The Iron Age 1926-11-04: Vol 118 Iss 19

THE IRON AGE New York, November 4, 1926 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 118, No. 19 Stainless Iron Has Unusual Merits Ease of Fabrication When Annealed—Resists Corrosion —Strength Increased by Heat Treatment— Results of Extensive Tests BY T. W. both fresh and salt moisture, ease of fabrication in the annealed condition and vigorous response to simple heat treatment are among the outstanding merits of certain low-carbon chromium-iron alloys, commonly’ known as stainless irons, which are finding increasing industrial applications and which promise to replace to a certain extent the usual steels and non- ferrous metals used in the construction of aircraft. A series of tests of a metal of this type, carried out with the object of determining its characteristics and particularly its suitability for use in the construc- tion of fuel and lubricating tanks for aircraft, have been completed recently at the Naval Aircraft Factory. Results of these tests, the most important of which are about to be described, are, with few exceptions, quite favorable to the metal. The metal tested was received from the manufac- turer in the form of annealed sheets 0.060 in. thick, all mill scale having been removed by pickling, which pro- duced a uniformly rough, gray finish not unlike that resulting from sand blasting with fine sand. Chemical analysis showed the metal to be of the following com- position: QR roe rest a good resistance to corrosion by Per Cent Per Cent 0.10 Carheth :siaxiccciaeuk s Silicon 0.20 Manganese ee Chromium 12.03 Phosphorus ......... 0.026 Iron Remainder Sulphur .....dssasmaneee A number of longitudinal and transverse tensile and bend specimens were prepared for tests of the metal as received and after various heat treatments. Tensile specimens were provided with a gage length % in. x ) in., and bend specimens were 1 in. x 4 in., with round- ed edges, to prevent starting of cracks at this location. Heat Treatment Annealing of specimens was done by heating in an electric muffle furnace to the annealing temperature, holding at this temperature for 20 min., and allowing to cool slowly in the furnace. Annealing temperatures of 1400, 1550 and 1700 deg. Fahr. were used. Specimens to be hardened were heated in an electric muffle furnace to 1800 deg. Fahr., held at this tempera- ture for 20 min., and quenched in oil. Tempering was done subsequently in the same furnace by heating the specimens for 30 min. at temperatures from 600 to 1400 deg. Fahr. After tempering, the specimens were removed from the furnace and allowed to cool in still alr. Tensile and Bend Tests Results of tensile tests of the metal in the condition (1) as received, (2) after annealing and (3) after *Associate metallurgist United St bs tory, Philadelphia. ates Naval Aircraft Fac DOWNES* quenching and tempering are shown in Table 1. The strength as received was approximately 66,000 to 80,000 lb. per sq. in., and the elongation about 22 per cent in 2 in. By heat treatment, the strength was increased to as high as 185,000 lb. per sq. in., but this was ac- companied by a sharp and rather erratic drop in elon- gation. Tests of bend specimens were made by bending over a radius equal to the thickness of the material (0,060 in.) and noting the angle through which the specimen bent before the first crack appeared, and the condition after bending 180 deg., provided the specimen did not separate completely at the bend. Results of bend tests are given in Table III. In the condition as received and after suitable annealing the metal withstood a bend of 180 deg. over a radius equal to its own thickness without cracking, both in the direc- tion of and at right angles to the direction of rolling. Heat treatment materially reduced the bend properties. Hardness Brinell and scleroscope hardness tests of the ma- terial in the condition as received and after the various heat treatments were made on the butt ends of the tensile specimens and near the ends of the bend speci- mens before the respective tension and bend tests were made. A pressure of 500 kg. was used in making the Brinell tests of the “as received” and annealed speci- mens; 3000 kg. pressure was used on the heat-treated specimens. A dial type of scleroscope was used. Brinell and scleroscope hardness values for the ma- terial, as received and after annealing at 1400 deg. Fahr., were quite uniform at 119 and 26, respectively. These were increased to 418 and 64, respectively, by quenching in oil from 1800 deg. Fahr. Results of all hardness tests are included in Tables I and III. Soft and Silver Soldering Several methods and soldering fluxes were tried but results were indifferent until the following method was used: The surfaces to be soldered were first cleaned with emery cloth, dipped in hydrochloric acid and wiped clean of the excess acid with a clean cloth. This was followed by dipping in hydrochloric acid which had been cut with an excess of zinc, after which tinning of the surfaces was readily accomplished by the usual method. A soldered joint was then made in the ordinary manner, using a soldering iron and 50-50 tin-lead solder. Two sheets of the metal, 4% in. x 6 in., were soldered together along the 6-in. edges with ‘%-in. overlap by the above method. After soldering, several strips 1 in. wide, having the soldered joint at the mid- 1265 — AN Ra sat ifn tc mee ~ Lat ei i BN ahi - * Papeete one ~ - Nene sme ip higntag va comin inde ‘ ae. z Lestydttantpeemmmaiantttnnaiatiemmeanst ; a 2 sy Sei ee He . 1266 THE IRON AGE die, were cut from the specimen and tested in tension. Results of the tests are given in Table II. Several attempts were made to silver solder speci- mens of the metal. The surfaces to be soldered were cleaned by filing and by pickling, and several fluxes, including borax and boric acid were tried, but the solder failed to adhere well to the metal. A lap joint, however, was finally made using borax as a flux, but the joint presented an unsightly, non-uniform appear- ance and was of doubtful strength. Dip and Flame Brazing Two sheets, size 4% in. x 6 in., were overlapped % in. along the 6-in. edges and spot welded together at the ends and center of the overlap. This assembly was placed in a muffle furnace held at 1000 deg. Fahr. When thoroughly heated to this temperature, the speci- Fig. 1 as Received. Longitudinal section at 500 diameters Structure of Stainless Iron in the Condition men was transferred to a crucible containing a molten flux of 60 per cent borax and 40 per cent boric acid held at 1650 deg. Fahr. After an immersion of 10 min. in the flux, the specimen was removed and immediately placed in a crucible containing brazing brass of the composition 70 per cent copper and 30 per cent zinc, WeDEDENHUTEDET TENET UTETEDLEECED) FDOETH ENED YOREREFONERDECDDTED HTeNDERRONALUNDE ETN DOHTOSENDORDOREONSRIOFERNNHONtHOENTTeDTOseONrO Table I rial. Longitudinal and Transverse Spe: =e No ; Treatment Received by Specimer 2L 3L AV As received: not treated 1T oT 3T | AV | 9L 101 | AV oT Heated to 1400 deg. Fahr., held for 20 OT | min. and cooled slowly in furnaces AV j 11L } 12L } AV Heated to 1550 deg. Fahr., held for 20 11T min. and cooled slowly in furnace 12T AV 13L 14L AV Heated to 1700 deg. Fahy held f 9 . ; , . ‘ ani or 20 is | min. and cooled slowly in furnacs AV. 23L oer i sented to 1800 deg. Fahr., held 20 min 26L ' ang quenched in oil. Tempered as in- o9 dicated. Not tempered—600 deg. Fahr 27L | 800 deg. Fahr., 1000 deg. Fahr 1200 2RT, } deg. Fahr.. 1400 deg. Fahr_ : ternrrerte re rsreeeneeenneneenrernennenntnn, .serteennnennentnenenennnnnnnentmennnnrnennnssennnenenmnoneneen ot ree UR EENTON SOSEREONEEERENETOSEEDEEREESEEROEREH DANS: November 4. (026 held at 1850 deg. Fahr. and covered with a lay. ,; flux about 2 in. deep. After 15 min. in the bras. jt was removed, buried in powdered lime and allow) « cool slowly. When cold the bre acy was cleaned of the excess flux, electrolytic ved of the excess brass and cut into several sti. . 4. wide to be used {fo tests to determine the strength of the joints in tension Results of the tests are included in Table II. An assembly of two sheets of the metal, simila: « that used for dip brazing, was used for a test of flame brazing. This was preheated with an acetylene flame to approximately 1000 deg. Fahr., a 60-40 borax-horic acid flux applied and a brazed joint made, using 7(-3( copper-zine brazing wire. After brazing, the specime: was cooled slowly in powdered lime, and when cold was cleaned of the excess flux and de-plated electrolytically Several strips 1 in. wide, with the joint at the middle, were taken for tensile tests, results of which are given in Table II. In tests of both dip and flame brazing, the brass adhered well to the metal and flowed readily betweer surfaces, making sound, strong joints. Acetylene and Electric Spot Welding Very good results were obtained in welding with the oxy-acetylene flame when strips of the same m€val were used for filler rod. The use of a flux is apparently unnecessary, although good welds were made with and without borax. Joints were also made using iron wire for welding rod, but apparently nothing is to be gained by its use, and resistance to corrosion will be greatly reduced by such use, Cracking was at first encountered in the joints This seemed to be caused by expansion of the meta! due to heating, the edges to be welded being forced against each other with such pressure that the joint failed. This was overcome by leaving a “V” notch be- tween the edges to be joined. A soft, neutral flame was found to be the best for welding. This avoided excessive oxidation of the metal and embrittlement due to carburization. As in the case of the brazed specimens, strips 1 in. wide were cut from the welded assemblies for tension tests, re sults of which are given in Table II. Several pairs of strips of the metal 1 in. wide and 1 in. long were overlapped % in. at the ends and joined SELUUCLUONTOPEROTROOCEDUOSERONELOSEDOATONOERADYONOREFEREORT IHVEDOTASEEAEUEIETERDEREDENERTTT eHnErHENET TE TeRBELnETO#tHer Results of Tensile and Hardness Tests of (1) as Received, (2) Annealed and (3) Quenched and Tempered Mat: imens Are Marked L and T, Respectively Hardness ; ee _ aed ——, Ultimate Per Cent F Sclero- Yield Point, Strength, Elongation Brineli scope Lb. per Sq. In. Lb. per Sq.In. in 2 In. 119 25 54,500 68,500 18.5 119 27 53,200 66,000 22.5 119 26 52,900 65.900 20.5 119 26 53,500 66,800 20.5 119 27 59,300 75,000 25.0 119 26 61,750 79,900 20.0 119 26 62,500 79,500 25.0 119 26 61,200 78,100 23.3 119 25 51,200 66,000 23.0 19 26 49,500 69,200 22.0 119 26 50,400 67,600 22.5 19 25 55,750 77,700 20.0 119 27 57,750 78,500 22.0 119 26 56,800 78,100 21.0 124 25 59,200 69.000 32.5 124 27 39,000 66,500 23.0 124 26 49,100 67,800 22.8 124 26 59,750 81,600 25.0 124 27 68,000 71,750 22.5 124 27 63,900 76,700 23.8 158 33 76,900 88,250 ~ 158 32 78,500 88.700 16.0 158 33 77.700 88,500 16.0 158 31 91,500 108,500 12.6 158 31 91,000 105,200 12.5 158 31 911300 107,000 12.5 418 64 ae 0.5 387 60 wale 135:000 1.5 387 59 183,000 185,000 6.6 387 7 175,000 178,000 7.5 268 4 170,000 173,000 5.0 1 ee 115,000 11.0 November 4, 1926 by electric spot welding. The metal welded readily, no flux or extraordinary technique being necessary. A specimen having one weld and another having two welds were tested in tension. Results of the tests are in- cluded in Tab.e IT. aa Cork ow J28ts Tests of the corrosive action of the spray of a 20 per cent salt water solution were made on specimens Fig. 2—Same as Fig. 1 Except the Section Is Transverse of the material, (1) as’ received, (2) after heat treat- ment consisting of quenching from 1800 deg. Fahr. in oil and tempering at 1000 deg. Fahr., and (3) after a similar heat treatment followed by highly polishing the surface. Specimens of joints of the metal made by welding, brazing and soldering were also subjected to the salt spray. All specimens were placed in the salt spray for a period of 30 days, during which time the condition of the specimens was noted frequently. The specimens of the material in the condition as received were rusted and pitted.at the sheared edges at the end of 30 days. The unmachined surfaces and machined edges of these specimens were stained in a few places but there was apparently no pitting and no heavy oxide scale. A hardened and tempered specimen, from which the oxide scale due to heat treatment was not removed, was heavily coated with rust and deeply pitted in many places. A similarly heat-treated speci- men, the surface of which was highly polished after heat treatment, withstood corrosion in the salt spray remarkably well, being only very slightly rusted at a few small areas after 30 days’ exposure. Welded, brazed and soldered joints, subjected to the salt spray for 30 days, showed no apparent accelerated corrosion at the joints except the welded joint made with iron wire as filler rod, which was rather badly rusted. A tensile specimen immersed for 50 days in tap water was rusted slightly at the sheared edges but not attacked elsewhere at the end of the test. Specimens immersed in aviation gasoline, a 50-50 mixture of aviation gasoline and benzol, and Gulf Re fining Co. No. 9095 lubricating oil were not corroded in ”~”) days. Microscopy The microstructure of the metal as received con- sisted of rather coarse grained ferrite and much finer grained pearlite or sorbite, small particles of carbide being distributed uniformly throughout the material. That of the metal quenched in oil from 1800 deg. Fahr and tempered at 1000 deg. Fahr. was uniform and fine grained, being apparently sorbitic. This heat treat- ment appears to dissolve the carbide. The microstructure of the metal as received and after heat treatment is shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclu sive. Etching was done with a saturated solution of THE IRON ferric chloride in hydrochloric acid to which was added about 2 per cent of concentrated nitric acid. favorable to the metal, and for the sake of convenient reference, are summarized as follows: Fig. Deg. Fahr. in Oil and Tempered at 1000 AGE 1267 Conclusions Results of the tests were with few exceptions very 1. The tensile properties of the 0.060-in. thick sheet material in the condition as received, or annealed, are considerably better than those of mild stee! and, by suitable heat treatment, the strength may be increased to approximately 185,- 000 Ib. per sq. in., with an elongation of about 5 per cent in 2 in. The range of mechanical properties that can be obtained by quenching and tempering is, however, apparently quite limited. ; : ; } i ep 2. The annealed material is easily machined and its capacity for cold bending would undoubt edly enable it to withstand severe forming opera tions without cracking. 3. The resistance to corrosion by salt spray of the material as received was remarkably good except at sheared edges. This may have been due to a strained condition of the metal, which could be corrected by proper heat treatment 4. It is evident that in order to be more than ordinarily resistant to corrosion, the surface of the metal must be free from scale. Specimens scaled in heat treatment and subsequently sub jected to the salt spray test for 30 days were heavily rusted and deeply pitted. The depth of a typical pit thus produced was measured by means of the microscope and found to be approximately 0.023 in. deep. This represents a penetration normal to the surface of the metal of nearly 0.001 in. per day, which is extremely severe. 5. The metal is extremely resistant to salt spray corrosion when surface is highly polished Wel Races iihaEremis \« ? i | t ; 3—Structure of the lron Quenched from 1806 ‘ eg. Fakr. iP Magnification 100 diameters | 6. In the annealed state the metal would be ‘ seer tahoe cls : . a ae nis sileie ese easy to fabricate, but after heat treatment by | ries quenching and tempering, its elongation values ty and bend properties indicate that the amount of ; forming that could be done would be very limited. { : Shearing and machining of the annealed metal i can be done without difficulty. yj é 7. The material can be satisfactorily soft sol- Z) dered, brazed, acetylene welded, and electric spot an welded. This would be in favor of the metal in ? case of its use for fuel and oi] tanks for aircraft 4 because of the ease with which repairs could be : made in the field. The fact that difficulty was encountered in silver soldering the metal ix not + ie considered important. He Tables IT and IT! will be found on the next page. aa Gvnonrveniysiesesnetnonenneneens 1 saerneneneee ercunernearsennesennenseas: Trade Associations Are a Boon to Amer- ican Business By helping to wipe out much of the bad feeling which existed formerly among competitors and by en- couraging a code of business ethics, trade associations have performed a service to American industry, E. W. McCullough, manager of the department of manufac- ture of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Washington, declared in an address before the Rotary Club of Baltimore, recently. F Mr. McCullough defined a trade association as “an association formed in a field of industry or commerce with a membership so representative that all problems pertaining to this field can be adequately presented for ‘ 1268 THE IRON AGE November 4, 192¢ Tables of Tensile, Hardness and Bend Properties of Stainless Iron Table 11.—Tensile Prope of “Ag Received” Material After Corrosion Tests, and Breaking Loads of Various Jo lin Wide Brazed Soldered Joints Were Overlapped % In.) Per Cent Y. P., Ld. Ult. Str., Elong. S No Treatment per Sq. In. Lb. per S4 In. ee Description of Corros 4L 42,739 70,627 . : aL, 0 days in salt water spray 4 43°710 17,893 22.0 Rusted at sheared edges only L ) § 40,491 70,327 0.0 rn rusting at sheared edges T f days in tap water ) 46,466 78,517 21.5 only 6L 45,529 71,854 22.5 s 6T 0 days lubricating oil ; 50.316 78.607 23.0 No attack 7L ) 0 days in 100 per cent aviation { -43,000 71,666 20.5 } . iT f gasoline 1 50,252 78,611 20.5 No attack 8L ) 50 days in 50-50 gasoline andf 43,046 70,860 20.0 1., 8T f benzol ) 47,868 78,056 23.0 § No attack Spec. No Kind of Joint Breaking — in Lb. Location of Failure D1 } 6,530 D2 ' Dip brazed 6,840 } At joint D3 7,550 Fl ) 7,125 } : F | Flame brazed 7'330 Edge of joint 3 in. from joint at 3 eee 7.000 joint S! } 760 S2 + Soft soldered 340 At joint s 1,190 Swi Single spot weld 1,170 ? fs . Sw2 Double sp t weld 1.950 f At spot weld 1 - ale 5.250 ) ¢ weld Po , Welded with parent metal ; 4.720 , At edge of we 11 } 6.750 At edge of weld + | Welded with iron wire as filled rod et } i. wane rat lil Hard 8 nd Bend Properties. Bends Were Made Over a Radius Equal to the Thickness of the Sheet Except Where Angle of Bend is Given, Specimens Were Bent Through 180 Deg. Spec. Ni Heat Treatment Received by ———Hardness———_,, Results of Bend Tests “ Specimen Brinell Scleroscope 1L 119 25 2L, ( 119 25 aL \ As Received 119 26 i iT c Not Treated ‘ 119 95 No crat ks 27 119 26 3T / 119 26 4L Heated to 1400 deg. Fahr., held for 119 30 7 5L L 20 min. and cooled slowly in 119 20 > 4T J furnace 119 20 > No cracks ST 119 30 j 6L Heated to 1550 deg. Fahr., held for 124 27 ) 7L L 20 min. and cooled slowly in 124 27 c No cracks 6T { furnace 124 54 f « iT J 124 26 Cracked very slightly 8L Heated to 1700 deg. Fahr., held for 158 : 9L L 20 min. and cooled slowly in 158 + ) All cracked but did not separate ST furnace 158 36 entirely a 158 aaa OL Not ‘7 ~ . . 10T re +15 60 Cracked at 80 deg. bend 107 tempered 418 60 Cracked at 30 deg. bend 111 Heated to 1800 deg ": . 11T ; ce - 600° F 87 60 Cracked at 130 deg. bend Fahr., held 20 © 0 Cracked at 45° deg. bend oa min.and quenched 800° F 387 65 Cracked at 30 deg. bend a in oil. Tempera- d4 65 Cracked at 10 deg. bend $e tured as_ indi- — 64 58 Cracked at 30 deg. bend 7 tial 64 58 Cracked at 10 deg. bend 1 9 . «* 48 ) _— 1200° F oo 48 f Cracked very slightly 15L 119 : 15T 1400° F i 119 37 No cracks "HUT HOOHennaraauanecsoneescuuneanueannnveananenanesaneennonesncenenneeeysesaneeruneansneenasennsnanecnsensnersnuensnesteteeanenensnsnnenvennnennnsesress722000000909" common consideration and solution, and with the pur- pose of developing this field so as to have the enterprise in it conducted with the greatest economy and effi- ciency. The title of trade association should be kept for use by those organizations which are sufficiently representative of an important branch of industry °F commerce to speak for it with authority and which un- dertake to consider all questions of general application to the industry.” The Mahoning Valley Foremen’s Association in- augurated last week a series of fall and winter meet- ings at the Y. M. C. A., in Youngstown, Ohio, to »¢ addressed by professional lecturers upon psychologic®! and related problems. Create Special Chain Department Work Taken to Order Handled Separately from Standard Products— Promotes Better Scheduling and Routing of Production TS meet the demand for special material with interfering with the normal production of standard chain, the Diamond Chain & Mfg. Co., Indianapolis, has a “Specials Department,” which functions inde pendently of the remainder of the plant. The depart- ment was established because of the increasing cal! for special kinds and sizes of chain, ie, those having some function besides transmitting power, such as con- veying, timing or indexing, and sometimes having side plates, pins or rollers of an entirely different shape or material from those used in the standard chain. The growing demand for such chain made it difficult schedule regular manufacturing operations satisfa torily. Incidentally, better delivery on special orders and a more accurate record of their cost were made pos- sible by the creation of the new department. More ver, complete separation of the Specials Department from the main part of the factory gave the company the opportunity to control the number of its employees more intelligently. No longer are additional workme: assigned to a regular department on the plea that work of a special nature makes it necessary to have extra help. Department Occupies 7000 Sq. Ft The volume of work done by the Specials Depart ment fluctuates considerably and is in direct ratio t the number of orders. The floor space occupied is ap proximately 7000 sq. ft. and, on an average, 35 work men are employed. Assembled in this unit of the factory is at least on of every type of machine tool used in the remainder of the plant. Present equipment consists of punc! presses, forming machines, drill presses, screw ma chines, milling machines, assembly presses and various special machines. While many of the tools are idle a considerable portion of the time, it is economical to have them in readiness for immediate use. Efficient *Resident editor, Tas Iron Ace, Cincinnati BY BURNHAM FINNEY* anufacture of special chain demands such an arrange- tr f production is maintained separately from t of the remainder of the factory. The department schedules its own operations, orders its materials and tools, routes its work and is a complete operating unit within itself. Even in the engineering department there are several men who devote all of their time to de- signing jigs and fixtures for special operations. Fur- thermore, the inspection department has men whose sole duty it is to inspect the special work Confusion and Loss of Time Prevented Manifold advantages have accrued from the estab lishment of the department. Under the old system of routing special orders through the main plant, much confusion and loss of time resulted For instance, work on a special job often necessitated stopping the peration of certain machines, taking down the set-up ind erecting a new set-up. Such interference with the regular routine of production has been eliminated The fact that special chains are made in small quar ties and that each order took a different route throug! the plant made the coordination of the regular and th special work impossible. To move the special materia nechanically or in a routine way is impractical Special Work Formerly Sidetracked There was a tendency under the old system for de partment supervisors to sidetrack or neglect special orders, because the accumulation of regular work was always sufficient to keep the departments busy with- out seeking other jobs. It is not strange, therefore, that the establishment of the Specials Department wrought a marked change. Today the supervisor in that unit has only special work to do, and it is his business to produce good results. Ten years ago practically no special chain was built Sometimes a customer asked for special grades and sizes in regular makes, but such requests were excep tional. It was not until the chain manufacturers began The Screw Ma- chine Section of the Specials De- partment. As- sembled in the especial chain unit of the plant te at least one of every type of machine tool used in the re- mainder of the plant Pe % a nth aE ym %; Se ED” 8 perintie P e 5 ‘ % ii "” " ; 2 ite 2 tie » ' 3 ae 2 le dats 2S 12 rer a yal, Ce J or ey Tale US, Se Se yeaa ae” be py ~ ELAR AAI, NET SWART MLEE DLE REO TALE MINES ITS SERN FRE om aes gy Bote mig oem Ves ana Poe sem mart me ct Ng ae ga eg ete ae Ait RIS ERNE IF * enue weer semanas = npg A beet on ase ite 1270 THE IRON develop special uses for chain that production of special material became a serious problem It was but natural that perating departments hould gi standar hain the right-of-way Im manu- acturing channels. Tt ficulty of scheduling specia! rders and many other problems which arose led to : ; a cal « 1. the segregation of important operations on special work r a asing the efficiency of pro- iv 4 th r machines, punch presses r € machines was removed from the reg- routine. Gradually the mimor operations als ere handled independently of the regular work ntil the S$ Department was formed Segregation Has Promoted Efficiencs Plant Throughout the + r r la ph on 3 . ; a > - . . * +h, . . Si With a € Ss al x ~~» 6 "treat + +< j = =e re eTnLrTaved n r > -SUSLAIN g t. the reg . enartment<« h ms +einet Technical Sessions and Exhibit to Welding meeny eng Feature 4 mprehensive ~ ica ; gram nas ig r the fall meeting of the A rica y Society, which will be held at the Broadway A um. Buffa N ] 7. 18 and 19. A < me gy « meé a . hes ‘ g f Ae le rodcucts * ais a fe ture ne : r ex 7 r , r< r al sess 5 4 r morning N - 7 , ¥ At this session a paper on “Welding of Locomotive Parts” will be presented by M. Gijersten, master welde1 the Northern Pacific Co., and another Orga oe a3 of Welding on tant toct ong SSSIStanS Less C = the ineer, Railroad,” by F. H. Williams Canadian National Railways ymparative Structural Members y A. M. Candy, Westinghous Electric & Mfg , and “Tests on Welded Roof Truss H. H. Moss, Linde anned for the afternoon of N 17 Discussion of “Welding S é Eng rri m of Universities” w a g session, Nov. 18, and will be f he society’s welding wire specificat he afternoon. There w : 9 American Bureau of Welding. which t . partment of the American Wel ° Ss as ¢ atter SeSS101 progress iv] wWelaing r reviewed. ; >| . v- 5 A short technical session, N / Welding m a Gase Tests om Arc Welded and Riveted Air Products | ‘ naeiome Novembe: AGE 1926 in this way to budget their supplies more a a There has been a noticeable increase in th: en of individual workmen in all parts of the p! Th operators in the regular departments are 2 4 their particular jobs more efficiently when rupted to do special work. Furthermore, the ; in the Specials Department acquire a versati|i: ; adds to their value. Accurate control of the number of emp! 5 special work is maintained. The supervisor kn how many orders are on hand and how much lab yuired to fill them. As a result, the cost tems can be determined easily and quickly. The additional attention which special chair received has resulted in a study of the requ if the designers and a selection of features found in such designs. It has been possible t t number of types which incorporate the m features, and equipment designers nay employ chain for which tools already are mac hanging only slightly their original specifications lude demonstrations by P. P. Alexander and Weinman of the General Electric Co. A dinner dance will be held at the Hotel Stat Nov. 18, and the afternoon of Nov. 19 will be g ver to a visit to Niagara Falls. Following a sh on trip through the Niagara Falls Power H iffet supper wet be given on the Canadian sid umination of the Falls will be witnesse« To Discuss Steel Structures The civil section of the Engineers Society of We- ern Pennsylvania is sponsor for an all day conferer to be held at the William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh. N 4. Technical sessions are to be held in the morn! and afternoon and an informal dinner and enterta ment in the evening. Papers to be presented inclu “Evolution of Steel Skeleton Type of Building,” Robins Fleming, American Bridge Co., New Yor! ‘Recent Developments of Rolled Structural Section: by A. E. Crockett, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporat Pittsburgh; “Foundations,” by George R. Johns Foundation Co., Pittsburgh, and “Effect of Gu" Encasement on Structural Steel,” by B. C. Allen, ‘ ment Gun Co., Allentown, Pa. The General Fireproofing Co. will occupy No’ additional capacity and will imerease production metal desks 150 per day. The company is now sh ing desks, it is reported, at the rate of 1200 daily ae i aati Ford tug Balcamp towing four ships in Lake Erie. This tow is 5700 ft. long Scrapping Ships at Ford Plant Most of the Salvaged Material Now Being Used in Ford Industries—About 1000 Tons of Steel per Day Taken from Discarded Emergency Fleet Boats ITH its purchase of 199 ocean boats from the United States Shipping Board for scrap, the Ford Motor Co. was confronted with the problem of taking most of these vessels to its Detroit plant and de- vising efficient and economical methods of scrapping. Months were spent in planning scrapping methods and in installing the equipment that is being used. Following the general plan of progressive produc- tion as used in building automobiles, the Ford company routed various scrapping operations starting with tak- ing the boats from the seaboard to Detroit. The orig- inal plan, when everything was set for what might be designated mass production on wrecking ships, called for the scrapping of one boat in three days. The esti- mate proved too conservative, as a record has been set of completely scrapping six boats in 10 working days instead of in 18 days as expected. As the amount of steel in each boat is 1700 tons, this meant the cutting up of the ships in scrap at the rate of over 1009 tons per day. A force of 970 men is employed on the work which is carried on in two 8-hr. shifts in scrapping and in three shifts in unloading the scrap from cars. The boats purchased by the Ford company included 149 of the lake type of Welland Canal size, 251 ft. long and with 43%-ft. beam. The remainder, known as the submarine type, were 324 ft. long with 46-ft. beam \s the latter were too long to take through the Wel land Canal, arrangements were made with three At- lantic Coast shipyards to scrap them. Up to Oct. 1 57 ships had ar- rived at the Fordson plant and of these 34 had been completely scrapped. On that date there were 28 ships that had been either completely scrapped or were in the process of scrapping on the At- lantic seaboard. The steel from the boats in the Eastern shipyards is hauled to the Fordson plant of the company on the boats going to that plant to be serapped. These boats are being loaded to a 12%-ft. draft and it takes the capacity of 2% of the lake type boats to transport the steel amounting to 2200 tons and other mate- rial salvaged from one of the boats on the At- lantic Coast. Boats taken to Detroit are scrapped in a slip at the Fordson plant. The first boat reached the plant May 31 and the scrapping started the following day. Seven ocean-going tugs were purchased to bring the boats from the Atlantic by way of the St. Lawrence River They are towed by contract through the difficult chan nels of the river and to Ogdensburg, N. Y., from which point two Ford tugs are used for towing them through Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and the Detroit River. In addition, three of the lake type boats were recondi tioned for use as tow boats in bringing vessels from Gulf ports. In good weather a tug tows two beats but with the approach of the season for rough weather in the vicinity of the mouth of the St. Lawrence, orders were given to tow only one vessel at a time. On arriving at the Fordson plant the boats are taken into a slip in which the scrapping is done. This provides positions for 12 boats in a row on one side of the slip. The vessel is moved from one to another position for successive operations. Handling equipment was installed the length of thir slip for use in handling the material as the vessels are scrapped. This includes five 35-ton gantry cranes with 65-it. booms, four 60-ton locomotive cranes with 60-ft booms and one 200-ton locomotive wrecking crane with 58-ft. boom. The gantry and locomotive cranes are mounted on trucks that operate on an 18-ft. gage track running parallel with the slip and along the slip are four standard gage tracks on which the scrap is loaded on cars. One of these tracks is located within the crane runway track so that flat cars can run beneath the crane trucks. One of the princi- pal problems that came up for solution was how to cut up the bot- toms of the boats. Un der the plan adopted the superstructure is eut down within about 2 ft. of the water’ edge and the remainder of the hull is placed on a floating dry dock 260 ft. in length on which, starting at one end. transverse sections from 4 to 6 ft. wide and approximately 12 ft. long are cut from the bottom of the ship. As the boats A 52-ton boiler taken from a ship being placed on a flat have double bottoms, car by a 200-ton crane these sections are 1271 1272 THE IRON made up of both of the necting structural members. up to 10 tons. In the three is not used pottom plates and the con- The larger sections weigh Eastern shipyards a floating dry dock Instead, after the superstructure is cut down close to the water’s edge a steam driven winch pulls the structure partly out of the water on a marine o railway and f the bottom is cut off in transverse : r the remainder of the bottom is pulled through water and is cut up in similar sections. After experimenting at the Fordson plant with the . ven gas in cutting torches, it was decided gas in place of acetylene gas in cutting up Tests show that the cutting speed of the rches was not quite so fast when coke oven gas and xygen was used, but this gas was cheaper than acety- ene gas. Another advantage that led to the use of ke oven gas was that it eliminated the work of han- large number of gas tanks. To supply the oxygen the company built an oxygen plant, using the liquification process. This plant is located in the base- ent of one of the mill buildings. The oxygen, coke oven gas, air for pneumatic tools and water are carried a tunnel under a walk along the wharf. The gas and oxygen supply lines are connected to headers along the wharf at the various positions of the boats. These headers have many outlets and as a rule 12 to 15 torches are at work on one boat at a time. The torches get their supply of gas and oxygen through flexible rubber hose. Torches of a standard type a) ne-nai Then the sections. 1S¢ T okKe ¢ ire used. Woodwork and Fixtures First Removed When boats are in their first two positions they are stripped of all their woodwork. Then the vessel is its next position where the stacks are cut down and other parts of the superstructure as well as sections of the deck are removed. The next operations the moving of brass parts and electrical fit- fixtures. At the same time a gang is re- the pipes and cutting out the propeller shaft. the fourth position is reached the cargo of steel from boats scrapped in the East is hoisted out while other men continue the dissembling operations. At about the eighth position the engines and are hoisted out. Then the sides are cut down close to the water’s edge and what is left of the bulk is ready to go on the dry dock for the final opera- tion of cutting up the bottom. moved into include tings and moving When scrapped boilers A ship bottom on the dry dock AGE November 4, 199¢ The 200-ton wrecking crane is used f, oisting the engines and boilers from the ships and ae them on flat cars. The engines, which weigh from ¢¢ to 90 tons each, are placed on specially designed cars Shackles are provided for handling each type of engine as well as the boilers. These save rigging and time The shackles are bolted to the base of the engine ang to these are attached four cables. The other ends of the cables are hooked to an equalizer that straddles the top of the engine and serves to balance the load. With this handling unit one engine and two boilers have been hoisted from a boat and placed on cars in 1% hr. The bulk of the steel as it is scrapped is handled directly by the cranes from the ship to a car. The smaller material is piled on steel trays about 5 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft. 6 in. in dimensions and when the tray is filled it is hooked to a crane and the contents dumped in a gondola car. From 90 to 105 carloads of scrapped material are recovered each day from the scrapping operations. This is unloaded around the steel plant yard in which nv- merous railroad tracks have been laid for handling the scrap. From these scrap piles the material will be taken to the open-hearth furnaces as needed. A 1000-ton steam hydraulic shear has been pur- chased by the company for use in cutting up the large superstructure and bottom sections and this will be erected shortly. From this shear the material will go into the open-hearth charging boxes. The large sec- tions that are being placed on the scrap piles will be reloaded on cars and from these cars an overhead crane will place the scrap on a large conveyor 8 ft. wide which will deliver it to the shear. Salvaged Material Being Used by Ford The Shipping Board’s contract for the sale of the boats stipulated that none of the salvaged material could be sold by the Ford company but must be used in the Ford industries. The bulk of the salvaged ma- terial is being put to use and it is expected that a way will be found for the utilization of everything before the job is completed. Some is now being stored be- cause no use has as yet been found for it in the Ford plants. The lumber, after being stripped from the boats, is removed in bundles and workmen pull out all nails which are saved for scrap. Then they place the lumber on power-driven conveyors, which deliver it to an ad- ready to be cut up into sections November 4, 1926 THE a el —ieenenal A section of the ship bottom which after being cut off is being hoisted from the floating dry dock last stage in the scrapping operation of the boats at the Fordson plant joining building where it is re-sawed and the salvaged lumber is sent to the company’s box factory for making standard size boxes in which to ship car parts. Among the salvaged equipment, pumps are one of the most important items, as a use is found for large numbers of these. Other boat equipment that is salvaged and re-used includes water heaters, boilers, tanks and winches. One of the engines has been re- conditioned and installed in the plant for experimental purposes, being hooked to a 1000-kw. generator. Fit- tings and pipe are salvaged, much of the latter being cut up to make nipples. Concrete that is poured in the bottom of the boats during their construction is broken up and used for PETROLEUM SUPPLY International Conference on Bituminous Coal, Nov. 15-19, to Discuss Fuel Oil at Car- negie Institute of Technology The International Conference on Bituminous Coal, to be held at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pitts- burgh, Nov. 15-19, will consider the problem of the waning supply of petroleum for fuel, as shown in the recent report of the Federal Oil Conservation Board. Three exponents of the manufacture of fuel oil from coal, Dr. Friedrich Bergius and Prof. Franz Fischer of Germany and Gen. Georges Patart of France, will attend the conference. Doctor Bergius is best known as the inventor of the Bergin method of the production of oil from coal. Professor Fischer is director of the Institute of Coal Research at Mulheim-Ruhr, and General Patart, who was in charge of the manufacture of explosives during the war, is the inventor of a process for making methy! aleohol from coal. The program for the meeting will include the dis- cussion of the manufacture of substitutes for gasoline from coal, complete gasification of coal, high tempera- ture distillation, low temperature distillation, coal tar products, power, smokeless fuel, fertilizers, ete. The conference, President Thomas S. Baker of the Carnegie Institute points out, will be concerned chiefly with the best methods of the utilization of coal and with the discussion of new ways of employing coal. Other speakers will include Dr. C. H. Lander, direc- tor of fuel research of the Department of Scientific IRON ee > AGE Sti POP acted 5 _ Thia ia the ballast for roads around the Fordson plant. Magne- sium recovered from insulated pipes used in the refrig- erating systems is ground up and mixed with binder to make material for patching pipe covering. The steel deck cabin known as the Texas is found to make a good tool crib. Hawsers no longer fit for use are made into twine for wrapping packages, the work of converting this worn-out rope into useful material being done by cripples and other incapacitated men. Requisitions from various departments for equip- ment and supplies go to supply department heads who have lists of salvaged material and if the material wanted is available in salvaged stock, it is used in place of new material and is reconditioned as needed and Industrial Research, London; Dr. R. Lessing, con- sultant in fuel technology, London; Geoffrey M. Gill, consulting engineer and gas specialist, London; Harald Nielsen, inventor of the L and N Process, London; Marius R, Campbell, United States Geological Survey, Washington; A. C. Fieldner, chief chemist, United States Bureau of Mines; C. J. Ramsburg, vice-president Koppers Co., Pittsburgh; S. W. Parr, professor of ap- plied chemistry, University of Illinois; H. A. Brassert, H. A. Brassert & Co., Chicago; Clarence B. Wisner, Carbocite Co., Canton, Ohio; Dr. Walter Runge and Henry Kreisinger, International Combustion Engineer ing Corporation, New York; and O. P. Hood, chief me- chanical engineer, Bureau of Mines. Claiming that standard specifications for steam quality are needed by the engineer buying steam and that the “commercially dry” standard now in use is indefinite, the Andrews-Bradshaw Co., 530 Fourth Ave- nue, Pittsburgh, has issued standard specifications, which it recommends for general use. “Samples of con- densed steam shall show not more than nine parts total solids per million. . .. Steam shall be free of moisture. Throttling calorimeter tests at any time shall show a variation of not more than 0.2 per cent dryness.” The purpose of business organization, its common defects, and the importance of correct organization are discussed in a 24-page leaflet issued recently for gen- eral distribution by the Policyholders’ Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., New York, entitled, “Piled Lumber or an Organization.” en’ ap Merges el Wedel esa in i A il ig ele 8h 1 hE ag hae Fh ROE wah J 255 RE VE TE 5, MOH ie A NICS LE HEN Lr RARE NE TDR ENEMA ZT A AN AE AIELLO A A RE. Emmi es ee Ears ee a * Fi ey & BS ao 4 7 gay ae ties ¥ iF TEE TE. TRS HEE a . 2 1 iis 1 ow Geneva Labor Office Works Progress Since the Washington Conference of 1919—A Good Beginning Made in Setting Up Standards for Industry—31 Nations Represented BY JOHN CALDER FTER laborious weeks this summer, inspecting the industries of five European countries, con- ferring with employers and workers and man- aging officials, and with government departments con- industry, certain impressions not hitherto these articles to THE IRoN AGE remain t& be set down in this, the last of the series. Briefly, these are: cern ed wit h recorded in That the world is getting smaller year by year and + that, even for us, economic isolation is now impossible. That purely self-regarding nationalism and indus- trialism are two of the world’s greatest curses. That now pre-eminently an long run the the relative conditions of labor over what is industrial world determine in the attitude of nations other and their to each internal Weal r woe. That a “coal war” or a “steel war” or a war over materials essential to basic industries in any land surely starve out a country unable to pro- duce its own food and vital necessities as any physical modern mocerni lethal weapons. The difference is only that between a long drawn-out agony and a speedy, the mercil though the European steel > ler “ latter probably more Such fare are now on, pact which we predicted here a few weeks ago may, tend to in western Europe. statesmansnhip, mitigate over-pro- and steel The European Mind on America ome Americans always see the term “international” in red letters. It is to them an infamous word. Their nplex about it borders on profanity and rarely rises stupidity. above They feed their minds on the reports of paid workers whose business in life is to keep alive, ¢ i regardais ss of truth and proporti n, ur ountry a good “red” scare on general principles. Some of citizens have as an alibi when detected in un- lly desirable, found it very handy social conduct. well-placed These people who live on slogans with no sense of lativity relativity are to be found in Pullmans as well as in day coaches. In Europe they were to be found everywhere saying: “What have we to do with the rest of the world? Let us eat and drink and be merry ‘over there’ and then ‘forget it.’” And they did. Such are some of our joy-riding, carefree, extrava- countrymen—a small minority of the whole— who trod roughshod over some sore spots in Europe this summer among nations in grave distress. The latter didn’t like it; a few, a very few, of their less courteous nationals expressed this in word and deed in a corner of France when we were there, but the re- ports were greatly exaggerated. Everywhere abroad one sensed, nevertheless, an undercurrent of impatience with the nationals of a prosperous, exuberant people, never, I believe, less con- scious of antipathy to Europe and yet never less liked on that Continent. The feeling is not of yesterday: it is cumulative. It is a case of raw nerves ready to be set on edge. It is not defensible on any logical grounds. but it is understandable, and we believe it would dis- appear if we showed a becoming neighborliness and gant a sympathy. It will not be cured by gifts of ¢g advice—only by really caring. But we can only when the word “international” has for most of social-minded connotation, as it already has for t! worthy Americans who are giving their thought, their means and their moral influence and talents t Geneva experiment. Why the International Labor Office? In the previous seven articles we have shown t! since the war, what is known in Europe as “sweated” labor of a new, intensive industrialism in some of its states, aided by greatly improved transpor- tation between countries, has brought fresh rivals the markets in lands where labor conditions are rela- tively good and where the working day is reasonably hort. Such manufacturers and countries complained after the war, and with truth, that they would not be maintain their labor standards unless pie to ~ U some plan was made to protect them from the unfair com- petition based on human suffering which oppressive labor conditions always imply. But these conditions the world over must be verified, compared and made known; must at every advance be secured by statute to those who have them, and be urged upon the attention of the less enlightened or less This is an international task; but who is sufficient for it? Certainly not the government or leg- islature, the strictly self-regarding manufacturer or factory worker or their federations in any single na- tion. The fact is that until the International Labor Organization with its Geneva office was created by the League of Nations there was no neutral agency in existence anywhere to compile the social, economic and industrial data of the world, make the proper compar- sons and inferences and circulate them. sun! ] privileged. Geneva Work Should Be Better Known In the most advanced countries, of course, there were excellent statistical industrial bureaus, both gov- ernment and commercial, for the data of their own lands but their very excellence has tended to retard interest in the world-wide survey now being conducted. A splendid beginning, however, has been made at Geneva which is too little known in detail and too slightly regarded by some otherwise estimable Ameri- can employers to whom the name “International Labor” is sufficient to condemn a project, even if our own Gov- ernment’s ostentatious detachment from the League did not foster a lack of interest. The staff of the office impressed us with their abil- ity, broad outlook and non-partisan attitude—a most essential requirement in a body of employees hailing from 31 different countries. Probably no single office has existed anywhere of that complexion and it says much for the administration of both the League and Labor offices that effective cooperating groups have been attained. Plan of Organization The International Labor Organization was born out of the new ideas of social justice and material interes‘ which influenced the Peace Conference to make an 0! 1274 November 4, 1926 ganized attempt to get the ci