The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-03-31

The Clipper Mower and Reaper.
Moore's Rural New Yorker thus speaks
of the celebrated Clipper Mower and
Reaper, and the works where it is man.
ufactured:
The Clipper Mower and Reaper Works
are situated at Yonkers, fifteen miles
above the city of New York, on the
Hudson River. The main front is three
hundred feet in length-the foundry,
blacksmith shops and other buildings in
the rear, extending back one hundred
and fifty feet. The main building was
originally erected for the manufacture of
firearms, but on the return of peace was
transformed into a mandatory of field
artillery for the more peaceful uses of
the harvest field, of which some five
thousand are being turned out for the
present seasons trade.
There is good idea in giving good
name to thing. Sometimes the name
is not fair indication of the quality of
the thing. but in the case OF the Clipper
Mower and Reaper, the name does carry
the right idea. We had often seen this
machine in the fields of it's triumphs, and
recently took an opportunity to visit the
place where it is made and see how it is
made, so that we might speak from actual
observation of its materials and work
manship, from the wood, iron and steel
as they lie in the rough, before they re-
ceive tho touch of tho foundry, the ham
mer, the plane, the lathe or the paint and
varnish, which sometimes hide a multi
tude of sins, but in this case serve to pro-
tect and embellish what is already excel
lent in the quality of its material and
workmanship.
In the selection of iron for the castings,
great care is exercised to secure quality
which shall be uniformly fine and tough,
and, having this standard fixed, tests are
constantly applied to see that the metal
is kept up TO il. BY the exercise of the
same care in selecting the steel, as well
AS by the peculiar form OF the parts, the
manufacturers are able to combine high
degree of strength with a very portable
lightness in weight, so that the Clipper
Mower and Reaper is to the harvest field
what the clipper vessel is TO the sea. Still
farther to combine compactness with
strength and efficiency, the machinery is
so far simplified that every part has to
both be something and do something;
thus the sleeve which incloses tho axle
shaft and the casing which incloSes the
gear, not only take the place of the frame
of ordinary two-wheel machines, but also
contain all the Dearin gS of shaft and gear,
so nicely aligned and protected that the
parts can neither be got out of place nor
reached by dust, thus making of three
principal pieces framework, bearings and
castings that would otherwise involve
fifteen to twenty separate pieces, with all
their liability to arrangement, of bolts,
nuts, washers, caps, ETC., etc.
The fingers are steel, formed solid, and
the slot sawed out afterward; then the
finger is hardened at the point and cut
ONLY, so that the steel finger is of the
possible material at any place
where it may be likely to be bent. We
saw finger, taken ut random, the cap
beat down close with hammer and rails |
ed back to its place with chisel twelve |
times in succession before it was broken. |
The finger bar is of steel. The knifehead |
has a ball joint, perfectly fitting i'll any |
position. As Mower, the Clipper has |
a forward cut, so that both the team and |
the work are under the eye of the driver; |
the cutter bar is easily adjusted TO any
inequality of the ground, and to pass OBJ |
the axle is long, so that the ]
rides steadily, and the seat is |
low, by both of which latter arrange |
ments the driver is not liable TO be |
thrown from the machine.
These are briefly the vital points of the |
Clipper, as a Mower, in which capacity it |
has achieved high reputation in the few |
years it has been before the public.
The Clipper is made of four sizes:-No. |
l is a one horse-mower for the use of |
small farmers: No. = is light two-hOrse |
machine; No. is a medium two-hOrse |
mower; No. 4 is the large machine which |
is used as a combined reaper and mower. |
In the process of the construction of the |
Clipper, every item must pass rigid in |
spection, from the first casting i'll the |
to the last touch of the lathe and |
the file. Every part must correspond to |
a certain standard, which is determined |
by jig and guage. Every pattern in the |
must be kept to an exact stand |
ard; every nut and screw must be per- |
feet fit; every shaft and bearing must pass |
the memorable test of the gauge, which |
marks fault to the one-thousandth part |
of an inch; and to this end the fools |
themselves must be inspected to detect |
the wear of taps, bolt cutters, and even |
of the gauges themselves.
This perfection of mechanism is one of |
the fruits of the war, and had its origin |
in the gun works at Springfield, Mass, |
from which place some of the workmen 1
IN the Clipper works, introducing the |
same accuracy into agricultural nipple
nents; indeed, there is a superior quality |
Of mechanics in all the shops of the Clip
per Works, comprising working force
Of near two hundred in the several de-
partments. In view of the great compe
-ition in this class of manufacture, a |
leading necessity is the production of the |
very best quality of work at the lowest |
possible cost, which can be attained only |
by the best of workmen. and by the use |
a no tx-ln IF 1al, hi
cry, both of which are prominent features |
in the Clipper Mower and Reaper Works |
at Gonkers.
Our fellow-citizcns, Messrs. Andrews,
Mayes q Co., are the agents for the sale |
Of this machine, who inform lis that they |
sold them TO the following persons, and |
10 whom we would refer any of our farm |
ers desiring to purchase a first class
Mower and Reaper,
Hon. JAS. III. THOMAS,
Maj. Ben. HARLAN,
JOHN GLENN, EsQ.,t
JOHN NICHOLSON, |
WIN. +. HENDERSON,
w. J. SowELI.,
DIR. A. l.. PILLOW,
REV. w. III. HUGHES,
III. G. KIRK,
JOHN w. CHEAIRs,
j. NJ. SCOTT MAYES,
J. H. PARRISH,
a. Ii. WALKER,
w. ii. ENGLISH.
Col. ID. FoUNT. WADE,
Notice.
We are now receiving and opening
one ofthc
LARGEST AND IIhNDSoME>T
Stocks of Dry Goods that VIC have
ever