The Iron Age 1926-11-18: Vol 118 Iss 21

THE IRON ACE New York, November 18, 1926 ESTABLISHED 1855 me Covering Airships with Metal Duralumin Sheets to Replace Fabric —Rivets Put in at 5000 Per Hour —Advantages of Metal Cover will be covered with thin sheet duralumin instead of the usual fabric, making it of all-metal con- struction, promises to be an important step in aircraft development. A contract for an all-metal airship of demonstration size, 150 ft. long and 53 ft. in max- imum diameter and having a gas capacity of 200,000 cu. ft. or one-tenth of the size of the Shenandoah, was placed recently by the Navy Department with the Aircraft Development Corporation, Detroit, which has commenced the construction of the ship and which under the contract is to be completed in 400 days. This company has spent nearly four years in exper!- mental work in connection with metal-clad airships. Zeppelin started to use duralumin in the construc- tion of airships during the war and toward its close this metal was used in airplane construction. A late development is the all-metal airplane of the same material. Metal Covering Reinforces Frame VHE building of a metal-clad rigid airship, which An important advantage claimed for the metal-clad airship is that the duralumin covering carries the ten- sile and shear stresses, and supports and reinforces aden tat ete The Special Automatic Riveting Machine , | the frame members, while in the fabric covered airship the rigid frame members receive no material support from the fabric. The meta! covering permits a radical difference in the frame design from that used for the fabric covered ship. The general principle of construc- tion is said to be very similar to that of a steamship in which neither the frame plating nor structural mem bers are self sufficient but each supports and reinforces the other. As designed, the metal-clad airship is short and compact. It is stated that the metal-clad construc- tion makes possible an actual reduction in weight, al though because of the increased factors of safety the weight will be about the same as that of a fabric- covered airship. The frame will be built of channels, angles and special sections, including some built-up type of closed sections. in wire for bracing the transverse frames for which high-grade piano wire will be used. All of the frame members will be joined by riveting, no welding being Duralumin will be used throughout except used in the construction. The duralumin covering will be 0.008 in. in thick- ness, weighing 0.14 lb. per sq. ft. including seams. The sheet covering will be placed on the frame in the form of panels 16 to 18 in. wide and 2 to 16 ft. long. These will be placed circumferentially around the frame. One of the important problems confronted in the experimental work was to make the metal hull gas aha (Right) and Method of Application to Riveting Very Thin Sheets of Metal. Operates similar to a sewing machine 1401 ob AG Ne nN ei emnRaNS Reem. aj a 9 ees | A a aay ian Na sm, HN iam ita a a he Fe os ‘ ¥. ae . a 2 nn ee ay Ma SBI $06 i yi kmail eg eters ll eb 1402 THE IRON AGE tight. In the hull there will be a fabric diaphragm separating the air compartment from the gas above. However, this usually will be kept flat against the bottom of the hull, in effect making a gas container of the entire hull, through the greater part of which the gas will be in direct contact with the metal. Many ( seams were tried before a satisfactory method f riveting the sheets together was worked out. With the plan that was finally adopted it is claimed that the gas leakage is almost negligible, being only of the leakage through rubberized fabric. 5000 Rivets Per Hour The riveting of the seams of the airship will require about 3,000,000 very small rivets, and one of | ~~ HERBEBEBodl r November 138. 1926 the problems encountered was to devise methods ¢ doing the riveting mechanically. The seams width of % in. will be joined with three rows 0! a 12 per in. in each row. A special automatic eting machine has been developed which will make the riy- ets from wire 0.039 in. in diameter. This wil! auto- matically feed the wire into the machine, make the rivets, feed the work and put the rivets in place at the rate of over 5000 rivets per hr. This machine in a way operates considerably like a sewing machine. It is stated that the strength of the seam will be greater than the yield point of the sheet itself. One quality that has been found lacking in dura- lumin seams is rust that works into the seam of a steel gasometer and helps to make it tight. To take General Features of the Metal-Clad Airship _— of the general structural features of the metal-clad airship are shown in this illustra- tion. as follows: GENERAL DIMENSIONS Gas capacity.. 200,000 cu. ft. Length of hull : 150 ft. Max. dia. of hull 53 ft. Length of car 24 ft. Width of car.. 8.5 ft. Thickness of skin 0.008 in. Power (at 1700 r p.m 400 h Pp. Duralumin propeller 2 blades The commercial range of the airship, with a crew of four and 720 miles range is estimated as and 2200 miles whe) speed 55 miles per hr. with helium as the lifting power, and 1200 miles with hydrogen. Some of the facts concerning its general dimensions and estimated performance are ESTIMATED PERFORMANCE Helium Hydrogen Gross lift 12,600 Ib. 13,800 Ib. Useful lift: Crew (4) ; 750 Ib. 750 Ib. Passengers (6) 1,100 Ib. (10) 1,900 Ib. Fuel ... 1,500 Ib. 1,500 Ib. Oil a 200 Ib. 200 Ib. Weight empty 8,700 Ib. 8,700 Ib. with passengers or cargo, '* The maximum » “7 . ‘ . : < 1200 miles with a crew of only four when helium is the lifting medium hydrogen is used. The maximum speed is 70 miles per hr. and the crTrUursing es ee eR November 18, 1926 care of this deficiency a specially prepared seam dope will be used. A special coating has been provided to protect the duralumin hull plating against corrosion. Either hydrogen gas or helium can be used for this airship. One of the important advantages claimed fo: the metal-clad airship as compared with the fabric- covered type is that it has a fireproof structure in which hydrogen gas being inclosed in the metal hul! is as safe as gasoline in a tank. DEVELOPING PLANT FOREMEN How Best to Meet the Need of Industrial Leaders and Teachers BY JAMES B. ORBISON* ‘NE of the most important problems confronting in- dustry today is the need for efficient, broad-minded, intelligent foremen. The need for a higher standard of leadership is an urgent one—one which is command- ing the serious thought of executives. How to supply this need in a practical manner—how to develop a higher standard of intelligence, is being given a great deal of thought. Taking precedent as a guide, we find that foremen as a rule have been chosen for their experience and knowledge of a given product, rather than for any set standard of intelligence. Without doubt the almost universal rule of accepting or choosing men with ex- perience only, with no fixed demand for a standard of intelligence to go with it, has gone to create a belief in the minds of those ambitious to assume responsi- bilities, that experience was all that was necessary, and all that was expected. From various sources we hear the statements made about the day of the “driver” being past. We also hear that even the title “foreman” is no longer proper. We are reminded of the fact that the need of industry is for “leaders” and “teachers.” But we are not told whence the latter will come, or what method or methods will be formulated for developing them. If industry is to accept facts, facing and dealing with them as present day requirements demand, the conclusion will readily be arrived at that it is impos- sible to take present day foremen and make “leaders” and “teachers” out of them, any more than we could expect to take the common layman and make a college professor out of him. True, we could take the layman and term him professor, but the title would not in any manner change the ability of the man. Foremen Have Not Kept Pace Industrial needs and even the demands have changed, but our so-called “foremen” have not kept pace with the changed conditions. Their honesty of purpose is above reproach and their loyalty in general possibly cannot be questioned; but these qualities no longer measure up to the needs. The call is for a higher standard of intelligence. In the great majority of cases foremen have grown up within the organization of which they are a unit. Their acquaintance with the workers and their knowl- edge of the product are considered as assets, and the belief has been reflected that such assets were about all the requirements that were necessary. The fore- men, too, because of having grown up within the or- ganization, naturally command a friendly and sympa- thetic standing with the management, all of which stands in the road of any contemplated changes being made. Two Plans Proposed The paramount question is how best to meet the demands for a higher standard of foremanship? A careful survey of the situation leads to the belief that there are but two logical ‘plans available. First, through formulating methods of imparting a higher standard of intelligence and learning to the present class of “foremen,” thereby getting the benefit of *American Radiator Co., Springfield, Ohio, plant THE IRON AGE 1403 Testu i the Transverse Girders of the Frame their knowledge and experience, which when linked up with a higher and more comprehensive knowledge of men and business details, should develop a class of men who could adapt themselves to the needs of the hour and prove efficient “leaders” and “teachers.” The second plan would be to take the technical man with his higher degree of intelligence and learning, and place him in position to absorb the knowledge and experience necessary to the conduct of operations, The question naturally arises, could the technical man ab- sorb the knowledge and experience necessary for the successful conduct of a business, or would he of neces- sity have to gain these requisites through actual contact with the details of operation? Assuming the latter to be necessary, would such a man, coming out from college, be willing to go through the process of gaining such experience? Both plans have more or less merits, and both have a strong following among executives But a careful survey and analysis of the plans lead those of con- servative minds to believe that the first-mentioned plan would prove the most feasible. It is pointed out by conservative and careful thinkers that our present “foremen” would more readily subscribe to any logical plan leading them on to a higher standard of intelli- gence than would the technical man to gain knowledge and experience. Educating the “foremen” resolves itself into an economic question. We not only provide ways and means for the child to attain an education, but we make it obligatory for it to take advantage of such provisions. For economic reasons, industrial inatitu- tions must not only provide methods of imparting greater intelligence to the “foremen,” but it must be seen to that the latter take advantage of such plans as may be outlined for their advancement. Industry Is Being Penalized The system has been wrong which has allowed and tolerated the picking out of a man from within the ranks, placing him in authority and holding him re- sponsible for results, with no training for the respon sibilities, other than merely showing an honest desire to do the best he can. “Run the department just as if it were your own,” coming from the management; “I will do the best I can,” coming from the man. Little wonder that industry is being penalized Industrially speaking, we have been drifting. There is a sharp extreme between the standard of present-day “foremen” and what the industries actually need and desire. This gap must be bridged by industry, other- wise it will never be accomplished. Ah NA a mangas naan “a ee ects OR enn remnes neti te ANE ne sabe pasetrnsia gene t How Much Steel Can We Export? Shrinkage of 2,000,000 Tons in Net Exports of Leading Countries in 1925 as Compared with 1913—Keener Inter- national Competition Coming in Neutral Markets BY PAUL M. TYLER N an analysis of steel export trade possibilities, one of the first steps is to ascertain the total quantity that can be sold abroad. Forecasts for the immediate future can be made only from the lessons of the past and the most concise information as to world trade is contained in the import and export sta- tistics of the big six steel making nations. Virtually all the iron and steel that appears in in- ternational trade is supplied either by the United States or by one of the principal producing countries of Europe. Sweden exports a relatively small tonnage, mainly high-priced steel, and India is developing a brisk business in pig iron; nevertheless France, Ger- many, Great Britain, Belgium and Luxemburg, and the United States accounted for 90 per cent of the world’s output in 1925 and supplied a much greater proportion of the total exports. Elsewhere, iron and steel pro- duction is almost exclusively for local consumption. European Cross Currents From the American standpoint, particularly, the simple sum of the exports from these countries means little. There are countless cross currents in the iron and steel trade and nowhere are they more marked than in Europe where there is a constant movement, back and forth, across the international boundaries. As these boundaries are political rather than economic, long established trade routes or immutable facts of geography define natural market areas that may ex- tend over from one country into another. Different qualities of steel are made in different localities and, occasionally, must be exchanged. Speculative dealings, especially those of a more or less temporary nature such as result from sudden currency fluctuations, have been abnormally common during the past few years. Moreover, there are important industries in Ger- many, Belgium and Great Britain which regularly im- port semi-finished steel for rolling into finished forms. Probably the best known of these is the Welsh tin plate industry which does not hesitate to buy its sheet bars on the Continent whenever such bars are cheaper than the home supply and which transforms them into black plate or tin plate both for British consumption and for export. Europe’s Iron and Steel Map Redrawn Despite the ever-growing number of trade agree- ments, price pools, and similar international arrange- ments, these local currents in European trade are al- ways changing. Since the war the map of Europe has been redrawn through the midst of the pivotal iron and steel producing regions. While Germany has made strenuous efforts to round out her productive facilities so as to make up for the loss of her former furnaces in Lorraine, these furnaces, which in the past contrib- uted so largely to Germany’s prominence in export markets, are now owned by France. Because of the new frontiers, business that would have been cl before the war as domestic is now regarded trade. assed as foreign Practically, however, these over-the-border trans- actions are of small concern to the American exporter because he cannot hope to sell |} 1is products in what is “a really the heart of competitor territory. Even if our domestic steel were cheaper at its source than that made on the Continent—which it distinctly is not—it would still prove excessively unprofitable to sel! it in France, Germany, or similarly distant steel-making countries where canals and other waterways provide direct communication at low cost between producing and consuming works. The United States has some- what analogous advantages in the interior of Canada, in certain parts of Mexico, and in a few other places. Iron and steel products are so bulky that the balance is likely always to be in favor of any local producer within his own territory. A Contest for Non-Producing Countries The export trade in iron and steel, therefore, is essentially a duel between the United States and Eu- rope in neutral markets. So long as we confine our attention to gross tonnages without analyzing the quality of the steel or the character and form of the product, there is no need to distinguish even between Great Britain and the Continent. Inasmuch as our strategic location with respect to Canada may be roughly balanced against their advantages with re- spect to their neighbors in Europe, the real conflict is confined largely to Latin America and the Far East. Africa, and the various islands in the Pacific may also be included in this contested territory, in so far as the growing needs of these regions fail to be met by local industries—more specifically, by existing or projected works in India, Australia, and other British posses- sions, An approximately correct measure of the amount of steel sold in these neutral markets may be obtained by adding the net exports of all the principal countries. These net exports, which appear in the accompanying table along with the gross exports, are obtained for each country by deducting the imports from the gross exports. Through this simple device, we eliminate automatically the trade across the European frontiers and likewise the business which foreign countries do in the United States. Considered solely on a tonnage basis, this apparently rough-and-ready procedure 's quite accurate enough. The figures, which are calcu- lated from original data published by the (British) National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, are monthly averages and include pig iron as wel! 4s steel. For 1926, the month of April is chosen as reP- resentative because it was the last month before the British strike. World’s Gain in Steel Since 1913 is Nearly All American One of the most striking points brought out by the table of gross and net exports is the fact that while the gross exports have eventually equaled (and from time to time exceeded) pre-war, the net exports, although advancing rapidly during the early months of 1{2°, are still substantially less. On a 12-month basis, the decline has been from 12,400,000 tons in 1913 to 10- 200,000 tons in 1925. This fact throws more light °° the changes in world consumption. In 1913, the total production of steel by all countries, which is much the same thing as total world consumption, was 4 trifle 1404 cr ae oe Cae November 18, 1926 ver 75 million tons. For almost five years after the war, it remained very much below this level and the 1913 output was not substantially exceeded until 1925 when a trifle less than 90 million tons was produced. The increase of less than 15 million tons does not seem remarkably great after the lapse of 12 years and par- ticularly in view of the fact that all but about 1,000,000 tons of this increase came from the United States. France, Germany, Great Britain, and Belgium and Luxemburg, which furnished together a total of more than 31 million tons or almost exactly the same amount as the United States in 1913, were credited in 1925 with only 33 million tons, a gain of only 2,000,000 tons. While more steel was produced in some of the minor producing countries, the total of such increases was less by more than 1,000,000 tons than the decreases recorded in Russia and elsewhere. During the past 12 years, therefore, the consump- tion of steel has increased by more than 50 per cent in the United States and, taking them as a group, by less than 6% per cent in the five leading foreign pro- ducing countries. So much is more or less common knowledge. The point that has not been previously emphasized is that during the same period the con- sumption in the rest of the world—including all of the neutral markets—has declined by 8 per cent or more. Even in April of this year, which seems to have been an exceptionally good month, the net exports were somewhat less, and, unless there was some unreported expansion in production in these countries, consump- tion had not yet climbed back to what it was in 1913. The Pig Iron Factor It will be remembered that the figures presented in the above table cover both iron and steel. Considera- tion must therefore be given to the effect of including I9i3 1,000,000 1920 é : Liha © nN no 4,035,500 VL LLL LLL LLL ig2i> NET EXPORTS 6/5.500 LLL ALAA AA 608,500 LL LLL LLL 3 301,900 659,/00 228,700} 303.100 THE IRON AGE 1405 pig iron and semi-finished steel with more highly manu- factured products. Since all steel goes back to the ingot, exports of crude steel are rightfully included with those of finished steel in a comparison of ton- nages, despite the fact that the difference in degree of advancement may have a profound effect upon the bal- ance between the values of the imports and exports of a country. There is more question as to whether pig iron should be included even in a general discussion of this sort because the bulk of that which is shipped overseas, and also a good deal of that which has been eliminated by the above method of calculating the net exports, is actually consumed by foundries which make cast iron pipe and other products and not by the steel industry. Our Pig Iron Imports Large, but Exports Small Roughly one-half of the present-day imports of iron and steel into the United States consist of pig iron, whereas our exports consist almost exclusively of steel and mostly of finished steel such as tin plate, sheets, and wire. Although pig iron has always formed a somewhat larger fraction of the exports from Great Britain and Germany and, latterly, of those from France, nevertheless, except between the producing countries themselves, the tonnages in international trade have always been fairly small relative to those of steel. As calculated by the method described above, the net exports of pig iron amounted to a total of only 90,000 tons monthly in 1913 and only 19,300 tons monthly in 1925. This decline, which was due mainly to larger im- ports and smaller exports from both Great Britain and the United States, does not alter in any way the gen- eral conclusions as applied to iron and steel or to steel alone. In the first place, the reduction was partly off- APRIL 1926 1925 Total Exports and Importe of Iron and Steel for Siz Producing Countries, Alao Net Export Bal- ances (Hatched Portion) aa Tak- en from Laat Two Columna in Table Below. 993, GOO Lh hh ahhh 848,600 602,/00 WLLL ALLL LLL 8 “ 8 § 9 (Monthly aver- 2 - os . 3 ages, grossa tons) “~ “MS gm 38 3s . a ¥ 3 n x “4 % 500, P , i Net Exports (After Deduc ting Imports) of Iron and Steri ae er (Monthly aw rages in Thousands of Gross Tons) Belgium and : + : Exports From United States Great Britain Fram . Luxemburg * Germany aa aa ——_4—_____—_. Ot oT ———— (OS ~ = : , - Gr i ; s v« 7ross Net Gross Net Gross Net Grows Net Tae — caine “141 ss08 G16 37.5 129.2 56.2 517.3 192.3 155465 1036.6 eee eee —. 369.9 270.9 178.5 77.4 (13.4%) 76.7 6.7 143.6 117.4 961.8 $69.) NogO tere eee en ees 181.0 174.0 141.4 4.3 133.8 92.5 75.6 32.3 a (*) 631.8 303.1 ‘ane ovees cepesec ‘ Vv 114.9 953 4 209.9 161.4 98.1 175.9 124.2 269.7 57.4 991.9 6 19938 Te 2 13.5 360.0 249.48 181.9 123.4 207.9 164.2 105.9 (36 4*) 1020.8 616.5 9940. ee ny St 118.7 231.1 174.0 2822 235.4 1280 (270°) 1105.0 602.1 1938.72 aeons a0. 702 310.3 $4.2 321.7 207.6 261.9 217.4 267.6 1692 13025 8454 19264 sate ad a te ht 706 313.0 51.2 350.0 330.0 276.0 217.4 4672.0 324.9 1621.7 9923.9 FeO os eestevesses 4 4¥. © . - *Deficit (minus). Seti ee * Luxemburg included with Germany in 1913 *No data for Germany in 1921 * German returns incomplete because “ April. of Ruhr ccupea thor ee a Seah i St ee A SN ee ER gt - aan mR ee — EN Ne RR: Re Relea ati a me Se mecca trae ae a ers ee ee een OS lee Ne ae ” pam | “tae ‘Sati 4 4 ; eC Te Se " wai v ot priate rps e” 1406 THE IRON AGE set by an increase of 27,000 tons in the monthly export surplus of India and, in the second place, the tonnage is all but insignificant when included in such figures as 1,035,500 tons monthly which represents the aver- age for both iron and steel in 1913. Of itself, however, the marked decline in the net exports of pig iron, even after allowing for the new tonnage from India, is well worthy of note because it proves that consumption of pig iron in neutral countries has dropped off very much faster than that for steel. Sharp Struggle for Neutral Markets The essential fact, which is clearly indicated both by the net exports as shown in the accompanying table and by the production figures, is that the consumption f iron and steel and of steel alone is less in export markets now than it was 12 years ago. European steel making capacity has been increased greatly since 1913 but this shrinkage in demand stands squarely in the way of finding an early outlet for these potentially larger supplies either in South America or in the Orient. Here also is the explanation for the keen com- petition which has kept foreign prices down and which makes certain European steel makers so eager to form international cartels that will regulate both produc- tion and prices. Manifestly the “world hunger” for steel of which so EQUIPMENT MAKERS MERGE Aetna Foundry & Machine Co. and Standard Engineering Co. Are Consolidated WO leading manufacturers of steel mill equipment, the Aetna Foundry & Machine Co., Warren, Ohio, and the Standard Engineering Co., Ellwood City, Pa., have been merged into the Aetna-Standard Engineering Co. The consolidation was made possible through the acquisition by the Aetna company of the interest of John W. Hubbard in the Standard Engineering Co. Except for the retirement of Mr. Hubbard, the merger means little change in the official personnel. Active officers of both component companies will be officers in the new organization. M. I. Arms, who has been president of the Aetna company, becomes president and treasurer of the new company. R. C. Stiefel, who has been identified with the Standard company, will be a vice-president, as will R. J. Wean, who has been active in the affairs of the Aetna company. J. R. Paisley has been elected secretary and I. S. Taylor assistant treas- urer and assistant secretary. The products of the component companies are com- plementary. The Aetna unit has been active in the design and manufacture of sheet and tin mill equip- ment. For sheet mills its products include automatic mechanical doublers, steam doublers, squaring shears, roller levelers, hydraulic stretcher levelers, annealing box charging machines, pickling machines, automatic sheet piling machines, Lee top-roll drives for rough- ing mills, galvanizing machines, cooling wheels, long terne units, drying and scrubbing machines, and clean- ing and oiling machines. To tin mills it offers auto- matic tin pot feeders, tinning equipment, tin pots, cleaning and polishing machines, automatic mechanical doublers, doubling shears, annealing box charging ma- chines, annealing box straighteners, squaring machines with or without “handover” attachment and Grey- type pickling machines. F The Standard Engineering Co. has been prominent in the design and manufacture of heavier mill equip- ment, including seamless tube mills, lap and butt-weld pipe mills, bar and sheet mills, cold-drawing machinery. shears, roll lathes, sand-cast and chilled iron rolls, and Wieland pipe-threading machinery. Both units of the new company have grown rapidly in recent years. In the past five years the Aetna Foundry & Machine Co. has increased its capacity more November 18, 199¢ much was heard a few years ago has still fo terialize. If it exists at all, it lacks the mea: the demand effective. Quite probably, neutral markets will require more steel as the regions themselves become more and more industrialized; but as yet there is no statistical eyj- dence of an accumulated shortage despite the short ra- tions available during and immediately after the Great War. American exporters, like their European competi- tors, must face this condition. ed to ma- : to make Europe Greatly Needs to Increase Exports Now In order to complete the picture, however, we must realize that the slow growth of their export market is a far more serious problem for foreign steel industries than it is for our own. They are so much more de- pendent upon export sales. In France, Germany, and Great Britain, plant capacity is in each instance fully double that warranted by local consumption, and in the Belgo-Luxemburg Customs Union it is roughly three times home needs. Even though their domestic mar- kets improve at a much faster rate than they seem to be doing now, European industries would still have to export 50 to 75 per cent of their output in order to maintain full production schedules. But it is difficult to see how this can be done. than 400 per cent. The Aetna-Standard Engineering Co. will have invested capital stock of more than $2,000,000. Based on the records of the components of the merger, the business of the new company is ex- pected to total $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 annually. Wholesale Prices Drop Again Prices of wholesale commodities reported by the United States Department of Labor show a level of 149.7 in August, based on 100 as the average of 1918. This is a drop from the 150.5 of September. Except for the 149.2 of August, it is the lowest figure since September, 1924. The four months, July to October, inclusive, have shown an average of almost precisely 150. Metals and metal products continue to hold the low- est position among the eight major groups of com- modities. The October figure was 126.7, compared with 127 in September and with 127.9 in October last year. The metals have been consistently lower than the average price for more than five years. During the greater portion of that period they have been low- est of all major items. Fuels at 184.4, building mate- rials at 172.1 and elothing materials at 171.5 continue to register the highest prices of any groups. Large Imports of Spiegeleisen This Year Due to a scarcity of domestic spiegeleisen during a large part of this year, imports have been exceed- ingly heavy. For the first nine months of 1926, 690° tons of spiegeleisen has been imported, some of it being made in England and some in Germany. The largest importations were in April at 1880 tons, with February credited with 1620 tons. Receipts were 300 tons in March, 275 tons in September and 100 tons in May. The total importations during the calendar year of 1925 amounted to only 1094 tons, so that the receipts to Oct. 1 this year are over six times as much. Members of the Cleveland Engineering Society, Cleveland, will spend Nov. 19 in Pittsburgh, where they will make an inspection trip to several plants. In o evening the visitors will join in supper with the Engr neers Society of Western Pennsylvania at the William Penn Hotel. Ri ed 7 Rotary Machines Greater Uniformity of Product for Carburizing Reported—Cost Figures Given—Advantages from Subsidiary Uses BY F. S. O NEII UR two plants at Indianapolis make chain—chair nethod muffle type furnaces fired with oil or gas for nearly every purpose and from many different Some W the earlier types of rotary materials, principally malleable iron and stee! furnacs Cyaniding was used for a iderable The old adage that “a chain is no stronger than it ge of light section work. A xes were in use, weakest link” is more than an adage to us—it is a burr we were dealing with minimum box weight The ing motto. The weak link or the weak part of a li weight ratio ran 50 per cent box per cent work and is the object of much research, testing, trials of differ per cer mpou Is a verage. What were we ent materials and methods, and a considerable item in loing with every charge? One-half of our heated the expense of manufacture. irge was only a medium to handle the work and com We are always looking for the weak link, for the The xes were heated und, when the charge whole product, unlike most other manufacture uY dumped, set aside to cool. One-half of the heat ticles, is condemned if only one part proves defectiv: ' wasted a1 ce time at least doubled Case hardening and heat treating play an important Follow on through to the indirect expense; the cost role. Even the annealing of malleable iron is closely the boxes; the variety of boxes for different sizes of related, so I am within bounds when I say we work work; the labor and space required to pack the boxes; in an atmosphere filled with the methods of changing I torage and preparation of the compound; the half different structures by the application of heat by some me work of the furnace operators; the upkeep of the method or other. irnace; all items of heavy expense which will be To produce heat for our various processes, we us¢ iched upon again later coal, coke, oil, electricity and gas. Coal and coke are confined to the malleable iron processes; the other Rush Work Spoils Quality three are used in our heat-treating departments. Each, Uniform results can be obtained by this method we believe, has its definite sphere and it is our en- vat it is slow, expensive and exasperating. And we all deavor to use them in that way. Wanted—Better Work at Less Cost Several years ago we realized that our present heat- treating equipment was inadequate for our production and results were not the best. Two points stood out to guide us in the selection of new equipment and changes in methods: uniformity of product or the uni- form results to be obtained, and the cost of doing it. We wanted more uniformity and a decidedly lower cost per pound—better work for less money. The first step was to analyze present methods. All of our carburizing was done by the pack-hardening *Works manager, Link Belt Co., Indianapolis. The paper was read before the American Gas Association convention in October. Battery of Four American Gas Furnace Co. Link Belt Co., Indianapolis, Ind. These mac 213 tons per month, an 1407 know the human element, when production is pushing Bring the furnace to heat as quickly as possible and get the work out. This spoils uniform results. The utside rows of boxes heat up first, the material near est the outside of the boxes gets up to temperature before the center, the ends of long pieces in the center f the box are subjected to a longer period of penetra tion than the center section. So we have really a dif- ferent degree of heat application from the outside of the furnace to the center, and from the outside of the consequently a different degree of box to its center; penetration. The waste of heat leads to the use of the cheapest fuel, which is oil. Gas, while presenting greater ease of control, was too expensive, due to Inefficient appli- cation. The question of a more direct and uniform ap- 600-Lb. Capacity Rotary Retort Carburizing Machines at the hines are carburizing and heat treating work at the rate of d at a cost of $27.50 per ton for both operations Se ARIS ON ON ee RM ONDE BE ee —_> sie Meagan 10°25 ee a J re eee | bod ee ~<?% wi * 1408 THE IRON AGE ation of the heat arose. Our investigations led us the rotary type carburizing furnace as the nearest pproach t “the ideal conditior Our tonnage in the aggreg larg it brok up into a variety of dif- Sevens part which made batch treatment the only : 1 \s the gas supply came from by- product tk irburizing agent had to be a com- Gas-Fired Rotary Furnaces irizing furnaces were installed, gas the other equipment necessary, such , tanks, baskets and circulating sys- is compare, step by step, the difference muffle furnace with its boxes and the ro- e, to do the same job. The revolving retort xes—once heated, it is not allowed to harges. There is no 50 per cent excess rent classes of work, various sizes of fur- ght be more economical, but the principle is ume. The labor comparable with packing boxes | the parts in, a ratio of perhaps 1 to 75. ing of the compound is usually with a shovel. f the retort per pound of product is about tand-off as compared with boxes, but the investment up at any one time is about one-fifth—an item in } f changed ideas regarding output per dol- ir of capital invested in equipment. mparison for uniformity. The retort is evenly as it revolves and the material inside ver and is exposed on all sides, the whole charge ng up to temperature at the same time. This per- the absorption of the compound to begin at the same time and at the same rate, giving a uniform depth f uniform heat throughout the core. In addition, a pressure is set up inside the retort by the arbonaceous gases released from the compound, which tens the penetration. case and Arrangement for Quenching The character of our work permitted us to install the largest size rotary carburizing machine. The ma- tank and an oil tank for each furnace, set in a continu- November 1%, 1926 C= ous concrete pit. The pit has a steel-angle ledge around it which serves a double purpose. It keeps dirt from getting into the tanks and acts as a track for : ing spout used in discharging the furnaces. pacity of the tanks is 850 gal., an excess’ over tity needed, but very handy. Each tank is equipped with inlet and outlet. Th mov- , Ca- water is kept to the proper temperature by rflow, while the oil is pumped through a cooling system. Each tank also has a quenching basket, properly baffed t the bottom, where it ends in a wire basket form. wit} a hinged door. The material is discharged f; baskets, after raising from the tanks by an o\ crane, into tote barrels, by opening the hinged The top of the basket is made of diamond top plate with a hinged door cut in it, and becomes the top of the tank when the basket is in the tank. In operating the furnaces, we shovel the material into the retort, approximately 500 Ib. per charge. The required amount of compound is also placed in the fur- al nace at this time. We have placed at the side of each furnace a small jib crane which handles very nicely the retort plug. In discharging the furnace, a conical screen, which fits over the end of the retort, is used to screen out the compound. The work flows from this screen into a two-way moving chute, which passes it either into the oil or the water quench. The hot com- pound falls from the screen into iron boxes mounted on wheels, which permits moving from one furnac: another and out into the yard to cool. Subsidiary Uses Confer Benefits The use of these furnaces is not confined to <ar- burizing. They can be used economically for heat- treating and for reheating, and are being so used every day. They make ideal annealing furnaces, if they can be spared long enough, and it is our practice to load them up late on Saturday and anneal over Sunday. In addition to getting this operation, we save the life of the furnace by not letting it cool down, and are ready with a furnace nearly up to heat on Monday morning. Throughout the week, the operation of the department is continuous. Uniformity of product has been accomplished and, possibly best of all, from the manager’s viewpoint, ac- Rotary Retort Carburizing Ma- ce h i ne Showing Sereen for Sift- ing Compoun d from the Work. This shows also the discha rge chute with double arrangement, {or discharging work either into the oil quenching tank or into the water quench ss ate hE = tae eager all Se he Ce Mie et ee ee November 18, 1926 a Baffles and Basket Which Fit into the Quenching Tank. Extremely uniform quench is secured with this equipment complished with a considerable saving from previous methods. Cost of Operation All our heat treating is done on a tonnage or pound basis, broken up into three groups: case hardening, heat treating and annealing. A flat price is allowed for each and the total expense of operating the depart- ment is set up against the revenue derived from these three classes of work. The department either shows a gain, an even break, or a loss, on its factors; and in- cluded in these factors are the cleaning operations. Over a period of time, a composite factor is derived which becomes a general guide for operations. The expense of the department includes many items: rental of floor space, light, heat, power, maintenance, machine depreciation, cost of retorts, gas compound, fixtures and appliances, labor and supervision, and the general administrative expense. Using the maximum time necessary on any of our material, the detailed figures per 500-Ilb. charge would be about as follows: Gas Compound Labor Quench oil Machine expens¢ Overhead factor 40 per This would give a cost of 1.456c. per lb. for single treatment; for a re-heat and draw, to relieve any gripping strains of the case, 0.6c. per |lb., or a total cost of 2.05c. per Ib. for case hardening. Average gas consumption is around 450 to 475 cu. ft. per hr. The gas rate is $1.15 per 1000 cu. ft., with a sliding scale for quantity consumption and a dis- count for prompt payment, which brings the price of gas between 87c. and 90c. The composite factor for all three classes has averaged, over the last six months, $27.50 per ton, or less than 1.5c. per Ib. THE IRON AGE 1409 The savings effected by the new installation, com- pared with the old methods, has been material and the certainty of a uniform treatment has lessened ow worries to a great extent. Complaints are much less frequent and the elimination of any element of doubt in a customer’s mind, regarding the product, cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. Healthy Building Conditions Reported In its semi-annual national survey of construction conditions the American Construction Council reports healthy activity in the building industry generally. The volume of operations points toward as great a total for the year as for 1925, although there has been a slight seasonal recession and the situation is some- what spotted in various parts of the country. The amount of work scheduled and contemplated for winter operations is favorable The character of operations is of a much more substantial type than that of the past few years, show- ing an increased demand for better built and properly financed buildings, which the American Construction Council has been advocating so strenuously since the setting in of the building boom in 1922. This is by far the healthiest situation that has existed in the building industry for some years, as there has been a noticeable recession in new speculative building not backed up by adequate values, and a better class of business is com- ing upon the market. More Business Building Slowing down in housing construction further ré flects a favorable trend, with an increasing demand for a higher class of apartments and hotels and of subur ban homes, the need for which the council emphasized during the peak period of indiscriminate house building Building operations in general show a larger percent age of structures for commercial and industrial pur poses, public buildings and public utilities. There is a better supply of rentable space of good quality Material prices and labor are reported fairly well stabilized, with no apparent indication of any radical change in the near future. Labor productivity is in- creasing. Contracts for engineering construction show a sub- stantial increase over the first ten months of last year, with equally favorable prospects as to proposed work. Wages in Sheet and Tin Mills Unchanged The bimonthly examination in Youngstown, Nov. 10, of the sales records of the sheet manufacturers sign- ing the scale of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers again as for the July-August period, disclosed 3.25c. per Ib. as the average sales price of Nos. 26, 27 and 28 gage black sheets for Sep- tember and October. Consequently wages in the sheet and tin mills governed by these settlements will remain unchanged for the 60-day period beginning Nov. 1, at 33 per cent above the base rate. Elias Jenkins, new secretary Western Sheet and Tin Plate Manufacturers Association, and M. F. Tighe, president Amalgamated Association, conducted the settlement. Record Autumn Employment in Illinois A survey of employment conditions issued this week by the Illinois State Labor Department, shows that the average weekly earnings of Illinois factory workers is higher than in any autumn period in the past five years and that more people are receiving wages in that State than in either 1924 or 1925. It is estimated that 27,000 more persons are in Illinois factories than at the same time last year and 46,000 more than in 1924, The horsepower range of silent chain drives of the Link-Belt Co., Chicago, available from distributers’ stocks, has been extended from \% to 10 hp. in reduc- tions from 1 to 1 up to 7 to 1, up to 15 hp ~ eee Oe a RN ASCUN AS. SES LOMA NY Hate hak A ae Yerevan ak Saag i 2 LS RON tes 20 7 1 ; 5 : af ‘ ee ; + 7 * : t r Pina ea Saez nid wanes _, ‘ CNA TE, Nae EE: NR ne rept (in : ne aL Rate att lamce ete = omnes 2 - Os v ‘ ie) , Co. . =. oto Se wre 1410 j ; i ive of j ‘ellman-Seaver-Morgan | » Cr Joist Drive of the 120-ton Capacity Car Dumper Built by the Wel } Morg rf New York Ce evel Lines at Toledo Has a Limit Switch with Differential Connection to “Girder Balanced Cradle in Car Dumper Electrical and Largely Automatic Control Features Machine at Toledo for Handling 120-Ton Cars VIEW of the electric car dumper installed on the docks of the New York Central Railroad at Toledo, Ohio, for handling cars of no less than 120 tons capacity was given on page 1222 of THE IRON AGE of Oct. 28. From A. F. Case, manager of the ore and coal division of the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co.. Cleveland, which erected the dumper, some facts of the unusual character of the dumper have been ob- tained. What Mr. Case had to say was in part sub- stantially as follows: The Toledo car dumper is designed to handle all sizes of open top railroad cars, ranging in size to 120 tons in capacity, at a rate of 40 cars per hour. Es- sentially the car dumper consists of a main supporting structure carrying a lifting cradle, a pan girder, an adjustable pan into which the coal is dumped from the railroad car; a telescope chute at the outer end of the pan, through which the coal passes from the pan into the hold of a ship; the machinery units for the different operations, and the sub-station units. The car tracks in the cradle are elevated about 25 ft. above the dock and cars are entered into the dumper by means of a mule, which is operated by a haulage cable and pushes the cars up a 12 per cent approach grade leading from the dock level to the elevated position of the cradle. The mule travels on a narrow gage track between the rails of the standard gage track over which the railroad cars travel up the approach. At a suitable point in the approach a by- pass gate is installed and a depressed narrow gage track is provided so that the mule in returning down grade may travel under a car standing at the bottom of the grade. When the mule is started to push the loaded car up the grade, it passes over another by-pass gate back of the loaded car and runs on a track at the same elevation as the car track. A push bar on the mule engages the back coupler of the car. pushing it up the grade into the cradle of the dumper. The main structure of the machine is approximately 108 ft. high, the front and back columns are 26 ft. center to center and the front columns are 70 ft. ters, giving a dumping clearance of 64 ft. rails are 25 ft. above the cen- The platen foundation. The pan is THE IRON AGE November 18, 1928 e for the Screw” approximately 64 ft. long at the inner end and con- tracts to about 5 ft. at the discharge end. The in- clined length of the pan from the girder hinge to the chute hinge is 43 ft. The pan girder has a vertical range of 24 ft. from the lowest to the highest position. The telescope chute when contracted is 13 ft. below the chute hinge and can be extended to 28 ft. Departing from previous construction the pan girder is designed to travel on the front face of the front column. The adjusting screws are carried on brackets on the face of these columns where any danger ° damage from car interference is eliminated. Another feature is the over counterbalancing of the cradle. This is so arranged that the necessary power required to hoist a loaded car is practically the same as the power required to pull the cradle and empty car down after dumping. This has the effect of greatly reducing the power required for the cradle operation and effectively reducing the peak loads which occur during the cycle. Two drums are used for the cradle hoist ropes and these ropes are so arranged that each drum has ropes leading to both ends of the cradle. In case a drum shaft or gear should fail the cradle cannot fall as would be held by ropes to the other drum. a: Due to the accuracy of electric control and “me introduction of automatic features, two operators SU fice to run the machine. One is located at an el vated station on the main column and the other at the go end of the pan over the boat. The first controls 4 e the operations of the mule and cradle while the secon operates the chute and pan. The hoisting mechanism for operating the * radle consists of two heavy cast steel drums geared ‘? © single pinion on an intermediate shaft between ‘he drums. The pinion shaft is extended to take the no gear which is of double helical type and meshes with two motor pinions, which are connected to the 0'' motors by flexible couplings. The intermediate sa? is provided with a manually operated emergency >'** (Concluded on page 1452) eee German Steel Wage Rates Low Department of Labor Survey Shows That American Workers Receive from 98 to 283 Per Cent More Working Conditions Much Different in Germany WASHINGTON, Nov. 16.—Wages paid in the German iron and steel industry average from 25 to 50 per cent of those paid in the American industry. This is shown by a study made by J. C. Bowen, chief statistician, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor. It is the second and final survey made by Mr. Bowen re- garding the iron and steel industry abroad. The first su