The factory, a complex integration of many people s work, required a new form or organization. The bell is a symbol of the growing importance of that structure. Ten apprentices sleep in the garret. He notes that he makes armorers as well as arms. In part because the government was his customer, Whitney developed advanced precision in communicating the cost of doing business.
Gauges communicate the complex and irregular structures of gun parts.
Constant testing develops uniformity within the Armory and consistency between private and federal armories. Whitney s dream of uniform production was not completely fulfilled.