Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1894 — HOW MATCHES ARE MADE. [ARTICLE]

HOW MATCHES ARE MADE.

Not Matrimonial Oaas. bit Those Mad* to Burn. The wood used in the manufacture of matches is principally white poplar, aspen and yellow pine. In the United States white pine is used almost exclusively. It buraa freely, steadily, slowly, constantly and with a good volume of flame. The wood is soft, straight grain, easily worked, and its light weight is of no small consequence in the matter of transportation charges, which are usually high on combustible articles. For the best grade of matches the choicest quality of cork pine is used, a variety of white pine, the trees hewing large and well matured.' Th© Diamond Match Company about twelve years ago secured hundreds of millions of feet of choice standing cork pine timber on the waters of tbe Ontonagon River in the upper peninsula of Michigan. This company now cuts annually upward of 80,000,000 feet of this timber, but this is by no means all that is used in the manufacture of matches in this country. Millions of feet more of choice white ; pine timber are bought every year and made into matches by a number of factories under the control of thisi corporation.

In Sweden the method of manufacture is as follows: The timber iscut. Into blocks about fifteen Inches long and and placed in a lathe. With, each revolution a slice or veneer is peeled off the thickness required for the match sticks, while at the same time eight small knives cut the Blice into seven pieces, like ribbons and ot the length required for tho sticks. These ribbons ure then broken into' lengths of six to seven feet, knotty ami defective pieces are removed and the ribbons are then sod through a, machine which cuts them into pieces like a straw cutter, tlioso then passing through nn automatically arranged machine with cutlers, which slices off ns many pieces, the thickness required fora match, iw there are cutters. One machine will turn oufc from 5,000,00® to. 10t(HM),000 match splints a day. In this country choice, clear twov three and four Inch planks aro used, also pieces from the ends of planks, and timbers, edgings and other suitable parts of the log not utilised!. These are rut the required length and sliced or split by machinery adapted for the purpose. After passing through those machines th<r match splints are dried in heated revolving drums, during which process the loose splinters clinging to the splints are separated. They aro then placed in a sieve and sifted, an < operation which finally places tho ■ sticks in parallel order so that they’ can be conveniently bandied, after which they are ready for the dipping operation. The head of each stick, to bo thoroughly dipped or eovorod, must bo separated from the others, that no dunger shall ensue from ignition, n» would lie done If t hey came in contact with, the infiammublo material used in the coating. The sticks are separated by muchlnery and placed each by itself In a dipping frame, which Is fitted In a movable lathe, and a number of these lathes are placed on a machine. One person can arrange with one of the machines nearly 1,500,000 splints In a day. The splints are then heated so as to more readily absorb paraffin, which is confined la Its molten state in shallow pans. The first dipping covers the head of the match sticks with tlie paraffin preparation; by the sccoinf'tinecation It is covered with thi< igniting composition, different devices being used for this purpose. A competent person will dip 8,000,000 mutches in w day. After the last dipping tit© frames continuing tbe matches aro placed in n heated room, that the igniting composition may be dried. They ure then removed from this room and packed in hoxeß ready for shipment.—[Chicago Journal of Commerce.