Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-01-03
MILLIONS OF PINS.
now THEY ARE MADE IN THESE
DAYS OF MACHINERY.
An Interesting Manufacturing Pro-
cess Which Originated in This
Country and in Which We
Are Still Pre-eminent

prizes for native-made pins, and o
factory was started in 1912, but failed.
Twelve years later Mr.. Lemuel w.
Wright, a native of Massachusetts,,
was granted patent in England for
pin making machine, but this, for
some reason, was not introduced into
the United States and in 1S42 DIR.
John L. Howe, New York physician
In charge of hospital, whose conva-
lescents occupied their time by MAX
ing pins by hand, determined to in
troduce into America the manufacture
by machinery of these small articles.
After period of careful study, dur
ing which time he &C luired knowledge
of their manufacture, he returned to
this country, bringing with him the
necessary machinery for factory.
The ingots, or bars from which the
pins are finally made, are cast in iron
molds, and are about one and half
by three inches and six feet long,
being n mixture of two parts copper
to one part zinc. By continuous roll
ing and frequent annealing these bars
are reduced to sheets about ne-eighth
of an inch thick. and then passed be-
tween rollers which slit them into
small square strips ready for drawing.
The process of drawing is we'll known,
dies of different sizes being provided,
and by continuous drawings and an
healing the wire assumes the right dia-
meter for pins.
When it reaches the pin department
proper the wire must first be straight
ened, as on the small reels it takes
permanent set, which is not allowable
in the pin machines From the small
reels it is wound to the standard pin
machine reel, twenty-five inches in
diameter, at the rate of over 1000 feet
per minute, passing through COM
bination of horizontal and vertical
Strengthening rolls, which effectually
take out the kink and leave it ready
for the pin machine. The reel is now
placed on the rack beside the pin ma
chine, and rollers draw the wire into
the machine, where it is first cut off,
then headed by three distinct blows,
given by cam and toggle.
The headed blanks are carried down
on the surface of vertical wheel, to
horizontal disks below. Here they
pass between the two disks and are re-
volved by one running much faster
than the other, at the same time being
moved to the left over revolving steel
files. four in number, which make the
points, finishing with an emery belt
These machines are speeded to make
l6O pins per minute, and fifty ma
chimes work in one room. AS these
machines require practically no atten-
tion, they are run about fourteen
hours a day, and the number of pins
made, allowing for stoppages, will ex-
ceed 100000 per diem, the aggre-
gate weight being from 1900 to 1900
pounds, according to size the differ
ent sizes varying in weight from 100
to Is, 900 to the pound.
The pins then travel to the timing
room, where they are tumbled with
saw-dust for ten minutes to remove
all oil and dirt, boiled for four hours
with Banca tin, in prepared solution,
and after bath of strong soapsuds to
give them smooth surface, final
tumbling with sawdust makes them
ready for the sticking room. Once
there, they are dumped into the hop
pers of the sticking machines and
thence pushed out by revolving fin
gers to an inclined bed with radial
slots, or "runs," into which large
numbers of the pins fall, some being
caught by the head, others escaping
through openings to q pan below to
be replaced in the hopper at leisure.
The pins feed down these slots and
drop in the "cutting-of'' plate as it is
moved slightly across the row, and
when full the movement of lever
drives tho small hammers down, fore
ing them into the paper, which is
crimped at the same time and held for
the sticking. These power sticking
machines were designed by Mr.. Nara
more in 1884, and have as many runs
Us there are pins in the row, the ones
for cut sheets having thirty pins to
the row and twelve rows to the paper
being used in this machine, the at
tendant sticking about 2400 sheets per
hour.
Some of the sticking machines are
adapted for the cheaper pins, which
are stuck into continuous rolls at q
rate of 100 rows minute and cut up
into the required lengths after leav-
ing the machine. These machines
need very little attention, filling the
hopper and renewing the rolls being
all that is required. About the only
feature of the business which has not
changed is the style of putting up the
pins, the old numbers of fourteen
rows of twenty each for cheaper pins
and twelve rows of thirty each for the
better grades still being used.
Fifty years ago when Mr.. Joseph
Naramore was a boy in the pin factory
Mt Birmingham, Conn, the pins were
put into the paper by hand, the creases
being rolled in by machine, and the
pins and paper were taken home by the
farmers to do evenings, being paid at
the rate of six cents per dozen papers.
Next came the hand machines, having
a single slot or "run" in place of