HOW SHOT IS MADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16020, 11 September 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

HOW SHOT IS MADE.

DROPPED FROM A TOWER,"V The manufacture of shot, described by Mr. 0. C. Horn in "Forest and Stream," requires a high tower, a perforated pan, a tank of water, and-" tempered" lead. Shot is made by dropping molten lead from a high point to the earth. The lead forms into globules. just as raindrop* do when -they fall from the clouds. Ordinarily, we do not realise that raindrops art little spheres,- but under the proper conditions they freeze, and we have hailstones, which may called shot made of ice. In the making of shot, pure lead it melted and mixed with a "temper" that consists mainly of tin, and - then poured into a perforated pan or sieve. The per*; forations vary according to the size of th« shot to be made. A temper is mixed with the lead in order to make the globules form when the lead falls. If pure lead were used, it would fall in the form of little bars, ini stead of round shot. In order that the globules may . hive plenty of time to form, the lead mist fall a long distance, and so towers are built. The towers used to be made as high as 200 ft and even more, but modern towers are rarely over 150 ft. ; < The" perforated pan into wjbich the molten lead is poured is at the top of the tower, and the globules of lead fall through the perforations into tanks of water at the bottom of the tower.; Tie water cools them, and also prevents then from flattening out, "as thev would if ther fell on a solid floor. ,-„gggg From the water the shot go to steam driers. After drying, the perfect shot are separated from the imperfect bv means of glass tables inclined enough so that the shot, when poured on at one end of:the' table, will roll to the other end. At the farther end of the table are two gutters. side by side. The imperfect shot roll slowly and with ..'difficulty, so that they J have not enough momentum to carry them beyond the first gutter. The perfectv, ; round shol roll easily and swiftly,! and when they reach the foot of the table, they jump r imbly across the first gutter and land ,in the second.

After separation, the perfect shot art polished by rolling in plumbago, and work-" men put them in bags for . shipment, or send them direct to the cartridge-filling department to be loaded into shells. 7 .'