The Express.
London, England, 1858-10-29 00:00:00

WOOLWICH ARSENAL.

Yesterday the Commiseioners were to have re-
sumed their investigations at the Royal Anneal, but from
some unexplained ewe the further prosecution of the in-
quiry was postponed till Thursday neat. The representa-
tives of the press were, however, very courteously conducted
over the establishment by Colonel Tulloah, Ca pthin Clerk,
Captain Farmer, and Captain Orr • and, se pub to attention
Is just now being directed to the intemanageresst of oar great
national manufactories and del:4ga, a few observations on
that at Woolwich may not be considered out of place. To
those who knew the establishment formerly, but who have
not visited it during the last half-dozen years, the appear-
ance of the premises most be very striking. In every direc-
tion new buildings and workshops have sprang up ; and, in
point of fad, the Woolwich of to-day as little resembles the
Woolwich of old as the broad sheet of 1858 resembles the
Moreton& of the Commonwealth. Before the Russian war the

mammal was little more than a large store for the munitions
of war; and though manufsottutug processewaretuidoubtedly
carried on even on • tolerably large male, it was chiefly by
hand labour. Under the old system, all that could be dm'
wee to accumulate in time of pesos large supplies, which
when an emergency arose were generally food ete have
become antiquated. Then the gonenneent had to mum=
to its aid all the resources at the disposal of private Om-
tractors ; but as these latter had gemr•U le provide them-
selves with plant for the new 111•13 they were
called upon to execute, they naturally expected to be
ouch prices as would not only remunerate t
for making the articles supplied, but would cam-
penaste them for the outlay they bad incurred to
qualify them for undertaking the government orders.
A single illustration of this will render the point quits clear.
The contract price paid at the commencement of the war for
Captain Boxer's 6-pounder diaphragm Shrapnel] shells was
731. per cwt., whereas the article can be actually made for
141.95. 2d. per cwt.
Woolwich Is now not only an immense magazine for all
the munitions of war, but it is the largest manufactory in the
world. In the huge workshops there have bean acuminated
the greatest variety of ingeniom meth/Woe contrivances for
maybe labour and dispensing with manual dexterity. If Ile.
Kuala values his peace of mind, let hint by all means, give
Woolwich • wide berth ; for there he will find the principle
he so much decries of the subdivision of labour,and the making
of workmen into mire machines, carried out to • most
seartling extent. Scarcely anything is completed by one
person. There is nothing that a workman as say he makes
—nothing that grows up by 'low degrees under his hand he
may take a pride in. Nay It is found by experience that
machinery itself works all ihe better for being brought under
the great economical law of the subdivision of labour. People
have heard talk of • wonderful American machine in which
you put • sheep-skin and • few old shirts at one end, and
from which you received • handsomely-bound volume, hot-
pressed and with gilt edges, at the other. But such as in-
vention would be a gram blunder after all. There are
actually several machines in the arsenal which are capable of
performing several operations, but which are now rigidly re-
stricted to only one. For instance, there is a machine for
making caps, which used to cut the copper from the sheet,
stamp it to fit the gun's nipple, charge it with
detonating powder, and turn It out ready for use. By
its aide is another which omitted one or two of these prompts,
and which was found a decided improvement—and a little
further on is third which is still more self-denying, and
which works heat of all. The automata character of the
machinery generally is truly wonderful. If ware and ra-
tiears
wars should ever again depart from us, the eatab-
light:neat might be reduced to a mere skeleton ; and if there
should at • period of profound peace suddenly arise new
throats of hostilities, the government might fill its work-
shops with common labourers, sad they would be perfectly
able to turn out of hand any quantity of orsateral ready for
um in the course of a few days, or even hours.
The reader will please to image himself in the carriage
factory. He is first shown into • abed which covers four
acres, and which is capable of receiving 5,000 loads of timber,
although It does not at present contain more than
2,000. Here the dither intended for such purposes as
the traverang plaited's of large guns is kept eeseoniog
for years, the very best and soundest wood alone being snit-
sole for the work, Next he is shown the saw mill, where
huge truaks of tress ere being drawn slowly and reluctantly
up to monsters with any number of rows of teeth up to 20,
which convert them Into planks before a pair of ammo
mold have taken off their coats and fixed their weapon in its
place. Sometimes it is required to cat • log in two; and
than, obedient to • word, there arias. out of • crevice
in the floor a huge circular saw which severs the thick block
almost " before • man can say, behold." The unexpected
apparition of this terrible implement has a grim humour
about it which almost savours of the medireval disoleris, and
Is well calculated to impress the visitor with • wholesome
dread of all crevices, holes, and crannies for the future. Ano-
ther species of steam saw which performs • great ride
at Woolwich is a toothed steel baud which is pawed
over two rollers like an endless strap, This was
brought from the Paris Exhibitiag by Tanoek,
but it has been much improved since Its'. sataralleation
In ads country ; and it is now used for every purpose for
which • carpenter's directing saw would formerly hest been
employed. The fellow of each wheel, after being cut out
with this implement, are put together and turned, so as to
maks • perfect Sects. The nave is also turned and pierced
for the spokes by machinery. The spokes themselves are
shaped by a most Ingenious contrivance, by which certain'
cutters are made to reduce a straight
_piece of wood into an
east fee simile of a cast iron model. The parts of the wheel
as thee fitted together, and placed in • pressing machine,
where by the force exerted by six hydraulic rams, the whole
I. firmly compacted and made reedy for the tire. This
pressing machine does in two or three minutes what would
taks • wheelwright at least three quarters of an hour ; but
it has been found that the band saw will cut one particular
portlw of the work in 30 seconds, which could not be done
y hand is lees than le minutes. The saving of time in this
indorse is thus thirty-fold. But there is a further advantage
derived from the employment of machinery; every like por-
tion of every article being of exactly the same size, no dif-
ficulty is experienced in making the parts fir, or in supplying
any faulty part when on service.
It would take too much time to describe the many endow
mechanical contrivances made use of is the carpentary de-
partment, amongst which may be enumerated the engine, for
asking mortices and dovetails, and the wooden linings of
scabbards. A simple but very clever device for saving time
Invented by Captain Clerk, however, deserves notice. It
moats of a broad strikes band, which runs down the satire
length of the shop. From each bench there is • small trans-
verse band, which nearly touches the long one; and as each
article is finished it is placed by the workman on one of
thew. It is immediately carried down to the principal band,
which in its turn conveys it to a basket at the end of the
room • and thus the man is saved the trouble and hind:ems
of having to carry his work away es he completes it.
In the smiths' shops there is an infinite variety of inge-
nious machines, amongst which the Nsamyth hammer stands
t. This famous ismation hits of late been much
Improved.rseizien Formerly it wee encumbered with an exceedingly
elaborate apparatus, which had to be adjusted every time the
form of the blow had to be varied. Now it stands las • giant
in its naked simplicity and the question whether the blow is
to fall on the anvil with an impact of 4 toes' or only with
sufficient force to drive • pin into a cork without bending it,
is determined by simply moving • lever which • child might
menage. Close by the Neemyth hammer is • ponderous
adaptation of the guillotine used for cutting metal. Looking
at the deliberate ease with which the knife shears through a
piece of tough wrought ken, four inches long by an inch and
as eighth thick, one seance but feel that hardens is a very
relative quality after all. Ths butter knits at breakfast
really seems to meet with far more resistance than this ter-
rible enema when performing its greatest feats. There la
Morel's a punching tool, which perforates iron an inch
thick with the tactlity with which • lady's stiletto phases •
pima of muslin.
On. large:shop is entirely occupied with process eon-
netted with the manufacture of rifle balls, shot, shed*
rockets, ape, and the like. The lead for Mini. ballets Is
formed hoc rids, which are celled round • wheel on the ma-
chine. This told is prepared by forcing it, In a seval-lbeid
etas, through • hole in • cylinder ; and it is ealoubsted that
the saving to the country by executing this proem' on the
premises instead of buying the metal in rods I. at Imat
100001. a year. There are eight doubts Idinle-bullet ma-
chimes, which can turn out no fewer than 480 belle a
minute. Th. diameter of in... balls is new being reduced
front .688 inch to .66 inch—• &menaces whisk, while almost
equally effective, ts expected to foul the piece lees. The
mode to which the caps are charged, counted, end made up
Into parcels is very curious ; but we hurry on to the cart-
ridge room. Here a Babel of voices takes the pine of the '
Incessant ham sod clangour of machinery ; and so wonder,
fur in this room there are between 400 and 600
boys who have no particular reason for holding
their tongues. Thee, lads are paid ltd. per hun-
dred cartridges ; and some of them have been known
to make up as Mane as 2,000 per day. &nand ed them
actually earned 10a. 6d. last weak,. bat that sum mem to be
rather over the average. There is, however, • ahem far
dietenslng with • great deal of this boy lemur. A awake
of little canvas bags are plumed Mb • trough meeshabg
pulp. The air is then draws teem the Wes eflheeelmge,
and they are nasally coated with paper. Them baler sae
taken t.fr and dried, end thenartridge case iseampiebe Alias
boys on the embedment Mind missal eight beam le Os
week, and work 48. The maths is the sai view ispirtment
(about 70 in number) angel gated live bum pat in*,
in addition to the 66 hoots Mew. flop me inelreeied to
messuratien, the higher beenehee at adlkamila, drawing,
mid natural philosophy, es blaring upon the particular
branches of indusuy in which they are employed.
At the present time great activity prevails in the Ar
cousecsience of the demands of the Indian serviceaa,"6
the come defences. The carriage department every week
••mel•ls• • battery. consisting of six muss and 2i
with all their appointments. It also turas out tea LT=
pie platforms for the coast, 2,000 shot sad shell i 5..., slail
400 powder cases. There are no fewer dial 2.100 else
flat-
played In the department.
To give anythiag like • ootoplAs Mad (be mealmilisel
wonders whith abound at Wooluiela remild fee meal the
limits of an article ; hut even • anew plasm at the main-
&Hoes departments of the mooed meet sacisfy•%•ll-
gent person that the popialer sopereardoe which lige
idea of wrosehra4edr est, mete, mad baptised. far
meet with the very idea of a_gegessmsat esselllebmine. ti
utterly without foundation. No en
whisk use said
can be aconotMeed, time saved, mend Mem &pawl
with, is for one moment aigleggei; and any suggestion
which • workman is fortunate essugh to make for obtaining
say one of these ends Is promptly acted upon and rewarded.
Oo us whole, we should say, that the =premien moat
likely to be made on the stied of any patriotic visitor to
Woolwieb would be. that the country has • right to almond
of our great national workshop.