El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-06-08

prove OF some interest and dement,
| readers:
Q. What is steel?
a. A metal composed of from 81 pc
cent to 99.06 per cent of iron, and froI
3 to .04 per cent of carbon is properl
called steel. Many other substances
| however. are commonly found in Steel
| Among these are sulphur, phosphoru
| silicon, copper and manganese. Thes
| ingredients give various properties t.
| the metal according to the amount
present. There are also several alloy
| OF steel with other metals, but thes'
are generally designated by hyphenat
ed titles, such as ''chrome-steel" mick
el-steel,' etc.
9. How is steel MADE?
A In many ways, if we consider
details. The principal methods are
three. The resulting products are
known as crucible steel, Bessemer steel
and open hearth steel.
9. What is crucible steel?
A. Crucible steel is obtained as the
result of fusing together in cruClb.e
the substances desired in any quality
of steel.
Q. What is Bessemer steel?
A. Be-semer steel is made by fore
ing a blast of air through melted iron.
BY this process the substances not de-
sired in the steel are burned up. AS
some ingredients which are needed are
also consumed, these substances (car-
bon. etc. are added before the metal
is permitted to cool.
Q. What is open hearth steel.
A Chemically the open hearth
method is Substan italy the same as the
Bessemer process. But in making
open hearth steel the forced blast Is
dOne away with and the metal while
nd of cnyr1n1pta linnaT4e-
ton is kept exposed 10 the air in such
a way that the impurities are oXidIzed
or slowly burned out of the iron. The
other than iron are added
before sol dihcation.
Q. Which i the best of these three
kinds of steel?
\. There is no answer to this queS-
ton as it is phrased. that steel is
best whose strength, ducJllty. hard
ness, tOughness, etc, are best adapted
and proportioEed for the use for which
it is intended. These qualities depend
upon the composition of the steel, and
AZ on its ''treatmeut:' i. e., whe her it
has been forged, rolled, drawn, tenn
pered, annealed, etc.
1t is wholly lmmaterial whetner the
mixing of the iron, carbon, man ganese,
and the rest, is done in cruclbie,
Bessemer converter, or an open
hearth furnace, so long as the
same materials are compounded with
equal skill and the steels treated after
with the same care and
lud gment.
9. But is it not generally conceded
that crucible steel Is the best steel?
A. By no means. There certainly
was a time when the manufacturer by
the crucible method was more skillful
and more successful than others.
This process is the oldest, It's advocates
attained excellence while others were
experim eutIng-indeed, before the
later methods were devised.
Q. Has any one OF these three pro-
ceSses an advantage over the Ot0ers:
y. The maker of steel will decide
that question for himself: having due
regard TO his surroundings aud to the
scope of his undertaking. The user of
steel will ask what the steel Is made
Of. not what it is ID ade il. He will aim
to secure the properties which suit his
work, without regard to the methods
Of manufacturing the metal.
Q. What is cast steel?'
A. All steel made by the processes
which we have discussed Is really cast
steel" That Is, the metal becomes
steel while melted. and Is then run in
molds. The name, ''cast steel,' shOald
the shape in which it is intended to be
used. The result is inferior for most
purposes to that obtained by forging
and similar methods. There is much
confusion, however, in the popular use
Of this term.
@. WHAT is tool steel:''
A The term has no scientific mean
ing. Those who use it mean any steel
suitable for making tools. 1t may be
III
hearth steel, or steel made by some
less important method. For no good
reason the name, tool STEEL is often
regarded with almost superstitious
awe. The agent of the steel maker
calls substance tool steel" knowing
little or nothing of it's composition and
The steel-user buy it, the
workman makes things OF it, the con-
sumner buys and uses the things. Some
times the steel is adapted to its use and
everybody is satisfied. Sometimes it is
not, and the consumer finds fault and
the agent sells no more steel to that
manufac turer. Meantime nobody con-
cerned, except the original N aker, has
the least idea what the stuff called
''tool steel'' really is. No manufacture
er knows what he is buying unle>s he
has lab 4rauory where MS purchases
can be tested.
@. What 5 machine Steel?'
A. That is another shop name. 1t is
applied to any steel which is soft
enough to be easily cut and drilled.
Q. On the whole does it make any
how steel is made?
A. Not to the consumer, provided
the steel is correct in chemical consti-
tuition and physical properties-and
these are matters of fact to be ascer
tanned by careful tests, not matters of
opinion to be decided by oratory.
Q By the way, what is nickel
steel?
A A steel containing, besides the
ingredients, perhaps . per
cent of nickel.
Q. Has 1t peculiar properties?
a. 1t has undoubtedly the best ma
terial let discovered for use in con-
5 ructions where great strength and
com bined with lightness,
are required. 1t has tensile strength
OF over 100, 900 pounds TO the square
inch against about %, 600 pounds in
the tubing ordinarily used,
Faxed the Pictures.
The kaleidoscope promises to fiji d
tongefelt want. Iu addition TO keeping