[D8968AAM], Letter from Charles Batchelor to Thomas Alva Edison, August 19th, 1889
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Title
[D8968AAM], Letter from Charles Batchelor to Thomas Alva Edison, August 19th, 1889
Editor's Notes
[GOOD SNAPSHOT] CAR BRAKE. I have designed one of these and we are now making it. The part for winding up and unwinding without stopping the armature is a little complicated at present, but I shall certainly simplify it before we get through.####HORSE CAR MOTOR. I enclose you a clipping from the "Electrical World" of last November, which shows that someone else has been working on the principle of our car Motor. This article is dated November 1888 and was apparently new at that time. As we made our Motor in April 1888, I presume we are far ahead of him and am therefore going ahead designing just as if he had not done anything.####BATTERIES. Gladstone is now turning out all the Batteries that are wanted by the Phonograph Works. He has been turning out sufficient zincs and oxide plates to make 40 batteries a day but he does not complete that many. We have found it much cheaper to run the furnace right along, night and day, for the oxide plates. I then let up again until the press has got another lot ready, by this means we can keep the coal bill down to a reasonable amount. I send Gladstone to Trenton to see if he could not get battery tops at 50c a dozen, in place of $1.80 per dozen always charged us by Bergmann. The small batteries for telephone have been on test now for over 100 hours and show up very satisfactorily indeed.####I have asked Kennelly to make me a little report on it and I enclose it. Just as soon as we see our way clear I shall go and see the telephone people in regard to this battery. We are also getting the figures for talking this battery against the Stock Quotation Printer batteries in use by the Western Union Co. I found out that sometime ago Mr. Logue tried one of these batteries on one of your phonoplex circuits in Altoona, Pa. and it was apparently a failure. I have discussed the matter with him and I think I know where his trouble is and have therefore instructed him to get everything that he wants from Gladstone for a new trial, and I have no doubt that we shall make it go to their satisfaction.#### PHONOGRAPH WORKS. The 200 thread screw and new Recorder and Reproducer work like a charm, in fact I think if anything better than the old one. There seems to be less ----tab. English is putting on a few of the machiens a device which you have frequently spoken of for turning off the cylinder by means of the Return Screw. He has got a very simple arrangement of the lever on the opposite side -- --- from the return screw put; it works perfectly.####Everything necessary for the sapphire business is cooking along. I had ----- of asking you to look up the matter of sapphires whilst you were in Europe, but I do not now think that this is necessary as Mr. Wills will furnish -- --- slips for ----- the ----- needles at 5c each, and each slip would ----- -- ----- ---. --- -- --- opinion very cheap as with ---------- suitable for our purposes####WAX CYLINDERS-----We are now making the wax xylinders in the new building of the Phonograph Works. We have caught up to our orders and are beginning to get a few ahead. This is quite necessary as you know the cylinders should stand for some weeks before being turned off. English feels sure that by the 25th of this month he can be making 1500 good cylinders per day.####TOY. Bliss' men are still finishing the dies and also making some that we found were necessary, although they were not included, in the original order. I do not know why they were left out as they are quite essential. We have no order at present to go ahead nor do I want --- until these details are fixed.[Heiss] is now at the Phonograph Works teaching another man so that in case you want to send him to Antwerp we shall have a man who can attend to that part of the business.####In regard to the Reproducer needle on the Toy, we have found that it is not necessary to make a small ball point, we simply punch out a small punching of --- of this shape --- and burnishing the end, which is done in a few minutes, there is sufficient of a circle when the brass is of the right thickness to make a recorder point equal to the other, to fact we have made one of this style for the regular Phonograph and it works apparently as well as the other. Certainly it will be much cheaper to make them this way for the toy and equally as good.####Very truly yours####"Batch"####[name mentions: Thos Edison, Edison Phonograph Works, James Gladstone, Charles Batchelor, Western Union Co., W.S. Logue, Mr. Wills, Bergmann, Kennelly, Bliss]
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1889-08-19
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8968-F
Microfilm ID
128:360
Document ID
D8968AAM
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University