Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-26
FACTS ABOUT PENCILS.

. 2
The consumption of lead pencils in this
country is estimated at $50, 900 day. This
is at the rate Of one per day to every 100
of population, or about $4,000, 900 a year.
Graphite, which is the sOftest substance
dug from the earth, is taken in the lump
direct from the mouth of the mine to the re
ducing mill. Here it is pulverized by stamps
under water, the particles floating on
with the water through series of tanks
Il comes to the factory in Brooklyn In bar
rels. in the form of dust. The powder is
lustTeleSs and Of dingy color. 1t Is finer
and softer than any flour, and can be taken
up in the hand just as water can, but is
hardly retained more easily than water is.
II one attempts to take a pinch of ii be
tween the forefinger and thumb it is as
evasive as quicksilver. and II only sensa-
tiOn left is that the flesh is ( ioother than
before.
The first process in manu- scturing is to
separate the graphite dust isrther, accOrd-
ing TO firmness. 1t is mixed with sufficient
water to run very freely. and is then Turned
slowly through a series of tubs. The coars-
tom of the first tub. and so on. the move
ment of the wafer being made very gentle.
On reaching the last tub, the powder. being
twice a. heavy as water aud sinking in 1t il
undsturbed. has so far settled that the
water discharged at the top is nearly clear
After the flow is stopped and the
powder allowed to settle, the clear water is
withdrawn by removing siccessively. be-
ginning with the upper one. number Of
plugs inserted In holes in the side of each
tub. care being used not to agitate the con-
tents so as 10 disturb the deposited dust
This being done properly. the depasit is re-
moved through gates at the bottom of each
tub. The separation is thus performed, by
this ingenious process of floating" more
perfectly than it could by any direct hand
ling. dry treatment being wholly impracti-
cable. For the finest pencils the deposit
from the last tub only is used, but for Ordi-
nary and cheap grades that from the two be
're the last will answer.
he graphite Is now ready for the clay.
'fris is a peculiar pipe clay from Germany.
After being subjected to the floating process
the finest is mixed with the graphite, in
proportions varying according to the de-
gree of hardness required. The more clay
used the harder the pencil. For medium
grades the proportion is about seven parts
of clay to ten graphite, by weight The
graphite and clay are mixed together with
water. to the consistency of thick cream,
and the mixture is fed to the grinding
mills. which consist of two fiat stones,
about two feet in diameter, placed horizon
tally, only the upper one running. Be
tween these the mass is ground like paint,
for the finest pencils as many as twenty-four
times, thus securing the most perfect
strength, uniformity and freshness from
grit in the leads. After grinding, the mass
is inclOsed in stout canvas bags. and the
clear water forced out by hydraulic pressure
until it becomes a thick dough.
II then goes TO the forming press. This
is simply a small vertical iron cylinder,
having a solid plunger or piston driven by
a screw. A plate is inserted in the bottom.
having an opening of the shape and size of
the lead desired, and the graphite is slowly
forced through the hole, exactly as water
is forced from syringe, cOiling itself
round and round like q coil Of wire on a
board set beneath the press. The coil
is taken up at intervals, "rove"
off straight by the hands into
lengths sufficient for three leads,
which are Strengthened out, laid in order on
a board and pressed fiat by putting cover
on them. They are finally hardened by
placing them in a crucible and baking in a
kiln. The handling must be done expedi-
tiOusly, as the leads begin drying immedi-
ately. and become brittle as they dry; but
on first issuing from the press they are so
plastic that knots may be tied loosely in
them.
The leads are now ready for their wooden
For fha ahaa mast raY,niI NINA iS ycnI-
for the common grades an ordinary quality
of red cedar. At the saw mills the cedar
is cut into blocks, about seven inches long,
and these are sawed into strips about three
and half inches wide and three-sixteenths
of an inch thick. The pencil consists OF
two parts glued together. with tine lead be-
tween. Each strip is wide enough TO make
the halves of six pencils. The pencils are
made six at time. and imperfect strips are
put together so as to make full strip
out of the parts. When these boards
(which are now ready for shaping) reach
the factory. they are first passed into a con-
tinuOus line, under a cutter which cuts six
little grooves, round or square, for the leads
and smOOths the faces by the same stroke
The lead in The foreign pencil lies wholly
in One-half on the wood, the other slip be
ing put on as cover, as nearly everybody
has found occasion to know by the covers
coming of and leaving an unpleasantly fiat
surface; but the American method has the
groove equally in each strip. Accordingly
the two strips are glued alike.
Filling the leads is done by girls. sitting
at brass-covered tables. The first takes a
grooyed slip with her LETT hand and bunch
Of leads in her right. Spreading these out
in her fingers like the sticks of fan, she
dextreOusly lays them in the grooves and
passes the filled slip to the girl at the left,
who puts over it another slip which has
just received a coating of hot glue from q
brush welded by a third. Any two slips
fit together, and the united pairs are laid in
a row and pressed together in an iron frame