Keep in 1865 became a foreman at Hubbell & Brothers Stove Works in Buffalo, New York and was there from 1865 to 1868.
In 1868 he became superintendent of the stove manufacturing plant of Fuller Warren & Co in Troy, New York.
Keep was there for nearly eight years.
Keep gave lectures on the steam engine to the senior class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during the time he lived at Troy from 1872 to 1877.
In 1875 he started manufacturing stoves himself and did that until 1884.

Keep in 1884 moved to Detroit, Michigan.
There he became the general superintendent of Michigan Stove Company.
He was in this capacity until 1910 when he was promoted to consulting engineer for the company.
He continued in this capacity until his death.
During the time he worked for the company he caused a major improvement in the way they constructed stoves.
Keep in 1872 patented the base burning stove.
It had two rows of mica windows, one above the top of the fire-pot and one below.
He patented in 1887 the baseburner with a reflector above the fire.
That became standard for the stove industry.

Keep innovated a new process of making malleable iron castings using a secret mix of iron ore, aluminum and other elements.
Michigan Stove Company used his patented mixes to make their stoves.
Keep received many patents during his thirty-five years with the company.
He was deeply interested in metallurgical research and wrote articles for the American Institute of Mining Engineers for nearly a decade starting in 1888.
He also wrote articles for the ASME starting in 1894 and did that for the rest of his life.

Keep in 1885 figured out the relationship between shrinkage and chemical composition of cast iron in a testing process.
He did this through an assessment that was referred to as "Keep's Test."
This later was named "Mechanical Analysis" and became the worldwide industrial measure instead of chemical analysis.
Keep devised this analysis as a result of thousands of tests, which he described in detail in his 1893 pamphlet he wrote titled Keep's test for cast iron.
The pamphlet chronicled his tests and outlined the influence of aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, and manganese on cast iron.
This was also reported in his paper "Keep's Cooling Curves" that showed shrinkage and strength impact to cast iron mixes of various formulas of these elements.
Keep devised and invented many testing machines and methods that were used in the foundry industry.
Keep in 1865 became a foreman at Hubbell & Brothers Stove Works in Buffalo, New York and was there from 1865 to 1868. In 1868 he became superintendent of the stove manufacturing plant of Fuller Warren & Co in Troy, New York. Keep was there for nearly eight years. Keep gave lectures on the steam engine to the senior class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during the time he lived at Troy from 1872 to 1877. In 1875 he started manufacturing stoves himself and did that until 1884.
Keep in 1884 moved to Detroit, Michigan. There he became the general superintendent of Michigan Stove Company. He was in this capacity until 1910 when he was promoted to consulting engineer for the company. He continued in this capacity until his death. During the time he worked for the company he caused a major improvement in the way they constructed stoves. Keep in 1872 patented the base burning stove. It had two rows of mica windows, one above the top of the fire-pot and one below. He patented in 1887 the baseburner with a reflector above the fire. That became standard for the stove industry.
Keep innovated a new process of making malleable iron castings using a secret mix of iron ore, aluminum and other elements. Michigan Stove Company used his patented mixes to make their stoves. Keep received many patents during his thirty-five years with the company. He was deeply interested in metallurgical research and wrote articles for the American Institute of Mining Engineers for nearly a decade starting in 1888. He also wrote articles for the ASME starting in 1894 and did that for the rest of his life.
Keep in 1885 figured out the relationship between shrinkage and chemical composition of cast iron in a testing process. He did this through an assessment that was referred to as "Keep's Test." This later was named "Mechanical Analysis" and became the worldwide industrial measure instead of chemical analysis. Keep devised this analysis as a result of thousands of tests, which he described in detail in his 1893 pamphlet he wrote titled Keep's test for cast iron. The pamphlet chronicled his tests and outlined the influence of aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, and manganese on cast iron. This was also reported in his paper "Keep's Cooling Curves" that showed shrinkage and strength impact to cast iron mixes of various formulas of these elements. Keep devised and invented many testing machines and methods that were used in the foundry industry.
William J. Keep