60 THE POWER-FORGING OF CHAIN CABLES. 
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT. 
It is interesting to note the economic significance of this power-forging process 
of making chain, as it is an excellent illustration of the division of labor which al- 
ways results in the application of power for operation. Where one gang performed 
the operations of scarfing, bending, welding, finishing, etc., it was impossible to sub- 
stitute a machine for the gang. But when the process was divided into its integral 
parts, then it was found that each little part was a simple one, to be done over and 
over again, and lending itself to the application of power. It has also this signifi- 
cance—that where the hand-welding process required a high-grade mechanic on 
each operation, this process required a high-grade mechanic on only one operation 
—that of welding; the other operations are so simple that a helper can be used, the 
helper being carefully taught the particular part of the process that he will have to 
perform. For example, the shearing of the bar is done by a helper; also, the bend- 
ing of the links is done by helpers; the upsetting and scarfing operations are per- 
formed by fourth-class mechanics who were helpers and who have been trained to 
do this particular work. They were rated from helpers because the work is some- 
what above that which would be normally expected of a helper. 
DEVELOPMENT OF EQUIPMENT AND MEN NECESSARY. 
The 3,000-pound forging hammer and the 350-pound forging hammer shown as — 
used in the manufacture of 314-inch chain were standard forge-shop equipment; 
but their limitations were discovered at an early date. The welding process re- 
quired a self-contained hammer, in order that the dies may always be in alignment. 
The standard types of drop hammers are not satisfactory, because there is not suffi- 
cient width between the legs. It was therefore necessary to obtain special drop 
hammers, made up with the frame of a forging hammer, the cylinder and top tie 
plate of the drop hammer, and a special anvil like that of a drop hammer, only wider 
and lighter. The falling weight was made as small as practicable for a machine 
of the size required. The special drop hammer, used for the second process of 
welding, is shown in the final figure of the series. The small hammer is a 250- 
pound forging hammer, with a special frame, giving unusual height and clear- 
"ance between the center of the piston rod and the inside of the frame. For this, 
also, the falling weight was made as small as practicable. Similarly, the cranes 
used to handle the chain were especially designed. It is not only necessary to 
handle the link when it is being welded; the chain already made must be taken 
care of. The duty required of the air hoists on these cranes is very exacting. 
All the experimental work was done with cast-iron dies, because cast-iron dies 
are cheap and could be readily made from molds of the shapes desired to be forged, 
and as experimental work went along new and improved dies could be furnished 
promptly, the success of this work being due to the ingenuity of the master shipsmith, 
Mr. Paul. All the early dies, of course, were made by “rule of thumb” and by a pro- 
cess of trial and error. There was a continual process of trying and fixing dies go- 
