Perhaps to encourage the manufacturer, Willcox upped his order to 100 machines of which 50 were to be of the type already being worked and 50 be of a smaller model. Work began in March 1858 when the first drawings were made and soon the local New England Bull Company was busy on the frame castings.Ībout four of Brown and Sharpe's men, aided by Charles Gibbs, worked full time to produce the tools which would eventually make the sewing-machine parts, but at the end of May, Lucien Sharpe had to write to Willcox and admit that this work was taking far longer than expected. This idea of special tooling and, therefore, the complete interchangeability of parts, almost led to the downfall of the project before the first machine was finished. Willcox also had to agree to pay for this work even if the machine was not a commercial success. What's more, Sharpe wanted to build the machines using specially-made dies and tooling rather than as one-offs. To hedge his bets Sharpe wanted an agreement whereby Willcox would pay $3 per day during the development time. The machine shop would produce a batch of 12 machines and then the cost could be accurately gauged. Eventually Willcox and Lucien Sharpe reached a compromise. But he went along in late 1857 or early '58 with the prototype he had made himself in an attempt to get a costing on the job.īrown and Sharpe were a little cagey, not wanting to commit to a price for work of which they had no experience. This was, in some ways a strange request, for the company he had chosen was very small with only five lathes, one drill and a couple of planers. Willcox, who was in charge of production, approached the Providence, Rhode Island, company of Brown and Sharpe who were at that time makers of clocks, watches and measuring instruments, and asked if it would be interested in producing the new sewing machine. GETTING THE first Willcox and Gibbs machine from drawing board to the shop counter was an adventure beset with more engineering problems than most. A History of the Willcox and Gibbs Company by Graham Forsdyke Brown and Sharpe's workshops where W&G's were made.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |