THE FISHERMEN'S NET NEWSLETTER

The Universal Joint and Clarence Spicer

Clarence Spicer had been fascinated by mechanics since the day his dairy-farmer father had bought cooling machinery for the farm creamery and told Clarence to look after it. Clarence Spicer's lifelong competitiveness and dedication to quality was also instilled early. One year his father won an award for the highest-quality butter at a World's Fair. The next year he was beaten into second place in another butter competition -- by Clarence.

Clarence Spicer left the Illinois farm to study at Alfred University, then in 1899 entered Cornell's Sibley College to study engineering. There, under the tutelage of Dean Thurston, he worked on his design for an automobile and became increasingly with the issue of power transmission. Dissatisfied with sprockets and chains, Spicer determined to use a propeller shaft, which he attached to the engine and rear axle with specially designed "universal" joints. Spicer's universal joints were a major engineering breakthrough. They were not just easy on the eye and ear -- they were proof against dust and dirt, and were easy to lubricate.

When Spicer showed his drawings to Dean Thurston, Thurston recognized the originality and commercial viability of the universal joint design, and advised his pupil to file for a patent, granted in May 1903. The design was duly published in a patent journal, where it caught the admiring attention of several automobile manufacturers. These people contacted Spicer and asked him to supply the joints, or license their manufacture.

With this firm assurance of the potential of his brainchild, Spicer left Cornell in the Spring of 1904 and went to Plainfield, New Jersey, to begin manufacture of his universal joint. Within two years he had a lengthy list of prestigious clients, including Buick, Wayne, Mack, Olds, Stevens-Duryea, American Motor Car, Diamond T and E.R. Thomas.

The new universal joints were so good that soon they soon became the industry standard for power transmission. Spicer was rightfully proud that his joints were used at both ends of the market. The best and most expensive American cars regularly used his joints, as did the good low-priced cars, demonstrating that Spicer joints were the best money could buy, yet were still competitively priced.

As a dedicated Seventh Day Baptist, Clarence Spicer determined to set up his business in an environment where people shared his conviction that Saturday should be a day of rest. Plainfield, New Jersey, was therefore an obvious choice. It was a stronghold of Seventh Day Baptists, and was situated near the heart of the early automotive industry. Besides, Spicer already had relatives in Plainfield, connected with the Potter Printing Press Company.

At first, he contracted Potter to manufacture his universal joints, until Potter received a huge order for printing presses and could no longer help. Spicer then rented a corner of their plant, hired three employees, and began manufacturing the joints himself. In 1905, as orders kept coming in, he incorporated the Spicer Universal Joint Manufacturing Company.

-reprinted from Dana Corporate History