El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-22
ROMANCE IMAM
AUTO FACTORY
How a Camshaft Is Made,
the Heat 1t Is Sub
jected to, Etc.


Romance never dies. It Is as surely
here today as il was when Achilles
fought with short, stout sword against
the TrOjans and when king arthur
went forth in coat Of mail TO battle
against the heather that threatened the
chivalry Of old England Today Ameri-
can romance battles in Oyeralls. con-
Quering and directing nature into chan
nels that best serve mankind. Bibbs
Sheridan in The Turmoil" sang at his
work because he found romance in
directing a machine that relentlessly
chewed strips Of zinc into little disks
all day long
Romance fingers with the village
blacksmith who still heats the horse
shoe at the forge beneath the chestnut
tree; and for those with eyes 10 see,
romance looks over the shoulder Of the
controlling genius OF the immense heat
treating furnaces Of an auto factory,
the direct and mighty descendant Of the
IRE Of the village smith. Science talks
IN the terms Of romance when 1t speaks
OF the steel in automobiles. steel may
be sick and require doctOring: steel
may be too hot or too cold at q tenn
perature Of 1000 or perhaps 2030 de-
greess steel may need TO have its fever
quenched in oil or in water, and then
90 into the furnace once more for
further treatment
The forsings Of the village smith
could be as primitive as the art itself
without serious consequences to the
work IN hand. but think what such a
hit or miss method would mean 10 an
automobile. A detective part might
mean death to the occupants Of a ma
chine Long experimentation BY lead
ing scientists has established the fact
th1l certain steels require certain def
mite degrees OF heat if the best results
are TO be obtained Only BIZ its heat
L eatment is il possible TO secure the
combination OF strength and lfghtness
found In its vsnadium and other steels.
For example, take a cam shaft II
must nave exact scientific heat treat
ment- A man seated before a number
OF dials with levers below-electric
promoters. or heat gages-EIances
from one TO another and occasionally
touches a lever that sends a trem bling
hand on dial one way or another.
what romance is there in this2 What
great adventure in sitting in a place so
quiet, so clean so seemingly unexcit-
ing. But think what in imagination
this man sees
The hand on a dial says back 20 1900
degrees. Instantly the master mind
sees cooling furnace that means dan
ger The steel shafts Il is heating must
be maintained at 1880 degrees. In
slantly controlling lever is shifted
With his eyes on the gage he sees the
hand creep back to 1880 degrees before
ne releases the lever. Studebaker uses
5S0O0,0OO cubic feet Of gas a year.
most Or II IN these mighty furnaces
what knight Grant protecting the
from the aggressions Of in
justice and greed has better served the
world than this man whose very task
breathes the sweet air Of a duty faith
Iully performed in protecting the de-
lenceIesst For after ALL an automo-
bile is bought on faith, faith in the in
tegrity and the honesty Of the manufac-
lurer and all the men who serve him.
The purchaser is defenceIess and the
true knight errant in these DAYS Of ro-
nance IS the man who recognizes that
TACT and who stands ready to keen faith
with that faith the buyer has IN him
SO the cam shaft goes through one
heat treatment after another after II is
forged until II has had five. The firse
after forging relieves the forging
sTalns-that is. the piece is heated to
1923 degrees Fahrenheit so that all fis-
sures or crevices in the grain caused
by the terrific blows of the hammer
run together-weld, so TO speak-and
close up.
This heat treating process is a very .
,areIui one, for IL determines the final .
Interior grain structure Of the shaft
after this treatment il is uueuched in E
water, and when &c comes out II is .
very hard; II Is then heat treated again .
cry slowly, and allowed 20 cool slowly ;
rms neat treating is not intense
'ncugn IN any way TO change the grain
y the steel Il does. however, allevi-
ne the hardness, so that the piece may
~ ground by emery wheels.
And all these processes mean that
omance stil lives. but that il is seen
my Dy those who have eyes 10 see.