I obtained full detail drawings of Smith & Coventry’s shop. The accompanying outline presents a cross-section of this shop, and is figured to the dimensions I proposed to adopt. I proposed to build a length of only 75 feet, which by successive additions could be extended to 500 feet if required. Moreover, at first the office, drawing-office, pattern shop, and storeroom, besides the machine shop, in short everything, except only the engine and boiler, smith shop and foundry, were to be accommodated in this one building. I was greatly pleased with my plan, and felt sure that it would commend itself to my associates, as no shop possessing these conveniences then existed in the United States. I, however, introduced one modification of the English shops, or rather one addition. I had observed that reliance on the traveler for local work involved a serious loss of time. I had seen in various shops men standing idle, sometimes from fifteen to thirty minutes, waiting for the traveler to be at liberty to come and give them a lift. It appeared evident to me that the province of the traveler was to fetch and carry; not to perform local work, unless of the heaviest class. So for the latter purpose I provided swing cranes, which could be operated by the workman himself without assistance. This also enabled one traveler to cover a much longer extent of floor. [Illustration: Cross-section of Machine Shop Proposed by Mr. Porter in 1868, after the Design of Smith & Coventry.] Smith & Coventry had made numerous improvements on Mr. Whitworth’s tools. I have already mentioned their arrangement which made it possible to take up the wear of the lathe spindle bearings. In the radial drill, an invention of Mr. Whitworth’s, as made by him, in order to bring the drill to the right position longitudinally, the workman was obliged to go to the end of the arm and turn the screw. From this point he could not see his work, and had to guess at the proper adjustment. I have seen him in the Whitworth works go back and forth for this purpose three or four times, and have always doubted if he got it exactly right after all. Smith & Coventry introduced an elegant device by which the workman was able to make this adjustment without moving from his place. They also first made the arm of the radial drill adjustable vertically by power. By simply reversing the curve of the brackets under Mr. Whitworth’s shaper tables, they made these unyielding under the pressure of the cut. This firm also first employed small cutting tools set in an arm which was secured in the tool-post, and put an end to tool-dressing by the blacksmith, which had caused a fearful waste of time, and also encouraged idle habits among the workmen. This improvement has since come into common use. Their system of grinding these small tools interested me very much. The workman never left his machine. He was provided with a number of tools, set in compartments in a box. When a tool became dull he took it out, set it