The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-19
ENING TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA MONDAY 49, 1864

at least as regards his education, as he was
the son Of the Alexander Nasmyth, Of Edin-
buTgh, whose landscapes have charmed us
all moreover he was a scientific man, and
his son therefore started in life with hereditary
ability. Nevertheless, be fought his way up as a
| great smith unaided His first employment was
as an assistant In naudslay's beautiful Il tie
| workshop, at ten shillings a week; and In the
! establishment of this famous firm he learned his
art. Nasmyth's fame rests mainly upon his
steam-hammer, tool without which modern
forging could not be accomplished Indeed il
was a consequence Of the demand for such a
CyClOpcan instrument that II WAS produce I, aud
II Is a singuarIy apposite example Of the manner
IN which great works sometimes produce great
TOOLS as surely as great tools lead to the prOdu,-
tiou Of mammoth works.
When the Great B,itaH was being constructed
it was at Hrst intended that she should have
paddle-engines; such we're accordingly designed
for her 10y The late Nr. Humphreys. The paddle
SHAFT, however, was 20 be OF such enormous pro-
portions that no forge in the kingdom was Capt-
bic Of turning it ont. In this difficulty, Mr.
Brunei was forced tJ apply 20 Mr. Ntsmvth %
aid him with his advice. Mr. Na,myth's reply
was sketch made on the spur Of Jhe moment OF
his famous hammer AID returned by post that
n Eht. JnluChilv, 10 was determined 10 change
the paddle for the screw and the pnddle-shalt
therefore was never required.
The great hammer accordingly remained a
dream upon the pauer, rs far as rs inventor was
concerned, for, strangely enough, none of the
great ron-iounders would have anything To do
[
celebrated foundry in France, Mr.. Nasmyth was
shown an enormous piece OF forged work; curl
Gus ~ know how such an unusual size had been
accomplished, he asked the question Of the di-
rector OF the works. "Why, with your sfe I'M
hammer, to be sure" was the instant reply Ia,
FreuChman had been shown the dra wing bv
Nasmyths partner at the time it was made, and
with keeuer appreciation of It's value than was
eWnccd by the English machInists, he determined
60 have one made.
This was certainly an instance but little in
accord with the English manufacturers boast
THAT II not the first 10 invent, ne is the first TO
see the value Of the inventions of others" for.
with demand for gigantic tOrgngs far beyond
what exists in France, we yet allowed our friends
on the other side of the water to steal a march
upon us. However, the steam-hammer is now
IN common use, and year by year il is assuming
larger proportions. The effect of its Introduction
Is the vast increase of the size of the forgings
now so easily accomplished, and the consequent
enormous development Of the proportions of
our machinery; in fact, there is no limit now to
Tue size OF the engines that can be produced, or
to the power that the use Of this simple instru-
ment has placed in the hands of man. Without
II, We should have no armor. plated ships Of war
no great engines for their propulsion, no enOr-
nous works IN iron of any kind, such as have
marked the lRst dozen years, and have at once
elevated men, mechanically, from mere pgmies
10 race OF giants.
One of the Tost useful applications Of the prin-
clple OF che steam-hammCr Is 20 pilc-driyug We
well remember, years ago, watching q party of
twenty men at this work on the quay at Rotter-
dam, and tue DutChmen should know something |
about the operation. This was performed by the !
ordinary monkey, which rises and falls every |
hree minutes. Now by the use Of Nasmyth's |
team pie-driyirg machine pile can be driven |
n four minutes as deeply as by the old method 1t |
Ould be in twelve hours! The steam. hammer |
its on the shoulders Of the pile like the Old NJ n
# the Sea, adding its dead weight TO its lively |
aps at the rate Of eighty blows a minutel In |
consequence of this iapdity of action, works of |
exclamation from the sea, before undreamed of, |
will be effected and an immense impetus will be |
gwen to all building works constructed on unsta-
dc ground - once Week.