Evening star., 1925-10-25

| charged. The breech mechanism is
( fitted TO a dummy. whose size is that
of the breech end of the gun, SO that
it will fit the gun.
t Shaping steel by lathes is, neverthe-
| less, a trifling task, in comparison
with forging "A 20.000-pound bar OF
! steel into "A training circle for an
/ S-inch mount, by means of q steam hy-
draulic forging press. This means that
/ a bar Of steel weighing 10 tons is
| rounded into a ring whose diameter
| is four times the size of the mechanic.
| The press which moldS the steel into
| its destiny is the largest south of
| Philadelphia. AS it opens its cavern
Gus mouth, the steel bar. bound by
monstrous chain. is carried in. The
mouth closes. clutchinE its food with
| a pressure of > 200 tons. The stalwart
| steel begins to perspire and. its color
| having changed from a flame to Il
! dazzling white, ii resembles Il melting
| cake of ice. The mouth is opened
| and the steel freed from its modeler-
! but only for a moment. once again ii
| is clamped by the mouth of the press,
each compression OccaSiOning the re
! lease of Il thunderous steam exhaust.
| Six days of this clamorouS procedure
! at a temperature OF 2200 degrees
! Fahrenheit and the steel will be as
round as Il hoop. furnishing a perfect
training circle for an inc!osed mount
:: = \; x
! A MOTHER cooking process. not
quite SO protracted. may be OBJ
| served in another shop, where old
| guns regain their youth and power
I An old gun cannot be bathed in a
! fountain OF youth to recover its prime
| but if its liner is replaced and re
grooved. it could never be accused of
/ decrepitude. This is done by thrust
ing the gun on its muzZle into fur
mace and allowing il to cook for about
| l9 hours at temperature of 525 de
erees. A cover is clapped on the cal
dron and il needs no Watching The
| following day when ii is lifted the
| gun has expanded sufficiently to per
| nit the removal of the liner and its
| replacement. For a While there will
be a looseness between the gun and
the new liner. but within % hours. as
the gun is cooling. SO great is the con
traction that the diametep Of the liner
| is actually decreased
| 1t is surprising that despite the i'm
mensitv Of these objects. a mathemat-
| ical precision extending to three and
| four thouSandthS of an inch is essen
| tia1, for a deviation so small in
| quantity may neceSsitate the loss of
| liner whose value is over ST. 900.
| Leaving the ciank of the steel and
! the screechinG of compressed air. we
| enter the experimental model basin
which gives us the impression of a
! large swimming pool. 1t is 40 feet
! long and contains .000. 900 gallons Of
| water. An electric carriage several
| yards above the water rumbleS toward
| us, carrying a group of men who are
| busily recording Suspended from the
carriage is the wooden model of hull,
| 90 feet long, towed up and down the
| stream by this carriage. 1t is a small
| scale facsimile of Il ship. to be con
| Structed by the Government on Il pri-
vate shipbuilder. Loaded with bags
of lead TO correspond, prOportionately
! to the weight of the ship, it is being
! tested for its resistance power. After
/ 80 trips the recorders. by cOmpila-
/ tions are able to determine the
| amount of horsepower the actual ship
| will need to combat the resistance. A
/ wave producer roughens or pacifies
! the water. according to the desires of
! the eXperimenters.
t In this basin submarines have been
! tried out and cup defenders tested
, The most practical shapes for vessels
/ have been determined, for the shape
! of a 30,000-tonnage vessel, to offer the
| least resistance, must needs differ
| from that of ship of greater ca
! paclty.
! SOMEWHAT different, these expert
~ menting facilities from those af-
! forded in the days of Comdr. Dahl
! gren, when a man with q new idea
! was treated with Indifference and
/ often scorn.
But If inventors We're diSdained and
| discouraged, it must be admitted that
! yard employees were accorded privi-
| lege they have not today. In the days
! when vessels were christened Brandy
! Wine" we find. among the accounts,
| the purchase Of 125 barrels of good
whisky" at SO cents a gallon, from
John Eliason of Georgetown. Mechan-
| les and laborers used to send boys
| out for drinks; but SO quenchless was
| the thirst of the men that the COM
| mandant, declaring this wholesale i'm
| bibing interfered with the work, for
| bade it altogether. Since this was
many years ago, however. the men,
| believing they were outraged, ap-
| pealed to the Secretary of the Navy.
! Their complaint charged the COM
| :nandant with refusing them refresh
lnents while engaged on heavy work"
| The Secretary, sympathetic and
probably thirsty gentleman himself,
| interceded for them. The comman-
dant after much entreaty. smiled and
| compromised. Drinks were allowed in
at bell-ringing, which. no doubt, in
spired the wish in more than one
| heart that our navy yard were box
| ing arena.
! There is nothing else in the history
of the yard to induce look of yearn-
ing in the retracing eyes of employees.
! For the navy yard today, to complete
our tour, contains an up-to-date medi-
| cal building. with f1rst-aid dressing
room, eye and ear laboratory. dental
parlor, X-ray room. even a chlorine
| gas room, which administers air to
| employees children afflicted with colds
! and whooping cough.
There is an apprentice school for