Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1886-04-02
Making Shot.

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 road
way OF the Bridge, which rears itself
high above the surrounding buildings
and has small windows at different
places This tower is In Centre street
near Worth street, and belongs to the
Colwell 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 10 a height OF l76 feet, and
is fifty feet in diameter at the base. IL
diminishes in diameter as it aseencs,
being about Thirty feet across at the
top. Ii Is divided into several stories.
Great heigbt,is essential for casting, A.
the lead must cool IN the descent, and
thus assume spherical shape. IL hot,
1t would fiatten when ir strikes the
water into which il falls. The first
method Is making what is called 'tem-
per-" This Is u mixture of arsenic.a and
lead. The mixture i melted In large
kettles, and is constantly skinned and
stirred Ii is cast in bars, the same as
lead. When the temper IL made IL Is
carried TO the top floor, where there are
kettles and furnace for melting 1t.
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 IL is cast.
The casting pans are large colanders,
refund pans with holes perforated In the
bottom. rhe casting is al 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
a well of water. The lead Is melted In
large kettles and is dipped out and is
poured into the colander with ladies
which have long handles. Ii oozes
through the holes in the bottom OF the
colander, 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 a wheel, which carries
II from the well up TO long hot metal
table. Here the shot Is constantly,
stirred by men with long rakes, and
the heat rapidly dispels the moisture,
and the shot soon become perfectly dry.
1t Is then taken from the "drying table"
to the "screeners, a series OF tables
with narrow openings between them,
the tables being set at slight angle.
Ii the shot is round and perfect, 1t rolls
rapidly along these tables, skipping the
openings, until it reaches box at the
extreme end, into which 1t falls. If 1t
is imperfect, it cannot roll fast, and
falls into the openings, under which
boxes are placed.
The shot then goes TO the "seDarators,"
which are series Of drawers, not un-
like a bureau, which rocks backward
and forward by machinery. The shot
is poured into the upper drawer, which
has an iron bottom perforated with
holes of certain size. TIE 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 IL. The backward
and forward motion throws the shot
from side to side, letting all the shot
the size of the holes or sma Her pass
through into the second drawer, while
all larger than the holes remain in the
drawer. The same is repeated down 60
the lowest drawer, so that each drawer
contains smalier size OF shot than the
one Immediately above It. iir,
The next process Is polishing"
The shot is put into irregular shaped
iron boxes, which continually reyolve.
When the box is nearly full, powdered
black lead is put in. The irregular mo-
ton of the box throws the shot from
side to eide, and the black lead is so
| ground into 1t that IL cannot be rubbed
off. Aud it is this tnat gives IL the
beautiful shiny appearances. so0