The following constitute the furniture and equipments of a laboratory:
- Copper rods, to load port fires, and the fuses of shells, howitzers, &c.
- Wooden formers, on which to roll the paper cases of the port fires.
- Wooden formers, to roll the cases of rockets.
- Balances, large and small, with weights, &c.
- Buckets to carry water.
- Boxes for loading priming tubes.
- Barrels with leather tops, that draw, in order to keep grained and meal gunpowder.
- Rods, or rammers for charging rockets.
- Brushes to wipe the tables and sweep the compositions together.
- Frames to dry priming tubes.
- Copper calibers to regulate the size of priming tubes.
- Penknives.
- Needles for piercing priming tubes in the direction of their length.
- Fuse drivers.
- Coopers' adzes.
- A copper kettle.
- Scissors for cloth and paper.
- Paper cutters.
- Priming wires.
- Skimmers for skimming the froth of boiling saltpetre.
- Funnels for charging port-fires, howitzers, shells, &c.
- Square ruler.
- Fuses for shells, &c. (or a lathe to make them.)
- Large and small wooden bowls.
- Small axes.
- Ladles for charging the fuses of shells, port-fires, &c.
- Mallets to hammer the fuses.
- Glue pots and brushes.
- Heavy mallets to beat the powder.
- Tin measures, of different sizes.
- Hand mortar.
- Foot rules.
- Rat-tail files to cleanse the interior of the reeds of priming tubes.
- Wooden rasps.
- Iron rulers, 1/2 foot long.
- Leather bags, in which gunpowder and charcoal are reduced to powder.
- Pocket saws.
- Pallet knives for saltpetre.
- Tables, small ones to mix the composition; large ones with a ledge to meal the powder on.
- Sieves, fine and common; of silk, and of hair.
- Fuse drawers.
- Tools for rolling cartridges.
- Gimblets of different sizes.
The materials required more particularly for military fire-works, are:
- Gunpowder.
- Saltpetre.
- Sulphur.
- Charcoal.
- Camphor.
- Beeswax.
- Glue, rosin.
- Cotton yarn for quick match.
- Brandy or other spirits.
- Gum arabic.
- Linseed oil.
- Spirits of turpentine.
- Pitch.
- Reeds or quills for priming fuses.
- Mutton tallow.
- Vinegar.
- Thread for tying quick match.
- Cartridge paper.
- Thread, tow and spun yarn, to make match rope.
- Cordage, to make tourteaux.
- Flour to make paste.
The characters used to express certain substances employed in fire-works, are the following: (James's Mil. Dict. p. 101.)
M. means meal powder,
⊝. Saltpetre.
C. Z. Crude sulphur.
C. S. Sea coal.
S. x Steel or iron filings.
G. x Glass dust.
C. I. Cast iron.
X. Camphor.
B. L. Lampblack.
L. S. Lapis Calaminaris.
W. Spirits of wine.
P. O. Oil of spike.
∋. Corn powder.
Z. Brimstone.
C. + Charcoal.
B. R. Beech raspings.
B. x Brass dust.
T. x Tanners' dust.
C. A. Crude antimony.
A. Y. Yellow amber.
G. I. Isinglass.
⩀. Gum.
S. T. Spirits of turpentine.
Sec. II. Of Mandrils and Cylinders for forming Cartridges and Cases.
The rollers or rods, on which cartridges are formed, ought to be solid, and perfectly straight and round. Very dry, sound wood should be selected, and when turned, the rod should be perfectly cylindrical; one extremity being concave, and the other convex.
Mandrils may be made of copper, which is preferable to wood, as this is apt to warp and crack; and in both cases, should be longer than the cartridge, so as to be drawn out easily. They are of different lengths and diameters, according to their respective uses.