Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-08-05

have befallen the man who 400 years
ago ventured to assert that he could
heat bar of iron to a white heat by
plunging it into a bucket Of cold wa
ter. A stout stake, a strong cord and
a generous bundle of fire wood, with
the services of a father Of the church
before the fagOt was applied, would
probably have been the best fate melted
out to him.
If such a man had actually performed
the miraculous feat, he might have
experienced the previous torture Of
the rack, the boot and thumbscrew,
until he was fain to confess that he
had worked his magic by the aid of
the evil one. Then his tOrmentors
would have sent him to the stake with
the comforting assurance that, though
his vile body was lost, his soul
might yet be saved by the virtue Of
confession, recantation and absolution
If one of the chiefs of the Inquisi-
tiOn could be materialized for a brief
hour he might see this same wonder
performed any day at the worlds fair,
and might, moreover, see n hundred
chance visitors pass by and glance
at the curious feat, not one of whom,
though he came from the far east
would set it down as anything more
harmful or wonderful than "the latest
thing in electricity"
While the forging of metals is not
quite the latest application of the mar
velous science of electricity, it is suffi-
GENTLY new to attract the attention of
all interested in mechanical pro-
greSs. The abolition of the furnace
as a means of heating large pieces Of
metal to malleable temperature opens
up a field of development as great as
any yet discovered by electricians.
Years ago the same thing was done on
a small scale, and much was said of
the possibility Of future work on the
same line. Now that ii has been sue
cessfully accomplished and compare
lively large fOrgings have been made,
there appears to be no limit to the
enterprise. Before many years it may
be possible to turn out from an cleo
trical forge even such mighty piece
of metal as the shaft Of an ocean
racer.
Two Boston men, George d. Burton
and Il. f. Angel, are the men to
whom must be given credit for having
perfected machines for electrical forg-
ing. Their first public demonstrations
were given two years ago in Boston,
and since then they have continually
added to their devices for handling
metals at high temperatures until they
have now the most complete set of
machinery Of this description in the
world. When applications for space
in the electricity building were being
received, they were allowed sufficient
to exhibit practically on the floor Of
the building all the most interesting Of
their many inventions.
To an outsider the most interesting
operation performed by Mr.. Burtons
wOrkmen is undoubtedly that in which
a bar of metal is heated by contact
with water A man seizes Il piece Of
iron with a pair of pliers to which are
attached a couple Of electric wires.
The water is already electrically con-
nected. When the water is touched
by the metal 1t bubbles and Kisses
furiously, boiling at once all points
Of contact. In thirty seconds the iron
is lifted out and shown to be at red
heat. AS soon as the current is turned
off the metal may be cooled in the
same water The voltage Of the cur
rent necessary is so low that the man
who handles the pliers is i'm no danger
from a shock, even when the whole
is charged with electricity.
Another piece of work which Mr.,
Burton's men are continually employed
upon is The twisting of brass ratings.
This is also a simple operation and
demonstrates the ease with which
metal nay be heated by passing a cur
rent through It. A long fiat bar Of brass
is fastened between two clamps. The
current is turned on and in less than
a minute the workman who is watch
ing the metal discovers by its color
that it has reached the necessary TEN
peratre. He release one Of the
clamps and gives it circular twist.
The clamp is heavy. the metal soft, and
It twists without effort. 1t takes loss
than another minute for the rail to cool
after the current has been turned Off,
and it is then removed, a perfectly
shaped piece OF metal
As last test to convince the III
sradulous that electrical heating is all
HAT il processes to be. a bar of steel,
three feet long and a couple of inches
through, is placed between the clamps.
Then the spectator is told to watch.
In two minutes brilliant Jagged sparks
1egin to IL from the center of the
metal. They grow in frequency until
hey form a fountain of scintillating
stars Then without warning the bar
falls on TO the concrete floor in half
/ doacn fused masses. IN three min
ties It has been heated to melting
point, and the surrounding air has not
seen raised in temperature one appre- /
v a hIp dp1rpa