cylindrical piece of iron, 6 inches long, 3 inches diameter, standing
upright; on this a second cylinder, 12 inches long, 2 inches diameter;
and, on this, a third cylinder, 2 inches long, and 1 inch diameter. If
now a brass ring 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inches diameter be put on the top, it
will slip down, and rest on the 2-inch cylinder; if a ring 2-1/2 inches
diameter be slipped over the top, it will fall, and rest on the bottom
3-inch cylinder. It is obvious that, if a horizontal wheel, having a
hole in the nave, 2-1/2 inches diameter, be slipped on, it will drop,
and rest on the bottom cylinder; and that a second wheel, with a 1-1/2
inch hole in the nave, will rest on the second cylinder. The two wheels,
then, may be placed on, and held together with a piece of thickly
leadered match; the top wheel plays for a while, and carries the second
wheel with it; the tail of the first, or other case, lights the bottom
wheel, and at the same time blows the match to pieces, and the wheel
drops. Of course three or more wheels may drop, one after another. See
the design, fig. 166.
Sometimes a horizontal motion is changed to a vertical, thus. Suppose an
upright wooden post, 3 inches square. Saw off the top 18 inches, and fix
it on again, with a hinge; drive a staple, on the other side, into the
top piece; also one into the bottom piece; and connect the staples with
a piece of string, to prevent the top piece falling. In the top drive a
spindle, as usual, to receive a horizontal wheel. On the side of the
fixed post, against the hinge, fasten an iron bracket, to stand forward,
so that the top part, when the string is cut, can fall down, and rest on
the bracket. Now slip over the spindle a brass tube, 3 inches long, and
almost a fit; then put on it a horizontal wheel, carrying a smeared box,
as above described, to convey the fire to a fixed piece; on the top of
the spindle screw a nut. To the bottom post, tie a piece of shell fuse,
and let the string, that prevents the top piece from falling, be drawn
over the mouth of this, and secured. It is obvious that if, after the
wheel has played awhile horizontally, the shell fuse is lit by a
leader, the string will be burnt in two; the top part will fall on to
the bracket; and the horizontal motion will be changed to a vertical
one.
Roman candles are best fired in bouquets of three or more; connect them
with leaders about 3 inches long; and set them in a block of wood,
containing three or more holes, diverging right and left; or tie them to
struts of wood, nailed together, like the supports for garden flowers.
Two vertical wheels may be made to run round the outside of a table, to
imitate the motion of the machine for grinding drugs, crushing clay,
&c., like two parallel grindstones going round in a circular trough.
Conceive a circular table, 20 inches diameter. With a gimlet bore a hole
in the centre, large enough to admit a screw-eye, with liberty to turn
easily round; slip through it a stair-rod, 2 feet long; it will overhang
2 inches at each end, and may be swung round. At the distance of about 4
inches from each end of the rod, imagine a cotton reel, or a pulley;
when the rod is moved round, the reels or pulleys will roll round in a
circle, like the cylinder-crushers, above mentioned. Now, if a vertical
wheel were fixed at each end of the rod, so as to hang outside the
table, it is obvious that, upon firing it, the wheels would run round.
Of course it must not be a screw-eye and a stair-rod; but anyone will
understand, from this description, how to effect it.
These contrivances have fallen somewhat into disuse, since the
introduction and variety of colours, but it is well to understand them.
TO FIRE A GIRANDOLE OF 100 ROCKETS AT ONCE.
Suppose a cubical tea-chest. In the top, bore ten rows of holes, ten in
a row, with a centre-bit; the same in the bottom, in such a way that the
bottom holes fall perpendicularly under the top holes. Fasten the box
upon four legs, one at each corner. Sift from a pepper-box a layer of
meal powder over the top; put in the rockets, with their primed mouths,
naked, to rest on the sifted meal. It is evident that, upon conveying
fire to the meal, by a leader, the flash will ignite the whole of the
rockets, at once. Of course it ought not to be a tea-chest, but a box
constructed on purpose, with a penthouse lid, to fall over, and protect
the rockets, till desired to be fired. It may be furnished with four
legs, as in fig. 173. The shelf, fig. 172, fits in at a b c, fig. 173.
_TOOLS._
Fig. 132. A port-fire holder. This is made of steel, somewhat after the
manner of a pair of pliers. The ends a and b are fluted, or channelled
(semi-cylindrical) to receive the port-fire: a spring, riveted at c,
holds it tight; by pressing on d, the burnt case drops: the end e is
pointed, to enter a long stick, bored to receive it, and strengthened
with a brass ferrule.
As an instrument of this kind can be obtained only when made to order,
the following contrivance will serve the purpose of most amateurs. First
charge some little port-fires, 3 inches long and 1/4 inch diameter, till
within about 1-1/4 inch full: having filled a couple of dozen, or so,
invert them, and knock out the dust, as with squibs; then encircle the
whole, as if going to bang them; but pour in dry sand instead; empty a
little sand from each, and stop the end with plaster of paris. Scrape
out a little composition from the other end, and prime it with damped
meal. Take two inches of a roman candle case, or a piece of turned wood,
with a hole through it, fig. 133, two inches long. Have a long stick,
fig. 134; cut the end, a, so that it will fit the hole in fig. 133, and
enter half way up. At the other end fix a wire, z, two and a half inches
long. By slipping fig. 133 on fig. 134 it is evident one inch vacancy is
left to receive the sand end of the port-fire; when this is burnt out,
it can be pushed out with the wire, z.
_TO CONSTRUCT A STEELYARD SCALE._
The numerous formulæ for coloured fires, renders the use of very small
scales excessively troublesome; and there is perpetual danger of losing
the little weights for grains and pennyweights. By constructing a
steelyard scale, the greatest facility is attained, one weight answering
for all.
Take a piece of deal, fig. 135, about as thick as a venetian-blind lath;
it may be 20 or 24 inches long; an inch broad, at the left end; and
about 1/2 an inch broad in the main length. Make a hole at a, twice the
diameter of a pin: the same at b. It is necessary to observe that the
hole, a, must be on a level with the top of the long arm; if it should
be a little higher, it would not be of any consequence; but it must, on
no account, be lower. Have a piece of deal, fig. 136, about an inch
square, and mortise a hole in it, as drawn. Fix 135 in 136 so as to
appear like 137. A bit of a common pin, or needle, is to go through the
mortise and through the hole, a, of 135. See that it plays easily. At s,
fig. 137, insert a piece of wire, bent like the figure 8; and to it, tie
the strings fastened to w, which may be a copper bowl, or a tin
patty-pan. The mode of fastening the threads to the figure of 8 wire, is
simply to slip them through, bend them down, and tie round with thread,
as at z.
Take a piece of brass tube, an inch, or so, long, fig. 138, and with
some lead, melted in the bowl of a pipe, fix a bit of wire in it, bent
like a staple, or the capital letter U, as drawn. This is for a weight.
Slip it on the arm of fig. 137; put a wooden pin in the hole y, to keep
the weight from falling off. Slip the weight along, till it balances
the patty-pan w: suppose this point is at m. This will be the
starting-point. From m to y lay off a number of equal distances, as
eighths of an inch. Number them, and the scale is complete. If it be
desired that 100 of these divisions should weigh 1 ounce, an ounce
weight must be put in the patty-pan w, and the weight shifted along,
until it balances; the intervening space must, then, be divided into 100
equal parts. It is desirable to construct two; one with a large weight,
that will weigh 8 or 10 ounces; one with a small weight, to weigh the
1/100th part of an ounce. This may be of wood, with a wire staple, about
the thickness of a patent short-white pin. Nothing can be more
convenient than these steelyard scales, as one weight answers for all,
and never drops, and gets lost. It is well to have even a third
steelyard scale. This may be made very thin, with a piece of wire, bent
to the shape of fig. 171, for a weight. It may be made to weigh only the
fifth part of an ounce; so that if divided into 100 equal parts, it will
weigh the 1/500th part of an ounce; so that in trying a new colour, as
little can be mixed as will charge only one or two pill-boxes. A little
notch should be made, at every division, with a fine, triangular file,
to prevent the weight from slipping: every tenth division can be
numbered; this is best done with a blacklead pencil, as ink runs; and on
the end s, fig. 137, mark how many to the ounce. Possibly the trade, if
desired, would make them to order. There is an instrument, somewhat
similar, the chondrometer, for estimating the quality of grain; only
this is constructed upon the principle of the log; the leverage and
counterpoise showing the weight of a pint, but indicating that of a
bushel; as the half-minute sand-glass times the running out of the knots
of the line, and indicates nautical miles. Goods-weighing-machines, at
the railways, are on the steelyard, or shifting leverage principle; also
the machines warranted to furnish you with "your correct weight."
_MONTGOLFIER BALLOONS._
To project a pattern gore. With a radius of 5 inches, fig. 139, from the
point a, on the line b o, describe a semicircle; divide the upper
quadrant into three equal parts, in the points g, e, c. Carry the same
distance, once down, to k. Draw the lines f g, d e, a c, h k, parallel
to each other, and at right angles to the line b o. Draw the line a k,
and prolong it to s, so that the distance k s shall be 10 inches,
_viz._, twice the radius. From s, with the radius s k of 10 inches,
describe the arc k n p. Draw o s parallel to h k; and, halfway between,
m n.
As the distance from a to c is 5 inches, twice this will be 10, for the
equatorial breadth of the gore; and, as it is intended to have 12 sheets
of tissue paper (3 of each colour, yellow, blue, green, and red), and,
consequently, 12 gores, 12 times 10 = 120, the half of which is 60, for
the semi-circumference. Tissue paper is a very thin double-crown, 30 by
20. Lay down a straight line, b x, fig. 140, 60 inches in length, and
divide it into 6 parts of 10 inches each; and draw parallels f g, d e,
&c., at right angles to the meridian line b x. Measure the distance f g,
fig. 139, and make f g, fig. 140, twice as much, half on each side; the
same with d e, &c. Draw lines, connecting the extremities, till the fig.
140 is complete.
Instead of taking the trouble to construct fig. 139 with the compasses,
the following measures will describe the pattern gore, fig. 140, at
once; f g will be 5 inches, half to the left, half to the right, of the
line b x; d e = 8-2/3 inches; a c = 10 inches; h k = 8-2/3 inches; m n =
7 inches; and o p = 6-3/4 inches.
These numbers are chosen to suit the size of the paper, to get the gores
as large as possible, with the least waste: 60 inches are selected as
the length of the gore, being twice the length of a sheet; 10 inches are
1/6 the length, and exactly half the breadth of the sheet; so the length
and breadth are both employed, without the slightest waste.
The pattern gore should be of cartridge or imperial brown.
TO CUT THE GORES.
Lay the twelve sheets of tissue paper flat upon each other, as at fig.
141; cut the pattern gore into two pieces, along the line a c, fig. 140,
and lay them on the tissue paper, fig. 141. Mark round them with a
blacklead pencil, and cut them through with a strong pair of scissors.
TO JOIN THE HALVES TOGETHER.
Lay the bottom part of the gore, fig. 142, flat upon the table, and the
top part upon it, so as to leave 1/4 of an inch along the edge exposed,
as shown by the shaded part. Paste this; and, without removing either
piece, bend the pasted part of the lower half gore upon the top, and
press it smooth down.
TO PASTE TWO GORES TOGETHER.
Lay one gore with the point towards the _left_ hand, and another upon
it, a quarter of an inch back, as in fig. 143. Paste the shaded part of
the lower gore, bend it over, and press as before. One of the gores,
having been drawn in by pasting, is now narrower than the other. Finish
the six pairs, and lay them by to dry.
TO PASTE THE PAIRS TOGETHER.
Lay one pair with the points towards the _right_ hand, thus keeping the
widest gore upwards; and another upon it, in the same manner, as fig.
144. Bend the top gore back upon itself, by folding it down the middle,
as shown by the bottom shaded part, and lay a book or weight upon it, to
keep it out of the way; paste, and double, as before; and so proceed,
till the whole twelve are finished, and lying upon each other. Be
careful to disturb none of the gores.
TO MAKE THE LAST JOINING.
Turn the points towards the _left_ hand: lift up the top, and bend the
ten inner gores back upon themselves: draw the top gore over, so as to
make it lie upon the bottom. Paste as before. This is a somewhat
troublesome operation, and it is advisable to have the assistance of a
second person.
TO WIRE THE BALLOON.
Select a coil of iron wire, a little thicker than a pin; and remove the
elasticity, as recommended with coloured gerbes. Before applying it to
the balloon, practise the method of making a joining, as shown by fig.
145, simply bringing the ends together, crossing them about an inch from
the extremity, and winding them tight round each other. Now lay the
balloon, as in fig. 146, with a book, or a flat weight, upon it, to keep
it down: curve the wire to the shape of the bottom of the balloon, and
lay it about half an inch from the edge. Notch the paper, at the
joinings of the gores; paste, and fold back. When perfectly dry, not
before, turn the balloon over: cut the wire 2 inches longer than to
meet; bend the ends together, and make the joining; paste, and bend
over, the remaining half; and shape the wire to a circle. A star, of
double-crown, may be pasted on the top, and a thread passed through it,
to hold it by. To effect this, open the balloon, pass a book up it,
spread the top flat on the book, and paste on it a star, or a circular
piece of paper, the size of a penny. If a hole gets torn in it, it can
be repaired in the same way.
Take two straight pieces of wire, a little longer than the diameter of
the mouth of the balloon; pass them, half way, through a piece of
sponge, at right angles to each other; fasten these wires across the
mouth; saturate the sponge with wood naphtha, or methylated spirit,
taking especial care that not a drop falls on the balloon; get someone
to set fire to some pieces of paper on the ground; hold the balloon at a
good height above the flame, to prevent the spirit, in the sponge, from
catching. Three persons ought to assist in the start: one to manage the
burning paper; two to hold the balloon steady, and to keep the mouth
open, for the hot air to inflate it. As soon as the balloon gets
expanded, set fire to the spirit; and directly it begins to pull against
the hand, which it will do, let it go. A balloon of this size will
require an ounce of spirit, and as much sponge as will absorb it. See
fig. 167.
To project a gore for 24 sheets of tissue paper, let the radius be 7-1/2
inches; for 48 sheets, 10 inches. The shape of the balloon, when
expanded, will be the same as fig. 139, rotating on the axis b o. If the
pattern gore be projected from fig. 147, the balloon will be
pear-shaped, and may be filled with gas, like those started from the
Crystal Palace. The paper, 16-lb. double-crown, must have a coat of
boiled linseed oil. The bottom should be open, and fitted with a
cylindrical neck, about an inch diameter, and 3 inches long, made of
writing paper of three thicknesses. Fig. 168 shows the magnesium light
attached.
A flat weight may be constructed by making a thin deal box, the size and
shape of a lucifer-match box; fill it with melted lead; nail a lid on
it, and cover it with pasted paper. The same will serve for a
paper-weight.
A spindle, on which to fire wheels, is shown at fig. 148; it is
furnished with a fly-nut, which can be taken off, and put on, without
trouble. As there is considerable difficulty in obtaining an article of
this kind, its place may be supplied by a carriage-bolt, of which
hundreds, if necessary, may be procured at the ironmonger's, of lengths
varying from 1 inch to 12, or more. One of 6 inches will be suitable for
most purposes. As the nut is small, and would be difficult to find, if
dropped on the ground, on a dark night, proceed as follows. Turn a piece
of beech, about 1-1/2 inch square, and 2-1/2 inches long, into a
cylinder, with hemispherical ends, and a hole through it, like a popgun.
Cut it, while yet in the lathe, or saw it across into two pieces, one an
inch long, the other, an inch and a half. In the flat end of the inch
length, mortise a hole, and sink the nut in it; take a circular piece of
wood, with a hole bored in the middle, and screw it flat on, over the
nut. Fig. 150, a, shows the turned piece; b, the circular piece, screwed
on, to keep the nut from falling out. This serves the purpose of the
fly-nut of fig. 148. The carriage-bolt is shown, first at fig. 149; then
at fig. 150, with the nut screwed on. Take a piece of deal, fig. 155,
about 1-1/2 inch square, and 20 inches long: make a hole through at a,
and drive the carriage-bolt from behind; the shoulder, being square,
will hold firm; in front, at c, slip on the above turned piece of wood,
an inch and a half long: the piece, with the nut embedded in it, is, of
course, put on at the end, b. The hole through this inch piece should be
1/8 of an inch, or more, larger in diameter than the female (or counter)
screw of the nut, in order that it may slip on and off with ease. At
the top fix a strong wire, d, and file the end round and smooth: at s
and x, in the side, fix two screw-eyes, or staples, to receive rocket
sticks. At m and n bore two holes, through which it can be screwed to a
post. The screw-eye at s ought to be about level with the top of the
post. If there is too great a space between w and z, pieces of a roman
candle case may be slipped on; but a popgun, sawed into short lengths,
is better. Several should be kept in readiness, of different lengths, to
suit the naves of different wheels. A piece of iron rod, about half an
inch long, and to fit the hole, ought to be driven up furilonas, &c., to
rest on the top of d, fig. 155; and the wire should be a little longer
than the hole, that the piece may play clear of the upright, the top of
which should be hemispherical, as drawn. Fig. 151 is a screw-ring; 152,
a screw-eye: 153, a screw-hook; 154, a cup-hook. If a little bit, s, of
152 be sawed, or filed out, it makes a stronger cup-hook than the brass,
for match-weights.
_WINGED ROCKETS._
An 8/8 rocket is the smallest size worth making: it is, also,
sufficiently large; and, as it requires a machine to fire it from, it is
best to keep to one size. The head, fig. 156, may be the same as the
external diameter of the case, or it may be slightly enlarged: to
receive a parachute, it may be 12, or even 16 inches high; and the top
may be closed with a lid, fig. 163, formed of a case choked tight; or by
simply stopping it with a piece of turned wood, or with a thin bung,
pushed in, as a cork into a bottle. A bung may be readily sawed thin
with a fine-toothed saw; if required to be made smaller in diameter, it
must be cut round sidewise, not longitudinally. If the head is to
receive stars, it must not be above 8 inches high. To construct the
wings, take a thin piece of deal, or tin, and cut out a right-angled
triangle, fig. 157. Make a b = 7-1/2 inches, b c = 1-1/2 inch. Take a
piece of imperial brown paper, 8 inches long, 4 broad, and fold it down
the middle lengthwise, so as to become 8 by 2. Lay the sloping edge, a
c, of fig. 157 along the folded edge of the paper, a c, fig. 158, and
mark round it, with a pencil. About 3/8 of an inch distant, draw the
line d e parallel to a b. Cut through with the scissors, and the paper
will be of the shape of fig. 158. Bend the shaded parts flat, to form a
flap, or kind of hinge. Paste the surface of the two triangles, and
press them together to form a double thickness. If this does not make
the wing stiff enough, insert, between them, a triangular piece of
cardboard, to make it of three folds, like a shirt-collar. Take a piece
of sheet tin, or a piece of cardboard, fig. 161. Let m n be 7 inches;
and m p such that it shall exactly wind round the rocket. Divide it into
3 equal parts, by the parallel lines r and s, and at each end cut out
little pieces, as shown at a a, &c. Now, if this be wound round the
rocket, marks can be made through the slits a a, with a blacklead
pencil, or with a stencil-brush, dipped into blacklead powder, such as
used for polishing grates. These marks will indicate the places for the
wings. Paste or glue them on, and secure the joinings with another slip
of paper pasted over them, as shown by the dotted lines, beside the
wings, fig. 156. The wings will branch out at angles of 120° divergence
from each other, like the lines a a, b b, c c, fig. 162. The rocket is
thus winged; and, so far, complete.
TO CONSTRUCT A SLOT-TUBE, OR ROCKET-GUIDE.
Procure 3 pieces of planed deal, 1/2 an inch thick, 2 inches broad: let
one piece be 6 feet 3 inches long; the other two, each 6 feet. Get a
smith to make 4 triangular iron holdfasts, k m n, fig. 162, 5 inches
along each side; the iron may be a trifle above 1/8 of an inch thick,
and 6/8 broad: in each side, let two holes be made, as in the usual
holdfasts, to receive screws. The screws are represented at z z, fig.
162, which is a cross section of the tube. Fasten the 4 iron holdfasts
round the 3 pieces of deal, as represented by w w, fig. 160, at equal
distances. The pieces of wood will thus form a triangular spout, with
open corners. The pieces are to be level at the top; the longest one, of
6ft. 3in., will, thus, be 3 inches below the other two, as at r r, fig.
160. At s s bore two holes, about 1/8 of an inch diameter. Take a small
piece of deal, fig. 159, and fix in it two pieces of wire, so as to have
the appearance of a tuning-fork. These wires are to go through the
holes s s, of fig. 160, to form a resting-place, or support for the
rocket, after it has been pushed up the tube. At the top of one of the
short pieces, is to be a hook, k, by which to suspend it from a post.
This post ought to be 9 or 10 feet high, that the rocket may be fired
without having to stoop. Everything being ready, the rocket is to be put
up through the bottom of the tube, and the wires of fig. 159 pushed
through, for it to rest upon. It may then be fired.
These rockets are peculiarly fitted for asteroids, as, from their
lightness, they rise to great heights, with immense rapidity, not in a
continuous curve, of uniform flexure, but with a sweeping serpentine
motion, as indicated by the line, fig. 164. They might be employed, with
great advantage, for distress rockets at sea.
They could also be made with four wings, and fired in volleys, from
batteries constructed with square tubes. See the design, fig. 165.
_LIST OF PRICES._
Ammonia, Muriate, or Salammoniac, 6_d._ per lb.
Antimony, Sulphuret, 6_d._
Arsenic, Red Sulphuret, or Realgar, 1_s._
" Yellow Sulphuret, or Orpiment, 1_s._
Barytes, Chlorate, 6_s._
" Nitrate, 8_d._
Cast Iron Borings, 4_d._
Charcoal, 3_d._
Coal tar naphtha, or mineral naphtha, 4_d._ per pint.
Copper, Black Oxide, 3_s._
" Oxychloride, 4_s._
" Sulphuret, 4_s._
Dextrine, 1_s._
Gunpowder, F, 8_d._;
FF, 9_d._;
FFF, 10_d._
Meal, 9_d._
Lamp Cotton, 2_d._ per oz.
Lead, Chloride, 2_s._ 6_d._
" Nitrate, 1_s._
" Protoxide, or Litharge, 6_d._
" Deutoxide, Minium or Red Lead, 6_d._
Litmus, 2_d._ per oz.
Magnesium Filings, 7_s._ per oz.
Mercury, Chloride, or Calomel, 6_s._
" Sulphuret, or Æthiop's Mineral, 6_s._
Methylated Spirit, 6_d._ per pint.
Oxalic Acid, 1_s._
Plaster of Paris, 3_d._ per packet.
Potash, Chlorate, 1_s._
" Nitrate, Nitre, Saltpetre, Sal-prunella, 6_d._
Shellac, in Flake, 1_s._ 3_d._
" in Powder, 2_s._
Soda, Bicarbonate, 4_d._
" Oxalate, 2_s._
Stearine, Composite Candle, 1_d._
Steel Filings, 8_d._
Strontian, Carbonate, 3_s._
" Nitrate, 8_d._
Sugar, 5_d._
Sulphur, Flowers. Sublimed Sulphur, 4_d._
Vegetable Black, 10_d._
Wax, 1_d._ per cake.
Wood Naphtha, 7_d._ per pint.
Zinc Filings, 3_s._ per lb.
_CONCLUDING REMARKS._
Sublimation is the volatilization of solid substances by heat, and their
crystallization by cold again into solids.