The great ladle in the upper portion of this picture is filled with
steel at the furnace. A traveling crane then takes it to the train of
flat cars on which the molds stand and the steel is poured. After
cooling, the molds are removed and the steel in the form of a “billet”
is taken to the next process in manufacture.]
[Illustration: GIRDLING THE EARTH WITH STEEL
A steel beam, red-hot, drawn out 90 feet long in a huge steel mill in
Pittsburgh. Steel rolled here may find its place as part of a skyscraper
in the Babel of New York, be builded into the framework of a vessel in
the shipyards of San Francisco, or help to construct a railroad into the
heart of China.
_Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y._]
[Illustration: ARMOR PLATE FORGING PRESS
The Bethlehem Steel Company installed this great hydraulic press to
replace a 135-ton steam hammer, which was abandoned because the shock of
its blow disturbed the alignment of the big machines in nearby shops.
This press is the largest of its kind in the world, having a capacity of
15,000 tons, induced by pressure as much as 7,000 pounds per square inch
in its two hydraulic cylinders of over 50-1/2 inches diameter.]
[Illustration: MAKING ARMOR PLATE
View of the armor plate machine shop at the Bethlehem Steel Company. The
varied and complex machining required on armor plate demands tools of
enormous size and strength as well as varied purpose. In this shop the
different groups of armor are assembled in the position they will occupy
on the vessel for which they are intended, and inspected before
shipment.]
[Illustration: _Courtesy of Bethlehem Steel Co._