. Bell telephone magazine . -position thus disclosed,and with a minimumof effort. One of the most ex-acting processes in thered metals departmentis the refining of cop-per and the casting ofwire bars. The entireoperation cycle takes24 hours to complete:eight hours for charg-ing the furnace with ahodgepodge of metals;eight hours for refin-ing; eight hours for casting and for preparing the furnacefor the next cycle. The refining is done in a reverber-tory furnace which seems largeenough to roast a full-grown its hot enough and itgrowls as thougli in a constant under high
. Bell telephone magazine . -position thus disclosed,and with a minimumof effort. One of the most ex-acting processes in thered metals departmentis the refining of cop-per and the casting ofwire bars. The entireoperation cycle takes24 hours to complete:eight hours for charg-ing the furnace with ahodgepodge of metals;eight hours for refin-ing; eight hours for casting and for preparing the furnacefor the next cycle. The refining is done in a reverber-tory furnace which seems largeenough to roast a full-grown its hot enough and itgrowls as thougli in a constant under high pressure feeds thisinferno at the rate of 150 gallonseach 24 hours and generates heat ofover 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Like a chef anxiously watching hisbroth, an attendant wearing thicksafety glasses and heavy fire-proofgloves periodically thrusts a longladle into the molten mass and bringsit out full of copper. By looking atthe sample metal, the chef knowswhen it is right. To make doublysure, however, he sends this sample. hito the furnace ^0 these remnants of wor?i out telephones,and out will come brass billets 1946-47 Nassau—The Bell Systems Conservation Specialist 263 brew to the Nassau laboratory,where it immediately undergoes atest. If it does not meet specificationsexactly, the chemist calls the furnaceman by telephone and tells him whatadjustment to make. To meet Bell System standards,copper wire bars must contain a mini-mum of percent copper. Whenthis purity is assured by laboratorycheck, the molten metal is cast intobars weighing 250 pounds. In the casting of compositionbronze ingots, molten liquid, lookinglike orange juice, is poured throughfour spouts from an immense ladleinto moulds passing beneath on a con-veyor. Four moulds about the sizeof a bread pan proceed abreast on theconveyor. A workman tips the ladleand four golden streams fill themoulds. The ingots begin to change^ color immediately. After they travela few feet, they are showered withwater. In f
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Keywords: ., bookauthoramerican, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1922
