The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-02-04
Select Mlistellamp.
David Maydole, Hammer. Maker.

of success. 1t is one of forty-six like
sketches which make up James Par
toms Captain of Industry" Boston:
Hougton, Mifllin & Coz:
When young man begins to think
Of making his fortune, his first notion is
to go away from home to some very dis
tant place. At present the favorite
spot is Colorado; awhile ago it was Cal
ifornia; and old men remember when
Buffalo was about as far West as the
most enterprising person thought of
venturing. 1t is not always foolish
thing to 60 out into the world far be-
You'd the parents nest, as the young
birds do in midsummer. But l can tell
you, boys, from actual inquiry, that a
great number of the most important and
famous men of the United States struck
down roots where they were first
planted, and where no one supposed
there was room or chance for any large
thing to grow.
Il will tell you story of one Of
these men, as l heard it from his own
lips some time ago, in beautiful village
where lectured.
He was an old man then; and GU
rious thing about him was that, although
he was too deaf to hear one word of
public address, even of the loudest
speaker, he not only attended church
every Sunday, but was rarely absent
when lecture was delivered.
"While l was performing on that oc-
casion, / saw him sitting just in front
of the platform, sleeping the sleep of
the just till the last word was uttered.
"Upon being introduced to this old
gentleman, in his office, and learning
that his business was to make hammers,
l was at loss for a subject of CONVEX
satiOn, as it never occurred to me that
there was anything to be said about
hammers.
" have generally possessed ham
mer, and frequently inflicted damage
on my fingers Herewith, but | had sup
posed that hammer was simply a
hammer, and that hammers were very
much alike. AT last l said:
"' And here you make hammers for
mankind, Mr.. Maydole?'
" You may have noticed the name of
David Maydole upon hammers. He is
the man.
"' Yes said he, have made ham
mers here for twenty-eight years.
GO Well, them said |, shouting in
his best ear, by this time you ought to
be able to make pretty good hammer.
GO No, I can't was his reply. |
can't make a pretty good hammer. l
make the best hammer that's made
That was strong language. l
thought, at first, he meant it as a joke
but soon found it was no joke at all.
" He had made hammers the study of
lifetime, and, after many years of
thoughtful and laborious experiment,
he had actually produced an article to
which, with all his knowledge and ex-
perience, he could suggest no improve
ment.
81 was astonished to discover how
many points there are about an instru-
ment which l had always supposed a
very simple thing. / was surprised to
learn in how many ways hammer can
be bad.
But, first, let me tell you how he
came to to think of hammers.
"There he was, forty years ago, in a
small village of the state of New York
no railroad yet, and even the Erie
Canal many miles distant. He was the
village blacksmith, his establishment
consisting of himself and boy to blow
the bellows.
He was a good deal troubled with
his hammers. Sometimes the heads
would fly off. If the metal was toe
soft, the hammer would spread out and
wear away; if it was too hard, it would
split.
{" AT that time blacksmiths made theil
own hammers, and he knew very little
about mixing ores so as to produce the
toughest iron. But he was particularly
troubled with the hammer getting of
the handle, mishap which could be
dangerous as well as inconvenient.
"At this point of his narrative the
old gentleman showed a number of old
hammers, such as were in use before
he began to improve the instrument
and it was plain that men had tried
very hard before him to overcome thi,
difficulty. One hammer had an iror
rod running down through the handle
with nut screwed on at the end
Another was wholly composed of iron
the head and handle being all of ont
piece. There were various other de
vices, some of which were exceedingly
clumsy and awkward.
{" AT last he hit upon an improvement
which led to his being able to put {;
hammer upon a handle in such wa,
that it would stay there He made wha
is called an adze-handled hammer, tn,
head being attached to the handle afte
the manner of an adZe.
The improvement eOnsistsin merel,
making longer hole for the handle t
go into, by which device it has mucl
firmer hold of the head, and can easil,
be made extremely tight.
"With this improvement, if the han
die is well seasoned and well wedged
there is no danger of the head flying
off He made some other changes, al
of them merely for his own conven
fence, without a thought of going int
the manufacture of hammers.
"The neighborhood in which he LIVED
would have scarcely required half {
dozen new hammers per annum. Blu
one day there came to the village si1
carpenters to work upon new church
and one of these men, having left hi
hammer at home, came to David May
dole's blacksmith shop to get one made
"Make me as good hammer sale
the carpenter, as you know how.
" That was touching David upon {
tender place.
"' AS good one as / know how?
said he. But perhaps YOU don't wan