The Portland daily press., 1891-07-21
LAYING THE KEEL FOR THE RAM.
over Five Hundred Men at Work In
the Bath Iron Works.
work Progressing Well on the TWO
New Cunboats.
Some Of the Machines and Processes
Seen at the Works.
Especial to the Press. I

DAIh, July zU.-At L16 baLn Iron WORKS
today preparations have been made for the
laying of the iron keel of the steel govern
ment ram. As soon as tomorrow, or mex
day, the iron keel will probably be In place
and the work on the ram will be under full
headway, The blocks for the keel are al
ready in position, and the iron pieces have
been fitted in the shop. Today the work
men were rectifying the positions of thu
bookings by means of the wooden keel pat
terms, which were placed in position for the
entire length. The ram is to be much larger
than either of the two gun boats, its kee
measuring two hundred and forty feet. The
ram is to be of 1000 tons and the contract
price is close up to million dollars, exactly
$960,0O0
The keel for the ram is stretched beside
the two gunboats, now well under way. The
scene In theyard Of the works today-as
dnriLg all these days, In fact-has been one
OF the greatest animation. Beside the blocks
for the keel of the ram, towerithe two gun.
boats now so far along that the visitors may
gain some idea of their size and form
Smaller than the great cruisers of the navy
these gunboats are yet 100 feet each In length
lO2O each in tonnage, and the contract price
for the two will be $637 900. Small as they
are In comparison with other naval vessels,
they are among the largest crafts ever buili
In Maine. They are also the first iron OF
steel vessels to take form in Maine yard,
and the sights In the Iron Works yard are
new, even to Bath.
To certain extent iron shipbuilding is
like wooden shipbuilding. A keel is laid
strong and stiff, though much less bulky
than the wooden keel; and from the
keel, bow and stern piecas and ribs are ex-
tended upward. These too. are of iron, and
much smaller and little farther apart than
the ribs of wooden ships. But when it
comes to covering the ribs iron shipbuildng
is somewhat like dress-making. The ribs
have to be covered with an elegantly fitting
garment of stout steel plate, about three
eights of an inch thick. The gunboats have
progressed to that point where they are be-
ing covered. The Bath Iron Works buy
these plates all rolled of iron makers of Pitts
burg, Pa. the Linden Steel Company. The
bars for keel and rib also come from Pitts.
burg, Carnegie. Phipps & Co., supplying
them. The bars come straight and the plates
plain In 0bl0ng, rectangular form. All the
shaping has to be done in Bath.
The work Of putting on these plates is
work being completed, excepting towards
the stems. Five hundred and twenty five
men are at work about these vessels, or In
the shops near by. The din is deafening.
The plates come from the shops properly
trimmed. punched and bent; and the putting
steam boiler. In each plate, about five
feet wide by twelve feet long, there are
upwards of two hundred rivet holes, and
probably 100 rivets at least have to be driven
for every plate. Men at work rivetting all
over the hulls make a tremendous clangor.
Men within the hull heat rivets red hot and
put them into the holes IN the plates to be
rlveted. Two men with sledges stand on the
outside and the moment the red rlvet appears
begin to hammer 1t until they have COM
nj foI hnn nd Hhat, Al
cut 1t off smooth and hammer 1t again until
the rivet head is as smooth as the rest of the
steel plate. The riveters need considerable
skill, as they must keep the seams straight
be watertight
The preparing of the plates for the rivet-
ers Is just now the most interesting work 60
ing on in the shops. As has been stated the
plates are of steel, three-eighths Of an inch
thick and five or more feet wide, and 10 or IL
easily as q dressmaker would handle a piece
of heavy cloth. Ii rough edge needs to be
trimmed huge pair of shears cuts it like
cheese on the pulling of little lever by the
workman: If holes must be punched the
crane swings the plate along to another
giant machine, and by the pulling of another
little lever the hole is puched as neatly, easi-
ly and quietly as a boy thrusts goose quill
through slice OF potato. 1.-THE plate is to
be curved there are huge rollers in the grip
kerchief In the rollers of the housewives
clotheswringer. Sometimes pieces have to
be bent in peculiar folds or wrinkles to fit
special parts. Today they were fitting a
plate to go beside the torpedo tube that pro-
jects through the bow piece. This plate had
to have peculiar curve not attainable by the
use of the rollers. So the great sheet was
put into large furnace. where 1t was heat
ed red hot. Then it was pulled out and
placed over an iron mould. Workmen, with
huge. long-handled wooden mallets, began
to pound IL, and hammered 1t down to con-
form to the mould. This seemed to be one
of the most difficult processes In fitting the
plates, and the only one where one could get
an idea of the great strength of the steel
plates. The great machines handle them so
easily that they seem as IL made Of tin.
With the exception of several feet at the
sterns, the two cruisers are put together up
as far as the sloping protective deck on the
water line, and even farther up In portions.
1t is expected that they will be ready for
launching in October or November. Proba-
bly, the two will be launched about the same
time. When launched they will be about
twc-thirds done. The boilers and engines, a
after the launching For the construction
of the engines and boilers, the company are
adding some new machinery Of the latest
models. They have ordered new hydrau-
lie plate closer and riveter, with 10 feet
boiler plate. A 80 ton hydraulic crane
comes with this. They are also to have a
hydraulic fanger for bending plates, which
will do work Of the heaviest description.
Probably the gunboats will be ready for de-
livery to the government by next summer.
AS Is well remembered, the Bath Iron
Works are also the lowest bidders for cruis-
er No. 13, which is to be 400 feet long, 1850
tons burden, and to cost So, 600, 900 at least,
as this was the lowest bid made. The gov
ernment has not yet signified an acceptance
of the bid. Should this cruiser come to
Bath, there would be employed in the works
total Of 800 or 1000 men.
The 525 men employed now are not all
skilled workmen, of course. Many of them
are helpers and common laborers. The
skilled workmen have come largely from the
Lakes or the Delaware. 1t was thought that
the Bath men from the wooden shipyards
could be utilized, but business has been sc
brisk In Bath as to keep nearly all those
shipwrights on wooden work.
General L. w. Hyde is of course the lead
| ing spirit and director of the Bath Iron
With ha hoa txun NJ 10