The 1893 Duryea Automobile In the Museum of History and TechnologyBerkebile, Donald H.
History
The 1893 Duryea Automobile In the Museum of History and Technology
Berkebile, Donald H.
Duryea automobile
DURYEA LABORATORIES CHAS. E. DURYEA, CONSULTING
ENG'R
WE SOLV MECHANICAL AND OTHER PROBLEMS TESTS, SEARCHES, OPINIONS,
EXPERT IN PATENT SUITS.
DEVELOP INVENTIONS, ASSIST INVENTORS 35 YRS EXPERIENS. HEATING,
GAS ENGIN, AUTO, ETC.
FOR THINGS TO MAKE OR SEL CONSULT US A PRIDEWORTHY RECORD OF
THINGS ACCOMPLISHT
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
3528 N. 18TH ST.
Dear Mr Mitman 24 Nov 1920
On the train I had some time to puzzle over that car. Been working
nights to make up time lost in the day so did not hav much.
I made a sketch for you but did not show the spring that holds the
circuit breaker in contact with the spark point. That thin finger was
part of it. A spring was wound spirally--not helically--around the
projecting end of the breaker pivot and the end of the spring hookt over
the thin finger. See sketch herwith.
Just how the central end of the spring wire was fastened to the square
of the pivot I do not kno. We did in some cases bore a hole thru and
simply stick the spring thru but this put most of the action right at
the bend in the wire and it broke quickly. So in other cases we fitted a
light grooved spool or pulley and wound the spring around this and so
avoided a sharp bend. If this was used it has been lost with the spring.
A couple generations of boys playing in that barn was too many.
The Haynes steering sketch also worries me. If that vertical post came
up thru that slot in the floor the crank had to be long as the sketch
shows in order to get over to the driver conveniently. Then if he tried
to make a complete circle with it he could not reach far enuf forward to
do it easily. And he had to make a turn or two be cause H shows bevel
gears of about same size so the post had to make same number of turns
the worm made. Sketch herewith to illustrate my thought.
Yrs for the historical facts
Chas. E. Duryea=
[Illustration: FIGURE 17.--LETTER EXPLAINING the circuit breaker spring
and the brass projection on top of the ignition chamber. Mr. Mitman was,
at the time, curator of engineering in the U.S. National Museum.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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