The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1916-12-29
A GREAT ESTABLISHMENT.
Interesting Description Of a Visit IN
Overland Automobile Factory,

visiting the great Toledo plant in connec
ton with the immense convention now
tle following entertaining letter TO the
Gazette.
Some action!
Nothing TO me was ever so impressive
az our tour OF the great plant that turns
GU E'llsys-Overland cars.
Our Pullmans We're all parked i'm Ina
conrany's yards at the factory and there
was pIenty of room as the company have
seven ana three quarters miles OF tract;
vit'in tn plant
Ea h man got a card containing "A pic
lure of M Wlleys and an autograph
nesaaee oi welcome from him.. Next thing
k.ew we were lined up on the steps cf
ffe stunning new administration building
q ting Photographed.
Elevators shot us up to the comDany's
eAu res'a amt on the sixth floor. There,
W. had corking breakfast At each plate
land house organ The Starter" II nap
ped OIL our days program.
alter breakfast we started on our our
Of II great plant. Our guides were care
frv,n ene end to the other and our parties
wer3 small so that each member of the
part. Gould have his questions answered.
Nobody ought to try to sell willows
Overland without having first seen this
plant. You cant grip the immensely of the
proposition until you do.
II Is no piker business.
$25,0OO,Oo0 are tied up in land. buildings
and machinery, not to say word about
about stock parts and material. From the
roof of the wonderful administration
capital, you get great panoramic view
Of the plant. You can then readily believe
that 1t occupies 1903 acres. with 4,4S6, $50
square feet of floor space In daily use
and production capacity of 1000 cars a
You can appreciate the growth when
from $50 employees in 1908 to 1900 in
1916
One thousand persons. more than the
entire force of many a manufacturing
concern, work in the administration build
has every facility for rapid work. 'includ-
ing dictaphones it's own telegraph and
telephone system and mail handling de-
partment that does about everything but
write the letters.
SSS persons can be fed in the restaurant
at one time. But this Is nothing to what
hits one when you cross into the shops
It is a whirl of action. yet all is system.
Parts, by the untold thousand are here.
with value into the millions OF dollars
There are lines Of motors. ! never saw so
guide said six thousand. but I would have
believed him If he had said sixty thous-
and. There is stock In bins. stock In yards
and stock all along the walls. Connecting
rods, frames, tenders, mudguards, hoods
rims, springs, axles. torsion tubes, trans
mission gear shafts, brake parts, steering
rods, pedals. it Is an unending procession
Every thirty days sees an average or
one thousand tons of steel come In. 1t is
handled by magnetic crane that enables
two men to do the work that formerly re-
qulred thirty.
gle press. for example held US all: This
monster with it's pressure OF LOCO tons
shapes cold steel like cardboard. A piece
frame 1t can make two thousand OF these
in eight hours. Other mighty machines
stamp out radiator shells. Tenders, cow
yon ,aLa off uour hat 10 the drop forg-
ing machines. Down comes the hammer
and the fiery piece Of iron ts beaten INTO
shape. The complete drop forging ol ,,s
one heat Every kind of part requiring
strength was drop forged wniie we looK-
ed on, axles, crank shafts; brake asseln;p,S ;,;
rods brake and control RODS spring
shackles, gear blanks and brake rod sec
tors.
We saw the company's accurate system
of die making 1t calls for speciai wotko IN
shaper, another on the planer and thiro
on die sinking.
The multiple spindle drill in one opera
tion drills all the holes In the tront aN,e
This is a guarantee that each will be In
the right relation to the other 1t was naIo
to drag us away from the autoinatlc
turret lathe that surfaces ana nnistiee ,,,snre
within it's metal vitals a. brain was con-
cealed. The workman has only TO put on
the rough fly wheel. adjust the iirs' @ se'
Of TOOLS, push tne lever, anu iSt Wv 1880
The cast iron is peeled off as readily as
wax. Sometimes four or nNe operaettoi1Ss ~
are performed at once. When one SCI &C. u
cuttings is done the machine stops auto
matically and the next set OF tools @ @CoIiae'
tically into place. IWenty ppvt,
tions are performed in fourteen f illiilutI ~ a.
20 pounds of metal are removed lT.'I .iie e
wheel one man can watch three of these
~ rr
The vertical cutter OF gears on ny ~
wheels almost matches the turre' ia'"e N'
interest. -. ,n
Moving up and down the cutter AT M
same time revolves, the fly wheel az @ tne
same time turning in the t oppos1iiu pppesoi,tinn q,
the fly wheel has been accomplished an
the gears have been cut. ,o,,nar,.
We all fell for the ,at a,pm,nI'i fnish the alum
mum parts. The multiple spinoie orni, I'LL
bores 81 holes in the crank case III one
operation. This is PROOF OF ene for orp tI,e
iorIty of the machining processes TOT tiie
holes must be in the right relations TO Q
one another Another machine ss;,'- smoo;tnr =
the surfaces of the crank cases. iii's'i'"s
seven in nine minutes 49,,
Diamonds, real diamonds are consumes re u
with apparent reckless Indifference IN ie aiie
wet grind room. Placed In smail IL too,s n,'
u,bich are ground the bearing surfaces o. OF
the crank shafts. They are bouGnt, III
81 !. 900 lots. We looked on Wniie Whoie into ~
ests of lumber were being turned INTO
hodies in the wood working department.
This lumber comes In by the car load. AS
9l4 feet of wood Is required on Isl, s,,'al, sn
car, we couiu fe"u"s GOV
much is required. , o,a con
When one makes this round one can
readily understand why this company ooir on
sumes such an immense anIId1.. mIdnr a. annmally.
. 5oo oo0 bounds of tin and lead Tor snnoi !
derinG. IL, 600, 900 pounds OF prass ana any
copper. II, 900. 900 feet of steel tuoihs anu
lz2;V9o ,bat ions impressed me more than all
else was the department In whicn iie oH, III" a
terials are tested. They nave 10 KUvT V.,,,s'
thing is right before ~ hS goes thew h Safeguard
Overland car. Inat 'o" ''
me rests pt' in the physical and chemical lap,
ratories are made In two ways, tests
s sT,es are twisted like rolls of taffy candy,
small hits of steel, six inches long, ui'
from completed axles, are aa,acte art The
both ends and literally HSoPs ps''ssS 200 90 % pounds
10 the SQUARE inch necessary TO accotnaPE'nS nor
This where as a resistance up 70 ts'I. tao,y'yI.
pounds would be proof or ample a,r ruh,,s' 20
strength. Springs are tried ior ''e'i '''
Steel articles are also put through p4e, 4e.
heot and chemical tests. The former M ue
termines the amount OF carpon cStnrr,ines The
portant factor; the other deternl'iie' '"'
Chemical composition of the steel ~ ,h,
Naturally every operation In an th' III
PANTS tends finally toward the asseI.T' than;
conveyor tracks. There are io'' "
each CAS- feet long. orotton w,
we followed the whole operSas,Onm,e,s n,es AND AND
rear s,,Stan,s - are nut in place. BY the TIM
the other end Of the conveyor Is ,,',he' reachhe'
tho frame has grown into the finished
car ,, -,
From overhead parts are loweIeu -,
chains. Along the way: men are aetaU,'',, tion u,
the parts The frame is not In motion ny
the time, hut can be instantly cohnec.e'
with the links of an endless chain ah'
Top quality work is assured by havin!
each man do the work on which ne Is al
expert if II be only to tighten bolt.
Lines of motors already tested, walt o'
IN place, contilever springs are put on