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06-21-2014, 04:19 PM #28
Neil, there is so much good information in this post! Some excellent research on your part and some baffling points to ponder! The potential generation of explosive nitrates as side products in the early manufacture of these plastics has always impressed me. Since the origin of celluloid predates the origin of trinitrotoluene, I'd bet there were some catastrophic manufacturing accidents (to wit, explosions) in the early development and manufacture of early plastics that were at the time, quite mysterious and unexplainable.
I find Eastman Kodaks work to reduce the water retention in their celluloid to be a great bit of specific information. Water, as polar as it is, is not something we want mingling with our nitrates if we expect our material to not simply dissolve. The fact that they had to allow their film stock to air dry for 2-8 hours tells us a bit about the times our much thicker razor scales would have taken to become stable enough to handle. We could probably estimate 10-20 times that based on diameter alone in very broad and general terms.
I worry. About a lot of things that probably don't matter to most folks. One of my biggest worries is that every minute, or second for that matter, somebody passes with knowledge that they alone may possess. Lost knowledge is a tragedy of huge magnitude in my opinion. One of my nerdier past-times is operating a huge cross-compound Corliss steam powered pumping engine at a nearby annual event (they can only afford to bring steam up for a week a year ). I've often said, a person could teach a course in thermodynamics and mans quest for perfect Carnot efficiency using that engine alone. This thing was built in the '20's, and attains about 45% Carnot efficiency! Internal combustion engines attain about 15%, and yet, in 1920, these guys were producing the best efficiency numbers for a practical heat engine in human history. The knowledge the designers had about the gas laws as they were still being defined is absolutely mind blowing. Their math was perfect. Their craftsmanship, unreproducible today. We simply don't have the capability to forge castings the size that would be required. And these castings are all finished, the moving bits machined and polished to mirror surfaces, and the sheer number of unnecessary yet beautiful brass accents is astounding and unthinkable today. If you've ever seen Corliss valve gear in motion, you wonder if they had to bring in Swiss watchmakers to time the thing. Those guys were smart, incredibly hard working, and took great pride in the fruits of their efforts. And they're dying every day, taking their knowledge with them.
As to the evidence of their labors, I suspect war time metal drives had lots to do with this. And scrapping in general.
I literally laughed out loud several times reading this. But I must take issue with point number 1 from your "Lessons Learned". LET THE PRESSURE ESCAPE! Remember the Wolfsschanze! Stupid meeting hut...
My Baby in action:
!! Enjoy the exquisite taste sharpening sharpening taste exquisite smooth. Please taste the taste enough to ride cutlery.
Mike