Brass rod

“ There are automatic lathes which seize a steel or brass rod pushed within their clutch and chop it up and make shoulders and grooves and screw-threads on its outside, and drill out the centre and put another and different sized and shaped set of carvings on the inside,113 throw out the finished part, pull in the metal rod, and commence work afresh on it. Some of these lathes have five or six tools running and each performing its part in turn on the fuse or shell part. In one small-arm factory there is a huge room full of these automatic lathes all whirring and grinding away at their hardest. ”

“ You will also need some brass rod which will just slide into the tube tightly. Cut off two pieces of the brass rod each one and three-quarters inches long and slip these through the upper holes in the binding-posts and into the glass tube as shown in Figure 234. Before putting the second rod in place, however, you must put some nickel and silver filings in the tube, so that when the rods are pushed almost together, with only a distance of about one-sixteenth of an inch between them, the filings will about half fill the space. ”

“ Every white man imported his brass wire in coils, and cut the rod to the length used in the district where he resided. Brass rods are now almost a drug in the market, for not only have they been poured into the country in a steady stream for the last thirty years, but the custom of melting down brass for the manufacture of ornaments has been slowly dying out during the last ten years. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When the propeller has made the number of revolutions corresponding to the desired length of range, the stud on the big wheel presses against the lever of the spring and releases the latter, forcing the valve-rod back and closing the valve. Attached to the axle of the big wheel is a small brass arm which is connected by means of a brass rod to the safety-wedge, and is so arranged that after any required number of revolutions of the propeller the safety-wedge will be drawn out ”

“ If iron rods covered with brass be used, the brass casing should come some distance into the bucket eye; the cutter should be of brass, and a brass washer should cover the under side of the eye, so as to defend the end of the rod from the salt water. Rods of Muntz's metal are probably on the whole to be preferred. It is a good practice to put a nut on the top of the rod, to secure it more firmly in the cross head eye, where that plan can be conveniently adopted. ”

“ The parts sometimes made of steel are those subject to great wear, and for which strength with a minimum of size is necessary, as piston springs, piston rods, connecting rods, cranks, crank pins, and valve rods.
The parts generally made of brass are those subject to abrasion or corrosion, as the connecting rod brasses, the bearings for the crank shaft, the pump plungers or pistons, and their rods, linings for the pump barrels or bores, the bores of the glands, the condenser tubes, and all cocks and valves. ”

“ If the bending of a rod to the proper shape is beyond the reader’s capacity, he may build up a crank in the manner shown in Fig. 101. Holes for the shaft are bored near the tops of the supports, and the shaft is put in place. After this has been done, smoke the shaft in a candle flame and solder two small bits of tubing, or bored pieces of brass, to the outside of the supports to increase the length of the bearing. The power-crank boss is a 1-1/2-inch brass disc. ”

“ When brasses are held in rods that connect two journals together the fitting of the brass bore must be conducted with a view to have the brasses fit their journals all over the intended bearing area of their bores, which can only be accomplished by trying the brass bores to their journals while in the rod, in the manner to be hereafter described with reference to connecting rods and to lining engines. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The connecting-rod is forged in a single piece, without straps, gibs, or key, and is mortised through at each end for the reception of the brass boxes, which are curved on their backs, and fit the cheek-pieces, between which they can turn to adjust themselves to the pins, in the plane of the axis of the rod. The adjustment for wear is made by wedge-blocks and set screws, as shown, and they are so constructed that the parts cannot get loose and cause a break-down. ”

“ As all wire, like hard drawn brass or steel wire, will “spring open” after being coiled, the rod must be made much smaller than the spring to be formed. Different sized holes may be made in the same block of wood to receive different sized winding rods over. ”

“ If rings are used, they and the brass top should be large and fastened on with a whipping of silk, that adds much strength to the wood. Where a spliced rod is used, it is well to have a small ring of brass, somewhat similar to the reel-band on each joint, under which the end of the splice can be slipped before fastening it. ”

“ When the brass bush becomes worn it is replaced by a new one.
Fig. 44 shows an example of a locomotive coupling rod end for an outside cylinder engine. In this case it is desirable to have the crank-pin bearings for the coupling rods as short as possible, for a connecting rod and coupling rod in this kind of engine work side by side on the same crank-pin, which, being overhung, should be as short as convenient for the sake of strength. The requisite bearing surface is obtained by having a pin of large diameter. The brass bush is prevented from rotating by means of the square key shown. ”

“ Angle coupling for shafts at any angle (shown at angle of 90°) consisting of four crank pins sliding and revolving in holes bored in the shaft ends.
Section 17.—CONNECTING RODS AND LINKS. (See also p. 42.)
1999. Spring connecting rod of steel or wood.
2000. Attachment for connecting rod to a pump ram, with provision for taking up the brasses by a long screw.
2001. Connecting rod end, the back brass being set up by a set screw with coned point, which displaces by penetration a number of steel balls or shot.
2002. Solid rod end, with wedge gib and nut adjustment for brasses ”

“ With another lathe, he cut a screw on an iron rod. Taking a blank nut, he put it into the vise, and applied the proper tap to it, cut the female screw, and then put it on the rod. Then he cut a screw with a stock and die on a piece of brass wire, and tapped a nut to fit it.
He went to the forge, and welded a couple of pieces of iron together, and had something to say about tempering metals. Taking an old brass candlestick, he sawed the pedestal into two pieces, which he held up before the boys, and then allowed them to examine the parts. ”

“ The other is provided with a hard rubber handle made from a piece of rod. Bore a three-eighths hole directly in the top of each brass ball to receive the quadrant rods forming the spark-gap.
Fig. 42.—A Comb or Collector. The quadrant rods extend over the top of the plates and are three-eighths of an inch in diameter. They are loose in the tops of the balls so that they may be moved about or removed entirely.
A small brass ball three-quarters of an inch in diameter should be soldered to the top of one of the quadrant rods and a similar ball two inches in diameter to the other. ”

“ The opening for the brass (in the rod end) is here shown wide enough for the rod end to pass over the collar of the crank pin, but in many cases, with this as well as with other forms of solid-ended rods, the crank pin may be made plain—that is, without a flange—and have a washer secured by a screw, so that by removing the washer the rod may be put on with the brasses already in place, and made no thicker (at the joint face) than is necessary for strength. In Fig. ”

“ The best material of which to make them is decarbonized steel, or what is known as “soft steel.” It comes in smooth round rods and is homogeneous and easy to work. Cold-rolled iron rod makes very good plugs. The diameter may be half-inch or nine-sixteenths, the latter size being most preferable. With a three-eighth size screw the half-inch rod gives a one-sixteenth shoulder, which must fit tight to the barrel. If not fitted tight, the gas from the powder when the gun is fired will soon cause a leak which is difficult to remedy. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Should there be more than one person requiring support, they can lay hold of rope beckets fitted to the buoy, and so sustain themselves. Between the two copper vessels there stands up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is inserted, from below, an iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded with lead, in such a manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod slips down to a certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the lead at the end to act as ballast. ”

“ When heat, elongating the balance ring, causes it to vibrate more slowly, the brass, expanding more than the steel, bends the free ends of the cut rim toward the center, thus decreasing the diameter of the balance and quickening the vibration. On the other hand, when cold, contracting the ring tends to quicken the vibration of the balance, the contraction of the brass rim draws the free end outward, making the diameter larger and the vibration slower in consequence. The compensation balance is also made with brass as the inner metal and aluminum outside. ”

“ If, when the top brass or bearing is bolted home and the shaft is rotated by hand, that brass on removal shows contact marks on its bore, although it may rotate comparatively easily it will be so tight a fit that the oil cannot pass, and as a result the wear, instead of producing a glossy surface, will produce a dull one, and undue abrasion will ensue even though no rings appear. ”

“ In winding the upper end the steel strip is held away from the wood by its spring, or by a wooden wedge, and the wire must be held close to the wood by the hand or by a piece of wire formed as a sort of staple. To wind a very long spring, or a spring longer than the rod, a clamp may confine the wire to the rod, and when the spring has been wound to its length, remove the clamp, draw back the winding rod, fix the clamp close to the outer end and begin to wind again without cutting the coil, push it off the end of the rod as it is filled each time. ”

“ Serious accidents have occurred through want of attention to the examination of this shaft; when working in salt water, with liners of gun metal, galvanic action ensues, and extensive corrosion takes place in the iron at the ends of the brass liners, more especially if they are faced up at right angles to the shaft. Some engineers have the uncovered part of the shaft between the liners, inside the tube, protected against the sea water by winding over it tarred line. ”

“ The wood-encased bulk of the low-pressure cylinder, frowning portly from above, emitted a faint wheeze at every thrust, and except for that low hiss the engines worked their steel limbs headlong or slow with a silent, determined smoothness. And all this, the white walls, the moving steel, the floor plates under Solomon Rout's feet, the floors of iron grating above his head, the dusk and the gleams, uprose and sank continuously, with one accord, upon the harsh wash of the waves against the ship's side. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When sufficiently heated, the short rudimentary tube is taken out on a long round iron rod, fitted with a hand-guard, and looking like a huge burlesque rapier. This rod approximates to the size of the intended bore of the barrel, and is inserted, with the rough tube upon it, between two steam rollers, each of which is furnished with a series of corresponding grooves or cuts. The barrel, which is taken up at one end by a rod, is placed between the [312] first pair of grooves, and, as the rollers revolve, is drawn out at the other side, a long, hollow, welded tube. ”