Omaha daily bee., 1895-06-09

sheet OF steel four feet broad, perhaps, and
twenty feet long He puts it into a cutter
that rips 1t into proper widths and then cuts
1t to requisite lengths. From there each
piece is sent through machine that bends
1t into circular form and on through others
that turns up the edges into concave shape
to hold the rubber tire. When that is done
the two ends are brazed together. holes are
drilled for the spokes and the rim is complete
except for the nickeling and polishing. The
spoke, spoke nipples hub and washers are all
handled separately
With the new method of making the frames
comes the greatest reduction in the weight of
wheels, Instead of using small bars Of solid
steel, as formerly, lighter hollow steel tubing
Is employed. This lessons the weight without
sacrificing the strength, for tube of steel is
said to be stronger than a solid of the same
weight. In making the joints too, there is
great saving of weight. Instead of the old
heavy castings and reinforcements the joints
are now brazed, one piece into the other,
which adds strength and decreases the
weight. In place of the heavy castings used,
for instance. in the fork a vital part
OF the machine, drop forgings are now en-
ployed to the increase of strength and safety
and the decrease also Of weight.
In making the running gear the greatest
care is exercised, both in workmanship and
the selection Of material. Each piece is
handled dozen times, made with the utmost
precision, tested for every possible strain, and
not put into a wheel without every assurance
properly. Special machinery is used for most
| of il, and the best of skilled workmen are
employed II there is but one part about
wheel that requires particular treatment it is
the running gear, and it gets it.
SOME OF THE MACHINERY USED.
A great deal of the machinery used is auto
matte, and can be operated by boys and
girls The making Of oil cups, for instance.
and the many nuts and rivets used in
wheel is done by machines that bite off
pieces Of steel; turn them about few times
on automatic lathes, and then throw them
out finished and complete. Sprocket wheels
are made in this way. First they are cut
| in circular form from a plate OF steel by
heavy drop hammer, then strung together
in lots Of dozen or more in a machine
whose teeth eat out spaces in the rims and
| make the notches, one row at time, on
| which the propelling chain turns. Saddles
are first cut out Of bit sides Of leather, soaked
and put through a lot OF forms. till they are
pressed into the proper shape. Most Of the
work is done by girls. Putting the spokes in
hub and wheel is puzzling job, which has
been well learned by a lot of boys, and they
do it as we'll as men. Putting tires in the
rims Is simply trick, too, but they tell you
| at the factory they viii give anyone a wheel
| who can pull an inflated tire away from the
| rim. The enamelng, nckeling and polishing
| Of the different parts are done by the same
processes always used in finishing the same
| sort of material in the same way.
| Ins assembly room Is Ine place Wnere all
| the parts come and are put together. Each
| part is there tested again for every kind Of
| strain it Will have to bear. 1t isn't possible
to see the making of any particular wheel
in one day, and you can't get zone while you
| wait" as you could get silk handkerchlefs
at the Worlds fair. 1t is interesting to see
| the process, however, and one who has the
opportunity should embrace it,
THE BICYCLE AS AN EDUCATOR.
| Although so much Is printed nowadays
about the bicycle, says the New York Tr-
| bune comparatively little attention is given
| to its educational effect upon those who use
| 1t. Emphasis is commonly laid on the physi-
! cal benefits to be derived from wheeling,
and none can dispute that these are many
and great. II is nor only the muscles OF the
| lower limbs which are developed by exercise
| on the wheel; the muscles Of the arms, the
! chest and the back are brought into constant
| play, so that on the whole there Is even
development, and 1t may be questioned
| whether any other form Of exercise produces
more uniformly good results. 1t is safe to
| say that no other Is at once so eXhilarating
and satisfactory. Except in hilly regions II
and from this point any degree up to that
OF violence is attainabe.
But the bicycle does more than develop
muscle and send the blood coursing vigor-
ously through the veins. II has an educa-
tional value not to be despised. Bicycle
| riding tends to train the perceptye and
judicial faculties to a remarkable degree,
Especially is this the case where the rid
ing is done In city streets. The rider must
in the first place keep constant and sharp