The Iron Age 1922-01-26: Vol 109 Iss 4

THE IRON AGE New York, January 26, 1922 ‘STABLISHED 1855 (J & MILL BUILDING i : s = Sheet Mill of the Otis Steel Company VOL. 109, Io. 4 a Features Include Staggered Arrangement of Furnaces—Powdered Coal Used—Plant Notable for Its Applications of Modern Equipment and Design Cleveland, built as an extension of its Riverside Works, has a number of distinctive features. Among the most prominent is the arrangement for the mvenient handling of material, and consequently, the economy in operation. The bar storage department is ated at the side of the furnace and mill departments lirectly back of the furnaces, which reduces the amount of handling of raw material. Sheet bars in storage inder roof are taken to the bar shear as required and on leaving the shear the crane places them back of the Rolled sheets go from the hot mills to the squaring shears on the opposite side of the mill building, and from there to the shear bay back of the shears, where ample storeroom is provided, so they can e left here in storage until they are wanted in the cold rolling and annealing department. The plant is en- rely electrically operated. The excellent lighting of the plant is another im- rtant feature. The buildings are arranged and the roof designed so that more daylight is admitted than nill buildings of the more common design. Although re are four adjoining buildings, making virtually uilding 231 ft. wide, considerable wall surface is ided for continuous window sections along the con- ting sides of the buildings. The daylight thus ad- ‘ted supplements that which enters through the con- 1s windows in the outer side walls. The plant is a flexible one designed for making all kinds of sheets and in all finishes, its product includ- ing full finished sheets for the automobile trade. With this new sheet mill as an addition to its other plants, the company is equipped to make a line of mill products 7 HE new sheet mill plant of the Otis Steel Co., pair furnaces. extending from heavy plates down to sheets in the lightest gages. The new plant is an eight hot mill plant with the mills arranged in two trains with separate drives and each finishing mill has its own roughing stand. Pow- dered coal is used for fuel both in the sheet and pair furnaces and in the annealing furnaces. With the plant arrangement back travel of material is avoided and the amount of handling required in the movement of sheets up to the time they reach the shipping plat- form -appears to have been reduced to a minimum. From the squaring shears sheets are carried in a straight line to the adjoining cold rolling and anneal- ing building, which is virtually an extension of the shear and mill buildings. On one side of the anneal- ing building is the pickling department close to the mills. The annealing furnaces extend along the build- ing beyond the pickling department and are a consider- able distance from the hot mills. Connected to the an- nealing department on the opposite side is the ware- house. The shipping platform as well as the bar stor- age department are under cover. The main mill building is 90 ft. wide. On one side is the bar storage building, 75 ft. wide, and connecting the two is a leanto 26 ft. wide in which are located the sheet and pair furnaces. Adjoining the mill building on the opposite side is the shear department, 40 ft. wide. These connected buildings are 456 ft. in length. Extending from the lower end of the shear and mill building, to which it is connected, is the annealing and cold rolling department, that occupies a building 80 x 500 ft. On one side of this is a leanto 31 ft. 6 in. x 340 ft., in which the annealing furnaces are located, 259 260 THE IRON AGE and attached on the same side is the pickling depart- ment, 560x120 ft. The warehouse adjoining the an- nealing department on the opposite side is 75 x 380 ft. Sheet bars are brought into the bar storage depart- ment on a depressed railroad track that extends the length of this building on the outer side. The building is served by a 10-ton traveling crane. Near the center is a United Engineering & Foundry Co. bar shear driven by a 25-hp. motor. Sheet bars are delivered to an inclined skid table 36 ft. long, fromgwhich they are moved to an adjoining roller table that serves the bar shear. Back of the shears is a cradle in which the sheared bars are piled, a man with a hook arranging these in four stacks as they pass from the shear to : emma .) —— "sae oieaieeenciiaaieieemealae per fore * 4 po lea i oe January 26, 1922 with the finishing and roughing stands alternating. Each train is composed of 38 to 56-in. mills, all rolls being 30 in. in diameter. This gives a capacity for rolling sheets up to 48 in. in width. Two of the rough- ing mills have top rolls balanced with electrically oper- ated screw downs operated by 50-hp. motors. These stands are used for rolling sheets in the heavier gages. All mills were supplied by the Mackintosh-Hemphill Co., Pittsburgh, except the rolls, which were made by the Otis company. Each mill train is driven by an Allis-Chalmers 1000-hp. induction motor operating at 250 r.p.m. and located in the center of the mill train. The speed of the rolls is reduced to 32 r.p.m. through a Falk her- _ BRS ed nee Pe is - = ei a : The Charging End of One of the Double Continuous Pair Furnaces and the Electrically Operated Charging Device. Back of the column at the left is one of the sheet furnaces and the fuel supply line that connects to this furnace. Above is one of the powdered coal bins the cradle. The cradle has a capacity of approximately 250 bars. When the cradle is full a chain or rope is swung around the packs and the crane places them in front of the furnaces. This cradle is a temporary ar- rangement, as it is being replaced with three piler cradles and three cars on which the cradles will be pushed when loaded so that there will be no interrup- tion of the shear. A sheet bar pickling tank will also be installed in the storage building. Instead of having combination furnaces, the plant has separate sheet and pair furnaces. There are four double continuous pair furnaces and eight sheet fur- naces. The furnaces are placed in a staggered posi- tion, the sheet furnaces being close to the mill trains and the pair furnaces set several feet back, between the sheet furnaces and close to the bar yard. The fur- naces are of a standard type supplied by the Geo. J. Hagan Co., Pittsburgh. The pair furnaces are charged with electrically operated pushers supplied by the Hagan company. The hot mills consist of eight finishing and eight roughing stands, eight stands in each duplicate train, ringbone gear with a reduction of approximately 8 to 1. Connected to the reduction gear shaft are two 29,000-Ilb. flywheels. An interesting feature of the motor installation is- the adoption of two types of motor control. One motor has the Westinghouse notch back system of control, and the other, the Allis-Chalmers liquid slip regulator. This gives an opportunity for comparing the two types of control under exactly similar operating conditions. In this connection, it might be mentioned that in the old plant the company is using the General Electric notch back relay control, so that it has the three types of motor control at its Riverside Works. The controls are inclosed in separate brick houses located between the sheet furnaces, where they are protected frors dirt and rattle. The electric current is supplied from the power house at the old plant, being carried to the new plant in underground conduits. The steam for the picklers and doublers and the compressed air supply also come from this power house. To provide for the comfort of the men, water cooled standings of the Baird type are located beneath the: | January 26, 1922 The Furnaces Are Located in a Leanto Adjoining the Mill furnaces, the double pair furnace at the right being several feet further back than the sheet furnaces. not shown, mill stands at the left adjoining one of the drives, THE IRON AGE Building. This picture shows the staggered position of the The two roughing have electrically operated screw-downs. This picture shows some of the steam operated doublers floor between the furnaces and hot mill stands. Be- tween the mills and furnaces are steam operated doublers, one for each pair of mills. These were sup- plied by the United Engineering & Foundry Co., Pitts- burgh. Four 150-in. squaring shears, one for two mills, are located back of the finishing mills on the opposite side of the mill building. Sheets pass from the back of the shears into the adjoining shear building. With the shears in the mill building, the entire 40-ft. bay of the shear building is left free for the handling of stock. The shears are driven by 15-hp. motors. They were supplied by the Erie Foundry Co., Erie, Pa. The mill building is’ served by a 40-ton crane and the shear building by a 10-ton crane. Scrap is bundled in a hydraulic baler supplied by the Galland-Henning Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, located at the lower end of the shear building. The bundles of compressed scrap are handled with the overhead crane. A drag type of conveyor will be installed for carrying View from the End of Cold Rolling and Annealing Department Looking into the Shear Building at the Right and the Mill Building at the Left. The squaring shears are located along the columns building permits the storage of sheets in this bay until neéded in the annealing and cold rolling department. in the mill building. A wide shear The shear department crane runway extends into the annealing department under the crane in that department, for convenience in handling stock THE IRON AGE January 26, 1922 The Inclosed Shipping Platform of the Warehouse Is Shown at the Left the bales of scrap from the baler to railroad cars out- side of the building. Sheets pass down the shear de- partment in one direction and the scrap goes in the opposite direction. This routing arrangement is found to be very convenient. A 15-ton Fairbanks scale is located in the shear building and a 10-ton scale in the bar storage building. All bars are weighed after shearing and before being charged into the pair furnaces and the sheets are weighed after leaving the squaring shears. This gives a check on the amount of scrap. The annealing and cold rolling building, as previ- ously mentioned, connects to the shear and mill build- ings and: is practically a continuation of the latter buildings. This department is served by a 40-ton crane for handling annealing boxes and a 10-ton crane for handling sheets. The crane runway of the shear build- jng extends 40 ft. into the annealing department, pro- viding an overlapping of crane runways, the runway in the annealing department being 15 ft. higher than that in the shearing department. With this crane ar- rangement, trucking is avoided and hand labor is re- duced to a minimum in delivering sheets from the shear department to the annealing department. There are five stands of cold rolls in one train set at right angles to the length of the building. These have 28-in. rolls. Two of the cold rolls and their drive were supplied by the Fawcus Machine Co., Pittsburgh, and the others were made by the Otis company. They are driven by a 200-hp. motor. . There are six double annealing Hagan furnaces of single box length located in the leanto adjoining the an- nealing floor. Annealing furnace temperatures are taken with Brown pyrometers, temperature recording charts being located in the mill office. There are also temperature indicators at all the furnaces. The py- rometers are expected to prove particularly useful in connection with the annealing furnaces when special heats are required. The annealing boxes are in two sizes, 160 in. long, A6 in. wide and 48 in. high and 1382 x 42 x 66 in. The common method of rolling the boxes into the furnaces on cast iron balls is followed. The pickling department, located in a building at the side of the annealing department, is equipped with two Mesta four-arm steam operated automatic pickling machines. A special coke fired drying machine de- signed and built by the Otis company is provided for drying high finished sheets after pickling. These sheets pass between rubber rolls on to a motor operated con- veyor that carries them through the drying chamber about 18 ft. in length. The conveyor is operated by a variable speed motor. This machine is brick inclosed. At present only one 54-in. galvanizing pot has been installed. The warehouse and shipping department is a hot water heated brick building with wood block floor. This is conveniently located, sheets being taken into the warehouse through two doors that connect with the ad- joining cold rolling and annealing department. Sheets are hauled to the warehouse on roller bearing trucks built by the Ohio Galvanizing & Equipment Co. and by Lakewood Engineering tractors as well as with hand trucks. The warehouse is served by a 10-ton crane. The shipping platform is located in a leanto 16 ft. 6 in. wide that extends the length of the warehouse on the side opposite the annealing department. A depressed railroad track extends the length of the platform and all loading is done under cover. Sheets in the ware- house are kept on trucks as far as possible in order to obviate the labor of re-handling as well as to avoid the scratching of finished sheets in re-handling. The warehouse equipment includes two Erie Foun- dry Co. 156-in. squaring and other shears, two Walker & Elliot and a Hillis & Jones roller leveler, an oiling machine made by the Otis company, a Streine corru- gating machine, a Globe Foundry & Machine Co. pat- ent leveling and stretching machine, a painting ma- chine, a Standard and a Fairbanks bundling scale and a Fairbanks beam registering shipping scale. The powdered coal plant occupying a building con- veniently located in respect to the heating and anneal- ing furnaces was installed by the Quigley Furnace Spe- cialties Co., now the Hardinge Mill Co., New York. Coal is dumped from cars into a track hopper and is crushed by a 18x 18-in. Jeffery single roll crusher. Then it is elevated to a 55-ton bin, from which it is discharged into a Ruggles-Cole dryer. From the dryer it is again elevated to a storage bin over a Raymond five-roller impact pulverizer, which delivers it to a 3-ton blow tank on the floor of the building. This tank is located on the platform of a hollow dial scale. The scale shows when the amount of fuel required has been delivered to any service bin. The sheet and pair furnaces are served by four 3-ton steel bins. one bin for four furnaces, and the an- nealing furnaces by three 7-ton bins, one for two fur- aces. The bins are located in the rear of the furnaces, being set back at a sufficient distance to avoid danger of the fuel catching on fire in the bins. The powdered coal is carried from the blow tank to the service bins in a 4-in. overhead conduit under air pressure supplied January 26, 1922 by an Ingersoll-Rand motor-driven air compressor with a capacity of 265 cu. ft. per minute. From the bottom of the bins the fuel passes through a screw feeder and drops into a siphon, from which it is delivered to the furnace burners by means of a primary air system, one fan serving the sheet and pair furnaces and an- other the annealing furnaces. The supply lines from the bins to the furnaces are 2% in. in diameter for the shorter lines and 3 in. in di- ameter where longer lines are required. At the furnaces the fuel is mixed with air from a secondary air system that supplies air for combustion purposes. Four fans are provided for supplying air for the primary and secondary systems, one for each system in connection with the sheet and pair furnaces and the other two supplying similar service for the annealing furnace air systems. The primary system fan for the sheet and pair furnaces is driven by a 7%-hp. motor and the primary system fan for the annealing furnaces is driven by a 10-hp. motor. Both the fans for the sec- ondary system are driven by 25-hp. motors. The fans were supplied by the Clarage Fan Co. A cyclone dust collector is located above each supply bin, these being above the roof of the sheet and pair furnace leanto and beneath the roof in the annealing furnace room. All construction work on the plant outside of the erection of the buildings and furnaces, including even the wiring and piping, was done by the Otis company. The buildings were designed by the company and erected by the American Bridge Co. With the ex- ception of a brick wall extending 6 ft. from the ground, the sidewalls of the mill buildings are of corrugated steel and continuous factory ribbed glass windows in Lupton and Fenestra steel sash with continuous ven- tilating sections. The roof is of corrugated steel. The warehouse roof is of 1%-in. sheathing covered with four-ply asbestos roofing. The building and mill foun- dations are set on Raymond concrete piles. All the crane equipment was supplied by the Cleveland Crane THE IRON AGE 263 & Engineering Co. with the exception of one of the 40-ton cranes, which was built by the Alliance Ma- chine Co. The electric motors outside of the two mill motors were furnished by the General Electric Co. Gear guards, safety ladders and other safety de- vices are provided for the safety of the men. Shower baths, lavatories, lockers and other conveniences for the men will be provided in a separate building that is to be erected. Canada’s Pig Iron and Steel Output in 1921 The pig iron and steel output of Canada in 1921 was as follows, according to data issued by the Do- minion Bureau of Statistics: Pig Tron: Gross Tons OE nk wcccceccasee Vande ee 461,578 WOUMGEY. ccc ccwscevee «ce eb aeaates + cabs 97,304 PERTOGRNS 0k cctcens cv ceatnilc cheeses 35,084 CMMI no c.c a v'cc's cccws ow etn ees cae 388 TORR won ccccvecscccaee Meee es nie é 594,354 WervOmlogye oc ccccccccccdaviieseeceea aes 22,493 Steel Ingots and Castings: Ingots Castings Open-hearth, basic ........... 641,882 6,531 Open-hearth. acid ...sicccmans 239 256 ee eee ree 94 1,638 WROURNER. vient wes’ + 00 « ogee 2,860 13,984 US. ov cwapines oo deen 645,075 22,409 The 1920 production of pig iron was 974,000 tons, and that of steel ingots and castings 1,109,000 tons. Of the 1921 pig iron output 610 tons was made in electric furnaces, and out of a total of 20 furnaces, 18 were idle at the end of December. The absorption of the Haskell & Barker Car Co. by the Pullman Co., Chicago, has been effected and Edward F. Carry, president of the former Haskell & Barker Car Co., has been elected president of the Pullman Co. The new Pullman organization also includes as directors D. A. Crawford and C. A. Liddle, respectively treasurer and vice-president of the Haskell & Barker Car Co. The Annealing Furnaces Are Located in a Leanto Building Adjoining the Annealing Department. The picture shows the fuel storage bins, dust collectors and the primary and secondary air supply lines 264 THE IRON AGE Multiple Tapping Machine with Dial Feed A multiple-spindle tapping machine equipped with dial feed and eliminating the use of clutches for re- versing the rotation of the spindles has been brought out by the Anderson Die Machine Co., Bridgeport. It is intended for large quantity production of small brass and steel pieces, such as enter into the construction of electrical appliances. It can be used also to advantage, it is said, in tapping nuts and other small pieces. This machine is intended to overcome the limitations of designs using some form of clutch for reversing the directioh of spindle rotation, which designs usually have but a single spindle and employ a geared head in cases where more than one hole is to be tapped. It is The Spindles Are Driven in Alternate Directions by Means of a Gear-Tooth Segment and Train of Gears also intended to provide greater production capacity than afforded by machines having dial feed which neces- sitate rotating the dial by hand and leaving one hand free for inserting the work. The production of the latter type, it is pointed out, is limited to the speed of the operator in rotating and advancing, as well as feeding, and the fact that the clutches must be reversed by hand or foot. The machine is shown in the accompanying illus- tration and is similar in operation to the dial-fed punch press. The spindles are driven in alternate directions by means of a gear-tooth segment and train of gears, the segment being controlled by a crank disk at the upper end of the vertical shaft extending through the central part of the main frame. Cams for indexing the dial and locking it in its proper position are secured to the vertical shaft. A ratchet arrangement controls the dial and has regularly 18 teeth, leaving 18 openings in the dial. The dial is of relatively thin material and has openings to fit the particular pieces to be operated upon. Pieces with one, two or three holes can be tapped at one passing, and the construction of the chuck spindles permits of three taps of entirely differ- ent leads being used simultaneously. The tap spindles on each side of the fixed central spindle are adjustable to take care of any combination or location of the three holes. The dials are made to suit the primary or central spindle, which is not ad- justable. The dial is then located or rotated to bring the one hole in register with the fixed spindle; then the two auxiliary spindles are adjusted to suit the location of either of the other two holes. As to production, the machine for the general tap sizes used in electrical work (Nos. 4 to 10), the tap is run at a speed of 56 strokes per min., which is readily fed into the dial. This would give, it is claimed, an hourly production of 3300 pieces with either 1, 2 or 3 holes. On pieces where only 1 hole is tapped, it is said January 26, 1922 to be possible to double up the output by doubling the number of slots in the dial, and so adjust one of the auxiliary spindles as to tap the staggered opening in the dial. This, it is claimed, would result in about 112 pieces per min. on single-hole tapping. A cam and slide which will work in conjunction with the dial to enable round pieces to be tapped without difficulty can be supplied.. It is understood, of course, that with the particular form of drive employed in this machine it is possible to time the various movements accurately and without danger of the time being upset for any reason. Spindles running at relatively high speed are mounted in ball bearings. Work-Holding Burnishing Barrel A burnishing barrel in which the work is held sta- tionary to the inside of the barrel body and is carried by it through a mixture of balls, soap and water has been developed recently by the Abbott Ball Ce., Hart- ford. The object of this design is to permit work to be finished without the danger of one piece coming in contact with another and bruising or scratching it. The barrel body is eight-sided, each side having a hinged hand-hole cover. The opening into the barrel body is beveled to provide a tight fit for an inside cover plate which sets into this opening, and is held in place by the hinged cover coming against two flat springs mounted on the back of the inside plate. The springs are used as handles when the plate is lifted out. The hinged cover has packing around it so that when it is clamped the openings are watertight. The work is held by fixtures which are fastened to the face of the cover plate. As the machines are pri- marily for finishing large quantities of one or more classes of work, two or three sets of cover plates and work-holding fixtures are used to advantage. Thus The Work Is Mounted on a Fixture and Held Stationary while unloading and loading one set of fixtures the machine would be operating on a set in the barrel. When the work is finished, instead of dumping the balls from the barrel, it is merely necessary to open the top cover, lift out the fixture, replace it with another, close the hinged cover, bring the next hole up to the top and repeat the operation until all of the finished work is out of the barrel and the new batch in. On work to be plated three sets of fixtures can be used. In this case, when the work comes out of the barrel it is left on the fixtures, put through the plating operation and brought back to the burnishing barrel for its final finishing. This is done with one loading of the fixture. The barrel may be cleaned without removing the balls by means of a special strainer cover placed over one of the openings. The barrel is opened, filled with water and the machine operated until the rinsing is complete. January 26, 1922 Motor Driven Horning Press A special horning press, equipped with direct motor drive and guarded wheel, as shown, has been brought out by the Ferracute Machine Co., Bridegton, N. J. The motor rests on a shelf that is bolted to a tablet cast in the frame and a rawhide pinion on the motor meshes with teeth cut in the flywheel. The direct drive thus effected dispenses with belt connection and econo- mizes space. The wheel is not only entirely surrounded with a guard, but has also a wire mesh cast between the flywheel spokes, a feature intended to provide a thorough safeguard against accidents when the wheel is in motion. The horn hole in the frame is 7% in. in diameter and 43 in. from the floor, a rather unusual height for Horning Press Equipped with Direct Motor Drive and Special Flywheel Safeguard special work. The horizontal distance from center of the ram to the planed front of the frame is 11 in. The guides in the vertical front are planed to enable an adjustable bed to be affixed at various heights, square with the bottom of ram, the connections being made by means of large bolts and dowels. Parallelism between the bed and ram surfaces is thereby assured. The wide variation in the distance between the bed and the ram, together with the facilities for horning and the unusual height of the press, are intended to pro- vide for a greater latitude of work than is customary. The press shown is the fourth in a series of five sizes. Crucibles from Domestic Clays and Graphites Early in 1918 the Columbus (Ohio) station of the Bureau of Mines began an investigation of American bond clays and graphites to determine their crucible- making properties in comparison with foreign clays and graphites. Work on the bond clays, which was completed in the fiscal year 1920, showed that better crucibles could be made from domestic clay than from imported clays. The testing of graphites on which some preliminary work had been done was then undertaken by the Bureau of Mines. Samples of seven graphites, from Ceylon, Madagascar, Canada, New York, Alaska, Texas, and Montana, of 400 pounds each were obtained. Ten crucibles of No. 70 size were made from each graphite for brass melting purposes, and six crucibles of No. 60 size for testing under steel melting practice. These crucibles were made in the plant of the Vesuvius Crucible Co., Swissvale, Pa. The brass melting cru- cibles were shipped to the plant of the Detroit Lubri- cator Co., Detroit, where they were tested under reg- ular brass melting practice. Arrangements were made for testing the steel melt- ing crucibles in the plant of the Simonds Mfg. Co., THE IRON AGE 265 Lockport, N. Y., but when the crucibles were ready for shipment word was received that the pit furnaces of the Simonds steel plant were not in operation, and as they have not been in operation since that time, it has been impossible to test the steel melting crucibles. In the brass melting tests, the average number of heats of the crucibles shown by the different graphites are as follows: Alabama, 13.09; Madagascar, 12.44; Ceylon, 10.50; New York, 9.60; Texas, 6.80; Montana, 6.11; Canadian, 5.80. These results indicate that good brass-melting crucibles can be made from Alabama graphite, and agree with the findings of previous work. Automatic Stoker Companies Merged A merger has been effected of the Combustion Engi- neering Corporation of New York, the Underfeed Stoker Co., London, England, Lupulco Systems, Inc., In- ternational Pulverized Fuel Corporation and the Com- bustion Engineering Building, Inc. The new company has been incorporated as the International Combustion Engineering Corporation. One third of the capital stock of the Societe Anonyme des Foyers Automatiques of France has been acquired. Automatic stokers and accessories are the principal articles manufactured by the companies entering the consolidation. Officers of the new company are George E. Learnard, president; W. R. Wood, J. Scott Skelly, Joseph V. Santry, Charles J. Peabody, vice-president; George H. Hansel, secre- tary and treasurer, and Benjamin Harrison, assistant secretary. Growth in Chicago Industries, 1914-19 According to census figures given out at Wash- ington, the number of factories in Chicago in- creased only 4.2 per cent between 1914 and 1919, but the capital, wages and value of output were more than doubled: 1919 1914 Number of establishments... ... 10,538 10,115 Persons engaged in manufactur- as whic ts Be a Gala 00 Dae 502,303 387,319 Proprietors and firm members. . 8,182 8,184 Salaried employees ............ 90,064 65,425 Wage-earners, average number.. 404,057 313,710 Primary horsepower ........... $26,420 631,114 Cs sw Ev 0-6 Wianin een Haas ot $2,076,194,000 $1,196,069,000 CD ela tek alietdly eal ie 88,448,000 90,295,000 EH ba os 6 ae 4:i-)'s ROMO WE te 0 ead 508,276,000 213,737,000 Pees ©. du a's 8. c Seve delds cle 2,380,025,000 $01,933,000 *Value added by manufacturers. 1,278,715,000 581,565,000 *Value of products less cost of materials. Helical-F lute Expansion Hand Reamer A helical-flute expansion hand reamer in sizes up to 2% in. in diameter has been placed on the market by the Millersburg Reamer & Tool Co., Inc., Millers- burg, Pa. The helical flutes permit the production of clean-cut Helical Flute Expansion Hand Reamer holes, accurate as to size, which is due to the smooth, shearing action of blades of this design. The blades may be expanded to compensate for wear and re-sharp- ening, thus maintaining the original size of the tool. It is claimed that this tool gives 30 to 40 per cent more production than a similar tool of the straight-fluted type. The Department of Commerce announces that mov- ing pictures are to be used extensively to promote for- eign trade. Some remarkable industrial pictures have been taken by the United States Bureau of Mines and other agencies, particularly of the manufacture of cer- tain steel products and of mining operations. Some that have been exhibited at technical conventions have been good substitutes for plant visitation. The plan con- templates that the cost of the films be borne by the company whose product is shown. 266 Automatic Machine for Production Drilling and Reaming A special machine for drilling, reaming, facing, countersinking and other operations on comparatively small pieces produced in quantity, has been brought out by H. Edsil Barr, Erie. Pa. Rapid production and simplicity of construction are the features emphasized by the maker, From the accompanying illustration it may be seen that there are two spindles on the face of the column, each spindle rotating in a square guide block. The two spindles rotate in a right hand direct.on and are driven by noiseless gears at the upper end which mesh into a central drive gear. At the rear of the machine there is a cam shaft, operating at 20 r.p.m., which carries three duplicate sets of cams, one set each side of the center line. Each large middle cam operates a lever arm through a steel roller which is kept against the cam by a _ heavy coil spring. The lever arm is ful- crumed on the col- umn and its end toward the spindle is cut as a gear segment; this meshing with a rack on the rear side of the square spindle guide block. Thus the rise of the middle cams move the respec- tive spindle auto- matically down- ward, while the spindles are ro- tated by the upper shaft driving a short middle shaft through the bevel gears shown. The cams for each side of the machine are set so that the spindles, etc., oper- ate alternately. The middle cams have a uniform rise, giving a steady feed to the spindle; and a quick drop, giving rapid return of the spindle after completion of the cutting stroke. The cams may be changed to give less than maximum spindle travel, as in drilling or reaming thinner material. The cams may also be re- placed by others of different contour to allow a dwell at the end of the feed stroke as in facing or counter- sinking. The cam shaft is driven from the cone pulley through gearing which provides the proper reduction of speed and by the use of the cone pulley various rates of spindle feed are obtainable. The lower ends of the spindles are regularly equipped to hold a high-speed tool by a set screw, inasmuch as the machine is in- tended for continuous or at least extensive runs on the same piece and quick or frequent change of the tool is not required. However, the spindle can be provided with a taper socket if required. A rotatable fixture head having inserted steel pockets to receive the work to be machined is located beneath the spindles, as shown. There are four pockets in each head, and the head rotates 4 turn after each rise of the respective spindle. The head is rotated by an internal cam on the rear shaft, which pulls the side rod toward the rear, the side rod rotating the head by a lever loosely mounted on the head spindle and provided with a steel dog which engages slots in the fixed collar of the head svindle. The backward or reverse move- ment of the side rod is then without effect on the fix- ture head, this motion simply placing the dog in posi- tion to rotate the head another quarter of a turn at the proper time. Outside cams on the rear shaft operate a side arm which in turn moves a tapered pin into en- gagement with holes in a fixed collar on the head spindle. This occurs after the head has been rotated to a new quarter and is designed to lock the head in THE IRON Front, Side and Rear View of Automatic Machine for Drilling, Reaming and Other Operations on Small Pieces. tion and for continuous runs on same piece AGE January 26, 1922 accurate position as to alinement with the spindle holding the tool. The operator sits facing the spindles and from a sheet-metal container fastened across the machine he picks the pieces to be worked on, placing them in the pocket facing him, first in the left hand and then in the right hand head. All the motions of the machine con- tinue without attention from the operator and the fin- ished pieces fall into chutes and from thence into metal tote boxes, located at the rear and off the floor, as shown. The cone pulley driving the spindle allows variation of rotative tool speed independently of the feed. The fixture heads are movable up or down by the hand wheels beneath the turned column of the fixture head. The machine is designed to take drills or reamers up to % in. As an indication of the capacity, pieces of gray iron % in. thick, having a %- in. cored hole, not previously drilled, are reamed at the rate of 40 pieces per min. The ma- chine may be used with both spindles on one operation or, as in the case of drilling and reaming the same piece, and where the quantity of work does not require two machines, the drilling may be done on the left spindle and the reaming on the right spindle of the same machine. In working on steel parts of some thickness, requir- ing greater time between head rotations, one operator can feed two machines. Suitable safeguards are pro- vided for gears and other moving parts. It is intended for quantity produc- Coal and Coke in 1921 Bituminous coal produced from April 1 to Dec. 31, 1921, according to the United States Geological Sur- vey, amounted to 306,552,000 net tons, an average of 1,331,000 tons per day, compared with 419,996,000 tons in the same period of 1920, an average of 1,821,000 tons per day. For the calendar year 1921, production was 408,065,000 net tons, compared with 556,563,000 tons in 1920, with 458,063,000 tons in 1919, and 579,386,000 tons in 1918. The average, from 1913 to 1920 inclu- sive, was 499,011,000 tons. Production up to Jan. 14 (the coal year begins April 1) of the past five years shows this year to be one of great depression, thus: Years of Activity Years of Depression PORTER. co ceweds 434,686,000 1919-20......... 375,517,000 BD1B+19... cc cnes 465,110,000 BOR MBR uw cece 322,270,000 > } er 440,695,000 By-product coke, in December, reached a figure about equivalent to the average of 1917, but beehive coke showed less than 20 per cent of the 1917 average. Output of By-Product and Beehive Coke in the United States (Net Tons) By-product Beehive Coke Coke monthly average 1,870,000 2,764,000 4,634,000 6,979,000 Total Coal Total Consumed 1917 2,7 1918 monthly average 2,166,000 2,540,000 4,706,000 7,086,000 1919 monthly average 2,095,000 1,587,000 3,682,000 5,466,000 1920 monthly average 2,569,000 1,709,000 4,278,000 6,349,000 September, 1921.... 1,423,000 289,000 1,712,000 2,500,000 October, 1921...... 1,734,000 416,000 2,150,000 3,147,000 November, 1921.... 1,766,000 477,000 2,243,000 3,290,000 December, 1921..... 1,860,000 614,000 2,374,000 3,483,000 A blow-out in the bottom of the furnace of the De- troit Iron & Steel Co., Detroit, Jan. 14, caused the death of two men and the injury of a third. The operation of the furnace was resumed in about 48 hours. Cold Rolled Strip Steel Calculations Formulas for Determining Pounds Output and Piece-Work Rates in the Manufacture of Cold Rolled Strip Steel BY S. T. HILLIARD of rolling mills and of apparatus having a con- stant speed take-up in the manufacture of cold rolled strip steel, and to figure piece-work rates per 100-lb. to be applied to the work, the following for- mulas have been computed. Time study is eliminated, except for that required to find the amount of time during which the machine is idle, or the time lost be- tween passes. As all other factors are known, output and rates can be solved by a mathematical equation. Long observation and rough approximation are thus eliminated. The weight of steel is taken as 490 lb. per cu. ft. In case of high carbon steel, 489 lb. per cu. ft. would need to be used. A slide rule should be employed in the computation. The legend is as follows: A—base rate in dollars B—number of take-ups, or mills C—number coils rolled D—total weight rolled E—per cent efficiency F—ft. per hr. of stock L—weight of coil in Ib. M—minutes between passes NE yy of passes —Iib. per hr. at 100 per cent efficiency —s adius of take-ups in inches R,—outside radius of coil S—r.p.m. of take-up T—thickness in inches W—width of stock in inches The output of a mill in lb. per hr., at 100 per cent efficiency, can be determined by the following: | NOR determining quickly and accurately the output WTF WTF . Ps xX 490 = —— = 3.4 X WTF The length in feet of a coil of weight L is: Pest = 0.294 L wT An equivalent thickness for any number of passes can be found by the following: T= 1st pass ve lst pass Ist pass bo i+ 2nd pass 3rd pass ane In the denominator, 1st pass, 2nd pass, etc., are taken as whole numbers. Thus, if four passes are 0.010— 0.008—0.006—0.004 in., 0.010 _ __ = 0.00156 in. 14 10, 10) 10 x 4 4 Problem: F' = 6000 ft. =1%in. Passes, the same as above. Required, output per hour at 100 per cent efficiency. — WTF _ 1% X 9.00156 xX 6000 _ 47.7 lb. 0.294 0.294 The following, and perhaps more simple, method of getting the same result, calls for the use of a table. The first method can be veney remembered. Gpenenne snenenvoneneuneniuneo sues eienn cee scineentarecenervaeserinT Running ot « c = = S s Thick- wiaeniens "Thick Thick- ing ness, Ft. per Lb. ness, “t. per Lb. ness, Ft. per Lb. In. 1 In. Wide In. 1 In. Wide In. 1 In. Wide 0.004 73.5 0.020 14.7 0.036 8.17 0.005 58.8 0.021 14.0 0.037 7.95 0.006 49.0 0.022 13.4 0.038 7.74 0.007 42.0 0.023 12.8 0.039 7.54 0.008 36.75 0.024 12.25 0.040 7.35 0.009 32.7 0.025 11.75 0.041 S34 0.010 29.4 0.026 11.3 0.042 7.0 0.011 26.7 0.027 10.9 0.043 6.85 0.012 24.5 0.028 10.5 0.044 6.68 0.013 22.6 0.029 10.1 0.045 6.53 0.014 210 0.030 9.8 0.046 6.4 0.015 19.6 0.031 9.5 0.047 6.26 0.016 18.4 0.032 9.2 0.048 6.13 0.017 17.3 0.033 8.9 0.049 6.0 0.018 16.3 0.034 8.65 0.050 5.88 0.019 15.5 0.035 8.4 Formula for ft. per lb. of stock 1 in. wide = 0.294 T Thus, flat wire = 0.018 in. thick, 0.294 _ = 1 0018 = 6.33 ft. per lb. VUULCUERRELLUCLETEORERERERLDTTUPUELETEETEELELTTERELETEOETOUETEETEUUDT EERE ATED ASURODET ID ED FEO LTEEURESUEESSO0 S008 SBPERESSSSRED DERSED ESREOTEOD Method of Use Divide the ft. per hr. of the mills by the sum of the ft. per lb. of the passes, and multiply by the width in inches. The result is the lb. per hr. output of the mill or mills at 100 per cent efficiency. Illustration: Use the same problem as above. _ 29.4 +- 36.75 + 49 +73.5 = 188.65 6 x 1% = 47.7 lb. . . 188.65 4 — 47.7 lb. per hr., as before To find the per cent efficiency, E, when the time lost between passes is known, use the following formula: Be a ON dint NXPXMXC | 69 DXB “4 Rate per 100 lb. in dollars = Fs 5= ws 100 - NMPC ___ 100A —_— DB + 60) 60 P " 3P ae + 60 NMC . sa (Hes 8 al _ WTF re 0.294 NMC 29.4 Therefore Rate - a( 3 DB + TR The formula in this form would be used to deter- mine the rate after the work is done, as it contains the factors . which give the exact average weight of coils. This would probably entail too much clerical work, so that a weight of coil would be assumed as in the case of a table of rates. Then L is substituted for 2 and N =1, whence ns Rate = A (si + — Illustration: Assume M=2 min., L= 70 lb, B=2 mills, F = 12,000 ft. (2 mills), W = 1% in., T= 0.020 in., Base Rate = $0.60 per hr. s 5x2 29.4 ) Rate = $0.60 ( 70 xa + Tis <0.020 X 12,000 = $0.0633 per 100 Ib. It is seen that all but W and T become constants, so that the amount of computation is really small. A table of rates can thus be quickly and accurately made up. Formule for lb. per hour of a constant-speed take- up and rate per 100 Ib. for it: R,= outside radius of coil in inches S =r.p.m. of take up mean circumference of coil in feet = thes) — 0.262 (R, +R) F=Bx<S X 0.262 (R,+ R) 60 = 15.7 BS (R,+R) E L s i] ———— 1728 = 3.527 L Cu. ins. in coi 490 x 267 268 THE Also cu. ins. in coil=a7W (R,°— R’) .38.527L=2W (R? — R’) Solve for R,: Then F = _ BS (y Ls 4+ RP R) Butrate=A(S7 5+ wir RE ee in E LB 16.1 WT Bs(¥ EMBL 4 pe, 2) | _ A| 5M Tae & bd ane cere a "+k In a specific case, factors A, B, M, L, S and R are constant, so that the only variables are JT and W. Thus ) (Substitute for F) 1.87 wTs (qi A238 A = $0.60, B=2,M=2min.,L = 70 lb. W = 1% in., T = 0.010 in., S = 50 r.p.m., R = 6 in. Piece-work rate per 100 lb. = 0.60_ Le x 2 2 L3 x 70 1.87 $0.06286 1% x 0.010 X50 (¥- 1. ae +3 4.36 \ 6) In making a table of aus for these mills, for coils of 70 lb., T and W would be left in the formula. It would then be written: Rate per 100 lb. — 0.014286 + 0.01122 78.61 , ec . 7 es 36 + ¢ Any width can now be substituted and a rate for any thickness, of that width, is found by one division and one addition. The formula would read, when W = 1% in. Rate per 100 lb. = 0.014286 + 2.00naes Pounds per hour for a constant-speed take up is found by eG Ps 53.4 WBS (¥12 1.123 L +R'+R) The outside radius of a coil is: R, = YlR3L pe: W +R The inside radius ad a Sor. is: If FE per cent ‘ideas is assumed, the piece-work rate per 100 lb. contains the factor: For a constant-speed take up = 187A yay EX wres ( soe 4 R* +R) For wire moving at a aaa speed = 29.44 E X WTF A self-supporting stack to take care of the hot blast stoves has been built for the blast furnace at Girard, Ohio, of the A. M. Byers Co., Pittsburgh. At the bot- tom the stack is 14 ft. in inside diameter, tapering in 45 ft. to 8 ft. % in. in diameter and continuing at this diameter for 180 ft. for a total height of 225 ft. It is provided with a coping ring on top for keeping the moisture off the brick lining, also with a ladder and safety cage of such construction that the workman climbs between the ladder and the stack. In other words, there is a bar frame work extending from the ladder to the stack, creating a cage; ordinarily, there is a space between the ladder and the stack, and the safety cage is on the outside of the ladder. The 16 foundation bolts are 3 in. in diameter, and they extend through a U shaped bracket forged from one solid piece of %-in. plate. These brackets are 4 ft. high. The stack was built by the Sharpsville Boiler Works Co., Sharpsville, Pa. IRON AGE January 26, 1922 Surface Grinder Equipped with Tilting Table In addition to plain and swivel table styles, the Wilmarth & Morman Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., is plac- ing on the market its No. 1 hand-feed surface grinder equipped with a tilting table, as shown in the accom- panying illustration. When grinding at vertical angles on a magnetic chuck it is frequently the practice to tilt or block up one edge of the chuck, which does not provide a sub- stantial arrangement that is free from vibration. With the grinder equipped with a tilting table the chuck is Graduations for Tilting Angle Degrees Are in bolted securely to the table and the entire assembly tilted to the required degree, this arrangement being intended to provide a rigid foundation for the work, resulting in greater accuracy. Suitable T-slots are provided to accommodate a mag- netic chuck, vise and other fixtures, and graduations for the “tilting angle” are given in degrees. Erie Railroad Contracts for Handling Freight The Consolidated Freight Handling Co., incorpo- rated by Youngstown, Ohio, capital, has contracted with W. A. Baldwin, director of the Ohio region of the Erie Railroad, to handle the road’s less-than-car- load freight through the freight houses at Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Warren, Barberton, Ashland and Mansfield in Ohio, Corry, Sharon and Meadville in Pennsylvania and Jamestown, N. Y. The scope of the company’s business may be extended to include other points along the Erie. The effect of the arrangement will be to release the Erie from employment of freight house labor at the points where the contracts are oper- ative. The Consolidated Freight Handling Co. will hire its own labor at the rates of pay effective in the various communities. Under terms of the contract, the freight handling company becomes the lessee of local freight houses and adjacent railroad property required for such work. A similarity in names is causing some eonfusion, it is explained in a letter to the trade by the Wayne Machinery Co., Inc., Ft. Wayne, Ind., maker of machine tools and woodworking machinery. It appears that there is a Wayne Machine Co. on Ft. Wayne Avenue in Indianapolis, but there is no connection between the Machinery and the Machine companies. Fluctuations of Steel and [ron Pipe Prices Trend of Quotations from 1898 to 1922 as Shown by Chart and Tables—Wide Spread Which Was Almost $62 Per Ton in 1920 fluctuation in prices of steel and wrought iron pipe for a period of 23 years, based upon the basing or card discount on carload lots. The prices upon which the chart is based are found in the accom- panying tables. It will be observed that from 1898 to 1902 inclu- sive, prices of both kinds of pipe ran along about the same. In explanation it might be stated that during this period no very real idea of producing costs existed and so far as then was known costs were supposed to be about the same. This period also saw the real be- ginning of steel pipe as a competitor of wrought iron L iteertation in chart form is told the story of the is that while all manner of mechanical devices have been introduced in the manufacture of steel pipe to reduce the amount of hand labor, the making of wrought iron pipe has been and still is largely hand labor, and there has been no saving in production costs which machines would have permitted. The drift of prices has been in keeping with that of all finished products. Pipe shared in the 1907 boom and in the collapse which followed in 1908 and also the business unsettlement which resulted from the dis- satisfaction over the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the change in National Administration in 1912. We find steel pipe down to about $40 a ton late in 1911, and 1e0;—— aa eneine T ery — eens Peta Dl Dab 7 of 4 — +--+ = 129} 1 ioeal } ook, \ Cs BSH. | & 100 peel — aie fe deal 222 = 2=2= = Se O 90F a SS 4 0 ==s2==— a ==SSS2>> === =5== ==S== = © eee = ee ‘SS SS =SSS=S== 3S55'5==>=SS==S=S==== === pot top eS § ae toe = © ciate ==—s========== 4 Littl senkhaeesd anda bea eed caked abd LAA Lassa! [pases banana! apes Lal = Ss SS 5 5 [3 |S |S Fs |e |S |e |g is |S JS |S 8 5 8 8 3 Is 8 | Salemi om ee head eeel = z iz Z a BIS is 5 | Js |3 5 [3 5 FS IS IS IS IS 5 Ss 8 5 ‘= 896] 199] 00] 1901] 902] 1905] 1906) 05) OG | 1907] 908] 1809] 91] Tai | 1912 [1915] 181915] wre] ort | 18] ID] eo] | L 4 Wrought Iron and Steel Pipe Prices, 1898-1922 pipe, and the latter had such a firm grip upon con- sumers that the struggle for consumptive supremacy was a keen one. It will be observed also that since 1904 steel pipe has sold at a lower price than wrought iron pipe and that the spread between the two kinds widened for a number of years. At the close of 1920 the spread was almost $62 per ton. The explanation (GRODEREET ERENT RENT H Hedi nrtHDeLanOOHEEEH Err ry Wrought Iron Pipe Dollars Dollars Per Gross Per Gross Ton Net, Ton Net, Date of F.O.B. Date of F.O.B. Change Discount Mill Change Discount Mill Sept. 1, 1898...55 $100.80 Nov. 1, 1912...73 60.48 Dec. 28, 1898...55 100.80 une 2, 1913...72 62.72 Feb. 15, 1899...55 100.80 Feb. 11, 1915...72 62.72 Mar. 1, 1900...59 91.84 May 1, 1916...71 64.96 May 15, 1900...67 73.92 June 1, 1915...71 64.96 July 1900...70 67.20 June 17, 1915...71 64.96 Aug. 25, 1900...72 62.72 Aug. 17, 1915...71 64.96 S