The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-12-03
How Shot are Made.

The usual method of shot-making has
some semblance to the process by which
rain is transformed into hail. The liquid
lead is made to fall from high elevation
in passing through the air this leaden rain
becomes cool, and hardens into leaden hail
or shot The common method of shot
making is said to have originated with a
plumber of Bristol, named Watts. About
the year 1852, he dreamed that he was ex-
posed to a shower Of rain, that the clouds
rained lead instead of water, and that the
drops of lead were perfectly round Inspir-
ed by this dream, he determined to try the
experiment. He accordingly assembled the
tower Of church, and poured some melt
ed lead into some water below the plan
was successful, and he sold his invention
for large sum Of money.
In carrying out the idea suggested by
this dream, if such was its real origin, shot
towers have been constructed, varying in
height from one hundred to two hundred
and fifty feet, according to the size of the
shot to be made, the larger size requiring
the greater height. The lead is melted at
the top of the tower, and poured into
colander, and the drops are received in
vessel of water at the bottom. The sur
face of the lead, when melted, is covered
with spongy crust of oxide, called cream,
which is used to coat over the bottom of
the colander, in order to prevent the lead
from passing too rapidly through the holes,
and to perfect the roundness of the shot
The colanders are made of sheet iron, the
holes differing according to the size of the
shot, though the shot are always larger
than the holes through which the melted
lead passes The lead passes through the
colander in fine threads which collect in
globules of the size of the shot ON the un-
der surface of the colander. In falling to
the bottom of the tower, the entire surface
of the shot is equally acted on by current
of air. BY this means they take their
proper form, and are sufficiently cooled,
through still soft, to bear the shock of fall
ing into water, without changing their
shape. The holes in the colander for shot,
known as No. 0, are one fiftieth of an inch
in diameter; for No. 1 the holes are one
fifty eighth of an inch and from No. to
No. 0 the diameter decreases by regular
gradations, the latter being only one three
hundred and sixtieth of an inch. When
the shot are removed from the water, which
is sometimes done by an endless chain Of
boxes, they are thoroughly dried by steam
ari irou ralafac or IN iron hnvau Tho i'm,
perfect shot are then separated from those
which are we'll formed by causing them to
pass over number of inclined planes, ar
ranged one above another. The perfect
shot proceed rapidly in straight line, and
fall into boxes placed to receive them few
inches from the edge of the inclined plane.
The ill-shapen pieces-oblong, or partly
round-move in zigzag, and more slowly,
and fall into boxes placed Immediately at
the edge of the plane. If the first boxes
do not receive all the imperfect pieces they
are likely to disappear in the boxes below
the second incline plano so that at the
Bottom of the slope only the perfect ones
fall into the trough placed to receive them.
The good shot thus separated from the
bad are of dead, silvery-white color
They are then placed in the polishing bar
rel, containing a small quantity of pulver-
lied plumbago, where, after many revolu-
tions, they receive their superficial finish
They are then assorted according to their
sizes by Sitting them from boxes, the bot
toms of which have holes corresponding to
the different sizes Of shot, or by sitting
them through revolving copper cylinder
placed on an incline, having holes which in
crease in size towards the lower end Thus
the smaller drop through the first, and the
larger lower down, each size being received
in its own box. Being thus assorted, they
fall into boxes, each Of which has a tube
and faucet SO arranged that tho bag
placed over the mouth of the opened tube
receives precisely twenty-five pounds Of
shot, when it instantly closes, obviating in
this way the necessity of weighing each
bag Of shot. iama
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