"Looking from middle of hot mill. Reelers in immediate foreground, plug mill to right, plug mill covers view of second piercer or expander. First piercer in background to left of furnaces." Billets were charged in a heating furnace and then delivered to the piercing machine (center background). The piercing was performed by two machines to reduce the strain of the operation on the billets. Both machines were identical except that the mandrel head was broader and had a blunt point in the second piercing machine. The pipe then went to the Plug Mill (far right center), which was a two-high rolling mill that included grooved rolls. The thickness of the pipe wall became about that of the finished pipe after it passed through the rolls several times. The interior and exterior of the pipe were given a smooth finish as it passed through the reelers (foreground). Jones and Laughlin entered the tubular products business with the installation of welded pipe works at its Aliquippa Works. In 1926 the first of three seamless tube mills were built at Aliquippa. These seamless tube products were principally for the oil industry. The Seamless Tube Department consisted of steel conditioning area, a 30-inch round mill, two tube mills, and facilities for finishing and shipping tubes and for producing couplings. In April 1982 the Seamless Tube Department was shut down."
