The "Secret Weapon" that Helped to Win the Battle of Production
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The "Secret Weapon" that Helped to Win the Battle of Production Small parts cut from profile shaped rod, developed by A. B. & J. Rathbone of Palmer, pioneer specialists in their field, aided many of America's largest producers of arms and munitions to meet production schedules that seemed impossible at the time. INSTON Churchill's profound tribute to the RAF in the dark days of 1940, "Never before have so many owed so much to so few," might weU apply to a family of metalworkers in Palmer, Massachusetts. When the mass production of small anns and munitions started to get under way at the beginning of the Defense Program, industry was up against plenty of snags. Billions upon billions of smaU parts were needed for a multiplicity of applications in other parts and components. Parts which had to be machined to very close tolerances were essential to the finished product, and arsenals and war plants embarked on tremendous programs found themselves up against dangerous botilenecks. To machine these parts from metal blanks was a job that time would not aUow if prompt Drawing a special shaped rod. the beginning of the operation, below is the die. itself. held between the jaws of a damp, The rod is cold drawn through this die. emerging in the corresponding shape of the hole in the die. delivery schedules were to be met, and furthermore there were not enough machine tools in existence to handle them, let alone skilled operators. This is where the ftrm of A. B. & J. Rathbone, of Palmer came in. The Rathbones had an idea. The Rathbone plant makes cold drawn shapes and pinion rod. Pinion rod, as most readers of INDUSTRY know, is used for making pinions or the intermediary drives between two small gears. To manufacture pinion rod that will stand up on the job caUs for accurate, highly skilled, experienced workmanship. The metal wire or rod is cold drawn through dies, or a series of dies and when the operation is finished it must match exact!y the shape and dimension specified. The Rathbone shop draws hundreds of standard and special made-to-order shapes of profile and pinion rod in steel, brass, bronze, nickel silver, stainless steel, monel metal, pure nickel and other special aUoys to specification for various purposes. Some of these shapes are shown on page 25. The Rathbone family, in fact, was the pioneer manufacturer of this specialty in the United States from the time their business was slarted in Palmer forty years ago in 1905. To get back 10 the main point of the story, the Rathbones saw in their product the immediate answer to an urgent production problem. Prior to the war for several years they had been furnishing specially shaped drawn sections to some of the largest manufacturers in Ihe country of electric alarm clocks, electric meters, water meters, switches, typewriters, adding machines, cigarette lighters and toys. These and many other customers had learned to rely upon the Rathbone product, and through its use had effected appreciable savings in materials and labor costs. If smal! parts made from drawn rod served so well and" dependably in these peacetime products, reasoned the Rathbones, why wouldn't they fit just as weU into the production of precision-made small arms, munitions components. and other vital war assemblies? Strange as it may seem, many of the prime contractors to whom the use of parts made from cold drawn rod was suggested, were not receptive to the idea at first. Fearful that parts made from cold drawn rod would not meet the ?::l

Another view of pinion rod cold drawing. On the right a skilled Rathbone worker is engaged in a die making operation. The Rathbone shop makes all its own dies. close tolerances and performances required by Army and Navy specifications they were hesitant about using it. Andrew B. Rathbone went to these contractors and showed them how it could be done. Why, he asked, should they stick to the old costly and time-consuming methods of machining the part out of a metal blank, when slicing the required part to the necessary thickness out of a standard ten or twelve-foot length of metal. previously...

Inspecting pinion rod prior to shipment. pany, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, he superintended its operation, and later the erection and operation of other furnaces at that plant. After four years he returned to England where he worked on the development of improved methods of manufacturing pinion rod and allied processes. Afterwards he came back to the United States to supervise and operate "pat_ enting" furnaces in the plant of the Wright Wire Company in Palmer, now a part of the Wickwire Spencer Steel Company. At the time Andrew was with the Wright Wire Company he decided there was a good...

The "Secret" Weapon [Continued from page 25} Complete Job Finishing Factory in New England Baked Enameling, Japanning, Wrinkle Finishing, Lacquering for War Production Industries HANO STREET ALLSTON, MASS. ~~\.oy~ Xl"{~~S ~~ OQ.\)~ FOR HUNDREDS ~~~ OF NEW ENGLAND'S BASIC BUSINESSES! BOSTON ENVELOPE COMPANY DEDHAM, MASS. Makers of mailin.g, packaging a1td systems envelopes of every type, plain and pri1ttcd PRODUCING THREE MILLION UNITS DAILY drawing of intricate shapes in all kinds of steel, including alloy, tool, stainless steel and non-ferrous metals. The Rathbones have dozens of...

It is proposed to liberalize the Securities Act of 1933 which holds down the lid on investment capital so tight that it virtually keeps small business out of the money market. Incentives For Venture Money Both big and little busines must be given proper incentives to use venture money which is lying idle because investors are discouraged by confiscatory taxation from ex· posing their savings, and that will be a live issue in Congress this year Small business will be vitally interested, because it could make good use of this timid cap· ital. Chairman Eccles of the Federal Reserve System...