Boston Made by Dr. Robert M. Krim

Author:Dr. Robert M. Krim [Krim, Dr. Robert M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Published: 2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

Elias Howe learned much of machines and business from the community that surrounded him. He grasped the potential value of eliminating the drudgery of thousands of hand stitches required to make a garment and created a true breakthrough.

Earlier attempts to mechanize sewing imitated the dance of needle and fingers that a human performs to join pieces of cloth. In contrast, Howe absorbed concepts from the fertile industrial environment of the time, including the manufacture of scientific instruments and loom building. Howe placed the loop of the needle near the pointed tip and included a shuttle and an additional spool of thread below the cloth. The machine inserted the needle and thread into the cloth, and a shuttle, located below the cloth, seized this loop of thread and pulled a second thread through it, creating a lockstitch. The primary characteristic of a lockstitch is the linking of the two threads, accomplishing results that are similar to what a human can do with single thread and needle but at a blindingly fast pace. The third element of the design was a mechanical method to advance the cloth automatically with the completion of each stitch, positioning the cloth for the next stroke of the needle.

This singular invention, perfected at Howe’s home in Central Square, Cambridge (on Cherry Street, the same street as the home of transcendentalist Margaret Fuller), was awarded a patent in 1846. But Howe’s machine was not an immediate success; he initially lacked sufficient capital to manufacture it and had difficulty attracting any US investors. His elder brother, Amasa Bemis Howe, even traveled to London in search of backing. In the meantime, his prospects were marred by rivals such as Isaac Singer, whose machines copied Howe’s lockstitch idea. Although Howe eventually won a lawsuit against Singer, forcing him to pay royalties, the legal challenge kept him from manufacturing on a large scale until 1863, when he formed a company and built a large sewing machine factory at Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.