Who, where rolled the steel?

[IaLeo]

That was used in sawmill blades?

John Deere was credited with cannily using circular saw blade steel for his successful self-scouring plow. Circa mid 1800s?

By that time there were a lot of sawmills using large diameter circular blades. That required a bit better grade of steel than the steel sheets used in steam producing boilers or rail road rails.

The production of better steel in big enough ingots to be rolled out into sheets several feet wide, took a big investment in smelting and rolling equipment, but we never hear about how smart those dudes and their bankers were. So....

who, where did this take place. Please Leo

 

[Janicholson]

Rolling Iron/steel into plates is way old like late 1500s Bessemer Steel making process (patented in 1856) was the first (English) metallurgical and cost
effective method of making quantities of roll process suitable steel. Similar processes were invented and used in USA by William Kelly. I hope this helps you
look up these ideas on line if you are further interested. Jim

 

[Moonlite37]

A sawmill man ne1ar here (in southeast Missouri)
to0ld me that a saw blade for a mill saw starts as
a block of steel only about 8 or 10 inched
diameter and with enough length to roll out the
size blade needed. and is rolled, not sure if cold
or hot into a disc for a blade, There is a lot of
science in setting up a mill, but many could do it
with no education and many could not read or
write. Speaking of railroad rails. I read in a
magazine about an old railroad in Arkansas that
was abandonded and the rails were bought to make
into razor blades for the Childs Razor Blade
company. I have not hears if a Childs razor blade
in years.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Don't know the who's, the what's and where it started.
50 years ago I worked at Bethlehem steel Burns Harbor, In.
It is very interesting to see iron ore unloaded from ships.
Coal shipped in on rails. Then turned into pig iron. The BOF , basic oxygen furnace
then the iron into steel. Turned poured into large
ingots. The ingots were then rolled into large slabs. Some slabs
were heat treated. The slabs could be turned into plate metal
or rolled into sheets. A semi could carry two rolls of sheet
metal. Some sheets were galvanized.

Neat process to see how everything worked.

The hardness of the steel is controlled by the carbon and other
elements in the steel, copper, chrome, zinc, to name a few.
Then by the heat treatment.

 

[Janicholson]

80% of my extended family's men worked at the Burns Harbor Plant. 80 inch hot strip, and slab mill. My brother was a Carpenter there. not Bethlehem any more.
Owner today

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

I'd agree with Moonlite that saw blades were forged out of a block. Rolling imparts a directional grain in a sheet causing warpage with temperature changes.
Those blades also needed to be hammered from time to time to run true at their specified speed.

 

[Steve A W]

Jim
It's not Arcelor Mittle any more.
Drove past it a week or so back and noticed
new signs.
Cleveland Cliffs.
Cleveland Clifs

 

[jm.]

Back in the 1800s this farm was one of the larges catches of low grade iron ore in the state. There was still an old stone furnace here on the farm when I purchased it. I donated it to the county for a place to build a fire department. Close buy here on the farm is the remnants of what the history books call a nailrey or a plant that made (rolled) the flat nails like horse shoe nails. Easy to find lots of junk in that area. Took three things to make that pig iron George is talking about. Iron ore, limestone and coke which was produced on site by burning wooden rails.

 

[SVcummins]

It was a bandsaw blade not a circular saw blade

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 05:32:02 01/04/22) It was a bandsaw blade not a circular saw blade

More likely a sash saw blade, if it came out of a mill at all. Everything I've read said he used a "saw blade". Could have been a pit saw or ice saw or who knows what. Circle and bandsaw mills were not common in 1837. Sash type,"up and down" saws were. That could have been his raw material.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

My cousin worked there for many years.
Bethlehem was sold. New owners ran it into bankruptcy. My cousin lost all his pension. That sucks and should be illegal for anyone getting their paws on pension funds.

 

[Janicholson]

Thanks. interesting financial wealth distribution. I am Kinda glad it has come back to U.S. primary ownership. Jim

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 10:43:09 01/04/22) My cousin worked there for many years.
Bethlehem was sold. New owners ran it into bankruptcy. My cousin lost all his pension. That sucks and [b:ac2dbfc942]should be illegal for anyone getting their paws on pension funds[/b:ac2dbfc942].

Cities and Counties do it all the time. NYS tried to raid the Police and Firemans Pension fund and it took some fancy lawyer$$$$$ to stop them.

 

[Texasmark]

When I was in high school Physics class we got an invitation from Rice University (an Ivy league school that isn't in the North East) in Houston for night classes and credits for classes in steel processing. I clearly remember the Bessemer Converter used in that process. Quite an experience for a small town boy trying to figure out where he fit into the equation of life.

You know the rust belt made a mess with no controls at the time but it did make us independent as a country, a Bridgeport Mill to name one source, manufactured and used in production here in the USA.......not so today! So we traded pollution that could have been controlled by the right elected officials for our security.

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 21:28:42 01/04/22) When I was in high school Physics class we got an invitation from Rice University (an Ivy league school that isn't in the North East) in Houston for night classes and credits for classes in steel processing. I clearly remember the Bessemer Converter used in that process. Quite an experience for a small town boy trying to figure out where he fit into the equation of life.

You know the rust belt made a mess with no controls at the time but it did make us independent as a country, a Bridgeport Mill to name one source, manufactured and used in production here in the USA.......not so today! So we traded pollution that could have been controlled by the right elected officials for our security.

Yup, so now we depend on China, which has no controls at all and never will, for what we should be producing. Makes sense, eh?

 

[Texasmark]

I retired after 36 years and the company had a cash out or pension option. I opted for cash out. I figured if I was going to lose my money, I could well do it myself, didn't need anybody to do it for me. So far so good and IRS hasn't gotten all of it, but they are trying. Trying to keep some money in the US kitty with the current spending spree going on, look for more blind eye, rejection of supplied reason and proof and all that.