Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-03-29
of Wilmington. N. C.
SHOPS.


MACHINE SHOPS.
Prominent among the industries of Will |
mingtOn are the machine shops. Two OF |
the railroads have machine shops OF sui !
ficient capacity to keep in full repair the /
engines and cars of the reads to which |
they belong, and one Of them, the VIII !
mington and Weldon, has car shop which |
has turned out some of the finest and best !
passenger coaches ever manufactured. We |
have been struck with the strength and |
steadiness of these cars as compared with !
some nearly similar, built at the North, |
which cost about $4,000 each more than
those made here. Is this not suggestive
of the fact that a factory for manufacturing
railroad cars would succeed in Whining
ton, n. c., quite as we'll as those at VII
mingtOn, Delaware. Besides these shops,
which employ some hundreds Of hands and
paw thousands Of dollars as weekly wages,
we have
THE MACHINE SHOPS OF HART L BAILEY.
These shops are situated between Front
and Second and Dock and Market streets,
and embrace large portion Of the centre
Of that square, with their entrance on
Front street. They have several depart
ments, as the machine shop proper, with
lathes, screw-cutters, planners, and all other
machines necessary to carry on the bust
ness; the foundry for making castings,
both iron and brass; the coOper-shops, for
making stills and doing all kinds Of work
in that line the fancy woodwork shop,
for turning out mouldings, brackets, ban
nisters, stair rails, newell posts, &C.; and the
pattern shop, for making the patterns by
which the castings are moulded. Every
casting, large or small, has to have 81 pat
tern made for it. These patterns are gen.
orally of some light and easily-WOrked
wood, and must he accurately made to
represent the article wanted, so that the
metal when cast, shall be exactly like the
pattern.
THE PATTERN LOFT
| of Hart Il Bailey is a curiosity III itself.
| The copper and brass branch of the eS
tablishment was commenced thirty years
ago, and the iron foundry seventeen years
! ago, and during that time the pattern of
| every article cast has been preserved, SO
that a man who had a casting made fifteen
wears back, for his engine, his gin, his mill,
| or his farm, can send now and have du-
| plicate made.
TO show how patterns accumulate, we
/ will mention that there are patterns of over
| $50 different kinds of valves, more than
| 400 different cO9-WheelS, and, when you
| add to these, cranks, cylinders, columns,
| house, ronts, drums, water and steam
/
stove parts, fencing and others, we have,
altogether,
OVER TEN THOUSAND PATTERNS.
| The patterns Of foundry are what the
! stereotype or electrotype plates to the
| printer, and constitute a part of the stock
! for the reproduction Of work at less cost
| than that of the original production. These
| patterns. cost from 81 up to $50 each, and
| off tai
foundry the pattern-makers are constantly
busy, as it is the rule of the prOprietOrs to
/ turn aside no work, however difficult, that
/ it is in their power to do AS an instance
| of the manner in which new work presents
itself, we will mention that there is hardly
| ever a new pattern Of stove introduced but
that in IL month OF SO, there is call for q
! casting to renew some part CT it. And this
| call has to be answered and the piece sup
| piled, though there may never be Il demand
| for another. From the pattern depart
/ ment we pass into the
COPPER WORKS
The clang of dozens of hammers is SO great
that we have to use eyes instead of ears to
Get information. Here is a large turpen-
! tine still lust finished, several half-finiShed
parts cut out ready for the hammer Of the
! brazier, and the copper sheets lying piled
/ ready for use. The copper is received as
it comes from the makers i'll annealed
| sheets and parts. In this state it is soft and
very plant So that il can I've formed into
any shape. All the parts of the still are
! cut out and all shaping done, SO that 1t is
| ready to put together, and then 1t has to
be hardened or tempered. This hardening
is dOue with steel hammers. striking blow
after blow rs close together as they can be
put III over tbs metal, and when it is COM
, plettu the metal is four times as strong as
before. Judges of copper work can tell at
glance whether 1t still has been properly
tempered or hardened. For the worm Of
the still the copper is first cut into shape,
, then the edges are hraZed 50 as to make e
tube, gener ally about six feet long. This
tube is THEN plugged up at the smallest end,
placed upright in the ground and filed with
! melted rOsin. After the rOsn cOOls it is
plugged up at the top and taken to machine,
! which bends it to the required curve.
| After receiving the curve it is heated in a
! furnace, used for the purpose, end the
rOsin runs out; the parts are then taken to
the soldering shop, where they ore put to-
| getlier and built in with all necessary
| braces uutil the worm is complete. The
| length of the worms varies from rs to 125
| feet, according 20 the size of the still, and
their cOndensing surface increases in the
some proportion that is they are made of
diameter proportional to the size of the
still. The copper works make copper
! work of every kind, from the small still,
used for essential oils, up to the 40 barrel
tlIrpentine still.
Messrs. Hart & Bailey are also about to
add department for Plumbing and Gas
| Fixtures. ID.
THE ENGINE
which runs all Of the works was finished
and put up by the late Mr.. John f. Will
lams, a native of this city, who had, at
that time, just completed a three years.
apprenticeship to the proprietOrs, he being
then only II years Of age. This engine is
one of great power and the fact of its hav-
ing been erected by one who had learned
his trade under Messrs. Hart ~ Bailey is
the best evidence of what can be accom-
! plished here in our midst to promote our
mechanical interests. ..... ..t. ..'.
+ GUARDING AGAINGT FIRE
AS in all the Lumber Mills, you find here
/ the best kind Of arrangements for guarding
/ against and controlling fires. "A large
! steam pump, with sufficient hose, is attach
/ ed to the engine, having power enough to
! throw water over the top of the tall CHM
ney, which rises near the centre of tie
! works. In the yard is hand pump OF
/ great power with its hose, while buckets,
I filled with water, are placed all about the
| shops. The works are employing now 20
hands and paying, on the weekly payroll,
! 81 1000, or say over 900 per year paid to
blaorers and mechanics. .. -.
SALES DEPARTMENT.
In addition to, the different naRufactur-
ing departments of these extensive works,
+ the nrOnrietOrS also have 4 o. StDrerOOm.