Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-05-03

be, Wish for Peace; If you have a
back bone where your back bone
stretch Of gravel road nearly thirty
miles in length, while many of the
hard sand roads Of Indiana and the
gravel roads of Michigan far Guido
the macadam highways
The Buick Factory
The plant where the Buick autos
are made occupies space of one hun
dred and sixty acres and gives en-
pIoyment to about 5000 employees,
including q large number of girls and
women. Five years ago much of the
ground now occupied by the Buick
factory was q tract of barren sand
banks and the present structures
show the enormous growth of the
business in so short time. Now $50
cars are turned out every day, or one
every four minutes, and the factory is
not only turning out the new cars, but
keeping up the repair parts for the
older models.
On entering the various depart
ments one was at once struck with
the enormous number of American
flags on display throughout the
buildings. Unlike many auto plants
every part of the Buick machine is
made within it's own factory, from
the smallest to the greatest of essen
tails that enter into its construction.
Very much of the machinery is auto
matte, one machine doing the work Of
many men. The gear shaper is a re-
markab1e piece of machinery, the
transmission gears being automatic
ally and exactly cut from the raw ma
terial while another machine takes
in long bars of steel and turns out
shaped and finished screws.
In the upholstery department many
women and girls are given employ
ment, and female help is also en-
ployed in making electrical appliances
for the seIf-starter in an auto. In
the top department 125 girls were at
work, and in the room where the
molds are made many young women
earn as high as $3.50 and $500 per
day.
In the assembly rooms two men
work together, and the cars keep
slowly moving until complete and
emerge at the back door.
An interesting sight is the paint
ing of the engine and chassis, which
is done by means Of a sprayer as it
is passing on it's way to enter an air
drying room, from which it energies
in few minutes ready for the fur
Their work to progress. In one depart
ment we saw the bodies of the cars
being rubbed with pumice stone pre-
paratory to receiving it's twenty-one
coats of paint.
The drop forge foundry, where all
the forge parts of the Buick are made
from raw materials, contains the larg-
est steam hammer in the world. Here
are made the different parts for the
frames of the Bucks, such as steer
ing knuckies, crankshafts, etc. 1t is
an ispiring sight to witness the mas
sive hammers cut from red hot metal
these parts, all from dies, the making
of which is a most expensive item.
One of the new additions of the
Buick plant contains many odd ma
chimes called rodlers into which are
put rough castings, and in which aft
er tumbling about come out cleaned
ready for the cars. In the molding
department it was a sight to see the
molten metal poured into the desired
molds for cylinder castings, etc. In a
Buick all cylinders must be perfect,
and all are tested out for exactness
under hydraulic pressure, and scrap
ped if found with any imperfections.
In the sand room from which is
taken the sands used for making
molds, we saw tons and tons Of sand,
one of the few inexpensive articles
used in the manufacture of an auto
mobile in Michigan, where sand
abounds.
In the motor testing rooms we saw
hundreds of motors undergoing at one
time a three-hour test for efficiency.
The cars are later tested again on a
race track near the Buick plant, TAX
en- in again and cleaned by steam.
Notwithstanding the high. cost OF
material the Buick factory still uses