Thehammerwaslefttobideitstime。Noforge-masterwouldtakeitup。Theinventorwrotetoallthegreatfirms,urgingitssuperioritytoeveryothertoolforworkingmalleableironintoallkindsofforgework。ThushewroteandsentillustrativesketchesofhishammertoAccramansandMorganofBristol,tothelateBenjaminHickandRushtonandEckersleyofBolton,toHowardandRavenhillofRotherhithe,andotherfirms;butunhappilybadtimesfortheirontradehadsetin;andalthoughalltowhomhecommunicatedhisdesignweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandobviousadvantages,theanswerusuallygivenwas——”Wehavenotordersenoughtokeepinworktheforge-hammerswealreadyhave,andwedonotdesireatpresenttoaddanynewones,howeverimproved。”Atthattimenopatenthadbeentakenoutfortheinvention。Mr。Nasmythhadnotyetsavedmoneyenoughtoenablehimtodosoonhisownaccount;andhispartnerdeclinedtospendmoneyuponatoolthatnoengineerwouldgivethefirmanorderfor。Nosecretwasmadeoftheinvention,and,exceptingtoitsowner,itdidnotseemtobeworthonefarthing。
Suchwastheunpromisingstateofaffairs,whenM。Schneider,oftheCreusotIronWorksinFrance,calledatthePatricroftworkstogetherwithhispracticalmechanicM。Bourdon,forthepurposeoforderingsometoolsofthefirm。Mr。Nasmythwasabsentonajourneyatthetime,buthispartner,Mr。Gaskell,asanactofcourtesytothestrangers,tooktheopportunityofshowingthemallthatwasnewandinterestinginregardtomechanismabouttheworks。Andamongotherthings,Mr。Gaskellbroughtouthispartner’ssketchor”Schemebook,”whichlayinadrawerintheoffice,andshowedthemthedesignoftheSteamHammer,whichnoEnglishfirmwouldadopt。Theyweremuchstruckwithitssimplicityandpracticalutility;andM。
Bourdontookcarefulnoteofitsarrangements。Mr。NasmythonhisreturnwasinformedofthevisitofMM。SchneiderandBourdon,butthecircumstanceoftheirhavinginspectedthedesignofhissteam-hammerseemstohavebeenregardedbyhispartnerastootrivialamattertoberepeatedtohim;andheknewnothingofthecircumstanceuntilhisvisittoFranceinApril,1840。WhenpassingthroughtheworksatCreusotwithM。Bourdon,Mr。Nasmythsawacrankshaftofunusualsize,notonlyforgedinthepiece,butpunched。Heimmediatelyasked,”Howdidyouforgethatshaft?”M。Bourdon’sanswerwas,”Why,withyourhammer,tobesure!”GreatindeedwasNasmyth’ssurprise;forhehadneveryetseenthehammer,exceptinhisowndrawing!Alittleexplanationsoonclearedallup。M。Bourdonsaidhehadbeensomuchstruckwiththeingenuityandsimplicityofthearrangement,thathehadnosoonerreturnedthanhesettowork,andhadahammermadeingeneralaccordancewiththedesignMr。
Gaskellhadshownhim;andthatitsperformanceshadansweredhiseveryexpectation。HethentookMr。Nasmythtoseethesteam-hammer;
andgreatwashisdelightatseeingthechildofhisbraininfullandactivework。Itwasnot,accordingtoMr。Nasmyth’sideas,quiteperfect,andhereadilysuggestedseveralimprovements,conformablewiththeoriginaldesign,whichM。Bourdonforthwithadopted。
OnreachingEngland,Mr。Nasmythatoncewrotetohispartnertellinghimwhathehadseen,andurgingthatthetakingoutofapatentfortheprotectionoftheinventionoughtnolongertobedeferred。Buttradewasstillverymuchdepressed,andasthePatricroftfirmneededalltheircapitaltocarryontheirbusiness,Mr。Gaskellobjectedtolockanyofitupinengineeringnovelties。Seeinghimselfonthebrinkoflosinghispropertyintheinvention,Mr。
Nasmythappliedtohisbrother-in-law,WilliamBennett,Esq。,whoadvancedhimtherequisitemoneyforthepurpose——about280L。,——
andthepatentwassecuredinJune1840。Thefirsthammer,of30
cwt。,wasmadeforthePatricroftworks,withtheconsentofthepartners;andinthecourseofafewweeksitwasinfullwork。Theprecisionandbeautyofitsaction——theperfecteasewithwhichitwasmanaged,andtheuntiringforceofitspercussiveblows——weretheadmirationofallwhosawit;andfromthatmomentthesteam-hammerbecamearecognisedpowerinmodernmechanics。Thevarietyorgradationofitsblowswassuch,thatitwasfoundpracticabletomanipulateahammeroftentonsaseasilyasifithadonlybeenoftenouncesweight。Itwasundersuchcompletecontrolthatwhiledescendingwithitsgreatestmomentum,itcouldbearrestedatanypointwithevengreatereasethananyinstrumentusedbyhand。WhilecapableofforginganArmstronghundred-pounder,orthesheet-anchorforashipoftheline,itcouldhammeranail,orcrackanutwithoutbruisingthekernel。Whenitcameintogeneraluse,thefacilitieswhichitaffordedforexecutingallkindsofforginghadtheeffectofgreatlyincreasingthequantityofworkdone,atthesametimethatexpensewassaved。Thecostofmakinganchorswasreducedbyatleast50percent。,whilethequalityoftheforgingwasimproved。Beforeitsinventionthemanufactureofashaftofl5or20cwt。requiredtheconcentratedexertionsofalargeestablishment,anditssuccessfulexecutionwasregardedasagreattriumphofskill。;whereasforgingsof20and30tonsweightarenowthingsofalmostevery-dayoccurrence。Itsadvantagesweresoobvious,thatitsadoptionsoonbecamegeneral,andinthecourseofafewyearsNasmythsteam-hammersweretobefoundineverywell-appointedworkshopbothathomeandabroad。Manymodificationshavebeenmadeinthetool,byCondie,Morrison,Naylor,Rigby,andothers;butNasmyth’swasthefatherofthemall,andstillholdsitsground。*
[footnote……
Mr。Nasmythhaslatelyintroduced,withtheassistanceofMr。WilsonoftheLowMoorIronWorks,anew,exceedinglyingenious,andverysimplecontrivanceforworkingthehammer。Bythisapplicationanylengthofstroke,anyamountofblow,andanyamountofvariationcanbegivenbytheoperationofasinglelever;andbythisimprovementthemachinehasattainedarapidityofactionandchangeofmotionsuitabletothepowersoftheengine,andtheformorconsistencyofthearticlesunderthehammer——Mr。FAIRBAIRN’SReportontheParisUniversalExhibitionof1855,p。100。
Amongtheimportantusestowhichthishammerhasoflateyearsbeenapplied,isthemanufactureofironplatesforcoveringourshipsofwar,andthefabricationoftheimmensewrought-ironordnanceofArmstrong,Whitworth,andBlakely。Butforthesteam-hammer,indeed,itisdoubtfulwhethersuchweaponscouldhavebeenmade。Itisalsousedforthere-manufactureofironinvariousotherforms,tosaynothingofthegreatlyextendedusewhichithasbeenthedirectmeansofeffectinginwrought-ironandsteelforgingsineverydescriptionofmachinery,fromthelargestmarinesteam-enginestothemostniceanddelicatepartsoftextilemechanism。”Itisnottoomuchtosay,”observesawriterintheEngineer,”that,withoutNasmyth’ssteam-hammer,wemusthavestoppedshortinmanyofthosegiganticengineeringworkswhich,butforthedecayofallwonderinus,wouldbetheperpetualwonderofthisage,andwhichhaveenabledourmodernengineerstotakerankabovethegodsofallmythologies。
Thereisoneusetowhichthesteam-hammerisnowbecomingextensivelyappliedbysomeofourmanufacturersthatdeservesespecialmention,ratherfortheprospectwhichitopenstousthanforwhathasalreadybeenactuallyaccomplished。WealludetothemanufactureoflargearticlesinDIES。Atonemanufactoryinthecountry,railwaywheels,forexample,arebeingmanufacturedwithenormouseconomybythismeans。Thevariouspartsofthewheelsareproducedinquantityeitherbyrollingorbydiesunderthehammer;
thesepartsarebroughttogetherintheirrelativepositionsinamould,heatedtoaweldingheat,andthenbyablowofthesteamhammer,furnishedwithdies,arestampedintoacompleteandallbutfinishedwheel。Itisevidentthatwhereverwrought-ironarticlesofamanageablesizehavetobeproducedinconsiderablequantities,thesameprocessmaybeadopted,andthesavingeffectedbythesubstitutionofthisfortheordinaryforgingprocesswilldoubtlesserelongproveincalculable。Forthis,asforthemanyotheradvantageoususesofthesteam-hammer,weareprimarilyandmainlyindebtedtoMr。Nasmyth。Itisbutright,therefore,thatweshouldholdhisnameinhonour。Infact,whenwethinkoftheuniversalservicewhichthismachineisrenderingus,wefeelthatsomespecialexpressionofourindebtednesstohimwouldbeareasonableandgratefulservice。Thebenefitwhichhehasconferreduponusissogreatastojustlyentitlehimtostandsidebysidewiththefewmenwhohavegainednameandfameasgreatinventiveengineers,andtowhomwehavetestifiedourgratitude——usually,unhappily,whenitwastoolateforthemtoenjoyit。”
Mr。Nasmythsubsequentlyappliedtheprincipleofthesteam-hammerinthepiledriver,whichheinventedin1845。Untilitsproduction,allpileshadbeendrivenbymeansofasmallmassofironfallingupontheheadofthepilewithgreatvelocityfromaconsiderableheight,——theraisingoftheironmassbymeansofthe”monkey”beinganoperationthatoccupiedmuchtimeandlabour,withwhichtheresultswereveryincommensurate。Pile-drivingwas,inMr。Nasmyth’swords,conductedontheartilleryorcannon-ballprinciple;theactionbeingexcessiveandthemassdeficient,andadaptedratherfordestructivethanimpulsiveaction。Inhisnewandbeautifulmachine,heappliedtheelasticforceofsteaminraisingtheramordrivingblock,onwhich,theblockbeingdisengaged,itswholeweightofthreetonsdescendedontheheadofthepile,andtheprocessbeingrepeatedeightytimesintheminute,thepilewassenthomewitharapiditythatwasquitemarvellouscomparedwiththeold-fashionedsystem。Informingcoffer-damsforthepiersandabutmentsofbridges,quays,andharbours,andinpilingthefoundationsofallkindsofmasonry,thesteampiledriverwasfoundofinvaluableusebytheengineer。Atthefirstexperimentmadewiththemachine,Mr。Nasmythdrovea14-inchpilefifteenfeetintohardgroundattherateof65blowsaminute。ThedriverwasfirstusedinformingthegreatsteamdockatDevonport,wheretheresultswereverystriking;anditwasshortlyafteremployedbyRobertStephensoninpilingthefoundationsofthegreatHighLevelBridgeatNewcastle,andtheBorderBridgeatBerwick,aswellasinseveralotherofhisgreatworks。Thesavingoftimeeffectedbythismachinewasveryremarkable,theratiobeingas1to1800;thatis,apilecouldbedriveninfourminutesthatbeforerequiredtwelvehours。Oneofthepeculiarfeaturesoftheinventionwasthatofemployingthepileitselfasthesupportofthesteam-hammerpartoftheapparatuswhileitwasbeingdriven,sothatthepilehadthepercussiveactionofthedeadweightofthehammeraswellasitslivelyblowstoinduceittosinkintotheground。Thesteam-hammersatasitwereontheshouldersofthepile,whileitdealtforthitsponderousblowsonthepile-headattherateof80aminute,andasthepilesank,thehammerfolloweditdownwithneverrelaxingactivityuntilitwasdrivenhometotherequireddepth。Oneofthemostingeniouscontrivancesemployedinthedriver,whichwasalsoadoptedinthehammer,wastheuseofsteamasabufferintheupperpartofthecylinder,whichhadtheeffectofarecoilspring,andgreatlyenhancedtheforceofthedownwardblow。
In1846,Mr。Nasmythdesignedaformofsteam-engineafterthatofhissteam-hammer,whichhasbeenextensivelyadoptedallovertheworldforscrew-shipsofallsizes。Thepyramidalformofthisengine,itsgreatsimplicityandGET-AT-ABILITYofparts,togetherwiththecircumstancethatalltheweightypartsoftheenginearekeptlow,haverendereditauniversalfavourite。Amongtheotherlabour-savingtoolsinventedbyMr。Nasmyth,maybementionedthewell-knownplaningmachineforsmallwork,called”Nasmyth’sSteamArm,”nowusedineverylargeworkshop。ItwascontrivedforthepurposeofexecutingalargeorderforlocomotivesreceivedfromtheGreatWesternRailway,andwasfoundofgreatuseinacceleratingthework,especiallyinplaningthelinks,levers,connectingrods,andsmallerkindsofwrought-ironworkinthoseengines。Hiscircularcutterfortoothedwheelswasanotherofhishandyinventions,whichshortlycameintogeneraluse。Iniron-foundingalsoheintroducedavaluablepracticalimprovement。Theoldmodeofpouringthemoltenmetalintothemouldswasbymeansofalargeladlewithoneortwocrosshandlesandlevers;butmanydreadfulaccidentsoccurredthroughaslipofthehand,andMr。Nasmythresolved,ifpossible,topreventthem。Theplanheadoptedwastofixaworm-wheelonthesideoftheladle,intowhichawormwasgeared,andbythissimplecontrivanceonemanwasenabledtomovethelargestladleonitsaxiswithperfecteaseandsafety。Bythismeanstheworkwasmorepromptlyperformed,andaccidentsentirelyavoided。
Mr。Nasmyth’sskillininventionwasbackedbygreatenergyandalargefundofcommonsense——qualitiesnotoftenfoundunited。Theseprovedofmuchservicetotheconcernofwhichhewasthehead,andindeedconstitutedthevitalforce。Thefirmprosperedasitdeserved;andtheyexecutedordersnotonlyforEngland,butformostcountriesinthecivilizedworld。Mr。Nasmythhadtheadvantageofbeingtrainedinagoodschool——thatofHenryMaudslay——wherehehadnotonlylearnthandicraftundertheeyeofthatgreatmechanic,buttheartoforganizinglabour,andwhatisofgreatvaluetoanemployerknowledgeofthecharactersofworkmen。YettheNasmythfirmwerenotwithouttheirtroublesasrespectedthemechanicsintheiremployment,andononeoccasiontheyhadtopassthroughtheordealofaveryformidablestrike。Themannerinwhichtheinventorofthesteam-hammerliterally”Scotched”thisstrikewasverycharacteristic。
Acleveryoungmanemployedbythefirmasabrassfounder,beingfoundtohaveapeculiarcapacityforskilledmechanicalwork,hadbeenadvancedtothelathe。Theothermenobjectedtohisbeingsoemployedonthegroundthatitwasagainsttherulesofthetrade。”Butheisafirst-rateworkman,”repliedtheemployers,”andwethinkitrighttoadvanceamanaccordingtohisconductandhismerits。””Nomatter,”saidtheworkmen,”itisagainsttherules,andifyoudonottakethemanfromthelathe,wemustturnout。””Verywell;weholdtoourrightofselectingthebestmenforthebestplaces,andwewillnottakethemanfromthelathe。”Theconsequencewasageneralturnout。Picketsweresetabouttheworks,andanystraymenwhowentthithertoseekemploymentwerewaylaid,andifnotinducedtoturnback,weremaltreatedorannoyeduntiltheyweregladtoleave。Theworkswerealmostatastandstill。Thisstateofthingscouldnotbeallowedtogoon,andtheheadofthefirmbestirredhimselfaccordinglywithhisusualenergy。HewentdowntoScotland,searchedallthebestmechanicalworkshopsthere,andafteratimesucceededinengagingsixty-fourgoodhands。Heforbadethemcomingbydriblets,butheldthemtogetheruntiltherewasafullfreight;andthentheycame,withtheirwives,families,chestsofdrawers,andeight-dayclocks,inasteamboatspeciallyhiredfortheirtransportfromGreenocktoLiverpool。FromthencetheycamebyspecialtraintoPatricroft,wherehouseswereinreadinessfortheirreception。Thearrivalofsonumerous,well-dressed,andrespectableacorpsofworkmenandtheirfamilieswasaneventintheneighbourhood,andcouldnotfailtostrikethe”pickets”withsurprise。Nextmorningthesixty-fourScotchmenassembledintheyardatPatricroft,andaftergiving”threecheers,”wentquietlytotheirwork。The”picketing”wentonforalittlewhilelonger,butitwasofnouseagainstabodyofstrongmenwhostood”shouthertoshouther,”asthenewhandsdid。Itwasevenbruitedaboutthatthereweremoretrainstofollow!”Itverysoonbecameclearthatthebackofthestrikewasbroken。Themenreturnedtotheirwork,andthecleverbrassfoundercontinuedathisturning-lathe,fromwhichhespeedilyrosetostillhigheremployment。