Document K4zQdBxE9d5a6qKQk21yey96

HXSTCBT of tha Tioimue GeSXET CCKPABT 9 Flex!tallic Gasket Coepany was organized la 1912 to pro duce (ailnti for ateaa boili-s--the big boilers used by electric power companies and by ranuiecturing slants In which lactrie current Is genorz.ted. From tbo teglcnlng tie pnrposa of tha Company was to aanufaetnre a cube based on an ldaa that was than wholly new. Tha ldaa that was naw In 1912 la still a major faatura of oar company's product* and mieh ci* our history Is bound up with It. Or. Hjrry Bohner, Jr., tha founder of tha Floxltalllc Gaskat Company, bellowed. back In 1912, that tha eonnoa caskets than la use were not good enouch. They wore weak, they did not have tha natarials la then for lone life. In tl osa days, leakage was a problan area whan the gaskets did not blow out. Boilers had to be shut down pretty often for cleaning and regawkwtlng. Tha Flexitalllc ldaa was that caskets should be strong and at tha saaa tlaa resilient. In other words, they should bo able to hold staaa, and at tha saoa tine they should ba able to expand and contract. Xou know, boilers are Bade of natal, and ratal upends Jban It la heated and contracts Than It Is rooted. For this reason, tha gasket should bo able to axpand and eontraet in order to keep a tight teal. To lllnstrata, think of a straight piece of stsel wire hold between your throb and fore finger. If sosethin* cakes the thucb and forafinjar mow* apart, the way beat cakes boiler parts expand, this place of rlra can't follow along} and It becomes loose. Sow, if wa put a band In tha tiro, and then bold It batmen our thumb and forefinger, we can nova the tburb and forefinger spurt. but tha wire will follow. If wo wore than together, the wire still follows. Sow that spring-like action of stael was tha baale Flexitallle ldaa. tie fotaed sttel so that it would have a band In it and than wound It round and rcun'. until -re bad a body of tha right also, la batwwen the piles wt put ribbons of asbestos paper to sake a "oed firs structure and than wa fastened the ends of tha wire so that tte whole gasket would stay together. Ton will tee wore of such raskats later on, and you will ba glrtn a sera detailed explanation of utat they are and how they work; but this brief explanation gives tha underlying Idea, wa called these gaskets "Spiral-Sound" gaskets. la tha a-rly days, toliars uacd to sporeto at ubuut 100 p-unds pressure. Bow they operate at higher pressures. Four hundrtd pounds Is cannon. Even *00 pounds is a lot of pressure to held. Ii i f i I r > L_ L L N 'OSduia n FISXITAUJC OASJQiT COLPaVX (Continued) and there in several plant* that use ever 1,000 pounds of pressure! om famous factory uses steam, protected by floxltalUe Gaskets, generabod at 1,340 pounds* Tho rise In pressures has 'oooa gradual. Tho lspertant point la that back In 1912, our oocceny produced the easkot, the first of its kind, which vas capable of bolding the high pressures as mil as tho low. We did net ham easy coin?. Our idso vas ao non that engineers in industry did not hurry to cdcp- it. But, somehow, aostly by faith in tha ldaa Itself, tha Ccrrany cbtalnad customers, and tha oustcnsrs became regular users--they cans back to us for acre gaskots. tha nana "Flajd.taHie" rradually baeorsa widely known in public utility plants and in tho big industrial power stations. Daring ttirtlt Jttt-ljrttg^va^Pawy-modjOar gaskets-on hollar aanfcniBsw* 2febBl*^-arS biff opening in^oilara^tni uugh atiiehj-------**"thulr-nano sosgaats, a can can crawl* Han lo crawl inside of hollars, whan tha boilers are cold, of course, to do cleaning and rspalrlng. Zha Vary ships in those days ware operated at low pressures. Bier# wasn't the need for cur strong, resilient gas kets until sons years after World 3ar Z. The boiler pressures ,,*are increased rirst on a few ships end later on aany. It oas really during the years trow 1930 to 19*40 that need became wide spread la tha Vary for good, strong gaskets. In tha adddla years of tha 1930's, tha Interest of tho Sawy la our gaskats rewired and cur beHer gaskats cere subjected to a series of tests emaduetsd by V. 8. Ssry engineers. Pollacing these tests, our gas kets care approrad for Vary us ea boilers and wa wore glean annual contracts. In the lata years of tha 1930's, a new Interest developed with in the Sary for our materials. e developed a eenr strdhg, foolpreof gasket for use in high-orassura.steaa pipe Zinas. This gasket, teewn as our Style C-&, you will be able to examine. It is aado of two parts\ (1) a resilient member. aadein the typical 71axltallic spiral-wound nsnner, surrounded oy (2) a solid steal ring. Tols gasket is safe. It stays tight. Zt is easy to in stall. Zt seres tine both chan a ship is bein' built and whan repairs are aade. ti Tha Vary tested onr C-0 gaskets and approved then. A few war* used in 1933; mare in 1939. In 1940. the huge Vary build ing program begoh, and demand for cur Style C-0 gaskets Increased wary greatly, With tha beginning of '-rer la lata 1941, tha Vawy'a awed for sore ships, ones s -air pit how dsnands ca our Company. Since tha cur started, ce haws beeu operating at high capaolty and wa haws needad all tha good prople ca could train to help us. Zhora is ano other style of Tlexitalllo Oaskat that deserves special notice. It is knerre as the Style 9, and is eoapesed of a standard Flexitallio gasket-cirber enclosed within a loop of mtal, which is approximately of a diamond shape. Later oa, ca will ex- *W" _ , . J nXXXIALLIC QiSKSZ COMPART (Continued) plain the construction In nar detail. Those Style 0 gaskets were approved fegr the O* I. Peep la 1936 for service la pipe-flange joints. they ere else la nee on nanjr shlpe of the 0. S. Kerohant ttarlae. fro* the stand point of nee In the Vavy, they ere not as laportant ee the Style C-0 gaskets* hat they represent another pioneering step by oar Caapany. the outer, dleacnd-aheped ring le pat an to assart proper position In the pipe line, tho loop fits ever too holts In the ringf end, when looped over the bolts* the gasket le held la eorreot position. The Style C-0 gasket ie also self-centering. The eater* olid-steal ring fits las14s of and rests on the bolt circle* with the resalt that the gasket takas Its correct position. Our gaskets aero the first to Introduce the lapartcat, selfeeatorlag Idee. Their use hae saved untold hours la con strueti00 and repair of shlpa la the present war* Vo have ne accurate record of hours saved by the use of our spiralwound gaskets but one of the largest ahlpbulldlaf consoles tails us that It le possible to serve appraisetely (10.00 per flange* or (20.00 per joint on the average else pipe ee oospared to ordinary gaskets* It le a plain fact that our Ccspaay has provided the laportent hew ideas la gasket construction la the pact thirty years. It 1c a plain fact, too* that atcaa and other fluids aider high pressure ere hard to handle. It le no slaple natter to sake a tight seal when the contained field* at high temperature, le trying to escape under pressures per square Inch of 400* 600* 1500, or 2500 pounds, A leek can severely lajure or sill people eho are near It. A leak can cause e ship to lose power* A leek can cause e stees-generatlng plant no ana of trouble end can interfere with production of energy far use in war plants on shore. In the Tlexltalllo Gasket Cespesy, you boeose a part of a vital effort to build shlpa* to keep ships la service, end to help In produulng power for war Industry. In this oanneotlca you have probably heard the statement that a battleship le singly Biles of piping surrounded by a steel bull, end It le a fact that the length of piping In an average else naval vessel le 50 miss. Ve have cede our gaskets In the factory wo at have for over thirty years. Sows changes have been aede In ear pleat to en able ue to keep pace tilth the hare doasndt side upon as In the past two years. Ve ere doing a big Job In a snail shop. Ve can do still nore. The skill you de-rcl:? will enable ue to supply nore gaskets. * eolocae your help.