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applications. Nalls were saved and ended up in the steel furnaces. Many bolts and nuts were salvaged and, those that couldn't be saved, were sent to the steel mill to be recycled. Furniture, hardware, brass parts, mirrors, windows, electrical fixtures, wiring, steam and oil gauges, wash basins, stoves and kitchen utensils were among some of the items saved, reconditioned and used in the plants or stored for future use. Some of the ventilators removed from the ships, found their way to the commissary at the Lincoln plant. Everything that had any use to the company was saved and the remainder was either burned or remelted. Next, the ship was moved over to the West wall where the deck machinery was removed. Then, the hull was marked with white lines which laid out squares as guides in preparation for cutting. | These squares followed a master diagram which yielded salvageable steel plating in large sizes. But first, the superstructure and other deck houses were torched off intact. Some of these structures were used in various parts of the Rouge complex as tool cribs, stockrooms, etc. The smokestack was of excellent quality steel. It was cut off in one piece and sent to the fabricating shop where it was rolled flat into sheet metal which had many uses in the plants. Next the deck was ready for removal. By this time, the men working below deck removing pipes, electrical fixtures and unbolting the remaining machinery had vacated the hull. An early experiment for removing the deck plating involved placing hydraulic jacks below which exerted a force on the underside while a lifting crane hooked onto the plating on the topside and virtually ripped the deck plating off. The problem with that operation was that the steel was distorted so badly after removal, it was too difficult to handle. To be continued... 50008 pT Rmay, LAKE GEDNEY marked with guide lines for the cutting torch. Photo courtesy of Henry Ford Museum, the Edison Institute. 43-4-4 4 X |