Modern shipbuilding and the men engaged in it

CHAPTER V.
PROGRESS IN METHODS OF SHIPYARD WORK.

Since the early days of iron shipbuilding, when hand labour entered largely into almost all the operations of the shipyard, the field of its application has been gradually narrowed by the employment of machinery. The past few years have been uncommonly fruitful of changes in this direction, and many things point to the likelihood of manual work being still more largely superseded by machine power in the immediate future. Such changes, however, have not, as might be assumed, had any very sensible effect in diminishing the number of operatives generally employed. The influence has rather been absorbed in the greatly increased rate of production, and the elaboration and enhanced refinement of detail demanded by the much more exacting standard of modern times. The need for skilled handicraftsmen may not now be so general, but the skill which is still indispensable is of a higher character, and has called into existence several almost entirely new classes of shipyard operatives.

The extended employment of machinery has given impetus to, and received impetus from, the system of “piece-work” now so much in vogue in shipyards. In several of the operations, such as riveting and smithing, the nature of the work peculiarly lends itself to the system, and piece-work has consequently been in force, as regards these operations, for many years. In several other departments, however, such as plate and bar fitting, joinery, and carpentry, piece-work is only contemporaneous with and largely the consequence of improved modern machinery. Reference to “piece-work” here is not made with the intention of discussing its effects on the labour question—concerned as this is with such large issues—but simply of showing what effect the system has had on the character of shipyard workmanship. It was a favourite argument some years ago, when piece-work was being rapidly extended, that the system was bad because it would lead to and foster scamp-work and bad workmanship. The results of the past dozen years’ experience disprove this completely, and for reasons which, as early as 1877, were pointed out by Mr William Denny—to whose spirited advocacy and adoption of the system its present degree of acceptance with workmen is in no small measure owing. In his admirably written pamphlet on “The Worth of Wages,” published in the year named, Mr Denny says:—

What was true of the system as exemplified in Messrs Denny’s experience previous to 1877, holds equally good for all the yards in which piece-work is now the rule. Under it work is done quicker and better than by the old system, and so popular is it amongst workmen that a deep-rooted dislike for “time-work” prevails where piece-work has once been instituted and efficiently managed.

The machines in use at the present day for preparing the separate and multitudinous pieces of material which go to form the hull structure of iron and steel vessels are both numerous and highly efficient. This work of preparing material, it may be shortly stated, mainly consists of shearing and planing the edges of plates and bars—these as supplied by the manufacturers being, of course, only approximately near the final form and dimensions—rolling and flattening or giving uniform curvature to plates; bending angle or other bars, such as are used for deck beams; and punching the holes through plates and bars for the reception of rivets. In this list regard is not had to the operations concerned with material in the heated state, the features requiring to be thus manipulated being mainly the frames of the vessel; the work being effected without the aid of any special machine tools. A small proportion of the plating also requires to be operated upon in this state, and for this purpose machine tools are sometimes brought into requisition, some notice of which will be taken further on.

While most of the machines have been introduced for a period exceeding that with which our review is more directly concerned, improved types have been made, and entirely new machines brought into requisition during recent times. The universal adoption of piece-work in almost all the departments of construction has demanded a more economical type of machine than formerly. In this way punching machines, which play so important a part in shipyards, have risen from a working speed of about fourteen rivet holes per minute to thirty and even—in the case of frame punching—to as high as forty per minute. Other machines have had a corresponding increase in speed; in several of the best appointed yards the general increase being about sixty per cent.

The introduction of the double bottom for water ballast in ships, brought about a great increase in the amount of necessary punching caused by the numerous man-holes required through the floors and longitudinals. These man-holes, oval in shape as shown by Fig. 1—of say 18-ins. by 12-ins.—had to be punched all round by the rivet-punch, and the edges afterwards dressed by hand with a chisel. To economise work in this connection, need was felt for a machine which would be capable of punching a man-hole of the ordinary size out of the thickest plate at one operation. In 1879, at the request of one of the prominent Clyde firms, Messrs Craig & Donald, the well-known machine-tool makers of Johnstone, introduced a man-hole punching machine which cut holes 18-ins. by 12-ins. at the rate of seven per minute, in such a way that no after-dressing with chisels was required. This machine, an ordinary eccentric motion one driven by its own engine, although tested and found capable of cutting an 18-in. by 12-in. hole through a plate 1-in. thick, was superseded in the yard for which it was made, by another, designed to meet the requirements of the heaviest type of vessels built on the cellular principle. This machine—also made by Messrs Craig & Donald, and five or six of which are now at work in yards on the Clyde and at Barrow—was capable of piercing a hole 30-ins. by 21-ins. through a plate ¾-ins. thick, at one operation, and was actuated by hydraulic power. The ordinary eccentric machine, driven by engine attached, is still in favour for lighter work, and machines of this type are at work in several of the East Coast yards capable of punching holes up to 21-ins. by 15-ins. through plates ¾-ins. thick.

Reverting to the subject of the proportion of material requiring to be heated before manipulation, it is noteworthy that the employment of mild steel is a source of economy in this connection as well as in the many others already noticed. The superior homogeneity and great ductility of the material favours cold-bending when such an operation would be fatal to iron. Not only does an economy in labour result, but incidentally there is a further advantage. Cold-bending distresses steel less than hot-bending, and the special precautions so often taken, in the way of annealing, to toughen steel which has been operated upon when hot, are thus obviated.

A certain proportion of the bottom plates in a ship—e.g., those adjoining the keel—and a few at the stern and elsewhere, have quick bends and twists which are much more difficult to treat than the easy and generally uniform curvatures on the plates of the bilge. The latter are effected in great measure by the “bending rolls” with the plates perfectly cold, but the former have to be made with the plate in the heated state. Hydraulic presses have been used for this purpose for some years, a certain proportion of the work done being the manipulation of plates while cold. With steel as the material to be operated upon, these machines are being more and more utilised in this direction, and their presence in the shipyard, as in boiler works, is sure to become more and more prevalent. The operations of the shipyard, in short, have been gaining in exactitude every year, and have borrowed both in the matters of methods and of appliances from the marine boiler works, where machine tools are more conspicuously a feature. Machine tools for riveting, now playing so important a part in shipyards, first had their utility approved in boiler shops, and the introduction of improved types of drilling machines is largely the reflected successes attending them there.

From the foregoing imperfect sketch of the principal directions in which machine tools used in preparing material for the constructive stage have been improved or recently introduced, it will be gathered that hydraulic power in lieu of steam has taken a prominent place in shipyards. That this is so to a remarkable extent will sufficiently appear from what follows regarding the appliances used in the work of binding the structure of vessels. It may, however, be premised that in several establishments hydraulic pressure has now displaced steam power in almost all the machine-tools used in the iron departments. This is so in the case of the Naval Dockyards of Toulon and Brest, in France, and of the Spanish naval establishments at Ferrol, Cadiz, &c.; the machinery in the former of which was fully described in June, 1878, before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, by M. Marc Berrier-Fontaine, of the French Navy. The plant and machinery are by Mr Ralph H. Tweddell, C.E., of Delahay Street, London, whose numerous inventions and great experience in this special branch of engineering are well worthy of recognition. The machines comprise those for punching, shearing, angle cutting, plate bending, and riveting, and the author referred to is high in his praise of the superior efficiency and economy of the hydraulic system, as exemplified in practice. One or two of the leading advantages of the system may be here summarised. Hydraulic machines do not consume any power at all during the interval between employment, and the power can be applied at any moment without preparatory consumption, and stopped equally quick. No shafting or belting is required, and the wear and tear of continuous motion, as in steam machines, is thus obviated. The power exerted is much more gradual than that of steam, performing the work more thoroughly, and with less liability to strain or otherwise damage the material operated upon, or the tool itself.

Although hydraulic machinery was successfully introduced by Sir William Armstrong so long ago as 1836, and has since been applied by him and others in almost every direction the application of hydraulic power to machines for constructive purposes is of comparatively modern date. Its early employment as the motive power for machine-tools was in the case of machines which were “stationary” or “fixed” in position when in use. Machines for riveting purposes in boiler shops and locomotive works were the first tools of any note to which hydraulic power transmitted from a distance was applied, but even this dates back only to about 1865. In that year Mr R. H. Tweddell, already referred to, designed hydraulic plant, consisting of pumps, an accumulator, and a riveting machine, which were first used by Messrs Thompson, Boyd & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, with satisfactory results. The work was done perfectly, and at about one-seventh of the cost of hand work, and the same power was utilized in actuating hydraulic presses for such purposes as setting or “joggling” angle or tee irons. Excellence and economy of work were thus secured; and in a comparatively short time above 100 machines were at work in various dockyards and large works.

Although patent designs for portable hydraulic riveters existed before 1871, it was not till that year that any form of portable riveters was applied in practice with any degree of success. Previous to that year the frames of ships had been riveted by Mr Tweddell’s stationary hydraulic machines, but a portable riveter invented by that gentleman in 1871 was then tried, when it was thoroughly demonstrated that during a working day of 10 hours the machine was capable of closing 1,000 rivets. Not much encouragement, however, was received from shipbuilders at the time, owing chiefly to the fact that the wages for riveting labour was not then a very urgent question. On a modification of the general plan of working, these machines being proposed by their inventor in 1876, they received more cordial recognition from shipbuilders thereafter. It is only, however, within the past five years or so that portable riveters have been so extensively introduced into shipbuilding yards. The success which has attended them during the period leaves no reasonable doubt as to their ultimate place in every well-appointed shipbuilding establishment. Already the majority of Clyde shipyards—including all the larger ones—and most of the yards in the Tyne and Wear districts, are furnished with hydraulic riveting machines and plant, overtaking work constantly, efficiently, and with greatly reduced expense, that is matter of envy in yards not similarly favoured. In most of the larger Clyde yards the Tweddell machinery and plant are employed; but in some cases machines introduced by Mr William Arrol, Dalmarnock Ironworks, Glasgow—chiefly for riveting the frames, beams, &c.—are used. The Arrol machines work on a similar principle to those of Mr Tweddell, whose system is practically the only one in use on the Tyne and the Wear, and at Barrow.

The prime cost of furnishing a complete hydraulic plant is of course considerable, and such as might perhaps appear an outlay not speedily enough recouped. In view, however, of the uncertain and oftentimes harassing conditions—not to speak of the pecuniary loss—under which the riveting department of shipbuilding work is conducted in the ordinary way, shipbuilders are constrained to acknowledge the economic advantages of the hydraulic system. Neither expense nor trouble have been spared in several yards to extend the hydraulic system into every feature where hydraulic work is practicable. The only feature now for which the machines presently in use are not available is the shell plating, and perhaps the decks, where such are entirely laid with plates. Indeed, it may fairly be said that hydraulic riveters have virtually supplanted manual riveting in nine-tenths of the structural features of a vessel. The percentage of rivets closed by machinery to the total number of rivets employed in a vessel’s structure has been computed to be about fifty per cent. In one of the yards fitted with the Tweddell system the following comprise the list of structural features for which the hydraulic riveters are daily employed:—Double bottom, including the thousands of detached pieces of plates and angles of which the bracket floor style of bottom is composed; side bars attaching frames to double bottom, frames and reverse frames, beams, stiffening bars, gunwale bars, keelsons, and keels.

The shell plating, as has already been said, is about the only feature for which inventors and manufacturers of hydraulic riveters have now any serious difficulty in making provision. But many minds are exercised with the problem, and doubtless at no very distant date the present obstacles will be surmounted. One aspect of the question—and one which certain classes are apt to overlook—is that which regards the mutual adaptation of means to the end desired. Shipbuilders have often under consideration the practicability of so modifying structural features and methods of work as that inventors of mechanical riveters will be met half-way in supplying the much-felt desideratum. Referring to this subject, Mr Henry H. West, chief surveyor to the Underwriters Registry for Iron Vessels, in a paper on “Riveting of Iron Ships,” read before the Institution of Naval Architects at its last meeting, said:—

The increased engine power now demanded in steamships undoubtedly points to the further adoption of mechanical riveting—if vessels are to successfully withstand the enormous strain and vibrations to which they are thereby subject. While several have already shown drawings of the shell difficulty having been met, Mr Tweddell, whose experience in common with that of his manufacturers and co-patentees, Messrs Fielding & Platt, of Gloucester, may justly be considered greatest in this branch of engineering, has never illustrated this. It may be mentioned, however, that excellent flush riveting is constantly done by the Tweddell hydraulic riveters, and that the same plan suggested by Mr Kirk of entering rivets with prepared counter-sunk heads from one side, and snap pointing them by machine on the other has been long in use by Messrs Fielding & Platt. In conjunction with Mr Tweddell, this firm have also designed several efficient arrangements to ensure the machine being kept in position until the unfinished head of the rivet is formed. Judging from these facts, there seems good reason to hope that the production of riveting machines required to overtake the remaining features will not be very long delayed.

To show that where the exigencies of the times necessitate them, expedients involving inventive skill and industrial intrepidity are never quite wanting, it may be related that several years ago, during a prolonged strike of riveters, the principal of the firm of Messrs A. M‘Millan & Son, Dumbarton, introduced a portable riveting machine for the shells of ships. The machine, although improvised, as it were, to meet an emergency, fulfilled all that was expected of it, and won the approval of Lloyd’s Surveyors for the Clyde district, as well as of a special deputation selected by the Committee of Lloyd’s in London from among the chief surveyors of the United Kingdom. Their verdict on the performances of the machine after due inspection was that it “thoroughly fills the holes and countersinks, and produces a smoother and better clench than can usually be obtained by hand labour.” From this it will be seen that in the yard of Messrs M‘Millan the matter of machine riveting has received early and earnest consideration. Indeed, the extent to which hydraulic riveting is presently employed by this firm so well represents the development and progress made in this direction throughout other yards that the system adopted in their establishment may be described somewhat in detail.

The hydraulic plant and numerous different classes of portable riveters are on the Tweddell system. The hydraulic power required to work the various machines is furnished by a pair of vertical steam engines, geared to a set of two-throw pumps, which force the water at a pressure of 1,500-lb. per square inch into an accumulator. This latter feature, as is well known, serves to store up the power in a considerable amount ready to meet the sudden demands of one or more of the riveters without calling on the pumps. As is the case in all machinery on this system, the accumulator is loaded to a pressure of 1,500-lb. per square inch. The means employed for the transmission of the water-power, from the service of main pipes laid as required throughout the yard, are flexible copper pipes, admitting of being led almost in any direction, however irregular, without being impaired or rendered inefficient. When the plant was laid down about four years ago, Messrs M‘Millan determined to err if anything on the side of prudence, and they laid all their mains of double the required size, so that they could, if the high pressure was found objectionable, return to the lower pressures sometimes employed; they have, however, never found it advisable to do so.

In this yard can be seen portable riveters suspended over a vessel’s deck between 40 and 50 feet above ground, capable of reaching and clenching rivets in stringers at a distance of 4 feet 6 inches from edge of plate. The power brought into play in closing some of these rivets is very great—from 20 to 30 tons—and yet this is conveyed by a small tube of only half-inch outside diameter in some cases through a distance of many hundred feet. The portable riveter here indicated is suspended on a light and handy carriage, which can travel the upper deck from stem to stern, being made purposely low so as to clear poop and bridge deck beams if such should be fitted. With this machine Messrs M‘Millan have closed from 400 to 450 rivets per day of nine hours in stringers 3 feet 6 inches wide. They have also effected some very heavy work in attaching the sheer strake to the gunwale bar, the rate of progress being correspondingly satisfactory. The same features in the Alaska, built by Messrs John Elder & Co., were similarly operated upon by another of Mr Tweddell’s riveters, whose complete system has been adopted in this large establishment also. By an elongation of the suspending arm Messrs M‘Millan hope to execute, besides the stringers, most of the deck work, such as ties, diagonals, hatch coamings, &c., in one traverse of the carriage. Moreover, a second carriage with riveter may be doing simultaneously the same work on the other side of the vessel. Indeed, it only requires a further development of such work to make the riveting of complete iron decks practicable, and—with the rate of wages, for hand riveted work, usually prevailing—profitable also.

The riveting of the frames and beams is the simplest of all the work overtaken by the hydraulic riveters, and it is here the system is seen to most advantage. In any yard furnished with these machines rivets are closed at a greatly accelerated rate compared with work done by hand. Tweddell machines have been known to close, in beams, 1,800 to 1,900 rivets per machine per day of 9½ hours. In frames the average rate at which rivets are closed is about 1,400 per day. The cost for this section of riveted work has been computed to be about one-half of that by hand, and the quality of the work is everywhere acknowledged to be better. With the same number of men the work is accomplished in something like one-third of the time. The modus operandi in overtaking this feature of the work may be briefly described. For the riveting of the frames, in almost every case, two cranes of any convenient construction are fixed at the head of the berth in which the vessel is to be built; the frames are laid across the keel as in hand work, and rest on trestles, where the portable riveter, carried on the before-mentioned cranes, rivets them up. As the riveting in each frame is completed it is drawn down the keel by steam or hand power, and set up in place. The riveting of the beams is a still more simple operation, the beam to be riveted being placed under a gantry somewhat longer than the beam itself, and upon which the portable riveter travels. The suspending gear in this and other of the Tweddell machines combines the functions of hydraulic lifts for raising or lowering the riveter, and of conveying the necessary hydraulic pressure to the riveter. The beam is supported on trestles, and the riveter, having the facilities for travel and exact adjustment just described, accomplishes the surprising work before mentioned.

The conditions under which the riveting in cellular and bracket bottoms is accomplished are less favourable to expeditious work. This system of ship’s bottom is greatly more complex in its constructive features than the ordinary bottom. The separate plates and angles which go to form the bracket floor system are to be numbered—in vessels of the average size—by thousands. The frames in such vessels are formed of three parts; one part stretches across the bottom and abuts against the plates forming the sides of the cellular bottom; the other two parts form the sides of the vessel, but are not erected until the bottom portions of the frames have been laid and all the bracket and longitudinal girders are erected and fitted upon them. On the bottom, as thus described, the portable riveters are required to operate, in many instances having to reach the rivets at a distance of 4 feet 6 inches from the edge of the plates, and in confined spaces of 24 inches. When the frames and beams are completely riveted and beginning to be erected, a travelling-crane (in Messrs M‘Millan’s two travelling cranes are employed working from separate ends of the vessel) carrying a large portable riveter, is placed on the top of the floors, with short lengths of planking laid to act as tramways. The perfect control thus obtained is somewhat extraordinary. The crane jib has sufficient rake to command the whole floor of the ship, and every rivet can be closed in the confined spaces already described. Some 800 rivets per day can be put in, many of them at a distance of 4 feet 6 ins. from the edge of the plate. The quality of the work is all that could be desired; in some parts, indeed, the use of the felt-packing necessary in hand work has been found to be unnecessary owing to the tight work obtained by hydraulic riveting. One crane with its riveting machine can, in a vessel of moderate size, say 3,000 to 4,000 tons, fully keep pace with the up-ending of the frames, provided it has something of a start. As it advances the lower deck beams are put in place behind it, and the other work follows in order. In ships of the more ordinary construction, longitudinal keelsons are fitted, which are readily reached by special portable riveters, suspended by means of neat devices, some of them the ideas or suggestions of workmen in Messrs M‘Millan’s service.

The only machine of the series of portable riveters employed by Messrs M‘Millan which remains to be noticed is that which overtakes the riveting of keels. This machine is perhaps one of the most perfect of the series, performing its functions satisfactorily, viewed from whatever standpoint. The riveting required on the keel of large vessels is very heavy, especially if the through-keelson and side-bar system is adopted, when five thicknesses of plate have to be connected, the rivets employed being 1⅛-inch or 1¼-inch in diameter. The situation is not favourable for getting at the work to be done, the head-room available not often exceeding 2½ or 3 feet. These conditions render great compactness, together with portableness, necessary in the machine. The keel itself was utilised for the attachment of the Tweddell riveter as first tried, then again a sort of light trestle was employed, the riveter being at one end of a lever racking on this. These plans were abandoned, however, in favour of the machine as now used in various yards throughout the country, an illustration of which is given by Fig. 23. A low carriage is travelled down alongside the keel. This carriage supports a balanced lever, carrying at one end the riveter, capable of exerting about 50 tons on the rivet head, and at the other a balance weight. This lever can in its turn revolve horizontally about a short pillar fixed on a turn-table, thus affording unlimited control over the riveter by the man in charge; enabling him, indeed, to adjust the riveter to every irregularity of position or direction of the rivets in keel. As many as 420 1¼-inch rivets per day have been put in by this machine, an amount which is fully equal to the work of two squads of riveters, and in one yard 70 rivets have been closed in as many consecutive minutes.

It may be stated generally that the several hydraulic riveters require two men to work them, and the rivets are heated in portable furnaces and dealt out in any quantities required, by a boy in attendance. The quality of the work done is superior to hand work, chiefly in that when rivets are well heated the pressure is equalised, and affects the rivets throughout their entire length, filling the holes to their utmost. This advantage tells more in the case of keel riveting, and that it is so is evidenced by the fact, as communicated by a foreman having great experience, that rivets ¼-inch longer than rivets closed by hand have even less superfluous surface material when closed by the machine.

From the facts above detailed, taken in conjunction with the opinions of such authorities as Mr West, it can fairly be claimed for Mr Tweddell as the inventor of the earliest of the hydraulic riveters now so extensively employed in shipyards, that he has greatly improved the character of work in ship construction. Not only so, but he has relieved the shipyard artizan from a species of work which requires little or no skill in its execution—work, indeed, which may properly be relegated to, as it certainly in course of time will be included in, that vast domain in which water, steam, electricity, and the other natural powers are so wondrously made to play their part.

While the extended use of improved machinery has brought about changes in the iron-working departments of shipyards that are structurally of the greatest importance, it is nevertheless true that the largest acquisition to shipyard machinery of late has been made in the wood-working departments. It is here, beyond question, where the equipment of modern shipyards is seen to be so much an advance on the former order of things, when handicraft was indispensable and paramount; and it is also here, probably, where the greatest labour-saving advances have been made. The artistic perfection which is evinced in the palatial saloons and state-rooms of many modern steamships would not have been possible—commercially so, at least—to the shipbuilders of twenty years ago, whose appliances, regarded from present-day standpoints, seem to have been woefully crude and meagre. Still, it is not by any means to be understood that all the shipyards of to-day are alike commentaries on the former state of things, because even now there are not wanting yards in which the necessary wood-work for ships is accomplished with singularly few machines. The need for accessions in this direction, however, is being more keenly felt every day, and in many yards quite recently the entire joinery department has been thoroughly re-organised and equipped. The chapter which follows will be devoted to descriptions of some representative establishments in the several districts, and as special references may therein be made to the machinery equipment of the wood-working departments, the present remarks will only be of a general nature.

The conversion of wood from the absolutely rough state into finished and finely-surfaced material, ready for immediate use in the interior of vessels, forms at the present time not an uncommon portion of the daily work in shipyards well equipped with modern machinery. This is not only concerned with the commoner woods employed in large quantities for structural purposes, but also to a considerable extent with those various ornamental hardwoods entering into the decorative features. The change of which this is indicative is one of increased self-dependence and economy formerly not dreamed of in shipyards, and of improvements at every stage in the machinery for wood conversion, which are simply wonderful. In circular and straight saws, planing, moulding, and shaping machines, band and fret-saw machines, mortising, tenoning, and dove-tailing machines, and in machines for scraping, sand-papering, and miscellaneous purposes, not a few modern shipyards reflect the fullest engineering progress as concerned with wood-working machinery. In planing machines especially are the labour-saving advantages made apparent. As illustrating this it may be explained that machines of this kind in daily use are able to plane a greatly increased breadth of surface, to work several sides of the wood at one operation, and at a marvellously accelerated speed as compared with hand work. Similarly, as regards the formation of mouldings, it may be stated that a moulding which would take a competent workman some hours to produce can be completed on a good machine in less than one minute. Many patterns of mouldings and other decorative items now largely used are thus only possible—commercially if not otherwise—through the extended employment of machinery. The degree of “finish” now put upon the plainest features—rendered pecuniarly possible by the use of machinery—is nowhere so striking as in the scraping of panels and the sand-papering of large surfaces. In one shipyard the author has witnessed the scraping of hardwood panels as broad as 30-ins., the shaving taken off being of marvellous thinness and perfectly uniform and entire throughout the length and breadth of panel. The surface left on the panel is beautifully smooth, rendering any after-dressing with sand paper superfluous, and the shavings have all the appearance and much of the flexibility of fine paper. In many other ways that might be instanced, the improvement in machinery is not less striking, but what has already been given may sufficiently illustrate the general advance.

The sources from which modern wood-working machinery is obtained are various. Notable firms of machinists throughout this country, in America, and on the Continent, are drawn upon, each of whom, although not furnishing complete installations of wood-working machinery, are distinguished for some “special make” of one or other of the machines necessary. In the plentitude of firms whose names suggest themselves in this connection, it may be invidious to single out any for special mention, yet, of firms in this country, Messrs M‘Dowall & Sons, of Johnstone, and Messrs T. Robinson & Son, Rochdale; and of firms in America, Messrs J. A. Fay & Co., of Cincinnati, may be noticed as having furnished many machines which are highly valued in shipyards.

Notwithstanding the recent advancement in this direction, there is still scope for improved wood-working machinery, and for machines to overtake additional work in shipyards. A single, though perhaps not particularly striking, instance may be given. While attempts have been made to supply it, there is not yet, so far as the author knows, a machine for planing decks after the planking has been laid, and the seams caulked and payed. Those acquaint with the laborious and unskilled nature of the work to be done, will readily concede the fitness of applying, if possible, mechanical means to achieve it.

Attention may here be directed to the subject of improvements in shipyard machines and methods of work, directly due to the careful study of results from every-day practice. Workmen themselves have too seldom been instrumental in effecting such improvements, although in many respects the most fitting mediums through which improvements could come. A lingering antipathy to new machinery on the score of its supplanting hand work, and perhaps the want of proper knowledge of scientific principles, have prevented many from taking part in this way. To encourage the exercise of the inventive faculty amongst workmen, as well as to reap personal advantage, Messrs Denny & Brothers instituted in 1880 a scheme of rewards for invention in their establishment, which has been attended with gratifying success, and has since been copied in other quarters. Particulars of this scheme will be given in the following chapter, thus making detailed reference here unnecessary. It may be said briefly, however, that awards ranging from £12 to £3 are paid to workmen who submit inventions, and when any one has been successful in obtaining five awards he receives a premium of £20, and when he has obtained ten awards he is paid a further premium of £25—the premiums increasing by £5 for every additional five awards received. During the time it has been in vogue as many as 200 claims have been entered, over 110 of which have received awards, representing in all the disbursement by the firm of about £500. The majority of the awards made have been concerned with improvements in the joinery departments. Some of the machines there have been modified or altered so as to do twice the quantity of work previously possible, some to do a new class of work, and others to do the same work with greater safety, and with less wear and tear.

In several other sections of shipyard work, progress is strikingly evinced. Of these it may suffice to instance the work of transport between one shop and another, and between workshops and building berths, also that of lifting heavy weights either by stationery or locomotive cranes. Means of effecting such work are now employed in many yards, which, viewed in the light of former things, are truly prodigious.

The increasing propulsive power with which steamships are being fitted necessitates ponderous weights in connection with the engines and boilers. The means available for lifting such weights have not until within recent years been possessed by private shipbuilders, but have been the property of public bodies, such as Harbour Trusts. The majority of shipbuilders have still to depend on such outside aid, but within the past few years several large firms—particularly on the Clyde—who have the necessary dock accommodation, have erected in connection with their works enormous “sheer-legs;” the modern equivalent for cranes, which are now somewhat out of fashion for ponderous work. Some of these are amongst the most powerful ever erected, being capable of lifting 80, 100, and even 120 tons weight. Such enormous appliances, it may readily be understood, enables the firm possessing them to be independent of extraneous assistance, and to complete in every respect within their own establishments vessels of the largest class.

The means of transporting material in shipyards by systems of railways laid alongside the principal workshops, and traversing the yard in all directions, have been amplified and improved in many yards within recent times. Connection is made in most instances with sidings from main lines of railway, whereby materials and goods can be at once brought into the yards from whatever part of the kingdom; and in the largest yards special locomotives are constantly employed doing this work. In well arranged establishments the railway first enters a store-yard, and the material is lifted from the trucks by travelling-crane or other means, and deposited on either side of the railway, plates being set on edge in special racks, from which they can be easily removed by the workmen. Leaving this, the lines of railway traverse the building yard throughout, and are designed to permit of the material being conveyed without retrocession, but with the necessary stoppages for its being put through the various courses of manipulation, to the vessel in which it is to be used. A recent and very serviceable amplification of the system of railway transport has been fitted in one of the largest Clyde yards which enables material to be conveyed with greatly increased ease and despatch in directions and to situations wholly inaccessible to the main lines of rails. This is the narrow gauge portable system, patented by M. Decauville, of Petit-Bourg, Paris, which consists of short lengths of very light steel rails, permanently riveted to cross sleepers, and with end connections so formed as to make joint while being pressed into contact. Each section, of 4, 6, 8, 12, or 16 feet long, being complete in itself, the tramway can be laid down in any new situation very rapidly. Where divergences of route take place, curves, crossings, and light turntables are supplied, sufficiently strong to carry working loads, and at the same time light enough to be easily handled. Special waggons and trollies are also supplied by the makers, which, combined with the system of portable rails described, not only worthily take the place of, but far excel in handiness and efficiency, the ordinary wheel-barrows of the shipyard.

List of Papers, &c., bearing on modern shipyard machine-tools, appliances, and methods of work, to which readers desiring fuller acquaintance with the technique and details of the subject are referred:—