Photo Index - H. B. Smith Machine Co. - Grape and Lattice

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
H. B. Smith Machine Co.
Lowell, MA; Smithville, NJ

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Mortising Machine
Machine Size:	8-feet tall
Submitted By:	Dave Potts

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Grape and Lattice
Date of Manufacturer:	Before 1865
Serial Number:
Last Updated	9/23/2004 11:13:57 AM

Comments:

So I drove nearly 300 miles to see this item and it was worth the trip. The machine typifies what some machinery manufacturers did during the *Golden Age* of our nation's industrial era as they blended art, technology, and production into their products. The machine was over 8' tall if you included the pulleys at the peak and features a plain cast-iron lattice pattern on the lower-half and a grape vine motif on the upper half. Another model stands in the Smithsonian Museum; yet another model supposedly stands in a man's home in New Hampshire supporting his second floor like a grand lolly column.

The machine has been modified, however. It currently sports a hollow chisel arrangement for boring, whereas the original machine was a reciprocating mortiser and used a concentric wheel and pitman arm to drive "U"-shaped chisels into the wood below. The patent date of 1857 is very clear on the machine, as is the city, Lowell, Mass. H.B Smith left his Works in Massachusetts in 1865 to begin his utopian village in New Jersey, bringing many of his workers and their families with him.
http://www.datamp.org/displayPatent.php?number=17701&type=UT

The bidding on the mortiser was fast and furious, beginning at $2000. A call-in bidder added to the frenzy and folks were very careful to not scratch an ear or brush their hair as the pricing passed the $4k mark. The selling price was $4750.... plus 10% commission fee. A conversation with the buyer revealed that he has plans to resell it and already has a buyer for it at nearly twice the auction price.

Photo 1:

Comments: The upper half of the mortiser
Source: Worcester, MA auction

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Photo 2:

Comments: Detail like this is sadly missed in today's machinery
Source: Worcester, MA auction

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Photo 3:

Comments: An ad for 2 models of the Smith Mortisers
Source: New Jersey Mechanic-1875- the weekly Smithville newspaper

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