Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Illustrated Guide to Christchurch and Neighbourhood

Mr. R. Buchanan's City Foundry

Mr. R. Buchanan's City Foundry.

This foundry, situated in St. Asaph-street, between Colombo and Manchester-streets, was established in 1878. Mr. Buchanan's speciality is ornamental castings for the trade for builders purposes. The works cover nearly half an acre. Fronting the street there is the show-room and offices. The visitor would first enter the moulding shop, 100 feet long by 30 feet wide. Here there are employed ten journeymen and five or six apprentices, and they will been seen making the moulds for various kinds of work, from a large pillar for a building down. page 177to a small ornamental bracket for a verandah, Mr. Buchanan laying himself out to do almost everything that comes in the way of an ironfounder. In this shop there is an overhead travelling crane capable of lifting five tons. The motive power is supplied by a ten - horse horizontal steam engine, with a vertical tube boiler. The blast for supplying the cupolas (of which there are two) for melting the iron is obtained from two of Root's patent blowers. The "fettling" shop, where the castings are cleaned and trimmed up, enters out of this. Here there is an emery wheel in motion which saves great labour in filing; and also a drilling machine and all the ordinary appliances of an ironfounder. Altogether Mr Buchanan employs twentytwo hands, and turns out, on an average, 250 tons of castings per annum.