Photo Index - H. B. Smith Machine Co. - Number 398 Reciprocating Mortiser

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:
Submitted By:	Dave Potts

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Number 398 Reciprocating Mortiser
Date of Manufacturer:	1868 Patent date
Serial Number:
Last Updated	6/25/2006 3:46:40 PM

Comments:

My first experience with this model machine was at an auction in the summer of 2004. That can be seen here: http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=1798 There are very few of these machines around; one is serving as a lalli-column in a man's NH home. The machine in this entry was found on ebay and came from Holley, NY, a small town about 10 miles south of the Erie Canal and near Batavia. The casting indicates that the machine was made in Smithville.... the Worcester machine had a Lowell, Mass address.

Once the grease and grime were pressure-washed from the machine, the original colors became visible, but are too far gone to be left unpainted. The plinth and capital are a brick-red color. The table and parts of the lattice are a blue color. The grape leaves and vines are a dark green or black. Some yellow accents were also found in some of the fillets and rounds. I do not have the flat portion of the table, but do have the rear fence and the locking knobs.

To attempt something unusual, I drove the mortiser over to the H.B. Smith factory ruins and parked in front of the remnants of the foundry building. Sometime after 1868, molten iron was poured from a crucible to form this very machine-- probably only 30 feet from where I was parked. There aren't too many machines that get an opportunity to return home again.

I'll replace one of the pictures below with the appropriate *After Shots* as spring returns to NJ.

Photo 1:

Comments: Taken in front of the H.B. Smith foundry building
Source:

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Photo 2:

Comments: Taken in front of the H.B. Smith foundry building
Source:

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Photo 3:

Comments: The majority of the machine is painted and is standing erect in my shop
Source: June 2006

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