Theater of Machines: Lifting Devices

Preface.

that have in part not been described at all, and in part—indeed the majority—are only found in foreign and expensive books, so that to date, apart from this one, no such complete collection has appeared. There could well have been twice as many if I had wanted to include every type found in the known theaters of machines. However, these are for the most part rash compositions and machines translated in so many ways that, because of the excessive time they require and the strength they demand, they are neither to be made nor used. They serve only as witnesses that they were sired by ignorant fathers of mechanics. A sensible and attentive reader of this book will therefore easily see that I have already done more than enough in several places, and that all tasks, even the greatest, can be accomplished much better through simple lifting devices. The erection of obelisks original: "Obeliscorum" can teach us this sufficiently, where it was accomplished merely through pulleys with very few wheels and the even simpler ground-windlass original: "Erd-Haspel". Indeed, one uses neither gears nor pinions, neither screws nor infinite screws, and it would not have failed due to the sufficient strength of the machines and ropes. For it must be a tremendously strong rope if it is to hold about 300 hundredweight a unit of mass, approximately 15,000 kg depending on regional standards, let alone if one wanted to hang many thousands more.

Besides the machines presented here, many others could be brought in from the first and second part of the Hydraulic the study of water-powered machines. For although those are adapted only for water (which is, to be sure, also a load), they can nevertheless be used for other loads in order to lift even greater things, and therefore one can make use of them likewise.

Furthermore, various types of machines with water wheels and reverse-wheels will appear in the theater of mining machines original: "Bergwercks-Machinen", which I should have also mentioned here if the number had not already grown much larger than I had promised and the costs had permitted.

Most of the machines are, in my opinion, presented so clearly with an accompanying scale original: "Maaßstab" that it will be very easy for everyone to imitate them. Where no specific measure has been added, it was done only because such a machine must always be changed according to the nature of the load and the circumstances.