The Columbus journal., 1905-06-07
HOW CORKS ARE CUT
TURNING THE PLiAele BARK INTO
BOTTLE SHOPPERS.

" uuWV Su0D9o
Turn. Shave nmd Taper the Stats
stripped From the Trce-The way
the Waste rrOtiuct IL Usilised.
Cork, ns most persons know, 10 the
| outer bark Of an evergreen oak tree
which grows In Spain. Portugal, Al.
ecria. Morocco and to some extent In
Italy. Its peculiar properties. especial.
" Its lightness and It's cOnpressibility.
make II valuable for scores Of Dur.
poses. but Its original usc. In the man.
ufacturc Of corks. Or shoppers for bot.
Ties. still consumes tho greater part Of
all that is brought 70 market
Tho cork oak varies In diameter
from six inches TO three feet. By q
generous provision Of nature the tree
may bc periodically stripped Of its
outer bnrk without losing its life.
Twenty years In the usual age at
which the first cutting II made. After
that the cork may liz harvested about
every ten years. The flrst cut, which
II called virgin bark. II Of little value.
a. II IL coarse IN texture and deeply
scanned. The tree may bc expected to
live and yield cork until Il In 100 years
old.
In Spain and some other European
countries corks arc still made by hand,
"nch one being pared from q square
block by common knife. In this
country. where are made the finest
cOrks In the world. the work In done by
machinery. ail Of which IN Of American
invention and manufacture. Every boy
who has ever whitfield cork for a
fishing bob or a popgun pellet knows
how difficult tho material In to cut
smoothly. To do II well his knife must
bc IN sharp M razor ana must b0
usnl with u drawing motion. not Q
mere pressure. and II tho cork bc wet
~ much tho better. Tho same difiicul.
ties confront the manufactures by ma.
chlncry nnd nrc met In tho saine way.
Tho bnrk. nftcr having been wet and
then allowed to remain for a time In
damp cellars To soften. gOcs first to
the stripping machines. which reduce
It to slabs Of size proportionate to
the corks 10 bc made. These machines
are merely small iron tables. through
which appear very thin steel disks.
Ike circular saws, except that they
hnv" no teeth. They arc really keen
edged steel knives. M thin as paper
and running ut high rate Of speed.
but NJ smoothly that they seem to the
spectator TO bc standing stiil.
The little slabs or strips Of cork 60
next to the "blOckcrs." The cutters
here nrc cylindrical steel punches. or
tubes. with razor edges. They arc ar
ranged IN rows. or "gangs." and In.
stead OF being simply pressed through
tho cork arc also revolving at high
speed and 80 cut their way through.
Having perforated the slab. the cut
tors back away automatically. while
pliIngcrs like pistOns working In tho
cylinders come forward and punch out
tho cores. which for some purposes are
already finished cOrks.
They nrc. Of course. perfectly cylin.
drical-that II. without taper and In
that form they are preferred by bot
tiers Of cflervesccnt liquids. because
their shape enables them the better to
resist the pressure Of the restrained
gases.
But FOR the usc Of druggists. who arc
the grent users Of cOrks and need tho
very finest. II tapcring stopper In pre-
fcrrc,i. nnd this neccssitatcs another
operation. The tapcring machines arc
run mostly by young women. Each
machine consists Of iittlo lathe.
which ccnters the cylindrical cork au-
tOlnatically and then brings It into con-
tact with tho edge Of the cutting knife.
which. like the cutter Of the slicing
machine. II a very thin steel disk. AZ
the cork touches this knife thin
shaving rises ana curls away. like a. .
pun Of smoke.
One who knows nothing OF tho ma.
chiucry could see no reason for II. but
during the second that the cork has
been In contact with tho apparently
motiOnlcss disk some dozen yards Of
flying. razor edged steel have been
at work. nnd the cork II now perfect
| truncatcd cone, with flne satin-like
surface and an even and regular taper.
By hand Il very rapid and skillfui cut.
ter can turn out twelve or fourteen
gross In u day. With these machines
one girl will produce 40 gross.
There are few businesses In which
the quantity Of waste material IL 10
large nv In tho manufacture OF cOrks.
In the best managed factories Il ranges
from 40 to 20 per cent. but American
Ingenuity nnd industrial development
have succeeded In transforming 1t into
u source Of profit. By grinding the
waste to various degrees Of Aneness
ana pressing It with glue or Shellac In
10 various shapes It II made useful for
the inner solcs of shoes. for bathroom
mats. for Insulation In refrigeratinG
plants and tho d"n'icnIng OF sound In
apartment houses. the making OF bicy.
Gle handles AMI the grips OF tennis
rackctS. ny rods and golf clubs. and
there are dozens Of other uses for the
waste which ARE quite M Interesting.
Some years ago one manufacturer OF
corks was paying t"amstcr dollar
Il load to cart away his waste and
dump It on refuse heap. Today h.
receives 500 Il ton for tho very cheap