PLUMBERY. 
Br.t the chief articles in plumbery are sheets 
and pipes of lead ; and as these make the 
tasis of the plumber’s work, we shall here 
give the process of making them. In casting 
sheet-lead, a table or mould is made use of, 
which consists of large pieces of wood well 
jointed, and bound with bars of iron at the 
ends, on the sides of which runs a frame, 
consisting of a ledge, or border of wood, 
two or three inches thick, and two or three 
inches high from the mould, called the 
sharps : the ordinary width of the mould, 
within these sharps, is from three to four 
feet ; and its length is sixteen, seventeen, or 
eighteen feet. This should be something 
longer than the sheets are intended to be, 
in order that the end where tlie metal runs 
off from the mould may be cut off, because 
it is commonly thin, or uneven, or ragged 
at the end. It must stand very even or 
level in breadth, and something falling from 
the end in which the metal is poured in, «iz. 
about an inch, or an inch and a half, in the 
length of sixteen or seventeen inches. At 
the upper end of the mould stands the pan, 
which is a concave triangular prism, com- 
posed of two planks nailed together at right 
angles, and two triangnlar pieces fitted in 
between them at the ends. The length of 
tins pan is the whole breadth of the mould 
in which the sheets are cast ; it stands with 
its bottom, which is a sharp edge, on a form 
at the end of the mould, leasiing with one 
side against it, and on the opposite side is 
a handle to lift it up by, to pour out tlie 
melted lead ; and on that side of the pan 
next the mould are two iron hooks to take 
hold of the mould, and prevent the pan from 
slipping, while the melted lead is pouring 
out of it into the mould. This pan is lined 
on the inside with moistened sand, to pre- 
vent it from being tired by the hot metal. 
The mould is also spread over, about two- 
thirds of an inch thick, with sand sifted and 
moistened, which is rendered perfectly level 
by moving over it a piece of wood called a 
strike, by trampling upon it with the feet, 
and smoothing it over with a smoothing 
plane, which is a thick plate of polished 
brass, about nine inches square, turned up 
on all the four edges, and with a handle 
fitted on the upper or concave side. The 
sand being thus smoothed, it is fit for casting 
sheets of lead ; but if they would cast a 
cistern, they measure out the bigness of the 
four sides, and having taken the dimensions 
of the front, or fore-part, make mouldings 
by pressing long slips of wood, which con- 
tain the same mouldings into the level sand, 
and form the figures of birds, beasts, &c, 
by pressing in the same manner leaden 
figures upon it, and then taking them off, 
and at the same tune smoothing the surface 
where any of the sand is raised up, by mak- 
ing these impressions upon it. 
The rest of the operation is the same in 
casting either cisterns or plain sheets of 
lead ; but before we proceed to mention 
the manner in which that is performed, it 
will be necessary to give a more particular 
description of the strike. The strike, then, 
is a piece of board about five inches broad, 
and something longer than the breadth of 
the mould on the inside ; and at each end 
is cut a notch about two inches deep, so 
that when it is used, it rides upon the sharps 
with those notches. Before they begin to 
cast, the strike is made ready by tacking 
on two pieces of an old hat on the notche.«, 
or by slipping a case of leather over each 
end, in order to raise the under side about 
one eighth of an inch, or something more, 
above the sand, according as they would 
have the sheet to be in thickness; then 
they tallow the under edge of the strike, 
and lay it across the mould. The lead be- 
ing melted, it is ladled into the pan, in 
wliich, when there is a sufficient quantity 
for the present purpose, the scum of the 
metal is swept off with a piece of board to 
the edge of the pan, letting it settle on the 
sand, which is by this means prevented 
from falling into the mould at the pouring 
out of the metal. When the lead is cool 
enough, which is known by its beginning to 
stand with a shell or wall on the sand round 
the pan; two men take the pan by the han- 
dle, or else one of them lifts it up by a bar 
and chain fixed to a beam in the ceiling, 
and pour it into the mould, while another 
man stands ready with the strike, and, as 
soon as they have done pouring in the me- 
tal, puts on the mould, sweeps the lead for- 
ward, and draws the overplus into a trough 
prepared to receive it. The sheets being 
thus cast, nothing remains but to planish 
the edges, in order to render them smooth 
and straight ; but if it be a cistern, it is bent 
into four sides, so that the two ends may 
join the back, where tliey are soldered to- 
gether, after which the bottom is soldered 
up. 
The Methad of casting thin Sheets of 
Lead. Instead of sand, they cover the 
mould with a piece of woollen stuff nailed 
down at the two ends to keep it tight, and 
over this lay a very fine linen cloth. In this 
process great regard is had to thejust degree 
