422
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
respect they are, in fact, distinguished beyond any other collection of tools at Vienna. * * * The workmanship, too, of the vari
ous machines shown is excellent, and every care appears to have been taken to insure accuracy. The only fault, in fact, which we have to find with the American machine-tools is, that some of their frames are not what they should be. With a few exceptions, and notably Messrs. Sellers,—whose frames are excellent,—our American friends are apt to run a little wild in the matter of frames, and we miss in their designs the solidity and simplicity which distinguish the productions of our leading English firms. Hollow or cored frames are not so largely used in the United States as they are now with us; and the ribbed frames which are adopted, although probably amply strong enough for their work, are apt to be distinguished by many unnecessary curves and twists. This is especially noticeable with the legs for supporting the smaller machines.”
In respect to the weight of frames, it is remarkable that while our New England makers uniformly agree in declaring that the excessive weight of English tools is wholly unnecessary, they have yet, for the last ten years, been constantly adding to the weight of their machinery; and are still far behind the manufacturers of Philadelphia and Wilmington, and even those of the Western States. It was the declaration of two distinct manufacturers of the Middle States to the writer, made within a few days, that New England tools had a very unfavorable reputation in their part of the country. This reputation arose, no doubt, from the fact that New England tools are too light for the heavy work required of them in the Middle States. Our tools are heavy enough for much of the work in New England, but should some firm, of good reputation for workmanship, add largely to the weight and strength of their tools, they would bring back to Massachusetts a class of orders now wholly given in other directions.*
Passing by the United States department of the Machinery hall, the visitor from America would have found elsewhere very little that was new or instructive. A few general remarks are suggested by a review of the productions of other nationalities. Lathes are very generally built with a gap under
* See weights of Philadelphia and New York tools, p. 421.