The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-14
MAKING PINS.
One Machine Does All the Work
Important Connecticut Industry.

"Can anything be more simple than
the making Of a pin?' you say, and you
hold one up to look at it, says the
Washington Star. There is nothing to
it except body, head and point. You
may be surprised, then, to learn that
this pin in the course of it's manufac-
ture passed through from ten to six
teen processes, journeying from base
ment to roof of a great factory IN
which are employed hundreds of skilled
operatives, all giving their minds and
muscles to the task of turning out
so simple an object as the ordinary pin.
And. besides the human workers, the
industry engages dozen of different
kinds Of machines, operating with the
mysterious and almost Intelligent &C
ton which makes modern machinery
so highly interesting.
AS might be expected, the pin produc-
ton Of the United States is centered III
Connecticut, commonwealth famed
almost as much for Yankee notions
as for it's wooden nutmegS. 1t is es-
timated that ninetenths Of all Ameri
can pins are made in Connecticut, and
the largest pin factory in the country
Is in that state. The number of pins
turned out by this one factory in the
course Of g. year, If placed end to end,
would forTrfa line reaching three times
around the earth. The total production
Of the country is about twice this num-
ber or nearly enough to extend in a
straight line from the earth to the
moon.
The pins rake their appearance at
the factory in the form Of coiled wire
packed in barrels. The ordinary pin Is
made from brass wire, though iron is
used for the cheapest grades. The
first step in the transformation process
Is the Strengthening Of the wire. The
,~1o nlNY5n
fed from these into q machine from the
vise-like grasp of which the wire
energies perfectly straight. Thence 1t
goes directly to the pin machines where
the most interesting step in the work
of manufacture goes on. The pin
machine. like the printing press. COM
bines in one compact piece Of mechan-
ism a number of interesting processes.
AS the wire is fed into the machinery
it encounters a sharp knife, which cuts
it off into uniform lengths of whatever
size many be desired. AS each little
length of wire drops from the knife
IL falls upon wheel, perhaps ten
inches In diameter, set upright in the
frame Of the machine. The edge of
this wheel Is notched into a number Of
little grooves, each one just large
enough to hold one of the bits Of wire.
The embryo pins settle into three
grooves and are carried along by the
revolving wheel until an iron thumb
and finger seize and hold them firmly.
while an automatic hammer, by a sin
gle smart blow. puts a hSad ON one
end. Then they fall upon another
grooved wheel, which revolves hori-
zontally, and looks like a. miniature
barbican with the bits of wire project
ing from its rim AS the wires move
on in the clasp of this second wheel,
the projecting ends pass over the sur
face of number of rapidly revolving
wheels, which may be described as cir
cular steel files. These wheels grind
the end of wire to a neatly tapered
point, and after leaving them the
points pass across a pumice stone
wheel to give them the smoothness
which the files cannot impart. and then
drop into a wooden box placed beneath
the machine to receive them.