The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-08-19
YHH FERTILE BRAIN
or Mr.. Matt AItmyer, the Wei
Known Nail Man,
ASTHoUGHTOUTANEWPLAN
For Making Nails that Give Promise
OfBeips Better than Wire or Conn
mon Gut ArticIe--A Pos BILE So
luton ofths Nail Problem.

A new nail, to be made on the old
fashioned cut nail machine, and to take
the place Of the wire nail has been in
vented,
What the new nail will amount 10,
and whether 1t is practicable or not re-
mains to be seen. The idea embodied
Is a good one, aud comes from no other
source than the fertile brain of Mr., Matt
Altmyer, who was iorseyeral years man
ager otthe Laughlin nail works, and who
Is now travelling for the West Virginia
Tobacco Company, Mr., Altmyer has
not yet applied for q patent on his con-
tiyance, and refuses to describe It in
detail, He has, however, lead nails
made on the model, and Mr., H, o.Weth'
erald, OF the Laughlin Nail Company
has made some experiments with steel
in the same line for Mr.. Altmyer's benz
eft, with results that show the new nall
to possess some valuable characteristics,
II will be made on q common nail ma
chine and from ordinary nail plate. II
will have o diamond point and will-be
twisted 80 that 1t will be practically as
round as the smoothest wire nail, Mr.,
Altmyer's invention consists OF an ap'
paratus which catches the point OF the
nail as II enters the dies and turns 1t
twice while In thedies, leaving the body
OF the nail almost round, and with ada
monl point. The advantages claimed
for II are %rounlness, straight body, and
vastly increased strength for the same
weight Of iron, While the nail Is praC.
tically round, there is along the edges Of
the flat piece, where the twist occurs,
about the amount Of roughness required
to give 1t a good holding capacity. The
fact that the nail Is twisted from aplate,
gives 1t greater strength TO resist bend
Ing, or to resist n straight pull than
either the old cut nail or the wire nall,
Mr.. II. o. Wetherald, manager Of the
Langhlin mill, was seen yesterday by an
lNTELLIGRNCIg reporter, and he gives i
as his opinion that the new nail Is much
better than either the cut nail or the
wire nail, provided that 1t does not cost
too much. lie stated that he had taken
the cut nails made in a common nail
machine and experimental with them
after twisting them in a wise. He
found their tensil strength much greater
than either the wire or common cut
nail, aud their capacity 70 withstand
bending pressure at least fifty per cent
greater.
The lead sample nails shown the re-
porter were almost like common wire
nails with round sharp points, while
along the body where the flat plate had
been twisted to a round body, was 9
spiral groove similar 10 common wood
screw thread except much shallower,
with only two tusns in tue length oil the
nail.
MI, Altmyer claims that his appliance
can DO added TO the cut nail machine at
a comparatively small cost, and that the
makingof hisnails thereafter VIII cost no
more than to cut the old nails. II Mr..
Altmyer's new nail can be made as be
states 1t can, and lit possesses the good
qualities attributed to 1t by Manager
Wetherald, II is not improbable that 1t
will be the salvation Of the Wheeling
nail men, since it will not necessitate
any outlay for wire mills or other con-
t%riVance to prepare the plants as they
now stand, for the new article OF manu-