St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-03-23
Clothes Pins.
YANKEE MILLS TURN THEM OUT FOR
ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD.

ALL GAkIS OF THE WORLD.
Probably very few realize the extent
of the manufacture of clothes pins, and
the capital employed in the business.
| Their manufacture is mostly confined
to New England, and the state of Maine
produces its share of the commodity.
According to the Bangor Industrial
journal, one of the most complete and
extensive clothes pin factories is To-
Gated at Nanceboro, Maine. From the
same source the process of manufacture
ing the pins, us carried on ut the
NancebOro wOOden-ware cOmpany's
factory, is given. The wood used is
mainly white birch and beech. The
logs are cut and hauled to the shore of
the lake, or the streams emptying into
it, whence they are tlOated down to
the mill. As fast as required they are
hauled into the mill by windlass and
chain worked by steam power and
sawed into lengths of sixteen to TWEEN
ty-twO inches-the former to be made
into pins and the latter into boards for
the boxes required in packing. The
slXteen-inch lengths are next sawed
into boards of the requisite thickness
by shingle machine, then into strips
of the proper size by ii gang of twelve
circular saws, and finally into tive-inch
lengths by gang of three saws. The
logs have now been cut up into blocks
about five inches long and three-fourths
of an inch square. Finally, as they
leave the saws. on an elevator belt,
they are carried into an upper story,
and returning to the first floor are de
M ,rI,-
fed to the turning lathes, of which there
are several-each being capable of
turning eighty pins per minute. They
are then passed to the slOtting-ma
chine, in which peculiar arrangement
of knives inserted in circular saw
gives the slot the proper tlange, after
which they are automatically carried
by elevator belts to the drying bins on
the second floor, where they are sub
.jectod to Il high temperature, generated
by steam pipes, until thoroughly sea-
sOned. There are several of these bins.
the largest of which has capacity of
one hundred boxes, $1,000 pins, and
tie smaller ones fifty. The pins
are now ready for polishing and pack
ing is accomplished by means of per
fOrated cylinders or drums. each cana
bic of holding forty bushels, in which
the pens are placed and kept constant
ly revolving until they become as
smooth as if polished by hand with the
finest sand paper. \ few minutes be
fore this process is completed small
amount of tallow is thrown in the
drums with the pins, after which few
more revolutions give them IA beauti-
full glossy appearance. These polish
ing drums are suspended over the
packing counter on the first floor of
the mill, and being thus Immediately
beneath the ceiling of the floor above,
are readily filed through scuttlcs from
drying bins on the second floor. and
as easily emptied on the counter below.
where they are sorted into first and
second grades and packed in boxes of
five gross each. The sorting and pack
ing is done by girls. Two hundred
and fifty boxes are packed per day.
The market for clothes pins is not con
fined to any special locality but is
found nearly all over the world. Ten
thousand boxes have been shipped to
Melbourne, Australia. within the past
four months. Ten firms in London
carry a stock of ten thousand boxes
each, and ten firms in Boston carry
like amount. One thousand boxes con
stitute IA load