Measures for Progress: A History of the National Bureau of Standards

FROM GAGES TO GAS MASKS 201
The Hoke precision gage blocks used in the manufacture of closely machined parts,
shown here being used to determine the dimension of a limit gage. Any desired dimen-
sion can be obtained by combining various sizes of blocks, as in the three used here to
test the limit gage in the jig.
It was an almost impossible task to undertake in the midst of war.
Congress twice extended the term of the Commission, to 1920 and then to
1927, in order that it might implement its plans to "reduce the variety of
screw threads in general use, facilitate manufacture in case of war, make
the best use of labor in our industries in time of peace, increase the safety
of travel by rail, steamship, and aeroplane, and in general * * * increase
the dependability of all mechanisms." 100 It would take the coming of another
war before progress became visible.
Besides its work on threads and gages and the extensive investigations
in substitute materials, in aeronautics, optical glass, and radio, the Bureau
responded to calls for help with literally hundreds of other wartime problems
submitted by industry and the sciences. Only mention can be made of the
almost continuous testing carried out on protective coatings, from experi.
ments in electroplating techniques to tests of bituminous materials, varnishes,
enamels, fire-retarding paints, and special paints for projectiles.'01 The
Bureau established safety standards for military plants and factories. It
'°°NBS M42, "Progress report of the National Screw Thread Commission" (1921), p. 5.
101 "War Work," pp. 66—67, 208—220.