Many steel-workers, even men of skill, who know something of the difficulties that follow irregular work, or who are not quite fully informed as to the properties of steel, seize upon these discoveries in the hope that they have found a royal road to success where all old pitfalls are removed and their path is made easy.
Not wishing to discourage pioneers in legitimate efforts to improve, it is the object of this chapter to warn them against being too ready to spend their money because of flaming circulars or glib tongues. It is the duty and the interest of a steel-maker to examine and test every apparently new suggestion, for the reason that there is still room for improvement, and he should let no opportunity for a betterment slip past him.
As a rule the steel-maker does test every claim that is laid before him, unless it be a repetition of some old plan long since tried and found worthless. This is the bane of the steel-maker’s life, and yet he must keep at this work so that he may know for himself whether anything of value has been discovered, and also that he may advise his clientage properly.
Inventions relating to the manufacture of steel have no interest for steel-users except as lively manufacturers may adopt the mistaken plan of flourishing trumpets to attract trade, not always giving a corresponding benefit to the consumer.
Examples of this sort of thing may be illustrated by so-called phosphorus steel, silicon steel, and aluminum steel; also the case mentioned before of parties recommending seams as evidences of excellence in high steel. Such efforts are sometimes costly to consumers until active competitive manufacturers expose the humbug.
Among the most absurd of such claims are those where a nostrum is used to convert ordinary Bessemer or open-hearth steel into the finest of tool-steel, equal to the best crucible-steel; for example, a patent to convert mild Bessemer steel into the finest tool-steel by merely carbonizing it by the old cementation process; this takes no account of the silicon, manganese, oxygen, and nitrogen in the mild Bessemer, makes no provision for their removal, and involves a costly method of putting carbon into poor stock in face of the fact that a Bessemer steel maker can put the same amount of carbon there at practically no cost, and so produce a better material.
Among the humbugs that do not involve the manufacturer, the pet one is a nostrum for restoring burnt steel; these have been evolved by the dozen, in face of the fact that burned steel cannot be restored except by smelting, and that overheated steel, coarse-grained steel, can be restored by merely heating it to the right temperature, a process which has been explained fully in [Chapter VI].
Another pet is some greasy compound for toughening high steel so as to make it do more work. This is done by heating the steel to about recalescence and plunging it into the grease, perhaps once, or possibly two or three times; then working it into a tool and proceeding in the ordinary way. This will make a good tool; it is the partial annealing plan explained in a previous chapter. Now take a similar piece of steel, heat it the same way, lay it down in a warm, dry place alongside the forge-fire, and let it cool; then heat it and work it into a tool and it will beat the greased tool.
When all of these operations of restoring, partial annealing, annealing, etc., depend merely upon temperature and rate of cooling, why spend money for nostrums that add no possible benefit?
There is room for improvement in steel, great room for great improvements; they will come in time as science and knowledge advance, and great benefits to the consumers will come with them.