The Writer is welcomed in at the door of the Light-house.
The shaft of this crane consisted of four hollow pipes of cast iron, in lengths, the lower one of 8 feet, and the three upper ones of 6 feet, fitted to each other with a flush or square joint, so that the body of the crane might traverse upon them without interruption, as will be understood by examining [Plate XVII.] There was, unavoidably, a degree of weakness at these joints, which required considerable precaution in shifting or adjusting the balance-weight, according to the strain occasioned by a heavy stone. This accident, though speedily repaired, produced a delay of no less than three days to the building operations, which, together with the time occupied in making provision for a new method of inserting the door-hinges into the building, made this part of the masonry, upon the whole, appear extremely tedious. Having got the door-lintel laid, the writer was not a little gratified on being welcomed, with acclamation, in at the Door of the Bell Rock Light-house. Limited as the height of the building still was, the formation of the door stamped a new character upon it, and the lintel gave it an additional appearance of strength.
Fixtures of the hinges of the door and window-shutters.
The fixtures of the hinges of the door and shutters of the windows are of a peculiar construction, as will be seen in the different diagrams of [Plate XIX.] They consisted of boxes or cases made of brass, of a dovetailed form, measuring 16 inches in length, and 1 inch in depth in the void; one of these cases was inserted into a cavity cut in the upper bed of one of the rybat-stones on each side of the door or window, and run up with melted lead. Into this case the dovetail-end of the hinge was afterwards introduced, and fixed in its place by driving a middle-piece, after the manner of a Lewis-bat. The advantage of this method is, that, in the event of its being found necessary, at any future period, to renew or repair a hinge, all that becomes necessary is to draw the middle-piece and extract the Lewis from the box, without requiring to cut or mangle the building, as would be found necessary by the usual method of inserting hinges into walls. The hinges and cases were made of fine brass; those for the door weighing 50 lb., and those for the window-shutters being smaller, weighed about half as much.
1810, June.
Friday, 1st.
The weather, during the last week of the month of May, was very favourable for the operations; and the barometer stood to-day at no less than 30 inches and 42 hundred parts. The wind was S.E., and the atmosphere somewhat foggy, but not such as to prevent the landing operations from going forward. The Patriot was now at her moorings discharging; and the landing-master’s crew transported one of the praam-boats to the Rock with 14 stones, which enabled the builders to complete the Thirty-third course, being the one immediately above the door-lintel, consisting of 32 stones.
Saturday, 2d.
Shipping makes great dispatch.
The weather still continuing to be extremely fine, the landing-master and his crew left the Tender at 4 A. M., and proceeded to deliver the remainder of the Patriot’s cargo, consisting of 14 stones, with a proportion of pozzolano, lime, sand, and Roman cement, together with six bundles of trenails and wedges. She then made sail for Arbroath, and the Smeaton at the same time arrived with the Thirty-fourth course, consisting also of 32 stones. She had previously put a new cable on board of the Floating-light, this being the period at which her winter-tackle was annually shifted. The Smeaton got to her moorings at 11 A. M., when Captain Wilson and his crew immediately proceeded to deliver her, and by 4 in the afternoon she was cleared, and had sailed again for Arbroath to load, having thus been discharged in five hours, being the shortest period in which any cargo had hitherto been delivered at the Bell Rock. This formed a striking contrast with the delivery of the first cargo of the season, which had been on board from the 18th till the 29th of May, or eleven days, in the course of which the Smeaton was put thrice into Arbroath, and once up to Leith Roads, shewing how very dependent these works are upon the state of the weather. To-day there were no fewer than 56 pieces of stones transported to the Rock, being the greatest number hitherto landed in one day.