The new North-west., 1890-05-30
ARTIFICIAL. LIMBS,
HOW THEY ARE MADE AND THE
MATERIALS THAT ARE USED.

MA AlEHIALS f1Ai AXE OS6O.
Making Feet with Toes rhak Can 10
Moved and Hands That Writc-A pc-
cu1lar Business Which Requires Nicely
Of Touch by the Mechanic.
mo, our business is not what it once
was" said an artificial limb dealer. ''Still,
it is II big thing, us hundreds and even
thousands Of such limbs are made to order
every year"
"Then you make them to order, do yoll?"
inquired the reporter
"Oh, yes, they are all made to order
They can not well be made in any other
way Why, sir there arc no two indi
viduals alike, and, of course, it becomes
necessary to fit every artificial limb. The
size of right limb cannot be taken as a
model in making n left one. Each must be
measured if artificial limbs arc to be made
for them both. It's peculiar business. l
have been at it for over q quarter of u cen
tury and am pretty familiar with its de-
tails, but still something entirely new de-
velops every day"
MAKING A WOODEN LEG.
"How are artificial limbs madcf' asked
the reporter.
"In various ways and of different nateri-
ais All first class goods nre made from
English willow, which is Il light, compact
and tough wood, specially adapted to the
making Of such limbs. The willow wood
is shipped to us in rough blocks measuring
from five to eight inches in diameter and
from one to two feet in length. One of
these rude blocks is the rudimentary form
Of a beautifully finished and well formed
artificial arm or leg. The first thing to do
is to drill or bore the center of the wooden
block full of holes and hollow it out, be-
cause, you probably know, all artificial
limbs are hollow and merely shell like in
structure. When the center is followed
out the outside of the rough block is dressed
up little. Suppose em making a limb
for q person whose leg is off above the knee.
Trough out the thigh part Of the artificial
leg, then fit the hollow portion of it to
the stump of the persons real thigh
and then proceed to dress down the
rude, block like piece of wood. 1t is shaped
rs nearly like the original thigh MS posi-
BILE, the knee joint turned out and then
the hollow portion enlarged until only Il
thin, she'll like thigh is produced A
leather socket is attached to1he upper part
Of it, and it is complete. Next comes that
part of the limb from the knee down. 1t
is the most difficult part to make, as it is
required to be Of II more symmetrical form
It's smaller, too, aud the hollow part is
harder to turn ont. The knee joint IS a
difficult thing to construed properly, rs 50
many little points have 10 be carefully
noted Then You CONC to the ankle joint,
which is still more difli;'ult 10 make Very
few artificial limb makers can make a good
ankle joint. Lastly come the foot and
toes An artificial foot will movable toes
is neat piece Of work when properly
made
"a :" Do I'LL persons who want artificial feet
prefer movable toes attached to thein:"
"Oh, no. Many do not wHnt anything
but plain wooden foot"
"How long does it require to make IN
artificial les:'
st takes one person about TWO weeks
It's slow work. u
"What does II full length artificial LEG
cost:' -.
about $loo if nude IF first class ma
terial. You see, the wooden. shell like limb
is coated on the outside with rawhitlc and
layer of enamel placed over this 10 give
the limb beautiful appearance aud dur
able exterior surface. ls.r ..&...... ....
'Do you make many artificial arms"
Yes. They are more difficult 10 make.
however. than n leg, because they are
smaller, more symmetrical and frequently
intended for more general use. Many full
length arms arc made but the most OF
them are merely "stubs;' that is, intended
to be worn below the elbow. Here's full
length arm. See how it fits upon the
shoulder stump, aud is held there by
straps passing around under the other
arm. The elbow joint is complete and the
arm is quite like the natural one An ar
tifcial hand is wonderful piece of me-
chnnical work. See this one2 1t has fin
gers, with joints which are movable and
can be used to quite an advantage
MOVING ARTIFICIAL FlNGEEs-
"How are the fingers 1uovcl.;'
"Why, there are rubber cords running
through the hollow arm. They are at
tached to the straps which hold the arm in
its socket at the shoulder, and being fast
ened to the base of the fingers regulate
their movements Yes, sir, Il person with
well made artificial hand can use it to a
good advantage. | have known persons
who could write q fairly good hand. 1t
may seem paradoxical, but it is true Here
is a hand which am just finishing. See
how the various parts are knit together?
Everything must fit precisely or there will
be friction and the hand will be rendered
absolutely useless. When a properly made
artificial arm is worn and /; kid glove
placed on the hand very few will notice the
difference. Oh, certainly, the wearer can
move the arm about at leisure and do al
most any little thing-such us pick up arti-
cles, shake hands with a friend or carry a
bucket Of water or anything Of the kind.
A shake with n person who wears an artif-
cial arm is Notwithstanding is, it is false
but friendly grasp"
"How can you carry heavy weight in a
false hand? Isn't the grasp too weak:'
'Ycs, but we obviate that difficulty easily
enough. See here7 We take off the beau
tiful hand ut the wrist and screw in a
hook, which will enable any one to carry
quite MS much of q weight rs il he pos
sessed his natural arm. There are some
peculiar cases which come to our notice
Crippled persons have some odd whims
which they endeavor to crafty Many Of
these whims are expensive ones, too These
persons will take fancy to some particu-
lar characteristic of an artificial limb and
order it made to suit their fancy
Are there more full length artificial
limbs made than there are 'stubs:'"
.!Well. | do not know that there are,
Its pretty hard to tell"
do yoi make art fetal limbs for ladies:"
.'Oh, yes: we have s,me lady patrons.
The number is increasing every year, too"
what class of people usually are your
best pat rons:,
.'SoldierE larnvrs and railroad men.
The number Of railroad Customers is con-
stantly increasing, Willie the disabled eS-
soldiers who require artificial limbs are
oSSpii'tI it"'' >NNtN s1''i. '''i'it >iA7
ago oul cS-soldicr trade was the best Of
any, bur not 50 NON" Cincinnati Times,
Star
Identifying lii. Doctor.
Some time ago claimant for Il pension
submitted an affidavit from physician at
Duluth testifying to his disability and to
the fact that it was the result of his service
during the war. When the case came up
u lie, ter was written to the postmaster of
Dulrth asking whether the doctor was n
regular practitioner and q man Of truth