Interesting. So in essence, the 19th century used zero gravity fabrication. Who knew?
Shot tower
11–20 of 80 posts
Re: Shot tower
#12How many feet taller does a tower in northern Alaska need to be compared to one in south Florida? (at 0 feet above average sea level) Someone please calculate this. Thank you.
I'd imagine it would actually be shorter because the ambient temperature in Northern Alaska will be much cooler than that in South Florida, so the shot will cool faster.
It also depends on the diameter of the shot you wish to produce.
Re: Shot tower
#13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coop%27s_Shot_Tower
It's been turned into an enclosed mall in the Melbourne (Australia) CBD. You can see the glass dome covering the whole shot tower building from all over Melbourne.
Re: Shot tower
#14You can try something similar to this (although more related to the older barrel technique) at home with a soldering iron . Melt some tin at the tip while holding the iron at a sufficiently large enough height over a glass of water. It takes some practice to make nice round balls, but it works!
In what way is practice useful here? Determining the correct height to get good spheres, having a steady hand when dropping it?
Try it.
Re: Shot tower
#15You can try something similar to this (although more related to the older barrel technique) at home with a soldering iron . Melt some tin at the tip while holding the iron at a sufficiently large enough height over a glass of water. It takes some practice to make nice round balls, but it works!
In what way is practice useful here? Determining the correct height to get good spheres, having a steady hand when dropping it?
It's been some time since I did this, but yes, it's mostly the correct height + keeping the hand steady when the drop falls. I think getting the height right is more critical. You need enough time to have the drop cool down. On the other hand, higher means also larger impact which can splat the drop more easily.
Re: Shot tower
#16Interestingly, we in Latvia still have a shot factory which produces shots this way: http://www.dsr.lv/?lang=en
Re: Shot tower
#17Interesting. So in essence, the 19th century used zero gravity fabrication. Who knew?
And for a more continuous process -- did you ever wonder how long straight glass tubes were made?
http://corningnystepbystep.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-joe-t...
I used to live near this.
Re: Shot tower
#18This is also how cheese balls are made.
Re: Shot tower
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what way is practice useful here? Determining the correct height to get good spheres, having a steady hand when dropping it?
It's been some time since I did this, but yes, it's mostly the correct height + keeping the hand steady when the drop falls. I think getting the height right is more critical. You need enough time to have the drop cool down. On the other hand, higher means also larger impact which can splat the drop more easily.
I would imagine that could be solved by keeping the water at or near a boiling point; breaking the surface tension of the water while still being cool enough to let the tin completely solidify.
Re: Shot tower
#20Natural Bridge in Virginia¹ was used as a shot tower during the American Revolutionary War. They simply dropped molten lead off the bridge into the water below. Someone would then collect them from the stream bed after they cooled. ¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Bridge_(Virginia)
Interesting ... when I visited I was struck by the fact that the salt-peter mine was used at that location (why not somewhere else rather than in proximity to the arch?), but didn't realize they also made shot there.