Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.

Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.

The term was Belter down.He is the man who receives the billet from the furnace,maybe a 3" billet .He then passes it through the rolls until it is maybe 7/8" or 3/4".He then passes it on to the next set of rolls where they will reduce it further.the process goe`s on until they obtain the required size & section.

Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.


I worked in the rolling mills for 20 years as near as.

Starting from The Furnace Man he used to load up the cold billets
into the furnace,& when they had reached their heat he would get
them out with tongues & trail them to the rolls

then there would be the Cog Backers & the Prial backers who would pass the hot billets through smaller & smaller rolls till they were at their required size,they were supported by the Hookmen
who took the weight of the heavy hot billets there would be an Under Roller & the main man The Roller usually at the end rolls
making sure the finished aticle was the correct size.

Then there would be a Trailer Down who would run the finished
steel to the Shearman if it was a square or oval finish or the
Sawmen if it was round finish then to the hot Reelers where the
Reelermen would pass the round bars through the cold rollers to ensure perfect straightness & circumference.

The bar s would then be stacked & allowed to cool before being bundled by the Slingers & then being hoisted away by the Craneman either on to a lorry or held in stock.

Every Mill had their different working titles for their workforce,
this 1 was my old Mill & it's job titles.

I worked as a plate lad which is the final operation and then I was on the furnace. The first set of rollers were the cogbackers, the billet went into the bottom of 3 rollers then back through the top of the 3 until they were of a certain size then onto the next set until finally onto the plate to cool. The plate lad had to grab hold of the steel strip with a pair of tongues and then walk fast as the finishing rollers discharged it. We looked like miners because the works were filled with filthy black dust all the time.

Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.

Have any of the explanations been of any use.

Very interesting. What is the difference between billets and blooms please?

Fantastic, thankyou. Obviously a mss splling on a Birth Certificate (sorry for the pun)

To my understanding a billet is rolled from a bloom.A bloom could weigh 2 ton & the it is rolled down to 2-3 Or 4 inch billet size then cut into required lengths.

Squares
Blooms: 211 - 457 mm sq
Billets: 75 – 211 mm sq

Rounds
Rolled: 76 – 381 mm dia (larger sizes by agreement)
Turned: 70 – 350 mm dia

http://www.corusgroup.com/en/products/bar_and_billet/hot_rolled/

Thanks Herbert and Malky, greatly appreciated.

Thanks Herbert and Malky, greatly appreciated.

No problem, I worked at a mill and never heard of the job you described but different mills could use different terms, basically you start with a ingot, a bloom is a intermediate stage and you end up with a billet.

I worked on a 10" double duo mill for about 35 yrs & we rolled billets.The biggest we rolled were 3" & we would take them down to all sizes and sections.As small as 1/4" round or 3/8" three square for files.We did up to 1 3/4" round as well.Flats ,octogans,hexagons,bevels & various other sections as well.

Between Attercliffe Road and Stevenson Road is Slitting Mill Lane, would you know what a slitting mill was or is? Thanks.

That would be a line for slitting coil or sheet into strip.

Richard

Between Attercliffe Road and Stevenson Road is Slitting Mill Lane, would you know what a slitting mill was or is? Thanks.
Hi I hope this answers your question.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The slitting mill was a watermill for slitting bars of iron into rods. The rods then were passed to nailers who made the rods into nails, by giving them a point and head.

The slitting mill was probably invented near Liège in what is now Belgium. The first slitting mill in England was built at Dartford, Kent in 1590. This was followed by one on Cannock Chase by about 1611, and then Hyde Mill in Kinver in 1627. Others followed in various parts of the England where iron was made. However there was a particular concentration of them on the River Stour between Stourbridge and Stourport, where they were conveniently placed to slit iron that was brought up (or down) the River Severn before it reached nailers in the Black Country.

The slitting mill consisted of two pairs of rolls turned by water wheels. Mill bars were flat bars of iron about three inches wide and half an inch thick. A piece was cut off the end of the bar with shears powered by one of the water wheels and heated in a furnace. This was then passed between flat rolls which made it into a thick plate. it was then passed through the second rolls (known as cutters), which slit it into rods. The cutters had intersecting grooves, which sheared the iron lengthways.

Hi I hope this answers your question.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The slitting mill was a watermill for slitting bars of iron into rods. The rods then were passed to nailers who made the rods into nails, by giving them a point and head.

The slitting mill was probably invented near Liège in what is now Belgium. The first slitting mill in England was built at Dartford, Kent in 1590. This was followed by one on Cannock Chase by about 1611, and then Hyde Mill in Kinver in 1627. Others followed in various parts of the England where iron was made. However there was a particular concentration of them on the River Stour between Stourbridge and Stourport, where they were conveniently placed to slit iron that was brought up (or down) the River Severn before it reached nailers in the Black Country.

The slitting mill consisted of two pairs of rolls turned by water wheels. Mill bars were flat bars of iron about three inches wide and half an inch thick. A piece was cut off the end of the bar with shears powered by one of the water wheels and heated in a furnace. This was then passed between flat rolls which made it into a thick plate. it was then passed through the second rolls (known as cutters), which slit it into rods. The cutters had intersecting grooves, which sheared the iron lengthways.

Worked in rolling mills all my life & that is the first time I have heard of that.Thanks.

Worked in rolling mills all my life & that is the first time I have heard of that.Thanks.

A strange quirk of history is that the site of the old Attercliffe Slitting Mill should, in modern times, be occupied by Alloy Steel Rods Ltd. - I wonder what the 18th. century 'roller' would have thought of the conti-loop system ?

i wonder if there are any old roll turners on this site?

I turned rolls, but I am a centre lathe turner, I was offered a job many moons ago in Firth Browns heavy mill as a Roll turner, but was very wary. I now work with a lad who is a Roll turner, respect !! :love: :love:

This is a really interesting thread . Since a lot of the heavy steel industry has been lost, it's nice to hear old terminology brought back to life,what a great way for kids to learn about stuff too.
Wouldn't it be great if people came on here and described parts of their jobs, then it's captured forever !

Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.
I think my grandfather may have worked in the same mill as in the 1911 census he wrote exactly the same words for his occupation

i wonder if there are any old roll turners on this site?
my dad was a roll turner at osbornes in wicker

my dad was a roll turner at osbornes in wicker

my dad worked at osbourns on penistone road

My Dad was a furnaceman and worked on Claywheels Lane in the 1940s

hazel

This is a list of the workers on our rolling mill(set).
Roller
Under roller
Middlers (front and back)
Cog backer
Belter down or cogger down
Furnace man or puller out
Charger or pusherman.
Runner out
Straightener.
Odd lad.

Any Iron and Steel workers out there know what a ' Bolter Down in a Rolling Mill ' is or was? Can you let me know please.

Still being interested in a Bolter Down I managed to find it listed on this page as an occupation
http://www.salaryexpert.com/?FuseAction=Products.epro-jobs&title=B
Would love a detailed explanation. Still looking.:)

A bolter(belter)down was the first man to receive the hot billet from the furnace he would then shove it into a pair of steel rolls with his hand tongues.When it went through the rolls it was made smaller in diameter by stretching,i.e. a hot 3" bar going into a cold 2/12" square hole stretched it and reduced the diameter.When it went through the rolls a man at the back(cog backer) would catch it with his tongues and shove it through a smaller hole in the rolls.Each time the billet would get smaller in diameter and longer in length until the required size was reached then the long bar would then be passed to the next set of rolls until the require size was reached.

I started work as an apprentice roll turner at J.M.Moorewoods Ltd. Stephensen Rd. Attercliffe. in late 1963. Didn't finish my time. Not actually in the rolling mill but in the machine shop making the rolls. Decided all that glamour wasn't for me!!

A bolter(belter)down was the first man to receive the hot billet from the furnace he would then shove it into a pair of steel rolls with his hand tongues.When it went through the rolls it was made smaller in diameter by stretching,i.e. a hot 3" bar going into a cold 2/12" square hole stretched it and reduced the diameter.When it went through the rolls a man at the back(cog backer) would catch it with his tongues and shove it through a smaller hole in the rolls.Each time the billet would get smaller in diameter and longer in length until the required size was reached then the long bar would then be passed to the next set of rolls until the require size was reached.
Many thanks Kidorry for your great explanation. Much appreciated! An interesting subject!My grandfather lived in Smithfield in 1911 .As you are so knowledgeable on the subject perhaps you could suggest which rolling mill he may have worked at????

It could have been one of dozens because most steel companies had their own rolling mills to roll the steel that they produced.

i remember the rolling mills on penistone road and also eaton booths opposite. my dad worked there. part of the building of rolling mills is still there....! dad use to take us across the road to the royal pub wen he got paid. in which we drank pop through a paper striped straw:)

i worked at avesta/outokumpu a few year ago, just before they wound thier operation down.

i worked as a crane operater in the trade center which was basically a finnishing shop for stainless sheet.

there were many operations and finishes applied to the sheet.

i found it very interesting and the industrial history of sheffield and surrounding towns is slowly getting forgotton.

it was a sad day when they started to knock down the buildings on the shepcote lane site.

my claim to fame: the large clock/temperature read out that was on the wall of the building visible from the motorway. i unloaded it from the lorry prior to it bieng installed, it cost over £15k and almost didnt make it in one piece!!!!