Cape Breton's Magazine

coke. Heat finished, for tie plate." 58 sulfur, 23 carbon, But the story behind that was: when I went out there at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Gonzales said, "Frank, we'll take her for scrap." Rather than make (steel)--the sul? fur was 100 sulfur. I said, "No, we'll make something. We'll make tie plate." Be? cause I knew they'd (allow) over 60 sulfur on tie plate. He said, "You've got no car? bon." I said, "That's all right." So I put the oxygen right down on the bath. And I got her stinking hot. And I kept adding stone, and taking slag off. So anjrway, we threw everything in the la? dle. And I got all the helpers out of the way. I said, "Okay, take her over, boy." Took her over, and the flames went right up clean to the roof of the Open Hearth. We had no carbon; we had to add coke. But the heat finished 23 carbon and 58 sulfur for tie plate. We made something (of it).... We made a product that you could sell. And this happened on--but I never had one in my experience like that. I said, "Geez, we can make something out of that, we can sell," you know. So, you keep at it. Like a bulldog, you stay in there, you stay with it, until you get something. But all this stuff, you know, is--you just keep notes as you go along. "Number 5 run? ner's in one hell of a mess." (This is sort of your diary.) Yeah. (But your diary is comments on the condition of your work.) You run into things on your job that are not ordinary. Like getting a hole in Number 1 door and a hole in Number 3 door, and steel in both doors. And you want to get the steel out of the furnace. So you've got to burn the bridge between 1 door and 3 door, and burn a trench down there about 2 feet deep. Let the steel run from Number 1 door into Number 3 door, where you can turn the fur? nace over. Because Number 3 door is right at the en? trance of your tap hole.... push the buttons and they make everything --all the additions are done. Well, in my day, boy, you had to wrack your brain, boy, to know what was going on. When that heat went in the ladle, you were a hu? man calculator. Everything was by the clock. I'd look--I had--my manganese is go? ing to be in 5 minutes, and then it's going to start to disintegrate. I'm going to lose it. So I've got 4 1/2 minutes to get the manganese in. I've got to get a tap hole open, and I've got to get the silicon into the ladle. And nobody talks to you--even the superintendent don't bother you then. The wheels are--everything is going full blast, knowing your calculations and what you're going to do. And then you get a furnace that breaks out on you. And you've got 100 carbon, and she's going out in the ladle. And you want to keep the oxygen on to get her down to 75. And you know you're losing X-number of points per minute. And you're saying, "I've got 3 minute--I've got 90 carbon--I've got 80 carbon--I've got 75 carbon. Turn her over!" You know, your timing--you know, you get so many points per minute.... When you see the flame go right up through and set fire to those cranes, that you had We were steelmakers. The pe? riod of steelmaking has gone to computer. Everything that goes into this (new) fur? nace, what I gather--every? thing is computer. They just Jim Sampson Motors Ltd. SAYS "TRY BEFORE YOU BUY" Cape Breton's Authorized '' Volkswagen Audi Dealer '' 539-1610 M 132 TOWNSEND ST. ' SYDNEY, N. s. The "I Care" People An Established Leader in Fuel Economy The view at the Heart of Your Great Cape Breton Visit! Kelly's View Motel East of Boularderie Centre 3/4 mile from Seal Island Bridge Cape Breton's Newest Motel at Affordable Rates ( Modern Motel Units featuring Full Baths and Colour TV ) Phone 674-2473 Your Hosts: Billie & Joe Smolenaars RESTAURANT ADJACENT ~ Overlooking the Bras d'Or Lakes and Kelly's Mountain ~ Cape Breton's Original English Recipe! 'ti Wcfi'B Mi. 539-8188 76 Townsend St. Sydney 794-3555 Next to North Sydney Mali North Sydney 562-6745 "The Oasis" Sydney Shopping Centre 849-5150 Steriing IVIaii Glace Bay 420-0477 soon in Penhorn l/laii (formerly Quinpool Rd.) Halifax 863-2866 Antigonish Mall Antigonish ~ HOME STYLE PROCESS ~ The Fish and Chips Specialists