LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1618, 25 February 1884, Page 2

LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

THE.MENIX FOUNDRY,

■;> ?Many; : yoarsiago ■ what is now the Phoenix Foundry was laid in Old Ousto.mhoHserßtw.et.~Jt was then a budding and in- thaTstatS its'busileSs was cafe ried on in a small but always increasing scale till it. .passed into; the hands of Mr Charles, Seager, under whose! .•; management the. foundry was extended and improved to a considerable extent: Finally the business was taken over by. Messrs-Robertson Bros, and Co., under whom its_ progress.for .several years has been rapidly and' firmly onward \ and to-day thero is no more convincing, refutation of the. statement, often ] made, than the ironwork necessary for local industries cannot be made in the colony than a visit of inspection to the Phoenix Foundry. The main or fitting shop :is fitted with a number of machines, all on the latest and most approved principles, necessary for carrying on the fitting work iu a manner commensurate with the magnitude and importance of the work to be executed. In this shop there arc no less than four lathes of various size 3, all in full operation. There is a planing machine capable of planing a plate of 3ft Gin by 7ft; a' shaping machine with a stroke of sixteen inches, which works in any angle, or in a circle; and two drilling machines, one' of which has a complete set of patent twist drills from the 32nd'of an inch to Sin, and is one of the most complete of its kind in the colony. These twist drills arc noted for their accuracy in boring, and were imported very recently. There is also a screwing machine, which taps and screws from Mn to 3in' at one cut, invaluable for bridge and sircilar works, In addition to these, there is, of course a quantity of accessory machinery and gear. Tlih whole machinery in this shop, is worked by a 16 h,p. engine. At the rear of the Gttiiig shop is tho blacksmith's shop, supplied with six forges and a powerful lOcwt steam hammer, by Davis and Primrose, Leith, The forge fires arc worked by a patent self-acting fan- an invention by which a large amount of labor is saved, and the work performed in a thoroughly reliable manner. Leaving the smithy, wo enter n shop where the floor is strewed with a number of boxes of many shapes and sizes. ' This is tho moulding shop, The most striking objects in the shops are two cupolas, for smelting pig iron—one of them large enough to make a casting of ten tons; the other, a smaller one, being moro generally used. The metal is tapped out from these furnaces ;• into large ladles, and conveyed by a gigantic crane to the moulds for casting. Fronting the street is the boiler yard, Hero thero is a largo plate furnace capable of turning out plates 10ft x sft, and a set of plate rollers, which bend any plate from the furnace. There is also a punching machine, which cuts fin plate, and a smaller one for lighter work. Iu this shop the boiler now used by the Gear Meat Freezing Company on the hulk Jubilee and the s.s. Stormbird were.constnicted. On the second floor of the building there is a large pattern shop, where patterns are cut out in wood for the moulds, Here there is more of: ths improved and finished machinery which characterises the whole establishment. In addition to two turning lathes, there is n circular saw, so construetid that it can be moved about with case, and litledwith various ingenious appliances by which all curves and angles can lie struck, Around this roam there are hundreds of patterns of machinery stored, most of them of great value. Opposite to these shops is an extensive yard, in which several buildings have been erected, all of them being utilised to the very fullest extent possible. These buildings are. used as storerooms, and as such are fitted with all the necessary appliances, such as iron racks, &c. In the lower part of the yard a wharf has been built, alongside of which vessels of light draught can bo accommodated. A temporary slip, on which the s.s. Stormbird was recently hauled up and launched, is also provided. The Stormbird, it may be mentioned, was lengthened on tho ocoasion of her visit to this foundry, Altogether, the Phoenix Foundry may be looked upon as a model establishment of its sort. In every department the very best and newest machinery only is used, and the consequences are, as might naturally be anticipated, a saving of time and labor, and unqualified satisfaction 1 to customers. Expended in the direction of machinery and appliances, and backed up with enterprise and thrift, capital is never uselessly laid out by proprietors of such works as those under notice. In tho foundry at the '. present time an immense number of 1 large works are going on, A boiling- ' down plant, constructed for Messrs Handyside and Roberta, of Cashpoint, includes a steam boiler, two large vats 1 capable of. holding 150 sheep each, a six horse-power engine, and a large dumping press. For the same station, a saw bench and other appliances are also being built. This order is now rapidly approaching completion, and will be shipped in a week. For' the Ngahauranga tannery (Mr Tyler's) several large drums aro being built, Inside these drums, which aro constructed of wood, and fitted with pegs, hides are placed for washing and softening purposes. A steam winch for the hulk Jubilee, with double cylinders and double purchase motion, intended for the transhipment of heavy woighis, is all but completed; and a pile-driving engine for Mr Joshua Goodfellow, contractor for the Grey, mouth wharf is in hand, A lot of bridge work for the West Coast railway and for contractors in the Wairarapa is being constructed, besides several boilers of various sizes, one of which is to be. shipped;; to .Auckland this week. It will be noticed that of the works the Messrs Robertson have in course of construction,- a ; , considerable proportion is made to the order of contractors at a distance from Wellington, while in and around the ; city a large amount of works, requiring skilled workmanship and careful exo-. oution, aro being and have been turned 1 out in such a manner as to call forth unqualified praise,. It is noticeable, too, that almost all the local works are required for local