The Iron Age 1921-01-20: Vol 107 Iss 3

THE IRON AGE New York, January 20, 1921 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 107: No. 3 The Chain Industry in Great Britain A Comprehensive Picture of Manufactur- ing Conditions and Methods, Including Labor Relations—Wages and Other Costs iain BY PAUL M. TYLER* dom is the largest producer of chain in the world, and, until comparatively recent years, British chain makers excelled those of all other countries both as regards volume of output and quality of product. All classes of chain are pro- duced, the industry falling naturally into four branches, viz., (1) Driving and sprocket chain; (2) Proof coil and ship’s cable; (3) Common coil chain, such as dock chain, trace chain, and chains for general industrial and agricultural purposes; and (4) Miscellaneous light chains of iron, steel, or other metals and used for various purposes where little strength is required. The last group is gener- ally classed as hardware and is made chiefly in the Birmingham area by various small firms. It in- cludes a certain amount of harness chain, so-called weldless chain (made from stamped links), wire chains and all classes of brass chain and fancy chain for ornamental use. The divisions among the different branches of the industry are more sharply drawn in England N EXT to the United States, the United King- facture of anchors is an allied industry and these are made in South Staffordshire by certain of the same firms which make heavy ship’s cable. Driving and Sprocket Chain The bulk of the driving and sprocket chain pro- duced in the British Isles comes from the five firms which comprise the Association of British Driving Chain Manufacturers, as follows: Brampton Broth- ers, Ltd., Birmingham; Coventry Chain Co., Ltd., Coventry; Hans Renold, Ltd., Manchester; Alfred Appleby Chain Co., Ltd., Birmingham; Perry & Co., Ltd., Birmingham. All of these firms manufacture cycle chains. The Appleby company also makes motorcycle chains, while the first three make, in addition to bicycle and motorcycle chains, heavy roller chains and inverted tooth chains of all classes. The Cov- entry Chain Co., and Hans Renold, Ltd., specialize on the manufacture of chains, and chains are the main product of all these firms except Perry & Co., who make bicycles. Brampton Brothers, however, Standards for Roller Chains Max. Minimum Width Minimum Depth Chain Roll Between Plates of Shroud Max. Width of Tooth No Pitch Dia. Narrow Wide Seating Narrow Wide row Wide (In. ) (In.) (In. ) (In.) (In.) (In.) (In.) N 3W %% 0.250 0.155 0.230 0.070 0.145 0.220 Sizes ly 0.305 0.130 0.192 0.050 0.120 0.182 iN 1Ww WA 0.335 0.205 0.305 0.094 0.195 0.295 N SW 5% 0.400 0.255 0.380 0.117 0.245 0.370 N 6W % 0.475 0.310 0.460 0.140 0.295 0.445 ‘han in the United States. Driving chains of all kinds are machined products and are all made by lirms that specialize on this type of chain, although ‘wo of them manufacture bicycles or bicycle parts. All of the manufacturers of bicycle chains are lo- ted in Manchester, Coventry or Birmingham, al- ugh there is one manufacturer in Sheffield who Nakes a certain amount of chain for use in con- eyors, The manufacture of welded chain is highly lo- calized in the Cradley district and practically all ‘he shipping tackle and welded coil chain used in ‘anes, hoists, ete., is made in Cradley Heath or the ““joining towns of Tipton and Netherton, although cre 18 a comparatively small amount of chain «ce at engineering works in Sheffield. The manu- Tr nsulting metallurgist, 1322 New York Avenue, Wash- 183 are also manufacturers of saddles for bicycles and motorcycles. An important function of the association has been the standardization of driving chains and the cutter forms used in their manufacture. Up to about ten years ago there was practically no stand- ardization, each firm making its product according to its own designs. Most of the output then con- sisted of block chain (connected by double, flat links) and little attention was given to the character of the sprocket upon which they were to run or to the design of the teeth. With the development of the motorcycle, however, a more efficient type of chain was demanded and roller chains are now made al- most to the exclusion of the old block chain. The British standard chain as now developed is slightly different from that used in the United States, but in most cases the difference is so slight that British 134 chains will run on American sprockets and vice versa. The new association standards for roller chains up to 34-in. pitch are given in the table on page 183. The process of manufacture requires no special description, as the methods used are practically identical with those employed in the United States, the connecting links being stamped by automatic machinery from sheet steel, the rollers being forged and turned, and the pins being made from hard- ened rod. The machinery used is partly of Amer- ican and partly of British manufacture. Only plain carbon steel is used, some of which since 1914 has been imported from the United States. The Brit- ish manufacturers assert that their product is su- perior in workmanship and finish to that made in the United States, but they make no claims as to better material. The only important trade with the United States in this class of products is in bicycle chains, 5 ft. long. The prices of driving chains have increased ap- proximately 150 per cent since 1913. Late quota- tions on \4-in. pitch, twin-roller bicycle chains, such as those imported by bicycle and sewing machine manufacturers in the United States, are lld. to 12d. (say 20 cents at present exchange) per foot, according to quality, as compared with 5d. or 6d. (10 or 12 cents at standard exchange) for the same grades, and with some grades selling as low as 334d. to 444d., before the war. ; Female labor is employed to a large extent in operating tne automatic machines used in making all classes of driying chain. The minimum wages which, in this trade, are paid only to apprentice workers, are 5d. per hour plus 16 shillings per week war bonus plus a further bonus of 124% per cent on the total weekly earnings. A 47-hour week is standard throughout the country, so the minimum weekly earnings amount to about 40 shillings ($9.72 per week at standard exchange). The older and more experienced workers earn approximately 50 per cent more than the minimum rates, most of them working on piece work. A small percentage of skilled male labor is employed, chiefly for keep- ing the machines in repair. This labor receives ap- proximately 85 shillings per week ($20.65 at stand- ard exchange). There is no suggestion of sweat- ing in the industry and the workers are able to maintain a fair standard of living. Relations be- tween employers and workers are quite friendly and differences are adjusted by conferences con- ducted on the Whitley plan. It has not been neces- sary to establish a trade board. Chain Cable and Anchers There are some ten to twelve firms engaged in the manufacture of heavy chain cable and anchors for the equipment of vessels. All these firms are located near Netherton in the Cradley Heath dis- trict, a few miles west of Birmingham. All the ship’s cable is forged from local bar iron; cast steel links are not made in England as yet, since they are not believed to be as dependable as the forged and welded chain made from wrought iron. Local gas coke is used as fuel and, prior to the recent coal strike, could be obtained at 20s. to 30s. per ton ac- cording to quality. Metallurgical or other hard coke is not used in the forges, since the friable character of the lecal gas coke is a desirable feature. Power hammers are used in making all the heavier chains and anchors, and the factories seem to be well equipped even according to American standards, although in several of the plants there is an undue amount of carrying material from one part of the plant to another. Much of this work is THE IRON AGE January 20, 1921 done by men with wheelbarrows, although there some industrial track on which trucks are run. {| is not uncommon, however, to see men wheeling heavy loads for several hundred feet over the bare ground which, except for an occasional stone, s deeply cut by ruts. It is stated that the first ste.) hammer installed in England was erected | Nasmith, himself, at the Chain and Anchor Wor in Cradley. Several firms purchase their bar iron in the dis- trict, but others make their own wrought iron in the same establishment. One of the largest firms. N. Hingley Sons & Co., Ltd., is completely inte- grated, operating a blast furnace plant (with two furnaces), and manufacturing anchors and chain in its large puddling works about a mile away. In al! cases, the chief iron used is the famous Stafford- shire bar iron, which is of exceptionally good qual- ity and welds easily. In making anchors, however, a certain amount of steel scrap is apparently bun- dled with the iron. Both workers and employers are organized and while, as in the case of other industries in this area, a traae board is in existence for the settle- ment of disputes, the men’s union is sufficiently strong to force the employers to pay a higher scale than that fixed by the trade board. Early in 1920, the anchor and heavy chain makers were earning £10 ($48.65 at standard exchange) per week, and it was not uncommon to see them leaving the shops shortly after the noon hour. The work is almost wholly piece work and the men quit as soon as they have earned what they consider a satisfactory wage. All the British shipping tackle is tested in prov- ing houses under the supervision of the committee of Lloyds Register of Shipping. There are three of these proving houses in the Cradley district, all of which are operated by a company known as Lloyds British Testing Co., Ltd., which, however, has no financial affiliation with Lloyds Register. The testing works are situated at Netherton, Tip- ton and Cradley Heath, all within a radius of five miles. Tests ranging from a few pounds to 400 tons can be carried out in these proving houses. The charges for testing are not easily obtainable by an outsider, but are apparently lower than those charged for such work in the United States, in view of the fact that the British differentials on the prices of certified chains as compared with the prices of those tested in their own works are much lower than the cost of certification in the United States. The matter of interlocking capital between the testing company and the chain makers is pos- sibly a factor. The former chairman of the board of directors of the testing company was also the head of a large chain works, and from time to time the directorate of the testing company has included others interested in the chain business so, regard- less of possible financial connections, the testing company is closely affiliated with certain of the chain manufacturing concerns. Another feature which tends to lower the cost of certifying British chain is the matter of trans- portation. The forges are all located in close prox- imity to the proving houses, and the chains may be transported to and from the proving house and the factory or to the railroad by means. of canals or short wagon hauls. The whole chain must be subjected to a certain strain and finally three links are taken out from any point in the chain at the discretion of the inspector for an actual breaking test. This involves the cutting out of five links which are only valuable as scrap, and also requires that the chain must be repaired at this point. Hence nearness and cheap transfer to and from the prov- Be ca gut January 20, 1921 house form an important factor in the cost of ting. The total length of chain cable tested in the ted Kingdom under the anchors and chain les act (British) during 1918,and 1919 at the ving houses under the superintendence of Lloyds register of Shipping, was 457,756 fathoms. In ad- ‘ion, 114,338 fathoms were tested which did not me within the provisions of this act and also a iantity of miscellaneous chains and samples. The imber of anchors tested was 9783. Other Welded Chain There are about 40 fairly large firms engaged the manufacture of chain in the Cradley Heath trict. All of these are members of the Chain and \nchor Manufacturers’ Association. There are per- haps 20 other small establishments employing up to . half dozen hands each; but these generally mar- ket their product through one or more of the larger firms. In addition to the above, there are still a yreat number of outworkers who provide their wn forges but are furnished with iron and, occa- nally, with fuel, and who return the finished chain to the “manufacturers” after bending and velding the links. A much larger proportion of the workers, however, are now employed in the fac- tories than before the war, although most of the chter welded chain (up to 15/16 in.) made in England is made by outworkers and a fair amount of l-in. up to 21% in. chain is also made outside. Heavy mining chain, however, and chains for cranes and other heavy lifting work and which re- quire to be tested are rarely made except in the factories which have their own testing machines for proving the product. Only a small part of such chains go to the central proving houses, whose main business is the testing and certification of shipping tackle. The manufacture of machine-welded (electric- welded) chain is a more recent development in the district. At present most of the light chain, rang- ‘ from 13/32-in. down to No. 10 gage, is now welded electrically. The manufacturers claim that he electric welding method does not produce so strong a chain as the hand weld even when the same quality of iron is used. These chains, however, are sed only for purposes where ‘they are not subjected any great strain and they are invariably made of dinary mild steel instead of wrought iron. None of the manufacturers of ordinary coil 1in except those who also make ship’s cable op- erate puddling furnaces; the general practice is to bar iron of the required diameter. Due to the rt distance from the puddling furnaces to the n works, transportation to the latter is cheaper to railroad shipping points and delivery rarely ‘is over 1d. or at most 2d. per cwt. to the cost the iron, which is therefore a trifle less, ered at the works, than the published quota- ‘ tor Staffordshire bar iron. In January, 1920, ifacturers were paying 25s. 10d. per cwt. on ‘ ranging from 1% to 3 in. diameter, with the extras on smaller bar and discounts on larger | In October the price was £31 10s. per cwt. ittle steel is used for hand hammered chains. or all but the heaviest work, the fuel employed leeds,” which is the coked cinder from local ng works.’ This fuel makes a clean hot fire ‘ue to the presence of a small amount of slag ‘usible ash, greatly facilitates welding. It is more costly than the local gas coke, the aver- ee 4 ig |e aaa poeta Ot are aoe = pe Pi aes ee ae 3 al i aS a7 ‘terial sifts down through the grate bars of the ( the puddling furnaces. It looks like coke breeze, _ on examination, the particles are rounded and partly ontains a high percentage of carbon. THE IRON AGE 185 age price in 1920 being about 60s. ($10.50 at pres- ent exchange) per ton or nearly twice as much as the cheap local coke. Before the war, gleeds cost about 35s. ($8.50). This fuel is more economical than the cheaper coke, since it makes the welding easier and since it contains no sulphur or other impurities that would injure the iron. Labor Chain making by the hand methods largely em- ployed in England calls for a high degree of skill on the part of the workers. This skill can be ac- quired only after long years of expertence in the trade. An ordinary blacksmith is extremely slow at such work and, conversely, the chain makers are specialists who can rarely do any other work at the forge. The rapidity with which a chain maker can cut and bend a link and weld it is remarkable. On smaller sizes, it is not uncommon to see a man, working alone, making chain from rod at the rate of 100 links an hour. The only equipment neces- sary, in addition to a fire, is a light anvil and a home-made dolly with the top half hinged so as to be quickly knocked down or up by a tap of the hammer. The usual practice is to keep four pieces in the fire—one straight rod heating up, another rod with the end bent in a hook so as to form one bend in the link (but not cut off), a third piece in the form of a link with the ends not scarfed or closed, and a fourth piece with the ends closed and attached to one end of the chain; this last piece is put in the hottest part of the fire so as to bring it to a weld- ing heat. The chain maker advances each operation suc- cessively and with great rapidity. Taking the straight rod out of the fire, he bends it once over the horn of the anvil and places it back in the fire. Next, he takes out the second rod, cuts off a link and bends the ends slightly; this operation leaves a straight rod and a partly formed link, both of which he puts back into the fire. He then takes the partly formed link from the previous cycle, scarfs the open ends, slips the link over one end of the chain he is making, closes the link, and puts it back into the ‘fire to bring it to a welding heat. Finally, he pulls the other end of the chain out of the fire and welds and finishes a new link. This completes one cycle of operations. It will be noted that considerable watchfulness is necessary, since the straight bar of one cycle of operations is the bar with a bent end on the next cycle, and since a new link is placed on either end of the chain alternately. Furthermore, it requires a great deal of experience to maintain the heat on each piece so that it will be at the proper tempera- ture at the proper time. Generally, there is a mo- mentary rest between each cycle which allows the worker to look out for his fire. The writer, how- ever, timed an outworker for ten minutes and found that the man completed a link of %-in. chain in the extraordinary average time of 25 sec. This cannot be taken as an average for an entire day, as the man knew he was being watched and was trying to make a record. He also kept an extra rod in the fire throughout this period so as to be able to get his initial heat in this short time. But this illus- tration indicates the remarkable rapidity at which they can work. Manufacturers claim that they are threatened with a shortage of labor due to the preference of the younger generation for less arduous occupa- tions which, at least under present conditions, yield practically equal wages. The most serious loss in number of workers is among the women who for- 186 THE IRON Journeyman Outworkers’ Block Chain Price List (per cwt.) Size of Links Short Link Long Link Short Link Iron per Foot Ordinary Ordinary Special s da, a 4. s d. mere 3 «ades ‘ 284 0O 256 6 312 5 7 a eos _ 215 10 199 10 237 4 - sapacete 19 160 1 145 0 176 0 5 17 116 6 110 10 128 0 4 16 94 10 tlic 104 3 3 16 86 9 81 5 95 5 Z 14 71 5 63 10 78 6 1 13 57 1 an 62 10 16 13 19 10 i¢ 3 54 10 114 12 3 2 38 11 47 6 ty 37 60 32 3 40 10 Kee e 26 6 ae Oe 29 3 My ., . eo 21 10 ate Adee 24 0 ig . 20 1 Hak oes a m | a eh tt 21 8 Lig 18 11 ks eng 20 10 yy . 18 1 he? tat 19 11 Factory Price List for Stud, Short and Open Link Chains, Endwelded (per cwt.) Compo, Farnley, Low Moor and All Brands of No: 2 No. lor Yorkshire Sizes Common Test Best Special Best Iron Steel In s d s. d Ss d. s d s d. s d 14 50 9 54°10 58 10 67 7 77 =«5 103 10 “16 35 6 38 2 40 #7 45 9 57 a 70 2 % 22 2 24 10 28 3 32 10 42 0 50 9 Te 18 0 20 06060 22 2 25 0 33 7 40 2 ly 13 6 15 7 Is 0 21 2 25 2 29 8 he 12 2 13 11 15 2 ay 3 22 2 27 #3 of 11 2 i2 6 14 1 16 1 19 6 23 4 45 10 7 11 ” 13 1 14 69 ly ae 21 9 % 10 1 11 1 12 4 is. % 16 1 0 0 Lig e J 10 5 ll 6 12 2 is 3 19 4 % 9 0 9 7 10 10 11 11 14 3 is 0 1h S 4 ) 1 10 3 11 3 i3 7 a 1 B. J § 10 9 8 10 8 13 2 i 7 145 7 9 & 4 9 1 10 3 13 2 . 7 1\% 7 4 s 0 Ss 10 9 11 is @ 16 7 146 7 O § S { a i3 2 | ie | Cs merly made a large part of the lighter chains in their own homes. It has been a family industry, the children learning the trade from their parents, and many married women preferring to work at home during their spare time in order to bring up the earnings of the family. Now that the male workers are receiving better wages, it is not so necessary for the women to work, and those that do work are more inclined to seek employment in factories, either running the automatic machines which make electrically welded chain or working in the hollow ware factories which are located in the same vicinity. It is estimated, however, that at the present time there are from one to two thou- sand women employed in chain making either in factories or in their homes. Before the war, the number was much larger. There is a clear distinction now between the work done by the women and that done by the men. In outwork, the former make only the smaller hand hammered chains used principally for agricultural purposes, while the larger chains, above 11/32 in., together with the better class of chains known as “dollied” or “tommied” chains (which are swaged after being welded), are made exclusively by men. In the factories, women are employed only in oper- ating the electric welding machines, which is com- paratively light work. Wages Practically all classes of labor are on piece work. The earnings range from £3 to £10 per week, de- pending upon the skill of the workers and their ap- plication to their work. A fair average of the earnings of experienced male chain workers in the Cradley district is £6 per week of 47 hours, which is fully three times the average earnings in 1913. Women operators in the factories are mainly on time work and receive between 30s. and 40s. per week. Before the war, the net earnings of the women rarely exceeded 12s. per week. The mini- AGE January 20, 19:1 TULUULLAUACTI ELLE OADLUNOEDOOEDOASODUNAEOUHAELDE GUELOOSED UEC OHERLL LINE UNEDNEEEEDEOEUAbesdeeenseEHLaHLMeNBNHIANNNLI Ly Stud Chain List (per cwt.) song Link No. l Srecial Siz x — Sizes Common Test Bes s. d. In, Ss. dd, a s. 282 0 CONG wiki kx ee ik 66 14 219 9 eS tata es as ators e.g 10 3 13 159 6 BAIS sec esncs 8 5 eo. <2 11 122 0 ee o.55 a Meee 8s 0 8 10 10 Cay eer ee 7 4 8 0 4 so 6 7 .. ge paw ee & 7 ® 8 7 4 re rere or S 3 7 oa s ge ae, sgh kw as. ores 6 4 6 11 7 50 10 Ee eee 6 0 6 10 7 2 10 35 5 Notes: All sizes of stud chain under 14g in paid tor at the same price as short link chain. Ten per cent extra for one gage and 20 per extra tor two gages, when required to be used all sizes and qualities of chains specified on above list. Twenty per cent extra to the above prices | mak. ng wheel chains. All sizes and qualities of stud chains (dollied whe equired to be made jo dimensions less length of link than six diameters of the size of iron (outside measurement), extra prices to b renged between employer and workman before st ing to make the chains, Ail links cut or sheared for workmen fre« charge Note: Weston’s lengths of link to be the stand ard length for long and short link. All chain longer than Weston's’ long link to be paid for at long price Longer than Weston’s short link and no long as Weston’s long link, to be paid for at W: ton's short link prices. Shorter than Weston’s short link to be paid for at the following extra rates Per link per ft per cwt. extra s. 4d LS Gin a oi deen a: Su ea ee oe ee 3. (OO Devine yor Seek tans Jha nn e ek 2 10 vis teigadm ater dg madobiecs Bsag a ea a aceon 1 1 i ein a eb eae Wik Kinet eoe a aihce ienieta - 2 ie. -ebgie wale: @ aie aru wohl ioa ene ware ee 1 0 ee eee re ee ee ee 1 0 FIR co eeseeeeeseeseeeeeseneseens 1 0 PU. di- aaian ce wl eho ae ae a 1 06 Hein HUDeTEHH ores eeeeuepaNaE ANON mum rate as established by the trade board was 234d. per hour and was rarely exceeded. Women workers, including outworkers, are now organized to a considerable extent, being affiliated with the National Federation of Women Workers. Almost all of the men are members of the local chain makers’ union. All piece work is paid for according to price lists which are fixed from time to time by agreements between the unions and the employers’ association. The prices of the list are paid irrespective of sex, and in the few cases where old men make the sizes of chain ordinarily made by women, they receive the same price. The above lists went into effect on Sept. 1, 1919, and were still in force in the spring of 1920. The above rates constitute practically the whole labor cost in the manufacture of chain in the dis- trict. According to union officials, they permit the workers to earn considerably in excess of the mini- mum rates as established by the trade board. These rates range from a minimum of 614d. to a maximum of nearly 2s. per hour, depending upon the experi- ence of the worker and whether he is working on light or heavy chain, when the employer provides the workshop, tools, fuel and the iron. Costs Raw material is the main item of cost in the heavier classes of welded chains, while labor consti- tutes the largest element in the cost of light hand welded chains. The two items are of practically equal importance in the manufacture of ordinary hand welded coil chain in the sizes 13/32 to 5 in. Fuel is the only other item of importance, and this runs quite uniformly in all sizes of chain at roughly one-third of the labor cost. In the case of hand- welded chain, interest and depreciation on plant are negligible factors when distributed over the prod- (Continued on page 236) et ‘inning Methods and Tin House Equipment Arrangement of a Modern Tin House and Machinery for Coating and Cleaning — The Thomas Automatic Tinning Machine a —— BY CLEMENT F. POPPLETON ———— box, was described in an article by the author which was published by THE IRON AGE in the of Jan. 3, 1918. The present article deals with nning precess in fuller detail. The base of com- al tin plate is a flat bar, usually 8 in. wide and thicknesses varying according to the gage of the hed product. The bars come from the steel works neths of about 30 ft. and are sheared at the tin mill to the required length. The length of the the width of the plate, since all elongation caused action of the tin plate mill rolls is at right to the original elongation of the bar. After irs are sheared to the requisite lengths they are ted in the sheet and pair furnaces, a full descrip- f which appeared in the artic'e on sheet. pair and ealing furnaces, which appeared in THE IRON AGE, 16 and 23, 1920. When the bars have reached thé rolling temperature, between 1800 and 2000 deg. Fahr., they are passed throuch the hot rolls four to six times singly with the length of the bar parallel to the rolls, after which the roller places one of the now embryo plates 1 HE manufacture of tin plate, from the bar to the Fig in the hot rolls they are hard and dirty, and to clean and soften them they are pickled and annealed. The pickling process is necessary to clean the plates of every particle of dirt, grease and scale; if this were not done the coating of tin would not adhere to the steel base. The next step, therefore, is to take the plates to the black pickling machine, so called to dis- tinguish it from the white pickling machine which is used after cold rolling. The Mesta machine, quite gen- erally used for this purpose in the United States, con- sists of a vertical steam cylinder, the plunger of which carries arms from which are suspended four acid- proof crates that dip into acid vats below. The plates are packed in the crates and are plunged up and down, first in a vat containing a strong solution of acid (about 10 per cent), then in one with a weaker solu- tion, and finally in a third containing water. After the pickling process the plates are taken to the an- nealing furnace. Annealing softens the plates, but the process opens the pores on the surface, and if tinned in this state they would take up too much tin and would not present the bright, silvery appearance desired; consequently the (at left) Sydney Duplex Tin- sheets on top of another and continues to pass the ibled sheets through the rolls until the heat is ex- hausted. It is impossible to roll tin plate thin enough ne heat. This makes necessary the next process, that of doubling, in which the two sheets are doubled over the other in a doubling shear, consisting of a ver arm doubler and a lever arm shear set at right ingles, and worked in conjunction. The operator takes two sheets and doubles them one on the other by then places them under the doubling arm, which trem flat one on the other. Reversing the ie shears the smallest possible portion from the ed end and then repeats the doubling process, et eg a pack of eight sheets, which must now e-heated. heater places the pack in the sheet portion of eet and pair furnace, where it is brought up to temperature again. The sheets are passed the rolls again until the heat is exhausted, or juired thinness is reached. In order to accom- this it is necessary that the screw boy tighten his after each pass. The pack comes from the rolls rregular edges, which are usually blunt pointed Tront end, “fish bellied” on the sides and “fish on the back end. A machine called a squaring ‘ used to square these edges. The action of the has a tendency to weld the sheets together, it becomes necessary at this stage to separate < Into the individual sheets. After being worked r ning Pot Fig. 2 Morewood Tinning Pot plates have to be cold rolled. This process consists of pass- ing the plates three times through stands ef cold rolls whose function is to close the pores and planish the sheets. Cold rolls are very similar in appearance to hot rolls, but they have a finer surface and are usually lighter and smaller in diamecer. This process hardens the plates again, so that it is necessary to re- anneal them. For this purpose use is made of a secondary annealing furnace exactly similar to the primary annealing furnace, but the plates are not allowed to remain in the furnace so long as in the first. The cold rolling and re-annealing processes leave oxide and dirt on the plates which must be removed by means of a second pickling machine. TPhis is a duplicate of the black pickling machine, but the solu- tion is not so strong nor is the process continued so long as in the first instance. After the second pickling the plates are ready for tinning. It is important to protect the pickled surface from air as far as possible, so immediately after the pickling the plates are placed ‘n water boshes usually mounted on wheels and taken to the dipper’s stand at the tin pots, where they are 187 aren yipcoe re wr Re ee ae mae Heart ssa ae c J one ee: arn eee Sea ne een —— " = pei ane compan 188 THE Dewressed Track latFform “2 I cKn PO Fig. 3 Arrangement of ; passed individually through the tinning machines. Thirty years or so ago the method of tinning con- sisted of dropping the plates one at a time into a pot containing warm grease and then removing them to a pot containing molten tin covered with palm oil. After immersion in this for a short time they were removed, rapidly brushed on each side by a hand brush, and passed into a second pot containing tin at a somewhat higher temperature; thence they were removed to a pot containing molten palm oil to permit the superfluous tin to drain off, and finally placed in a rack to cool. The thickness of the coating of tin thus obtained was irregular, and an unnecessary amount of tin was con- sumed. A great improvement was effected about 1860 when the plates were passed through rollers revolving in the grease on the surface of the tin, through which they emerged from the last pot, which squeezed out any superfiuous tin which might have adhered to the plate. Single Pot Method of Tinning In modern works the whole process is performed in one pot which is mechanically actuated. Use is made of a flux of chloride of zinc and a small amount of ammonium chloride, which lies on the surface of the SS molten tin and through which the plate first passes before entering the tin bath. This flux consider- ably hastens and cheapens the process while the plates have a cleaner and brighter surface when tinned in this manner, and now that the initial difficulties have been overcome the plates are equal in quality to those made in the older way. IRON Unrloadinra ’ | - i : ; "a [ler ng Mixtur | ff IMeta store | a Machin hoon Bla Ad lin Fo | ee S E “OO DOO 09 5 ’ X | hes ay, aa nd AGE January 20, 1921 i Modern Tin House The tinning rolls are of wrought iron, and are not polished as an inspection of the finished plate would lead one to suppose, but the marks made by the too when turning them in the lathe are purposely left o1 them. The rolls are driven at a definite speed, whic! determines the amount of tin taken up by the plate, the quantity running usually to 2 or 3 per cent of the weight of the steel plates, the object kept in view her being to give what is known as a “coke finish” hundredweight of plates with 2 lb. 4 oz. to 2 lb. 6 oz of tin. For special qualities 3 to as much as 6 lb. of ti per hundredweight of plates is used in exceptional cases. The vertical type of tinning pot is suitable for plates of moderate size or thickness, but long or very thin plates are liable to double up when it is attempted to lift them from their bottom edge. The cold plates cool the tin and to prevent it being chilled and adhering to the plates in greater thicknesses than desired th molten tin must be kept very hot. Too much heat however, causes the surface of the finished plate t lose some of its brilliance. The grease also gives off very annoying fumes if too highly heated, and may eve! take fire. These difficulties are overcome by employing tinning pots of the form shown in Fig. 1. The plat Fig. 4 (at left)—Multiple Tinning Machine Fig. Tinning Machin¢ Removed from Pot | ; upward between rolls, and on issuing from 4 t is diverted by other guides into the second pot, ¢ in which is at a lower temperature. It then e upward through the grease contained in the ses nuary 20, 1921 the pot on the right, the tin in which is main- i at a high temperature, and passes through the ying upon the surface of the molten tin. When | forward it is diverted by the guides, which pot. Since the two pots are entirely separate separately fired, there is no difficulty in maintaining it its most suitable temperature. There are three f guides in the width of the pot and a plate is yng each successively. One man feeds the plates | a second removes them to the cleaning machine. e cooled plates are passed on to girls, who polish y means of hand rubbers of sheep-skin, rubbing with bran or sharps to remove the grease. In of the larger and more recent works this process rformed by machinery, which consists of different ngements of rollers covered with sheep-skin, which volved at varying speeds and between which the are passed. polished sheets are put up into wooden boxes then ready for sale. The ordinary box con- 112 plates of 30 S.W.G. thickness, each sheet ring 14. by 20 in. and weighing 1 lb. Plates are na great variety of sizes and qualities of finish, are known in the trade by various names and which have been given to them by the workmen, of which would serve no useful purpose in the work. From these are made the cans used nned meats and fruits, now so extensively used, so numerous smaller domestic articles. The foregoing, in as far as it applies to tinning er is concerned, refers to the older type of tinning ine, which though still in use is being rapidly d iced by the modern tinning and cleaning apparatus, a t least in up-to-date plants. The latter is fully de- ed and illustrated further on in this article. lor some purposes a much heavier coating of tin juired than that ordinarily used for food containers : | the like. To obtain this heavier coating a vertical ng pot is employed called from its inventor’s name rewood pot. A sectional view of this apparatus is Fig. 2. With this pot the plates are fed by er by hand and pass down the back guides until gage in the hooks provided at the bottom of the that purpose; the dipper then pushes the top ' the plates over until they engage against the les when they point directly to the split of ls. The dipper then lifts the plates by means oks until they are gripped by the rolis which ven by means of a train of gears, the top pair an extension with a pulley which is driven by a belt from a countershaft. The rolls are le in the horizontal plane so that the distance n the rolls or the pinch may be varied, and conse- iny desired quantity of tin may be deposited ate, at re TT x 4 i * Machines nning Machine, Conveyor and Cleaning and Polishing THE IRON AGE 189 Fig. 6—Tinning Machine for Heavier Plates This same apparatus may also be utilized for terne plate much used for roofing in the heavier gages. Terne plate is made by coating the steel base with a mixture of lead and tin, about two-thirds lead and one-third tin being the usual proportion. Tin House Equipment Fig. 3 is a plan of a modern tin house. The end of the cold mill train is shown and also the black and white pickling machines. The secondary annealing furnaces are placed at the other end of the cold mill trains. With such an arrangement a prime requisite of a successful tin mill is achieved, since the product does not pass over the same ground twice, going as it does from the black pickler to the primary annealing furnaces, thence through the three-pass tandem cold rolls, to the secondary annealing furnaces, and from there to the white pickler. A feature of this layout is the system of tank storage tracks, ample trackage being provided to take care of the requirements for a two-day run of the tin house. It does not hurt the pickled plate to remain in water; in fact, so long as the plate is entirely covered it improves with a week’s im- mersion, as this serves to release the hydrogen from the pickle “pits” and hydrogen is always injurious to the protective coating, whether this be tin or spelter. As will be seen from the layout the tinning and cleaning machines are arranged in one line with their assorting tables at right angles. This is an excellent arrangement, since ample floor space is provided for trucking around the tables, so that three trucks can be disposed around each table, one for primes, one for seconds and one for wasters. It is possible to coat ordinary commercial tin plate with less than 2 lb. of tin per box of 100 lb. by the use of the following modern tin house equipment: 1. Cast iron tin pot, made of high grade, close grained iron and designed with an expansion chamber. 2. Tinning machine with four high carbon steel rolls accurately ground with necessary gears and housings to fit the tin pot. 3. Catcher to lift the plate from the tinning machine and place it on conveyor which consists of polished rolls and necessary driving mechanism. iz f | Se | ee ae aay SoD RTA ee td foramen re ao wets hove aoe “ i ee ie AOE vs fe ad Pate Pntadony Toutipeaarsenn allie aatentie oe c —— ee a ae ean oe ad ~ : mt eer et ee — — ona oe mane meena M Se he sore Pe ee 2 oa tn oS sme - ee ees 190 THE IRON AGE Fig. 8’—Standard Conveyor Operating 4. Eighteen-ft. channel chain and slat combination with take up. 5. Forty-seven-in. improved cleaning machine con- sisting of six pairs of flannel disk rolls working in the mixture, one pair polishing, high grade bronze bearings, elevator for handling cleaning mixture, etc., complete. Primarily this outfit is designed to make coke plate. The sheets are fed through the tinning machine, which in most plants ranges from 66 to 86 in. wide and which is known as the multiple machine. In feed- ing, the sheets are staggered over the width of the machine, feeding three or four sheets in width. By this means a much greater production can be secured, because more sheets are fed through the machine in a given time without increasing the speed in feet per conveyor, minute Fig. 4 is one of the above mentioned multiple tin- ning machines, while in Fig. 5 is the same machine as it appears when removed from the tin pot. The catcher, which is an arrangement for turning the dipped plates on to the conveyor, is shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. 6 is a tinn’ng machine specially designed for heavier sheets. setting up the tin pot, tinning machine, conveyor, etc., is shown in Fig. 7. The plate is not touched by the hand until it reaches the receiving bench ready for assorting, where the plates are carried over to the assorting tables. Fig. 8 is the standard conveyor, which takes the The method of January 20, 1921 Pee ; RE A Tes ae Between Catcher and Cleaning Machine plates from the catcher of the tinning machine to thé cleaning machine. This conveyor consists of a series of slats, which are angular in shape so that there is practically a knife edge on which the plates are car ried. This construction is necessary to avoid marking the plates. The slats are carried on a canvas belt. In Fig. 9 a standard cleaning machine is shown with auxiliary attachment, while Fig. 10 illustrates the tandard type of elevator. The modern cleaning machine as _ illustrated -reat improvement over those in use even a few years ago. Instead of the rollers being covered with sheep sin they are now made up of a series of disks of canton flannel which are compressed on a mandrel, making a better “buffing” roll, and being much cleaner and of much longer life, as the wear on these built-up rolls is evenly distributed, while the sheep-skin covered rolls always wore away in patches. The rollers are not all driven at the same speed, some being driven much faster than the others, thus enhancing the polish Bran or a substitute is fed into the cleaning of absorbing the surplus oil nz action. machine for the purpose which is carried by the The maker of these sneet. improved cleaning machines Fig. 9—Standard Cleaning Ma chine with Auxiliary Attachme ‘ vg pr e PISS Qe anuary 20, 1921 THE IRON AGE 4 nts out that by using an auxiliary machine most 4 he oil in the bran is absorbed, so that when the ; passes into the main cleaning ‘machine it is com- 4 atively dry, and the bran can be kept very clean, a. repy accomplishing a much higher degree of clean- ( and polishing, and at the same time saving about ere ver cent of the bran. 3 The material used in the cleaning machines is ally wheat or rye middlings, although ground pea- shells are also employed successfully. The material er being used and becoming impregnated with the m oil is now finding a sale among farmers for stock i, representing quite an advance along the lines of ervation. It used to be burnt and its disposal was re or less of a nuisance. New Thomas Automatic Tinning Machine Practically all the steel plates tinned in the United tates are fed into the tinning pots by hand. The ed plates leave the palm-oil bath automatically and » upon a conveyor which operates at right angles the tin pot. By means of this conveyor the plates fed into the branning machine. A novel departure ym this type of tinning machine was recently made by Spence Thomas, managing director, and W. R. Davies, eneral works manager, of the Melingriffith Tin Plate Works, Whitechurch, South Wales. This machine, Fig. .utomatically feeds, pickles and polishes four plates nce, the plates traveling straight forward through- the process. Each machine is driven by a 20-hp. motor, occupies pace 20 x 30 ft., and has a normal capacity of ap- Fig. 10—Standard Type of Elevator roximately 125 boxes of tin plate per 24 hr. \fter the plates are annealed, following the cold 4 solution of palm oil. Upon issuing from this bath rolling process, they are piled on the four charging they are caught between two rolls which squeeze off tables built side by side at one end of the machine. the excess tin. They are then directed into a double- Serving each table is a cone-shaped rubber sucker, type branning machine J, where revolving arms assist which is kept moist by sprays of water. The suckers’ in thoroughly cleaning and removing the palm oil from are mounted on rocker arms, which operate simul- ‘the top surfaces. As the plates issue from the primary taneously from the common shaft A in Fig. 11. This branning machines, they pass upward between guides shaft is driven by gears keyed on to the left end. until the lower edges are positioned just over the When the four rocker shafts bring the suckers in con- entrance to the secondary branning machines. A trip with the plates the top plate in each pile is trans- motion causes the plates to fall into the secondary ferred to the receiving tables B. These are built so cleaning apparatus with the reverse sides in position the sucker arms pass between, releasing the plates for branning. After this operation is completed the tables. The sucker arms then return to their cleaned plates pass between four sets of dusting rolls al position. K and then drop upon an endless conveyor L, which When the receiving tables are tilted the four plates delivers them to a final series of burnishing rolls. de by side into the pickling baths C, where any The latter operate at right angles to the first set of effects of oxidation which may have occurred during rolls and impart a high polish to the surface of the annealing process are removed. By means of lugs product. The tin plate is then conveyed to the boxing ling from the rim of the wheels D the plates are department. ished between the first pair of a series of rolls, which, The author has no practical experience of the work- he aid of stationary guides, direct the plates into ing of this device, but it is being used in South Wales. fluxing pans E. While the plates are in transit If one point of criticism stands out it is the inability m the pickling to the fluxing baths they are drenched to inspect the plates after they are white pickled and vith water, the later draining underneath the rolls before they are tinned. to the trough F. The pair of rolls built just over the A full Thomas equipment will be installed in the ring end of the fluxing pot operate at an increased Burma Oil Co.’s tin mill which is being erected at ‘f speed and auickly force the plates through the Sakchi, India. ng solution. It has been found that by speedily ‘ ng the plates through the fluxing bath, consider- The January meeting of the New York Chapter of nomy in the consumption of tin is effected in- the American Society for Steel Treating was held as the plates do not become dry or unduly Wednesday evening, Jan. 19, at the Machinery Club, ited, 50 Church Street, New York, and was addressed by [he rocker arms G mounted on the shaft H push’ E. F. Davis, Celite Products Co., New York, on “The ates into a pair of rolls which forward them into Function of Insulation and Its Application to Heat ‘in pots I. By means of similar rolls and guides Treating Furnaces,” illustrated by stereopticon views. nged in series, the plates are directed up through The usual dinner preceded the meeting. y - sb: te Pip enki Ru7 +2 Dh If 4 S. Y > ZA) i © Ih yh oe NZ. ae. D OSB - ELKAY i See sf “ig. 11—Thomas Automatic Tinning . VW y : Machine : MMS = Na a CRNA AI ne ln MR thar aes oP a 192 THE Semi-Automatic Multiple Tapping Machine The machine shown in the accompanying illustra- tion is a semi-automatic multiple tapping machine, produced by the Langelier Mfg. Co., Arlington, Crans- ton, R. I. While this is not an entirely new design, interesting features have been added. It is for tap- ping in one operation nine 8/32-in. and two 10/32-in. holes in a meter case, and is now doing this work, it is stated, at the rate of six cases per minute. The machine can be at- tended by a boy or girl. The machine is set in motion by depressing a foot treadle at the right. This operates the belt shifting mech- anism, moving the round leather driv- ing belt which runs from the motor to the forward driv- ing pulley. This sets in motion through bevel gear- ing at the rear a horizontal shaft which drives the main spindle of the multiple tapping head through gear- ing near the top of the machine col- umn. The _ tapping spindles in the head are crank driven, and are machined out of a solid alloy steel bar. They are all located on fixed centers in a phos- phor-bronze spindle bearing, quickly re- Nine 8/32-In. and two 10/32-In. Holes Are Tapped in a Meter Case in One Operation, Six Cases movable from the Being Produced a Minute. Tap- : . ping can be performed simulta- machine to permit nevusly with taps of different pitch the insertion of other heads having the spindles arranged according to other layouts within a 5-in. circle. This makes it possible to tap other parts with the same machine. In these tapping heads, each spindle is provided with a compensating arrangement which permits each tap to follow its own lead independent of any other tap, thus to insure that every hole is tapped with clean cut thread, free from drags or stripping even when working through thin soft brass, steel or other metal and with taps of small diameters. This feature, it is explained, also allows of tapping simultaneously with taps of different pitch and produces uniformly accurate and truly interchangeable work. During the tapping operation the working table is progressingly raised at the same rate that the taps enter the work, until the taps have penetrated to the depth wanted, when an automatic trip operates shifting the round driving belt quickly over to the grooved reversing pulley, reversing the taps and lowering the table almost twice as fast as during the tapping ad- vance. When the table reaches its lowest or loading and unloading position, the trip again shifts a round driving belt to the loose pulley when the machine stops. The upward and receding speed of the travel of the working table may be closely adjusted to-correspond in each case with the pitch of the taps used and with the thickness of the wo