GS Machine shop 1965

GS Machine Shop 1965, Richard Vanderlippe, Ray Jordan, Stuart Herrick. The cylinders in the photo are the clutch housing for the gear box of the E-800 Bekesy audiometer. More photos available in Nostalgia

I replaced Jim Wetzel in the machine shop for a couple of years and worked with Gunnar Engstrom fabricating parts for instruments such as the Zwislocki Bridge (Model 3) and E800 audiometer. One specific memory that has stayed with me all these years was the drilling of a vent hole in the stainless steel body of the Zwislocki Acoustic Bridge (Fig. 1). It had to be drilled by hand with a bit that cost $80 or $90 at the time. The trick was to drill a hole in each instrument and make the bit last as long as possible. The bit was extremely brittle and .018 inch in diameter. If you had a gentle touch, it would last for about 15 or 16 holes, using a hand collete, before it would bind on a burr and snap.

Below is a partial copy of the original patent application for the Model 3.

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