The Grange advance., 1874-02-14
Hub and Spoke Factory OF Betcher l.
Alley.

hands Of its present proprietors, Mes$rs.
Chas. Betcher and E. II. Alley. who are
two Of the first and most prominent business
men of our city. Mr. Betcher has been
engaged in the hardware business in our
city since 1856. and Mr.. Alley has for many
years dealt largely in agricultural ma
chinery, and has served as Mayor Of the
city. The firm keep in the city ware rooms
for storing their manufactures preparatory
to sale and shipment. We called at the
office of the company and their gentlemanly
| book keeper, Mr.. G.. G.. Chills, gave us :.
! look into these ware rooms, and we were
somewhat surprised at the stacks Of hubs,
bedsteads, &c.
| The factory itself is situated at the vii
lage OF Eslaile, Pierce county, Wis, some
eight miles from this city. in the midst Of
the heavy timber \ little stream, known
as the Isabelle, Supplies :, fine water power
by which the saw mill is run. The water
power has been considerably improved dur
ing the past year by raising the dam ant:
other improvements, and is capable Of be-
ing f"r:iier enlarged. In the saw mill the
logs arc sawei in lumber, and the luIn.,r,
re-sawed and prepared for the factory
proper.
The factory proper is u building swc
stories in height, 4Oxl20 feet, and is con-
nected with the saw milk by railway tracks
On the frs; floor of the factory we find
number steam engine, common plan
ing machine, a circular 'p!aning machine,
tenoning machines, hub machines capable
Of making one hundred sets Of hubs Der
day, spoke mae hi'7e#with a capacity OF
making fourteen spokes per minute; board
saws, cut off saws, &c., &c.
The second story contains turning lathe>
for turning all kinds of handles, be,lsteads.
&c., &c.
The loft is used for storing manufactured
articles.
Next is the steaming and bending house
, which is 3Ox3O feet and two stories high.
Here the timber is steamed and bent into
shape for bob runners, wagon-felloes,
plow handles, &C. The hubs are steamed
and then painted with a coat Of varnish
t paint to exclude the air and then dried
r The machinery is all Of the latest improved
kinds. The SPOKE machine alone cost ST.
2OO 1t works like being of life and intel
ligence; it seizes the timber, dresses, turns
and curves each spoke in a manner that
: looks Il little marvellous to one not accus-
toned to seeing its operations. The end
! less saw used for saving plow beams is a
vast improvement over the old kind that
required all the muscle of two strong men
to operate; it comes around with the reeu-
. larity of clock work and enables one man
G to place the timber so as to cut into any
J. desired shape as easily as to cut out pie
e crust. The firm deal largely in these plov
o beams, having just received an order from
!, one firm. for FIVE thousand. 1t is surpris-
ing the number of buildings it takes for
y one Of these factories. Besides the build
1 ings mentioned there are numerous sheds
d for storing finished work, blacksmith shops,
}, a dry house, and shops for fnishjdg. The
o company now have on hand ]sfge amount
Z Of excellent TIMBER
Il The village is covered>%ith logs belong
!. ing to the ~factory. We heard an expert.
enced wagon maker, who had been looking
II through the works, and examining the
l. quality of the timber, say that the present
stock of timber was as good, if not better
5 than that used by any Of the best factories,
O. and that there was no reason why, with
Q such timber, this factory could not success.
l. fully compete with the oldest and best fac
- tories of the country.