The
machine worked, as it were, with two hands, the one feeling the
pattern, the other cutting the material into the required form.
Many new alterations were necessary for carrying out this
ingenious apparatus, and Murdock was always at hand to give his
old friend and master his best assistance. We have seen many
original letters from Watt to Murdock, asking for counsel and
help. In one of these, written in 1808, Watt says: "I have
revived an idea which, if it answers, will supersede the frame
and upright spindle of the reducing machine, but more of this
when we meet. Meanwhile it will be proper to adhere to the
frame, etc., at present, until we see how the other alterations
answer." In another he says: "I have done a Cicero without any
plaits--the different segments meeting exactly. The fitting the
drills into the spindle by a taper of 1 in 6 will do. They are
perfectly stiff and will not unscrew easily. Four guide-pullies
answer, but there must be a pair for the other end, and to work
with a single hand, for the returning part is always cut upon
some part or other of the frame."
These letters are written sometimes in the morning, sometimes at
noon, sometimes at night. There was a great deal of
correspondence about "pullies," which did not seem to answer at
first. "I have made the tablets," said Watt on one occasion,
"slide more easily, and can counterbalance any part of their
weight which may be necessary; but the first thing to try is the
solidity of the machine, which cannot be done till the pullies
are mounted.
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