. ' Yoimg Americans TJnioa JUDSON1A, ARK. JTHE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL: CONTAINING THE PRACTICE AND PRINCIPLES OF WORKING AND MAKING STEEL. A HAND-BOOK FOB BLACKSMITHS AND WORKERS IN STEEL AND IRON, WAGON-MAKERS, DIE-SINKERS, CUTLEItS, AND MANUFACTURERS OP FILES AND HARDWARE, OF STEEL AND IRON, AND FOR MEN OF SCIENCE AND ART.. BY FREDERICK OVERMAN, MIXING ENGINEER; AUTHOR OP TUB ^SANUFACTURE OF IRON," ETC. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. A NEW EDITION, TO WHICH IS ADDED AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL, BY A. A. FESQUET, CHEMIST AND ENGINEER. PHILADELPHIA: HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, 810 WALNUT STREET. LONDON : TRUBNER & CO., 57 S- 21. scoria. A copper tuyere, very much tapered, as represented in fig. 21, is inclined about 12 into the fire, and projects about four inches into the 104 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. hearth ; at its narrowest end, it is one and a half by half an inch wide. The distance of the tuyere from the timp-plate is twenty inches, and from the back plate ten inches. The cast-iron plates around the fire are from one and a half to two and a half inches thick ; and as they are always covered with charcoal dust, or braize, there is not much danger of their burning out. The height of the tuyere above the bottom is five inches never more than six. The height above the tuyere is variable ; it may be four or five inches, for very hard coal : fine coal, or soft coal, make nine or ten inches necessary, at least at the timp and opposite the tuyere. The bottom, one of the most important portions of the fire, is a sand- stone slab of two or three inches thick ; it rests upon an iron base, but better upon sand. This bottom is better if in one piece, but may answer if of several pieces. On the quality of these stones the success of the operation mainly depends. Coarse sandstones, in which much iron, lime and magnesia are found, are not good ; they will make iron, but no steel. Stones in which there is lime are also unsuitable. A fine-grained, slaty sandstone, in which there is much clay, and which does not effervesce with acids, is the best for the purpose. Fire-brick are not good ; they do not last, and cause great waste in iron. If the GERMAN STEEL. 105 stones for the bottom are of the right sort, the work progresses faster, and the steel is hotter. Good stones will last eight or twelve heats ; had ones often hut one or two. If the stones are gently dried and heated before they are put in the hearth, they last much longer ; two or four weeks should he allowed for drying. The advantage of having the bottom in one piece consists in the fact that it will last longer, and that the work-bars are not retarded in passing over the crevices, as in a hearth composed of several pieces. The crevices between the stones, where a single slab of sufficient size cannot be obtained, are filled with fire-clay, or fire-proof sand ; clay is pre- ferable to sand. MANIPULATION. A fire-hearth prepared in the above manner is covered on the inside with a layer of clean charcoal dust, which is well-rammed in, partly to protect the iron sides, and partly to have a non-conductor of heat between the melted or hot steel, and the cast-iron plates. The bottom stone is left bare, or only co- vered with some fine charcoal. The hearth is then filled with charcoal, and the fire gently urged by the blast. Upon the dust of the far-off plate, some 106 MANUFACTURE OF 8TEKL. pieces of steel from the last heat may be laid, partly to secure the dust, and partly to re-heat these pieces for subsequent drawing. When the fire is well burnt through, and every part of it warm, the pig-iron, about one hundred and fifty pounds, is laid opposite the tuyere, upon the charcoal, so that it may be uniformly heated, without melting. At this stage of the operation, a little hammer-slag, or fine cinder, is strewn over the fire, so as to make a slight film or covering of cinder over the bottom, by which the bottom is protected, and the heat augmented. During the heating of the pig-iron, the pieces of steel from the last heat are brought above the tuyere, and heated for shingling and drawing. In the mean- tune, a piece of pig-iron, weighing about twenty pounds, is placed in such a position opposite the tuyere, but out of the blast, as to cause it to melt rapidly. The fire is constantly fed with fresh coal. Water on the coal is to be avoided. At this stage of the process, all the blast is given which the bel- lows will make ; for the fire cannot be too hot ; the iron must become perfectly liquid before it reaches the bottom. If the iron is grey, and the trial by crowbar shows it to be thin, the blast may be slack- ened ; but if it is not quite grey, and there should GERMAN STEEL. 107 be any doubt as to its fusibility, the blast may be urged on. The iron in this condition is stirred by means of a small crowbar ; but as soon as it assumes a thick, paste-like appearance, a second piece of cast-iron, of say thirty pounds in weight, should be rapidly melted in ; this will make the iron in the bottom quite fluid again, even if it has become chilled or stiff. The working in the bottom is now continued until the iron becomes pasty, or stiff; and if it works too slowly, some fine iron scraps, which have been pre- viously heated above the tuyere, may be added. The cinder in the bottom, if there should be any, is to be let out each time the mass feels stiff, and is ready for another melting ; there is no necessity for cinder in the bottom at this period of the process. Care should be taken that the metal in the bottom does not harden, and assume the appearance of wrought-iron, as in such case the stones are injured, and it is absolutely impossible to make steel. Should this hardening take place, the fire must be strenu- ously urged by the blast, and another portion of pig- iron, of thirty or fifty pounds in weight, melted down. Each addition of pig-iron is intended and expected to make the whole mass in the bottom liquid again ; if it does not, there is something wrong. 10 108 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. Grey pig-iron, after having melted and reached the bottom, is inclined to boil upon the slightest stirring. If it contains much carbon, there is no harm done by a little boiling ; but if the crude iron is mottled, it is advisable to avoid the ebullition of the fluid mass. Boiling may be prevented or stopped by an increase of heat and a suspension of work, and also by keep- ing the bottom free from slag, or cinder. Iron which is inclined to boil should be melted by day- light, and the bottom kept clear of cinder. During the melting, the blast must be kept off its surface. Some stirring in the hot mass is always necessary, in order to bring it to a uniform quality. The pig-iron is melted in successive portions, until the whole of it is down. The last or two last melts do not generally restore the whole of the steel cake in the bottom of the hearth to a fluid state ; they are apt to cut into the centre, and spread over the surface of it. This should be avoided by all means ; for the raw iron will penetrate between the bottom and the mass of steel, forming new cast-iron in the lower part, and wrought- iron of the upper part of the loup. The rule to be strictly adhered to in working the fire is, to melt the crude iron down in small portions, and let the next melt always cover the cake ; otherwise the blast will convert into wrought-iron those portions which are GERMAN STEEL. 109 uncovered. The last melts of pig-iron are performed as quickly as possible, under the influence of a strong blast ; for if the steel cake is exposed too long to the blast, most of it will be converted into iron. It de- pends very much on the dexterity of the workman whether, of the same materials, he makes good steel, inferior steel, or iron. Low heat and slow work invariably make fibrous or hard cold-short iron ; too great heat and too much blast generally make a very hard, but brittle steel. All water, cold or wet bars, damp coal, and slag to accelerate the process, are to be avoided if a good steel is desired. The termination of the process is shown when the surface of the cake begins to give indications of con version. The surface is then scraped off the cake with a crowbar, and held before the tuyere. If it resists a high welding heat, it is time to stop the blast. Hot steel is always of a darker colour than fibrous iron in the same heat ; and an experienced workman can perceive, by this difference, when the cake is ready. If the scale scraped off the cake melts be- fore the hot fire at the tuyere, it is evident that the mass is not yet done ; the scale must neither melt, burn, nor turn white, like iron. The cake, when well done, feels slippery to the touch of a bar ; if it feels 110 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. soft, it is not yet ready ; and if it feels rough, it is time to stop the blast, as that roughness is an indica- tion that the mass is about to be converted into iron. After stopping the blast, coal and coal-dust are re- moved to the hearth by a scraper, the steel cake cleared of cinder and dust, and then permitted to remain for a while to cool, before it is taken out. When red-hot yet, or so far cooled as to be strong enough to be lifted without breaking, a sharp flat crowbar is driven through the tap-hole in the timp- plate, and the cake is lifted off the bottom. Should it adhere to the bottom, or to the tuyere-plate, as will sometimes happen, the crowbar is driven in by the force of a sledge-hammer. THE CAKE Is almost of a round form ; it is brought to the tilt, and cut into six or eight segments, which are of course in the form of a triangle. It is natural to expect that the circumference of the cake will be more of the nature of iron than of steel, and the in- ternal part inclines more to cast-iron than to either steel or fibrous iron. The triangles, whose base is formed by the periphery of the cake, and which are drawn out into square or flat bars while the melting GERMAN STEEL. Ill of crude iron is going on, make bars whose ends are inclined, the one to wrought-iron, and the other to cast-iron, while the middle portion is the best part of the steel. These bars are generally forged into a square form, if uniformly hard steel is required ; if spring-steel is the object, flat bars may be preferable. As soon as the bars are drawn, they are thrown into cold water, to be chilled and afterwards broken. This hardening of the crude steel is by some per- sons thought necessary for the purpose of observing the fracture, and classifying the steel accordingly. But it is not strictly necessary, and is certainly very injurious to the steel, particularly if it should be de- ficient in carbon. A far better method is, to cut or shear the bar of crude steel into three lengths, and call these Nos. 1, 2 and 3 steel. A good forgeman knows perfectly well, while he is drawing the bars, whether he has fibrous iron, cold-short iron, or steel. The hammer-man's judgment is sufficient, and the danger of hardening the bars may and should be avoided. When the cake is permitted to get too hard, before another portion of pig-iron is melted in, by scraps or by blast, no steel can be expected ; the cake will con- sist* principally of iron. If the cake should be too soft or cold when a fresh melt comes down, cold-short 112 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. iron or bad steel is the result. If the process is not conducted with the requisite experience, it may hap- pen that the steel cake will be crude at the seam, and fibrous in the centre. EXPENSE OF THE PROCESS. The manufacture of steel in this way is not a very cheap operation. To make a ton, from good pig- iron, requires at least four hundred bushels of char- coal ; if the iron should be of an inferior quality, a still greater consumption of coal is necessary. Soft charcoal is preferable to hard coal in this, as in every other part of the process of manufacturing steel. The loss on iron is seldom less than thirty or thirty- three per cent. ; the very best pig-iron never, under any circumstances, yields more than seventy-five per cent, of crude steel. One fire, supplied with two hands, may refine and draw, in the course of a week, from a ton to a ton and a half of steel. The yield of a fire may be aug- mented by using wrought-iron scraps freely ; two, or even three tons per week, may be thus produced ; but this requires good pig-iron, good scraps, and good workmen. Scraps of puddled iron, no matter of GERMAN STEEL. 113 what kind, are useless ; they should be of the very best and purest charcoal iron, large quantities of which may be had at the charcoal forges, or at the gun factories. THE GERMAN METHOD Of making steel is to use cast-iron derived from the smelting of carbonate of iron, or sparry ore. We cannot make steel in that way, and are compelled to use grey or mottled iron for the purpose. The pro- cess in use in Sweden and Northern Germany was formerly practised in this country. The art among the Germans is highly cultivated, and is practised in a variety of forms, with a view to vary the quality and quantity. The processes are also, of course, modified by the peculiarities of the material and the workmen. On account of their many advantages, the Germans are enabled to make cheaper natural steel than we can. It is not of much use to describe their manipulation, for we can neither imitate nor improve upon it ; and to describe it merely for the purpose of showing the principle, would be a waste of time. The heavy expenses attending the manufacture of 114 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. steel have given rise to numerous attempts at im- provement ; but, thus far, very little has been accom- plished. The necessity of using a stone bottom, and the further necessity of cooling the fire almost every day to put in a new bottom, are great obstacles in the way of cheapness ; and frequent schemes have been devised to avoid them, but in vain. In those countries where iron or coal bottoms are used, as in Styria and Carinthia, the work is carried on only in the day-time. This certainly involves a great ex- pense in coal and labour, but it seems to be necessary and unavoidable. If the manufacture of natural steel could be carried on without intermission, by day and night, as is the operation of making iron, it cer- tainly would not cost any more to manufacture the former than the latter metal perhaps even less. To the accomplishment of this end, however, there seem to be at present insuperable obstacles ; and we must trust to time and further experience to simplify and cheapen the process. GERMAN STEEL. 115 MAKING STEEL IN A PUDDLING FURNACE. Some years ago we noticed a process of making steel in a puddling furnace ; it was made of very good steel-iron, puddled by dry wood. The product looked like steel; but it was no more steel than strong cold- short iron ever will be. In the following pages we shall endeavour to show that any use of the puddling furnace in making steel is wrong in the principle ; good steel can never be made in that way, or by any such means. REFINING OF STEEL. Natural steel obtained in the way described is not marketable, or ready for use. Before it is exposed to sale, it is refined or tilted ; the bars, either flat or square, as they come from the forge, are sent to the tilt. This consists of a force-hammer, or hammers, of from one hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds in weight, and a series of forge-fires. A forge-fire is similar to a common blacksmith's forge, and the refining is done by bituminous or mineral coal. It is also sometimes done by charcoal ; but mineral coal is preferred. 116 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. The steel to be refined is broken into convenient lengths of twelve or fifteen inches, and piled or fagoted so as to make a fagot of fifty pounds. The bottom and top of the pile are to be in one length ; the interior may be composed of short pieces. A fagot is taken in a pair of strong basket-tongs, and heated in a fire to redness ; if it is found to be open, the red-hot pile is gently pressed together by a hand- hammer. When close, it is taken to another fire, where it receives the welding heat. Before and dur- ing its exposure to the welding heat, the pile is sprinkled over with burnt and finely-ground clay, partly to protect it against the blast, and partly to remove the dry film of scales, which are generally more refractory on steel than on iron. When suffi- ciently heated at one end, the fagot is brought to the hammer, and that end is welded. The tongs are now fastened to the welded end, which is generally drawn down to one and a quarter or one and a half inch square, and the other end of the fagot brought into the fire, welded, and drawn. If the steel is to be refined again, the bar is cut into two or more pieces, and again welded and drawn out. This process is repeated, or may be repeated, four or five times in succession ; and the steel is then called two, three, or five times refined steel. GERMAN SIEEL. 117 THE REFINING FIRES Are not different from a common smith's forge, except that they are larger and lower. Where char- coal is used, and of course where anthracite is to be used, the fire is provided with a long arch of fire- brick, of about two feet span, and one foot high above the tuyere. Bituminous coal, which contains so much bitumen as to cake, forms an arch over the fire by itself, and a brick arch is therefore unneces- sary. No injury to the steel need be apprehended from the use of any of the varieties of fuel we have named ; still, it is advisable to drive off the bitumen of the mineral coal before any steel is brought into contact with it. These fires are frequently provided with two or three tuyeres in a horizontal line, to make a continuous fire for long fagots. The refiner, or tilter, can accomplish a great deal in making the steel uniform ; but he cannot be ex- pected to improve a defective quality of material. By making the bars small and flat, and assorting them well, a superior article may be made of good raw steel. A great deal depends upon piling the bars and forming the fagot. The labourer who per- forms that work should understand the nature of the 118 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. steel by its fracture, and pile accordingly. Hard steel should be piled next to that which is soft, and inferior steel between that which is of a better qua- lity. Notwithstanding all the attention we give it, it is impossible to make a bar uniform in itself, and uniform with another. We not unfrequently find spring-steel, shear-steel, mill-steel, mint-steel, and other varieties, in the same bar. The bars are there- fore all thrown in cold water, hardened and broken, and, according to the fracture, assorted for market, where it is known under different brands, or signs, which are burned upon the kegs in which it is trans- ported. The steel made in this way is certainly far from being perfect ; but still, for the manufacture of some articles, it is admirably suited, and is even superior, for such purposes, to the best cast-steel. For instance, swords are made of it which cannot be imitated by a prime article of cast or shear-steel. For almost all other manufactures, however, this natural steel is inferior to good shear or cast-steel, on account of its irregularity. This irregularity has given rise to many attempts at improvement, and the steel has been re-melted, in the hope of convert- ing it into cast-steel ; but it is of so refractory a nature, that the best crucible will not melt it, at GERMAN STEEL. 119 least not to advantage. An attempt has also been made to use this natural steel, instead of iron, for cementing in the converting furnace ; but the expe- riment was not fully successful the steel was found to be inferior, for that purpose, to good soft iron. 11 120 MANUFACTURE OP STEEL. CHAPTER IV. AMERICAN AND ENGLISH METHOD OF MAKING STEEL. BLISTERED STEEL. THE amount of steel annually manufactured in England is twenty-five thousand tons ; one-half of the iron consumed in this manufacture is imported from Sweden and other parts of the continent of Europe, while the remainder is obtained at their own charcoal forges. The best steel is made of Swedish Danemora iron ; but not more than twelve or fifteen hundred tons of this iron are imported, as its price ranges above one hundred and eighty dollars per ton. The remainder of the foreign iron used is common Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, German and Madras iron. It is generally in the form of hoops, or bars, of a half to five-eighths of an inch thick, and from two to four inches wide. We shall now proceed to describe the making of steel in Sheffield. BLISTERED STEEL. 121 The first operation in this branch of the manufac- ture is to range the iron bars in the " converting fur- nace." In fig. 22 is a section vertically through the chimney, representing the cementation boxes, fire- grate, and the arch over the boxes. Fig. 23 is a Fig. 22. horizontal section of the boxes and flues. In each, the same references show the same objects. The whole of the converting furnace has the appearance of a glasshouse. The grate, A, divides the interior of the furnace into two equal parts, each containing a cementation box. There are some furnaces which 122 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. have but one box ; but they are not found so advan- tageous as double furnaces, owing to their greater con- sumption of fuel. The fire-grate, A, is over the whole length of the furnace ; but its breadth varies according to the fuel used inferior fuel requiring a greater breadth than that of a better quality. The object here is not so much the intensity as the bulk of the heat ; and it is accomplished by the slow con- sumption of a heavy body of fuel. A grate of two feet in width for bituminous, and three for anthracite coal, may be considered as sufficient. The fire passes entirely around the cement-boxes, BB, and finally escapes at C, where a succession of draft-holes is left in the arch. These draft-holes are so arranged as to admit of being either partially or entirely shut. In case the heat is stronger on one end than at the other, it is to be regulated by pening or closing these flues. If the heat should be found too great towards the close of the operation, it may of course be promptly regulated in the same manner. The flues between the boxes are six by eighteen, and the others six by eight inches. The firing is done at both small ends of the furnace; for the grate is long, and cannot be conveniently reached from one side. At one of the smaller ends of the furnace are two small orifices, DD, for drawing out the proof- BLISTERED STEEL. 123 bars. On the same side with the proof or tap-holes, which serve also as charging-doors, is the door F, through which the workman enters in filling and emptying the cementation-boxes. In many furnaces there are, besides the above apertures, two doors for the charging and discharging of the steel ; these are above the troughs. The external dimensions of the conversion furnace are fifteen or sixteen feet in width, by twenty-four feet long ; and the conical chimney is from forty to fifty feet high. The exterior or rough wall is built of common brick, or stone ; the interior, of fire-brick. In case the walls cannot be supported by heavy ma- sonry on the outside, the furnaces are to be kept together by wrought-iron binders. The first plan is, however, the best of the two. The fire-brick arch, or top of the interior of the furnace, is as flat as possible just high enough to admit the steel-maker. Heavy walls and brick-work are of advantage in the converting operation. 124 MANUFACTUEE OF STEEL, THE TWO CHESTS, Or cementing-boxes, are in most cases twenty feet long each, though sometimes they are but ten or fif- teen feet in length. They are occasionally three feet high, and of the same width ; but this is a disadvan- tage, as it requires an unusually attentive and skilful workman to manage such large chests. The lower and smaller they are, the easier is the work, and the more uniform is the quality of the steel. On the other hand, there is a proportionately greater con- sumption of coal in small than in large boxes. The boxes are made of sandstone slabs, the joints of which rest upon, and are covered by, the tongues which form the flues. These slabs are of tabular sandstone, which naturally exfoliates or splits into thicknesses of one or two inches the proper size for the slabs. These should be in one way as high as the intended height of the box, or as wide as the bottom ; the other dimension is less definite, and may be arranged so as to have the joints properly covered. The tongues which form the flues are small, and take as little off the heating surface as possible, merely sufficient to secure the permanency of the box. A new box is heated very gently for the first few days, BLISTERED STEEL. 125 so as to produce the gradual expulsion of the water of the stones ; the heat should not be higher than the boiling-heat of water. The slabs are cemented together by fire-clay ; in fact, the joints of the whole interior are so united. Small boxes are often set without heads ; but it is preferable to have flues on both ends, as well as along the sides. CHARGING OP THE BOXES. The boxes are charged with iron in the following manner : On the bottom of each trough is placed a layer of coarsely-powdered charcoal, about two inches thick. Upon this layer of charcoal, or cement, a layer of iron bars is laid edgwise, leaving a space of an inch at each side, and also between each bar a space equal to the thickness of the bar. The bars are to be within a couple of inches of the length of the box ; but in case they are too short, small pieces may be used to make them of the requisite length. Above the first layer of iron, a layer of cement is spread, of half or three-quarters of an inch thick, and upon this another layer of bars \uth spaces, as in the first layer. The spaces between the bars are closely filled-in with charcoal powder, or cement; care must be exercised to have every crevice well 126 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. filled with cement. The bars arc never allowed to touch each other or the trough. The boxes are filled to within six inches of the top, and this space is filled with the refuse cement of former operations. Finally, a layer of fine sand or mud is spread over this last cement. The material used for this purpose in Shef- field consists of the sand worn off of grindstones, which is a mixture of particles of iron, fine quartz, and a little clay or lime. This is called in Sheffield "wheelswarf," and makes a very close and compact cement, almost impervious to water and air. THE CEMENT Consists of ground charcoal, made from hard wood, sometimes mixed with soot, or of soot only. This charcoal powder is intimately mixed with one-eighth or one-tenth of its weight of wood-ashes, and a little common salt. Good steel is made without ashes or salt, by using simply charcoal powder ; but the gene- ral practice is to use a cement of the kind above described. BLISTERED STEEL. 127 WORKING OF A CONVERTING FURNACE. When the boxes are well packed and covered, fire is kindled, and very gradually raised. For the first twenty-four hours the heat is merely sufficient to ex- pel the moisture in the boxes, cement, and cover. A rapid heat will injure the stone slabs or bricks of which the chests are made. The fire is gradually increased so as to raise the heat a little every day; and at the end of six days, if it is designed to make spring-steel, the bars are ready to be drawn. Shear- steel requires eight days, and cast-steel from ten to twelve days, to be sufficiently cemented, or carbon- ized. Two days, and often a much longer time, are required to cool the furnace ; after which the work- men enter it and discharge the steel bars. Twelve tons of steel are generally made in a double furnace. In a single furnace, or where there is but one chest, only six or eight tons are made at a time. For the purpose of enabling the workmen to charge and discharge the chests, iron plates are laid over the fire-brick arches, on which they stand. 128 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. THE DEGREE OF CEMENTATION Is a nice point to determine, and cannot be de- cided by the length of time for which the iron has been exposed to the cementing process; practice must be had, and is always depended upon in well- regulated establishments. Experience teaches us that steel for coach-springs requires a low degree of conversion ; after this comes blistered steel for common use ; then, shear-steel, steel for cutlery, and steel for files. Cast-steel requires a higher degree of conversion than any other. Some steel, such as cast-steel for bits, is frequently returned to the box two or three times, and is then called twice or thrice-converted steel. The point where to stop cementation is decided by the steel-maker in draw- ing and trying the trial-rod, or rods. The trial- rods are somewhat longer than the others ; they reach at one end through the thickness of the slabs of which the chest is formed, and may be drawn out from between the other bars by a pair of tongs. The bar itself may be but three or four feet long. The trial-holes, marked in the cuts D D, are called "tap-holes;" they are but a few inches wide, and are closed around the trial-rods by clay or wheelswharf ; BLISTERED STEEL. 129 they are almost in the centre of the chest. An, ex- perienced steel-maker uses but one trial-rod, though some persons think it necessary to have two or three bars. If a trial-rod has been once drawn, it cannot be returned to the box ; it is then broken, and from its appearance on fracture the quality of the steel is adjudged. The fire is cautiously kept so low, that the highly converted steel at the bottom of the box does not melt. If it happens that it does melt in the box, it is generally converted into cast-iron, and is useless for steel. The success of this converting operation depends, therefore, in a great measure, indeed almost entirely, on the knowledge and saga- city of the steel-maker. On his care and judgment the avoidance of losses mainly depends. Too much stress cannot be laid upon this point. GAIN IN WEIGHT. The bars in the process of conversion gain about a half to three-fourths of one per cent, in weight. They are entirely covered with blisters, whence the name "blistered steel" is derived. The steel is very irre- gular in the different layers of the box, as also in each bar. The fracture of a bar is very crystalline, 130 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. its colour a bright silvery white, and the tables of the crystals are lustrous like brilliants. The central crystals are always smaller than those near the sur- face of the bar. TILTING. Blistered steel is hardly fit for any purpose, no matter how simple or coarse the article made of it may be. Its blisters and fissures make it unfit for the manufacture of tools, until it is re-heated and tilted. The first operation of this kind of refining makes common steel; the second makes shear-steel, and steel for cutlery. Very little steel is exposed to three welding-heats, as each heat adds to its tenacity and strength, but, if carried too far, will reduce some of it to iron. THE REFINING FIRES Are like a blacksmith's forge-hearth ; the fire is, however, of a larger size. Soft or bituminous coal is used for welding the bundles of steel. This coal is converted into a coke, and forms an arch over the fire, giving the appearance of a bakeoven. Neither charcoal nor anthracite has this effect. BLISTERED STEEL. 131 The forge-fires are supplied with air by cylinder blast-machines, or by common bellows, placed above the head, and worked by a crank which is driven either by water or steam-power. The air is conveyed in copper or tin pipes to the tuyere. The blistered steel is cut or broken into lengths of twelve or eigh- teen inches, and four of such lengths are piled along with a fifth of double length. This longer bar is placed in the middle, between the others, and forms the handle to the pile. This pile, or fagot, is held together by being bound with a small steel rod. It is carried to the fire, and a good welding heat given to it. While in the fire, it is occasionally sprinkled with sand, to form a protecting slag against the im- purities of the coal. The fagot, when of a cherry- red heat, is carried from the fire to the tilt, and notched down that is, hammered down in a rough manner so as to unite the bars together, and close up every internal flaw and fissure. In the first heat, the fagot is merely welded in a rough manner ; after which the bindings are knocked off, and the pile is again re-heated. In the second heat, the welded bars are drawn out into a uniform rod of the thickness required, which is generally an inch or an inch and a half square, and twice or three times the length of the original fagot. The bars of 12 132 MANUFACT0RE OF STEEL. the first heat, which are common steel, are piled again to form shear-steel. Five or six of such bars are piled and held together by a slender band of steel, as before, when they are once more exposed to a welding heat in the first forge-fire, and welded imper- fectly, or soaked, to cement the bars together. This fagot, which also is supplied with a long bar for a handle, is then carried to a larger fire, in which it receives a thorough welding heat, and is then tilted at the heaviest hammer of the establishment, called the "shear-hammer." In this heat a bar of two or two and a half inches square is drawn out ; and if steel of more than two heats, or " double shear," is required, it is cut in two, doubled, welded together, and drawn out again. Blistered steel, repeatedly re-heated and drawn out, assumes a very uniform, fine grain ; it loses all its flaws, fissures and blisters, and is by far more tenacious than any other steel ; it is also less affected by heat than cast-steel. When rendered compact by welding and hammering, this steel is also susceptible of a very fine polish, in which respect it is but little inferior to cast-steel. It is therefore a superior steel for cutlery, and unites a fine, close texture, with great tenacity. Shear-steel has not derived its name from beim BLISTERED STEEL. 133 particularly useful in making scissors. In days gone by, there were a large kind of shears in use for dress- ing woollen cloth ; they were formed like those in use for shearing sheep, being four or five feet long, with blades of twelve or eighteen inches in length, by eight to twelve inches wide. The refined blistered steel was particularly adapted to make the edge and spring of these shears. THE TILTS, Or hammers, are very much the same as those de- scribed in the last chapter for tilting natural steel. The heaviest hammer the shear-hammer varies in weight from two hundred to four hundred pounds. In Sheffield, the principal and cheapest mart for the manufacture of steel, the hammers are driven by a small water-wheel, upon whose prolonged axis are one or more iron rings, which contain the wipers, or cams. In the periphery of the cam-ring, or wiper wheel, there are from twelve to eighteen cams, which strike the tail of the hammer in rapid succession,, by which the hammer-head is raised and suffered to fall on the steel. To increase the effect of the hammer, a spring is placed under its tail, so as to work the hammer partly by weight, and partly by recoil. 134 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. Large tilts make two hundred, smaller ones four hun- dred, strokes per minute. The majority of the ham- mer frames in Sheffield are of wood, which in fact is the most suitable material for tilts. In some estab- lishments, more than one hammer is on one wheel- shaft. The anvils are placed upon a stone founda- tion, and these stones upon a grate of wood-piles. The surface of the anvils is almost level with the floor of the tilt-house, and the workman sits down in a fosse, or pit, with his face towards the hammer. The smaller rods are tilted sitting, the larger ones stand- ing. At the lighter tilts, the hammer-man or tilter sits on a swinging seat, suspended from the roof of the building. While thus suspended, he takes one end of the bundle of rods between his legs, and by the motion of his body gives to the rods a rapid back- ward and forward motion under the hammer. Each tilter has two boys in attendance, to furnish him with hot rods, and take away those which are suffi- ciently hammered. The rods are heated to a higher or lower degree, but, after the welding is done, not higher than a cherry-red. Small rods of good steel, which very soon cool after being brought upon the anvil, speedily become red again under the rapid blows of the hammer. Tilting is a very important process in the manu- BLISTERED STEEL. 135 facture of steel ; and none but very skilful and in- dustrious men will make good hands at the tilt. In fig. 24, as will be seen at a glance, a tilt-house is Fig. 24. represented. The faces of the hammer-head, as well as the anvil, are of the best cast-steel, well hardened and polished. Each hammer has a blast-pipe con- ducted to it, which ends in a nozzle, from which a stream of air is constantly blowing upon the anvil, to keep it free from dust and scales. This cleanliness is necessary to impart a good polish to the steel bars, CAST-STEEL Is made by melting blistered steel in crucibles. The converted steel is broken into convenient pieces for charging it in the narrowest space possible. A portion of carbon is always dissipated in this process ; therefore, the most highly carbonized bars of the blis- 136 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. tered steel are selected to be transformed into cast- steel. The highly converted steel is known by its larger crystals and brighter lustre, in a newly-made fracture, than in the other bars. These broken pieces of blistered steel are charged in crucibles made of the best Stourbridge fire-clay. THE MAKING OF CRUCIBLES, Or melting-pots, is an important branch in this department of the art. They are from eighteen to twenty inches high, and of a sugar-loaf shape. The clay is, as we have said, of the best Stourbridge, worked to a high degree of uniformity and smooth- ness. To give it this uniformity, the clay is first moistened with water, and well puddled ; it is then spread on a smooth floor underneath the casting- house, and worked by bare feet; this requires the uninterrupted work of two men for six hours. In some establishments, the clay is mixed with finely- pulverized coke, or finely-ground cement of old cru- cibles, or a portion of black lead ; and sometimes it is mixed with the whole of these ingredients. Up to the present time, every attempt has failed to sub- stitute machinery for manual labour in mixing the clay ; it would seem that there is an efficacy in the BLISTERED STEEL. 137 Fig. 25. human hand, or, in this case, in the foot, which no machinery has been found or can be expected to possess. The crucibles are moulded in a cast-iron mould, as in fig. 25. A is a solid block of wood, in which the outer part of the iron mould, B, closely fits, but still so loose as to be easily lifted out of its place. This iron mould is well bored out on the turn- ing lathe, and polished. The core of the mould, C, is also of cast-iron, well turned. It has two guide-pins, one above and one below. In the space between the core of the mould and the case, a lump of clay is laid on the bottom, just suffi- cient to fill the space and make a crucible. When the proper size of a lump has been found by experi- ment, it is weighed, and its weight made the standard for future operations, thus securing uniformity in the crucibles. A dried and baked Sheffield crucible weighs from twenty-five to thirty pounds, and will contain forty pounds of broken steel. Crucible-making is the most tedious and expensive branch in the manufacture of cast-steel. The best 138 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. Sheffield crucibles do not last longer than three heats, or one day. The core, C, is pressed down upon the lumps of clay in the mould, by which they are forced upwards and fill the upper part of the mould. In this way, the lower portion of the crucible receives the neces- sary degree of compactness. The hole in the bottom of the crucible, caused by the guide-pin, is stopped up with clay before the vessel is taken out of the mould. When the core is removed, and the bottom hole stopped, the mould, B, is lifted out of the wood- en block, and reversed upon a board. If the clay is of the right texture and well worked, the withdrawal of the core and the crucible is easy enough ; but if the clay is a little too damp, it will adhere to the iron, and is with difficulty loosened. If the clay should be too dry, on the other hand, the crucibles are very apt to crack, or to become porous. With the proper degree of moisture, the crucibles are easily removed from the mould. The adhesion of imper- fectly prepared clay to the mould may be prevented, to some extent, by rubbing the mould with coke-dust, or laying sheets of paper or muslin in it ; but these expedients are troublesome, . and the necessity for them should be avoided. The crucibles, after being moulded, are placed in BLISTERED STEEL. 139 drying-stoves, where they are slowly dried by a libe- ral access of atmospheric air, gently heated. They are here dried hard, but not baked. The day before they are intended to be used, the crucibles are set upon an annealing grate, made of fire-clay, where they are covered with the refuse coke from the air- furnaces ; they are here baked, if it can be called baking, for one day. THE CAST-HOUSE Has a great resemblance to a brass foundry. There are a dozen or more air-furnaces in one or two ranges, their tops being on a level with the under- mined floor of the building, as shown in fig. 26. It is very convenient to have the top of the furnaces level with the floor, as it gives the workman a better chance of lifting the crucible with the melted metal. The ash-pits are below the floor, in a subterranean vaulted passage, from which the grates derive a sup- ply of cool air, which favours the rapid combustion of the fuel. The crucibles are made and dried in these vaults. The pit of the air-furnace is a square cavitj ; if intended but for one crucible, it is twelve inches square if for two, it is twelve by eighteen inches. The crucibles being six inches wide at the 140 MANUFACTURE OF STEBL. Fig. 20. top, there is a space of three inches all around. The depth of the fire-pit, from the top of the grate- bars to the floor, is twenty-four or twenty-six inches. The flue leading from the furnace to the stack is three and a half by six inches in a single, and three and a half by nine inches in a double furnace. The crucible stands on a sple-piece of two or three inches high ; this may be either a piece of fire-brick, a lump of fire-clay, or the bottom of an old crucible. The in-walls of the furnaces are made originally of fire- brick, but are repaired wr.th mud, taken from the roads where a certain kind of quartz, called "ganis- BLISTERED STEEL. 141 ter," is used in macadamizing. The grate-bars are square bars of wrought-iron, seven-eighths or one inch in thickness, and are loose, so as to admit of being pulled out if necessary. A very hard shingling coke is used in these fur- naces, broken to the size of an egg. The grate is supplied with air by natural draught, which is very strong in these furnaces, as there is an almost verti- cal ascent of the burnt gases. A crucible full of metal requires four hours for melting, and three heats are made in a day. The first operation is to put the fresh crucibles upon their stand, and kindle a small fire around them ; or, as is generally the case, to put the crucible upon its sole- piece in the gently heated furnace. The crucibles are generally taken from the annealing fire, and, while still warm, set in the furnace. The heat upon the crucible is gradually but slowly raised, by charg- ing more coke, until it assumes a white heat, which operation requires more than an hour's time. When the crucible is hot, and of course glazed, the furnace top-plate a sort of iron trap-door is raised, and a tapered sheet-iron pipe is inserted into the hot pot. Through this pipe the pieces of blistered steel are gently lowered into the bottom of the crucible. The pots are usually of tho capacity of thirty pounds, 142 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. though a large sized pot will readily contain forty pounds of pieces. A cover made of pot-clay, which fits the crucible, is now laid upon it, fresh coke given to the fire, and the heat gradually raised to the melting point of steel. This operation requires from one to two hours ; and in the mean time the furnace is frequently open- ed, and fresh coke charged, so that the fuel may be higher than the top of the crucible. Before the steel is melted, the lid is removed, and a little bottle-glass, or pounded blast-furnace slag, is thrown in. This will form a vitreous cover on the surface of the melt- ed steel, and exclude the access and influence of atmospheric air, in case the cover of the crucible is not sufficiently tight for that purpose. A great deal of fresh air draws in at the furnace door, even if it fits well. After the fusion of the steel, the crucible is still kept standing in the fire, to fuse it perfectly, and give time for the interchange of atoms in the fluid mass. As the melting process is chiefly for the purpose of making a uniform grain, those portions of the steel which have more carbon than others, have to dispose of a portion of it, and thus equalize the whole mass. When sufficiently fused, the crucible is lifted from the fire to the floor, when the cover is removed, and BLISTERED STEEL. 143 the scoria taken off by an iron rod, with a scraper attached to it. The tongs with which the crucible is lifted are pro- vided at their fire-end with arched claws, like basket tongs, to fit the circle of the crucible. The work- men, in getting ready for casting, cover their hands, arms and legs with coarse bagging, formed into nar- row sacks, which they saturate with water before putting on ; they are thus protected against the in- tense heat. When all are ready, one smelter grasps the pot in the furnace, and conveys it to a certain spot on the floor. Other hands are ready to take off the cover, remove the scoria, and carry the crucible to the mould, into which it is cast as quickly as pos- sible. The smelter in the meanwhile gets his furnace ready for the returning crucible ; for there may be coke on the sole-piece, and, if so, it is necessary that it should be removed. As soon as the crucible is emptied, it is returned to the furnace, and the fire put in a condition to make another heat. The operation is now somewhat shorter, but very much like the first. 13 144 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. THE MOULD Is a hollow cast-iron prism, in two halves ; it is either a square or an octagon the latter for round Bteel. Steel designed to be rolled in sheets, for saws, &c., is cast in flat moulds. The two halves of the mould, while casting, are held together by hooks ; and it is set vertically in a narrow pit, so as to pro- ject but little above the floor of the building. The mould is well polished on the inside, and, shortly be- fore casting, is covered with a film of oil and finely- ground charcoal. It is perhaps three times the weight of the cast, and about three feet long. The upper end of the mould, into which the fluid steel is poured, is open, and of $, bell-mouthed shape. Fig. 27 is a section of the mould. The pouring of the hot steel into the mould requires some dexterity and skill, if we expect to make a sound and uniform bar. The liquid metal is cast down in the cen- tre of the hollow mould, so that none of it shall touch the mould before it reaches the bottom. There are also larger moulds than those we have described, which take more than the contents of one crucible at a time, and BLISTEEED STEEL. 145 in which steel bars of two hundred pounds are fre- quently cast. When the ingots are cold, the moulds are opened, and the steel removed and brought to the tilt, where it is treated like other steel. Cast-steel is much harder under the tilt than any other steel, and, what makes it still worse, it will bear but a low degree of cherry-red heat before it becomes brittle, and falls to pieces under the hammer. Nor will it bear piling and welding like other steel, but in this respect very closely resembles cast-iron. Another characteristic of cast-steel is, that it is always more highly carburetted than other varieties, in order to make it fusible. Steel which contains but little carbon requires too high a heat to be melt^ ed to advantage in crucibles. AMERICAN STEEL Is manufactured in a manner similar to the fore- going described processes. There are some slight variations in the converting furnaces ; but they are not of sufficient distinctness and importance to war- rant us in giving a particular description of the pro- cess. We shall allude to this in the next chapter. There is but little cast-steel at present manufactured 146 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. in this country. Indeed, what has been done may be looked upon more in the light of experiments, of an undecided nature, than as a regular and systematic course of manufacture. The apparatus does not differ in any respect from that described in this chap- ter, as we may show hereafter. GENERAL REMARKS, 147 CHAPTER V. GENERAL REMARKS ON MAKING STEEL. WOOTZ. To make wootz, or Damascus steel, in the United States, is out of the question. Even if we had the materials, which we certainly have not, and if we could pay an exorbitant price for such steel, there would still be no inducement for its manufacture among us. The steel used in the United States is intended for the arts of peace; and for such pur- poses, cast-steel, and shear or blistered steel, are all- sufficient. Wootz, and similar kinds of steel, are undoubtedly superior for instruments of war, and the finer descriptions of cutlery ; but these advantages do not make up for the expensive and tedious pro- cess of manufacture, and must for ever prevent its introduction among us. We need therefore say no more on the subject. 148 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. GERMAN STEEL Is at present not manufactured in the United States, and will not probably again be attempted, because the particular kind of ore from which the Germans make their cheapest and best steel has never yet been found in such a quantity and of such a quality as to warrant the erection of steel-works. The fact that we have no spathic carbonate of iron, or sparry ore, however, does not, in our opinion, fur- nish a good ground for excluding the manufacture of German steel. There are localities where it might be carried on successfully. There is an abundance of pure and rich iron ore scattered over nearly all of the States ; and, though every ore, even if pure, will not make good steel, still there are many deposites of rich ore which are in every way suited for the manufacture of natural steel. A great difficulty in the way of our advancement in this manufacture is the high price of labour, which renders us unable to compete with foreign manufacturers. Another diffi- culty is found in the fact that our operatives are not skilled in the manufacture. For the last thirty years, the aim of the iron manufacturers has been to increase the quantity, with, in most instances, an en- GENERAL REMARKS. 149 tire disregard of quality. Now, as the first requisite in the manufacture of steel is a superior quality of iron, it is not surprising that we encounter difficulties in the process. As the majority of our native work- men may be considered as belonging to the English school of operatives, and as the tendency of England has been to make cheap iron, for export, we naturally fall into the same practice. German or Swedish working cannot succeed here, because our material and our social relations are so widely different from theirs, that their mode of ope- rations is altogether unsuited to us. If we would succeed in this important branch of industry, we must cultivate our own resources, augment our knowledge of materials and the mode of working them, and raise a set of native hands, who shall take a proper interest in the successful prosecution t,f their art. FIRST ELEMENT. In making steel, sthe first and most important ele- ment is the iron-ore. To be sure, steel may be made of almost any kind of ore ; but it would be found, in the end, that the product would cost more than it would come to. Bog ore, the common impure hema- tites, the compact carbonates and hematites of the 150 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. coal formation, the clay ores and red iron-stones, the impure magnetic ores, and all our sparry ores, will make steel; but the steel will never be of a good quality, and will always be expensive. There are no doubt many heavy deposites of very pure and rich iron-ore, particularly the rich ores of Vermont, Con- necticut, New York, and New Jersey ; the beautiful hematites and pipe-ores of Pennsylvania ; and the rich ore-beds of Ohio, Tennessee, and Alabama ; but it is questionable whether natural steel can be made successfully even of any of these ores. They are adapted to make blister, shear, and cast-steel, and many of them will make a pure iron for conversion into steel ; but here their usefulness may be said to cease. Magnetic ore and pipe-ore, even if of the best quality, cannot profitably be converted into natural steel. We come now to the only ores which can with profit be used for the manufacture of natural steel, and which fortunately are found in great perfection and abundance. These are the ore of the Missouri iron-mountain, and the recently discovered deposites near Lake Superior. There are also fine specular ores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; but the amount is more limited than in the above localities, and the ore is not of so pure a quality. An iron-ore GENERAL REMARKS. 151 to be converted into natural steel should be cheap and pure either a carbonate or a per-oxide to be profitable. The conversion of cast-iron into steel has been be- fore described ; it is by no means difficult if the pig- iron is suitable ; but, should the iron be impure, it is a tedious operation. Proper attention must be paid, in making natural steel, to the conversion of the ore into crude iron. The usual method of con- ducting a blast-furnace will not answer in this case. Crude iron for steel requires a very regular and not too heavy blast, a wide hearth, and steep boshes. The charges of the blast-furnace ought to be entirely without lime, or at least with as little lime as possi- ble ; and for the same reason, any ore containing lime is to be rejected. Hot-blast is to be avoided by all means ; it should never be used where good wrought-iron is made, and is utterly unsuitable for steel. Charcoal is the best fuel for the blast-furnace ; it should be of pine, coarse and well charred. All brands and pieces of uncharred wood must be care- fully rejected. A leading object in making cast-iron for natural steel is to purify it of all admixtures but of carbon ; and for this reason particular attention must be paid to the operation. The ire is therefore to be pure. 152 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. clean and dry, and, if not a per-oxidc, well roasted by charcoal or wood. Fluxes should be avoided, if possible ; the iron oxide or manganese itself is to be the flux ; the cinder is then of a brownish colour and glassy fracture. The hearth-stones are to be of fine- grained sandstone, with a liberal admixture of clay. Another important object in the operation is to flux the impurities of the ore by spending or wast- ing some of the iron in the ore ; for this purpose, a cheap ore is necessary. So long as we insist upon having thirty-nine out of the forty parts of iron which an ore may contain, there is no possibility of obtaining an iron which is suitable for making steel. We require not only a pure iron, but also an iron which contains carbon, if we would make good steel ; and to secure such iron, we have to charge a liberal quantity of charcoal along with the ore, being care- ful not to raise the heat in the furnace so high as to cause impurities in the iron. In short, a low heat, and an abundance of coal and good ore, will produce a superior steel ; it is idle to hope for it in any other way. Our deposites of rich pure ore are of so great an extent, and in such abundance, that a ton of the ma- terial costs a mere trifle ; and if charcoal or wood can be had equally low, the place for a steel-works is GENERAL REMARKS. 153 indicated. Steel does not cost so much in the article of labour, as for materials ; where the latter are ex- pensive, the steel of course is so ; but where materials are abundant and of good quality, there is no impe- diment to carrying on the business successfully and profitably. As we have already said, the present mode of conducting blast-furnaces will not produce iron sufficiently good for conversion into steel ; and we have indicated the faults in the system. BLISTERED STEEL. In making blistered or cast-steel, there is little or no difficulty; the mechanical operations of conver- sion, melting and tilting, are well performed by our workmen, and it is unnecessary to make any further remarks upon them. But here, as in the case of the natural steel, the difficulties in the manufacture arise from the quality of the iron used in conversion, and not from any want of skill in manipulation. The American steel at present in the market shows that we have the means of making good steel, but that there is some deficiency in the quality of that produced. In Pittsburgh some very excellent spring- steel is made ; indeed, it is superior for springs to 154 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. any of the imported article. In Philadelphia, large quantities of converted steel are worked into saw- blades of excellent quality. All this steel, amount- ing to near seven thousand tons annually, is made of iron which is smelted from hematite and pipe-ores. There is frequently some iron among that to be con- verted which would make fine shear or cast-steel; but, as it is not of a uniform quality, it cannot be depended upon. This irregularity, which is a chief objection to this otherwise superior iron, is a serious and apparently insuperable impediment to the pro- gress of the steel factories. Cast-steel is manufactured in New Jersey, and also in Pittsburgh, at the present time. We know little of the progress of those establishments, how- ever, and suppose they suffer under the general com- plaint imperfect iron. As it is of vital importance to the prosperity of steel-works to have good iron, it may be the better plan for us to define, first, what is good iron, and then show precisely how it should be made. GENERAL REMARKS. 155 GOOD IRON FOR CONVERSION Is pure iron, no matter whether strong or weak. The strongest kind of iron is generally the least valuable for this purpose. Fibrous iron is usually inferior to short iron ; but the rule is not to be im- plicitly relied on. Iron may be fibrous, and still be pure, though there is little of it known which is of this character. Colour, strength and hardness are not unerring guides in arriving at a decision as to the fitness of iron for making steel. Bright iron, of a brilliant lustre, may contain phosphorus, silicon, or some other matter which renders it unfit for steel. The strongest fibrous iron generally contains more silex than other pure kinds of iron ; chemically pure iron is also fibrous, but it is weak. Iron may be hard, and yet make a superior steel ; but this is not often the case. The safest method of ascertaining the quality of iron for conversion is by actual trial ; but this is an expensive experiment when the iron proves bad, as a single trial in a converting furnace of but one box requires from six to ten tons of metal. It is practi- cally impossible to obtain iron that is perfectly pure ; but the nearer we arrive at that standard, and the 14 156 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. less foreign admixture there is, the more suitable is the iron for conversion. A good plan for ascertaining the purity of iron is to submit it to chemical analysis. Iron may contain carbon to any extent ; but if it contain more than one-two-thousandth part of silex or silicon, phospho- rus, sulphur, calcium or lime, copper, tin, or arsenic, it will never make first-rate steel. The quality or value of the iron in this case is in an inverse ratio to .the amount of impurities it contains. An analysis of wrought-iron is not easily made, when the object is to find very small quantities of foreign substances ; it requires a skilful manipulator, and good apparatus and re-agents. It may not be improper here to refer to Professor James Booth, of Philadelphia, as in every way qualified to make the necessary tests. We have said that for conversion we need pure iron, no matter how it looks, or how weak or strong it may be. Such iron, however, is not so easily made. The first step towards success is pure, rich iron-ore, no matter of what kind. Magnetic ore is generally preferred ; but this is on account' of its being usually richer and-inidre. free from impurities, and those of such a nature as to be got rid of in the refining process. There is no essential difference GENERAL REMARKS. 157 between the ores which makes one more qualified than the other. The process in the blast-furnace is of the same nature as that described in the foregoing pages for making natural steel. For this purpose we require a pure grey or mottled pig. We may then sum up thus : The blast-furnace is to be charged with well-prepared ore, little limestone, less coal as above, an excess of ore, cold blast, and regular working. MAKING OF THE IRON FOR CONVERSION. Grey pig-iron of the kind we have described is boiled in the forge-fire; that is, it is not passed through a run-out fire, as is now frequently done at our forges. It is charged to the fire, and melted down a whole heat at once. This grey iron, when melted, is or ought to be perfectly fluid ; and by di- recting the blast upon it, with continual stirring, it is brought to boiling. It works rather slowly by this method ; but it is the proper way to make good iron. The process can be accelerated by throwing scales, or rich magnetic ore into the fluid iron ; but here speed is obtained at the expense of quality ; for, un- less the magnetic ore is freed of every particle of impurity by washing, the iron will be inferior to that 158 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. produced by the slower method. Anything, no mat- ter what, thrown into the iron to make it work faster, is injurious, and seriously degrades the quality of the metal. The liquid mass is kept boiling under continual stirring until the iron crystallizes into lumps, which are brought before the tuyere, and, under the influ- ence of a strong heat, welded together. A large quantity of cinder is kept all the time in the hearth, which is occasionally tapped, particularly when the iron is about to be welded and shingled. It is useless to think of making good steel-iron of white plate-iron, or iron which does not boil. If the crude iron is pure and of the best kind, it still re- quires time, skill, and labour to reduce the amount of impurities to such an extent as to make good iron. As the purest iron is never too pure, there is no limit to the qualitative improvement of this description of iron. The puddling process is not so far perfected as to enable us by its use to make good steel-iron ; our knowledge of the operation is entirely insufficient for this purpose. There is no other method at present known to us but the charcoal-forge, good pig-iron, plenty of coal, and careful and competent men to conduct the operations. GENERAL REMARKS. 159 The description given in Chapter IV. of the appa- ratus and manipulation for converting and melting steel are sufficient for all practical purposes ; but we will here allude to some leading principles which it is important to know. A remarkable feature in the nature of steel is, that it continues to be steel until it is melted, when it turns into white cast-iron ; and this is true of all the varieties of steel. A know- ledge of this fact is important in constructing con- verting furnaces ; they should be so constructed as to give a uniform heat over the whole interior, that one part of the chest might not become hotter than an- other. The strength of cast-steel would be no greater than that of white cast-iron, if it were melted in an apparatus where it could absorb impurities. The iron in the converting-box is in contact with foreign matters which are injurious to steel ; and if the con- verted iron melts in such a box, its fitness for steel is generally destroyed. If iron could be cemented to any degree we chose, it would gradually be converted into a fine grey cast-iron, in which form it would ab- sorb little or none of the cement. The combination takes place only when the iron is in a molten state. 160 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. THE CEMENT Consists principally of charcoal ; and there is suf- ficient evidence that pure charcoal will make the best steel. All descriptions of iron, however, are not similarly composed ; and as carhon alone does not make the very best steel, there is a necessity for a compound cement. The charcoal is used in the form of a coarse powder, the grains of the size of blasting powder; it is sifted, and the fine dust, a great deal of which is made in pounding the coal, is thrown away. Sometimes the charcoal is cut by a sharp knife, set in a machine similar to a straw-cutter. Charcoal made from the harder woods, such as white- oak and black-jack, hickory, dogwood, sugar maple, &c., give us the greatest quantity of cement, and of the best kind. The addition of refuse tobacco, such as is thrown away by segar manufacturers, may prove of advantage to the cement. An addition of ten or fifteen per cent, of pure lampblack is also an im- provement, but rather expensive. In the Western States, or the bituminous coal region, lampblack may be made cheaply ; but if not of the purest kind of coal, it will injure the steel. Sulphurous coal, there- fore, shou)d not be used. Anthracite powder, coke GENERAL REMARKS. 161 powder, and black lead or plumbago, are inadmissi- ble, either pure or in admixture with charcoal. The cement generally in use is composed of charcoal mixed with one-tenth part of good wood-ashes, and about one-thirtieth of common salt. The whole of it is then moistened and well mixed. Some estab- lishments vary the cement slightly, but the majority use the proportions above given. For some descriptions of iron, charcoal alone makes the best cement. In such cases, the wood of the gum, poplar, sassafras, &c., which make but little ashes, should be charrecL Charcoal made from pine is to be rejected, as it is too soon exhausted. Some metallurgists have tried and recommended the addi- tion of borax, prussiate of potash, horn, bones, vine- gar, manganese, sal-ammonia, and a variety of other things ; but none of these admixtures have any be- neficial effect upon the steel. Experiments have been tried with a view of mak- ing steel by conducting carburetted hydrogen gas between bars of hot iron ; or leading carbonic oxide gas to it ; or cementing with diamond powder, and similar projects. These experiments, however, have all proved abortive; bad iron cannot be converted into good steel, under any circumstances ; and it is certain that charcoal powder is at least equal to dia- 162 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. mond powder, or anything else that has been tried up to the present time. The size, form and material of the converting- cnest has some influence on the quality of the steel made. For spring-steel, the boxes may be three feet high and three feet wide; such a box will take a charge thirty inches high. The chest, however, had better be not more than thirty inches each way ; this size will consume a little more fuel than the other, but that loss is richly made up in the superior quality of the product. In wide and high chests, particu- larly the latter, the central bars are never so well cemented as they should be, while the extreme bars absorb too much carbon. As a general rule, Ameri- can converting-chests are not wider than thirty inches ; while in Europe we frequently find them of the larger size mentioned. The length of the boxes is unlimited, except by the strength of the furnaces. Long boxes require to be well secured by iron binders; of course, with shorter boxes, this is not so important. In this country we find no boxes less than twelve feet long, and they do not often extend beyond twenty. The grate is somewhat troublesome to manage in long furnaces ; but this is not of much consequence. The size of the grate is of some importance in the result; GENERAL REMARKS. 163 it is better in all instances to have it too large than too small. A grate two feet wide by thirty inches deep is a good size for bituminous coal, with thirty inch boxes. For wood or anthracite coal, the grate should be four feet wide. In this case the boxes will be rather far apart, because the bottom of each box is to rest on solid masonry, and there will con- sequently be a considerable loss of heat. To avoid this loss, we put another box in the open space, thus making three boxes in the furnace. The middle box is to rest upon a series of fire-brick arches, which are sprung upon the tongues ; and as these arches are higher than those tongues, the middle box will be Fig. 28. 164 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. higher than the other two, and the whole will assume the arrangement represented in fig. 28. The flues around the boxes are to be of uniform size, and so arranged as to make an equal heat all over the furnace. If, after the first trial, it is found that the boxes work hotter in one place than in an- other, the flues in the hottest parts are to be made narrower. The arch is to be as flat as possible, and at least nine inches thick. The spring or height of the arch will depend upon the resistance of the rough walls of the furnace ; if these are secure, and the furnace well provided with iron binders, the arch may be very flat. The flues are generally in the centre of the arch ; but should the furnace work hot- ter in the centre than on the sides, some flues may be opened at the sides, where it is found to work too cold. In some instances the boxes have no flues at the ends ; this is allowable where spring-steel only is made ; but for shear or cast steel it is an ill-advised economy, as the ends of the bars are always better cemented when the fire plays freely at the ends of the chests. GENE-HAL REMARKS. 165 THE KIND OR QUALITY OF MATERIAL Used for chests is not only of importance so far as durability is concerned, but it is also of influence in the quality of the product. In this country, and also on the continent of Europe, the boxes are made of fire-brick ; but in England they are not unfre- quently made of sandstone slabs. The first consider- ation is the durability of the boxes, and the absence of fissures in the material. Pure clay is the best material, so far as its influence upon the quality of the steel is concerned ; but it is liable to cracks and fissures, and its expansion and contraction are too great to admit of durability. The addition of fire- sand to the clay renders the latter much more dura- ble ; but the steel is injured just in proportion to the amount of sand in the admixture. Good fire-brick is perhaps the best material for chests ; and here Pittsburgh has a decided advantage in its Johnstown brick. A similar brick, known as the Mount Savage fire-brick, is obtained from Cumberland county, Ma- ryland. The clay for these bricks is not at present, but ought to be, formed into slabs of a sufficient length to cover a flue, and of half the height of the box, and then burned. Such slabs would be very 166 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. durable, and the material is decidedly favourable to the quality of steel. Sandstone slabs of good quality may be found in the anthracite coal region ; but they would cost quite as much as fire-brick. It is ^possible that the Mary- land soapstone can be used to advantage ; but, con- sidering that a good fire-brick chest may last for many years, it is scarcely advisable to risk the expe- riment for the sake of the trifling saving which might perhaps be effected. In the Western States, particularly in the coal- fields the only localities where steel can be made to advantage in the West there is no alternative but to use good fire-brick, that in which clay predo- minates. Slabs of freestone may be had in that region of all sizes and compositions ; but the stones of the bituminous coal-fields are very liable to break when heated, and never bear alternations of temper- ature without injury. The thickness of the sides of the chest is gene- rally two inches, which is quite sufficient; but a greater thickness does no other harm than that it requires the use of more fuel. GENERAL REMARKS. 167 A NEW BOX Should be gently dried and heated up to its normal heat, and then slowly cooled, before any iron is charged. This is necessary to open those fissures which may be invisible in the bricks or joints. At each heat, before any iron or cement is charged, the box is to be carefully examined, and the smallest crevice or joint cautiously filled with a fire-clay which is chiefly composed of finely-ground and well-burnt fire-brick. The most diminutive opening in a box may cause great loss by burning a portion of the iron, and rendering it unfit for steel or any other purpose. Care must also be taken to prevent any iron, such as binders, wedges, plates, &c., from com- ing in contact with the chest, as it injures the fire- brick. FORM OF IRON. It is not only the quality of iron which has influ- ence upon the manufacture of steel; a great deal depends also upon the form in which it is used. Iron which has become rusty from exposure to the atmo- sphere is to be cleaned of its oxide, and not used 15 168 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. until that is done. The iron bars for conversion, too, should be as free from scales or hammer-slag as pos- sible ; on this account, hammered iron is preferable to that which has been rolled. Rust or hammer-slag forms a coating of very close and compact carburet of iron, through which the carbon cannot penetrate. All coarse fibrous iron, even if of good quality, should be rejected, as it makes imperfect steel ; the same may be said of iron which is unsound, splintery, and scaly. The size of the iron, also, is a matter of some importance. Swedish and German iron for conversion is usually of the thickness of a common horse-shoe or wagon-tire. In Pittsburgh, rolled bars of four or four and a half inches are generally used. In Philadelphia, we see slabs for cementation of about two feet long, five or six inches wide, and three- fourths of an inch thick. Bars for blistered steel, shear-steel, and all those kinds of steel which are not melted, but simply tilted or rolled, should not be thicker than half an inch, or even less. The difference in a thick bar, between the exterior and interior parts, is too great to be removed by simply tilting or rolling them. Bars which are designed for cast, spring, or coarse blistered steel, may be three-fourths of an inch ; but they should be longer exposed to the heat, and, in the case of cast- GENERAL REMARKS. 169 steel, the conversion should be two or three times repeated. Shear-steel, to be profitably manufactured, requires thin and small bars, which need but little refining to be uniform. The inducements to use heavy iron are a saving of time and fuel. A box which will take seven tons of wagon-tire size will take but six tons of horse-shoe bars ; while at the same time it will contain ten tons of four inches by three-fourths of an inch. Very small iron is too unprofitable in the blistering process, even if of greater advantage in refining. The bars should be always at least two or three inches shorter than the boxes, as iron expands more by heat than brick, and an iron bar of twenty feet in length will gain two and a half inches by the time it is red-hot. There is a point also in the size of the furnace, at which it is found that the iron works most advan- tageously. Small iron and small furnaces work faster and more uniformly than large iron and large furnaces; the only disadvantage being that they use more fuel. Where fuel is cheap, and where shear-steel is to be made, or steel refined in any form, it is more profitable to use small iron and small furnaces ; for it saves labour in tilting and re-heating. Furnaces so large, and iron so heavy, as to require more than ten 170 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. days for conversion, are not profitable ; because the charcoal cement works but for a certain time in a certain heat, and all additional time and heat is use- less waste. Bars which require more carbon than can be given to them in a week's time, like those for cast-steel, had better be converted a second time with fresh cement. THE FIRING OF A FURNACE Is to be conducted with intelligence, particularly at a large establishment. Too rapid firing not only injures the furnace and boxes, but exhausts the ce- ment before the iron is sufficiently heated to absorb the carbon thus liberated. The cement or charcoal is a very bad conductor of heat ; and the heat of the most intense fire would scarcely reach the centre of the box before that of a more moderate character. Two or three days are required before a cherry or bright-red heat is given to the boxes ; and after this it is gradually increased to a white heat, which is kept up regularly and constantly without diminution until the operation is finished. Small furnaces require four or five days and nights large ones, from that to ten days. The kind of fuel has some influence on the time of conversion. GENERAL REMARKS. 171 Anthracite appears feo be the best fuel ; and bitumi- nous coal is superior "to wood. A good steel-maker knows pretty nearly when a heat is done, if he is acquainted with his materials. To assist his judgment, the trial-bars are drawn when he thinks the process has been completed. These bars may be either of the whole length of the box, or but two or three feet long ; the iron is to be of the same quality as the other iron in the box. The breakage of the bar will of course show whether the whole of the metal has been converted into steel, or whether a core of iron is left in the centre. If the latter should be the case, the heat is continued until another trial shows a sufficiency of carbon through- out the bar. Spring-steel may be good enough for the purposes for which it is used, even if it has an iron core in the centre ; but the other varieties of steel, such as that for saw-blades, shear-steel, mill- steel, &c., are of but little value unless thoroughly cemented. Blistered steel, to be suitable for conver- sion into cast-steel, must have an abundant supply of carbon. 172 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. CLOSING OF A HEAT. When the conversion is sufficiently advanced, the furnace doors are closed, the chimney-top and the flues in the arch stopped up, and the furnace left to cool, which will require from two to five days, or half as long as the conversion. If the furnace is cold, or so far cooled as to admit of the entrance of a man, the doors and flues are reopened, and the workmen remove the converted bars. The size and form of the blisters on the surface show very nearly the kind of iron used, and the quality of the steel made from it. The best steel shows small blisters of uniform size ; coarse and imperfect iron shows both small and large blisters in great profusion ; a sound iron has but few blisters, and those of a large size ; coarse fibrous or puddled iron shows hardly any blisters. Blistered steel, on coming from the chest, if well converted, is very brittle ; if strong, it generally con- tains iron ; but there is no rule to be depended on : short iron makes short steel, even if imperfectly con- verted. The produce of a box, if designed for cast- steel or refining, is assorted according to the size of its crystals in the fracture, and laid by for either the one or the other purpose. GENERAL REMARKS. 17o THE TILTING OF STEEL, As described in Chapter IV., has been sufficiently explained, and requires no addition here. Steel for springs and saw-blades, if made directly from blis- tered steel, is rolled like sheet-iron, and not subjected to tilting or refining. A few remarks, however, are needed in reference to the chemical characteristics of cast-steel. CAST-STEEL. In former years, many experiments were made by Europeans, and in America also, to make cast-steel in a more simple way, with the hope of avoiding the converting process. It was thought that cast-steel could be made directly from the iron, without resort- ing to the use of blistered steel. These experiments, however, have utterly failed, and are now scarcely thought of. We will enumerate some of them as a matter of curiosity : The melting of wrought-iron to- gether with carbon, or lampblack ; the melting of protoxide of iron with lampblack ; protoxide of iron and grey cast-iron ; and the melting of pure wrought- iron. These experiments were so erroneous in prin- 174 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. ciple, that success can hardly have been expected. Even if this were not so, the practical difficulties are so great, as to render success almost impossible. If too much carbon were used, the product would be cast-iron; if too little carbon, we should have wrought-iron ; and if the admixture were precisely correct, the burning of a part of the carbon, which would be almost unavoidable, would destroy or injure the steel. The inexperience of some metallurgists, inducing them to pronounce hard brittle wrought-iron to be steel, has been the cause of many errors. Some of these learned men insisted upon making good steel by melting grey and white cast-iron together, or, as before remarked, grey cast-iron and wrought-iron; or carbon, plumbago, or diamond dust, together with wrought-iron. All these and numerous other experi- ments show that the nature of steel never was under- stood by these men. They assumed that any iron combined with a certain amount of carbon would make steel, which is not true. They did not discri- minate between pure and impure wrought-iron did not know that most iron is too impure ever to make steel. How absurd to recommend the melting of volatile carbon and refractory wrought-iron together ! Even if the iron is of pure quality, it is almost im- GENERAL REMARKS. 175 possible to guess the exact quantity of carbon ; and, further, the danger of burning the carbon before it comes in contact with the hot iron, as we have said, is almost unavoidable. The expense of conversion is too small to permit us to think of such projects. Blistered or converted steel is sold at an advance of but one cent per pound upon the cost of iron ; and in this advance are com- prised the profits of the steel-burner and the mer- chant. Who would think of cutting wrought-iron into small fragments, or converting it into borings or filings, for the munificent profit of one cent per pound ! Even if this could be done, which we posi- tively deny, what would be the gain ? It certainly requires less time and fuel to melt blistered steel, than would be consumed in melting iron and carbon together. However allowable such experiments might be in Europe, where fuel is high and labour cheap, they are both unnecessary and- unadvisable here, where fuel is abundant, and labour compara- tively scarce and high. 176 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. ALLOYS OF STEEL. Experiments which tend to form a better quality of the steel in the process of manufacture have also been made, but with little success. Alloys of steel and other metals have been made by melting them together ; but none except the alloy of steel and sil- ver ever came into practical use. This was composed of steel and one five-hundredth part of silver, and was for a time known as silver-steel of superior qua- lity. It has probably fallen into disuse, as we do not hear of it at the present day. Other alloys than those of the precious metals deteriorate the value of steel, and there is some doubt as to the beneficial effect of silver. On the whole, we may conclude that there is no advantage in forming any alloy of steel ; it increases the expense, without any corre- sponding improvement. SELECTION OF THE CONVERTED BARS. In making cast-steel, the most important object is the selection of the converted bars. The fragments of steel to be charged and melted together in the crucible are to be uniformly and highly cemented, GENERAL REMARKS. 177 and free from any iron cores. Not only is a highly finished cementation necessary, but all the blistered fragments should be of the same iron, and of the same heat of conversion. For cast-steel, the most highly cemented bars or parts of bars are selected, so as to have some excess of carbon, because a portion of it is lost in melting. The uniform grain, and con- sequently uniform hardness, of good cast-steel is en- tirely dependent upon a proper selection of the blis- tered steel which is subjected to the melting process. The throwing together of heterogeneous fragments of steel is often the cause of imperfect results. German or natural steel, or blistered steel made of imperfect iron, is never suitable to make good and uniform cast-steel. A perfectly fluid state of the steel in the crucible is absolutely necessary, and this is to be further assisted by stirring the liquid mass repeatedly before casting. This is done with a rod of good iron ; impure or puddled iron is inadmissible for this purpose. The melting of the steel is expe- dited by selecting the most highly cemented bars, or subjecting the bars to be melted to two or three con- versions. Such steel will not be injured by losing a little carbon, and this in burning will raise the heat in the crucible. Where there is sufficient carbon, some pure black manganese is laid in the bottom of 178 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. the crucible. The manganese, in being reduced to protoxide, combines with such silex and alumina as may be freed from the iron, and forms a slag which strongly resists the tendency of the carbon to decom- pose. The oxygen liberated from the manganese serves to increase the heat in the pot. Nothing but pure black manganese is admissible ; any foreign matter will injure the steel. The manganese should be subjected to a careful chemical analysis before it is employed. THE FORM OF THE AIR FURNACES For melting steel has been already described; they are much better adapted to the purpose than those of any other form. A sort of reverberatory furnace has been proposed and tried ; but it has not been found of much advantage. The square form is decidedly in advance of the round form of the fire- pit. In the Eastern and Middle States, anthracite is the best fuel for these furnaces, and is successfully employed in Jersey City, in the steel-works of the Adirondac Company. In the Western States, coke is used ; and its excellence depends upon the hard- ness and purity of the coke. The fuel should be dry and warm before it is used, as, if not so, the pots GENERAL REMARKS. 179 are in langer of breaking. Charcoal is a very good fuel, but it is entirely too expensive. There is not much profit or economy in double furnaces, or fur- naces having two pots. POTS. Of the material of which pots are composed, and of the manner of making them, we have spoken else- where ; we will therefore make but a few additional remarks on their form and composition. It has been said that a mixture of plumbago and clay forms the best material for the construction of these pots ; but in practice we do not find this to be the case. Pounded coke, anthracite or charcoal, are also added; but with little advantage. The best crucibles, on many accounts, are those made of pure fire-clay ; and the only objection to them is that they are liable to breakage, from their inability to resist a sudden change of heat. The addition of old pot- sand and a little coke-dust diminishes the brittleness, and is therefore of great advantage. Instead of coke-powder, the powder of burned or charred an- thracite such as has passed through a blast-iur- nace, or the heat of a re-heating furnace in a rolling mill may with a good effect be substituted for com- 16 180 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. mon coke-dust. These ingredients should be perfectly mixed, and subjected to strong pressure in the pot- press. A saving in fuel may be effected by making the pots of a conical form ; but, on the other hand, they do not last so well if too much tapered, and the qua- lity of the steel is also injured. The cylindrical form is the best for quality and durability ; but these are obtained at a greater expense of fuel. Pots are ge- nerally of three and a half to four inches diameter at the bottom, and from four and a half to five inches at the top ; the height varies from twelve to sixteen inches. It is not advisable to melt more than fifty pounds in one crucible at a time ; the usual charge is but thirty or forty pounds. FLUX. The flux used to cover the melted steel, and pro- tect it against the air and flame of the furnace, is glass-powder. It is not indifferent what kind of glass this powder is made of; glass which contains much iron, lead, arsenic, manganese, or, in fact, any metallic oxides, will not answer for the purpose, and should be carefully avoided. So also of crystal, crown, and coloured glass. What we require is a GENERAL REMARKS. 181 hard, strong, soda glass, such as is generally used for good window-panes ; it is white when in thin sheets, but assumes a light-green appearance as it increases in thickness. A flux is not absolutely necessary if the pot-covers fit well ; indeed, if good glass cannot be had, it is better to use none at all. Any other flux, such as potash, soda, or glass compositions, must be scrupu- lously avoided ; they are all positively injurious to the steel. We have said enough to show the import- ance of providing good pot-covers. How long a pot should be exposed to heat, is not very easy to say. If the steel is not very fluid, it may require five or six hours before the operation can be completed ; and if so, the steel will not be good. In Sheifield, from three to four and a half hours is considered sufficient. Steel which melts in less than three hours is brittle, and not strong. A perfectly limpid, and not a slimy, pasty state of the liquid steel, is necessary, and should continue at least a quarter or half an hour, under repeated stirring. The mould after casting is covered with fine sand or clay, to protect the hot steel from the air. 182 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. TILTING OF STEEL Is one of the most important operations in the manufacture. Good tilting improves the steel, while imperfect work degrades it. Experience is the only safe guide here. The force-hammers should strike in rapid succession, even if the blow is slight. The de- gree of heat in the bars varies according to the qua- lity of the steel ; cast-steel bears the least, and natu- ral steel the highest heat. Too hot or too cold tilting makes the steel brittle. NATURE OF STEEL. 188 CHAPTER VI. NATURE OF STEEL. HARDNES S. WHEN heated to redness and suddenly plunged into cold water, or suddenly cooled in any other way, steel becomes hard so hard, if of good quality, as to scratch glass. The degree of hardness depends not only on the quality of the steel, but also on the degree of heat to which it has been exposed, the me- dium in which it is cooled, and the manner in which that cooling is performed. FINE CAST-STEEL Is susceptible of a high degree of hardness, almost equal to that of the diamond ; but it is then too brit- tle to be of practical use. Shear-steel is less hard, 184 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. if hardened in the same manner as cast-steel, and is still more brittle. Spring-steel is not capable of so great a degree of hardness as either of the above varieties, and, if manufactured from hot-blast or impure iron, is very brittle. GERMAN STEEL Is frequently found to be very hard and tenacious, equal to good cast-steel ; but the quality of German steel is so irregular, that no dependence can be placed upon it. We frequently find very hard and tena- cious steel, and very soft and brittle steel, in the same bar of but a few feet long. We often also find fibrous iron and good steel in the same fracture of a bar. The hardest iron or steel known is the white cast-iron or steel-iron of Germany, of which German steel is made. It is, however, so brittle when hard- ened, that it will not serve for any practical purpose. Some kinds of wrought-iron may also be hardened, but the metal is never sufficiently tenacious to assume a fine edge ; for the edges formed of it are so brittle as to break when exposed to slight pressure. The hardness as well as the nature of steel are greatly affected by exposure to too much or too little heat. A dark cherry-red heat is sufficient to give to NATURE OF STEEL. 185 the best kinds of cast-steel their greatest degree of hardness. Shear-steel will bear a higher heat than cast-steel, and German steel will bear almost the welding heat of iron at least a bright white heat without injury. Every kind of steel has a certain degree of heat by which it assumes the hardest as well as the most tenacious form. If heated beyond that point, the thin steel cracks, and the heavier pieces fly, either in the cooling operation, or after the termination of that process. If cast-steel is heated to whiteness and cooled, it loses its peculiar hardness and tenacity, becomes brittle, and can never be restored to its original quality. German and shear-steel, if the latter is well refined, can bear con- siderable heat without much deterioration in quality. Blistered steel is more sensitive to heat than any other variety, and for this reason is not suitable for welding to iron, or making miners' tools of, though it is frequently applied to those uses. Blistered steel will not admit of such frequent hardening as other steel. If it has been injured by too frequent heating and hardening, it may be somewhat improved by forging with quickly repeated blows of light ham- mers, and gentle heating. If open cracks from hard- ening are in the steel, a slight welding heat is to be given in addition. 186 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. The more steel has been forged, and the higher the heat it has been exposed to in manufacturing, the more work and higher heat will it bear in the subse- quent operations. It never assumes the high degree of tenacity that marks cast-steel, however, even if it should become as hard as the latter. Cast-steel is the hardest and most reliable steel, if cautiously heated. If steel is heated below its normal heat, and cooled suddenly, it does not assume its natural hardness. German steel, heated to a cherry-red, remains as soft as it was in its tempered state. This degree of heat is variable, as remarked above ; but if the hardening heat is not carried to the proper point, the hardness of the steel is always less than its qua- lity would lead us to expect ; in most cases, it is aa soft as if tempered. THE REFRIGERATION OF STEEL, For the purpose of hardening it, is performed in most cases by simply heating it, and plunging it sud- denly in cold water. This process is frequently va- ried by moving the hot steel rapidly in the water, or by violently disturbing the water. The rationale of this process is the difference of temperature between she hot steel and the cooling medium, as also the NATURE OF STEEL. 187 time in whieh it is performed. If the steel is hotter and the water colder, the steel will assume a higher degree of hardness, or become brittle. By the same degree of heat in the steel, water with ice or snow in it will make the steel harder than water of 70 or 100, which is generally used in the blacksmith's shop. To increase the hardness of steel, without being obliged to expose it to an injuriously high heat, it may be plunged into mercury, which gives it a high degree of hardness, because it cools more ra- pidly. After quicksilver, follow a solution of salt, or water slightly acidulated by sulphuric or other acid. Spring or hard water imparts more hardness than river or rain-water. Oil and fat leave the steel softer than rain-water; and cooling in sand, or between cold iron, as in the jaws of a vice, or cooling in air, either in motion or at rest, have all been tried, and impart a greater or less degree of hardness, accord- ing to the order of their enumeration. Steel heated to its highest point, and plunged in the coldest me- dium, becomes what is called glass-hard ; that is, it will scratch glass ; but it is usually very brittle. Not only the cooling medium, and the heat of the Bteel, but the manner in which the refrigeration is performed, have influence upon the hardness and tenacity of the steel. If hot steel is thrown to the 88 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. bottom of a vessel of cold water, it does not assume a high degree of hardness ; but if a rapid motion is given to it, it speedily becomes hard, and the hard- ness increases with the rapidity of the motion. Large pieces of steel, which have to acquire a high degree of hardness, are refrigerated under a rapid current of water, which falls upon it from a certain height. The best swords at present manufactured are hard- ened by giving them a rapid motion in the atmo- sphere. Several kinds of saws, and other articles of steel, are hardened by simply hammering them. Engravers' tools, if made of good steel, assume the finest edge or point by being hammered with quickly repeated strokes of a very small hammer, upon the edge which is to form the cutting point. TEMPERING. The fact that each variety of steel requires a dif- ferent degree of heat for hardening it, and the diffi- culty of estimating that heat, because there is no way of measuring it, has given rise to the operation of tempering. The steel is therefore heated to the high- est degree which it can bear without being perma- nently injured, and is then cooled so as to impart to it the greatest hardness. It is then ground or pol- NATURE OF STEEL. 189 ished so as to show a bright surface, and gently re- heated until the bright surface shows a certain colour. The colours produced by the increasing heat on the bright surface are, in succession, yellow, brown, pur- ple, light-blue, dark-blue, and black. These shades are used for the following purposes: yellow for lancets, razors, penknives, cold-chisels, and miners' tools ; brown for scissors, chisels, axes, carpenters' tools, and pocket-knives; purple for table-knives, saws, swords, gun-locks, drill-bits and bore-bits for iron and metals ; and blue for springs, small swords, &c. Articles which are to be softer are made still darker ; but when the black shade is reached, the steel is annealed and soft. These colours are the result of oxidation. The increasing thickness of the film of oxide which accumulates on the bright surface of the steel is less and less transparent as the heat increases. The character or composition of the oxide is in all cases the same. In a blacksmith's shop, the tempering is generally done by heating the object, if a chisel or pickaxe, from the heavy part towards the edge ; and when the heat moves towards the edge, and has imparted the desired colour, the instrument is suddenly plunged into cold water, to arrest further tempering. The thick part is thus not only tempered, but annealed, 190 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. because it is heated beyond tempering. This mode of tempering tools is practical, and based on correct principles ; but it requires care on the part of the blacksmith that he does not go beyond the colour which he intends to impart. The degree of hardness is tested by scratching the article with a file ; but the test is uncertain, and shows merely if the hardening is too soft, but not if it is too hard. Sometimes the tempering is performed by covering the steel with a film of oil or fat, and heating the steel until this oil or fat is inflamed. This is a very imperfect method, and cannot be depended upon ; it generally makes the steel too soft. Small objects are very well tempered by putting the steel between the jaws of the fire-end of a pair of blacksmith's tongs, which are heated beyond the tempering point. As soon as the steel shows the desired colour, it is dropped in cold water. This is perhaps one of the most successful methods of tempering steel. A somewhat scientific, but at present not much practised mode of tempering, is to heat the glass- hard steel in a bath of fusible metal, kept at a cer- tain heat, the objects being laid on an iron plate. This way is best adapted to temper knife-blades and saw-blades in masses ; but we should hesitate to re- commend it for general use. NATURE OF STEEL. 191 CHARACTERISTICS OF STEEL. The signs by which to distinguish good from bad steel are very difficult to describe ; however, we shall endeavour to do so. If there is an opportunity of forging some of the steel, it is advisable to do so ; for there is no better means of ascertaining its true nature. A bar is gently heated to cherry-red, and drawn out into a gradually tapering square point. The operative who performs this labour, if familiar with working in steel, will judge of the quality from the manner in which it forges. If it is cast-steel, it forges harder than any other ; after this follows good German steel, then shear-steel, and at last blistered steel. Hard wrought-iron is the softest. If the trial is performed, and cannot be depended upon for want of experience, the forged point is heated to cherry- red, and cooled in cold water; if possible, ice or snow-water. After this hardening it is tried by a file, and, if it should be found to be soft, it may be concluded that it is either iron or German steel. It is then heated again to a higher degree of heat, and hardened; if it is not hard after this heat, which may be a white heat, it is iron. In either case, the steel is to have a uniform heat ; for the thin point 17 192 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. will naturally be hotter than the thicker portions. The hardened point is then screwed between the jaws of a vice, and just enough broken off to show the fracture. The power used in breaking forms the rule by which to judge of the tenacity of the steel under trial. The broken point may be tried by crushing it under the face of a hardened hammer, when laid upon a dull but hard file. If the steel is good, it will resist the crushing, and will cut the hammer-face and the file. The degree of resistance of this grain of steel to the crushing power is the best rule by which to judge of it ; for many kinds of steel feel hard to the file, and even cut glass, or other hardened steel, and yet show no tenacity. Here we find the true criterion of good cast-steel, and natural or German steel. The latter may be as hard as the first, but is never as tenacious when glass-hard. As tenacity in steel is of greater importance than hard- ness, it is an object to attend to this trial most care- fully. Hard iron will be found to be easily ground to dust in the experiment. Some kinds of steel, par- ticularly those which have been forged a great deal, or which never had much carbon, or in which other matters predominate over carbon, will not bear to be drawn into fine points. It may be quite strong when in large pieces, or even tenacious ; but still it will NATURE OF STEEL. 193 that is not sufficient. Steel which is really good will take a fine point, and be tenacious if not tempered, unless it has been overheated. If the steel will not take a point, it of course will not receive an edge, and is therefore useless for any of the finer articles of manufacture. The white crude steel-iron of the Germans is harder in a body than the hardest cast- steel, or the hardest German steel ; but it will not take a strong point, nor receive a fine, smooth edge. The marks by which to know good steel, by sight, sound, or strength, are fallacious, and cannot be de- pended upon unless assisted by long experience ; and even then the result is always uncertain. The fresh fracture of steel is of a silver-grey colour, inclining in many instances to white, particularly in shear and German steel. Certain kinds of cold-short wrought- iron have a similar appearance and bright fracture ; but they are far from being steel. Hardened, refined, or much-forged steel is always more bright in its fracture than cast, annealed, or tempered steel. The lustre of a fresh fracture in steel, however, is as uncertain as its colour. Phos- phorus and silicon have the property of imparting a rich lustre to iron as well as steel, and hence the dif- ficulty of distinguishing steel by this test. Hard- ened steel has more lustre than that which is tern- 194 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. pered, and hammered steel more than that which is annealed. Cast-steel not hardened frequently shows a fracture similar to that of fine-grained cast-iron. Baltimore pig-iron has more the appearance of goo^ cast-steel in its fracture, than many kinds of shea* and natural steel. TEXTURE. The most characteristic feature of steel is its tex- ture, or grain. The grain of good steel, when hard- ened or soft, is uniformly round when viewed through the microscope ; no flickering of light, as if broken by the planes of small crystals, is visible. The frac- ture shows a velvety uniformity, of a more or less white colour, and of more or less lustre ; but always of great regularity and uniformity ; no spots which are more bright or more dull than others. Good steel does not look like mottled cast-iron, or cold-short bar-iron. The fracture of good steel has the appearance of deadened silver ; it is of a uniform colour, grain and lustre, with the entire absence of sparkling particles. NATURE OF STEEL. 195 SOUND Is a characteristic of steel. A well-forged and polished rod of sound steel, when suspended by one end and struck by any hard substance, emits a sono- rous, silvery tone. Iron does not possess this sound : fibrous iron gives out a dull, unpleasant sound ; cold- short iron is more sonorous, but still there is no com- parison between it and the silvery tone of a well- forged bar of steel. Hardened steel is less distinct in this quality ; and tempered steel emits but a dull, shingling sound, like a broken bell, or cracked porce- lain. German steel, as brought into market, is also inferior, because all this steel is chilled before being packed ; it is, however, in all instances, inferior in sound to cast-steel. COHESION Is one of the most characteristic qualities and the greatest merit of good steel. The absolute cohesion of good steel is twice as great as that of the best bar- iron, or 120,000 pounds to the square inch ; of good cast-steel, even 150,000 pounds. We refer to an- nealed and forged or tempered steel. Glass-hardened 196 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. steel bears less weight than forged steel ; but the hardened and tempered steel bears still more. Steel which, when glass-hardened, bears but 100,000 pounds, will, if tempered, bear 130 or 150,000. Good cast-steel is here again preferable to any other. What has been said of the absolute cohesion of steel may also be said of its relative cohesion ; it is far superior in this respect to either wrought or cast-iron. ELASTICITY. The most remarkable quality of steel is its elasti- city ; it is in this respect superior to any other ma- terial, India rubber not excepted. A good spring, made of good steel, will last for centuries, in constant use, without losing its flexibility. A good Damascus blade will bear any amount of bending, without de- viating the smallest fraction from its original form, when the bending force is relaxed. Good cast-steel, well worked, will do the same ; but its curvature is more limited, and it is more brittle, than Damascus steel. A clock or watch-spring, being always on the extreme of flexure, will last for years, or even cen- turies, without being deteriorated to an appreciable extent. NATURE OF STEEL. 197 SPECIFIC GRAVITY. The specific gravity of steel is between 7.5 and 7.9, according to quality and treatment. Hardened is not so heavy as tempered steel ; well-forged steel is the heaviest. Very much in this respect depends upon the quality of the steel. The best qualities are most subject to these expansions and contractions by hardening. The mode of working steel, also, has an influence upon this fluctuation. If steel is made too hot, or the difference between the heat of the steel and the me- dium of refrigeration is too great, for a certain kind of steel, it will expand a great deal in hardening ; but, if hardened by the proper heat, its expansion will be quite small. FUSIBILITY OF STEEL. The heat by which steel fuses is very variable ; but all kinds of steel melt at a practicable heat. The finest cast-steel melts at a lower heat than any other steel, and the German spring-steel requires the high- est heat too high a heat for the best crucibles. We may assume that cast-steel melts at 2700, blis- tered and shear-steel rather higher, and natural steel at 3500. 198 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. THE WELDING PEOPERTIES Of steel are in many respects very decided, but vary in the degree of heat. The heat which is re- quired to weld German steel, to itself or to iron, is sufficient to convert cast-steel into cast-iron. The welding of two pieces of cast-steel is a matter of some difficulty ; hut it may be welded to iron, by the help of a little borax, which is sprinkled on the joining surfaces to remove scales of oxide. Spring or shear- steel, and natural steel, may be welded to themselves, or one to the other, or to iron, just as we choose. The heat applied in these cases is to be given with caution, to avoid the burning of the carbon ; for that would injure the quality of the steel. Sand or dry clay should be sprinkled over the hot steel, to pro- tect it against the direct attacks of the blast. When iron and steel are to be welded together, the iron is always nearest the intense heat or blast ; the steel is held in the more subdued fire. If steel is heated too often or too intensely, it is transformed into iron, and frequently bad iron. Forging delays, but cannot prevent this result. NATURE OF STEEL. 199 MAGNETISM Is more tenaciously retained by steel than by iron. The latter absorbs it most quickly, but does not re- tain it well ; the former absorbs it slowly, but retains it for years. The finest steel is more qualified to retain magnetism than any other; and steel of a dark-blue colour is superior to glass-hardened or ham- mered steel. The most uniform steel in hardness, texture, tenacity, and fineness of grain, is the best for magnetic instruments ; and cast-steel is of course to be preferred to any other. APPENDIX. IN our last chapter we have enumerated the various qualities of steel, and their characteristics, in a con- cise form, to hring the subject properly before our readers. We shall now proceed to take a philosophi- cal view of the matter. Steel is certainly iron ; but it has less impurities or foreign admixtures than cast-iron, with more car- bon and less of other impurities than most kinds of wrought-iron. We cannot say that steel is simply a carburet of iron ; that is not true ; for it contains, besides iron and carbon, many other ingredients. Steel, as it improves in quality, gradually increases the number of its component parts. These, at first sight apparent impurities, belong to its nature, and constitute, in proper connection with iron, the cha- racter of the steel. The best and finest steel, such as first-rate cast-steel, contains the largest quantity (200) APPENDIX. 201 of alloyed admixtures ; these make the steel fusible, but at the same time impair its capacity to resist the action of heat without melting. Such steel cannot be welded to itself, or but with difficulty, and falls to pieces like cast-iron when struck by a hammer in a temperature at or beyond cherry-red. Blistered, shear, spring, and file-steel, and similar kinds, con- tain fewer impurities than cast-steel. But these de- scriptions of steel melt with great difficulty in a cru- cible, and are never so tenacious, fine-grained, and durable as cast-steel. German, Damascus, and simi- lar qualities of steel contain a still smaller amount of foreign matter ; they have body, and resist fire as well as wrought-iron ; but they have not the fineness of cast-steel. They are not, therefore, so capable of receiving a fine edge ; nor are they so tenacious as cast-steel. If steel is, according to this, an impure iron, and a very impure iron, too, we are not to conclude that any impure iron will make steel, or that impure iron ought to make good steel. It is neither the amount nor the quality of foreign matter combined with iron which converts it into steel ; " it is the/onw in which foreign matter is combined with iron, which consti- tutes steel." Every atom of the constitutional ele- ments of steel is to be combined with its fellow atom, 202 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. BO as to form a well organized atom of steel not to form an atom of iron, then an atom of iron and car- bon, and then a third atom of iron, carbon and sili- con, or other matter ; and these incongruous atoms grouped together in an irregular form. An atom of iron, which is alone, and is not combined with its ratio of other matter, is soft is of another nature than its neighbour atom, which is combined with such elements as impart hardness to the combination. All the alloys are more hard than the elements of which they are composed; and so it is with the alloys of iron. Pure iron is very refractory ; this causes the difficulty of fusing it as perfectly as other alloys, and it is therefore less uniform. Hence steel of impure iron is apt to be brittle or tender, and will not take a fine edge. Iron, such as cast-iron and, in fact, any other alloy if it contains too much of alloyed matter, is brittle. If it contains too much carbon, as in crude steel, it is very brittle. If sili- con, phosphorus, and other matter predominate, we always see brittle iron. Where the elements of com- position are well balanced, we generally find the iron tough, soft, and of good quality. Scotch pig-iron is one of the most impure kinds of iron manufactured in the world; still, it has qualities which make it superior to any other iron as a foundry metal. Iron APPENDIX. 203 smelted of some kinds of bog-ore, and by charcoal, frequently contains but one or two per cent, of phos- phorus and carbon, and still is so brittle as to be use- less for any purpose save shot. If to such brittle iron we add sulphur, copper, calcium, or similar matter, it improves in strength and utility. These are the rea- sons why a composition of various kinds of ore, melt- ed together, make a stronger iron than a majority of the ores, melted singly, would indicate. The same reasons explain why the quality and strength of wrought-iron is greater when compounded, in refining it, of various kinds of pig-iron. The composition is in all instances stronger than the average sum of strength of each kind of iron refined by itself. Steel is iron alloyed with other matter ; and no- thing can impart a more correct idea of the nature of steel, than the nature of alloys generally. These always fuse at less than the mean temperature of the fusing heat of the metals separately. Thus, pure iron is infusible ; but an alloy of ninety parts of iron and ten of gold is almost as fusible as gold itself. Pure iron, we repeat, is infusible, and carbon is infu- sible ; but when alloyed, they melt readily at a prac- ticable heat. Silicon is infusible ; but when com- bined with pure iron and carbon, the mass melts very readily. Five parts of lead, three of tin, and eight 18 204 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. of bismuth, melted together, dissolve in boiling water; while the mean degree of the melting heat of tho component parts is 514, or nearly a cherry-red heat. Almost all the alloys are malleable when cold, but brittle when hot ; there are but few exceptions to this rule. This quality of the alloys is very distinct in bronze, but still more in cast-iron. There are some kinds of anthracite pig-iron which are very tenacious when cold, but which, in a cherry-red heat, cannot bear their own weight. There is a charcoal cast-iron used in Pittsburgh, of which turnings ten feet long may be cut, but which, at a cherry-red heat, drops to pieces by its own weight. If such iron is freed of the greater part of its alloyed matter, or if it is con- verted into wrought-iron, it is as tenacious when almost at the welding heat, as when cold. Many alloys consist of definite equivalents of the single or component parts ; and it may be assumed that a definite relation between metals exists in all instances, the same as the law of equivalents through- out chemistry and nature. It appears that peculiar properties belong to the rational compounds, which are not so definitely expressed in the accidental com- position. The law of combination of different metals is ex- emplified and has been observed in a number of cases. APPENDIX. 205 Brass composed of definite equivalents, atom of cop- per to atom of zinc, when alloyed, is a far superior metal to that kind of brass which is not compounded according to this law. There are at present but very few instances of definite compounds investigated ; but it is in all cases strongly indicated that a rational compound is natural in all instances. THE HARDNESS Of alloys is generally greater than that of their component parts. A slight admixture of soft tin, say ten per cent., renders copper very hard and tena- cious. If the amount is more than one atom of tin to one atom of copper, the alloy of these two of the most malleable metals is so brittle as to have hardly any cohesion. One atom of tin to one of copper is the metal of which Lord Rosse's specula are made ; it is as hard as steel, and has so much cohesion as to bear working, turning, and polishing. Sixty parts of iron and forty of chromium form a composition as hard as diamond, though the metals separately are not hard. A high degree of hardness may be imparted to iron and steel by the admixture of one-fourth of 206 MANUFACTURE OP STEEL. one per cent, of silver. Copper may be hardened externally by the fumes of zinc and of tin. Carbon and phosphorus have the same hardening effect upon soft iron. THE TENACITY, MALLEABILITY AND DUCTILITY Of the single metals is generally impaired in their alloys ; the same is the case with iron and its alloys. More information on this subject may be derived from the " Encyclopaedia of Chemistry," by James C. Booth; articles, "Alloy" and "Affinity." An opinion expressed by eminent metallurgists on the nature of steel, namely, the hypothesis that the carbon in tempered steel is a mechanical admixture, while in crude white iron or hardened steel it is a chemical combination, is a doctrine to which we can- not agree at the present time. It has been proved that silicon is a necessary part in the constitution of steel. It has also been found that iron, in forming steel, which contains silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, arsenic, and similar matter, does not need or absorb as much carbon as if the iron is free from such ad- mixtures. Carbon may be replaced in steel by other matter. It requires more than common sagacity and pene- APPENDIX. 207 tration to perceive the difference between the nature of the alloys of iron in the annealed state, and in their hardened condition. To assume, however, that the iron in the one case is a mechanical, and in the other a chemical combination, caused merely by the manner and time of cooling, is something which we cannot believe in. The hardening and annealing of steel is a pheno- menon of great interest, and rich in information ; but it is not a singular phenomenon ; it is related to those of the same nature in other metals, though it differs in degree. We do not commonly say that brass or bronze, when hammered, change from a mechanical mixture to a chemical alloy, or vice versa. The same phenomenon is observed here as in tempering or hardening steel. Bronze or brass becomes hard in hammering, and is softened by annealing, just like steel. More analo- gous, however, than the above metals to steel, is glass ; this, when heated and thrown into cold water, becomes very brittle, but by annealing is made soft and tenacious. We do not think of ascribing this difference in the nature of glass, when cooled slowly or suddenly, to the alteration of its constituent parts to such an extent as to convert it from a me- chanical mixture into a chemical compound. One 208 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. of the essential conditions of transforming a mecha- nical mixture into a chemical combination is, that the atoms are liberated that the mass is perfectly fluid, so that an interchange of atoms may be possible. In all cases, at least one of the constituent parts is to be fluid, or in a gaseous form, or a change from a mechanical to a chemical constitution is of course impossible. Now, if we admit that carbon in a gas- eous form may combine with iron chemically, if both in combination are suddenly cooled, we cannot admit that the same happens in glass ; for in glass there is no element which can possibly be in an elastic fluid, or in a limpid state. Furthermore, silex, silver, man- ganese, and other matter, show a similar relation to carbon as iron ; and we do not think that anybody would assume two states of combination between iron and silicon, and between iron and silver ; the alloy may be soft or hard. It requires also a strong ima- gination to believe that in hammering annealed steel, a change from a mechanical to a chemical formation is effected, and still steel is hardened quite as well by hammering as by refrigeration. There is no heat to make carbon volatile. Speculations like the foregoing may seem, at first sight, but a waste of time, and of no practical use ; such, however, is not the case. The theory or science APPENDIX. 209 of any art is always, at first, based on hypothesis; of the truth of which we can know nothing until it is demonstrated by experience. The nature of steel in its hardened and tempered state has not been, and cannot be, based upon positive facts; we have to reason by analogy. The science of making steel, as well as the investigation of its nature, is therefore based, and will be always based, upon hypothesis. The nearer that hypothesis is to the true state of facts, the more perfect will be the science, and the greater will be the advantages derived from the sci- ence in the art of manufacturing steel. Thus far, science has been of very little assistance to this im- portant branch of industry ; the whole is based upon practice. Why is this so? There is scarcely any art at the present time which is not indebted to the researches and investigations of our scientific men. We believe that the whole science of steel-making is based upon a false foundation upon an incorrect hypothesis. In this country, steel-making is in its infancy ; it has in no way advanced so fast as the manufacture of iron. We have no ore which is almost native steel, like the Germans ; nor can we expend as much labour in making iron as is done in Sweden. Our social relations do not admit of it, and nature has not 210 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. favoured us with similar conditions. Still, we have an abundance of good iron-ore, and a supply of fuel unparalleled in the known world. We have hands who are willing to work, and heads which are able to plan : why can we not make steel ? We make at present nearly eight thousand tons per annum ; but that is little in comparison with what is consumed, or would be consumed, if it could be furnished at rea- sonable prices. All the steel we now make is used for springs, coarse saw-blades, and files. The manufacture of steel is necessarily involved in great mystery. All practical manufacturers are agreed that good iron is all that is required to make good steel. The art is simple and infallible, if the proper ore or iron is at hand. The ore from which the Germans make their steel is the crystalline car- bonate, or sparry ore, which they possess in great purity. The making of steel from such ore is very simple, more so than the making of iron from the same ore. But we cannot make steel in the German fashion, as we have no such ore, nor any suitable for the purpose. There is sparry ore in Vermont, North Carolina, Missouri, and perhaps in other States ; but it is not adapted to the manufacture of good steel. Even if we had ore like the German, we should find that their process is not suited to our country. APPENDIX. 211 The wrought-iron made from the German steel- ore is very fibrous, tenacious, and of great cohesion. The Swedish iron of which English steel is made, is tender, very soft, and has no strength ; it is al- most cold-short. There is therefore a great differ- ence in the constitution. In the first case, German iron is the result of decomposed steel ; the crude steel, or a part of it, in the operation of refining, has been converted into iron. In the latter case, this soft, tender Swedish iron is converted into steel : and the softer the iron has been, the harder and more tenacious is the steel, provided the same labour is devoted to it. It is a fact that coke-iron will not make good steel, if treated in the best manner. Hot-blast destroys the quality of iron for steel, or, if not entirely, greatly injures it, even in the best kinds of charcoal-iron. Spring-steel may indeed be made of hot-blast and impure charcoal-iron ; but it will not have much strength, nor will it receive a fine edge. Experience has shown that hot-blast iron, of the same ore and from the same furnace, is much inferior to cold-blast ; so much, that nobody would think of using it for the purpose of making steel- iron. In Germany, every attempt to use hot-blast iron in the manufacture of steel has teen attended with ill-succoss. 212 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. With .these facts before us, we think it not difficult to form a reasonable hypothesis on the nature of steel ; and this hypothesis will furnish a basis upon which the art of making steel may be established more successfully than by the old theory. Pure iron is very soft, malleable, infusible, and cannot be welded. The admixture of any other mat- ter makes it stronger, harder, and fusible ; and a limited admixture imparts to it the quality of weld- ing. Iron follows the same law as any other metal, and is subject to similar alterations of its nature by foreign admixtures. There is no essential difference between iron, and other metals and their combina- tions, as a class ; but there is a difference in the phe- nomena in degree. This is a general law of che- mistry, and no peculiarity of the metals. All alloys of metals, as we have said, are harder than the mean hardness of their elements ; and the same is the case with iron. We may say that carbon, or phosphorus, is not a metal. This does not alter the case, how- ever ; for phosphorus and carbon impart to iron the same quality as silver, arsenic, chromium, or copper ; all these make iron hard, and so does silicon. The only difference is in degree. One-fourth of one per sent, of phosphorus or silicon makes iron more brittle than five per cent, of carbon, or ten per cent, of cop- APPENDIX. 213 per. All alloys of iron, without exception, are brit- tle, when combined with it in its pure state, even if they make steel tenacious, as do platinum and its kindred metals. Silicon and phosphorus impart to iron the highest degree of brittleness, and also of hardness ; silicon appearing to assume the first rank. Hardness and tenacity are always combined where a perfect and intimate chemical combination has been formed ; this is a law throughout art and nature. Imperfect relations, or impure crystals, are never tenacious, never hard; where uncombined particles occur between the legitimate atoms of matter, every quality resulting from a perfect chemical compound is impaired. A mechanical admixture of water in any crystal impairs its lustre, its hardness, and its cohesion. Silicon and phosphorus appear to be related to iron, as zinc is to copper. The strongest heat can- not disengage all the zinc in combination with cop- per ; the latter will always retain sixteen per cent, of the former. By chemical means, however, we may separate them perfectly. The same is the case with iron and silicon, iron and phosphorus, sulphur, and almost any other matter in combination with iron. Heat alone never can remove sulphur or phos- phor 1 is entirely from iron ; for, before all the sulphur, 214 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. which is known to be very volatile, is expelled, the iron crystallizes for want of sulphur, and a por- tion of the latter is enclosed in the small atomic crystals, and cannot be removed until the crystal is re-opened. The same phenomenon happens with any salt dissolved in water, or in its mother-ley. Silicon is not volatile, and for that reason less inclined to leave iron than any other matter ; it may easily be seen why it is so difficult to separate silicon from iron. And as silicon makes iron very hard and very brittle, it is .BO much the more necessary to remove it, at least as much as possible, before we can expect to have iron fit for making steel. We must be careful not to con- found silicon and silex ; for iron may contain twenty per cent, of silex, and be perfectly malleable, soft, and strong ; still, it would not make steel. Throughout nature a law prevails that all matter of one kind is combined in certain definite propor- tions with other matter of a different kind, to form a third matter of still another kind. If two or more kinds of matter are not combined in exactly given proportions, the new matter formed from the combi- nation is imperfect. Such imperfect matter does not show that beauty, that finish in all its parts, which it would possess if the elementary or combining atoms were in exact relation to their affinities. Such an APPENDIX. 215 imperfect creation is impure, is abnormal. If such a law pervades all nature, as it certainly does in every instance, why should iron and its relative mat- ter make an exception? We cannot think of any exception to the rule ; indeed, it is impossible that there should be any. In the case before us, it is difficult to produce a legitimate combination of iron with other matter. We shall endeavour to show the cause of this diffi- culty, and the necessity of removing it. Silicon is the most tenacious adherent of iron its best friend ; but its influence is so great in mak- ing the iron hard and obstinate, that the greater part of it must be removed if we want the iron for steel ; indeed, we may say all which it is practicable to remove. The finest steel shows but one-eighth of one per cent, of silicon, and often less than that. Carbon, sulphur and phosphorus form volatile com- pounds with the oxygen of the atmosphere ; these compounds do not re-combine with iron, and are very easily expelled. Silex, the oxidized silicon, is not volatile; nor is silicon itself; both remain, therefore, with the iron, in either one or the other form. All other matter increases the fusibility of iron ; and so does silicon ; but almost all other matter, with the 19 216 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. exception of a few metals, such as copper or silver, may be driven off by heat, or oxidized and evapo- rated. Silicon remains last of all ; and its admix- ture will have the effect of keeping the atoms of iron separate, or keeping the metal in a fluid state, until the silicon is oxidized and removed. The great co- hesive power of the iron particles will congeal the fluid iron compound before all the silicon or silex can be removed. It may therefore be asserted that no iron, no matter how it is manufactured, is entirely free from silicon or silex ; because most of the iron-ore contains silex, the walls of the furnaces contain silex, all fuel contains it, and fluxes and slag are not free from it. Silicon makes iron hard silex does not; iron may be strong and tenacious, and contain much silex ; but it would not answer for the better qualities of steel. Silex can be in wrought and cast-iron, but not in steel, and much less in hardened steel ; for it will inevitably be converted into silicon by the car- bon of the steel. We must not conclude, therefore, that soft, fine, strong bar-iron is any more fit for conversion into steel than even cold-short, worthless iron. The qualification of iron for steel cannot be correctly judged of from its appearance; it can only be ascertained by actual trial, and careful chemical analysis. APPENDIX. 217 Experience shows that the best steel contains the largest number of components, the greatest variety of matter. Silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and arsenic are as necessary elements in the constitution of steel as is carbon. Good steel may be made by simply adding carbon to wrought-iron ; but then the quality of the steel will depend upon the chemical composition of the iron used. We lay it down as a principle, that the combination of iron with other matter to form steel is to be a true compound of multiples ; and we assert further that the best steel is the result of such a combination, and the greatest number of the com- pound elements. The latter part of the above de- claration has been proved by experience ; the first part is a true deduction from the works of the Crea- tor. There is no finished form in the whole range of the creation but is the result of multiples of equal spase, filled with matter of various kinds. In converting iron into steel, we have to combine it with such quantities of other matter as to form of one or more atoms of iron, one atom of steel. Steel is a new metal ; it is neither iron, glass, carbon, nor anything but steel ; it is distinct from iron and all its composing elements. Just as salt is distinct from muriatic acid, and distinct from soda, so steel is distinct from iron, or carbon, or sulphur, or silicon, 218 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. or any other element. If ninety-nine parts of pure iron and one part of carbon form steel we make use here of the true parts, instead of the equivalents, to be more explicit to those who are not versed in chemistry ninety-eight parts of iron and two parts of carbon make better steel than the first; and ninety-seven parts of iron and three of carbon make cast-iron ; we are compelled to keep within the limits of two per cent, of carbon, if we want to form steel. If 98 parts of iron, 1 of carbon, and 1 of silicon, form brittle, hard cast-iron ; 98 parts iron, 1 car- bon, and \ silicon, form steel ; but 98 parts iroYi, 1 carbon, and \ silicon, form better steel. We have to keep within the limit of \ and J silicon, if we want steel at all. If 98 parts iron, 1 carbon, \ silicon and $ sulphur, make rather brittle steel ; 98 parts iron, \\ carbon, \ silicon and f sulphur, make a bet- ter article it would be unwise to put more sul- phur in. The same rule which guides our labours in these instances, is to be applied in all cases. Every addition of a new element requires an alteration in the quantity of the other components. The various elements do not combine in equal weights with iron,, nor in equal weights among them- selves, to form the most perfect compound. We have no experience to guide us in determining the APPENDIX. 219 relative quantities of the various elements in steel ; but science induces the conclusion that the elements in steel must be combined in the simple or compound ratios of their atomic weights. Good steel must ne- cessarily consist of one or more atoms of iron, one or more atoms of carbon, silicon, phosphorus, and the other elements. The atomic weight of iron is 339.2, of carbon 76.4, of arsenic 470, of azote 88.5, of cop- per 395.6, manganese 345.0, phosphorus 196.1, sili- con 277.4, and sulphur 201.1. All these elements, and still more, have been found in steel. They can- not combine in single atoms; that is impossible; there must be a starting point somewhere. If we commence with silicon, and argue that 1 atom of it combined with 25 atoms of carbon, the ratio of J to If parts, then it will require 322 atoms of iron to make 98 parts of iron. If such are the combin- ing numbers of these elements to form good steel, it is evident that, if there are more than 322 atoms of iron in the composition, the 'product will be a mix^ ture of hard steel and soft iron, which of course will not make a reliable edge. If there are more than 25 atoms of carbon, or 1 and a fraction of silicon, the same thing will happen ; for neither of them has any combination in steel. If there is more than 1 atom of silicon in 322 atoms of iron which is to be con.- 220 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. verted into blistered steel, we can well manage to put 25 atoms or If per cent, of carbon into it. But if 25 atoms of carbon and 1 atom of silex form the best ratio of alloy with iron to make steel, it is evident that, if there are 2 atoms of silicon to 25 of carbon, the compound is not good. If, in this instance, we alloy so much carbon with the iron as to produce 25 atoms of carbon to 1 of silicon, the iron will be con- verted into good cast-iron. Here we are impelled to the conclusion that similar conditions prevail between all the elements of steel. We have it in our power to put as much other mat- ter into iron as we please, if the iron is pure ; but it is not in our power to combine it with a limited quantity of silicon ; neither is it possible to remove all the silex from the iron, in the practical operations attending its manufacture. As the amount of silicon is to be very limited in steel, and as it cannot be re- moved from bar-iron or steel, it follows that its removal is to be accomplished before the iron is put into shape for conversion. From the foregoing investigations, we are led to conclude that steel is a definite compound of iron and other matter, and that silex is the chief obstacle io the formation of such a compound. All our ener- APPENDIX. 221 gies are therefore to be directed against silicon, or silex ; because, if there is too much in the iron, it will degrade the steel. There never can be too little silex in iron to make good steel of it. How far practice confirms this theory, we will en- deavour to show. The East Indians, in making their iron for wootz, pound the ore very fine, and free it by washing, as far as possible, from all impurities. They then -melt it in a small furnace, in a very short time, without lime or other fluxes, and obtain but one-fifth of the iron which the ore contains. The remaining four-fifths are converted into slag, which absorbs as much silex as its constitution will admit of; though that cannot be much, as the ore is pure, and the cinder has therefore to absorb its silex from the charcoal and the in-wall of the furnace. We see % here how much care is taken to remove the silex at first, and the immense loss of iron that results from its removal. In making natural steel in Germany, the same principles are carried out, though not to so great an extent. The steel-ore of that country is naturally pure ; but it is still cautiously selected with respect to the making of steel. The blast-furnaces where these ores are smelted are well supplied with charcoal, and in most cases work without flux. Limestone, as 222 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. a flux, is avoided as much as possible. Most of the ores contain a large amount of manganese, which fluxes the silex, and is in all cases the most efficient flux. It is a generally diffused error that manganese is essen- tially necessary to manufacture good steel ; there is no magnesium found in any steel ; it serves in every instance to absorb the silex. The crude iron of the Germans, which is highly purified, and contains hardly anything but iron, car- bon and silicon, loses in the first operation in the forge, where it is converted into crude steel, twenty- five per cent., and in each subsequent refining heat from six to eight per cent. ; so that, on an average, not more than fifty per cent, of partly iron and partly steel are obtained. Probably not more than twenty- five per cent, of good steel could be obtained from the crude iron. The process by which Swedish bar-iron is made, is that which is in general use in this country, and has already been described. The difference in quality is chiefly caused by crude iron and labour. Common Swedish bar is not particularly good ; we have, if not superior, at least equal qualities of charcoal-iron, even for steel-works. The Swedish and Russian iron of which common shear-steel is made, is, however, more uniform and pure than ours the consequence APPENDIX. 223 of more labour ind material spent in making it. The best Swedish iron, that of which the finest Eng- lish steel is made, is not refined in what is called the German forge, but by a different process. The forge- fire is not lined with iron, or only on two sides ; very little iron is melted in at one heat ; no slag, scales or ore are used for boiling ; and the whole process goes on with great slowness and regularity. Much coal is used, much iron wasted, and a great deal of labour spent in the operation. The iron is very supe- rior, however, and is made nowhere but in the uplands of Sweden, near the ore-mines of Danemora. The burning of steel, or the converting process, is as well conducted in this country as in any other ; and there is also no difficulty in melting blistered steel, as well as tilting shear-steel. All we want is pure iron, and then there is no doubt that we shall be able to compete with the world in making steel. It is out of the question to imitate Sweden, Rus- sia, Germany, or any other country, in making iron or steel. We should cultivate our own means, with- out reference to their method, and succeed in our own way. We need not copy the processes of other na- tions, no matter how highly cultivated those processes may be. Ours are peculiar conditions, and in no way resemble those of any other people. 224 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. The only practicable way of making steel in this country is, first to make blistered, and then cast- steel, as is now done. But we want a better article than is made at the present time, and for this pur- pose we want better iron. There ought to be no dif- ficulty on this score ; for we have extremely cheap ore, and, in spending two tons of ore where now but one is used for the same amount of iron, and even more than that, there ought to be no difficulty in ob- taining any quality of iron we desire. The magnetic ores at Lake Champlain are not surpassed in purity by any ore in the world ; indeed, they are almost pure iron ; but they are at present of little value. There is no reason why, from this ore, we cannot make iron equal to the best Swedish, and we could certainly make it more cheaply than we can import the common Swedish bar. Why do not the immense ore-beds in Essex county, New York, make good steel-iron ? It certainly is not the fault of the ore ; for that is of a very superior quality; nor can it arise from any scarcity of timber that also is found in the greatest abundance. New Jersey possesses large deposites of material, and has every facility for making good steel-iron; yet her great advantages are not improved. That Missouri and Wisconsin are not already in APPENDIX. 225 the market with the best iron in the United States, may be excused on the ground of the infancy of the iron business in those States. There is no doubt that they could relieve us from the contribution we at pre- sent pay to Europe for good iron ; and we look for- ward with confidence to the period when our wants shall be supplied from those States. Pennsylvania is the only State where steel is made to any extent ; and seven-eighths of the whole amount manufactured in the United States is made by her. This is a little remarkable, as Pennsylvania is not favoured by nature for this quality. That State is hardly to be excelled in good merchant bar and foundry metal ; but her hydrates, pipe-ores, and argillaceous iron-stones, are not at all qualified for making steel, or at least not good steel. The evil of our not being supplied with the best kind of steel- rods, is chiefly owing to the desire of reducing ex- penses in manufacturing. The finest iron-ores are wasted to make blooms worth thirty-five dollars per ton; while the judicious expenditure of but a few dollars more would convert the same ore into an iron equal to the common Swedish or Russian bar. We are forced to the conclusion, from all we have observed, that the making of good iron is not gene- rally understood, and that its importance is vastly 226 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. under-rated. We consequently suffer under a heavy tax to Europe for steel which we might readily make ourselves, and which we shall have some hope of making, as soon as our manufacturers relinquish the vain attempt to make cast-steel of puddled iron, and natural steel of anthracite or hot-blast iron. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. BY A. A. FESQUET, CHEMIST AND ENGINEER. GREAT changes have taken place in the metallurgy of iron, and especially in that of steel, since the stereotyped edition of Overman's work, dated 1851. We will try to fill up the gap in a concise way, but shall not attempt to describe all the processes devised or patented, since their number is legion, and still they come. We shall confine ourselves to the description and to an examina- tion of the principal methods of steel fabrication, which have really become practical manufacturing processes. GENERALITIES. We call STEEL a compound, combination, or alloy of iron with carbon, which can be melted, welded, and drawn out under the hammer, and which becomes hard by the sudden cooling of the red hot metal in a cold vehicle, water usually. 20 227 228 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. We think thai the fused product of highly cemented steel mar be considered as the standard steel, in regard to parity and constancy of composition. Its physical although it must he welded at a low temperature and by a skilful workman. Steels above it in hardness and in amount of carbon, eeasetobeweldable. They are harsh, and their series goes on up until we arrive at cast inn. Steels below it in hardness and in amount of carbon, are more easily welded, but their hardness decrease* until they ran into wrooght-iron. Oar standard cart-steal, from highly cemented iron, ffflrtMB on an average, 1 per cent of carbon. He tool leefc most generally employed in the arts contain from 050 to Oi75 of 1 per cent of carbon. The preceding pages and the above lines show that aftmiiiaa intermediary product between cact and wrought iron, with fe* carbon and fusibility than the former, and with more carbon and neater fusibilitr than tl TWiafc. if we take carbon from cast-iron, or add car- bon to wrooght-iron, we can make steeL All the pro- of manufactore fellow thk rale, VARIOUS METHODS OP STEEL MANUFACTURE. Carbon is taken from pig-metal a the German process IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 229 of natural steel, as explained by Overman in the pre- ceding pages. By the fusion in the low hearth, run out fire, bloomery, or fining furnace, the air of the blast burns off" part of the carbon. The difficulty of main- taining a perfect constancy in the blast, in the rapidity of the fusion, and in the quality of the pig-metal, added to the greater or less skill and attention of the operator, explain how the quality and composition of the product must vary. Moreover, the fining, that is to say, the re- moval and oxidization of the foreign matters, is not so complete as when wrought-iron is made ; therefore, the raw material itself must be of remarkable purity. Puddled steel is another example of cast-iron deprived of part of its carbon, in a reverberatory furnace, not only by the air of the flame, but also by the oxygen contained in the peroxides of iron of the cinder, which covers the molten mass. Here again-, the fining is partial; it is difficult to stop the operation at precisely a given time, and a pig-metal of the first quality is needed, if a pro- duct of some value be expected. Great quantities of puddled steel have been made, and continue to be manu- factured, and the process is much' cheaper than the Ger- man method for natural steel. However, it is to be ex- pected that puddled steel will be replaced by other kinds of cheap steel made by more recent methods, although we believe in the superiority of the puddling furnace for the 230 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. treatment of pig-metals holding a large proportion of phosphorus. The want of success of the process, as indi- cated in the foregoing pages by Overman, was especially due to the expectation, since then so many times re- peated, of making a good product from a poor material, by an incomplete purification or fining. It is wonderful how difficult it is for people to understand that, the more impure a material is, the more it requires to be purified. All former experience seems to be of no avail. For many iron masters, the name of steel implies unblem- ished purity, no matter from what material or in what manner the article has been prepared. We may diminish the proportion of carbon in pig- metal by an addition of pure iron ore, the oxygen of which burns the excess of carbon, whereas, at the same time, the iron of the ore is reduced to the metallic state. This process, proposed by Captain Uchatius, of Austria, has been considerably experimented upon, and has often given good products. The great drawback is the rapid destruction of the pots by a portion of the iron oj-e, which combines and forms a cinder with the silicate of alumina (clay) of the crucible, before the cast-iron is melted and can be acted upon. There is in the employ- ment of iron ore, the advantage, that a certain fining takes place from the energetic stirring given to the molten mass by the carbonic oxide gas, resulting from the reaction of IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 231 the oxygen of the ore upon the carbon of the pig-iron. The combination is more thorough, and many impurities are oxidized and separated in the resulting cinders. Another method of reducing the per centage of carbon in pig-iron consists in diluting it in a greater proportion of wrought-iron. A great deal of cast-steel has been, and is still, made in pots by this process. The pots are charged with a mixture of fragments of cast and of wrought-iron, the latter consisting of muck bars made and cut for the purpose. It is a simple fusion, no fining takes place, except that due to a small proportion of peroxide of manganese often added to the mixture. The quality of the steel depends entirely upon that of the materials employed. Parry's process is similar to the preceding method, but he uses larger apparatuses. An ordinary, not a superior, quality of steel is made ; but the great advantage is, that inferior qualities of pig-iron may be used, because the metal is refined before it is transformed into steel. The inferior, and consequently cheap, pig-iron is puddled in the ordinary manner, and purified of the greater part of its sulphur and phosphorus. It is well known that by a well-conducted puddling operation, a great portion of these impurities is removed by volatilization, and especially by the cinders, which act as a cleaning bath. The blooms are rolled into muck bars, which are then 232 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. cut and melted in a high cupola furnace with a certain proportion of pure cast-iron. The fuel must be of good quality. The resulting highly carburized steel, or rather white metal, is then further purified in a Bessemer converter. This last operation is somewhat difficult, on account of the small proportion of carbon and silicon in the material used ; nevertheless the material has been fined twice, and the process is a step in the right direc- tion for using inferior materials, the low cost of which allows of more extended manipulations. "We now pass to the methods by which carbon is added to wrought-iron. First in importance is that by cemen- tation and fusion, already described in this work. We shall simply remark that it presents all the features necessary for the production of a perfect steel, provided, however, that the wrought-iron used is of good quality, and the operation is well performed. In this case, the metal has been fined until it cannot be fined any more, that is, until it has become wrought-iron. A good cementation imparts to it the proper proportion of car- bon, and the fusion in pots renders it thoroughly homo- geneous, and separates the small proportion of cinders and other impurities that had not been removed by the hammer or rolls. Lastly, wrought-iron, cut into fragments, is melted in pots with a certain proportion of charcoal, part of which IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 233 combines with the metal, while the remainder is burned by the gases which penetrate the pot from the fire-place. Peroxide of manganese is generally added to the mixture, and, as its action is complex, we shall devote, further on, a special paragraph to this substance. This method is extensively followed, and requires a good wrought-iron, since there is very little fining. It is open to the objec- tion that the percentage of carbon in the steel, and there- fore its hardness, is variable, since the crucible covers only fit more or less closely, and allow of the burning of a greater or less proportion of the carbonaceous material. This inconvenience is not so great with cemented steel, because the carbon is already combined with the metal, and is not so easily burned off as wood charcoal. Cast steel has also been made from puddled steel, by simple fusion in pots. The metal becomes more homo- geneous, but there is little further fining, and if the raw material is impure, the product is also impure. We see, from what precedes, that under the name of cast steel, many qualities of metal may be found, differ- ing in purity, hardness, and tenacity. Homogeneous metal, a newly coined name, is a low kind of steel, with a very small percentage of carbon. It is often quite impure ; but, as it has been obtained by fusion, its quality is the same throughout. It is homogeneously good, bad. or indifferent, according to the nature of the raw 234 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. material used. Many kinds of so-called " Bessemer steel rails " are nothing more than homogeneous metal. In fact, when impure pig is employed, it is preferable to make this article rather than a more highly carburized one. The manufacture of steel, direct from the ore, has often been attempted, with more or less satisfactory results. The apparatus is generally a fire similar to that of the Catalan forge, bloomery, or run out fire. The ores must, of course, be rich and perfectly pure, since the fining is but partial. We have examined several samples of steel made of pure titaniferous ores, which were remarkable, for their hardness and tenacity. As in similar operations, it will be difficult to stop the carburization or decarburiza- tion just at the desired time, for a given quality of steel. We now^ come to the Bessemer and Martin processes, in which the pig-iron is decarburized partly, or entirely, and afterwards recarburized to a given point. Or, the pig-iron is melted with wrought iron, or with oxide of iron, then recarburized, etc. The chemical reactions are the same as those we have already examined ; but the apparatuses and modes of operation are different, and re- markable for the quantity of the materials which can be worked in a very short time. For persons interested in patent office matters, the history of these processes cannot fail to be found very interesting. Let it be sufficient in this place to state that IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 235 many have been the co-workers, and that in many in- stances, their failures were due to the employment of impure raw materials. Indeed, the success of Mr. Besse- mer dates from the time he began to employ pure Swedish pig-metal. BESSEMER PROCESS. When a blast of air is passed through molten cast-iron, the chemical action of the oxygen upon the silicon, car- bon, and even the iron itself, is sufficient to raise the temperature to such a point that, after complete decar- burization, the metal is liquid enough to be cast into ingots. The Bessemer process is based essentially upon the entire or partial decarburization of molten pig-iron by a blast of air passing through it. Two kinds of converting vessels are used, one which is stationary, and the other movable. The former is still retained in Sweden, and consists of a kind of cupola, which receives the molten metal from another cupola, or direct from the blast furnace. The air is injected near the bottom through several fire-clay tuyeres, which are inclined at a certain angle, so as to impart to the fused mass a rotary motion. In order to prevent the obstruction of the tuyeres by the metal, the blast is given before the metal is poured in, and until it is run out. The method by partial decarburization is followed out, and notwithstanding the difficulty of stopping the opera- 236 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. tion at the proper time, and the incomplete fining, the products are a superior Bessemer steel, which is used for fine wires, tools, razors, etc. Such superiority is evi- dently due to the remarkable purity of the Swedish raw metal, and to its percentage of manganese, which allows of the non-employment of Spiegeleiseu. The movable apparatus is, in every respect, superior to the preceding one, even with equally pure materials, as it has been proven in comparative trials made in Styria. Kg. 29. For impure materials, which require a complete decarburi- zation or fining, followed by a partial rorarburi/atioii, it is necessary to be able to stop and restore the blast when desired, and this cannot be done with the stationary apparatus. The movable converting vessel, or Converter, revolves on two trunnions (Fig. 29) ; one of them is hollow and connected by a coupling box with the blowing machine, IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 237 the blast passing through a curved pipe along the lower part of the converter, and terminating in a metallic box beneath the apparatus. The other bears a strong pinion, to which a revolving motion is given by a rack at the end of the piston-rod of a double-acting water-pressure engine. The converter itself (Fig. 30) is an ellipsoidal vessel made of strong wrought-iron plate. The upper and lower parts are bolted together. On the top is an oblique mouth for receiving the charge of metal, for the escape of gases 238 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. and the running out of the steel. At the bottom a me- tallic box receives the blast and divides it through the tuyeres, five, six, or seven in number, with five holes in sach. The trunnions are fixed upon a large wrought-iron belt, about midway of the apparatus. The inside lining must be very carefully made ; the refractory clay, strongly beaten into it, is mixed with a certain quantity of quart- zoee material called ganister, or ground firebrick, free from scoriae. The tuyeres are also made of fire-bricks, with all of the joints carefully luted. When the lining is dry, a charcoal or coke fire in built in it, and all cracks are closed. Afterwards a stronger fire is built, a certain blast is given, and the interior receives a glazing of common Bait The ashes being removed, the converter is placed in a horizontal position, and the charge of pig-iron, pr<:vi'u.-ly smelted in a cupola or in a reverberatory furnace, is run into it by means of a trough lino! with -:inl. The charge is then level with the tuyeres, and the blast is turned on before the converter is made to revolve to its vertical po- sition, which is slowly done. After fifteen to twenty minutes of blast, and when the long and blue flame of oxide of carbon has disappeared, the converter is swung again into a horizontal position in order to receive the additional charge of five to ten per cent, of spiegeleisen. Having again been made to assume the vertical IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 239 after a few minutes more of blast, the steel is completed and run into a large ladle supported by a crane. From this ladle the ingot moulds are filled. The blast, after the introduction of the spiegeleisen, is intended to stir the mixture ; but, as at the same time part of the carbon is burned off, it is necessary to add more spiegeleisen than is needed for the desired per cent, of carbon in the steel. In several works, for instance in those of Seraing, Belgium, no blast is let on after the introduction of the spiegeleisen, and the mixture is con- sidered sufficiently intimate after the several pourings into the converter, then into the casting ladle, and lastly into ingots. Spiegeleisen (mirror iron) is a white pig-metal present- ing large and bright facets in its fracture, and holding a variable proportion of manganese (from 6 to 25 per cent.) and carbon, the latter in the combined state. This metal, which seems absolutely necessary in the manufacture of steel even from pure pig, which does not hold manganese, imparts to the decarburized iron of the converter the necessary proportion of carbon. The action of the manga- nese is complex, and we shall examine it further on. Several pig-irons from Sweden and Styria, which natu- rally contain from 2 to 4 per cent, of manganese, do not need the employment of a special spiegeleisen. The final carburization is effected with the same quality of pig which has been decarburized in the converter. 21 240 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. Whatever be the purity of the crude metal employed, experience seems to have established the principle that it is preferable to decarburize the metal entirely, and then to recarburize it to the proper point. The fining by the blast is more complete, and it is easier to obtain a product of a given degree of carburization, than by arresting the decarburization at a given time, which can be ascertained only by the fugitive change in the color of the flame escaping from the converter. The molten metal charged into the converter is gene- rally melted in a cupola or in a reverberatory furnace. The cupola presents the advantage of working more rapidly and cheaply, and of not changing so much the nature of the pig-metal, which retains its carbon and silicon better than in a reverberatory furnace. On the other hand, the fuel must be pure, and the charge cannot be retained molten a long time in the cupola, without the danger of chilling. The reverberatory furnace is still retained for the fusion of the spiegeleisen, and an oxidiz- ing flame or cinder should be carefully avoided. At several works in Sweden and Styria, and at those of Terre-noire and Creusot, France, where the converters are in close proximity to blast furnaces producing a suita- ble quality of pig-iron, the tapped metal is run directly into the converters. There is a saving in expense, and the nature of the metal is not modified as by a second fusion. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 241 The requisites of a Bessemer pig-iron are freedom from Buch injurious substances as sulphur, phosphorus, copper, arsenic, etc., and the presence of a certain amount of silicon, carbon, and sometimes of manganese. In appear- ance, it is gray pig. Part of the volatile and easily oxidized substances, such as sulphur and arsenic, may be gotten rid of during the operation.. On the other hand, phosphorus, under the oxidizing action of the blast and the acidity of the cinders produced, has no chance to escape, but remains with the iron. This fact has been abundantly proven by analyses of samples of metal taken before, during, and after the operation. Over 0.05 per cent, of phosphorus in pig-iron is decidedly injurious to the quality of steel, although certain kinds of Bessemer metal, of a low degree of carburization, have been found to contain 0.1 per cent, (one thousandth) of phosphorus. Silicon, which is not a desideratum in the finished pro- duct, is useful in the pig-metal because, by its combustion by the oxygen of the blast, it raises the temperature of the molten mass. The carbon has a similar effect. Manga- nese, in Bessemer pig-metal, is sometimes detrimental, un- less it be associated with rather a large proportion of silicon and carbon. In the absence of a sufficient proportion of these two heat-giving substances, the molten metal has a tendency to remain pasty, and to work cold, as it is said. The only explanation of this phenomenon we can offer is, 242 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. that manganese, being more easily oxidized and its oxide reduced with more difficulty than that of iron, it follows that when the heat of the molten mass has not been raised at the start by the oxidization of a sufficient proportion of silicon, the manganese retains the oxygen of the blast and does not give it up rapidly enough to burn the carbon, and the metallic mass becomes and remains cold. The first period of the operation is one of scorification, during which the silicon is transformed into silica, and but little flame appears at the mouth of the converter. Afterwards, the metal and the carbon are oxidized. The oxide of iron delivers up its oxygen to the carbon, and a portion of it forms a cinder with the silica. When the decarburization is practically complete, the remaining metal is wrought iron holding a very slight proportion of carbon, and contaminated with oxide. The subsequent recarburization by spiegeleisen or other suitable pig-metal, not only gives the desired percentage of carbon, but also reduces to the metallic state the oxide of iron, and restores the malleability of the metallic mass. We believe that the failure to produce a steel of a desired degree of hardness, by the addition of a calculated proportion of recarburizing material, spiegeleisen for in- stance, is often due to the fact that the decarburized metal is more oxidized than it is thought to be. A portion of the carbon of the spiegeleisen is employed to reduce that oxide. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 243 and the proportion of carbon expected to remain in the steel is thus diminished. When the pig-metal employed is of the proper kind, and is poured hot into the hot converter, the charge is said to work hot, that is, the mass remains perfectly fluid, and the gases have no difficulty in escaping. On the other hand, white metals poor in carbon and silicon, work cold, that is to say, the metal remains thick, and the gases not finding easy means of exit, cause explosions to take place. As a rule, the more silicon and carbon in the pig-metal, the longer and the better is the fining. The end of the decarburization is ascertained in various ways : by stopping the blast after a certain length of time, practically ascertained after several operations upon the same pig-iron by viewing the flame through an optical instrument known as the spectroscope, which enables the observer to detect a certain line in the spectrum or image of the flame, the disappearance of which line marks, to within a few seconds, the conclusion of the process by the sudden decrease of the long blue flame, and its ap- pearance wnen viewed with the naked eye, or through different colored glasses (blue and yellow) superposed, giving a dark neutral tint. Through these glasses the flame appears white as long as the decarburization is going on, and turns red when all the carbon has been burned off. 244 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. Converters of various sizes have been made, and those holding six tons of molten pig-iron seem to be those most in use at the present time. The charge should, however, occupy but a small proportion of the space in them ; the reaction and the boiling are so violent that part of the metal would be thrown out if there were not plenty of room. A six-ton converter is about eleven feet high, and five and a half feet in its widest diameter. The blow- ing machinery, for medium sized converters, should be able to produce a pressure of at least fifteen pounds to the square inch. When the finished product is poured from the conver- ter into the casting ladle, it is well to let the ebullition subside for a short time before running the metal into the moulds. This ebullition is due to the escape of carbonic oxide, resulting from the action of the oxide of iron or ab- sorbed oxygen upon the carbon. The ingots are better when the moirlds are in the form of syphons ; the metal is more condensed and without admixture of cinders, since the latter remain in the branch which receives the molten steel. These moulds are generally disposed as follows : a metallic platform is cast with deep grooves radiating from a centre, and the grooves and the bottom of the central .part are lined with small bricks made of fire clay. The moulds are of heavy cast-iron, and present the shape of ^truncated, quadrangular pyramids, the larger sections of IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 245 which rest upon the metallic platform. Now, if we put one such mould over the central opening, and upon each outlet of the radiating grooves, the metal poured into the central mould will run into and fill the other moulds. All the cinder remains in the central mould, which, on this account, is a little higher than the others. When the steel has been sufficiently cooled off, the moulds are lifted by a crane. The metal generally remains porous, that is, filled with blown holes. Before rolling it into rails, bars, or plates, the ingots are reheated and their cavities closed by conden- sing the metal under a steam hammer or between rollers. The difficulty of making sound steel castings has always been very great, and many appliances have been devised for compressing the still fluid metal in its mould, either by weights or hydrostatic pressure, and even by burning gunpowder in closed vessels holding the moulds. We have seen a perfectly compact steel ingot said to have been fused and cast in the same vessel. We under- stand that the patented process consists in melting steel in mould-shaped crucibles which are covered air-tight, and, when the fusion is complete, allowing the metal to cool off slowly in the same crucible, which is removed from the fireplace and covered either with ashes or with a metallic hood. The greater proportion of the steel made by the Bessemer process is employed in the manufacture of rails, and a 246 IMPROVEMENTS IN S T E E T. . large quantity for railroad tires, plates, pieces of machin- ery, etc. When the degree of carburizatiou is very low, the product is often called homogeneous metal. Very little tool steel of the first quality is made from Bessemer steel, unless from the best materials of Sweden and Styria. We understand, however, that Bessemer steel scraps are some- times remelted in pots, in England ; but we know little about the quality of the resulting product. The yield of merchantable products in Bessemer steel works on the continent of Europe, is about 80 per cent., and sometimes 85 per cent., of the raw materials used. The loss by volatilization, scorification, and bad scraps, amounts to about 20 per cent. We do not know how the yields of American manufacture compare with these, after deduction of the scraps. Notwithstanding the care taken to stop the blast at the j.roper time, and to calculate the proportion of ppicp 1< i- sen to be added, the steel produced requires to be afterwards classified according to its chemical composition and physi- cal properties. Asmall test ingot is cast atabout the middle of the pouring, and its fracture examined. After having taken from it the necessary quantity of metal for the chemical determination of the carbon, it is hamim-ml, bent, hardened, and tempered, and its tensile strength is now and then ascertained. All of these tests give valu- able information, and permit of the classification of the various grades of steel. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 247 Nearly every steel works possesses its own mode of classification, and we give below, 'as examples, the scales used in Sweden, in Austria (Tunner's scale), and at the Belgian works of Seraing, near Liege. SWEDISH HUMMERS. AUSTRIAN NUMBERS. PERCENTAGE OP CARBON. PROPERTIES. 1 2.00 The hardest steel, forms the limit between white pig metal and steel, difficult to forge, and does not weld. \\& 1.75 More malleable, but does not weld. 2 1 1.50 Malleable, but does not weld. VA 2 1.25 Forges well, and is quite difficult to weld. 3 3 1.00 Hard tool steel, easily forged, and may bo welded by a skilful workman. 3% 4 0.75 Easily forged and welded. Ordinary steel. 5 0.50 Mild or soft steel, easily forged and welded. 4V 6 0.26 Hard granular iron or very low steel, with a slight hardening power. Rea- dily forged and welded. 6 7 0.05 Homogeneous metal, which forges and welds perfectly, but does not harden. SERAING'S SCALE. f || n ! 1 ill h 1 V Ii 11 I s j I I I. a Does not har- 30^-35^ 2025 Up to 0.35 Ex. son. Guns, cannons, den ; may be sheets, boiler welded. plates, rivets, ropes. 0.350.45 Soft. Machinery, "1. Hardens, and welds with more or less difficulty. 35^-44 1020 0.450.55 Medium soft or medium hard. axles, tires, Tires,'rails,pi8- ton rods, sur- faces subject- ed to friction. a Hardens well, f 0.550.65 Hard. Large and me- dium springs, in. and some- times does -* 610 cutting tools, fi 1 e s, saws, bits, mining tools. not weld. 0.65 & over ban? Fine springs and tools, spindles, etc. 248 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. MARTIN PROCESS. The Martin process employs essentially a mixture of wrought- and cast-iron for the preparation of steel, and the operation is performed in a Siemen's gas regenerative furnace, which allows of a temperature sufficiently great to melt wrought-iron. The apparatus is a reverberatory furnace, which, on account of the great heat required, is built of the most refractory materials. In England they use the Dina's bricks, which contain about 98 per cent, of silica (the remainder being lime and other impurities, in order to give a certain consistency to the material). In America, the Mount Savage bricks, of Maryland, have been found to answer well, although the repairs are frequent. A charging and working door is in the middle of one of the long sides, and the tap hole is opposite to it, at the lower part of the hearth. Each end of the furnace is provided with fire-clay flues, which serve alternately for the intro- duction and the escape of the gases. The furnace itself is built upon a double system of chambers, filled with a quantity of fire-bricks set up so as to leave open spaces for the circulation of the gases. These chambers form the regenerative part of the system, that is to say, the very hot gases escaping from the working part of the furnace circulate in one of the chambers below, and leave IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 249 part of their heat to the bricks contained therein. When, after a certain length of time, every half-hour, for in- stance, the direction of the gases is inverted, they, be- fore being admitted over the hearth, are made to circu- late through the heated room below, where they acquire a high temperature. The other regenerating chamber is then, in its turn, heated with the hot escaping gases. Properly speaking, there is no heat regenerated, but part of the escaping heat is saved. The gases are generated in special kilns placed at a certain distance from the reverberatory furnace. These kilns are generally built of bricks, receive the charge of fuel on top, and the air is admitted through grate bars at the bottom. The combustion is directed so as to produce only carbonic oxide, which being conveyed through pipes to the reverberatory furnace, is there combined with more air, and burns in the state of carbonic acid, thus produ- cing the highest temperature possible by the combustion of carbon with oxygen (diluted by the nitrogen of the air). The heating by gases presents several advantages : the saving of fuel is said to be about one-third ; the metal is protected from the contact of the impurities of the fuel ; the temperature may be rapidly and easily regulated by means of valves or dampers ; and the chemical action of the gases may be made oxidizing or reducing as desired, 250 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. by increasing or diminishing the admixture of air. How- ever, when wrought-iron is to be melted, the whole heat- ing power of carbonic oxide is required by transforming it entirely into carbonic acid, and then the action of the gases is slightly oxidizing. Quite inferior fuels may be employed by this system, sawdust, charcoal dust, anthracite, etc., but a semi-bitu- minous coal seems to give the best results, in regard to the amount of gases and the facility of conducting the operation. In this latter case, a certain proportion of hydro-carbon gases are mixed with the carbonic oxide. The bed of the reverberatory furnace is covered with a compact layer of siliceous material, which acquires a certain consistency from the great heat produced. A charge consists of about equal parts of cast- and wrought-iron, added in successive proportions. The greater part of the more fusible material, cast-iron, is charged first, and, when melted, the wrought-iron is gradually added. In this manner, the fusion of the wrought-iron is more rapid. When the added material has fused, the molten mass is stirred with an iron rable, so as to insure a thorough mixture. We have forgotten to state that, in order not to chill the metallic bath, the pieces of cast-iron, wrought- iron, and spiegeleisen, are previously brought up to a red heat in a small adjoining reverberatory furnace, con- structed on the Siemeu's plan, and working with gas. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 251 Various phenomena take place : the cast-iron divides its carbon with the wrought-iron, part of it is also burned off by the slightly oxidizing action of the flame, and by a certain proportion of oxide of iron, which always accompanies the scraps or the pig-metal, or which has been produced during the fusion of the metals. A certain proportion of cinder is also formed, which may have a similar decarburizing action like that in the puddling furnace. A boil, or disengagement of carbonic oxide is observed in the mass. It would be quite as difficult to stop the operation at a desired time, as it is in the manufacture of steel by the German process, by puddling, or in the Bessemer process by incomplete decarburization, although the Martin pro- cess is more gentle, and allows of taking samples from the metallic bath, and trying them on the anvil. Therefore, the decarburization is continued until it is practically complete, that is, until a sample taken shows itself red short. The previous samples were perfectly malleable, although more or less hard, according to the proportion of carbon, and this red shortness is due to a certain amount of oxidization of the molten metal, after nearly all the carbon has been eliminated. It now becomes necessary to remove this oxygen and to impart the proportion of carbon desired, and this is done by an addition of spiegel- eisen, or, in some cases, of some other kind of pure pig- 22 252 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. iron. Fifteen or twenty minutes after the spiegeleisen is put in, the mass is stirred, and the steel run into the moulds placed on a railway below the tap hole. The operation proper, for a charge of about three tons, lasts, on an average, eight hours. With the time neces- sary for repairing the siliceous bed of the furnace, we may say that the whole operation requires twelve hours, or two operations in twenty-four hours. The patent covers also the decarburization of pig-irou by iron ores, and steel has been made in this manner under difficulties which are hard to overcome. Fine particles of ore do not sink readily to the molten metal, on account of the great difference in the specific gravities of the substances, and they remain mixed with the cinder above. Their action is thus slow, and resembles that of the fettling of the puddling furnace. Large blocks of sufficiently pure ore are difficult to get, but when used, they come in immediate contact with the molten metal, and their action is very energetic. But the greatest drawback is that the walls and the bed of the furnace are rapidly corroded. Caron has proposed the employment of magnesia cruci- bles to obviate the cutting action of oxides and of the cinder on the ordinary smelting pots. If the results were found satisfactory, the same substance might be employed for the lining of the earth in the Martin process. On the IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 253 other hand, the inquiry may be made, whether, in the presence of the great excess of surrounding magnesia, the impurities would be properly fluxed and separated from the metal. We recognize in the Martin process all the requisites of a good preparation of steel from a good raw material. The product being fused, is homogeneous, the decarburi- zation or fining is complete, and is aided, moreover, by the cinder present, as in the puddling furnace, although to a smaller degree. The operation being more gentle than in the Bessemer process, there is a possibility of maintaining the degree of carburization of the finished product up to the desired point. Should the sample be- fore casting, show itself too hard and too rich in carbon, by allowing it to remain for a few minutes more in the furnace the difficulty will be remedied. Should the sample prove too poor in carbon, a few pounds more of spiegelei- sen may be added. All kinds of scraps of good quality may be used, whatever be their percentage of carbon, which is not the case with the Bessemer process, which will work anew but a limited portion of its own scraps. Good puddle balls and blooms may be advantageously employed in the Martin process. To sum up, we regard this latter process as complete in itself, and it would even be found a useful adjunct to Bessemer Works for utilizing and working up their 254 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. numerous scraps, such as bad ingots, rail ends, etc. The Martin method of making steel, like all others, requires good materials for the production of a good steel. THE ACTION OF PEROXIDE OF MANGANESE AND OF SPIEGELEI8EN. In the manufacture of cast-steel in pots, there is nearly always a certain proportion of peroxide of manganese added to the mixture of cast- and wrought-iron, or of wrought-iron and charcoal, or to the cemented steel itself. In the Uchatius process of cast-iron and iron ore, manga- nese oxide is also added, if the iron ore is not already manganesiferous. Since the proportion of manganese re- duced to the metallic state and alloyed with the steel is much smaller (and sometimes so small as to be a mere trace) than that contained in the oxide used, it follows that the greater part of this oxide must have another effect than that of making an alloy. If it has not such an effect, its use is then a waste of material, and a single pinch of the substance is sufficient in each pot. But long practice everywhere shows that the peroxide of man- ganese is beneficial, and it is said to act as a regulator of the proportion of carbon and of silicon in steel. The action of this substance seems to us complex, and the ex- planation we offer is put forward as a simple hypothesis. At the temperature at which peroxide of manganese loses IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 255 part of its oxygen, the metals are not melted, and the oxygen will superficially oxidize them and burn a por- tion of the charcoal of the mixture. Later, when the metals have melted, the manganese oxide will oxidize the silicon, part of the carbon, and some other easily oxi- dizable impurities. The carbonic oxide produced stirs and renders the mixture homogeneous. The metallic manganese formed will in its turn be oxidized by the free oxide of iron which may be present, the latter being reduced to the metallic state. Lastly, the greater part of the manganese oxide will combine with the silica and other impurities of the metal, and with a certain propor- tion of the clay of the crucible, thus forming a fluid slag, which will cleanse the molten steel, and will separate easily from it. The action of spiegeleisen is also manifold. We must bear in mind that in the Bessemer and Martin processes it is added to an iron which is not only decarburized, blit also, to a certain extent, oxidized. The carbon of the spiegeleisen becomes diffused within the iron, transform- ing it into steel, and, at the same time, reduces to the metallic state part of the oxidized iron, as is readily as- certained by the disengagement of carbonic oxide. The metallic manganese, if all the iron oxide were reduced by the carbon alone, and in the absence of blast, would form an alloy with the steel, whereas it is nearly all found 256 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. in the cinders. We are therefore obliged to conclude that the oxide of manganese of the cinders has taken its oxy- gen mostly from the oxide of iron, and that the metallic manganese remaining in the steel and forming with it an alloy, is that in excess of the proportion necessary to re- duce the iron oxide. Another example of the reduction of a metallic oxide to the metallic state by another metal having a superior affinity for oxygen, is that of litharge (oxide of lead) by metallic iron. The manufacture of boiler plates from Bessemer metal is difficult when ordinary spiegeleisen, relatively poor in manganese, and rich in carbon, is employed. If it be added to the oxidized iron in sufficient quantity to restore the malleability, the proportion of carbon remaining in the plate is too great. How could it be too great, if the carbon alone had been the reducing agent of the oxide of iron? Very little carbon should remain in the metal, which, on the other hand, would be rich in alloyed manganese, two conclusions contrary to the facts of the manufacture. Here again, we must infer that the greater part of the deoxidization of the iron is effected by the metallic manganese. Boiler-plates, made at Terre-noire (France), and ex- perimented upon in England, gave unprecedented results in regard to strength and malleability. They were made by the Bessemer process, and, with the addition of IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 257 spiegeleisen, holding as much as 25 per cent, of man- ganese, a ferro-manganese as it is sometimes called. Does it not seem probable that the deoxidization of the iron was produced by the manganese, which was in such great excess over the proportion of carbon in the spiegeleisen used ? In Sweden and Austria, where the pig-metal contains from 2 to 3 per cent, of manganese, a special spiegeleisen is not needed for imparting carbon and malleability to the decarburized metal. During the blast, the man- ganese present protects the iron from too great an oxidi- zation, and, as has been demonstrated by numerous analyses, the proportion of manganese oxide in the cin- ders in all the periods of the operation, is greater than that of the oxide of iron. When the decarburization is complete, there is less oxidized iron, and therefore, less need of a spiegeleisen with a large proportion of man- ganese. The same pig-iron as that which was decarbur- ized, is sufficient, It may seem strange that molten iron should be car- burized and oxidized at the same time. A sample of red short iron taken at the end of the decarburizing period of the Martin process, was analyzed by ourselves, and was found to contain nearly as much of carbon as of oxy- gen. The red shortness was not due to sulphur, as no appreciable quantity of that substance could be found, 258 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. and as all shortness disappeared after the addition of spiegeleisen. The analyzed sample was also carefully filed, in order to remove the crust of oxide formed during the cooling of the metal. ALLOYS OF STEEL. Steel is essentially an alloy of iron and carbon, but it is nearly always accompanied by a quantity of other substances, the number and the variety of which may astonish many persons. These substances are not gener- ally determined, for the reason that such scientific analy- ses are very expensive and cannot be executed except by experienced chemists, and also because the proportions of the foreign matters being generally very small, it is sup- posed that they are without material influence upon the quality of the metal. It is not so, however, and we see from the examples of Bessemer steel scales used in Austria, Sweden and Belgium, that a difference of 0.25 per cent, of carbon is sufficient to cause the steel to pass from one class into another, that is, to change the nature of its applications in the arts. We know well how a small amount of sulphur or phosphorus is sufficient to render the metal hot or cold short, and that a small proportion of copper prevents the weldability of steel and iron. One part of bismuth or lead in ten thousand parts of gold, renders the latter metal as brittle as antimony. A ira e IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 259 of carbon, sulphur, or oxygen in copper changes its mal- leability considerably. We might give a great many more similar examples; and since chemistry and the manufacture of alloys give so many proofs of changes of properties in metals by the addition of small proportions of other substances, we see no reason why steel should not follow the same rule. In scientific examinations of pig-irons, the following metals have been found alloyed with the iron and carbon : Silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, arsenic, manganese, alumi- nium, chromium, copper, antimony, nickel, cobalt, tita- nium, molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, etc. A single analysis of pig-metal demonstrates the presence of sixteen of the above-named substances. During the transformation of the metal into wrought-iron, the easily oxidized sub- stances are removed partly or entirely; for instance, calcium, magnesium, manganese, etc. Copper is not so easily oxidized, and remains in the metal. Aluminium, which has a great affinity for iron, remains in greater part combined with it. We see, therefore, that nearly all the foreign bodies of the pig-metal remain in the wrought-iron, although their proportion is rendered smaller. The conversion of wrought-iron into steel does not separate many of the foreign substances, although it has been advanced on some reasonable grounds that the 260 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. cementation process has a tendency to remove sulphur, phosphorus and arsenic. But we need more reliable comparative analyses to arrive at a certainty on this subject. That some of the foreign metals will improve the qual- ity of the steel in hardness, or malleability, or tenacity, or in grain, seems pretty certain. Brass, which is essen- tially a compound of copper and zinc, is considerably improved by a small addition of lead, not only in ordi- nary castings, but also for rolled sheets ; in this rax 1 , lead, by producing greater homogeneousness, gives a better grain, more hardness, and greater malleability. The proportions of the foreign substances may be varied to arrive at different results, in the same manner as less lead is put in rolling brass than in brass castings for the turner. The best steel is that which is best adapted to its particular purpose. We do not expect or desire the same malleability in a hard tool steel, a graver for in- stance, as in a steel boiler plate. The hardness and malleability of steel may be varied, indeed, by more or less carbon. But we believe that a greater homogeneous- ness will be imparted to the steel by one or more other metals appropriately chosen and in proper proportions. Steel is already a sufficiently complex compound, witness, for instance, the formidable array of foreign metals found ir it, and given above. The difficulty is to know which IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 261 of these metals are beneficial, and in what manner, so as to make them preponderate over the others. It is a very hard question to decide with the little knowledge on the subject which exists at the present time. It will require scientific chemical examination, checked by accurate mechanical tests of malleability, hardness and tenacity, to arrive at results which can be trusted. We do not agree with Overman, when he states, page 217, that arsenic, phosphorus, sulphur and silicon are necessary in steel, that is, in the ordinary applications of that metal. But in special uses of ornamentation, for instance, where tenacity is a secondary object, and fine- ness of grain and sharpness of casting are all important, phosphorus, sulphur, etc., may do well. Indeed, certain qualities of pig-metal, highly charged with phosphorus, are employed for fine castings, which must be sharp, and are not expected to bear severe strains. It seems that tungsten, titanium, chromium, vanadium, etc., have a beneficial effect on steel within certain limits. They harden it without destroying its malleability and weldability. All the experiments of Stodart, Faraday, Berzelius, Stromeyer, Clouet, Breant, Berthier and others demonstrate that all the different metals alloyed with steel increase its hardness. We find that this fact ac- counts for the difficulty encountered in the adoption by Bessemer Steel Works of a uniform scale of hardness 262 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. based on the percentage of carbon. If we examine the scales adopted in Sweden, Austria and Belgium, we see that in the two former countries, where the raw metal is of the same purity, they agree in the fact that the same per centage of carbon separates one class of steel from another. If we compare these scales with the Belgian one, we remark that the steels of the latter cease to weld with a lower per centage of carbon than do the fornu T. The practical hardness of the steels for the various uses in the arts is about the same in these countries ; but, in the one case, the hardness is due to carbon alone, and in the other, to carbon and to foreign substances. Indeed, the materials used in Belgium for the manufacture of steel are not so pure as those employed in Austria and Sweden. Therefore, for a given hardness in practical use, the more impure the steel, the less carbon it requires and the weldability will cease with less carbon for iron alloyed with other metals, than for those relatively purer. Another example may be given of how little we kin\v about the influence of other metals on steel. The subject is manganese, which may be said to be of universal HM in the manufacture of steel. A manufacturer of steel, of evidently great practical knowledge, writes that he has treated steel alloyed with manganese, which was so mal- leable that it was unctuow under the hammer. Another writer, known for his knowledge and accuracy, Captain IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 263 Caron, states that manganese renders steel brittle. Now, with all regard for the veracity of the first experimenter, we suspect that he brings forward one of those incontro- vertible " hard facts," as some practical men call them, which require a little looking after. Our experi- menter, who was also the manufacturer of the steel, states that that steel must have contained three times more manganese than of carbon, in which case it is a kind of spiegeleisen. As the per centage of manganese was not determined from the bar experimented upon, but sur- mised from the mixture put in the pot, it may very well happen that the steel produced contained very little or no manganese at all, as often occurs. Nevertheless more light is required on the subject from different and reliable parties. STEEL ORES. Certain kinds of iron ores are said to produce steel naturally. We do not see how they can succeed in doing so without some help, inasmuch as they produce also the purest and softest kinds of wrought-iron. Putting aside all preposterous notions that they contain within them some unknown phlogistic medium, which will transform them naturally into steel, we will acknowledge that these ores are very pure ; that is to say, free from obnoxious elements, or combined with some beneficial ones. Careful 23 264 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL,. chemical examination will determine pretty well whether an ore will make a good steel or not. Incorrect con- clusions have often been jumped at from incomplete or careless examinations of ores. Such work must be made in a thorough and reliable manner. What certitude can we have of the real nature of an iron ore, if we know only its per centage in metal, as is so often the case ? Besides the complete knowledge of the ore employed, we should not forget either that the fluxes, the fuels, and the mode of working have an important influence in the na- ture of the metal obtained. There seems to be a prevailing opinion among many iron men that red hematites are the only iron ores which will give a pig-metal suitable for the manufacture of Bessemer steel. This belief probably arises from the fact that these ores are quite exclusively used for that purpose in England. The countries which produce an article of Bessemer steel superior to that manufactured in England and America, use other ores. Sweden i-m- ploys magnetites ; Austria its abundant deposits of spathic irons ; and certain works of France smelt pure magnetic ores imported from Sardinia and Algeria. So much for red hematites being the only suitable ores. Red hema- tites, or any kind of iron ores, whatever be their state of oxidization, will produce a good steel if they are free from obnoxious bodies, and not poisoned afterwards by IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 265 impurities in the fluxes and fuels, or by a wrong mode of smelting them. In Styria and Sweden, the ores are most carefully sorted and roasted, and then smelted in com- paratively small blast furnaces, working with charcoal. The modern blast furnace, with its huge dimensions, is certainly advantageous in lowering the cost of production, but the extreme and protracted heat to which the ores and fluxes are exposed causes the reduction to the metal- lic state of many substances which become alloyed with the pig-metal, and we have seen their great influence on the quality of the steel. The United States contain large deposits of ores adapted to the manufacture of steel, in Missouri, in the region of Lake Superior, and in the States of North Caro- lina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. To our know- ledge, the ores of North Carolina, by their extent, nature, purity and composition, strongly resemble those of Sweden and Norway. THE APOTHECARY SHOP OF STEEL MANUFACTURE. Phosphorus and sulphur are the greatest sicknesses to which steel, wrought and cast-iron are submitted. Their treatment has been attempted several times with drugs and chemicals, applied in very small or in quite large doses. Some have attempted to volatilize the sulphur and phosphorus by adding infinitesimal proportions of the 266 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. chlorides, bromides and iodides of sodium or potassium, under the supposition that the volatile compounds of sul- phur and phosphorus with iodine, bromine, etc., would be formed. This transformation, under the circumstances of the work, is not certain, and the really useful part of the alkaline salt used is its base, which combines with the impurities, and retains them in the cinder. Another pro- poses the addition of minute proportions of the precious metals, etc., etc. Passing now to the serious part of the work, we see that chloride of sodium (common salt), chloride of calcium, nitrate of soda, etc., in sufficient quantities, have been tried with more or less success. Some of these substances are in- tended to have an oxidizing action by their volatile part, and, at the same time, their base is to combine with the sulphuric and phosphoric acids, which are thus separated from the metal. Interesting results have been obtained, especially with the employment of nitrate of soda, and it has been found possible to remove the greater part of the phosphorus from impure pig-iron. But the cost is too great, and, at the present time, we hear little about thee experiments. Not only are the infinitesimal doses of no avail whatever, but the neutralizing substances must be employed in greater proportions than is necessary for combination with the impurities, because the silica of the cinders and of the hearth will absorb a great quao- IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 267 tity of the base of the salt, and prevent its action upon the phosphoric acid, for instance. Although we consider the method of purification of iron by drugs and chemicals as too expensive at the present time, we believe that the best mode of operation will be to inject the finely pow- dered materials with the blast through the tuyeres of a cupola, for instance. MISCELLANEOUS. Under this head we give several extracts, taken from the Iron Age and from other sources, and which are complementary to what is already to be found in Over- man's work on the nature and properties of steel, and the manner of working it. The absolute tenacity of steel decreases in a certain ratio with the increase of the proportion of carbon, and the elongation before breaking is greater as the proportion of carbon is less. Steel increases in volume by hardening. If the article be of a prismatic shape, a bar for instance, the increase in dimensions is on the thickness and width, whereas the length has diminished. Every kind of steel requires to be treated in its own manner, which is often the cause that the most skilful workman rejects a good material to which he has not been accustomed. Those kinds which are poor in carbon, 268 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. as well as the soft and ordinary ones, require a higher temperature before cooling than those richer in carbon. Besides, steel is the more easily hardened the more it has been condensed by hammering, and the finer its grain has become. If it is to possess more hardness than elas- ticity, it must be heated to a higher temperature and cooled quicker than if the opposite qualities are desired. Tools of unequal thicknesses have their thicker end put in the fire first. The coals must glow well, and ought to burn without flame or sparks, in order that the workmen may readily observe the heat of the steel, and may sur- round it uniformly, so that it be not exposed directly to the blast. If only certain parts of a piece are to be hardened, and if others are to remain soft, the latter are often coated with clay, so that they may be less exposed to the heat, and may not come into intimate contact with the harden- ing liquid. Files are generally immersed in a solution of salt, thickened with flour or yeast, and are placed in the fire after the coating has dried. In order to produce a uniform heat, metallic baths, especially glowing, liquid lead, have been recommended. For small articles, such as razors (according to Chester- field in Sheffield), one may use a bath of salt, calcined soda, chloride of zinc, and other neutral mineral salta heated to redness. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 269 By cooling steel in boiling water, no remarkable har- dening takes place, although peculiar molecular changes may otherwise be produced. A hardening liquid composed of 1 part of oil of vitriol to 30 or 40 parts of water, was regarded as a great secret by English file cutters. Such a bath possesses a cleansing action, by dissolving the oxidized parts. Old files are said to be sharpened to a certain extent by immersing them, without heating, in a similar bath. If, aside from hardness, the steel is to attain as much elasticity as possible, less cold water should be employed, and its power of conducting heat ought to be lessened by certain additions, such as small quantities of soap (satu- rated soap water is said not to harden at all), slimy sub- stances, charcoal dust moistened with water, etc. In Switzerland, according to A. Kieser, cast-steel for cutting tools is hardened in a remarkably excellent man- ner by dipping it, in a dark-red condition, into a mixture of four parts yellow rosin, two parts train oil, and one part molten tallow, after which it is again placed in the fire without cleaning and then cooled in water. Long pieces which are not flat, as for instance, files, must be immersed in the direction of their longitudinal axes, and then moved about in the water with a certain rapidity. Flat and thin articles are to be immersed with their thinner edge. If the objects, as knives and sword 270 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. blades, possess a wedge-shaped form, they are generally inserted with their thicker end, which cools off more slowly than the thin one. However, the opposite method may be recommendable, namely : In cases where the edge is made of another material than the back, and when fatty substances are being used for cooling. It is very important to immerse the entire glowing part of the articles in the hardening water, or to immerse them completely, according to circumstances, otherwise there may be flaws on the water-line. Large objects should not be withdrawn until they are completely cooled. Since flaws are produced less easily when the cooling is performed in fatty substances instead of water, the water is often covered with a layer of oil or fat, through which the steel has to pass before it reaches the water. Most articles of irregular form are liable to warp, for instance, hollow chisels, half-round files, etc., or such as consist of wrought -iron plated with steel on one side. In these cases, the steel side easily gets crooked ; hence it is necessary to immerse the object in a particular manner, and to move it about in the liquid in a special way. It may also be well to bend it in the opposite way during forging, so that it may become straight in hardening. Articles of very unequal dimensions, such as eccentric rings, are lined with a piece of iron at the thinner places, so that they may be uniformly heated and cooled. Small IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 271 articles that are also long, and would therefore warp easily, are packed in fagots by means of wire, and thus heated and cooled. Flat articles may be retained in shape by pressing and cooling them between iron plates. There is one condition to be fulfilled, which is of essen- tial influence for the process of hardening, namely, the previous working of the steel. If the surface thereby produced be denser in one place than in another, one may be certain that it will warp in hardening ; hence not less depends upon the dexterity of the blacksmith than upon the workman who performs the operation in ques- tion. Since, in certain patterns, an unequal density can- not be avoided, the article should be brought to a low red heat before being hardened, and if it has become bent, it should be straightened out. Large articles should first be hammered out well on the surface, so that this latter may become denser. With steel rollers this may be done by adjusting them in a frame, and by allowing steel bars to pass through them under heavy pressure. According to the experience of Ede, in the arsenal at Woolwich, steel with a brilliant metallic surface is more readily exposed to flaws than steel with a thin skin of oxide. For surface hardening, H. Vaughn immerses wrought- iron articles in a glowing liquid bath of 25 parts prussiate of potassa, 65 parts common salt, and 10 parts bichromate 272 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. of potassa, to which powdered horn or animal charcoal has been added. The articles are hardened in water. For steel, he uses a bath consisting of 4 parts prussiate of potassa, 12 common salt, and 2 bichromate of potassa. For polished steel, which would otherwise be injured, he replaces the bichromate of potassa partly or wholly by an equal quantity of a mixture for hardening files, which, according to Dittmarr, is composed of 16 parts charcoal obtained by carbonizing waste from hoofs, horn, or leather, 2 of oven soot, and 1 part of common salt. From this a paste is made by the addition of some clay, water, vinegar or beer yeast. The files are covered with this paste, then dried in warm air, heated to a cherry red, and hardened in a solution of salt. They are then pickled in diluted oil of vitriol, rinsed in Jime and pure water, brushed and oiled, after having been dried in hot air. Eckmann says that steel acquires a very hard surface if the hardening powder be mixed with a solution of arse- nious acid in muriatic acid, as then, by heating, a bril- liant white layer of an alloy of iron and arsenic is forim-d, which is not liable to rust. Wrought and cast-iron may be hardened, according to Johnson, if immersed hot for a few minutes in a bath of 50 parts fat, 50 oil, 35 charcoal, 25 yellow prussiate of potassa, 33 horn, and 30 nitrate of potassa. Karmarsch mentions that the points and edges of tools (pointed ham- IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 273 mers, etc.) may be hardened by sticking them for a mo- ment, when bright red, into a paste of 1 part prussiate of potassa, 1 part potassa, 2 green soap, 2 lard or tallow, and then cooling them in water. Another recipe, which, however, was known to Agricola (1561), prescribes the dipping of the welding hot wrought- iron into molten pig-metal, a few moments being sufficient to produce a cementation of the thickness of a line (1-1 2th inch). In consequence of a great and protracted heat, case- hardened articles assume a coarse crystalline texture, and then get brittle. This change, according to Carre, can be obviated entirely if the articles, when withdrawn from the cementation boxes, are heated as quickly as possible to the highest temperature which they attained by cemen- tation, and then allowed to cool in the air. The harden- ing is afterwards accomplished in the ordinary manner. Crude steel and steel of cementation weld easier than cast-steel which is prepared from the former by remelting, although this latter has rather undergone a diminution than an increase in the amount of carbon. Cast-steel gains in weldability, when made to glow for some time excluded from the air, and then allowed to cool slowly, whereby, as is well known, a partial separation of chemi- cally combined carbon takes place. In welding steel and wrought-iron, the latter is first 274 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. placed in the fire, or both are heated separately. The steel must be brought up to the proper temperature as rapidly as possible and excluded from the air ; it is best done with charcoal and good coke, since coals, on account of the feet that they contain sulphur, produce a thin layer of sulphide or sulphate of iron, which prevents proper welding. As a welding mixture, Th. Rust recommends 41.5 parts of boracic acid, 3.5 common salt, 15.5 prussiate of potassa, and 8 calcined soda ash. Habich prescribes 7 parts of anhydrous prussiate of potassa, 2 calcined soda ash, and more or less burned borax, according to the nature of the steel. Ermer recommends to dissolve in water 8 parts of borax, 1 sal- ammoniac, 1 yellow prussiate of potassa, and to evaporate the solution at a low heat to dryness. When strongly heated, violent explosions may occur by the formation of chloride of nitrogen. Another method is as follows : Borax is fused with 1-1 Oth of its weight of sal-ammoniac, and to the vitreous mass the same quantity of burned lime is added. Still another employs 8 parts of heavy spar, 1 part of gall of glass, and 1 of black oxide of man- ganese. In welding, at first, light, then heavy blows are given, so that the slag may escape from the joints, whereupon the outer surfaces are united. IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 275 Since hard steel is tempered (after hardening) sooner than soft, and the latter sooner than iron, the various kinds of steel do not always exhibit the same degree of hardness, although they may show the same tempering colors. There appear small differences, inasmuch as a brand cooled at a bright yellow heat may become as hard as one cooled when of a straw yellow color ; or another one may get as hard when violet as one that has been dark blue. In some cases, especially when a particular hardness is required, as is desirable for the edges of astro- nomical and philosophical instruments, and when the steel is rich in carbon, it may be proper to conduct the tempering at such a low temperature that no colors appear at all. And in order that the operator should not be subject to delusion in observing the change referred to, the steel should have a shining, and sometimes polished, surface, and be uniformly heated. Since the colors owe their appearance to the formation of an exceedingly thin superficial skin of oxide, it is evi dent that the steel, when withdrawn from the fire, does not retain its first color, but there appear other colors in consequence of a subsequent oxidation by the air, until the steel is sufficiently cool. Of a certain color, one can only judge with certainty by examining the conditions under which it occurs. If two pieces of , the same steel are heated until the yellow color appears, and if one is 24 276 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. withdrawn, it may become in the air purple, violet, and finally blue, while the other piece assumes the same colors in the fire. However, if both pieces when blue are dipped into water, they acquire different degrees of hard- ness, that is, the one which turned blue in the air will be harder than the one left in the fire. Hence it follows that proper caution must be observed in this respect, and steel must either be cooled rapidly, when the right color appears in the fire, or it must be withdrawn at a pre- ceding color, if the desired shade is to appear after tempering. In tempering scythes and similar tools, they are stuck in a layer of hot sand or hammer slag, spread on a heated plate, and sometimes only the hot sand is spread over them. For sword blades, for instance, the thicker parts are heated by a red-hot piece of cast-iron having the proper shape ; and if the edges are to be harder than the other parts, they may be rubbed with a potato or beet. Parkes has proposed the following alloys for tempering baths. They are suitable in some particular cases, and their temperature should be maintained near the melting point, without over heating : IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 277 Alloys in parts of Melting point F.o Tempering Applicable for. Lead. Tin. 7 14 19 30 48 Boiling seed Meltin Lin- oil. gLead. 430 440 451 460 480 500 520 540 660 600 Light yellow. Straw yellow. Oat yellow. Gold yellow. Purple red. Pigeon throat. Pigeon throat. Violet. Copper red. Dark blue. Water. Lancets. Other chirurgical instruments. Razors. Penknives, gravers, etc. Larger knives, scalpels, etc. Scissors, cold chisels, etc. Axes, plane irons, pocket knives. Table knives, large scissors. Sword blades, watch springs. Saw blades and some kinds of springs. Articles a little softer than above. The fracture of hammered or tilted steel is often oblique, angular and rugged, and the broken surface presents a quantity of small and sharp p'oints. On the other hand, the fracture of rolled steel is more even and the grains are rather rounded in shape. Of two kinds of cast steel possessing the same hardness and the same fineness of grain, the purer is the more malleable, and the difference is the more appreciable as the percentage of carbon is greater. Steel articles which have warped during annealing, had better be slightly heated for the straightening pro- cess which precedes hardening. The proper temperature is that which allows of handling the articles with a thick leather glove. Steel should be brought up rapidly to the desired tem- perature, because a slow and protracted heat changes its molecular structure, and diminishes its tenacity and mal- leability. '278 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. Screw and key files, cut at the edges only, and other thin and flat articles, should be filed or ground length- wise before hardening, in order to diminish breakage. The furrows produced by cross filing or grinding cause many breaks during the hardening process. When, for nearly finished articles, somewhat out of shape, the iron hammer cannot be employed, they are straightened upon a wooden block with wooden mallets. In this case, the steel must be heated until it acquires a blue, violet, or pigeon-throat color, otherwise, by the har- dening process, it will resume its previous deformed shape. A thin paste with water, of 75 parts of fine wood ashes and 25 of fat clay without sand, and applied not too thickly with a brush upon steel, is a good protection against the action of the fire, and does not change the nature of the metal. Scythes are hardened in hot, and sometimes boiling, baths of tallow mixed with a small proportion of rosin. When steel is hardened by dipping it into mercury, its grain becomes finer than when any other cooling com- pound is employed. Steel does not require tempering when, as by watch- makers, it is hardened by pressing it into a block of cold lead. Steel blades which become curved by hardening, are straightened cold with hammers, the striking surface of IMPROVEMENTS IN STEEL. 279 which forms an obtuse angle. The blow is given on the concave part, in order to lengthen the fibres on that side. Even then it is preferable to heat the articles slightly, and to cool them in water immediately after the defect has been remedied. The census tables show that the money value of all the products of steel manufactured in the United Statea was In 1850 $ 172,080 1860 1,778,240 1870 9,609,986 INDEX. Action of manganese and eisen PAGE spiegel- .... .. 254 Boiling PAGE 108 158 155 273 178 Borax for case hardening Boxes, cementing 69 124 Alloys 203 Alloys, hardness of. Alloys of Parkes 205 276 BOXPS' mnvprtinc- Alloys of steel "Brass ' ) 261 59 . . . 259 278 American steel 145 156 248 259 Cake 110 57 62 nnealing of steel ntbracite 207 178 Camphor for case hardening.... Cams 69 19 Carbon added to wrought iron. 232 217, 218 228 151 167 263 252 nvil for hammers nvil-log 88 on Carbon in steel Carbon necessary for steel Care with the iron Caron on manganese Apothecary shop of steel making.... 265 Atoms of combination 219 Case hardening 67 Bars, selection of converted 176 278 143 151 45 159 Cast iron, conversion into steel. Cast Iron, welding to steel ... 268 235 Cast steel . ..42 135, 173 183 RT "l T> 75 78 Cause of colors in steel Cement Cementation, degree of. Cementing boxes Census of steel 189 126, 160 128 124 84, 239, 244 129, 153, 184 Blistered steel 40, 120, Blue-ovens ... 81 279 282 INDEX. PAOI Chabote 89 JPAOl Characteristics of good steel 47 Characteristics of steel 191, 228 Charcoal 151 160 179 Expense of conversion 175 Expense of steel making 112 Charcoal forge fires 82 Charging a blast furnace 157 Experiments in steel making 161 Experiments with alloys 261 Charges of blast furnace 157 Charging of the boxes 125 Chest, converting 162 Chests of converting furnace 124 Cheat*, material* for 165 Files 268 Filw, hardening of 64 Fine cast steel 183 Clay for cage hardening 69 Cloning of a heat 172 Fining 229 Coal, hard, forge for. 19 Cohesion of steel 196 Coke 178 Ooke for furnaces 141 Color of good steel 47 Fire-clay for pots 179 Flre, refining 117, 130 Firing of a furnace 170 Flaws, to avoid 270 C..|..r- f., r t.-ii.|..Tin K ' ' Colors in tempering 189 Fluids, refrigerating 62 Flux. ... 31 180 Colors of steel 276 Fluxes 99 Combining numbers 219 Fluxes to be avoided 152 Compression, hardening by M Condition of hardening 271 Force hammer* 95 Forgo fire 15 Forge for hard coal 19 Converted bars selection of. 176 Forge tools 26 Converter, the 236, 244 Converting chest 162 Forges, portable 21 Forging n Cooling of steel- 63 Copper in steel 259 Form of hearth IKS Crucibles 136 Form of iron 1C7 Crui-ibUti of magnesia ....,.* flf) Crude iron " 151 Curving 278 Fuel 30 171 Cutlery hardening of. 66 Km 1 for steel 17s Fuels 249, 250 Damascus steel 66,76, 147 Decarbnrizing 240, 243 Degree of cementation 128 Degrees of heat for forging 13 Dies, steel ... 66 Furnaces, air, form of. 178 Furnaces, converting 121 Furnaces, double 17'J Furnaces, firing of 170 Furnace, reverberatory 248 Dimensions of hearth 103 Difficulties in making German steel. 148 Difficulties in making steel... 163 Double furnaces 179 Funibility of steel m Fusion of steel HI Ganister 140 Gases, heating by 248 Klatiticity of steel 196 German steel .... 71 81 148 1K4 2"! Klomont* for steel ....... . ,149 Elements in constitution of steel 217 England, steel made in ... 120 General remarks on making steel... 147 Glass powder .180 INDEX. 283 WE 108 194 1(52 27 i:s:s 19 61 67 50 48 54 55 207 268 205 m 103 152 172 18 101 277 ''IS Making blistered steel PA OK 153 Grain of steel Making iron for conversion 157 Making of crucibles 136 Making steel 95, 101 Making steel in puddling furnace... 115 Making steel, remarks on 147 Hammers Hammers, tilt Hardening by compression Manganese 177, 203 152 M'lnff'ineso in stpel 233 Hardening files Manipulation for steel .... 105 248 Hardening of steel 46, Materials for chests 165 179 Hardness of alloys Hardness of steel Mercury bath Metal, homogeneous Metallic baths . Metals alloyed with iron 278 233 268 259 Hearth Heat closing of a . . 241 136 113 228 239 Heat in steel making Heating Methods, German Mirror iron llc'inatites 2114 2:;:! 17 151 212 72 214 149 227 156 we 1I17 148 lf.7 1M ir.ii ins 130 272 SB 171 ir,o 1K1 2.12 I/ill 224 2C,I 1911 Money value of steel Mould the 279 144 Homogeneous metal 248 Hot blast to be avoided Hypothesis on steel making Natural steel 81 183 Needles hardening of 55 ngot making '. mportant elements for steel ! mprovements in steel New box, use of a Ore for German steel 167 148 210 r >n* 'inilvsis of 149 150 ron, good, for conversion..... ron, making, for conversion 265 Ore, magnetic Ores steel 156, 224 263 U ron size of Parke's alloys 276 231 .... 147 Joints in welding Judgment required 225 Persian blades * Phenomena in steel making.... Phosphorus in iron Pig-iron Pillars for hammers Plates boiler 77 251 241 100 89 256 Length of exposure of pots Magnetic ore Magnetic ores Magnetites Portable forges Potash as a flux 21 34 181 Magnetism of steel Pots 179 284 INDEX. PAGE Pots, melting ~ 13 Process of Bessemer- - 235 Process of Martin 248 Process of Parry 231 PAOB Sound ol steel ..... 195 Spathic ores 264 Special uses of alloys 261 Specific gravity of steel 197 Process of Uchatius 230 Spectroscope .... 243 Specular ore 168 j n g ftfl Puddled steel ~ 229 Puddling furnace.! 116 Speed of tilt hammer 93 Spiegeleiaen 239 Spiegeleiaen action of. - 254 Split joint 36 Pure ore for steel 161 Spring Bteel 153 Quality of steel, test of 46 Quick case hardening 68 Steel allovs 258 Steel alloys of 176 Steel, annealing of 207 Steel' American 145 Rails, steel ^. 245 Steel, blistered 120,163, 184 Steel, cast 173 Rationale of refrigeration of Bteel... 186 Refining fires 117, 130 Steel, characteristics of 191 Steel, cohesion of. 195 Steel, colors of...... 275 Refining of steel 115 Refrigerating fluids 62 Refrigeration of steel 186 Regenerative furnace 248 Remarks on making steel 147 Requisites of Bessemer pig-iron 241 Reverberatory furnace 248 Steel, conversion of cast iron into... I.I Steel, Damascus 147 Steel dies 66 Steel direct from ore 234 Steel, elasticity of. 196 Steel for weapons 147 Steel fracture of 277 Reverberatory furnace for steel 178 Rotary blacksmith's tuyere 17 Rusts' welding mixture 274 Steel from wrought iron 232 Steel, fusibility of. 197 Steel fusion of 141 Sal ammoniac as a flux 33 Salt for case hardening 69 Salt in hardening 268 Steel, general remarks on making... 147 Steel, German 71, 81, 148, 184, 221 Steel grain of. 194 Steel' hardness of. 183 Steel hardening of 207 Steel improvements in "'7 Saw blades ~ 163 Scale* of steel 247 Bteel made in England 120 Scarf joint . 40 ScorincaUon 242 Scythes hardened 278 Steel, making 95, 101 Steel, making in puddling furnai .. 11. Bteel natural -1 Selection of converted bars 176 Seraing's scale 247 Steel nature of. I*-'. Sh-ift for tilt hammer 92 Shear hammer 132, 133 Steel ore for 210 Shear steel 42, 132, 169, 182, 184 Shrinkage 69 Silh'C'an'd'iron!.'".'.'.^".'"."."^^*" 216 Silicon in iron 156, 241 Steel puddled tfl iteel 1 rails !..!..!..!!.!! '.'.'. "\:. Steel, refining of 115 *te,-l! refrigeration of ! 186 gilex _ 221 Silex in iron . 156 Silver steel . 176 Size of furnace 169 Size of iron - ~ 168 Steel sound of. 195 St.-el, specific gravity of. 197 JU**'l tenacity of 267 tool, texture of. !. 194 Skill in analysis of Iron 156 SU't-l* vurietie* of 71 t-.o-.ii, '.-n I'U'le-t 78 Steel, welding properties of 1'JS INDEX. 285 Steel, welding to cast iron. Steel, what is it? Straightening Stourbridge clay PAGE 45 200, 217, 227 277 136 TTchatius' process 230 Uses of alloys 261 Varieties of steel 71 Swedish iron Tap holes 120, 222 128 Various methods of making steel.... 228 Vaughn's hardening baths. 271 ... 92 War, steel for 147 Tenacity of steel 267 Tempering 59,62,188, 278 Water for. tilt hammer 93 Weapons, steel for. 147 Weight, gain in, of steel 129 46 . 194 Welding properties .' 198 Welding steel . 42 Theories in regard to steel Tilting 200 130, 134 ... 173 182 Welding steel to cast iron 45 Welding wootz 44 iiinng 01 steei 85 133 Wheel for tilt hammer 93 " Wheelswarf." 126 :::.:::..: u 160 White cast iron 159 26 26 268 Wipers 92 Tools, forge Wire draw plates 39 Wolfs 81 Trial bars 171 Wx>tz 72 147 221 Trial rods 128 16 103 Wootz welding of 44 Working a converting furnace 127 Wrought iron steel ... 233 Tuyeres the :::::..... !: 238 OF practical and Scientific Boolp PUBLISHED BY HENRY CAREY BAIRD & Co. 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The Manufacture of Leather: Being a description of all of the Processes for the Tanning, Tawing, Currying, Finishing and Dyeing of every kind of Leather ; including the various Raw Materials and the Methods for Determining their Values; the Tools, Machines, and all Details of Importance con- nected with an Intelligent and Profitable Prosecution of the Art, with Special Reference to the Best American Practice. To which are added Complete Lists of all American Patents for Materials, Pro- cesses, Tools, and Machines for Tanning, Currying, etc. By CIIAKI.I.S THOMAS DAVIS. Illustrated by 302 engravings and 12 Samples of Dyed Leathers. One vol., 8vo., 824 pages . . . $10.00 DAWIDOWSKY BRANNT. A Practical Treatise on the Raw Materials and Fabrication of Glue, Gelatine, Gelatine Veneers and Foils, Isinglass, Cements, Pastes, Mucilages, etc.: Eased upon Actual Experience. By F. DAWIDOWSKY, Technical Chemist. Translated from the German, with extensive additions, including a description of the most Recent American 1'runssr-, by WII.UAM T. BRANNT, Graduate of the Royal Agricultural College of Eldena, Prussia. 35 Engravings. I2mo. . . . $2.50 DE GRAFF. The Geometrical Stair-Builders' Guide : Being a Plain Practical System of Hand-Railing, embracing all its necessary Details, and Geometrically Illustrated by twenty-two Steel Engravings; together with the use of the most approved principles of Practical Geometry. By SIMON DE GRAFF, Architect. 410. HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO'.S CATALOGUE. DE KONINCK DIETZ. A Practical Manual of Chemical Analysis and Assaying : As applied to the Manufacture of Iron from its Ores, and to Cast Iron, Wrought Iron, and Steel, as found in Commerce. By L. L. DE KONINCK, Dr. Sc., and E. DIETZ, Engineer. Edited with Notes, by ROBERT MALLET, F. R. S., F. S. G., M. I. C. E., etc. American Edition, Edited with Notes and an Appendix on Iron Ores, by A. A. 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A Dictionary of Dyeing and Calico Printing: Containing a brief account of all the SuUtances ami 1'iocesses in use in the Art of Dyeing and Printing Textile Fabrics ; with Practical Receipts and Scientific Information. By CHARLES O'NEILL, Analy- tical Chemist. To which is added an Essay on Coal Tar Colors and their application to Dyeing and Calico Printing. By A. A. FESQUKT, Chemist and Engineer. With an appendix on Dyeing and Calico lYinting, as shown at the Universal Exposition, Paris, 1867. 8vo., 491 pages . $5.00 ORTON. Underground Treasures-. How and Where to Find Them. A Key for the Ready Determination of all the Useful Minerals within the United States. By JA.MKS ORTON, A.M., Late Professor of Natural History in Vassar College, N. Y.;Cor. Mem. of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and of the Lyceum of Natural History, New York ; author of the "Andes and the Amazon," etc. A New Edition, with Additions. Illustrated 1.50 . HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.'S CATALOGUE. 21 OSBORN. The Metallurgy of Iron and Steel: Theoretical and Practical in all its Branches; with special reference to American Materials and Processes. By H. S. O,HORN, LL. D., Professor of Mining and Metallurgy in Lafayette College' Eastoii' Pennsylvania. Illustrated by numerous large folding plates and wood-engravings. 8vo ERKINS AND STOWE. A New Guide to the Sheet-iron and Boiler Plate Roller : Containing a Series of Tables showing the Weight of Slabs and Piles to Produce Boiler Plates, and of the Weight of Piles and the Sizes of Bars to produce Sheet-iron; the Thickness of the Bar Gauge in decimals ; the Weight per foot, and the Thickness on the Bar or Wire Gauge of the fractional parts of an inch; the Weight per sheet, and the Thickness on the Wire Gauge of Sheet-iron of various dimensions to weigh 112 Ibs. per bundle; and the conversion of Short Weight into Long Weight, and Long Weight into Short. Estimated and collected by G. H. PERKINS and J. G. 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