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WAREHOUSE LIFTS.

81

HAND POWER PASSENGER LIFT (shown in Drawing No. 39). The details are much the same as Drawings Nos. 37 and 38, except that the cage is constructed in a different way, and lined at the sides with wood, with a roof at the top also of wood. The working rope, in this case, is at the front of the lift. The guide bars are cast iron, planed, fixed on timber runners, and erected in the same way as described for hydraulic passenger lifts.

WELL HOLES FOR LIFTS.-In new buildings, it is advisable to construct these in brickwork, on account of the risk from fire. In several instances, in the author's experience, when a fire has commenced in the basement or ground floor, warehouses have been destroyed by the flames rushing up the lift hole and firing each floor in its ascent. Experience has shown that where lift holes are of brickwork, and even only wood doors or shutters at the various floors, the flames have simply run up to the roof, and burnt that portion, leaving the rest of the building untouched. The fire insurance rates are also less in this case. The author advises warehouse keepers and others, in case of fire in the lower part of the place in the daytime, to have, if possible, all the lift hole doors closed at once; the damage will then be confined to the interior of same. course, every night all the shutters and doors should be closed and locked.

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DOORS TO THE LIFT HOLE at the various floors. For these the author prefers wood, and usually made like an ordinary room door or a sliding shutter. In places where the public have admission, the doors should have patent locks, and be only capable of opening, by the attendant in the cage, from the inside of the lift hole.

ROPES are the most preferable for lifting, and should always be of ample power; for 10 hundredweight, not less than 3 inches in circumference; 15 hundredweight, 4 inches to 4 inches in circumference. The endless ropes should be 3 inches in circumference, to give a good grip to the hand. Brake Ropes, 2 inches to 3 inches in circumference, for the

same reason.

It is advisable to examine the ropes and all the gear once per month; and also to test the "safety apparatus," to make sure it is in perfect working order.

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The various parts of the lift should be made of sufficient strength to stand the shocks it may be liable to from having the brake suddenly applied when a heavy load is in the cage, or from the rough usage that such apparatus get from the class of men who have usually to work them.

WAREHOUSE LIFT, WITH GEAR BELOW (Drawing No. 50).

There are many cases where goods have to be raised and lowered from the ground floor to the basement, and where the gear cannot be fixed at the top; in this case all the working gear is fixed in the basement.

THE TABLE, or cage, is constructed in much the same way as before described, except that the framing for guides, lifting bar, etc., is inverted. The least depth for the iron cross bars, to which the guides are fixed, should be 3 feet; this is for the purpose of keeping the rubbing plates at a sufficient distance apart, to ensure easy working, and prevent vibration.

The guide irons and counter-balance, etc., will be the same as before, except that the latter, with its guides, may require a different arrangement to suit special cases.

WORKING GEAR is usually a special crab motion fixed to the floor of the basement; this is fitted with a winch handle and fly-wheel, or with a grooved wheel and endless rope. Two chains are attached to the cross bars under the table, one on each side, passing over two grooved chain wheels, fixed under the ground floor line; at the other sides, two chains pass over pulleys, and are attached to the counter-balances, which slide in L-iron guide bars, as before described.

The table and framing are sunk into a recess in the floor of basement, formed of a rebated curb of oak.

When the table is run up to the top, it forms part of the floor, and can be secured by bolts for safety, or may have a lock, as described for the bank lift at p. 37, but of a less expensive kind.

WAREHOUSE LIFT, WITH GEAR BELOW. A.

This modification of the above plan, to suit special requirements of the work and building, is :

Table and Guides, etc., are arranged as before.

Working Gear-Two endless pitch chains, one working on

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each side of the table, are attached to the cross bar, and pass over two pitch chain wheels at the top under the floor, and two at the basement sunk under the floor; motion is given from a crab gear, as before described, and by means of another endless pitch chain working on wheels on the shaft on which the two lower pitch chain wheels are keyed. Brake gear, etc., is also attached to this shaft in same way as before described. No wheels (except the crab) are above the floor line, either at the top or basement floor.

WAREHOUSE LIFT, WITH GEAR BELOW. B.

This is constructed on much the same plan as above, except that the shaft, having the tooth wheels gearing on to the pitch chain, is fixed at the top, under the table. Two pitch chains, one on each side of the table, are attached to the lifting cross bars, and pass over the tooth wheels to a counter-balance on each side. On the shaft at top is keyed another tooth wheel, which, by means of an endless pitch chain, is geared to a crab motion of the same construction as before.

This class of lift is specially suited to a cellar where there is little head room, and where, owing to the foundations and other causes, no gear can be worked below the basement line.

The chains for this class of lift must be of the best kind. A good form, and one much used by the author, consists of square links made of round iron, with flat S connecting links of hoop iron, secured by one rivet at the lap. They are most reliable chains, not subject to fracture, and easily repaired by putting in new links; great care is required in the manufacture to ensure that all the links are exact to pitch.

There are several other adaptations of the above class of lift; but as they are only used for very special circumstances, they need not here be noticed.

CELLAR LIFTS, INCLINED (Drawing No. 51).

In some cases it is advisable to construct the lift to allow the table to rise and fall upon inclined side girders or guide

bars.

The gear for raising and lowering the load is much the same as before described.

The table is made of an angle iron frame, with wood top and

with iron framing below, fitted with four friction wheels with flanges.

Guide Girders may be of wrought iron, "trough-shaped," and on the lower flanges of these the wheels of the table run; at the top of the girders a cross girder takes the chain wheel and its carriage.

The chain to raise the table is attached to a cross bar under the table, and thence passes over the pulley to the crab motion. The details of counter-balance and guides are much the same as before, and must be arranged to suit the circumstances of the case.

SCREW LIFTS, 14 HUNDREDWEIGHT (Drawing No. 52).

THE TABLE is made the same as described for No. 50. On the under side is fixed a screw 34 inches in diameter, with a square thread; it works in a gun-metal nut, fitted in the boss of a bevel wheel. The screw rises and falls in a pipe sunk in the ground, and is worked by wheel gear and fly-wheel. The table has two counter-balances at the back, running in L guide bars, as before.

To prevent undue friction and relieve the pressure on the nut, the weight of the table and screw are overbalanced; the wheel in which the nut is fixed has a groove cut in the boss, and a clip working in this groove attached to the cylinder head prevents the wheel lifting.

This kind of lift is rather slow in working; the speed, with one man and 14 hundredweight to raise 10 feet, being two minutes to two minutes and a half. It is, however, absolutely safe, and well suited for raising and lowering valuable goods, such as casks of wine; it also has these advantages-it must be worked down, and at about the same speed as raising; it cannot run away if left alone, and does not require making fast at any point of its ascent or descent; the motion is steady, and there is no noise in working. The wear and tear is very small.

RACK LIFT.

This is constructed in the same way as the above as to table, guides, etc., but is worked by a toothed rack attached

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The crab

to the under side of the table in lieu of a screw. gear is much the same as before. The pinion working in the rack should be wrought iron, pitched and trimmed.

The rack should be strong, broad in the teeth, and well guided on both sides, in the same way as described for the hydraulic lift (see p. 38).

This form of lift is not generally to be recommended; it is not so safe as others; where, however, the goods are not of much value, and not liable to fracture in case of falling-the action of the gear being rapid both in raising and loweringthey can be used with some advantage.

These lifts are sometimes driven by steam power; in this case the driving gear should be toothed wheels: belts with wood and iron teeth are not safe to use.

ENDLESS LIFTS.

These may have hand motion applied; they are described at p. 56, and can be made in various forms. They are suitable for light packages of one size and weight, and where the goods. to be transferred are in large quantities, and for the purpose of passing them from floor to floor, either for storing or to another part of the place where the next process in their manufacture is to be carried out. They work slowly, and have to be designed to suit the special requirements of the case.

ROPE AND BUCKET LIFT.

This is a very useful lift for taking up books, papers, etc., either from one floor to another or up a staircase, especially where there are no means of fastening to the floors, etc.

Either single or double wheels are fixed at top and bottom. An endless wire rope passes over these, having buckets or pockets attached at various points of the rope; in these receptacles the books, etc., are placed. They are noiseless in action, very simple, the cost is small, and they can be fixed by an intelligent mechanic.

LOWERING MACHINES (Drawing No. 53).

Machines to lower casks and other goods, are made selfacting.

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