Towns and Nature: Campbell, OH: (Next to Youngstown) Republic/YS&T Seamless Pipe Manufacturing

#2 & #3 Blast Furnace

Robby Beck posted
YS&T (Republic) Campbell, OH
[The resolution to the arguments in the comments about this being YS&T or Republic is both. Republic bought YS&T.]
John Jauchler: By my reckoning there were at least five integrated steel mills in the Youngstown area. Republic Hazelton Works was at 1290 Poland Avenue in the Hazelton neighborhood of Youngstown. YS&T Campbell Works was at Wilson Ave. at South Bridge St. in Campbell. YS&T Brier Hill was across town where the present-day US 422 and OH 711 cross (present-day Vallourec Star plant). USS Ohio Works was directly across the river from the YS&T Brier Hill plant; this is where the famous photo of the blast furnaces being toppled was taken. And then a few miles away was Republic’s Warren Works, which was the last furnace operating in the Youngstown area.
Tim Grau: Youngstown was the third largest producer of steel in the first half of the 20th century.
Rick Rowlands: In this photo is No. 2 and 3. Blast furnaces at Haselton going from south to north were 5, 1, (Center Street Bridge) 2, 3, 4.

#5 Blast Furnace

Rick Rowlands posted
Republic Steel Youngstown Works
Bill Lawson: #5 was next to and downstream from #1, correct? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clear image of it before; thanks for posting!
[I traced the Mahoning River on a map. It gets close to Lake Erie, but it flows Southeast to the Ohio river.]

Dennis DeBruler commented on Rick's post [AR1KM0000010180]
Just when things start to make sense to me, I notice a detail that ties my brain into a knot. This 1950 aerial photo and a current satellite image, https://www.google.com/.../@41.0698698.../data=!3m1!1e3..., show the stockpiles and gantry cranes were between the furnaces and the river. But the photo shows that a gantry crane, and I presume the stockpiles, were on the other side of the furnaces.
Rick Rowlands: Dennis DeBruler This is the YS&T Campbell Works

Dennis DeBruler commented on Rick's post [AR1KM0000030027]
Rick commented on another post: "Blast furnaces at Haselton going from south to north were 5, 1, (Center Street Bridge) 2, 3, 4." This allowed me to find #2-4. Those furnaces were between the stockpiles and the river.

I noticed on this topo map that there stockpiles on both sides of the Center Street Bridge.

1951 Youngstown and Campbell Quads @ 24,000

So I got an aerial that had less cloud clover.

Apr 21, 1962 @ 24,000; AR1VALQ00010117

Rick Rowlands posted
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. Campbell Works blast furnaces 1920s.

Rick Rowlands posted, cropped
Republic Iron & Steel Co. Haselton blast furnaces in Youngstown. In the foreground is Center Street before the bridge was built.

Simth Andry posted
YST_Campbell_1977s
Chris Mcdonald: I started there in May of 1974 and was one of the last three men to be there on its’ very last day in 1987, ten years after Black Monday. If you wonder what that experience was like, as well as what daily life was like in the mill, may I suggest you order a copy of the book I wrote all about that, titled “Steeltown Down,” on Amazon books or at the link: https://a.co/d/dWOSAFx.

Jon Wolfe posted
Struthers Entrance to the Campbell works.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
The former Campbell Works (Campbell, Ohio) Youngstown Sheet & Tube #2 seamless pipe mill. This mill was renovated in 1983 under ownership of LTV Steel. Three years later it was shut down for good. It sat in a "mothballed" status for nearly 20 years before the mill was sold. The mill was dismantled and the equipment was shipped to India. This picture of the mill was taken many years prior to the renovation.
Mike Theisler: Iconic Kelty shot!!
Dean Anthony Rosan: Mike Theisler absolutely. When the mill was modernized, the reheat furnace (center of the picture) became obsolete and was removed. The plug mill motor was one of a kind, built in Germany.
Brian Olson: The engineer who was in charge of the Campbell Works modernization told me the mill was not winterized before it was shutdown so there was a lot of avoidable damage that was done to the equipment which complicated / drove up the cost of reopening it. The Indian company that reassembled that seamless tube mill did so without any of the drawings or support from the American OEM which is impressive. I was told that Campbell, Ohio Seamless tube mill was much better facility compared to the seamless tube mill up the road Youngstown (Hunt Energy, North Star, V&M, Vallourec, etc). The only reason Youngstown reopened and Campbell did not was because Youngstown had an EAF and caster. Campbell had neither. The crazy thing is J&L did built an EAF shop after taking over Campbell but they built it in Pittsburgh and shipped the steel to Campbell instead of just putting the EAF shop in Campbell which actually would have been easier. J&L installed a rounds caster in Aliquippa but no EAF. Let's just say J&L didn't made the best decisions and Campbell Works is the best example of that.

Brian Olson commented on Dean's post
Dean Anthony Rosan: Nice article. I am always on the lookout for pictures of this mill BEFORE the renovations took place. Once upon a time I had a nice handbook all about the two piercers. I cannot find it.

Mike Theisler commented on Dean's post

Dean Anthony Rosan posted three photos with the comment: "Campbell Works #2 seamless hot mill, circa August 1983. Round just out of the furnace on the way to the #1 piercer. #1 piercer inlet. #1 piercer outlet."

[This post has quite a few interesting comments. For example, Aliquippa supplied the source material. Round casts for the smaller pipes and rolled billets for the larger pipes.]

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Pipe enters sizing mill after passing through the reeler. The worker in the picture is Mr. John Stephens. The cooling rack can be seen in the background left. From the cooling rack the pipe went to the straightener.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. #2 piercer outlet.
[Some comments indicate that this plant shut down in the 1990s.]
David Runge: Any comments on dark stripe on helmet. My summer work in Open Hearth got a Red Orange stripe so crane operator knew who and where we were.
Bill Whelan: Great pics Dean. Thanks for all these shots and for the memories. I was a 2nd Piercer Plugger on #2 Hot Mill National Tube McKeesport, PA. We were set up a lot like you and used a similar process. Unfortunately, we got shut down in 1985.
Dean Anthony Rosan: Bill Whelan I worked on the piercers prior to the renovation being done. After renovation I did not have enough seniority to work on the piercers. I worked in tooling until layoffs began due to the downturn in the industry, which eventually led to the shutdown of the mill and subsequent sale of it.
Bill Whelan: Dean Anthony Rosan In March of 1982, I didn’t have enough seniority and got laid off. Went back in June for a couple of weeks and then that was the end. Never got called back. Prior to this, we were working 6 days a week consistently with pipe orders for years to come. Not sure what happened, but the bottom sure fell out quick. The whole plant shut down in 1985.
Patrick Martin: Bill Whelan marathon happened and the orders fizzled.
Bill Whelan: Patrick Martin I agree Marathon did happen then, but I thought an oil company and a mill that made drill pipe would be a good fit.
I think management was not very intelligent and didn’t know what they were doing. Like the Campbell mill mentioned earlier that did renovations, then shut down and sold equipment to India, National Tube spent spent big money on a Quench and Temper line, then shut down a few years later. Just not logical and tells you about the intelligence of upper management.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Aerial view of the former Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill site as it appeared a few years ago. Circular area left of center is where the rotary hearth furnace once stood. Everything is gone.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. #2 piercer outlet. The worker in the picture is the late Dominic Prologo. He was a great guy.
Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works. #2 seamless hot mill, 1983. #2 piercer outlet.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless hot mill as seen in 1983 following a 60 million dollar renovation. This is a picture of the rotary hearth furnace, which was put into service one year prior to the remainder of the renovation. The mill produced OD's of 6.5 through 14 3/8 pipe.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Rotary furnace pulpit.
Dean Anthony Rosan: Scott Gracieyes the two seamless hot mills, seamless finishing, and seamless shipping survived Black Monday [Sept. 1977]. The small diameter seamless hot mill was shut down in 1981. The large diameter mill was shutdown in August 1986 due to a lack of orders. It was never restarted.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Inlet to plug mill, a.k.a. the high mill. During the initial start up, troubles were encountered with lining up the plug mill, as is probably evidenced here (see the hoist of the crane).

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Inlet to sizing mill. The worker in the picture is Mr. Thomas Weems. He passed away in 2018.
Dean Anthony Rosan posted

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Inlet to reelers.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. #1 piercer inlet.
Ron Lattanzio: Looks like Lorain.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Spindles, motors, driving the north and south reelers.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Round at center punch machine prior to heading to #1 piercer.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Side view of plug mill, a.k.a. high mill.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. Plug mill is at the left. Reelers inlet is on the right.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. #1 piercer outlet.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Campbell Works#2 seamless pipe mill, circa 1983. A heated round is pulled from the rotary hearth furnace.
Butch Fike: We had a Rotary Fce. on #2 Seamless Hot Mill at Nat'l Tube in McKeesport. We called that a Piel that fed & removed billets. #1 Hot Mill used the old inclined furnace where billet-rollers manually rolled the billets down. Loved that Seamless Mill work.

I don't know if this was the one in this mill, but judging by some comments I think this one was similar.

Jon Wolfe posted two photos with the comment: "Rotary Hearth Furnace."

Jon Wolfe posted
[There are several comments about mills that did seamless pipe process.]
Richard Halchuck: I worked the number five Mill at Timken Steel company in Canton Ohio and they did seamless tubing and they use the process by which they put the billets into the rotary furnace for reheat from there they went to the perching mill then to an a elongater mill Which basically inserted a Mandel bar into the ID of the tube And ran it through a set of rollers making the wall size from there it went to the sinking Mill Or sometimes the rods mill which was just like the elongator except without a mantle bar and it made final OD size then either the mill anneal furnace or across a hotbed for cooling.
Dean Anthony Rosan: I will post pictures of the Campbell Works #2 seamless mill later this evening.
Kyle McGrogan: Similar to the method used to make bored and rolled rifle barrels in the US before the Civil War. Failure rates on testing dropped from 25/30% on hand forged and welded barrels to about 4% on the bored, heated and rolled ones!
Alan Belancik: I think we called the piercer "the reamer" in McKeesport, PA.

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, circa 1940's. Piercing units on the #2 seamless pipe mill. #2 piercer in the foreground with the man standing on the platform. #1 piercer in the background. #1 piercer made the initial hole through the shell. #2 made the shell longer while reducing the wall thickness.
[There are lots of comments about how different mills used different terminology and different equipment.]

Dean Anthony Rosan posted
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Campbell Works. Seamless #2 hot mill. The unit is the #1 piercer. The plugger is standing ready to change out a plug. The operator is seated to the left. This picture was taken in the 1940's.
Nathan Burcl: I’m surprised to see hand rails.
Dean Anthony Rosan: Nathan Burcl a worker would have to get up on the cap of the mill to pour acid down onto the rolls. And during size changes the keys on each corner of the cap had to be knocked out so the cap could be removed. Those rails protected the worker from falling while swinging a sledge hammer.
Nathan Burcl: Dean Anthony Rosan oh yeah I fully understand the workings of this mill. I worked on dozens of roll changes. I changed universal drive joints and driveshafts. I changed roll adjust screws, the hold down posts, feed angle adjusters, bottom guide holder, upper guide chair rebuild etc. not all of the machines had handrails 20 years ago which is why I was surprised to see them installed before hard hats were standard ppe
John Cremers: ...no pulpit, no A/C...

Dean Anthony Rosan posted three photos with the comment: "LTV Steel (formerly Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company) Campbell Works. Seamless Pipe #2 hot mill. #1 piercer. Inlet and outlet. The #2 hot mill was shut down in 1986. It sat idle until all equipment was dismantled and sold to a company in India in the early 2000's."

Brian Olson: That is all Aetna Standard equipment.

Norbert Mong: Crucible Hot Mill was sold to India also. Steam cleaned, disassembled and shipped .

Bradley A. Lacko posted

Ingot soaking pit - Campbell Works Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown Sheet & Tube

Bradley A. Lacko posted

Pouring ingots

Campbell Works - Youngstown Sheet & Tube

Youngstown Ohio

10:23 video @ 4:51 (source)
Dean Anthony Rosan: Here is one video taken in 2003 during the dismantling of the Campbell Works #2 seamless pipe mill. It's the only one I have been able to find.
[The videographer says the gears way 25 tons. The motor that drove the piercer was 5,000hp.]

I don't like this video because it is a bunch of choppy scenes and the text doesn't correspond to the scenes. But I did finally recognise some scenes of the piercing machine.