Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-18
NOTHING LIKE STEEL.

The Boiler nIakers omciaIly Pin Their
Faith to SteeI-They sayft Beats Iron
HoIlow-A Report of Singular Interest.
Yesterdays session of the boiler makers
was taken up in hearing reports and in dis
cussing items of interest to the trade. The
first business was to hear a report on man
holes and manheads. The first report
recommended that all manhole openings be
made in the form of heads of boilers 10x16
inches in size. For drums and fronts of
tubular boilers an opening of 9x15 was sug-
gested. Mr.. Rynal advocated uniform
manholes and handholes for the entire
country.
Various theories as to the weak and strong
points of shells, heads, reinforcements, etc.,
were advanced at length, The committee
was continued to hand in q further report
at the next meeting.
The Committee on Materials and Tests
here introduced a supplementary report OF
the utmost importance to steel and iron man
ufacturers. The report was the subject OF
long discussion at the afternoon session.
The following is the report:
Your Committee on Materials and Tests, to
which had been added Mr.. Leonard, of Ontario,
and Mr.. CahaIl of Ohio met yesterday after
rial for boiler construction. We had the bene-
fit Of the experience and advice of an expert
boiler iron manufacturer. After duly weighing
all statements and arguments by the aoVocates
of iron we can only adhere to our original de-
cision, that iron as material for general boiler
construction is out of date.
While in the standard of "steel" recon-
mended by us and adopted unanimously by the
convention, we limited ourselves to require
ments and tests which any good steel mill can
comply with in its everyday product, and with
ofaf6 mr. oPfi Ind
bic for every maker of safe and honest boilers
to use it in his regular line of trade; and while
still better material can be furnished Tor
special requirements by the steel mills; it ap-
pears that the best possible "boiler iron" of to-
day. while undoubtedly better than the best
brands of 10 or 20 years ago, cannot reach the
moderate limits of tensile strength and ductil-
ity established for the A. B. NJ. A brand OF
boiler steel, and that the modern. and prac-
tically universal shape of test section, adopted
by this convention, cannot be conceded by the
iron men, so that as a compromise between the
modern "eight-inch" section and the antiquated
groove" section your committee conceded
'fwo-inch" section for iron.
Itappears, however, that for certain locali-
ties where either necessity or prejudice COM
pels the use of impure feed waters, without
previous publication by any of the well-known
mechanical or chemical means of modern good
practice, boiler manufacturers are obliged to
use iron in place of steel boilers or at least in
certain parts of the same. And it is known,
moreover, that the slags or impurities OF iron
IeSlSI COTToslon DelBer Inan iron lISell.
We therefore recommend that the brand A.
B. NJ. A, with the addition of the word Iron"
may be granted TO manufacturers of boiler iron
whose product will come up to the following re-
quirements: Tensile strength, 50 600 to g. 900
pounds per square inch; elongation not less
than 20 per cent; test pieces two inches in
length between fillets cut both lengthwise and
crosswise of the sheet; the iron to show no
laminations, but to be homogeneous through
out. On fracture it must show only one quality
of texture across the entire break.
Respectfully submitted.
E. d. MEIER Chairman;
R. HAMMOND,
II. ]. HARTLEY,
JOHN CAHALL,
F. E. LEONARD,
Committee.