Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1876 — Needle-Making at Redditch. [ARTICLE]

Needle- Making at Redditch.

Redd itch, in Worcestershire, and Aix la-Chapoile, in Germany, maybe regarded «*- Lk» Mats of Um> needle trade of the whole world, comparatively.tew needles being made elsewhere. English needles are, however, more in request Uian those of any other cotustep© As the needles undergo a considerable number of processes, from the rough steel wire to the highlypolished hand instrument, which is not yet superseded by its machine competitor, perhaps some account df their manufacture may not be found uninteresting. Jrhe steel wire: which must he of excellent quality, being hand-drawn for best needles, is tirst <nt into length* capable of makipir two Readies ea«h. This operation ifi performed craier m bundtfcs, by means of hand-shears, or four at a time, in selfacting machines, the shqars) of which are worked by an eccentric, while the wire is fed np tq them- The two-kpgth , pieces of wire are then formed intp bundles from three to inchesjn (liumetly.accprdjng to the size of the “wire, and neld together by a wood fire. When sufficiently soft, the wires, still in bundles, are rolled one over another by the aid ofj what is termed the smooth file,’and thus mide tt> straighten each other. The next operation, that,of gqfotlng on grind-stones, formerly invol|*oL greater loss of life than any other industrial peculation. 'The needles (twenty-five at a time) were made to rotate against the stone, between the fingers and thumb of the operator; and the subtle dwt-from the stone and the needles was inhaled with the breath, and found its way into the lungs, causing the maladjS aknown as grinders’asthma, to which ‘•grinders succumbed at an early age- All this is hqw clmpgep, howp-per. neadjes are made to ixaate between, two mdia-rubber hands traveling oyqr the concave face of the grinds tone, ofi special J quality, obtained from Frankfort; and tfie fine dust i* carried oflf through a cbanpelnmder the grinder's seat by an exhausting fan, which does duty for all the stones. < r TTa* pointed at both ends* are next brought under a falling die, worked, by ..the foot, which stamps the gutter the eye, roughs on t£e headSjJftd mark#.the position of the eyes. The flattened portion bas become- hardened by tile blow, and the Wdw*& .has to removed in the annealing oven. The botes for the eyes are then punched on* py ji jtate«f small punches in Vhand screw-press; these pppchfiSnrequire careful workmanship, both in making and adjusting,, and employ special ©peratives,.who work with magnifying glasses like those of watchmakers* 4 .ppiaber of aeettfes, Urfe then thfCkded,' or “ spitted,” as- the term Is. on a pair of flnp)<is> *n| thC s bur{ qrj {a, piade in stamping the neadtfiS' then removed by a wards between the two spits, the rudely formed need!as, now for the first time separate, have their heads rounded off by filing, especial care being taken to avoid The needles are nfixt Seated in small

iron trays, and then dropped separately into cold oil, which makes them very hard; they are then tempered by being heated on a hod" plate, V Wh" ti- charcoal stove, until ft dark blue fifth <fo*»jtf pver them. Thesewo operations Causij some amount ofw>irping, to counteract which ltih| neediek “ ate straightened “by handhammers on small anvils. To pertain i gttdsSasasi fess' such as do• not run smoothly are again straightened with the hammer. The next operation is scouring, to reto enable it to pass ‘readily’through the fabric. Formerly, from seven to eight days were occupied in the case of best need fra by mis one pfodess; "huf how the time is considerably shortened, owing to improvements in the appliances. The needles are weighed out into lots of from 41)0,000 to 500,000 each, according to size, and tied up with emdry powder, oil and soft soap in a square piece flf strong can* vas, and securely bound with cord, thus forming roll* “or bundles j two feet 10tig‘ana thfee Inches In diameter. These bundles are rolled backwards and forwards in the scouring machine under a heavily-weighted slab, worked by cranks driven b f the engine. This process is repeated from seven to eight times, according to the quality of the needles, the being washed in soapsuds after wooing. T?H fid# polishing is accomplished in the same manner, but with putty-powder, and the needles are then dried in aahwood sawdust. The needles are now highly polished and well tempered, but with the eyes not yet perfect. The heads are all arranged in thi same direction by gradually bringing tham up to the efige pf a board, and letiiagthe heavier heads fall over, so that they may be taken up and turned the •then trey? this is done bypieaps of a couple of metal plates,' as touching the hand' would cause them to rust. For picking out defective needles, piysi be; done; by: an operator of the gentler sex is chosen, whose liaqd is cold and, dry, Before the eyes are ‘drilled 'they are eoftened or “ blued," by being made to pass through a gas lame by* means of a revolving wheel. Which picks them Up by an ingenious Arrangement. ’Thls'seems to be the my brqceas WMre ftny incO'nvenience m felt" by the operatS'es,- who complain of headache after remaining for any length of time in the room where several of these gas flames arc burning;»but the withdrawal of the fuma from the gas by a vunieuciw Tito -eye? ,pf the, “ drilled,e/ed” needles arc smoothed .by a fine counter sunk drill pf delicate workmanagain on wires with emery and oil and hung in ft frame made to travel backwards and forwards by the engine- As the wirfea are stretched in a direction oblique to! tbs line of motion, the needles are shaken about in different directions so ft# to f effects ally pound out the eye. Both# heads add pbinU are Mflßbßffst mass together finger and thumb, tßtfmSr* TRTW 00 After passing through these multifarious operations the needles are at length quite finished, although some extra qualities now have their, «yes gilt by the electrotype processffttfl that remains to be dene is to put them J %rp‘hi phjl&fs, generally cofttajmng a quarter of a hundred, wady for s4le. ffbq better kindaare stuck tbiougli strips of .cloth pasted to the paper;, but wen WA the commoner kinds an vised, which enables one needle to be selected without the danger of all the rest

failing out of the packet. Women and girls are employed in many branches of mis interesting manufacture, and do not seem to sutler in health, except in the one instance above mentioned.— Journal of the Society of Art*.