The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-29
The Law Of Resistance.

nat, ma am, is the biggest sort of a
reiiei to us boiler FOUNDERS" was the
reply as the man dotted his shining cap
anu removed his pipe from his mouth.
Under any circumstances boiler shop
Is the fountain head of noise, yet at the
same time it probably has as few visitors
as any old-time manufacturing establish
ment: The only explanation of this
scarcity OF visitors is that they are fright
ened away by the noise.
however, the conversation above given
resulted in visit to the shop by the
lauy' who placed herself under the escort
Oh tne boiler-maker. Daintily stepping
over the huge sheets of boiler iron she
PICKED her way until she had full view
OF anew "shelp' in process of construc-
ton and stopped.
Lying inside the shell was man who
had just taken white-heated rivet from
boy assistant at the forge outside.
quickly inserting the rivet the man held
huge hammer against it while men on
the outside hammered away flattening
ana shaping the head of the rivet.
That must be dreadfully unpleasant
work!!?' shrieked the lady, as she placed
her mouth close to her escorts ear,
I'VE get used to it with little cotton
in our earsr' was the answer and the
boiler man related the history of his ex-
perlence, the only portions of the tale
she heard being as follows: 81 became
= makers apprentice
1 was fourteen years old. have
worked all branches =
and rivetr - stationary and
marine -" upwards of twenty
years"
The lady asked: "Do you hear as well
now as eve;?"
The answer as heard was: ''Nearly
as well, spells of deafness,
vet, cold weather affects
e,rs full of cotton"
By this time thclady had nearly stuffed
lace mltten in ea,h ear and the rapidly
recurring sound waves made by the
riveters' hammers had so shocked her
system that with each blow her Jaws
came together with aspasmodic jerk.
''Step this way, SAID the boiler-maker,
as he touched the ladys arm and led the
way through labyrinth of finished and
unfinished "shells,'' portable forges,
derricks and cranes. 'Here's the quick
noise you asked about, he said, as he
stopped before a huge ''shelr' which lay
upon the ground.
"What is it?" she asked.
cts a portable steam trip-hammer for
riveting boilers" was the reply, and the
lady looked at it with both hands to her
ears and with a great deal of interest,
while fifteen or twenty rivets were being
headed and shaped, after which she fol-
lowed her escort TO the comparative
quiet of the stock yard outside.
"You saw that machine with two arms
each, about six or eight feet long?"
asked the boiler-maker. "Well, they
operate something like the blades of a
pair of shears. The upper blade is laid
upon the outside of the shell and the
lower blade is laid under and against it.
The lower blade has at it's extremity an
anvil weighing 100 or more pounds, and
in the face of that anvil is die the shape
of the lower head of the rivet. At the
extremity of the upper blade is the ham,
mer and in the face of the hammer is
the top head die. The hammer is oper-
ated by steam, the novelty of the
machine being its portability and the
faculty of shaping the rivet heads. The
moving is done by the wheels of the
universal traveller from which you saw
the machine suspended, and the shaping
is done by the dies in the hammer and
anvil"
The lady calculated wonderful"
with the additional observation that 'she
wouldn't have thought it."
The boiler-maker continued: ''By the
use of the steam hammer not much noise
is avoided, but it is not necessary that a
man be placed inside the SHE'LL as we
can handle the anvil and the rivet from
the outside"
81 should think that heavy anvil at
the extreme end of that long arm, or
lower blade as you call it, would cause
the blade to break frequently" said the
lady with some show of pride, confident
that she had at last made an intelligent
remark relating to mechanism.
That's good" laughed the mechanic,
s'but it reminds me of something which
think you have seen and which will il
lustrate to you the reason why heavy
anvil is needed. You will perhaps re-
member that circus you attended when
little girl, where the great big man in
tights and spangles came into the ring,
and lying on his back in the sawdust had
huge anvil of $50 pounds weight, per-
haps, placed upon his breast. Then you
will recall how you held your breath as
another great big man lifted sledge-
hammer and swung it from the ground,
around behind him and over his shoulder,
and how you and many other ladies
shuddered and screamed as the sledge
came down with terrible force on the
anvil"
The lady said she had a most vivid
recollection of the scene, and suggested
something about a breast-bone of cast
iron.
:" Not al all. If the man was able to
hold the anvil on his breast and draw a
long breath that was enough; because,
before the blow of the sledge hammer
would affect his breathing it must over
come the resistance of the anvil weight.
So it is with our portable steam hammer.
The weight of the 100 pound anvil must
be overcome before the blade can be af-
fected.
Il understand something of the law
of resistance" said the lady, ''but do
not quite see your proposition.
oil trvI1D ant fnVn