p 
453 
I N. 
SS they term it head-/pinning ; which is done by means 
of a fpinning-wheel, one piece of wire being thus with 
artonifliing rapidity wound round another, and the interior 
one being drawn out, leaves a hollow tube between the 
circumvolutions: it is then cut with fliears; every two 
circumvolitions or turns of the wire forming one head ; 
thefe are foftened by throwing them into iron pans, and 
placing them in a furnace till they are red hot. As foon 
as they are cold, they are dilfributed to children, who lit 
with anvils and hammers before them, which they work 
with their feet, by means of a lathe ; and, taking up one 
of the lengths, they thruft the blunt end into a quantity 
of the heads which lie before them, and, catching one at 
the extremity, they apply it immediately to the anvil 
and hammer, and by a motion or two of the foot, the 
point and the head are fixed together in much lefs time 
than it can be defcribed, and with a dexterity only to be 
acquired by practice; the fpeCfator being in continual 
apprehenfion for the fafety of their fingers-ends. The 
pin is now finilhed as to its form, but (till it is merely 
brafs; it is therefore thrown into a copper, containing a 
folution of tin, and the leys of wine. Here it remains 
for foir.e time; and when taken out afi’umes a white 
though dull appearance ; in order therefore to give it a 
polifti, it is put into a tub containing a quantity of 
bran, which is fet in motion by turning a (haft that runs 
through its centre, and thus by means of fri&ion it be¬ 
comes perfectly bright. The pin being complete, no¬ 
thing remains but to feparate it from the bran, which is 
performed by a mode exaftly fimilar to the winnowing 
of corn ; the bran flying oft and leaving the pin behind 
fit for fale, either in a loofe (late by the pound, or (tuck in 
paper and fold by number or by rows. Ellis’s Campagna 
of London. 
In the year iSii, Mr. Bundy, of Camden Town, took 
out a patent for a new method of heading pins. In de¬ 
scribing this invention, Mr. Bundy fays, the frame or 
ifo.k is made of metal, in which are fitted a pair of (leel 
dies, in manner of thofe generally ufed for making 
fcrews,. held together by cylinders; the dimenfions may 
be various, as. the quality of the work requires: the 
dies generally ufed are about two inches long and one 
inch lquare. In the prominent parts, and that fide of 
each the two dies which come in contact when in ufe, 
are made correfponding grooves, which, when prefled to¬ 
gether, form holes, each to be the diameter of the (haft 
intended to have the head fixed on ; thefe holes may be 
made tapering upward, or contracted at that part clofe 
under the head, where half a hemifphere, whofe diameter 
being that of the nze of the head required, is to be worked 
out; viewing the dies thus worked, and in the frame, 
which is the pofition in which they are placed while in¬ 
troducing the pointed (hafts, each having a head loofely 
put on, the upper die being at liberty in the frame, the 
preflure of its weight will be found fufficient to hold the 
number of (hafts, with their heads in the refpeCtive places, 
while they are pufhccl forwards with a ftraight motion, 
until the quantity of heads prevents the fhafrs from go¬ 
ing any further. In this (late it is neceflary to turn a 
lever, to which is fixed a fcrew for the purpofe of forcing 
the dies together, which will hold the fliafts firm enough 
to receive a ftroke from a prefson the top piece, to fecure 
and form complete the whole number of heads in the 
dies. The hemifpheres may be finifhed according to 
fancy, as refpefts the ornament or figure of moulding in¬ 
tended for the top of the head, by finking them accord- 
jngly. I leave a point in the centre of thefe cavities in 
tne top piece,.which ferves, when forced into the top of 
the (haft, to widen it there, and form a rivet, and thereby 
fecure the head firm from coming off the top of thefliaft; 
and, the dies being hard fcrewed together with the lever, 
there will be a collar formed by that preflure on the fliaft 
under the head fufficient to prevent the liability of the 
head being by any ordinary means forced down the (haft. 
Having defcribed the working parts and explained the 
V.ol. XX, No. 1382. 
procefs by the drawings, Mr. B. adds, that, placing the 
whole in a fly-prefs, one ftroke therewith on the top piece 
will be found fufficient to complete the whole number of 
heads in the dies. Hitherto it has been the practice to 
ltrike the head feveral times, and that on its fides, ex¬ 
pecting to fix it on the (haft while held in a horizontal po¬ 
fition. “But my method,” fays the patentee, “ of effec¬ 
tually and fecurely fattening the heads on the (hafts, and 
leaving the heads of a fuperior form, is, by placing the 
(hafts in a perpendicular direction, and ftriking the heads 
and (hafts on their tops; which I call fuperior heads, 
and which I claim as my invention.” The head-wire 
may be made flat, either by drawing or rolling to a fize, 
fo that when fpun one or more rounds will be fufficient 
for a head ; head-wire of a fmaller than ordinary fize, 
without flatting, is recommended, fo that, when fpun and 
cut three rounds, it (hall contain the quantity of metal 
required for the fize head intended. When the heads 
have been fixed on the fliafts by the fly-prefs, the fcrew 
is then to be turned back by the lever; and, taking hold 
of the milled head, which is on the head of the fmall 
fliaft, and which goes through the fcrew, and is fixed to 
the top dies by being fcrewed hard in the die, it may be 
drawn back to feparate the dies fufficiently wide for the 
fuperior-headed pins, which they contain, to fall through 
into fome place prepared to receive them. 
The confumption of pins, and the number of artificers 
employed in the manufacture of them, are incredible. 
In Paris alone, there were anciently above a thoufand 
people employed in it; and, after the decline of this ma¬ 
nufacture in the city, there have been annually fold above 
fifty thoufand crow'ns worth of the pin-wire to the pin- 
makers of the neighbouring places, all brought thither 
from Stockholm. In the little town of Bugle, in Nor¬ 
mandy, there were computed at leaft five hundred work¬ 
men employed in the pin-manufaCture ; the whole town 
being peopled with them. Several thoufand perfons are 
employed in this manufacture in various parts of our 
own country. Eftabliflunents of this kind are to be found 
in the Metropolis, Warwickfhire, Gloucefterlhire, Ef- 
fex, &c. 
Mr. Wliittemore, in America, has fo improved a ma¬ 
chine originally invented by an American, as to make, 
from a Ample wire, 30 pins in a minute, completely 
headed and pointed entirely by the machine, with only 
one hand to turn the crank. American Paper, 1823. 
Notwithlfanding that there is fcarcely any commodity 
cheaper than pins, there is not any one that pafles through 
more hands before they come to be fold. They reckon 
twenty workmen fuccelfively employed in each pin, be¬ 
tween the drawing of the brafs-tvire and the flicking of 
the pin in the paper. 
Pins are diftinguilhed by numeros; the fmaller called 
from N° 3, 4, 5; thence to the 14th; whence they are 
only accounted by two to two, viz. N° 16, 18, and 20, 
which is the largeft fize. Befides the white pins, there 
arealfo blackones, made for mourning, from N° 4 to N° 
10. Thefe are ufually of iron-wire. But what we com¬ 
monly call blacli pins are long pieces of iron-wire japanned, 
and bent to a double point, tor the purpofe of pinning- 
up the curls of the hair by day or night. They are now 
very little ufed ; for fome years ago they were fuperfeded 
by hair or leather rollers, and at length the rollers and the 
curls difappeared together. 
The firft mention of pins that occurs in the Englilh fta- 
tute-book is found in the ftatute of Richard III. in 1483, 
prohibiting foreign manufactures ; and it was enaCted, 
“ That no perfon (hall put to fale any pinnes but only 
fuch as fhall be double-headed, and have the heads fol- 
dered (aft to the (hank of the pins, well fmoothed, the 
(hank well (hapen, the points well and round filed, canted, 
and (harpened.” From the above extract it (liould ap¬ 
pear that the art of pin-making was but of late invention, 
probably introduced from France; and that our manu¬ 
factories fince that period have wonderfully improved. 
5 Z One 
