Axle

“ AXLE BOX.--Henry B. Pitner, La Porte, Ind.--This invention consists of an iron thimble or slieve provided on each end in the inside with a screw thread into which are fitted ends of brass or composition, or other metal softer than iron, in such a way that said metallic ends will not turn in the box, and so that the axle bears only upon the softer metal. ”

“ The Wheel and Axle is the next mechanical power to be considered; it must be well known to every reader who has seen a village well; for it is by this power that the bucket is drawn up, although in such cases, instead of a wheel attached to the axle, there is generally only a crooked handle, which answers the purpose of winding the rope round the axle, and thus raising the bucket, as may be seen in the engraving at the head of our third chapter. ”

“ You see this wheel, which is not very large, turns round an axle which goes into it, and is much smaller; and at every turn, the rope to which the weight is fixed that you want to move, is twisted round the axle. ”

“ As on a waggon’s axle the wheels revolve and the axle standeth still and beareth the whole waggon and governs all the motion; while the wheel turns about, and the nave next to the axle moves more steadily and more securely than the fellies do: in such a manner that the axle is the highest good, which we call God, and the happiest men move nighest to God, even as the nave moveth nighest to the axle, and the middling sort are just like the spokes ”

“ At one end of it is the arm we have seen, which arm grasps hold of one of the spokes of a wheel, whose cogs fit into those of another wheel, whose long axle holds other wheels, whose cogs and axles communicate with other wheels, until we come to the last wheel in the place. ”

“ A wheel on an axle is to be made, large enough to reach the necessary height. All round the circumference of the wheel there will be cubical boxes, made tight with pitch and wax. So, when the wheel is turned by treading, the boxes, carried up full and again returning to the bottom, will of themselves discharge into the reservoir what they have carried up. ”

“ Make the axle of hard wood. Push it thru the axle blocks and wheel, and lock it to the wheel with a brad, Plate 19. The axle is made long so that a pulley (spool) can be put on and a belt (string) run from this to other pulleys. A leather washer outside each axle block keeps the wheel in the center. If the work has been carefully done, the paddles will not strike; if they do strike, they must be pared off.
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[Pg 67] ”

“ The axle may, therefore, be constructed of such a thickness as to give it all the requisite strength, and yet the difference of the diameters of its different parts may be so small as to give it all the requisite power. ”

“ In forming the shackle, it is necessary that the outside corners, where the ears join the back, should be sharp, full, and square, to obtain a good bearing on the axle, or the article will not be salable. ”

“ A wooden axle is grooved longitudinally upon its under side throughout its entire length, to receive a rod, which is reduced in size at its ends, and threaded to receive the nuts. This rod is bent so as to conform to the tapering portion of the axle upon which the skein is placed. The skeins, having countersunk outer ends, are placed on the ends of the axle, and nuts having a beveled face corresponding to the countersunk ends of the skeins, are placed on the ends of the rod, and clamp the skeins securely on the axle. ”

“ It is very extensively employed in manufacturing musket stocks, axle-trees, screws, rake teeth, the bows of yokes, the wooden rings used on the rigging of vessels, chair-backs, axe-handles, whip-handles and other purposes requiring great strength and elasticity. ”

“ These anti-friction rollers bear upon the cylindrical parts of the axle o, of each wheel, and support the weight of the coach; p, is a bearing firmly secured in the axle-box to the plate l, for the end of the axle o, to run in, the axle being confined in its proper situation by a collar and screw-nut on its end; e, is the vertical pin or bolt before mentioned, upon which the axle-bar turns when the [1295] wheels are locking, which bolt is enlarged within the box, and has an eye for the axle to pass through, being firmly secured to the plate l, and also to the sides of the box. Fig. ”

“ The pin or spindle on which a wheel revolves, or which revolves with a wheel. 2. A transverse bar or shaft connecting the opposite wheels of a car or carriage; an axletree. 3. An axis; as, the sun's axle. Had from her axle torn The steadfast earth. Milton. μ Railway axles are called leading and trailing from their position in the front or in the rear of a car or truck respectively. Ax¶le box· (?) . 1. A bushing in the hub of a wheel, through which the axle passes. 2. The journal box of a rotating axle, especially a railway axle. ”

“ Having an axle; Ð used in composition. Merlin's agateÐaxled car. T. Warton. Ax¶le guard· (?) . The part of the framing of a railway car or truck, by which an axle box is held laterally, and in which it may move vertically; Ð also called a jaw in the United States, and a housing in England. Ax¶leÏtree· (?) , n. [Cf. Icel. ”xultr?.] 1. A bar or beam of wood or iron, connecting the opposite wheels of a carriage, on the ends of which the wheels revolve. 2. A spindle or axle of a wheel. [Obs.] Ax¶man (?) , n.; pl. Axmen (?) . One who wields an ax. ”

“ A heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen. The axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly, when the oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hallo there! why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out."
Those who suffer most cry out the least. ”

“ Verse 30Verse 30 1Ki 7:30 “Every stool had four brazen wheels and brazen axles, and the four feet thereof had shoulder-pieces; below the basin were the shoulder-pieces cast, beyond each one (were) wreaths.” The meaning is that the square chests stood upon axles with wheels of brass, after the style of ordinary carriage wheels (1Ki 7:33) , so that they could be driven or easily moved from one place to another; and that they did not rest directly upon the axles, but stood upon four feet, which were fastened upon the axles. ”

“ A few words about the motion of the hands and the handle they grasp; and then a consideration of the curves given to the cutting-edges of axes, adzes, etc.; also to the wedge-like sections of the edges. These will be all that can now be considered.
The motions of the hands on the handle of an axe are similar to those of a workman on that of the sledge-hammer. The handle of a properly-handled axe is curved, that of a sledge-hammer is straight. For present consideration this curvature may be overlooked, although it plays an important part in the using of an axe with success and ease. ”

“ The forger at his forge-furnace and the user of iron after him, The maker of the axe large and small, and the welder and temperer, The chooser breathing his breath on the cold steel and trying the edge with his thumb, The one who clean-shapes the handle and sets it firmly in the socket ”

“ As I worked with my axe and hammer, I heard a light wagon come rattling up the road. Across the valley a man had begun to chop a tree. I could see the axe steel flash brilliantly in the sunshine before I heard the sound of the blow. ”

“ He sharpens his axe, whetted its level edge on a rock of iron, on a mountain tipped with steel, on five Esthonian whetstones, on six whetstones, on the sides of seven hones, on eight surfaces; by night he grinds the axe, by day he fashions the haft. ”

“ Axes may be had of weight and size to suit one's taste. In New England they use short-handled axes which are not popular in the woods. The axe handles should be well seasoned, second growth hickory; a 1⁄4 axe has a 19-inch handle and weighs two pounds. A 1⁄2 axe has a 24-inch handle and weighs two and a half pounds. A 3⁄4 axe has a 28-inch handle and weighs three pounds. A full axe has a 36-inch handle and weighs five pounds. ”

“ THE AXE. Of course a backwoodsman has to be pretty useful with his axe; and to become a good axeman a fellow must know, firstly, how the thing ought to be done, and, secondly, he must then have lots of practice in doing it before he can be considered any good.
Bad workmen complain of their tools, but before starting to work be sure that your tool is a good one.
Your axe should be a "felling" axe, of which the head will weigh nearly three pounds. See that the handle or "helve" is perfectly straight and true in line with the head and the edge. ”

“ The arrow-head with its stem, barbs and body, the stone axe with its grooves or drilled perforation for the handle, are incomplete in themselves, they disclose a preconceived plan for the adjustment of parts which man in his earliest and rudest condition does not seem to have possessed. ”

“ Did any one ever hear of an arch requiring support? * * * What is called the transverse arch is in reality a portion of an elliptic spring; and the moment you fill up the natural hollow of the foot you destroy its elasticity. What carriage-maker puts supports under the arches of his carriage-springs? The human foot is a combination of bones and strong muscles that act as springs, and at each point where it comes in contact with the ground is placed a cushion to prevent jarring. ”

“ Arms and legs and feet become cased in plate of steel or studded leather, and before the mid-century the shoulder-plates, like the steel shoes, are of overlapping pieces and the elbow also moves easily under the same defence. (See fig. 7.)
Such harness, ever growing more beautiful in its rich details, serves our champions until the beginning of the 15th century, when the fashion begins to turn. The scanty surcoat tends to disappear. ”

“ Where the leg, for instance, has been lost, they feel as if the foot was present, but as though the leg were shortened. If the thigh has been taken off, there seems to them to be a foot at the knee; if the arm, a hand seems to be at the elbow, or attached to the stump itself. ”

“ For days in succession the axe had to be used to cut a passage through this exquisite specimen of nature's lattice-work, and then the severed tendrils, furnished as they were with curved spines, and made the plaything of the wind, kept hooking the flesh of the men at work, who were thus subjected to perpetual annoyance. ”

“ A small leg should also have a trifle curve or spread at the outside seam, over the side of the calf, while the inside is perfectly straight, except what is required for the shoe or boot or style, and a close-fitting pants must also be stretched at the back crease line over the calf. Cutters, and tailors as well, must study the form of the body from neck to ankle, and their ideas must harmonize as to what that form requires. ”

“ If the neck were as wide as the shoulders, and the chest and the blades, that is, if the body would run straight up from these points, then the top edge could be fitted with nothing else but a square piece of cloth. ”

“ When one or both arms are thrown into a horizontal position they show themselves as a sidewise growth of the body, like the limb of a tree, and consequently have their base in the center of the back, or in the center of the front. For the purpose of permitting the arms to drop down to the side, a wedge, or gusset, or a lap, is made between the top of the armhole and sleeve, which is taken up when the arm drops down into its natural position at the side. ”

“ If the almost unconscious motions of a workman skilled in the use of an axe be observed, it will be noticed that, while the hand farthest from the axe-head grasps the handle at the same or nearly the same part, the other hand, or the one nearest to the head, frequently moves. ”

“ Then see that your axe is sharp—really sharp, not merely with a good edge on it. A slightly blunt axe is no more good for cutting down a tree than a very blunt knife is for cutting a pencil. You should know how to sharpen it on a grindstone, learn this now, while you are in civilisation, where grindstones can be found and there are men to show you. ”

“ The way in which the human hand and arm are made capable of their infinite [Pg 239] variety of use, by the play of the radius and ulna, the bones of the wrist and the fingers, is not the less admirable, because we can trace the representatives and rudiments of each of these bones, in cases where they answer no such ends;—in the foreleg of the pig, the ox, the horse, or the seal. ”

“ Compared with a man's hand, for example, the horse's knee is represented by the human wrist; the hairless spot of skin with its cushion beneath—fatty cushion of the fetlock—represents the prominence behind the root of each finger opposite the knuckles; and the hoof itself represents the nail of the middle finger of man. ”

“ An axe, or bill-hook, is not made entirely of steel, but of one thin plate of steel, inserted between two plates of softer iron, and so enclosed that the steel projects beyond the iron, along the entire line of the cutting edge of the instrument. ”

“ Acetylene welding has been used, chiefly in America, for repairing cylinders, especially in cases where flanges are broken.
Wheels and Axles. With the exception of the boiler these require more attention than any other part of the engine. The wheel “centres” themselves very rarely crack now that they are of cast steel. The former wrought iron driving wheels used sometimes to crack between the spokes at the boss, but these are not made now, though a considerable number are still in service. Broken or flawed tyres are replaced immediately, no attempt being made to repair them by welding. ”

“ I selected a few of the best pieces and so eager was I to try them that I got out my axe-helve before breakfast and sat scratching away when Harriet came down.
Nothing equals a bit of broken glass for putting on the final perfect touch to a work of art like an axe-helve. Nothing will so beautifully and delicately trim out the curves of the throat or give a smoother turn to the waist. ”