Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/185

 AXE AXLE 165 50 years later the barracks of the Spaniards. His treasures were discovered by Cortes within a concealed door, and the chronicler of the conquest exclaims that " it seemed as if all the riches in the world were in that room." They consisted of gold and silver in bars and in the ore, many jewels of value, and numerous rich and beautiful articles of curious workmanship, as imitations of birds, insects, or .flowers. AXE, an instrument for cutting down trees and chopping wood, usually formed of iron and steel, with a handle or helve, of suitable size and length for wielding with both hands, in- serted in an eye running horizontally through the head. Smaller instruments of similar form, for use with one hand, are called hatchets (Fr. hachette, diminutive of hache, axe). The axe is one of the earliest tools suggested by the needs of man, and among all antique relics we find almost invariably some species of axe. The bone and flint tool of different Indian races; the metallic axe, mixed copper and tin, of South America and Mexico, sufficiently hard to cut porphyry and granite ; the similar tool of the Romans ; the Druidical copper axe, and the rough iron instrument of northern nations, all witness the primitive use of this implement. The increased science of more recent times con- structs the axe of iron edged with steel; but anciently the use and combination of these metals were comparatively unknown. With the progress of civilization, the increasing wants of the race, and the colonization of new and fertile countries, the use of axes has propor- tionately increased with that of various other edge tools. In the most recent American pro- cesses, the iron used in making axes is ham- mered bar iron, the bars of different lengths, but definite sizes, differing for different tools ; it is heated to a red heat, cut of the requisite length, and the eye which is to receive the handle punched through it ; it is then reheated, and pressed between concave dies till it assumes the proper shape. The Spanish axe is made by the old process of hammering out the bar and turning it in a loop to make the eye, as this kind of axe has no head. The axe is now heated and grooved upon the edge, receiving in that groove the piece of steel which forms the sharp edge ; borax is used as a flux, and at a white heat the axe is welded and drawn out to a proper edge by trip-hammers. The next process is hammering off the tool by hand or machinery, restoring the shape lost in draw- ing out ; it is then ground to form a finer edge. The axe is now hung upon a revolving wheel in a furnace, over a small coal fire, at a pecu- liar red heat, judged by the eye, afterward cooled in salt and water, then in fresh water, and removed to another furnace, where it re- ceives the last temper at the hands of skilled workmen. Then it is ground upon stones of a finer grain than before, and is ready for the polishing wheel. Next it is polished to a finish that shows every flaw, and enables it to resist rust and enter wood easily ; next it is stamped, the head blacked with a mixture of turpentine and asphaltum to prevent rust, and finally weighed, labelled, and packed for sale. For- merly the consumer depended upon the rude forges and limited skill of blacksmiths to supply axes, but since the increased demand there are many small manufactories in different parts of Europe and America. The largest establish- ment in the world for manufacturing axes and edge tools is that of the Collins company, situated on the Farmington river, at Collins- ville, Connecticut. Here, by means of machi- nery invented for the company by Mr. E. K. Root, the processes of axe-making are brought to extreme perfection. The establishment was begun in 1826, on a small scale, by Messrs. S. W. and D. 0. Collins. After some years it passed into the hands of a company, known now as the Collins company. The amount of capital invested here is $1,000,000. Eighteen hundred tons of iron, 350 tons of cast steel, and 7,000 tons of coal are consumed annually ; from 450 to 500 men are employed; 13 large water wheels and two engines supply the motive power of the machinery; and from 1,500 to 2,000 edge tools and other implements are made daily. The largest American manufacturers after the Collins company are the Douglas axe company of East Douglas, Mass., and those of Cohoes, N. Y. AXEL. See ABSALON. A i. a town of Africa, coast of Guinea, at the mouth of the Ancober, 73 m. W. of Cape Coast Castle. Until the year 1642 it was oc- cupied by the Portuguese, when it was taken from them by the Dutch, who were confirmed in their possession by the treaty of Westphalia, and in 1872 ceded it with the remainder of their possessions in Guinea to Great Britain. AXINITE, a mineral occurring in flat, prismatic crystals, with sharp edges, like an axe. It consists chiefly of silica, alumina, lime, and oxide of iron. AXLE, a piece of timber or a bar of iron which supports the body of a car, carriage, or wagon, and is itself supported on two wheels, in the hubs or naves of which its ends are in- serted. A great change was introduced about 45 years ago in the shape of axles for carriages, by the English invention of air-tight closed boxes, which with slight modifications has been adopted all over the world. The wheels of carriage axles are prevented from falling out .by means of a collar on the axle, which enters pin on the outside, as usual in common vehicles. The introduction of railroads has made another change necessary. Axles for railroads, instead of revolving in the hubs of the wheels, are strongly keyed in them, and journals are turn- ed on the portions outside the wheels. These journals pass through and revolve in boxes attached to the frame of the cars. This arrange- ment has been found to resist vibrations and jerks resulting from high velocity much better than the old plan. It was, moreover, necessary
 * the hub on the inside, and not by a nut and