Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/908

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��Popular Science Monthly

��Motor-Truck's Energy Runs a Pipe-Threader

HUNDREDS of arc lamps have been transferred from wooden pole sup- ports to the structural iron work of the elevated railway, in Philadelphia. To do this, several miles of pipe had to be threaded and cut to varying sizes. The cutting and threading work to be done advantageously had to be done as the work progressed.

Out of this necessity a novel motor- driven pipe-threader was built by the superintendent of the electric compan3^ A portable truck was equipped with a screw-cutting machine, driven by electric motor. The energy for its operation was

���Current from the truck furnishes power to the screw-threading machine

furnished from the storage batteries of the truck used by the company for the transportation of men and material. The pipe-cutter was set up at any desired location, the necessary wire connections made, and it went to work. It was moved along and no time was wasted de- livering pipe back and forth between the work on the street and the company's shops.

��Oiling the V's on a Lathe

TO keep the V's of the lathe bed oily and in condition, a piece of heavy felt should be glued over the V's on the four wings of the carriage. The felt should be almost saturated with oil each day. As the carriage moves back and forth over the V's, the oil will spread over the surfaces in contact and emery and grit will be prevented from accumu- lating between the carriage and the lathe bed.

��Slow-Setting Plaster of Paris

THE rapidity with which plaster of Paris becomes hard when mixed with clear water in the ordinary manner often proves to be a very objectionable feature, especially if one desires to do several little jobs with one mixing of the plaster. To overcome this fault, if the plaster is mixed with water to which has been added an equal quantity of strong cider vinegar the plaster will re- main soft and workable for a very much longer time than when mixed with wa- ter alone.

��Adjustable Light-Holders for Factory Illumination

ROWS of machines are peculiarly hard to illuminate economically without some such arrangement as is provided with a new adjustable holder which has just found its way into the market. By its use all machines can be lighted to save current and to prevent eyesight troubles on the part of the op- erator.

The new device is made of steel tub- ing and equipped with one or two joints which make the light adjustable. Long rows of machines, such as sewing ma- chines, linotypes, drafting rooms, and the like, are individually lighted by standards with the globe in a steel shade, and all the wires lead to a long conduit. Where tables are not permanently estab- lished the standards can be fastened to the floor or to the walls.

���These adjustable Hght holders will solve many a difficult problem in fac- tory lighting

For Polishing Furniture

THE polish generally used on mis- sion furniture is the dull wax fin- ish. If, instead of applying only wax, alternate coats of boiled linseed oil and wax are used, a polish will be obtained which is brighter and more durable than the ordinary finish.

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