The Iron Age 1920-05-06: Vol 105 Iss 19

2 8 Nes THE IRON AGE New York, May 6, 1920 VOL. 105: No. 19 Fl SOO TERE he CON een a OP rem, okra : APRA sar ESTABLISHED 1855 ee Ws eh alba TO age Making Ore Pile Part of Automobile Plant The Plan of Henry Ford to Pour Castings Direct from the Blast Furnace Taking Form—Cupolas Not En- tirely Eliminated and Foundry Will Have Eighteen BY F. L. PRENTISS PRE FR: MERLE 4, dente sgh captnmecttiond ott PED lbh aie 8 + -di lain aiedienty diate a eventually, steel works, ENRY FORD’S ambition to start with the coke plant and foundry and, ore in build:ng automobiles is approaching a realization. His plan involved the build- ng on a very large scale of a plant with ore docks and handling IN equipment, blast furnaces, (= ™ lf all combined in one large enterprise and provid- ing all the manufacturing processes for making finished steel and castings for use in the automo- tive plants of the companies founded by Mr. Ford. se etal lay Bee (jas from Each Furnace Is Carried »5-ft Through Four Uptakes Extending 25 Above the Platform Two of these up- <es, as shown in the circle, connect to a down-comer at the left This view shows he top of the bucket off. In the general w the whirlers and dry gas cleaner had put in, but the dust catcher in the foreground vie L/S A JA Y/ OAL lav ° A One important step in this gigan- tic undertaking has just been fin- ished in the completion of one of the blast furnaces and the second fur- nace will be ready for operation this summer. The ore docks and handling equipment were completed some time ago and the by-product coke plant 1296 was placed in operation in the fall of 1919. The new Ford works are known as the River Rouge plant of the Ford Motor Co., being a part of the organization. The site covers several thou- sand acres just outside of the western limits of Detroit on the Rogue River, three miles from the junction of that river with the Detroit River. Ground was broken for the plant three years ago but work was largely suspended during the war owing to the difficulty of obtaining material. At- tention was centered, during the war, on the erec- tion and operation on the same site, of a ship- building plant for the Government in which the submarine chasers known as the “Eagles” were built for the Navy Department. With the com- pletion of the Government contract, the Eagle plant has been converted into an automobile body building plant. Work on the two blast furnaces was started in September, 1918, and piling is now being driven for the two additional blast furnaces originally contemplated. The erection of one of these furnaces will probably be started late this year. No definite plans have been announced as vet for the proposed steel plant. A predominating feature of the blast furnaces, and in fact of the whole plant, is that no expense has been spared in construction. The design of the furnaces provided for the heaviest and most substantial type of construction for all parts, and the engineers have aimed to make the furnaces and the equipment complete and niodern in every particular. More than usual interest has been taken in the Ford blast furnaces because of the announce- ment that the company planned to pour hot metal directly from the furnaces to the molds in the foundry, eliminating remelting the pig iron in the foundry cupolas. Mr. Ford, believing that this could be accomplished, some time ago set his engineering and foundry departments to work on the metallurgical problems involved. Under the process as it has been worked out cupolas will not be eliminated entirely but the metal from the blast furnaces and metal from the cupolas will be mixed in‘ definite proportions and it is stated that tests have proved that high grade castings possessing all the qualities required for machining will be produced by this process. The foundry is now in construction but is not expected to be ready for operation before fall. It will be of very large capacity, the building being 1188 ft. long and 660 ft. wide. It will be equipped with 18 cupolas arranged in three bat- teries of six each. Metal from the blast furnaces will be taken to the foundry in ladle cars and poured outside the foundry wall in a 30-ton ladle or hot metal container, one of which will be pro- vided for each battery of cupolas. From this ladle, 1500 to 2000 lb. of the furnace metal will be poured into a foundry ladle and the ladle taken to the cupola and the required amount of cupola metal will be added. Track scales will be pro- vided for weighing both the blast furnace and cupola metal as it is poured into the ladle. The cupola charge will consist largely of scrapped castings, sprues and gates from the foundry, bor- ings and scrap steel from the present automobile body plant. A large machine shop will be erected adjoining the foundry for finishing the castings. The completed blast furnace is 92 ft. in height from the iron notch to the top platform and the diameter at the bosh is 22 ft. 9 in. The capacity from the tap hole to the bottom of the bell is 32,000 cu. ft. The diameter at the hearth is 17 THE IRON AGE Ma 6, ft. and at the stock line 16 ft.6 in. Th the bosh is 78 deg. 11 min. The lining thickness in the shell, being reduced to »* the bosh. Besides the bosh cooling pla: are 11 rows of plates above the mant. being carried one half way up the inwal! above the mantel. These are set back approximately ) in. from the inside lining. The stock lin or tected by wearing plates. These are heavy eas; iron sections 8 ft. high and they are water cooled by means of cooling pipes cast in the « section. The foundation of the furnace is a concrete mat 8 ft. in thickness laid on piling and above thi mat is a brick foundation 9 ft. 8 in. in thicknecc The columns and column bases are anchored : the foundation with anchor bolts. The hase plates are spaced in a circle by heavy cast iro, distance pieces and bolts to hold them in ali; ment. There are six hollow cast iron and the diameter of the column circle is 30 ft The average column diameter is 24 in. The circle pipe rests on the mantel and the bustle pipe suspended from the mantel by vertical rods ru ning through cast steel brackets riveted to t bustle pipe. The bustle pipe is 2 ft. 9 in diameter inside the brick work and 4 ft. 7 inside the shell. The hearth jacket is a 1'5 in. riveted plate and is protected on the inside by cast iro) segments 415 in. in thickness, pipe coils being cast in the segments. Between the outside steel plate and the inner cast iron plates is 4 in. of groat The hearth jacket is 24 ft. 4 in. in diameter and 10 ft. 9 in. high, extending from approximate}; 2 ft. above the cast house floor to the bottom of the column bases or 6 ft. 7 in. below the iro: notch. There are 12 tuyeres. The tuyere jacket is a 1144 in. riveted steel plate 21 ft. 6 in. in diameter and 4 ft. 10 in. wide. The tuyere jacket and hearth walls are cooled by copper cooling plates The bosh is reinforced with five heavy steel butt strap bands above the tuyere jacket, these being 12 in. wide and 114 in. thick, supported by cast steel brackets from the tuyere jacket, making 3 self-supporting unit. The bosh is cooled by nine rows of copper cooling plates. The mantel is 0 the flat horizontal plate type, being built up 0! sections of plate with stiffening angles and hea\ built straps. The furnace shell is built of *4 in. plate wit! double riveted butts on the vertical seam and sin- gle riveted taps on the girth. The bottom ring is 1 in. in thickness and the other rings °, 1” thick. The top ring is heavily reinforced wit! angles to take care of the top platform brackets Several railings placed 6 ft. apart encircle the furnace starting above the hearth, these being provided as a safety measure. The shell is surmounted by Kennedy cone type top. At the top of the cone is a cast steel saddle made in four sections. This saddle carries the top hopper which is a solid steel casting. The hopper is 13 ft. in diameter at the top and 1! ft 6 in. at the bottom and 6 ft. deep. The bell is |” ft. 3 in. in diameter and the angle of the bel! 's 53 deg. The large bell is hung on a cross-head which is supported by two rods operated by 4 hydraulic cylinder. There is a change from the usual design 0! Kennedy top in the arrangement of the uptakes. Instead of having four cast steel outtake elbows running down under the platform, the four up- colum? THE IRON AGE, MAY 6, 1920 The reproduction of the panoramic photograph makes conspicuous the preg yard of the ma TURNING BASIN received and the adjoining storage — — = we bs £ —— ———— ES ee ———— —= COAL @ SCREEN RS.” STATION oI lf am | “SP * sees SSS Eas = « - — = gtet oe an - scoe y a en — Rae BLA FUR. — a NG 3 y t Ro! e e a : Rive oa 3 = — : \ 7a iad ‘ OV X i BN WEOVEN BLOCd N22 i + F ' =. wean * TLE EE EEE a (xa - Poy | | ~ ' 4 MSH ford ER TRA : | | The map shows the nearby location of the foundry building to the blast furné The foundry building will contain cupolas, a and casting will be done with a mi for the progressive assembly of the Eagles, the submarine chasers which we transfer table pit over which the completed hulls wet The Beginnings, on the River Rouge, near Detroit, ponspicuous the present installation of coke ovens. At the left may be seen the slip by e yard of the materials with one of the ore bridges. In the background may be seen ~ TRANSIER TABLE PIT 4UTO BODY BUIL DIN SUBSTATION "PONE 4 LORD P ORD tte PSH AP AAS RAHA HSA EEEE AERP AGERE EGRAB ESD HO HGH A+ odin bdgu tigre, oss} Host yp KS sl eats war nr wasawevesntoeueurer t= sianceeeeetenetey ts ——as PE Tata coon WOUNTUUPORETNT SOC =a PN SNT OOOO HH HS Orr _ ee ee eee = SS . o00e ©) e000 O <7 GARAGE | ‘. a Sendai ae J — . - abl " J ‘ tg BLAST FURNACES en ed eae { - aa BLA: i | Sree PIG MACHINE LADLE a SAULL a BREAKE, a BUILDING i i to the blast furnaces. Space is provided for two additional blast furnaces, the const: be done with a mixture of molten blast furnace iron and cupola iron. The building m: chasers which were being built by the Ford organization when the war came to a clos mmpleted hulls were transferred to the launching bridge and thence reached the fittin; par Detroit, of the Ford Plan to Make the Blast Furnace slip by which water shipments of raw materials may be seen one of the blast furnaces. ——S —_— ES ——S LE F — ee \ \ } | f | \ | | \ \ \ \ \ y \ \ \ ~— | \ \ \ ee ry \ . a ii \ J i —e , “as a “= = ce a = i — a ) / construction of one of which is to be started this year. ng marked auto body building was the main structure a close. At the end of this building may be noted the fitting-out berths in the slip. ace a Part of the Automobile Plant meteor * os eee - re ee antes ie B verge ies | | | | = ae = FA eel MOD ne a pA i A RN BS Cs AEP ep * os i Asn =x) sense oy nk RR sf Saree e aban : nee a, 7 ' ener 0p rR ae es i a ae ear a | I NN a Pa ae: mR on grt ene aa al a ee lia ace ae od eR eS Te ee eee ee oe RMON P er tear eattcren a hipaa " nest ee ee a a ee se te ieee. ° in for taking off the gas are turned up through nlatform and connect together at a point 25 above the platform through cast steel fittings , two downcomer branches. High uptakes re provided in order to hold the stock in the ce better. The uptakes are 4 ft. in diameter | the downcomer branches 4 ft. 6 in. in diam eter. The bleeder valves are provided, one at top of each pair of uptakes. The two downcomer branches lead into the cide of a dust-catcher and the gas leaves this catcher at the top. From the dust-catcher the THE IRON AGE 1297 some time ago. The cleaner is of steel plate con struction. Some of the advantages that led to its adoption in preference to a wet gas cleaner is that with its use the sensible heat of the gas is retained, its power requirements are very low, being approximately 4 hp. for the automatic oper ation for the entire equipment of the six unit, as compared to 80 to 100 hp. given as the power re- quirements for a wet washer, no water for clean ing as compared with 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 gal. per day required by a wet washer; settling basins are eliminated and pollution of water in the river is Skip Incline and the Specially Designed Carriage jeneath Which the Bucket Is Suspended The whirlers appear the background gas 1s carried through a battery of 12 Kennedy centrifugal whirlers arranged in four parallel sets in series of three. From these whirlers the gas passes through a manifold 7 ft. 2 in. in diam- eter leading to the dry gas cleaner, and from the cleaner the gas is delivered into a clean gas manifold of the same diameter, and from this to the stoves and boilers. The gas is cleaned by passing through mats of steel wool, which are automatically cleaned, and the flue dust is dis- charged into hoppers beneath. A set of 5 ft. standard Kling quick operating goggle valves is provided for cutting off the dry gas cleaner so that the gas may be sent to the stoves or boilers with- ut a second cleaning. The original plans called lor the installation of a gas washer, but the dry ‘eaner was substituted. The checker openings the stoves are smaller than in ordinary prac- e, and for this reason stoves require that the gas be unusually clean. The Kling-Weidlein dry gas cleaner is a six init cleaner. A second six unit cleaner of this ype is being erected in connection with the sec- ond furnace. The installation of this cleaner was ‘ecided upon after an inspection at the works of the Carnegie Steel Co., Youngstown, where the Irst cleaner of this type was put in operation + avoided. The cleaner was installed by Arthur G McKee & Co., Cleveland. Bleeders are provided on the ends of the stove and boiler gas mains and there are mushroom valves for cutting off each furnace from the boiler gas main. There is but one boiler gas main for both furnaces, and mushroom valves are provided for use in cutting off one furnace when only the other furnace is being operated. There are four stoves for each furnace, 24 ft. in diameter and 100 ft. in height and with a heat- ing surface of 100,000 cu. ft. each. The stoves are of the two-pass side combustion type and have a special design of 2 x 12 in. checker flues. A spe- cial type of brick is used in these flues. The brick are 3 x 6.x 16 in. in size with ‘2 in. recessed ends to provide the 2 x 12 in. flues. The stoves are designed with small flues to get a large amount of heating surface in order to provide the high blast heat that has become the more general blast furnace practice. The stoves have 2 in. asbestos installation on the sides and Sil-o-cel powder on the tops of the domes. All heating blast mains and bustle pipes are insulated with asbestos board between the brick and shell. The chimney valves are of the mushroom type with water cooled seats. The hot blast valve is - ue = ee edited SN OR RIE TY emer Rg ' : i ti : i 7 : } lh oar toatl 1h 4 reise ee ae eee ee ' RRR et Ne ag: Negrin crates erate ean tilt sntrplpecatainen. THE Bucket Suspen’ed from Top of Furnace Seated on the Furnace Top Ready to Be a hollow steel valve of welded steel plate con- struction and works on a bronze seat. This valve and the seat and stem are water cooled. The stoves are equipped with Kennedy gas burners. A. specially designed Kennedy gate valve is used for cutting the cold blast from each stove on the cold blast line. The mixing pipe from the end of the cold blast main to the hot blast main is equipped with a McCarthy reg- ulating and drop valve. The stoves are served by a brick lined steel plate stack with a bell type of base 190 ft. high and 18 ft. in diameter at the base and 8 ft. 3 in. in diameter at the top. The cast house is equipped with a 20-ton Pawl- ing & Harnischfeger crane for general handling and a Mullen tapping machine and a Berg-Brosius clay gun. A track is provided on each side of the cast house, the hot metal track being on the east side and the cinder track on the west side. The metal will run in cast iron runners from the tap- ping hole to the ladle. There are six 75-ton Pol- lock and one 95-ton Treadwell ladle cars for taking the hot metal either to the pig machine or to the foundry for direct casting. One end of the foundry is only about 75 ft. from the cast house. A Uehling pig casting machine is provided. Above this machine is a special tilting trolley of 100 tons capacity built by the Morgan Engineering Co. for tilting the ladle. If the metal goes to the foundry, a Well- man-Seaver-Morgan gantry crane will be used for tilting the ladle in pouring the metal from the fur- nace ladle into the foundry receiving ladles. Cinder will be loaded into Pollock cinder cars and, for the present, dumped at a convenient point. Plans for the final disposal of slag have not yet been worked out. The cast house is of unusually elaborate con- struction. It has heavy brick walls with red faced brick on the outside and wainscoting of fire brick on the inside. There are heavy sliding steel doors in each bay, and above the crane runway and all around the building are factory ribbed glass windows in swinging steel Lupton sash, making the interior well lighted and permitting the cast house to be completely closed with the exception of the open roof monitor. Extensive dock and handling facilities have been provided for handling ore, coal and lime- stone, for not only will ore be brought to the fur- IRON AGE May 6, naces from the Lake Superior mines but co. limestone will be shipped to the plant pb, from Lake Erie docks. A slip 250 ft. wid ft. long and 25 ft. deep has been built, on side of which are concrete docks extendin, length of the slip. At the point at which th, runs into the river, there is a turning basin viding sufficient space for turning the larges| freighter. The ore and coal storage yard and the uw: ing dock are on the east side of the slip. Th, unloading equipment includes two standard Hulett ore unloaders built by the Wellman-Seaver-M, gan Co. and a Mead-Morrison coal unloader. equipped with 10-ton clam shell buckets. There is also a Mead-Morrison car dumper for dumping cars of coal shipped by rail. The three boat un- loaders run on the same track along the dock. This track extends the full length of the dock and has a span of 70 ft. Ore, coal and limestone wil] be dumped from a cantilever back of each un- loader into a trough 70 ft. wide and from this trough two bridges will distribute the raw ma- terial to the stock yard under the bridge or deliver it to transfer cars on the trestle. These are Mead- Morrison bridges with a 350 ft. span between the shear leg and pier leg and with a 115 ft. cantilever over the dock and an 88 ft. extension with a shear leg, making the total length of the bridge 523 ft. The bridge is served by a 10-ton man trolley which handles a 10-ton bucket. The River Rouge has not yet been made naviga- ble for large lake boats and, until the necessary dredging is done to permit the bringing of cargoes to the dock ore will be unloaded at the dock of the Detroit Iron & Steel Co. and both ore and coal brought to the plant by rail and discharged from an overhung track that is carried on brackets on the pier leg wall. One half of the storage yard is used for ore and the remainder for coal and limestone. In building the ore storage yard, piles were driven 4 ft. apart and above these was placed a reinforced concrete mat 2 ft. in thickness. Ore, coal and limestone are delivered by the bridge into wide gage Hoover-Mason transfer cars are on the high line trestle over the bins which are in parallel line with the storage yard. There are three tracks on the high line. One is 4 three rail track, two rails providing the wide gage for the transfer cars working with the ore bridge The Kling-Weidlein Gas Cleaner Is Located Back of the whirlers. The gas manifolds not yet completed na dana ae a a ee its Oper d ! i CS Operated 1300 The Quenching Car and the Guide for Direc to the Car ting the Coke and an inner rail making the same track a standard gage track for handling rail shipments of ore. Coke is brought from the screening stations at the coke ovens to the furnace coke bins in specially de- signed Hoover-Mason scale transfer cars. The stock bins for ore, coke and limestone are of reinforced construction of standard Hoover- Mason design. There are 32 bins divided longi- tudinally into two rows. The west row of bins are for ore and those on the east of furnace side are for coke and limestone. has a 200 tons of coke. The bins have electrically driven revolving drum gates. Each bin capacity of ore or 60 tons of Ore, coke and limestone are delivered from the bins into double compartment Hoover-Mason scale larries for hauling to the skip bucket, each com- partment having a capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 lb. of ore. The larry cars are of bottom dump hop- per type, dumping into a chute that feeds into a skip bucket which has a capacity of 6000 lb. of coke. The revolving drums that feed from the stock bins to the larry cars are solid plate on the ore side and perforated on the coke side, giving the coke an extra screening before going to the furnaces. There is a hopper under the _ skip bucket to take care of a spillage when the larry cars are being dumped and this feeds from the hopper into a Link-Belt conveyor which carries the material up to an overhead hopper which de- livers it back to the scale larry cars. The skip incline is a_ self-supported ture 190 ft. long, inclined at 50 deg. from the horizontal and has a single track. The single skip bucket is suspended underneath a specially designed carriage. The bucket and carriage are counterweighted and are operated by an Otis specially designed gearless hoisting engine, the armature of the motor being directly connected to the drive of the hosting en- gine. The skip bucket is suspended under the carriage on a rod and bell and at the top of the furnace the bucket is seated on a small hopper over the large bell. The further travel of the car- riage lowers the small bell at the bottom of the bucket, allowing the stock to be discharged into the large bell. When the bucket is not on the top of the furnace, a hydraulically operated sliding cover plate seals the top of the furnace, this being struc- THE IRON AGE May 6, | the latest Kennedy design. After the stock is charged into the large bell, the bell is acty by hydraulically operated cylinders. At the top of the rod that-supports the bu there is a gear and when the bucket runs to bottom of the skip, this gear on the bucket porting the rod, meshes with a rack operated hydraulic cylinders, revolving the bucket to sure uniform distribution of the stock in the fu nace. The hoisting engine is supported on a tow: half way up the skip. This tower also carries th: counterweights for the skip car and carriay: The skip hoist operated on a load of 15,000 lb. o: cre at 600 ft. per min. The control for the skip hoist is in the operator’s house situated on the ground level at the skip pit. The same operator also controls the bucket turning mechanism sliding cover to the top and the large bell operating cylinders. One of the special features of the plant is that in addition to having indicating pyrometers, pres sure gages, etc., at convenient locations, numerous instruments are provided for recording the stove temperatures, hot blast temperatures, furnace top temperatures, furnace top pressures, gas pressure before entering and after leaving the cleaners, stock line levels, etc., a complete record being kept of all temperatures and pressures. In addi ticn, a complete time record is kept of all motions in connection with the furnace charge so that at the end of the day the superintendent has a full record of the various furnace operations. Every time the skip bucket goes up, the bucket is turned at the bottom, the sliding cover is opened and the bell is lowered, a record of these various move- ments is made by the different instruments in the instrument room. A record is also kept of the temperature of the cooling water before and after going to the furnace, these being recorded both on the intake and outtake. It is stated that noth ing nearly as complete in the way of recording instruments has ever been attempted in the opera tion of a blast furnace. The various recording in struments are located in a separate instrument house, being mounted on a slate board. Cold blast for the stoves is supplied by three General Electric turbo-blowers located in the cen- The Coke Quenching Tower Carries the Steam Well Up in the Air May 6, 1920 THE IRON AGE i301 The Coke Wharf Is Located Along the Discharge Side of the Ovens tral power house which is now under construc- tion and which will supply power for the foundry, nachine shop and also other power requirements. Vertical Wheeler condensers are used for the turbo-blowers. The latter are mounted on struc- tural steel foundations. Steam is supplied to the turbo-blowers by boilers in a temporary power ouse. Four water tube boilers of 2647 hp. nor- mal rating will be installed in the new power house by the Ladd Boiler Co. These are said to be the largest single boilers ever built. The boilers will be fired with both blast furnace gas and powdered coal, each having a burner for each fuel. A plant for pulverizing coal is being erected adjoining the power house by the Pul- verizer Fuel Corporation. A belt conveyor will imnvey coal from the coke breaker building of the oke plant to the pulverizer plant, a distance of 600 it. The pulverizing fuel will be elevated above the roof of the turbo-blower section of the power use and carried in 16 in. screw conveyors to the nain boiler room, Cold blast lines from the turbo-blowers to the toves are riveted pipe 42 in. in diameter. At ch blower several valves provide an _ inter- ingeable valve system for connecting different vers to one or the other furnace and at each wer there is also a Mesta multi-port check ve to protect the blowing engine from the liabil- of excessive back pressure due to gas explo- The water supply for the furnaces is taken m the upper end of the slip passing through tionary and revolving screens. It is carried ugh a tunnel 12 ft. in diameter to the main ver house where the tunnel divides into two nches, one entering the turbo-generator room the other the turbo-blower and pump room. rresponding discharge tunnels leave these ns and join at the north end of the coke plant, the tunnel discharging into the river below the coke plant. Water for each blast furnace is sup- plied by an Allis-Chalmers centrifugal pump with a capacity of 3600 gal. per min. One spare pump is provided. Each 12 in. supply line for the fur- naces is provided with a twin basket Elliott strainer. Water connection is made to a water tank for use in an emergency should the water pumps get out of commission. The daily water requirements of the two furnaces for cooling pur- poses is 10,000,000 gal. The pumping head is 200 ft. and the distance the water is pumped is 550 ft. to furnace A and 880 ft. to furnace B. Com- pressed air is supplied by a temporary air com- pressor plant in the ore yard. The coke oven plant consists of two batteries of Semet-Solvay 15-ton coke ovens of the re- generative type, 120 ovens in all. These will car- bonize 2500 tons of coal per day and their daily output is 1800 tons of coke. It is expected that when the blast furnaces and foundry are in full operation these will consume all the coke suitable for use. The surplus coke in small size will be disposed of as domestic coke. The plans provide for two additional batteries of coke ovens and the erection of these ovens may be started late in the year. The coal is conveyed by a belt conveyor, either from the coal storage yard if shipped by boat or from the car dumper if brought by rail. The conveyor takes it to the Bradford breakers where it is given a preliminary crushing. From the breakers, conveyors carry it to four mixing bins, each of 250 tons capacity. Each bin is equipped with a steel flight apron conveyor over which the flow of coal can be regulated. This permits the mixing of different kinds of coal in any desired proportion. The apron conveyor delivers the coal to pulverizers in which the fuel is pulverized until 85 to 90 per cent of it will pass through an % in. <a we Suet eo ne i | 1 1302 mesh screen. The plant is with No. 8 Williams pulverizers. A belt bucket elevator receives the coal from the pulverizers and conveys it to the top of the charging bins. It is charged into the ovens with Semet-Solvay electrically operated charging cars which differ from most cars of this type in that they have four entirely separate compartments. The guide that directs the coke from the oven to the quenching car is so located that the fuel is dis- charged at a sufficient distance above the plat- form on the coke side to permit the placing of a rail about 30 in. high along the platform, elimi- nating the danger of workmen stepping off the edge of the platform and falling into the quench- ing car. When the quenching car is loaded, it is moved to a quenching tower located at the extreme end of the ovens where the coke is quenched by water from two rows of sprinkler pipes above the car. This tower is about 75 ft. in height, built of brick and has an open top from which the steam es- capes. The quenching tower was provided for two purposes; one is that with the steam carried well up into the air through the tower, a cloud of steam near the ground is avoided and the danger of accidents to workmen walking along the tracks in the vicinity of the ovens by reason of having their view obscured by a cloud of smoke, is eliminated. The other reason for the tower is that it keeps the steam away from the iron work of the ovens and consequently protects this work from corrosion. The quenching car was built by the Atlas Car & Mfg. Co. and the coke pusher by the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co. After the coke is quenched and drained, the quenching car is brought back on the same track at the rear of the ovens and coke is delivered to the coke wharf 200 ft. long that extends along the ovens on the opposite side of the track. From the wharf the coke is fed to a belt conveying sys- tem that carries it over screens and picking belts for a general sizing and preparation. A _ belt- boom conveyor loads foundry coke directly on railroad cars as it is produced, thus avoiding dropping the coke and breakage. Other coke is discharged into bins from which it is delivered to cars by gravity chutes. Coke for the blast furnaces is delivered to the electrically operated transfer cars that convey it to the high line trestle and discharge it into the coke bins. The gas driven off in coking is collected into provided two separate mains, one main for rich gas and the other for lean gas. The rich gas is sold to the Detroit City Gas Co. to which it is delivered by a booster cross compound compressor supplied I’nloader for Ore ind Coa with Two Ore Bridges 3716 kzground i TAN Ne easel =. THE IRON AGE by the Hooven-Owens-Rentschler Co. 1 gas is used for fuel at the ovens and for uses in other parts of the plant. Gas is ex from the ovens by General Electric turbo y In the by product plant, ammonia is re by the direct sulphate process as ammoni phate, which is used as commercial fe) The ammonium sulphate is precipitated rators of Semet-Solvay design by passing t ve gas through a bath of 600 deg. Baume su!ph)y))> acid. It is dried in centrifugal driers and shipped in bags or bulk as commercial sulphate. Crude light oil is recovered from the gas an, che surplus remaining from the gas enrichn: washed and fractionated into refined light 0) through a light oil and benzol apparatus of Semet Solvay design. This refined light oil is mixed with gasoline, making motor benzol. The yield per ton of coal that is being obtained in the coke ovens and by product plant is 5600 ey ft. of gas at 640 b.t.u. and 18 candle power per cu. ft., 2 gal. of motor benzol, 25 gal. of am monium sulphate and approximately 8 gal. of tar At present the Ford Motor Co. is using the er tire production of motor benzol but in the future expects to have a surplus which will be placed on the market. Some of the tar produced is now being sold but the company expects later to use its entire tar output for various purposes within the plant. The blast furnaces were designed by Julian Kennedy of Pittsburgh, who also did the engi- neering work in connection with the blowing equipment in the new power house and, in addi- tion prepared the plans and specifications for the docks, storage yard, etc., covering the handling of the ore from the time it reaches the docks until it is delivered to the furnaces. The steel work for the furnaces and stoves and skip were fabricated and erected by the Riter-Conley Co. The coal and coke handling plant and ovens were designed by the Semet-Solvay Co. and were erected by the Heyl-Patterson Co. The ovens were placed in operation last September by the Semet-Solvay Co but the operation of the ovens and the by product plant has been taken over by the Ford Motor © In assuming the operation of this, the compan) took over the plant organization built up by the Semet-Solvay Co. The laying out and construction of the River Rouge plant has been under the general super vision of W. B. Mayo, chief engineer of the Fore company and the engineering work in connectio! with the power and boiler house and pumping equipment as well as erection of the foundry is 1! the hands of the engineering 4 partment of the Ford company er Transportation Situation Is Very Serious Railroad Strike Continues and Causes Idleness of Many Plants—Production of Steel in Youngstown District Greatly Reduced YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, May 4.—Unless the railroad strike clears up within a short time iron and steel manu- facturers will be obliged to wholly suspend operations and close their plants. Wearied by unceasing labor harassments, some employers are beginring to feel that now is as good a time as any for a “vacation” and are convinced that only a prolonged layoff will bring the disaffected element in labor to its senses. Industrial workers, as a rule, are not in sympathy with the rail- road strike and its consequent dislocation of business and employment, though sympathizing with the wage demands of the insurgents. The present disturbance, then, is not to their liking, following so soon after the stee! strike last fall and irregular operating conditions subsequently. Action of roadmen, particularly firemen, of the Pennsylvania and Erie, in joining the ranks of the strikers will, if prolonged, reduce the steel industry in the Valley to a state of impotency as far as operations are concerned. Hitherto, movement of solid trainloads of coal and coke into the district has enabled the main- tenance of departments which otherwise would have been forced into idleness. May Be as Costly as Steel Strike Though efforts are being put forth by the railroads to recoup their forces, the railroad strike threatens to prove as costly to the steel industry in the Mahoning Valley as the strike of steel workers, unless there is an early change for the better. The principal trunk lines have endeavored to fill the places of the strikers through advertisements and bulletins and some minor relief has been afforded in this manner. Congressman John G. Cooper, representative from this district, has exnausted his influence to have the railroaders return to work pending a decision affecting their wages by the Rail Wage Board at Washington. Mr. Cooper informed the strikers, who had appealed to him to expedite such a decision, that the board would not consider their case intil the men resumed their posts. Schedules Disrupted rhe principal producers started the week with de pleted schedules which promise to further diminish within the next few days. The Republic Iron & Steel Co. is pouring from three blast furnaces at Haselton, 12 open hearths are active and a small number of finishing mills. The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. is perating two blast furnaces, six open hearth furnaces and a number of sheet mills. Some other departments are producing on a small scale. The Brier Hill Steel Co. had one blast furnace, six open hearths, blooming mill, plate mill and most of its 28 sheet mills active at e beginning of the week, though production was at a v ebb. The Carnegie Steel Co. began the week with of six blast furnaces and 13 of 15 open hearths tive, the Bessemer department and 40 and 42-in. mills. irt of last week, four bar mills at the Upper Union s and two at the Lower mills were in commission. McDonald bar mill plant continues active on power supplied at the Ohio Works generating station. (he Faleon Steel Co. planned, if fuel permitted, to t its cold rolling department at its Niles plant this _ To date it has been operating only its hot mills ‘its plant began production in March. The Trum- Steel Co. has been enabled to maintain schedules ‘ number of sheet mills and in its cold strip depart- t by reason of the fact that power is purchased ma public service producer. Its steel making de- rtment has been idle for over a week. At Girard, News from Other Centers the A. M. Byers Co. is maintaining activity in its pud- dling department, its blast furnace being banked. Mill and Furnace Conditions The McKeefrey Iron Co. has been enabled to blow in its stack at Leetonia, Columbiana County, which was banked for a short time. Stack No. 1 of the three fur- naces operated by the Shenango Furnace Co. at Sharps- ville, Pa., is blowing, the other two being banked. The furnace department of the Valley Mould & Iron Cor- poration has also partially resumed. In the Shenango Valley the American Sheet & Tin Plate Co. started 30 hot mills Sunday midnight, and the Mercer works at Farrell. The Carnegie Steel Co. is operating two 500-ton stacks at its Farrell plant, banking a 350-ton furnace. The American Steel & Wire Co. will operate its Farrell plant close to normal. The Carnegie North works closed. The Sharon, Lowell- ville and Haselton plants of the Sharon Steel Hoop Co. are idle. The outstanding fact revealed by the operating sched- ule is that production is at a very low ebb and will per- force continue so until transportation becomes normal. Most of the tonnage that is produced is piled. One Mahoning Valley sheet maker, however, shipped a solid trainload of sheets last week to auto makers in the Detroit district. Ten high-powered motor trucks car- ried steel sash from the Truscon Steel Co. plant in Youngstown to a Detroit contractor, who needed the material for immediate construction work. The motor is being utilized as extensively as possible. Inquiries Decline With production of finished material practically stopped in most plants, inquiries have fallen off in the past few weeks, buyers evidently appreciating the fact that it is impossible to secure shipments. From present conditions, it is unlikely there will be any third quarter sheet tonnage available, except that which is procurable through brokers and jobbers. Naturally the mills are in no condition at present to entertain any new busi- ness. The apparent willingness of buyers to pay premium prices hitherto unheard of for specified de- livery is no longer evident. For one-pass black 9.50c. is the best price reported within the past 10 days. The scale for sheet and tin mill workers for the May-June period will show an advance over the March- April rate, by reason of the higher price obtained by mills for product delivered during the last two months, on which the rate is based. Practically no scrap is moving because of the strike and prices have softened proportionately. Heavy melt- ing is quoted at $25 to $25.50, cast iron borings at $18.25 to $18.50 and machine shop turnings at $14 to $14.50. Critical Situation in Milwaukee MILWAUKEE, May 3.—A critical situation respecting the bituminous fuel supply of local industries arose as April came to a close, and unless relief comes in the nature of lake and rail shipments from the Eastern and Central States coal fields within the next few days, operation of industries will be seriously restricted. The machine tool shops here are fairly well supplied for immediate needs, but require replenishment soon. For the present, production is largely a matter of adequate fuel supplies, for the labor situation is not upset, al- though the shortage of men, skilled and unskilled, re- mains acute. Transportation difficuties are being ironed out grad- 1303 “ see oe ae ae - 4 7 } : F 1304 ually. All local roads have removed embargoes on ac- ceptance of carlot freight. Ingot Molds and Rejected Steel Ingots Advantages and Savings from the use of Hot-Top Large-End-Up Molds—Use of the Gathmann Mold A” article on “Ingot Molds and Rejected Ingots,” which appeared in THE IRON AGE some weeks ago, discussed the tonnage of ingots made in the United States and the percentage of rejected ingots in ordinary steel practice. It expressed the views of a large maker of ‘ingot molds. Exceptions have been taken to certain statements of this manufacturer in a communication to the editor of THE IRON AGE from Emil Gathmann, Gathmann Engineering Co., Baltimore, Md., inventor of the Gathmann ingot mold and process—particularly to the statement that “in most cases the reduction in the amount of piping and segregation achieved by the patents issued ha3 resulted in an increased cost which more than offsets the saving effected.” The substance of Mr. Gathmann’s follows: Of the approximately 43,000,000 tons of steel ingots made during 1918, over 5,000,000 tons was made of the class termed killed or piping steel—that is, steel which communication Steel Ingot Cast in Gathmann Ingot Mold and Split. to average from this practice 86 per cent. was practically degasifiéd. Of this, approximately 1,000,000 tons was produced in the piping and segrega- tion-reducing ingot molds and by methods as covered by patents developed, owned and controlled by the writer’s company. The croppage necessary to obtain sound product in killed or degasified steel is, as previ- ously stated, from 30 to 35 per cent of the ingot weight when the ingots are cast in the usual well-known type of molds made of iron having the large section of the ingot at the lower portion. The ingot cast in my large-end-up pipe-reducing ingot mold requires an av- erage cropping of 12 to 15 per cent to eliminate the pipe section and to obtain sound, homogeneous steel. Like results are obtained by Sir Robert Hadfield’s patented method of ingot production which, I believe, ha: been used to a very considerable extent in Great Britain and on the Continent, although not as yet com- mercially used, to my knowledge, to any extent in American practice. A saving of 15 to 20 per cent of the weight of the ingot is thus effected by specific methods of teeming and p'pe-reducing ingot molds. This saving has re- sulted duri? 1919 to at least several million dollars to the steel producer using the writer’s method and molds, in addition to which a superior quality of steel was undoutedly given the buyer. Anv plant that would scrap 17 to 19 per cent of its in due to errors in estimating size of ingots as comr the size of blooms and billets rolled THE IRON Deliveries of machine tools still are badly hampered, especially to Eastern buyers. The piped section is 5 per cent and the yield of sound billets is cla - industry by AGE May 1994) There has been no sign of a decline in dem; the extreme difficulties of getting deliveric have injected unusual activity into require: therefrom in its mill practice would soon und go out of business. The figures of 18 to 20 given as a total scrap average or losses of steel mills, are approximately accurate, but not indicate that the remaining 80 to 82 p the steel which was sold in the market was ¢ free from blow-holes and piping defects. I cannot understand where your informant, » a large mold manufacturer, obtained his data increased cost in obtaining large yields of sound more than offsets the saving effected. This stat must have been made in ignorance of the prese: of the art but is, nevertheless, quite harmf best interests of the steel producer as well steel user, and tends to injure and retard adva in the art of sound steel production. The writer’s method of increased sound ste duction is covered by numerous patents owned or co trolled by the Gathmann Engineering Co., Balti + The carbon was 0.57 per cent and has been successfully used during the past years by the United States Steel Corporation and dy some other large and numerous small makers of hig grade steel ingots of the character normally defect to so large a percentage due to piping and segregat The United States Steel Corporation, as a matter fact, recognized the validity of the writer's patents and said recognition was authenticated by decree 0! ' court of proper jurisdiction in May, 1919. For your further information and that of your ma! readers to whom this matter may prove of interest photograph of an ingot produced in the Gathma patented type of mold is sent herewith. Many thousa tons are made in the Gathmann type daily, and ' photograph of the Gathmann ingot is a fair exam| of results obtainable. The total added cost of us the Gathmann pipe-reducing (Not pipe-eliminati’ which desideratum has not as yet been obtained) ‘Y! of mold averages 70c. to $1 per ton of ingots pro The saving effected obviously depends upon th ferential in salable billet and in the value of the s Taking this differential at an average price of da! ton, the net saving effected by use of the Gath! mold and method is $2 to $4 per ton of ingot Pp! As approximately 3000 tons of ingots is now P! daily in the United States in Gathmann patented the average daily saving effected to the Americal means of the patented inventions an is approximately $10,000—possibly 4 © provements re, as large quantities of alloy and high-grade els are being made in Gathmann molds, which have a differential of $100 and more per ton of the value of billet and scrap material. writer must take particular exception to the REVERSES DECISION Commerce Commission Makes New Ruling as to Export Freight Rates WASHINGTON, May 4—After a rehearing of the case ving export freight rates on iron and steel articles Chicago and vicinity to the Pacific coast, the In ite Commerce Commission has held the existing to be prejudicial to the Middle West territory. ase was brought by the Illinois Manufacturers’ ation, the Inland Steel Co. and the Northwestern Wire Co. They contended that the rate of 60c. 100 lb. on iron and steel articles in carloads from ro to Pacific coast ports for export to the Orient prejudicial to the Chicago territory, inasmuch as ame rates applied from Pittsburgh. It was con ed that the rate from Chicago should be made than from Pittsburgh, in view of the fact tha! case of rates to Eastern ports the rate in each tance from Pittsburgh is lower than from Chicago. (he commission in its decision reverses its pre- findings, having held that the rates from Chi- igo were not shown to be unreasonable or unduly udicial. In the findings of the commission it is pointed out on traffic destined to Europe, Africa and South \merica, moving through Atlantic ports, Pittsburgh has the advantage of a rate to the Atlantic ports 18 ents lower than the rate from Chicago, while on traf- ‘ moving through Pacific coast ports the two points are placed on the same basis. Commissioner Meyer, in setting forth the reasons x the commission’s latest decision, says: “The rates under attack were established pursuant » a policy of equalizing through charges via Atlantic ind Pacific coast ports. In general, this policy may be lescribed as follows: From among the various in terior competing centers of production one was se- ected upon which to make the equalization. Pitts urgh was selected in this case as being the point nearest to the Atlantic seaboard from which it was t an equalization could be made without making un- luly low rates. To the rail rate from Pittsburgh to New York there was added the ocean rate from New York to the foreign port of destination in the Orient- Kobe in this case. From the sum thus arrived ai here was subtracted the ocean rate from Pacific coast iorts to the same foreign port of destination. The ference was the rate which was supposed to equalize routes via Atlantic and Pacific ports and other roducing points were placed on the same basis.., “Even if it should be true, as was argued, that ago would get no benefit from the establishment rate made a differential lower than the rate from Vittsburgh on export business through the Pacific t, because of the lower through charge still avail- to Pittsburgh manufacturers through the Atlantic if the present adjustment does not meet the of reasonableness it should be set aside and ed by a set of rates which does meet the re- nents of reasonableness and propriety in rela- ip. It is our duty to prescribe rates that meet ests of the law. ‘This case is not free from difficulties and doubt. ireful reconsideration of the entire record in the of the reargument requires us to modify our us findings. The record indicates that the con- m at New York when the export rates were es- hed has been to some extent removed, and we be- that the rates should now be placed upon a more basis, according to manufacturers at Chicago enefit of their location, 468 miles nearer to the ‘oast than their Pittsburgh competitors. THE IRON AGE 1305 article primarily because of the last paragraph in which appears a statement which I believe is harmful to any future advancement in the art of sound ingot production, and which advancement I feel assured THE IRON AGE is most anxious to promote. \ “The distance from Minnequa, Col., to San Fran cisco is 819 miles less than the distance from Chicago and the export rate is 10c. less. For the additional distance from Pittsburgh as compared with Chicago, the rate from Chicago should not be less than 6.5c. per 100 lb. lower than the