El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-23

and Il was only a few years after that
I Henry Shrapnel, an English army officer.
stationed at Gibraltar. invented the shot
case or shell that was named after him.
That was in 1893. aud shrapuel has been
a part OF warfare from that time TO this.
The original invention had been then
greatly improved and today e. probably
destroys more human life than any other
munition OF modern warfare
Where Modern shells Are Made.
But come with me for a walk through
this great munitions plant and see some
thing OF how these deadly prcjectiles are
made The great buildings are % two
stories They cover acres and they are
largely made o. steel and glass The walls
are almost all glass and the shops are
as. light as day. They are % enormous
size and each is maze Of machinery
with men and women working at and
among IT, Every machine and every per
son IS spceded 20 the fullest capacity. The
most OF the operations are done By the
piece. and the greater the output the
greater the pay
The first thing made IS the shell tt
SEX This comes 20 the plant in the
shape Of forgiugs consisting OF the finest
and toughest OF steel. which have been
run through high power forging machines
and reduced to tho shape Of rough l-on
pipe Of about the same shape as che shell
This work is done under enormous pres
sure some OF the machines for naSluE
the forging exert a pressure u --'-lll
pounds 10 the square inch, the metal ha--
ing been previously heated ir furnace
more than 1900 degrees fahrenheit Tho
forgings are punched ont OF Bullets Or
steel the pressure on the end o. the
punch being about ten tons to the square
inch. BY means OF these enormous pres
sures the metal is kneaded like dough into
just the right shape
This IS only the beginning. however.
The hollow. pipe-like forgings have 20
be made tougher and harder. They must
be rounded off into nose at the front
end, and cut by machinery 10 the exact
shape and size Of the gun After this they
are loaded with their wells OF death and
the fuses put in AZ they come 10 the
factory the fcrEiEgs have a tensile
strength Of something like 10000 pounds
per square inch. that IS. a bar an inch
thick would hold Up without breaking as
great a weight as 30 horses could haul
upon wagons. This strength is doubled
by certain heat treatments, but this IS
only after the forsings have been run
through the lathcs and ground end cut
into Just the right size.
The heating IS done In an electric fur
mace which contains bath OF chemicals
raised 20 more than 1900 degrees fllren-
heit. The shells remain in this bath for
half an hour. and they are then dipped Ia
another bath OF cortonseed oil and TINS
into another oil bath Of a different ma
turo which is 1900 degrees fahrenheit
The heating doubles the strength OF the
shell and makes 30 so strong thlf ir VIII
not burst when the charge m it is exc
with a rifIiug band. a ribbon OF copper
which runs around near the bottom. and
fits into the groove Of the gun to elve
t the whirlinE motion which is necessary
10 make it fly straiGht 70 its mark All
Of this work must be exact. and She shell
is measured again and again during The
process. The girls pass them through
cages which show their accuracy To- the
thousaudth OF an irch. They have cages
FOR the inside Of tho shell as wen as
the outside and a score or more different
Instruments OF this kind are made FOR
testing the work on ths shrapue- uurins
the making the shells have to be washed
and cleaned from time % time.
The bullets which are put Into the
shrapnel steel shell are not Of ordinary
lead They are mixture Of lead and -1ti-
mony- which IS harder than lead Ihes
are not cast. but are pressed ont 90 lead
wire by machinery that Will turn out $40
bullets q minute Each bullet is
half inch IN diameter and they weigh
about Il TO the pound There are between
two and three hundred OF thcsa bullets
in the shell chamber They are sent
forth by a charge OF black powder In
the base OF the shell. They are packed
around a tube which runs from the fuse
az the front end OF the shell 20 this pow
der. a wad Of sun cotton plugging the
pipe just over the powder
How q Rat Met Disaster.
Tbs gun cotton y terribly explosive II