I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 36 A Small Roller
Once the forging press was confirmed to be successful.

Chen Changzai did not forge the gun barrel steel first.

Instead, they immediately began forging bearing steel.

At this moment, the headquarters leader, who had not left the forging workshop, asked Chen Changzai with some confusion: "Changzai, didn't our machine succeed?"
I saw you just tell your students to put all the bearing steel bars into the furnace.

Why don't we produce gun steel first?

"Oh, Your Excellency, I'm not giving an order; I'm just a little curious."

Chen Changzai said with a smile, "Boss, I think it's not just you who's curious about this, I think anyone would be curious about it."

"Boss, do you see that big flywheel?"

As he spoke, Chen Changzai pointed to the large flywheel that was half-buried in the ground and spinning rapidly.

This is because the forging press is connected hydraulically, not mechanically.

Therefore, this energy storage flywheel does not need to be installed on the forging press.

You can simply place it on the ground.

All you need to do is dig a trench in the ground so that the flywheel doesn't hit anything, and then put an iron cover on top of it as a protective shield.

This is to protect people.

If someone is accidentally hit by this flywheel, they will either die or be seriously injured.

The leader saw that it was spinning rapidly, causing the forging hammer to fall continuously.

The flywheel is forged on the bearing steel bar on the forging platform.

He nodded and said, "I saw it, so what?"

At this moment, Chen Chang called out to Xiao Zhao, the leader of the forging press maintenance team, who was still watching the forging press work: "Xiao Zhao, go and get a spare one-way clutch and roller."

"Good teacher."

When Xiao Zhao heard Chen Chang calling him, he immediately responded and ran towards the toolbox.

Before long, Xiao Zhao came over carrying a large round plate that weighed more than ten kilograms.

At this moment, Chen Changzai had already led the leaders to the table in the rest area and asked Xiao Zhao to put the one-way clutch on the table.

Then he took a small round iron rod from Xiao Zhao's pocket.

Chen Changzai held up the small round iron post and said to the leader, "Leader, don't you think this small round iron post is inconspicuous?"

The leader took the small round iron pillar and looked at it.

This little gadget is only the thickness of an index finger and two-thirds the length of an index finger.

The surface is shiny and smooth.

It is indeed quite beautiful, but I can't really see anything special about it.

So the leader said, "Changzai, I don't understand these things. Just tell me, what's going on here?"

Chen Changzai said, "Leader, do you remember what I told you last time?"

We have almost no other metals here besides iron.

I also want to tell you that we need a lot of nickel and chromium right now.

We need to find a way to get some, the more the better.

"Yes, you said that. When I went back, I also told the comrades in the Special Branch about this and asked them to find a way to bring some back."

But the outside is under too much lockdown right now.

The Special Branch comrades have yet to find a way to obtain these things.

Not to mention transporting it back.

Are these things really that important to this forging press?

"Yes, leader."

"Sir, you may think this small steel column is insignificant, but it's the core component of this one-way clutch."

After saying that, Chen Changzai patted the steel disc on the workbench.

Then he continued, "This one-way clutch is the core component of that large flywheel."

After saying that, Chen Changzai pointed to the large, spinning flywheel.

He continued, "And that large flywheel is the source of the immense power of this forging press."

Because when the final stamping is completed, it is necessary to lock the flywheel and bring new power to it.

That enormous impact force must be borne by this small steel pillar.

However, the roller we made with high-carbon steel cannot withstand the huge impacts that this large flywheel frequently brings for a long time.

That's why we made a lot of backups in advance.

Because this steel pillar, forged with a large sledgehammer, can withstand fifty hours of impact.

That would be a victory for us.

The reason we placed that large flywheel so low was twofold: firstly, to make its center of gravity more stable, and secondly, to facilitate maintenance and replacement.

And the steel bars we forge now.

I took out 100 pounds of nickel that I had saved up over the past year.

More than 3,000 kilograms of high-carbon nickel alloy steel were smelted out.

Adding nickel to high-carbon steel doesn't make it a qualified bearing steel, but it allows for a deeper carburized layer on the roller, significantly improving the performance of the high-carbon steel.

If the effect is good, it can reach 10% of the level of bearing steel.

It can run this roller continuously for at least fifty hours.

If you're lucky, it's not impossible for it to run for two or three hundred hours.

With metallic chromium, I can achieve more than 80% of the performance of bearing steel.

This will allow the bearing to run for at least a thousand hours.

Of course, it's impossible for us to obtain all the rare elements needed to smelt bearing steel right now.

Therefore, the only thing we can do now is to prepare for replacement at any time.

That's why I wanted to make this bearing steel rod first.

After hearing Chen Changzai's words, the leader fell silent.

He reached into his pockets but found nothing.

Knowing that his superior was looking for a cigarette, Chen Changzai took out a hand-rolled cigarette from his pocket.

I handed one to the leader and took one for myself, since smoking was allowed in the rest area.

"Boss, these cigarettes were rolled for me by Wang Ling. Look how carefully she rolled them."

As he spoke, Chen Chang lit a cigarette for his superior.

After taking a puff, the leader laughed and said, "Yes, this is a cigarette you rolled with your own love! Hahaha!"

After lighting one for himself, Chen Chang laughed when he heard his boss say that.

The reason he interrupted was because he saw the leader's brows were furrowed deeply.

He was just trying to use that sentence to relieve some of the pressure on his boss.

"Changzai, I'll discuss the nickel and chromium you mentioned with my colleagues in the Special Branch when I get back."

Let's see if we can think of another way to get some back.

No matter how much, this should help relieve some of the pressure on your end.

I know you're under a lot of pressure.

This happened in less than a year.

You've come up with so much stuff.

It's absolutely dazzling.

Especially those bullet production lines you set up.

But it greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers on the front lines.

The soldiers all said that they had never been this wealthy in all these years.

I've never had my bullet belt fully loaded before.

Now that I have a bullet belt full of bullets hanging on my body, I feel very confident.

No matter how many enemies we encounter, we are no longer afraid.

Add to that the grenades and landmines you created.

Haha, now the enemy has to be very careful if they want to attack our positions.

They were terrified that a single misstep could cost them their life or a leg.

Now that your forging press is successful, we can start mass-producing guns.

Once the larger forging press you mentioned comes out, we'll be able to build cannons.

When that time really comes, we won't be far from victory.

"Changzai, I am now giving you an order. Remember, this is an order you must execute."

"Yes, sir, please give the order."

When Chen Changzai heard that his leader was about to give him an order, he immediately stood up and answered.

"Sit down, sit down and talk."

After Chen Changzai sat down, the leader said, "My order to you is that you must take good care of your health."

No more staying up late for extended periods.

I told you this once before, but you didn't remember.

Did you remember this time?
Remember, your body is not just yours, it's also a valuable asset to our team.

Cherish it!

"Yes, sir, I understand. I will take good care of my health."

Chen Changzai said softly.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　I need to cherish my body now, because it doesn't just belong to me anymore, it belongs to my fellow readers.

　　Don't stay up late for too long. Go to bed early tonight. Goodnight, friends.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)