[TheForge] Quesiton about a weird event

[Demon Buddha]

marilyn traber 011221 wrote:
___
>  
> OK, just discussed this with Rob, who recently retired from the Navy as 
> Machinists Mate.
>  
> He said:
>  
> Actually, the shafts are NOT a solid piece of metal, but rather a hollow tube 


	Yes, I typed out of order, so to speak.

> loaded with sand- the tube is actually stronger than a solid billet.

	Now that bit I didn't know.  Sand?  For dampening, perhaps?

 > And,
> there are a number of couplings down its length. If, perchance someone wanted 
> to get something from point A to point B, without dealing with annoyances 
> like Customs, it's pretty easy to seperate the shaft at a coupling, lift an 
> end ( a crowbar works just fine) , remove some sand and replace it with 
> whatever you like, then insert some all-thread into the gap and put 
> everything back together. At the other end of the voyage, it's quite easy to 
> reverse the process. 
>  
> And, it could easily be done with none of the normal crew the wiser, although 
> usually someone knows something - Shaft Alley is rarely visited by the 
> working crew. If it is, however, and if sand is noticed anywhere, it's time 
> to call "All Stop!" and investigate, because the sand is usually evidence of 
> incipient catastrophic failure. 

	Ah... sand as telltale.  Very clever.

	But the shaft didn't fail at a coupling.  I forgot to mention that 
there was evidence of intense heat.  Thermal discoloration of the shaft 
and buring of the area close to it.  Nobody noticed the event, perhaps 
because the alley isn't a common hangout.