Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-02-18
How buttons Are Made.

To use the expression, mot worth a
outton," which Is often applied to an
object apparently worthless, is certainly
depreciating an article that Is an i'm
portant factor OF commerce, and the
making of which gives bread to many
thousands Of people. Even though the
shadow of fashions frpwn fall at pres
emit over the button, 1t is anything but
an insignificant article.
The ancients do not appear TO have
made use OF the button, except, perhaps,
TO fasten the drapery OF women's TUNES
on the SHOULDER or arms; or to connect
the two square pieces OF the tunic near
the neck.
The dies for stamping metal buttons
are rated among the highest objects OF
the die sinker's and medalist's art. In
q large button ms nufactory you will see
ranges of shelves or pigeon-holes COW
ering both sides of the rooms, each
filled with dies, hundreds in number.
And upon each one what care and
thought have been spent, what ingenu-
ity and knowledge, what skill of eye
and handl In itself it is curious arti-
Gle, a single die occupying man from
two TO three days to a month, according
to his ability and the flneness Of the pat
tern to be wrought.
To think OF 1000 in year produced
by dint of so much effort and ability, and
remember that button-dies are among
the highest productions OF the art, can
not but elevate one 8 respect for buttons.
The first step to take then in follow
ing throughout the history OF a button,
says the Chicago Tribune, will be to find
out what Is this steel die so much heard
of and so seldom seen, except by those
who 90 to seek it, II is a block of metal,
round or square, as may happen, four or
five inches in height and rather smaller
at the top than at the bottom. The steel
selected must be of moderately fine
grain and uniform texture, and when
polished must show no spots or patches
under magnifying glass. After being
forged into rough blocks the size and
shape mentioned the steel is made as
soft as possible by careful annealing-
being immersed in a pot OF coarsely
pounded animal charcoal, then heated
to a cherry red and allowed TO cool
gradually.
Next it is faced up fatty and smooth
ly in a lathe, and the engraver takes 1T
In hand. He first sketches his pattern
upon it from the drawing before him
with pencil. Then he begins engrav-
ing with the hard, sharply pointed steel
engraving tools-gently for it is always
easy to cut away more, but impossible
to restore the minutest chip when the
stroke has gone too deep. He works
out the images of the pattern, diverse
and reverse, in intaglio for the upper
matrix, and embossed or in bas-relief
for the lower. When, after repeated
Impressions upon clay from time to time
"a vi n no
ready to be hardened.
This process Is simple enough when
plain steel is to be operated upon, but
is critical when delicate engraving is
to be preserved intact. Any defect in
the mode of conducting IL may ruin the
labor of many weeks, 1t resembles the
previous process Of softening as regards
the application of high heat but i'll this
it is cooled quickly to produce the de-
sired hardness, while in the other it was
cooled slowly.
Each matrix is first treated to a coat
ing of oil and animal charcoal or OF
lampblack and linseed oil. Then they
ere placed face downward in a crucible
filled with the charcoal and burned.
After the cherry-red heat is attained
they are taken out with pair OF tongs,
plunged in a large vessel of cold water,
moved about rapidly till the spluttering
ceases, and left in the water till quite
cool. If it pipes or sings il
is probably cracked. This dash into
cold water is the nervous part of the
business, as the fractures are liable to
occur then and the whole work OF weeks
ruined. Sometimes as many as four or
six dies have to be struck to secure a
minute or delicate pattern. The hard
ened die is now polished by holding il
against a revolving iron disk coated with
powdered emery and oil and tempered
by putting it in water which is gradually
raisedt to the boiling point and as grad.
uaily cooled, or by placing it on heated
bar of iron until 1t acquires rich straw
color. To increase its strength 1t Is
sometimes thrust into a red-hot iror
ring of Just the diameter to fit it wher
the die is cold; consequently, the ring
by contracting as IL cools binds the sub
stance Of the die with great force ant
renders it less liable to crack in the sub
seauent operations. It is now ready 70
use in molding the shape Of future thou
sands of buttons.
The materials OF which buttons ar
made are almost innumerable. AS on
manufacturer remarked, ITO make out
long list of materials Of which they ar
made is an easy matter, but, excluding
the fatty substances, to name one o
which they are not made would be
difficult task.
The most common, however, are meta
buttons of steel, brass, iron, and alu
minum, pearl, composition, glass, an