WIRE. 



pair is in the furnace another muft be prepared to receive a 

 frefli roleau of wire. Tliey are changed every hour by 

 means of a long iron lever, with which a iingle man can 

 eafily puth them in and draw them out again, as the cylinder 

 flides on caft-iron rails. 



They are very careful not to open the cyhnders imme- 

 diately on their being drawn out of the fire ; for the roleaus 

 of wire contained in them, being ftill red, would oxydate 

 quite as much as if they had been heated in the midft of the 

 flames without the leaft precaution. 



The opening contrived for the paflage is on the fide, and 

 has a door of caft iron, with a groove which winds round the 

 furnace. The fire-place has one fomething fimilar to it. 

 That of the afh-hole is vertical, in order that it may be 

 raifed to increafe the fire at will. 



When the iron-wire is reduced to the thicknefs of a 

 knitting-needle, it is made up in bundles of 1 25 kilogrammes 

 ( 275 pounds) each, into a large iron veflel, in order to anneal 

 it fufRciently to be reduced for the lall time. This vefFel is 

 placed upfide-down in the middle of a round furnace, which 

 is fo conltrufted as to fulain burning coals all round it, and 

 of which it confumes 35 kilogrammes (77 pounds) before the 

 operation is completed. The cover muft be carefully luted, 

 as the flighteft admiffion of air is fufficient to burn the ex- 

 ternal furfaces of the wire to an oxyd, which cannot after- 

 wards be reduced. 



When one of thefe veflels is fufBciently heated, it is filled 

 with water, containing three kilogrammes (fix pounds and a 

 half) of tartar, and fufpended over the flames of the fur- 

 nace to make it boil. This folution, without attacking the 

 metal, frees it from the greafe and the little oxyd that ad- 

 heres to it. This is the laft operation in which the wire is 

 expofed to the fire ; and it is then in the proper ftate for 

 being reduced to the utmoft degree of finenefs it is capable 

 of fuftaining, and will preferve enough of the effedl of the 

 annealing to require it no more. But when the natural 

 hardnefs of the iron varies, this laft expofure to the fire 

 fliould take place in proportion to its thicknefs. As fteel 

 lofes its capacity of extenfion much fooner than iron, it is 

 annealed until it is no thicker than a fewing-ncedle. The 

 fpace which is left in the veflel is filled up with charcoal- 

 duft, which prevents it from lofing the quality of fteel, and 

 preferves the heat long enough to give it the proper degree 

 of pliancy. 



As Meflrs. Mouchel always ufe iron and fteel of the fame 

 manufadlory, ihey have been able to reduce their operations 

 to a general fyftem ; and to attain this end, have determined 

 a graduated fcale, by which the wire will not be more 

 ftretched in the drawing-plate in one number or fize than 

 another. The following is the method they contrived, in 

 order to form this fcale for the iron-wire. They take a 

 certain quantity of various thicknefles, which has been 

 drawn as fine as the iron would bear. The fmalleft fize is 

 100,000 metres ( 1 09,3 3 3 yards ) in length to the kilogramme, 

 2.2 pounds avoirdupois. They note the weiglit that each 

 might be capable of fupporting without breaking. This 

 being expreffed by figures, it is eafy, by a few interpola- 

 tions, to cxprefs them in a prpgreffive form. This kind of 

 fcale has been partly formed by comparing the weight of 

 the different fizcs with equal lengths, from which gauges or 

 calibres may be made for the ufe of the workmen. Thefe 

 gauges are certain guides, which they cannot miftake except 

 through great carelen"nefs. If they had not thefe guides 

 they would often pafs the wire through holes in the drawing- 

 plate that are too large for it, whence it does not acquire 

 the ftrength it fhould have in proportion to its thicknefs, and 

 lofes its hardnefs. They might alfo pafs it through holes 



that were too fmall, which would weaken it, and render it 

 very brittle. In the latter cafe, it frequently happens that 

 the fteel of the drawing-plate, being unable to fuftain the 

 force to which it is expofed, will give way, as if the plate 

 were too foft ; and the wire will be brittle at the beginning, 

 and foft and too thick at the other extremity. 



The greateft part of the fine wire of Meflrs. Mouchel'a 

 manufaftory is drawn by workmen who are difperfcd about 

 the country ; but they have alfo a machine which moves 

 twenty-four bobbins in a horizontal direftion, which only 

 requires the workman to look after it. It is upon the bob- 

 bins that the wire is reduced to the different degrees of thin- 

 nefs defired ; therefore, this is the laft operation in the art of 

 making iron and fteel wire ; although it has all requifite 

 qualities given to it in the work-ftiop of the wire-drawer. 



Wire is ftill incapable of being made into needles and 

 carding-hooks, until it has undergone another operation 

 for drefling or ftraightening the wire, by which it is made 

 to lofe the bend or curve that it acquires on the bobbins. 



This work confifts in drawing the wire between nails fixed 

 in a piece of wood, and which aft to bend the wire, firft in 

 one direftion, and then in the oppofite, in a waving line, of 

 which the waves are at firft larger, but decreafe gradually, 

 and the laft bend of which tends to force the wire into a 

 ftraight fine. The drefler is obliged conftantly to adjutt 

 the nails, by inclining or raifing them with ftrokes of the 

 hammer. Alfo for each number of wires the pins muft be 

 at different and calculated diftances. This requires a work- 

 man of intelligence, diligence, and addrefs. 



An ingenious inftrument is now appropriated to this ope- 

 ration, and removes all difficulty. Six little puppets of 

 very hard fteel are fubftituted for the nails of the ordinary 

 inftrument, and are fixed on parallel bars of metal, fo 

 jointed together that the movement of them all will be pa- 

 rallel, and the puppets are widened or brought nearer to- 

 gether by fcrews. The wire is drawn between thefe puppets 

 in a zigzag or waving line, and the repeated flexures break 

 the finuofities of the wire. There is a conductor of the 

 wire to the puppets, and another conduftor which ferves to 

 prevent the wire from being fliaken. There are flight 

 grooves at the extremity of the puppets, to give a paflage to 

 the wire. A fcale fuftained by a fcrew indicates the dif- 

 tance at which the puppets fliould be placed from each other, 

 to ftraighten each fize of wire. This forms an invariable 

 rule, and the drefler (who may be a child) faves a third of 

 the time which is employed in regulating the nails of the in- 

 ftrument formerly ufed. There is nothing more to be done 

 but to draw out the wire by means of a wheel, on which he 

 reels it, and then forms it into bundles to be delivered to the 

 confumers. 



The fteel-wire of France is proper for many purpofes. 

 It is brought from MeflTrs. Mouchel, for making knitting- 

 needles in the Enghfti fafliion, flioemakers' needles, and 

 other fimilar articles. It may alfo be ufed for needles of all 

 fizes, and even for cards for wooKcombing ; but as this 

 fteel is much more expenfive than the iron-wire, it is very 

 feldom ufed for the latter purpofe. 



The method of preparing the draw-plates is defcribed 

 by Meflrs. Mouchel, and is different from that before 

 defcribed. 



For making wire for cards, two forts of drawing-plates 

 are ufed, large and fmall ones. The firft, for the fort of 

 wire that we have been defcribing, is drawn with the pincers, 

 as^. 7, and with the bobbin or roller, which is a cylin- 

 der adapted to the axis turned by the water-mill, and i» ufed 

 in preference, to avoid the marks made on the wire by the 

 pincers. The fmall drawing-plates are ufed for fuch wire 

 3 Z 2 as 



