Popular Science Monthly 



Painting Piping by 

 Machine 



OUT in California 

 a one hundred- 

 and-seventy-mile 

 pipe-line was thor- 

 oughly cleaned and 

 painted without so 

 much as a single dab 

 from -2l ■ hand-paint 

 brush recently. 



Two machines of 

 somewhat different 

 type were used, one 

 for cleaning and ap- 

 plying the priming 

 coat, the other for 

 applying the coat of 

 bitumastic enamel. 

 The cleaning and 

 priming machine car- 

 ried a scraper and re- 

 volving bristle brush 

 on the front end, 

 while the brushes for 

 applying the paiii't 

 followed on the rear 

 end, the paint being* 

 forced to /the outer 

 edge of the -brushes 

 by centrifugal force. 

 The entire equipment was self-ccmtained, 

 the six-horsepower gasoline en^ne which 

 provided motive power revolved all the 

 briTshes, and the engine frame carried three 

 tanks; for water, gasoline and paint. 



A crew of t^vo men operated the firs.t 

 machine, which was attended by three other 

 men operating a long lever mounted on 

 wheels. With this lever the pipe was raised 

 rom the four by six inch wooden skids 

 -cross the trench provided By the 



pipe-screwing crew, and /3L "as the 

 priming machine "'^- 



moved ahead —' ^ 



the skids 

 were re- 



A six-horsepower gasoline engine oper- 

 ated the scraper and revolved the brushes 



placed behind it. 



No less than two 

 hours behind the 

 priming machine and 

 not more than four 

 hours later, the en- 

 amelingmachinewent 

 over the line._ 



This machine was 

 operated by hand, by 

 turning a crank which 

 caused it to move 

 along the pipe. Large 

 kettles mounted on 

 wheels were used for 

 serving the machine 

 with melted enamel, 

 the kettles being 

 heated by petroleum 

 distillate fuel. After 

 being placed, the en- 

 amel coating was re- 

 touched where neces- 

 sary- and finally sub- 

 jected to a rigid 

 inspection, in which 

 a mirror was used for 

 examining the under- 

 side of the pipe. 



Should a motorcycle start to fall the side-wheeled 

 frames would rennain upright and prevent a spill 



There Is No Danger of Falling from 

 This Motorcycle 



THE us^ulness and the pleasure derived 

 from a motorcycle may be increased 

 by a stabilizer which makes motorcycle 

 riding as simple a thing as ridiT^an auto- 

 mobile. Incidentally such inconveniences as 

 having to lift the stand on and off every 

 time one stops are elim-inated. The ar- 

 rangement is very simple, consisting of a 

 wheeled fram.e mounted on both sides of 

 the motorcycle. These are pivoted in front 

 and carry their strong wheels at the rear. 

 At the middle of each an upright bar is 

 attached which leads into a piston-and- 

 cylinder mounted under the seat. 

 When going over rough roads the 

 piston will allow the wheels to spring 

 up and down, but as soon as the 

 motorcycle leans over too .far, and is 

 about to fall, the piston stops and 

 holds the wheels fast so that the cycle 

 cannot really lose its balance. The 

 credit for this arrangement belongs 

 to its patentee, Mr. Joseph A. Blon- 

 din, of Los Angeles, California, to 

 whom motorcyclists may desire to 

 present a life-saver's mecbl. 



