, 1885-11-10
- PRocEsa 81 MAKING NAILs.


~ ming Ensineerl
pom entering the works the FIRST
thing which strikes onc is the arrange
ment Of the pa ldling furnaces. they be-
ing built so n TO form q hollow square.
Each furnace is double-that is, one
stack Is divided into two parts, making
two pudding furnaces. In the space
within tho square is placed the
8 uec er. - the train Of rolls. and the
engine. which latter furnishes the
power to drive the machinery and sup.
plies the blast for the furnaces. The
pig-iron is brought from the blast fur
naces in cars and carts. and at a certain
place is broken III halves, weighed. and
apportioned 10 the puddlers The iron
IS placed into the furnaces, a blast of
hot air is driven over it by means Of a
fan. an AS it me.ts the puddler stirs il
continually with a long iron instrument
called a puddle tool. This pro ess is
kept up until every vestige Of impurity
has been driven out.
Then the workman gradually cools
down his furnace by damping the fire.
being careful TO note the consistency of
the mass. Then he rolls it into II ball
shape, withdraws it from the furnace.
and by means Of n ponderous pair Of
tongs running freely on an overhead
railway conveys it TO the s1ueezer, n
piece OF mechanism worth describing
In former times the squeezer resembled
the avs of n monster crocodile, from
which it derived its name. Now the
apparatus is called a coffee mill
s%queoler,' and, indeed, it looks very
much like n big coifee-mill. The hall
is tossed into n squeezer, which seizes 1t
and sends it rolling around and around
the space becoming narrower as the
outcome is approached. When at last
the mass energies it has taken the shape
of a roll OF cotton batting.
\ man on the lookout for il grasps
it with tongs, and the overhead rigging
is again brought into play TO carry the
"bloom. as it is now called, to the rolls.
The rolls are constructed with numer-
Gus grooves graduated to the size of the
bar desired to be made. The bloom"
has now gone through the puddle rolls
and is fiat, say four inches wide, three
quarters of an inch thick, and twelve
feet long; it is termed puddle or muck
bar. When used for Matchmaking it
must lie cut into short lengths of n foot
These are piled in n certain manner,
weighed, and taken to n second depart
ment, tho sheet mill. This mill has
within it several heating furnaces and
two trains of rolls-one to break down
the pile and another to finish the sheet.
The heaters arrange the piles of iron on
the furnaces precisely as the baker
does the loaves in the oven. When il
is sufficiently heated il is conveyed by
means of the over-useful overhead rail
way to the rolls. there to be again flat
tened and drawn into long thin sheets
Now we have come to the nail fac
tory. The sheets are taken to the
Sitter. who cuts them into different
sizes, as the kind of nails desired to be
made requires The nail plates are
then packed in \nupbcred boxes to be
delivered to t6 %nail-cutters. The
larger sized nails are cut hot, and for
the purpose of heating the plates a fur
mace is at hand in charge of n man
whose business it is to supply the nail
ers with iron. Now we have reached
the last process of this rather intricate
manufacture. We hear the busy hum
of 800 machines which in the course Of
eleven hours cut LOO kegs of nails.
An invention of recent date which Mt
II time threatened to revolutionize the
cutting of nails has been introduced in
this factory. 1t is called a self feeder,
but as it only cuts middle sizes the
trade of the nail-feeder is not yet
ieoapardized.
The ingenious machines are almost
human in their working. An attend
ant takes up a nail-plate, prizes open the
stiff jaws of his nippers, places one end
of the plate within, and by n skillful
thrust has set the machine going. It
certainly is more accurate in its action
than any feeder can be. One person
can, if diligent, attend two self feeding
machines. Each machine consists of a
cutting knife, a heading machine, bed
plate, hywheel, and splint and miss cut
separator. The last is the invention of
one of the workmen in the factory.
There is another process to be told
about, and that is blueing. This is done
in an inclined revolving cylinder,
pierced white holes, and kept at a dun
red heat. Tue nails are poured in at
the elevated end, and, as they slowly
roll down the incline, take on the pretty
blue tint we have so often admired.
The nails are now taken to the packer,
who weighs them, packing 100 pounds
in each key.