New-York tribune., 1902-10-19
THE AGE OF HAMMERS.
REMARKABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN MAX
ING THESE IMPORTANT TOOLS.

| ING THESE IMPORTANT TOOLS.
| The mechanics hammer Of to-day is essentially
| American product This is the age OF ham
| mers. in view of the fact that this age the
hammer in Its greatest state OF proficiency, says
| The American Exporter" Exactly when the
hammer came into not told In history. but IL
| is certain that rude form of the instrument
must have been used in the earliest days of hand-
craft. OF the hammers made in America to-day
there is end. There IS the tiny little tack ham,
mer which weighs only few ounces. and is indis-
pensable In house. factory- Then there is
the twenty and thirty ton hammer driven by steam
and used for making immense forgings. The num-
berIess effects which due 10 its remarkable
force OF impact has made the hammer necessity
in all trades. Immense manufactures, employing
thousands OF men, are grinding year in and year
out making hammers. while ten times as many
wholesale houses busy putting the product on
the market. The industry has advanced 10 such a
stage that many general hardware firms in the
United States have thrown out the hammer, leav-
ing il 20 the houses that deal in tools exclusively.
Hammers made in variety OF shapes, the
most in demand being the claw hammer. This
and the shoemaker's hammer have retained their
shapes for hundreds Of years. One gold beating
firm relies on them entirely. The sheets or leaves
OF gold are hammered such exceeding thinness
that two hundred and fifty thousand are required
to make up tine thickness Of an inch Another odd
product OF the hammer factory is the butchers
hammer used for killing cattle. 1T Is capable
when properly welded of carrying very heavy
blow. Then there are the stone cutters hammer.
the carpet layers hammer. the wood carver's NAL
let and the plumbers odd implement. All of these
have a good sale in the markets OF the world. be-
cause they possess a something which users
cannot find duplicated In the output OF other coun-
tries.
In the South Sea Islands tree Telling contests are
OF such Importance that specially made axes
imported for the work from America 1t is re-
ported by way of Illustration that difference of
half ounce in the "heft OF an axe lost the
championship TO one skilled chopper who had re-
tained il for quarter OF century. He was COM
PEELED accept of European make. and
although it TO the eye of the layman equal in
every way the Yankee product something was
missing, and all sorts Of tests made dis
cover what II The heartbroken ex-champion
finally agreed that the difference lay in a slight
curve OF the handle and an excess weight of half
ounce in the head So skilled these wood
OF the South Seas in Telling timber that a
dozen blows the trunk OF tree will show but
the one CASH though done BY a single blow
mighty power.
In the manufacture Of claw hammers the Ameri-
can foundryman it that the instrument bal
ances perfectly before it is passed as being
O X BY balancing is that the
centre of gravity. when the hammer is stand
/ ing on its head. runs from the apex of
the claw diagonalIy through the handle. Just
touching the very edge OF the end surface. If
the instrument fails pass this it Is rejected
and either sold for low price. without name.
or consigned a scrap pile. Small as such a de-
feet might seem in itself. the amount OF excess
energy required WELD the implement would run
up into horse power in the course of the life
| of one hammer alone. a mechanic of to-day is
man of brains we'll as muscle. and the same ten
sion edge" requisite in artistic piano playing.
oil painting billiard playing necessary in the
crafts. although naturally in a lesser degree.
The manufacture of tools for the various diV!s-
ions OF labor has therefore. become in this eoun-
Try something than an output OF units in
enormous quantities. There must be spirit of
harmony between maker and user, and The needs
of the latter taken seriously into consideration
centv W5e1e tTR 85 ts H brcESyers ~ amSzed the
native worker by laying fully % per cent more
investlgation disclosed the fact that the bricks
smaller in every way than those in general use in
England. The cry went up that no comparison was
the trade press was occupied with the controversy
our English cousins failed to take into considera-
tion the fact that the extra energy required to
weighted from the American standpoint. would
initiate against the earning power OF the ndividpal
employer The wonderful disnlay of rapidity and
skill & Of 'ae Of the aS sG
model OF brick in factory construction in EngIand;
manufacture IL is true that grades OF instru-
fessions t"9se aTe Generally imported from GERMANY
but even these are having difficult time of IL In
&mersan &aGlaas I4s make RreHsrsO against 1ui'sn'' OF
In the hammer industry on the other hand. the
it every requirement. of driving tool, One indi-
Vidual of family, the magnet hammer. has a
| loadstone in its head and every little taco jumps
a. IL Inc n ashsa aces nn tb walls n saves Mfps tb
user the trouble of holding the tack and taking
chances a smashing his fingers The magnet ham
mer is much in in tackins tin signs on trees.
Ii is necessary TO secure the advertisement at
height bevond the reach OF the small boy. and the
ma gnet hammer answers the requirement.. A clip
on the side holds the card sheet of tin while a
tack Is retained in position by the magnetZed head
one arm blow drives the tack through the tin
the fence or tree trunk and secures the sign suf-
ficently enable the workman TO withdraw the
hammer clip and all. and permit him TO drive a
second tack. The handle is made on the extension
plan similar to fishing rod and when not in use
ca be carried in a very compact space.
After the hammer that Is driven by hand comes
the steam hammer. But before the steam device
was known there a hammer called the Her
eules which was ponderous mass of iron at
tached to a vertical guide rod. which was lifted
+ originally by a gang of men with ropes, and al
/ lowed to fall of its own weight. This an efi-
cient tool for forging large anchors and for simi-
lar purposes, but the necessity for more rapid
motion felt The lift or helVe and the tilt
hammer then came into use. These were lifted
and dropped at regular intervals by steam power.