The record-union., 1896-08-30

Among the Southern Pacific shops
there is one tucked away in a corner
by itself which might escape the notice
OF the visitor were his attention not
called to it, but it is q very necessary
shop, nevertheless, and it is here that
the workers in copper toll year in and
year out
The metal itself has quite a history,
and takes its name from Cyprus, the
island in the Mediterranean Sea, where
it was once extensively mined by the
ancient Greeks.
Nor is that all. It was undoubtedly
the first metal known to man. Tubal
Cain (the seventh in descent from
Adam, we are told) was "an instructor
of every artificer in brass and iron
Ia the book of Job, too, we are in
formed that copper is molten out of
the stones" while Cheops, an Egyptian
King of the fourth dynasty, is recorded
as having worked a copper mine in
the peninsula of Sinia. The ancient
Egyptians employed an alloy of the
metal for working hard stones, which
leads US to believe that they may have
known the art of hardening it.
The Syrians, Phoenicians, Greeks and
Romans consumed the metal largely
An the manufacture of monuments and
statues OF bronze, ami the single Col
lossus of Rhodes, after having lain in
fragments for nine centuries, is said
TO have required 900 camels to convey
its pieces away.
The ores, therefore, must not only
nave been worked extensively by the
anctents, but the skill and facilities for
producing large castings appear to
have been quite equal to those pos
sessed by the moderns.
Then, too, copper was coined for cir
culating medium by the ancients,
though whether it was free and un-
limited" and whether it was at the
ratio Of '16 to l." cannot well be de-
termined at this time with any degree
OF accuracy. The metal was probably
first discovered as it is now found, in a
native state, and by the melting of this
the rich ores associated with it are
thought to have become known
Some searchers into the annals Of an
uquity maintain that America was the
mother Of the human race, but though
they be mistaken, certain it is that
some obscure race that inhabited this
country prior to the occupation by the
Indians possessed an acquaintance
with copper, as is shown from the va
rtous small utensils of the metal found
IN many Of the ancient mounds in the
western country. The extensive min
ing works at Lake Superior probably
once conducted by the same people.
testify to the knowledge of it possessed
by some ancient race Of greater skill
than the Indians
The Aztecs of Mexico made use of
chisels and axes of copper, some of
which have been found with the large
half-finished blocks Of granite in the
quarries of Militia, and these would sug-
gest that these people possessed a
knowledge Of the art of giving hardness
to the metal.
Be that as it may, one thing is GER
tain No method is now known by
which copper may be tempered Hun
dreds of men spring up each year, like
mushrooms in a hot bed, each claim
ing to have unearthed the secret held
by the ancients, but like the question of
perpetual motion, it is still a minus
quantity.
Copper is remarkable for its fine red
color bordering upon yellow, as we'll as
for its peculiar and disagreeable odor
when rubbed.
In the Southern Paciflc's copper and
tin shop in this city one finds the cop
persmith at home His is probably the
most particular and tedious work per-
formed by any class of mechanics in
the shops, and for that reason it is
difficult to get an American apprentice
TO serve his time and become an expert
coppersmith. Young America is too
swift for so slow a trade
Yet the trade is one Of vast import
ance, for in all alloy metals such as
bronze and brass, copper is the princi-
pal ingredient
Then another point over which the
coppersmith has puzzled is the art of
welding Copper VIII not weld onto
copper. It has been tried time and
time again, but it refuses to affiliate by
pounding. Smiths have worried over
the problem from every conceivable
point of vantage, but never has a sue
cessful weld Of copper upon copper
been made without the use of spelter,
which in reality produces a "braze"
and not a weld.
Spelter as the word is commonly
smith 1t applies to any metal which
nielts just a little bit quicker than cop
per and has a sufficient tenaclty to
produce a strong braZe. Thus alloy
must be used before a successful braze
can be made, and the usual method en-
ployed by the mechanics in the copper
and tin shops is to apply the spelter
direct 70 the parts To be spliced
.'Brazer is the word used by the cop
Vsrsmith when he speaks of uniting
svgo pieces Of the metal, and the pro-
ceeding is worthy Of note. Two pieces
of metal which he desires to unite are
drawn down - long beveled points. so
that they will fit snugly one upon the
other. Then a thin plate Of spelter or
zinc is applied 10 one of the beveled
edges. which has been previously welI
sprinkled with borax. Next a white
hot bar, answering the purpose Of a
soldering iron. is drawn along upon the
spelter, which melts under it's influ-
ence Then the beveled edge of the
other piece is applied and the brazer's :
work is done.
The coppersmith's work is steady ana
ardsous. and day after day he may be
seen at his bench turning out dry pipes
or those to convey the steam generated
in the locomotive boiler from the steam
drum to the steam chest, where it is
taken UP by the cylinder; branch pipes.
oil pipes, copperwork for ferry boats.
and. in fact, every sort of copperwork
used by the Southern Pacific Company.
Here too, all sorts of brasswork is
4urned out. and 1t is safe to say that
"a