Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/216

182 it necessary that it should be repaired after it has been used for about thirty pounds of pins.

(233.) 6. Tinning. The pins are now fit to be tinned, a process which is usually executed by a man, assisted by his wife, or by a lad. The quantity of pins operated upon at this stage is usually fifty-six pounds. (a.) They are first placed in a pickle, in order to remove any grease or dirt from their surface, and also to render them rough, which facilitates the adherence of the tin with which they are to be covered. (b.) They are then placed in a boiler full of a solution of tartar in water, in which they are mixed with a quantity of tin in small grains. In this they are generally kept boiling for about two hours and a half, and are then removed into a tub of water into which some bran has been thrown, for the purpose of washing off the acid liquor. (c.) They are then taken out, and, being placed in wooden trays, are well shaken in dry bran: this removes any water adhering to them; and by giving the wooden tray a peculiar kind of motion, the pins are thrown up, and the bran gradually flies off, and leaves them behind in the tray. The man who pickles and tins the pins usually gets one penny per pound for the work, and employs himself, during the boiling of one batch of pins, in drying those previously tinned. He can earn about 9s. per day; but out of this he pays about 3s. for his assistant.

(234.) 7. Papering. The pins come from the tinner in wooden bowls, with the points projecting in all directions: the arranging of them side by side in paper is generally performed by women. (a.) A woman takes up some, and places them on a comb,