Benson Polytechnic High School - BluePrint Yearbook (Portland, OR)

Page 24 text:

22 The POLY TECH shop on his departure and Mr. Strickland was presented with a shaving kit. Mr, Brereton is now a master senior engi- neer at Fort Myers, jfirginia, and Mr. Strickland is in the engineer division of the Canadian army. The june '18 class members of this shop have presented it with a beautiful service flag having in it thirty-four stars arranged in an NE. Each star repre- sents a member of this department who has left for the front. Many of these boys are following up the electrical trade in the branch of service that they are in. Mr. E. Ruhl is now at the head of this shop and is filling his position remark- ably well in spite of the fact that he is 'handicapped considerably by lack of as- sistants. The Blacksmith Shop Our blacksmith shop is one we can all be proud of because it is one of the largest and best equipped shops in any school in the United States. The shop consists of 20 forges, I7 of which are the Buffalo down draft type, a steam hammer, a small trip hammer, a large rack of tools, a gas heating furnace, an STEAM HAMMER oil tempering furnace and a cyanide hardening furnace. The steam hammer is the largest in any school in the United States. It was made by the Niles, Brement, Ponds Manufacturing company and is consid- ered the best make. It is an Soo-pound tvpe. Having a 22-inch stroke it will handle almost any job put out in the shop. A number of tools have been made for use under the steam hammer such as fullers, swages, snap, hot cutters, etc. The shop has been quite crowded ow- ing to the fact that a good many of the boys are taking the machinist's course, which includes eight weeks in the black- smith shop. Also a number of gas en- gine, technical and preparatory students besides the boys that are majoring in blacksmithing. Considerable work has been turned out for the other shops in the past two terms. A few outside jobs, such as crank shafts, gear shifts, flush rivet sets, etc., have also been put out. We are in great need of tongs and the instructors has instructed the boys in several ways of making small tongs un- der the steam hammer, with the fuller and on the anvil. He has also instructed the boys in making larger gooseneck tongs. Several fine pair have already been made. As soon as the boys have had enough experience in this line the instructor will show how to make hammers and other necessary tools. Mr. C. Schumacher left for the east last May and has been in several large tool rooms, and has met with remarkable success and is now on the payroll of the Packard .Motor Car company as tool maker. Mr. C. Mendenhall is working for the Foundation Shipbuilding Company. Mr. C. Johnson, after being in the east for a few months, returned and at present is employed as tool maker for the Northwest Steel Company.

Page 23 text:

The POLY TECH 21 will be used for the front wheels of Yuba tractors. Several hundred square thread screws have been made. Twelve'rings have been made for caulking mallets used in wooden shipyards. A vacuum cleaner has been reconstructed in the shop for the school board. The motor was cast in the school foundry and turned out inthe machine shop. A new shaft was made and pressed into the rotor and new bear- ings were made to fit the shaft. Alumi- num plates have been scraped to a per- fect sliding fit in the rotor. Six drill presses are being rushed to completion and will prove to be a welcome addition to the shop equipment when completed. A large surface plate has recently ar- rived from the foundry, and will soon be machined. It will be planed on the planer, after which it will be scraped by hand, to secure a perfect surface. A radial drill press has been completed and is being used' in the electric shop. A planer vise has been completed for the new planer. Many other jobs have been completed' for the school board, which include Indian club holders, thread dial for lathe, six nail sets and two sample flush rivet sets. The large bearings were scraped for the engine in the power house. The following are a few of the most interesting tools made in the tool room room during the past year: One Io- inch screw adjusting sine-barg one 3- inch roughing taper reamerg one 3-inch finishing taper reamer: one set of an- gular milling cuttersg two 2-inch spiral milling cuttersg three In-inch standard tapsg three I-inch 16-p. taps, one lyi- inch finishing taper reamerg one set of formed radius cuttersg one set saw cut- tersg one dozen end-millsg one set of U. S. tapsg one set T-slot cuttersg one set of snap gaugesg one punch and die for each of E, F, G and W checks, one punch and die for terminal connectiong one 4-inch inserted tooth end-mill, one taper reamer for each headstock and tail-stock of new monarch lathes, six pairs of parallels: ones circular sheet metal cutter: attachments for Kensmith milling machineg one set of broachesg one set of key-way cutters: two sets of key-seating cutters consisting of twelve each: one set of mandrelsg one set of plug gauges: four pairs of V blocksg one set of shell end-mills, one IM-inch sq. thread tap. The Electrical Shop The electrical shop has for years past been one of the most popular depart- ments of the school owing, probably, to the fact that many boys experiment with small electrical apparatus and acquire an ambition to go further into the mysteries of this gigantic power. Many graduates of grammar schools enter the Benson Polytechnic school and here find an opportunity to satisfy'this craving for knowledge which they are not slow to grasp. Although no elec- trical engineer's course is offered, a course which is quite complete and suf- ficient for all practical construction and operation work may be had. The student devotes the entire first year of his course to learning the use of his hand and machine tools land the rudiments of the electrical trade. In the second year he learns to wire houses to meet the requirements of the National Board of Fire Underwriters, install con- duits and do fixture and other wiring. He also learns to construct rheostats, transformers and electromagnets, wire motors, generators and controllers, and acquires a thorough working knowledge of electrical machines and instruments. In the last year of the course, the student becomes familiar with the more complicated machines. He learns how to wind motors and generators for both alternating and direct current machines, and to operate them in all combinations on a switchboard built entirely by the students. In connection with the shop work the student in this department takes theo- retical electricity, which gives him a full understanding of the theory behind each operation he performs in the shop. Every phase of modern electrical work and appliances is studied thoroughly. The mechanical drawing room is also co-operating with the shop so that vari- ous machines are designed and data cal- culated, which is then sent to the shop and the machine is built accordingly. The shop has been handicapped in the last term as Mr. Brereton and Mr. Strickland, both former instructors, have left the school to answer the nation's call for skilled men in the ranks. Mr. Brereton was presented with a beautifully engraved fountain pen by the

Page 25 text:

The POLY TECH 23 The Architectural Department The architectural department is at this time one of the active departments of the school. The students are studying all work pertaining to architecture, such as the varieties and grades of materials of which a building is constructed. Five of the architectural students vis- ited the Oregon-Portland cement mill at Oswego on May 7. The head chemist, Mr. Woodward, showed these students through. the plant and explained the proc- ess of the manufacture of Portland ce- ment. Each of the students wrote an article on the manufacture of this product. At the suggestion of the school li- brarian, this department is designing posters for the various departments of the school, showing the activities of each. Another feature of the work is a cab- inet being designed by one of the stu- dents. This cabinet is constructed so that two locks, by an ingenious device, control the locking of the twenty-four drawers. The person in charge of the cabinet unlocks these drawers and the students take them out, the lock is then locked again and when the drawers are pushed into place they lock automatically. lt is interesting to learn of the prog- ress of some of the graduates of this department. Ralph Frederick, one of the first to graduate, is now chief draftsman in the office of Widden 81 Lewis. Clay- ton Baldwin, a graduate of June, 1916, is instructor in the department of archi- tecture at the University of Oregon. Raymond Hill is in the marines division at the officers' training camp. Raymond Clifford is chief draftsman for Stokes 8: Zeller, architects. Vernon Williams is instructor in chemistry and drawing in the Albany High School. Clifford Men- denhall is assistant to the chief designer of ships at the Foundation Ship Co. A patriotic body of students of this cle- partment have organized to carry on the war work of the school. The name given to this organization is the T Square Club. The Four Year Technical Course The grammar school graduate who has not made up his mind as to which voca- tion he will follow faces a problem, the solution of which is of vital importance to him. That solution, however, is found in the Technical Course offered by the Benson Polytechnical High School. The Technical Course has been ar- ranged especially for the boy who has no idea of the particular vocation to which he is adapted or may like. The first two years it arranges for correlated shop work and the last two years in the shop which he has selected for his future Work. The correlated shop work consists' of one term of twenty periods per week each in the Foundry, Pattern, Blacksmith and Machine shops. This offers an oppor- tunity for the undecided student to select some mechanical line of work which he likes and upon which he can major the last two years of his course. It further equips him with a general mechanical knowledge of great value in these days when men adapted to general mechanical work are so much in demand. i The last two years of shop work con- sist of whatever course the student may select from the following: Cabinet Making. Carpentry. Advanced Pattern Making. Plumbing and Gas Fitting Operating Steam Engineering Mechanical Drawing Advanced Machine Shop. Advanced Machine Blacksmithing Advanced Foundry. Sheet Metal Working Gas Engine and Automobile Work. Architectural Drawing. Electrical Construction. Since the technical course calls for four years of work, it allows sufficient time to secure a full high school course in neces- sary academic work such as English, Mathematics, Drawing, and Applied Science. Because of this fact and the training in general mechanical work, the graduates of this course are accredited for entrance into the Engineering Courses at the Oregon Agricultural College.