Masonry Magazine March 1972 Page. 17
-still somewhat below Administration targets, but still impressive.
Sales volume will increase. And bigger sales mean higher profits. But, in addition, profit margins should widen. These huge wage boosts that squeezed profits are moderating.
SOME CUTS WILL BE MADE IN THE DEFENSE BUDGET in 1972 by Congress.
The President wants $6 billion in added spending authority for fiscal '73, to modernize the armed forces and beef up the nation's nuclear deterrent. But Congressional economizers are not supporting the big defense increase. Even some long-time friends of the military are wincing at the big request. Sen. John Stennis questions the need for some of the new defense projects. The Armed Services Committee chairman especially wants manpower costs pared. Senate Appropriations will probe into the need for so many support troops.
The Administration will fight to win approval of the funds requested. But Congress is not likely to grant as much as the President wants, though arms outlays will still go up.
A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO TRANSPORTATION STRIKES is still years away, despite those recent long and costly shutdowns of the railroads and docks.
Congress shows little interest in approving an emergency strike measure. It complains about having to deal separately with each disruptive walkout, but the strong opposition from organized labor weighs against passage now. Proponents fear repercussions at the polls for leading a fight for a bill. The President proposed one bill in 1970, but no hearing has been held yet.
CONGRESS MAY ATTEMPT TO REPEAL RECENT CORPORATE TAX CUTS this year.
Ways and Means Chairman Mills has asked Mr. Nixon for tax reform proposals. He may fight another hike in the debt ceiling unless plans are forthcoming. Mills notes the President promised further reform when the '69 bill passed. The AFL-CIO is strenuously supporting major reform of the taxation system. It says billions in taxes have been shifted from big business to the public; recent corporate tax relief will cut collections of business taxes by 20%.
The Administration isn't looking for a fight over tax reform this year. It points out that tax reform usually means tax reduction after the Congress finishes all its deliberations.
NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SEEMS LIKELY TO BE DELAYED till next year.
Congress and the President are just too far apart to enact a bill in 1972. New controversy has just arisen over regulating health-insurance companies. The Administration sent its long-awaited legislation to Congress recently. This gives control to the states, substantially reducing the Federal role. And it leaves unanswered questions about financing for low-income persons. Such regulation is a major ingredient of the health plan unveiled last year. Democrats, skeptical of state regulation, will press for more U.S. control.
There are still differences of opinion on health-insurance scope. Critics contend the Administration measure relies much too heavily on private industry. They want insurance paid for and controlled by the Federal government, instead.
THE HIGH BOND CLASSROOM a monthly feature by Amspec
We've learned about the mixing procedure for SARABOND® brand mortar additive and the importance of portland cement in the mix.
To continue with our discussion of ingredients for high bond masonry using SARABOND, the topic of masonry sand will be introduced.
Masonry sand has seldom been considered for its importance in the success of any masonry job. Workability, strength and color problems are usually blamed on materials other than the sand, which is very often the culprit.
The proper choice and measuring of a clean, well-graded masonry sand can save hours in production time and mortar waste.
The sand used with SARABOND must be clean and washed free of all clay and dirt. Clay quantities can be determined by the sample test of filling a glass jar half full of sand; fill with clean water and shake. After standing about 10 min. the excess clay and dirt in the sand should be settling on the top layer of the sand. An excess of more than 2% of this clay will cause board life, color, and strength problems with SARABOND. If you request clean sand from your supplier, you can get it.
The gradation of the sand is a little more difficult to determine. This is done by shaking the sand through a number of different sized screens according to ASTM C-144 and arriving at a percentage of the sand which will pass through each size screen. A "well-graded" sand offers you the combined advantage of high strength, good workability and mortar economy. The "well-graded" sand has a proportional number of sand particles in each sieve size so that the sand can "cuddle" closer together. When the sand can't "cuddle", voids are left between the sand particles. This is known as "void volume" and can be as high as 35% of the total sand shipment that's right, as much as 35% of your sand pile is air.
In order to make a good mortar out of a sand, the air spaces have to be filled with gels produced by the combination of cement, ground limestone, water and SARABOND. Since the amount of cement, limestone and SARABOND which can be added to the high bond mix are constant, the logical alternate is to vary the amount of voids by varying the amount of sand.
Naturally a coarse sand will have more voids than a fine sand and a sand with a good gradation of fine and coarse particles will have even fewer voids. Therefore, you can use more of this well-graded sand to achieve a good, economical, workable mix. By measuring the sand in a volumetric container for each batch the mortar will be consistent throughout the job.
Sand is cheap compared to the other materials in your mortar mix. Pick a clean sand with the best possible gradation for the most total economy. If you have to pay a premium, it is still cheap.
*Registered trademark of The Dow Chemical Company.