Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1908-01-11
HOW CIGAR BOXES ARE MADE.
A Fortune spent in Producing TheIE
ENerY Year.

EVERY Year.
There is probably not cigar smoker
N the land who has not wondered, at
me time or another, how much OF what
he pays for his smoke goes into the
Oox and the Autographed labels and
he gilt bands and the like, says Tit.
Bits. A box which holds fifty cigars
costs from 4 to 8 cents, according TO
what 1t Is made of, and this without
counting the labels and bands, or any
thing but the wood and nails. The cost
Of these boxes used in the United
States alone foots up to 100000 ev-
cry year. Some of them go to Ha-
yana, 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, a great number are made OF
poplar. veneered on one side with ce-
dar. while still others are made OF
poplar without any veneer. In the lat
ter case the wood is printed in imi-
tation OF cedar by the use of ink OF
the proper color and q machine which
carries a printing roller ON which are
the lines to resemble the granting OF
cedar wood. The bottom and top OF
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, II 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
10 cents and the half boxes, or those
for fifty cigars, about cents, The cor.
responding price for veener Is about
cent less, while for the printed poplar
the prices are 8 to 4 cents.
Such prices are only made possible
by the use of intricate machinery and
subdivision of labor, and 1t is also i'm.
portant to waste as little of the ma.
terial as possible To this end the
wood of the proper thickness is not
sawed from the log, but sliced or split
by special machine. The immense
pressure used in venPering wood for
the manufacture of furniture is not
used, and the veneered sides. which are
pretty well warped and twisted at first,
are Strengthened out and dried simply
by passing through rollers.
Then the slabs are taken to the saw
ing table, where they are ripped and
oss-sawed-from five to ten in one
cuk-intO pieces Of proper dimensions
for the single boxes which are being
made. Thence the pieces are sent to
the inspector, who, besides examining
each and sorting out those which are
! imperfect, make separate piles, con-
tanning the same number in each, OF
ends, sides. bottoms and tops.
The ends and sides are nailed to-
gether into q frame by one machine
and the bottoms and tops are nailed
ON by another. These machines are
fed with nails by an automatic ar.
rangsxnent which presents the required
number Of them at each stroke. One
stroke does the business of mailing AT
each corner and one stroke also SUI,
hSOo IoA thS DVttOAIo rhtfA tol'ot iIiN
nails being pushed in rather than driv-
en-. One of these machines will frame
5000 boxes a day and two machines
working together will turn out 10000
>oxas except for the labels.
The lid of the cigar box is held in
place by mailing only along the front
edge and generally by one nail. The
hinge at the back is made by one STRIP
Of chsesecloth glued upon the outside
and subsequently covered by the labels
and paper trimmings. When the hinge
is dry the pasting OF the labels is be,
gun. Tiny metal hinges are sometimes
put upon cigar boxes, but these are
comparatively rare. SO are doye-tail
ed boxes, which can, however, be had
9n order
Generally speaking, the entire int
rier surface OF the box is lined with
paper and paper Gaps and in large rae
tories the label printing and sometimes
even the designing Of the labels consti
tute an important branch Of the work
sueA printing is of an unusually va
ried character, requiring several kinds
Of presses, Including those for emboss
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