Part 136

«Replacing Rubies whose Settings have Deteriorated.»—Enlarge, with the squarer (steel brooch for enlarging holes), the hole of the old setting, and adjust it, with hard rubbing, to the extremity of a stem of pierced brass wire. Take the stem in an American nippers, and set the ruby at the extremity (the setting may be driven back by using a flat burnishing tool, very gently). Then take off with a cleaving file the part of the stem where the ruby is set, and diminish it to the thickness desired, by filing on the finger, or on cork. These operations finished, {737} a set stopper is obtained which now needs only to be solidly fixed at the suitable height, in the hole prepared.

«To Straighten Bent Teeth.»—Bent teeth are straightened by means of the screwdriver used as a lever against the root of the adjacent teeth, and bent pivots may be held in the jaws of the pliers and the pinion bent with the fingers in the direction and to the extent required. For such a purpose, pliers having the jaws lined with brass are used so that the pivot is not bruised, and the bending has to be done with great care.

«To Renew a Broken Barrel Tooth.»—Frequently, in consequence of the breaking of a spring, a tooth of a barrel is broken. Sometimes it may only be bent, in which case the blade of a penknife may be used with care. If 2 or 3 successive teeth are lacking, the best way is to change the barrel, but a single tooth may be easily renewed in this way: Drill a hole through the thickness of the tooth, taking care not to penetrate the drum; then fit in a piece of metal tightly and give it, as well as possible, the correct form of the tooth. To assure solidity, solder it; then clean and round the edges. Properly executed the repair will scarcely be noticed.

«Heated Sawdust.»—Sawdust is known to have been employed from time immemorial by watchmakers and goldsmiths for the purpose of drying rinsed articles. The process of drying can be accelerated four-fold if the sawdust is heated before use. This must, however, be done with great caution and constant stirring.

«To Repair a Dial, etc., with Enamel Applied Cold.»—There are two kinds of false enamel for application, when cold, to damaged dials. The first, a mixture of white rosin and white lead, melts like sealing wax, which it closely resembles. It is advisable when about to apply it to gently heat the dial and the blade of a knife, and with the knife cut the piece of enamel of the requisite size and lay it on the dial. The new enamel must project somewhat above the old. When cold the surface is leveled by scraping, and a shining surface is at once produced by holding at a little distance from the flame of a spirit lamp. It is necessary to be very careful in conducting this operation, as the least excess of heat will burn the enamel and turn it yellow. It is, however, preferable to the following although more difficult to apply, as it is harder and does not become dirty so soon. The second false enamel contains white lead mixed with melted white wax. It is applied like cement, neatly filling up the space and afterwards rubbing with tissue paper to produce a shining surface. If rubbed with a knife blade or other steel implement its surface will be discolored.

«Lettering a Clock Dial.»—Painting Roman characters on a clock dial is not such a difficult task as might at first be imagined. If one has a set of drawing instruments and properly proportions the letters, it is really simple. The letters should be proportioned as follows: The breadth of an “I” and a space should equal 1⁠/⁠2 the breadth of an “X,” that is, if the “X” is 1⁠/⁠2 inch broad, the “I” will be 3⁠/⁠16 inch broad and the space between letters inch, thus making the “I” plus one space equal to 1⁠/⁠4 inch or half the breadth of an “X.” The “V’s” should be the same breadth as the “X’s.” After the letters have been laid off in pencil, outline them with a ruling pen and fill in with a small camel’s-hair brush, using gloss black paint thinned to the proper consistency to work well in the ruling pen. Using the ruling pen to outline the letters gives sharp straight edges, which it would be impossible to obtain with a brush in the hands of an inexperienced person.

«Verification of the Depthings.»—In the verge watches, the English watches, and those of analogous caliber, it is often difficult to verify the depthings, except by the touch. For this reason we often find the upper plate pierced over each depth. In the jeweled places, instead of perforating the upper plate, it suffices to deposit a drop of very limpid oil on the ruby, taking care that it does not scatter. In this manner a lens is formed and one may readily distinguish the depthing.

«To Make or Enlarge a Dial Hole.»—By wetting the graver or the file with spirit of turpentine, cracks may be avoided and the work will be accomplished much quicker.

«To Repair a Repeating Clock-Bell.»—When the bell is broken, whether short off or at a distance, file it away and pierce it, and after having sharpened a little the stem of the spring which remains, push by force, in the hole just made, a thin piece of solder (pewter). The sound will not have changed in any appreciable manner.

A seconds pendulum of a regulator, which has no compensation for temperature will cause the clock to lose about {738} 1 second per day for each 3 degrees of increase in heat. A watch without a compensation balance will lose 6.11 seconds in 24 hours for each increase of 1° F. in heat.

«To Remedy Worn Pinions.»—Turn the leaves or rollers so that the worn places upon them will be toward the arbor or shaft and fasten them in that position. If they are “rolling pinions,” and they cannot be secured otherwise, a little soft solder should be used.

«Watchmakers’ Oil.»—I.—Put some lead shavings into neat’s foot oil, and allow to stand for some time, the longer the better. The lead neutralizes the acid, and the result is an oil that never corrodes or thickens.

II.—Stir up for some time best olive oil with water kept at the boiling point; then after the two fluids have separated, decant the oil and shake up with a little freshly burned lime. Let the mixture stand for some weeks in a bottle exposed to the sunlight and air, but protected from wet and dirt. When filtered, the oil will be nearly colorless, perfectly limpid, and will never thicken or become rancid.

«To Weaken a Balance Spring.»—A balance spring may need weakening; this is effected by grinding the spring thinner. Remove the spring from the collet and place it upon a piece of pegwood cut to fit the center cod. A piece of soft iron wire, flattened so as to pass freely between the coils and charged with a little powdered oilstone, will serve as a grinder, and with it the strength of the spring may soon be reduced. Operations will be confined to the center coil, for no other part of the spring will rest sufficiently against the wood to enable it to be ground, but this will generally suffice. The effect will be rather rapid; therefore care should be taken or the spring may be made too weak.

«To Make a Clock Strike Correctly.»—Pry the plates apart on the striking side, slip the pivots of the upper wheels out, and having disconnected them from the train, turn them partly around and put them back. If still incorrect, repeat the experiment. A few efforts at most will get them to work properly. The sound in cuckoo clocks is caused by a wire acting on a small bellows which is connected with two small pipes like organ pipes.

«To Reblack Clock Hands.»—One coat of asphaltum varnish will make old rusty hands look as good as new, and will dry in a few minutes.

«To Tighten a Ruby Pin.»—Set the ruby pin in asphaltum varnish. It will become hard in a few minutes and be much firmer and better than the gum shellac, generally used.

«To Loosen a Rusty Screw in a Watch Movement.»—Put a little oil around the screw; heat the head lightly by means of a red-hot iron rod, applying the same for 2 or 3 minutes. The rusty screw may then be removed as easily as though it had just been put in.

«Gilding Watch Movements.» (See also Gilding.)—In gilding watch movements, the greatest care must be observed with regard to cleanliness. The work is first to be placed into a weak solution of caustic potash for a few minutes, and then rinsed in cold water. The movements are now to be dipped into pickling acid (nitrous acid) for an instant, and then plunged immediately into cold water. After being finally rinsed in hot water, they may be placed in the gilding bath and allowed to remain therein until they have received the required coating. A few seconds will generally be sufficient, as this class of work does not require to be very strongly gilt. When gilt, the movements are to be rinsed in warm water, and scratch-brushed; they may then be returned to the bath, for an instant, to give them a good color. Lastly, rinse in hot water and place the movements in clean box sawdust. An economical mode of gilding watch movements is to employ a copper anode—working from the solution, add 10 parts of cream of tartar and a corresponding quantity of elutriated chalk to obtain a pulp that can be put on with the brush. The gilding or silvering obtained in this manner is pretty, but of slight durability. At the present time this method is only seldom employed, since the electroplating affords a means of producing gilding and silvering in a handsome and comparatively cheap manner, the metallic coating having to be but very thin. Gold and silver for this kind of work are used in the form of potassium cyanide of gold or potassium cyanide of silver solutions, it being a custom to copper the zinc articles previously by the aid of a battery, since the appearance will then be much handsomer than on zinc alone. Gilding or silvering with leaf metal is done by polishing the surface of the zinc bright and coating it with a very tough linseed-oil varnish diluted with 10 times the quantity of benzol. The metallic leaf is then laid on and polished with an agate. {739}

WATCHMAKERS’ CLEANING PREPARATIONS: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

WATCH MOVEMENTS, PALLADIUM PLATING OF: See Plating.

«Water, Natural and Artificial»

In making an artificial mineral water it must be remembered that it is seldom possible to reproduce the water by merely combining its chemical components. In other words, the analysis of the water cannot serve as a basis from which to prepare it, because even though all of the components were put together, many would be found insoluble, and others would form new chemical combinations, so that the result would differ widely from the mineral water imitated.

For example, carbonate of magnesia and carbonate of lime, which are important ingredients in most mineral waters, will not make a clear solution unless freshly precipitated. Hence, when these are to be reproduced in a mineral water it is customary to employ other substances, which will dissolve at once, and which will, upon combining, produce these salts. The order in which the salts are added is also a very important matter, for by dissolving the salts separately and then carefully combining them, solutions may be effected which would be impossible were all the salts added together to the water in the portable fountain.

In this connection the following table will be found useful:

Group I

Ammonium carbonate. Ammonium chloride. Sodium borate (borax). Potassium carbonate. Potassium chloride. Potassium nitrate. Potassium sulphate. Sodium bromide. Sodium carbonate. Sodium chloride. Sodium fluoride. Sodium iodide. Sodium nitrate. Sodium phosphate. Sodium pyrophosphate. Sodium silicate. Sodium sulphate.

Group 2

Lithium carbonate.

Group 3

Aluminum chloride. Barium chloride. Calcium bromide. Calcium chloride. Calcium nitrate. Magnesium nitrate. Strontium chloride. Lithium chloride.

Group 4

Magnesium sulphate. Alum (potassa or soda alum).

Group 5

Lime carbonate. Magnesium carbonate hydrate. Lime sulphate precipitate.

Group 6

Lithium carbonate. Acid hydrochloric. Acid sulphuric. Iron chloride. Iron pyrophosphate. Iron sulphate. Manganese chloride. Manganese sulphate.

Group 7

Sodium arseniate, or sodium sulphide, or acid hydrosulphuric.

Explanation of Groups.—The explanation of the use of these groups is simple. When about to prepare an artificial mineral water, first ascertain from the formula which of the ingredients belong to group 1. These should be dissolved in water, and then be filtered and added to distilled water, and thoroughly agitated. Next the substance or substances belonging to group 2 should be dissolved in water, then filtered and added to the water, which should again be agitated. And so the operation should proceed; whatever ingredients are required from each group should be taken in turn, a solution made, and this solution, after being filtered, should be separately added to the fountain, and the latter be well agitated before the following solution is added.

For groups 1, 3, and 4, the salts should be dissolved in 5 times their weight of boiling, or 10 times their weight of cold, water. For group 2 (lithium carbonate) the proportions should be 1 part of lithium carbonate to about 130 parts of cold or boiling water. The substances mentioned in group 5 are added to the portable fountain in their solid state, and dissolve best when freshly precipitated. As carbonic acid gas aids their solution, it is best to charge the fountain after they are added, and agitate thoroughly, blowing off the charge afterwards if necessary.

In group 5 the lithium carbonate is dissolved in the acids (see also group 2), the iron and manganese salts are dissolved in 5 parts of boiling, or 10 parts of cold, water, the solution quickly filtered, the acids added to it, and the whole mixture added to the fountain already charged with gas, the cap being quickly taken off, and the solution poured in. The iron and manganese salts easily oxidize and produce turbidity, therefore the atmospheric air should be carefully {740} blown off under high pressure several times while charging fountains. The substances mentioned in group 7 are never put into the fountain, except the arseniate of sodium in the case of Vichy water, which contains but a trifling amount of this compound.

Most of the solutions may be prepared beforehand and be used when required, thus saving considerable time.

Formulas for various waters will be given at the end of this article.

A question which arises in preparing mineral waters is: What is the best charging pressure? As a general rule, they are charged to a lower pressure than plain soda; good authorities even recommend charging certain mineral waters as low as 30 pounds pressure to the square inch, but this seems much too low a pressure for the dispensing counter. From 50 to 120 pounds pressure would be a good limit, while plain soda may be served out as high as 180 pounds. There must be enough pressure completely to empty the fountain, while enabling sufficient gas to be retained by the water to give it a thorough pungency. Moreover, a high pressure to the mineral water enables a druggist at a pinch, when he runs out of plain soda, to use his Vichy water, instead, with the syruped drinks. The taste of the Vichy is not very perceptible when covered by the syrup, and most customers will not notice it.

«Apollinaris Water.»—

Sodium carbonate 2,835 grains Sodium sulphate 335 grains Sodium silicate 10 grains Magnesium chloride 198 grains Calcium chloride 40 grains Potassa alum 57 grains Magnesium carbonate hydrate 158 grains Iron sulphate 21 grains

«Hunyadi Water.»—

Magnesium sulphate 400 parts Sodium sulphate 400 parts Potassium sulphate 2 parts Sodium chloride 31 parts Sodium bicarbonate 12 parts Water 1 quart

«Lithia Water.»—

Lithium carbonate 120 grains Sodium bicarbonate 1,100 grains Carbonated water 10 gallons

For “still” lithia water, substitute lithium citrate for the carbonate in the above formula.

«Seltzer Water.»—Hydrochloric acid (chemically pure), 2,520 grains; pure water, 40 ounces. Mix and add marble dust, 240 grains; carbonate of magnesium, 420 grains. Dissolve, and after 1 hour add bicarbonate of sodium, 2,540 grains. Dissolve, then add sufficient pure water to make 10 gallons. Filter and charge to 100 pounds pressure.

«Vichy Water.»—The following formula, based on the analysis of Bauer-Struve, yields an imitation of

_Vichy_ (_Grande Grille_).

Sodium iodide 0.016 parts Sodium bromide 0.08 parts Sodium phosphate 2 parts Sodium silicate 80 parts Potassium sulphate 125 parts Sodium chloride 139 parts Sodium carbonate 6,792 parts Aluminum chloride 1 part Strontium chloride 1 part Ammonium chloride 3 parts Magnesium chloride 24 parts Calcium chloride 170 parts Manganese sulphate 0.46 parts Iron sulphate 1 part Sulphuric acid 40 parts Water to make 10 gallons

Mix the first 7 ingredients with about 10 times their weight of water and filter. In the same manner, mix the next 5 ingredients with water and filter; and then the last 3 ingredients. Pour these solutions into sufficient water contained in a fountain to make 10 gallons, and charge at once with carbon dioxide gas.

Waters like the above are more correctly named “imitation” than “artificial,” as the acidic and basic radicals may bear different relations to one another in the natural and the other.

«PURIFYING WATER.»

See also Filters.

If an emulsion of clay is poured into a soap solution, the clay gradually separates out without clarifying the liquid. When a few drops of hydrochloric acid, however, are added to a soap solution and a small quantity—about 1.5 per cent—of a clay emulsion poured in, the liquid clarifies at once, with formation of a plentiful sediment. Exactly the same process takes place when the waste waters from the combing process in spinning are treated with clay. The waters which remain turbid for several days contain 500 to 800 grams of fatty substances per cubic meter. If to 1 liter of this liquid 1 gram of clay is added, with 15 to 20 per cent of water, the liquid clarifies with separation of a sediment and assumes a golden-brown {741} color. Besides the fatty substances, this deposit also contains a certain quantity of nitrogenous bodies. Dried at (100° C.) 212° F., it weighs about 1.6 grams and contains 30 per cent of fat. The grease obtained from it is clear, of good quality, and deliquesces at 95° F. After removal of this fat, the mass still contains 1.19 per cent of nitrogen.

«Sterilization of Water with Lime Chloride.»—In order to disinfect and sterilize 1,000 parts of drinking water, 0.15 parts of dry chloride of lime are sufficient. The lime is stirred with a little water into a thin paste and introduced, with stirring, into the water to be disinfected and a few drops of officinal hydrochloric acid are added. After 1⁠/⁠2 hour the clarification and disinfection is accomplished, whereupon 0.3 parts of calcium sulphite are added, in order to kill the unpleasant smell and taste of the chlorine.

«Clarifying Muddy Water.»—The water supply from rivers is so muddy at times that it will not go through the filter. When this happens agitate each barrel of water with 2 pounds of phosphate of lime and allow it to settle. This will take but a few minutes, and it will be found that most of the impurities have been carried down to the bottom. The water can then be drawn off carefully and filtered.

«Removal of Iron from Drinking Water.»—The simplest method for removing the taste of iron in spring water is to pass the water through a filter containing a layer of tricalcic phosphate either in connection with other filtering materials or alone. The phosphate is first recovered in a gelatinous form, then dried and powdered.

«For Hardness.»—A solution perfectly adapted to this purpose, and one which may be kept a long time, is prepared as follows:

Thirty-five parts of almond oil are mixed with 50 parts of glycerine of 1.26 specific gravity and 8.5 parts of 50 per cent soda lye, and boiled to saponification. To this mixture, when it has cooled to from 85° to 90° C. (185° to 194° F.), are added 100 to 125 parts of boiling water. After cooling again, 500 parts of water are added, and the solution is poured into a quart flask, with 94 per cent alcohol to make up a quart. After standing 2 months it is filtered. Twenty hydrolimeter degrees of this solution make, with 40 parts of a solution of 0.55 grams of barium chloride in 1 quart of water, a dense lather 1 centimeter high.

WATER (COPPER): See Copper.

WATER ICES: See Ice Creams.

WATER, TO FREEZE: See Refrigeration.

WATER JACKETS, ANTI-FREEZING SOLUTIONS FOR: See Freezing Preventives.

WATER SPOTS, PRIMING FOR: See Paint.

WATER STAINS: See Wood.

WATER-LILY ROOTS: See Pyrotechnics.

WATER, STIRRED YELLOW, SCARLET AND COLORLESS: See Pyrotechnics.

WATERS (TOILET): See Cosmetics.

WATER-GLASS CEMENTS: See Adhesives.

WATER GLASS IN STEREOCHROMATIC PAINTING: See Stereochromy.

«Waterproofing»

(See also Enamels, Glazes, Paints, Preservatives, Varnishes.)

«Waterproofing Brick Arches.»—Waterproofing of brick arches is done in the following manner: The masonry is first smoothed over with cement mortar. This is then covered with a special compound on which a layer of Hydrex felt is laid so as to lap at least 12 inches on the transverse seams. Five layers of compound and 5 of felt are used, and special attention is paid to securing tightness around the drain pipes and at the spandrel walls. In fact the belt is carried up the back of the latter and turned into the joint under the coping about 2 inches, where it is held with cement mortar. The waterproofing on the arches is protected with 1 inch of cement mortar and that on the walls with a single course of brickwork.

«Waterproofing Blue Prints.»—Use refined paraffine, and apply by immersing the print in the melted wax, or more conveniently as follows: Immerse in melted paraffine until saturated, a number of pieces of an absorbent cloth a foot or more square. When withdrawn and cooled they are ready for use at any time. {742} To apply to a blue print, spread one of the saturated cloths on a smooth surface, place the dry print on it with a second waxed cloth on top, and iron with a moderately hot flatiron. The paper immediately absorbs paraffine until saturated, and becomes translucent and highly waterproofed. The lines of the print are intensified by the process, and there is no shrinking or distortion. As the wax is withdrawn from the cloths, more can be added by melting small pieces directly under the iron.

By immersing the print in a bath of melted paraffine the process is hastened, but the ironing is necessary to remove the surplus wax from the surface, unless the paper is to be directly exposed to the weather and not to be handled. The irons can be heated in most offices by gas or over a lamp, and a supply of saturated cloths obviates the necessity of the bath. This process, which was originally applied to blue prints to be carried by the engineer corps in wet mines, is equally applicable to any kind of paper, and is convenient for waterproofing typewritten or other notices to be posted up and exposed to the weather.

«Waterproof Coatings.»—I.—Rosin oil, 50 parts; rosin, 30 parts; white soap, 9 parts. Apply hot on the surfaces to be protected.