Posted 15 years ago
TheGateKee…
(222 items)
Net fence patented November 12, 1889 by John Wallace Page of Adrian, MI patent #414,844. This salesman's sample has a small wire stretcher on the front used to demonstrate the difference between smooth wire and the ripple wire used in the net fence.
A unique feature of the weaving machine that made this wire produced a coil of wire for each warp (horizontal) wire which was stretched a prescribed length to produce the trademark ripple wire. This feature allowed for expansion and contraction. The woof (vertical) wires were then wound around the warp wires. The completed section then fed out of the machine and the process was repeated. A standard roll of this wire was 10 rods long.
I have seen the coils and rings shown in the last two photos in barbed wire collections and always wondered what they were. Photos are self-explanatory.
