St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-05-21


the hres- The iron will begin to melt
IN from five to seven minutes after the
draft is let on, and from nine to ten
tons can be melted in an hour. This
draft can be regulated at will-there
being apparatus by which it can be let
on or shut off, Iaalf M
The moulder knows how mucb iron
he must have to fill his moulds by the
weight of his castings; and thus upon
each day the different workmepi will
state to the foreman how much iron
they will need for their work, and in
this way it is readily known how much
iron to melt. When the iron is suffi-
ciently melted, the man who has charge
of it calls for some workman, who i'm
mediately starts to fill his ladle; peE-
haps he will need several ladies full, in
which case some of his brother work
men help him to ELL his moulds. In
this case one has to ''pay back" by Civ
ing as much help as he has received.
The man having charge of the melting
calls for whom he pleases, for thereby
one workman can take no advantage of
another. The work of filling the
moulds is very brisk and arduous, and
in hot weather we judge it must be
rather "perspiring" business.
The moulding sand, which is a mix
ture of sand and loan in such proper
tions as to form compactly, is received
from Fort Ann, near the lower end of
Lake Cbamplain. About 300 tons of
this material are used yearly, and it
costs from $3.50 to $500 per ton deliv-
cred here. There is a constant waste
going on in the operation of moulding,
and it has to be replenished every year.
Much of the work in this department is
done by the piece which secures more
perfection than could otherwise be had.
In this way if the work is found to be
imperfect, it is charged to the proper
parties, who, of course, get nothing for
it; so the more care and skill one can
use the better he can do. 1t is Mr..
Walkers first business in the morning
to examine all castings with the view
to their perfection. If any are found
imperfect they are thrown out all 9th
ers are loaded upon car which is up
on track built for the purpose, and
taken to the cleaning departments.
Here they are taken to one room where
there is vat filled with a solution OF
vitriol-water around this vat is an in
clined platform of wood, underneath OF
which is lining of lead; the heavier
castings, and some others over which
special care is exercised, are laid upon
this platform, and upon which this so.
luton is poured, in order to take of
the sand adhering to them, after whicl
they are thoroughly rinsed with Hatel
from large bath near by. Other cast
ings are placed within large, hollow
revolving iron cylinders, and "tumbled'
about among small scraps and pieces o
iron, until the sand is off and they as
sumo clean and polished appearance
, There are several of these cylinders 0
/ different capacity, in constant opera
ton, when the rattle and din is well
nigh perfect. After these operation
they are taken to another room wher
the wOrkmen, with chisels and files, re
, move the rough particles of iron nat
urally found upon castings, smooth tn
edges, ETC., when certain kinds are rea
: dy to be drilled, and for the steel bear
ings to be attached. After this the
are taken to large room where the
' remain until wanted in other depart
: ments for still further operations, th
e nature of which we shall see further or
We understand that nothing is al
= lowed to go to waste here, that every
D thing is scrupulOusly saved, from al
t scraps lying around, to the little heap
t of iron grains deposited under the drill
e ing machines. One of the beauties G
e this department is the system alread
Y alluded to. The work commences fror
D the unloading of the pig-iron and Goa
: and goes right along in perfect order
S one operation succeeding another i
e the easiest and most natural way, unit
Y everything has received its just atten
ton.
D Near by the main building is tn
brass foundry. Brass being an alloy c
e other metals, is put together in varyin
S proportions, according to what specia
r thing is required of it. Here we see in
] gots of copper, tin, and zinc, piled in
f room by themselves, which have bee
: purchased in the proper markets, an
d are ready to be weighed, proportioned
: and melted. The furnaces here are ia
= different from the iron ones. They al
n sunken below the floor, four or five {
S them in number, the coal put into then
e and receive their draft from chimney
/, The material to be melted is put int
: crucibles made of black lead, holdin
: or 10 quarts we should say, and the
S dropped into the furnaces upon til
:. fires. AS the metals will not melt IN
: formly, the copper is put into the crr
y chile first, then the zinc, and lastly til
b tin. For the most part, the casting
It here are for beams and poises. {
course the work here is similar to tha
Q of the iron foundry, saving it is less
: magnitude, and the castings are lighte