Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-17
PoNOEROUS MACHINERY.
Active Preparations q Pittsburg for Work
on Uncle Sans Navy and Guns.

Every year the machinery in the
iron-mills at Pittsburg, Pa, is being
made more ponderous, says a Pitts
burg correspondent of the Cleveland
Plain Dealer. The necessity for this
lies in the demand for immense cast
ings. Everything is growing larger
than in former times. Ships are big
ger, locomotives are more powerful,
iron-front buildings are higher, and
agricultural implements are vastly
larger. The development of mill APP
paratus to meet this Increase has been
gradual, but within the last few years
a wonderful impetus has been given
the forward movement by the building
of the new war vessels for the United
States navy.
Andrew Carnegie has just completed
the building of a mill at Braddock,
one of the suburbs of Pittsburg, ex-
pressly intended for the manufacture
of the government work. There is
not single bit of apparatus in it but
what is the largest of its kind in the
world. The shears, which snap a bar
of iron in two as though it were tissue
paper, exceed anything in size that
has ever oeen known by the sons of
Vulcan. The lathes are greater, the
rolls are longer and heavier than any.
thing the remainder of the country
can show, and even the steam boilers
are the largest ever made by hand of
man. In the Black Diamond steel
works, Thirtieth street, Pittsburg,
there is the largest steam-hammer in
the United States. The blow of fifty
tons, which it strikes every second of
time that it is in operation, shakes
the earth for two squares around the
mill. Yet it is SO easily controlled,
and so nicely adjusted, that the ham,
norman has placed on the anvil block
beneath it delicate wine glass con-
tanning an egg and, turning on the
steam full force, would let the ponder
GUS weight above fall until ut cer-
tain distance, and then shut the steam
off. In this way the hammer has been
kept for several minutes gently tap
ping the glass and egg without break
ing them.
But now the government itself is go
ing to throw all these marvellous
achievements in the background by
the improvements at the navy-yard in
Washington city. They will trans
form that quiet place into the most
powerful workshop in the universe.
For instance, there was not found in
the mills and foundries of the whole
United States "traveling cranes" big
enough to move about the immense
castings and wrought iron parts of
1or which tla M
navy departments have projected.
These cranes are very familiar OBJ
jects in the yards of iron-mills every
where. They are simply block and
tackle arrangement so fixed upon a
steam-car that they will pick up a
heavy piece of metal and rush off
speedily to any part of the building
with it. The largest of these Gravel
ers" in Pittsburg will carry burden
of thirty ions with safety to the ropes
and rigging. In the Midvale steel
works, Pennsylvania, a travelling crane
of twenty-six tons capacity has been
erected to facilitate the handling of
castings for the new war-ships. These
are now the two largest apparatus of
the kind in the country. But work
will soon be commenced on travel
ing crane for the Washington navy
yard which will have carrying capac-
ity of 10 tons. This is intended for
use in the manufacture of I10-ton
gun, which, when finished, will be the
largest in the coast defense of the
United States. To s'turn" this won
derful cannon a lathe is now being
made which will surpass all other
lathes in size. The machine will have
to be 120 feet long and will have a
''tread of nine feet The gun itself
will be fifty feet long and to turn and
bore it the lathe will of course be re-
CURED to be double that length.
All the tools and machinery to make
this big cannon are being made pur-
posely for the job, SO large and strong
must they be. The contract for deliv-
cry of the necessary steel forging has
been concluded with the Bethlehem
steel-works of Eastern Pennsylvania.
But before that company could make
the forgings they had to erect new
plant large enough for the big sizes.
The 110-ton gun will be of i3-inch
caliber, will require a charge of LOCO
pounds of powder, and will throw
projectile weighing 1000 pounds. To
even make these projectiles will neces-
state larger machinery in that line
that is now IN existence. Then. TO
transport the gun finally over the diff
ferent lines of railroad Gf the ocean
route is not taken), would require
stronger iron-bridges than are now in
use. So the work of enlargement goes
on almost indefinitely.