The Shot Tower Haulitorni

First of all, my camera is working! I'm so relieved. Many thanks for keeping your fingers crossed - it must have helped.

The Shot Tower Haulitorni is one of Tampere's most loved landmarks and it's the only existing shot tower in Finland. It was built in 1908 and the production ended in 1972. The height of the tower is 55 meters.

In a shot tower, lead is heated until molten, then dropped through a copper sieve high in the tower. The liquid lead forms tiny spherical balls by surface tension, then solidifies as it falls. The partially cooled balls are caught at the floor of the tower in a water-filled basin. The now fully cooled balls are checked for roundness and sorted by size; those that are "out of round" are remelted. A slightly inclined table is used for checking roundness. The maximum size of a shot is limited by the height of the tower, because larger shot sizes must fall farther to cool. A polishing with a slight amount of graphite is necessary for lubrication and to prevent oxidation.

Set

+6° C, sunny


P.S. We'll get Leevi home tomorrow!