Denver labor bulletin., 1918-10-12

driven carefully, exactly as called for
by the plans. When the ship is de-
signed, each and every rivet is speci-
fed in order to serve a certain pur-
pose, and if not driven as intended, the
safety of the ship may be impaired.
As the lives of many men may de-
pend on how well his work is done, it
! is up to the riveter to do his work
properly at all times.
Clippers and caulkers are used to
trim of or smooth up the edges of
! plates, castings and other parts. This
| is done by the clippers using hand or
men, usually, are also engaged as
caulkers. Their duty is to caulk the
edges of plates, angles, rivet heads
and other parts to make them water
tight This is done after the rivet-
ing is completed.
1t is very important that it be done
carefully. The caulking chisel or tool
is used to force one part of metal
tightly against another. The two
principal kinds of caulking are edge
caulking and butt caulking. If the
caulking is not properly done water
will enter between the parts of the
joint, causing corrosion, and, in time,
serious weakness to the ships struc-
ture. In some parts of the ship
even the slightest leakage might be
dangerous.
Shipwrights are the men who in
stall wood decks, wood foundations for
capstans, winches, guns and other
parts. They also do the work of max
ing and installing wooden masts,
spars, booms, etc. They also have
considerable work to do in connection
with the preparation of launching
ways, building blocks, shores, wedges
I and parts of similar character Their
stateroom fittings, furniture and other
woodwork of similar nature that is
done by the joiners.
Riggers Must Be Versatile.
Riggers work in the manufacture
and installation of shrouds, stays, lifts,
braces, life lines and other rigging
other parts of the ship. Some of this
rigging is made of steel wire rope,
some of hemp or manila rope. The
| riggers must be able to do splicing,
| seizing, serving and parcelling
Workmen employed in the shops of
shipyard comprise a variety of
trades. For example, a large amount
of the woodwork of ship is done in
the shop by the joiners. Ventilation,
piping and all light metal plating
work is done largely in the shop by
the sheet metal workers. Plumbers
and piping work is done to large
extent in the shop by the plumbers,
machinists and pipefitters. Forgings
for large number of miscellaneous
fittings and other pats of the ship
are made in the shop by blacksmiths.
drop-forgers and heavy forgers. Much
of the work on wiring and electrical
fittings is done in the shop by electri-
clans.
Fit Into Huge Machine.
The shop work on the hull proper,
or the fabrication, as it is sometimes
called, is done by the workmen who
operate the shears, punches, Bending
rolls, planers and other shop machines.
and the frame benders, acetylene burn
ers, furnace men and angle-smiths
who do the work necessary prior to
erection on keel plates, shell plates,
brackets, clips, beams, bulkhead and
deck plating, stiffeners and other parts
required for the hull of the ship.
| Men who are engaged in shipbuild-
ing for the United States shipping
board emergency fleet corporation are
impressed with the Importance of their
work. They are told that every part
of the hull of a ship has a certain
definite purpose to serve. The strength
of the ship, its usefulness as a whole,
is due to the correct work done with
each part. Every mechanic working
on the hull of steel vessel has this
craftsman who designs the parts
down to the laboTers who do the heavy
work of an unskilled character all fit
into the huge machine that tnrps ouf