The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1886-02-26
NEEDLES.
The Manufacture OF Very Necessary
Article.

Article.
A contributor to the Aurania News
writes: The world produced in 1885
an average of 60,000,U00 needles per
week. Redditch, town Of 20, 600
people, seventeen miles from Birming-
ham, England, has fourteen needle fac
tories, aud produces 50, 900, 600 weekly,
while Germany has two producing
100000 per week. The two prnci-
pal houses in Redditch are Henry Nal
ward & Sons, who produce 10, 900, 900,
and Alfred Sbrinpton and Sons, who
produce 5000 coo, and the other
twelve factories produce $4,000 600
weekly. The wire, which is of the En-
est spring steel, is received in packets
from the wire.drawers at Sheffield, and
is first tested to find if the quality is
perfect. 1t is then cut by means of a
huge, automatic shears, and gagged to
the length of two needles; those pieces
are Strengthened by. rolling process;
they are then heated on large iron
plates, and when the proper heat has
been attained they are thrown into
large basins of oil, which produces the
elastic temper necessary to all first
class needles They are then washed
with soap and water, and dried in saw
dust. and thence 60 to the pointing ma.
chine, which consists OF large grind
stone, with concave surface, revolving
at . high rate of speed, and wheel
| revolving at low rate Of speed at
| right angles to the stone. and shaped to
fit the stone on this wheel is belt
called the saddle, which holds the
needles as they reyolve 10 passing over
the stone. thereby getting a uniform
taper to the point; they are then re-
yersed, and the other. end pointed in
like manner. They then go to the
stamping machine, where the two eyes
are stamped, grooves put in, and the
wire is almost cut in two between the
eyes; they are then threaded on two
wires aud the burr caused by the stamp
| filed off the sides, then broken between
the eyes. which is easily done, as they
are already almost cut in two; then
while they are still on the wires the
heads are filed and dressed; they are
then held fast while the wires are made
to revolve and pass to and fro through
them, carrying on it solution for pol
ishing the inside of the eye and remov'
ing all burr from it. They are then
placed in packages of several thicknesses
OF canvas. and mixed with oil and pow
dered stone, all lying lengthwise; they
are rolled up and corded like roll of
pudding, then placed on steel plat
form, while another from above is let
down on them; the upper one moves to
and fro rocking the packages, and in
this way they are secured bright and
all crooked ones broken. They are
then washed with soap and water, then
tossed in sawdast till dry, then passed
by hand over buff wheel by which
that exquisite polish is attained which
is found on all perfect needles. The
needles are put into large pans, and by
certain way of tossing them they are
thrown into neat rows in the side of
the pan, then placed on table in rows
and all turned points one way; this is
done by having cloth on the trst fin
ger and striking the side Of the pile;
the points stick in the cloth and are
deftly whipped over. They are then
placed on strap, and the ends OF the
strap turned together makes it band
whereby the points can all be turned
up, and as the points are too fne to see
they form black surface, from which
broken point or an imperfect one can
be seen at a glance and picked out.
Then they GO to the sticking table.
where they are arranged in rows OF
separate sizes and a woman gathers
them in twenty.hves faster than could
be imagined aud sticks them through
the cloth, which has been stretched on
machine made for that purpose. An
expert girl eau stick forty thousand
needles per day. The needles afe pa
pered and wrapped in packages OF one