With the assistance of the foreman, Thom,
the invention was completed, and a patent was taken out, dated the 15th
of January, 1820, in which Thom was a partner. The patent was, however,
at once secured by the Stodarts, their employers. The object of the
patent was a combination of metal tubes with metal plates, the metallic
tubes extending from the plates which were attached to the string-block
to the wrest-plank. The metal plates now held the hitch-pins, to which
the farther ends of the strings were fixed, and the force of the tension
was, in a great measure, thrown upon the tubes. The tubes were a
mistake; they were of iron over the steel strings, and brass over the
brass and spun strings, the idea being that of the compensation of
tuning when affected by atmospheric change, also a mistake. However,
the tubes were guaranteed by stout wooden bars crossing them at right
angles. At once a great advance was made in the possibility of using
heavier strings, and the great merit of the invention was everywhere
recognized.
James Broadwood was one of the first to see the importance of the
invention, if it were transformed into a stable principle.
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