Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-11-22
THE HABETUAI. CARELEssNEss OF
MECHANICS.

Iii Is said that familiarity breeds con
tempt Whether this IS so OF not, II is
very sure that familiarity produces care-
lessness or indifference. Men who have
spent years among machines. and know
their power, their inexorabie and unpitving
course, their disregard for human life or limb
their ungovernable impetus when not held.
Ike vicious horse, well 10 hand, come
70 look upon these mighty engines. driven
by an almost irresistible force, as playthings
which may not only be governed by legili-
mate means, but played and toyed with
How often We see the engineer or 'greaser'
q stationary or marine engine, following
the connecting rod or crank with ole hand
aud with the oil can in the other, allowing
MS hand aud arm 10 pass through a space
winch barely permits the passage Of his limb
and doing this with apparent uncoucern.
We have seen the engineer Of an upright
stationary engine, the cylinder Of which was
on one io0r and the walking beam above an
upper hoor, jump on the cross head and
travel up and down half dozen times, oil
ing the slides be a man weighing over two
hundred pounds and passing through hole
hardly more than fourteen inches square
a mls-step would have been fatal or nearly
so-at least the adveDturer would have been
hopeleasly crushed In Gotten mills it used
TO be not uncommon to nee the piece" on
a mule reach over TO attach a broken END
when the outward coming carriage would
almost take him from his feet, which event
would have pierced his abdomen with sew
eral rapidly revolving and sharply pointed
steel splndles, insurIng as certain death as
the spinning bah from a spirally grooYed
rife.
T'bss osrs.lzz.,,,,g-. ,-f.:l I---- :. -.
habit, leads, not seldom, TO unpleasant If not
fatal results. The operator Of machine.
having learned all It's points aud beliey-
ing he controls all It's powers, frequently as
sumes management which be is incompe-
tent to oversee, and becomes careless: the
machine refuses to obey his behests, and be
Is mulcted IN An arm, or leg, or life
We reeoiieet, in our practice as a mechanic
foreman who ridiculed the idea Of throw
ing belt from the shaft for repairing OF
taking mp, preierring it should be unla-
ced while hanging in dangerous conGguity
with swiftly revolving pRileys or couplings,
and attempted the meBdIng Of belt while
hanging on a shaft In alarming proximity 10
these care nothings for human life. He
lost his arm aud nearly lost his life He
had lltlo sympathy bat much annoyance.
and not a little trouble
At the fair Of the Am erican Institute in
New } ork city a week or two 8g0 g pracli-
cal machinist placed his hand under a ham
mer TO remove smashed copper The
copper was smashed and so was his hand.
1t was au accident: but such an accident as
any one bat person, thoUgh,leSs through
familiarity, would never have been yIctimi.
zed with Poor McJowan paid dearly for
his temerlty; he lost ais good right hand
Lnneii, also, the engineer Of the Babc0ck
a. Wilcox engine, although not careless, IN
the common acceptation Of the term, was
foolish in riskIng bis life en- the holding of
common fOrked wrench, which every
machlnlst knows is not to be depended upon.
He sat upon plank running past the fly
wheel Of the engine, and applied his large
tJrked wrench 20 the nuts Of the cap Of the
crank shaft; the wrench slipped when be
had his whole power applied to it, and over
he Weui iuto the wheel Nothing could be
more admirable than bis presence ofmInd IN
holding to the arms Of the wheel, which he
did while whirle3 around with immense We
lOclty, until, probably, either through hls
senses deserting him or through the iBiu-
euce Of dizziness. he let 60 and vas thrown
with the torce Of a stone from an ancient
cataput OF the centrifugal momentum Of
stone from . boy 5 sling, and landed, almost
a shapeiess mass of humanity, among the
debris OF the machinery he demolished IN
his course,
These instances show the necessity Of
carefuncss iu the management Of ma
chinery. We can never forget the advice Of
an old fashioned mschiuist to his apprentice
on this subject: Better be fo0Iishly care
ful than foolishly careless. Many me-
chanics seem 10 imagine they are doing a
nice thing to put on airs before those who
do not understand machinery. 1t IS not 50
They are the recipients Of pity. if not Of
contempt Scientific 4me57cqH.