The Democratic advocate., 1885-04-11
How Shot are Made.

Every person who has walked about the
lower part of this city, says the New York
Tribune, must have noticed high round
tower, as high as the roadway of the Bridge,
which rears itself high above the surround
ing buildings and has small windows at
different places. This tower is in Center
Street near Worth Street, and belongs to
the Colwell Lead Company. There are
several ofthese towers in this city. They are
places built especially for the casting and
manufacture of shot. The tower rises to
height of 176 feet, and is fifty feet in
diameter at the base. 1t diminishes in
diamter as it ascends, being about thirty
feet across at the top. 1t is divided into
several stories. A circular stairway made
of iron extends to the summit, giving ac-
cess to the several stories. Great height IS
essential for casting, as the lead must cool
in the descent, and thus assume spherical
shape. If hot, it would fatten when it
strikes the water into which it falls.
The first method is making what is called
"temper." This is mixture of arsenic
and lead. The mixture is melted in large
kettles, and is constantly skinned and
stirred. 1t is cast in bars, the same as
lead. When the temper is made it is car
ried to the top floor, where there are ket-
ties and furnace for melting it. The
temper is mixed with the lead, as pure lead
would assume various shapes in casting;
but when mixed with the temper in the
proportion of three tons of lead to one ton
of temper, it takes the shape of globules
when it is cast.
The casting pans are large colanders,
round pans with holes perforated in the
bottom. The casting is all done on the
top floor, and the colander is suspended
over an opening in the floor, which goes
through the entire height of the building
to the ground, where there is well of
water. The lead is melted in large kettles,
and is dipped out and poured into the col
ander with ladies which have long handles.
1t oozes through the holes in the bottom
of the coander, and falls through the
opening to the ground floor into the well.
The shot is taken out of the well by small
buckets fastened to an endless belt, which
runs over wheel, which. carries it from
the well up to a long hot metal table.
Here the shot is constantly stirred by men
with long rakes, and the heat rapidly dis
pels the moisture, and the shot soon be-
comes perfectly dry.
1t is taken from the ''drying table, to
the "screeners, series Of tables with mar
row openings between them, the tables be
ing set at a slight angle. IF the shot is
round and perfect, it rolls rapidly along
these tables, skipping the openings, until
it reaches box at the extreme end, into
which it falls. If it is imperfect, it cannot
roll fast, and falls into the openings, under
which boxes are placed.
The shot then goes to the "separators,
which are series of drawers, not unlike
bureau, which rocks backward and forward
by machinery The shot is poured into
the upper drawer, which has an iron bot
tom perforated with holes of certain size.
The second drawer has holes of smaller
size, and so on down to the lowest drawer,
the bottom of each drawer being perforated
with holes of size smaller than those in
the drawer above it. The backward and
forward motion throws the shot from side
to side, letting all the shot the size of the
holes or smaller pass through into the sec
ond drawer, while all larger than the holes
remain in the drawer. The same IS re-
peated down to the lowest drawer, so that
each drawer contains a smaller size OF shot
than the one Immediately above it.