The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-01
COSTLY MONSTER MUSINGS.
Steel Tempered with = Much Care - =,
Razor Blade.

Razor Blade.
The invention Of the modern high
power guns have brought into use pro-
jectiles that are the f4est product of.
ingenuity and improved machinery,
calling forth the best efforts of skilled
artisans. Instead Of cast iron globes
that could be turned out by any foun-
dry twenty years ago, use is now made
OF the grades Of steel, tempered with .
as much care as razor blade, and
ground and polished with as much ex-
actitude as q surgical instrument. The
complete story OF the manufacture OF
armor-p piercing projectiles by the steel
works in Reading is a. secret so care
fully guarded that 1t has always been
hard to obtain, but at present, when
the big plant is running on war foot
ing, it is still more difficult, as only
employees and government inspectors
are permitted. to enter the company's
immense machine shops. Shells 4, 5,
g., 6, 10, IL and 13 inches in diameter
are being made for the navy, and 8, 9
and II inch sizes for the army, Here
Is the history of the making of a 10
inch she'll, and as the projectiles of all
sizes are made in the same manner 1t
gives some idea Of the vast amount OF
labor required to equip fleet, In the
casting shop molten steel is cast into
solid piece twelve and half inches
IN diameter. It is then taken to the
forge room, where, after being reheat-
ed, it is hammered down to ten and
three-quarter inches, and considerably
elongated during the process. Next it
Is conveyed to the machine room and
placed upon a specially constructed
lathe and turned and pointed. The
only parts of the shell that bear
against the rifled surface of the gun
are the conical end and the copper
ring that encircles the base. This ring
Is soft, so as not to injure the rif1ins.
After the finishing cut has been given
to the project1les the diameter of the
largest part of the cone is 10.5 inches,
and that of the body of the shell is
900 inches. Then the @'extracting
score" is cut. There is a V-shaped
groove, in which tool can be fastened
when it is desired to withdraw the
she'll from the gun. The next move
is the boring of five-inch hole in the
base of the projectile to a depth of
fourteen inches. Tempering follows.
In this process the shell is suspended,
point downward, into receptacle
filled with molten lead, and is allowed
to settle until the metal rises above the
cone base. At first: the temperature
OF the lead is but 500 Degrees but it is
Increased gradually to 1900 degrees.
The work of heating continues for
many hours, when the shell is with
drawn and sprayed with water, to give
it hard exterior Next follows a
bath in vat filled with secret ingre-
dents, after which the shell is cooled
with a jet Of water. Once more the
she'll goes back to the machine shop,
where the hole in the base is widened
half an inch and the depth increased
two inches. The hole is then thread
ed and screw plug inserted. The
grinding room is next. Here the ex-
IRENE diameter Of the cone is ground
down to ten inches exactly. The work
men now apply the "band score
which is a groove for the reception of
the soft copper band. After the soft
steep cap has been fitted to the tip
OF the projectile, on the theory that
when the shell strikes the armored
side OF a battle ship the point will BE
protected without any Interference
with it's penetrating power, the work
is finished so far as the steel company
is concerned. It is then boxed up and
shipped to some United States arsenal,
where it is filled with an explosive
compound and made ready for it's
work of destruction. - Philadelphia
Record