Wichita eagle., 1888-09-02
PLOW MAKING.
AN ORDER OF ONE HUNDRED
STARTED YESTERDAY.
The Gilbert Plow Works Commence
Business---The Various
Departments.

| Otpdl tulCutS'
Yesterday was beginning day with. the
| Gilbert Plow works. They commenced
work on one hundred orders for the Gilbert
| plow yesterday morning. This is started
as a trial order to test the machinery and
! to get everything in order for constant and
confident working On Friday Mr.. Gilbert
superintended the making OF the first
plow and yesterday it was given trial
test which pleased all present and espec-
tally Mr.. Gilbert and the stockholders of
the company.
| The Gilbert Plow works, concerning
which considerable has been said, is oper-
ated by a stock company with a
capital stock of $4,000 with
Mr.. E. J. Beattle, president of the COM
pany; j. \. Haymaker. secretary; j. G.
| Bright, treasurer, and l. Z. Gilbert, gen
eral superintendent. The stock of the
company is mostly owned by parties living
in the city. 1t viii be remembered that
several months ago Mr.. Gilbert made a
visit to some relatives in the city. For a
lumber of years he had been with the
| Avery plow company at Louisville, KY,
and had spent his life in that business.
He had number of patents being used
by factories, for which he was then and is
now daily receiving royalties. While Wis
lting here he was favorably impressed
with the city and Kansas, and thought
this would be good place for plow fac
tory. He had recently get patent on a
new pillow, which he called after himself
and IN which he had placed the greatest
confidence. He thought it far above any
OF his other patents, and while mauy of the
pillow manufacturing concerns were quite
anxious to give him good royalty for his
late success, he was not favorably taken
with that way of disposing of it, Having
already some out in that way he thought
he could make more out of it by munufac-
turing it himself. So he had not been here
long until he decided that -four fatory
somewhere to get at the market Of Kansas
would be a paying concern. He was offered
| liberal inducements to go to Kansas City,
but decided to locate his factory in the
rich southwest itself and be in the market
with his product. Accordingly it was not
long until company with the proportions
above stated was organized and Mr.. Gil
bert became financially interested in new
plant and commenced work On the same.
No one, without going through the
works and getting some idea of the
work done and for what it can be done
and what it is worth and will bring in the
market can get any proper idea of the i'm
portance of the plant and in fact what is
meant when the style of the firm is men
toned. The result as it is to be seen to-
day is not only equal to first expectations
but far ahead of it. 1t is certainly one of
the neatest, best arranged and one of the
finest pillow factories to be seen anywhere
in the west. Its construction was superin-
tended in person by Mr.. Gilbert, who
knows everything about pillow; how it is
made and exactly what it takes to make it.
He is very conservative, or business con-
sentative, in his affairs, and in putting up
the plant made it point to buy the best
of all machinery and put it together with
the sole purpose of making plows, without
any idea of selling the plant or adjacent Or
neighboring town lots.
All the buildings of the plant are of
brick. The engine and boiler room is
forty feet square: the boiler is two hun
dred horse power and the engine one hun
dred and fifty. 1t is Corliss engine and
made especially for the work it was secured
to do. 1t is one of the finest engines to be
found in the state.
The machinery department adjoins on
the south and occupies building seventy
by three hundred feet. In the east end is
the foundry with cupola and mouldings
The cUpola has capacity of one hundred
tons per day, taking two hours per heat.
The smithing department adjoins with
twelve FORCES three eighty-pound ham
mers for the work of that department.
One of the most noticeable pieces of ma
chinery in this department is known in
pillow factory parlance as the
bull dozer,' which puts iron in
any shape seemingly by running
a irst-class American bluff on it, The
large drop for molding plow shares
or shaping mold boards has c.
pacity of four hundred shares or one
thousand mold boards per day. Next is
the fitting department, with drills,
punches, shears, lathes, fitting punches,
yises, etc, which means all the necessary
machinery to put the various pieces in
readiness to be put together. Adjoining
this is the woodwork department, and
then the grinding and finishing, with
griDdstones seven and eight feet in diam
eter. Mr.. Gilbert, in showing one through
the polishing department. takes especial
interest in calling attention to his fine ia
cilities in this line.
The many pieces are moved
from the machinery building to
another building 10x150 feet when they
are put together and make plows. They
are nicely painted up and placed in one
end of the building ready for shipment. \
switch is extended to this, giving the best
of shipping facilities. All the roads in
and out of the city arefconnected with the
plant, which is no small item in a.business
way.
The plant as it now stands cost over
sixty thousand dollars, capacity OF seven
sy-fre to one hundree plows per day or a
business amounting to between one mil
lion and one and one-half million per year.
Mr.. Gilbert said yesterday that the
plant was ready in every department .and
they would capture some OF the fall trade.
The many inquiries snd orders already on
hand causes him to say forcibly that he
made no mistake IN believing that plows
are used in Kansas, and that he can make
them in Wichita to sell and can sell them.
He says he knows full well that he can
make his plow here cheaper than
II can be made in any eastern factory
and shipped here for market.
He says he Is perfectly confident that
very short time will find the company
compelled to double the machinery and
thus increase the capacity.