t- c 3 1Cf Rewse<i ?« I5-3C ^ v Letter <> vCr / Circular & LC 256a ' ’ #'4y SOURCES OF SUPPLY OT COMMODITIES COVERED BY FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS . sfj? . A°V ^ V . , Lists of manufacturers who hayb expressed their desire to supply material in accordance with certain $N£deral specifications promulgated hy the Fed- eral Specifications Board ,• and their willingness to certify to the porchas- ers, upon reqtiest, that the material thus supplied complies with the re- quirements and tests of these specifications, and is so guaranteed by them. The lists are continuously subject to revision and enlargement. From time to time additions are being made to both the number of lists of "willing- to-pertify" manufacturers and the number of manufacturers on the individ- , ual lists. Purchasers who might be inclined to do business with unknown or untried manufacturers whose names appear on the "wiliing-to-certify" lists should not fail to insist upon receiving from such manufacturers properly signed certificates guaranteeing compliance with the specification requirements. In order to avoid delay and confusion, when placing orders and requesting pert if ientes from "willing-to-certify" manufacturers, the correspondence should always be conducted with the individual officer of the company whose name appears on the "willing-to-certify" list. This officer can be assumed to be familiar with the specification and with the plan for issuing cer- tificates, whereas other officers of the same company may be unfamiliar therewith. It is to be definitely understood that tho certificates are to be issued by the manufacturers to the purchasers, and not to the Bureau of Standards, which assumes no responsibility of any kind in connection with the trans- action. The purchaser must take such steps a.s he considers desirable to determine whether or not the commodities delivered .do actually comply with the specifications. A list of all knowh ..commercial testing laboratories throughout the country, •classified according to commodities and localities, has been prepared by the Bureau of Standards for the convenience of both the producers .^nd the consumers - the manufacturers and the purchasers. This list, together with a list of college research laboratories, is issued as Bureau of Standards Miscellaneous Publication No. 9 ^, under the title, "Directory of Commercial Testing and College Research Laboratories" . It is for sale exclusively by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Price 15 cents per copy. February 15 , 1930 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF STANDARDS WASHINGTON FAC ILITAT1ITG- THE USE OF SPECIFICATIONS An analysis of the status of the making and the utilization of specifi- cations reveals the fact that many excellent soecif ications well recognized throughout industry are not being widely used at the present time because of the inability on the part of most purchasers to determine whether or not commodities delivered correspond to the specification requirements. A grea impetus to the popularizing of the use of specifications could be given by eliminating this disadvantage to the small-quantity purchaser. As a solution to the problem of eliminating the above-mentioned disad- vantage and thereby facilitating the use of specifications, use is being made of the so-called "certification plan". Certification Plan In carrying out this plan there are compiled lists of manufacturers who have expressed their desire to supply material in accordance with certain selected specifications, and their willingness to certify to the purchaser, upon request, that the material thus supplied, is guaranteed to comply with the requirements and tests of the specifications. From time to time the State and other public purchasing agents have sought the assistance of the United States Department of Commerce in the formulation of standards, specifications, and methods of tests for their purchases. Every effort is, therefore, being exerted to make the certifi- cation plan as effective as possible for "public purchasers", that is, pur- chasers for the Federal, State, county, and municipal governments who are spending the money collected from the public in the form of taxes. , Below are indicated 248 of the Federal specifications to which the cer- tification plan has been applied. There have oeen compiled by the National Bureau of Standards 243 lists of such firms as have expressed to the Bureau their willingness, when requested to do so, to certify to purchasers that material supplied on contracts based on the designated 24-3 Federal specifi- cations complies with the requirements and tests of these specifications, and is so guaranteed by them. Additions and corrections to these lists are being made from time to time. These lists are not published; their distribution is limited to govern- mental and institutional purchasers, Federal, State, county, and municipal. They are sent to others only upon specific request or to officers of inter- ested associations and societies for comment and criticism. The groups of commodities covered by the specifications together with numerical reference to the individual specifications, are as follows: BRUSHES AND BROOMS GLASS 191 201 396a 4o6b 512a 123 192 202 397a 407 519a 193 203 398 511 520a INKS 194 204 399b 512a 521a 195a 205 400a 513a 522a I63 165 265a 379 196 206 401b 5l4a 523 164 166 266a 197 207 402a 515a 524b 193 20Sa 403a 5l6a 525a LEATHER GOODS 199 33.2 404b 517a 526a 200 333a 405a 37 133 134 24l BUILDERS! HARDWARE LIME AND PLASTER 33^ 247 248 249 250 CEMENT PORTLAND LIQUID MEASURING DEVICES la 362 ELECTRICAL r*LIES PACKING AND GASKETS 23c 58a 175 311 93 100 105 103 487 55 62 291 312 95 101c 106 435 57 65 292 99 102 107 486 , S FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND LIQUID PADLOCKS 36a 124 213 413a 1 TRACK PAINT AND PA INI MATERIALS SCALES , RAILROAD 4b 10b 16 22 272 314 5 11 17 66 283 6 12 18b 67 375 ' SCREWS, WOOD 713 13b 19 115 376 S l4b 20a 137a 47513 52a Q 15 21b 239a 476 SOAPS AND SCOURING COMPOUNDS PAPER 26 29 32 35 24 127a 133a 182a 324 330 27 30 33a 244 12ga 177a 319 325 33la 28 31 34a 245 129a 17Sa 320 326 425 130a 179 321 327 426 TABLEWARE, SILVERPLATED 131a ISO 322 32s 4s4a 132a 1S1 323 329 4n PIPE AND PIPE FITTINGS TEXT I IE 162a 342a 393 535 Bed Supplies_ 242 343a 489 301a 30 2 303 304 305 REFRACTORIES Carpets and Rugs 501 502 503 268a 334a 335a Cheesecloth RIBBONS TYPEWRITER, ETC. 251a 252b 253b 344 167a 168a 169a Denim, Brown and Blue 204 c 255b 256c 25 7* ROAD AND PAVING MATERIALS Duck, Cotton 275 277 280 282 53 159 160 276a 279 281 Rags and Waste ROOFING, BITUMINOUS & WATERPROOFING 2p9a 26la 263a 260 262a 264a 80 84 88 296 81 85 2l4 380 Shades and Shade Cloth 82 86 294 423 367b 555b S3 87 295 424 Miscellaneous ROPE, WIRE 422a 497a 499 540a 557 466 498 500 556 297 TUBING, METALLIC SAFES, BURGLAR RESISTING 287 3U7 349 427a 363 Numerical list of Federal specifications to which the certification olan has been applied, together with indications of the commodity or groups of commodities covered "by each specification. Specifi- Specifi- cation Commodities Covered cation Commodities Covered Number Number la Cement, Portland . 35 Hand grit soap 4h Oil, linseed, raw 36a Fire e xtinguishing liquid (carbon 5 Lead, white, basic carbonate, dry tetrachloride base) and paste 37 Leather belting (vegetable tanned) 6 Lead, white, "basic sulphate, dry 52a Wood screws and paste 53 Duck, cotton, numbered 7"b Turpentine (gum spirits of turp- 55 Cutout bases entine and steam distilled wood 57 Flexible non-metallic tubing turpentine) 58a Dry cells and batteries 8 Oxide, zinc, dry and paste 62 Snap switches 9 Oxide, leaded zinc, dry and paste 65 Rubber covered wires and cables for 10b Paint, white, and tinted paints ordinary purposes made on a white base, semi-paste 66 Enamel, red, water-resisting and ready mixed 67 Paint, lithopone, gloss interior, 11 Lead, red, dry and paste white and light tints 12 Ocher, dry and paste 80 Coal tar pitch for roofing 13b Paints , iron oxide and iron hydrox 81 Coal tar saturated rag felt for ide roofing and wateruroof ing l4b Paint, black, semi-paste and ready 82 Surfacing materials for bituminous mixed built-up roofing 15 Paint, green, semi-paste and ready 83 Coal tar pitch for wateruroof ing and mixed dampproofing 16 Suirits, volatile mineral, for 84 Asphalt for mineral surfaced roof- thinning paints ing 17 Vehicle, composite, for thinning 85 Asphalt for waterproofing and damp- semi-paste paints, when the use proof ing of straight linseed oil is not 86 Asuhalt saturated rag felt for justified roofing and wateruroof ing 18b Varnish, spar, water-resisting 87 Asphalt primer for roofing and 19 Varnish, asphalt waterproofing 20a Drier, paint, liquid 88 Asphalt for unsurfaced built-up 21b Paint, lithopone, flat interior, roofing white and light tints 93 Gaskets, asbestos-copper, corrugated 22 Varnish, interior 95 Packing, asbestos valve stem 23 c Large tungsten filament incandes- 99 Packing, fabric condenser tube cent electric lamps 100 Packing, fiber, for lubricating and 20 White floating soap fuel oil 27 Liquid soap 101c Packing, flax 28 Soap powder 102 Packing, metallic, flexible 29 Salt water soap 105 Packing, metallic (fixed ring type) 30 Automobile soap 106 Packing, metallic, elastic 31 Chip soap 107 Packing, semimetallic 32 Ordinary laundry soap 108 Packing, metallic, solid (floating 33 a Grit cake soap ring type) 3 ^a Powder, scouring, for floors 115 Pigment, titanium, dry and paste - ' — Specifi- Suecifi cation Commodities Covered cation Commodities Covered Number Number 123 Flat glass for glazing purposes 203 Brush, window 124 Hand chemical fire extinguisher 204 Broom, rattan push tetrachloride Broom, (upright) (one quart carbon 205 rattan .