REPORT OF COMMITTEE M ON

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR STAYBOLTS.

Your Committee submit the attached specification as a tentative one with the request that no definite action be taken upon the same until the next meeting of the Society.

The new features of the specifications are:

1. The method of manufacture is specified. This has been deemed advisable because experiments have conclusively proven that iron piled in the manner specified will give the best results in service.

2. A vibration test. It has not yet been proven that results can be duplicated in various machines nor that the particular method employed in testing give the most satisfactory results, but this test was specified as a basis for discussion and experiment

in the hope that the members of the Society most concerned with this matter will make experiments to definitely settle the advisability of vibratory tests, and the method of making it.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR STAYBOLT IRON OF FROM IN. TO I IN. DIAMETER.

Process of Manufacture.

All iron stayboits must be hammered or rolled from a bloom. or pile having a minimum cross-sectional area of 45 square inches, and about 18 inches long.

The pile must be made up of a central core composed of bars of from -in, to 1-in. square and be covered on all four sides with an envelope g-in. thick, as per sketch.

This pile must be rolled to a billet, allowed to cool, again heated, and then rolled into bars of the required dimensions.

Physical Tests.

Tensile strength-not less than 48,000 lbs. per sq. in.
Elongation—not less than 28 per cent. in 8 inches.
Reduction of area-not less than 45 per cent.

Double bending test-close in both directions without flaw. Threading—permit of the cutting of a clear, sharp thread. Vibration shall stand a minimum of 6,000 revolutions when subjected to the following vibratory tests:

A threaded specimen, fixed at one end, has the other end moved in a circular path while stressed with a tensile load of 4,000 lbs. The circle described shall have a radius of 3-32 in. at a point 8 in. from the end of the specimen.

Inspection.

The iron must be smoothly rolled and free from slivers, depressions, seams, crop ends and evidences of being burnt.

It must be truly round within .01 of an inch and must not be more than .005 above, or more than .or of an inch below specified sizes.

Selection of Samples for Test.

The bars will be sorted into lots of 100 bars each and two bars will be selected at random from each pile, failure of either of these bars to meet any of the above specifications will be cause for rejection of the lot which the tests represent.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee:

H. V. WILLE,

Chairman.

DISCUSSION.

Mr. Wickhorst.

The President.

Mr. Wille.

MR. MAX. H. WICKHORST.--As regards the proposed specifications for staybolts, I very much object to having the method of manufacture in any specification, even the specification of any single railroad, and much more so in a general specification. In other words, apparently his tmethod of manufacture has been determined upon by the results of the vibration test. If that is the case, we ought to use the vibration test as the criterion, and not specify any particular method of manufacture.

THE PRESIDENT.-Evidence seems to be accumulating that for metals subjected to transverse stresses, anything which will distribute rather than localize the maximum stress, is of great importance. In the staybolt, if the method suggested by the Committee of having the metal rolled in small rods and then piled and rolled down to proper size, will produce this result of distribution of the strain, it is unquestionably of great import. We are inclined to think that the method suggested by the Committee is of value. On the other hand, we cannot help agreeing somewhat with Mr. Wickhorst that, as far as possible, specifications should be made without specifying methods of manufacture. Let the specifications designate the tests that the product is to stand, and the results that are expected from it, and let the manufacturers struggle with the method of producing these results.

MR. H. V. WILLE. As a general thing I object to specifying the method of manufacture. I believe, however, that an exception can be made of staybolt iron not only because it is a material for a special purpose, but also because the method specified will not require the manufacturer to purchase any special stock and will not require any special machining to roll the iron in the manner specified.

For these reasons the incorporation of the method of piling a staybolt iron is no more objectionable than specifying the ply of a hose or the amount of discard from rolled material and all the tests which we have made demonstrate that that method of

piling has a more marked influence upon the life of a staybolt, Mr. Wille. than any of the physical properties which it is customary to specify.

For these reasons I am strongly opposed to the elimination of

the paragraph.

MR. J. A. KINKEAD.-There is one question with regard to spe- Mr. Kinkead. cifying the method of manufacture. Some staybolt makers have been making iron for fifty or seventy-five years. One concern started in 1793, and has its own method of piling, which they claim gives the very best service in locomotives, and they can furnish any amount of data on the subject to show conclusively that it does. Such manufacturers might object seriously to changing their methods at the instance of this Society.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE N ON
STANDARD TESTS FOR LUBRICANTS.

Committee N, which was recently appointed, has held only a single meeting for purposes of organization. This meeting was held in May in the rooms of the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburg, Pa.

There were present at this meeting Mr. Wm. M. Davis, Mr. John H. Jeffers, Commander W. H. Parks, U. S. N., Mr. Geo. H. Taber and Mr. Chas. E. Ward; the remaining members of the Committee, viz., Mr. P. H. Conradson, Mr. W. A. Converse and Mr. J. Howard Pew, being unable to attend.

Mr. Wm. M. Davis was elected permanent Chairman and Mr. P. H. Conradson was elected Secretary, but, owing to the latter's absence, Mr. Jeffers was appointed Secretary pro. tem.

After a general discussion of the proposed plan and scope of the work of the Committee the Chairman appointed the following sub-committees with instructions to report at the next meeting: (a) On Threading Oils for Cutting Bolts and Pipe. Mr. John H. Jeffers.

(b) On the Best Methods of Making Viscosity Tests. Mr. G. H. Taber and Mr. C. E. Ward.

(c) On the Use of Friction Testing Machines in Determining the Actual Lubricating Value of Oils. Commander W. H. Parks.

(d) On Oil Analysis. Mr. P. H. Conradson and Mr. W. A. Converse.

(e) On Cold Test of Oils and Melting Point of Greases. Mr. J. H. Pew.

(f) On Specifications. Mr. Wm. M. Davis.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,

WM. M. DAVIS,

Chairman.