The San Francisco call., 1909-10-10
STEEL FORGING is
THRIVING INDUSTRY
Shops Maintained in This City
Exclusively for Ornamental
Iron Work
Expert Mechanics Swelter in
Intense Heat to Mold
Great Billets


One Of the most fascinating, perhaps,
OF all the iron and steel Industries, and
perhaps the least known to the aver
age citizen. is the forging and hand
grill work done by some of the special
steel and ornamental iron shops of San
Francisco. Great billets and blooms
Of the bar steel in the raw are fash
toned into mammoth crank shafts
FOR steamers, crank aXles, tools, well
boring and drilling appliances. ham,
mered steel shoes and dies and huge
chains for various purposes in these
workshops Of expert mechanics. Fine
grill and hand hammered ornamental
bank ratings. bronze tablets. name
plates, gates, moldings fence posts,
andirons and elevator and wrought iron
designs Of ali kinds are done here in
artistic effects that only come with a
real practical knowledge OF antique
hand forging.
FINE CRAFTSMANSHIP
The local lover of fine art in archi-
tectural iron is not compelled TO go
east or abroad for the fnest workman
ship. san Francisco, did he but know
II. has many shops that cOnfine their
attention TO hand work in iron. bronze
and steel forging alone. Among these
shops may be mentioned the American
tool works. George W. Pennington &
Sons. Inc. and the Chris Deterding art
metal works
Forging great steel shafts and
cranks in the foundry is particularly
fascinating and dangerous to the work
1 -
heat shafts and cranks that weigh
over five or six tons and manipulate
hammers run by machinery to shape
them into form.
One of these shops that has recently
turned out some big contracts in these
steel commodities is the American tool
works Of this city. Particularly is 1t
10 be commended on a special piece of
work finished for a Folsom dredging
company-twO huge chains used for
an apron on a ship holding the dredger
in position. AS far as is known these
chains are the largest ever made in
proportion to the size. Each chain
is 25 feet 7ss inches long, weighing
-.0S9 pounds.
The eve plate on one end of each
chain weighs $50 pounds, is 36 inches
long. is inches high and FIVE inches
thick The plate on the other end
weighs $50 pounds. is Il inches long
side measurement was hand welded
and measures p inches to a fraction,
being four inches in diameter and
weighing 245 pounds each. It seems
wonderful TO consider that every bit
of the work was done by hand with
only IS Of an inch difference in the
length Of either chain.
SHOWS GREAT PRECISION
This shows the ability of the me-
lis
heat There is not sign of the weld
on any link. so perfect is the forging,
and they look just as If they come out
of a mold The breaking strain on
each chain is about 50.000 pounds TO
the square inch, or for the entire
chain, 625 tons which means that the
chain viii lift 625 tons without snap
ping
Geo. ". Pennington & Sons Inc,
another steel speciality forging firm,
has just finished a hand forged axle
for the Home telephone company
weighing four tons. 1t win be used
for the axle In giant wheel being
made by Murray Brothers machine
works.
The Chris Deterding art metal
works have only recently finished
some architectural hand wrought iron
for a prominent club in Franklin and
Clay streets, that is quite wonderful
In design and workmanship. 1t COM
pares in many lines with the Vene-
tian architecture, bringing out the
archaeological effect in a great many
details, and is not unlike the grill de-
sign on ST. Marks cathedral in St
Marks place in Venice. Every bit of
the work was hammered and turned
by hand. showing the hammer marks
on the border. The work consists Of
one door and a transom frame amount
ing to $500 for the door alone which
is left standing in the natural ham,
mered material.
The club is also furnished with great
andirons-a speciality of this firm
which, standing in front of a fire place,
give a look OF antiqueness suggesting
some old Italian castle.
HAND WROUGHT DESIGNS
Before the fire a great deal of this
hand wrought work was used, but
since then very little demand is made
FOR such beautiful architectural de-
signs. The residences and fine clubs
in the rush of rehabilitation have neg
lected this beautiful style of work.
The W. w. Haslehurst machinery
and engineering works has just COM
pleted a $4,000 contract for a swamp
land reclamation plant, located on the
Sacramento river about so miles from
Sacramento.
The machinery consisted of a 200
sign engine, directly connected to a 30
inch centrifugal pump having sue
tion pipe 40 inches in diameter by 100
inches in length also a discharge pipe
OF the same dimensions, besides the
necessary separator. pipe fittings. etc.
The boiler equipment was as perfect in
detail as the rest of the units-a water
tube boiler. a jet condenser and heater
completing the entire equipment.
The same firm has just completed a
sewage pumping plant for the Folsom
state prison, consisting of one COM
pound engine. marine design, two COM
pound centrifugal pumps, a reheater
for air. boiler and building The con-
tract amounted TO $4,000. The work
took the place Of some old installation
that proved a failure
Besides re work on hand in this
same firm for pumps is the large
amount OF parts that are required for
various installations The St Johns
patent piston rings and slut separator
are in great demand, making it pos
sible for this firm to secure work that
others are unable 10 accept They are
just about TO close a big. contract for
a plant in the Sacramento river dis
trict for the furnishing and Installing
Of about 400 feet of &c inch nine apd