The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-16
Santa Fe Mechanic in Topeka
Saves Company Thousands.
Invents Devices That Will Prove
Economical and Practical.
SUPERVISOR OF TOOLS
E. j. McKernan Has Proved
Valuable Man to Santa Fe.
Other Items of General Interest
i'm Railroad Circles.

| The Santa Fe shops have been the
birthplace of more inventions and IN
provements of railway value than any
! other railroad shops in the world. Not
because they are the largest shops of
! their kind in the world but because it
is the policy Of the Santa Fe to en-
courage such things among their en-
ployes and to donate to their services
| in whatever way possible-whetheF it
be by giving them time and leisure to
| further their plans or building and
equipping for them miniature work
shop where they may perfect their
new ideas.
Every few days an announcement of
some new time and money saving de-
! vice comes to Highland the article
j may be of an immense value to the
company at it's immediate adoption on
! the system Or it may mean a gradual
| time and labor saving scheme which
will mean little in actual money MAX
| ing value but much in the perfection OF
machinery and necessary work.
| The latest series of new mechanisms
| from the local shops come from the
mechanical mind and clever hand of E.
J. McKernan, supervisor of tools in this
| CITY, Mr.. McKernan has not stopped
! at one device, however, but he has just
completed a number of tools which will
at once. The devices are ~ crank
axle turning machine. CD a wheel lathe
| tool holder, (3) a high speed fue sheet
| cutter, "a hydraulic press for BUSH
| ings, (5) and (6) two brake shoe key
devices.
The first new device-a crank axle
turning machine is for the purpose of
turning up the inside crank axle gear
ings of balanced compound locomotives.
The Santa F'e has been buying a num-
he, Of nd q a
valuable tool to have in the shops and
all over the system. These crank axle
bearings wear out of round more rap
idly than the outside pins and must be
maintained in good condition to pre-
vent overheating and failure. Main
tanning these bearings by hand is cost
ly and unsatisfactory. It requires a
skilled mechanic from rs to 80 hours to
rue up a crank axle bearing by hand
and when finished the crank Is ve-y
liable to be out of quarter and the
original throw changed. The crank pin
turning machine will finish bearing
in from five to six hours.
The inside cranks of about one hun
bred and fifty balanced compound loco
motives are overhauled each year so
the saving made by the machine over
the hand method is suite large. The
cost:
BY hand, per engine. ;..--..-.......--s lilo
Saving by machine. per engines s51
Saving by machine. $50 engines. 1,27651
The wheel lathe tool holder is design
ed to use smaller and more efficient
cutting tools than the old solid bar
tools. With the old style solid tools
each machine was equipped with set
of tools weighing from 125 to $50
pounds. BY the use of the tool holder
and smaller tools the amount of tool
steel per machine has been reduced
from $50 to 20 pounds or in cost from
approximately $50 to $12 With 25 wheel
lathes in operation the total saving in
tool steel tied up for this purpose
amounts to 81. $50 per year. In addition
to the great economy Of the holder and
smaller tools the ease of forging and
grinding makes them much more sat
isfactory and cOGvt nient for shop use.
High-Speed F1ue-Sheet Cutter.
The high-speed f1ue-sheet cutter is
for the purpose of drilling f1ue holes
in f1ue sheets on the drill press. The
use of this McKernan cutter has been
| attended with great economy and eff
f1ciency. With the old style cutter fif-
teen holes were drilled per hour at
| cost of 1913 cents per hole on the
basis of labor 20 cents an hour. The
| new cutter the same operator drills
sixty holes each hour at a cost of 33
cents per hole This Is a 10 per cent
reduction on the price. The total saw
ing per year by the use of this cutter
is estimated at $5z2.
Hydraulic Press for Busllings.
| The hydraulic press for pressing or
removing valve chamber bushings is
another peerless helper to the me-
chanic. It formerly required a me-
chanic and helper six hours to apply
a bushing with the old methods. The
cost of this operation was 1924 or
$6.48 per engine when two bushings
| were applied. By the use of the Nc
Herman hydraulic press the time of
| the apDlVing the buShfne is reducad
| from six to two hours making a saw
| ing of s2.16 per bushing or 1892 per
| engine. An average of 240 bushings
are applied every year and at a saw
| ing of $2.16 each total saving of
$51S.40 is received through the work
| of the device.
Brake Shoe Key Devices.
These devices are used for forging
and finishing brake shoe keys out Of