CHAPTER II.
PRACTICAL OPERATIONS AND DETAILS.
18. Tools and Appliances.—The different operations of mining are carried on by the use of picks, shovels, bars, saws, axes, hammers (large and small), chisels, wheel and hand barrows, windlasses, ropes, wooden or leather buckets, gauge-sticks, mason’s levels ([Pl. XI], Fig. 4), plumb-lines, candles, closed lanterns, tin pipes, rubber and canvas hose, canvas, nails, etc., etc., of the kinds in common use; and the following special tools and appliances, viz.:
The Miner’s Pick. Smaller and lighter than the common pick. Neither its head nor its handle exceeds 2 feet in length.
The Miner’s Shovel. Similar in shape to a common shovel, but not exceeding 2 feet in length.
The Push Pick ([Pl. XI], Fig 5), which has a lance-shaped blade about 3½ in. wide and 6 in. long attached to a handle about 2 feet long.
The Field Level ([Pl. XI], Fig 6), which consists of three strips of wood about 2" × ½", arranged as shown. The strip A is 4' between centres of pins; B and C are 2', 915/16"; the angle at a = 90°. A spirit-level is inserted in piece C, and a plumb-line attached as shown. The markings on A are used for gentle slopes, those on B for steep ones.
The other sides of B and C are divided into degrees of arc, the centre being at the middle point of the outside edge of A.
The Slope Block, which is a wooden cube used in connection with a mason’s level for fixing slopes.
Angle Templets ([Pl. XI], Fig. 7), making a definite angle, used in laying out galleries.
The Miner’s Truck or Car. A small, four-wheeled wagon with fixed axles and very short wheel-base; exterior dimensions about 20" wide, 18" to 20" high, and 30" long. Used for carrying earth through galleries, and usually hoisted up the shaft and dumped outside, replacing the buckets used in sinking the shaft.