The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-01-03

10Y WIN Aurpny, Joseph Speef,
Matthews, Corp Jos Patterson. VIM Culvert-
son, Harvey Brown.
Company H-Wounded- McCurdy.
Company I-Killed-Stephen 8. Wood,
Wounded-Geo w Daniels.
Company K-Killed-Serg n Steel. Woun.
ded-Corp L Whitney. n Knapp, william
criswell. Rufus Fisk, James HcKane.
The Manufacture OF Iron Armer P,a,a..
From the Baltimore American, Dec. nj
The people Of the United States generally have
but little idea, We imagine, of the fact that RAJ
timore supplies nearly all the armor- plates for
the new marine monsters coming into use, and
which are destined undoubtedly quite to revolu.
tionize naval warfare. Although the ships them.
selves are built in the Northern ports, yet It 90
happens that our own city has the only rolling
mill competent to the stupendous undertaking Of
preparing the armor plates, fact the more
creditable to that private enterprise which pro.
vided it in time to meet the acquisitions Of an
era like the present.
The establishment we aliude to, is that of
Messrs. Horace Abbott 4 Son, situated in the
eastern section of the city designated as Canton.
As We have intimated already, the mill In Ques-
ton is the largest in the country, and is fur
nished With the most complete and powerful ma.
cbinery that has yet been produced. Through
the enterprise and industry Of its senior proprie.
tor, it has grown from . modest establishment
With its one set of rollers, to an immense cons
Germ covering acres of ground, and employing
hundreds of workmen.
The rolling and preparing for the naval archi-
tects, the immense srmor-plates Of our new ma
w, is the principal business which at present
occupies the firm. By the power Of steam,
these immense masses of iron are rolled out and
trimmed with huge shears, with almost the ia
cility which other artisans prepare card paper,
ior any other purpose. But We must endeavor
10 systemize, to some degree, our description of
process 80 interesting just now, to all who are
Watching the process to completion Of our iron
clad navy.
The first process to be noticed in converting
the iron, is that technically termed 'puddIing,S
or the conversion Of cast iron into wrought,
such as is suitable for the platea The Maryland
iron has q high character for toughness and
strength, the qualities required in the new ship
armors. The crude material is FIRST put into
furnaces and highly heated, and thence it is
transferred to a ponderous steam hammer near
by, where it is worked up at q white heat until
the scorm and ''sag" is all beaten out of it, and
it assumes, from its former condition of cast that
Of wrought iron. Welded into huge, elongated
square masses, weighing nearly q tun each, it is
returned by means Of an immense crane to an
adjoining furnace, under the same roof, where it
is again heated to the highest temperature. At
the proper time these masses are withdrawn
one by ore, and are again swung around to the
front Of the rollers destined to operate upon
them. Placed upon a sort of gridiron, techni-
cally termed gate" which conveys the
mass between the rollers, vorkmen stand by
with iron pronged instruments to push it
hot uSv thn nooa al otA hosr
perhaps, eight or ten inches in thickness,
fourteen or fifteen inches vide, and between
two and three feet long. Quick as thought
the rollers catch hold of the glowing mass, and
it is crushed through to fall on corresponding
''gate" on the opposite side, which, rising BY
steam power worked by wheel, tumbles it back
over the rollers. Falling again on the "gste"
opposite, it is returned again and again. until it
is drawn out to an immense plate, some forty
inches wide and upwards of nine feet long. At
this stage corps of workmen approach with
huge tongs, and selling it, still red and glowing
drag it away to cool. The plate, az It comes
from the rollers, weighs some seventeen hund-
red and fifty pounds, and is one inch thick, the
beaten.fat With great wooden malets. After it
is sufficiently cool to be handled, it has to be
trimmed. u t...
For this purpose corps of well.drilled work.
men seize 1t up by means OF chain depending
from one of the long cranes, and, placingit upon
small railroad car, snove IL along TO the pom
derous shears, which operate lesurely with q
pressure of some fifty tuns BY concert OF 40
ton, doubtless derived from long practice, it is
pushed forward; the powerful shears commence
crushing through the solid inch OF iron, the four
sides being trimmed in turn as smoothly and al
most With As "clean" cut as it it was sheet OF
tin. It now weighs thirteen hundred pounds,
and 1t takes twenty of these nine feet plates,
forty to forty'three inches wide, 70 make one
circumfereLce of the "turret." Other plates
more nearly square. and others again long and
narrow, are manufactured essentially BY the came
process. To glance At the results obtained By
this ponderous machinery, 1t looks like the labor
of . race of giants. ...s. 800.
There are other processes going forward ct
the mills, hardly LEES interesting TO vitnesa Re-
almost - school girl would cut straw with
her scissors, and these, placed In the furnaces,
are welded under the great steam hammer mon