The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-01

10 extracted from the bronze 0y neAbIne =
70 certain Temperature, st which alumni
mum II rendered semi-duid, and BY sud-
denly cooling the mass the aluminium II
squeezed out by the contraction OF the
copper, which cools more readily than
aluminium. This process is repeated until
the amount Of aluminium extracted is too
small to pay. The metal is then refined
and cast into bars or rolled into sheets.
The selling price of aluminium at present
Is s.. Is to IS pound. As near as could
Judge from the amount of labor required,
the metal could be sold at profit for 30
cents q pound.
"The metal has q specific gravity about
equal to that Of black oak wood. It's
tensile strength is about equal to the same
weight Of steel. It is very ductile and
malleable. It can be rolled into sheets
thinner than tissue paper, and drawn into
wire so fine that two pounds would make
. great circle of the earth. It remains
bright under all atmospheric conditions.
It is not attacked by nitric or pure sui
phuric acid, and is readily dissolved by
chlohydric (muriatic) acid. It is we'll
adapted for such uses as spoons and cane
handles, and can be used as a plating ma
terial for iron, steel or copper to take the
place Of nickel or silver. 1t might be used
for the manufacture of furniture in orna-
mental work. Il can be reduced to leaf
and used in ornamental painting and dec
grafton.
ut alloys readily with copper, iron, sill
yer. gold and platinum, but is indifferent
to other metals. From the fact of its
affinity to iron and copper great stride
has been made in the from industry. In
deed the residue from the reduction pro-
cess is much more valuable than the
aluminium, from the fact that combine
ton between the combined aluminium and
ordinary cast and wrought iron has been
found, which can be cast in an ordinary
cupola furnace. and the resulting casting
can be worked under the blacksmith s
hammer, welded, tempered hard enough
to cut glass, or annealed soft enough to
double on itself without breaking, and hav-
ing nearly double the tensile strength of
wrought steel.
"Cast iron containing not more than "A
or LILO Of per cent. each of aluminium and
copper will produce malleable castings
direct from the blast furnace.
II saw bar of iron cast of tschmiedbar-
renguss.' n inch by II inch and inches
long, drawn out under the hammer TO a
length Of 90 inches and then bent point to
heel and 1t sprung back almost straight.
A piece of cast bar an inch square was
drawn out into button-hook. A piece of
the same metal shows for tensile strength
285,0OO pounds to the square inch and the
bar was not broken. also saw q number
Of bars with every possible article forged
out Of one end or welded on and yet they
were not broken. A bar with one end
burnt off in blacksmith's fire was cut
into pieces and to one of these q common
nail was welded. to another screw,
another was tied in knot, and so on. !.
1.-THE pure metal is about equal to iron
in conductivity for electricity, but is in
ferior to copper and silver. It is poor
conductor Of heat.
"The trouble with aluminium is that no
practical method has been devised for
brazing or soldering it. It is Indifferent to
most metals, and the temperature at which
copper and other metals flow is above the
melting point of aluminium. When a
method OF brazing or soldering is found, it
will be largely used for plate uses. It will
be used for metal plates, cups, teapots,
ETC., and would have the advantage over
silver in not furnishing, being less expen-
sive and having less weight
1.-THE gain from the discovery Of this
new process of reduction is only secondary
to the discovery of the combination of al
minimum with iron, which is even greater
than Bessemer's discovery of the process
of smelling STEEL and is destined ultima
tely to revolutionize the iron industry.
The uses of this metal will increase as the
people learn to know the metal and how to
use it, which is necessarily a matter of
time. At present the Hartsfeld company
is supplying all the demand"