Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-02-14
ARTIFICIAL LIMBS.
HOW THEY ARE MADE TO DUPL-
CATE THE ORIGINALS.

HOW THEY ARE MADE TO DUPLI-
CATE THE ORIGINALS.
'UnderpinninE'' of An shapes and Sizes
-Construction of an Artificial leg
How the Action Is Secured
"A Singular Case.
Boston GlobeI
There is small room In the rear Of a
Court street store in which works an old,
gray haired man. Surrounding him on
all sides are legs Of many shapes and sizes.
Some are short and stout, with rather too
much calf for strictly classical beauty;
others are long and slim, with deplor-
able lack of calf, while others vie in
shapeliness with the neither limbs Of q
Greek slave or Venus de Milo The old
man when visited recently was hard at
work. but consented to give the writer q
few particulars in regard to his business.
Now that" he said. pointing TO q
shapely leg hanging over the fire, be
longs 10 Newburypert young lady"
@That,n continued the old man. @is
what's known as knee bearing leg.
made il for her three years ago, when she
was about l6 years old She lost her leg
little below the knee-so short that she
couldn't wear q socket bearing leg, and
so she was obliged to have knee bearing
10 walk on the knee. She had grown q
little since, and SO was obliged to
lengthen il out cut the leg in two at
the calf and put in piece, dovetailing it
and fastening u with glue I've histed
childs leg at least four inches before it
was given up, when its parents were poor,
and couldn't afford a new one
Now here, picking up leg In process
of construction, legs don't weigh as
much as you think. Including all
the ironwork. that leg wouldn't
weigh more than five pounds
have Just made one for q ull-grown
woman that weighed, everything complete.
including the upper socket, exactly three
pounds. l msde it particularly light on
account of her being sickly. want to
show you now where we get the dura-
Elity. The steel ankle joints are, you see.
set in the wood, and slightly broader at
the ankle than further up the leg. which
ing down strain is borne in part by them
and partly by an endless and very power
full cOrd-some make it Of silk. but al
ways use linen-extending from the heel
of the foot over a bar in the calf of the
leg. which is hollow The cord relieves
principally what is called the nosing,
where the shin plays into the foot
The ankle joints are. you see. con-
nected by steel bolt which makes the
leg particularly strong about the ankle,
where the most strain comes. The toe
joint is located at the same place as in the
natural foot, and works with a spring
Il at brings the toe into place after each
step The woodf l use willow alto
gether and have never used any other.
have shown you one used wherc the leg
has been lost below the knee.
Now this. producing another leg. lis
for one lost above the knee Ii is the
same in every particular as the other,
with the addition Of q wooden socket to
secure the stump 1t works at the knee
in a very natural manner on a simple
bolt, with spring extending from the
thin piece TO the lower part of the top
socket. This spring throws the foot for
ward. in walking, the minute the toe
leaves the floor
You will observe that If the amputa.
tion is above the knee the leg must be
held in place by suspenders made on q
stout welt-part elastic and part non.
elastic-eXtending over the shoulder II
with long stump below the knee. the
leather socket, placed above the knee, is
usually sufficient
If, however, there is but short stump
below the knee strap is required Every
weak point in a leg is specially guarded.
in some way or other; aud when the steel
and woodwork are complete the leg is
covered with calfskin. similar to drum
head Ii is put on wet and dries to the
leg. very closely. adding great deal to
its strength Then that is sand papered
down to surface, snd the holes in the
calf opened out They are for ventila.
ton. but l doubt if they do any good l
always put them in, because good many
are of the notion they are Then the leg
is painted. / use alcoholic paint. made
of gum and dry lead The minute it
strikes water it is set and you can wash
it off with anything except alcohol
III show you leg, producing par
ticularly lifelike one. the foot of which
painted seventeen years, and is, you see,
In pretty good condition.
What do you consider your most
singular case2"
SThat of little boy that lives near the
old reservoir. He was brought to me in
his fathers arms when he was 16 or II
mont4s old, and had never walked STEP
/ didn't dare to touch him, he was SO
young and tender, and his father took
him to DIR. Shaw. The doctor advised
him to get limb right off, so as to pre-.
vent hip disease on the other side. That
had never occurred to me The doctors
opinion took all the responsibility away
from me. and SO / went to work at once,
and made a leg for the boy. He learned
to walk with If. and walks and runs with
it now so well that you'd hardly know
he'd lost leg.
How long will q leg wears"
1T is question often asked me, and q
very hard one to answer | have q Gus
toner that has worn a leg for twenty-on
years. and know men who would not
wear a leg two years. 1t is just as it is
with everything else Some take care of
them and others stave them out very
quickly. The government, you know,
allows soldiers q new leg every five years.
That looks as if they thought five years
was the average, but good legs will, In
my opinion average at least eight years
The price the government sets on 'em is
about the lowest they can be made for,
though some manufacturers ask twice a.
much as that
@How long does it take to make leg,
Well, I'll tell you. In war times they
said if man made leg in eight days
fhay xuara sattcfioI