Atlas of Discoveries V3 · Sonnet
Nail, illustrative drawing A large black silhouette of a nail with a wide head at the top. A thin red drive line runs from the head to the left, out of the frame.
Illustrative drawing, not a historic object. The red line: drive from the water, further to the left.
Maleniec · Historic Ironworks (Zabytkowy Zakład Hutniczy), 1784–1967 [1]

Water-powered industry on the Czarna Konecka

The rotation ends in a nail.

According to the previous version of this page, the drive of the nail shop ran from the ‘Franciszek’ wheel along a long shaft to the work stations (to be checked). Step back five links from the nail to the water and see where the rotation turns into a blow.

Phase 1. The punch above the protruding end of the rod (48 units).
Phase 2. End upset: 19 units, 1.6× wider.
Phase 3. Flat head: 8 units, 2.4× wider.

Three still phases of upsetting the head. A general diagram with constant metal volume; not a drawing of a nail machine from Maleniec.

Step back from the nail ↓

Five links back

You start at the end. Pick a link and press ‘Cycle step’: only that link moves, the rest of the chain stands still. Red marks the active element. There is no stopwatch here: the pace of movement is not known and is not part of the model.

A diagram, not a measurement. Angles are frames of the drawing, without time or speed. Figures ‘in drawing units’ are not dimensions from Maleniec.

Without JavaScript there are no drawings or cycle steps. Below is the full description of all ten links, from the product to the water.

Nail branch: the ‘Franciszek’ wheel

The nail: the head forms by deformation

Active element
The upsetting punch and the die holding the rod (general diagram).
Input
The blow of the punch, a downward movement.
Output
A change of shape rather than movement: the protruding end of the rod becomes a wider, lower head.
Gear ratio
Not applicable: there is no gearing in this link.
Comes from
Nail machine (link 2): the punch comes down and strikes
Goes on to
Nowhere: this is the end of the chain, the finished product

The end of the chain is simple: the metal has the same volume before the blow and after it. When the protruding section becomes lower, it has to become wider. Hence a head wider than the shank.

Limit of the model: an axisymmetric section in a flat projection. Whether the rod was cold or heated, and how the nail was cut off, is not described in this page’s material.

  1. Frame 1 · protruding section 60, diameter 1.0× the rod: the punch is not touching yet.
  2. Frame 2 · section 24, head diameter ≈ 1.6× the rod: the metal spreads sideways.
  3. Frame 3 · section 10, head diameter ≈ 2.4× the rod: the head is finished.

The nail machine: rotation turns into a blow

Active element
An eccentric, that is, a disc mounted off its axis. It is a drawn stand-in for the mechanism, not a description of a specific machine.
Input
Rotation of the shaft, continuous and in one direction.
Output
Movement of the punch up and down, ending in a blow.
Gear ratio
Not given: there are no data on rotation speed or stroke.
Comes from
32 m line shaft (link 3)
Goes on to
The die with the rod: the blow upsets the head (link 1)

Rotation has no ‘up’ or ‘down’. A disc mounted off its axis turns it into reciprocating motion: half a turn is the punch coming down to the blow, the other half is the return. The museum lists the surviving nail machines [2].

Limit of the model: which mechanism (eccentric, crank, cam) works in the Maleniec nail machines has to be checked with the curator of the collection. The drawing shows the principle, not the construction.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · the centre of the disc above the axis, the punch at its highest position.
  2. Frame 2 · 90° · the punch has come down about 40% of its full stroke.
  3. Frame 3 · 180° · the centre of the disc below the axis, the punch at its lowest position: this is where the blow happens.

The 32 m shaft and the wheel with wooden teeth

Active element
A line shaft with a wheel whose teeth are wooden.
Input
Rotation of the ‘Franciszek’ wheel.
Output
The same rotation along the whole length of the shaft, taken off by the work stations.
Gear ratio
Not given: tooth counts and diameters are not in the material.
Comes from
Franciszek wheel (link 4)
Goes on to
Nail-machine stations (link 2)

There is one shaft and many stations: each gets the same rotation, as long as the shaft is rigid. According to the museum, the wooden teeth of the mating wheel acted as a fuse in the event of a failure, protecting the machinery from damage [3].

Limit of the model: the shaft is shortened by a break in the drawing, and the number of stations (three) is a convention. The twisting of a long shaft is ignored.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · markers on the wheel and on each gear of the shaft in the starting position.
  2. Frame 2 · 12° · all the markers have turned through the same angle.
  3. Frame 3 · 24° · that is more than one tooth of the wheel (in the drawing 16 teeth, one tooth = 22.5°).

The ‘Franciszek’ wheel: water turns into rotation

Active element
The blades of a water wheel. According to an earlier version of this page it is the works’ second, smaller wheel.
Input
Pressure of the water on the blades.
Output
Rotation of the wheel together with its shaft.
Gear ratio
Not applicable: the wheel and shaft are mounted together (an assumption of the model).
Comes from
Northern and inner channel (link 5)
Goes on to
32 m shaft in the nail-shop hall (link 3)

The wheel produces nothing. It turns the pressure of the water into rotation. How much power results depends on the amount of water and the head. We have no figures for Franciszek.

Limit of the model: the material does not say whether the water reaches the wheel from below or from above. The water arrow and the direction of rotation are conventional. The drawings of the wheels are not to scale.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · the red blade in its starting position.
  2. Frame 2 · 20° · the wheel and shaft have turned together through 20°.
  3. Frame 3 · 40° · the red blade has moved through 40° (direction conventional).

The northern and inner channel, the sluice gate

Active element
The sluice gate (stawidło): raising it regulates the jet.
Input
Impounded water in the channel.
Output
A jet directed onto the wheel.
Gear ratio
Not applicable.
Comes from
Water impounded outside the chain: the start of the drive
Goes on to
Franciszek wheel (link 4)

The chain begins with a human decision: the higher the gate, the thicker the jet. For Franciszek the museum describes impounding in the northern and inner channel and the control of the gate [3].

Limit of the model: the range of opening and the rate of flow are not given. The gate rises in three conventional steps. Frame 1 shows the absence of a jet with a dashed outline, not with a result of zero.

  1. Frame 1 · gate lowered: nothing flows under it (the absence of a jet is marked with an outline).
  2. Frame 2 · gate raised to half of the drawing’s range: a narrow jet.
  3. Frame 3 · gate raised to the full height of the drawing: a jet twice as high.

Sheet-metal branch: the ‘Marianna’ wheel

Sheet metal: a thinner sheet is longer

Active element
The gap between the rolls.
Input
Squeezing of the metal between the rolls.
Output
A change of shape: the sheet becomes thinner and longer (the model assumes constant width).
Gear ratio
Not applicable: there is no gearing in this link.
Comes from
Two-high rolling mill (link 2): feed of the material
Goes on to
Nowhere: this is the end of the chain, the finished sheet

A piece of metal has the same volume before the rolls and after them. If it comes out thinner, it has to be longer. The same principle as in the head of the nail, but the other way round: there the metal widened, here it lengthens.

Limit of the model: 22 → 10 are drawing units, not data from Maleniec. One pass is shown for clarity. The heating of the material and the number of passes are not in this page’s material.

  1. Frame 1 · the whole plate before the rolls: thickness 22, length 100.
  2. Frame 2 · half the plate has passed through: that part has thickness 10 and length 110, the rest is still 22 × 50.
  3. Frame 3 · the whole plate has passed through: thickness 10, length 220. The volume (22 × 100 = 10 × 220) is unchanged.

The non-reversing two-high rolling mill (1843): rotation gives feed

Active element
Two rolls, upper and lower.
Input
Rotation of both rolls in opposite directions. ‘Non-reversing’ means that the direction does not change.
Output
Feed of the material through the gap between the rolls.
Gear ratio
Not given. We do not assign this branch a value from the nail machine.
Comes from
Gearing from 1837 (link 3)
Goes on to
Sheet metal: the material comes out thinner (link 1)

The rolls turn in opposite directions, so they grip a piece of metal and draw it in between them. According to the previous version of this page, the non-reversing two-high rolling mill of 1843 is driven by the ‘Marianna’ wheel (to be checked).

Limit of the model: we assume no slip, so the feed equals the arc length of the roll. The diameter of the rolls and the rotation speed of the surviving mill are not in the material, and the drawing does not express them.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · the red marker on the sheet in its starting position.
  2. Frame 2 · 40° · the rolls have turned through 40°, the marker has moved by the arc length, about 0.7 of a roll radius.
  3. Frame 3 · 80° · feed of about 1.4 roll radii: twice the angle means twice the feed.

Gearing (1837): rotation into rotation

Active element
Meshing gear wheels.
Input
Rotation of the shaft of the ‘Marianna’ wheel.
Output
Rotation in the opposite direction (for a single pair of wheels). Value not given.
Gear ratio
Not given. The drawing has equal wheels, so it does not express the ratio.
Comes from
Marianna wheel with a wooden shaft (link 4)
Goes on to
Two-high rolling mill (link 2)

Gearing connects the source of motion with a machine that needs a different rotation. The simplest pair of wheels reverses the direction. A change of speed depends on the number of teeth, and we do not know it [2].

Limit of the model: the 1837 arrangement may have more wheels and differently arranged axes. The drawing is a single pair of wheels in one plane; equal wheels are a convention, not a 1:1 ratio.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · the markers of both wheels in the starting position.
  2. Frame 2 · 40° · the first wheel has turned through 40° in one direction, the second by the same amount in the opposite direction (equal wheels: a drawing convention).
  3. Frame 3 · 80° · that is about 3 teeth (14 teeth, one tooth = 25.7°). The direction is reversed, the ratio still unknown.

The ‘Marianna’ wheel (Ø 6 m): water turns into rotation

Active element
The blades of a large water wheel. The diameter of 6 m comes from the previous version of this page (to be checked).
Input
Pressure of the water on the blades.
Output
Rotation of the wheel together with its wooden shaft.
Gear ratio
Not applicable: the wheel and shaft are mounted together (an assumption of the model).
Comes from
Southern channel (link 5)
Goes on to
Gearing from 1837 (link 3)

The rotation of the wheel is the beginning of the drive path that ends in the rolling mill. The size of the wheel does not in itself say how fast or how strongly the whole system works.

Limit of the model: how the water reaches the wheel is not in the material; the water arrow and the direction of rotation are conventional. The drawing is not to a 6 m scale and does not compare the size of Marianna with Franciszek.

  1. Frame 1 · 0° · the red blade in its starting position.
  2. Frame 2 · 20° · the wheel and shaft have turned together through 20°.
  3. Frame 3 · 40° · the red blade has moved through 40° (direction conventional).

The southern channel, the sluice gate

Active element
The sluice gate (stawidło): raising it regulates the jet.
Input
Impounded water in the southern channel.
Output
A jet directed onto the wheel.
Gear ratio
Not applicable.
Comes from
Water impounded outside the chain: the start of the drive
Goes on to
Marianna wheel (link 4)

For Marianna the museum describes impounding in the southern channel and the control of the gate [3]. So energy begins with controlling the water, before any machine moves.

Limit of the model: the range of opening and the rate of flow are not given. The gate rises in three conventional steps. Frame 1 shows the absence of a jet with an outline, not with a zero.

  1. Frame 1 · gate lowered: nothing flows under it (the absence of a jet is marked with an outline).
  2. Frame 2 · gate raised to half of the drawing’s range: a narrow jet.
  3. Frame 3 · gate raised to the full height of the drawing: a jet twice as high.

Two branches side by side

Only now, after the nail branch, can it be set beside the rolling mill. The rows run from the product to the water, like the links above. Each branch has its own motion and its own, separately unknown gear ratio: nothing carries over from the nail machine to the rolling mill.

  1. 1 · Product

    NailsNail

    A head from deformation: a lower end, wider.

    Sheet metalSheet metal

    A thinner, longer sheet.

  2. 2 · Machine

    NailsNail machine

    Rotation → blow of the punch.

    Sheet metalTwo-high rolling mill (1843)

    Rotation → feed of the material.

  3. 3 · Transmission

    Nails32 m shaft

    One rotation for many stations. Wooden teeth as a fuse.

    Sheet metalGearing (1837)

    Rotation → rotation in the opposite direction (a pair of wheels).

  4. 4 · Wheel

    NailsFranciszek

    The smaller wheel; size not given.

    Sheet metalMarianna, Ø 6 m

    The large wheel, wooden shaft.

  5. 5 · Water

    NailsNorthern and inner channel

    The gate regulates the jet.

    Sheet metalSouthern channel

    The gate regulates the jet.

  6. Gear ratio

    Nails

    Not given. There is no value in the material; it is neither 1:1 nor zero.

    Sheet metal

    Not given. A separate unknown, not inherited from the nail machine.

If you stand before the wheel

  1. Two channels. Find the southern channel (for Marianna) and the northern one (for Franciszek), and the gate mechanism [3].
  2. Marianna’s shaft. Check where the shaft enters the rolling-mill hall. An earlier version of this page indicated a passage through the outer wall; to be confirmed on site.
  3. Wooden teeth. In the nail shop, find the wheel with wooden teeth on the long shaft [3].
  4. A question not answered here. Do the nail-machine stations take their drive from a common shaft, and the rolling mill from a separate gearing? Compare with the drawings above, not with our assumptions.

The wheels do not always turn: the museum makes starting them dependent on hydrological and technical conditions [2]. The model above works even when they stand still. Check opening hours and availability on the museum’s website; we do not give them here.

People are missing here

The drive chain shows what the water and the metal did. It does not show who stood at the nail machine or the rolling mill, how long a shift lasted or how the work was divided. The material supplied contains no such information, so we do not guess at it and we quote no one.

To be commissioned: accounts, documents or a description of the work from the museum’s curator of the collection, with the right to publish. Until they exist, this place stays empty.

Limits, removals and sources

What we do not know

  • The gear ratios, revolutions per minute and working pace of any link.
  • The type of mechanism of the surviving nail machines (eccentric, crank or another).
  • How the water reaches both wheels (from below or from above).
  • Whether the metal was worked hot and how many times it passed through the rolls.
  • Whether this one ironworks may be generalised to other works on the Czarna Konecka: it may not; this describes a single museum complex.

What changed compared with the previous version

  • The principles quiz: removed. It was replaced by three frames of the cycle and a fixed record of the input and output of each link; no points.
  • Continuous animation and choice of pace: removed. Pace is not a historical measurement, and a manual step is enough to see the change of motion. The page has no script-driven animation.
  • The notes card and saving in the browser: removed. The page saves nothing and does not read saved data from the previous version.
  • The photograph of the hall from Wikimedia Commons: not embedded, so that the page works offline. The link remains in the sources.
  • Kept: the two drive paths, their comparison, the caution about the model and the source links.

Where these claims come from

The works operated in 1784–1967; the buildings, equipment and hydropower system are protected
[1]
The path from Marianna to the rolling mill and from Franciszek to the nail shop; the surviving rolling mill, nail machines, presses, shears and blowers; starting the wheels depends on conditions
[2]
Both wheels, the supply channels, wooden teeth as a fuse
[3]
Marianna’s diameter 6 m; the gearing of 1837; the non-reversing two-high rolling mill of 1843; the 32 m shaft
Carried over from the previous version of the page, without naming a subpage. Probably [2] or [3]. To be checked; for that reason these figures carry no footnote [2] or [3] in the link descriptions.

Sources

  1. Zabytkowy Zakład Hutniczy: the institution’s websiteLink carried over from the previous version; it was not reopened in this version. Needs checking.
  2. Zwiedzanie Zabytkowego Zakładu Hutniczego [Visiting the Historic Ironworks]Link carried over from the previous version; not opened. Needs checking.
  3. Pokazy i rekonstrukcje [Shows and reconstructions]Link carried over from the previous version; not opened. Needs checking.
  4. Photograph of the rolling-mill hall, Dariusz Jaskulski, Wikimedia CommonsLicence according to the previous version: CC BY-SA 3.0. The photograph is neither embedded nor altered here; the licence and description must be checked before use.
  5. Bartosz Ciechanowski, Mechanical WatchInspiration for the way of discovering things (one question per step). It is not a source of facts about Maleniec.

The drawings on this page are original diagrams, not a map, technical documentation or a photograph. The page was not checked in a browser here.