The foregoing description, together with the accompanying illustrations, will enable the reader to understand the general method adopted. It should be added that it is applicable to many other articles besides piano cases.
The system described was invented and is controlled by the Standard Varnish Company of London and New York.
Wheels.
An extremely ingenious but effective machine for coating hickory wheels with paint or japan is in use at the works of the Ford Motor Company, Trafford Park, Manchester. It consists of a stationary cylindrical vessel of exactly the right size to receive a wheel, which, being placed in position, is at once lowered into a tank containing the japan. Here it is made to revolve very rapidly, by which means the japan is thoroughly distributed over every part. Hickory, being a hard and comparatively non-absorbent wood, the japan might give too thick a coating if dipped and left to dry in the ordinary way. To prevent this, the wheel, while still revolving very rapidly, is mechanically lifted out of the japan, and is held just above it, where it continues to spin. This has the effect of throwing off the superfluous japan by centrifugal force. The cylindrical sides of the apparatus catch the japan, and it runs down into the tank below. The wheels are then taken out by a man, who wears gloves, are stacked on edge in rows to dry, and, after an hour or so, they receive a second coat. After twenty-four hours, or less, they are ready for use.
The advantage of rapidly revolving the wheels is that anything in the nature of a drip is entirely eliminated. This machine can deal with 300 wheels an hour, so rapid is the process. At the present time the Ford Works are using 2,000 wheels a week.
Some Typical Plants.
In gathering information of up-to-date character to include in this book the author has visited various parts of the country, and through the courtesy of the firms mentioned below has examined the plants used successfully for the treatment of many different goods. The following is a brief description of some of the plants inspected, although it by no means exhausts the list:—
Carriage Department, Woolwich Arsenal.
