(The Construction of Mill Dams by James Leffel.
This book...)
The Construction of Mill Dams by James Leffel.
This book is a reproduction of the original book published in 1874 and may have some imperfections such as marks or hand-written notes.
Leffel's construction of mill dams; and Bookwalter's Millwright and mechanic
(This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 Excerpt: ...the crib. In the engraving, planking is shown put on vertically, extending up to a level with the crest of the dam; and if the whole face of the abutment is covered in like manner, it will be all the more secure. Hewed logs are preferred to other lumber for erecting this abutment, as being more durable and equally satisfactory in other respects. 1 he chief peculiarity of this dam, and one which seems to recommend it for any suitable locality, is the manner in which the sheet piling at the base of the abutments is secured, being fastened to sills at both the top and bottom of the piles, instead of driven down into the river bed in the ordinary manner. Mr. John H. Macdonald, of Pyburn's Bluff, Tennessee, who erected this dam in 1867, describes his previous experience in the use of piling as follows: "In 1866 I built this mill, and drove the spiling to a depth of 5 feet. I thought I had one of the best jobs in the world, and it was nice at the top. In June, 1867, my dam undermined, and everybody cried out 'Rat!' On examining it carefully, I found that it was the fault of the spiling, and when I ditched it out I found it in this shape: Stick your three fingers out straightthen draw your second finger forward--you can then see how my spiling was at the lower end. Now I suppose this is the case with all drove spiling; and no wonder the rats get so much abuse. Suppose a rat cuts a hole in the drove spiling, and the water commences running through; there is nothing at the lower end to hold, and the spiling begins to give way, one by one, till all is gone or ruined. The advantage my plan has over spiling is this: suppose a rat does cut a hole through the spiling, all the water can do is to pour through the hole. It cannot affect the dam, for the spiling is fast...
The Construction of Mill Dams: Comprising Also the Building of Race and Reservoir Embankments and Head Gates, the Measurement of Streams, Gauging of Water Supply, &C (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from The Construction of Mill Dams: Comprising Al...)
Excerpt from The Construction of Mill Dams: Comprising Also the Building of Race and Reservoir Embankments and Head Gates, the Measurement of Streams, Gauging of Water Supply, &C
The household proverb that Fire is a good servant, but a bad master, is true in an almost equal degree of water, its opposing element. Under the intelligent control of man, the power of water is one of the chief instrumentalities in promoting human comfort and spreading the blessings of civilization. The uses to which it may be turned are so various, and the products for the manufacture of which it is a serviceable agent are of such manifold forms and min ister to so many wants of our nature, that the country which is possessed of abundant water power is looked upon as especially favored by Providence. But this invaluable servant, if once it bursts over the bounds which have been set for its action, becomes a destructive scourge, laying waste the very fields whose tillage it had made profitable and bringing to poverty, in an hour as it were, a whole community, whom until then it had sustained in prosperous industry. More than one such instance occurs in our own memory and doubtless in that of every reader, where an insignificant stream along whose banks thousands of men, women and children have earned for years a secure liveli hood, has risen in its might and swept away with its swollen torrent all the fruits of those years of labor, often not sparing even the life of the laborer himself, and in a single day inflicting damage which a generation may not see repaired.
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Illustrated Catalogue. Jas. Leffel's American Double Turbine Water Wheel, Manufactured by Leffel & Myers, at the Oregon Iron Works, Portland, Oregon
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James Leffel was an American manufacturer and inventor. He was the founder of James Leffel & Company.
Background
James Leffel was born in Botetourt County, Virginia, and when nine months old was taken by his parents to the Ohio country, where they settled. During his childhood and youth he experienced all of the characteristic hardships borne by pioneer families.
Education
He received a limited formal education.
Career
Early in life Leffel displayed a natural bent for mechanics, particularly in metals, and shortly after coming of age, he left his home and settled in Springfield, Ohio, then but a hamlet, hoping to engage wholly in the work he most enjoyed. He first designed, built, and operated for a number of years a waterpower sawmill just outside of Springfield on the Mad River. Foreseeing the needs of the growing town, he established an iron foundry, the first in that vicinity. It was put into operation in January 1840, and within six years its business had grown to such proportions that Leffel was compelled to erect a second and larger one.
For the first few years a general foundry business only was conducted. Believing that he could improve his waterwheel, he experimented for many years, patenting his various ideas as they were perfected. The first of these waterwheels was patented May 21, 1845, and so superior was it to the regular overshot or undershot wheel that in 1846, in company with one Richards, he established and operated by water power the first cotton-mill and machineshop in Springfield. The business of manufacturing waterwheels, however, was not lucrative, and he turned his attention to designing other and more salable foundry products.
He perfected, and on December 10, 1850, patented a lever jack, and on February 24, 1852, two types of cookingstoves. Subsequently he reorganized his foundry business under the name of Leffel, Cook & Blakeney, for the manufacture of his lever jack, and his "Buckeye" and "Double Oven" stoves. He then returned to his waterwheel experiments and after devoting fully ten years to the work, finally perfected the double turbine wheel. This was patented January 14, 1862 (patent reissued October 11, 1864), and proved to be an important step in the development of the waterwheel. For the manufacture of this new product and of an improved lever jack of his own invention patented November 15, 1864, he organized a stock company known as James Leffel & Company. Hardly was this business under way, however, when Leffel died without any of the reward which his products soon reaped. His chief interest outside of his business was the breeding of fine poultry and the exhibiting of his best specimens at county fairs.