Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-09-24
MAKING EMITTING MACHINES.
A Few Minutes i'm One of Our MA
chine Shops.


Dropping in Monday at the shops of
the Trump Brothers. Machine Co., corner
of Beech and Anchorage streets, in the
tive saw some things that impressed
him anew with the thought of how multi
farious are the articles for which the
country is indebted to Wilmington in
genuity and Wilmington mechanics. The
scroll saws made by this company have,
of course, been long and extensively
known, and the reporter was prepared for
the sight of rows of dismembered
machines stacked up and ready for ship
ment when wanted. Like other manu-
features of this company, the varied
pieces which go to make up complete
scroll saw of specified size are inter
chmIgeable, thus facilitating TO the
greatest degree the prompt supplying of
any part which may become lost OF
broken.
Blt. what the visitordid not expect to see
vas IL host of miniature self-inking print
ny presses, such as one sees cuts of staring
ina in the face every day under headings
Of g Be your own printer" and the like.
They are gotten up to retail for about
$3 apiece" said Superintendent Fred
erick, in reply to a query. "We make
them up by the hundred, and it is by
careful systemization of labor and
thoughtful adaptation of machinery that
we are enabled to turn them out SO that
they can be placed on the market at
price so moderate"
The specially of the works at present
is knitting machines for manufacturers of
hosiery, leggins, &c. These are made in
seven sizes, with cylinders (this may not
be the technical name) ranging from 81
to AZ inches in diameter, and capacity
of knitting from 80 to 800 stitches per
revolution, and they can be run at the
rate of 100 revolutions per minute. 1t
is very interesting, when machine is
slowly revolved, to watch the
numerous little needles which
play in one of these cylinders,
coming up and unjointing their little eyes
in rotation and closing them up and
going down again as they throw off the
finished stitches. Mr.. Frederick cour-
teously explained their theory and opera
ton, but the newspaper man could only
digest small fragment of the explanation
and concluded that if he could understand
the same with any degree of thorough
ness at the end of n weeks hard study he
would be doing remarkably we'll. Abso-
lutte nterchangeability of the different
parts that enter into the composition of
these and other machines is secured
through the use of very carefully adj
justed ''jigs," which are also made in
the company's shops, and the workman
ship of which must necessarily be excel
lent. These "jigs" guide the workman in
the correct shaping, drilling, &C., of the
different parts.
A centre grinder for lathes is another
product of the works. What are known
as ''live centres" of lathes must be ground
to nicely of exactness and must run per-
fectly true 10 enable the workman to do
good work. 1t is the practice to finish
these centres accurately before tempering
and then to impart to them as hard a
temper MS they will take without becom-
ing brittle. In this process they IRE apt
to ''give" little. The centre grinder
will soon bring a new tool of this kind
back to its pristine trueness and will
grind it correctly at any subsequent time
without drawing the temper, thus obyiat-
ing the necessity of retempering or
annealing. This description is not very
lucid, but owners of lathes will probably
understand what the writer is driving ut.