•• 4^ V *. .* .^^ V'^^-\/'' V'^'^'V ^V^*^^'*y q*.**..v* aP 4^^ *»|.o'' ^<ft^ '• ^^ A^ **^ ^^-n^. FOUNDRY IRONS A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON FOUNDRY IRONS: COMPRISING PIG IRON, AND FRACTURE GRADING OF PIG AND SCRAP IRONS ; SCRAP IRONS ; MIXING IRONS ; ELEMENTS AND METALLOIDS ; GRADING IRON BY ANALYSIS ; CHEMICAL STANDARDS FOR IRON CASTINGS ; TESTING CAST IRON ; SEMI- STEEL ; MALLEABLE IRON ; ETC., ETC. BY EDW^ARD KIRK, PRACTICAL MOULDER AND MELTER ; CONSULTING EXPERT IN MELTING. AUTHOR OF "the CUPOLA FURNACE," AND OF NUMEROUS PAPERS ON CUPOLA PRACTICE. ILLUSTRATED PHILADELPHIA : HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS, 810 Walnut Street. 1911 J Copyright, 191 i BY EDWARD KIRK I/-/50Z3 C f:CI.A2Sl>SJ2 PREFACE. This volume has been prepared at the earnest request of many founders seeking practical information on FOUNDRY Irons and their manipulation in the production of the various lines of castings. It has been the aim of the author to present, in a condensed form, only such matter as is of practical value to the founder and to eliminate as far as possible all theories that have not been established as principles and all laboratory experimental work that has not been fully demonstrated to be useful in actual foundry practice. It has been endeavored to give all useful up-to-date data on the manipulation of Foundry Irons as actually practiced in foundries, by both the old and the new methods; and thus, it is hoped to place before the founder, foundry foreman, moulder and melter such a variety of methods that he cannot fail to ob- tain desired results under any and all of the various conditions met with in the manipulation of these irons. Semi-Steel, the new foundry iron, has been treated on to the fullest extent, from knowledge gained by the author in pro- ducing this metal and from information obtained from practical foundrymen casting it. But by reason of the wide variations in foundry pig the satisfactory production of this metal will be uncertain until, by experimental work with a grade of pig iron used in its manufacture, a standard mixture shall be attained. When this has been done a semi-steel may be produced with as great certainty as to quality as any of the various grades of cast iron. The author would acknowledge his indebtedness especially to the Report on the Coke Industry by Dr. Richard Moldenke and ( V ) vl PREFACE. to the Reports of various committees of The American Foun- drymen's Association, The Philadelphia Foundrymen's Associa- tion, The American Society for Testing Materials from all of which he has freely quoted, as well as to "The Iron Trade Re- view," " The Foundry," and other journals. A few papers by other authorities have also been included as they are germane to the scope of the book, and to which due credit has been given in the text, as well as to various other sources of information. Finally, it remains o.ily to be stated that the publishers, as is their long-established custom, have caused the book to be pro- vided with a copious Table of Contents and a very full Index, which will render any subject in the book eas}- and prompt of reference. Edward Kirk. Philadelptiia, June, 191 1. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. History and Sources. PAGE Iron; Rarity of pure iron; Cotnbiuation of iron with other elements; Characteristics imparted to iron by foreign substances; The manu- facture of iron an indication of the importance of a nation ... 1 American advance in new discoveries and improvements in working iron; Natural and other compounds of iron; Iron ores; Distribution of iron in nature; Principal source of iron 2 Various names by which the oxides and carbonates or iron ores are known; The richest iron ores in this country; Unlimited supply of iron ore in this and other countries; Prediction of old iron masters in regard to the prices of pig iron 3 Mixing ores; Location of furnaces in the early days of blast-furnace practice; Derivation of the term pot metal; Practice of mixing irons from diflFerent furnaces . .4 Causes of ores not being always properly smelted in furnaces; The blast furnace; Terms applied to the various kinds of iron produced in blast-furnaces 6 Blast-furnaces of this country in early days; Gradual decrease in char- coal furnaces; Advent of anthracite furnaces and their principal locations 7 Coke furnaces and their development; Improvement of foundry iron; Failure of chemistry to improve the quality of foundry iron . 8 Improvement in the coking process of foundry coke; Desirability of the elimination of sulphur and silicon from smelting fuel ... 9 Varied characteristics of coke-smelted iron as a foundry iron; Analysis of Connellsville coke 10 Analyses of other cokes; Report of Doctor Richard Moldenke on the coke industry as affecting the foundry, and analyses of various cokes; Coke districts of the United States; General statement . .11 Description by states; Coke produced in Alabama and average composi- tion of it 12 Colorado coke and its average composition; Georgia coke; Illinois coke; Analysis of a coke made from a washed Illinois coal . .13 Kentucky, New Mexico, and Ohio cokes; Pennsylvania cokes and their range of composition 14 (vii) Vlii CONTENTS. PAGE Tennessee cokes and their range of composition; Virginia cokes and their range of composition; Washington coke 15 Composition of Washington coke from unwashed coal; West Virginia cokes and their range of composition; Value of a standard composi- tion; Desirable composition for foundry coke; Solway coke . 16 Preparation and constitution of Sol way coke 17 Average monthly analysis of Detroit Solway coke during 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1910 18 CHAPTER II. Pig Irons and Fracture Grading Pig and Scrap Irons. Classification of pig irons; Charcoal irons 20 Old-time methods of casting shafts; Iron cannon used in the War of the Rebellion 21 Uses of charcoal iron; Hot-blast charcoal iron. .22 One of the tricks of founders; Coke iron 23 Former grading of coke iron; Grading by chemical analysis; Basis of this grading 24 Anthracite iron; Principal location of furnaces producing this iron; Change of anthracite furnaces to coke furnaces 25 Silver-gray iron; High silicon iron 26 Requisite quality of high silicon iron as a foundry iron; Proportion of silicon that may be used in a foundry iron; Melting high silicon iron together with low grade pig or scrap -27 Melting light scrap and high silicon pig; Content of silicon in pig iron now made for foundry work 28 Scotch pig; Kish 29 American Scotch pig, and brands of high reputation; Pig iron . 30 Sand pig; Chilled pig 31 Saudless pig 32 Extravagant claims made for the superiority of sandless pig; Fracture grading of pig iron; Causes of difference of hardness and softness of iron when smelted from its ores in blast furnaces; Hot or cold work- ing of the furnace 33 Designation of the various grades of pig iron 34 Chemistry as a recourse in grading; Fracture indications in foundry irons; General indications of fracture ....... 35 Change in these indications by the methods in casting and cooling the pig; Indication of the characteristics of pig iron by breaking it . .36 Present general mode of selling pig iron; Fracture indications in scrap iron; Shape of scrap .......... 37 Burned scrap; Mistake made by founders and melters in judging this iron by the fracture 38 Tricks of trade of junk dealers; Product resulting from melting burned iron in a cupola 39 CONTENTS. ix PAGE CHAPTER III. Scrap Irons. Cast iron scrap; Machinery scrap 40 Car wheel scrap; Stove plate scrap . 41 Plow and plowpoint scrap; Promiscuous scrap; Steel casting scrap . 42 Malleable scrap 43 Wrought iron scrap; Mr. Sterling's patent for toughening cast iron by wrought iron; Reasons why this process has not been generally adopted 44 Experiments with small heats of wrought scrap and pig iron; Over-iron. 45 Shot iron; Old method of collecting this iron 46 Modern ways of collecting this iron 47 Melting shot iron; Melting cast iron turnings and borings . .48 Charging cast iron turnings and filings ....... 49 Melting wrought iron and steel turnings and borings . .51 New methods of melting turnings and borings; Mr. Louis Baden's re- port on the subject 52 Briquetting cast iron borings; German method of briquetting of iron and metal turnings and chips 53 Briquets for use in the cupola; Carbon percentage in the iron and briquet combination used in the cupola 54 Melting borings and turnings in the cupola 55 Mr. Prince's patented process of melting borings 56 Steel turnings and mode of melting them; W. J. Keep's method of melting borings 57 Melting cast iron borings in the cupola; Mr. T. Shaw's remarks on this subject 58 Use of borings for annealing scale; Dr. Richard Moldenke's remarks on this subject .59 CHAPTER IV. Mixing Irons. Mixtures of iron; Reasons why mixtures of iron are made . .60 Mode of trying a new iron ; A mixture made by one founder of no value to another one; Stove-plate mixtures 61 Machinery mixtures . • 62 Mixtures of pig and scrap; Mixtures for soft, strong castings, for a hard or close iron, for hard castings, and for chilled castings . .63 Remelt iron; Locomotive cylinder mixtures recommended by Mr. Paul R. Ramp 64 Making mixtures 65 Making mixtures by fracture indications and analyses . .66 Practical knowledge of the characteristics of the irons necessary for mixing them 67 X CONTENTS. PAGB CHAPTER V. Loss AND Gain of Iron in Melting. Loss of irou in melting; Results of experiments for determining the loss in melting ............ 68 Estimate of loss upon pig and old scrap; Loss in melting machinery scrap; Loss in melting old stove-plate scrap 69 Loss in melting plow point scrap; Loss in melting shot iron; Test to de- termine the loss in melting this iron .