Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-06-09
The Manufacture of Tin Plate
at St. Louis.

at st. Louis.
A recent census bulletin gives us
various interesting particulars showing
the rapid growth of St. LOUIS as an
industrial center. She already stands
in the front ranks as a manufacturing
district, and few more years of pro-
gress will give her positive pre-
/ emiuence. Among the more recent
industries commenced at ST Louis is
the manufacture of tin. and, according
/ to the Iron Aqe, to which we are ndebt-
ed for the following particulars, the
enterprise presents every prospect of
/ permanent success.
The works have been completed at a
/ cost of S250,000 for the tin plate mill
alone, but, including forge, bar mills.
/ warehouses, etc, the investment IS over
/ $780, GOO.
The ST. Louis tin plated plant com.
prises asheet mill $50 fl. long BY 100
#. wide. an annealing department $50
by So it.. and timing department $50
| by 80 it. The steel plate bars are made
in the other departments of the works.
In the forge mill the billets and bars
ale prepared and rolled to suitable
thickness, width, and length, after
which they are taken to the tin plate
works, where they are reheated and
rolled to about No Is gauge They
are then doubled, rerolled three times,
and sheared to the different sizes. The
doubler and shearer used by the COM
pany is Oh their own design, and is in
use nowhere else. An upright bar,
jOinted at its base. has two arms. one
forming the doubler and the other the
shearer, which work alternately with
the motion of cam at the top There
are four mills in the sheet null depart
ment, a mill consisting of a roughing
and finishing roll. The sheets are
then cut to the size required, after
which they are taken to the picking
machine or agitator. to remove the
scale and other impurities from the
surface of the sheet, and allowed 10
remain there from twenty to twenty
/ five minutes. The agitator is capable
| OF picking sheets for 800 boxes of tin
plate day.
After being picked, the sheets are
taken to the annealing department,
whore they remain IN the furnace for
| "a hours. They are then taken back to
the rolling mill to be col1-roled, IN
order to make their surfaces perfect to
| receive the coating. After this they
are annaaled again, and replckled in
the so-called white pickle, after which
they are placed in water tanks to pre-
vent oxidation, being then ready for
timing The process of timing is
comparatively simple The sheets first
60 to the timing. next to the wash, and
last TO the finishing or grease pot, in
which they are run through rollers
which strip tLem of supertluous tin.
They are then taken to the cleaning
/ boxes and finally rubbed with the woolly
side of sheep skin. after which they
are ready to be packed Ten timing
pots or stacks are now in operation in
these works. producing about $50 boxes
! a dav, to which will Immediately be
/ added six more, anil with these Is
stacks the company will be able to turn
out over 500 boxes Of tin plate daily.
/ The stacks now in operation are pro
/ ducing half-bright plates. which are
/ largely used in the companies own
I works, save what ace sold to the retail
4 trade. The balance of the production
4 is roofing or terne plates. The roofing
i plates are all sold To dealers. and tie
i company saws that consumers report the
i plates as much better than English
! plates of the same grade Il NAV be of
interest to note that the Government
| Building at the Worlds Fair at CHICAGO
/ is covered with these plates There are
Ii furnaces in the annealing department
running on sheets for the timing de-
partment, to which will soon be added
four more, when sufficient quantities of
sheets can be annealed 10 run the
| timing department fun. Arrangements
have also been completed for the cree
ton OF cold rolling house, with u
sets Of re lis, for finishing the sheets
before they are sent to the Timing
| house. This will give the company two
more mills in the mill proper now being
used for cold-rolling. which will in
! crease their capacity about oue-third.
Ia addition to the improvements noted,
the company is soon to erect a new
steel plant. winch will be located at
Granite City. a new town now being
built bY the Neidrinrhaus Bros. oppo-
site the city Of St Louis The Steel
plant Will produce steel both bv the
open hearth and Besseuler process, and
will contain boiler. stack and nail plate
mills The nail plate mills will De run
to prepare plate for the tia plate mills.
where they vii be rolled to the thin
sheets rs above described. The com
panY intend TO be able 10 control the
entire process Of tile napufaefnrirp
i operations step bN step. from the pro-
duetion of the steel moot rs .be finished
tin plate. The location for i steel steel