Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-02-19
HOW Watches are Made.

temper, and an eyewitness says they SEEM
ed to be greatly delighted Herewith.
|
How Watches are Made.
Mp. Willis, a short time since, visit
ed the factory of the American " attCih.
Company at Waltham, in company with
Mr.. Robinson, one of the proprietors.-
We make the following extract from Mr..
Willis account of the establishment, in
| the last number of the Home Journal:
] 1t Is curious necessity of 4 watch fac
| tory that it should form a part Of 4 beau
titul landscape-a secluded place, moist
| soil, or the bank of river being requisite
to its operations. The original site of the
| factory at Roxbury was abandoned, bu-
cause the light and dusty character of the
soil, and the degree to which the atmos-
phere was charged with dust by the wind,
and the industrial movements of the
nelghborhood, material interfered with
the nicely of the work. Hence was chos-
en- the present beautiful site on the bend
OF the Charles river, where the hundred
or two OF male and female operatives, as
| they sit at their benches, regulating the
different movements of the. machinery,
can look out of the windows before them
upon bits of river scenery that would en-
chant an artist
1t Is another poetic popularity of watch
making, lat Waltham, at least, that the
more delicate lingering of woman is
found to work best at it. OF the large
number of persons employed in the fac
tory, more than half, if | observed right
ly, were of the sisterhood left idle by the
sewing-machine-a happy compensation of
Providencel Gradually, in this way, prob
ably, the indoor employment of all trades
and vocations that do not require muscu-
lar strength will be given over to woman.
The watch factory is of brick, two stor-
les in height, and inclosing quardrangu-
lar court, and along the closely-placed in
ner and outer window, stand the work
benches at which are seated the success
slons of operatives, each of the one hun
dred and twenty parts of the watch re-
quiring separate manufacture and adjust
ment. What impressed me particularly,
as walked through these long galleries
of seated and patient articles, was the
exceeding delicacy and minuteness of it
allEthe inevitable machinery accomplish
ed with such powerful exactness the al
most invisible wonders of transformation
and construction, and human aid seeming
only needed to supply the material and
measure the work, with movements of
hand scarce perceptible.
The SUGGESTIONS of minute instruments
were like long ranges of little fairies, each
weaving its cobweb miracles, under care
full sentinePs experimenting eye. 1t is
the novelty of the Waltham factory that
this is so-machinery doing the hundred
little dexterities that have hitherto been
done only by the variable hand of the
workman. With the machinery once
regulated, therefore, any number of watch
es of the same size and pattern are made
with invariable exactness-all equally
sure to keep time whereas, formerly,
each watch was only probability by itself.
The minuteness of very essential parts
of the watch dstonishes the visitor A
small heap of grain was shown to us, look
ing like iron filings, or grains of pepper
from pepper castor, apparently the mere
dust of the machine which turned them
out-and these, when examined with a
microscope, were seen to be perfect screws,
each to be driven to its place with a
screwdriver. 1t is one of the Waltham
statistics, which is worth remembering
that ga single pound of steel, costing but
fifty cents, is manufactured into one hun
dred thousand screws, which are worth
eleven hundred dollars"
The poetic part of a watch, of course,
is what the truth in woman's heart has
been so often compared to-the jewel up
on which all its movements are pivoted,
land which knows no wearing away nor
variation and to see these precious truth
jewels and their adjustment was one of
my main points of curiosity. The aid of
the microscope was again to be called in,
to see these-the precious stones, as we
first saw them in the glass vial, resembling
grains of brilliant sand. They are rubies,
sapphirs, or chrysolites, and TO be drilled
by the diamonds point into pivoted reli-
ances. The PROCESS is thus described in
the article to which am indebted for my
statistics:
The Jewels are first drilled with dia-
mond, and them opened out diamond
dust, on soft hair-like iron wire, their
perforations having certain microscopic
differences. In like manner the .pivots
of steel that are to run in these Jewels,
without wearing out in the least, must
be exquisitely polished. BY this opera
ton their size it slightly reduced. The
jewels and pivots, after being thus finish
ed, are classified by means Of a gauge, so
delicately graduated as TO detect the diff
ference of the ten thousandths part of an
inch. The jewels are classified by means
of the pivots, the jewels and pivots of the
same number fitting each other exactly.
The sizes of the several pivots and Jewels
in each watch are carefully recorded I'M
der its number, so that if any one of eth
er shall fail in any part of the world, by
sending the number of the watch to Wal
than, the part desired may be readily
and cheaply replaced, with unerring GER
tainty.
On this, and all other operations, too
minute for detailed description-the first,
cutting of the stamps and dies, from sheet
of brass, hardening and forming the bar
rels and chambers, coiling and fastening
the main springs. gearing wheels, and
cutting their teeth, sharping of pinions
and axles, cutting of escape wheels, burn
ing and marking the porcelain dials, and
final putting together and adjusting of
the various parasitic superintendent,
Mr.. Denison, discoursed to US most inter-
estingly. / could not but think, as lis
tened to the philosopher of mechanic art,
telling US these beautiful secrets with his
quiet concentrativeness of voice and eye,
and his brief, expressed language, how
much better it was than the seeing of q
play or the reading of novel. Ny two
hours of following him and listening TO
his discourse with illustrations" were
like the passing of dream.