The Iron Age 1926-10-21: Vol 118 Iss 17

THE IRON AGE New York, October 21, 1926 ‘4 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 118, No. 17 ee Os " a & ia H #43 if . 7 5 ; Strip Mill Is Unusually Compact i Floor Space Is Conserved in Cleveland Plant— mg ; ‘ a f Accurate Adjustment of Mill Rolls and Re- ee. versible Coilers Are Features BY F. L. PRENTISS* 7. ae) N 8-in. continuous cold-rolling strip mill of new set. It is a two-high continuous mill of the Belgian f : design and a new type of coiler for use in con- type with steel rolls 8 in. in diameter and with 6-in. ia nection with continuous pickling equipment are faces. There are micrometer adjusting screws on each re features of a plant built by the Cleveland Cold Rolling side of the housings and balancing at four guide pins, q Mills Co., Cleveland, for the special purpose of supply- assuring, it is said, easier and more accurate adjust- 4 ing prompt service in narrow sizes of cold-rolled strip ment of the rolls and a product of closer limits than 4 steel to users in the Cleveland territory. The mill will from mills having only two guides, both on the same 4 roll strip in widths up to 5 in., ranging in thickness side of housings. fi from No. 12 to No. 00 gage. The bearings, which are of steel, are water-cooled, The mill was designed and the plant laid out for each set of bearings being individually controlled at a : economy in production by reducing the handling of ma- constant temperature. An electric self-regulating pump ; : terial to a minimum and substituting machinery for supplies the water for the mills and for the cleaning +a manual labor, thereby cutting down labor costs. It is vats. te arranged for a straight-line movement of material The mill is started and stopped by push buttons on " 1 through the various operations. One of the interesting each side of the housings which operate a magnetic ; 1 features of the plant is its small size per production switch, and it is controlled by a drum-type controller. ae unit. In one building, 64 x 36 ft., is housed all of the A 1-ton chain hoist above the mill stands on a monorail Re equipment, providing the plant with a capacity of 40 is used for changing the rolls. Se tons of cold-rolled strip per day in two 9-hr. turns. The mill is driven by a 150-hp. 440-volt 3-phase 60- a The mill consists of three sets of rolls located side cycle 900-r.p.m. induction motor. The motor is con- Fe by side—a roughing, a semi-finishing, and a finishing nected by a Franke flexible coupling with the mill drive. ‘ 1 The motor pinion is of bakelite material to make it ae *Resident editor, Tur Iron Ace, Cleveland noiseless. The pinion meshes with steel gears of the a x tt i an : oeas | ae + iPes i | Cue hie 7 A AYE i ae iy Puke An 8-In. Continuous Cold-Rolling Strip Mill of New Design, Built for the Cleveland Cold Rolling Mille Co. This i is a two-high mill with stands side by side and having water-cooled bearings and push-button control. The 5 strip is passed through the roughing stand and returns through the semi-finishing stand and makes a third pase e back through the last or finishing stand, from which it goes into the coiler shown in the foreground. The motor we at the right drives the three stands and the coiling equip ‘ iF 1127 it 1128 THE IRON AGE staggered herringbone type, forming a double-reduction gear drive providing a mill speed of 57 r.p.m. The rolling speed is 120 ft. per min. The thot-rolled strip will usually be given three re- ducing operations; first through the roughing rolls, back through the semi-finishing stand and again in the other direction through the finishing set on to a stand- ard coiler. It is expected that operation of the mill will require only two men, one on each side for the handling of the strip in and out of the rolls. This com- pares with four to six men usually required to operate a tandem mill. With the mill stands side by side, the maximum distance that each operator will be required to walk in handling strip from the first to the last rolls is not over 8 ft. This compares with a distance of 40 ft. from the first to the last stand in a three-stand mill arranged tandem. The continuous cleaning equipment operating with the pickling tanks includes six 16-in. coilers located side by side, each having side-plates on both sides. These operate together or independently on one shaft. The coilers. are located between the cleaning vats and the mill, the three units being in a straight line. The plan of operation is to place the coil of hot-rolled strip into a multiple coil box at the feed end of the cleaning vats. From there.the material is drawn through the vats and fed on to the eoiler by 8.in. diameter feed rolls, located directly in front of each coiler. When one coiler block is loaded it is brought to a stop by means of a hand-operated dog that engages a slot in the side frame. This gives the operator com- plete control o* the cleaning and feeding operation. Then the end of the coil, released from the coiler feed yg October 21, 199¢ rolls, is fed into the roughing mill, the motion of the block being reversed as the strip is drawn from the block into the mill rolls. While the stock on one block is being drawn into the mill, the other five blocks con- tinue to coil the strip that is being drawn through the cleaning vats. The reversible feature of the coilers has been accomplished by an arrangement of slip clutches. which make it possible to rotate the coilers in opposite directions at the same time. With this coiler arrange ment one handling of material jn removing a coi! from the block is eliminated. The drive for the continuous cleaning machine ix from the mill reduction gear drive by means of bevel gears, drive shaft and worm reduction, which provide (Above) Coiler of Unique Design, Consisting o/ Six Units That Operate Together or Separately on One Shaft in Connection With the Continuous Cleaning Equipment. Feed rolls draw the strip through the cleaning vats to the coiler, and when one coil block is loaded, the end of the coil is fed into the mill and the rotation of the block is reversed as it is unwound. While one coiler is being unwound, the others continue to revolve in the opposite direction, winding up the strip that they are drawing through the cleaning vats (At Left) Specially Designed 9-In. Slitting Machine for Slitting the Strip in Three, Four or Five Strands the proper speed reduction for the coiling blocks. The cleaning speed is about 18 ft. per min. The feed rolls are chain-driven from the coilers. There will be two cleaning vats, an acid tank and a rinsing tank, both of suitable size. The equipment of the plant includes a 9-in. slitting machine with a complete set of high speed cutters and a coiler. The slitter will handle three, four and five- strand work. The machine is direct-driven by a 10-hp. motor mounted directly under the bed plate. Space is provided for an annealing furnace wi' sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of the m!' The plant is located on the Baltimore & Ohio Rai! road and Stroud Road, near the Cleveland Air Port and has 1150 ft. of railroad frontage. Six acres a' available for future expansion. The building is of ste construction and is well lighted on all sides. All the mill machinery was designed by M. Brink. president of the company, and Homer Nichols, assistant manager, and was built by the Pioneer Machine & Eng'- neering Co., Cleveland. The mill motor and drive wer furnished by the Elliott Electric Co., Cleveland. T? building was fabricated by the Hydraulic Pressed Ste: Co., Cleveland, and the mill rolls were furnished by th: Midvale Co., Philadelphia. ae a er Materials for Extreme Conditions Metals and Refractories to Resist Corrosion and High Temperatures Reviewed by Electrochemists—Weld- ing Chromium Alloys—Plating with Cadmium ITH the rapid development of various manufacturing processes and with pro- ducers striving to attain a better product in a shorter time and at a lower cost, the de- mands on apparatus and materials have become increasingly severe. Metals are needed that will resist corrosion not merely at room temperature but at white heat, that will not be attacked by acids at comparatively low temperatures and that will be stable in a molten bath of brass. Metals are being sought that can be used for high pres- sure gas tanks, that will resist repeated drop and rise in stress, and others that show practically no wear. Refractories are wanted for ferro- tungsten and other alloys produced in the electric furnace, refractories to withstand temperatures of 3000 deg. C. Fully conversant with the never-ending inqui- ries from manufacturers in every part of the country, the American Electrochemical Society arranged fer a symposium on “Materials for Ex- treme Conditions” under the able chairmanship of Dr. H. W. Gillett of the Bureau of Standards, an expert on furnaces and refractories, This was part of the regular program of the fiftieth gen- eral meeting of the society held in Washington, Oct. 7 to 9. A brief account of some of the chief papers and discussions follows: Metals Resistant to Corrosion or High Temperatures J. FRENCH, senior metallurgist of the Bureau e of Standards, Washington, presented a complete picture of the metals available to industry today to re- sist corrosion or high temperatures, in his paper, “Metals to Resist Corrosion or High Temperatures.” Aluminum resists glacial acetic acid and is not ap- preciably affected by cold concentrated nitric acid, he said. It resists hydrogen sulphide even at high tem- peratures. Sea water and moist salt atmospheres cor- rode aluminum less than they do copper and there is no discoloration. Of the aluminum alloys, duralumin is being employed in ever increasing quantities. Its good physical properties are the result of heat treat- ment and aging. Copper is used very extensively in chemical and engineering apparatus. With a little arsenic, it is used in Europe for locomotive boiler tubes. For contact with dilute mineral acids and acid mine waters, the highly leaded alloys of copper and tin seem to have found favor. They are, however, not as acid resistant as the ferrosilicons. Nickel is resistant to alkalies and to salt water, says the author. Its alloy with chromium, or chromium and iron, is used extensively as a resistor element for furnaces used in the heat treatment of steel. A num- ber of the nickel-iron-chromium alloys are also used in chemical engineering apparatus; they are resistant to almost all acids except hydrochloric. Of the ferroalloys, ferrosilicon, containing about 13.5 per cent silicon and 0.50 to 1 per cent total carbon. shows excellent stability in contact with nitric acid and sulphuric acid. The chemical resistance seems to be much improved by the addition of nickel or chromium. Nickel steels with 25 to 38 per cent of nickel and 0.50 per cent or less of carbon are more resistant than ordi- nary steels to atmospheric corrosion. The high chro- mium steels constitute a promising, and for some pur- poses, a valuable group of corrosion resistant metals. Passing from the stainless steels to alloys contain- ing 20 per cent and more of chromium, Mr. French ob- serves a very marked resistance to corrosion at ele- vated temperatures. Small amounts of copper, from about 0.40 to 1.50 per cent, are sometimes added to high-chromium steels to improve their acid resisting properties. The cost of the added copper is small and the resulting alloys are readily machinable, require no heat treatment, have good mechanical properties and are easily fabricated. Additions of manganese and silicon are primarily made to impart to these steels 1129 physical properties which favor ease of working and manufacture. Discussion Mr. French’s paper gave rise to an animated dis- cussion. H. C. Parmelee, editor of Chemical and Metal- lurgical Engineering, cited a case where the riveting of chrome-steel plates was successfully carried out using low-chrome steel rivets. Norman B. Pilling, metallurgist International Nickel Co., reported that 20 chrome-10 per cent nickel steels are used exten- sively in Germany; they are corrosion and heat. re- sistant. William M. Corse, consulting metallungist Washington, referred to his trip abroad last summer and his meeting with Sir Robert A. Hadfield. The chrome-nickel steel “staybrite,” containing about 8 per cent nickel and 18 per cent chromium, shows remark- able resistance to atmospheric corrosion, he said. The aluminum-silicon alloys were discussed by J. D. Ed- wards, Colin G. Fink, J. P. Johnson, Henry Howard and others. Welding High Chromium Alloys Stanley M. Norwood of the Union Carbide & Car- bon Research Laboratories, Long Island City, N. Y., in his paper, “The Welding of High Chromium Alloys Intended to Meet Extreme Conditions,” showed how many difficulties, inherent in welding alloys containing more than 10 per cent chromium have been overcome. The most serious problems, he said, were those of brit- tleness in the weld and in the base metal adjacent to the weld; a brittleness that cannot be relieved even by heat treatment in alloys containing 20 per cent or more of chromium. Mr. Norwood overcame these obstacles by the addition of 8 per cent nickel to high-chromium alloys. The objection of diminished corrosion resist- ance to sulphur products, generally accompanying the addition of nickel, has been removed by an addition of 2 per cent silicon. The presence of mnaganese in per- centages equal to the silicon improves the welding characteristics of the alloy. “4 John A. Seede referred to new developments in welding at the General Electric Co.'s plants using the electric-gas are. High-chromium alloys have been welded without difficulty, he reported. Alloys for Bombs in Nitrogen Fixation Dr. J. G. Thompson of the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratery, Washington, in a paper, “Materials of Construction for Nitrogen Fixation,” cited the case of ” CAS See mathe RI HEM BA ewes On 6 a 8 ea Ay Terme Smead Pm ae a ie 1130 the deterioration of the catalyst bombs used in the synthesis of ammonia. It was found that: carbonized and fissured readily. Carbor steels dé Nick s . deeply penetrated, but showed a high residual strength, explained by the presence of arallel vitudinal fissures alined in the direction of Chromiu teels deteriorated rapidly if high in rb« quite resistant if low in carbon. Tu nd nickel reinforce the deterioration re- star i1romium steels if the latter are low in Additional tests on specimens selected to illustrate the effects of varying the carbon, chromium and vana- dium contents of ordinary chrome-vanadium steel, be- tween the limits of 0 to 1.20 per cent C., 0 to 14.0 per cent Cr, and 0 to 0.65 per cent V, showed that: The carbon content must be low. Two per onfine the cent or more chromium is necessary to and decarbonization to a netration fissuring smooth d uniform pe A suitable steel would contain 2.25 to nium, with 1/7 to 1 Larger amounts of e further 2.50 per cent 8 that amount of carbon. chromium improve the but not in proportion to the increase in resis- chromiun High chr “stainless” type forge and machine. Heat chrome-nickel steels of the resistant, but are difficult to omium and are most treatment is useful to dissolve the alloys in steels inherently resistant, but adds little or no im- provement to partly successful steels Vanadium adds no appreciable improvement It appears, therefore, that the primary require- ment of a steel to resist the action of nitrogen and hydrogen, in the synthesis of ammonia at 100 atmos- pheres and 500 deg. C., is a chrommum content of at least 2 per cent, combined with a carbon content of not more than one-seventh or one-eighth the amount of chromium present. No element tested, except chro- mium, has been found to impart satisfactory resistance to corrosion under these conditions. In concluding the metal part of the symposium, Chairman Gillett referred to the importance of chro- mium in the alloys. He outlined briefly a number of problems, still unsolved: An oilless bearing; contact points that do not corrode; container for the fused salt bath used in heat treatment; metals or alloys that do not fatigue; and others. Refractories for Extreme Conditions HE second part of the symposium was devoted to a discussion of refractories and their proper appli- cation. Insulation of Electric Furnaces M. L. Hartmann and O. B. Westmont of the Car- borundum Co., Niagara Falls, N. Y., presented a de- tailed study covering the insulation of electric fur- naces in a paper, “Thermal Insulation of Electric Fur- naces.” The thermal conductivities of fused alumina, fused magnesia, fire clay and a new high temperature fire clay insulating refractory (U. S. patent No. 1,545,559) were given in addition to data on carborun- dum and silica. Mean specific heat curves for these refractories were also given. The temperatures, heat losses and heat capacities of 13 types of electric fur- nace linings were tabulated, with the inside surface temperatures assumed to be 1600, 1400 and 1200 deg. C The authors suggested possibilities of energy conser- vation in electric furnaces by properly designed com- posite walls. Two schemes of operating electric furnaces with respect to economy of power and refractories are prac- ticed today, according to the authors: (1) slow power input rate into a thermally well-insulated furnace; (2) fast power input rate, with consequent higher local- ized temperatures, into a (thermally) poorly insulated furnace. The latter method is perhaps more frequently employed. The reasons usually ascribed are: (1) lack of refractory linings to withstand the high tempera- tures unless air-cooled on the outside of the furnace: (2) low refractoriness of available insulating material: (3) high heat capacity (especially in intermittent proc- esses) of the lining, resulting from thick walls re- THE IRON AGE October 21, 1996 quired to reduce the temperature so that available jn. sulating matePial might be employed. Generally speaking, the linings for electric furnaces should be made from materials of greater refractori- ness than are required in fuel-fired furnaces for the same metallurgical processes. This results either from the fact that higher temperatures are actually used in carrying on the process in the furnace, or that ex. tremely high temperatures are encountered locally be- cause the electrically produced heat is generated at a higher temperature than is required in the process in- volved. Heat insulation is desirable, but no materia] has heretofore been available which would withstand the high temperatures back of thin “super” refractory linings. A study of temperature gradient charts, say the authors, shows that at the joints, in several cases, the temperature limits of common insulating materials would be exceeded. In the past it has been necessary to lower this temperature, by using a thicker inner lining of superrefractory with consequent greatly in- creased heat capacities and larger exterior furnace sur- face with increased radiation losses. With the intro- duction on the market of the new fireclay refractory insulating material, which can be used up to 1450 deg. C., it is now possible to make relatively thin electric furnace linings without the heat losses usually caused by such practice. Discussion The many interesting charts and data prepared by the Carborundum company were discussed at length by Chairman Gillett, John B. Glaze of the Norton Co., Frank S. Weiser of the Scovill Mfg. Co., Henry Howard of the Grasselli Chemical Co., Secretary Fink, Clarence E. Sims of the Bureau of Mines and others. One point worthy of note was the general opinion of the great advantage of voids in insulating materials. F. A. J. Fitz Gerald, Fitz Gerald Laboratories, Niagara Falls, N. Y., found that carborundum was the best material attainable for the septum in electric por- celain kilns where one side of the septum is exposed to high heat and reducing gases and the other side to high heat and oxidizing gases. Refractories for Induction Furnaces A contribution on “Refractories for Induction Fur- naces,” by Max Unger, General Electric Co., Pitts- field, Mass., was presented by John A. Seede of the same company. Of the various materials studied, says the author, magnesium oxide proved to be the one re- fractory more nearly fulfilling the conditions than any other. Proper grading of the magnesium oxide is ver) important. Pitch was selected as the best bonding ma- terial. For continuous operation on steel and a slag analyzing 20 to 25 per cent silica, the magnesium oxide lining will last through 600 heats. Discussion _ Discussing Mr. Unger’s paper, Dr. E. F. Northrup, Ajax Electrothermic Corporation, Trenton, N. J., Te ported upon experiments for a new crucible induction furnace. The secret of success of this furnace is the great speed of operation. The whole melting and cast- ing operation is over in a fraction of an hour. A No. 60 crucible and 150 kw. are used. Dr. Gillett reported satisfactory service with a magnesium oxide (Mg0) lining composed of definite proportions of air-ground and water-ground burnt magnesite. (The behavior of this lining was demonstrated at the Bureau of Stand- ards during the course of the afternoon.) Refractories for Melting Pure Metals “Refractories for Melting Pure Metals, Iron, Nickel and Platinum,” was the title of a paper by Louis Jor- dan, A. A. Peterson and L. H. Phelps of the Bureau of Standards. Crucibles, made of chemically pure MgO with MgCl. as binder, proved to be most satisfactory for pure iron and iron-alloys. These crucibles are like- wise best suited for melting pure nickel. Crucibles made of zirconia freed from carbon and acid-soluble iron, are suitable for melting pure platinum and platinum- rhodium alloys, providing the melting is done under October 21, 1926 oxidizing conditions. They are very hard and mechan- ically strong. They withstand temperatures up to 2000 deg. C., but must be heated and cooled slowly. Vitreous Silica and Quartz W. W. Winship of the Thermal Syndicate, Brooklyn, in a paper, “Vitreous Silica and Vitreous Quartz,” out- lined the many advantages of fused silica, not only as a refractory but also for the manufacture of a wide diversity of apparatus for acid manufacture, high tem- perature chlorination, spark plug insulation, ete. Dr. E. R. Berry, fused quartz expert of the General Elec- tric Co., commented upon the phenomenon of devitri- R. EDWARD WES- TON, new hon- orary member of the society, is best known as the inventor of the Weston cell which is the standard interna- tional volt cell. fication of fused quartz, kept at extreme temperatures for any length of time. He has found that devitrifica- tion invariably starts at a small bubble in the quartz. A New Refractory An important announcement was that of George E. Merritt of the Bureau of Standards of a new thorium zirconate refractory suitable for very high tempera- tures and having a very low coefficient of expansion at such temperatures. It was composed of equimolecu- lar proportions of ZrO, and ThO:. Plating with Cadmium One session was devoted to papers on the deposition of zine, copper, manganese, cadmium and iron. Clay- ton M. Hoff, of the Grasselli Chemical Co., described the rustproofing of iron and steel with cadmium in a paper, “Cadmium, Its Electrodeposition for Rust- Proofing Purposes.” He said in part: A comparison of the physical and chemical proper- ties of cadmium with similar properties of zinc indi- cates that cadmium should be a better rust-protecting plate than zinc, because it is less active chemically, but at the same time protects iron electrochemically, forms a protective oxide film, is not amphoteric in character and, although softer than zinc, is more ductile. A solu- tion has been developed which will deposit cadmium in a dense, ductile, adherent, bright form over a wide range of current densities, is in equilibrium with the anodes, is self-sustaining, has low resistance, high throwing power, and will accommodate high current densities. Thin deposits of cadmium effect compara- tively great rust resistance; the time of deposition is short. which enables increased production to be ob- tained with plating equipment with lowering of costs. The properties of cadmium and its method of electro- deposition are such that it has a definite place in the field of rustproofing, for which it is better suited than zine. It combines attractiveness of finish with rust eye also presented at this session, were “Some Properties of Electrolytic Iron,” by G. Prescott Fuller, Niagara Electrolytic Iron Co., Niagara Falls, THE IRON AGE 1131 N. Y., and “Passivity and Corrosion of Iron,” by Leon McCulloch, Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. Honorary Membership to Edward Weston A certificate of honorary membership in the society was presented to Dr. Edward Weston at one of the evening sessions. Dr. George W. Vinal, physicist Bu- reau of Standards, Washington, made the speech of presentation touching briefly upon the many note- worthy accomplishments of Doctor Weston in chem- istry and electricity. The Weston cell is the standard international volt cell. Next Convention The spring convention of the American Electro- chemical Society will be held at Philadelphia in com- memoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary. Frank Hodson is chairman of the local committee, and the date is April 28 to 30, 1927. Outlines Part of Industry in Case of Another War “Industrial Preparedness” was the subject of a talk by Major-General C. C. Williams, ordnance chief of the War Department, before the National Association of Manufacturers at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, on Oct. 7. According to General Williams, “in- dustrial preparedness” is no more than the ordinary precautions which a business man takes to conserve and protect his business and keep it in a position to meet the demands of the future. He stated that the general staff of the War Department has already out- lined a plan of defense in the event of another war. This plan includes definite figures on the supplies which would be needed, a procurement arrangement with a location of the sources and manufacturing information to assist in production. The nation’s manufacturing arsenals have had def- inite programs assigned to them, and the task of ap- portioning the definite requirements which are expected from private industrial plants has been more than half completed. General Williams expressed his pleasure at the manner in which manufacturers already ap- proached have agreed to cooperate, and feels sure that in the event of another war the chaotic days of 1917 will not have to be repeated. Contribution for Trade Association At- torneys Declared a Business Expense WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.—In a recent decision the Board of Tax Appeals held that a contribution to a trade association as a pro-rata share of the fees of at- torneys employed to test the constitutionality of the prohibition amendment was a legitimate business ex- pense and could be deducted as such in the income tax return. The decision is taken to emphasize the useful- ness of trade associations in promoting the business of their members. The particular case concerned a brewer who had paid dues to a local association, a State asso- ciation and a national association, all of which collected information for brewing interests. Postpone Conference on Reinforcing Bar Simplification WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.—A committee which is in- vestigating what grade or grades of new billet rein- forcing steel bars should be recommended for adoption in connection with a simplification conference, under the auspices of the Department of Commerce, has made considerable progress, it has been officially announced, but was unable to complete its inquiry by Oct. 15, as originally planned. Therefore the conference to con- sider the findings has been postponed. Scrap Bins Saves $20,000 Month on Scrap Big Four Railroad Has Reclamation Shop Where Discard Material Is Reconditioned for Use—Rolling Mill and Machine Tools Included in Equipment ECLAMATION of old material at an average net saving of $20,000 a month is a feature of the shops of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad at Beech Grove, Ind., near In- dianapolis. In a plant constructed of cast-off mate- rials and equipped almost entirely with reclaimed tools, many articles, including bolts, valves, washers, cut-out cocks, brake beams, couplers, wrenches, track tools and coupler parts, are reconditioned for further service. The railroad produces bars in its own rolling mill, designed and built by its engineers. An average of 1800 tons of bars is turned out annually. Formerly much material, relegated to the scrap pile, was lost per- manently except for its value as scrap. Within the past few months, however, the reclamation system has been worked out so that many articles, after being re- of the Big Four, From Which Material Is Selected for Reconditioning = ne conditioned, are placed in the warehouse with the new material ready for use. Various Articles Reconditioned Globe valves, for instance, are torn down and put through a cleaning process. They pass through an electric boiling vat and an acid vat, are burnished, re- assembled and tested. Practically the same operation, with the omission of the passage through the acid vat, is employed on angle cocks and cut-out cocks. The cocks are stripped and cleaned, the seats are reground on a special grinding machine, and after being assem- bled and tested, the cocks are considered good for fur- ther use. Discarded wrenches are salvaged by a simple re- threading operation. Brake beams go through a dis- About 1800 Tons of Bars Is Turned Out Annually From the Railroad’s Being Used for Rerolling 1132 Own Rolling Mill, Selected Sc’ October 21, 1926 mantling machine. If upon examination the channel! and the rod are found in need of straightening, the work is done either by a hot or cold operation. The brake beams then are reassembled on the same machine. The reclamation plant, 40 x 140 ft. in area, is equipped with machine tools, among which are several of original design. There are three oil furnaces and one open-top coke furnace, the latter being utilized for individual heats. Among the tools are a,yspecial grinding machine, a straightening press in whith brake beams are put back into their original form, a rod bender for bending truss rods for brake beams, and an air hammer for straight- ening track spikes. Every tool in the plant, except a Landis bolt cutter and a washer punching machine, has been salvaged from reclaimed material. The remarkably large saving of $20,000 a month is Bent Spikes Are Heated in This Forge and Ham- mered So as to Be Usable Again claimed since the installation of the system im February of this year. This figure is arrived at by the following method: The value of the reclaimed articles as new material is taken as a starting point. From this is subtracted the cost of conditioning the old material, such items being considered as labor, the value of th reclaimed material as scrap, and the new parts used in making repairs. Expense Low on Some Reclaiming On some items the expense is exceptionally low. Couplers, for example, generally entail only the cost of labor and fuel. Deduction of the scrap value and of labor expense from the cost of a new coupler makes evident a saving of $12 to $13. Old material from all points on the railroad is brought to Beech Grove. The cars are run upon a siding where the scrap is unloaded into sorting bins by means of a crane with a magnet attached. The material then is sorted and placed in loading bins by scrap sorters. The material suitable for use in the rolling mill is tran%ported there of trailers hauled by a tractor, Enroute it passes over a scale to ascertain its weight. Round and rectangular sections under 4 x 4 in. x 2 ft. are sent to the rolling mill. The individual pieces a THE IRON AGE 1133 are packed into bundles 4% x 4% x 30 in., held to- gether by wire. These bundles are charged into the heating furnaces by a workman equipped with a pair of tongs, and are raised to a welding temperature. An over- head crane assists in removing the bundles. It is located so that when the workman swings the tongs around, the bundle will be opposite the groove for the first pass through the rolls. The finished bars are for use in the manufacture of pins, bolts and many other articles needed by the company. Both wrought iron and steel pass through the roll ing mill Axles, however, are taken to another part of the shop, are brought down to the proper section, and are cut off into the proper lengths for rolling Tire steel, after being cut up by means of acetylene torches, is delivered to the rolling mill by forge shop laborers. The practice of hammering tire steel before it is rolled has been discontinued. The rolling mill is 30 ft. wide and 80 ft. long and occupies one section of the forge shop. The capacity of the rolls in the rounds % to 2 in. inclusive. There are two furnaces. de igned and made by engineers of the railroad The controlled by py- temperatures of the furnaces are rometers. Industrial Thrift Plans Outlined Simplicity, safety and flexibility are the funda mental characteristics of a good industria! thrift and savings plan, according to a report issued by the Pol Pipe Fittings and Valves Are Made Fit for Re- Use, the Machine Here Illustrated Being Used for Grinding Valves icyholders’ Service Bureau, Metropolitan Life Insur- ance Co., New York. After defining each of the fun- damentals, the report goes into the details of the types of thrift and savings plans in use in industry—those where the company acts as an agent for a savings bank; the plan under where the company assumes the custody of the employees’ funds; the type plan where the company takes no part in the actual operation of a savings plan but encourages saving by offering a cash incentive; and an insured thrift plan. The actual experience which various industrial concerns have had in the working out of the plans are cited for the benefit of Metropolitan group insurance policyholders who are conducting or planning to start thrift and saving plans. SN AE MIE RNR TR RYE DOE Rt DRS 7 Fe ra wm ile aor eh a PA NOP Nernst ls cere RMI beng. UN ER is ee ee EN IE NR IN CS a OMCs rere A A ATTAIN A SS, hy Nenana a — fo ee “ae < a ce rats a * sinh ar ENR — A AL, EP OOO td pm rE he ale RN Ie esa British Shipyards Are Hard Hit “Agreed Report” of Employers and Employees on Low Prices of German Yards Has a Good Effect on Unions —Britain’s Salvation Is More Efficiency BY JOHN CALDER FTER reviewing the state of industry in four of A the countries visited this summer, it seems well in a further article to sum up the economic con- ditions which must be met in all European lands if healthy industry is to be maintained. England carries the heaviest handicap at present and best exemplifies what is needed, why it is needed and how it can be attained. The rapid increase in unemployment in England during 1925 was due largely to the disappearance of artificial stimuli, such as the occupation of the Ruhr and the strikes in the United States, under which the coal-mining industry had been working for some time. In those European countries which adopted the same attitude as Great Britain toward the gold standard there was a similar marked the autumn and winter of 1925; but in every other case the crisis was negotiated with success, and since last year there has been a steady fall. In Great Britain alone this improvement in trade was not experienced. increase in Effect of Reduced Hours It is beyond doubt that the success with which Brit- ish industry absorbed the rapidly growing numbers of workers seeking employment immediately after the war was due to the reduction in hours at the time when the trade boom had almost spent its force. A reduction of hours without a corresponding increase of efficiency necessarily adds to the real costs of industry, and in so far as the added costs are confined to one country the competitive power of that country is reduced. Moreover, if its competitive power is reduced, the in- itial success with which the country’s industry absorbed the new workers will not be maintained. The lack of resilience recently shown by British in- dustry in comparison with industry on the Continent is evidence of the essential failure, from one point of view, of the reduction of the working day. In October, 1925, it was officially estimated that, whereas the aver- age level of weekly British earnings was about 75 per cent above that of 1913, the average rate of wages per hour was twice as high. It may be assumed that the hourly efficiency of industry had been increased. More- over, both efficiency and wage rates per hour have been increased in other countries. It is difficult, however, to avoid the conclusion that the ratio of the increase in hourly efficiency to the in- crease in the average rate of wages per hour is smaller in Great Britain than in Germany and America. If this conclusion is right, England’s competitive position has been seriously weakened; and as the competitive aspect of international trade will inevitably be of the first importance during the next few years, and the fate of Britain’s export trade will determine its fate as a nation, it cannot afford not to strive to the utmost to improve the ratio just cited. Britain’s economic salva- tion lies in a substantial and early increase in national efficiency. Britain’s Reduced Foreign Trade The reduction in the volume of foreign trade is a far more serious matter to Great Britain than to any other country in the world, with the possible exception of Norway, and the reduction of unemployment in some European countries suggests that the latter have been able either to reestablish their relative position as world traders or to find compensation in the expansion of their home markets. In the United States the gap created by a fall in exports was filled by capital development within the boundaries of our vast country. The post-war reduc- tion in British exports is due not only to the impover- ishment of the greater part of the world, but also to the growth of new manufacturing industries in other lands and a tendency toward the formation of self- sufficing economic units. These new manufactures, some of which we noted this summer in several coun- tries, are, generally speaking, concerned at the outset with the simpler and coarser classes of goods, and the immediate result is not only to restrict international commerce, but to drive it more and more on to the finer qualities of manufacture. At present we find that the reputation of Great Britain in most markets for quality of goods stands high compared with that of its competitors. The difficulties met with by British trade in com- petition with other export countries arise much more from questions of comparative cost than of compara- tive quality. Any tendency for competition to develop on the basis of quality should, therefore, be beneficial to it, if under the head of quality is included all that makes an article suitable to its purpose and attractive to the intended purchaser, and not merely measured by the standard of what is, or has been in the past, most approved. British Share of Shipbuilding Declines In no other department of economic activity before the war was the superiority of the British quite s° marked as in shipbuilding. Though many of the ma- terials employed in shipbuilding and marine engineer- ing were being imported in increasing degree, the main industry continued to enjoy a fairly constant propor tion of the world’s orders for ships. Even the intense and prolonged depression in the industry from 1921 to 1924 caused no fundamental change, for the yards of the United States, which were mainly responsible for an oversupply of ships immediately after the war, had ceased to count as competitors. In 1896 Britain owned a little more than one-half of the world tonnage of 25,000,000 tons of shipping. Thirty years later—in the present year—due to the entry of other lands into building for themselves, Britain owned about one-third of a world tonnage which had grown to 64,000,000 tons. The percentage of shipbuilding done by Great Britain during the same 30 years had also been ® gradually reducing figure, coming down from 80 per cent to nearly 50 per cent, except for the abnormal situation during the war. Coal Strike Cuts in on Shipping At the beginning of 1926 many British shipbuilders looked forward confidently to about 1,200,000 tons of new construction in the present year and they had good reasons for this hope. 1134 A large number of steamship October 21, 1926 lines had been engaged since the war in replac- ing lost tonnage and had not quite caught up, and meanwhile they had delayed scrapping existing tonnage which had become out of date in type, equipment and design for new avenues of service. Also, time had only emphasized the fact that in economy of owning and managing shipping no country has yet seriously threat- ‘ned Britain’s long maintained leadership in deep sea traffic the world over. All of-this was encouraging until the “black diamond” ballast of British freighters outward bound ceased to be available. Even the bunker coal failed owing to the strike and gave pause to ship owners contemplating new construction. Joint Committee Visits Europe Another reason for confidence arose out of the rude shock received by British shipbuilders in the spring of 1925. Tenders were invited by British owners for five motor ships and to the general astonishment and chagrin a German concern, the Deutsche Werft, then scantily employed, walked off with the order, bidding RMAC AAA LLL ASMASOA MAMAN AAG id A GGA AAT OEL TELA U{LUAUAEDLBUUL TASS HALAU L014 ERS AAP ORR PRENE aH gto THE IRON ML tiliiiaiconittaiean cinta ene ies Weenie Wren tor | AGE 1135 chinery slows down production and increase cost. The “agreed conclusions” of the first joint committee of employers and workers to visit their successful foreign competitors may have far-reaching results. The joint report was adopted by the Shipbuilding Employers Fed- eration without reservations of any kind, but the 21 unions involved have been much slower to act upon the recommendations of their joint representatives in the investigation. Workers on Exports Suffer The report illustrates what the American Manage- ment Mission observed this summer in five different countries, and particularly in England, namely, the diffi- culty created for employers and workers in exporting industries, when an attempt is made to work men longer and pay them proportionately less than the people who supply only a home market; “the sheltered trades” the latter are styled in Britain. So “sheltered” are they, indeed, that highly skilled engineering and shipbuilding workers earn relatively less than common laborers in ee | N this sixth of the articles covering his investigations in Europe as a member of the American Management Mission, Mr. Calder deals with the serious situation in Great Britain’s shipbuilding industry, in which her position has been for so long con- sidered unassailable. The future will turn largely on the willingness of British Ship- yard labor to meet the demands of new conditions. The decline in British foreign trade has created a most difficult problem, and the question now uppermost is how far the workers are willing to meet it with increased efficiency. In his seventh article Mr. Calder will deal with iron and steel trade conditions in Great Britain, and the final one will be devoted to the great work of the international labor office of the League of Nations at Geneva. WRUUL ALLL AasGuntngagaaatagat Ut usuua Lana avnenassannsn Nason sau UUU NUN UN AHEM LANeNe LSU HAMMELL nearly $300,000 less per ship than the British tenderers. Though it has only recently been disclosed that the successful bidders lost half their capital on operations in 1925 and lost on every vessel built, the discrepancy astounded shipbuilding labor at the time and has had a salutary effect on its relations with capital. The first effect was a demand for an investigation on the spot of the conditions of work under which such effective competition was possible. A joint committee of employers and of representa- tives of the 21 unions concerned in shipbuilding was appointed and, crossing to the Continent, investigated conditions in every country competing with them. They reported that they found longer hours worked, lower wages, and working conditions much more favorable to economical production and quick deliveries. They went back with the belief that such a redisposition of the industry’s mechanical and manual labor power was possible that, despite wage and hour handicaps which employers had agreed to leave untouched, an approxi- mation to continental costs could be brought about. High Cost of “Demarcation” Any engineer who visits the Clyde or Tyne yards can see for himself the effect on costs of the multi- plicity of “crafts” recognized and employed in the con- struction of ships and engines. Each has its own com- plicated lines of “demarcation” or boundaries which it vigilantly guards against encroachments of neighbors, and disputes and long delays over these artificial limits are far too common. This inelasticity of British shipyard labor, highly competent though the latter is, and its dislike of inter- changeability, payment by results and labor-aiding ma- soo MRMMROA NOU aggUc NEMA NATTA a eM ee TTP A ATT some domestic lines. Arbitrations or court decisions which favor these uneconomic differentials have caused much discontent among the employees in yards which are almost idle at present. Good Results of Employer-Employee Cooperation The report is one of the most encouraging economic documents published during the last few years. It provides an admirable example of willing, even eager, cooperation between employers and workers—in this case companions in distress. The employers adopted a statesmanlike attitude in taking the trade union repre- sentatives into their full confidence and submitting complete evidence relevant to the issues raised. “Publicity” is unduly feared by some employers on both sides of the Atlantic. It does not necessarily mean the publication to the world of the intimate facts of internal administration; it means the submission to each side by the other of relevant evidence and the abandonment of oratory or endeavors to confound the issues. In that respect British shipbuilding employers have shown good industrial leadership at a most trying time. On their part the trade union representatives have taken a new attitude in recognizing the needs of the situation. Both are a pleasing contrast to the opposed camps in the mining dispute which appear to have learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Effect of Reduction in Naval Construction Certain very large and world famous British yards like Vickers, Armstrong, Beardmore, Fairfield, have been hard hit by the idleness of expensive special equip- ment originally called for in connection with naval orders, of which there is small prospect in any quantity ii 1136 THE IRON AGE in the future. Several of these have had to reorganize and reduce capital and others must follow soon. The hopes of the shipbuilders from the signs of demand for new shipping were dashed to the ground by the general strike of May 3 to May 12, and by the continuing coal strike which closed the steel mills and shut off, as soon as stock piles were exhausted, the supply of ship plates and shapes. : The result is that a number of vessels then on order and booked since are much delayed and a severe blow has been given to the launching expectations of 1926. The 16 miles of idle shipyards at Glasgow and the cor- responding districts of the Northeast Coast of England present a melancholy spectacle of arrest. To one ac- customed to the Clyde of a generation ago it is evident that the day of the smali shipyard is past and that com- binations of yards closely affiliated with, and usually entirely owned by, engineers and steel masters will possess the field and use such yards and plants as feeders of their mills and direct outlets for their product. Activity in Invention and Research While 1926 as a producing year is practically lost, the shipbuilding industry in Great Britain should show a sharp improvement soon, for it is starting again INDIAN IRON NOT DUMPED Decision Says Evidence of Violation of Anti- Dumping Act Is Lacking WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.—Indian pig iron has not been dumped into the United States. This, at least, is the substance of a Treasury Department decision handed down last week, which was the outgrowth of a long investigation instituted as a result of complaints by Eastern merchant blast furnace interests. The pro- ceeding, of more than two years’ standing, was based on charges that pig iron was coming into the United States from India in violation of the anti-dumping act. Several notices of dumping of iron were issued by the Collector of Customs at Galveston, Tex. -In the Treas- ury decision, dated Oct. 11, but made public Oct. 13, it was declared that investigation disclosed the fact that the reported invoice value of pig iron from India at less than $13 per ton was erroneous. The decision said that the consular invoices, accord- ing to investigation made by the Appraisers at New York and Boston, were incorrectly made out and showed only partial payments that were made on the ship- ments in question instead of the full contract price, which the decision declared, was over $20 per net ton. It was further pointed out that there is practically no open market for pig iron in India in wholesale quantities, as the three producers are the principal and largest consumers. The other consumers are small foundries. which use pig iron in limited quantities. The decision said