Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-07-27
EXCELSIOR.
Gardiner the Leading City in It's Manu-.
factufe.
A New Machine. which Revolutionizes
the Process.

1t may not be generally known that all the
wood excelsior manufactured in New England
is made in Gardiner, and the consumption OF
this material is SO great that Boston alone uses
1--WE thousand tons annually. Up to within a
very short time the only practical machine
for making excelsior has been the Gage ma
chine, an Augusta invention, patented, We
| believe, by Mr.. William Gage of this city, a
machinist who is in business at the dam.
| This machine consists of a .etof spurs which
act upon block of wood, placed in an up
size of a shingle block Heretofore poplar
or other soft grained wood has been used for
excelsior, the spurs of the Gage machine not
working well upon wood of a hard, close
| fibre, the rapid motion of the machine knock
ing the spurs out
Realizing the fact that spruce makes the
best excelsior on account of the toughness
and elasticity of the fibre: that the Gage
machine was not adapted for working spruce
and that large quantities of spruce edgings
have heretofore been allowed to 90 to waste
Mr.. VIM II. Moore, one of Gardeners in
genious aud persevering mechanics conceived
the idea of making a new excelsior machine,
one that would work spruce, and turn to
profitable account the waste edgings which
have so accumulated about the lumber wards
of our mills. Many trials were made, much
time and good deal Of money was expend-
ed, and after long and patient experiments,
and the building of expensive models, a pa
to Mr.. Moore, March 30, 1888. few days
since your reporter made a visit to Mr.
Moore's factory and examined with much
satisfaction this machine which is destined
to make complete revolution in the bust
ness of manufacturing excelsior, in which
the city and town of Gardiner now has so
complete monopoly for the New England
market.
This remarkable excelsior making machine
may be described in general as a stationary
upright frame, fifty feet in length, six feet
high, and about two feet wide About on
level with carpenters bench is a table upon
-" hich rest ninety-five individual knives or
planes, each of which is set in a block or
frame of iron, any one of which may be re-
moved while the machine is in operation and
replaced by another, should dull knife re-
quire to be replaced by sharp one or should
an accident occur to any one of them.
These knives are each self acting and
are kept in place by an adjustable weight
easily and quickly removed when necessary
Along this table upon the under side passes
a series of endless chains in eight sections
each chain independent, but all driven at
the same rate of speed from one line of
shafting, and each meeting the other with
out break. When in operation the spruce
edgings are inserted at one end of the ma
chine on this table, and are constantly fed
in by the operator. They pass the whole
length of the machine the Sitting
rule of each one of the nnety-fve
knives or planes taking out a slit of thin,
narrow, fine fibre, curling it more than the
Gage machine, and delivering it all along the
table of the machine in perfect mass or
bunch of curls, having a fneness, softness
and elasticity not possessed by soft-fbred
excelsior made on the old-styled machine
These edgings, which are fed in at thick
ness of one inch ONE out a mere SHIN an
eighth of an inch thick, at the other end of
the machine These are punched up for
kinding wood. Thus it will be seen that the
general principle of the machine is one
wherein the timber travels along under the
planes, instead of the plane being showed over
the timber as in the case of the hand plane
The capacity of the machine is not far fro m
five tons per day, which is packed for trans
portation in bales by 3 feet. 1t is power
full, noisy thing at work, but it does the
business completely, and Mr. Moore may
rest assured that after many trials and fail
ures he has at last got there" with the most
complete and perfect excelsior making ma
chine in the country.
In connection with his excelsior factory,
Mr.. Moore does large business in the manu-
faeture of bed Stats and spring bed mate
rial having been engaged in this
business for the past twenty years
and being the first person in New England to
engage in this business. Much of the ma
chinery employed by Mr.. Moore in the va
rious processes of his factory is his own in
vention and the machines are so diverse in
character as to prove him an inventor of
abundant resources and skill. His goods go
all over the country, but largely to Boston,
New York Philadelphia and the leading
cities of the Middle States; his annual prod
uct being about S25 900. The only other
manufacturers of excelsior in New England
besides Mr.. Moore are the Oakland M'fg
Co, Gardiner, and Van II. Beedle, South
Gardiner.