44 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



should be done. Too great eare cannot be 

 exercised in getting the point of the cutting 

 tool correctly adjusted. The clearance and 

 the rake should be taken into consideration. 

 Only the cutting edge should come in con- 

 tact with the work, and yet many instances 

 are found where the front of the tool, at 

 the base, touches the work and interferes 

 with the cutting. The point of the tool 

 should be just above the center of the work 

 as in the cut. The tangent line is from the 

 cutting point to F and the radial from the 

 same point to C. This gives the right 

 angle. The angle of clearance is in front 

 of the tool between it and the work, which 

 in this case is liberal and gives plenty of 

 freedom for the cutting operation. The 

 angle of rake is along the incline of the 

 tool on top, designated by lines D-G, and 

 C-G. An angle of about 20 degrees on the 

 line G-D is suitable for pulley cutting. If 

 the tool comes too far below the center of 

 the work, as in Fig. 10, where the cutting 

 point is much below the center, the cutting 



Manufacture of Clothes Pins. 



will be harsh and uneven. Too far above 

 the center line, as in Fig. 11, with the cut- 

 ting point at J and center line K, is equally 

 disastrous. 



Next the corners of the block are sawed 

 oflE or turned to rounding form. Fig. 12 

 shows a form of corner saw set often em- 

 ployed. A mandrel is mounted on a frame 

 carrying a circular saw as at M. This saw 

 is revolved by a belt running on a pulley 

 kej'ed to the saw shaft, and is operated by 

 a hand lever which raises the saw up to the 

 block. The blocks then pass to the shaping 

 machine which gives the finishing touches, 

 smoothing the surface and perfecting the 

 shape. Then comes the scoring. Fig. 13 

 showing an outline of one of the machines 

 used for this process. This operation puts 

 in the groove for the rope. The circular 

 plane or cutter P, is revolved by a belt 

 running in a grooved wheel and the scoring 

 edges are brought into contact with the 

 block by working the lever E. The usual 

 processes of varnishing, oiling, etc., follow 

 the insertion of the sheaves, and the blocks 

 are ready for the market. 



While beech is the wood usually used in 

 the manufacture of clothes-pins, a variety 

 of stock may be used for this purpose. Some 

 manufacturers purcha.se waste stock from 

 woodworking factories, taking whatever is 

 offered and using it indiscriminately. This 

 is very unsatisfactory, as the greater pro- 

 portion of it is wood of very inferior physics, 

 although, of course, some is superior stock. 

 Beech possesses certain qualities which meet 

 the essential requirements of the clothes-pin, 

 but it should be carefully selected and sea- 

 soned. The varying conditions of growth in- 

 fluence the character of the timber to a great 

 extent. In poor rocky soil on mountain 

 sides, the wood is white in color, hard and 

 less elastic than that growing in the soil of 

 the plains, where it is somewhat reddish in 

 color, strong and resilient, and is indeed the 

 ideal wood for pin making. Beech is often 

 irregularly grained, which fact is a source of 

 annoyance to manufacturers, but its close 

 texture, strength and elasticity make up for 

 the deficiency in this respect. 



Elm, oak and walnut, though not in very 

 large quantities, are used in the manufacture 

 of special grades of pins, and ash, hard pine, 

 cedar and locust are also employed. Most 

 large manufacturers of clothes-pins carry a 

 line of pins for exhibition, made from espe- 

 cially selected stock and beautifully finished. 

 One manufacturer known to the writer dis- 

 played a show-case of artistically manufac- 

 tured clothes-pins at an industrial fair re- 

 cently which contained pins made from hazel, 

 hickory, black ebony, cherry, willow and 

 alder. Some of the pins were made from 

 a spongy fiber, while others were as hard as 

 flint. Artistically designed pins are now 

 used in fastening draperies and hangings in 

 homes, and some special pins are made in 

 similitude of the human figure for toys for 

 children. But the common every-day clothes- 

 pin of the laundry is not featured in any 

 way. It is simply cut from beech or kindred 

 wood, and is entirely without ornamentation. 



The logs are first sawed into six-foot 

 lengths, unless special dimensions are re- 

 quired, when a shorter or a longer section 

 is cut off. The six-foot piece is then sawed 

 into boards, as shown in Fig. 1. These 

 boards are sawed into strips of the right 

 width which are then squared as represented 

 in Fig. 2. Now comes the seasoning process. 

 If the stock is rushed through at this point, 

 the pins will warp and crack even before they 

 are put on the market. Seasoning is done 

 both by modern mechanical processes, and by 

 exposure to the sun. 



The next operation involves the sawing up 

 of the strips into three to five inch lengths, 

 according to the size of the pin. Four 

 inches is the popular length. This gives the 

 pieces as shown in Fig. 3, which may be turned 

 to shape or put through additional seasoning. 

 The high-grade pins are not worked until the 



wood is thoroughly treated, but the cheaper 

 grades are usually hastened through with lit- 

 tle seasoning or preparing. If there is plenty 

 of time, a second seasoning of the stock is 

 preferable. The stages of turning the pin to 

 shape are represented in Figs. 4 and 5. Slot- 

 ting next follows, and then comes the tumb- 

 ling operation in the cylindrical device ex- 

 hibited in Fig. 6. The easiest way to scour 

 and polish the pins is to put them through the 

 tumbler. Several baskets of pins are dumped 

 into the cylinder, which is keyed to a 

 shaft as shown, and the shaft bears upon 

 journals fitted to wood uprights. At the 

 right end of the shaft is keyed a tight and 

 a loose pulley, and a belt runs from these 

 wheels to the wheel of the driving shaft of 

 the mill. Hence by means of the tight and 

 the loose puUey the belt may be shifted and 

 the tumbler operated at will. The rubbing 

 of the pins against each other in the speedily 

 revolving tumbler smooths and finishes them 

 very nicely in a few hours. 



The pins as they come from the tumbler 

 are ready for packing. The cheap pins are 

 packed in rough boxes and sent to the mar- 

 kets, where they are retailed at exceedingly 

 low prices. The better grades of pins are 

 carefully assorted into firsts, seconds, thirds, 

 and sometimes even fourths. The cheaper 

 grades of pins often split when in use as 

 shown in Fig. 7, and in some instances may 

 be protected by winding tarred cord around 

 them, as in Fig. 8. 



In every clothes-pin factory are seen spe- 

 cially designed pins, made to order for spe- 

 cial purposes, a popular design of which is 

 exhibited in Fig. 9. In this pin the diamond- 

 shaped pieces are expanded by a steel spring. 

 Compressing the ends at the spring opens the 

 opposite ends, and when the spring is re- 

 leased the jaws close upon the line. Figs. 10 

 and 11 portray some fancy pins suitable for 

 exhibition purposes. The common pin shown 

 in Fig. 12, however, is the real conmiercial 

 article which is produced in enormous quan- 

 tities and millions of which are used annually. 



