TIN-PLATES 



1013 



process, was reduced to 1 cwt. It was, when ready, put under the forge hammer, 

 and shaped into a ' bloom,' about 2 feet long and 5 inches thick ; this was then heated 



1998 



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in the chafery, and under the tilt hammer drawn out to a ' bar,' 3 to 4 inches wide, 

 and half an inch thick. 



The manufacture up to this point was formerly carried on by the iron-masters, 

 and the iron in this state was sold under the name of ' tin bars ' to the plate-makers. 

 The average price for these bars, from 1780 to 1810, was 211. per ton. The sheet 

 and cold rolls were then in use nearly as at the present time. 



In 1807, Mr. Watkin George, whose |e 



position had been established as one 

 of the first engineers of his time, 

 by the erection of the great water- 

 wheel and works at Cyfarthfa, re- 

 moved to Pontypool, and undertook 

 the remodelling of the old works 

 there. He clearly saw that the secret 

 of the manufacture was to produce 

 the largest possible quantity with 

 least possible machinery and labour. 

 His inventions, to this end, worked 

 a complete change in the trade. His 

 plans were: to first reduce the pig- 

 iron in a finery under coke, and then bring this ' refiners' metal ' (so termed) into 

 the charcoal finery. The charcoal finery was built as shown in figs. 1995, 1996, and 

 1997 : fig. 1995 being a front elevation,^. 1996 a horizontal, a.n&fig. 1997 a vertical 

 section. 



A. charge of 3 cwts. of iron was used in this, and as it became malleable it was 

 reduced under the hammer to what he termed a ' stamp : ' this was a piece of iron 



2000 



about 1 inch thick, and of any shape horizontally. It was next broken in pieces of a 

 convenient size, and about 84 Ibs. were ' piled ' on a flat piece of tilted iron, with 



