Coal Miners’ Pocketbook: Principles, Rules, Formulas and Tables
BEKMM: 2023.110.1
This month, we will be taking a look at a lovely historical text from 1928.
This book, Coal Miners’ Pocketbook: Principles, Rules, Formulas and Tables, originally belonged to Joseph David Johnson, father of KMM volunteer Mick Johnson. Joseph was a ventilation officer at Betteshanger Colliery.
This “pocketbook” is a hefty 1,273 pages full of information, explanations, graphs, tables, and formulas relating to the mines and mining methods. Some of the content includes:
- Weights and measures
- Mathematics
- Strength of materials
- Hydrostatics
- Hydraulics
- Masonry
- Heat and Fuels
- Steam Engines
- Electricity
- Surveying
- Opening a mine
- Explosives and blasting
- Mine drainage and pumping machinery
- Ventilation of mines
- Mine Safety
This is the 12th edition of this pocketbook, with updates to new technologies and methods. The book’s introduction states: “The most noticeable advancement in coal mining during recent years has been the adoption of coal-loading and coal-conveying machinery.” This has resulted in new descriptions and illustrations, as well as new sections such as Cutting, Loading, and Conveying Machinery.