Gin

In military mechanics, is a machine for raising great weights: it is composed of three long legs, one of them being longer than the rest, and called the pry-pole . The other two are kept at a proper distance by means of two iron bars fixed on one of the legs by a staple pa ing through a hole at one end; the other end has a hook which enters into a staple fixed into the other leg so as to be taken off or put on at pleasure. At about 3 feet from the bottom is a windla , upon which the cable is wound; and the three legs are joined together at the top by an iron bolt, about which they move; to this bolt is also fixed an iron clevis to which is hooked the blocks and fall. When the gin stands upright with legs at a proper distance, one end of the cable is fastened to a gun, mortar, or other weight; and the other pa es through the pulleys and about the roller, which is turned round by means of hand-spikes pa ing through the holes in the end of the roller; whilst a man holds the cable tight, the gun is raised to the height required, so that the carriage may be put under it. The modern gin has a windla with pawl and ratchet attachments. There are three different kinds of gins,—the field and siege , the garrison , and the casemate gins; and they only differ in their size and weight.