Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-06-27
POWDER-MAKINe.
Pressing Powder-Process ia Brief-Absorbing
Misunderstanding Mills-Dusty Place
Glazing Barrels-Kinds Of Pow.
der-Dryfng House.

The sooty workman, whom we saw
in the corner last week, is an AGENT.
an fundamentally, you will, whose
special function is the making of
press-cakes. The whole process of
transforming the dust already describ-
ed into hard black slate-like slabs
some two feet square and a half an
inch in thickness, may be thus brief
ly stated. Upon plate of copper
having the same superficial dimen-
slons as an ordinary slab of powder,
the workman lays sheet of the
strongest canvas cloth, over which
he then spreads as much of the dust
as is necessary to make one cake
This done, another sheet of canvas ia
used, another plate of copper laid, -
then more canvas, after which more
dust, and so on until the operation
has been repeated at least forty times,
which Is the usual number of villain
Gus sandwiches composing what is
technically denominated "a press
The pile is now ready to be placed
under the screw, and there submitted
for a period of three or four hours to
pressure 80 powerful and remoree
less that feelings of the strangest un
easlness and dread come over the I'M
initiated and nervous spectator
When the resistance of the mass be-
meath the screw is greater than the
power brought to bear upon it, the
press is stopped and given few mo-
ments rest. During this time the
pile settles several inches, after which
few tons of additional pressure is
thereunto communicated. This alter
nation OF rest and motion is kept up
about q half an hour, when the cakes
arc known to be as hard and solid
as they can possibly be made. In
taking the cakes from underneath
the powerful hydrostatic screw. the
motion OF the press is reversed. and
the entire mass moved TO one side
along a wooden railway. The sheet
of copper topping the pile is now re-
moved, the first piece ofcanvas peel
ed OF and the upper stratum of the
press exposed to view. This shows
the thread marks of the stout fabric
between which it was pressed quite
distinctly, and makes one wonder.
as old Squeers wondered concerning
the treason of rheumatics," what the
objects OF using canvas really are
We accordingly appeal to the Super
lntendant for information, and are
told that the chief use of canvas Is to
keep the powder from sticking TO the
copper. Which is worth knowing. is
it not?
Powder dust usually absorbs sufi
Gent moisture from the atmosphere
to require 10 artificial wettinc. but
during a season OF uncommon dry
ness, the workmen find il necessary
to sprinkle the same with water be-
fore placing it between copper and
canvas, and bringing to bear upon it
the tremendous power ofthe press, :"
to use very profound and entirely
original expression.
In the next building that we reach
on our tour, are found the noisy coin
ing mills. These produce and set
afloat much fine dust, which, gottin Q
into the noses Of people not used to
it, and rushing into their lungs.
makes the said people sneeze and
cough until they look very ridiculous
and have a severe kind Of redness of
eyes. The cakes as they come from
the press-house are passed between
pair Of blunt-toothed metal rollers.
by which they are craunched into
the various sized particles that may
now be seen passing over those vi
bratlng screens near the centre of
the room. From these screens the
coarser particles that result from the
first eraunching are conveyed and
fed TO another pair Of rollers, the sur
face Of which is smooth, and which
are so arranged that the distance be-
tween them can be varied according
to the kind Of powder that is to be
made.
A part of this building is occupied
by the somewhat elongated and stead
lily rotating barrels in which powder
receives it's polish, and the sharp cor
ners are worn off the grains. The
latter process usually requires from
ten to twelve hours, but the polish
ing seldom takes third or even a
quarter as long. Plumbago, or rath.
er common stove backing, il the
substance used for giving the polish
When the gloss is considered set,
and has attained the proper cast, the
powder is taken out of the glazing
barrels and run through an assorter.
This machine, like that metaphysics
al salt-box we used to read about,
separates the coarse grains from the
fine, and gives US the several varities
of powder known to military men
and miners by the letters &C" "F,"
EFF" and eff"
We now proceed to the drying house
which stands hard by the suspension
bridge that we crossed whom first
approaching the works. The way
leads along the summit of a massive
embankment, constructed specially
to fulfil the offices of q mill dam. A
broad pond, in which the trees and
hills on the opposite shore are beau>
tifully mirrored, is at the right, and
at the left are seen buildings, trees
grasses, "barren places and fertile"
Visitors are, as rule, more afraid
to enter the drying house than any
other establishment belonging to the
works of powder company. They
know that fire is present somewhere,
and they have, too, irrespective of
any previous sharpening on the syl-
ogistic grindstones of John Stuart
Mill, the logical sense sufficiently
acute TO draw some very interesting
conclusions from the promises pow
der and fire in actual contact. But
there is really much less danger than
many imagine Powder. il is said.