Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, No. 12, May, 1851.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, No. 12, May, 1851.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The round beam which is seen issuing from the centre of the head of the
cylinder is called the piston rod. The piston itself is firmly secured
to the lower end of this rod within the cylinder. Of course, when the
piston is forced upward by the pressure of the steam admitted beneath
it, the piston rod rises, too, with all the force of the expansion. This
is, in the case of the largest marine engines, a force of about a
hundred tons. That is to say, if in the place of the cross head--the
beam marked H in the engraving which surmounts the piston--there were a
mass of rock weighing a hundred tons, which would be, in the case of
granite, a block four feet square and eighty feet high, the force of the
steam beneath the piston in the cylinder would be competent to lift it.
The piston rod, rising with this immense force carries up the cross
head, and with the cross head the two _side rods_, one of which is seen
in full, in the engraving, and is marked S. There is a side rod on each
side of the cylinders. The lower ends of these rods are firmly connected
with the back ends of what are called the _side levers_. One of these
side levers is seen in full view in the engraving. It is the massive
flat beam, marked L, near the fore-ground of the view. It turns upon an
enormous pivot which passes through the centre of it, as seen in the
drawing, in such a manner that when the cylinder end is drawn up by the
lifting of the cross head, the other end is borne down to the same
extent, and with the same prodigious force. There is another side beam,
on the other side of the cylinder, which moves isochronously with the
one in view. The forward end of this other beam may be seen, though the
main body of it is concealed from view. These two forward ends of the
levers are connected by a heavy bar, called the _cross tail_, which
passes across from one to the other. From the centre of this cross tail,
a bar called the connecting rod rises to the crank, where the force
exerted by the steam in the cylinders is finally expended in turning the
great paddle wheels by means of the main shaft, S, which is seen resting
in the pillow block, P, above. These are the essential parts of the
engine, and we now proceed to consider the mode of manufacturing these
several parts, somewhat in detail.
[Illustration: THE CUTTING ENGINE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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