I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 82 We can now mass-produce gun barrels.
May is the planting season in northern Shaanxi.

But Chen Changzai kept reaping the rewards.

But none of these gains are as important as this latest one.

The seamless steel pipe rolling mill is finally able to go into production.

This seamless steel pipe rolling mill operated from October of last year to May of this year.

It took a full eight months of work, and it was finally completed after many stumbles and setbacks.

Seamless steel pipe rolling mills actually look very simple.

A dozen or so rolling mills feed the red-hot steel bars forward.

Then a pointed steel rod is placed there.

Finally, the pointed steel rod pierced through the red-hot steel rod.

It's like stabbing a sharp wooden stick into a soft clay stick.

The whole process sounds simple, but it really takes a lot of effort to make this equipment.

But it's not that simple.

The most important thing here is the mandrel (pushing rod) on the drilling machine.

You need to ensure that it has very high hardness, and you also need to ensure its toughness.

It also needs to be long enough to improve efficiency and meet the needs of various situations.

Besides the core rod.

Other components include rolling mills, guide plates, mechanical seam adjusters, power sources and reduction gearboxes, heating furnaces, and straightening machines.

These various kinds of equipment are needed in great quantities.

Initially, Chen Changzai envisioned using steam engines as the primary power source.

However, it was later rejected on the drawings.

That would make the entire powertrain transmission system too complex.

Later, he considered using a single-cylinder diesel engine as the power source for the rolling mill rolls.

However, each diesel engine can only drive one set, or at most two sets of rollers. Although it was not ideal, he still went ahead with it despite the difficulties.

Because Chen Changzai desperately needed seamless steel pipes.

As time went by, the catastrophe for China drew ever closer.

Now, in northern Shaanxi, whether it's manufacturing rifle barrels, submachine gun barrels, light machine gun barrels, or mortar barrels, all are initially processed by drilling.

The processing speed of gun barrels is too slow, and its output can never be increased.

Chen Changzai could only compensate for this pressure by increasing the number of drilling machines.

However, this would consume a lot of human and material resources.

This squeezes the production capacity of other industrial products.

The best way to solve this problem is to use seamless steel pipes.

In particular, Chen Changzai's students discovered molybdenite in Daqingshan.

The comrades from the Special Branch risked their lives to send back the several thousand kilograms of nickel and chromium they had obtained in Hanzhong.

He became even more eager for a seamless steel pipe rolling mill.

Now, as long as the seamless steel pipe rolling mill is working properly.

Then he could use medium carbon steel-based molybdenum-nickel alloy to mass-produce steel pipes for rifles, submachine guns, general-purpose machine guns, and 60mm and 80mm mortars.

He can also use medium carbon steel-based molybdenum-nickel-chromium alloy steel to produce seamless steel pipes for artillery with a caliber of 105 mm or less.

However, this is a small seamless steel pipe rolling mill that can only roll a maximum length of 3.7 meters and a maximum adjustable outer diameter of only 160 millimeters.

They were stuck there for more than six months.

Until the copper mine discovered by Commander Chen and his team was mined.

When the materials for manufacturing generators and electric motors are no longer in short supply.

This allowed generators and motors to be put into use.

When the 100-kilowatt generator set produces abundant electrical energy, the three-phase synchronous motors drive it to move smoothly and evenly.

This allowed the seamless steel pipe rolling mill to gradually get on the right track.

This truly made the rapid production of seamless steel pipes possible.

But this is only a possibility, in the next few months.

Master Liu from the machinery manufacturing plant and Chen Changzai's students worked almost day and night, battling against this frequently malfunctioning pipe rolling mill.

Chen Changzai would also come over from time to time to see what the problem was.

Hard work pays off.

Finally, in the planting season of May.

After eight months of hard work, Chen Chang and his group finally reaped the sweet fruits they deserved.

In the seamless steel pipe rolling mill workshop.

The steel bars, glowing red-hot in the heating furnace, were scooped out of the furnace by the workers.

They are fed directly onto the conveyor rollers via a slide.

The rollers, rotating at a constant speed, delivered the steel bar to the entrance of the rolls.

Then two workers used large iron pliers to push the steel bar into the roller inlet.

The steel bar moves forward continuously under the guidance of the rolls.

Until they encountered the core rod.

At this point, the rolls begin to lock the steel bar under the push of the hydraulic cylinder.

Once the steel bar is pressed down, it can only move forward with the force of the rollers.

And the core rod at the very front.

It held firm against the steel rod that had been heated until it softened.

At this point, the tip of the mandrel had already been inserted into the body of the steel rod.

As the rollers push...

The steel rod was then fitted onto the mandrel and moved forward continuously.

After the red-hot steel rod was pierced.

The mandrel mill begins to move forward and backward continuously, allowing the roll assembly to roll and shape the steel bar.

After the shaping is complete, the mandrel is retracted.

Wait until you've retreated to a distance where the steel bar can fall.

The tube ejection machine started to jam the steel bar.

The core rod continued to retreat.

The steel rod begins to detach from the mandrel as it falls into the receiving trough.

This steel rod has now become a seamless steel pipe.

Watching the seamless steel pipes fall one by one into the receiving trough.

It is then sent to the annealing zone for annealing.

Chen Changzai smiled and said to Master Liu from the machinery manufacturing plant:

"Master Liu, this machine is now ready to start running."

We can now accelerate not only the production speed of guns and cannons.

Our colleagues who are exploring oil fields no longer need to struggle with those riveted drill pipes.

We can now dig wells for our fellow villagers without having to only be able to draw shallow water.

With these seamless steel pipes, we can also pump out the water from beneath those rock layers.

This solved the water shortage problem for most of the villagers.

When that time comes, those girls will have plenty of places to choose from when they get married.

I wonder if those families waiting to get married will start fighting, hahaha~

After listening to Chen Changzai's words, Master Liu smiled and said to Chen Changzai, "Director Chen, you are a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of an empty man."

You have a little Wang Ling by your side who can't escape.

But in that village, there are countless men waiting to get married.

If those villagers heard what you said, they'd be furious with you, hahaha~

The two people's laughter, along with the rumble of the seamless steel pipe rolling mill in the workshop, sounded so harmonious.

The first batch of seamless steel pipes that came out were medium-carbon based nickel-molybdenum alloy steel pipes, and these were raw materials sent to the headquarters' gun factory.

These seamless steel pipes are mainly used to manufacture rifles and general-purpose machine guns.

Submachine guns and grenade launchers, as well as small-caliber mortar barrels, will have to wait for the next batch because of the different calibers.

The steel pipes for the 12.7mm heavy machine gun, the 37mm anti-aircraft gun, and the 70mm infantry gun had to be replaced with seamless steel pipes made of medium-carbon steel-based nickel-molybdenum-chromium alloy steel.

After Chen Changzai and Master Liu waited for this batch of gun barrel steel, they arrived at the stockpile area after the annealing and cooling were completed.

Master Liu picked up a steel pipe and looked through the hole in the middle.

While the interior is not entirely smooth, it is free of defects.

Once it has undergone one precision boring process, it becomes a qualified gun barrel, and this one barrel can be used to make five rifle barrels.

This efficiency is incomparable to drilling a hole with a steel rod.

Moreover, the material is much better than the earliest batch of gun barrels.

It is also much safer and more durable.

"Director Chen, when do you think we can manufacture the 75mm mountain gun and the 105mm field gun?"

"If we had large-caliber artillery, we could definitely give those Japanese devils a sound thrashing."

Master Liu put down the seamless steel pipe in his hand and said to Chen Changzai.

At this moment, Chen Chang smiled at Master Liu and said, "Master Liu, don't worry, let's take it one step at a time. Now we have this seamless steel pipe that can be used to make small and medium caliber gun barrels."

Then our cannons won't be far behind.

My students and I are currently working on the manufacturing process of the Type 75 mountain gun and field gun.

I think it won't take more than a month for us to master the manufacturing process of the 75mm gun.

"Once we get 105mm mountain guns, those Japanese artillery positions won't be safe."

Master Liu laughed when he heard this.

He said, "Director Chen, please speak."

Even in such a difficult place like ours, we were able to build this pipe rolling mill.

But I've been an apprentice at the Hanyang Machinery Factory since the Qing Dynasty.

After that bald guy came to power.

The newspapers were full of exaggerated claims.

But after all this time, why can't they come up with a machine like this?
To say they lack materials is nonsense; they have no shortage of any kind of minerals.

They have no shortage of copper ore, iron ore, molybdenite, or tungsten ore.

They are much richer than us.

To say that there are no technical personnel is utter nonsense.

Over the years, countless people have returned from studying abroad to join him, the bald man.

Even back when I was still at the Hanyang Machinery Factory.

Someone once said that.

To make good guns and cannons, seamless steel pipes made of alloy steel are the best and fastest way.

But those officials preferred to let people slowly crawl into gun barrels.

No one agreed to build the pipe rolling mill.

After that, all the seamless steel pipes we used had to be imported from abroad.

These idiots, once they become officials, they all become bloated and greedy.

But when it came time to pay salaries, they would say the factory was losing money and couldn't pay wages, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

In the end, the workers couldn't even support their wives and children.

Why wait to kill this bald guy?

We've now created what they didn't have.

I don't think this bald guy can stay on stage for more than a few days.

After listening to Master Liu's words, Chen Chang was deeply moved.

Later generations boasted about how remarkable the so-called golden decade under the bald man's rule was.

But whose golden decade was this?
Is it from this country and this nation?

Or does it belong to the people of this country?

neither.

This golden decade was merely a golden decade for high-ranking officials, nobles, warlords, and wealthy individuals.

It was the golden decade of those unbridled foreigners in Shanghai and their mistresses adorned in gold and silver.

This golden decade had absolutely nothing to do with the people of this country or the nation as a whole.

Thinking of this, Chen Changzai also laughed.

He said to Master Liu, "Master Liu, don't rush, it's not time yet."

We will gradually become stronger.

What Japanese, what bald guy.

We will wipe them out completely.

Master Liu gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, wipe them all out."

"Eliminate them all, leaving none behind."

While Chen Changzai and Master Liu were talking.

The quality inspectors have begun checking each and every steel pipe.

There are currently no flaw detection devices like X-ray machines.

But they were all people with extremely sensitive hearing.

Among them were Zhang's apprentices, who were in charge of smelting and casting, and Liu's apprentices.

They all learned a skill.

That is to discern quality by listening to sound.

When these seamless steel pipes are struck, the sound produced by qualified steel pipes and unqualified steel pipes is completely different.

Sometimes, the defects that can be discovered through this method of sound-based quality assessment are those that even X-ray flaw detectors cannot detect.

"Director Chen, Master Liu, we have inspected it."

This batch consists of fifty seamless steel pipes, and there are absolutely no issues with their quality.

The five of us each inspected ten seamless steel pipes.

After checking, they checked it three more times from different positions.

These steel pipes are of absolutely top-quality gun barrels.

After hearing what Master Xue, Master Zhang's eldest apprentice who led the quality inspection team, said to Master Chen and Master Liu.

The other four workers standing behind him also nodded, saying that the quality of this batch of steel pipes was excellent and there was absolutely no problem.

The martial arts master here is Master Liu's apprentice.

He said to Master Liu, "Master, I can hear the sound these seamless steel pipes are making."

It is crisp, high-pitched, and has a strong metallic feel.

Its "clanging" sound is free of noise, with a short and clean aftersound, neither muffled nor lingering.

This is definitely good gun steel.

After listening to the reports from the quality inspection team.

Master Liu didn't say anything, but picked up a seamless steel pipe himself.

Then he took a small steel rod from his apprentice.

He gently tapped the seamless steel pipe and listened carefully to the echo.

Clang! Ring!

After a while, the echo disappeared, and Master Liu tapped a few more times in a few other locations.

The sound remained crisp and short.

There was no lingering noise.

Only then did Master Liu start to laugh.

He said to Chen Changzai, "Director Chen, the alloy steel you made this time feels even better than the previous alloy steel."

Just by listening to this sound, I think it's no different from a rifle, a general-purpose machine gun, or a small-caliber mortar.

Even when used on heavy machine guns and 37mm anti-aircraft guns, the difference wouldn't be significant.

Chen Chang shook his head and said, "Because this time it will be rolled on a seamless steel pipe rolling mill."

So this time I adjusted the ratio of nickel to molybdenum.

This is better than the previous guns and steel.

However, it is still somewhat inferior as the steel used for heavy machine guns and 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

After all, no tungsten was added to it.

It is different from gun steel with added tungsten.

However, the chromium-added gun steel pipes we manufacture are not much worse than those with tungsten added.

We still have too little tungsten on hand; we need to use it sparingly.

(End of this chapter)