Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-10-21
BLIND, BUT sKILLFUL
LYsANDER WEIGHTS WONDERFUL
 FANCY WOODWORK.

Toys, Frames, Boat Models and Ornaments
 Turned Off by a Hand Not Guided by
 sight-The Builder of the First Propel-
 Ter Steam Launch In This Country.
 One of the most remarkable men in Newark, \. J., is Lysander Wright, ST. He is 70 years old and has been totally blind for eight or ten years. Now his only diversion is fancy woodwork, and a part of it includes the running of small cir cular saw with which he rips. erosseuts, niters and reslits the light lumber that he uses in making boxes toy houses and picture frames If it was merely foot power buzzsaw, his operation of it would be remarkable enough, but it is run by steam power at speed of ?, 800 revolutions minute The power comes from the ma chine shop of his son. Lysander Wright, Jr., and the saw is connected with sari- able speed attachment controlled by lever.
 The workshop of the old man is decorat- ed with hundreds of ingenious specimens of his craft in the form eff boat models, fancy work boxes, little log cabins, cigar sets, ash receivers and odds and ends Ev- erything he makes is as acsurately bal
  chanic having full use Of his eyes Of ne- cessity he adopts novel methods of decora- tion in his fancy woodwork, but he sell dom makes an error of a thirty second of an inch in spacing. He fits hinges, locks and handles to his boxes as neatly as could be done by cabinet maker. 1t puzzles everybody to understand how he is able to drive the small screws used in the work Laboring entirely i'll the dark the old man glues nails or screws, as the case may re- quire making his fingers take the place of eyes Sandpaper is one of his most faith ful servants, and he uses it with marvellous skill
 Wright's use of the buzzsaw is the most astounding thing, and people who know about it wonder that his son has not in terfered The old man is extremely care ful and methodieal, however, and there is less danger than one would imagine. The saw runs noiselessly, and Mir. Wright in variably feels for it with an old walking stick which he keeps in his den and uses in moving about the place. He is con- stantly tapping with this cane as he goes around, although he knows within an inch the location of everything in the room When he approaches the saw table and is in doubt about the condition of the saw, he has his safe way of ascertaining instantly whether it is running or not. If it is in motion, he loses perhaps a quarter of an inch from the end of his cane. If it Is still, he knows how to start it. Further more he knows its exact position to the fraction of an inch. He changes saws on the mandrel quito deftly, and if one is dull takes 1t to vise.of his own construction and files the teeth with accuracy. In all the time he has been using this saw table he has not lost so much as a bit of skin or the tip of a finger nail. In constructing a box he puts it all together, mailing and screwing the bottom and top to the sides. Then he sets his saw and cuts all around the box, making a close fitting lid He makes neatly fitted trays to go inside and embellishes the outside with fancy brass or woodwork
 Tho saw plays an important part in get | ting out the details of ornamentation from bits of moldings, strips of wood of various kinds and eolors and turned rods. Small panels of mahogany are fitted into black walnut, and Mir. Wright seems to have an | extraordinary sense of feeling by which he can distinguish one wood from another, although usually he is guided by the shape and size of the pieces. His finger measure ments are exact when ho spaces the orna- ments, although i'll some cases he resorts to the use of steel rule and diyiders or ordinary eompasses. He uses chisels, planes. squares and bowels and other wood- working tools with nicety, keeping them always in good condition.
 MT. Wright did not do much woodwork when he had the use of his eyes. He was a inachinist, ono of the pioneers in his trade in Newark. He took great interest 1 in boats and built and owned the first steam launch with screw propeller in this country. He also made many im- l proyements in yacht engines and screws. His pride was the steam yacht Duplex, which is still on the Passaic. It was the first boat built with two boilers and en- 1 zines and single screw. His two sons | have made regulations as builders of yacht | engines and special machinery for boats.- | New York Sun.
 The Dog Knew His Business.