Two centuries of shipbuilding by the Scotts at Greenock

102 The Saw Mill.
man in the steelhouse fixed to the mast of the crane
56 ft. above the quay level.
There is on the opposite wharf of the dock a 20-ton
travelling electric crane, and throughout the Works there
are many portable and hydraulic cranes, in addition to the
hydraulic and other cranes commanding the machine tools.
Reference may here be made to the Company's graving
dock, illustrated on Plate XLV., adjoining page 101. The
length is 360 ft., and it is largely used for docking ships
for repair, as well as for cleaning ships preparatory to trial.
Our view shows a torpedo-boat destroyer in the dock. The
pumps for the emptying of the dock are electrically driven.
We may return now to our narrative of the construction
of a ship, and deal with the supplementary departments,
including those of joiners, smiths, plumbers, sheet-iron,
and other workers.
Wood-work forms a large and important item in most
of Scotts' ships, as many of them are for passenger service.
We illustrate on Plate XLVI. one of the saw-mills. It
is self-contained, having its own power plant, including a
compound engine, having cylinders 15^ in. and 27 Jr in. in
diameter by 44-in. stroke. There are four vertical saw
frames, the largest having a 36-in. frame, six rollers, and
two bogies to take in the heaviest logs. In addition, there
are circular saws, ranging up to 6 ft. in diameter, a swing
cross-cut saw, special planing, moulding, and turning
machines to do heavy work, and saw-sharpeners, grind-
stones, punching machines and anvils to carry out all repairs
and fettling of the blades, etc. There are also large steam-
heated drying stoves, and a timber- drying yard of about
three acres in extent. The overhead travelling cranes
range up to 5 tons capacity, and the rails on which they
run are extended on columns across the yard. The saw-mill
is the largest and best-equipped in the district, and does
the sawing and planing of timber for three of the largest