Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-09-18
MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS.
How the Vegetable Ivory Is Transformed
into Articles of Beauty.

Vegetable ivory is a nut about the
size of a very large buckeye or horse
chestnut, and grows in similar man.
ner on trees. 1t is very solid and white
throughout. and when polished has all
the appearance of ivory. The nuts are
cut into thin slabs of the thickness of
the button wished. These slabs are
then put into lathe, where they are
cut by die, patterned one-half for the
face and one for the back. revolving at
a speed of 2 900 revolutions a minute
These halves are so arranged that as
one half is brought against the slab the
is always cut first, then the back die is
brought up and, its edge meeting the
circular groove made by the face die,
the buttons drops out. The buttons
are then thoroughly dried, and. be-
coming porous, readily absorb the ami
line with which they are dyed.
The dyeing process is done scienti-
fcally, but is very simple. If plain
button is desired it is simply plunged
into an aniline bath, but where vare-
ty of colors are to be applied the pro.
cess varies. Say it is desired to make
a black button with red design. The
design is first stamped upon the white
button with shellac. The button is
then plunged into an aniline bath and
all parts exposed are colored. When
dry it is washed in turpentine to clean
off the shellac, exposing the design in
white. A red dye is then made of
fustic, as this has no effect upon aniline.
An anilne can be made of any color
but as it will destroy any other dye it
must be used only when all parts of
the button which it is not wished to
color are protected by the shellac.
Where multiplicity of colors is de-
sired they are applied with sponges,
much in the manner that chrome
Autograph is made. The ground color
is made of fustic and the others of ami
line. The sponge is cut into the de-
sign wished for certain color and
another sponge for another, etc., deft-
ness being required to apply the colors
accurately.
After being dyed the buttons are
dried-rolled and polished on spindles.
AS practically no strength is required,
and as girls are more skillful with their
fingers than men, most of the buttons
are made by girls. A good hand can
make as many as fifty gross a day.
When it comes to drilling the eyes. 12O
to $50 gross a day can be handled by
one girl. The holes are always drilled
from the face back. The drill used for
this consists of four shafts revolving
very rapidly and independently of one
another. They are very fine and pass
through guard just before touching
the button.
The delicate designs so popular this
summer are stamped with steel die
with the desired design engraved upon
it. The ivory is soaked before being
stamped. The wholesale price of this
vegetable is about cents pound, so
that the buttons do not cost much to
the producer.
Most of the buttons used here are
from Vienna, and some are worth as
much as $40 per gross. When a but
ton goes out of style it is dead article
and can not be forced on the market.
An attempt was made this spring to
force the big buttons, but it would not
do, they are dead beyond resurrection
for the present. Notion dealers are
looking for a brisk business in buttons
next fall, and from the best authority
it may be said that button manufacture
ing was never more prosperous than
now, especially OF metal ones.- Cincia-
nQtl Times Stnr.