This is a film showing the process of producing billets of steel at the Park Gate Steelworks in Rotherham.  With the use of intertitles, each stage of the process, from the scrap yard to the finished product, is explained and shown. The film begins with a brief shot of workers sorting out scrap steel in a yard. Intertitle – The scrap yard. Scrap steel – carefully selected – forms with pig iron and refining agents the “charge” of a “cold metal” open-hearth furnace. A line of railway wagons...

This is a film showing the process of producing billets of steel at the Park Gate Steelworks in Rotherham.  With the use of intertitles, each stage of the process, from the scrap yard to the finished product, is explained and shown. The film begins with a brief shot of workers sorting out scrap steel in a yard. Intertitle – The scrap yard. Scrap steel – carefully selected – forms with pig iron and refining agents the “charge” of a “cold metal” open-hearth furnace. A line of railway wagons wait in a large scrap iron yard at Parkgate steelworks, with one of them being unloaded by a magnet crane. Intertitle – Charging 80 ton open-hearth furnace.  This furnace is one of 14 in the largest hearth melting shop in Great Britain.  The shop is a quarter of a mile long. Scrap metal is being loaded into furnaces by a long steel pole. Intertitle – Tapping the furnace. The molten steel is run out into “ladles” from which it is “teemed” into ingot moulds.  The refining process is continued during the tapping.  The “ladle additions” include in this case aluminium, which can be clearly distinguished in the following sequence. Molten steel is poured into a mould, with workers at the side shovelling pieces of metal to add to it. Intertitle – Fettling. “Fettling”, maintaining the refractory lining of the furnace.  This operation is carried out every time the furnace is tapped. A group of workers with shovels throw materials into the furnace, while another pushes this in with a long rod. Intertitle – Teeming into the ingot moulds. Molten steel is poured into the moulds from a large container being manoeuvred into place by workers. Intertitle – End of tap.  Slag (waste material) overflows into the casting pit. Molten metal overflows from a mould as it is being poured in. Intertitle – From the furnace plant the ingots are re-heated to rolling temperature in the soaking pit furnaces. The ingot chariot, which is a means of transport, between the soaking pits and the Cogging Mill. A red hot ingot is transported first by a vehicle, than an overhead crane, and then another vehicle. Intertitle – The correct loading temperature is important.  During cogging, optical pyrometers are used, but, in the 21” mill, the temperature of each bloom is recorded electrically. A man holds up an optical pyrometer, pointing it into a furnace. Intertitle – Cogging Mill.  This mill, driven by a 15,000 H P motor, is capable of rolling a 75 cwts. ingot, (22 ½” sq.), in 65 seconds. A red hot ingot is put through the mill. Intertitle – On leaving the Cogging Mill the ingot, which has now become a 7 ½” sq. bloom, is taken to the shears.  10” x 10” Shears. These 10” x 10” shears remove the top and bottom of the bloom leaving only the middle third to go forward for rolling into billets. The red hot bloom is shown being processed by the shears. Intertitle – 21” Continuous Mill.  The blooms passing through this mill are reduced to approximately 5” square.  Note: The piece being twisted between one stand and the next – this is essential to put both sides of the bloom, that is, the reduction takes place on all four sides.  18” Continuous Mill.  The billets go forward to the 18” mill where they are reduced to approximately 2” square.  The turning over of the billet between the stands is also done in this mill. A long strip of red hot metal is transported along a conveyor belt through the rolling mill.   Intertitle – Flying shears.  The billets are automatically cut off to lengths of these shears.  It will be noticed that the shearing action takes place while the billet is moving forward. The red hot billet is shown being cut as it is transported through the mill. Intertitle – From the flying shears, the billets are run on to the hot beds where samples are cut off for the up-ending test and also for machine ability, tensile and impact. The billets get pushed onto the hot bed and then pushed together. Intertitle – Jump test samples of the billets are up-ended as shown to determine their freedom or otherwise from surface floes such as splits, seams, laps, and guide marks. A sample of billet is crushed under a hammer. Intertitle – Continuous Bar Mill.  In this mill, which has a capacity up to 4,000 tons per week, the billets are reduced to the various sizes of rounds, hexagons, etc., in ten passes. The red hot billets are shown going through the mill and being cut. Intertitle – Cooling bank.  Double universal cooling bank, 300ft long.  Bars are rolled into lengths of up to 300ft and are cooled on this bank. The bars are shown being turned on the bank to cool. Intertitle – From the cooling bank, the bars are cut to required lengths, and dropped into cradles which are also weighing machines. The billets are bundled together. Intertitle – Sulphur print tests and inspection.  On the inspection tables each bar is examined prior to dispatch and, in order to preclude the possibility of ordinary steel becoming mixed with “Phoenix” steel, every billet and re-rolled bar is tested by the sulphur print method.  The next view shows this being done. A man sticks a piece of sulphur on paper onto the ends of each billet, and the film comes to an end.