The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-05-05
y scription of
How They w ork

The most forcibIe way to appreciate
any thing is to set beside 1t. its %
posite. Sweetness IS never so sweet as
when one has just tasted sourness. A
friend is never so dear as at the time
that one Is being pursued by enemies.
a mountain increases IN height when
located near chasm- Furthermore
iron never seems as hard as when
placed in pile of sand It may be
seen every day in this relation to sand
at any of the foundries or machine
shops which are located in Fairmont.
Did you ever see a stove-lifrer made
Have you any idea Of the process
which makes car wheel2 If NOT,
it Will be Instructive 10 read this az
ticle written upon how things are
made Of iron.
A furnace, with a fire much hotter
than that described in the West Viz
Sinian recently in connection with an
article written abount Inc manufacture
of window glass. IS required in the
foundry. 1t is estimated to be 1900
degrees hot inside the furnace-sufh-
cient to melt the most obdurate OF all
irons. Into this furnace is thrown
pig iron" and scraps Of things which
have once been cast and used. The
former is dug from the earth and part
" refined. after which it is called
pig iron" No one seems able TO
explain why 1t received this peculiar
name. The scraps are secured from
the junk dealers who go up and
down the streets buying rags. old
iron and bones!''
With the pig iron and scraps. coke
is. also thrown into the furnace The
gigantic fan Is turned on, and in a
moment the fire is raging The irons
begin to melt, and drop to the bottom
of the furnace. In twenty-five minutes
there is a tub full of the melted iron
lying at the bottom of the furnace. It
is released and flows more eagerly
than water to large vessel. From
this it is rushed to the moulis which
have been prepared to receive IT.
Were it not known that Milton was
blind. some commentators on his style
might say that the author Of Paradise
Lost had visited foundry just before
writing his description of the lake OF
liquid fire which had been prepared
for the defeated hosts of Heaven The
seething, the movements the desire
to seize the betolder,aS pictured by Mil
ton. are all found in typical form in a
caldron of molten iron in foundry.
The moulds are of sand, a dark, oil
ed sand a wooden model of the car
sired to have made, and this IS placed
in the sand. AS the moulder works
the sand tightly up against it with
his fingers. We are reminded OF the
days when We made mud cakes and
pies in our little play house many
happy years ago The moulding case
which contains the sand is Of two
pieces-a top and a bottom The wood
en- model is very gently removed from
the sand which has been placed around
it. leaving where it had been placed a
beautiful. perfectly symmetrical inn
preston of its own shape
In this impression there are many
deep holes and alleys 1t is often nee
eSsarv to work in the bottom of them
to tighten up possibly little loosenei
sand The workmen have novel way
to throw light down into these dark
places. a very white powder IS
sprinkled all over the sand and down
into the dark places with the result
that they are all lighted AMI one can
see the bottom of the deepest hole
with perfect ease The light is re-
hected into the darkness and causes it
to disappear. But everyone of US use
the same law OF nature and know 1t
we'll, for who does not know that light
paper on the walls viii make a dark
room much lighter?
After the top and bottom Of the
sandy mould are placed upon each
other the molten metal is poured into