 Barr joined the Century Association in 1925, and in his later life it "became practically his home".At Linotype, Barr improved punch-cutting machines by substituting ball bearings for oil lubrication to achieve a more precise fit, and using tractrix-shaped sleeves to distribute wear uniformly.In an 1896 publication in "The Electrical Review" on calculating the dimensions of a ball race, Barr credits the bicycle industry for stimulating development of the perfectly spherical steel balls needed in this application.