An Important Industry. THE CARTRIDGE FACTORY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 352, 20 March 1889, Page 4

An Important Industry. THE CARTRIDGE FACTORY.

No scheme for the defence of an isolated colony like New Zealand could possibly be completo without some provision lor the manufacture of ammunition within it& borders, and ib is surprising thai a matter of ouch vast importance was overlooked by j the C4overnment at a timo when hundreds of thousands of pounds were being spent in the purchase of weapons and the construction of forts. Indications at the present time point to the probability of a European war at no distant date, and in the event of England being imolved, it is certain that colonists would be compelled to take active measui.es for their own defence. it is by no means difficult to comprehend that our prospect of supplies of ammunition at a time when the factories of Woolwich would be working night and day to supply the national requirements, would be very problematical, and even if the oiders were filled, the vessels by which the shipments were made would be subject to the rifcks of war, and if they reached their destination at all, might do so only to find the port for which they were bound blockaded. Without an ample supply of ammunition, no people, however brave and gallant they might be, could hope to defend their homes against a foreign invader, and hence the absolute necessity for some reliable internal source for the manufacture and supply of ammunition in the event of a contingency of this kind arising. The importance of these considerations does not appear to have impressed itself very forcibly on the mind of theGo\ernment, and consequently no steps have been taken to establish a factory as a part of our system of defence.

A PRIVATE SPECULATION. Privates enterprise has, howovcr, come forwaid to .supply the deficiency, and recognising the iacb thab in the manufacture of cnrtiidges there was an opening for an important and profitable industry, Captain Whitney took steps to establish the fii&t cartridge factory in the colony. Our leaders are acquainted with the obstacles and discouragements which attended the initiation of the industry in Auckland, and not the least of these was the prejudice engendered in the minds of volunteers and other people who should have been the most anxiou3 for the success of tho enterprise, because of some trifling defects in connection with the new cartridge, arising entirely from the fact that the whole of the machinery for manufacturing the cartridges was locally made, These defects could be and were easily rectified. Fortunately, the enterprise was in the hands of a man of remarkable perseverance and indomitable strength of will, to whom discouragements were simply so much additional stimulus to renewed exertions. Captain Whitney had patented an improved cartiidge case of solid brass, and the opinion of competent authorities was that this principle was far in advance of the present thin biass wrapping case. Impressed with the value of his own invention, and recognising tho necessity for machinery of the latest and most approved description, Captain Whitney proceeded to England, and purchased a complete plant manufactured by Messrs Greenwood, of Batley, whose machines are used in all the arsenals of the British Government. Having thus, procured the very best appliances for the construction of cartridges. Captain Whitney engaged as foreman for his factory, Mr W. C. Frasov, who had had 16 years' experience in the royal laboratory at Woolwich. With a new factory, first class plant, and a good foreman, tho obstacle? which attended the industry in its earlier stages absolutely disappeared, and this has all been accomplished without further assistance from the Government than the grant of a site for the factory, and an undertaking to purchase whatever ammunition they require, subject to the Wooh\ich tests, and at about the cost to them of the imported article. The factory has since developed into a completo success. The ammunition produced there is now recognised as being not only equal, but even supeiior to that imported This success of the enterprise is all the more gratifying when it is remembered that it means the establishment of another important industry, and one that should give employment to a large amount of labour. The Governments of the adjoining colonies have recognised the importance of the matter by offering: a substantial sub&idy to Captain Whitney for the establishment of a Federal Ammunition Factory in Yictoiia, and negotiations to thab end have already been concluded, all the colonies except New South Wales guaranteeing to support it. Mr Whitney, a son of the propiietor, has gone to England to send out the necessary plant.

INSPECTION OF THE FACTORY. It \\ ould bo difficult to imagine a more interesting method of spending several hours than in the inspection of the factory and the observation of the numerous pioeesses by which the cai bridge cases arc manufactured, loaded, and prepared for use. This, however, was our experience on a recent afternoon, and wo now append the results of our observation : — The factory is located in a plain wood and Galvanized iron building, and was erected by the Messrs Cummings Brotheis about a year ago. It stands on an isolated site, admirablj suitable for the purpose, close to the Mount Eden Gaol, and well away from the duelling houses in the neighbourhood. One is astonished by the number, variety, and ingenuity ot the machines and appliances employee 1 in the factory in the process of cartridge manufactme. There are probably thirty different machines at work, some of these being very small and others of a considerable size. One very noticeable characteristic of eacli is the wonderful exactness and aceuiacy of the work produced. Every piece of lead or brass, as the case might be, is cub with such astonishing exactno?s that if ; two pieces weie placed on theopposite ends of a balance, a hair would bum the scale either way. This nicety is, it appeare, one of the essentials of success in cartridgemaking. The machinery is diiven by a 35 ■ horde power engine of the Armington and Sons' patent, and was made, as indeed was all the machinery, by Greenwood, of Batley. Tb is one of the high speed engines generally used for driving dynamos, and without any difficulty a belt can be put on to drive a dynamo sufiicienbtolightthewhole premises. The engine attains a speed of 280 revolutions per minute, and is remarkably compact. It is built on a solid concrete foundation, and there is no vibration whatever, the engine running with wonderful smoothness.

THE FACTORY HANDS. The factory gives employment to twentyfive hands, of whom seven are men and boys, and the remainder girls. We remarked upon the groat preponderance of female labour, and were informed that the girls are found to bo more biddable than boys, more easily managed, and more expert with their fingers. They are also more easily taught, and this is a great consideration, for the reason that until oxportness is obtained some of the Jiner machines are apt to be damaged by clumsiness or want or attention on the part of the operator.

The work is certainly of a light and agreeable character, and is well fitted for vyoinen or girls. In England, we were informed, men are, for obvious reasons, employed in the Government factories, but in private factories females are chiefly employed, and work is thus given to a great many.

CAPABILITIES OF THE FACTORY, The machinery and appliances formerly in use have been superseded by others of later pattern, and some idea of the improvements made may be gathered from the faob that seventeen new machines have been added to the old plant, which has, in a word, been trebled. The factory is now in good working order, and is capable, under pressure, of turning out 90,000 cartridges per week. Of course it' is only at a time of emergency that such a large output as this would be required. The ordinary working average will, however, be something like 35,000 rounds per week. During the month of January, the number of rounds manufactured was 75,000. All the machines are set to do an average of sixty per minuce, but this rate of speed is not constantly maintained. The factory is at present employed on an order from the Government, and the probable requirements of the colony may easily be gauged from the fact that at present the volunteeis consume one million and a half rounds per annum. Included in the plant of the factory are the dies suitable for making the cartridges of the new Rubini magazine rifle, which h,aa been adopted in' England, and which fires 60 shots yev minute and kills at 2,800 yards. The rifle contains ten cartridges, each being two inches long, and thinner than the present Snider cartridge. Both the bullet and charge of powder are consequently smaller. Appliances and material are also in stock for reloading the Government machine or Nordenfeldt guns.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. Each cartridge goes through very nuraeri ous processes befoie it finally reaches the packing room, but the number and variety of these are so great that it is almost impossible to attempt a description. In the ill s-b stage, the cartridge case is aflat circular piece of brass, resembling, tor want of a better illustration, the bottom of a jam tin. Five punching processes by means of dies w hich gradually become narrower are necessary before the case assumes the tubular shape and size of a cartridge case, and between eachpunchingprocesstheembryocases are subjected to a bath of diluted sulphuric acid, this treatment rendering them smoother and more ductile, and making the drawing -out proce&s ea&y. When the cartridge cases have been formed they arc fed into a receptacle on a revolving plate, and a hole punched in the end of each for the reception of the cap. Then they are passed on to another revolving knife machine which cuts each ca&e to the exact size, and from thence they find their way into a revolving bairel of sawdust wheic they are very nicely polished. Several machines are meanwhile at woik preparing the pellets for the ba&e ot the cartridge, these being made from long narrow strips of paper, which is manufactured for the purpose at the Dunedin factory. The paper is compressed into a \ery compact pellet in an other ingenious little machine, which turns out 35,000 of these miniature coils in a daj'. The pellet is fixed in the chamber by another machine, and the flange base of the cartridge case and the cap cup which ha\o been separately prepared arc then aJfixcd to the ca&e Ly a pressure of five tons applied by a compact little press. Se\eral other machines are at the same time busily employed in the manufacture of the bullets, which are cut into exact lengths from a circular coil of lead of the required thickness. So preci&e is the machine in its working that every bullet is the same weight to the difference of a hair, and all faulty lengths are rejected. Three processes are required for fashioning the bullets, which are plugged with a clay pellet, and are then ready for the cartridges. The filling of the cartridges is done in a separate building. The caoe is placed under a small funnel, and the operator draws back a handle bar, when the exact quantity of powder—/.* 1 ., 71 grains — falls into the case, which is then wadded. This is the American method, and is a very great improvement on the slow and uncertain Woolwich process. The bullet is placed in the case, and is tightened in its place by another very ingeniously contrived machine, which applies the pressure to the back of each cartridge. The caps are affixed by means of a steel revolving table' and a self acting anvil, and the cartridge is ready for use. In another room they are wrapped up in stout brown paper and tied, ten rounds being placed in each package. Out of curiosity, two parcels were weighed, and the wonderful exactness in the weight o f the cartridges was shown by the fact that though the weight of each parcel, paper and string included, was lib l^oz, they exactly balanced on the scales, and a small piece of paper made the difference in weight. It is not possible to give more than a faint idea of the process in the space at our disposal, bub the operations of the factory are highly interesting. Captain Whitney has earned the good wishes of all who are interested, whether as volunteers or citizens, in the cause of colonial defence, and lie is entitled to all the encouragement which the necessary requirements of the colony in the matter of cartridges enable the Government to give him. "Auckland Star."