The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-04-17
HexAooaAL POWDER.
why and How Cannon Powder Is Rammed
Before II Goes Into the Gun.

A large number of persons who Wis
tied the scene of the recent disastrous
powder explosion at the Du Pont pow
der mills carried away with them. ms
mementoes of the explosion. little six
sided pieces of black material which
they generally supposed to be iron or
some soft metal. These mementoes
were six-sided. about ! Ia inches long.
one inch in diameter. and were pierced
by small round hole. They appeared
to be blank six-sided nuts ready TO be
tapped or threaded. to make them
available on the bolts of the mill ma
chinery. They appeared to be inno-
cent little things easy to pilfer and
convenient to carry. and served nicely
as mementoes of the great explosion.
in reality these innocent-lookiug
mementoes ere Jumps of concentrated
explosive energy. They are prisms or
Jumps of prismatic powder. Tie name
is doubtless owing to the peculiar
shape given to each piece or block,
which is that of n short bexagonal
prism. This form is the result of in
tense pressure to which the powder is
exposed in its passage through IA pow
erful hydraulic press. 1t was chosen
for the same reason that the honey bee
chooses to make the cells in its comb
1eNa1Ou-ecOnOulIO Vi spacet ia buiiOi-
ing cartridges for big guns out of this
powder the pieces fit snugly together.
The compression has put every possi-
BILE ounce of force into the prism. the
small size of the prisms enable the
gunBers accurately to measure the
force of each charge. and the hexagons
pack together without loss of space in
the load chamber of the gun. In the
manufacture of this powder science
has learned to ram the charge of pow
der before putting it into the gun
barrel.
The concentration of power by means
of the hydraulic press is SO great that
solid prisms of this powder loaded into
a gun would probably burst it, and if
not would be wasted by ejeetment
from the gun before it was all burned.
The round hole in the prisms of pow
der, which makes them a complete
duplicate of blank six-sided iron nut,
is to secure expansion equally in all
directions and to insure the combus-
tion of all the explosive
The machines by which these prisms
of concentrated power are manufact-
ured are models of compact, strong
aud accurate-working machinery. One
of them now in course of construction
stands about IS feet high, and will
weigh about $4,000 pounds. 1t occu-
pies a floor space 4 feet 4 inches by 5
feet inches is capable of exerting a
pressure of 135, 900 pounds on sur
face of about 81 square inches in area.
and will make "a prisns of powder at
every stroke of its pistons.
The most apparent feature of this
press is its weight and strength. and
It's surprising characteristic is ease of
movement and control. 1t is COM
,,oood ~ tro ryafor ov1ipdarc apd frvo
rams, connected by four polished iron
rods about 1-2 inches in diameter,
standing on a rectangular foundation.
The cylinders asd rams are at opposite
ends of these rods. The rams work
toward each other centrally with the
rods. Between the rams are four cast
iron plates inches thick, 3 feet 2
inches by 4 feet 6 in area. three of
which move with the ram and one is
stationary. This stationary plate is
perforated with fifty-four round holes,
about two inches in diameter, that
have been partially filed with brass
bushings. Through these bushings
are the six-sided holes in which the
powder is compressed. Working di-
rectly over this plate is similar one
attached to the ram of the upper cylin-
der, and guided by the four polished
iron rods which fit into half-round
recess at each of its corners. 1t is
armed with six-sided brass plungers.
which in its descent pass into the six
sided holes in the stationary plate.
Below the stationary plate is another
plunger plate similar to the upper one,
and below this is the needle plate.
The needle plate is armed on its upper
surface with fifty-four long steel need !
les, which extend up through the !;
lower plunger plate and into the hex
agon holes in the stationary plate
These needles make the round holes
the prisms of powder.
The power of these presses is ge
ated in the cylinders simply by
ing water into them and beh;s
rams. The cylinders are IL. i
inches in diameter. The z
has two compartments; the
the lower one and above
der with lifting pistos
ram is raised afte-
stroke, in comr-
The lower -