COVERING FOR ROUND AND OVAL BOXES.
As previously mentioned, small round and oval boxes are first covered with Round-work Glazed Paper, having special stretching qualities. This stock comes in rolls, 24 inches wide. A rotary slitting machine is used for cutting the paper into widths of the necessary sizes. The slitting and rewinding machine cuts the large roll into strips, and these are rewound into small rolls. The operators on the round and oval boxes make use of the smaller rolls when covering the boxes.
The glazed white or colored paper used for finishing the boxes also comes in rolls, and the large rolls are cut into sections, or different widths, on the slitting and rewinding machine, in exactly the same way as the Round-work Glazed Paper.
In some plants, small covering machines, of special model, are used by the operators in applying the paper to the sides of round and oval boxes. In other plants, all of the covering work is done entirely by hand, the operators working with paste, scissors, and the small, narrow rolls of glazed paper. This is artistic work, indeed, and it can be done only by experienced operators.
The hand-operators work on spacious tables, and these are provided with the tools, gluing-boards, paste-containers, and all of the material necessary for the making of the round and oval paper boxes. The operators at intervals rub their fingers on small cakes of bees’ wax to keep the fingers clear of paste or glue. One operator continually works at covering the boxes and lids; another works exclusively at finishing, or rather, covering the sides of the boxes and lids with strips of colored glazed paper; still another operator inserts the necks in the boxes. The boxes and lids are then assembled together, and the completed product is afterwards packed in large-size paper boxes, usually holding one gross each.