Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-02-26

In response TO numerous complaints
from farmers all over the country the
department of agriculture, Washing
ton started an investigation into the
cause of cOrrOsion in steel-Wire fenc-
ing now on the market. 1t discusses
the results of these inquiries in q
ing for those who are using the mod
ern substitute for the Old-faShiOned
rail fence. Before the farmer or any
other user of steel wire can intelli-
gently cOsider the problem of the cor,
rOsiOn and deterioration of iron and
steel it is necessary that he should be
to some extent familiar with the meth
DDS of manufacture, the system OF
classification, and some of the effects
of the ordinary impurities. Iron as il
is manufactured from its ores is never
pure, now would perfectly pure iron
be suitable for the various purposes
for which the metal is used. Iron is
found in nature combined with oxygen
in the form of an oxide, in which it
occurs in great reddish-broWn or blu,
ish rock-lile deposits known as hemd-
tite and limOtite There are SeVeraI
oxides of iron which differ from each
other in the relative amount of OXy
gen which is combined with the iron.
The ordinary red Divide which forms
when iron rusts is essentially the
mo ono
The bulletin discusses the different
processes for producing pig iron, or
steel ingOts, from which the wire MAX
ing begins, for there are few manufac-
turers of wire that produce their own
ingots. The ingots, after cooling n
the molds. are reheated to a bright
red heat, known as "billets" Most
wire-fence manufacturers buy either
their wire or their billets from the
steel mills, and comparatively few
make their own steel. The horizontal
heavy wires of a woven fence are usu-
ally made from a fairly high-carbon
hard steel in order to attain great ten
Sile strength or resistance to break
ing under strain. The vertical or tie
wires must of course bend easily with
out breaking, and they are made from
a mild or soft steel, usually Bessemer
metal. All metal used for fence wire
at present made in this country is
classed as steel, irrespective of the
percentage of carbon or whether made
by the BesSemer or Open-hearth pro-
No. 5 gauge wire rod. This is then
picked in sulphuric acid until clean.
then soaked in hot limewater to re,
move the acid. and baked for abou
half a day, when it is drawn colo
through dies OF hard steel to the re
CURED gauge, usually No. u. The
lime coating on the wire lubricates it
and prevents it from cutting out the
dies. The wire is now ready for gal
Vantzing, which consists of running il
through brick tubes or ovens which
are heated by coal or gas, where the
process OF annealing or sOftenine
takes place When the wire is cool
enough it enters bath of acid. which
cleans it and removes any scales that
may have formed during the process
OF annealfng. This so-called pickle
consists of diluted muriatic acid and
is necessary treatment, as the wire
would not take the zinc unless it had
first been through the acid bath. The
question as to whether the acid should
be washed from the wire before it
enters the zinc bath is important and
manufacturers seem to differ in their
practice. It is by no means certain
that acid included in the zinc and
under it will not tend to corrode the
metal rapidly. Some sort of chloride
IS undoubtedly necessary to make the
iron take the zinc, but it is natural to
suppose that the presence of actual
acid should be avoided.
The wire is next run into a vessel
liz feet long containing melted zinc.
AS the wire energies from the zinc
bath it is run through asbestos wipers.
which wipe off nearly all of the zinc
and leave a smooth coating. which
amounts usually to about ! to ~ per
cent OF the wire After the wire is
galvanized, if a wOven-wire fence is
to be made, it goes to the weaving
room, where the finished product is
turned out, In some cases, especially
IN the manufacture of fine w e fenc-
Ing, such as poultry mesh, the galvan-
iz1ng is done after the weaving"
The first thing for the department
OF agriculture to establish was
whether the cid wire made 20 wears
or more ago, was less subject to cor.
rosion than that produced by modern
methods. "A large number OF let
tiers, the bulletin states, .'were re-
ceived from all over the country in re,
Spouse to official inquiry, and all
pointed in the same direction. AS far
as human testimony is capable OF es.
tabllshing a fact, there need be nj
the slightest question that moda-r