The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1904-10-07
Where Scales are Made.
Fairbanks Works of st. Johnsbury Inspect
ed by Vermont Editors.
,written lor the opinion by Il. l. Hindley.l

(Written for the Opinion by H. L. Hndley.)
Friend Parker: After looking
over your fine printery and looking
out across your handsome town,
am glad to write you some impress
sions of my visit to your big neigh
Dor, st. Johnsbury, and the place
where the finest scales on earth are
made.
First, however, l want to say how
thoroughly interested l was N your
growing establishment and that
marvel of human ingenuity, the
Lanston monotype. We saw some
fine things in the big scale works,
but if there was anything there as
ingenious as the keyboard with its
mathematical justification and the
casting machine with its cams, mat
rix-case and mould, turning out per-
feet type DIT the rate of 5000 an hour,
then l failed to see it.
St. Johnsbury is a big and grow
ing place, but l can't see why Brad
ford, with its fine natural facilities,
its attractive surrounding territory
and its hustling business men, cam
not be just as big, if she'll just half
try.
suppose all your readers know OF
the motion passed in a recent press
meeting to visit Vermont industries,
wherever found. 1t was in cUnnec-
tion with the same that we took in
the Fairbanks scale works.
We were met by superintendent
Turner in his private office, and,
after being presented to various
members of his staff, were made up
in parties of four, and the tour was
commenced. The general office and
drafting rooms, each employing a
large staff, show a thoroughly or
ganized and modern system, card
system, typewriting, adding ma
chine, addressograph, fling cabinet,
etc., caring for the designing and
accounting in simple but effective
manner.
1 couldn't give, in a single article,
any detailed description of this i'm
mense industry, but certain promin-
ent facts stick in the mind. First of
all, there are 1000 employees. The
freight, inward and outward,
amounts to 100000 tons per year.
Every day, forty tons of ilon cast
ings are made. The Fairbanks
scales go to every known country in
the world. In the freight depot,
boxes addressed to Russia, France,
British India, Japan, South America,
etc., gave visible evidence of the
wide extent of Fairbanks trade,
while, IN the testing department,
weights of every known standard
that can be reduced to figures were
shown.
The brass founders cast valves
for steam fittings in large quantities.
The fumes do not seem to affect the
men, who are fine specimens of man.
hood. This product requires special
finishing machinery, in which
long line of operators, each of whom
have a certain small part to turn,
bore or thread, work with practically
automatic machines. This also APP
plies to the scale bars and other brass
parts of the standard output, the
graduations on the former being en-
graved. long and short marks stimuli
taueously, with a marvellously in
genious machine that works almost
as fast as one could count. The
figures are stamped on the bars,
partly by hand and partly by nova
BILE type. This is a distinct advance
over marking the bars with a cold
chisel and hammer.
In the iron foundry. the scale
beams, frames, connections and
other parts are made. The patterns
in wooo, are stored separately and
have tied up a tremendous sum of
money as patternmaking is an ex-
pensive trade. The iron parts are
japanned in another department, a
quick dip and a hot bake in the
ovens for the common sort of work,
the better kind taking more care and
time in both places.
The boring out and putting in of
lead plugs for the government seals.
testing weights and balance finish
ing and assembling, all nice jobs and