The Indianapolis journal., 1897-09-19
MAY CHEAPEN BICYCLES
A HAGERsToWN MAN INvENTs DE-
VICE FOR sTRAEGHTENING TUBING.
Work Hitherto Done by Hand-AnnuaI
Election of Indiana l.. A.
w. OGicers.


A patent has just been issued to Zacha-
riah and Charles w. Teeter, Of Hagers-
town, Ind, for an invention which may re-
duce the price of bicycles and all ma
chinery in which steel tubing is used to any
considerable extent. All the tubing used in
the better grade of bicycles is drawn while
the metal is cold, and as the tube emerges
from the die it curls and curves fantasti-
cally. Before it can be utilized it must he
Strengthened. This Strengthening is done by
hand, for the reason that no machine has
ever been produced that would satisfac-
torily do the work. The expense of straight
ening forms an important item in the cost
of the stock There has long been demand
for a machine that woulS do such work.
The machine which has just been pat
ented not only straightens tubing perfectly,
it is claimed but will also straighten gas
pipe and shafting and at the same time
polish it perfectly, and remove all dents,
kinks and fiat places. In the machine there
is a table or plate to which are attached
two side plates, one on each side, between
which are secured by means of journal
blocks a series OF rolls set at an
angle of forty-five degrees. Each of
the rolls is provided with one or
more semi-circular grooves cut around
it. If more than one groove is pro-
vided on each roll they are preferable of
various sizes so as to suit the Strengthening
of different sized stock at the same time.
These grooves are in depth equal to nearly
half the diameter of the stock to be
Strengthened and correspond to the grooves
in like rolls set diagonally in another plate
and brought close up to the first plate. The
stock to be Strengthened is fed into the
grooves through universal rolls at the OPEN
ing of the concave sections which con-.
cave sections make a circular opening
longitudinally through the group of rolls.
In order to straighten stock of hard metal
it is necessary to bend it beyond the elastic
point This is accomplished in this machine
by setting the middle one of the three
groups of rolls at slight removal laterally
from the horizontal line, so that when the
stock energies from the first group it is de-
fected laterally into the opening of the sec
ond group, and passing that is detected
back into the opening in the third and last
group of rolls. In passing through the ma
chine the stock is whirled rapidly and as
differential speed is impaired to the vari-
Gus rolls in the same group, the resulting
friction of the rolls on the stock polishes it
perfectly and also removes all kinks and
depressions.
Samples of tubing Strengthened on this
machine have been inspected by manufac-
turers of steel tubing, gas pipe and shaft
ing, and they pronounce the work greatly
superior to any done by hand. Tubing
which had been III buildings that were
burned, and was, in consequence, badly
twisted and of varying hardness was
Strengthened and polished perfectly. It is
said the machine has attracted a great
deal of attention from manufacturers of
tubing, and large sums have been offered
for it. The machine does the work much
better and incomparably faster than it can
be done by hand