To a person not familiar with the process of manufacturing round and oval paper boxes, it would appear that the sides of the boxes are formed of light-weight cardboard, rolled to the required shape. Such is not the case. The tubes, or “barrels” from which the rings for the boxes are cut, are made of paper. The tubes from which the shoulders or necks are cut, are also made of paper. Manila stock is used for tubes of the cheaper grade. Machine finished book paper is used for tubes of good quality, and the tubes which are used for the making of the finest face powder boxes are constructed of white coated or enameled paper. This will explain the beautiful gloss-white surface which may be seen on the inside of expensive face powder boxes.
Knowlton Tube Cutting Machine.
The various kinds of paper used for the making of tubes comes in rolls, and can be supplied by any of the well known paper dealers in rolls of standard widths. What is known in the printing trade as 50-pound manila, 50-pound machine finished book, and 80-pound enameled or coated-one-side, are the kinds of paper generally used for making the different varieties of tubes. These papers can be furnished in all of the standard weights or thicknesses.
Parallel tube rolling machines are necessary for this class of work. James Brown, Jr., & Sons, Manayunk, Philadelphia, Pa., have invented a tube rolling machine which is capable of turning out twenty-two “barrels,” sixteen inches long, per minute. This machine is equipped with a paste tank, a steel mandrel of the desired size, a cut-off device, and a roll of the paper, say sixteen inches wide. Adjustments can be made so as to roll the tube to any required thickness. Three or four complete revolutions of the mandrel are all that are necessary for a tube which is to be used for small pill boxes. Flour paste is recommended in making tubes of the kind in question, but dextrine or any of the patented cold glues on the market may be used for the purpose.