The state herald., 1892-11-18
MESSENGERS OF DEATH.
PROCESS OF CONVERTING
ROUGH LEAD INTO SHOT.
Drops Of Molten Metal That Reach XIII.
ing Perfection by Fall-Descrip-
tion Of tho Manufacture Of
'Lead Pills."

measures 44-100 OF an inch in Diane.
ter tho bit OF lead being perfectly
round, says the New York World 1t
takes so Of the bullets to weigh
pound avoirdupoiA The smallest
bird shot Is known as fine dust" and
1t takes 172. 544 OF them to weigh u
pound. Tho SHOEMAKER will tell you
gravely that fine dust measures g.
100 Of an inch In diameter is per-
fectly round and has passed through
exactly the same processes that have
brought the smooth little 44-caliber
messenger OF death to killing perfec-
ton.
When you were on vacation up at
the farm perhaps you saw farmers
boy on the kitchen door-sill making
bullets in a hand mould from lead
that he had melted In crucible about
as big as tablespoon on the kitchen
are but that Isn't the way 44-caliber
shot is generally made. That's only
the boys way.
There Is another way by which one
man can turn out something like four
tons Of such bullets In working day.
and II you have influence you may
gain permission to watch the shot
dropper sift sieve OF millions of the
finest dust" bird shot in few hours
The tower is 10 feet wide at the
foot 1t is II feet wide ut the top.
Two hundred feet from the ground
the elevator stopped. tho four pas
sengers alighted on platform
surrounding furnace There was
1 RrA tv, hat h.N
temperature was something more
than 100 degrees the heat arising
from redhot furnace hundred feet
further down.
This was one OF three similar fur
naces each provided with melting
pot In which four tons Of lead might DO
reduced TO the consistency OF hot
maple strip. when it would run
through an iron tube or spout into u
giant colander. to be strained into
receptacle Of 200 feet below. reaching
the latter as n rough unpublished
shot but cold enough to retain its
shape
The least observant person has
hardly failed to notice that liquid
falling invariably takes on n g;obulnr
shape, whether 1t DO water molasses
Or medicine. Whether ii comes in
drops from tho mouth OF a bottle or
In torrents from storm cloud-it
falls In little globules
So with molten lend. II comes
through the holes In tho giant colan-
dor and falling assumes the globular
shape. 1t grows cold and hardens us
1t falls too and lands 200 feet below.
tough and hard shot
Tho smaller the globule OF molten
lead tho less the distance required TO
cool it and harden it and tho visitors
to the latham n Bros tower found
Charlie Petersen dropped No. $ shot
which Is 9-l00ths OF IN inch In diamet-
or and Az 10 the ounce from
height OF about 100 feet
II was q pretty, glisiening shower
that came through tho 200 tiny holes
In his colander but tho constant
shower would mako heap OF several
thousand pounds on the ground below
by nightfall.
The queer littlo elevator that
hoisted tho visitor up 70 this floor
brought up for the days work n truck
load OF pigs OF lead. each weighing
eighty poundA and another truck
load OF .tempereI. which consists
OF lead pigs into which has been
mixed u certain percentage Of arsenic.
which has tendency TO harden the
lead whom II 10 necessary.
Going a floor below. ono found that
n scoop elevator was bringing tho
newly dropped shot up again to DO
dried on moving disk OF polished
steel kept hot by steam-pipes under
meath.
| About the edge OF the revolving
disk WIS little trough its edge just
below tho level Of the disk. II was
two inches wide and beyond /, was II
wider and larger trough.
Superintendent Brooks explained
that perfectly round shot would roll
down tho slight incline OF rho disc
with speed enough TO clear the first
little narrow trough and drop into
the wider trough beyond. while i'm
perfect shot were always lazy" and
would drop into tho narrow ditch.
Chutcs from tho dryers carried the
perfect shot to tho first polisher on
the floor below. The polisher Is u
steel cylinder In which tho shot Is
tumblei about and at last tumblod
out upon an inclined table down
which II rolls TO leap at tho end
over 'ia,y ditch" or into It,
II II goes over II falls Into another
chute that takes 1t TO tho screening
boards TO pass through another nat.
| urul selcctIoni process and than into