Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-09-08
The Manufacture of Pins and of Hooks
and EYES.

A correspondent Of the New York Even-
ing Post, speaking Of the manufactures of
Waterbury, Connecticut, and the enterprise
and prosperity Of tina: town, thus describes
two of its establishments:
"And first of the American Pin Com>
pany; this is the largest pin mandatory
in the United States, and believe in the
world. 1t has but one competitor in this
country, and that is at Brigham, in this
State. The patent 10 which this company
owes its success is profound secret, not
known even to its stockholders. 1t is
never shown, therefore, to strangers. II
consists in an Improvement for making
the pin and head solid, and all from one
piece of wire. Till within few years the
head of most Of the pins 10 use was sepa.
rate, and twisted on to the pin by ma
chinery. A few solid pins were manuroc-
tured in England, but tthey cost from thirty
to fifty per cent. more than those of the
older fashion. The discovery Of the Amer
ican patent has driven the twist heads en-
tirely out Of use. The privilege of using
it was sold in England for $50. 900, where
the same kind of pin is manufactured.
"Ofthe portion of the works which was
permitted TO see, was most struck by the
process Of sticking the pins upon papers,
My intellect had striven in vain TO coniec-
ture any process by which machinery could
bring order out Of the unspeakable confu.
sion of several million of pins thrown into
box together. / was here shown a row
of very simple machines, each tended by a
young girl, which arranged on papers more
pins in day than any one person could
have possibly done by hand in fortn gh,.
A practised person, was told, would pick
1,2O0 papers day, each paper containing
$50 pins, making in all 336, 6,000 day -
In day of ten hours this company threw
off on an average 100000 pins per day,
or about twelve hundred millions a year.
When learned this extraordinary fecun-
dity Of single pin mill, felt that it
| vas of but little consequence what became
Of all the pins; for it is pretty certain that
the supply is not likely to give cut very
soon, in spite of any conceivable extrava>
gance Of pin money. The capital of this
company is only 100000, bat its profits
are reputed to he very great.
pOu ShHl6 pT0IlISGS We "0t . SIo"u u
the works Of the Waterbury Hook and Eye
Company, where capital Of $4,000 is
employed in the manufacture of hooks and
eyes. Here were arranged long rows oI
little machines about the size Of small
washsta nds, under which a constant shower
of those little feminine conveniencies was
pouring down, but from what cause or by
what agency j: s diff 10 conjecture
| Upon closer inspection, large spool ol
wire was perceived revolving slowly in its
rear, growing shorter inch by finch in me-
chanical harmony with the machinery,
while iron fingers, curiously articulated
were ready to grasp the severed fragment
and pass it along from change to change,
until it finally dropped into the receptacle
beneath, perfect hook or eye, ready for
| use. For moment it seemed as if each
machine was instinct with life and inteli-
gence. The power ofserch appeared to be
all that was lacking to complete the delu
sion. There were but four or FIVE men in
the apartment, who passed around occa.
sionally from one stand TO the other, to oil
the machinery, to supply new wire when
the previous spool was consumed, or to
empty the vessels when filled by the silvery
shower. The whole performance more
resembled voluntary process of nature
than the result of mechanical art. The du.
ty of the superintedent Of ore of these ma
chimes seemed to me curiously alike to that
of the gardener who plants his peach stones
which, after many days, sprout, grow into
tree, blossom, and finally bear peaches
which when ripe, drop from their branches
and are gathered for use.''