Brass ring

“ You then put the wedding-ring you borrowed over the outside of the handkerchief, and desiring the person who holds the hat to take it away, exhibit the ring (placed as described) to the company, and while their attention is engaged, taking the opportunity [15] of concealing, or getting rid of the brass ring.
The Smashed Watch.
You request some one of the company to lend you a watch, and put it immediately into a mortar; a few moments afterward you cause it to be pounded, by another person, with a pestle; you exhibit the wheels, face, mainspring, and drum barrel broken and smashed ”

“ It is a tangent scale, the graduations of which are the tangents of each quarter of a degree of elevation, to a radius equal to the distance between the muzzle-sight of the piece, and the axis of vibration of the hausse, which is one inch in rear of the base-ring. At the lower end of the scale is a brass bulb filled with lead. The slider which marks the divisions on the scale is of thin brass, and is clamped at any desired division on the scale by means of a screw. ”

“ The oval inner plate, which contains the prescribed eagle, shield, and the letters "U S" in Old English, is struck in medium weight copper and gilded. This inner plate is soldered to a cast-bronze and gilded tongue which in turn is brazed to a cast-bronze belt attachment. The oval outer ring, bearing the prescribed "CORPS OF TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS" in Roman capitals, is cast in brass and gilded. To the inner edge of this outer ring are brazed two curved seats for the inner oval. The whole is brazed to the belt attachment, also cast in brass and gilded. ”

“ A is a cylinder of wire-gauze, with a double top, securely and carefully fastened, by doubling over, to the brass rim B, which screws on to the lamp C. The whole is protected by strong iron supports D, to which a ring is affixed for the convenience of carrying it. ”

“ The bottom part of the ring dips into the oil contained in the well of the bearing and, as the shaft rotates, the ring rolls on the shaft and thus carries oil up to the shaft continuously, from which it finds its way to the surfaces of the shaft and bearing in contact. It should be understood that the upper brass is slotted crossways to allow the ring to rest on the shaft. When the direction of the load carried by the bearing is constant it is unnecessary to provide more than one brass, and the construction is modified accordingly. ”

“ The upper pivot, or bearing is made of tempered steel wire and of sufficiently small diameter to be quite flexible in the length between the top of the brass shaft and the guide ring in which it rotates. ”

“ Nothing more warlike is in sight than a row of brass shields, destined for ornament, not for battle. Dark shadows chase one another by the flickering light among copper kettles of ruddy glow, old-fashioned samovars, and massive andirons of tarnished brass. ”

“ The back or crown brass, and not the key brass, should be fitted first. The corners of the ways, in the brass, for the strap should be eased just clear with the edge of a smooth half-round file, because otherwise they will rub down the sharp edges of the strap, and make the strap jaws appear to be a bad fit when on the rod. The brass should be driven in and out of the strap to fit, using a block of wood to strike on, otherwise the skin of the bore may become pened, and when the brasses are bored they will close in at the sides and become loose in the strap. ”

“ The keys made by me have levers 1 inch wide and 5-1/2 inches long, oak being chosen as material, on account of its toughness. K is in each case a small wooden knob on a piece of 3/16-inch brass rod; O a 1-1/2-inch brass screw; A a piece of sheet brass 3-1/2 inches long, marked off carefully, drilled 1/8 inch from the centre of each end for the pivot screws, and in four places for the holding-down screws, and bent up at the ends to form two standards. If you do not possess any brass strip, the lever may be supported on wooden uprights glued and screwed to the base. ”

“ The cheeks are joined together by transoms made of bar-iron. They are parallel to each other, and in order that the base ring on the gun may not interfere with giving it the full elevation by striking against them, it is proposed to dispense with the base ring in sea-coast and garrison pieces, and to retain the preponderance by reducing the swell of the muzzle. ”

“ Iron guns came more and more into favour as the century progressed, especially for naval use. The cost of iron was only one-eighth that of brass. The art of casting iron in homogeneous masses had by this time made progress, and though hitherto it had been the custom to make iron ordnance of great thickness and weight, repeated trial proved that they could be made lighter, if required, without undue loss of strength, and that in action they outlasted brass ordnance, which cracked, bent at the muzzle, and wore out at the vent. A well-made iron gun was almost indestructible. ”

“ Thus, for instance, experience has demonstrated that piston-rings of cast iron will wear smoother, better, and equally as long as those of steel, and longer than those of either wrought iron or brass, whether the cylinder in which it works be composed of brass, steel, wrought iron, or cast iron—the latter being the more noteworthy, since two surfaces of the same metal do not, as a rule, wear or work well together. So also slide-valves of brass are not found to wear so long or so smoothly as those of cast iron, let the metal of which the seating is composed be whatever it may ”

“ This catch is a simple little affair, and consists of a thin piece of spring brass, in one end of which a hole has been made, while at the other a little knob handle is riveted. One end is attached to the door, and to the hood beside the door a catch of thin brass is riveted fast, into which the lever catch can drop.
To stiffen the door, the edges should be bound with narrow brass strips, securely fastened with small rivets, or escutcheon pins, that can be adapted as rivets by cutting them to the required length. ”

“ Wrought iron and mild steel are above all other metals suitable for tension joints where there is not continuous rapid motion. Where such motion occurs, a layer, or, as it is technically termed, a “bush,” of brass is inserted underneath the iron. The joint then possesses the high strength of a wrought-iron one and at the same time the good frictional qualities of a brass surface. Leakage past moving metal joints can be prevented by cutting the surfaces very accurately to fit each other. ”

“ In other forms of rod a gib and key are used as well as two bolts. This not only holds the strap very firmly, but it prevents to a certain extent the pening of the back of the brass, explained with reference to Fig. 2348. It is obvious that in the absence of a gib the key [II-116] moving under friction against the brass stretches the metal more than a gib that presses against the brass, but has no motion endways. ”

“ A brass banner rod, seven inches long, also connects with this rod and, passing through an inch opening, is supported in the flame of an alcohol lamp and fastened on the opposite side by a tiny brass knob screwed on the protruding thread of the rod. A small pulley and weight steadies the motion of the lever. ”

“ Fifth, the top brass may be made a handsliding fit to the strap without springing the strap open, which being already under a tension because of the spring due to the bottom brass, will be more rigid and permit of a tighter degree of top brass fit, without springing open and away from the rod. ”

“ RING. A commercial measure of staves, or wood prepared for casks, and containing four shocks. Also, the iron ring to which the cable is bent to the anchor in the summit of the shank.
RING-BOLT. An iron bolt with an eye at one end, wherein is fitted a circular ring. They are more particularly used for managing cannon, and are for this purpose fixed on each side of the port-holes. They are [575] driven through the plank and the corresponding timber, and retained in this position by a clinching ring. ”

“ No increase has taken place in the size of the Brass Gun Factory, although, through the energetic action of Colonel Wilmot, its produce has been doubled since the breaking out of the war: fourteen pieces of brass ordnance—six, nine, and eighteen pounders—can be turned out weekly. Brass is used for field-pieces on account of its resisting power being greater than that of iron. Experiments which have lately been made, however, tend to show that steel is a far lighter and better material even than brass for this purpose. ”

“ Two strong spiral springs may be dropped over the bolts, the nuts being screwed on above them, or a powerful spring of flat brass or steel ribband bent into the shape of a shallow letter V may intervene between nuts and platen, the centre of the bend bearing against the centre of the platen. ”

“ In the progress of the commerce, they would deal for nothing but metal; and, at length, brass was so eagerly sought for, in preference to iron, that, before the navigators quitted the place, scarcely a bit of brass was left in the ships, except what belonged to the different instruments. ”

“ Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.’ [175] Hiram of Tyre was ‘cunning to work all works in brass’ (casting and hammer-wrought) , for Solomon’s Temple, which dates from about two centuries after the time of the Trojan war (b.c. 1200) . In Ezra (viii. 27) the text mentions ‘two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold;’ and the margin reads ‘yellow or shining brass.’ Nor is the old word quite forgotten: we still speak of a ‘brass gun.’
‘In the Brazen Age,’ unphilosophically says Schlegel (‘Phil. of Hist.’ sect. ii.) ”

“ Taking one of the square strips of brass we have seen in the cutting-mill, he hammers its end to a point on a small anvil at one side of him, and passes it through the eye of a huge needle fixed in the bench on the other side of him. He then seizes the point of the strip of metal with a great pair of pincers attached by a chain to the drum, puts his foot upon a treadle beneath him, and round goes the drum—the Giant in the rolling-mill turns it—dragging the pincers with it, and drawing the strip of metal slowly but surely through the round eye of the needle. ”

“ The thickness of the brass does not exceed 0·02 of an inch, but by means of circular rings driven into the cones at intervals they are rendered almost inflexible. Across the middle of the beam passes a cylinder of steel, the lower side of which is formed into an edge, having an angle of about thirty degrees, which, being hardened and well polished, constitutes the fulcrum, and rests upon the agate planes for the length of about 0·05 of an inch. ”

“ As ornament there is usually a good deal of brasswork; the handle of the tiller is generally bordered with the metal, and the owner seems to take pride in nailing brass along the bulwarks of his boat where it is not wanted and is even little seen. It has been suggested that the polishing of these brass plates or bars provides a pleasant change from the dull routine work of towing. The brightness of the paint and the brasswork constitutes the pride of the barge-owners, and supplies a standard of comparison among them. ”

“ The metal (blackish in appearance) forming the basso-relievo, set in them, being in reality portions of the ball which gave the late lamented and immortal admiral his fatal wound at Trafalgar.’
Another memorial ring of the greatest of our naval commanders is described in ‘Notes and Queries’ (4th series, vol. x. p. 292) as belonging to a lady whose husband’s father’s aunt married Earl Nelson (a clergyman) , and whose husband inherited the ring. ‘It is of gold; on the bezel, a broad oblong with rounded corners, is a black enamelled field, surrounded by a white border. ”

“ About half the height of the ring is a steel clip at each side, like those on spectacles, but much stronger, about half an inch broad, which moving on a screw or rivet, after the sitter's head is placed in the ring, are drawn down, so as to clip the head just above the ears. A diagram would explain the whole, which has, at any rate, simplicity in its favour. I find it admirable. Ladies' hair passing through the ring does not prevent steadiness, and with children the steel clips are perfect. I shall be happy to send a rough diagram to any one, manufacturers or amateurs. ”

“ They are of crucible steel, and the breech, instead of being upon a hinge, or in the form of a block, moves round in a D-shaped socket, the escape of gas being further prevented by rings of phosphor-copper. The manner in which the ordnance of this country is constructed is sufficiently familiar to our readers. A tube of steel is encompassed by jackets of wrought-iron, and in this way the toughness of the latter is combined with the hardness of the former. All our guns, as we have said, load at the muzzle, while those of Russia, Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Turkey, are breech-loaders. ”

“ Their endurance is no doubt owing in part to the goodness of the metal, in part also to the form of the breech, to the uniformity of thickness in the sides of the arch, and, lastly, to the absence of those protuberances called “reinforce rings.” These rings might with propriety be termed “rings of destruction;” for wherever irregularities exist in the substance of the metal, there the waves of vibration are interrupted, and the weak point then becomes fractured. The science of spring-making in all its varieties demonstrates the truth of this statement. ”