The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-12-04
COUNTERFEIT GOLD.
GLIDING POWDERS ARE MADE OF
COPPER AND sPELTER.
Row the Material That Gives the
Shining, Metallic Finish to Mirror
and Picture Frames Is Produced.
Gold Leaf Without Gold.

and Picture Frames Us Produced.
Gold Leaf Without Gold.
How many persons VINO see the shin
Ing gold in eolored printing and on
mirror and picture frames know that
gold does not enter at all into the COM
position Of the stuff that produces these
golden effects?
The shining metallic effect is pro-
duced by a fne powder made from a
mixture Of bronze and spelter. This
offers the cheapest and best means Of
giving the rich surface demanded in
wall papers, printing, lithography, fres-
Going and in a vast range Of manufac-
1ured articles OF wood, paper and iron.
The material used is SO called Dutch
metal, an alloy Of copper and spelter.
The relative proportions are varied to
produce different colors. The larger
the percentage of spelter the lighter or
more yellowish will be the tint Of the
alloy.
The copper and spelter are smelted in
graphite crucibles containing about 400
pounds Of metal, which, when CON-
pIetely fused. is run of into moids,
forming half round ingots two feet
long by half an inch in thickness. Aft
er cooling these are bound into bundles
and sent to the rolling mill. where they
are passed cold nine times through
double set Of steel rolls under enor-
NOUS pressure. This hattens them and
draws them out into thin ribbons from
so to so feet long and something more
than one inch wide. Cold rolling un-.
der such extreme pressure makes the
metal brittle. so it passes to the an
nealing furnace, which is heated by
wood FIRE. as the sulphur in coal or
coke would be injurious to the ribbons
Having been softened and rendered
ductile by annealing, they are cleansed
in IN acid bath, cut into lengths Of
about three feet and collected in bun
dies OF 40 or 80 strips each. They are
laid between sheets Of zinc and passed
under hammers which beat the metal
strips to the thinness of tissue paper.
This requires six successive beatings.
and great skill must be exercised to
produce a uniform and unbroken foil
After the third beating the metal strips
are taken from between the sheets Of
zine, loosened from each other and
cleansed by immersion in bath of
tartrate OF potassium The cleaning is
repeated after the last beating. and the
sheets are hung on lines to dry. In the
beginning the rolled strips are dull
gray metallic color. at the fourth beat
ing the yellowish color begins to show.
and after the sixth they are clear and
bright as gold.
The defective leaves are then thrown
Vt and the perfect ones cutNinto small
ares. which are laid together by
in packets Of several hundred
oand inclosed within an envelope
thet brass. The packets return to
softealing furnace. where they are
and thy heating and slow cooling.
are re1o to the beaters. where they
to the t. under fafteniug hammers
that it IS Of real gold leaf. so thin
breath. be blown away by the
The man
consists in pre- Of bronze powder
yerizing the 9g, clipping and pull
even. impalpals bronze foils TO an
dustry of com:wder and is an in
IL began as nyely recent date.
utilizing the imLof Using up and
came as waste fl leaves which
gold, silver and blhe beaters of
cnt by hand into f These were
then ground to powdetppings and
simple construction. Nnd mills Of
time and the spread of lapse of
tries the uses of bronzdc indus
creased until the demanoder in
the supply of waste. and thoutran
is now made on large scale!netaI
The beating process fattel
pound Of copper and spelter aile
area Of about 500 square feet n
this condition the square sheets as
come from the brass envelopes
sbeared into small fragments and
he'd with olive oil through steel
having ten meshes to the inch and
oassed to the stamping and grin
machines. where they are pulverlze
steam or water power to the br
oowder of commerce The grlr
occupies from one to feSr hours
cording to the grade or quality O
powder to be produced, which
four grades. from coarse TO supe
The superfuous oil is removed by
ing under pressure. and the po
is then carried into centrifugal
6ers. or grading machines. which
Ing at a high speed. expel the po
through 6ne orifces in the for
dust. which settles or inclosed sh'
according to weight and 6neEes;
finer particles at the top. the GO
below, and in this way the poWe
sdivided into its various grades
York Press.
Insects Become Intoxicated
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