New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-19
SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, AND INVENTION.

IsPRoyENEsT IN TIE MAsUFAcTURE OF STEEL
Tie ait, btion of the European ufscturng commu-
nrty engaged the production Of steel has been re-
emily call. % ibveuuoo, which consists OF I'm
Irvv.ueDs II UaDofac Of that article, we'll
o. the cons. uctop Of peculiar pu rdlii gunaces by
means OF which steel ct fne quality % produced from
pig irop, other cat iron, in v.Iy simple and
.f.cfive maj Der. THIS end IL sitansd by means OF
ar which is passed into the furDsce the qudh'Ry and
chemical coI dit,on Of which is regulated in the an
ner which We will proceed 10 describe. Mr.. Spence,
the inventor premises by stating thst a. ordinary pig
non ether east on cont ans excess OF carbon,
con u wrought iron, on tho other hand, contsirs
merely trace Of the same whereas steel Contains an
amount of CO, bon intern edate between the two.
Now it follows from this that the desirable end to be
attained is TO dssa bonze the pig ,on or cast iron
down to the limit Of stee aDd then to svoid fa toer
Dee al aiiop otherwise the pIoauct vii be
verteo more or less into wrought iron. The oxygen
c. in tie air hcb pases into and through the
furnace il the p,ircipai agrut employed TO effect tie
amount Of decar oonizston desired, Ibssmuch hay
ipa chemical sfiiDiiy for tie carbon, it combines
with it, and it is removed in the gaseous state. In
few wocs it uay be stated that in the frat stage Of
tue process full supply OF o1yg' is required where
rs III the second not Ally should reach the metal IN
fact in steel puodrg, the first stage require. hea,
with oxyg.p and the second heat without oxygen.
To effect this end naturally reqni'es an apparatus
bayrg oiiIerent modes Of action. To those familiar
unb The common pudding furnace used in this maDu-
f,cture Which Dos but ODE mode Of ,ctl ID the follow
ne description Of Mr.. Spences apparatus viii be sof-
ncIent 10 show its advantages over toe old method
This ne~ fur Gee has two CRATES, placed one behind
the other which dividtc by Deans Of bdses, the
as pits Of each crate betty itcosed AM furnished
with q 1907 or DOORS each If these ara,es being Of
III. s.me length, namely, three feet three inches
MI Spec states that be prefers to make the ioner
one two four inches width, and the lter one
one foot Line inches in width. The fire. oars OF the
frst grae also sced four inches below the level
If the bars Of the second or inner one. BY this
AR arg LII, Mt when the door Of the inner OF second
gate is closed, air can pass through that We
while n Q air which ba, escaped combustion 10 passing
through the t Outer crate before It can reach tho
metal Obliged to pass over the ncsndescept fdel on
,be iecord crate, and will, in consequence be de-
pnvtd Of its oxygen. The first bridge, which 10 the
one div ding the two CRATES, IS Constructed IN the
oIdiI aly manner; bu, The Sc oDd bee, Or inner one
which separstes the second crate from the sole OF the
furnace is c,nst uc:ed a. folIovs: Instead Of the
upp,r course Of bricks, Mr.. Spe ce f.es sem'cyln
dIics tube Of refractory clay, cl)sed a. one end ana
connected at the other with supply of air which
Ii sy be gwen unoer pressure. The eide OF this ube
winch ia pext TO the metal is furnished with longi-
iud,nal ope ans, through which the air VIII pass
directly on TO the metal. In operating vita this iar-
ace, Mir. Spence charges with aoou, 4oo Ids OF pig
irop, or cast non, and while this is meong tn sd-s
the asb-pt to b. KEEP. open, for the purpose OF
bringing both fires into a state of activity. AZ soon
ss the metal is melted, We proceed 10 remove tho
excess Of carbon or in other words, TO decsrbon'zs
the elted metal and to effect this, are told TO
prc,ed az tolows The door Of the outer ash pit 10
clos.d while at the same time ths Of the inner one
,s On the contrary kept open, and at the saue time
,upply Of air is admitted through the tube, which has
been already desci bed above. The fluid metal Is
worked in he usual amer, so rs thoroughly toea-
pose in every part TO the decaIbopzins action OF the
oxygen When The tai commences To soliohy, or
az 1t is technically termed coming to nature the
carb is reduced 20 the prop)rtoo which constitutes
steel and as seel is less fusible than cast lron IL
passes from the fluid 10 the colo state. The COM
m.nc.mert Of tins transition s Indicated by the ap-
pearabce Of grains above the mud surface. "heh
ID. seen toe supply o air Is shut OIL ana 'ne uoor
of the FIST ssb.pt ia opened, while the door oi the
s,coId Ct ipnei (shich was opened ID no" cose''
Tbs being conr the Necessary heat Is nsntaineo II
The tu,th,r work of collecting, welding and bahog
,bs u,,,l ,py u1copsuu.d air il rerd-red inerr,
b,vo ,as,ed over the il cal descent ful in the inner
o,s,e Among the advantages get forth in favor of
ibis meth, d, il appears thai mechanical con,rivances
are substituted for the nj certoin skill of the puddle,
which Re- pd.,s To. nsnufsc re difficult and unceran.
MT Spence states that the outer Crate, instead oil
cperrs TO tie front, uay be constructed 70 open as'ee
enc Dor is it absolutely necessary 70 ncose the ASH
l Of tn. fire bot b. inner asb-pit must be inc'csed,
As this fcrms an essential feature IN his inyeatiOn
KtNpLING.WooD MACHINERY TIE kindine-N"od
business, though comparatively new, has bee iDe
legitimate brsi Oh Of industry, in most OF our large
cites.
In 1854 MI. j. A. Corovsr conceived the idea Of
substituting pine wood for charcoal, Tor kloahhg' at
chesp.I raie, and in more convebien FORM Tor u'e
by employing the ST. am.eI gns and suitable nscohe-
~ fm saving ard splitting. In the Fall OF toe same
year he succteded in putting an inveitior on Tue
curse Il at has eff ctually driven charcoal ard SAY
no,s,s of the track. In the following ysar. 1870,
the bushes IS was started in Phladelpha and Boston,
al it is estimated tbs, it now furoisaes ma'era Tor
knd ,hr, ou,tts Of the fires in these three cities
Though small petition of the wood ccmea from
the eastern shore of New jersey, owl < TO the
greater quantity ond superior quality of Virginia pine,
ost of II is purchased from vessels directly from that
State.
In Boston and some other places in New-Eng and
machines have been introduced for cutting mp brush
for this rurpose but, though this costs as q raw ms
,sral no more than the labor of getting it to the fac
,ory owing TO its 6ne chaTy state when cut, /, has
por hulk than substance and is announcement in use
The machinery used in this city is very effective
hing the cord wood with great rapidity. IL -