New-York tribune., 1902-10-19
THE MAKING OF PINS.
AUTOMATIC MACHINES DO THE WORK
OF MANY HANDS.

The manufacture OF pins has become such an In
dustry in the United States that the mills ~ .bis
country practically supply the world with this
needed article and vet the demand is by no means
a small one, says The American Exnortar pins
cost only trihe nowadays. where they were very
expensive In 1900 the 1900 GEO ueonIs in +ba I-+s5
States used 66.Vooo0 gross OF common pins which
IS equal to oOOO pins or an average Of about
l2j pins for every man. woman and child in the
country. This is-Sle highest average reached any,
where in the use Of pins. Ten years ago we used
only about y pins each
The total number Of pins manufactured in the
United States during 1900 the census year was
6S go gross There are forty-three factories In
all, with 1858 employees The business has grown
rapidly during the last twenty wears for artbor~f
there were forty factories in 1850 they produced only
half as much. employed only about half the canitaI
and only Lon hands There has been a considerable
increase in the number Of women and children en-
plOyed in pin factories of late years which is an
indication that the machinery is being improved
and simplihed and that its operation does not re-
qulre so high an order of mechanical skill
Hooks and eyes are bv-product of ninn,aLing
and are produced at most OF the factories from
material that VIII not do for pins. The output Of
hooks and eyes in 1909 was 113l s24 gross
Pins and hooks and eyes are turned out bv auto
matte machines in such quantities TODAY that the
cost Of manufacture is practically limited 10 the
value of the brass wire from which they are made
a single machine does the whole business Coils
OF wire hung upon reef are passed into machines
which cut IheiH INTO proper lengths, and they drop
OF into receptacle and arrange themselves in the
line of a slot formed by two bars When they
reach the lower end Of the bars they are seized
end pressed between two dies which form the
heads, and pass along into the grip of another
steel instrument, which points them by pressure
Ihey are then dropped into a solution OF sour beer
WhIrHng as they go. to 5e cleaned and then into a
not solutIoh OF TN, which is also kept revolving
They mere receive their bright coat of metal and
are pushed along killing time until they have had
opportunity to harden when they are dropped
into a revolving barrel of bran and sawdust which
cools and poIlshes them at the same time. Be
cause of the oscillation of the bran they work grad
ually down TO the bottom OF the barrel which Is a
metallic plate cut into Sits just big enough for the
body OF the pms Dlt not big enough for the head
into rows again, and like well drilled soldiers pass
along toward the edge Of the bottom, and slide
down an inclined plane still hanging by their
heads, until they reach strips of paper. TO which
they are introduced oy a curious jerk Of the
chine. The hrst they know they all placed in
partment stores, where they sold at from FIVE
cents 70 ten cents a gross. A machine is expected
10 throw out several thousand gross an hour.
Needles are made by a similar machine In 1900
there were made l5s1.5S3 gross of machine needles
ZlZos9 gross Tor shoemaking 324 f76 gross for Ord
nary household sewing machines. 37. .42S gross for
knitting achlnes ana the for other kinds OF
sewing and knitting machinery generally for fac
tory use. We imported S4lS O04 worth of ordinary
needles. most of them from England
HairplnS and safety pins and other kinds of pins
are MANUFACTURED in a similar manner We made
ana halrplnS are manufactured TO a greater extent
IN Europe than plain pins Safety pins. however.
are decidedly American. and Of these We make on
an average or l-"-at0 gross year.