DRUGGISTS’ PILL AND POWDER BOXES (Continued)
IN addition to manufacturing tube rolling machines for the box-makers, James Brown, Jr. & Sons, Manayunk, Philadelphia, are also making tubes for the trade. Instead of manufacturing the tubes, or “barrels,” for round boxes in their own plants, some of the box-makers order the tubes made by concerns like James Brown, Jr., & Sons. Afterwards, the box-makers have the finished tubes cut into rings of the required sizes, and assembled into boxes in their own plants. There is an advantage, of course, in the box-maker having his own tube rolling machines.
The finished “barrels” for round paper boxes are cut into rings of various lengths on a rotary tube-cutting machine which works somewhat on the principle of a lathe. Some of the larger manufacturers of round pill boxes have had special cutting machines built for this purpose. Tube-cutting machines of this kind are supplied by some of the larger manufacturers of paper box machinery.
In some paper box factories, where small, round and oval pill boxes are produced as a specialty, the tubes are rolled by hand on forms of the required sizes. After a tube has been rolled, it is placed on another form to dry for about twenty-four hours before being cut into small sections on a lathe. The machine-made tubes are said to be just as satisfactory as the hand-made tubes. All of the tubes are allowed to dry thoroughly before cutting them into rings.
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.