Today in Wheeling History: December 11--Wheeling industrialist Ralph R. Spears receives patent for revolutionary axle box turning lathe (1894).
Ralph Reed Spears (1859-1943) was a Wheeling-born inventor and businessperson who revolutionized transportation manufacturing through his companies, starting with Spears Axle Company at Main, Water, and 27th streets in the 1880s. Here, he patented his innovative axle box turning lathe in 1894. The machine solved a crucial challenge in wagon and carriage production by precisely crafting axle boxes - the protective metal sleeves that housed wheel axles. His lathe featured several groundbreaking elements: a hollow live spindle for precise alignment, adjustable cutting tools for different axle box sizes, and an innovative feed carriage system.
The machine's most ingenious feature was its self-adjusting spring-projected work guide, which automatically centered and held the axle box during cutting operations. Later, through his firm Spears & Riddle Company, he entered the oil industry, where he created Fleet-Wing, the first successful jobber brand in petroleum distribution. Under this banner, his company became the first to market Ethyl gasoline in 1923, handling 600-700 rail cars of gasoline monthly. After Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) purchased Fleet-Wing in 1929, they established the Fleet-Wing Corporation as their first subsidiary. His axle box lathe patent exemplified how his various enterprises contributed to America's industrial development during the late 19th century.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/auGFb); Google Patents (https://shorturl.at/jjoZW), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/y315o)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office
Ralph Reed Spears (1859-1943) was a Wheeling-born inventor and businessperson who revolutionized transportation manufacturing through his companies, starting with Spears Axle Company at Main, Water, and 27th streets in the 1880s. Here, he patented his innovative axle box turning lathe in 1894. The machine solved a crucial challenge in wagon and carriage production by precisely crafting axle boxes - the protective metal sleeves that housed wheel axles. His lathe featured several groundbreaking elements: a hollow live spindle for precise alignment, adjustable cutting tools for different axle box sizes, and an innovative feed carriage system.
The machine's most ingenious feature was its self-adjusting spring-projected work guide, which automatically centered and held the axle box during cutting operations. Later, through his firm Spears & Riddle Company, he entered the oil industry, where he created Fleet-Wing, the first successful jobber brand in petroleum distribution. Under this banner, his company became the first to market Ethyl gasoline in 1923, handling 600-700 rail cars of gasoline monthly. After Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) purchased Fleet-Wing in 1929, they established the Fleet-Wing Corporation as their first subsidiary. His axle box lathe patent exemplified how his various enterprises contributed to America's industrial development during the late 19th century.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/auGFb); Google Patents (https://shorturl.at/jjoZW), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/y315o)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office
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