from employers as compared with registrations with the Service for jobs for the 13 weeks ending Nov. 80, which indicate a general decline in the demand for labor throughout the United States. In a number of sections this decline began early in September; in others there was an increasing demand up to the middle of October, immediately followed by a sharp decline. The Steel Markets of the Pacific Competition with Japan—Conditions in China—Markets in Australia—Competition from Europe—lInternational Free Trade BY THOMAS T. READ ness men as to the conditions that are likely to obtain in business during the period after the war vary so widely that it would indeed be fool- ish to attempt to prophesy what our trade condi- tions with the Orient are likely to be. It is, on the other hand, desirable to give them careful consid- eration, for they are likely to play an important part in the readjustment of international trade. There are certain factors on which there is sub- stantial agreement; others are so uncertain that only an expression of individual opinion can be made. [ive opinions entertained by experienced busi- Three Important Questions Three questions may be asked: Is trade with the Orient likely to be an important factor in the sum of foreign trade and if so, is commerce in iron and steel products likely to be an important part of that trade. If the answer to the second question is yes, what is the outlook for American manufac- turers who may seek to find.in Pacific markets sale for their products. Back of these three inquiries is the fundamental! assumption that the productive capacity of Amer- ican iron and steel plants, expanded to meet war needs, will for some time at least be greater than domestic markets can absorb and it will hence be necessary to seek in foreign countries, more dili- gently than before, a market for the products of our furnaces, mills and fabricating plants. Before the war domestic business occupied the big tent and foreign business was the side show. When the growth of domestic consumption brings it up to productive capacity it is likely that this relation will again hold, for there are many advantages in a concentrated business as compared to a diffused one, but it seems certain that for the time being for- eign trade (which normally doubles every 20 vears) will be much accentuated. One reason for this is that we will come out of the war with 25,000,000 tons of shipping that will compete for the carrying trade of the world, with the result that freight rates will be forced down to the point where less loss is sustained through keeping the ships in operation at low rates than in laying them up and allowing them to de- teriorate. The letter Mr. Hurley has already ad- dressed to all National Societies shows clearly that it will be the policy of the Emergency Fleet Cor- poration to foster over-seas traffic by every means in its power. International Free Trade Whether trade across the Pacific will be of much importance as compared with that across the At- lantic is a matter of opinion. The latter has for decades been much the more important. The dis- tances are less and the huge loans America has made to her European allies will call for yearly interest payments that the debtor country will en- deavor to recoup by increased sales of its products in this country. This will require the pushing of those lines of industry that are most profitable in order to get the maximum return out of foreign trade, and relinquishing to other countries trade in the products that are most profitable to them. This, followed to its logical conclusion, leads to what is practically international free trade. An example will serve to make this point clear. A manufacturer of ready-mixed paint may take the stand that he should protect himself by making everything that goes into his finished product. This would lead him, in the end, to the mining and smelt- ing of ore, the making of lead and zinc oxides, the manufacture of oils, the making of tin plate for cans and lumbering the stock for his packing con- tainers. No manufacturer could adhere to such a policy beyond the point to which he could make all these things as cheap as he could buy them in the open market; and ready-mixed paint manufac- turers, on the average, buy such materials in the open market and content themselves with the prof- its to be made from the manufacture and sale of paint. The same principle may be applied to foreign trade. The Italian people will have to pay interest on the loans the United States has made to the Italian Government. Manufactures of silk, cotton and wool, macaroni, automobiles, etc., are the prin- cipal things that Italy sells abroad, or, in other words, they are the things the Italian people find it most profitable to make. Italy imports wheat, coal and iron. If the Italian Government tried to make itself industrially independent by imposing an import duty on wheat, coal and iron, the inevitable outcome would be to increase the cost of produc- tion of the exports listed above; it would hamper a big business to foster a small one. In order to pay off their war debts the countries of the world will have to concentrate on the lines that are most prof- itable to them, and let the other fellow handle the business that he is best qualified to handle. In short, the carrying trade across both oceans is likely to increase greatly. Market in Devastated Europe Whether there will be a large market for Amer- ican products in rehabilitating devastated Europe yet uncertain, and weighty authority can he cited for either view. Personally, I think there will be. The best way out of a difficult business situation is often to borrow more money, and a bank often finds it better business to make further advances to a firm that is already in its debt rather than to refuse them. The trade that was firmly rooted in the battlegrounds of Europe will inev- itably spring up again. Whether this trade will be permanent is another matter; when the Japanese took over the South Manchurian railroad, thev bought rolling stock from America to equip it as quickly as possible, but that which has been needed in recent years has been made in Japan. The countries of the Pacific littoral, with the ex- ception of Australia, have kept relatively free from the burden of the war, and should emerge from it correspondingly free from war debts and taxation. With the exception of Japan, they are compara- tively undeveloped countries, which means that they is as 1570 December 26, 1918 have a better chance to increase their buying power in our markets through increased sales of their raw materials to us. And various short circuits in international trade are developing. We formerly got all our tin from Europe, but now the ore comes to this country and is smelted here. Chinese anti- mony formerly went to Europe and was resold here; now it comes direct to this country. It is reason- able to suppose that a good deal more trade in raw materials will be deflected to this country. The conclusion, therefore, is that international trade as a whole will increase and that Pacific trade will show a larger relative increase than will that across the Atlantic. As for permanency, the Pacific is much to be preferred, for it will take a long time to equip the relatively undeveloped coun- tries that border the Pacific and their raw mate- rials, as return cargo, will serve to keep freight rates low and furnish the means of making payment for what we sell to them. Initial Equipment in Undeveloped Countries The answer to the second question has already been partly covered in the discussion of the first. Undeveloped countries are the best places for the sale of initial equipment. This must be qualified. Peking needed a modern telephone system and was therefore a good market for the sale of telephone equipment. Mongolia is not a good market for tele- phone equipment because its inhabitants do not need telephones and would not use them if they had them. It is only a rapidly developing country that is a good market for the sale of initial equipment. A highly developed country may be a poor market for the sale of initial equipment, but offers a very good market for sales to replace wastage and meet in- creases. Most probably the telephone equipment required to replace losses in Boston in a single vear is larger than that required to initially equip the whole city of Peking, which has about the same population as Boston. But providing the initial equipment also means providing a permanent market for replacements. The countries bordering the Pacific are lacking the initial equipment of iron and steel products, and, as will be seen later, they offer relatively little promise of being able to provide it for themselves. The conclusion therefore is that traffic in iron and steel products will be an important factor in trans-Pacific trade. Competition in Steel with Japan The final question is, what is the prospect of a large slice of trans-Pacific trade in iron and steel and their products falling to the share of Ameri- can manufacturers? Japan will be a large factor in the answer to this. In an earlier article* I dis- cussed the iron and steel industry of Japan and pointed out that even at the hoped-for rate of growth the Japanese iron industry would not be able to keep ahead of the domestic consumption for some time yet. The cost of production of pig iron and semi-finished steel is not low,either in the plants in Japan or the Japanese-controlled plants on the Asiatic mainland. If the American producer gets down to bedrock’ production costs in order to keep his plants run- ning, and our shipping gets down to bedrock carry- ing charges in order to keep its boats busy, there seems every reason to suppose that the American producer of pig éron, steel and finished products can sell in the markets of Japan in competition with the domestic producer. Unless the Japanese plants *THE IRON AGE, May 16, 1918 THE IRON AGE 1571 are protected by import duties it will be doubtful whether they can meet American competition after the war. Japan’s trade with the United States has grown so much that her buying power has much increased, while her rapid development as a manu- facturing country has made her a big market for machinery. If the league of nations, which is talked of after the war, really materializes and provides for anything like international free trade, Japan is almost certain to be a good market for American iron and steel products. If, on the» other hand, Japan sets up a tariff barrier, all our products ex- cept our specialties are likely to be shut out. The Needs of China China is almost totally lacking in initial equip- ment of iron and steel products except near a few big cities and the railroads which join them. The projected railroads that are in course of building or hope to be built, represent a good deal of iron and steel in one form or another, and if they are built will lead to industrial development that will call for more iron and steel. China is the most promising country in the world, but it is also the most disappointing. Her government and finances pass from one critical stage to another without ever quite collapsing or getting much better. It is now suggested that after the war the prin- cipal powers establish a sort of joint receivership over China and proceed to reorganize its govern- ment and industry in much the same way that Sir Robert Hart reorganized its customs service. Whether that is practicable will remain to be seen, but it seems almost too much to hope that the long struggle for special rights in China will soon give way toa real open door. Trade conditions in China are so complicated by all sorts of special rights and restrictions that it is impossible to generalize about them. About all that can be said is that in the next 50 years China will require a good deal of iron and steel products and they are not going to be available from domestic sources. Writing on iron and steel in China eight years ago I pointed out that while there was no hope of development of the native industry, one modern plant had been built up and the conditions indi- cated that others could be developed. This has proved to be a mistake of judgment. The ore body, on which the one modern plant depended, proved on further development to be much smaller than was believed, and the other places in which ore bodies were hoped for also disclosed only disappointingly small reserves of ore. It may now be said that China will never be a big producer of iron and steel unless ore bodies should be discovered in places where there is no reason to expect them. The known ore bodies are all under Japanese control and will be utilized for the benefit of the Japanese iron and steel industry. Other things being equal, the United States should have a good chance in the steel markets of China as they develop, but the whole subject is so com- plicated by diplomatic relations that it is impos- sible to discuss it without many ifs, ands and buts. Chinese trade is worth going after, but it is neces- sary to know the game before mixiny into it. The Australian and Malay Markets Australia as a steel market after the war is difficult to analyze, because it depends so largely on the relation of the island continent to the mother country. The one blast-furnace plant in Australia is too new to give much indication as to what suc- cess it will achieve after the war. At present it looks as though Australia would never produce any 1572 large part of the iron and steel she needs and the labor conditions there are such that production costs can never be low. Arrangements are already made for the diversion to England of the smelting of Australian lead-zinc ores, and British manufac- turers will have the first chance to supply the re- turn cargo. Traffic between Australia and the United States is of such a nature that we seem to be at a disadvantage there as compared with the European manufacturer. The islands of the Malay archipelago and the mainland over against them are likely to be of in- creasing importance as markets for the United States. The war has interrupted their trade, for ships could not be spared to trade with these re- mote places, and when it is resumed it is likely to seek some new channels. With plenty of ships under the American flag, the producers of raw materials are likely to send more and more of their output to the United States, with the natural result that they will buy more and more of our products. This tendency will be greatly helped if American capi- tal becomes available for investment in enterprises in this field, and it is reasonable to suppose that this will be the case. Nothing has so far been said of European com- Newton Upright Generating Planers The Newton Machine Tool Works, Inc., Philadelphia, say that their developments on machines that are ordi- narily known in the trade as slotting machines, and the uses to which these machines have been put, suggest the necessity of rechristening, and they have therefore called their machines, as built at present in the new design, upright generating planers. One of the very latest of these machines having a 72-in. stroke is illustrated. This has the newly de- veloped method of stroke control disc. The trips can be operated by hand while the machines are in motion, a desirable feature to compensate for any drift of motors. The control apparatus is on the bottom of the upright within convenient reach of the operator. There is a duplex control of the hand elevation for the cutter Newton 72-in. Upright Generating Planer 7 DHE, TRON AGE Hit December26, 1918 petition in Pacific markets, for that is too uncer- tain a quantity. It is reasonably clear that “made in Germany” is not going to be the big factor in every market that it was before the war. What part British manufacturers will play is less easy to foresee. About all that can be said is that Amer- ican producers were not afraid to meet European competition before the war, and with the German commercial agent a thing of the past it ought to be easier going in the future. No one ever writes about foreign trade without upbraiding the American producer for the methods he pursues. It has all been said so often that I will take it for granted and not repeat it here. It may all be summed up by saying that the way to get foreign trade is to go out and get it; and the first requisite for that is to know what is wanted, where it is, and how to get it. To get trade in the Antip- odes many months on the road and high traveling expenses are a prerequisite, and a long time elapses before success is evident. It is correspondingly worth while, therefore, to make careful preparation before embarking on such an enterprise, and wher- ever practicable a group of producers should pool their interests and secure joint representation in foreign fields. bar ram, a safety feature to prevent the dropping of the cutter bar guide or yoke should the rope on the counterweight fail at any time. The machine has an adjusting rack on each side of the frame, the adjust- ment being by means of worms and worm wheels ar- ranged to be opposed in directions of rotation. Some chips collected in the works of the Heppenstall Forge and Knife Co., Pittsburgh, show remarkable strength and steadiness of cut. These rack-driven slotting machines or Upright planers are built in sizes having 36 to 72-in. maximum stroke and cutter bars are counterweighted having square bearings in the guides with taper side-adjusting shoe and the vertical clamping surface is solid, steel faced, with suitable tool-holding clamps. Beneath the ram is the new steel swiveling relief tool-box apron operating in any position of a complete circle. Motion from motor to the steel rack on back of the ram is transmitted through all steel spur reduction gears, whose coarseness of pitch and width of face in- crease with reduction of the gear speed. Gears are covered and on the operating side of machines all gears are completely enclosed. Circular tables are heavily ribbed and have full bearing on the saddle, to which they are held by corner clamps and centered by a deep-face large-diameter bearing. Table saddles have narrow guide alignment control with central feed screw and taper shoe fit. Hand adjustment of saddle is from both ends of the cross slide. Feed screws have bearings on each end for smooth operation in tension. Feed motion is from a rocking friction box having on the outside the pawl rod stroke adjusting screw. Iron Ore and Pig Iron in Ontario In the first nine months of 1918, a total of 154,243 tons of iron ore was shipped from Ontario, according to the Ontario Bureau of Mines. Of this, 84,886 tons was shipped to Ontario points and 69,357 tons outside of the province. In addition to the output of the Al- goma Steel Corporation and Moose Mountain, Ltd., shipments were made by the Poe Mining Co. from Palmerston township, Frontenac county, and by t