Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1906-01-18
A THIMBLE OF GOLD
TITS MADE OF METAL ALLOWED DOWN
TO FOURTEEN CARATS.
The Process of Manufacture, From
the Ingots of Pure Gold Fresh From
the S~ubtreasury to the Finished
Shining


Out of whatever part of the earth II
may originally have been dug, the gold
from which thimbles are made ia Phil
adelphia was bought at the United
States ~subtreasury in the city i'll the
form of snug little ingots, brick shaped
and about two and Il half inches long,
an inch and a 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 ana probably 900 expensive for
most people, for each one contains, of
pure gold, "a carats fine, metal of the
value of about 5000.
Goid of this fineness would be much
too soft for thimbles, and il is alloyed
down TO II carats, in which condi-
ton 1t is rolled into sheets of suitable
thickness. In the first process of man
ufacture a sheet of this gold is run
into a machine which cuts out of il a
disk in size sufficient to form a Thin
bic, the same machine stamping this
disk also into the form of a straight
sided capsule with irregular edges.
Then the thimble blank goes into an
other machine, in which a die stamps it
into its conical shape. Out of this ma
chine it goes into an a~nnealing fur
mace for tempering and from that into
an acid bath for cleaning and the re-
Aoval Of the fire coating.
Then the thimble is put into a lathe
to be turned down to its final shape
and dimensions. 1t is dull colored
when 1t 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 a moment to v the whole
length Of the thimble as the skillful
worker shifts the tool along.
With repeated application of the tool
the operator brings the crown 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 fin
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 it's opening at
once to give ii a finishing ornamental
grace there and to stifen 1t. The glis-
tening little gold shavings that he cuts
off In these various operations all fall
into a 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 . hold II in place. These
the thimble maker now proceeds to
make. and the making of these is nice
work indeed.
1t Is done with a tool called a knurle.
There Is an end knurle and a side
knurle. An end knurle Is simply a han
die having set In it a tiny. thin ~revolv-
Ing wheel Of steel, upon whose periph-
cry Is a continuous encircling row of
little bosses or knobs corresponding In
0ANS W iuC ihuCitdtlOuS 10 DC WUQS.
The side knurle has in place of such a
wheel a little steel cylinder of a length
sufficient to cover that section Of the
thimble 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.
Tho tb{pnh1a In fh~ lo<L- T.. k.-t-- |
$500 revolutions a minute. and it
'eems as though the application to it's
surface OF any sort of tool with pro
t~uberances on 1t must leave there only
! tangled and mixed up lot of Irregular
marks. But now with the end knurle
he thimble maker makes an indenta-
ion In the center of the top of the thin
Die. and thea he proceeds rapidly and
With perfect certainty with the end
tnurle' to describe around that center
'oncentric rings Of indentations, with
indentations all perfectly made and
ne rings all perfectly spaced, from the
enter to the circumference OF the top.
You may see him do this, but you
ant tell how he Ia able to do it. And
ben with the side knurle he makes the
n~dentations in the sides OF the thin !
lie, making there as well, as he deftly
resses the tool against II, indentations
hat run absolutely uniform and true
nd that end at their lower edge in a :
erfectly true encircling line.
1t Is astonishing and a pleasant thing !
0 see how it develops and comes to
self with the making of these IA !
ailiar indentations, and now there re- !
aains to be done to 1t only the polish !
1g inside and out and you have the !
nished gold thimbie.-Philadelphia