Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-13
WILL SAVE EXPENSE.
A Pittsburger lnvents a Device for
Making Beams and Channels
WITHOUT USING so MANY ROLLS.
The high Price of Such Material Charged
= to Be Due to Losses,
THE RESULT OF FREQUENT BREAKAGEs

The manufacture of beams and channels
is a branch of the iron industry which is
undertaken by but two firms in this city.
One reason given for this is the expensive
machinery required, and the cost of the
necessary labor. Another is the cost of
maintenance due to frequent breakage of
the rolls. The difference between the SELL
ing price of beams and channel bar. S64 per
ton, and the cost of the material, S27, is due
largely to the expensive nature of the man
ufacture.
A Pittsburg gentleman, Abram Reese, of
Thirty-second street, has patented device
for making beams and channels which, he
claims will reduce the cost OF manufacture
very considerably. Frequent efforts nave
before been made to reduce the number of
passes of the material through the rolls, but
at present it requires 9 rolls in a 3-high
train to produce 12ipch beam or channel
bar. and a new set of rolls is necessary for each
size required.
Too Long a Train Necessary.
In rolling wide beams or channels additional
rolls are required to allow for grooves to make
the number of passes necessary. Thus, to OBJ
tain grooves enough for IL passes of 24-inch
stuff, with collars of sufficient width to stand
the strain, the train would be SO long
as to render It's operation imprac-
ticable. The present method provides
that the grooves in which this forms
are made shall be turned in the rolls and as
the fanges correspond In width with the
sises would be almost cut in two to enable the
fanges to be got in. or else the diameter OF the
rolls should be materially increased. On this
method the cost of handling the bars as they
mo- frorr fhar 10
creased as the bars increase In size.
Mr.. Reese has built working model OF
mill in which he can roll any width of beam or
channel bar without increasing the length OF
the train or cutting grooves in the rolls. This
enables him to cast the rolls in chill which
will make them more durable, and will reduce
to make l2incE 1 beam. Mr.. Reese uses but
four, and in changing to a Pinch channel bar
he uses one additional roll instead OF employ
ing nine. -.
Some of the Advantages.
"In addition to this. said Mr.. Reese yester-
day, when speaking about his new mill, ''any
fat bars required of less width than the inside
measurement of the beam or channel tolls than
in the housing-say, for instance, when 12-inch
rolls are in-can be made of any width, from
inches to 10 inches, by three eighth inches up
to 5 inches, without. any change or using
Sond rolls in the The say1S a1os
to six in favor of this plan, as
not more than four men would be required to
roll any size of beam or channel. No perfect
beam or channel bar has as yet beer produced
out of grooved roll because the grooves
must taper to allow free delivery of the bar
from the groove. The fanges should be at
direct right angles with the web. as l say, i'm
possible on rolls now in use. but easily accom-
plished on my new MILL"
Mr.. Reese produced some sections of beams
aud channels which, as he said, had fanges at
right angles with the web. A number of iron
men have been out to see the model mill and
have been entirely satisfied with it.