Tall task of inventing small nails
This week we are continuing with the autobiography of Jesse Reed from the personal collection of Jack Braithwaite. Jesse Reed, born in Bridgewater around 1778, wrote this autobiography in his own hand in 1856.
In this segment, he writes about the inventors of cut nails. Frankly, I had never thought much about nails or how they were made – it was enough that whenever I’ve needed nails, I go to the store and buy some, or perhaps find some down cellar. As I transcribed this, it occurred to me how much the efficient manufacture of nails would mean to anyone building anything, from boxes to wagons to buildings and more. He then goes on to working with a mechanism for steering ships. Again – something I’ve never thought about, but something so very vital to what was a big industry at that time. Jesse Reed strikes me as someone who had an entrepreneurial spirit, who could see that there must be a better way to do something, and then set about finding that better way.
Without further ado, here is the next segment of the Autobiography of Jesse Reed. As always, I am presenting this exactly as it was written.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE INVENTORS OF CUT NAILS
I will now give an account, as far as I am acquainted, of all the men who had been trying manufacture cut nails before me. As above stated, my father was the first that I have ever heard of, I believe Dr. reed was the next. I never saw his machine but have had it described to me as complex machine, and did not succeed and was abandoned. The next might be Mr. Jacob Perkins.
Dr. Reeds machine, I believe was for large nails which were cut over the middle of his machine, and by a pallet directly under the cutter. The head end of the nail when cut being the heaviest, the pallet would turn the head end of the nail down, which was then guided down by a tube eight or ten inches to the die, the head end resting on a pallet. When gripped by a long lever a hammer gave one or two strokes upward, the pallet being thrown out of the way by the motion of the hammer or some other motion.
The next perhaps was Samuel Rogers of East Bridgewater, which was for tacks only. After I had got the Odiorne tool to work he built a lot of machines for Capt. N. Russell of Plymouth. The nails were first cut, and then fed into a machine by small boys for heading, and a great quantity of nails have been manufactured in that factory since. In that way, he afterwards got up a one operation tool which I considered to be very similar to my last.
Mr. Melvin Otis of East Bridgewater, I believe, was the next who, when I first went there to work on machines for nails, has a machine for cutting 4d nails in a part of Capt. Vinton’s trip hammer shop. This machine was somewhat similar to Dr. Reeds’, but the conveyance was very different, the dies being fed with nippers and headed with hammers striking downward. His machine failed and was abandoned. This was the first machine I ever saw moved with water power.
I believe I was next after him and when experimenting in the shop joining Messrs. Keiths’ rolling mill, I used to be laughed at by my neighbors who considered it all visionary, and was often told that it was utterly impossible to make nails in any other way than they were made, which was to make them with the hammer form the hot rod.
Having stated all the most important information I am able to give about Nail and Tack machines.
I will give a little more detailed account of their construction and application. I have had three or four patents for Apparatus for Steering Ships and shall omit all but the last. It is about seven years since I began on shipsteers, which was at a time when I was not able to do more than to make a model, for the want of pecuniary means. When I got a model of the first I went to Boston and Called on George Odiorne with whom I have been in business and well acquainted with, and a man I highly esteemed. I showed him my model, and after seeing him two or three times, I made a verbal agreement with him to have a share of the patent, when obtained for his aid in getting a patent, and building one for use. He had some talk with Caleb Reed, about the steering, and we expected all three to be interested. I called at his house one evening to see him, and I knocked at the door. A girl came to the door. I asked her if Mr. Ordiorne was at home, She said he was, and was dead. He went to Malden that day and when in his rolling mill, he fell down dead. This was a great loss to me and a great disappointment. The next day I went to see Mr. Caleb Reed. I sold him one quarter of my interest in steering apparatus for five hundred dollars. One of that model was built, was not put on to any vessel and was given up. We build another which did tolerably well but not being fully satisfied, we build another, and not fully satisfied with this, we got up the last which is now in general use give perfect satisfaction. I think that there are more than four hundred now in use. It is very simple, strong and durable. It consists of seven maid parts, a large shaft or screw, three inches in diameter, four right and left screw, the threads crossing one another on the tow to three feet. A pair of half nuts are cut right handed, and are put together and made one pair. These nuts are placed on each side of the main screw and kept firm against it by two side rails, the ends of which are keyed in to two stanchions and made fast by pins and wedges. The rails are placed straight and are kept hard against an elevation of the upper side of said nuts by the wedges on the ends of the rails. On the outer part of the nut are also elevations for the large bolts to turn in the upper side of the nuts. This part of the nut is four or five inches through, which the upper end of the bolts which are made round and turn nearly one fourth of an inch. The lower end of the bolt is flat and is about eight inches long, two inches thick and four in width. This part of the bolt moves in the outer part of the hoop which is made fast to the top of the rudder post and by turning the main screw, one of those nuts will be moved one half nut one way and the other the other way which will turn the rudder either way with great power without crowding the rudder post at all, except turning each way.
I sold this last patent or improvement to Mr. Caleb Reed for about three thousand dollars. I was from five to six years almost the whole time devoted to the prosecution of the business. When I began on his steerer, I had only a house which I since sold for four hundred dollars, and a shop, water wheel and fixtures and tools which were worth from twelve to fifteen hundred dollars, which was entirely destroyed by fire. How it took fire I am not able to tell; I had no insurance upon it.
We hope you are enjoying reading about Jesse Reed. He was certainly one of Marshfield’s more interesting characters, and judging by the number of patents he held at the time of his death, he no doubt made a huge contribution to improving the manufacturing of many different items, which made life easier for a very large number of people.
In the collection of the Marshfield Historical Society, we have many interesting items similar to Jesse Reed’s autobiography. Marshfield has been home to many important historic events, and many figures of historic note, and after collecting and preserving artifacts relating to Marshfield history, the Marshfield Historical Society has quiet an interesting selection of documents, journals, deeds, maps and more. Anyone wishing to see some of the Marshfield Historical Society’s collection is welcome to stop by the Marcia Thomas House and Museum, located at 65 Webster Street in Marshfield. The Museum is usually open from 1 to 4 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month.
