AUGUST 30, 1884]        AMERICAN MACHINIST        5
let the machines be made anywhere. It is a thing of life and sense, and does just what you tell it to do. When the
cotton is well open for the first picking it goes along and picks it, and then you wait for the next picking. It takes in no
trash or dead leaves —nothing but cotton.
"Now he has a gin that operates on the same principle. These little pickers have expanded into a cylinder as long
as the shaft and as large round as a gin saw, and they catch the lint, and an iron bar keeps the seed from
following the lint, and forces them back. The lint is not cut or torn. He is using an old gin frame, taking out the saws
and putting his cylinders in their place. It gins twice as fast as the saws, and there is no danger to hands or arms. I
put my open hand on the cylinder while it was making j2,000 revolutions a minute. He dropped a handful of
shingle nails in the opening, and they were carried through in an instant and did no harm. Experts from northern
factories say the lint is worth ten per cent. more than lint cut by the old method."
Fitting and Care of Axle Boxes.
By J. 1). CAMPBIEI;r,.
INFLUENCE OF hIAlF ROUND BRASSES.
Driving boxes fitted with a half round brass have a tendency to close at the bottom. This tendency is continuous
and becomes most marked as the brass wears down, relieving the box of the strain put upon it by the tight fitting
brass. With it properly fitted brass and a collar 'put up in good shape the box cannot close much, still there will be
enough looseness to cause a slight pounding. During the first few days' service of a locomotive after new driving
brasses of this shape are put in, the compression on the brass, resulting from the weight of the engine, tends to
close the bottom of the box and permits the box to rock. This evil may be to some extent prevented by fitting the
wedges slightly closer at the bottom. This closing of the box at the bottom is not only an evil and annoyance in itself
by causing pounding, but is a further ~~..r of trnnhlh by hasteninLy the formingdriving box should be considered.
The position of the box should be such that the wedge may be set up to the proper degree of tightness with
certainty and without much labor. It is important that a wheel position
be found where the box would. not be
moved by the wedge when the latter is being adjusted. This position will be found where the box is up against the
dead wedge, since the lost motion will then be between the box and the wedge to be moved. To get all the driving
boxes in that position at one time is a difficult matter if it is to be done by pinching the wheels. The position of the
rods decides the direction of their action on the wheel by the thrust or pull upon the crank pin. If the-rod is above
the wheel center, pinching behind, the back wheel will force both the wheels and boxes on that side up against the
dead wedge; but should the rod be below the wheel center similar work with the pinch bar will draw the forward
box away from the dead wedge, the side rod doing this by pulling on the crank hin----this is always supposing the
dead wedge to be in the front pedestals. The best position therefore to get an engine into for setting up all
NECESSITY FOR KEEPING BOXES AND WEDGES
CLEAN.
The growing practice of close and stated inspection of locomotives to detect defects, before waiting for them to
develop into breakages that cause trouble and delay to trains, will give especially good results if applied to boxes
and wedges. If the wedges are taken down and examined at regular intervals the ridges that appear so readily on
the face, when oil grooves are cut on the sides of the driving box, can be smoothed off before they cause distortion
of the surface. This is also a good time for a thorough cleaning of the pedestals and box and the oil holes can be
examined and opened out properly. Work of this kind often prevents boxes getting hot on the road' with all the
entailed delay and expense which' often includes changing engines if the train must be pushed on. One turn of a
hot box will often wear a brass more than the daily running for two years.
TEMPERATURE OF TJIE BOX TO BE CONSIDERED.
One condition of the box to be considered when adjusting wedges, is its temperature at the time the work is done
and what that willtrouble really exists elsewhere. Boxes with driving spring saddles whose foot is but the width of
the top or spring band will ofttimes, if the band is not rounded where it rides on the saddle, or is not fitted with a pin
or other center bearing, tip on the box with each motion of the spring. Or if the saddle is moved from its worn seat
on the top of the box, it will rock and pound. Again, obstructions in the bearing of the spring equalizer that will
prevent the full motion of the springs and bring them to a sudden stop, will produce a motion resembling that
caused by a stuck box. Attention to details that are sometimes considered the crude parts of a locomotive will often
prove highly beneficial to the working of the locomotive, and especially is this the case with the parts that transmit
the motion of the springs.
Hall's Automatic Injector.
We present with this engravings representing one of this class of injectors now being introduced in this country by
Hall's Engineering Company, 112 John street, New York City. These injectors are made in a variety of forms to suit
varying purposes, the one here represented being that known as the " D. L." class, more especially designed for
locomotives, traction engines, tram-car engines, steam yachts, fire engines, and for purposes where the variation
in steam pressure is likely to be excessive. Used for these puposes they are said to be unaffected by jar and
concussion.
It will be seen that, by means of the screwed top, the spindle and attachments can be most readily removed,
should it become necessary, for cleaning, the time required for doing this being very short.
It is claimed for these injectors that they are very simple in construction, that they are made in variety to suit (every
purpose, that they may be set in every desired position, immersed in the water if desirable, that they will feed
through very wide range of press- ures and cold or hot water, that there are no delicate parts likely to get out of
order, that the motions required to .work them are reduced to a single one, and that they will handle a large
amount of water for their nominal size. All injectors are tested under worldiw conditions before, hln.vinn thn wnrka_


brasses of this shape are put in, the compression on the brass, resulting from the weight of the engine, tends to
close the bottom of the box and permits the box to rock. This evil may be to some extent prevented by fitting the
wedges slightly closer at the bottom. This closing of the box at the bottom is not only an evil and annoyance in itself
by causing pomlding, but is a further source of trouble by hastening the forming of a shoulder on the top of the
wedge. The tendency at all times is for the axle box to wear a shoulder at the top and bottom of its travel, even
when the box retains its proper shape; but when it is distorted by closing at the bottom, the rubbing surfaces are
put out of the true plane and wear takes place much more rapidly. While the springs retain their position and
impart to the axle box a fixed range of motion no serious effect is felt from the worn wedges. But when the
locomotive is passing over rough frogs or bad rail joints where the motion of the spring is increased the frame
pounds down upon the box, which for a moment becomes fastened in the narrow space between the shoulders of
the wedges, and an effort is needed for the box to relieve itself and allow the spring to resume its motion. This
causes the engine to ride hard in some instances where the condition of the track makes the box catch frequently.
Sometimes the box will be unable to relieve itself without assistance and much loss of time and annoyance result
when the wedge has to be pulled down to relieve the box.
The forming of the shoulder on top and bottom of the wedge may be anticipated and prevented by planing the
partwhere the ridges form, leaving a face just the length of the box plus the space covered by the motion of the
springs. Not only does this aid in preventing the box from forming ashoulder, but it also reduces the first cost of
fitting the wedges by reducing the surface to be squared and finished true.
POSITION OF BOXES WHILE SETTING TIP WEDGES.
With the wedges in a proper condition when the locomotive enters service we yet must care for them and adjust
them from time to time when it is necessary to take up the lost motion between the pedestals and boxes. When
doing this work it is important that the position and condition of then { z

L        ~CH ECI<VAIVE
the wedges is with the side rods on the upper eighths, for then pinching behind the back wheels will push all the
boxes up to the dead wedges. The work can then be done without putting unnecessary strain upon the wedge
bolts which are often found with the corners of the heads rounded off, and the thread injured to such an extent that
it will not screw through the binder brace, a condition of matters nearly always caused by trying to force up wedges
without putting the engine in the proper position. If the wedge bolt from faulty construction, or
through injury, is unable to move up the
wedge, driving is resorted to by which means it is battered on the end, and the jarring of each blow causes the
ashes and dirt on top to fall behind the wedge throwing it out of parallel and introducing material that will cause the
wedge to cut. The ashes and dirt that accumulate so readily on the top of wedges and boxes cause no end of
trouble although the fact is not generally recognized; and it will generally be fruitful labor to have these parts well
cleaned off before beginning to set up wedges. Many complaints that are made of wedges not being properly
adjusted proceed from the disturbance that follows grit introduced between the wedge and box.
I-
be when the engine is in service. Adjusting wedges is often done as a preliminary step to lining and adjusting side
rods, and this is done on many roads on the shop day when the locomotive is in for washing out and periodical
repairs. At that time the engine being cold the boxes will be at their lowest temperature, and consequently at their
smallest dimensions. Allowance should then be made with the wedges for some expansion of the boxes. Another
condition that should be considered is how the box has been running. A box that has been running hot or warm
generally compels the wedge to be lowered to allow for extra expansion. When this box has been repacked or
otherwise cared for the wedge is again set up. While doing this it should be remembered that a box that has been
running hot is liable to be distorted and its journal bearing injured, so that it is likely to run warm for some time till
the brass comes to a smooth bearing. If the wedge will not permit the box to expand it binds the journal and is
likely to run still hotter, and is liable to stick in the jaws.

SMALL DISORDERS THAT CAUSE ROUGH RIDING.
Many complaints are made about pounds in driving boxes and wedges, when thef.auU flit ­­.Y        I'-'        J F.. FtJ0t ,
~..w.
they may be set in every desired position, immersed in the water if desirable, that they will feed through very wide
range of pressures and cold or hot water, that there are no delicate parts likely to get out of order, that the motions
required to work them are reduced to a single one, and that they will handle a large amount of water for their
nominal size. All injectors are tested under working conditions before leaving the works. The sectional engraving
shows the arrangement of parts so fully as to render a detailed description unnecessary.

German Engine Drivers.
A correspondent of the Railway Review, writing about English and German engine drivers, makes out that the latter
receives much the better training in learning his business. He asserts that young Germans intended for
locomotive engine drivers have to go through a technical school course, from whence they enter the railway fitting
shops to learn some mechanical work. After having spent one or two years in the locomotive workshop, he is sent
into the running shed to learn how to make current repairs. When he is old enough to be entrusted with a
responsibility, he has to do at least a year's firing under one of the ablest engine drivers of the railway, who has to
be strict with him, and must show him everything, connected with the management of the engine. After he has
served the necessary time as fireman he has to pass a practical examination, that is, to make a trial trip, on which
he is accompanied by the engineers and other local authorities, who have to judge if he can be safely entrusted
with a locomotive.
His next job will be to do a lot of shunting; then he will have to drive eight-coupled mountain engines, afterwards
the six-coupled, and so on, until he rises to the post of first- class or express engine driver, the ne plus ultra of the
calling, to which many aspire,
but few are selected. These engine drivers
are superior men in every respect, of undaunted energy, thoroughly acquainted with their engines; many of them
are learned men, and fit to fill up the post of engineer. When not at work they look like gentlemen.
This system does not exclude firemen from advancing to the post of engine drivers=

HALL'S AUTOMATIC INJECTOR.
~a1
f~~
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg. 5
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg. 5,6,7
Navigation Bar Placeholder

AMERICAN MACHINIST    Layout and Drawing Bevel Gears the Traditional way.
30, 1884 6                            (Illustration above)

pg  7 top Auausv 30, 1884J        AMERICAN MACHINIST        7
The Philadelphia. Electrical Exposition.

 pitch line to the bottom of the space; but the        The lines H H are drawn parallel to G 0,
 clearance being provided for in the cutters, the        the distance between them being the width
Those having charge of the coming Elec-        two gears would be laid out to mesh together        of face.
trical Exhibition at Philadelphia are doing I        just $. -        The face of the large        gear should be
themselves and the city credit by the vigor-        These rules apply to all pitches, so that a        turned to the lines M
A, and the small gear:
ous way they are pushing forward the work I        five-pitch gear with 24 teeth would have an        to N'A.        For
other pitches the same rules
connected with the building.        The outside of        outside diameter of w- ; or if three-pitch, 40        apply.        If
four-pitch, use 4ths instead of
the building is about completed, and the in-        teeth, it would be        Again,-if a;blank was        8ths; if three-pitch,
ads, and so on.        Bevel
side work,        prepa-  ratory to taking in exhibits,        i s        pro - gressing rapidly.   The foundations for        1
the,five engines that       will run the        ma-       chinery are about       finished,        and        the        c        b        7c
shafting is being   put up.        Several of  the engines will be        i+'        rz         la        
of the Porter-Allen   type,        the        larg-est        300-horse   power.        In the cen-        
ter of the hall there   will be a fine elec- trical f o u n t a in,        a+2j.1        FiU"v
which is nearly completed. Among        PROPORTIONING SLIDE VALPES.--(SEE PAGE 6).
the curiosities that        
will be seen at the exhibition will be the        4        (-) in diameter and cut six pitch, it gears should always be
turned to the diam-
original Morse telegraph instrument, ;upon        should contain 23 teeth.        eters an-d angles of the drawings.
which the first message ever telegraphed        ' In laying out a pair of bevel gears, after        •+•
over a wire was sent from Washington to        deciding upon the pitch, draw the center        National Convention of
Fire Engineers.
Baltimore.        As a comparison with the simple        lines B B and C C, intersecting at right        
key instrument used by Professor Morse,        angles at A.        Then draw the lines D D and        The twelfth annual
convention of the Na-
there will be exhibited a synchronous multi-        E E the same distance each side of B B and        I tional
Association of Fire Engineers, accord-
plex telegraphic machine, by which one ope-        parallel to it, the distance from D D to E E        ing to the official
announcement signed by
rator can send seventy-two messages at once        being as many 8ths of an inch-if it be        ?resident O'Connor
and Secretary Hills, will
over one wire.        There will also be an electric        eight-pitch—as there are teeth in the gear.        be held in
Chicago, commencing Tuesday,
chicken-hatching machine and many other        In the example the number of teeth is 24 ;        September 9, 1884,
at 12 M. The chief officer, interesting curiosities.        
 In a recent consular repo        Consul Warner,        SRUR`GEARS.
of Dusseldorf, Germany, says that the de-        III                IIIIII
mand for labor in his district has very much                ~I                
increased of late years, and wages have bee  greatly advanced, so that the social condition        ~I!!I~il                  
of workmen has been materially improved.         . P IT C H - 2        TEETH                   PITC                                
This district is a great center of iron, steel,     and coal industry, and it is in connection         
with that business that the growing pros-    perity exists.        Careful
investigations                                                                                           
made to ascertain what caused the unwonted         progress of the district, and all authorities  ,      agreed in
attributing it to a change in the       tariff which gives protection to the native                        
iron trade. The. State of Hidalgo, Mexico, has voted  to pay a subsidy of $1,500 per kilometer to
the projectors of the new cable road soon to be constructed in the City of Pachuca by Mr.
Andrew S. Halliday, who has the exclusive privilege throughout Mexico, during ten
years, for building and operating all such roads. Mr. Halliday uses the same system
now employed in San Francisco and Chicago. Mr. Jose Godoy, general agent of the Cable
Road Company, left the capital on Wednesday for San Francisco, where he goes to obtain en-
gineers, who will at once begin the • work of construct, ing the cable road
at Pachuca. Arrangements are being made for similar roads in the Fig. 3        _        capital and other
large cities of Mexico. Hydraulic Distribution of Power.
According to Engineering, the hydraulic distribution of power in Hull has, so jar, proved entirely successful, and
the company organized in 1882 to operate in London is meeting with the same kind of success. The plan is to
force water by means of a hydraulic pumping engine into an accumulator, from which it is conveyed by divergent
mains in various directions, under a pressure of about 700 lbs. per square inch. Power supplied in
this way can be used for producing rotary motion, but its advantages are greater in apparatus requiring rectilineal
motion, such as elevators, and various kinds of hoists, presses, etc.
There are at present in operation by the London company two centrifugal pumps, raising water from the river. The
water is allowed to settle, and is passed through self-cleaning filters to a second tank, from which the main
pumps take it. These pumps deliver it to two accumulators, loaded to a pressure of 700 lbs. per square inch.
Two sets of pumping engines, each of 160 indicated horse-power. are in position. and




mand for labor in his district has very much increased of late years, and wages have been greatly advanced, so
that the social condition of workmen has been materially improved. This district is a great center of iron, steel,
and coal industry, and it is in connection with that business that the growing prosperity exists. Careful
investigations  were made to ascertain what caused the unwonted progress of the district, and all authorities
agreed in attributing it to a change in the tariff which gives protection to the native iron trade.
•        Warner & Swasey's Method of Sizing Gear Wheels.
We are indebted to Warner & Swasey,
• Cleveland, Ohio, for the engraving and text on this subject. In a letter to us they say: We have a great many gears
sent us for
•        cutting, the blanks of which are improperly
• turned—so much out as to be spoiled-so it was a necessity that some simple rules be furnished by which such
mistakes could be avoided, hence the following:
The cuts of spur and bevel gears were engraved directly from the drawing and by
• their aid we will endeavor to give some directions by which all diametrical pitch gears can be laid out
preparatory to turning and cutting.
In spur gears, first decide upon the pitch, which means the size of teeth. Should it be 8 pitch, as shown in cut,
draw a circle
• measuring as many eighths of an inch in diameter as there are to be teeth in the gear. This circle is called the
pitch line. Then
• with a radius $ of an inch larger draw another circle from the same center, which will give the outside diameter
of the gear, or g larger than the first circle. Thus we
• have for the diameter of an 8 pitch gear of 24 teeth, $e. Should there be 16 teeth, as in the small spur gear, the
outside diameter would be g , the number of teeth being always two less than they are eths—when it is eight-
pitch-in the outside diameter.
From the pitch line to the bottom of the teeth it is the same distance as to the top, excepting the clearance, w>lich
is always one-eighth of the pitch, making in the example $r•  Thus the tooth measures        from the
therefore, the distance from D D to E E will representative of each fire department, and be g , or 12 inches each
side of B B. K K superintendent of insurance and fire patrol, and L L are similarly drawn, but there being in the
United States and Canada, are invited 16 teeth in the small gear the distance from to attend. A special invitation
is extended K K to L L will be J, or, one inch each side to boards of fire commissioners and repre. of C C. Then,
through the intersections of sentatives of insurance companies to be D D and L L, E E and L L, and E E and
present. Inventors and manufacturers of K K, draw the diagonals F A. These are improved apparatus for the
extinguishment the pitch lines. Through the same points of fires and fire escape apparatus will be draw lines, as
C; G, at right angles to the afforded every facility for the exhibition of pitch lines, forming the backs of the teeth.
their several inventions which they are de• On these lines lay off 8 of an inch each side sirous to display. This will
be particularly of the pitch lines, and draw MA and N A, advantageous, as getting them passed upor forming the
faces and bottoms of the teeth. bp practical firemen, expert in their business.
parat,us requJ.IIu
elevators, and various kinds of hoists, presses,
etc.
There are at present in operation by the London company two centrifugal pumps, raising water from the river. The
water is allowed to settle, and is passed through self- cleaning filters to a second tank, from which
the main pumps take it. These pumps de-
liver        I~Ii
it to two accumulators, loaded to a pressure of 700 lbs. per square inch. Two sets of pumping engines, each of
160 indicated horse-power, are in position, and
another set is being constructed. From the        {!'
pumping station pipes extend in all desired        ! 1 directions. The arrangement of the pipes is such that they can
be fed from either end,
and stop-valves are placed at frequent inter-        0 vals, so that if a break occurs at any point it will not be
necessary to shut off more than a few consumers during the time occupied in making repairs. The mains are of
cast-iron, 8" diameter, ins lengths of 9 feet, tested at the works to a pressure of 2,500 lbs. per
square inch.. The joints are turned and
bored spigots and sockets, made tight with gutta-percha rings.
In addition to the use of this system for power, it is claimed to be especially valuable in case of fire. For this
purpose a small
quantity of water in the form of a jet, under        (I'i 700 lbs. pressure, is made to take up a large quantity of water at
low pressure, and force it against the fire, the principle being the same as that of the ejector. As the water will
most naturally be used for power in large warehouses and mercantile establishments, the advantage of having
such means of sub-
duing
fire, always ready on the instant, will be apparent. The cost of water to the con-
sumer        { {
is said to be very moderate-rnuch        (; less than getting power by other means—besides the saving of space, a
particularly valuable feature in London.
It is announced in a Western paper that        I` i the Barney & Berry Manufacturing Company
will hereafter make skates at Springfield        J I 1
with a 65 horse-power Westinghouse auto-
matic        4111
engine. We hardly think a good Westinghouse engine will provide much good material for making skates.
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg.6 6

AMERICAN MACHINIST
30, 1884 6

when, after some years' running, they have        Rubber Packing—Testing Boilers. distinguished themselves by
their punctuality, Editor American Machinist:
cleanliness, and especially by their sobriety.        I notice an inquiry in your issue of August
The position of the engine driver abroad is 16th about the use of rubber as packing for not well paid, it is true, but
their lot is more an engine. While it might not be injurious enviable, especially, those where the State to iron, it
would be injudicious to use it on manages. They are allowed so much a brass stems or rods, on account of the
sulmonth for house rent; they have also mile phur which it contains, and which has ai money (meilengeld),
besides coal and punc- corrosive an action on brass as acid has on tuality premiums. The working hours are
iron.
not so long, and on many lines every third Mr. William Lowe is sound on the boiler
day is a day for rest.        test question so far as the amount of work
i        done per square foot of heating surface goes,
but it is hardly fair to lay all the blame on

LETTERS FROM PRACTICAL MEN, the men who make the test, unless they have
the control of setting the boilers, as the ratio
Sand Drying Device,        of heating to grate surface is arranged or
Editor American Machinist:        determined by the party building the boiler.
In your issue of July 26 you ask anyone The conditions cannot be the same until having a satisfactory
arrangement for drying boiler makers come to some uniform stand-sand to describe the same for the benefit of
and of the proper amount of coal to be your readers. I have found the following an burned per square foot of
grate per hour.
excellent  sand drying rig, and have had it in One builder believes in a slow combustion, use for a good many
years:        and puts in a large grate so as to get the full
Take lengths of 4 inch gas pipe and make capacity of his boiler with a low fire. Anthem in sections of the length
and width other builder, who has studied the habits of desired, using close pattern return bends on steam
users, and is cognizant of the fact that the bottom coil, which will leave the pipes they usually run a boiler for all it
will do
inch apart. The sand will not drop through before purchasing new, or he may believe in that space when moist.`
The second section a rapid combustion and consequent high should be made with open., pattern return
temperature in the furnace, will put in a bends, which will leave the pipes 4 or 1 inch small grate, and the
probabilities are that apart. The third and fourth sections should he will get the best results.
be made with elbows and  nipples-to leave I have two kinds of boilers set in the same the space 3 inches
between the pipes. All room, and connected to the same chimney.  The sections should be connected together
so The makers of one style calculate fifteen that the steam will pass from the top section feet heating surface for
one horse-power, and into the next below, and so on, with the one square foot of grate for two horse-power,
outlet at the end of the bottom section. The and a combustion of about five or six pounds • sections should be 4
inches apart. " Build a of coal per square foot of grate. The make- • box around the pipes to hold the sand, and
era of the other allow eleven feet heating leave a.. space under for the sand to drop. surface per horse-power,
one foot grate for The box can be filled up, and as fast as it four and a-half horse-power, and want a dries it will
drop through the pipes. The combustion of not less than fifteen pounds pipes should be filled with steam at
boiler of coal per square foot of grate.
pressure,  and the outlet should be regulated Now, no man can make these conditions to allow the condensed
water to pass off.        equal. The builders made the conditions
I put in an arrangement of this kind seven unequal, and the man making the test should or eight years ago for a
firm I worked for, not be blamed. The party that gets beat The pipes were 16 feet long and the box was should
abide by the •result of his own mis32 feet wide, with sections as above de- calculation, and if he can't make his
ideas a scribed. It dries sand for a glass menu- success, either change his plans or get out factory, and dries
more than a kiln did that of the business. The conditions will never, was 18 feet long and 3 feet wide. While it be
alike until all men think alike, and the needed 25 bushels of coal to run the kiln, the man whose ideas give the
best results will nine arrangement can be operated with from          .'but if they don't vary more than g. of an ing
reamer is put through the hole, and. the inch the distance can be divided between job passes along to the next
man, and not a opposite points, and it will not seriously murmur is heard. The cut shows the parts affect their
parallelism when in place. If so plainly as, to need no further description.
the variation is more than this the cause . By the way, my Western friend called my must be looked for, and the
points made attention to a kink which he had gotten up correct. About 12" of the face of the shoe on for boring car
brasses on the drill, which he top and the same at bottom should be filed claims is the boss. The drawing will
explain away, so that the box will pass by and avoid itself. The arrangement is very simple, and wearing a
shoulder in the 'shoe, which will pays for itself in a short time. Brasses with cause a pound.        ' A  SHOPMAN.
lugs and projections are accommodated by a
different-shaped strap, and it is a matter of Method of Turning Ends of Rocker opinion as to whether a single
cutter is used

Arms-Boring Car "Boxes,    
or a standard-size milling cutter; but be
Editor American Machinist: -        says, "I prefer the mill, it being easily
I was visiting a shop in the East, not long ground upon the emery wheel, and lasts a
since, where several new engines were under long time."        L. C. SHARP.
course of construction, and, in noting the    Plattsmouth,  Neb.
Proportioning Slide Valves and Determining the Elect of Difierent Proportions. Editor American Machinist:
I wish to call the attention of
such of your readers as have
started to follow our method of
—        drawing valve-motion diagrams
E        to Fig. 1 (on opposite page) to
show one other point, and that
floe! cer Ar n _ is that the greatest distance from the line E to the circle A is the greatest width of port opening.
Fig. 2 is simply a reproduction of Fig. 1, with the addition of a circle and line, which solves
which are: to determine the point of exhaust opening, and
the point at which compression begins.
If the valve has inside lap—that is; if when the valve is set centrally the steam cannot escape from either end of
the cylinder—then draw the circle c, Fig. 2, with a radius equal to the inside lap of the valve. Draw the line g
parallel with the line e, and, where this line strikes the circle a, at h, it will represent the point where, the crank
will be when exhaust takes place; and, where this line strikes the circle a, at 'i, it shows where the crank will be
when the exhaust closes and compression begins.
If the valve has neither lap nor inside clearance—that is, if the opening in the valve is just equal to the exhaust
port and bridges —then the line g should be drawn through

TURNING ROCKER ARMS.
different points of interest, I was struck with the considerable amount of labor expended upon rocker arms,
specially the turning up of the outer ends of the arms in the lathe. The machine being of insufficient swing, it was
blocked up, the boss on the arm extend. ing fully 18" from the face-plate, requiring the closest vigilance on the
part of the operstor to keep the work from chattering, and possibly gouging. The foreman pointed out this job to
me as one of his fine lathe opera-;ions, of course somewhat expensive, •but he only facility the shop affords, you
know, ;aid he. Right there my mind wandered to he Burlington and Missouri River Railroad shops in
Plattsmouth, Neb., to a plan gotten ip by the foreman for doing, this very particular lob on a very common dri]l.
nrraa- in.



pressure, and the outlet should be regulated to allow the condensed water to pass off.
I put in an arrangement of this kind seven or eight years ago for a firm I worked for. The pipes were 16 feet long
and the box was 31 feet wide, with sections as above described. It dries sand for a glass manufactory, and dries
more than a kiln did that was 18 feet long and 3 feet wide. While it needed 25 bushels of coal to run the kiln, the
pipe arrangement can be operated with from 7 to 10 bushels, and does the drying with less attention. The box
should be made tapering wider at the top than at the bottom.
Anyone wishing to see the arrangement can do so by calling on me.
JAMES CROWLEY,
' Engineer, Stearns & Foster Co. Lockland, Ohio.

Removing Nuts from Hand-Hole Bolts —Loosening 1!Lan-IWole Covers—Break-
ing Water Line Glasses to Length. Editor American Machinist:
The nuts on hand-hole plates at the rear end of a horizontal tubular boiler being exposed to considerable heat,
are very apt to stick. The most common way of removing them is to use a hammer and chisel, which either
breaks the bolt or takes the corners off the nuts. My plan is, at night to saturate a piece of cotton waste with
kerosene oil and lay it over the nut till the next morning; then I fregluently find I can remove it with my fingers, not
requiring even a wrench.
It frequently takes hard hammering to get man-hole covers loose. I fill the annular space around the outside with
kerosene, and the next morning find the rubber and scale entirely loose, and can remove the cover without
trouble.
To cut a water line glass to right length, I wind a fine cord each side of where I want to break it, leaving room
between the two cords for a thicker cord; then put cloth around the glass and hold it in the vise, pass the thick
cord (about three feet long) once around the glass between the two cords, pull it back and forth till it burns, cool
the hot place in the glass with water, and it will break square across. This is much better than using a file, as
then you are never sure where the glass will break,        J. i 1Ay.v. cue' per square loot or grate.
Now, no man can make these conditions equal. The builders made the conditions unequal, and the man
making the test should not be blamed. The party that gets beat should abide by the result of his own
miscalculation, and if he can't make his ideas a success, either change his plans or get out of the business.
The conditions will never be alike until all men think alike, and the man whose ideas give the best results will
get the most orders as a general rule.
W. E. CRANE.
Waterbury, Conn.

Driving Boxes and Wedges. Editor American Machinist:
With reference to J. D. Campbell's communication, on fitting shoes and wedges, there are other causes of
trouble in driving' boxes. One is the varying size of outside flange on shoes, and wedges and boxes, caused by
changing the boxes round so as to get a better face for the wheels to bear against, and changing the shoes and
wedges to opposite sides of the engine, the various sizes causing the boxes to stand atwist.
It often happens that shoes and wedges are not properly trued up during repairs, the faces frequently being g"
out of a vertical line, causing a diagonal motion of the box; and again, the faces of the front shoes are at unequal
distances from the center of center casting. The greatest care is required in locating the centers of right front and
left front pedestals, being careful to get them at exactly equal distances from center of center casting, and
placing a vertical line on each side of each shoe and wedge, to set them by for planing, making a fine prick-
punch point near the end of each line. In planing some set the points level with a surface gauge, but a good way
to set them is to use a pair of hermaphrodite calipers, from the points to face of chuck, having the shoe or wedge
packed up solid with pieces of tin, paper, etc. Having got them about right, take a cut over the face, then caliper
from points to face of cut. The points showing the shortest distance from the face will require to be lowered and
the longest points raised. By using thin paper you can make a very fine adjustment. Sometimes it will be found
that all four points are not in the same plane,rug runny .ro iivui Lau lave-yiwlc, lWKuuiug,
the closest vigilance on the part of the operator to keep the work from chattering, and possibly gouging. The
foreman pointed out this job to me as one of his fine lathe operations, of course somewhat expensive, but the
only facility the shop affords, you know, said he. Right there my mind wandered to the Burlington and Missouri
River Railroad shops in Plattsmouth, Neb., to a plan gotten' up by the foreman for doing this very particular job
on a very common drill press, in this manner: The rocker arm, of course,

Top View
BORING CAR BRASSES.
is turned as far as possible on the centers; from them it is taken to the drill press, where the offending arm and
boss are bolted to the drill table, the body and opposite arm hanging outside and below the table, being then in
a position where the manipulator of chattering tools mourns his loss, for we have the part to be operated upon
within one inch of the great anvil principle. Next a hole is drilled in the boss Q smaller than the finished size; a
tool like that shown is placed in the drill spindle; the cutting tool is either fed by hand or a projection on table
strikes the star handle. When the arm is finished up to the boss, the drill spindle and tool are raised, and a cut
started upon the boss and fed down by the drill feed, Lastly, a finish.
rite nue(y paliulel wal.ln Unu uutl c, $uu, wuere this line strikes the circle a, at h, it will represent the point where
the crank will be when exhaust takes place; and, where this line strikes the circle a,_ at i, it shows where the
crank will be when the exhaust closes and compression begins.
If the valve has neither lap nor inside clearance that is, if the opening in the valve is just equal to the exhaust port
and bridges —then the line g should be drawn through the center of the circle, or, if the valve has inside
clearance, then the line should be
drawn to strike the upper side of
the circle-the circle to be drawn
with a radius equal to such clear-
ance.
So far the diagram gives only the position of the crank, and no definite position of the piston in the cylinder,
although to determine this but a very few more marks are required. Owing to
v —        the different angles the connect-
" ing rod assumes, the piston occupies unequal positions at the opposite "'ends of the cylinder, while the crank
occupies equal distances from the dead center.
Many times it is more desir-
able to know what the average
of these positions is than the
actual positions, and this may be
determined in the manner shown
in Fig. 3. Divide the line B into
as many equal parts as there are inches of stroke in the cylinder, or tenths if it is desirable to have the result in
per cent. of stroke. (In the diagram I have assumed that the engine has a 12 inch stroke, and have divided the
line into twelve equal parts.) Then draw vertical lines from the points f, It and i-to the center line B, which will
indicate that the average cut-off takes place at about 84 inches, exhaust at about 11; inches, and that
compression begins at about 104 inches.
To determine the actual position of the piston at the two 'epds of the cylinder with any length of connecting rod is
equally simple, as will be shown hereafter.
Jo$N E. SWEET.
Syracuse, N. Y.

AMERICAN MACHINIST
30, 1884 6

when, after some years' running, they have        Rubber Packing—Testing Boilers. distinguished themselves by
their punctuality, Editor American Machinist: cleanliness, and especially by their sobriety.        I notice an inquiry in
your issue of August  The position of the engine driver abroad is 16th about the use of rubber as packing for not
well paid, it is true, but their lot is more an engine. While it might not be injurious enviable, especially, those
where the State to iron, it would be injudicious to use it on manages. They are allowed so much a brass stems
or rods, on account of the sulmonth for house rent; they have also mile phur which it contains, and which has ai
money (meilengeld), besides coal and punc- corrosive an action on brass as acid has on tuality premiums. The
working hours are iron.
not so long, and on many lines every third Mr. William Lowe is sound on the boiler
day is a day for rest.        test question so far as the amount of work
i        done per square foot of heating surface goes,
but it is hardly fair to lay all the blame on

LETTERS FROM PRACTICAL MEN, the men who make the test, unless they have
the control of setting the boilers, as the ratio
Sand Drying Device,        of heating to grate surface is arranged or
Editor American Machinist:        determined by the party building the boiler.
In your issue of July 26 you ask anyone The conditions cannot be the same until having a satisfactory
arrangement for drying boiler makers come to some uniform stand-sand to describe the same for the benefit of
and of the proper amount of coal to be your readers. I have found the following an burned per square foot of
grate per hour.
excellent  sand drying rig, and have had it in One builder believes in a slow combustion, use for a good many
years:        and puts in a large grate so as to get the full
Take lengths of 4 inch gas pipe and make capacity of his boiler with a low fire. Anthem in sections of the length
and width other builder, who has studied the habits of desired, using close pattern return bends on steam
users, and is cognizant of the fact that the bottom coil, which will leave the pipes they usually run a boiler for all it
will do
inch apart. The sand will not drop through before purchasing new, or he may believe in that space when moist.`
The second section a rapid combustion and consequent high should be made with open., pattern return
temperature in the furnace, will put in a bends, which will leave the pipes 4 or 1 inch small grate, and the
probabilities are that apart. The third and fourth sections should he will get the best results.
be made with elbows and  nipples-to leave I have two kinds of boilers set in the same the space 3 inches
between the pipes. All room, and connected to the same chimney.  The sections should be connected together
so The makers of one style calculate fifteen that the steam will pass from the top section feet heating surface for
one horse-power, and into the next below, and so on, with the one square foot of grate for two horse-power,
outlet at the end of the bottom section. The and a combustion of about five or six pounds • sections should be 4
inches apart. " Build a of coal per square foot of grate. The make- • box around the pipes to hold the sand, and
era of the other allow eleven feet heating leave a.. space under for the sand to drop. surface per horse-power,
one foot grate for The box can be filled up, and as fast as it four and a-half horse-power, and want a dries it will
drop through the pipes. The combustion of not less than fifteen pounds pipes should be filled with steam at
boiler of coal per square foot of grate.
pressure,  and the outlet should be regulated Now, no man can make these conditions to allow the condensed
water to pass off.        equal. The builders made the conditions
I put in an arrangement of this kind seven unequal, and the man making the test should or eight years ago for a
firm I worked for, not be blamed. The party that gets beat The pipes were 16 feet long and the box was should
abide by the •result of his own mis32 feet wide, with sections as above de- calculation, and if he can't make his
ideas a scribed. It dries sand for a glass menu- success, either change his plans or get out factory, and dries
more than a kiln did that of the business. The conditions will never, was 18 feet long and 3 feet wide. While it be
alike until all men think alike, and the needed 25 bushels of coal to run the kiln, the man whose ideas give the
best results will nine arrangement can be operated with from          .'but if they don't vary more than g. of an ing
reamer is put through the hole, and. the inch the distance can be divided between job passes along to the next
man, and not a opposite points, and it will not seriously murmur is heard. The cut shows the parts affect their
parallelism when in place. If so plainly as, to need no further description.
the variation is more than this the cause . By the way, my Western friend called my must be looked for, and the
points made attention to a kink which he had gotten up correct. About 12" of the face of the shoe on for boring car
brasses on the drill, which he top and the same at bottom should be filed claims is the boss. The drawing will
explain away, so that the box will pass by and avoid itself. The arrangement is very simple, and wearing a
shoulder in the 'shoe, which will pays for itself in a short time. Brasses with cause a pound.        ' A  SHOPMAN.
lugs and projections are accommodated by a
different-shaped strap, and it is a matter of Method of Turning Ends of Rocker opinion as to whether a single
cutter is used

Arms-Boring Car "Boxes,    
or a standard-size milling cutter; but be
Editor American Machinist: -        says, "I prefer the mill, it being easily
I was visiting a shop in the East, not long ground upon the emery wheel, and lasts a
since, where several new engines were under long time."        L. C. SHARP.
course of construction, and, in noting the    Plattsmouth,  Neb.
Proportioning Slide Valves and Determining the Elect of Difierent Proportions. Editor American Machinist:
I wish to call the attention of
such of your readers as have
started to follow our method of
—        drawing valve-motion diagrams
E        to Fig. 1 (on opposite page) to
show one other point, and that
floe! cer Ar n _ is that the greatest distance from the line E to the circle A is the greatest width of port opening.
Fig. 2 is simply a reproduction of Fig. 1, with the addition of a circle and line, which solves
which are: to determine the point of exhaust opening, and
the point at which compression begins.
If the valve has inside lap—that is; if when the valve is set centrally the steam cannot escape from either end of
the cylinder—then draw the circle c, Fig. 2, with a radius equal to the inside lap of the valve. Draw the line g
parallel with the line e, and, where this line strikes the circle a, at h, it will represent the point where, the crank
will be when exhaust takes place; and, where this line strikes the circle a, at 'i, it shows where the crank will be
when the exhaust closes and compression begins.
If the valve has neither lap nor inside clearance—that is, if the opening in the valve is just equal to the exhaust
port and bridges —then the line g should be drawn through

TURNING ROCKER ARMS.
different points of interest, I was struck with the considerable amount of labor expended upon rocker arms,
specially the turning up of the outer ends of the arms in the lathe. The machine being of insufficient swing, it was
blocked up, the boss on the arm extend. ing fully 18" from the face-plate, requiring the closest vigilance on the
part of the operstor to keep the work from chattering, and possibly gouging. The foreman pointed out this job to
me as one of his fine lathe opera-;ions, of course somewhat expensive, •but he only facility the shop affords, you
know, ;aid he. Right there my mind wandered to he Burlington and Missouri River Railroad shops in
Plattsmouth, Neb., to a plan gotten ip by the foreman for doing, this very particular lob on a very common dri]l.
nrraa- in.



pressure, and the outlet should be regulated to allow the condensed water to pass off.
I put in an arrangement of this kind seven or eight years ago for a firm I worked for. The pipes were 16 feet long
and the box was 31 feet wide, with sections as above described. It dries sand for a glass manufactory, and dries
more than a kiln did that was 18 feet long and 3 feet wide. While it needed 25 bushels of coal to run the kiln, the
pipe arrangement can be operated with from 7 to 10 bushels, and does the drying with less attention. The box
should be made tapering wider at the top than at the bottom.
Anyone wishing to see the arrangement can do so by calling on me.
JAMES CROWLEY,
' Engineer, Stearns & Foster Co. Lockland, Ohio.

Removing Nuts from Hand-Hole Bolts —Loosening 1!Lan-IWole Covers—Break-
ing Water Line Glasses to Length. Editor American Machinist:
The nuts on hand-hole plates at the rear end of a horizontal tubular boiler being exposed to considerable heat,
are very apt to stick. The most common way of removing them is to use a hammer and chisel, which either
breaks the bolt or takes the corners off the nuts. My plan is, at night to saturate a piece of cotton waste with
kerosene oil and lay it over the nut till the next morning; then I fregluently find I can remove it with my fingers, not
requiring even a wrench.
It frequently takes hard hammering to get man-hole covers loose. I fill the annular space around the outside with
kerosene, and the next morning find the rubber and scale entirely loose, and can remove the cover without
trouble.
To cut a water line glass to right length, I wind a fine cord each side of where I want to break it, leaving room
between the two cords for a thicker cord; then put cloth around the glass and hold it in the vise, pass the thick
cord (about three feet long) once around the glass between the two cords, pull it back and forth till it burns, cool
the hot place in the glass with water, and it will break square across. This is much better than using a file, as
then you are never sure where the glass will break,        J. i 1Ay.v. cue' per square loot or grate.
Now, no man can make these conditions equal. The builders made the conditions unequal, and the man
making the test should not be blamed. The party that gets beat should abide by the result of his own
miscalculation, and if he can't make his ideas a success, either change his plans or get out of the business.
The conditions will never be alike until all men think alike, and the man whose ideas give the best results will
get the most orders as a general rule.
W. E. CRANE.
Waterbury, Conn.

Driving Boxes and Wedges. Editor American Machinist:
With reference to J. D. Campbell's communication, on fitting shoes and wedges, there are other causes of
trouble in driving' boxes. One is the varying size of outside flange on shoes, and wedges and boxes, caused by
changing the boxes round so as to get a better face for the wheels to bear against, and changing the shoes and
wedges to opposite sides of the engine, the various sizes causing the boxes to stand atwist.
It often happens that shoes and wedges are not properly trued up during repairs, the faces frequently being g"
out of a vertical line, causing a diagonal motion of the box; and again, the faces of the front shoes are at unequal
distances from the center of center casting. The greatest care is required in locating the centers of right front and
left front pedestals, being careful to get them at exactly equal distances from center of center casting, and
placing a vertical line on each side of each shoe and wedge, to set them by for planing, making a fine prick-
punch point near the end of each line. In planing some set the points level with a surface gauge, but a good way
to set them is to use a pair of hermaphrodite calipers, from the points to face of chuck, having the shoe or wedge
packed up solid with pieces of tin, paper, etc. Having got them about right, take a cut over the face, then caliper
from points to face of cut. The points showing the shortest distance from the face will require to be lowered and
the longest points raised. By using thin paper you can make a very fine adjustment. Sometimes it will be found
that all four points are not in the same plane,rug runny .ro iivui Lau lave-yiwlc, lWKuuiug,
the closest vigilance on the part of the operator to keep the work from chattering, and possibly gouging. The
foreman pointed out this job to me as one of his fine lathe operations, of course somewhat expensive, but the
only facility the shop affords, you know, said he. Right there my mind wandered to the Burlington and Missouri
River Railroad shops in Plattsmouth, Neb., to a plan gotten' up by the foreman for doing this very particular job
on a very common drill press, in this manner: The rocker arm, of course,

Top View
BORING CAR BRASSES.
is turned as far as possible on the centers; from them it is taken to the drill press, where the offending arm and
boss are bolted to the drill table, the body and opposite arm hanging outside and below the table, being then in
a position where the manipulator of chattering tools mourns his loss, for we have the part to be operated upon
within one inch of the great anvil principle. Next a hole is drilled in the boss Q smaller than the finished size; a
tool like that shown is placed in the drill spindle; the cutting tool is either fed by hand or a projection on table
strikes the star handle. When the arm is finished up to the boss, the drill spindle and tool are raised, and a cut
started upon the boss and fed down by the drill feed, Lastly, a finish.
rite nue(y paliulel wal.ln Unu uutl c, $uu, wuere this line strikes the circle a, at h, it will represent the point where
the crank will be when exhaust takes place; and, where this line strikes the circle a,_ at i, it shows where the
crank will be when the exhaust closes and compression begins.
If the valve has neither lap nor inside clearance that is, if the opening in the valve is just equal to the exhaust port
and bridges —then the line g should be drawn through the center of the circle, or, if the valve has inside
clearance, then the line should be
drawn to strike the upper side of
the circle-the circle to be drawn
with a radius equal to such clear-
ance.
So far the diagram gives only the position of the crank, and no definite position of the piston in the cylinder,
although to determine this but a very few more marks are required. Owing to
v —        the different angles the connect-
" ing rod assumes, the piston occupies unequal positions at the opposite "'ends of the cylinder, while the crank
occupies equal distances from the dead center.
Many times it is more desir-
able to know what the average
of these positions is than the
actual positions, and this may be
determined in the manner shown
in Fig. 3. Divide the line B into
as many equal parts as there are inches of stroke in the cylinder, or tenths if it is desirable to have the result in
per cent. of stroke. (In the diagram I have assumed that the engine has a 12 inch stroke, and have divided the
line into twelve equal parts.) Then draw vertical lines from the points f, It and i-to the center line B, which will
indicate that the average cut-off takes place at about 84 inches, exhaust at about 11; inches, and that
compression begins at about 104 inches.
To determine the actual position of the piston at the two 'epds of the cylinder with any length of connecting rod is
equally simple, as will be shown hereafter.
Jo$N E. SWEET.
Syracuse, N. Y.
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg. 7 6
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg.7 6
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg.6 6
American Machinist August 30 1884, vol. 7 no. 35 pg. 5