The Newtown bee., 1888-06-08
TRuMBULL

Tait & Son have recently made a num-
 Der of improvements in their paper mill and are so rushed with work that it is
 impossible to keep up with their orders. A full force of men is kept day and night
 and they say that if they had a mill twice
 as large it would be fully occupied. The
 process of converting the raw material into straw boards, as thick and hard as
 well-tanned leather and as smooth as pol ished wood, is full of interest. The pa per stock, which comes in rough bales, is put into a huge tub with alkalies and chemicals and steam is injected into the
 mass. This, when thoroughly decom- posed, is thrown out and taken to the beater, where it is ground to pulp. Thence it is taken to vat, raised by specially designed pump and run through
 a spout to kingsland refining engine.
 During it's passage through the spout, the heavier chips, pieces of metal, etc., are caught and retained by series of little dams. After going through the
 Kingsland engine, the material is sent to the lower floor. Here, in a large eircu- l lar tub, with plenty of water, it is con- stantly agitated by machinery. At the side of the tank, the liquid pulp is pass
 ed through various processes and finally projected with great force against a re- volving cylinder composed of fine brass wires. The water passes through and | leaves the pulp. which is carried forward
 on an endless felt band and taken over and between rollers and cylinders until it reaches the other end of the machine,
 when it leaves the felt and is wound up
 on wooden cylinder. The felt is auto matically washed and cleansed during it's return. The required thickness being | reached, a bell is rung and the workman slices the roll of pulp, now formed into straw board, removes it from the cylin- der and lays it on q truck at his side. These trucks hold over a ton each. The paper is then placed in the drying room,
 which has a capacity of two tons. Here 1t is dried by steam and emerges rough
 and stiff. Upstairs again it goes to be
 run through dampening machine, an invention of the Messrs Tait and a great improvement on the old method of hand
 moistening. After this, the sheets are
 pressed; then, when of the proper con
 sistency, passed through pair of chilled iron calender rolls, weighing 1200pounds each which put splendid finish on the work. The inspector takes charge the
 calendered sheets, separates the different grades and qualities and assorts the pa per with the greatest care. It IS tied up in 50-pound packages and is ready to ship. Much of the work, however. is lluGl OF uOuDlc-l1lcus aflu IllS WOTk Is
 done by a machine of Messrs Tait's own
 contrivance. The sheets are passed be-
 tween two rolls, the lower one revolving
 in q vat of paste; the lining paper is laid
 carefully on and brushed smooth and the
 sheets are put in press and subjected to
 d heavy weight. The board made by
 this firm is of the best quality possible to
 produce and that it is appreciated is
 proved by the fact that orders already on the books will keep the mill running for
 the next three months. A number of
 improvements and labor-saving devices are the result of Mr Tait's own observa-
 tion and experience and the firm is now
 negotiating for a new boiler. Whenthat
 is added, they will complete arrange
 ments for moving the pulp by machinery
 and run another beater, increasing the capacity of the mill to four tons of paper
 q day. Another proposed addition, in the near future, is the erection of new dry ing room, increasing the drying capacity to four tons per day. A substantial safe has lately been numbered among the of