Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-04-28
LUCIFER MATCHES.
4 WALK THROUGH THE FACTORY
WHERE THEY ARE MADE.

How the Blocks of Wood are Cut Up
Coating the splints with Parafnne-
Framing and Dipping Drying and
Boxing-Precautions Taken.
The wood used in the manufacture of luci-
fers is the best pine plank, as free from knots
as 1t can be procured. Each plank is cut
across the fibers by means of a circular saw,
into twenty eight or thirty blocks, each meas
uring eleven inches long, four and one-haE
wide and three inches thick These blocks are
cut up into splints by a machine of simple but
ingenious construction, which will endeavo-
to explain IN few words. To the extremity
OF the horizontal arm of a crank is attached q
frame which reciprocates to and fro with the
motion Of the crank through space of about
four inches. In this frame are fixed in line
some thirty or forty lancets with the points
projecting upwards, and separated from each
other by pieces Of brass. The block of wood to
DE cut is inserted by the small end, between
uprights, and a lever placed upon it forces it
down to such a position that as the lancet
points advance, the end Of the wooden block
Is scored or cut in the direction of, or par
allel with the fbers, with as many lines as
there are lancets. As the lancets are with
Drawn by the motion of the crank, scythe
blade moving in a horizontal plane swings
round, and cuts off the end of the block to the
depth of the scores made by the lancets
RAPIDITY OF THE CUTTING PROCESS.
The pieces thus cut Of will evidently be
four sided splints, square in section, suppos-
ing, as is the case, that the lancets are
equidistant, and that the horizontal knife cuts
exactly to the depth of tho lancet scores.
When the horizontal knife swings back, the
block, from which one layer of splints has
thus been removed, descends through space
equal to the depth of the section, the lancet
points again advance end recede, ard the
knife again does its work. In this way the
cutting Is carried on with such rapidity that
from IL to 16 planks each II feet long, IL
inches wide, and inches thick can be cut up
into splints in a day of ten hours. As the
splints fall Off the block by the action of tine
horizontal knife, they pass down shoot
Immediately under into a room below, where
they are are tied up into bundles
Next comes the coating of paraffine which
the match requires before tipping Sulphur
was used for this purpose until quite recently,
but is now almost entirely discarded. In one
OF the rooms is furnace employed in keeping
q plate Of iron above it nearly red hot and
also heating vessel containing melted paraf-
tine. The splints are brought here in bundles,
placed for moment on the hot plate TO char
their ends, and then dipped In the parafiine,
not in the vessel itself however. A pan with
piece of flannel in it stands above it, and
this flannel is kept constantly moist with
melted parafiine. When the ends of a bundle
are placed on the flannel they suck up instan-
taneously as much OF the substance as is re-
quired.
After this comes the framing, i. e., placing
the splinfs on ends inside frame, and seper
atlng each row with a long splint, very much
as you would lead type. This Is done III order
that a great many may lie tipped and dried
at once. When frame becomes filled it is
locked with wedge, and in this
state looks like large square brush,
the ends OF the splints answering to
hairs, although of course they are much fur
ther apart. The splints are now tapped
gently on fiat iron plate, TO render their
ends perfectly level, and are then ready for
dipping
SERIES OF BIG GLUE POTS.
In another ROOM arranged against the wall,
are series Of magnified glue pots. In these
the composition is prepared. For common
matches glue is first of ali melted; then
phosphorus, chlorate of potash, and other
ingredients are stirred in one at a time The