Vintage The Lightning Adding Machine Company Calculator - W/ Bakelite Base
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:62481894 | Featured Refinements: Vintage Adding Machine |
| Maker: The Lighting Adding Machine Company |
Vintage The Lightning Adding Machine Company Calculator - w/ Bakelite Base. It sits on a felt pad inside a Bakelite stand that tilts the machine up at a 30 degree angle. There are seven dials which the user can adjust using a stylus. Each dial drives a hidden number wheel to its top right, of which only a single digit is visible through a hole. The numbers 1 to 9 are printed around the outside of each dial. To add a number, enter the digits one at a time simply by putti...ng the stylus in the hole next to the digit you want to add and turning the wheel clockwise until the stylus hits the tab at the bottom right between the 0 and 9. At the point where a dial's number wheel turns from 9 to 0, the dial also drives the next number wheel for one step so that a carry is performed. The last two digits represent cents and are subtly separated from the other digits with a decimal point. The other five digits represent dollar amounts, and there is a similarly subtle comma separating the thousands digits. The dials are distinguished by their colours, where the middle three dials are silver coloured and the rest are copper coloured. This version has a clearing mechanism. Each dial has two red lines marking one of the holes. A digit can be reset to zero by putting the stylus in the marked hole, and turning anti-clockwise until the stop. This action will not cause a carry, so the digits can be reset in any order. This also means that subtraction has to be done using clockwise turns by adding complementary numbers. In about 1950 the mechanism was redesigned. The carry mechanism was changed to work in both directions so that subtraction could be done with anti-clockwise turns. A clearing mechanism was added, in the form of a tab on the left hand side that you have to pull out. The machine kept the same length and width, but became twice as thick to accomodate the clearing mechanism. The bakelite stand was changed accordingly, and has a cut-out on the left for the clearing tab. These changes raised the price of the adding machine from $12.95 to $14.95. [From Jaap's Mechanical Calculators Page found at URL: The Lightning Adding Machine - Jaap's Mechanical Calculators Page (jaapsch.net)]
