Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-01-15
CAS- ING SHOT.
holding the Lead In the Big CoIan.
ders at the Top of the Tower.

holding the Lead In the Big CoIan-
ders at the Top of the Tower.
Every person who has walked about
the lower part of this city 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, says the New York
Tribune. This tower is in Center
street, pear Worth street, and belongs
to the Celwell Lead company. There
are several of these towers in this
city. They are places built especially
for the casting and manufacture of
shot. The tower rises to a height of
175 feet, and is so feet in diameter at
the base. 1t diminishes In diameter
as it ascends, being about thirty feet
across the top. 1t is divided into sew
eral stories. A circular stairway,
made of iron, extends to the summit,
giving access to the several stories.
Great height is essential for casting,
as the lead must cool in the descent,
and thus assume a 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 a mixture
of arsenic and lead. The mixture is
melted in large kettles, and is con-
stantly skinned and stirred. It is
cast in bars, the same as lead. When
the temper is made it is carried to the
top floor, where there are kettles and
a furnace Tor melting it. The temper
is mixed with the lead, as pure lead
would assume various shapes in cast
ing; 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 coland-
ers-round pans with holes perforat-
ed in the bottom. The casting is all
done on the top floor, and the colan-
der is suspended over an opening in
the floor which goes through the en-
tire 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 colander with ladies which
have long handles. It oozes through
the holes in the bottom of the colan-
der and falls through the opening to
the ground floor into the we'll. The
shot is taken out of the well
by small buckets fastened to an end
less belt, which runs over a 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 dispels the
moisture, and snot soon becomes per-
fectly dry.
It is taken from the drying table"
to the ''screeners, a series of tables
with narrow openings between them,
the tables being 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
If it is imperfect 1t cannot roll fast
and falls into the openings, under
which boxes are placed.
The shot then goes TO the ''sCpar-
ators, " which are series of drawers
not unlike a bureau, which rock back
ward AMI forward like machinery.
The shot is poured into the upper
drawer, which has an iron bottom
perforated with holes Of GER
tain size. The second drawer
has holes of q smaller size, and
SO on down to the lowest drawer,
the bottom of each drawer being per
forated with holes of a 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
second drawer, while all larger than
the holes remain in the drawer. The
same is repeated down to the lowest
drawer, SO that each drawer contains
a sma Her size of shot than the one
Immediately above it.
The next process is polishing"
The shot is put into irregular-shaped
iron boxes, which continually revolve,
When the box is nearly full powdered
black lead is put in. The irregular
motion of the box throws the shot
from side to side, and the black lead
is so ground into it that it cannot be
rubbed out. And it is this that gives
it the beautiful shiny appearance.