Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-12-31
The Great Guns of England.

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such as that just described, coiled
spirally, and welded into a solid
mass by the hammer. These red hot
furnaces contain g. straight bar; at q
word the door is slightly raised, and
with huge nippers it's head is seized by
loops made for the purpose. A
steam which draws out the glow
ing mass, and brings it to a
horizontal capstan fixed before
the door. A water, hose is turned
upon the loop, and while it blackens
unde. the chill a stalwart fellow,
welding q heavy sledge, fixes the loop
on a nut projecting from the capstan
wheel. Then the machine revolves
with resistless force, curling the hot
metal round and round on it's drum
neatly and smoothly, and as easily
as one of Jordan"Marsh's girls would
wind ribbon. %. So the coil is fornod,
whether for the breech piece o .he
body of the gun, or for it's [ 5et.
This again is cooled, and after aile
is refined for Welding under>s am
mer. ~ Z +.
You ought to see this Noooo. wich
hammer. 1t weighs forty tons sheer
weight, and when it drops itfalIs forty
feet ON to q block that rests on spiles,
massive masonry and enormous
quantities of iron. Between two
great shafts this hammer is suspend
ed, q solid block, which, driven from
above by steam, and gathering impe-
tus as it fall, strikes with q force OF
many hundred tons. Aveterapwork-
mar has charge of this massive ham.
mer. He starts and drops it by q
touch OF his thumb and finger. I saw
an open face watch laid down on the
block; then he dropped the hammer,
and he stopped it just in time to break
the crystal-and nothing more. They
call this last operation Of the furnace
the great sheat," and about every
monarch there is in Europe has seen
it just as I did, While am wonder.
ing what they thought about it, the
furnace to be emptied is Aaring with
impatience. Through the enterstices
OF its great door blue, red and purple
flames are leaping out. A huge crane
swings around a pair ofpincers, at the
end OF which a dozen Britons clustery
The door rises a little, the white light
blinds us, and, although ! am at least
twenty yards away, the heat burns
my face uncomfortably. Water is
thrown into the awful gap, and then
the men perceive their prey. The
huge arms part and firmly close, the
door rises to it's fullest extent, a
clash of the crane gear, a shout from
the men and out 1t comes, east
ly and softly, q monstrous coil.
The crane swings about and
places it on end upon the anvil. Then
the hammer falls, shaking the solid
floor beneath us, crushing the red-hot
mass inches down at a blow, welding
it's coils together SO that they can
never part. But the inside hollow has
been knocked out of shape by this pro-
cess, so, when the tube has been re-
duced to it's proper length, a solid
mandrll is deity slipped betwixt the
hammer and the iron. For two on
three blows the contracted coil at,
tempts resistance, but it gives way,
and the mandril slips to its base, as
into butter. Then the great pincers
are used again. and it drops the mass
on its side, where again it is battered
and struck all around. The irregulari-
ties caused by all this hammering are
afterward removed by the plane, as l
have already mentioned, and thep
the gun is made by other machinery
Correspondence Boston Herald.