Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1905-12-07
Seen Machine Knives That shape,
Turn, Shave and Taper the Slain
Stripped From tssc Tree-Ths way
Ike Waste Product Is Utilized.

strfupea Fror, ito rxo.-ut. ~.
n. 1y,.... r,,,oa,.4 =, v..,.,
Norh, ~ No'F persons KNOW, is the
outer DARK ol an evergreen oak tree
when gov" ID SPAN, sortuSal, Al
g@Ila, Morocco ana ID some extent il
rely. ltS pecillaf properties. c5l :;i-
" us lghtness ana its compress. 3.i.ty,
maze II v2iuabie Tor scores OF Du.-
| poses, but IT'S o. GiDal uac, i'll The !!:i.l-
ul"ctufe OF coi"5' CT Sttilyo"S 12- Bot
ties, sun consumes the gHeHtef D".t OF
all that is brought to market.
Inc CORK OAK varies III diameter
from SIX inches IL three fcrt -, Il
generous provision OF AituI' re -.
may be peW0d"aHy "t'!plt OF rs
outer DARK without ioS.nS It's Ike.
Twenty years IS the usual a. ii
winch the uf"t cutting ~ mas. IT.
That the CORK may bc harvested aHo'"
every ten years Inc HF3t r.'' Web
is called virgin Dark IS OF i-t'!c value
as IL IS coarse III texture ana decllE
scanned. The tree may be expected u"
live and yield CORK until II IS lDo years
OLD.
In Spain ana some other Auro.'c;'A
countries corkS are sun maze by hahd'
each one Deing pafed from square
block by a common knife. IN thlS
country, where are made the nnest
corks IN the world, the work IS zone ny
machinery. all OF Whlch IS OF american
invention and manufacture. Every boy
who has ever Whitfield CORK Ior
fishing bob or a popgun pellet KNOWS
how difficult the material IS 10 cut
smoothly. 10 90 II wen Ills Nhlle IN uSt
be as sharp as a razor ana must DE
used with Il drawing motlon, not
mere pressure, ana IL the CORK De WEI
so much the better Inc same uilhcul-
ties CONFRONT Tue MANUFACTURER ny Ina
chinery and are met Id inc same way.
The bark, after having been wet ana
then allowed 10 remain TOT Il tlhle III
damp cellars 10 solleh' goes nfSt 70
the stripping machlhes' "hich REFUGE
it to slabs of a size proportlonate 10
the corks to be MADE. IheSe machines
are merely small iron tables through
which appear very thin steel dlsks'
Ike circular saws eAcep' uio' 'neS
have no teeth. They are really Keen
edged steel knives, as thin as paper
and running at a hlgh rate OF speed'
but so smoothly that they seem 10 the
spectator to be standing stllL
The little slabs or stflps OF CORK go
next to the 'blockers. Ihe cutters
here are cylindrical steel punches, or
tubes, with razor edges. Ihey are ar
ranged in rows, or gangs, and IN
stead of being simply pressed through
the cork are also revolving at nlGn
speed and so cut their way through.
Having perforated the slab, the cut
terS DacK away auloln"'ic"ils' WIG
plungers like pistons working IN the
cylinders come forward ana punch out
the cores, which for some purposes are
already finished corks.
They are, of course, perfectly GYM
drical-that is, without taper-and in
that form they are preferred by DOT
tiers or enerVescenI l!lulus' oeC"u@e
their shape enables them the better to
resist the pressure of the restrained
gases.
But for the use of druggists, who are
the great users Of corks and need the
very finest. il tapering stopper is pre-
fcrred, and this necessitates another
operation. The taperinS machines are
run mostly by young women. Each
machine consists Of little lathe,
which ccniers the cylindrical cork au-
tomatically and then brings it into con-
tact with the edge of the cutting knife.
which. like the cutter Of the slicing
machine, is Il very thin steel disk. AS
thc cork touches this knife d thin
shaving rises and curlS away, like as
inf of smoke.
Que who knows nothing OF the ma
I,