Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-10-04
CORN COB PIPE FACTORY.
The Big Business Done in q Little Mis-
souri, Town-Making Pipes.

souri, TOwn-Making Pipes.
The only annoyance experienced by the
company is now and then a scarcity of
cobs. Neighboring farmers do not seem
to ''catch on" to the fact that they can
make more from the cobs raised than
from the corn itself. The kind known as
the Collier cob is preferred, as it is larger
and the corn is not set in as deep as
in other varieties. For good cobs one
cent apiece is paid, and many load is
known to have realized $50.
II wouldn't have believed it if hadn't
come over here" said man from Moselle,
ten miles distant. ga few weeks ago a
neighbor Of mine brought over load of
cobs, that Wouldn't have thought good
for anything but to burn, got 50 for them.
have heard 'em talk about the cob pipe
factory, but never thought it amounted
to much, and would not now if l had not
happened over and seen for myself"
1t seems incredible, yet this ignorance
Of the business in the outside world is
zealously cultivated by the company.
Farmers in the vicinity of Washington
are urged to grow the Collier corn and
bring in the cobs, but any spread of infor-
nation regarding the factory and the
magnitude of it's work is discouraged.
1--WE do not wish to be advertised in
any way" said Mr.. Werlich, when inter-
rogated in regard to the process of making
pipes, by correspondent. 1--WE would
rather nothing should be said about the
business"
Visions of intricate machinery and
precious secrets were limned to the CORE
spondent back of Mr. Weirich's reluc-
tance to an insight into the manner of
manufacture, but when permission was
finally granted, the real rudely dispelled
the ideal. The accessories are of the SIM
plest kind. They are so simple that there
is only wonder that SO good thing could
have been kept in one companys hands SO
long. The cobs are delivered at the fac
tory, and are dumped under cover. They
are then sorted, and the good ones
counted and paid for. The desirable size
is L inches in diameter, farmers
being supplied with iron rings of that
size through which to try cobs. Those
rejected are invariably left by the farmer,
not being worth carrying away, and are
used in the factory furnaces for fuel. The
good cobs are then sawed by small circu-
lar saws to the right length for turning,
one big cob making two pipes. The bor-
ing follows. The piece of cob is placed in
cup that holds it tightly, and an inch
auger connected with rapidly revolving
shaft is brought down through the cobs
center for specified distance. This is
done wonderfully fast by boys. who have
become proficient from practice. With one
hand they jam the cob in the cup, bring
down the auger with movement of the
lever by the other hand. and in twin
king it is over Almost as fast as they can
be counted the sawed pieces of cobs are
bored. The turner's next take the pieces
There are two shapes to the pipes, the
pear" and straight" The first swell
in the center and are rounded at the bot
tom; the others are only smoothed, the
natural contour of the cob being left un-
changed. The turner's are experts. They
have no pattern. but are guided by their
eye and the condition of the cob. The
piece already bored is placed on a spindle,
the other end having a spring bearing
that gives the pressure to hold it steady. |
With a turning tool the cob is cut down |
to the firm body, and the shape given, ex-
actly as in wood turning The fastest |
turner in the factory can do 5000 pieces |
in day of ten hours, but the average for |
the six men engaged in this particular
part of the work is $500. They are paid
81 per 1000.
The next step involves the patent
looked upon as throwing the laws protec-
ton around the company S interests. The
fllers, so called, carry it out. They are
boys, who fix the bored and turned pieces
Of cobs on spindles similar to those used
oy the turner, grab handful of plaster
IF paris and clutch the revolving embryo
pipe. jar of water sits over their
hands, so fixed that a tiny stream flows
lown and moistens the plaster. One
grab, presto! all the irregularities of the
,ob are filed with plaster. The pieces
ire then dried, sandpapered and shell
acked. All is by machinery, and when
he shellac is dry, the pipes are ready for
packing. The amount of plaster or
'hellac used is trifing. One barrel of
plaster will fill 10000 pipes, and one gal
on of shellac will cover them. The stems
ire of Arkansas cane, and come already
'ut.-Washington (Mo.) Cor. Globe-D Demo
rat.