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Thomas Hunter's testimony was in 1912

Here's was happened after WWI
Tariff Information Survey, 1921
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=...amp;pg=GBS.PP15
�Practically all the raw materials are obtained from domestic sources, with the exception of a portion of the barrels for shotguns, which are imported by the smaller makers, as a rough bored forging. The production of this component of the gun requires an investment in equipment too large to allow of profitable manufacture on a small scale. All but one of the firms which imported barrels before the war reported (1920) that they intended to again import as soon as possible, although one of them took up their manufacture during the war, and statistics of importations in 1920 indicate that this practice has been largely resumed. The most of the larger companies make their own barrels. These rough forgings have been obtained chiefly from Belgium, a few of the highest grade coming from England.�

More here about 1/2 way down
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=17ixogftgITEblNUWtmFBv96ZvgjK6eFell8GsAWd-KI

Bethlehem Steel also made some pretty big gun barrels, 12-, 14- and 16-inch naval rifles for battleships serving in WW1 and WW2, including the 16" 50 caliber rifles for the Iowa class.

I went to college and later lived near Bethlehem for sixteen years. One summer I worked as an intern engineer in one of their plants and later knew many folks who worked at the Bethlehem mill, known locally as "The Steel." It's been sad to see basic steelmaking all but desert this country.

I'm sure the ledgers, etc. are still onsite or archived properly as in the article it is noted that 14k(14000) drawings & stuff were there including original 1906 drawings. So either an inquiry or visit might be in order to find one doc on the minute topic of bar stock for small arms.

"Site Ownership changed hands a few times, and in 2004 the site was purchased by Bethlehem Works LLC, a development partnership that brought in the casino operator Las Vegas Sands Crop. as a majority partner. Las Vegas Sands transformed part of the site into a bustling arts and entertainment district.(Read "High Rolling Steel," Civil Engineering, February 2010, pages 70-75, 82.) In 2005 Bethlehem Works announced the development of SteelStacks, a 10-acre arts and entertainment venue alongside the shuttered facilities. Among its venues are the ArtsQuest Center, which houses studio spaces, galleries and shops opened in May 2011; the Levitt Pavilion, an outdoor venue, which opened in July 2011; ......"

I guess a proper transformation but from a cursory perspective it would seem going from steel magnate to entertainment venue would see akin to Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Now I like to be entertained and fancy the arts, but seems to be such an unnoticed great loss....

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

I have no idea in what town these facilities are located. However, I must admit that my time shooting game birds and waterfowl on and around the Bethlehem Steel property in Hanover was the highest point of my early bird hunting history. One high point was meeting my Dad on the Wistler Farm on a day when I told him I was in class at the University of Maryland. I had not wanted to squeeze his schedule and make him have to leave the "field" early. Apparently, it didn't worry him much. My pointer, Ranger, was a bit confused to see me. He had never hunted alone with my Dad, when I was available.

http://www.steelstacks.org/about/what-is-steelstacks/

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=20030501&id=u0EyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6OUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5366,16453&hl=en

Seems like much of the article was garnered from the above. Headquarters were in Lehigh County & I would guess McSherrystown is in Adams County some 130 miles Southwest.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

With today's EPA no steel plant will be able to compete with steel from plants without their laws. Could you imagine how hard it would be to open up a new plane? Permits, hearings, regulations, over site and total greens going nuts. God save the trees.

Not to worry! When the next big one comes, we'll just buy the steel we need from China and the the uniforms from Mexico. War materials; we don't need no stinkin' war materials!...Geo

We build, rebuild, refine, renovate, and demolish steel mills all the time.
There is a very large brand new one in Mobile, AL.

Their designs produce different products than before the big collapse.

An example might be super sophisticated sheet metal alloys for car bodies. Or, ductile structural forms for buildings in earthquake zones.

Steel is not dead in the US, it is very value centered anymore.

I prefer not to work in the old mills, because they are such wastelands, and it's a very depressing environment.

In keeping with firearms manufacture, those ultra pure alloys we desire have to come from a furnace somewhere, just not at mega ton scale. Someone is tasked with making them for us.

Jon, it's true, those government owned facilities have no problem getting the okay for expansions/new mills and many of them deal with no environmental regs at all.
But like CZ said, it's still happening in the US, and has been for the last few decades.
The 'not really' new one in Mobile, AL is a foreign owned facility, but provides decent jobs/revenue.
Sadly it takes a few years to get nearly anything approved, then a couple more to get it up and running.
Certainly less 'hoops' for acquisitions and upgrades.
Thankfully there are still a few politicians that realize the economic impact that one of these facilities can provide.
Believe it or not, Nucor has a mill in downtown Seattle, Washington.......
And is THE largest recycler in North America.
Oh..... and I know some steelworkers that buy, shoot, and collect double guns.