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Manufacturers Index - Dodge Manufacturing Co.

Dodge Manufacturing Co.
Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery, Metal Working Machinery & Steam and Gas Engines

Patents
This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

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Patent Number Date Title Name City Description
174,303 Feb. 29, 1876 Improvement in friction-clutches Edwin Reynolds Providence, RI This patent date was seen in an article on the "Dodge plate split friction clutch and cut-off coupling" in the April 1895 The Canada Lumberman. This patent seems like the most likely candidate even though the inventor was in Rhode Island and Dodge was in Indiana.
208,940 Oct. 15, 1878 Improvement in wagon-jacks Miles D. Williams Mishawaka, IN This patent was manufactured by Magic Jack Co., a company formed in 1878 by Wallace H. Dodge and Henry Woodbury (Woodbury would soon be bought out by Dodge). The "Magic" wagon jack was very successful. Only one year later the Dodge Mfg. Co. was organized by Dodge and his brother William W. Dodge, and took over the business of the Magic Jack Co. In 1882 Wallace co-patented a split pulley, patent 260,462. This proved to be even more successful and in 1884 the company discontinued all their other products, and soon they introduced a line of power transmission products.
    Improvement in wagon-jacks Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN  
260,462 Jul. 04, 1882 Separable pulley George Philion Mishawaka, IN This is the famous Dodge split-pulley design which quickly became the mainstay product of the Dodge Mfg. Co., which subsequently diversified and grew to enormous size. See patent 456,722 for an improvement to this patent.
    Separable pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN  
294,452 Mar. 04, 1884 Band-saw machine Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN This safety device that catches the blade when it runs off the wheel was seen on page 188 of the 1888 London, Berry & Orton catalog, as their "Independence Band-Saw Catcher", and it is claimed that "Saving a saw once or twice frequently pays for the Catcher" in avoiding blade damage.
The inventor was owner of the Dodge Mfg. Co., makers of wood specialties and wood pulleys. In 1884 they were manufacturing only the "Dodge Independence Wood Split Pulley" (the use of the "Independence" name for both the saw catcher and the pulley provides some evidence that the catcher may actually have been manufactured by Dodge and was merely sold by London, Berry & Orton). By 1890 Dodge Mfg. Co. were making a more complete line of power transmission equipment. By 1902 their manufacturing facilities covered over 64 acres and 40 buildings. And in 1894 Lyman O. Orton of London, Berry & Orton had a patent assigned to Dodge: see patent 530,715.
296,735 Apr. 15, 1884 Button-fastener Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN
320,544 Jun. 23, 1885 Device for transmitting power Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN Rope-driven transmission of power, intended as a substitute for flat-belt systems; see patent 345,219 for the rope-splice to be used with this system. This rope system was found to be useful in carrying power a greater distance that would be practical for leather belts, such as to an adjacent building or across a road, either above or below the roadway.
345,219 Jul. 06, 1886 Rope-splice Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN Rope splice for use in power transmission, as in the system of patent 320,544.
348,269 Aug. 31, 1886 Band-saw pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN It is not known if this bandsaw pulley-wheels were manufactured by Dodge Mfg. Co. That company's expertise in pulleys for overhead lineshaft systems was certainly relevant in making bandsaw wheels.
351,064 Oct. 19, 1886 Wooden pulley Charles McNeal Mishawaka, IN See patent 368,820 for a description of, and improvement to, this patent.
353,669 Dec. 07, 1886 Band-saw mill Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN See patent 294,452 for more information on this inventor.
354,811 Dec. 21, 1886 Tablesaw for making curved pulley parts Isidore V. Roy Mishawaka, IN It seems most likely that this tablesaw was used by Dodge Mfg. Co., and not manufactured by them.
359,270 Mar. 15, 1887 Boring Machine Charles McNeal Mishawaka, IN
359,853 Mar. 22, 1887 Lathe George Philion Mishawaka, IN See patent 294,452 for more information on this inventor. We assume this lathe was for Dodge Mfg. Co.'s own use and was not manufactured for sale.
    Lathe Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN  
368,845 Aug. 23, 1887 Rabbeting-machine Charles McNeal Mishawaka, IN "This invention relates to a machine adapted to use in the manufacture of the spoke-arms for the wooden pulleys in my patent granted October 19, 1886..."
We assume this machine was for Dodge Mfg. Co.'s own use and was not manufactured for sale.
368,820 Aug. 23, 1887 Wooden pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN Patent 348,269 shows a bandsaw pulley (wheel) with wood rim and metal spokes; patent 351,064 shows a pulley with wood rim and wood spokes. In the latter patent the spokes are dovetailed and glued to the rim, which was found to be deficient because the spoke-ends were loose and allowed some movement that eventually broke the glue joints. This patent improves upon that scheme by filling the space at the end of the spoke-tenon "with some suitable solidifying plastic", an idea taken from the all-metal pulley construction of the first patent. The "plastic material" used was melted sulphur.
370,495 Sep. 27, 1887 Wooden Pulley Isidore V. Roy Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, IN
376,373 Jan. 10, 1888 Woolen boot Robert D. O. Smith Mishawaka, IN Improvements to patent 367,333 for knitting woolen boots. See also patent 479,251 for a closely related patent.
    Woolen boot Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN  
383,369 May. 22, 1888 Lathe George Philion Mishawaka, IN We assume this lathe was for Dodge Mfg. Co.'s own use and was not manufactured for sale.
383,246 May. 22, 1888 Upright-saw machine George Philion Mishawaka, IN This invention is an add-on to a bandsaw for cutting pulley rim segments. We assume this device was for Dodge Mfg. Co.'s own use and was not manufactured for sale.
383,281 May. 22, 1888 Means for securing pulleys on shafts Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN See patent 294,452 for more information on the inventor and his company.
412,916 Oct. 15, 1889 Pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN Improvements to the famous Dodge split-pulley design of patent 260,462 to allow interchangeable bushings and to make it easier to construct smaller pulleys. See patent 294,452 for more information on the inventor and his company.
422,507 Mar. 04, 1890 Pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN Improvements to patent 260,462 to improve the fastening together of the two halves of the split pulley, by "a system of interlocking keys and wedges which hold the parts and force the bush without causing it to be eccentric."
456,722 Jul. 28, 1891 Pulley Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN This patent date was seen in an article on the "Dodge plate split friction clutch and cut-off coupling" in the April 1895 The Canada Lumberman.
This invention had already been granted British patent 188,612,987, and is an improvement on patent 260,462.
479,251 Jul. 19, 1892 Woolen boot Robert D. O. Smith Mishawaka, IN
    Woolen boot Wallace H. Dodge Mishawaka, IN  
530,715 Dec. 11, 1894 Lubricator Lyman O. Orton Mishawaka, IN Inventor Orton had been a partner in the Philadelphia woodworking machinery maker Berry & Orton.
2,464,630 Mar. 15, 1949 Screw-operated vise having a rack-engaging nut-actuated rocking pawl for quick adjustment Berthold R. Zitner Burlington, IA An example of this vise is seen, with "U.S. PATENT / No. 2464630 / MADE IN U.S.A." cast into one side and "DODGE / SLIDE-SET / VISE / MISHAWAKA / IND. / SIZE -40-" cast into the other.
2,605,660 Aug. 05, 1952 Quickly adjustable vise having safety stop David Firth South Bend, IN
2,672,064 Mar. 16, 1954 Screw and handle assembly David Firth South Bend, IN