Tools of the Trade
Burroughs, like other office machine companies, provided their service personnel (Field Engineers or FE's) with specific tools designed for maintenance on mechanical office machines. Some of these tools were well established early in the history of the industry and were common between companies. A small ball-peen hammer, usually 4 oz., 10 in. long, was an excellent example of a common tool that was an absolute requirement in providing maintenance service. Other tools were highly specialized for the specific product like the alignment gauge for dial wheels of the Burroughs key-driven calculator.
At Burroughs, the tool catalogue was always one of the favorite reading materials in the “technical library” in every branch office. It was lunchtime reading material for many Field Engineers. While some tools would wear out and would require periodic replacement, other tools would last many years. When a new one was required, it was with great pleasure that the Field Engineer was able to browse the catalogue to find the part number to be ordered. Often some other tool would catch the eye of the reader and be ordered at the same time.
Many tools used in the early years were stamped with the letters "BAMCO", signifying it was the property of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. As a young Field Engineer, having a BAMCO tool was a sign of belonging to the great history of the Burroughs organization.
The Field Engineer's tool “grip”, as it was usually called at Burroughs, was a satchel-type tool bag in the early years. Later the attaché style tool cases came along. Many old timers hung on to their old style tool cases and resisted the newer replacements, no matter how run down their old case looked. These early grips were like a doctor’s bag and were most often black in color until the late 1950's when brown became fashionable.
One of the biggest fears of every FE was the fear of losing his tool grip. “Losing your grip”, as it was referred to, happened to many FE’s at one time or another. Usually you could expect to get a new grip, a lecture, and a reprimand letter in your personnel file for the offense. Many times the event was started when the FE would leave his grip on the street next to his car after a visit to a customer. Sometimes theft was the cause. In any case, most FE’s learned to double-check the whereabouts of his tool grip as their car pulled away from the customer’s location. I personally reached behind the driver’s seat by the car door to be reassured by the presence of my grip behind the seat.
Because every Field Engineer wanted to have all of the necessary tools available on the call and then some, many tool grips became quite heavy. It was with a degree of pride that one FE would let another FE lift his grip to see just how heavy it had become. A common prank on the new hire was to place what was called a “bench block” in the very bottom (usually out of sight under some rags) of the new FE’s grip when he was not looking. The bench block was just that, a large block of steel common to the workbenches in the shop. All would get a good laugh when he tried to pick up the grip on his way to his first call and struggled to understand what had happened to make his grip so heavy.
Another prank, usually played on a much more experienced FE, was to cut the bottom of his bag (one in need of replacement that the Service Manager had ordered a replacement for) with a razor blade all the way around so that when the FE picked up the bag it was very likely that he would almost throw the now very light leather top against the ceiling - another memorable moment in the service group.
Getting back to the tools in the bag, the following is a description of the common tools used in the servicing of Burroughs (and, of course, other companies) adding and calculating machines:
Ball-Peen Hammer – As described earlier.
Punches – A small punch set of nine different punches to drive pins from shafts. These punches were designated as “starting”, “drift”, and “center” punches. It was with some degree of experience that the FE learned (the hard way in most cases) that you kept your punches in good shape, used the correct punch for the pin you were to dislodge or drive, and made the first hammer strike count.
Screwdrivers – A Phillips number 1 and 2 bit, including one with an 8-inch shaft and a variety of standard flat blade screwdrivers were common. A jeweler's (very small) screwdriver was also essential for those small screws found in the later vintage (after 1920) machines.
Offset Screwdrivers – Usually with a screwdriver on both ends allowed the removal (however painstaking) of a screw that could not be reached directly by a straight screwdriver was an important tool.
Spring Clip Screwdriver – Actually a screw starter, this tool allowed a screw to be held by the tool as it was lowered into a hard-to-reach location and started in the hole.
Pliers – Many types of pliers including duckbill, needle nose, diagonal cutting, and flat nose.
Wrenches – Many types of open-end, box, and combination wrenches were carried. There were many special open-end wrenches to provide access to hard-to-reach nuts and bolts. At Burroughs, most were 3/16, 5/16, 5/32, 7/32, 9/32, ½, and 3/8.
Allen and Bristol Wrenches – Used more in the later years, these L-shaped wrenches, and sets with handles, were common.
Alignment tools – Called “benders” in the early years, these were very common and came in a large number of styles. Benders were used to literally bend the metal of a part to adjust the alignment, position, or movement of a part. These were some of the most common tools in the correction of a failure. Like changing springs, there was always a danger of compensating for a wearing part to a point where the adjustments would be hard to renew when the wearing part finally had to be replaced. Often, many other parts were “bent” before the offending part was discovered and replaced.
Springhooks – Both push and pull, were used together or individually to remove and replace springs. At Burroughs, they had long handles or shafts to allow reaching a spring many inches into the mechanism.
Nut Holders – These thin flexible tools allowed an FE to hold a nut in place in a hard-to-reach location while a screw is started into the nut through other parts.
Bench Blocks – Different sizes for the bench or FE’s grip, the bench block was solid steel an inch or more in thickness, which allowed a good base for hammering. Used to assist in driving pins from shafts or simply to place a part to be hammered, bench blocks provided a solid place to work.
Handles – These were machine handles used to operate electric Burroughs machines slowly so the FE could better study the movement of parts to determine the cause of location of a failure. The early hand-operated machines had handles and the later electric motor-driven machines always had a location for a handle. Many even came with handles so they could be operated when electricity was unavailable. In later years, the operator frequently had misplaced the handle, providing more reason for the FE to carry his own.
Oil and Grease Guns – Early models were made of brass or tin while later models were plastic.
Files – Common files were small round, square, and flat types.
Trouble Lamp – In later years, the FE carried this lamp made of rubber with a small light bulb (Christmas or night-light style). It was critical to observing the action deep within the machine. This lamp also doubled as the receptacle for a soldering iron element as the electronic machines came into use.
Feeler Gauges – Made in several styles, they were common tools for adjustments in later machines.
Burnishing Tools – This tool was used to clean the motor switch points in the early electric machines.
Spring Clip Holder – Used to hold and insert a “C clip” or spring clip, usually in a hard-to-reach location.
Brushes – Keyboard, sash, and wire brushes were essential in the cleaning of the equipment. Keeping in mind that most adding machine contracts called for annual or semi-annual cleaning, these brushes were in frequent use by the FE.
To view the Field Engineering Tool Catalog, click on the PDF document at the link below:
Burroughs, like other office machine companies, provided their service personnel (Field Engineers or FE's) with specific tools designed for maintenance on mechanical office machines. Some of these tools were well established early in the history of the industry and were common between companies. A small ball-peen hammer, usually 4 oz., 10 in. long, was an excellent example of a common tool that was an absolute requirement in providing maintenance service. Other tools were highly specialized for the specific product like the alignment gauge for dial wheels of the Burroughs key-driven calculator.
At Burroughs, the tool catalogue was always one of the favorite reading materials in the “technical library” in every branch office. It was lunchtime reading material for many Field Engineers. While some tools would wear out and would require periodic replacement, other tools would last many years. When a new one was required, it was with great pleasure that the Field Engineer was able to browse the catalogue to find the part number to be ordered. Often some other tool would catch the eye of the reader and be ordered at the same time.
Many tools used in the early years were stamped with the letters "BAMCO", signifying it was the property of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. As a young Field Engineer, having a BAMCO tool was a sign of belonging to the great history of the Burroughs organization.
The Field Engineer's tool “grip”, as it was usually called at Burroughs, was a satchel-type tool bag in the early years. Later the attaché style tool cases came along. Many old timers hung on to their old style tool cases and resisted the newer replacements, no matter how run down their old case looked. These early grips were like a doctor’s bag and were most often black in color until the late 1950's when brown became fashionable.
One of the biggest fears of every FE was the fear of losing his tool grip. “Losing your grip”, as it was referred to, happened to many FE’s at one time or another. Usually you could expect to get a new grip, a lecture, and a reprimand letter in your personnel file for the offense. Many times the event was started when the FE would leave his grip on the street next to his car after a visit to a customer. Sometimes theft was the cause. In any case, most FE’s learned to double-check the whereabouts of his tool grip as their car pulled away from the customer’s location. I personally reached behind the driver’s seat by the car door to be reassured by the presence of my grip behind the seat.
Because every Field Engineer wanted to have all of the necessary tools available on the call and then some, many tool grips became quite heavy. It was with a degree of pride that one FE would let another FE lift his grip to see just how heavy it had become. A common prank on the new hire was to place what was called a “bench block” in the very bottom (usually out of sight under some rags) of the new FE’s grip when he was not looking. The bench block was just that, a large block of steel common to the workbenches in the shop. All would get a good laugh when he tried to pick up the grip on his way to his first call and struggled to understand what had happened to make his grip so heavy.
Another prank, usually played on a much more experienced FE, was to cut the bottom of his bag (one in need of replacement that the Service Manager had ordered a replacement for) with a razor blade all the way around so that when the FE picked up the bag it was very likely that he would almost throw the now very light leather top against the ceiling - another memorable moment in the service group.
Getting back to the tools in the bag, the following is a description of the common tools used in the servicing of Burroughs (and, of course, other companies) adding and calculating machines:
Ball-Peen Hammer – As described earlier.
Punches – A small punch set of nine different punches to drive pins from shafts. These punches were designated as “starting”, “drift”, and “center” punches. It was with some degree of experience that the FE learned (the hard way in most cases) that you kept your punches in good shape, used the correct punch for the pin you were to dislodge or drive, and made the first hammer strike count.
Screwdrivers – A Phillips number 1 and 2 bit, including one with an 8-inch shaft and a variety of standard flat blade screwdrivers were common. A jeweler's (very small) screwdriver was also essential for those small screws found in the later vintage (after 1920) machines.
Offset Screwdrivers – Usually with a screwdriver on both ends allowed the removal (however painstaking) of a screw that could not be reached directly by a straight screwdriver was an important tool.
Spring Clip Screwdriver – Actually a screw starter, this tool allowed a screw to be held by the tool as it was lowered into a hard-to-reach location and started in the hole.
Pliers – Many types of pliers including duckbill, needle nose, diagonal cutting, and flat nose.
Wrenches – Many types of open-end, box, and combination wrenches were carried. There were many special open-end wrenches to provide access to hard-to-reach nuts and bolts. At Burroughs, most were 3/16, 5/16, 5/32, 7/32, 9/32, ½, and 3/8.
Allen and Bristol Wrenches – Used more in the later years, these L-shaped wrenches, and sets with handles, were common.
Alignment tools – Called “benders” in the early years, these were very common and came in a large number of styles. Benders were used to literally bend the metal of a part to adjust the alignment, position, or movement of a part. These were some of the most common tools in the correction of a failure. Like changing springs, there was always a danger of compensating for a wearing part to a point where the adjustments would be hard to renew when the wearing part finally had to be replaced. Often, many other parts were “bent” before the offending part was discovered and replaced.
Springhooks – Both push and pull, were used together or individually to remove and replace springs. At Burroughs, they had long handles or shafts to allow reaching a spring many inches into the mechanism.
Nut Holders – These thin flexible tools allowed an FE to hold a nut in place in a hard-to-reach location while a screw is started into the nut through other parts.
Bench Blocks – Different sizes for the bench or FE’s grip, the bench block was solid steel an inch or more in thickness, which allowed a good base for hammering. Used to assist in driving pins from shafts or simply to place a part to be hammered, bench blocks provided a solid place to work.
Handles – These were machine handles used to operate electric Burroughs machines slowly so the FE could better study the movement of parts to determine the cause of location of a failure. The early hand-operated machines had handles and the later electric motor-driven machines always had a location for a handle. Many even came with handles so they could be operated when electricity was unavailable. In later years, the operator frequently had misplaced the handle, providing more reason for the FE to carry his own.
Oil and Grease Guns – Early models were made of brass or tin while later models were plastic.
Files – Common files were small round, square, and flat types.
Trouble Lamp – In later years, the FE carried this lamp made of rubber with a small light bulb (Christmas or night-light style). It was critical to observing the action deep within the machine. This lamp also doubled as the receptacle for a soldering iron element as the electronic machines came into use.
Feeler Gauges – Made in several styles, they were common tools for adjustments in later machines.
Burnishing Tools – This tool was used to clean the motor switch points in the early electric machines.
Spring Clip Holder – Used to hold and insert a “C clip” or spring clip, usually in a hard-to-reach location.
Brushes – Keyboard, sash, and wire brushes were essential in the cleaning of the equipment. Keeping in mind that most adding machine contracts called for annual or semi-annual cleaning, these brushes were in frequent use by the FE.
To view the Field Engineering Tool Catalog, click on the PDF document at the link below:
| scan_20240409152854.pdf |
Very old Sash Brush with Burroughs "b" logo.
This Burroughs Mechanical Inspector with a Class 4 sitting on the front fender and his tool grip on the running board is a fine example of the early days of the business.