The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1907-11-22
MAKING OF
CIGAR BOXES.
Cedar and Poplar Veneered to
Initiate Cedar Used.
A Fortune Spent in Producing
Them Every
) Wear.

There is probably not a cigar smok-
er in the land who has not wondered,
at one time or another, how much OF
what he pays for his smoke goes into
the box, and the Autographed labels,
and the gilt bands and the like. A
box which holds fifty cigars costs from
a four 10 eight cents, according to what
1t is madeof, and this is without count
ing the labels and bands, or anything
but the wood and nails. The. cost of
these boxes used in the United States
alone foots up to 100000 every year.
Some of them go TO Havana, but they
come back with cigars in them.
Perhaps the most interesting and
least known fact about this industry
is that, while some cigar boxes are
made Of cedar, great number are
made of poplar, veneered on one side
with cedar, while still others are made
of poplar without any veneer. In the
latter case the wood is printed in im-
tation of cedar by the use Of ink Of
the proper color and a machine which
carries printing roller on which are
the lines to resemble the granting Of
cedar wood. The bottom and top of
a cigar box of standard grade are 5-32
of an inch in thickness, while the ends
are 1882 of an inch. Despite the very
small amount of wood needed, it is
cheaper, however, to use the veneered
poplar than the cedar, and still cheap
er to print the poplar. Solid cedar
boxes to hold 100 cigars now cost about
ten cents, and the half boxes, or those
for fifty cigars, about eight cents. The
corresponding price for veneer are
about one cent less, while for the
printed poplar the prices are three
to four cents.
Such prices are only made possible
by the use of intricate machinery
and subdivision of labor, and 1t is
also important to waste as little of
the material as possible. To this end
the wood of the proper thickness is
not sawed from the log, but sliced
or split by a special machine. The
immense pressure used in veneering
wood for the manufacture Of furniture
is not used, and the veneered sides,
which are pretty Will warpd and twistd
at first, ar Strengthened out and dried
simply by pressing through rollers.
Then the slabs are taken TO the saw
ing table, where they are ripped and
ross-sawed-from five to ten in one
cut into pieces of proper dimensions
for the single boxes which are being
made. Thence the pieces are sent 10
the inspector, who, besides examin-
ing each and sorting out those which
are imperfect, makes separate piles,co
tanning the same number in each, OF
ends, bottoms and tops.
The ends and sides are nailed TO-
gether into a frame by one machine,
and the bottoms and tops are nailed
on by another. These machines are
fed with nails by an automatic ar
rangement, which presents the requlr-
ed number of them at each stroke.
One stroke does the business OF nail
ing at each corner, and one stroke
also suffices for the bottoms and tops,
the nails being pushed in rather than
driven. One of these machines Will
frame 5000 boxes a day, and two ma
chimes, working together, will turn
out 10000 boxes, except for the label.
The lid of the cigar box is held in
place by mailing only along the first
edge, and generally by one nail. The
hinge at the back is made by one
strip of cheesecloth glued upon the
outside and subsequently covered by
the labels and paper trimmings. When
the hinge is dry the pasting OF the
labels is begun. Tiny metal hinges
are sometimes put upon cigar boxes
but these are comparatively rare. so
are dove-tailed boxes, which, can, how
ever, be had on order.
Generally speaking, the entire inter-
Tor surface of the box is lined WIN
paper and paper flaps, and in large
factories the label printing, and some
times even the designing of the labels
constitute an important branch OF the
work. Such printing is of an unusu-
ally varied character. requiring several
kinds of presses, including those for
enclosing Tit-Bits.
DeWitt's Carbolized Witch Hazel
Salve penetrates the pores-throughly
cleanses-and is healing and soothing.
Good for piles. Sold by all druggists
Good for piles. Sold by all drug
gists.