Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information Part 56

An [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'ingenius'] ingenious device for stretching emery cloth for use in the workshop consists of a couple of strips of wood about 14 in. long, hinged longitudinally, and of round, half-round, triangular, or any other shape in cross section.

On the inside faces of the wood strips are pointed studs, fitting into holes on the opposite side. The strip of emery cloth is laid on to one set of the studs, and the file, as it is called, closed, which fixes the strip on one side. It is then similarly fixed on the other side, and thus const.i.tutes what is called an emery file and which is a handy and convenient arrangement for workshop use.

Method of making Artificial Whetstones.--Gelatine of good quality is dissolved in its own weight of water, the operation being conducted in a dark room. To the solution one and a half per cent. of bichromate of potash is added, which has previously been dissolved in a little water. A quant.i.ty of very fine emery, equal to nine times the weight of the gelatine, is [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'itimately'] intimately mixed with the gelatine solution.

Pulverized flint may be subst.i.tuted for emery. The ma.s.s is molded into any desired shape, and is then consolidated by heavy pressure. It is dried by exposure to strong sunlight for several hours.

How to Toughen Paper.--A plan for rendering paper as tough as wood or leather has been recently introduced; it consists in mixing chloride of zinc with the pulp in the course of manufacture. It has been found that the greater the degree of concentration of the zinc solution, the greater will be the toughness of the paper. It can be used for making boxes and for roofing.

How to Mend a Broken File.--There is no tool so easily broken as the file that the machinist has to work with, and is about the first thing that snaps when a kit of tools gets upset upon the cross-beam of a machine or a tool board from the bed of an engine lathe. It cannot even be pa.s.sed from one workman to another without being broken, if the file is a new one or still good for anything, if an apprentice has got anything to do with it, and they are never worth mending, however great may be their first cost, unless the plaster of Paris and lime treatment can make a perfect weld without injuring the steel or disturbing the form of the teeth. Steel that is left as hard as a file is very brittle, and soft solder can hold as much on a steady pull if it has a new surface to work from. Take a file, as soon as it is broken, and wet the break with zinc dissolved in muriatic acid, and then tin over with the soldering iron. This must be done immediately as soon as the file is broken, as the break begins to oxydize when exposed to the air. And in an hour or two will gather sufficient to make it impossible for the parts to adhere. Heat the file as warm as it will bear without disturbing its temper as soon as well tinned, and press the two pieces firmly together, squeezing out nearly all the solder, and hold in place until the file cools. This can be done with very little to trim off, and every portion of the break fitting accurately in place. Bring both pieces in line with each other, and, for a file, it is as strong in one place as in another, and is all that could be asked for under the very best of welding treatment.

What will Fasten Pencil Markings, to Prevent Blurring.--Immerse paper containing the markings to be preserved in a bath of clear water, then flow or immerse in milk a moment; hang up to dry. Having often had recourse to this method, in preserving pencil and crayon drawings, I will warrant it a sure cure.

How to Transfer Newspaper Prints to Gla.s.s.--First coat the gla.s.s with dammar varnish, or else with Canada balsam, mixed with an equal volume of oil of turpentine, and let it dry until it is very sticky, which takes half a day or more. The printed paper to be transferred should be well soaked in soft water, and carefully laid upon the prepared gla.s.s, after removing surplus water with blotting paper, and pressed upon it, so that no air bubbles or drops of water are seen underneath.

This should dry a whole day before it is touched; then with wetted fingers begin to rub off the paper at the back. If this be skillfully done, almost the whole of the paper can be removed, leaving simply the ink upon the varnish. When the paper has been removed, another coat of varnish will serve to make the whole more transparent. This recipe is sold at from $3 to $5 by itinerants.

A Liquid Cement for Cementing Leather, that Will Not be Affected by the Action of Water.--A good cement for splicing leather is gutta percha dissolved in carbon disulphide, until it is of the thickness of treacle; the parts to be cemented must first be well thinned down, then pour a small quant.i.ty of the cement on both ends, spreading it well so as to fill the pores of the leather; warm the parts over a fire for about half a minute, apply them quickly together, and hammer well. The bottle containing the cement should be tightly corked, and kept in a cool place.

The Quickest and Best Way to Drill Holes for Water Pipes in Rough Plate Gla.s.s.--Use a hardened (file temper) drill, with spirits of turpentine and camphor to make the drill bite. A broken file in a breast brace will do good work if a power drill is not obtainable.

A Recipe for Making Printers' Inks.--For black ink: Take of balsam of copaiba (pure), 9 ounces; lamp black, 3 ounces; indigo and Prussian blue, of each half an ounce; Indian red, 3/4 ounce; yellow soap (dry), 3 ounces; grind the mixture to an impalpable smoothness by means of a stone and muller. Canada balsam may be subst.i.tuted for balsam of copaiba where the smell of the latter is objectionable, but the ink then dries very quickly. The red inks are similarly made by using such pigments as carmine, lakes, vermilion, chrome yellow, red lead, orange red, Indian red and Venetian red.

A Cement to Stick White Metal Tops on Gla.s.s Bottles.--One of the best cap cements consists of resin, 5 ounces; beeswax, 1 ounce; red ocher or Venetian red in powder, 1 ounce. Dry the earth thoroughly on a stove at a temperature above 212 Fah. Melt the wax and resin together, and stir in the powder by degrees. Stir until cold, lest the earthy matter settle to the bottom.

The Correct Meaning of the Tonnage of a Vessel.--The law defines very carefully how the tonnage of different vessels shall be calculated.

An approximate rule for finding the gross tonnage is to multiply the length of keel between perpendiculars by the breadth of vessel and depth of hold, all in feet, and dividing the product by 100. It is generally a.s.sumed that 40 cubic feet shall const.i.tute a ton, and the tonnage of a vessel is considered to be the multiple of this ton, which most closely corresponds with the internal capacity of the vessel.

A Recipe for Re-inking Purple Type Ribbons.--Use: Aniline violet, 1/4 ounce; pure alcohol, 15 ounces; concentrated glycerine, 15 ounces.

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol, and add the glycerine.

The Process of Giving a Tempered-Blue Color to the Steel Plate and Malleable Iron Castings of a Roller Skate.--In order to obtain an even blue, the work must have an even finish, and be made perfectly clean.

Arrange a cast-iron pot in a fire so as to heat it to the temperature of melted lead, or just below a red heat. Make a flat bottom basket of wire or wire cloth to sit in the iron box, on which place the work to be blued, as many pieces as you may find you can manage, always putting in pieces of about the same thickness and size, so that they will heat evenly. Make a bail to the basket, so that it can be easily handled. When the desired color is obtained, dip quickly in hot water to stop the progress of the bluing, for an instant only, so that enough heat may be retained to dry the articles. A cover to the iron box may sometimes be used to advantage to hasten the heating. Another way, much used, is to varnish the work with ultramarine varnish, which may be obtained from the varnish makers.

Cement to Mend Iron Pots and Pans.--Take two parts of sulphur and one part, by weight, of fine black lead; put the sulphur in an old iron pan, holding it over the fire until it begins to melt, then add the lead; stir well until all is mixed and melted; then pour out on an iron plate or smooth stone. When cool, break into small pieces. A sufficient quant.i.ty of this compound being placed upon the crack of the iron pot to be mended, can be soldered by a hot iron in the same way a tinsmith solders his sheets. If there is a small hole in the pot, drive a copper rivet in it, and then solder over it with this cement.

The Best Method of Rendering Bas.e.m.e.nt Walls Damp-Proof.--Construct on the outside an area wall so that the earth does not rest directly against the main wall of the house, but only against the outside wall or casing of the area. To form such an area, build a wall half or one brick thick parallel to and some 2 or 3 inches from the main wall, and form at the bottom a channel or gutter connected with the drains, so that any moisture or water finding its way in through the outer casing may be conducted away and will not therefore penetrate into the building.

Thoroughly ventilate the areas by means of air bricks or other suitable connections with the outer air, and connect with one another by making through connections underneath the floor joists. Be very careful that the main wall is laid on a good and efficient damp course. The top of the s.p.a.ce between the area and main walls may be covered in all around the building with bricks--ornamented or otherwise, as preferred--on a line just above the ground. Another plan of effecting the same object is to dispense with the area wall and in building the brick work to cover the whole of the work on the outside with a thick layer of bituminous asphalt. The plaster on the inside is in this case often rendered in nearly neat Portland cement.

How to Caseharden Large Pieces of Steel.--A box of cast or wrought iron should be provided large enough to hold one or two of the pieces, with sufficient room all around to pack well with the casehardening materials, which may be leather sc.r.a.p, hoof shavings, or horn shavings, slightly burned and pulverized, which may be mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of pulverized charcoal. Pack the pieces to be casehardened in the iron box so as not to touch each other or the box.

Put an iron cover on the box and lute with clay. Heat gradually in a furnace to a full red, keep at an even temperature for from 2 to 4 hours, raise the heat to a cherry red during the last hour, then remove the cover and take out the pieces and plunge endwise vertically in water at shop temperature; 2 per cent. of hydrochloric acid in the water improves its tempering qualities and gives the metal an even gray color.

A Good and Cheap Preparation to Put on Friction Matches.--The igniting composition varies with different makers. The following recipes may be taken as fairly representative, the first being the best: 1.

Phosphorus by weight, 1/2 part; pota.s.sium chlorate, 4 parts; glue, 2 parts; whiting, 1 part; finely powdered gla.s.s, 4 parts; water, 11 parts. 2. Phosphorus by weight, 2 parts; pota.s.sium chlorate, 5 parts; glue, 3 parts; red lead, 1-1/2 parts; water, 12 parts. 3. A German mixture for matches. Pota.s.sium chlorate, 7.8 parts; lead hyposulphite, 2.6 parts; gum arabic, 1 part.

To Find How Much Tin Vessels Will Hold.--For the contents of cylinders: Square the diameter, and multiply the product by 0.7854.

Again, multiply by the height (all in inches). Divide the product by 231 for gallons. For the frustum of a cone: Add together the squares of the diameters of large and small ends; to this add the product of the diameter of the two ends. Multiply this sum by 0.7854. Multiply this product by the height (all in inches). Then divide by 231 for the number of gallons.

A Useful Recipe.--For stopping the joints between slates or shingles, etc., and chimneys, doors, windows, etc., a mixture of stiff white-lead paint, with sand enough to prevent it from running, is very good, especially if protected by a covering of strips of lead or copper, tin, etc., nailed to the mortar joints of the chimneys, after being bent so as to enter said joints, which should be sc.r.a.ped out for an inch in depth, and afterward refilled. Mortar protected in the same way, or even unprotected, is often used for the purpose, but it is not equal to the paint and sand. Mortar a few days old (to allow refractory particles of lime to slack), mixed with blacksmith's cinders and mola.s.ses, is much used for this purpose, and becomes very hard and effective.

Test for Hard or Soft Water.--Dissolve a small quant.i.ty of good soap in alcohol. Let a few drops fall into a gla.s.s of water. If it turns milky, it is hard; if not, it is soft.

Test for Earthy Matters or Alkali in Water.--Take litmus paper dipped in vinegar, and if, on immersion, the paper returns to its true shade, the water does not contain earthy matter or alkali. If a few drops of syrup be added to a water containing an earthy matter, it will turn green.

Test for Carbonic Acid in Water.--Take equal parts of water and clear lime water. If combined or free carbonic acid is present, a precipitate is seen, to which, if a few drops of muriatic acid be added, an effervescence commences.

Test for Magnesia in Water.--Boil the water to a twentieth part of its weight, and then drop a few grains of neutral carbonate of ammonia into a gla.s.s of it, and a few drops of phosphate of soda. If magnesia be present, it will fall to the bottom.

Test for Iron in Water.--1. Boil a little nutgall and add to the water. If it turns gray or slate, black iron is present. 2. Dissolve a little prussiate of potash, and, if iron is present, it will turn blue.

Test for Lime in Water.--Into a gla.s.s of water put two drops of oxalic acid and blow upon it. If it gets milky, lime is present.

Test for Acid in Water.--Take a piece of litmus paper. If it turns red, there must be acid. If it precipitates on adding lime water, it is carbonic acid. If a blue sugar paper is turned red, it is a mineral acid.

Value of Manufactured Steel.--A pound of very fine steel wire to make watch springs of, is worth about $4; this will make 17,000 springs, worth $7,000.

Horses in Norway have a very sensible way of taking their food, which perhaps might be beneficially followed here. They have a bucket of water put down beside their allowance of hay. It is interesting to see with what relish they take a sip of the one and a mouthful of the other alternately, sometimes only moistening their mouths, as a rational being would do while eating a dinner of such dry food. A broken-winded horse is scarcely ever seen in Norway, and the question is if the mode of feeding has not something to do with the preservation of the animal's respiratory organs.

The Process of Fastening Rubber Rolls on Clothes Wringer.--1. Clean shaft thoroughly between the shoulders or washers, where the rubber goes on, 2. Give the shaft a coat of copal varnish, between the shoulders, and let it dry. 3. Give shaft coat of varnish and wind shaft tightly as possible with five-ply jute twine at once, while varnish is green, and let it dry for about six hours. 4. Give shaft over the twine a coat of rubber cement, and let it dry for about six hours. 5. Give shaft over the twine a second coat of rubber cement, and let it dry for about six hours. 6. Remove washer on the short end of shaft, also the cogwheel if the shaft has cogs on both ends. 7. See that the rubber rolls are always longer than the s.p.a.ce between the washers where the rubber goes on, as they shrink or take up a little in putting on the shaft. 8. Clean out the hole or inside of roll with benzine, using a small brush or swab. 9.

Put the thimble or pointer on the end of shaft that the washer has been removed from, and give shaft over the twine and thimble another coat of cement, and stand same upright in a vise. 10. Give the inside or hole of roll a coat of cement with a small rod or stick. 11. Pull or force the roll on the shaft as quickly as possible with a jerk, then rivet the washer on with a cold chisel. 12. Let roll stand and get dry for two or three days before using same. Cement for use should be so thick that it will run freely; if it gets too thick, thin it with benzine or naphtha.

How to Make Effervescing Solution of Citrate of Magnesia.--Dissolve citric acid 400 grains in water 2,000 grains, add carbonate of magnesia 200 grains; stir until dissolved. Filter into a 12-ounce bottle containing syrup of citric acid 1,200 grains. Add boiled and filtered water to fill bottle, drop in bicarbonate of potash in crystals 30 grains and immediately cork. Shake until bicarbonate of potash is dissolved. The syrup of citric acid is made from citric acid 8 parts, water 8 parts, spirit of lemon 4 parts, syrup 980 parts.

A Receipt for Making the Black Cement that is Used for Filling Letters after They are Cut out in Bra.s.s.--Mix asphaltum, brown j.a.pan and lampblack into a putty-like ma.s.s, fill in the s.p.a.ces, and finally clean the edges with turpentine.

Useful Workshop Hints.--Clean and oil leather belts without taking them off their pulleys. If taken off they will shrink. Then a piece must be put into them and removed again after the belt has run a few days. The decay of stone, either in buildings or monuments, may be arrested by heating and treating with paraffin mixed with a little creosote. A common "paint burner" may be used to heat the stone. Set an engine upon three or four movable points, as upon three cannon b.a.l.l.s. Connect with steam, and exhaust by means of rubber hose. If the engine will run up to speed without moving itself back and forth, then that engine will run a long time with little repair. If it shakes itself around the room, then buy another engine. Safely moving a tall mill chimney has been accomplished several times. Chimneys which have been caused to lean slightly through settling of the foundation may be straightened up again by sawing out the mortar between courses of brick at the base. A chimney 100 ft. high and 12 ft. square at the base will be varied over 8 in. at the top by the removal of 1 in. at the base. When you begin to fix up the mill for cold weather, don't forget to put a steam trap in each and every steam pipe which can be opened into the atmosphere for heating purposes. For leading steam joints, mix the red lead or litharge with common commercial glycerine, instead of linseed oil. Put a little carbolic acid in your glue or paste pot. It will keep the contents sweet for a long time. Look well to the bearings of your shafting engine and machines. Sometimes 25, 30, 40 and even 50 per cent. of your power is consumed through lack of good oil. When you buy a water wheel, be sure to buy one small enough to run at full gate while the stream is low during the summer months.

If you want more power than the small wheel will give, then put in two or more wheels of various sizes. When it becomes necessary to trim a piece of rubber, it will be found that the knife will cut much more readily if dipped in water. When forging a chisel or other cutting tool, never upset the end of the tool. If necessary cut it off, but don't try to force it back into a good cutting edge. In tubular boilers the handholes should be often opened, and all collections removed from over the fire. When boilers are fed in front, and are blown off through the same pipe, the collection of mud or sediment in the rear end should be often removed. Nearly all smoke may be consumed without special apparatus, by attending with a little common sense to a few simple rules. Suppose we have a battery of boilers, and "soft coal" is the fuel. Go to the first boiler, shut the damper nearly up, and fire up one-half of the furnace, close the door, open damper, and go to the next boiler and repeat the firing. By this method nearly, if not quite, all the smoke will be consumed. A coiled spring inserted between engine and machinery is highly beneficial where extreme regularity of power is required. It is well known that a steam engine, in order to govern itself, must run too fast and too slow in order to close or open its valves; hence an irregularity of power is unavoidable.

A "Paste" Metal Polish for Cleaning and Polishing Bra.s.s.--Oxalic acid 1 part, iron peroxide 15 parts, powdered rottenstone 20 parts, palm oil 60 parts, petrolatum 4 parts. See that solids are thoroughly pulverized and sifted, then add and thoroughly incorporate oil and petrolatum.

Cough Candy or Troches.--Tincture of squills 2 ounces, camphorated tincture of opium and tincture of tolu of each 1/4 ounce, wine of ipecac 1/2 ounce, oil of gautheria 4 drops, sa.s.safras 3 drops, and of anise seed oil 2 drops. The above mixture is to be put into 5 pounds of candy which is just ready to take from the fire; continue the boiling a little longer, so as to form into sticks.

How to Oxidize Silver.--For this purpose a pint of sulphide of pota.s.sium, made by intimately mixing and heating together 2 parts of thoroughly dried potash and 1 part of sulphur powder, is used.

Dissolve 2 to 3 drachms of this compound in 1-3/4 pints of water, and bring the liquid to a temperature of from 155 degrees to 175 degrees Fah., when it is ready for use. Silver objects, previously freed from dust and grease with soda lye and thorough rinsing in water, plunged into this bath are instantly covered with an iridescent film of silver sulphide, which in a few seconds more becomes blue black. The objects are then removed, rinsed off in plenty of fresh water, scratch brushed, and if necessary polished.

Useful Household Recipes.--To purify water in gla.s.s vessels and aquariums, it is recommended to add to every 100 grammes of water four drops of a solution of one gramme of salicylic acid in 300 grammes of water. The _Norsk Fiskeritidende_, published at Bergen, Norway, says that thereby the water may be kept fresh for three months without being renewed. A cement recommended as something which can hardly be picked to pieces is made as follows:--Mix equal parts of lime and brown sugar with water, and be sure the lime is thoroughly air-slacked. This mortar is equal to Portland cement, and is of extraordinary strength. For a few weeks' preservation of organic objects in their original form, dimensions and color, Professor Grawitz recommends a mixture composed of two and a half ounces of chloride of sodium, two and three-quarters drachms of saltpetre, and one pint of water, to which is to be added three per cent. of boric acid. To varnish chromos, take equal quant.i.ties of linseed oil and oil of turpentine; thicken by exposure to the sun and air until it becomes resinous and half evaporated; then add a portion of melted beeswax.

Varnishing pictures should always be performed in fair weather, and out of any current of cold or damp air. A fireproof whitewash can be readily made by adding one part silicate of soda (or potash) to every five parts of whitewash. The addition of a solution of alum to whitewash is recommended as a means to prevent the rubbing off of the wash. A coating of a good glue size made by dissolving half a pound of glue in a gallon of water is employed when the wall is to be papered.

The most nourishing steam bath that can be applied to a person who is unable to sweat and can take but little food in the stomach:--Produce the sweating by burning alcohol under a chair in which the person sits, with blanket covering to hold the heat. Use caution and but little alcohol. Fire it in a shallow iron pan or old saucer.

Own Your Own Homes.--Every man, whether he is a working man in the common acceptation of the word or not, feels a deep interest in the management of the affairs of the city, county and State in which he lives whenever he owns a home. He is more patriotic, and in many ways is a better citizen than the man who simply rents, and who has but little if any a.s.surance of how long it will be before he can be ordered to move; to which may be added in many cases the saving of more money. Of course it requires some economy to lay up a sufficient amount of money to purchase and pay for a home; but this very fact, if properly carried out after the home is acquired, may be the instrument of furnishing the means to commence and prosecute a business upon your own responsibility.

True, in some cases it will require more economy, perhaps, than we are now practicing. But the question with every man, and especially if he is the head of a family, is, Can he afford it? That is, can he afford to live up his wages as fast as he earns them, without laying up anything for the future? If he is the head of a family, he is obliged to pay rent, and it does not require very many years of rent paying to make up an amount sufficient to purchase and pay for a comfortable home. You have to pay the rent. This you say you cannot avoid and be honest. Well, you cannot be honest with your family unless you make a reasonable attempt to provide them a home of their own in case anything should happen to you. And the obligation to do this should be as strong as the one to pay rent or provide the other necessaries for the comfort of your family. When you own a home you feel a direct interest in public affairs that otherwise you might consider were of little interest.

A Formula for Nervous Headache.--Alcohol dilut., 4 ounces; Olei cinnamon, 4 minims; Potas. bromid., 5 drachms; Extr. hyoscyam., fl., 1-1/2 drachms; Fiat lotio. One to two teaspoonfuls, if required.

How Beeswax is Refined and Made Nice and Yellow.--Pure white wax is obtained from the ordinary beeswax by exposure to the influence of the sun and weather. The wax is sliced into thin flakes and laid on sacking or coa.r.s.e cloth, stretched on frames, resting on posts to raise them from the ground. The wax is turned over frequently and occasionally sprinkled with soft water if there be not dew and rain sufficient to moisten it. The wax should be bleached in about four weeks. If, on breaking the flakes, the wax still appears yellow inside, it is necessary to melt it again and flake and expose it a second time, or even oftener, before it becomes thoroughly bleached, the time required being mainly dependent upon the weather. There is a preliminary process by which, it is claimed, much time is saved in the subsequent bleaching; this consists in pa.s.sing melted wax and steam through long pipes, so as to expose the wax as much as possible to the action of the steam; thence into a pan heated by a steam bath, where it is stirred thoroughly with water and then allowed to settle. The whole operation is repeated a second and third time, and the wax is then in condition to be more readily bleached.

How to Remove a Wart From the Hand.--Take of salicylic acid, 30 grains; ext. cannabis indic., 10 grains; collodion, 1/2 ounce. Mix and apply.

Recipe for Making Camphor Ice in Small Quant.i.ties for Home Use.--Melt together over a water bath white wax and spermaceti, each 1 ounce; camphor, 2 ounces, in sweet almond oil, 1 pound; then triturate until the mixture has become h.o.m.ogeneous, and allow one pound of rosewater to flow in slowly during the operation.

Recipe for Making Instantaneous Ink and Stain Extractor.--Take of chloride of lime 1 pound, thoroughly pulverized, and four quarts soft water. The foregoing must be thoroughly shaken when first put together. It is required to stand twenty-four hours to dissolve the chloride of lime; then strain through a cotton cloth, after which add a teaspoonful of acetic acid to every ounce of the chloride of lime water.