Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-05
MAKING HAIRPINS.
How Those Useful Articles of Woman's
Toilet Are Manufactured.

Toilet Are Manufactured.
Hairpins that bear French label on
the package, as well as those having an
American label, are nearly if not ali man
ufactured in Birmingham, England. A
hairpin mandatory is very interesting
place to spend a pleasant half hour The
hairpin is a very small article, yet ii
forms an important article Of commerce
and great deal of complicated and costly
machinery is used to turn them out in SUI,
ficient quantities to meet the ever-increas
ing demands of an advancing civilization
In hairpin mandatory on the ground
floor are situated the engine, boiler and
japanning rooms.
Ascending to the second floor, there is
found all the machinery used in cutting
pointing, bending, crimping and shaping
the hairpin
The material of which hairpins is usu-
ally made is steel wire. This comes to the
hairpin mandatory wound around i'm
mense spools. These are placed in a
machine that draws off the wire, straight
ems and cuts it into the required lengths,
each of these lengths dropping into a box
the proper size, to prevent their lying at
right angles to each other, and gentle
shake given to the box causes them all to
lie parallel.
In front of this box and just below it is
solid wheel, the periphery of which is
grooved parallel with the axis. These
groves are just the size of the wire, and
the face of the wheel is of size to allow
the straight wires to iut over trifle at each
end. As this wheel revolves it receives the
wires at the top, and as the wheel slowly
reyOlves it carries the wires with it. On
the side that they should fall off by force of
gravity they are tightly held in place by a
belt similar to slack-belt tightener, which
is often used on short belts.
While being held in place by this belt
they are also ground on their projecting
ends to the required shape by two small
grindstoneS, set at an angle that will prop
erly point them. Now, as the wheel fur
ther revolves the wires drop off and fall
into box made just the length to receive
them. 1t is during the working of this
machine that noise which much resem-
bles duet played on the Scotch bagpipes
is evolved. The wires are now ready for
the next machine, which is called ben
der. This machine has steel box with a
slanting bottom. At the bottom of the
slant is longitudinal aperture, of sufii-
cient size to allow the wires to fall out
one at time.
They fall between two plates of hard
ened steel, at the bottom of which works a
steel rod finely tempered on the end. 1t
slides back just far enough to al
low of one wire at time to fall through
n small hn1a in ,,1afa Of harlaonA
steel, conveying the double pointed piece
of steel wire with it and bend
ing it into the proper shape of hairpin.
Some have to be crimped, and these are
passed between set of steel jaws that closes
on them one at time and crimps them for
portion of their length on each prong into
a waved outline.
They are now ready to receive their first
coat of japan. On being taken to the
ground-hoor, about half bushel is placed
in large crock, known by the name of
jowl, and two tablespoonful of the japan
is poured on them and then they are
stirred and worked around in the jowl I'M
til each separate hairpain has received a
complete coating of japan. They are then
taken out of the jowl and placed on shall
low tin trays and put in an oven and
baked. The baking Of the japan on hair
pin is an operation requiring great iudg-
ment on the part of the operator. They
must be cooked just enough and no more
or they blister and are rendered rough
and unfit for use.
This is repeated for medium grades, and
three coats are put on for the best work
They are then sent to the packing room,
where they go through process called
heading. This consists of getting each
one strung upon wire. The next opera
ton is to weigh them and pack them in
small packages, properly labelled for the
retail trade. The final operation consists
of putting them up in gross lots and pack
ing them in large boxes for shipment to
all parts of the world. A packet of one
dozen hairpins usually sells for two cents
at retail.