Connecticut western news., 1872-10-04

of steel only the most undeniably first class iron is used This is iron known to the trade as the Danemora iron, from the dis trict of Upsalia, Sweden. This iron of various brands, but all having the same qualities, comes in hammered bars of con. venient leDgths and about three inches wide by fve.eIghths of an inch thick. It is packed in air tight chambers, technically called cemeatation furnace, with broken charcoal so that no two bars of iron shell come in contact. Heat is applied by means of furnaces of bituminous coal, the fires of which are kept up night and day for about fourteen days. At one place the great ovens (fOr there are two)are so constructed that by the removal of a few bricks one or more of the bars in each oven may be talk en out for examination, in order to deter mine whether the cementing or carbonizing process has reached the desired or proper point. Twenty-Five tons of this superior iron arc placed in the ovens at once. It comes out, each bar whole and infused, but covered with blisters. From this ap- pearsnce it received it's name, "blistered" steel, a material well known to blacksmiths
 of the last generation, as it was the materi- al they used for laying" axes, refining it
 by successive headings and hammerings.
 When withdrawn from the ovens and cool.
 ed this blister steel is as brittle as glass.
 But it is unnecessary to go into particulars
 as to the conversion of wrought iron into
 this brittle material-it is generally under
 stood by all, at least theoretically. The
 roasting of the iron in combination with
 charcoal is for the purpose of imparting a
 certain degree of carbon to it which myste-
 riously changes it's nature, and is @ prelimi-
 nary preparation only for further and flu.
 ture manipulation hereinafter alluded to.
 CASTING STEEL.
 Steel is melted and cast the same aS iron, copper, brass and certain other metals. The blister steel as it comes from the
 ccmenting ovens is broken into pieces
 weighing from one quarter to one hali
 pound, and put into black lead cEucibles
 to the amount of about fifty-four pounds
 and subjected to an enormous heat fol
 from two to two and half hours. when |
 is taken out and poured into cast irol
 moulds made in halves, and secured by irol moulds made in halves, and secured by iron clamps, which are so arranged tba they can be loosened by blow. Thes monlds hold just the weight of crucibl full, or somewhat over fifty pounds. Tn waste is not over two ounces in this mass
 The ingots are of cylindrical form, som s three and one half inches in diameter, an,
 are afterwards relocated and welded com puctly together by thorough hammerin previous to passing through the rolls, i order to finish and size the long bars 0
 steel now adapted to the work of the forg i CT. The crucibles in which the steel d heated last usually, without injury, fou
 heats, but by care and attention and sligf l. repair can be made to stand two or thre :: more heats. The furnaces in which th l, steel is melted are pits below the floor ( e the room, the mouths being covered temp, e rarily by slabs or heavy sheets of iron. lute s with refractory cement. The moulds !. which the steel is cast are placed in nearl !. an upright position, and the fluid metal d poured in at the open top. Soon as pou
 ed the steel begins to cool, and If 1t is {
 the righ humor it forms as 1t cools fur
 nel shaped hollow in the top. If on the co trary, there should be no depression, u $ whole ingot will be found to be hone combed, so there is no remedy but to bres g it up and remelt it, for no amount of han u mering at white heat will eyer give it = proper homogeneous character.
 1 CASTING STEEL PLoUGHs.
 This company makes ploughs of ca j. steel, not merely steel blows, but the plo = is made of steel literally, the blow itself, z it's different parts, being cast of steel in mould. These moulds are usually but n 2 exclusively of metal like those for fofmi1 u the ingot for hammering and rolling, al j. in them the parts of the blow are cast, u same as an iron mouldcr casts an article IT iron in sand. For blows there is used n ;, alone the new steel from the cementil Il , furnaces, but also portion of the SGT, l. steal of approved and iexcellent qualit n The melting and pouring processes are pl It cisely the same as in ingot casting.
 ! Continued naYf xuaak