Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-10-05
CUT AND WIRE NAILS
METHODS BY WHICH THEY ARE
TURNED OUT IN VAST QUANTITIES.
The Wire Nail Process Is Simple ana
Almost wholly Automatic, Whfie
the Cut Nail Process Is Less Auto
matte and Much Harder.

! The making of nails is one OF the
oldest American, as Ii is one or the
oldest English, industries, but IN Great
Britain the greater part of the prouuct
| has been hand work. in America ma
/ rhine work
! OF modern nails, the Wire or French
nails and the common cut nails are
made in quantities which far exceed
all other kinds. The wire nails have
increased enormously in general use
during recent years, but there are still
many purposes for which cut nails are
! preferred.
The process OF making wire nails 's
/ exceedingly simple and almost Wi3iiy
automatic. large reel or spool OF
wire of a size equal to that Of the
shank of the nail to be made feeas
forward at each revolution of the ma
chine piece of wire equal to the
length of the nail and a fraction OF an
inch more.
This is seized firmly by clamps,
which str;d7hten while they hold it,
and at the same time pair of jaws
so cut the wire as to leave a sharp
point to the nail.
Before the clamps let 90 their hold
hammer, the face of which is die,
strikes the other end Of the wire
sharp blow, which forms the head.
The clamps have corrugated sur
faces, not merely to hold the nail more
securely, but to impress upon it a
series Of ridges and depressions, which
make it harder to draw out when
once driven home.
The making of cut nails is less auto
matte and much harder. Any one who
has seen a nailmaker at work Will un-
derstand the apness Of the old expires
sion, to work like mailer" The iron
for cut nails Is first rolled into sheets,
the thickness of which is equal TO the
thickness of the nail. 1t is then cut
into plates as wide as the nail is long
and OF such length as a man can han
die conveniently. say from fifteen TO
twenty inches.
The nail cutting machine is heavy,
compact piece OF mechanism, not much
larger than a sewing machine, before
which the nailmaker sits on STOOL
1t consists of but little more than
pair of shears, strong enough to cut
iron three-eighths Of an inch thick, and
heading hammer.
ANY one who Will examine a cut nail
will find that the shank tapers, not on
all four sides from the head. as he may
have supposed. but on two sides only
The other two sides are parallel. 1t Is
the neglect to notice this fact which
leads so many persons to start nail
into wood in way which splits it.
From a small furnace near the ma
chine the nailmaker draws a plate
which has come to dull red heat
Holding this by means of plnchers, he
feeds the edge farthest from him to the
Jaws of the machine AS they descend
they shear a taperfng strip from the
edge This is seized by clamps, which
hold 1t just long enough for the head
ing hammer to strike the blow which
forms the head and then drop it.
Now, If the mailer were simply
to push the plate forward again the
tapering character Of the strip which
is sliced off would destroy the rectan-
gular shape Of the plate, and the nails
would neither be of length nor have
square heads and points. To obviate
this difficulty the plate must be turned
over between every two nails that are
cut, so that the head Of the nail will
81 .<nIx al ~ N
plate ana from the other.
This-and It Is the principal part Of
the nailer's works. done with sim
pie turn Of the wrist, and the plate Is
fed forward as before AS the ma
chimes run at considerable speed, and
the "fiop" must be accurately timed
In order that the end Of the plate may
meet the shears at the right moment
and in the right place. the difficulty
and the tiresome nature Of a, nall
makers work may be imagined. Some
idea OF it may be had by holding the
thick end Of shingie in pair OF
tongs and attempting SO to turn 1t
with single motion Of the wrist that
alternate sides will lie uppermost ON
table.
A good nailmaker win make from
two to four flops--that is, will cut from
two to four nails-a second. the smaller
nails, Of course, being made more
rapidly than the larger ones. AS the
plate grows cool 1t is returned to the
oven to be reheated, and another plate
takes It's place.
A nailmaker's hands and arms al
ways show the character Of his work
| by the tremendous development OF GER
tain special muscles and by caliouses,
which become as hard as horn.
| The common names Of nails-sixpen-
ny, eightpenny, teDpenny. and SO forth
~are believed to be corruptions OF six
pound. eight pound ard ten pound
names given In England to denote the
weight of one thousand OF given kind
Of nails. Sixpenny and eightpenny
was an easy step from "sixpun' and
aeightpun'."-E Edward williston Trentz
In Youths Companion.
i The Other Way Around.