Gardner

Biography

Gardner served for years as master mechanic in the Alfred Dolge Felt Company's factories at Dolgeville. Under Alfred Dolge's instruction and supervision, he built the Dolge-Gardner Compressed Air Hammer-Covering Machine, introduced in 1910, and is credited with designing and originating many important detail improvements to it. The machine used compressed air across three independent cylinders so that pressure could be precisely gauged and varied according to the texture of the felt, and, like the earlier Collins machine, allowed the cauls to be removed once the felt was glued on. It was estimated that two expert gluers could cover about two hundred and forty sets of hammers in ten hours using one machine.

Highlights

• For years master mechanic in the Alfred Dolge Felt Company factories at Dolgeville
• Built the Dolge-Gardner Compressed Air Hammer-Covering Machine (1910) under Alfred Dolge's instruction and supervision
• Designed and originated many important detail improvements to the machine

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 103, 104.

Public domain.