Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-04-24
The Rutland Manufacturing Conn
pany.

| IA Representative OF lHE HERALD called
Saturday at the works of the Rutland
Manufacturing Company, or the ''Chalr
Factory" as it is usually termed, situated
on West street and occupying the
two corners at the intersection of West
and Forrest streets. Dropping into the
office on the west corner of Forest street
he found Mr.. Atwood member of the
company and its agent, who although
suffering from a severely cut finger,
kindly consented to ''show' the reporter
through the premises.
THE WORKS.
The company's works consist of four
buildings, the mandatory, huge store
house and two drying sheds. They have
about three acres of land, which, besides
containing the buildings, affords ample
room for rough stock, which is piled
about in large quantities, some in boards
and some partly finished. The main
building on the east side of Forest street
and fronting on the railroad, where it
crosses West street, is 50x80 it., built of
brick, and has four floors besides the
attic. In wing at the rear is the boiler
and engine room, the boiler being thirty
six feet long and the wheel twelve feet
in diameter
| THE MACHINERY.
This engine supplies motive power to
run all the machinery, which, beginning
with saw mill, includes an almost in
finite variety of ingenious and compli-
Gated contrivances for planning, saving,
both straight and crooked, boring, punch
ing, dove-tailing and all the various
| processes which bedstead and chair stuff
has to go through. There are two dry
ing rooms, one 50x10 it,, heated by a
series of steeam pipes, ana the other,
directly over the boiler room and being
heated from it, 50x20 fit. Adjoining the
latter is the bending room, where stuff
is shaped for char backs, etc. On the
east side of the building is the saw mill,
where the initial process begins. After
the material leaves the saw mill it passes
through a number of planings, turnings,
savings, etc, and is handled many times
and by many men until it comes out the
complete chair or bedstead.
SETTING UP AND SHIPPING.
Passing through the first and second
stories, where the whirr of wheels, the
buzz of saws, the grating of planners and
the crack of wood as it comes in contact
with swiftly revolving saw or smooth
ing belt, make one almost dizzy, we
escape from the labarynth of machinery
to the setting up department, where the
JOINTS are fitted and the article made
whole from its many parts. Here we
also find a packing room opening for
convenient delivery right upon the rail
road track, on which a car can be run
up to the very door of the mandatory.
Here all work is shipped for the New
York and Philadelphia markets. The
attic connecting with the basement by
al elevator is used for storage only.
THE STORE HOUSE.
On the opposite side of Forest street is
a large wooden building, fronting in
West street, and containing the office on
the east corner 1t il 50x80 TT, and
has five floors besides the attic. The
building is principally new and mostly
used for storage of finished stock, though
in the rear stable is fitted up and in
the basement, in the front part, is the
painting and vanishing department. All
stock stored in this building is for coun-
try trade, while that shipped from the
first building is for the city markets
and is not painted.
SOME ROOM
Besides these two buildings the com
pany have two drying sheds on either
side Of Forest street. The larger of
these is 110x40ft. The whole flooring
room of all the company's buildings is
something over $4,000 feet, the most
westerly one alone containing $4,000.
WHAT TREY MAKE.
They employ seventy hands about the
shops The articles manufactured are
chairs with wood and cane bottoms,
including rocking chairs of both kinds,
.
their attention to these articles in the
order named, making chairs for both
the city and country markets, bedsteads
only for the country market and era
dies only in limited quantities, although
gradually going more into that line of
business,
WHAT THEY UsE,
| They each year consume upwards Of
200 cords of wood, some being reduO-
2, the log and the rest purchased
ed frol. About 800 hands are en-
in boards. >t:1g the cane seats of
employed in we,>' fracture This
the chairs they man Ia Ia Rut,
work is all done on 'slde, So az.
land and more in half a dozen other I,
ferent towns adjoining, while Catholic
charitable institution in New York has
a hundred of its inmates on the work.
The materials used are princil 7ally black
walnut, Ohio white wood. bass wood and
native spruce for bedsteads.
THE MANAGEMENT.
The company is regularly incorporat-
ed, and its affairs are managed by two
members who, we understand, own about
two-thirds of the stock, Messrs- Ruggles
and Atwood, the former Seer etary and
Treasurer, and the latter Agent In the |
office the bookkeeper, Mr.. o. L. Rob
bins, is always to be found and ready to
attend to your wants.
FlsH.-Dr. NJ. C. Edmunds, of Wes-
ton, one of the State fish commissioners,
passed thrQugh here, on Friday, en- |
route for Lamoille and Onion rivers. He |
4, oonlz;nn for nroner localities in which |