News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-01-24
HOW AN AN Is A ID
They Are Produced at the Rate of
5000 Per Day.

AAAC AAAS
5000 Per Day.
Externally there is nothing IN the
least attractive about a great AK man
ufactory. The principal building is
q long, low, dingy structure utterly
devoid of paint or ornament. MOI untll
the visitor gets inside and begins to
take an inventory of his surroundings
does he begin to be impressed by. n
greatness of the works. A glance into
the engine-room, whence motive power
is supplied to the various departments,
shows the quantity of machinery to be
enormous. The engine IS SIMPLY won,
derful, majestic in its movements and
gigantic in it's proportions. The ny
wheel is 40 inches IN the rim and 70
feet in diameter, supplying continually
@ force equal to 400 horse power and
capable of much more.
AS enc enters the main workshop a
noise equal to that made by a score or
more heavy freight trains falls upon the
ear. The place is full of huge machines,
glowing furnaces and busy laborlng
men. But the most notable thing is the
ceaseless clatter that only subsidies IN
one quarter to break out with renewed
force i'll another. A couple of minutes
of observation, though, demonstrates
the fact that the confusion is apparent
rather than real. The labor progresses
steadily, Intellectually and orderly. At
one side of the room q man is thrustlng
into a furnace straight, fiat pieces OF bar
iron, and a minute or two later they be-
come perfectly shaped axes, oil com
plete excepting the blade. How is the
metal so suddenly transformed? Letus
see.
The glowing bars leave the furnace
and are taken to q powerful and some
what complicated machine, which per-
forms upon them four distinct opera
housekeeping the metal to form the
upper part of tha-e1, then the eye, and
then finally doubling the piece over 50
that the whole can be welded together.
A workman stands by, Selling the par
tially-fahsioned pieces n after another
with q pair of tongs and hammering the
lower edges together. Next the iron is
put in q powerful natural gas furnace
and heated TO o white heat. Taken out,
it goes under a tilt hammer and is weld
ed together in q second. This done, one
blow from the CROP and the poll of
the ak is completed and firmly welded.
Two crews of me are doing this class of
work, and each crew o make ], 800 axes
per day.
When the OK leaves the drop there is
some superfuous metal still adhering to
the edges and forming what is techni-
cally known as q ''in." To get rid Of
this fin the AK is again heated in o fur
mace and then taken in hand by q saw
yer, who trims the end and edges. This
operation is most curious and interest
ing. The operator has n glass in front
of him to protect his eyes from the
sparks, which fly off by hundreds as the
hot metal is pressed against the rapidly
revolving saw. The iron part of the ak
is complete.
The steel for the blade, after being
heated, is cut by machinery and shaped
with a die. 1t is then ready for the
welding departments. A groove is cut
in the edge of the iron, the steele for the
ded by machine hammers. Next comes
the operation of tempering. The steel
portion of the ak is heated by being in
serted in pots of moulten lead the blade
only being immersed. 1t is then
cooled by dipping in water, and goes to
the hands of the inspector. An ak is
subjected to q good many rigid tests be-
fore it is pronounced perfect. The steel
must be of the required temper, the
weight of all axes Of the same size must
be uniform; all must be ground alike
and in various other ways conform to ON
established standard.
Consequently the different inspectors
who pass judgment on the a. after each
process, have a highly important duty
to perform. The inspector that tests the
quality of the steel does SO by hammer
ing the blade and striking the edge to
ascertain if it be too brittle or not. An
AK that breaks during the test is thrown
aside to be made over.
Before the material of on ak is in the
proper shape it has been heated five
and the ak when finished has passed
through the hands of about 40 workmen,
each of whom has done something
toward perfecting it. The English
workmen, / am told, have a very differ
operative begins the job, puts the metal
through all the intermediate processes
and finishes the tool himself. Division
of labor and improved machinery give
the American manufacturer great adj
vantages. Axes are exported from this
country in large quantities.
The ak, with the iron and steel work
finished, goes to the grinding depart
ment. Here about fifty huge grind
stones, turned by steam power, are ar
ranged in rows along the two sides of
the room. The workman runs a wooden
handle through the eye of the AK, holds
the tool upon the stone, and how the
sparks fly! He grinds the poll on the
sides, ends and edges, until each is per-
fectly smooth, and then turns his atten-
tion to the blade, upon which he puts q
fine sharp edge. When the grinding
is done the axes go to the polishing de-
partment, and are applied to emery
wheels until they shine all over like
silver. The side of q bright new AK
would make no mean substitute for q
mirror. Next the name of the manu-
facturer or selling agent is stampedupon
the head of the ak by q sort of steel en-
craving process.
A steel plate with the inscription up
on it is coated with ink, AID from it an
impression is taken on paper. The pa
per is then applied to the x and the
ink transferred to the latter. Acid is
then put on to eat away the metal and
leave the inscription in proper shape.
The axe are now painted and hung on
big drums, several hundred on each
drum, to dry. They are next packed in
wooden boxes ready for shipment. A
trap is opened in the floor and the cases
are run down . slide into q freight car
waiting below to receive them. The fin
est axes are put upin small paper boxes
one axe in each box, as carefully asst
they were gloves or stationery, instead
of simple tools for the use of the rugged
.woodman. The paper boxes are then
packed in wooden cases like the others.
PHILADELPHIA Item.