Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-15
MACHINERY MADE OF JUNK
Omaha City Plant for Working Old
Asphalt is a Curiosity.
DEAN MOVES PROVES A GENIUS
Gathered DiscRrded Parts OF Many
Machines 60 Make Plant that
Works well - Making
stone C-rosswnIks

ITO build an aephalt repair plant thai
will astonlsh the scientific engineering
world" said City Engineer Craig. you
take a group OF Junk yards, an abandoned
grain elevator. a dlsmantled alfalfa mill,
some old boards and older sheetiron and
tin. a few ancient cog wheels and a col
lection Of etceterns. Gather these things
all at one ~spot-then get Dean Noyes to
assemble them into q working whole. T
result is a manufacturing plant such as
you see before you. II is without a rival
in the world, and we can safely defy the
universe to produce it's equal. Why the
Commercial club boosters did not arrange
to show Il TO the japanese visitors l can
not understand"
Mr.. Craig was speaking Of the Omaha
city asphalt repair plant, located on Mich
olss street. down in the bottoms, and
he was showing It's efficiency and ex-
planning its strange and wonderful con-
struction TO a party OF newspaper men
and city officials. The explanation was
amplified and details specified by Assistant
City Engineer Camper. Dean Noyes, the
superintendent and builder Of the plant,
modestly elucidated the particular points
the engineer did not comprehend. They
are trained in regularity and ~plumb-lihe
processes. While Noyes has In overflow
ing measure the Yankee "knack' Of con
irving unique combinations OF common
things and making them do work they
were never intended for.
The late city engineer, Andrew Rose
water, was Of an original turn of min
himself, with a great deal OF practical
utility to see his original notions worked
-ae n. 800. -. - 49, - Ia.
repair work on asphalt streets done where
needed, and when needed, without the
necessity Of outside, expensive help, he
succeeded In having a plant built and
owned by the city, to do the work. This
plant was regular and standard in its
features, but the idea OF working over
the old asphalt, taken from streets that
are to be repaved, had not been given
a practical trial during his lifetime.
How NOyes Built HIS Plant.
During the last summer Dean Noyes,
who had been superintendent of the plant
under Andrew Rosewater, began to gather
material together In furtherance OF the
belief that old asphalt could be crushed.
ground up and worked over, at small cost,
for the purpose Of street repair work,
He secured a grinder that was originally
built for an alfalfa mill and set it up
In the city yard. On this he built on ele-
vator, having small buckets attached to
a belt, such as 10 used for elevatinp
grain. With some tinkering and resetting
OF the cast-off machinery he succeeded
in developing a machine, or combination
Of machinery. that crushed the old asphalt
fine enough for his purpose. He has had
the thing working successfully since Oc-
tober Z, last. .
s'Yntt affaunpA % n.,,eb .taoA 80 t.RRr
by slow PRESSURE" says Mr.. Noyes, "and
you simply make It PUPPY and sticky with
out pulverizing it. But hit It smartiy with
a hammer and you smash It into small
fragments at once. So with old asphalt.
The teeth IN the grinder must be strong
enough and must be turned fast enough
to smash and pulverfze the asphalt chunks.
THIS machine viii do the work as fast
as two men can feed II when running at
full speed and with much less engine power
than any regular machine for the purpose
that we can hear Of"
Having got his crusher working In good
shape, much beynod the promise OF its
unbuslnesslike appearances, ne rugged up
a cooking tank with bricks ana old sheet
steel from various scrap heaps and junk
yards. At one en1 OF this he attached
an elevator simHar to the one that carries
eN 39bhaAh ICAuht INTO Nm6 CH0Snef. 10
this the puiverized material Is brought and
fed, being elevated into the heating tank.
Here it is turned over and over by a worm
like mixer, also OF homemade oonstrue-
tlon. Quick fires are kept going under
this mixer, but burning OF the material
Is prevented by n jet that shoots hot
steam continually into the mixer and keeps
1t damp and Of the proper consistency.
More scrap Iron Efficiency.
From this mixer over the hot fire the
asphalt is wormed to a point where It
drops into a second mixing box, also made
OF scrap pieces. On arriving In this Sec
ond mixer 2 per cent OF pure asphalt Is
added, in fluid form. This is called
'sweetening" by r. Noyes, ana adds just
the element OF new life needed to make
the worked-ovr asphalt pliabl and give II
renewed setting qualities. 1t is shoveied
directly from here into the city wagons
and taken wherever needed for patching
large or small holes in the paved streets.
The machine is capable Of turning out
twelve loads a day, going full speed, but