The Iron Age 1921-01-06: Vol 107 Iss 1

1E IRON AGE New York, January 6, 1921 ESTABLISHED 1855 @ VOL. 107: No. 1 Large Steel Output Under Handicaps Double Standard of Prices and a Scarcity Market for Most of -1920—Depression Comes in October and Increases to the End of the Year steel industry was the size of the output. From beginning to end producers contended with one serious impediment after another. The year also will stand out in the annals of the in- dustry for the maintenance over nearly 11 months of two sets of prices which, - most surprising thing about 1920 in the less than the market prices ruling when such product was delivered. The very high prices of the year—such, for example, as 4c. for plates and shapes and 8.50c. for No. 28 black sheets (against 4.35c. as the Steel Corporation price)—were rea- lized on but a moderate percentage of the year’s business. seseenneneniens in different products, were from $10 to $30 or more apart. On the one hand, the Steel Corporation, making nearly 50 per cent of all the steel sold throughout the year, held to the so-called Industrial Board prices which were announced on March 21, 1919. The inde- pendent companies in all cases secured higher prices. There was a scarcity of steel for nine months of the year and the independent companies at times found buyers actually bidding up the market to secure early delivery. While the Steel Corpora- tion sold bars, plates and shapes—the three leading products—at 2.35c., 2.65c. and 2.45c., Pittsburgh, re- spectively, the independent companies were able to get, through most of the year, from 3c. to 4c. for bars, 3.25c. to 4c. for plates and 8c. to 3.50c. for structural 1920 in Iron and Steel Production was nearly 20 per cent more than in 1919 and only seven per cent less than the average for the great war years, 1916, 1917 and 1918. Pig iron output was about 36% million tons and steel ingot and castings output about 41 million tons. Steel prices advanced steadily in the first four months. A few products went higher later. Automobile works slack- ened in June and later other buyers of steel slowed down. Cancellations came thick and fast in October and November, and in late November independent steel companies reduced nearly all their prices to the level the Steel Corporation had maintained from March 21, 1919. The switchmen’s strike in April caused a serious blockade. Steel mills were crippled for weeks. Many hundred thousand tons of rolled steel was held up at the mills, the total at one time reaching 2,000,000 tons. Fuel scarcity and high coke prices ruled for nearly ten months of the year. The year ended with the Steel Corpo- ration operating at 85 to 90 per cent. Independent steel companies, having long sought prompt rather than contract busi- ness, had little work ahead and were averaging less than one half the Steel Corporation output. aU NNNNN Aven TONNE E What happened was that buyers, in view of the scarc- ity of steel created by the steel strike of 1919, placed orders with two and some- times three producers. The Steel Corporation had a cer- tain capacity and it had its regular customers. Its prices were attractive; but it had sold farther ahead than the independents in 1919 and entered last year with 8,265,000 tons of un- filled orders on its books. It was not in position to take on prompt delivery business. In April, 1920, came the switchmen’s strike, which quickly deranged the rail- road systems and blocked the movement of _ steel throughout the country, par- ticularly in the Pittsburgh district. Its serious effects on production and distribu- tion are referred to farther on. It caused even a more frantic scramble of buyers. It can never be known shapes. The Double Standard of Prices This price situation was unparalleled. It would not be true to say that the products of the inde- pendent mills in 1920 brought from $10 to $30 a ton more than the average of the prices charged by the Steel Corporation. The fact was that some of the independent companies, before 1920 came in, had made large sales for delivery in the first quarter or first half of the year at considerably seneneneeeeeene.S how far consumers whose deliveries had been set back by the steel strike re- ceived their due proportion of mill products in the first half of 1920. But the duplication and tripli- cation of orders in the effort to make sure of get- ting material did much to sweep the market off its feet. Automobile makers more than any other class were responsible for forcing up prices, many of them determining at all hazards to get steel. Their industry stands out in the record of the year as the one that intensified the apparent scarcity of steel, that caused what were first premium prices to become the market level for early delivery and that later, when its own business began to recede, tried to force a readjustment of prices on automobile steel which led to widespread cancellations of steel orders in other metal-working industries. Surprising Resistance to General Readjustment There was a feeling in the steel industry, in the summer and earlypautumn, when other lines were slowing up because of the general strike of buyers against high prices, that for once steel was not a ba- rometer of general trade. Declines in silk, cotton, rubber and wool, which started early in the year, caused a flurry in mercantile lines in May. The auto- mobile slump started in June; but it was September before signs of reaction were noticed in steel. Many in the trade protested that these were not the begin- nings of recession and that the industry would run at a good rate practically to the end of the year. October gave a blow toall such hopes. It was proved again that the industries of the country are bound together in a way that makes prosperity in one impossible along- side of depression in another. The steel industry’s readjustment might lag a little behind that of others, but it was inevitable. In early summer, when the automobile slackening started, it was pointed out that the amount of steel required in motor car manufacture was a small frac- tion of the total—probably not over 6 or 7 per cent. For a time agricultural implement manufacturers seemed likely to take up what slack resulted from the automobile depression. Later it was hoped that the railroads with their large advance in freight rates would be able to buy steel on a liberal scale. Neither of these hopes was realized. The implement makers did some buying, but very shortly the decline in grain markets foreshadowed reduced buying of implements. The railroads set to work to repair cars on an exten- sive scale and to make them carry heavier loads and travel farther in a day, so that the need of new cars was not as great as it had seemed. Intimations of Approaching Change In view of the general impression that the change in the rate of iron and steel buying in the latter part of the year was in the nature of a collapse, and that there was little advance indication of it, some quota- tions from THE IRON AGe’s market summary are in order. These show how cautious sentiment was grow- ing in the industry as far back as August, though Octo- ber is commonly considered the month of the sudden reckoning. On Aug. 5, when predictions of large rail- road buying were flying about, our summary said that the steel trade, having indulged some ill-starred hopes of large railroad orders following the return of the roads in March, was chary of prophesying heavy buy- ing as a result of the late August increase in freight rates. On Aug. 19 the market was reported less active, “due in part to the price uncertainties connected with the coming railroad freight advance and in part to the recession in the automobile and other industries. ’ The report of Aug. 26 noted that more thought was being given by producers of steel to “the final effect on their own market of the changes going on in other industries.” In the next two weeks (Sept. 2 and Sept. 9) conflicting tendencies were noted, causing a waiting market, and it was indicated that the Steel Cor- poration was not likely to raise its prices to cover the increase in freight rates on raw materials. It was said in the issue of Sept. 16 that the steel market was THE IRON AGE January 6, 1921 “drifting into quieter times.” From that time on into December the weekly chronicle was progressively un- favorable. Production The output of iron and steel in 1920 was consider- ably more than in 1919 but fell below the average for the last two years of the war, 1917 and 1918. Pig iron production was about 36,250,000 tons and steel ingot and castings production probably around 41,000,000 tons. Comparison with the four preceding years is shown in the following: Steel Ingots Pig Iron and Castings Gross Tons Gross Tons BOO -ndse Rb 5 hein Hie we 39,434,797 42,773,680 DEOT +2 ichaken beste bare 38,621,216 45,060,607 DD. <<2ttcseurken ences 39,054,644 44,462,432 ws hb wha hal ae setae ae 31,015,364 34,671,232 RE stb CL9Ss xecakew 36,750,000* 41,000,000* *Estimated. Lake Superior iron ore shipments by water were 58,527,226 tons for the season of 1920, against 47,177,- 395 tons in 1919. The situation as to output for 1920 was, briefly, that in the first half of the year demand was sufficient to keep blast furnaces and steel works going at ca- pacity, but fuel supply was inadequate and the rail- road strike in April cut down operations in all lines. Later railroad congestion interfered seriously with production, and in the last quarter, with demand fall- ing off sharply, output declined. There were no wide fluctuations in the number of active blast furnaces until October. The blowing out movement toward the end of the year, the railroad strike in the spring, the continued coke scarcity and the railroad entanglements of the summer months due to the handling of the fuel situation from Washington were the principal factors in limiting furnace opera- tions. The variations in the pig iron production ap- pear in the following statement of the number of fur- naces in blast at the beginning of each month: SE cE wepccatececies ceeam Bie MN Baise vines whee Om 302 Eo ce cna hae ek COED ED E cee aback cuaweanen 293 Be DB vaentnncveney an en SOR BREE... Sia seeSwewak descd 311 (cea eee ae 312 a ee In October and November there was a net loss of sixty-seven furnaces. Except for the slump in the last quarter, the year’s output of both pig iron and steel would have approximated closely that for 1917 or 1918. Steel Corporation and “Independent” Prices To the student of business history in the intensely interesting period following the signing of the armis- tice, the price policy of the United States Steel Cor- poration will appeal as an important factor. As stated in THE IRoN AGE of Jan. 1, 1920, when it be- came plain that the steel that could be rolled before Jan. 1, 1920, would fall short of meeting deliveries due on 1919 contracts, the Steel Corporation rigidly held to the prices of March 21, 1919, which were those decided upon by the Industrial Board. So far as gen- eral agreement was concerned, they were abandoned after the refusal of the Railroad Administration early in April, 1919, to pay for rails the prices announced in the Industrial Board schedule—$45 for Bessemer and $47 for open-hearth rails at mill. For a time the independent mills generally adhered to the March 21 schedule, especially those which, owing to the steel strike and fuel scarcity, had large deliveries to make of steel booked at the Industrial Board prices. Some, however, which were not booked far ahead, soon began to ask higher prices and in the fall there were decided differences. By November some independents were asking from $18 to $20 more for steel bars than was the Steel Corporation, and by April, 1920, independent January 6, 1921 prices were about $32 above the Steel Corporation on steel bars. On sheets the difference was not so marked until early in March, 1920, when it was about $30 on black sheets and by August it had gone to more than $70. The downward trend began to manifest itself distinctly in October, and by the middle of December the prices of independents and those of the Steel Cor- poration were again the same on all products except tubes and wire nails, on which the Corporation prices were adopted at the end of the year. The accompanying chart shows the trend of prices on two important products, black sheets and steel bars. Necessarily, it does not fully picture the prices even on bars and sheets because extreme quotations on lim- ited tonnages are not represented, the figures being taken from the weekly Comparison of Prices in THE IRoN AGE. It is well known that in some cases, par- ticularly on sheets, small tonnages were sold at much higher prices than indicated by the chart, while it is also true that some of the independent companies charged lower prices than are indicated by the curves for the independents on the chart. It should also be borne in mind that some of the independents in 1919 sold large tonnages by contract for delivery at consid- erably later periods. Comment on the Two Policies i The policy of the Steel Corporation was naturally the subject of much discussion among manufacturers of iron and steel and their customers. Those who are particularly friendly to the Steel Corporation claimed for its price policy that it was highly beneficial to business, having had a stabilizing effect and having set an example of moderation in a time when there was a tendency, yielded to by many in the business world, to charge exorbitant prices. Representatives of independent companies, on the other hand, have had no difficulty in presenting what they consider good reasons for their position. They point out that the Steel Corporation has numerous ad- vantages which they do not enjoy, due partly to the large number, varied character and diverse geograph- ical locations of the Steel Corporation’s plants, which DOLLARS ANNUAL REVIEW SECTION 3 give it important advantages in freights under Pitts- burgh basing, especially in view of the advances in freight rates during the past year which have greatly increased manufacturing costs on raw materials and semi-finished products. It is also pointed out that, while the Steel Corporation has maintained low prices on leading products, it has had good profits on various specialties which are seldom mentioned in market re- ports, and has also obtained higher than its domestic- prices on iron and steel products which it has exported. The interesting question which now confronts the trade is to what extent the prices of the independents Peri ed Independent Prices of Black Sheets, Tank Plates, Beams and Steel Bars, Gross Tons, March 21, 1919, to Dec. 16, 1920 Black Sheets Tank Steel 1919 No. 28 Plates Beams Bars Re ee $97.44 $59.36 $54.88 $52.64 Ty ace ei ae aww 97.44 59.36 54.88 52.64 WM iiwedwea wae ee 97.44 59.36 54.88 52.64 . peer eee 97.44 59.36 54.88 52.64 MEE. 6 ces cawnes 97.44 59.36 54.88 52.64 September ....... 97.44 56.67 54.88 52.64 CN pi nice ae ue 97.44 58.46 54.88 53.54 November ........ 97.44 59.36 54.88 60.26 ae 97.44 59.36 54.88 61.60 1920 Be 100.24 60.93 55.33 61.60 Pebruary ........ 112.00 78.40 60.48 67.20 C0” Eee 123.20 81.31 70.11 $1.31 pS eee ee 123.20 84.00 72.80 84.00 a a nial aa Ge a Be eo 123.20 84.00 69.44 $1.31 MG eae nek aa nee 123.00 79.52 69.44 78.40 BE Ciekiedaavwén 151.20 5.71 69.44 78.40 A aa 168.00 72.80 69.44 72.380 September ........ 165.20 72.80 69.44 72.80 CCG vac ecaee 149.85 69.22 68.32 70.11 November ........ 129.24 62.94 64.74 64.28 December ........ 97.44 59.36 54.88 52.64 Steel Corporation Prices, Gross Tons, March 21, 1919, to Dec. 16, 1920 Black Sheets Tank Plates Beams Steel Bars $97.44 $54.88 $52.64 $59.36 and the Steel Corporation for this year will run along together and how soon independent producers will find it necessary to cut below the Steel Corporation prices. There is nothing to indicate that the Steel Corporation will change its prices in the near future. The con- (Continued on page 45) PRICES ee ee : STEEL CORPORATION Prices of United States Steel Corporation and Independents on Black Sheets and Steel Bars, March 21, 1919, to December, 1926 New Charging Machine in Rundle Foundry Milwaukee Plant Contains Numerous Novel Features in Design and Equipment—Sand re Machine Cuts Down ne Time teenies BY GILBERT L. LACHER —-—_——— — cupola charging equipment is to secure an even distribution of the coke and metal. One method employed to overcome this obstacle has been to install two charging machines which feed the cupola from opposite sides of the shell. But even with such equipment a drop of several feet must be allowed from the point of discharge to the top of the last coke charge to obtain distribution. The dis- advantage of this arrangement is that the full capacity of the cupola cannot be employed for the same height of charging floor unless manual labor supplements the machine; furthermore the drop from the machine to the coke charge tends to pul- verize the coke unless hand charging is employed to bring the level of coke and iron up to normal maximum height. It was with the idea of sur- mounting these difficulties that the cupola charging machine now used by the Rundle Mfg. Co., Mil- waukee, was designed. The machine at the Rundle plant differs radi- cally from previous designs. Instead of being sta- ! Ore of the difficulties encountered in designing COHE STORAGE Longitudinal Section Through Cupola Building 9 ul FOUNDRY eine uated Presernt Cupola Future in See cupple ~- 92040 ---- atch ' en ee <--- - - oecsceses e Ge ee -_ -_ ae | MOLDING First Floor Plan of Foundry and Cupola Building tionary and operating on the side-dump principle, it is inserted into the cupola and lowered to a point close to the level of the bed charge before dropping its contents, and as succeeding amounts of coke and metal are charged the machine is lowered a corre- spondingly shorter distance. The machine is really an adaptation of the familiar bell hopper in a blast furnace. It consists of a cylindrical bucket, with a loose bottom in the shape of an inverted cone. When the bucket is to be discharged, the bottom is lowered while the cylinder remains in a fixed posi- tion, and the coke or metal slides off the cone to all sectors of the cupola. To insure a tight fit between the bottom and the bucket proper when closed, a band has been riveted on the outside of the bottom circumference, and the circumference of the cone has been provided with a depressed rim. The rivets in the bucket are countersunk on the inside so that no obstruction is offered to the easy movement of the contents. The bucket is suspended by hoist from the arm of a Pawling & Harnischfeger 3-ton monorail Present t) t cs Future.’ Crane +4 ‘ Crane || Concrete Floor, H. Monorail Concrote Floor, | | 3910" ------e-- --- 5240" -. * Cross Section Through Foundry The Longitudinal Section Through Cupola Building Shows Posi- tion of Charging Machine After Dropping a Charge in the Cupola > - ey . BAY * FUTURE Monorail, __ s Pi | \ FOUNDRY Jot | ___Presemt Molding Machine || Monorail * a o| a MOLDING _BA Y - ¥-Crane , EXTENSION | Ki Future Molding Machine Tracks oLD Ol oy _-Flevator i = = “ ws - 7 ) died Y PIs IRON BINS | [HOME StRAP BINS L.. BY ILD WG —truck-Srate Fit Covered a | ” 1G RON BINS _WoAcHINERASTOVE PLATE “FUTURE | ! SCRAP SCRAP STORAGE _F_P.SIOE TRACK Fence 7 — THE January 6, 1921 IRON AGE eq. The Monorail Crane Carries the Bucket into the Cupola, Where It Is Lowered to a Point Just Above the Level of the Charge and Dumped. The charging bucket device is really an adaptation of the familiar bell hopper in a blast furnace. In charging, the bottom is lowered while the cylindrical body of the bucket remains in a fixed position, and the coke or metal slides off the bell to all sectors of the cupola crane. A stop is provided on the exterior of the cupola so that when the arm of the crane strikes it the suspended bucket is exactly centered in the shell. The bucket is 36 in. in diameter (18 in. less than the interior of the cupola) and has a capacity of 2000 lb. of pig iron and scrap. Because of its design the bucket in discharging will not result in wearing the lining of the cupola at any one point; such wear as takes place is evenly distributed around the entire circumference. The charging machine not only has the advan- tage in dollars and cents of saving labor but is mag” Each Metal Charge Is Made Up in the Yard in the Bucket and Is Weighed on a Scale Car Which Is Then Driven by Electric Trac- tion to an Elevator Leading to the Charging Floor. From the scale car, which operates the length of the stock ‘yard, the charging bucket is rolled on cas- ters (not shown in this illustra- tion) to the elevator superior to manual labor as a means of charging a cupola. Coke charged by hand is thrown in from the charging floor and when the bed is low, the fuel is apt to be broken and pulverized by the impact. When the charging machine is used, however, the bucket is lowered for discharge to a point just above the last material charged, no matter what may be its level. : The charging bucket was designed and patented by G. Anderson, foundry superintendent Motor Castings Co., Milwaukee. Each of the buckets is equipped with three castors so that it can be moved about on the floor by hand. This will prove par- ticularly advantageous for moving charges of coke to the charging room, as the coke storage is on the same floor. The charging machine just described is only one of a number of features in the foundry addition recently built by the Rundle company. The cupola itself is of interest, the area of its cross-section above the charging floor level being considerably greater than below. The purpose of increasing the inside diameter in this manner is to arrest the 6 THE IRON AGE Sand-Throwing Machine January 6, 1921 Which Operates on Its Own Power on Rails Running the Length of One Molding Bay. A large screw car- ° ries the sand to a continuous bucket chain discharging into an osctl- lating screen. From the screen the sand passes through a hopper to a continuous belt which discharges it into a partially inclosed motor- driven paddle from which it is thrown at a high rate of speed into ' the flask ejection of sparks, cinders, and iron particles which ordinarily drop on the roof and fill up the roof drains. The cupola was furnished by the W. W. Sly Mfg. Co., Cleveland. Blast is furnished by a belt-driven P. H. & F. M. Roots Co. blower, having a capacity of 38.5 cu. ft. per revolution. The blower is located on a mezzanine floor where space is provided for a future blower when a second cupola is installed. The facilities provided for handling coke, pig iron, scrap, sand and clay from cars to foundry are worthy of attention. The stock yard, which lies between the long side of the foundry addition and a siding of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, con- sists of a double row of bins divided by a roofed- over depressed track which carries an electrically operated scale car. The bins are all designed to hold a carload of pig iron and those for purchased scrap, which are located next to railroad siding as contrasted with the company scrap bins which are on the other side of the scale car track, have a Hand Cars Rails Cable-Operated Across the Roof Truss Have Been Provided for Washing the Running on Extending Inside of the Roof Sash capacity of 175 tons each. In unloading, laborers transfer the pig iron from the car to a portable roller conveyor, placed between the car and the bin, over which the material slides by gravity to storage. An outstanding feature of the Rundle foundry is the fact that all metal charges are made up in the yard, and but one handling of the materials from bins to charging bucket is necessary. Inci- dentally, when a charge in a bucket is made up, the materials may be arranged in much the same fashion as is possible when hand charging a cupola. The arrangement in the bucket is duplicated in the arrangement of the materials in the cupola after the drop bottom is lowered. The lack of order in the materials making up a given charge has been, in fact, one of the principal objections to mechanical cupola charging equip- ment. Other criticisms have been the danger of pulverizing the coke which, at best, reaches the foundry in too small a size, and the injury to the lining of the cupola which is concentrated at cer- tain points. These objections have been overcome by the machine in the Rundle plant. It is also to be noted that such help as is necessary on the charging floor need not come close enough to the cupola while the blast is on to feel the extreme heat, as is the case with other charging devices. The time required to perform the various oper- ations is short, and one machine could handle the charging of two cupolas of any diameter without reaching its capacity. The weight of the charge, whether one ton, or three, would be immaterial, pro- vided necessary lifting power and adequate bucket capacity were provided. The operation of dropping the bottom of the bucket would be identical for a 1-ton or a 3-ton charge. In the stock yard the charging bucket is placed on a scale car, which is moved by electric traction to any one of a long row of bins. Here the charge is made up, weighed on the scale, whence it is moved back to the foundry building where the bucket is transferred to an elevator and raised to the charging floor. Here the monorail crane picks it up preparatory to charging the cupola. Future plans of the company provide for the extension of the monorail out of the charging room into the January 6, 1921 storage yard so that buckets may be hoisted direct from the yard. This will eliminate the transfer of the bucket from the elevator to the monorail crane. At the same time, the company will have provided itself with two means of moving the buckets to the charging room, so that should mechanical difficulties be encountered with either, an alternative method will be available. It should be noted that the floor of the storage yard is of concrete so that buckets may be manually moved on their castors to position under the monorail. The scale car was furnished by the J. C. Busch Co., Milwaukee, and the elevator by the F. Rosenberg Elevator Co., Milwaukee. The same railroad siding which serves the stor- age yard is used for unloading cars of coke, sand and clay. The material is passed by chute from the cars into two continuous bucket elevators located on one end of the building, one elevator handling coke and the other sand and clay. From the conveyors the material is dropped on continuous horizontal belts which discharge into storage bins. The coke bjns are on the same floor as the charging room, while the sand, clay and like materials bins are be- low. To secure required storage space the latter bins were sunk 6 ft. under the ground floor level. The conveying equipment was furnished by the Chain Belt Co., Milwaukee. The new foundry of the Rundle company is par- ticularly noteworthy because it has been equipped to reduce hand molding to the minimum. The ex- tensive use of mechanical devices was feasible be- cause the foundry is engaged in production work, the output of the company being bath tubs, wash bowls, sinks and other toilet room products. Ia fact, the molding practices of the company have been revolutionized largely through the use of one kind of machine, manufactured by Beardsley & Piper, Chicago. This device differs from the standard type of molding machine in that it throws the molding sand into the flask, and is therefore more properly termed a sand throwing machine. Its use eliminates all hand labor involved in shoveling sand into the flask and also involves no jolting, con- sequently causing no vibration of the floor of the foundry during operation. The machine is not con- fined in its use to bath tub molding, for which it is utilized in the Rundle foundry; on the contrary, it is being used by the International Harvester Co. at several plants for agricultural products, by Ameri- can Steel Foundries for general work, and by other companies. It is not a special machine in the sense Mixing Ladle Pouring into a Ladle Set in the Pouring Pit. Two 3000-lb. capacity motor-driven monorail hoists carry the fron to the molding floors THE IRON AGE 7 Coke, Sand and Clay Are Unloaded from Railroad Cars into Elevating Conveyors, Which Drop the Material on Continuous Horizontal Belts Feeding the Various Storage Bins that it is limited to making molds within a small range of sizes, as is ordinarily true of the standard molding machine. It is manufactured in both sta- tionary and mobile types, the Rundle company hav- ing both. The stationary machine, now situated in the smaller of two foundry bays, will be transferred to the larger bay. A traction type of machine oper- ates on a track in the smaller bay and a second track has been provided on which another machine will be installed. The mobile machine is operated by motor on the principle of the pinion and rack, the teeth of the supporting wheels of the machine engaging teeth in the rails. The path between the rails, a distance of 11 ft., is heaped with molding sand and as the machine progresses, a large screw extending the width of the machine, carries the sand to a point midway in the track where a con- tinuous bucket chain lifts it and discharges it into a screen on the molding side of the apparatus. It is to be noted that the conveying screw consists of two distinct and opposing parts, having right hand threading on one side and left hand threading on the other to insure the propulsion of the sand to the center where it is picked up by the bucket con- veyor. A single 5-hp. motor performs the traction and operates the screw and bucket hoist. The screen into which the bucket chain drops the sand, is oscillated by a 2-hp. motor, the refuse being drawn off by a chute to a box below and the screened sand dropping into a hopper and thence to a continuous belt. The sand is discharged by the belt into a partially inclosed motor-driven paddle which throws the sand at a high rate of speed into the cope or the drag below. The arm of the ma- chine carrying the sand belt and paddle is pivoted on the arm supporting the screen oscillator. Hence the discharge spout of the machine can be moved to any position within a wide radius, the length of the adjustable arm being 11 ft. A 3-hp. motor operates both the belt and the paddle. The control of the machine is appropriately on the spout where the operator is at work. The drag and cope patterns and the bottom board are carried along by the ma- chine on two trailing platforms, mounted on wheels. At the conclusion of a day’s molding when the machine has reached the end of the track, it is hoisted by overhead traveling crane and turned around so that it is ready to commence operations in the opposite direction on the coming morning. Before the machine was used in the Rundle plant it took a molder an average of 40 min. to ram a bath tub mold. The sand thrower does the work in 6 min. No hand ramming whatsoever is required with the new method, and because of the ability positively to control the force of the sand as thrown by the machine, the mold is uniformly hard throughout. This is distinctly advantageous, as it enables the company to cut down the weight of the tub. Weight, it should be noted, means nothing from a selling standpoint, as a heavier tub will bring no more than a lighter one if the dimensions are identical. At the same time, any saving in metal effected means a reduction in manufacturing and shipping costs. Absolute uniformity in ram- ming cannot be obtained by hand no matter how skillful the molder, if for no other reason than that he tires as the day progresses. ’ Other equipment in the foundry addition in- cludes three molding machines manufactured by the Arcade Mfg. Co., Freeport, Ill. These are located in the larger bay, which is at present only about one-third equipped. Other standard type molding machines are to be installed and the sta- tionary sand throwing machine now in use in the smaller bay will be moved to the large bay to make room for a second tractor type machine. A motor- driven sand cutter, furnished by the Sand Mixing Machine Co., New York, is also among the equip- ment now on the floor. As previously indicated, the foundry addition constructed by the Rundle company consists of two parallel bays. The larger is 220 x 52 ft., and the smaller 180 x 39 ft. The cupola is located at the end of the small bay, this location being midway between the present addition and the two old foun- dry buildings. A monorail system extends from the cupola through the new bays and connects with a monorail in the older plant. Two 3000-lb. capacity motor-driven monorail hoists, manufactured by the Shepard Electric Crane & Hoist Co., Montour Falls, N. Y., serve the new and old foundries. In the smaller bay a 3-ton Pawling & Harnischfeger over- head travelling crane supplements the monorail sys- tem. The monorail connects with the storage yard, thus facilitating the movement of company scrap to the bins. The Charles C. Kawin Co., foundry engineer, Under the tap hole of the cupola is a mixing ladle stand, in front of which is a pouring pit. The ladles are conveyed from the cupola to points where The Stock Yard Lies Between a Railroad Siding and the New Foundry. The roof dividing the storage bins covers the scale In the left background may be seen the monorail which serves the company scrap bins ear track. THE IRON AGE January 6, 1921 they are needed on the molding floor by the over- head monorail hoist. The molding bays are well lighted. There is continuous sash in the side walls and the end of the building and in the M-type roof. The sash in the roof may be opened the entire length of the bay by chains operated from the floor. Ventilation may also be obtained by opening windows in the sash of the side walls. Artificial light is provided by incandescent electric globes in Maxolite reflectors hung from the roof trusses. There are 36 of these in the main bay and 24 in the smaller bay. The foundry is steam-heated, and air and water pipes have been provided on all the center columns, a most convenient location for use in either bay. A large amount of steam and dust commonly rises from the foundry floor and clouds the inside of the roof sash, thereby shutting out much light. Unless a convenient means of cleaning the inside of the sash is provided, its advantage from a light- ing standpoint is soon lost. In the new Rundle foundry a simple, yet ingenious, scheme to over- come this difficulty has been introduced. Rails have been extended across the roof truss next to the sash, and hand cable-operated cars have been pro- vided for the window washers. At the end of the bays adjoining the roof of the cupola building are doors which give the washers easy access to the cars. A core room and core ovens are located in the passageway connecting the new and old foundries on a level with the mezzanine floor under the charg- ing room. Here is a Coleman rack oven, manufac- tured by the Foundry Equipment Co., Cleveland, and another oven which had been previously used in the old foundry. Over the top of the ovens are canopies with pent houses containing Ilg ventilating fans, which aid in the quick removal of the gases. The ovens are equipped to burn either gas or oil. Sand for the core room is mixed on the ground floor and carried by monorail to an elevator which raises it to the mezzanine floor, where a second monorail system carries it over the coremakers’ benches. Adjoining the core room is a women’s rest room which faces an outer court, 20 ft. in width, located between the old and new foundry structures. The new foundry has no cleaning room, the cleaning facilities of the older plant being used. The Charles C. Kawin Co., foundry engineers, Chicago, had charge of the entire design and equip- ment of the Rundle plant. The building was con- structed by Klug & Smith, contractors, Milwaukee. A Specification for Cupola Semi-Steel War and Other Uses of Such Castings —Control of Mixtures—Percentages of Steel for Various Classes of Product BY Y. A. DYER — HE principle and manu- facture of cupola semi- steel are by no means new, but scientific application of standards to produce uniform mixtures, plus consistent cupo- la practice, is of comparatively recent date. Between 1846 and 1851 J. D. Stirling, of England, patented “Stirling’s toughened cast iron”—a metal mixture composed of 20 to 30 per cent wrought iron and 80 to 70 per cent pig iron. Its transverse eee strength was 25 to 50 per cent more hos that al ordinary gray iron, and the metal, it is reperted, “enjoyed a wide reputation for increased tenacity, strength and toughness.” In 1876 S. M. Carpenter, of Cleveland, Ohio, patented for use in the United States a process of mixing steel scrap with pig iron by immersing the steel in liquid cast iron, thereby obtaining very satisfactory results. In 1885 Robert E. Masters of the Columbus Iron Works Co., Columbus, Ga., reported the successful use of as much as 83 1/3 per cent of steel scrap in mixtures for sundry castings. Asa Whitney, of the Whitney Car Wheel Co., was a pioneer in the use of steel scrap in cast iron wheel mixtures, thus replacing to a large ex- tent charcoal pig iron. However, these uses of steel scrap in the foun- dry preceded what might be termed a general metallurgical working plan for foundry cupola mixtures and the success obtained was more or less haphazard. Major McDowell’s Work To whom belongs the credit of first employing the term “semi-steel” is not definitely known, so far as the author’s information extends, but it is a well-established fact that the late Major Mc- Dowell of Chicago, has the rightful claim to first honor in placing the process of producing semi- steel on a scientific basis. The writer has veri- fied this statement by obtaining certain data from Robert Field, of Rome, Ga., pioneer pig iron sales- man, who sold iron to and worked with many of the early foundrymen of the East and Middle West when mixing iron by analysis was in its in- fancy. Much credit is also due to David McLain, of Milwaukee., Wis., for his exploitation of the manufacture of semi-steel. Semi-Steel Shells The greatest impetus added to the use of semi- steel was attained during the world war, espe- cially after the discovery behind British and French lines of the so-called “mysteriously tough- ened cast iron” shells made use of by the Germans. Shortly afterward the author was called upon by a large English iron and steel company to supply data and specifications for the manufacture of “‘semi-steel,” as well as specifications for the erec- an uses. The legitimacy of the term semi- steel has been called in question. Mr. Dyer incidentally answers the ob- jectors, but the main purpose of his article is to show to what extent semi- steel castings have become a factor in foundry output, and also what per- centages of scrap in the cupola mizx- ture have been found to add most strength and toughness to the casting and give other properties required in 9 tion of a 36-in. and 48-in. cupo- la, according to American de- sign as to comparative areas, etc. Inasmuch as the steel busi- ness was taxed to its utmost capacity during the war, there was a pressing need for a metal stronger than usual cast iron specifications, to assist in sup- plementing the steel supply. The American Radiator Co., through its metallurgical and research department, added val- a uable data on the subject .of properties and manufacture of semi-steel. This company manufactured thousands of tons of semi- steel shells for the American Government and allies, and spared no expense in its preparation for the manufacture of finishing of such shells. Under the title “Semi-Steel Tests” some interesting data were recently prepared and given out by this com- pany’s metallurgical department. Properties and Basis for Nomenclature Constitutionally semi-steel may be classed as “low carbon cast iron”—-steel being used in the capacity of a ferroalloy to accomplish the desired results. Strictly speaking an “alloy” is used in a mixture to add a desired element, to flux an unde- sirable element, oxidize or neutralize certain harm- ful gases and residual oxides. In the case of semi- steel mixtures scrap steel is used as an “alloy” to reduce the percentage of certain elements—silicon (total), carbon, sulphur and phosphorus—and thereby impart to the metal certain characteristics through the ultimate form of carbon-alloys. About 2 per cent total carbon is generally recognized as being the separating line between the characteristics of steel and cast iron. How- ever, a cast iron which would closely approach such a total carbon would have a very limited de- mand to supply, on account of its extreme hard- ness and brittleness. Total carbon around 2.80 per cent, with other elements well regulated and balanced, practically marks the same limit of car- bon reduction for serviceable cast iron which is required to permit of machinability. In semi-steel of quality it is necessary to re- duce to comparatively low limits the total carbon and silicon, and yet have the casting maintain the machinable nature of gray iron. The strength- ening qualities of semi-steel must depend on the proper balancing of the sulphur, phosphorus and manganese. These factors, together with the low- ering of silicon, must have their bearing on keep- ing the graphitic carbon comparatively low (2.40 to 2.45 per cent) and the flakes broken down to a small size. The combined carbon should range between 0.75 and 0.80 per cent. The rate and uni- formity of cooling will also have a direct bearing on the size of graphite flakes. Kirk says: “Steel is a far greater and cheaper controller of cast iron than any metalloid or ferro- alloy.” The writer fully concurs with Mr. Kirk, and for the past ten years has ardently applied the sound principles enunciated by him. Thus the name semi-steel becomes purely a commercial one, based on steel being used in the sense of a ferroalloy. Who objects to the commercial name of “nickel steel,” ‘‘chrome steel,” “manganese steel” and others of the alloy family? Some have claimed that semi-steel is a misnomer from the fact that its properties do not resemble those of steel, and therefore that prospective purchasers are duped into believing that they are getting a costlier and better article. The answer to this argument is that nickel-steel has none of the prop- erties of nickel, neither has manganese steel any of the properties of manganese—yet by alloying these elements with steel a superior steel product is obtained and a higher price is paid for them by reason of superior qualities which adapt them to a peculiar service. There is no sound argument against superior quality of semi-steel as compared with gray iron, and thus far steel is recognized as being the best known “alloy” for transmitting to gray iron the qualities in queston. A Call for Standards The successful and scientific mixture of steel scrap with pig iron and cast scrap in the cupola has been so misunderstood and abused that there would seem to be a call for standard “semi- steel” specifications. Such action would settle once for all any quibbling as to a distinctive trade name. It has been suggested in American Foun- drymen’s Association circles that a definite stand- ard for semi-steel castings be formulated, but thus far no official action has been taken. The writer submits to the foundrymen for their consideration the following minimum requirements to be ap- proximated in the manufacture of semi-steel cast- ings—based on the present standard “arbitration bar’: Per Cent Transverse Tensile Steel Strength Strength Light castings ..... 15 to 19 3,200 Ib. 32,000 Ib. Medium castings .... 20 to 29 3,400 Ib. 34,000 Ib. Heavy castings ..... 30 to 40 3.700 Ib. 37,000 Ib. Control of Mixture The control of chemical mixtures is of prime importance, linked very carefully with cupola con- trol. In the matter of strength, of course, it should be the aim of the foundryman to reduce the total carbon and silicon; but this practice will be large- ly controlled by the size of the casting to be poured. The silicon will yield more readily to control than the carbon, from the fact that its oxidation is more or less uniform while the car- bon loss or gain through the cupola is more uncer- tain. As long as the total carbon is kent low the tendency of the ultimate carbon-alloy is toward the combined state. Therefore, if the carbon lowers and there is a tendency to chill the cast- ing, the silicon may be raised without detriment to the combined carbon, provided due care is given to the matter of uniformity of cooling rate. The phosphorus should be kept low for strong and tough castings. Manganese may range from 0.45 to 1 per cent, depending on the size and nature of the casting. The sulphur should be kept be- tween 0.07 and 0.11 per cent in small, medium and heavy castings. To produce satisfactory semi-steel castings and minimize uniform fusing and intermixing of pig 10 THE IRON AGE January 6, 1921 iron, cast scrap and steel scrap, a clear under- standing should be had as to the proper kind of pig iron and cast and steel scrap best suited for this class of work, and the correct proportions it is safe to use. The pig iron should be low in phosphorus—0.25 to 0.50 per cent, depending on the size of the casting; manganese, 0.80 to 1.25 per cent; sulphur, under 0.05 per cent. The sili- ° con content may be selected with reference to the character of the cast scrap available for use. Sili- con 2 to 2.50 per cent will usually cover all re- quirements. It is more desirable to purchase a pig iron which carries sufficient manganese than to resort to the use of ferromanganese. High grade agricultural or machinery scrap of low sili- con content (1.75 to 2 per cent) is desirable, pro- vided sufficient domestic or remelt scrap is not available. If very low silicon should be desired in a casting, from 10 to 12 per cent of car wheel scrap may be used to good advantage. Low carbon or soft steel is preferable—such as plate, structural, agricultural, railroad and machinery steel cast- ings. Steel rails, especially smaller sizes, may be used with good results. High carbon. steel, wrought iron and malleable scrap are considered undesirable. Steel Percentages for Varying Usages From 15 to 40 per cent of steel scrap may be safely used in mixtures, depending on size of cast- ings, etc. After determining the desired percent- age of steel in a mixture, it is highly necessary that each charge thereof should be carefully weighed, as well as other metals in the mix. Too large and irregular stock should not be charged, as hang-ups and erratic melting are likely to re- sult. Flat steel should be “cupped” before being charged, so as to permit the free circulation of cupola gases. Very light, corroded or pitted steel should not be used. Steel should be charged on coke bed, followed by pig, then cast scrap on top. There are very few mixtures in which steel can- not be used to decided advantage, and when prop- erly used there is produced an extraordinarily strong, tough and easily machined casting which will register tensile and transverse ranges far be- yond gray iron. Therefore the weight and section of many castings may be materially reduced with- out sacrificing strength. Automobile cylinders cast en bloc or in individual units require a metal of these extraordinary characteristics. By rea- son of extreme liability to expansion and con- traction, due to heat of the combustion chamber, the cylinder should be made of a metal low in ex- pansion and contraction. Internal combustion pistons should be made of like material so as to insure their holding compression at all engine temperatures and prevent either a binding effect on expanding or a flapping effect on contracting. Piston rings should be of the very best material so as to prevent seepage of fuel into the crank case, thereby diluting the oil. Bronze and alumi- num bearings expand and contract easily, thereby producing a binding or “pinching” of the crank- shaft. Bearings backed up with cast iron, which varies almost exactly as the steel crank shaft, allow uniform bearing clearance at all tempera- tures and engine speeds. All of the above condi- tions may be ideally met by the use of semi-steel castings, and they are very generally in vogue. In fact, the manufacture of cylinders, electrical castings, machinery and all high duty castings is (Continued on page 104) Blast Furnace Gas Cleaning Equipment Three Dry Method Stages at Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Co.—New Method of Taking Gas Samples—Results of Tests —_—_—_—____— BY L. B. BREEDLOVE* ——_—__—_ located at the new Rouge River site, where it is intended to develop the vast activities of the Ford company in the future. The new foundry in fact is being pushed forward simultaneously with the blast furnace plant. Therefore, the power requirements are ob- viously very much in excess of the ordinary power requirements about an isolated blast furnace plant, and in studying the situation the Ford or- ganization realized the tremendous possibilities of developing power from the blast furnace gas available, providing it was handled in an economi- cal fashion. It was, of course, appreciated that the gas to be fired economically under the 2647- hp. boilers must be cleaned in some manner. The firing of the blast furnace gas under the boiler equipment will, of course, be supplemented by other fuel, it being estimated that the gas from one furnace will supply one boiler at approximate- ly 150 per cent of rating, while all loads above this, up to a maximum of 450 per cent of rating, will be carried by pulverized coal, this flexible arrange- ment resulting in an excellent overall ef