The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-11-27

] seM ~ the supplying of water. Great
care mas been exercised in guarding
against accident by fire, every room and
nsilyay being supplied with 6re-hose
Es9 tnat every foor. can be drenched
aimost Immediately, II necessary. The
toilet arrangements for the vast humble,
OF employees are perfect; hot and cold
water. with abundance of room and
hghh serve to make this one Of the
pleasantest rooms in the building. and
could be copied with advan taee by
many employers throughout the conn,
try. The sanitary arrangem ents art
complete, the consequences or which
are health and cheerfulness expressed
by every one engaged in the establish.
ment.
The first floor of the centre buildino
Is occupied by the offices, which are 10.
Gated on each side of the hallway. in
the centre Of the building, aud by The
machine shops and forwarding room. r
The basement is devoted to the en-.
glne room, the smiths shop, hardening
room, punching room, and other Dor
tons that are set aside for the storage
OF materials used in the business. The
engine used is S0horse power, was
built by the Putnam Machine Com,
pany of Fitchburg. Mass., and is, in
Itself, a triumph of mechanical skill
The boilers, OF which there are two
are the well-known Harrison. On
this floor the heavy work is performed
all the parts being wrought in shape
from the crude materials; there is also
storage for the various tools used in
punching into shape all the parts and
movements OF watch. Where steel
enters In the construction. of q watch
the American only is used, as that has
been found by actual test to be the only
article that can be used with any de-
gree OF reliability, the imported article
many times, having defects that condemn
it entirely. The only imported articles
used by the United States Watch Com
pany are the precious stones for jew
cling the movements and the enamel
used 10 making the dials. In the room
set aside for the use OF mechanics in
the construction Of machinery used in
the establishment there is a corps Of
some twenty-five men, whose sole bust
ness is to construct aud keep in repair
the various machines throughout the
building, Of which there are something
like 500, and, with but few exceptions
not two alike, each one of which has
been designed and adapted for an es
pec;al purpose Some Of the machines
are novelties, performing as they dc
various portion Of the work. The
duties of on particular machine used
are various, yet, in its performance Of
them all, It is fauhless On this ma
chine are made the steady pins Of the
watch; the wire, being fed in the ma
chine, it is cut of, headed. the thread
cut, and screwed in it's position stimuli
taneously; while in some other cases SC
minute is the work, and so deliberately
must it be performed that dozen ma.
chimes aid in its completion.
In the centre of the second floor the
office of the superintendent is situated
and in which the private drawings are
kept. The drawings of all parts OF the
movements are on an enlarged scale
and upon which are marked the mea
| surements of the private standard guage
that is used by this company. So &C
curate is this machine that the very
smallest possible fraction of difference
can be OWNED, even to the twenty.filth
thousandth part Of an inch. To make
this more plain, and to show the exact
ness required on the part Of every move
ment, we will say that the finest hair
from the human head will show by this
unerring finger difference of one-hali
| inch.
The process OF making the compen.
sating balances is one Of interest; they
are made OF brass and steel, with gold
screws, and to complete them requires
the services OF many experts before
they can be finished. The operation OF
making and polishing the pallet jeUels,
which are OF fine ruby, is one OF great
delicacy, giving, as they do with their
perfect angles, impulse through the fork
to the vibrations of the balance. When
we consider that it takes fully one hun
dred thousand of these to weigh one
pound, or more than eight thousand to a
sinqle ounce, we are indeed at fault
whether to admire the perfection OF the
work or applaud the genius who con.
ceiyed the manner in which it is done.
impossible as this statement may seem
to the uninitiated, there are still greater
wonders performed. Steel screws, per,
feet in every particular-head. slot and
thread-yet 80 small that it takes more
than five hundred thousand of them to
weigh a pound, Tor more than forty
thousand to single ounce and to be
seen to advantage the eye must be
aided by magnifying glass OF some
power.
The facility with which the precious
stones are cut up and worked is aston.
;sbinp. when we consider their extreme
hardness and brittle nature; but In.
penuity has again displayed itself, and
been brought to bear especially upon
this point, and every obstacle overcome,
so that the hardest stone Is worked
with comparative ease. Among the
ston es used for jeweling purposes are the
ruby, sapphire, Spanish topaz, garnet,
cbrysolite and aqua-marine, the more
valuable of which are used in the high.
or Grade of watch. The process OF
working these gems is one requiring
great care, and they undergo many OPP
erations before they are brought to an
accountable condition. To make the
roller jeaoels, working in the slot OF the
fork the rough stone is first sawn into
slabs after which it is sawn into squares;