A glossary of mining and metallurgical terms

92 A GLOSSARY OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL TERM8.
Vufff vu[/g, or vugh. A cavity in the rock, usually lined with a
crystalline incrustation. See Geode.
Wad-hook. A tool with two spiral steel blades for removing frag-
ments ffoni the bottom of deep bore-holes.
Wagon. A four-wheeled vehicle used in coal mines, usually con-
taining 75 to 100 cubic feet.
Wagon-breast. A breast into which wagons can be taken.
Wale, Xe\7C. To clean coal by picking out the refuse l)y hand.
The boys who do this are called Walers.
Wall. 1 . The side of a level or drift. 2. The country-rock bound-
ing a vein laterally.
Wall-plates, Corn. The two side-pieces of a timber frame in a
shaft, parallel to the strike of the lode when the shaft is sunk on the
lode. The other two pieces are the end-pieces.
Washer. See Ore-washer.
Water-jacket. See Jacket.
Waste,- Newc. Old workings. The signification seems to include
that of both goaf and gob.
Wastrel. A tract of waste land or any waste material.
Watei'-barrel or Water-tank. A barrel or box, with a self-acting
v^alve at the bottom, used for hoisting water in lieu of a pump.
Water-level. 1. The level at which, by natural or artificial drain-
age, water is removed from a mine or mineral deposit. 2. A drift
at the water-level.
Water-packer. A water-tight packing of leather between the pipe
and the walls of a bore-hole.
Way-shaft. See Blind-shaft.
Weather-door. A door in a level to regulate the ventilating
current.
Weathering. Changing under the etfect of continued exposure to
atmos])heric agencies.
Wedging-curb or Wedging-crib, Eng. A curb used to make a
water-tight packing between the tubbing in a shaft and the rock-
walls, by means of split deals, moss, and wedges, driven in between
the curb and the rock.
Weld. To join pieces of metal by pressure, at a temperature be-
low that of complete fusion.
Weld-iron. Wrought- iron. See Iron and Steel.
Weld- steel. See Steel.
Well. The crucible of a furnace.