Shaping Steel
Ingots of steel from the Open Hearth moved through different types of milling equipment to be made into various shapes. Some of these ingots were taken to a series of rolling mills that squeezed the ingots into smaller square, rectangular, or round lengths of steel called blooms or billets. These shapes would then be formed into a variety of products including bars, rods, structural shapes, beams, and columns.
The Morgan Billet Mill, installed in 1893, consisted of a series of eight rolls in one straight line, each succeeding one being smaller in the pass to create a finished bar. The steel workers who worked in this mill took great pride in the Todd Steam Engine that ran it. They kept both the mill and the engine room gate, displayed near here shiny and spotless.
Cold Rolled Steel
Jones & Laughlin established itself as an early innovator with the development of the cold rolling process. When the company was founded, one of the first products it made was iron bar. Legend has it that a roller lost control of his tongs and it went between the rolls. Bernard Lauth, one of the company founders, witnessed the event and noticed the bright appearance of the tongs when they came out. He experimented further, using iron bars. He discovered that not only was the surface of the bars considerably
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However true the legend, this method of cold rolling bars was patented by J&L in 1860. Throughout the ensuing years, J&L put the process to use in the production of items such as automobile, aviation, agricultural, transportation, and machine parts.
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HP Cylinder Morgan Billet Mill Engine, 1974 Rivers of Steel Archive No. PA-48 Jack Boucher, Photographer
Working the Billet line, 1950 Rivers of Steel Archive Niziol Collection
Cold Finishing of Bars, c. 1944 Rivers of Steel Archive, Men and Women of Wartime Pittsburgh
Erected by Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce.
Location. 40° 25.776′ N, 79° 57.918′ W. Marker is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in the South Side Flats. Marker is on Three Rivers Heritage Trail, 0.3 miles west of Hot Metal Bridge, on the right when traveling west. Not accessible to motorized vehicles. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pittsburgh PA 15203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Hub of Activity (within shouting distance of this marker); Making Steel The J&L Way (within shouting distance of this marker); Jones & Laughlin Steel Company
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 2, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 87 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 2, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
