Chris, I happen to have a smoke drum from a seismograph of that period. If 
this is for some kind of project your working on,  I'll be happy to take a 
picture and email it to you. There is no name on it so I can't tell you the 
maker or how old it is. However, based on a few pictures I have seen, I 
guess it to be 1850 - 1900. The drum has a 11-inch diameter and is 6-inches 
wide. The spokes in the drum are S shaped. The drum has narrow slit in it 
to feed the ends of 4-inch paper to clamps inside the drum. The steel drum 
has a waxed paper writing pad affixed to the steel drum to create a flat 
surface.
Regards, Steve Hammond PSN Aptos, CA

-----Original Message-----
From:	ChrisAtUpw@....... [SMTP:ChrisAtUpw@........
Sent:	Saturday, March 09, 2002 8:29 PM
To:	psn-l@..............
Subject:	Re: Smokeing paper

In a message dated 10/03/02, SFQUAKE06@........... writes:

> Can anyone please describe to me the art of smoking paper? No, I do not 
mean
> that kind!  I mean the kind that was used with the old mechanical seismic 
>

Hi Dave,

       You clamp the paper tightly onto the drum so that it is well in
contact all over. Then you make up a wick for a paraffin burner, usually in 
a
bit of copper / brass tube soldered through the lid of an 8 oz tin. Put
paraffin in the bottom of the tin and dip in the wick. Light the wick when 
it
gets wet. Adjust the length of the wick with pliers to give a good smoky
flame and rotate the paper on the drum in the smoke till it is black all
over. You can 'write' on the trace with a pointed scriber or similar.
       To permanantly fix the eventual trace, carefully remove the paper 
from
the drum and spray THE BACK with hair lacquer so that it is saturated. If 
you
spray the front, you won't have a trace left. You may want to give the 
front
a spray coat after the paper has dried thoroughly. Remember that the spray
lacquer may be highly inflammable - keep well away from any flame. Don't
forget to put your wife's hair lacquer back exactly where you found it, 
when
you have finished with it. (How do I know? We still 'smoke' barograph 
traces
this way.)

       Regards,

       Chris Chapman
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