The Principles of Scientific Management

106 THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT occasional interruption, through a period of about 26 years, in the course of which ten different experi- mental machines were especially fitted up to do this work. Between 30,000 and 50,000 experi- ments were carefully recorded, and many other experiments were made, of which no record was kept. In studying these laws more than 800,000 pounds of steel and iron was cut up into chips with the experimental tools, and it is estimated that from $150,000 to $200,000 was spent in the investigation. Work of this character is intensely interesting to any one who has any love for scientific research. For the purpose of this paper, however, it should be fully appreciated that the motive power which kept these experiments going through many years, and which supplied the money and the opportunity for their accomplishment, was not an abstract search after scientific knowledge, but was the very practical fact that we lacked the exact information which was needed every day, in order to help our machinists to do their work in the best way and in the quickest time. All of these experiments were made to enable us to answer correctly the two questions which face every machinist each time that he does a piece of work in a metal-cutting machine, such as a lathe, planer, drill press, or milling machine. These two questions are: In order to do the work in the quickest time, At what cutting speed shall I run my machine? and What feed shall I use? They sound so simple that they would appear