The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-10-03
FRUIT BOXES.
FAsHIONING THEM FROM RTB1
BONS OF WOOD.
The Daceitful Berry Keceptacles ara
Made From Chips Over 1000 I
Feet Long-The Intricate
Process Described.

How many of those who every morn
ing buy box of berries. cherries, plums
or other small fruit, of the grocer or
vender at the door. know how the little
wooden boxes which hold the fruit are
made2 asks the San Diego (Cal.) Union.
Light and fragile, thinner than PASTE
board, and apparently simple in con-
struction. they are by far the best thing
yet devised for the handling and market 5
ing of small fruits. 80
They are made of shavipgs. The thin
sheets of wood, which form the sides and
bottom of berry box, are nothing more
nor less than small pieces cut from
great pine, fir or whitewood shaving,
and bent and fastened together in the
shape of box. These shavings, of
course, are not like those which fall in
graceful curls from the carpenters plane,
but are great long sheets, in each Of
which is almost the entire wood Of a big
log, and from a single shaving is, fre.
quently made from 1000 to 5000 berry
boxes.
To one who never witnessed the manu-
facture of berry boxes, every stage OF
the process is extremely interesting.
When brought up the logs are cut by
drag saw into uniform lengths as desired.
These sections of the log are then placed
in large steam box, of which there are
several convenient to the machinery, and
left for twelve hours subjected to the ef-
fects of the exhaust steam, from the en-
CINE. This softens the wood so that it
can be cut into the thin sheets desired,
without checking or splitting into frag-
ments. .r', -,.'-'f z3's''t ~.
A section of great log. three feet in
diameter, was rolled out from the steam
box by two men, and after the centre
had been marked at both ends, was
hoisted by small derrick and swung
over a machine, the principal feature Of
which was long, beyeled knife, firmly
set in strong iron frame, in very much
the same manner as the blade of a car
penter's plane is set. Indeed, the cut
ting portion of this machine is .geat
monster shaving plane, with the cage of
the blade fixed upward. The log was
next lowered by the derrick to its proper
position, the operator of the machine
pulled lever and two great clamps,
with strong, sharp pointed jaws two
inches long advanced and pushed their
iron teeth into the marked centres at
each end of the log. The great wooden
cylinder was now held firmly in front Of
the blade Of the immense shaving plane,
and when the operator pulled another
lever the log commenced to revolvet to-
ward the cutting edge, exactly like the
strip of wood in q turner's lathe reyolves
toward the chisel. Another pull by the
operator. and the frame holding the
great blade began to move upon the re-
volving log. When the knife came in
contact with the steaming wood the
outer edges were peeled off in thin strips
without a sound of cutting, and the
broad sheets rolled out under the blade
as easily and noiselessly as would slice
Of cheese under sharp knife. -,
After the water soaked, outer portion
of the log had been trimmed off in this
manner, the operator adjusted, on the
side of the log opposite to the cutting
knife, number Of small chisel-like in
struments, at the end of each of which
was small. sharp cutting edge pressing
against the log. These little cutters are
placed at various distances, carefully
measured by the operator, and evidently
formed an important feature of the oper-
alton. When the log again began its
revolutions against the blade of 3 the,
great shaving machine there came out
from under the knifea long, wide, thin
strip of wood, which the men pulled out
and rolled and folded up like wall
paper. ~ -, J. =.
An examination of this great white
steaming shaving. showed that its entire
length was marked by parallel lines, cut
partially through the wood, made by the
little cutters at the back of the log. The
purpose of these lines was mystery un-
til the operator carelessly broke of an
end of the great shaving, making astrip
two or three inches wide and quickly
bent it into the form of berry box cym-
plete. excepting the, bottom. The points
of bending were the parallel lines cutin
the wood, which made the operation of
shaping the box nothing but q simple
mechanical movement. ,,.''g ::
The wood bent readily at the partial
cuts and formed the angles Of the box.
Making the bottom, of course, consisted
in. exactly the same operation except
that the strip used for this portion was
not 80 long, having only two cuts and
three segments. The middle segment,
formed, of course, the bottom of the
box, and the two at the end, extend up
ward inside the frame formed by the
longer strip. ,,:r
All but the small core of the log is
turned off into this long shaving, one
twentieth of an inch in thickness and
nearly 1000 feet long, which is folded
and broken into convenient length for
handling as fast as it comes from the
knife. ..,rr..
The machinery, which thus in few
minutes converts rough log into long
paper-like sheet of wood, is called 70.
tary veneer machine, and in the factory
are several of them of various sizes, tns
largest of them being adapted to the
shaving OF logs ten feet eight inches in
length. The thin sheets of wood, as
soon as they are taken from the machine,
are placed upon long table near at hand
aud pushed nnder a knife operated by
steam power, which cuts the wood into
narrow strips, lengthwse, and of the
proper width for the sides and bottoms
of berry box. The knife which cuts
the long shavings crosswise OF course
cuts engthwise OF the grain. The mar
row strips, as fast as they are cut, are
taken away by boys and carried on an
elevator to the second floor of the build
ing, where number of boys and girls
rapidly bind them into box form. The
last step in the manufacture, which is
| done hy GIRLS. is the fastening of the