SO, OP ROEe e cee deat ae es eke 
THE POWER-FORGING OF CHAIN CABLES. 61 
ing on, and the development was necessarily delayed by broken cast-iron dies, etc. 
As the art progressed, it was taken out of the ‘“‘rule of thumb” class and put on an en- 
gineering basis, for which the credit goes to Mr. W. B. Bradford, in charge of the 
plant draughting. 
Steel dies were then put in service. Experimental comparison was made of 
cut dies versus cast-steel dies, in which contest the latter won, being cheaper and 
lasting quite as well. At the time this paper was written a pair of cast-steel dies 
had been in service twenty-four hours per day for almost every working day over a 
period of eleven months and they are still in good condition. 
When the design of the dies was put on an engineering basis, the work was 
greatly simplified. At present, if a new size of chain is to be made, the dies are all 
designed in the drawing office, the designs sent to the pattern shop, patterns made, 
the dies cast and machined, and when put in the hammers produce chain which 
meets test requirements. In the early part of July, 1916, the Bureau of Construc- 
tion and Repair inquired whether 31-inch chain cable could be made if required 
for the new capital ships, and the yard was able to reply by return mail that this 
large cable could be made without difficulty. 
The development of equipment—hammers, dies, etc.—was no less difficult than 
the development of skilled help. As the process was begun at a time when the chain- 
makers were on strike, the services of shipsmiths and blacksmiths were requisi- 
tioned, on account of their knowledge of the use of hammers. The extraordinary 
shortage of skilled labor, brought about by the business conditions in the country 
during the time when this process was being developed, made it necessary to use all 
obtainable shipsmiths on regular shipsmithing work, and it early became necessary 
to make mechanics out of unskilled material. The scarfing process requires drop 
forgers. It has been found to be no great task to make a good enough drop forger 
out of any reasonably intelligent helper; it has also been found that men could be 
graduated from this work to regular drop-forging work without difficulty, and some 
eight or ten skilled drop forgers were thus developed to make the studs required for 
the chain. In a similar manner helpers were trained to the other operations of the 
process, until at present the skilled mechanics are all recruited from the force of 
helpers. There are always a number of helpers anxious to learn the business, and 
the practice is made of keeping one or two on hand, ready to step to the fire in case 
of defection of any regular operator. This has been one of the great advantages, 
from an operating viewpoint, of the new process. 
DISCUSSION. 
THE PresmDENT :—Does any one desire to discuss this paper by Mr. Coburn on “The 
Power Forging of Chain Cables?” 
Nava Constructor W. J. Baxter, U. S. Navy (Communicated) :—The responsi- 
bility for the origin and development of this power forging process of making large chain, 
