CANTERBURY WORKS AND WORKERS.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7779, 5 February 1891, Page 5

CANTERBURY WORKS AND WORKERS.

THE FITTING AND MACHINE SHOPS OF MBSdBS ANDEBBON. (By Oub Speciai, Bxkhmcssb}* - - : The fitting and machine shop of Mee*r» Anderson would form a striking comjMtfl* eon with the first shop erected by (he founder of the firm, and If (as It has been remarked) the patterns owned by the firm would amioat Rive a history of toe advancd of engineering work In l&nd, the shop with its modern machinery is a striking illustration of the extent to which the march of progress has been carried. It is one of,the moat compapt) and complete departments in the colony* and possesses all the latest lmprovemetfts for dealing rapidly and economically with metal working. The place ia a hive ©f mechanical industry. Large lathes, boring machines, slotting machines, and pLstaing machines are all going their ceaseless ways, ploughing through iron with irresistible < power, performing Intricate motions, yet perfectly under the control of the men who stand by them. The machine shop is under the Supervision of Mr Stewart McFarlane, familiarly known known as Mao. Ho has bees With the Andersons a great many years, afld. Is, in fact, the oldest servant In their employ. All the machines in this department are under the control ot an overhead crane, which has the advantage ot free move* meat over all the shop without taking up any floor space. It ia capable 1 of llftine eight tons, and can mote a casting to'lu exact place in lathe or planing thachrae, or deposit it Iα any part ot the shoo ready for manipulation or erection.' On the flooi of the machine room was a lot ot heavy machinery, being parta of al&rgeduetioa dredge for the GUleepie's ißeaoh Geld Miniug Company. This dredge* known by the name of its inventor, Yon Schmidt) has already been described in our columns as a paten c introduced into this country by its agents, Messrs Cuff and Graham, euon after Mr Graham's return itf&a America. The nmu huperlnteudingfthe erection of this machine ia. another , old servant of the Andersons, Mr Waiter Sneddon, who lately superintended Messrs A. and J. Anderson's large contracts ten the Ocago Central railway.* The contracts beiug now completed, Mr Sneddon Jim returned to tha Christchurch. works. On© of the ditUculties in conuectiou with this dredge will be its carriage to Gillespie's Beach,,a little mining;place on-tfee West Coaat, some distance south of Hokitika. II is not connected by road to any port, and has no port of Its own, and the work ol landing the heavy machinery on thai rough coast line will require » great amouut of skill. Messrs Anderson hay« purchased a sailing vessel to take the machinery round the const; and will no doubt, evolve a scheme for.landing;the heavy cargo on the beach. . ~-> In the same building, , but tihaer' a different roof from that which cbveretihe powerful lathes and planing another section of the fitting shop, where lighter drilling machines, latheg, mbtfl&fra, drills, screwing maebsntis, are - st wdrk, l and where there is a circular "jsteel/'e&w capable of cutting through a bar of 'cold iron em thick, or sawing rolled iron 36&4t« or angle iron. All these machines' Sre served by patent Tangye's sfclMioldiaa blocks, with which one man 'ca.n lif fc 01 lower weights quite as heavy .*j| 'C'lw* machines will work, Iα one colder ol this shop is the old engine thas r Was Imparted with the 'first pliant foir tj»« foundry. It is still d6ing duty, bat W% Anderson remarked chat it ought to b< put in the Museum and &more mo&«jm engine substituted, it being humorously called & "coal ecoffe#*>'(a devourer of coal). iv.*? Next to the machine shop lathe pt|&ksmith's shop, which UUdey the contto) of Mr A. Johnston, who. baa eerved. his time in the employ, and *fsan to the dignity of foreman. Thls blacksmith shop is Bomewhat different to'that one described by Longfellow, where" the village children gather to wa,fch tile specks and the smith gets through hta work by virtue of his brawny arms, Human ingenuity has supplied It with a machine more powerful thana do2eu brawny anna. A eteamb&namer, OEii of Quiver's make, strikes blows delicate as a fencer's point. yet> sprang eaopgh to mould hog® blocks 01 iron, and the sparks aro made to fly from the forges,not with a uair of bellows, but bja blastfrouaa centtif ugalfaa. .O»©of the works being carried on in conjunction with the blackarnith'o shop £3 a Isrgjo iron .'roof for that well knowa firm the <D.I,C« Mr Johnstone, the foreman, was moulding with the steam hammer, a, huge block: oil iron into a crank lor a thirty horss-poweJ engine. Connecting' j;oda for the engine were being made by other workmen, *ted several of the forges were engaged9a. feh« iron work of an overhead railway fos the Wanganul Freezing Works. , » ■ j From the blacksmiths' shop w;ie/'w@nb into the private offica, I Ajn3^r- ; &i?--80a showed mc, phocographa AnapliS|Ql of some of .their moCt iEe^oifcfnll works. There was ' a fluo photograpb of the Waitetl Vladuqfc, a sfcrueffri which spans a deep gorge ia the hb&s %ol the King Country, and over whlsh-ijhi Grand Iruak Railway will sun, T&fN was another photograph showing the Qβ^ Waiau bridge, over which visitors, to Cha Hanmer Hot Springs can now go, Instead of having to risk their lives lordUja the ; dangerous river. In this photograph one 1 can see a large group of men, rep^e^ent*I tlves of the Amuri district, irieudaoJt.^hfl I Andersons, and vtaitora t; tern 'Various parts of Canterbury,, who gathered Utfre Ito see the bridge opened, Hhere, ,wjnra also drawings of bridges and worjks~ojae ! series or fifteen bridges, showing the fen mense amount of work don© by th» Messrs Anderson on the Gtaga Oentya! Bail way. There were a(eo plans oj? Bridget in course of lor tha jSailway. Another interesting; work now nearly completed is c, dredge lor the Big Beach Gold Mining Company x 'lnOfcago. , It is being erected by a etan* o£ men under ! the care of Mr F. W. Andeseony wtid Ijae recently taken charge Of this new*^tnul important work off conatruetiag f dfMiles for goldmlninpjpurpoaes. Ifcistu&ehogted that this method of mining , will. b& e<rtn> pletely successful, as it will fcOS ©aly ■Sμ of importance to Mes-irs Aa&Qmp&i bat to the mining companies and tatbd'eom^a* nity at large. < '■*< '■> Besides the large and complete Wefcfra in Christchurch, Messrs % branch establishment afcLyttelton. Thee* works are situated near tee mouth o£ fefe&d Lyttelton tunnel* I had ing them quite recontly*attaM? Urquharfc, another very old aad Valaedl servant of the Auderaoa?, wlio SDftilwa this branch, very kiadly showed melhe interesting business his eoaefoL The Lytteiton establishment was created foe the purpose o£ meat lag t)Ja dsj%aada on the firm Iα coaaecfriQa wjfcij. She shipping work, and becaow. Lyf.fcelfeaa U a more convenient pkee tos heavy machiaejry. th&t bss .tQ jge ported by sea. The Lytteltoa brsqe&. Iβ exceedingly active just now and the men are working overt toe* mm@>@¥.®& working oa night shirts. The in the establißhmoa& .-.J* . m**&*fit£.&& capable of dealing wIUlc fesWfij,Wolfe. The planing machine tljffiirgLjuWMch was manufactured bj the firm*Jt;|?i@e ot the largest in New Zealand, and Iμ cartel© of planing a piece qZ lroa:QlMlmQU s£pf length. There is a large f ueesg@ feullfc fO2 the purpose o£ heating largo kou pluses that require to be dished or fiaaged j? & punching machine capable of c blow equal to 8 tons, and that will 4Hw c hole throogh an iron plats witJaoat &s effort; a rivettittg machine -,%kMs -bm- a pressure equal to fchlrty. tami tti&t mil! a rivet into, the h\olespuae!2©& head it with one qulcfe .mofcioo; machine that will punch or cut fro a plate 4 an inch in thickness; a steel saw foi cutting through cold iron; 1 lathes* drilling machines of , various- eizea, and in one part of the establishment under a roof three machines £01 making iroa standards saeh as ars used for fencing purposes. Some of the men engaged in this particular worfe are es> ceedlngly adept and seem to know fnatiQCtively how to place the iron td'be dealt with in its various positions. Some of the works to progress are similar ?to those at the Chrlstcharch establishment. In fact come p&rfcs of the Yob Schmidt dredge for Gillesple's Beach are being dealt with there. Bat besides this fchero are two steam hofate for the Canterbury Stevedoring Association, three steam winches aad a large boiler for the New Zealand Shipping Company, & lame steel funnel for , the Ws&ganui Freezing Works, a boiler and "dredge buckets for the Etfcriek Qold Mining Company, and the framework for. a bucket dredge for the Kilgour Gold Min|nst Company, repairs to the baekata and boilers of the westport Harbor dredge; aa3 Yarloae other works of a llks descrlptioa. In tm Chrlstchuroh and I»ytfce|fe?a, est&blkhments Messrs Aadtjyrfon ft Wge number of hand«, and thia aloce the flm ol iajpofUnea te tha «matey.