23 Jan 1847 Mr. Dawson, the watchmaker, has made a very ingenious piece of mechanism, for registering the number of strokes made by the engines of H.M.S. Inflexible. A small tooth inserted in the main shaft, hits a lever every evolution that it makes, and the lever acting upon the same principle as the pendulum of a clock, puts in motion an index hand, which of course makes a movement for every evolution, and a dial shows the number of movements made by the hand. By connecting two other hands and dials to show hundreds and thousands, while the first one registers tens, an accurate register up to forty thousand strokes can be kept, and as that is more than the engines will make in twenty-four hours, it is sufficient for any purpose, as the number of strokes can be entered in the log, and the machine be reset every day at twelve o'clock.
SG & SGTL ; Vol 4 ; Page 27.
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