Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1906-02-08
A THIMBLE OF GOLD
IT'S MADE OF METAL ALLOWED DOWN
TO FOURTEEN cARATS.

The Process of Manufacture, From
the Ingots of Pure Gold Fresh From
the subtreasury TO the Finished
Shining Product.
Out of whatever part Of the earth 1t
may originally have been dug, the gold
from which thimbles are made In Phil
adelphia was bought at the United
States subtreasury in the city in the
form OF snug little ingots, brick shaped
and about two and half inches long,
an inch and quarter wide and about
an inch thick.
These little ingots would be of a con-
venient size for paperweights. But
they would be rather heavy for such
use and probably too expensive for
most people, for each one contains, Of
pure gold, "a carats fine, metal Of the
value of about 5000.
Gold of this fineness would be much
too soft for thimbles, and 1t is a1loyed
down to IA carats, in which condi-
tion 1t is rolled into sheets Of suitable
thickness. In the first process Of man
into a machine which cuts out of it q
disk In size sufficient to form thin-
BILE, the same machine stamping this
disk also into the form of straight
sided capsule with irregular edges.
Then the thimble blank goes into an
other machine, in which die stamps it
into its conical shape. Out Of this ma
chine it goes into an annealing fur
mace for tempering and from that into
an acid bath for cleaning and the re-
moval Of the fire coating.
Then the thimble is put into lathe
to be turned down to its final shape
and dimensions. 1t IL dull cOlored
when it goes into the lathe. but at the
first touch of the keen edged cutting
tool it shows a glistening narrow band
of bright gold surface, which Is widen
ed in q moment to cover the whole
length Of the thimble as the skillful
worker shifts the tool along
With repeated application OF the tool
The operator brings The cr, wn Of the
thimble into Its perfect form and cuts
down along the thimble's sides to bring
the walls of the thimble to the requi-
site thickness, and he defines and I'm
ishes the smooth band that runs around
the lower part Of the thimble and
brings into relief the rounded rim that
encircles the thimble at its opening at
once to give it finishing ornamental
grace there and to stiffen 1t. The glis-
tenlng little gold shavings that he cuts
Off in these various operations all fall
into canvas trough suspended be-
tween him and the bench upon which
stands the lathe.
With that last touch to its rim In this
stage Of making the former has grown
maryelously more thimble-like In ap-
pearance, but somehow 1t still lacks the
breath, so to speak, of thimble life; 1t
lacks yet the familiar indentations In
Its surface that serve to support the
needle and to hold it In place. These
the thimble maker now proceeds to
make, and the making Of these Ia nice
work indeed.
1t is done with tool called knurle.
There is an end knurle and q side
knurle An end knurle Is simply han
die having set in 1t q tiny, thin revolv-
ing wheel Of steel, upon whose periph-
cry Is q continuous encircling row OF
little bosses or knobs corresponding In
size to the indentations to be made.
The side knurle has In place of such q
wheel little steel cylinder Of length
sufficient to cover that section OF the
thlmble that Is to be indented on its
sides, this cylinder having knobs all
over Its surface, as the end knurle
wheel has around Its edges, and turn
Ing, like the wheel, on Its axis.
The thimble in the lathe is turning
with $500 revolutions minute, and it
seems as though the application to Its
surface of any sort Of tool with pro-
tuberances on it must leave there only
a tangled and mixed up lot Of irregular
marks. But now with the end murle
the thimble maker makes an indenta-
ton in the center of the top of the thlm-
bic, and then he proceeds rapidly and
with perfect certainty with the end
knurle to describe around that center
concentric rings of indentatlons, with
the indentations all perfectly made and
the rings all perfectly spaced, from the
center to the circumference Of the top.
You may see him do this. but you
can't tell how he is able to do it. And
then with the side knurle he makes the
indentations in the sides Of the thim-
BILE, making there as well, as he deftly
presses the tool against 1t, indentations
that run absolutely uniform and true
and that end at their lower edge in a
perfectly true encircling line.
1t is astonishing and pleasant thing
to see how It develops and comes to
Itself with the making Of these fa-
millar indentations, and now there re-
mains to be done to 1t only the polish
Ing inside and out and you have the
finished gold NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Press.