St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-03-05
st. Johnsbury's Industries.
moose River Worlzs."-Hoes, Forks and
RaHes.

y visited the hoe and Fork
works of Ely, Balch & Co. situated in
oummerville district, this town. An
attempt is not made to 90 into all of
'he details or little particulars of this
manufactory, but simply to give a gen.
eral outline of the business, which has
ALREADY become an important industry
Ill our midst. We are aware, that while
this firm is known to be in operation
by the surrounding communities. verv
many, even in our own neighborhood.
do not realize the extent of its business.
nor fully understand the great benefit
it bestows upon our people and society.
1t is, therefore, to aid in the general
intelligence of the public, that we offer
these sketches.
The choose River Works" were es-
tablished in 1849, by the late George
w. Ely, gentleman well known, and
universally esteemed by all in this COM
munity. These works are for the man
ufacture of hoes, forks, garden tools,
potato diggers, manure drags, etc.
There are made here about IA different
sizes of hoes, and forks, from two tines
up to six. The manure forks all have
bent handles, and long or short to suit
the market. These works were burned
in 1859, and subsequently, rebuilt by
the company, which has gone along
with few changes. The company now
consists of the Ely Brothers and John
w. Balch, gentlemen well known here
for their integrity and fair dealing.
We enter the shops amidst the blaz-
ing of fires, buzz and rattling of wheels,
the swapping of bands and the din of
hammers. For in works like these one
must not expect the stiffness of the
jewellers shop, nor the cleanliness of
the dining-rOom but great and small
piles of iron, iron scraps, coal and coal
dust, and smut and grease and smoke.
We notice the wOrkmen as we enter,
with shirt sleeves rolled up, with sweat
upon their brows, and hands as black as
the ace of spades. Yet all were busy,
and seemed, with their movements to
keep time with the machinery they
were controlling.
The first department of these works
is where the iron is taken in stock,-or
steel | should have said, as but little
iron is used here comparatively. In
this room, steel bars are cut, cold, into
suitable lengths and sizes for hoes and
forks. Then these pieces are punched
into suitable shape for forging, after
which operation the shape isn't easily
described. We saw a great pile of these
forged irons, as we did in other rooms,
in all stages of manufacture, and they
did not look like piles of roses, upon
which one could easily rest. One work
man said we might try the operation
he would risk the pile. From this de-
partment we enter the
DRAWING ROOM,
OF the room where the trip-hammers
are, five in number, with their deafen-
ing clang. Here the steel bar comes in
its forged condition, to be placed under
the hammers to be formed into tines,
and pointed. In this room also, is the
great rolling machine, used in plating
the hoes, which weighs a tons. We
next enter the
TEMPERING ROOM,
where all the forks and hoes are taken
in turn, and where with one heat they
are formed into proper shape, hardened
and tempered. The hardening process
is done in oil, and the temper is drawn
in lead. This work is under the super
vision of Mr.. Alfred Adams, through
whose hands, as we understand, all the
work passes. Here we would remark,
that the general shape of these manu-
featured goods, the quality of the stock
and their temper, are probably inferior
to none of their kind in the country. In
this room also are the ferules brazed,
which is done by John O'Keefe, an old
employee at these works. We next enter
the
GRINDING DEPARTMENT,
where are hung immense stones, from
40 inches to 6 feet in diameter. The
company purchase about II car loads of
grindstOnes yearly. These stones come
from Nova Scotia, and their average
weight is about 1900 lbs. After they
have become worn to about feet in
diameter, they are taken out, split, and
sold to farmers. Passing from this
room, we enter the
POLISHING ROOM,
where forks are taken directly from the
tempering room, and are polished to
perfection. This work is done very
thoroughly and neatly, and no doubt
would be marvel to the farmer of for
ty years ago. In fact, the impro vement
upon hoes and forks is about as great
as anything we know of in domestic in
dustry. Well, we keep travelling
along, and finally come to the
HANDLING ROOM,
where men are setting handles to the
various kinds of implements made of
steel in these shops. The work in this
room is done by the day, while i. is let
by job in some other departments.
About carload of handles month is
used. We next enter room where the
ferules are cut from large sheets of iron
and also where boxes are made for