222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. 



the original wire, so as to decrease its diameter. It is possible by 

 this process of cold drawing to reduce a quarter-inch rod to the 

 thickness of a hair — that is, one or two thousandths of an inch. 



There are several things which may occur to endanger the wire 

 drawer: If the wire does not uncoil freely the reel may be dragged 

 forward and crush him against the frame of the machine; a loop 

 may spring over the top of the reel and catch his arm or foot, so that 

 if the block is not stopped promptly the loop will tighten and lacer- 

 ate, or even cut off the member; or the wire may break, and the 

 flying end put out an eye or cause a scratch or puncture wound from 

 which blood poisoning may result. 



In all of our wire mills some form of a stop has been put in. A 

 number of different applications of it were assembled on one draw- 

 ing and prints sent to each plant. It is simple and effective, the 

 only objections to it being the amount of floor space it occupies and 

 the second's time it takes to place the wire through the lever. It may 

 save an arm, an eye, or even a life — and yet some of the workmen 

 have broken them off, others have refused to use them, and after a 

 campaign of several years along this line one never goes into a mill 

 without seeing some places where the operators carry the wire past 

 the safety lever without using it. 



MISCELLANEOUS SAFETY PROVISIONS. 



In addition to the more common forms of protection, such as the 

 elimination of projecting set screws, covering of gears (pi. 6), erect- 

 ing of railings, etc., there are a great many provisions which could 

 not be described in detail in an article of this sort. One of the dan- 

 gerous occupations in the mill is that of oiling shafting and machin- 

 ery. Wherever practicable, arrangements have been made to do this 

 while the equipment is not in operation; in some cases oil cans are 

 used, having light spouts 10 or 12 feet long, which enable a man to 

 oil overhead shafting without leaving the floor; in other cases railed 

 walks have been erected along lines of shafting, so that the bearings 

 may be reached without unnecessary risk or inconvenience. 



Standard scaffolds with handrails are provided for the use of 

 painters, riggers, etc., and a " painter's chair " has been designed 

 which has a safety belt, so that if a man were to fall out of the seat 

 the belt would still hold him. Kules regarding the construction, 

 inspection, and testing of this equipment have been posted in all of the 

 shops where such appliances are used. 



Counterweights are being boxed so that they can not fall on any- 

 one in case a rope or chain breaks; covers and shields are provided 

 for emery grinders (pi. 7) ; safety stops of various kinds are arranged 

 to enable machines to be shut down quickly in case anyone is caught ; 



