The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-28
NEW USES FOR ELECTRICITY.
Applications of the Mysterious Current that Brings
1t Into the Everyday Life of the People.

coal furnace, ana either wait ior IL W
be heated again to bring forth fresh
iron from the furnace. In later times
in canning factories and such places
naptha or gas furnaces have replaced
the old charcoal fires, but still the tin
ner has had to work with a number OF
irons to keep busy, and these were Of
ten too cool or else so hot that the tin |
was burned off. with the electric SOL |
dering iron the furnace is done away |
with entirely and the irons are always |
at just the right heat to do their work
wire cords running to the end of the |
handles and a jacket over the copper
head, they appear like the ordinary
soldering iron. Within the jacket lies
concealed q coat of wire and this sup
plies the needed heat In all the big
electrical works all the soldering Is
done by means of these irons.
Many factories are not only supplied
with great variety of special electric
tools, but also use electric motors for
the direct driving of nearly all their
machinery. A notable example of this
is new shirt factory. Beyond the
work of heating, which is done by
waste straw, the whole place is run
and heated by electricity. The sewing
machines are worked and heated by 1t,
and all the flatirons are electrical.
One of the most potent advantages
claimed for the electrical sad iron and
tailor's goose is that no heat is wasted
and the iron can never do any harm If
left standing. The grasping of the han
die in most makes puts on the current,
and the iron heats up; and the current
is cut off and the iron begins to cool the
moment you let go of it. The owners
of the factory declare that electricity
is away ahead of other power, being
| more cleanly, less noisy and more sat-
isfactory in every way
Tiffany & Co.'S great silverware fac
| tory at Forest Hill, N. j., depends en-
| tirely upon electric motors to drive
the machines which are used in each
! department. In place a visitor may
see delicate drills and polishing wheels
running by electricity, and in another
! the same power operates a hydraulic
press capable of exerting a pressure
of 1000 tons, while in another room the
same current is electro plating and
gliding. Out at North Tonawanda,
near Niagara Falls, is great bolt and
nut factory in which every machine is
driven by electricity. Here big motors
run great lines of shafting, and these
in turn sdrive the machines which
transform the re- bars of steel or iron
into finished bolts and nuts. The same
work could undoubtedly be done with
economy by steam engines. The inten-
tion to use electric power from Ma
CARA Falls might explain the installa-
tion here; but there are many other
| NH-hn
hold. Yet there are other good rea-
sons for doing it. One of these Is econ
omy in room. In the nut and bolt fac
tories the motors are carried on plat
forms hung from the roof rafters over
the heads of the workmen, and above
all the machinery on the floor, and this
is done in many other places. A steam
engine could not be treated so, nor
would it be handy to have it in such
a position, for steam engines require
| constant attention. Not so with the
electric motors They are made for
the toughest uses and the greatest
exposures, and cast in dust-proof and
waterproof covers, they defy every
thing. In the bolt and nut factory the
only attention they require is to be
oiled, and this is attended to by filling
the oil wells once in every six months.
Besides running the fixed machines
| in factories and shops the hardness
with which a current can be conducted
has made electricity a favorite for driv-
ing tools which are used about the
floor or in yards, such as drills,
punches, shears and small presses
One of the handy tools of this sort
has the electric motor on wheels and
flexible shaft running from the mo-
tor to drive the tools.
In textile factories the electric motor
is making it's way rapidly for driving
| looms, spindles, and carding machines
, and for printing presses they have m
, | rival for efficiency and ease of control
. | Another of their very important use
is the driving of pumps. For this pur
| pose they are made of all sizes from
l | that required for the little house pump
| which would run with an electric ligh
| curren, to tremendous machines adapt
| ed to pumping the whole water suppl.
1 | of "a city. There arc a dozen cities II
5 this country which pump their tow
2 | water into the mains by electricity
! Then there are motors and pump
meant for the rough work of sinkin
mines or keeping them clear of waite
Y and others for pumping water, stone
S sand, coal or grain through centrifugs
r pumps, such as are used for dredging
y Everywhere that one sees the electri
= motor applied it becomes apparer
:. that no other motor could compete wit
s it for economy of space and the cas-
e with which power can be carried to 1
: and there are many situations wher
q these quantities make it possible to b
e used when all other powers would b
u out of the question. With all of thes
d advantages it has one other, which
: of vital importance. This is econom
i in the use of power. A good motor wi
return in actual work more than
per cent. of the energy that reaches
= while no engine driven by other power
:, will approach this figure.
/ Hence Ii Is Welcome.