Part 9

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.

The products of sublimation (sublimates) have received the name of flowers from their soft efflorescence, or aggregation of minute spicular crystals into flakes; as flowers of sulphur, the crystallized refrigerated vapour of burning brimstone; flowers of benzoin, benzoic acid; corrosive sublimate, bichloride of mercury; sublimed arsenic, camphor, sal-ammoniac; vegetable and lamp black, the condensed fumes of burning oils and resins; soot, the flakes deposited in chimneys from the smoke of burnt wood and coals.

Distillation is the evaporation of liquid substances by heat, and their condensation by cold again into liquids.

The products of distillation (distillates) are usually termed spirits; as spirit of wine, alcohol or brandy; spirit of grain, gin, hollands, or whiskey; spirit of molasses, rum; spirit of naphtha; benzine, &c.

Water heated and cooled, combines in resemblance the effects of sublimation and distillation; aqueous vapour by congelation crystallizing into snow; and by condensation liquefying into water.

The condensation of steam into water is familiar to everyone. It is stated that in St. Petersburg, upon the sudden admission of a current of cold air into a crowded assembly-room, the vapour in the air was immediately congealed, and fell in the form of snow flakes. Probably snow might be produced artificially by driving steam into a vessel preparatively cooled below the freezing point.

Gums are the exudation of trees, vegetable mucilage thickened by exposure to the atmosphere; as gum from cherry and plum trees; gum arabic, from varieties of the acacia, Turkey, East India, Senegal, or Barbary; Turkey gum arabic is the best.

Resins are the exudation of trees, generally evergreens, essential oils inspissated by oxygenation: as mastic, sandarac, benzoin.

Gums are soluble in water; resins in alcohol and essential oils.

Gums dry and swell up by heat; resins soften and melt.

Gum resins are partly resinous and partly mucilaginous; as lac, assafœtida, galbanum. In submitting shellac to the action of alcohol, the whole is never entirely dissolved; as the lac contains, besides the resin, a mucilage which floats about in the liquid, and renders it turbid.

Many substances which go under the name of gums in commerce, are in reality resins or gum-resins.