$28 A brief Account of the 
re 1, so fixed on the two barrels, that those on one barrel 
should be exactly opposite the middle of the intervals 
between those on the other barrel. 
No. 31. 
A brief Account of the Manufacture of Gilt Buttons , 
comprising some Improvements important to Manu- 
facturers. Communicated by Messrs . Collard and 
Frazer, of Birmingham .* 
(With a Plate.) 
As the means employed in the manufacture of plain 
gilt buttons are not universally known, the following sum- 
mary, while it points out to the manufacturer many con- 
siderable advantages, in the use and recovery of his mer- 
cury, will also, it is hoped, be found interesting to many 
readers of the Philosophical Magazine. 
The copper, properly alloyed, is first taken to a roll- 
ing mill, and reduced between iron rollers to a proper 
thickness for the button. The sheets of copper are then 
brought to the button manufactory, and cut into circular 
pieces of the size of the intended button by means of a 
fly -press. In this state they are called blanks , and re- 
semble halfpence and farthings worn smooth by long cir- 
culation. 
The shanks, which are made with wonderful facility 
and expedition by means of a very curious machine, are 
then secured to the bottom of each button by a small iron 
crank, and a small quantity of solder and rosin applied 
to each. Thus they are placed on a sheet of iron, con- 
taining about a gross, and introduced into a very hot 
* Tilloch, vol. 9, p. 15. 
