Part 5

A considerable part of the space in a yard, particularly when it belongs to a jobbing foundry, is devoted to the storage of flasks. The flasks should be carefully piled, so that they will not fall over, and they should also be arranged in an orderly manner, according to size, type, or combinations. Attention to these details will no doubt consume more time than would be required to store the flasks promiscuously; but the extra time is well worth taking, on account of the ease with which the flasks can be located, and the safety with which they can be withdrawn when they are again needed in the foundry,--to say nothing of the greater safety that proper storing insures, during the intervening period. If the flasks are heaped up in disorderly piles, or stored in other indiscriminate ways, accidents are likely to happen when the workmen are endeavoring to extricate one that is more or less buried or hidden. If the particular flask required cannot be located readily, a less desirable one is used, or a makeshift is hastily constructed. In the foundry these misfit flasks often cause burns, many of which could be avoided if more system were used in storing the flasks in the yard, so that the right one could be found without delay.

[Illustration:

_Courtesy of the General Electric Company._

FIG. 18. DANGEROUS LOADING OF A CAR USED FOR TRANSPORTING FOUNDRY MATERIAL.]

When materials or equipment are stored or piled by the side of car tracks, a clear space of not less than six feet should be maintained between the tracks and the piles. Workmen engaged in the movement of cars, or other employees who are obliged to use the car tracks in the performance of their work, are likely to be caught and killed, or severely injured, unless ample clearance is provided.

At all places where railroad tracks cross roadways, runways, or footways, planks should be nailed down between the rails and at both sides of them, or other equivalent measures should be taken, to provide a smooth passageway over the rails for wagons, trucks, or barrows, as well as for foot passers. This greatly facilitates the crossing of the tracks, and it also reduces, in large measure, the shocks to which loads would otherwise be subjected, and the consequent danger of material falling off and injuring the men. The planks (or their equivalent) should be _flush_ with the rails, however, and they should come snugly up to the rails on the outside, and as close to them, on the inside, as the flanges of the car wheels will permit. Warning signs should be posted at all crossings, and the men engaged in car movements should always blow a whistle or sound a gong or bell as the cars approach a crossing.

Whenever tracks or roadways are depressed, they should be guarded by substantial railings. Furnace pits and excavations of all kinds should also have effective protection of the same nature.

All manholes should be kept covered with wooden tops, or with covers made safe by the use of non-slip material or by being checkered with a raised pattern; and the covers should be set as nearly flush with the surrounding surfaces as possible. Many serious injuries have resulted from workmen slipping on smooth, wet manhole covers of iron or steel, and from tripping over covers projecting above the level of the floor or the ground. When it is necessary to remove a cover, a guard rail should be placed about the hole immediately, and a danger signal secured to the guard rail.

Sand bins and coke bins, particularly those constructed of wood, often get badly out of repair. The boards become warped and bulge out under the weight of their contents, and they often split or crack in such a way as to present dagger-like points, or slivers, that are likely to catch the unwary workman, especially at night or during late afternoons in winter months, when the light is poor.

Good, serviceable walks should be provided throughout the yard. If the walks are conveniently located and are kept in good order, the workmen will use them; but if these conditions are not fulfilled, the men will climb over scrap piles or under cars, in order to “make a short cut.” Cinder paths are no doubt the most serviceable for foundry yards. Loosely-laid boards are continually getting out of place, and they are also likely to become warped so that they will not lie flat. Boards often warp enough to split, even when they are nailed down; and in such cases they may constitute a more or less dangerous tripping hazard to the workmen.

The safest way to store pig iron is to stow it in bins, or pile it up in neat stacks. This is more costly, however, than throwing it down promiscuously in piles, and hence the safer methods are often neglected. Electromagnetic cranes are coming into wide use for handling pig iron, and although they are very convenient, they have serious drawbacks when regarded from the safety standpoint, and their hazards should be clearly understood and carefully avoided. When the electromagnet is used no one should be permitted to stand, walk, or work near the path followed by the magnet, because any interruption of the electric service, from the opening of a switch, the blowing of a fuse, the short-circuiting of the magnet coil, or any other cause, will instantly let the whole load drop. Sometimes, too, a pig is barely held by the magnet, so that the least jar will break its contact and allow it to fall.

Safety, neatness, and convenience may be secured by constructing stout bins and dividing them into compartments, preferably of one-car capacity each, in which the pig iron can be deposited by the magnet crane,--always provided the dangers incident to the use of the magnet are borne in mind and avoided. When the iron is piled high in loose, irregular heaps, there is danger of one or more of the pigs becoming free and tumbling down upon workmen. This hazard is avoided when substantial bins are employed.

In many foundry yards boxes and barrels are used to store worn-out tools, small scrap material, discarded lumber, and other rubbish. It will materially assist in keeping the yard in a neat, safe condition, if the barrels or boxes used for this purpose are kept in convenient places, because the men are then more likely to make use of them. It is important, too, to keep all such receptacles in good order. It is not uncommon to see the ragged edge of a worn-out shovel blade, or some other discarded tool, sticking out menacingly over the edge of a box or barrel. Heaping up the scrap so that it stands high above the receptacles, or allowing it to project over the edges of them as just described, should be prohibited, because careless habits of this kind increase the dangers about the yard and invite injury, especially at night.

Barrel hoops are frequently left lying about, and when a workman steps on such a hoop it is likely to swing up and strike him smartly, often causing acute pain, or perhaps producing an actual abrasion or lesion, if it contains a sharp nail. This particular hazard may be taken as representative of a large class of others that are seemingly trivial in nature, but which are well worthy of attention in the aggregate. These minor accidents are often attended by grave consequences, not only because they may be followed by septic poisoning, but also because they frequently occur when the workman is engaged at some important task involving the safety of himself or others. Coming at such a time they take him by surprise, and they are likely to make his attention lapse momentarily from the work in hand,--perhaps with disastrous results. A book might be written about the big consequences of little things.

When old castings and other metal objects are broken up the work should preferably be done in the yard. A “skull-cracker” or “yard-drop” is usually employed for breaking these objects, and this consists of a derrick or hoist which lifts a heavy metal ball and drops it on the castings. Pieces of the objects are likely to fly in all directions when the weight falls on and breaks them, and all persons in the immediate vicinity are endangered by these pieces. Every skull-cracker should therefore be entirely surrounded by a substantially constructed fence, barricade, or inclosure, of sufficient height to protect persons working in the vicinity, and all passers-by, from injury from flying fragments of metal. In addition, a suitable shelter-house should be provided for the operator of the skull-cracker and his helpers, and all these persons should go into the shelter-house _before the ball is raised_. A safety drop-hook should be used to prevent premature or accidental dropping of the ball, if the weight is held by mechanical means; and if an electromagnet is employed to raise and hold the weight, the utmost care should be taken to keep the electrical circuits and devices in perfect condition. All gears, sprockets, and other dangerous moving parts of the skull-cracker should be covered or otherwise rendered harmless by the installation of standard guards.

INDEX

Accident in foundries, the causes of, 1.

Acid burns, protection against, 5.

Air, compressed, as employed in foundries, 52. accidents caused by misusing, 52.

Annealing chains and hooks, 44.

Aprons, rubber and leather, 5.

Barrels, tumbling, wet and dry, 47. guards for, 48.

Bins, sand and coke, dangers of, 63.

Boots, rubber, 5.

Bot, the proper use of the, 30.

Brakes, crane, testing, 40.

Braking, dynamic, for cranes, 37.

Buggy ladles.--See _Ladles_.

Bull ladles.--See _Ladles_; _Shanks_; _Clamps_.

Bumpers for cranes, 36.

Burns the most common injuries in foundries, 1. --See also _Acid burns_.

Carbon monoxide in cupolas, 34.

Castings, old, method of breaking up, 65.

Chains, responsibility for selection of, 41. and hooks, inspecting and annealing, 44.

Chipping department, accidents in the, 50.

Clamps for bowls of bull ladles, 9.

Clearance beside car tracks, 61.

Clinkers, crucibles damaged by, 29.

Clothing, suitable, for foundry workers, 1.

Crane operators, duties of, 39. under repairs, precautions for, 44. ladles.--See _Ladles_.

Cranes, traveling, safeguards for, 35. electromagnetic, dangers of, 63.

Crucibles, the safe handling of, 19. material for, 19. improve with age, 20. records of heats taken from, 21. inspection, storage, and annealing of, 22. “soaking”, 22. “alligator cracks” in, 24. care in filling, 25. injured by tongs and shanks, 26. the number of heats taken from, 26. danger of leaving metal in bottom of, 30.

Cupola, gate for charging, opening of, 32.

Cupolas, proper method of tapping-out, 30. precautions to be taken when relining, 32, 33. explosions in, 33. charging, lighting-up, and warming-up, 35.

Damper in blast pipe, 34.

Doors, explosion, for cupolas, 34.

Dust hazard in sand-blasting, 53. from tumbling barrels, methods for removing, 47.

Drops.--See _Skull-crackers_.

Electricity, guarding against shocks and burns from, 50.

Elevators in foundries, 31.

Emery wheels.--See _Grinding wheels_.

Employees, new, instruction of, 12.

Explosion doors for cupolas, 34.

Explosions in cupolas, 33.

Eye-protectors for foundrymen, 3, 4, 50.

Fenders for cranes, 36.

Flasks and molds, 16. iron and steel, superior to wooden, 16. storage of, 18, 60.

Floors, concrete and brick, prevent spills, 8.

Foot-walks on crane bridges and runways, 36.

Foundry, jobbing, 59. repetition, 59. yard, the, 58.

Furnaces, oil, for heating crucibles, 25.

Garments.--See _Clothing_.

Gas.--See _Carbon monoxide_.

Gears on geared ladles to be completely inclosed, 5.

Glass, prism, for use in foundries, 57.

Glasses, safety.--See _Eye-protectors_.

Gloves for use in foundries, 4.

Goggles.--See _Eye-protectors_.

Gongs, signal, for cranes, 42.

Grinding wheels, guards for, 52.

Hand-leathers, 4.

Helmets for sand-blasters, 53.

Hoisting apparatus, care of, 47. --See also _Cranes, traveling_; _Elevators_.

Hook, crane, method of applying, to load, 41.

Hooks, crane, with safety handles, 41. and chains, inspecting and annealing, 44. safety, for skull-crackers, 65.

Hoops, barrel, dangers of, 64.

Illumination in foundries, 56.

Injuries in foundries, the causes of, 1.

Iron, pig, storage of, 63. scrap and pig, safety in handling, 31.

Jokes, practical, with compressed air, 53.

Khaki.--See _Clothing_.

Ladles, motor-operated, guards for, 5. foundry, types of, 5. geared, locking device for, 7. crane, precautions in connection with, 7. sulky and buggy, cause many accidents, 7. bull, styles of shank-handles for, 9. single-hand, guards for, 10. proper method of filling, 12. proper balancing of, 12. damp, explosions caused by, 14. relining, drying, and storing, 16. --See also _Prong guards_; _Trolley systems_.

Lamps, electric, suitable for foundries, 57.

Leave-overs, proper disposition of, 14.

Leggings, suitable, for foundry workers, 2.

Lenses.--See _Eye-protectors_.

Lighting.--See _Illumination_.

Limit-stops, hoist, for cranes, 37.

Manholes, safe covers for, 62.

Molding machines, automatic, guards for, 50.

Molds and flasks, 16.

Orderliness in foundry yards, advantages of, 64.

Overalls.--See _Clothing_.

Passages, width of, between rows of flasks, 17.

Pickling processes, rubber gloves required for, 4.

Prong guards for buggy ladles, 9.

Railroad tracks in foundry yards, 62.

Rattlers.--See _Barrels, tumbling_.

Respirators.--See _Helmets_.

Riding on crane loads prohibited, 42.

Run-outs, 17.

Runways for buggy ladles, 7.

Safety-valves for cupolas, 34.

Sand-blasting, precautions in, 53.

Sand mixers and sifters, guards for, 49. types of, 49.

Screen guard for use when relining cupola, 32.

Shanks for bull ladles, 9.

Shields for hand ladles, 10. to intercept flying chips, 52.

Shirts.--See _Clothing_.

Shoes, congress, best for foundry workers, 2.

Signals for elevators, 31. code of, for directing movements of crane, 43. --See also _Gongs_.

Skull-crackers, guards for, 65.

Sleeves should be worn outside of gauntlets, 4.

Slings, responsibility for selection of, 41. the safe angle of, 46. to be locked up when not in use, 46. protecting, at sharp corners of heavy objects, 46. wire-rope, preferable to chain slings, 45. lubricating, 45. --See also _Chains and hooks_.

Stops, hoist-limit, for cranes, 37. on crane runways, 36.

Sulky ladles.--See _Ladles_.

Switches, safety, for cranes, 37.

Tapping-out.--See _Cupolas_.

Tongs, types of, 27. suitable, importance of using, 27.

Tongs, bent, method of re-shaping, 29.

Tools, defective, should not be used, 52.

Trolley systems for transporting ladles, 9.

Tumbling barrels.--See _Barrels, tumbling_.

Walks in foundry yards, 63.

Wiring for cranes to be installed in conduits, 37.

Woodwork about cranes, fire hazard of, 38.

Yard, foundry, the 58.

Yard-drops, guards for, 65.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

The only footnote has been renumbered and moved to the end of its paragraph.

This file uses _underscores_ to indicate italic text.

Itemized changes from the original text: On page 43, changed “and and” to “and”, in “danger will be lost and the men” On page 59, changed “floor-space” to “floor space”, in “foundry floor space is littered with material” On page 68, changed “charging-opening” to “charging, opening”, in “Cupola, gate for charging, opening” On page 77, changed “electro-magnet” to “electromagnet”, in “if an electromagnet is employed”