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August, 1910 "TAE. MarRINE. REVIEW 309 A LARGE BLACKSMITH SHOP USING OIL FUEL EXCLUSIVELY A Modern Pacific Coast Plant and Its Unique Liquid Fuel Equipment and Shop System By Hotpen A. Evans, Navat Constructor Uniren States: Navy. {NZ HE smith shop at the . eo Cal Mare Island navy ( | Na! yard is one of the %} principal objects . of Ni YN interest to all visit- ors to this naval sta- tion. | Phe shop: 45 located on the: main thoroughfare of the yard, immedi- ately adjacent to the park the administration building. A blacksmith shop surrounded by flowers and trees is a novelty, and the casual visitor, as he looks in an open door, is further surprised. to see a smith shop, neat and clean and absolutely lacking in smoke and grime, which are expected iea shop Of this chatacter...30 at. tractive is the shop that difficulty is experienced in keeping the shop clear of visitors, notwithstanding the nu- merous signs that visitors are not al- lowed in the shop. The shop is even more interesting to the manufacturer and the engineer, and for the past four years I have had numerous in- quiries for data regarding its opera- tion, not only from manufacturers and engineers on the Pacific coast, where the reputation of the shop is estab- lished, but also from the east coast as well. The interest in this shop is principally due to the successful use of fuel oil for all purposes, but the methods of management under an ef- ficient foreman also receive consider- able attention. Fuel Oil Adopted For All Purposes. Five years ago the use of coal as a fuel was abandoned, and oil was used for all purposes. While it had been known for some years previous that oil gave satisfaction in a furnace and was extensively used for the purpose, there were few who believed that oil could be used in an open forge. While It is known to the author that several were experimenting with oil in open forges at this time, it is believed that the smith shop at Mare Island was the first shop in the world to entirely oes coal and substitute oil as a uel, ' \ *, t ESO and Opposition to Oil as a Fuel. To visit the shop today and note the Steat improvement compared with coal, it is difficult to believe that anyone-- much less the workmen--could have opposed the introduction of oil as a fuel. Such, however, was the case, and I encountered much_ opposition and many difficulties in making the change. Some of the opposition was due to the natural conservatism of workmen and the general tendency to oppose a radical change simply be- cause it is a change. -Again, greater care is required' on the part of the workmen in regulating the fire than is' necessary with a coal fire. This was very noticeable when the installa- tion was first made, as the best means for obtaining satisfactory regulation of the fire with minimum attention had not been developed: . Since that time this difficulty has been overcome, and the fires are more easily regu- lated than with coal. But the con- trolling reason for the greater part of the opposition was that with an oil fire the heats are taken in less time than with a coal fire. a coal fire is analyzed it will be found that the smith and helpers are wait- ing for heats a great part of the day. The oil fires greatly reduced the wait- ing time; in other words, the smith and helpers necessarily work harder than with a coal fire As the men were not working by the piece, it was quite natural that they should op- pose a change which required more work from them without additional compensation. Every possible objec- tion was raised against the use of oil. First it was claimed that satis- factory work could not be accom- plished in an oil fire, but this was clearly disproved, as will be shown later. The men then claimed that the intense heat was fuining their eyes, and that the noise of the pressure blast. was slowly making them deaf. The opposition was very strong and the protest against the use of oil, signed by every man in the shop,. was submitted to the secretary of the navy, but was wisely over-ruled. The complaint was never made that with oil the men had to work harder, yet this was, without doubt, the ,real reason for the opposition. One of the best men in the shop was approached some If the work at: time later and asked which kind of fuel he preferred, and he answered that he preferred coal, and when asked for his reason, he honestly and frankly stated that oil made the men work too hard,--that it made old men of them. When it was found that oil had 'come to stay, a number of the men left and found work in the coal-burn- ing shops in other departments in the yard or in shops in the vicinity, but have come back and are today em- ployed in the oil-burning shops. A few years' time has entirely removed the opposition and the men have ac- quired new habits of industry, and are perfectly contented with the new conditions. It is certain that there is 'not a man in the shop who would will- ingly see the shop go back to the old conditions of smoke, grime and soot. Difficulties Due to Faults of Installa- tion. When the change from coal to oil was made, many difficulties, due to faults in the installation, were en- countered. Before making the change, I had made many experiments and had successfully operated several forges for months. Notwithstanding the knowledge thus gained, it was found that when the attempt was made to operate the entire shop with oil, many unforeseen obstacles ap- peared. On account of the more or less experimental nature of the in- stallation, piping already in the ground and used some years before with an unsuccessful gas plant was. utilized. This piping was not entirely suited to the installation, and its use will ex- plain the complicated leads shown in the plans. The desire to keep down the first cost of the installation also brought about difficulties in operation. In other words, it was feared that the change might not be a success, and an attempt was made to effect the change at the least possible expendi- ture of money, and the difficulties al- ways attending every change made under these conditions, were encount- ered. In the installation as first made,