The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-02-22
HOW cELLULoID IS MADE.
Process Injurious to Workmen and
More or Less Secret.

Celluloid is chemical substance,
made mainly of paper and crude cam
phor to initiate ivory. tortoise shell,
coral, amber. glass. etc. Considerable
secrecy is maintained by the makers
of celluloid ast to their respective
methods of manufacture, but apart
from dyestuffs and acid it may be said
to consist of about equal quantities
of paper and camphor.
The process of its making is not a
complicated one, although it is one
that is highly injurious to the health
of those employed in handling the in
gradients. The workingmen are COM
PEELED to wear clothing of rubber and
invariably bear traces of the strong
action of the chemicals used, their
faces appearing corpselike and ghasr-
ly. The first operation in the manu-
facture of celluloid is the preparation
of the paper, which is composed of
cotton and birch wood.
This made. 1t is wound upon hol-
low spindle holding several hundred
yards in length. A roll of the paper
is slowly unwound, being saturated
with mixture of five parts of sui
phuric acid and two parts of nitric
acid, which falls. upon it in a fine
spray. This changes the cellulose of
the paper into propylin guncotton.
The excess of the acid is expelled by
pressure and the paper washed. It
is then ground to pulp and bleached.
After thoroughly drying the pulp
there is added to it a due proportion
of camphor. This is done by carefully
weighing, mixing the two ingredients
thoroughly and pressing in canvas
packets between plates. 1t is at this
point that the dye matter is added to
make, the celluloid any desired color.
In the next operation the mixture Is
subjected to the grinding and pres,
sure of masticators. These machines
are simply heavy iron rollers about
four feet long, geared together to run
inward. AS the grinding continues
the mass becomes more and more
homogeneous and nearer to the finish
ed appearance of celluloid.
1t is then taken from the mastica-
tors In the form of huge sheets, s
feet by 4 feet in size and inch thick
These sheets are piled one on top of
the other until they fill a heavy iron
box, which latter is run under a
steam-heated hydraulic press, where
1t remains under enormous pressure
for about two hours. This is done
for the purpose of welding the super
imposed sheets together in the form
of solid cake.
On removal the big celluloid cake
is cut into sheets Of the desired thick
ness. This may vary from one-thou-
sandth of. an inch to full inch or
more, according to the variety of goods
into which the material is to be work.
ed After cutting the sheets are hung
up in the drying rooms six or seven
months to season." celluloid having
the peculiar warping qualities of
wood If worked up with due regard to
this fact.
From the seasoning rooms the
sheets go to the various departments
of the factory: Those taken to the
noveltydepartment are cut. turned and
pressed into any number of fancy ar
ticles The smaller articles are cut
out of the sheets of celluloid while
cold, then dipped into hot water, bent
and shaped and plunged. into cold wa
ter again to. retain their shape The
comb manufacture Is simpler than
with hard rubber. The teeth are
stamped out with dies, either by hand
or machinery, and are then polished
with cold water and pumice stone.
Combs are cut from sheets Of "am-
ber," tortoise shell" and "ivory" cell
lulofd.