The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1908-12-24
WILL SOON MAKE
BALLBEARINGHUB
GETTINGiPLANT READY FOR WORK
Company Already Has Orders for Sey-
eral Sets and New Plant May Mean
BigssThing for Hood RIVER.

The Hood River Manufacturing
Company which will manufacture the
cone lock and ball bearing hub recent
ly patented by j. J. Luckey are build
Ing large addition to Mr.. Luckey's
shop and will make this valuable ap-
pliance as soon as the building can
be completed and the machinery in
stalled
While no effort has as yet been made
to advertise or place the ball bearing
hub before the public the manage
ment has all eady received several or
ders by mail and could have taken
many more If it had been in a posi-
tion to TIL them. One of the orders
Is for i've sets OF hubs from Canada.
This invention Of Mr.. Luckey's is
said by expert mechanics to be one
of the most valuable and practical
that has been perfected and they
rate 1t very high in commercial val
ue. The inventor and patentee has
letter from the Commissioner of
Patents stating that he rates its val.
ne 30 Mr.. Luckey as IL stands with.
out being exploited at between $50, 600
and 500, 900. The great value of the
ball bearing hub and cone lock Is in
It's friction reducing qualities and
IN lis absolute safety. Another fea-
ture that commends it highly to ve-
hicle users and for any other use that
1t may be put to later Is that it does
not require any oil. 1t took the in
ventor long time time to think out
and finally perfect this piece of
mechanism and it was not until he
had put one into practical use for
three years and found il successful
that he applied for a patent. Sever
al offers have been received for the
patent rights but Mr.. Luckey has re-
fused to part with this mechanical
child OF his creation as he thoroughly
believes az well as other members OF
the company that it Is going to Ee
big thing In the way of a manufactur.
ing enterprise for Hood River.
The plant that Is being installed
Will have capacity OF 100 sets n day
and it is expected to employ about
fifteen mechanics to operate it
at the start. Some of the machinery
which has already arrived includes a
AZ ton hammer for forging purposes,
large drilling machines, lsthes and
other mechanical devices necessary.
- horse power water motor will
operate the new factory. From the
viewpoint Of providing pay roll for
the city this is probably the mostEim-
portant step that has ever been taken
at Hood River and the success OF the
invention may mean the employment
nj hnn nj
or in very short time. lt is stated
by the management that the placing
of one set of the hubs In one county
alcne In every state would require
the services of 5000 men here to turn
them out. When EpI Ioperly advertised
and agents appointed this is by no
means an Impossible task and when
the big wholesale Jobbers of the coun-
try have this device placed In their
hands its sales should undoubtedly
prove enormous.
The establishment of big manufac.
turing plant here would tring others
and 1t is the opinion of many that the
new industry should therefore receive
all the support possible at the hands
Of Hood Rivers commercial interest
and its residents. This they can do
In many ways, by talking about it, u.s.
ing 1t and lending their financial aid.
1t has for some time been the opinion
Of many Hood River business men
that 1t is time to turn the attention of
financial interests here to providing
manufacturing industries for the city
as well as developing the fruit and
lumEer resources and the proper
amount of interest In the new indus
try just starting may mean great
deal to Hood River.
At Eugene, The Dalles and other
places where the ball bearing hub has
been shown it has created wide inter
est and in Portland an offer was re-
ceived from big hardware firm for
the rights to handle it exclusively in
the state.
At present the work of installing
the plant Is being hurried along and
although the machinery which is be-
ing purchased will be able to turn out
a much larger number of sets than
will at first be manufactured the man
agement is looking to the future and
providing for what 1t is confident
will, In short time, be big demand
for the new article.
The Hood River Manufacturing
Company has been incorporated with
a capital ot, Sl0,0 l.. ID. Boyed is
president and X. N. Young is secre-
tary manager. 1t is expected to start
the factory with an out put OF II sets
OF hubs day which will be used to
supply orders and for the purpose OF
providing samples for salesmen and
exhibition purposes. The manage
ment of the company will take up the
matter of advertising the appliance
just as soon as they are ready to
place it on the market and have under
consideration the unique plan of start
ing out vehicle equipped with the
ball bearing hubs from San Francisco
and running it to the Atanltic coast.
In each town that it passes through
the hub will be exhibited and adver
tised and orders takern for it. A fea-
ture that is expected to make big
hit will be the fact that the hubs will
traverse a distance of over three thou
sand miles without drop Of oil.
Notice