The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1906-01-18

out Of whatever part Of the earth il
may originally have been dug. the gold
from which thimOlcs are made Ia Phil
adolphia was bought at the United
States subtreasury Ia the city in the
form Of snug little ingots. brick shaped
and about two aud half inches long,
an inch aud a quarter wide and about
an inch thick
These little ingots would be Of n con-
venicnt size for paperweghts But
they would be- rather heavy for such
use and probably too expensive for
most people. for each one contains. Of
pure gold, - carats line, metal Of the
value Of about 5000
Cold OF this nneness would be much
TOO soft for thimblcs, aud II Is alleged
down TO ii carats, In which condi-
ton II Is rolled into sheets OF suitable
thickness. In the FIRST process Of man
dfacturc a sheet Of this gold Is run
into machine which cuts out of IT
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 thlmble blank goes into an
other machine. in which a die stamps it
into its cOnlcal shape. out Of this ma
chine II goes into an annealing fur
mace for tempcring and from that into
an acid bath for cleaning ana the re-
moyal Of the fire coating.
Then the thimblc IL put into u lathe
90 be turned down to It's final shape
and dimensions. II II dull colored
when II goes into the lathe, but at the
first touch of the keen edged cutting
tool II shows a glisicning narrow band
OF bright gold surface, which Is widen
cd In moment 10 cover the whole
length OF the thimbe as the sklllful
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 thlmble to the requi-
site thickness, and he defines and fin
ishes the smooth band that runs around
the lower part of the thlmble and
brings into relief the rounded rim that
encircles the thlmble at lts opening Mt
once to give II II finishing ornamental
grace there and to stiffen II. The glls-
tening little gold shavlngs that he cuts
or In these various operations nll fall
into canvas trough suspended be-
tween him and the bench upon which
stands the lathe.
with that last touch to It's rim In this
stage of making the former has grown
marvelously more thimblelike In ap-
pcarance. but somehow IT still lacks the
breath. so to speak. OF thimblc life; II
lacks yet the familiar indentations In
it's surface that serve to support the
needle and to hold It in place. These
the thimblc maker now proceeds to
make. and the making Of these Is nice
work Indeed.
It Is done with tool called knurle
There is un end knurlc and Il side
knurlc. An end knurc Is simply han
die having set In II tiny, thin reyoly
ing wheel of steel, upon whose pcrlph.
cry Is continuous cncircling row Of
little bosses or knobs corresponding In
size TO the indcutations 10 he made.
The side knurle has in place OF such a
wheel a little steel cylinder Of n length
sufficient to cover that section Of the
thimble that is TO be indcntcd on its
sides, this cylinder having knobs all
over It's surface, as the end knurle
wheel has around its edges. ana turn
ing, like the wheel, on its axis.
The thimble in the lathe Is turning
with $500 revolutions Il minute. ana II
seems as though the application to its
surface OF any sort of tool with pro
tuheranccs on Il must leave there only
tangled and mixed up lot OF irregular
marks But now with the end knurlo
the thmblc maker makes an indcntu-
tion IN the Ccnto" Of the top of the thin.
bic, ana then | proceeds rapidly and
with perfect certainty with the end
knure TO describe around that center
conccntric rings Of ndentations, with
the indentatons 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 knurlc hc makes the
indcntations in the sides of the thin
hlc. making there as well, rs he dcftly
presses the tool against IT, iudcntations
that run absolutely uniform and true
and that end at their lower edge In II
perfectly true onclrcling line.
1t is astonishing and pleasant thing
20 see how it develops and comes to
itself with the making of these IA
miliur indentutions, and now there re-
mains TO be done to II only the polish.
ing inside ana out and you have the
finished gold thimbe e-Philadelpha
Press.