The Dickinson press., 1891-05-23
HEXAGONAL POWDER.
WHY AND HOW CANNON POWDER
is RAMMED BEFORE 1T is USED.

It Is Compressed by Hydraulic Machines
into Convenient Little Prisms-Some.
thing About the Press That Does the
Work-A Complicated Process.
A large number of persons who Wis.
tied the scene of the disastrous powder
explosion of the Du Pont Powder mills
carried away with them, us mementos
of the explosion, little six-sided pieces OF
a black material which they generally
supposed to be iron or some soft metal.
These mementos We're six sided, about
II inches long, III inch in diameter, and
were pierced by Il 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
machinery. They appeared to be inno-
cent little things, easy toWlfer and con
venient to carry, and served nicely as
m%ernentos of the great explosion.
In reality these innocent looking me-
mentos are Jumps of concentrated ex-
plosive energy. They are prisms or
Jumps of p%rislnatic powder. The name
is doubtless owing to the peculiar shape
given to each piece or block, which is
that of a short hexagonal prism. This
form is the result of intense pressure to
which the powder is exposed in its pas
sage through a powerful hydraulic press.
1t vas chosen for the same reason that
the honey bee chooses to make the cells
in its comb hexagon-cconomy of space.
In building cartridges for big guns ont
of this powder the pieces fit snugly to-
Sether.
The compression has put every posi-
ble ounce of force into the prism, the
small size of the prisms enable the gun
ners accurately to measure the force of
each charge, and the hexagons pack to-
gc,her 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 powder before putting
it into the gun barrel.
THE MACHINE.
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 ejectment from the
gun before it was all burned. The round
hole in the prisms of powder, which
makes them Il complete duplicate of a
blank six sided iron nut. is to secure ex-
pausion equally i'll all directions, andtoin-
sure the combustion of all the explosive.
The machines by which these prisms
of concentrated power are manufactured
are models of compact, strong and accu-
rate working machinery. One of them
stands about eighteen feet high, and will
weigh about 80, 1000 pounds. 1t occupies
IL floor space / feet 4 inches by 3 feet 4
inches, is capable of exerting a pressure
Of 135 1000 pounds on a surface of about
fifty-four square inches in area, and will
make ffty-four prisms of powder at
every stroke of its pistons.
The most apparent feature of this press
isits weight and strength, and its s1rpris-
ing characteristic is case of movement
and control. 1t is composed of two water
cylinders and two rams, connected by
four polished iron rods about four and a
half inches in diameter, standing on a
rectangular foundation. The cylinders
and 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 six inches thick, 8 feet 9 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 il
diameter, that have been partially filled
with brass bushings. Through these
bushings are the six sided holes in which
the powder is compressed.
TIE PROCESS.
Working directly over this plate is a
similar n attached to the ran of the
upper cylinder, and guided by the -four
polished iron rods which fit into a halt
round recess at each of its corners. 1t is
armed with six sided brass plungers
which in its descent pass into the sill
sided holes in the stationary plate. Be
low 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 sur
face with ffty-four long steel needles
which extend up through the lowel
ptunger plate andinto the hexagon holes
in the stationary plate. These needle.
make the round holes in the prisms OF
powder.
The power of these presses is generated
in the cylinders simply by pumpin!
water into them and behind the rams
| Tho oy1irlarc ~ IL 10 orl 1 . ,n1,o, /.
diameter. The upper one has two com
partments-the ram filling the lower one
and above it is a cylinder with Il liftin.
piston by which the ram is raised afte
it's downward stroke in COMPRISING tn
powder. The lower ram is raised b,
pumping water under it, and is lowere,
by letting the water out, which will b
accomplished automatically.
In operation the parts of this press ar
SO adjusted that the plungers of the up
per and lower plunger plates and til
needles approach each other through tn
movement of the rams. The holes i
the stationary plate are stopped on til
lower side by the ends of the plungers
and the needles entering through til
plungers extend up through the station
airy plate. The hexagon holes are the
filled with wet powder and the ram
brought together, exerting a pressure c
2,5o0pounds on the powder in each
the holes, COMPRISING into a solid he,
agonal prism Il inches long, one inch i
diameter, with a hole Of about 8 inch i
diameter through it longitudinally.-
Wilmington News.
Discovery of Mahogany.
In the year 1897 one of Sir Walter R
leigh's ships, in an expedition against IL
Azores, put in at Trinidad for repair
The workmen used the first wood til
came to hand. and it hammered 10 he Il