The Iron Age 1925-07-02: Vol 116 Iss 1

THE IRON AGE New York, July Z, 1925 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 116, No. | a em ge ee — al . - yes » Sanne ee WU AD | hes One of the Rows of Chipping Benches Back of the Tumbling Mills, Show- ing Their Arrangement with a Protecting Screen Between Each Bench and Its Neighbor Cutting Cleaning Room Costs High Production Work on Automobile Cylinder Castings—Saving in Man Power a Feature \ A y HEN the Ferro Machine & Foundry Co., Cleve- land, two years ago installed additional molding units for continuous molding and pouring in the manufacture of automobile cylinder castings, it was found that, with the great increase of its speed of production in the foundry, better cleaning room facilities would have to be provided to make it possible for the cleaning room to keep up with the foundry. A description of these foundry units for making automo- bile cylinders appeared in THE IRON AGg, April 5, 1923. Construction of the cleaning department was started late in the year and, while this was used last year, only recently was the entire equipment put into operation. The new cleaning room is laid out and equipped for the economical cleaning of cylinder castings through the saving of man power. Work moves, as far as possible, in a straight line from the time the cast- ings reach the department until they are cleaned and Handling is done largely loaded on cars for shipment. on conveyors, so that only two trucking operations are required for the largest production unit that handles Chevrolet cylinder castings. The first trucking is hauling the castings from the foundry and the second is conveying them from the chipping benches to the water testing equipment. With the plant carefully laid out for a certain fixed production, the tumbling barrels, sand blast rooms, chipping benches and other equipment are provided in sufficient numbers to take care of the various opera- tions at the designated production speed, so that an even balance is maintained and the work progresses continuously from start to finish. With the estab- lished speed schedule, a Chevrolet cylinder reaches the loading car 3 hr. after leaving the core knock-out machine. The general plan of having each part keyed up to a certain production rate is applied also to the capacity and speed of the conveyors. The cleaning de- partment has a capacity for cleaning 3000 cylinders in a 9-hr. day, 2000 of the Chevrolet type and 1000 cylin- ders of the larger types. The cleaning department is a modern type of fac- tory building, or rather three connected buildings, of brick and steel construction with steel sash, and is located a short distance from the foundry. The clean- ing room is 100 x 204 ft. Adjoining it on one side is a core knock-out department 70 x 100 ft., and at the opposite end a salvage department, 60 x 160 ft. Cylinder castings, after being shaken from the flasks on the molding floor in the foundry, are loaded on trucks and are stored in a court for about half a day, or until they have cooled. These trucks have a capacity of 25 Chevrolet cylinders or’ about 17 larger motor cylinders. Gasoline tractors are used to haul the trucks from the foundry to the court and thence to the core knock-out room. A battery of six Stoney patented core knock-out machines, arranged in parallel lines, is located in the knock-out building. A seventh knock-out machine will be installed shortly. The castings are lifted from the truck and set on the supporting bracket of the knock- [ — a | —_ —= — 4 = Nees _ gr be i <4. General View in the Salvage Department. THE IRON AGE July 2, 1925 After the cores are knocked out, the smaller cylinders are placed on the power conveyor by means of the chain hoists and the larger cylinders that are to be sand blasted are placed on trucks and carted to the sand blast rooms. There are 20 tumbling barrels in two parallel rows, ten on each side of the conveyor. These are square barrels, the first three being 40 x 40 x 84 in., and the remainder 38 x 38 x 72 in. Each barrel has a capacity of 26 castings and the cylinders are tumbled for 2 hr. One 30+hp. motor is used to drive two bar- rels, the drive being through a clutch and gears. Above each barrel is a chain hoist for handling the barrel lids. Another chain hoist is located above each motor so that, if repairs are needed, a motor can be removed quickly and another substituted. The cast- ings are handled to and from the barrels by hand. The Chevrolet castings weigh 120 lb. and can be easily handled by two men. A platform at the proper work- ing height is located between the conveyor and the tumbling mills. Back-of each row of tumbling barrels is a row of o “ | ee dl - A . iA ‘ay | “SE Castings are received on a roller conveyor along the wall in right background, go through the heating furnace at the rear and then to welding stations at the left, where defects are welded.. Then they are placed in the cooling pits in the center. After cooling, the welds are ground (at right of picture) and the castings move along toward the cleaning room, to the sand-blast cabinets, on roller conveyors, one of which is shown in the foreground out machine by means of a chain hoist located above each machine. When the air is turned on, the core is shaken out by the vibrating action of the machine in from 3 to 6 sec. The sand drops through the floor onto a belt which conveys it to the end of the building. It is passed over magnetic pulleys to extract the metal and is elevated to a 75-ton storage hopper over a rail- road track outside. From 25 to 40 per cent of this sand is taken back to the foundry and used again. The remainder is hauled to a dump. Back of the knock-out machines is a plate-type power conveyor, 147 ft. long and 20 in. wide, that ex- tends into the cleaning room, where it connects at right angles with a similar conveyor that serves the tumbling mills. The castings are discharged from the end of the first conveyor to the second conveyor. Both conveyors are driven by variable speed motors pro- viding a conveyor speed of from 7 to 13 ft. per min., but a speed of about 10 ft. per min. is that required for full production. Chevrolet cylinders are all cleaned in tumbling bar- rels and the larger cylinders in sand-blast rooms. 20 chipping benches. After tumbling, the castings are taken from the barrels by hand and placed in front of the adjoining bench. Each chipper has a complete in- stallation, with individual connections for air and light. Suspended on a chain from frame work of angle iron construction, a wire mesh screen 4 x 5 ft. separates the chipping benches, so that a workman is fully pro- tected from metal flying from the bench of the adjoin- ing chipper. Based on a production of 2000 cylinders in 9 hr., and an average chipping speed of seven pieces per hour by each chipper, the unit requires 32 chipping benches, but a total of 40 is provided, to assure ample chipping output in case some of the chippers are absent. After chipping, the cylinder is water tested for leaks in the jackets and valve pockets and then inspected in a test fixture, one of which is provided for each kind of cylinder for checking all surfaces that are to be machined. After testing, the castings are placed on roller conveyors on which they are pushed a short distance to the side of the building and through doors into box care. There are three loading doors and July 2, 1925 THE IRON AGE 3 * . iy on “ . ry a Poa co The Two Conveyors That Carry the Chevrolet Cylinder Castings from the Core Knock-Out Machines to the Tumbling Barrels, Which Are Located in Rows on Each Side of the Conveyor at the Left two parallel double tracks, with a capacity of six cars. The tracks are depressed to place the car floors on a level with the cleaning room floor. Cars are spotted side by side on the two tracks, those on the outer side being loaded first, the movable roller conveyor extend- ing through the first car into the car on the outer track. Such cylinders as are machined in the plant are trucked to the machine shop instead of going to the cars. Rejected castings are marked after the water test and inspectors decide whether they are to be sal- vaged or scrapped. If they are scrapped, they are loaded on trucks and sent to the cupolas. in from 3 to 6 See. The larger cylinders, for Paige, Chrysler and Hup- mobile cars, on leaving the core knock-out machines are placed on trucks and taken a short distance to the sand-blast rooms. These are four in number, 10 x 10 ft., built in double units and located side by side. A very efficient method is provided for handling the cylinders from the trucks to the sand-blast room. The castings are picked up with a pneumatic hoist operated in front of each pair of rooms and the hoist lowers it onto two hooks suspended from a trolley, the track of which extends through the rooms and circles around the side to the front. After sand blasting, the castings are lowered to the | Se Automobile Cylinder Castings Are Brought to the Knock-Out Room on Trucks, and a Hoist Places Them on Core Knock-Out Machines, of Which There Are Six in a Row, and on Which Cores Are Knocked Out The smallest cylinders go from the knock-out machines to the power conveyor at the extreme right, which carries them to the tumbling barrels 4 THE IRON The Larger Cylinders Are Sand Blasted Instead of Tumbled. July 2, 1925 AGE Trucks haul them from the core knock-out machines to the front of the sand-blast rooms. Here a pneumatic hoist (operated by man at extreme right) picks up the casting and swings in position to permit its being grabbed by the hooks attached to the trolleys, doing away with all hand lifting labor. floor back of the sand-blast room and the trolleys carrying the handling hooks are shoved around to the front of the sand-blast rooms for reloading. Back of the sand-blast rooms are three swing-type grinders, for each pair of sand-blast rooms, which remove the fins, etc. Then the castings pass along to chipping benches arranged in rows and similar to those used for handling the smaller castings. After grinding and chipping, the cylinders are water tested, inspected and loaded on cars. At one side of the knock-out room are several small tumbling barrels for tumbling pistons, cylinder heads and miscellaneous castings and three small grinding machines are provided for grinding these castings. Reclaiming Castings by Welding As defective castings cannot be avoided, these must be reclaimed, when possible, to attain the greatest economies in production costs. The salvage depart- ment provided for this work is a complete and well- arranged unit with equipment for cleaning and grind- ing the castings after welding, so that when they leave the department they are ready to load on cars. Cast- ings having reparable defects are placed on a roller conveyor that extends from the end of the cleaning room along one side of the salvage department. In this department is one oil fired pre-heating furnace for heating before welding. This furnaces is operated at a temperature of 1100 to 1200 deg. Fahr. The castings coming from the roller conveyor are placed side by side on a table that extends through the fur- nace and are pushed through the furnace by a pneu- matic pusher located at the front of the table. The furnace has a capacity of about 20 castings and they remain in the furnace until they reach a cherry red heat, when they go to the welding unit. Five oxy-acetylene welding stations are provided for welding the defects. Formerly the cylinders were placed in sand after welding, so that they would cool slowly. For this method of cooling the use of cooling pits has been substituted and the new method is found The castings are carried through the sand-blast rooms on the trolleys more satisfactory in that the cooling is more uniform and fewer hard spots are found in the iron when the cylinders are machined. Ten pits, located near the center of the room, are of brick construction built up from the floor level. The pits, 3 ft. wide, 2% ft. high, 36 ft. long, are located side by side, with corrugated sheet covers that are easily removable. Openings are provided in the brick partitions between the pits, to allow the circulation of air. The castings are left in the pits about 3 hr. A trolley system is provided for handling the castings from the roller conveyor to the furnace and on to the welding machines and pits. After leaving the pits the castings are handled on roller conveyors. After cooling in the pits the castings are inspected and the welds are ground with portable electric grind- ing machines suspended from above, and counter- weighted so that the machine operator can raise or lower his grinder as desired. Two sand-blast cabinets are provided for cleaning the cylinders after grinding. Following sand blasting they are ready for shipment. The dust-arresting equipment is located in a sepa- rate building adjoining the cleaning department. There are two dust-arresting units for the four sand- blast rooms, two for the large tumbling barrels, one fir the small sand-blast cabinets and one for the small tumbling barrels. The arrangement of the dust-arrest- ing equipment is rather unusual in that the blowers are located beneath the screening equipment. The structure housing the equipment is of sufficient size to provide open space and head room for a railroad car beneath. The material collected by the dust arrestors is dumped directly into cars from hoppers beneath the arrestors. The entire plant was designed and erected under the direction of the Stoney Foundry Engineering & Equipment Co., Cleveland. The dust-arresting equip- ment, tumbling barrels and the cleaning room sand- blast equipment were supplied by the W. W. Sly Mfg. Co. and the sand-blast cabinets in the salvage building by the American Foundry Equipment Co. The power conveyors were built by the C. O. Bartlett & Snow Co. Simplified Practice Made Known Increasing Use of Tags to Designate Goods Shipped —Metal Lath, Wire Fencing and Lumber Included ANUFACTURERS in the United States who are turning out their products in conformity with simplified practice are showing more in- terest in making the fact known to consumers. This is strikingly disclosed in the numerous labels. and brands which have been received at the division of Sim- plified Practice, Department of Commerce, and which are now to be observed along highways and byways. Lumber is probably the outstanding line which has turned to this form of advertising as a mark of qual- ity goods efficiently produced. It was one of the first to cooperate with the Department of Commerce. At the same time a number of metal lines are marking or cagging their goods to show consumers that they are made in accordance with simplified practice. Two prominent lines which are so labeling their products are metal laths and wire fencing. As shown by accom- panying illustrations, the metal lath label consists of an oval-shaped metal tag, which is attached to ship- ments of metal lath, in which it is announced that the lath is produced in accordance with simplified practice and the weight is given. Paper tags accompanying shipments of wire fencing announce on one side that the fencing is made in conformity with simplified prac- tice, while on the reverse side emphasis is given to the AHUNNSOOANDUEDERLEGHAEOUOEDENEEDEDEREDUEANODORELANELONEDEOUETEONEOOOASEOAUETEDOSELONEDRONEDOONENYOONEDOUNEDDOSEOOEAEEOONRDOORLAONREOUEHOE DERN IONE DOONELOTEROSEFEONIORONE At Right Is a Tag of the Southern Pine Association Used in Grade Marking Lumber, in Accordance with Simplified Practice Recom- mendations. Below it is a tin tag attached to rolls of metal lath when shipped for use in building construction The Standard of Practice recently : the Two Sides of a adopted at a meeting held in the office of the U. S$. Vepartment of Paper Tag Used for Commerce at Washington, D. C. of Wire Fencing, Made fence manufacturers, retail dealer organizations and representatives of farmer organizations were designed to give the user the most value for his money and keep down production costs; by eliminating under-gauge wire and odd styles of spacings. Any roll of fence not bearing a Simplified Practice tag, made after January 1, 1924, should be carefully inspected as to gauge.of wire and spacing between line and stay wires, to make sure that the regular speci- fications are complied with. Under or Off-Gauge fences are poor economy, as a rule, even at a cut prion, Only a few manufacturers ave not yet adopted said Standards of Practice. By insisting that each roll of fence you buy bears this Simplified Practice tag, you can be ' sure of full gauge wires and standard spacings between line and stay wires, thus insuring you of full value for the same money that somé makers ask for Sub-Standard fence, which pay,s them greater profit, but which does not give full measure of service. pemipictrmniatine sce Department At Left and Below Are According to the Sim- plified Schedule of the of Com- merce or quality of the product by reason of inspection made under simplified practice. Working Pressures Shown on Range Boilers Other lines related to the iron and steel industry have resorted to the practice of labeling goods made according to simplified practice or are preparing to do so. Among the latter are manufacturers of range boilers, who agreed in conference to stencil on range boilers the working pressure, to show whether it is the standard of 65 lb. per sq. in., or is 100 lb. per sq. in., the “extra standard.” Brass plumbing trap makers also have agreed to stamp the gage of material on the trap, while makers of hot water storage tanks have agreed to stencil on the tanks the working pressure, and similar action is expected to be taken soon by makers of elevated steel tanks. Sheet steel makers have agreed not to roll roofing material lighter than 28 gage. In this connection it is interesting to note the unanimous decision at the re- cent meeting of “sheet steel executives” at White Sul- phur Springs, W. Va., that hereafter producers of gal- vanized sheets shall brand seconds as such, so that they cannot be mistaken for prime steel. Progress made by lumber mills in grade marking and — This Roll of Fence made in accordance with Simplified Practice Recommendation No. 9 of the U. S. Department of Commerce Washington, D. C. trade marking has been especially notable. The South- ern Pine Association is credited with being the first organization of lumber manufacturers in the world to put grade marking into operation. The final decision provided that this should be made effective in sub- scribing mills on April 1, 1925, and these mills are now producing lumber officially grade marked and certified “SPA.” It is stated that mills already are receiving orders for lumber grade marked and trade marked “SPA.” This practice long has been advocated by ar- chitects, contractors, retail lumber dealers and lumber users. It is declared that it assures the users nothing but first quality lumber and it is so marked that it can be checked back to the source of production. In urging simplification and standardization the De- partment of Commerce has repeatedly pointed out the benefits through the elimination of waste, excessive stocks, heavy investments, great amount of storage space, handling costs, etc. The campaign has reached the point, it is contended, where many manufacturers who have adopted simplified practice maintain that it is necessary as a matter of meeting competitive condi- tions. In this connection some interesting observa- tions were made before the National Association of Stove Manufacturers at Hotel Astor, New York, in May, by Edwin W. Ely of the Division of Simplified Practice. In part, he said: Experience is showing that in most industries the demand comes chiefly for about one-fifth of the variety of items manufactured. The other four-fifths of the variety manufactured furnish, on the average, but one-fifth of the demand. The elimination of these four-fifths, as based on sur- veys of experience, permits eoncentrated effort on the production of the things really needed. How- ever, application of simplification to an industry’s output does not mean that such added variety shall 6 THE IRON AGE July 2, 1925 not be manufactured. It rather puts the “special” or “different’’ varieties in their proper class, where they bear their own burden of expense and where the costs incident to their manufacture are not spread out over the commonly-used varieties. While the Division of Simplified Practice was set up to cooperate with industries in undertaking this house-cleaning, its members were charged by Sec- retary Hoover, at the creation of the division, with cooperation, not interference. The eliminations are done by the industry itself—not by the division. One chief function of the division has been to act as a clearing house and focussing point to as- semble the information gathered, and to present it to the entire industry in its true perspective. Such information has been acted upon by the groups in a manner which was to the mutual benefit of all concerned. No Backward Step Has Been Taken And when this action has been taken, the division has supported and broadcasted the results, so that the greatest good might be achieved. That progress of invention and perfection of mechanical operations may be taken advantage of, the in- dustries undertaking simplified practice have peri- odical revision conferences. But it is significant that no industry which has achieved such simpli- fication has ever reinstated any of the excess variety originally stricken out, and that constant progress has been made in the direction of further reductions. Increasing press of competition, both here and abroad, is calling for an overhauling of our manu- facturing and distribution methods and, unless the stove industry takes early action, its members will lose many benefits which will ultimately have to be conserved, for Tomorrow's Profits Must Come trom Today’s Wastes. Millions of dollars of losses from such causes are being saved to other in- dustries. HighCapacity Tandem Blooming Mills’ Continuous Type with Multiple Stands and Selective Finishing HERE are three outstanding types of blooming mills. The most important is the two-high revers- ing bloomer, with its inherent possibilities of wide range of products and product sizes. Next in impor- tance is the three-high non-reversing type, with a limited range of products and product sizes. A third outstanding type is the multiple-stand tandem mill, with but a single pass through each stand and having a limited range of product sections and sizes. Both the tandem type and the three-high bloomer are usually special purpose mills. The tandem type is that dis- cussed here. The Gary billet mill has almost nothing in common with the two general types previously described. It was built to roll an enormous tonnage of varying sizes of product from the initial heat of the ingot. To accomplish this, unusual finishing capacity was re- quired. I believe the best way to explain the reason for this type of mill is to show the billet mill in its entirety. Fig. 1 shows in diagrammatic form the com- plete billet mill layout. Five Outlets for Material It will be observed that in line with, and immedi- ately beyond, the nine stands of blooming rolls is a six-stand 24-in. continuous mill. Between the continu- ous mill and the blooming mill is a transfer for moving the bloom over to and in front of a bloom shear, which in turn delivers to a table served by two cooling beds; this is product outlet No. 1. After leaving the 24-in. continuous mill, the steel may continue directly ahead to a duplex billet shear, *Taken from a paper “Blooming Mills and Blooming Mill Practice,”’ by W. H. Bailey, chief engineer Illinois Steel Co., Chicago. This paper was read May 22, at New York, before the American Iron and Steel Institute. Stands in Gary Plant of Illinois Steel Co. Fig. 1—Complete Billet Mill Lay- out - the Mul- tiple-Stand Tan- dem Type Unit at Gary. The flex- ibility of this mill is exceptional, there being no less than five separate outlets for blooms, bil- lets and _ sheet bars fon ol alle e<- ------- ----- Bloorning End -- Induction Motors: Fig. 2—Rail Mill Bloom. The blooming end, at left, includes four tandem mills and one three-high mill at Gary, Illus- trating Method fr z mares = = 4 boas mes . aA asses, with — +—~ Seven 90-Deg. ae | “ bal Turns of the | jt iz: ll eee j—}— 40" 2-High Blooming Mills “FU loom Shear ¥ twenee—------ >of July 2, 1925 which delivers in turn over a conveyor to a series of billet loading chutes; this comprises outlet No. 2. Or the steel, after leaving the 24-in. continuous mill, may be transferred to one side and, after being sheared, sent to one of the cooling beds previously mentioned; this constitutes outlet No. 3. Or, coming from the 24-in. continuous mill and being transferred as described, the billet may be sent ahead through an 18-in. continuous mill and onto hot beds; outlet No. 4. Or, after leaving the 24-in. mill, may be transferred in the opposite direction to that just described and through an 18-in. continuous sheet bar mill; outlet No. 5. There has passed through this mill somewhat in excess of 123,000 tons of finished product in one month. Another Method of Doing It A variation of this type of mill is the blooming end of the Gary rail mill (see Fig. 2), comprising four stands of 44-in. rolls in tandem followed by a 40-in. three-high blooming mill. In this case the four stands of two-high blooming mills, comprising passes Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, which operate respectively at 6, 6, 10 and 10 r.p.m., are driven by two 2000-hp. 3-phase induction motors, each motor driving two stands. The motor speed is 214 r.p.m., and operation is at 6600 volts. The ingot is turned through 90 deg. after each stand. Passes 5 to 9 are taken in the 40-in. three-high mill, with a 90-deg. turn for each pass. This mill is served by two lifting tables and is driven by a 6000-hp. 3- phase induction motor operating at 75 r.p.m., and at 6600 volts. Between the three-high mill and the 28-in. roughing mill is 10 x 10-in. bloom shear. The roughing mill is served by a tilting table by means of which passes 10, 11 and 12 are taken. A 28-in. forming mill, with pass 13, is next encountered, after the bloom has been turned, and then the bloom enters pass 14 of the 28-in. finishing mill. Again turned 90 deg., the bloom is carried across a transfer table and, moving back to- Butt Conveyor te 24 Continuous Mofor iM tnt nH RE 8 iheon - Pom OE oooh PT PIP Pry TTT MMe ete f i Hi 08 BUUREN HO GE AU ALL A Cooling Beds it sheet Bar Mi/ ” co) Pre oom = THE IRON AGE 7 ward the original blooming mill, runs through the first edging pass, No. 15, in line with the finishing mill rolls. It gets the second edging pass, No. 16, in a set of rolls in line with the 28-in. roughing mill. Again it is carried sideways on a transfer table, after which it goes through pass 17 and the finishing pass 18, these being in line respectively with the 28-in. roughing mill and the 28-in. finishing mill. Passing a battery of hot saws it reaches the cooling bed. All three of the 28-in. mills are operated by 3-phase induction motors, taking current at 6600 volts. The roughing mill, with the two added stands in line with it, has a 6000-hp. motor operating at 83 r.p.m. The forming mill is driven by a 2000-hp. motor at 68 r.p.m. The finishing mill has a 6000-hp. motor at 88 r.p.m. To Construct Calumet Harbor Improve- ment, Chicago The Lake Calumet industrial harbor ordinance, with several amendments dictated by Mayor Dever of Chi- cago, has been passed by the Chicago city council and signed by the mayor. Under this instrument the New York, Chicago & St. Louis will construct the first unit of the harbor improvement at a cost of $600,000. The lake, which lies in the so-called Calumet industrial dis- trict, between South Chicago and Hegewisch and Pull- man, is connected by the Calumet River with the South Chicago harbor of Lake Michigan. The amendments permit the city to take over the harbor if the rail- road fails to comply with the provisions of the ordi- nance and declares for the full and free use of the navigable waters of the lake, subject to legal regula- tions. In return for undertaking the improvement the railroad is given the privilege of building a belt line around the lake. The first unit of the project will be a 200-ft. channel in the lake leading to the Nickel Plate property. Dredged material will be used by the railroad to fill in its submerged land. lying ~ Bar Piler /6 Chutes Shear >, ,- Duplex Sear nee) Cooling Beds L¥hina Tobi Transfer Table, ee Finishing Foss == __2 Hot Beds ot TI — | Zranster Table y | 190 « , 40" Hot $. Of Saws Nit Tilting Table’ 28 ‘Roughing y ono" bloom Shear “Mil 28 Forming). | ~ 28 "Finishiing Mill Mit | Sk rerio Motor “40 “SHigh fact Blooming Mill Tnduction Moror “Induction Motors Prices of Steel and Other Products Metals Lower Than Most Other Commodities— Changes in Past Year—Course of Future Prices BY SIDNEY G. KOON steel reached a low level last week. In the case of pig iron the figure was the lowest in about 38 months; for finished steel, it was the lowest in about 33 months. This circumstance, together with the fact of its being the middle of the calendar year, makes perti- nent another study of the relation of iron and steel prices to the prices of other commodities, such as has been carried in THE IRON AGB, at intervals of about six months, for several years. To form a uniform basis for comparison, prices of the various products considered, which products are the same as those in previous studies of this series, have in all cases been referred to their several levels in 1913. It does not necessarily follow that the inter- relationship of prices in 1913 was either normal or ideal, or that prices at that time were in general logi- cally related to each other. In some instances they certainly were not. Nevertheless, the widespread use of 1913 as a basis for studies of this character, and the ready availability of its figures for such statistical comparison, make it in many respects the best basis we have. Articles covering this subject have been published in THE IRON AGE of Jan. 1, 1925, page 46; June 26, 1924, page 1870; Jan. 3, 1924, page 108, and at earlier dates. The products covered are not only specific items or commodities, but also the large wholesale groups reported upon monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. These latter, comprising altogether 404 separate items, are given simply in index numbers based upon 1913. The other prices covered are shown in our table, both in the specific value in dollars and cents and in the index price. They are grouped in the diagrams under the headings of building materials, tex- tiles and clothing, foods, fuels, to which are added the items of steel beams and the composite prices for pig iron and for finished steel. Specific items outside the iron and steel group are as follows: five fuels: bituminous coal, anthracite coal, Pennsylvania petroleum, gasoline and furnace coke; (ste reac prices of both pig iron and finished 100 80 60 > OS oO arin Produc PERCENTAGE EXCESS OVER 1913 AVERAGE PRICES Cloths and Clothing Fuel and Lighting Building Marer/a/s Chemicals':;* six building materials: yellow pine, red brick, lime, plate glass, cedar shingles and steel beams; five items of textiles and clothing: raw cotton, cotton sheeting, raw silk, worsted suitings and women’s shoes; six items of foods: mess pork, smoked hams, white potatoes, flour, milk and granulated sugar. Quoted prices are drawn from a variety of sources, including market reports of various trade and other publications and official reports, from Washington. All have been translated into three diagrams. Two dia- grams, showing the large number of individual items, indicate not only the relation of present prices to those of 1913, but also their relation to those of one year ago. The diagrams are on the basis of the excess of the various prices over those of 1913. The shaded area at the top of each column shows the difference between today’s price and that of a year ago. Where today’s price is lower than last year’s price, the shaded portion has diagonal lines. Where the shaded portion is dotted, the present price is higher than it was a year ago. Steel Prices Well Liquidated In the other diagram the history of prices of certain groups of commodities, together with steel beams, is shown across the past four and one-half years. It will be noted from this diagram that both finished steel and steel beams are at a considerably lower level than is the case with the “all-commodity” group of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They are much further below the Diagonal Shading Shows Today’s Price Lower Than Last Year; Dotted Areas Show Today’s Price the Higher of the Two [RON AND STEEL a NG Vl S SS // Commoamri Finished Stee/ nthracite 4 A Steel and Iron Items, at 31 to 47 Per Cent Above 1913 Prices, Are Below the General are they below building materials and the clothing and house furnishing items. The stance—are below 8 July 2, 1925 THE IRON AGE w S a ‘ iia S 4 “av FINISNED STEEL ad i hi | UU || Lee. ~ 0 Se eae” eed em si. aa _ a \ Auonrrle® | Serer g a ~ a 7 — ~ : oO ‘ , a ae < ‘. A # } 2 & ee e | - a - i a — 2 + | pf % | v | = v 5 ae . Pe | aE ng ee a ae 1921 1922 1923 1924 i925 Four Years and More of Price Changes in Finished Steel and Steel Beams, Compared with Cloths and Clothing and Building Materials and with the General Average of “All Commodities” Reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded prices of building materials and of cloths and clothing. In other words, the prices of finished steel, and particularly of steel beams, have been more nearly liquidated, so to speak, than have the prices of most other commodities. Not once during the period surveyed has the price of steel beams been so high as either building materials Compare Steel Beams with the Other Items on This Page. Beams now are 33 per cent above 1913; seven of the items more than 100 per cent AWG QQ S S oo © wy = 6 <x wh STEEL = BEAMS © D ~ 00 5 > sb) A — Ww WY eoStst Pet — ud QA} eS ~—S S os \. S| Sy ist it ik 2 |S] | : D i & OXF y 4787S 1S © = [ol a] SI} |S o| {ol ie 2 | (Ie |X] |e SB] ISS 0 or cloths and clothing. Not once did finished steel reach the level of clothing, while in only one month in many years did it exceed building materials. The prices of steel products have been consistently lower than those of most other products. This point is brought out strikingly by a study of the diagrams of specific prices. Particularly it wili be noted that steel beams, which have been plotted between the group of building materials and that of textiles and clothing, are far lower than any of the items in these two groups, with the exception of shingles and sugar. Beams are lower today than a year ago, just asis the case with brick, lime, glass and cotton. it happens, however, that shingles, sheeting, silk, and suitings are higher than a year ago, while pine and shoes show no change. All of the food group, except sugar, record an increase since last year. The fuels do not show BUILDING much change, anthracite coal and gasoline being higher, MATERIALS Tae me AND CLOTHING Worsted SUIHNIGS Womens Shoes Kaw S//k Potatoes Tne Tron AGE Level of “All Commodities” and Below Most of the Separate Items Shown. Particularly metals as a whole are still lower, as some of the non-ferrous metals—copper, for in- their 19138 levels 10 THE IRON AGE while bituminous coal, petroleum and coke are lower, than a year ago. Less Dislocation of Prices Something of a change toward stabilization, or more properly toward greater uniformity in prices, will be noted in the group of wholesale commodities reported upon by the Department of Labor. Most of those items which are above the average of all commodities are lower than they were a year ago. All of those items, Prices Quoted Index Number One (1913—100) Average, Year Recent Peak, Recent Item 1913 Ago Figure 1920 Figure Farm products...... 100 136 bm 247 153 0 ee 100 137 hia 248 154 Cloth and clothing... 100 187 va 346 190 Fuel and lighting. . 106 177 281 169 Metals and meta! a 100 134 203 129 Building materials. . 100 180 300 174 Chemicals and drugs 100 127 213 134 House furnishings... 100 173 275 171 Miscellaneous ...... 100 112 208 129 All commodities. ... 100 147 eo 247 156 Finished Steel...... 1.663c. 2.610c. 2.424c. 239 147 Pig Iron (composite) $14.70 $20.54 $19.13 325 131 Steel Beams........ 1.50c. 2.20c. 2.00c. 207 133 Fuels: Bituminous coal .... $1.34 $1.85 $1.80 746 134 Anthracite coal ..... 3.82 11.08 11.49 209 258 Furnace coke ...... 2.41 3.25 2.75 735 114 Penna. petroleum... 1.79 4.25 3.90 341 218 a 16.8¢ 20c. 20.5c. 185 122 Building Materials OT END 6 ccecces $28.50 $59.00 $59.00 237 207 OS ae 6.56 20.00 14.13 333 208 Ae aaa 4.43 9.69 9.39 268 212 Shingles, red cedar 1.97 2.48 2.60 334 132 Plate glass ..... 31.8c. 73c. 60.5c. 258 190 Textiles and Clothing Raw cotton....... . 12.84c. 29.25¢e. 24.25c. 341 206 Se a 7.30c. 13.9c. 15.7c. 390 215 I, moi 6 io.e Wicte $3.65 $5.65 $6.30 445 173 Worsted suitings ; 1.38 3.02 3.13 392 226 Women’s shoes..... 2.17 4.15 4.15 380 191 Foods: IE ss wee be $20.93 $26.00 $41.00 225 196 Smoked hams ...... 16.60 19.00 26.90 227 162 EE nats ou bo .5.6 3 4.62 6.75 8.90 352 193 NE Gig inin i e'é0v oe 61.4c. 98c 1.19 721 194 Milk Dieses raids beatae tats : 2.50 6.7¢ Re 243 229 pis ith Gears oiacete ie 3.46c 5.78c. 4.40c. 536 127 Sugar except for metals, which are below the general level of all commodities are higher than they were a year ago. The high items have been dropping and the low items have been going up. This condition of affairs, barring the intrusion of extraneous forces, may be expected to presage a period of less violent fluctuation in prices and of better relationship between the prices of dif- ferent commodities. Those economists who have looked for a gradual Considers Basing Import Duties on Wholesale Prices WASHINGTON, June 30.—The Tariff Commission is expected to make recommendations early in December to Congress regarding the flexible provisions, which, it is generally conceded, have not worked satisfactorily. While it is not proposed to revise the principle of the flexible provisions, the basis of determining adjust- ments on imports under them should be greatly changed in the opinion of some members of the Commission. Chairman Thomas O. Marvin is in favor of sub- stituting wholesale prices as the basis for making tariff adjustments for the present basis fixed on the differ- ence between the costs of production in the United States and in foreign countries. He declared that the proper basis for the operation of the flexible tariff is not merely the one element of difference in cost of pro- duction, but the difference in competitive conditions which would require ascertainment of invoice prices for competitive articles from foreign countries and whole- sale prices of domestic articles packed and ready for delivery. The present plan, he said, provides for many ways of arriving at costs of production with each method giving a different figure, while the wholesale price plan July 2, 1925 lowering of prices from the peak of 1920 to levels which, ultimately, are expected to be not far from those preceding the war, have taken the view that a consid- erable period of time would be required for this adjust- ment. Several years ago estimates ranging from 15 to 30 years were made. Certain economic changes, how- ever, which have been introduced by the war conditions and those of the later period, will militate against mak- ing this result imminent. Influences Tending Toward High Prices The much enhanced wage scale which has grown out of the conflict bids fair to be a lasting influence. Taxes are out of all proportion to pre-war assessments. Other costs of various kinds are far higher than ten years ago, with the result that prices in general cannot well reach their pre-war levels, except through larger use of machinery or through the utilization of new manu- facturing processes. Large-scale production is more the order of the day than ever. Its influence in the direction of lower prices is definite, although not al- ways of great moment. All of these elements, however, operating in conjunction, may go far to offset the forces tending to keep prices up or even to increase them. One outstanding example of the sharp curtailment of prices through large-scale operation combined with new methods is that of rubber. It happens, however, that deliberate curtailment of output in the past few months has wellnigh overcome the large decrease in prices obtained through the operation of economic fac- tors. This commodity is not covered in our analysis, but it may be pointed out that the price dropped from an average of about $1 per lb. in the spring of 1913 to 14%c. per lb. in the summer of 1922, and during the past few days has reached 85c., or nearly the 1913 level. The opening up of immense new supplies, forced by the heavy demand for automobile uses, accounted for the tremendous drop in the price. Manipulation of prices for the deliberate purpose of making excessive profits has accounted for the great rise of the past few months. All of this change has been brought about within the British Empire, and outside the control of the United States Federal Trade Commission. Barring any such artificial stimulation of prices, it may be expected that in the long run the prices of com- modities in the United States will decline slowly to a level nearer that of 1913 than is occupied by most of them today. Unquestionably this decline will not be uniform nor continuous. Signs point to a moderate in- crease in prices before this year is out. There will be ups and downs, probably with the latter slightly but steadily predominating, if the teachings of history are to be borne out in the course of the next quarter century. : would be more accurate and dependable, save an in- estimable amount of time and money and be fairer to all interested parties. To Consider Freight Rates on Pacific Coast SAN FRANCISCO, June 26.—Final plans are being formulated by the traffic committee of the Iron, Steel and Allied Industries of California for a conference with the traffic managers of the carriers, both railroad and steamboat, which will probably be held here early in September, according to Charles S. Knight, industrial director of the California Development Association and secretary of the iron and steel organization. The purpose of the conference is to solve some of the exist- ing freight problems so that producers of iron and steel products in California may extend their market ter- ritory in adjacent Western states more economically and efficiently. Arrangements for the meeting will be made by Mr. Knight, Thomas Banning, traffic manager Columbia Steel Corporation, San Francisco, chairman of the Northern traffic committee, and W. J. Boyle, president Boyle Mfg. Co., Los Angeles, chairman of the Southern traffic committee. July 2, 1925 NEW DRILL AND TAPPER Semi-Automatic Machine Tooled for Work on Gas Cock Plugs, but Adapted for Other Uses Marked savings in production costs are claimed for the semi-automatic machine illustrated, which is shown tooled up to drill, counterbore and tap the ball of the plug of gas stove cocks, to take the porcelain handle. This part is made from yellow rod brass and a pro- duction of 42 pieces per min. is claimed. The machine was developed by the Luehrs Co., Cleveland, industrial engineers and builders of special machinery, and can be tooled to do various other machining operations on iron and steel, brass and aluminum parts. The machine is provided with two independent mo- tor-driven drill spindles, two tapping spindles and a 12-sided turret revolving upon a horizontal axis. The Front View of the Machine Is Shown at Right. The _ control equipment is in the box at the left side, and the push button is above the turret in front of the hopper. The view above shows the turret indexing mechanism, and that at the right shows the location of the two drilling and _ counterboring spindles and motor drive turret carries 24 jigs for holding the work. The hopper above the turret is arranged to supply two feed chutes, one on either side of the turret. The operator stands directly in front of the machine with the turret turning away from him, and using both hands, he takes a piece from each feed chute and places it in the jig immedi- ately opposite. The turret is indexed by a continuously revolving single-thread screw operating upon pins secured to the face of the index plate, which in turn is keyed to the turret shaft. The main feed shaft revolves continu- ously and in addition to the turret turning screw car- ries a face cam operating a lever, which in turn op- erates the locking pin that seats in hardened and ground bushings in the periphery of the index plate. In op- erating the index pin is withdrawn during the time the turret is turning from one position to the next and THE IRON AGE 11 then reseated, holding the turret firmly while the tools are operating. Each jig is provided with a hardened V block to take the cylindrical end of the plug and a hardened cup to take the ball. The cup and Vee locate the work and a hardened steel block beveled to match the taper of the end threaded % in. gas pipe thread provides the third point of support. It is important that the handle of the gas cock be exactly parallel to the gas hole in the plug and stand at right angles to the gas feed line when fully open. To assure this a pin is provided under the top end of the body directly opposite the pipe threaded end. This pin is held up by a spring. When the work is placed in the jig, the ball drops into the cup, the threaded end rests on the beveled block and the spring pin holds the cylindrical end up slightly out of the V block. The clamping of the work in the jig depresses the spring pin sufficiently to permit the cylindrical end of the plug to seat in the V block, providing three points of support and proper alinement. Turning of the turret past the feeding position causes the roller carried by the jig clamp to engage a hardened steel track and securely clamp the work. A spiral spring is interposed between the clamp arm carrying the roller that engages the track and the arm that actually engages the work. The tension on the spring is adjustable and in addition to assuring secure holding of the work, it is intended also to prevent ex- cessive pressure which might distort the piece clamped or breaking of the jig in the event the piece is not properly placed. The turret advances the pair of jigs (one on each side of the clamp ring), past the drilling and counterboring spindles, then past the taps and then causes the roller to leave the clamping track and en- gage a pair of angle bars set back to back at the front of the machine. The angle bars cause the clamping arms of the jig to open and release the work at a pre- determined point, permitting the work to drop out of the jigs into the discharge chutes leading to tote boxes. The angle bars also serve to hold the jigs open. A %-hp., 3-phase, 60-cycle, 220-volt, 1800-r.p.m. ball bearing, Cleveland Electric motor is used for the main drive. This motor is mounted on a tripod bolted to the side of the machine, and transmits its power through a flexible coupling to the main drive shaft. Control of motor is by push-button, mounted conveniently in front of the operator, the push-button station starting and stopping the motor by means of a Thermaload starter. The main drive motor operates the two tapping spindles through bevel gears and the main cam shaft through worm and worm gear. The reciprocating motion of the drill and tapping spindles is obtained from a double faced cam operating a set of rocker arms. All working parts of the machine are inclosed and are flooded with oil from a % in. Viking pump. The drill spindles operate at 3600 r.p.m. Each spindle is driven by an independent %4-hp. Ohio Electric motor, controlled through snap switch. At 3600 r.p.m. the cutting speed of the counterbore is 410 ft. per min. The No. 17 drill penetrates 7/16 in. Each motor carries a flywheel to supply the additional energy required when the counterbore is taking its maximum cut. The taps are 3/16 in. stove bolt size and tap a full thread % in. deep or to within 3/32 in. of the bottom of the hole. They operate at 1800 r.p.m., and are driven by friction cones. The bearings of the tapping spindles are Arguto wood bushings. All others are S. K. F. ball bearings. The almost entire absence of castings in the ma- chine is stressed as a feature. The main frame, tur- ret, drill and tapping sub-assemblies, oil guards, hop- per and chip pan are all built up of electrically welded steel plate and structural bar. Handy Die Maker’s Square Wide range of use is claimed for the die maker’s square here illustrated, which may be used for estab- lishing clearances of drop forging dies, drawing and forming dies and die castings, being also intended for use by pattern makers for checking drafts of patterns and by toolmakers as a square or depth gage or for establishing clearances. It is claimed to do more than the usual diemaker’s square and easier to use and set. The tool may be set conveniently at any angle with- in its capacity by simply moving the pointer to the cor- rect graduation mark and tightening the knurled nut. The blade moves with the pointer. The narrow end of the blade is 7/64 in. wide for small holes and the other end is 7/32 in. wide. The graduations on the body read to 8 deg. either side of zero and the angle of clearance or draft setting is obtained direct, no protractor being Die Maker’s Square. ance or draft setti