Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1916)

September 30, 1916 ACCESSORY NEWS SECTION 2081 A CONVINCING ARGUMEN TRY SPEER CARBONS AND SEE THE RESULTS YOURSELF BACKED WITH A GUARANTEE Trade Mark WE KNOW THEY ARE THE BEST WE WANT YOU TO KNOW IT Speer Carbon Co. Dept. W ST. MARYS, PA. For Sale By the Following Distributors: J. H. HALLBERG 727 7th Ave., New York, N. Y. KLEINE OPTICAL CO., 166 N. State St., Chicago, 111. SOUTHERN THEATRE EQUIPMENT CO.. 74 Marietta St., Atlanta, Ga. 1815 Main St., Dallas, Texas E. E. FULTON CO., 154 W. Lake St., Chicago, III. KANSAS CITY MACHINE & SUPPLY CO., 813 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo. G. A. METCALFE, 117 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, Cal. business should not be guaranteed them, for enormous sums of money have been spent in experimenting and perfecting the Speer carbon, and while other manufacturers have from time to time raised the price of carbons to the exhibitor the Speer Company have not. Although they were forced to pay more with others for their raw material their prices to the consumer remained the same. During the past year many operators have found fault with the Speer carbon for the reason that there was excessive flaming at the arc and the carbon seemed to needle unnecessarily. This has been explained by Mr. Speer as being due to the fact that they were unable to get a uniform quality of binder, and it is interesting to note that within the short space of one year these carbons have been developed to a point where the objectionable features have been entirely eliminated and at the present time it i; the opinion of the operators that the Speer carbon is " some " carbon. Now comes the actual making of the carbon itself. The first process is to take the raw material composed of carbon and binder and place it into a mixer and mix toa stiff dough or paste. After being thoroughly mixed and ground, it is then moulded into cheeses. These cheeses are then subjected to a very high temperature of heat, approximately 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit which eliminates all volatile matter. The cheeses are then ground and again mixed with the binder, this mixture being the material that is used for tlie finished product. This mass, which looks like huge chunks of mud, is then placed in a hydraulic press in which is a steel die the size of the carbon being made, and forced through this die at a pressure of 300 tons per square inch, which forms the carbon as the final step in its manufacture. As the carbon rod leaves the die a steel wheel runs along the sur face which stamps in the name of the manufacturer. The carbons are run from this press in lengths of from four to six feet and deposited on specially grooved boards, which prevent the possibility of the carbons developing crooks or bends, and thus keeping them perfectly straight. They are then removed from the racks and carried on specially constructed trucks to the furnaces. These trucks are in their way quite novel in that they are specially arranged to keep the carbon from changing form during the trans portation to the furnace room where upon their arrival they are carefully packed and laid in the furnace or oven. Treatment of Moulded Carbons The moulded carbons are packed in the ovens, one layer at a time. Each layer of carbons is covered with a very finely pulverized layer of carbon, and the method of packing is such as to prevent any of this packing from entering the carbon core. After the oven has received its quota of carbons the oven is then sealed and the heat is turned on. This heat is supplied by burners . using natural gas for fuel, and is gradually increased until it reaches, as I said before, approximately 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The control of this temperature is accomplished by means of pyrometers and other heat indicating instruments, and so perfect is this control that the temperature can be graduated at any pre-determined rate. Readings are taken every half hour, day and night, during the entire process of baking which covers a period of fourteen days. The furnaces, in which this final firing is done, are specially constructed of the best quality of fire brick, and after extensive experiments the Speer Carbon Company have been able to construct these furnaces so that they have a sufficiently long life to be commercially adapted to baking the carbon ; however, they have to be reconstructed at regular intervals on account of the intense heat to which they are subjected which causes them to crumble and disintegrate. After remaining under this enormously high temperature for a period of fourteen days, the ovens are then opened, allowing them to cool, after which sample carbons are taken to the testing room and tested for their electrical resistance. Should they exceed the resistance set for them, they are re INFORMATION I am interested in Motion Picture Photography and would like Without Obligation on my part to obtain information on the equipment as checked CAMERAS CAMERA ATTACHMENTS TRIPODS LENSES FILM STOCK STUDIO LIGHTS LABORATORY APPARATUS DEVELOPING AND PRINTING (Tear out this advertisement and mail to MOTION PICTURE NEWS, 729 7th Avenue, New York.) Name Theatre Address