A
Acetic Acid
If vinous fermentation is not checked in due time, it passes at once to the stage of acetous fermentation, and the liquid becomes sour…
Adhesion
This is a force which unites dissimilar bodies, and is exerted between substances of all kinds. The sticking of blackening to…
Agate
This stone is an aggregate of siliceous substances, the character and color of which is maintained in the mass. Agate is composed of…
Agglutination
The act of uniting, by means of some viscous substance, as glue, molasses, etc., which causes an adhesion or sticking together of parts or…
Air
The thin, gaseous medium which surrounds the earth. Air, like all other forms of matter, has weight, as may be proved by exhausting the air…
Albumen
This word means the white of an egg. It is found as an organic compound in both animal and vegetable substances. Albumen forms the…
Alcohol
The purely spirituous parts of liquors which have undergone vinous fermentation. Alcohol mixes with water in any proportion, giving out…
Alkali
Alkalies in their pure state possess the following general properties; to the taste they are caustic and acrid; they dissolve animal…
Allowance
A foundry phrase, of general application. For example: some portion of a mould or core is scraped or filed away to prevent actual contact…
Alloys
A combination or mixture of two or more metals. Metals combine with metals to form alloys, and each compound may be looked upon, for many…
Aluminum
A bluish-white metal of remarkable brightness, its specific gravity being only a quarter that of silver (2.56), or about the same as…
Aluminum Alloys
The following alloys comprise most of those which are in common use. Such alloys as have been made with other metals have not as yet been…
Aluminum Bronze
The best quality of aluminum bronze is made by alloying copper with from five to ten per cent of aluminum. The alloy is far superior to any…
Amber
One of a number of fossil substances that resemble the resins. It is found along the shores of the Baltic, and occurs in beds of lignite in…
American-Scotch Pig-iron
A common name for some brands of American pig-iron, in which the silicon is high, and for which reason they have gradually supplanted the…
Ammonia
A colorless irrespirable gas, of an extremely pungent and caustic taste, lighter than air (sp. gr. 0.59). It exists in very minute…
Amorphism
This term expresses the opposite of the crystalline state. Diamond is crystalline carbon; charcoal and lamp-black are amorphous carbon…
Anchor
A name frequently given to studs and chaplets generally, but more correctly applied to any special contrivance for maintaining isolated…
Analysis
The subject of analysis in relation to general foundry practice has for some time occupied the attention of our foundry associations East…
Annealing
The process of removing brittleness from castings, glass, and other substances by heating them to a specified temperature in suitable ovens…
Anthracite
A kind of coal which is known by many names, as stone, blind, glance, and Kilkenny coal. There are several varieties and nearly all possess…
Anthracite Facing
Finely ground Lehigh coal, which has been carefully selected for its freedom from impurities. It is one of the cheapest blacking-facings…
Antimony
This is a brilliant white metal of a crystalline texture and bluish white color, and so brittle that it cannot be rolled into sheets nor…
Arabic Gum
Gum-arabic is a gum which flows from the acacia tree on the banks of the Nile, Arabia, and in some other parts. It forms a clear…
Argol-flux
A flux made from impure cream of tartar or acid tartrate of potash, which constitutes the incrustation on the insides of wine casks. See…
Arsenic
Arsenic is sometimes found pure, but more generally combined with nickel, cobalt, sulphur, and iron. To separate arsenic from the ores…
Acetate – Artificial Diamond
A salt formed by the union of acetic acid with a salifiable base; as, the acetate of copper, the acetate of silver, etc. A pneumatic…
Artificial Gold
A French substitute for gold is made as follows: Melt copper, 100; then add separately and by degrees, in powder, magnesia 6; sal-ammoniac…
Art-work
This term is usually employed to moulding fine-art work, and comprises all castings moulded from models prepared by the sculptor or…
Asbestos
A mineral of white or gray color, appearing almost like a vegetable substance, because of its fibrous, flexible, and delicate texture. It…
Asphaltum
This substance resembles pitch, but has a higher internal polish, and is sometimes called mineral-pitch, bitumen, etc.; it breaks with a…
Assay
The determination of the quantity of any particular metal in an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound, more especially of the quantity of…
Avoirdupois Weight
The system of weights and measures for all goods except precious metals and gems, the grain being the foundation of this as in the case of…