Heald, James Nichols

SUBJECT AREA: Mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic engineering

[br]

b. 21 September 1864 Barre, Massachusetts, USA

d. 7 May 1931 Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

[br]

American mechanical engineer and machine-tool manufacturer who concentrated on grinding machines.

[br]

James N.Heald was the son of Leander S.Heald and was educated at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1884. He then joined the firm that had been established by his grandfather, Stephen Heald, in 1826; this was a machine shop and foundry then known as S.Heald \& Son. When his grandfather died in 1888, James Heald took over the management of the business, which then became known as L.S.Heald \& Son. He concentrated on the manufacture of grinding machines and in 1903 bought out his father's interest and organized the Heald Machine Company. James Heald then began the development of a series of grinding machines designed to meet the needs of the expanding automobile industry. Special machines were produced for grinding piston rings making use of the recently invented magnetic chuck, and for cylinder bores he introduced the planetary grinder. Heald was a member of the National Machine Tool Builders' Association and served as its Treasurer and on its Board of Directors. He was elected a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1917 and was also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

[br]

Further Reading

Robert S.Woodbury, 1959, History of the Grinding Machine, Cambridge, Mass (describes his grinding machines).

L.T.C.Rolt, 1965, Tools for the Job, London; repub. 1986 (describes his grinding machines).

RTS