Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-05-04
How LEAD PENCILS ARE MADE.

How LEAD PENCILS ARE MADE.
Every American nan. woman and child
user two pencils Annually at tho lowest
calculations. Our per capita consump-
ton is double that of Europe prol,aps
because there is more ;llitcracy across
the ocean. or prclaps tocatsc NC are
more ext~ravagant and waste quite as
many pencils as WI use. There are SIX
lead pencil factories In tho UritoG States;
twn in New York, two in New Jersey.
one in Illinois and one in Massachusetts.
Together they employ more than 2,WO
people. pay nearly sever. hundred thou
sand dollars In wages annually. and
their yearly output. at the rate of f.
800 gross daily, is worth more than two
million dollars. We are now MAXIM; as
many pencils as all OF Europe combined;
we supply nine-tenths of our hone de-
ma.d and ship q considerable Quantity
abroad. n yet despite the growing
importance rf tho industry and the fact
tina, millions nj people could not get
through a working day without the use
Of a pencil. how few arc there who can
tell how this indispensable LITTLE article
is made.
structurally speaking. tho lead pencil
consists OF an outer shield or covering
and of az inner piece or rounG solid
| graphite. Tie wood which is OF prime
Importance must lac durable and COM
pact. straight grained and soft, so that
it may BE- alike easy 10 polish and to
wh!ttlc: if it is fragrant 81 much great
or it's value. Now of all the trees III tho
world our Virginia. rcd cedar. which
crows so lixuriantly in the South. par
iiculHrly in Alabarn and Florida is the
only one whose wood IN. cts all tlics, re-
pulrcr'cnts. our pencil manufacturers
own their own cedar mills: but the Eu-
rorcan manufacturers much to their dis
like. arc obliged to purchase PENCIL COW
erinc from US. In order to place them
selves ON an equal footing, an attempt
was made to transplant the Virginia. CO.
dar; German devoted Il hundred acres
to that PURPOSE some A. years ago: but
the climate proved unfaNcrable. and IL
few stuntcd trees With wood as hard as
oaE. proclaimed the experiment a rank
failure.
On the other hand VIC 90 to foreign
n.arkots for our graphite. tho best quail
ties of which come from eastern Siberia.
Mexico. Bohemia and Ceylon. Our larg-
est factory. takinc advantage Of the
cheaper labor market abroad has all Of
its graphite prepared in Germany and
sent here ready for use. Nor is cheap
labor the only consideration. for the
German graphite makers like the wood
%carvcrs of switzerland and the toy
makers of Nuremberg. follow the trade
from father to son. take to it quite ma
turally and leave the rest of the world
Behind in experiences.
Pencil leads consist OF "a mixture Of
| clay and graphite. both undergoing n
careful and separate treatment before
they are united. The raw graphite. af-
ter being reduced to u fine powder in q
mortar siftcd and freed from impurl-
I cs hy mineral acids, is washed and iir-
cd To a bright red heat. The next stop
Is IN add water to the preparation ~
pour it into "A vat where the heavier par
ticlcs sink. From this vat where the
water carries tho lighter particles INTO
another AZ "A lower level, and then IN in
To one or two moro. whore the heavier
particles ,ro, to the bottom and the
finer particles arc carried over. The
graphite drawn from the last vat in the
series is in IA state of extremely fine
division. and its value reserves it for
Use in tho best of pencils only.
IHt 'liN pun S't VI anu tuh !If'l, GUYS
through somewhat tho same process.
and then it is mixed with tic graphite,
the proportion varying all the way from
equal parts to two Of clay for one Of
graphitc-th" amount Of clay depending
strictly on the dcgrc OF hardness or soft
ness wanted for the percil leads.
When tho particles of clay and crap
hite are thoroughly Incorporated and
ground together. they are placed in bags
and saiccZed to the consistency OF dough
by Il hydraulic press. The forn,less sub.
stance. ready To tie shaped in.n pencil
rods. is forced by 4 piston in continuous
threads through the many 1perturcs o,
a strong upright brass cylinder each oi
the arortures being Of exactly the sant
siz. rs the leads that are tn he fitted il
the pencils. The long threads of crap'
hitc are received and arranged ol
straight grooves of Il wide loari an,
left to harden unit! they become as stir
rs rods Afterward they are cut into ne,
O,iisite pencil lcngths-seven riches as I
rule-rackcd with charcoal in II covered
cruicble and submitted to a high FUN,
ace hcat.-Pcarson's Magazine for May.