The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1908-01-10
HOW CIGAR BOXES ARE MApn.
A Fortune Spent in Producing Them
Every Year.

A Fortune Spent in Producing Them
Every Year.
There Is probably not cigar smoker
in the land who has not wondered, at
)ne time or another, how much of what
he pays for his smoke goes into the
oOx and the Autographed labels and
the gilt bands and the like, says Tit
Bits. A box which holds fifty cigars
costs from 4 to 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-
vana, 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
tation of cedar by the use of ink of
the proper color and a machine which
carries a printing roller on which are
the lines to resemble the granting of
cedar wood. The bottom and top of q
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 yeneered
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 3 to 4 cents.
Such prices are only made possible
by the use Of intricate machinery and
subdivision Of labor, and it is also i'm
terial as possible. To this end the
wood of the proper thickness is moi
sawed from the log, but sliced or spill
by special machine. The immense
pressure used in veneering wood fol
the manufacture Of furniture is no
used, and the veneered sides, which ar,
pretty we'll warped and twisted at first
are Strengthened out and dried simpl.
by passing through rollers.
Then the slabs are taken to the saw
ing table, where they are ripped ant
cross-sawed-from 1--WE to ten in on
eut-into pieces Of proper dimension
for the single boxes which are beinI
made. Thence the pieces are sent t
the inspector, who, besides examining
each and sorting out those which ar
imperfect, make separate piles, cor
taining the same number in each, Q
ends, sides, bottoms and tops.
The ends and sides are nailed tt
gether into a frame by one machin
and the bottoms and tops are naile
on by another. These machines ar
fed with nails by an automatic al
rangement which presents the require
number of them at each stroke. On
stroke does the business Of mailing 6
each corner and one stroke also su
fices for the bottoms and tops, tn
nails being pushed in rather than driN
en-. One of these machines will fran
5000 boxes a day and two machine
working together will turn out 1000
>oxes except for the labels.
The lid OF the cigar box Is held /
place by mailing only along the fror
edge and generally by one nail. TIL
hinge at the back Is made by one stri
Of cheesecloth glued upon the outsid
and subsequently covered by the labe
and paper trimmings. When the hing
is dry the pasting Of the labels is b.
gun. Tiny metal hinges are sometime
put upon cigar boxes, HIT these ar
comparatively rare. 30 are dove-tai
ed boxes, which can, however, be ha
On order.
Generally speaking, the entire int
rior surface of the box Is lined wit
paper and paper flaps and In large IA
tories the label printing and sometime
even the Designing Of the labels const
tuts IN important branch of the worl
Such printing Is of an unusually VI
ried character, requiring several kind
Of presses. including those for embos
ing.