Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1910-05-11
Our Manufacturing Plants.

I
will deal with what so many call the
Steel Plant" In company with Frank
Feazell of Missouri, formerly n citizen
of'this community, representative of
this paper visited this new industry last
Thursday and we were shown through
the various departments by the genial
end accommodating G.. A. Northcott who
is stockholder and an officer of the
company. We We're indeed surprised at
the magnitude of the concern and the
amount of work turned out every day
by the three hundred and fifty laborers
employed. The pessimists of this COM
munity (and we have a number of
them), who imagined (and talked it)
that this plant would amount to moth
ing TO the city (; that it was intended on
lyas an advertising scheme TO sell lots.
should visit the several departments and
see what is being done. They will be
surprised and will change their MUD in
regard to the matter.
1T we should ask some of our neigh.
bors to describe "A steel plant, they no
doubt. in their Imagination, would
paint lurid picture of roaring furnaces,
molten metal, running steel, etc. But
In the case of this plant, this picture is
far from being correct, the proper name
for it is "Wire Mill and Sp Fac
tory" In the course of this writing we
shall endeavor to explain the latter de-
partment:
The spring shop or factory is equipp.
ed with all of the latest and improved
machines of the times, necessary for the
manufacture of springs and it alone
gives employment to about one hundred
and twenty men and boys, who make
coil or wire springs of all sizes and de.
scriptons. varying from six feet in
length to a fraction of an inch, and from
five pounds each to small fraction of a
pound, to thousand springs, and col
lection OF these springs make very
pleasing sight to the eye
On entering the shop we noticed the
large bundles of wire being trucked in
from the wire mill. This is taken to the
coiling machines which coil or turn it
into an unfinished spring. made up of a
number OF continuous coils or rings
which coils or rings are in fact the life
of the springs. The spring is then taken
TO punch press where it is cut into the
lengths desired. After being cut they are,
If intended for compression springs,
taken to the grinders who grind them
on large emery wheels until the 'enos
are fat. They are then sent into
another building, placed on truck and
Japaned, or painted, and run into
furnace which quickly dries the Japan.
These springs are then packed in bar
rels or boxes and are ready for the mar.
ket- With AN extension spring the
operations are slightly different After
the spring is coiled and cut. it is taken
to looping machine which turns the
wire in the last coil and bends it in
towards the body of the spring making
1t look as though you drove in large
staple. These loops are at times finish.
ed by hand, as it requires great skill and
care on the part of the workmen TO
make perfect loop. After being loop
ed the springs then follow through the
same operations as the compression
spring. which we have described in the
foregoing paragraph.
The mills also manufacture bed springs.
The springs pass through a number of
interesting operations. They are coiled
on machine called a "Hoofer Collier, ."
which turns out about ten springs a
minute. The wire is fed into the ma
chine automatically and all that the
operator does is to catch the springs as
they come out of the machine and press
them to the required height. They are
then taken to another machine which is
a few feet distant and this machine knots
the spring, that is, il automatically ties
the end to the last COIL sometimes on
one end only, and at other times on both
ends, whichever is desired by the Gus
toner. They are then bundled into
small bundles OF packages, usually con-
tanning one-half gross or seventy-two
springs. They are then Japaned and
are ready for the market.
In the manufacture of the springs
which we have described TO you, they
use several different brands Of wire.
namely steel wire, copper wire bronze
wire, music wire and timed win @.
But no matter what wire is used or
how they are made they are all made
for the same purpose-namely, as a
great help or as a luxury for men all
over the world
Eight boys recently escaped from
the reform school at Pruntytown