Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-07-24
HOW MATCHES ARE MADE.
The Various Processes Through Which TIL.
Wooden Material Is Put.

The operation of making matches from
a pine log, says the Woodworker, may be
divided into four heads namely: Prepar-
making, and filing. When the timber is
brought into the cutting-room of the fac
| tory 1t is seized upon by gang of men.
who place it before circular saw, where
IT Is cut into fifteen inches long, which is
the length of seven matches. It is then
freed OF It's bark and taken to the turning
lathe, where, by means of a special form
of liked cutting band running its entire
length, continuous tool, the thickness of
the match is cut off,
As the block revolves, and decreases in
diameter the knife advances and a band of
veneer of uniform thickness is obtained
AS the veneer rolls off the knife it is met
by eight small knives, which cut it into
| seven separate bands, each the size of the
match. By this operation seven long
ribbons of wood, each the length and
thickness of a match, are obtained. These
| are then broken into pieces SIX feet long,
then fed into machine which looks and
acts like a straw chopper, which cuts them
INTO single matches. The m achine eats
cal device pushes them forward, the thick
ness of a match at each stroke of the cut
ter. This little machine with its one sharp
knife can cut over 100000 matches a
day.
From the cutting-room the sp1ints are
taken to the dry-room, where they are
placed in revolving drums, which absorb
all the moisture the 81 limits may contain.
IT.
process, which is very important opera
ton, as each splint must have sufficient
space to be fully coated, and yet not placed
so close to che others as to cause the mix
ture to clot the heads of the other splints.
To do this they are placed under an ingen-
lously constructed machine which seems
to work with almost human intelligence,
and are caught up and placed closely, but
at regular intervals. in a dipping frame.
These frames contain fOrty-four movable
laths, and between each lath the machine
passes with clockwork regularity fifty
s. hints, making over 1900 splints in each
y. me.
The heads of the splints are on the same
icvel. and single attendant at each ma
i inc can place over l 100000 splints in
lie frame per day. The dipping vat is a
square pans. The first pan is for heating
the splints so they will absorb the mixture,
the second contains molten para6ne, in
which the points are dipped and in the
third thew are coated with the igniting
composition. Over 5000, 900 matches can
be dipped by skillful workman in one
day. After the dipping process the
matches are dried while still in the frames
and are then taken to the packing-room
where they are put into boxes by hand.
A portIy gentleman was seated in one of
the East River ferryboats the other day
trying to light pipe, says the New York
Times. A street arab of diminutive size
sat beside him and behind his elbow,
twisted up his lips and gently waited soft
breezes that efectually extinguished the
matches that the portly gentleman con-
tinued to light. AS match after match
went out, the portly gentleman got more
exasperated and the small boy, etfectually
concealed by the large proportions of his
neighbor, got happier. The gentle
man looked around at last and then there
was an explosion. But the small boy was
live small boy, and he vanished before
any wrath could reach him.
III odrOlOVe, an interesting Traveller ON
foot arrived recently. He was peasant,
Nikolay Audukin by name, and over sew
enty years of age. He had been a serf,
and in 1868 his master had accused him of
theft and had caused him to be exied to
Okhotsk, in eastern Siberia As the crime
of which he had been accused could not
be established, he was sent off as d free
exile that is, he was not kept prisoner
or bound to penal service in the place of
his destination. For thirty eight years he
worked in Okhotsk as a miner and savtd
some money. Having attained his seven
teeth year, he conceived a desire to return
to his native land, and as he said, ''to put
away his little bones among his own peo-
pie when his time is up in this world. -
But he was still hale and hearty and trav-
eled all the way from Okhotsk on foot He
was on the road twenty-five months and
had many narrow escape from encount-
ers with bears and wolves. At his old
home he has large family of children
and grandchildren awaiting him with open
arms.