pa1778data.pdf

U.S. STEEL DUQUESNE WORKS
HAER NO. PA-115
(Page 223)
cold saw blades of the 21" conditioning yard; and a Rogers Shear
Knife Grinder for sharpening the shears at the primary mill.
Construction date: 1959.
L. Production Planning and Blooming Mill Office: Laid out on
a north-south axis, the 192' long x 49' wide, one story building
is located 265' south and 45■ west of the shipping building.
Built on a concrete foundation by the American Bridge Company,
the steel-framed production planning and blooming mill office is
made out of sheet steel and has a flat roof. Located inside of
the building are several offices.
Construction date: 1959.
HISTORY
The process of rolling steel essentially consists of passing
the material one or more times between two rolls revolving at the
same peripheral speed in opposite directions. Spaced so that the
distance between them is somewhat less than the height of the
section entering them, the rolls sit in a large housing and are
driven by a steam engine or electric motor which transfers power
through pinions and spindles. As the steel passes through, the
rolls grip the piece of metal and deliver it reduced in section
and increased in length in proportion to the reduction except for
a slight lateral spreading. The size and shape to which the
steel conforms is determined by the shape of rolls and by a
screwdown mechanism located at the top of the roll housing that
adjusts the distance between the rolls. 1
Primary rolling consists of reducing steel ingots to
manageable shapes prior to their further reduction into semi-
finished bars or finished products. These shapes take the form
of slabs, blooms, or billets. Primary rolling at Duquesne began
with the installation of a 32" reversing blooming mill in 1889.
This mill rolled Bessemer ingots into blooms prior to their being
finished at the rail mill. After the Carnegie Steel Company
purchased the works in 1890 the production of steel rails was
discontinued and the 32" mill was dismantled. The rail mill was
converted into a billet/sheet bar mill composed of a 28" 3-high
roughing stand and two 21" roll trains each consisting of 3 roll
stands. A 38" reversing blooming mill was constructed in 1894 to
provide blooms for the billet/sheet bar mill. These facilities
were augmented in 1900 by the construction of new 40" reversing
blooming mill followed by a 14" continuous billet mill. The
following description of the operation of the 40" blooming mill
and the 14" continuous billet mill is provided as a typical
example of primary rolling at Duquesne until the late 1950s. 2
The 40" reversing blooming mill/ 14" continuous billet mill