TIMARU WATERWORKS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2424, 23 December 1880, Page 2

TIMARU WATERWORKS.

11l connection with the scheme for supplying the toivu with water from the river I’areora, a contract was recently let by the Borough Council to Mr Childs for the cutting of certain iron pipes stacked in Market square, which had in their transit become broken or cracked near their ends. As Mr Childs is cutting them by moans of machinery, it may not here be deemed out of place to describe the method employed to cut the pipes in question. The cutting machine is the invention of Mr Huggins, engineer, of this town, and we understand he has made application to the Patent office in Wellington, for a patent for the same. But in order to render it the more simple in working , and doing away with the necessity of employing- a hand to see to the same, Air Childs has rendered it self-acting by means of a star wheel, which at every revolution of the machinery is turned by a catcher fixed at the side, which thus screws the cutter down :i« if ie»fo flip TllO cutter is to all appearance like a revolting wheel with teeth cast, on it, and attached to a Jixcd collar and bracket which is slipped 01 and bolted to the pipe to be cut. This travelling collar is driven by wheel and pinion, which is again driven by a pulley from a small two-horse engine. We were present to-day whilst one of the pipes was being cut, and it took exactly twentyone minutes to perform the operation. The pipes vary in thickness from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch, the average being live-eights of an inch. As these pipes when cut require to be tested, Mr Huggins has also machinery on the ground for this purpose also. They are placed one by one on a frame and pressed between two cast iron discs, by moans of a hydraulic ram, then lilled with water pumped into them with a pressure equal to 2001 bs to the square inch. The other pipes to be used for the conveyance of water have been previously tested up to 2201bs to the square inch, but as throughout the streets in the town the highest pressure will be but 801 bs to the square inch, the waterworks’ engineers considered that the 2001hs test would be an ample margin. Mr Huggins lias the supervision of this and the pipe cutting work.

The Timaru BorougU Council are very anxious that the town shall be supplied with pure water as speedily as possible, and this feeling is reciprocated by the whole of the inhabitants, and we hope after a few mouths have elapsed to be enabled to chronicle the successful completion of such an important sanitary work.