he'll the nation builder, plays the leading role in the development of america by supplying transportation essential development and use of our great natural resources. steel, the bone and sinew of our industrial world. steel the tall and clean material out of which emerges endless variety of products essential to modern life and progress. steel, the home maker, providing necessities and comfort and conveniences, giving us a standard of living that for the admiration of the world. steel. our nation's strong right arm on the land and the sky on the

water for the pleasure of nation, of our nation, our form of government, our american way life when it comes this mighty giant for steel, steel is the result of man's ingenuity in utilizing one of nature's greatest gifts, iron ore, which primarily is the metal iron, firmly combined with gas, oxygen, the first iron used by man was no doubt iron that had fallen from the sky, such as this specimen. it was used mostly for ornament for the early egyptian. called it metal from heaven. no one knows definitely how iron was made in prehistoric times, but to see how it might have done, let's take a look at one of the known primitive methods. a crude furnace was made of clay with the top open.

the top. the furnace was with charcoal. to cause the fire to burn more freely. an air blast provided by bellows made of flexible skins. elevating the upper part of the bag permitted air to enter through a hole in the top after it was inflated pressing down on it forced air into the furnace through wooden tubes by operating the two bellows alternately like an air was maintained. when the furnace been heated sufficiently, iron was scattered over the burning charcoal charcoal. inside the furnace under the influence of high heat gases from the glowing charcoal oil, which is mostly carbon. gradual he drew oxygen from the

iron, leaving metallic iron. after the fire had been forced for several, the operator dragged out a lump of spongy metal. this was vigorously hammered to remove slag or cinder and get the iron into compact usable form. in time. it was discovered that by reheating hammered iron it could be worked more easily, but occasionally they repeated reheating and hammering produced unexpected results results. sometimes resulting metal went cold instead of being soft and malleable. broke into pieces when hammered during the heating in the charcoal. the iron had absorbed much carbon that it became and brittle when cold.

on other rare occasions. the result was a remarkable material neither soft nor brittle. it had entirely different properties. it was hard and tough, yet malleable and. what happened that during the heating of, the iron and the charcoal and hammering the iron, the correct amount of carbon from the charcoal and a form of steel. it should be borne in mind that in this primitive process, the iron was not completely melted, as in the usual modern making of steel from information, it

appears that the chinese were the first people to develop a method of completely melting iron in large. the exact method is not definitely known. numerous chinese castings, all more than a thousand years old, have been found including this iron which was cast at. 1700 years ago. and here is a hollow image of a huge lion, 20 feet high cast. 953 a.d. it was not until the 14th century that european iron started to melt iron in quantity by developing a type of furnace shown here in model form. this furnace was erected. 1761 at hopewell pencil virginia. in what is now a national historic site administered by the national park service. iron produced was cast into cannon and other war material

used by george washington's continental troops. the furnace, some 35 feet high, was charged through this open port at the top. the charge consisting of charcoal iron ore and limestone, while in the top of the furnace and basket drawn carts such as this. the limestone was used to remove impurities from the iron and a blast of air forced into the furnace at the bottom through an air duct or twitter twitter power for the air blast was supplied by a waterwheel operating huge air pumps set above it. through a hole in the casting arch. the iron was tapped twice a day and about 25 tons a week was produced. the molten iron run into molds because of a family resemblance

to a saw heard suckling pigs. this was called pig iron. however, of the iron used during colonial days was being produced by processes very similar to the primitive of heating iron ore in a charcoal fire turning out only about 2 to 6 tons a week and steel was still being made by reheating the iron in contact with charcoal. not until 1856 was an inexpensive developed of converting blast furnace molten iron industry on a quantity basis by removing the excess carbon. this was accomplished by the development of an air blast converter, of which this is one of the earliest models. this revolutionary development made possible for the first time, the production steel on an inexpensive quantity basis and paved the way for the great

steel age. in the modern bessemer process, the converter is tilted on its side and hard metal from a blast furnace is poured into it from the open top. this converter is then tilted upward and a continuous blast of air is forced through holes in the bottom of the converter. up through the molten metal. the oxygen the air blast combines with carbon in the modern iron, forming a gas which shoots skyward with blazing brilliance. the seaman's martin open hearth furnace came into use a few years after bessemer converter. this of furnace now produces 90% of all steel made. the modern manufacture of steel begins with the procurement raw materials. most the number one basic material iron or is found near the surface the earth and open pit mining methods are used. giant shovels scoop up huge

bites of raw. some of these shovels have a capacity of 15 tons. the trucks are quickly loaded and the order is on its way in underground mining shafts are sunk far into the sometimes as deep as 3000 feet. at various levels. passageways are driven into the ore body, which is to loosen their. after the blasting mechanical deposit the or into chute from which it drops into cars. these cars move over a pit and automatically dump into a shoot, which conveys the urge to and vegetation into surface and into railway cars which can barely

audible. arriving at the loading dock, the owner is dumped into pockets. for transfer to great lakes. the average loading is about 6 hours. the average load about 10,000 tonnes. great limestone deposits that millions of years when the bed of an inland sea gave up the second basic material used in modern steel making limestone. the entire wall of the quarry has been shattered by blasting to permit removal of dense, hard material and electric shovel swings into action.

these cars are carrying 600 tonnes of calcium or stone as. it's termed in the industry. with the pressure of a lever, a car load of stone dumped, plunging a huge crusher of cash steel. the complete unit weighs. £750,000. the crushed stone is deposited in huge storage piles, 60 feet high and several hundred long beneath the storage piles are underground tunnels through which the stone is conveyed to the loading shuttle, which carries 2500 tonnes per hour.

after hundreds of miles of open water travel cargoes of iron ore, coal and limestone arrive at the steel plant and are quickly unloaded unloaded. speed is essential to get the boats away quickly for another load. train loads of the third basic material by terminus soft coal arrive at the plant where it converted into coal. this takes the place of the charcoal used as fuel. after the coal has been crushed, it's heated these huge ovens until the moisture and the volatile matter have been driven off. after various byproducts have been extracted from the volatile matter, the gas remaining is used as fuel. after. 16 to 24 hours, the red hot coke is pushed out. it is now 91 to 92% carbon.

the first step in making steel takes place in the blast furnace. here, the oxygen and impurities are removed from the ore and iron reduced to a liquid. up to the top of the blast furnace ghost ships with accurately weighed loads of iron ore, coal, limestone up and down continuously for one of these giant leads of 3500 tonnes of raw materials, a day, making one tonne of iron requires approximately two tonnes of iron ore. one tonne of coke, half a tonne of limestone and four tonnes of air. the blast of cold air of the ancient maker is now replaced by these huge hot blast stoves and powerful blowers force huge amounts of pre-heated into the furnace heating. the air increases production and decreases fuel consumption. in striking contrast to

primitive method modern blast furnaces, scientifically controlled with the blast furnace operation. let us see what takes place through the massive iron ore and limestone is blown. a roaring blast of pre-heated air at the top. the temperature is about 300 degrees fahrenheit, increasing at lower levels to a maximum, about 3300 degrees. as the charge, heat gases by the burning pulp draw oxygen from the or as it descends through the furnace leading spongy metal similar to that produced by primitive methods the. charge descends through increasing until at about 2000 degrees the spongy metal absorbs about three and a half percent of carbon from the co continuing to descend at about 2500 degrees. the iron with the carbon melts, the limestone combines with the earthy matter of the earth forming slag.

the iron and the slag form in molten globules like which trickle down through the burning coal. a pool of molten iron is formed the bottom of the heart. the flag on the iron. and is drawn up from time to time. every pore in 5 hours. the tapping hole is opened and out rushes. a glowing stream of molten iron termed in the industry hot metal. some times. this hot metal is poured into molds and, the resulting pig iron shipped to foundry forecasting. but usual the fiery river pours through channels which lead it over the tapping floor to huge ladle, which hold 125 to 150 tonnes of hot metal. but before this becomes steel, it must be further.

so let's take a look at the open hearth department. 90% of all steel today is produced in the open hearth furnaces because of the demand for tailor made steel in large quantities, which can be produced with this flexible and efficient method. the nearly human charging machine dumps a box of limestone into the furnace and withdraws another load. the limestone removes impurities from the steel. in a similar manner. the furnace is charged with predetermined amount of scrap metal as the scrap has already refine, and steel it to a helpful ingredient. lastly, a giant crane brings a huge ladle of hot metal as it comes from the blast. the usual charge is about half scrap steel and half blast furnace iron. and open hot furnace consists of what might be termed an upstairs and a downstairs.

upstairs is the heart in which the steel making materials are refined. downstairs, as are heating chambers containing fire brick laid in checkerboard pattern. one chamber for heating the fuel, which may be oil, gas or oil and tar and chamber for heating air, debris, heated air and fuel move upward pass into the space above heart. combustion instantly takes place. currents of flaming fuels sweep over the hot metal, creating temperatures as high as thousand degrees excess carbon and impure atoms are burned out. the hot exhaust gases passed down through another set of checker chambers, heating the bricks as they pass between them. every minutes, the direction of flow, the fuel and air is reversed. in this way, air and gas are heated in one set of chambers while, hot exhaust gases are heating the others.

this operation continues for 9 to 12 hours in the door of the furnace a peephole through which to melt in charge observes the heat lance morrow, his colored glasses and peer inside at the boiler bubbling steel. from time time samples are taken for laboratory analysis to make sure the steel meets the rigid requirements, tests and company every step in the production of the steel steel. this is the other side of the open heart and the heat is completed and the metal is being tapped, poured into ladles higher and, higher. it mounts until the slag being than the molten steel rises the top line and overflows jar giant

electric crane with the greatest of these mix up the huge liner contain some 100 tons £200,000 of molten steel. the hot metal is poured into molds a process called. after the hot metro has had time to settle and partly cool and solidify the motor stripped off and we have what's called an injured. the size and shape depend upon the kind of finished steel to be made. the ingot is placed in a hot called a soaking pit, where it remains until it is of temperature throughout. here comes our from the soaking pit a £23,000 block of steel starting through a series of operation irons that will gradually shape it into a form suitable for manufacture in the

steel. as the first step in is into a rectangular slab, heavy rolls grip the hot and pull it through as our clothes wringer pulled wet clothes. are highly skilled roller his pulpit as it's called handles the operation. after induction to the desired thickness a portion of what was the top of the engine is cut

off. this is discarded to assure the elimination of possible defects. then it is cut into slabs of the length. after reheating the slabs passed through roll which loosened the scale formed during the reheating. then they go through four sets of rolls termed stand with each pass. the hot steel gets thinner and longer it emerges from the last wrappings in the form of a long strip, approximately three quarters of an inch thick, and passes then through another scale breaker and into the finishing stand monster machine marvels of mechanical ingenuity the total weight of each is well over million pounds emerging from the last finishings stand at a speed of about 1250 feet

per minute. they hot rolling process is completed. one of the slabs from our £23,000 block of steel has become a stripped 600 feet long and approximately 16th of an inch thick. the hot rolled strip is coiled or cut sheets by this flying sheer, which works as a strip of steel in motion motion. control sheets are made into thousands of products including truck bodies, busses, freight cars houses, tanks, pails, lockers, oil drums. and a wide variety farm implements. after pickling and oiling it goes through a series of cold reducing, cold rolling producers sheets and gives a more uniform thickness than is possible by

hot rolling as well as a smoother and more highly polished surface. cold rolled sheets are particularly suited for the production of automobiles and accessories and other products requiring pressing, forming and stamping, such as kitchen cabinets, refrigerators, stove bars and other domestic appliances. also office furniture, filing cabinets, another equipment and another cold rolled steel product is template from which tin cans are made. after the reduction, the strip is washed and then and nailed to soften the steel. then it put through a temporary mill in which the strip is given the proper and shape to produce a flat sheet when sheared. in the standard process of tin coating, the strip is cut into sheets pickled and then passed through a bath of molten tin.

a controlled coating of which adheres to the. are recent development in tin plating as the electrolytic method in which cold roads drip is completed by passing it through and electroplating back here. an electric current deposit thin coating of on both sides of the strip, which is later cut into sheets sheets during processing. feeds from both methods are carefully inspected for weight and possible. feminine eye as are famous for their ability to spot the slightest flaw. can play. it is principally in the production of tin cans which are used for storing and preserving foods of various kinds as well as chemicals cosmetics and innumerable products. large quantities are used for bottle caps. tin plate is also used for kitchen utensils toys and

similar. returning to the meal we see other slabs being made into steel plates. first they go through a series rubbings dams. the finishing stands complete the reduction and we have from 3/16 to three quarter inch in thickness. powerful end here cut plates of the desired length. steel plate is indispensable. storage tanks. pipelines, gas holders. boilers and similar construction for railway cars, ships and hundreds. other industrial applications. next, we see indicator of different shape and size that is to be made into one of the most widely used products in industrial world. steel bars. firstly and good is reduced to

what is called a bloom. the bloom passes through a series of rolled stands further, reducing the cross-section and increasing the length. it emerges a hard bar and and is cut into what is known in the as billets and is flying sheer. after being reheated. the ability to pass through wrapping stems receive their final reduction in the finishing. and emerge as a bar of the desired size. some 325 feet long long.

after cooling most bars cut to the desired length. some steel red hot rolled into coils. bars are used in practical every line of industry. therefore used in the crankshaft axles, bumper bars, springs bolts and rivets, bars for agricultural implements. reinforcement bars used to strengthen concrete construct in buildings, bridges and dams, and for an infinite variety of. other structural uses. this ingot not look much like a railway rail, does it? let's see how modern mechanical ingenuity makes transformation in the bloomer into pass back and forth between the roles.

then cut into bloom, each of which may produce two or three rails. after reheating wrapping rolls, reduce the cross-section and the length. then back and forth go the rail bars through three stands in the mill. growing longer with each pass and smaller in cross-section until, they are reduced to the desired side side of the last stand. put on the finishing touches and the rail to the required size and shape. hot sauce cut the rail to the proper length. the rails are given an artificial curving to compensate for the fact that the of the rail being hotter cools slowly than the base.

to relieve strains and stresses. hot rails are cooled slowly and gradually during the critical period, approximately 900 degrees down to 300. this done by placing the rails in insulated boxes in which the rate of cooling is controlled. about 15 hours. over 38 million tonnes of steel rails are in service today in the nation's transportation system. bloomsbury used in making a variety of structural shapes which are formed in rollers specially designed for the purpose. different grooves for different structural shapes in the finishing stand the structural shape takes on its final form. and emerges as an iab iab.

millions of tons of structural shapes are used in the frameworks of skyscraper factories, bridges, ships, railway cars and other structural purposes. such is the drama of steel from the primitive furnaces turning out a few pounds of crude metal after, long hours of labor to the modern steel mills. our country with a capacity of over 90 million tonnes of steel yearly greater than the combined production of the rest of the world. ten times as much steel is in the world as the total of all metals combined. it is vital to modern civilization as air and water are to light in the home. steel provides necessities ranging from to kitchen stoves and transport all the way from

spikes to streamlined. on the farm, from to combine. in construction, from nails to skyscrapers. in industry. steel tools and machinery. make practically everything. produce from cigarets to diesel engines and for the future, with steel scientists and engineers working as a team. ever strive for new methods, new products and new uses? it can be confidently predicted steel will continue to be the backbone of our civilization and our progress.

welcome, everybody. my name is lindsey jancay. i'm the director. collections, programing