Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-03-20
THE COMING METAL.
Discovery of a Cheap Process for
Making Aluminium.

most abundant metal known. The ma
terial, alumina or clay, from which it
is produced is not confined to any To-
cality or country. 1t is found every
where. 1t is more than half century
since the eminent German chemist, the
late Friederich Wohler, who for fifty
years was Professor of Medicine aud
Director of the Chemical Institute at
Gottingen, discovered aluminium and
mat 1t could be produced from common
clay and from alum, and still it is
among the least familiar of metals. It's
usual price is $50 per pound and until
Inc past year it has only been known
rs aluminium gold" After many ex-
perlments extending over a series of
years, Its manufacture was abandoned
except IN one instance, to the French.
who only produced it in inconsidera-
BILE quantities. After more than thirty
years labor and at a cost of more than
$3.50, 600, the eminent English chemist
and metallurgiSt, James Webster, has
discovered a method of making alumni
mum by burning or roasting alum, in
stead of making it in the old and te-
dlous way by precipitation. Bv the
new process it takes only one-twentv-
fourth OF the time required by the old
method and costs less than one tenth
as much. Instead of producing the al
umlna powder by the old and slow
method of precipitation, Mr.. Webster
burns the alum with pitch in q calcin-
ing or roasting furnace, prepared ex-
pressly for this purpose, the product
being q gray ash or powder, in appear
hn oshn e -,
from an engine furnace. The gray
powder, according to al scientific au-
thorities, is no more or less than burnt
alum. BY another process this ash is
converted into another product, which
contains from eighty-four to ninetv-five
per cent of the alumina, having left be-
mind it several bi-products, which near
ly pay the cost of working, The alum
ina thus produced is better than that
by the old method of precipitation, in
that it is much finer in texture and al
most entirely free from silica. The
discoyerer has been producing 200
pounds of alumina per week for more
than a year, the value of which is 81
600 or $2O8, 600 per annUm, the result
of which has been that at the present
time a mandatory which covers more
than One-half an acre is kept busy night
and day, with orders ready for more
than fifteen months work The pres
ent output is twenty tons of aluminurs
metal per week. From the results al
ready obtained by the aluminium bronze
factory near Birmingham, England,)
it is plainly evident that in very short
time this almost new and peculiar met
al, which never oXidizes or corrodes,
and which never furnishes under any
circumstances, to which can be given
the color of gold, silver, bronze or pur-
pie, and which differs from all other
metals in that it is never produced di-
rect from ore, but only by a long and
elaborate process, must become an i'm
portant factor in the manufacture of
jeWelrv; and not only so, but that al
most every article made from metal,
from the screW-prOpeller or anchor of
the largest steamship down TO the tt
NEST teaspoon, must be manufactured
from it, or its alloy or bronze.
The chief value Of Aluminium, at
present, is in tempering or giving
strength and q surface or body to al
Toys, bronzes or metals, so that they
will not corrode. To copper, tin or
zinc it gives such properties as can be
obtained by no other means, softening
their nature while increasing their
hardness and strength, and enabling
them to resist all the tests applied to
gold or silver, preserving them from
cOrrOsion and rendering them more
ductile and refined, and giving them a
surface and body that withstands the
chemical action OF the elements. AS a
result of this new process Of making
aluminium, all plated goods, nickel or
silver, watch cases, cups, saucers,
spoons, knives, forks, gun and pistol
barrels, pistol handles, gun, harness,
carriage and saddle ornaments made of
brass, nickel, German silver, or bronze
silver, must give way to those made of
aluminium or bismuth bronze. Piano
forte wires made from it will Yibrate
ten seconds longer than the best now
in use. The tensile strength of alumni
mum or bismuth bronze being the same,
only in the latter 1-1S00th part of bis
muth is added, had been proved, by
repeated tests, to bear q strain of for
ty-two tons to the square inch, or four
teen tons more than gun metal, and
twelve tons more than the best bessem-
er steel. Whenever and wherever
there is need of a metal, and one is de-
manded that cannot crystalline or cor
rode under any circumstances, a metal
that combines great strength and ieXi-
bility, it IS plain that aluminium must
be used. In the tests already made
with propeller screws, blade, journal
bearings, and heavy artillery made
from aluminium or bismuth bronze as
against those made from the best gun
metal, the ship builders decided in IA
vor Of the former as the strength was
SO much greater and the weight so
much less, being only one-fourth as
great.--Spi'sgFeId Republican.