This Bar is Iron, containing in length about two Foot eight Inches and an half, from a to b, and its greatest thickness, except the Sholder, an Inch and a quarter; The end a hath a Male-Screw about an Inch Diameter and an Inch long, to which a Nut with a Female-Screw in it as at C is fitted. The Iron Nut in which this Female-Screw is made, must be very strong, viz. at least an Inch thick, and an Inch and three quarters in Diameter; in two opposite sides of it is made two Ears, which must also be very strong, because they must with heavy blows be knock’t upon to draw the Sholder of the square shank on the Bar, when the square Pin is in the Eye of the Spindle close and steddy up to the Cube on the Spindle. The square Pin of the Bar marked c is made to fit just into the Eye, through the middle of the Cube of the Spindle, on the hither end of this square Pin is made a Sholder or stop to this square Pin, as at d. This Sholder must be Filed exactly Flat on all its four insides, that they may be drawn close and tight up to any flat side of the Cube on the Spindle; It is two Inches square, that it may be drawn the firmer, and stop the steddyer against any of the flat sides of the said Cube, when it is hard drawn by the strength of the Female-Screw in the aforesaid Nut at C. The thickness from d to e of this Sholder is about three quarters of an Inch, and is Bevil’d off towards the Handle of the Bar with a small Molding.
The substance of this Bar, as aforesaid, is about an Inch and a quarter; but its Corners are all the way slatted down till within five Inches of the end: And from these five Inches to the end, it is taper’d away, that the Wooden-Handle may be the stronger forced and fastned upon it.
About four Inches off the Sholder, the Bar is bowed beyond a right Angle, yet not with an Angle, but a Bow, which therefore lies ready to the Press-man’s Hand, that he may Catch at it to draw the Wooden-Handle of the Bar within his reach.
This Wooden-Handle with long Working grows oft loose; but then it is with hard blows on the end of it forced on again, which oft splits the Wooden-Handle and loosens the square Pin at the other end of the Bar, in the Eye of the Spindle: To remedy which inconvenience, I used this Help, viz. To weld a piece of a Curtain-Rod as long as the Wooden-Handle of the Bar, to the end of the Iron Bar, and made a Male-screw at the other end with a Female-screw to fit it; Then I bored an hole quite through the Wooden-Handle, and Turn’d the very end of the Wooden-Handle with a small hollow in it flat at the bottom, and deep enough to bury the Iron-Nut on the end of the Curtain-Rod, and when this Curtain-Rod was put through the Hollow in the Wooden-Handle and Screwed fast to it at the end, it kept the Wooden-Handle, from flying off; Or if it loosened, by twisting the Nut once or twice more about, it was fastned again.
¶. 14. Of the Hose, Garter, and Hose-Hooks.
The Hose are the upright Irons in Plate 8. at a a, They are about three quarters of an Inch square, both their ends have Male-screws on them; The lower end is fitted into a square Hole made at the parting of the Hose-Hooks, which by a square Nut with a Female-screw in it, is Screwed tight up to them; Their upper ends are let into square Holes made at the ends of the Garter, and by Nuts with Female-Screws in them, and Ears to turn them about as at l l are drawn up higher, if the Plattin-Cords are too loose; or else let down lower if they are too tight: These upper Screws are called the Hose-Screws.
The Garter (but more properly the Coller) marked b b, is the round Hoop incompassing the flat Groove or Neck in the Shank of the Spindle at e e; This round Hoop is made of two half-round Hoops, having in a Diametrical-line without the Hoop square Irons of the same piece proceeding from them, and standing out as far as g g, These Irons are so let into each other, that they comply and run Range with the square Sholders at both ends, wherein square Holes are made at the ends of the Hose. They are Screwed together with two small Screws, as at h h.
The four Hose-Hooks are marked i i i i, They proceed from two Branches of an Iron Hoop at k encompassing the lower end of the Spindle, on either Corner of the Branch, and have notches filled in their outer-sides as in the Figure, which notches are to contain several Turns of Whip-cord in each notch, which Whip-cord being also fastned to the Hooks on the Plattin, holds the Plattin tight to the Hooks of the Hose.
¶. 15. Of the Ribs, and Cramp-Irons.
The Ribs are delineated in Plate 8. at E, they are made of four square Irons the length of the Wooden-Ribs and End-Rails, viz. four Foot five Inches long, and three quarters of an Inch square, only one end is batter’d to about a quarter of an Inch thick, and about two Inches and an half broad, in which battering four or five holes are Punch’t for the nailing it down to the Hind-Rail of the Wooden-Ribs. The Fore-end is also batter’d down as the Hind-end, but bound downwards to a square, that it may be nailed down on the outer-side of the Fore-Rail of the Wooden-Ribs.