“We’ll have some special apparatus to make and some experimenting to do. Then we’ll probably lose two or three pots of glass. I think you’d better ask him $800.” Howard thought that this was plenty. Tilton, however, was more cautious and doubled the price. Peate arrived in Butler on schedule. When Tilton named his price, Peate, of course, agreed instantly. Tilton was somewhat shocked and probably would have been more so had he known what St. Goubain had asked. At any rate the contract was placed with Standard, apparently in October 1894. Having obtained a maker for his disc Peate immediately began making arrangements to prepare the disc. He contracted with the machine shop of a John Hodge for the tools with which the mirror would be worked. This small firm, The Hodge Manufacturing Co., employed only four men besides the owner. Among these was Frank A’Hearn, then just a boy, who became the prime source for details of the tools used by Peate in this work. Starting in November 1894 notes such as, “worked for Dr. Peate 3½ hours” begin to appear in his workbook.[28] [Illustration: FIGURE 12.—Hodge’s method of cutting the checker grooves. (From Preston, fig. 6.)] The Hodge company made several (probably three) grinding tools for Peate. One was about 12 inches in diameter, and was to be used by hand. Two of the larger tools were provided with the male member of a ball and socket joint and were to be power driven. They were 30 and 48 inches in diameter, respectively. The largest was grooved to a waffle-like surface on its convex face. These grooves were about ½ inch wide and 3/16 inch deep. This pattern was ground by placing the tool face up on a wheeled buggy, which rode on cambered oak rails. As it was pushed along the length of the rail the grinding wheel on the radius arm cut one groove. When the groove had been cut, the radius arm was moved 2 inches along a line shaft and another groove cut. When all the grooves had been cut in one direction the tool was turned 90 degrees on the buggy and the other set of grooves was ground. The grinding of this tool took many weeks, and making the tools and apparatus for Peate may have kept Hodge busy for nearly six months.[29] [Illustration: FIGURE 13.—Face of largest grinding tool made by Hodge for Peate. (From Preston, fig. 5b.)]