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"I find," said he, "there is not a forge-hammer in England or Scotland powerful enough to forge the paddle-shaft of the engines for the 'Great Britain! What am I to do? Do you think I might dare to use cast-iron?" This letter immediately set Mr. Nasmyth a-thinking. How was it that existing hammers were incapable of forging a wrought-iron shaft of thirty inches diameter?
Nasmyth gave permission to communicate his plans to such forge proprietors as might feel disposed to erect such a hammer to execute the proposed work, the only condition which he made being, that in the event of his hammer being adopted, he was to be allowed to supply it according to his own design. The paddle-shaft of the "Great Britain" was, however, never forged.
"I find," he said, "that there is not a forge hammer in England or Scotland powerful enough to forge the intermediate paddle-shaft of the engines for the Great Britain! What am I to do? Do you think I might dare to use cast-iron? This letter immediately set me a-thinking. How was it that the existing hammers were incapable of forging a wrought-iron shaft of thirty inches diameter?
I accordingly gave the Company permission to communicate my design to such forge proprietors as might feel disposed to erect the steam hammer, the only condition that I made being, that in the event of its being adopted I was to be allowed to supply it in accordance with my design. But the paddle-shaft of the Great Britain was never forged.
Humphries had designed were accordingly set aside; and he was required to produce fresh designs of engines suited for screw propulsion. The result was fatal to Mr. Humphries. The labour, the anxiety, and perhaps the disappointment, proved too much for him, and a brain-fever carried him off; so that neither his great paddle-shaft nor Mr. Nasmyth's steam-hammer to forge it was any longer needed.
But to return to my correspondence with the Great Western Steamship Company. I wrote at once to Mr. Humphries, and sent him a sketch of my proposed steam hammer. I told him that I felt assured he would now be able to overcome his difficulty, and that the paddle-shaft of the Great Britain might now be forged. Mr. Humphries was delighted with my design. He submitted it to Mr.
Such, in a few words, is the rationale of the steam-hammer. By the same day's post, Mr. Nasmyth wrote to Mr. Humphries, inclosing a sketch of the invention by which he proposed to forge the "Great Britain" paddle-shaft. Mr. Humphries showed it to Mr. Brunel, the engineer-inchief of the company, to Mr.
"What is that thing there?" he asked, "the thing that goes round, I mean." "The paddle-shaft," replied the Captain; "it turns the wheels." "And that other thing that goes up and down?" "The piston-rod," said the old sailor. "It is this which turns the shaft." "Then, I want to know how the piston makes the shaft turn round, when it only goes up and down itself?"
The engines were in hand, when a difficulty arose with respect to the enormous paddle-shaft of the vessel, which was of such a size of forging as had never before been executed. Mr.
There was thus, for a time, an end of the steam hammer required for forging the paddle-shaft of the Great Britain. Very bad times for the iron-trade, and for all mechanical undertakings, set in about this time.
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