BUTTON MANUFACTURE

This art is divided into several branches, constituting so many distinct trades. Horn, leather, bone, and wood, are the substances frequently employed for buttons, which are either plain, or covered with silk, mohair thread, or other ornamental materials. The most durable and ornamental buttons are made of various metals, polished, or covered with an exceedingly thin wash, as it is termed, of some more valuable metal, chiefly tin, silver, and gold. Those buttons intended to be covered with silk, . are termed, in general, moulds. They are small circles, perforated in the centre, and made from those refuse chips of bone which are too small for other purposes. These chips, which, for the large and coarser buttons, are pieces of hard wood, are sawn into thin flakes, of an equal thickne ; from which, by a machine, the button moulds are cut out at two operations. The shavings, sawdust, and more minute fragments, are used by manufacturers of cutlery and iron toys, in the operations of case-hardening; so that not the smallest waste takes place. Metal buttons are formed of an inferior kind of bra , pewter, and other metallic compositions: the shanks are made of bra or iron wire, the formation of which is a distinct trade. The buttons are made by casting them round the shank. For this purpose the workman has a pattern of metal, consisting of a great number of circular buttons, connected together in one plane by very small bars from one to the next; and the pattern contains from four to twelve dozen of buttons of the same size. An impre ion from this pattern is taken in sand in the usual manner; and shanks are pre ed into the sand in the centre of each impre ion, the part which is to enter the metal being left projecting above the surface of the sand. The buttons are now cast from a mixture of bra and tin; sometimes a small proportion of zinc is added, which is found useful in causing the metal to flow freely into the mould, and make a sharp casting. When the buttons are cast, they are cleaned from the sand by brushing; they are then broken asunder, and carried to a second workman at the lathe, who inserts the shank of a button into a chuck of a proper figure, in which it is retained by the back centre of the lathe being pre ed against the button with a spring. The circumference is now, by filing it as it turns round, reduced to a true circle; and the button is instantly released by the workman’s holding back the centre, and is replaced by another. A third workman now turns the back of the button smooth, in a chuck lathe, and makes the projecting part round the shank true; and a fourth renders the face of the button smooth, by placing it in a chuck, and applying the edge of a square bar of steel acro its centre. Gilt buttons are stamped out from copper, (having sometimes a small alloy of zinc,) laminated in the flatting mill to the proper thickne . The stamp is urged by a fly-pre , which cuts them out at one stroke. These circular pieces, called blanks, are annealed in a furnace to soften them; and the maker’s name, . is struck on the back by a monkey, which is a machine very similar to a pile-engine. This stamp also renders the face very slightly convex, that the buttons may not stick together in the gilding proce . The shanks are next soldered on. The burnishing is performed by a piece of hematites or blood-stone, fixed into a handle, and applied to the button as it revolves by the motion of the lathe. A great number of the buttons, thus prepared for gilding, are put into an earthen pan, with the proper quantity of gold to cover them [14] , amalgamated with mercury in the following manner:—The gold is put into an iron ladle, and a small quantity of mercury added to it; the ladle is held over the fire, till the gold and mercury are perfectly united. This amalgam being put into the pan with the buttons, as much aquafortis, diluted with water, as will wet them all over, is thrown in, and they are stirred up with a brush, till the acid, by its affinity to the copper, carries the amalgam to every part of its surface, covering it with the appearance of silver. When this is perfected, the acid is washed away with clean water. This proce by the workman is called quick ing. [14] By act of parliament 5 grains of gold are allotted for the purpose of gilding 144 buttons, though they may be tolerably well gilt by half that quantity. In this last case, the thickne would be about the 214,000th part of an inch. The old proce in gilding buttons, called the drying off, was exceedingly pernicious to the operator, as he inhaled the vapour of the mercury, which is well known to be a violent poison. In order to obviate this, the following plan of apparatus has been employed with succe . The vapour, as it rises from the pan of buttons heated by a charcoal fire, is conducted into an oblong iron flue or gallery, gently sloped downwards, having at its end a small vertical tube dipping into a water cistern, for condensing the mercury, and a large vertical pipe for promoting the draught of the products of the combustion. Plated buttons are stamped by the fly-pre , out of copper-plate, covered on one side with silver at the flatting-mill. The copper side is placed upwards in stamping, and the die or hole through which they are stamped, is rather chamfered at its edge, to make the silver turn over the edge of the button. The backs are stamped in the same manner as the gilt buttons. The shanks are soldered on with silver solder, and heated one by one in the flame of a lamp, with a blow-pipe urged by bellows. The edges are now filed smooth in the lathe, care being taken not to remove any of the silver which is turned over the edge. They are next dipped in acid, to clean the backs, and boiled in cream of tartar and silver, to whiten them; after which they are burnished, the backs being first brushed clean by a brush held against them as they revolve in the lathe. The mode of burnishing is the same as for gilt buttons. Button shanks are made by hand from bra or iron wire, bent and cut by the following means :— The wire is lapped spirally round a piece of steel bar. The steel is turned round by screwing it into the end of the spindle of a lathe, and the wire by this means lapped close round it till it is covered. The coil of wire thus formed is slipped off, and a wire fork or staple with parallel legs put into it. It is now laid upon an anvil, and by a punch the coil of wire is struck down between the two prongs of the fork, so as to form a figure 8, a little open in the middle. The punch has an edge which marks the middle of the 8, and the coil being cut open by a pair of shears along this mark, divides each turn of the coil into two perfect button shanks or eyes. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0198a.png:Buttons Mr. Holmes, of Birmingham, obtained in May, 1833, a patent for an improved construction of buttons. Fig. 185. represents the outside appearance of one of his improved shanks, as raised or formed out of the disc of metal which is to constitute the back of the button; fig. 186. an edge view, looking through the shank or loop; fig. 187. is another edge view, looking at the raised shank or loop endways; fig. 188. is a section taken through the shank and disc in the direction of the dotted line A B , in fig. 185. ; and fig. 189. another section taken in the direction of the dotted line C D , in fig. 185. All these figures of his improved shanks, as well as those hereinafter described, together with the tools used to form the same, are drawn at about half the real size, to show the parts more distinctly. It will be seen that the shanks or loops a a are formed by partially cutting and raising, or forcing up a portion of the metal disc or back b , and are compre ed or formed by the action of the tools, or punches and dies, so as to have a rounded figure on the inside of the top part of the shank, as at c , the edges of the metal being turned so as to prevent them cutting the threads by which the button is fastened to the cloth or garment. It will be observed that, there being but one pa age or way through which the thread can be pa ed to sew on the button, and that opening being rounded on all edges, will cause the threads to keep in the centre of the shanks, the form of the shank allowing a much neater attachment to the garment, and keeping the threads from the edges of the metal. The ends of the shank, or portions e e , which rise up from the disc or back b , are made nearly circular, in order to avoid presenting any edges of the metal to the sides of the button-hole; and when the shank is sewed on the cloth, it forms, in conjunction with the threads, a round attachment, thereby preventing the shank from cutting or wearing the button-hole: the threads, when the shank is properly sewed to the garment, nearly filling up the opening through the shank, and completing that portion of the circle which has been taken out of the shank by the dies in forming the crescented parts of the loop. It will be therefore understood that the intention is, that the inside edges of the shank should be turned as much as po ible away from the threads by which the button is sewed on the cloth, and that the outside of the shank should be formed so as to present rounded surfaces to the button-hole, and that the thread should fill up the opening through the shank, so as to produce a round attachment to the garment. It should here be observed, that the backs of the buttons shown in these figures are of the shape generally used for buttons covered with Florentine or other fabric, or faced with plates of thin metal, and are intended to have the edges of a disc, or what is termed a shell, forming the face, to be closed in upon the inclined or bevelled edges of the backs. Having now described the peculiar form of the improved shanks which he prefers, for buttons to be covered with Florentine or other fabric, or shells of thin metal plate, he proceeds to describe some of the different variations from the same. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0198b.png:Buttons Fig. 190. is a representation of a shank, the cut through the disc or back being effected by a parallel rib on the die, and corresponding groove in the shaping punch, instead of the semi-circular or crescented cut shown in fig. 185. ; fig. 191. is a view of another shank, the separation of the sides of the loop being performed by straight edges in both punch and die. He prefers finishing this shaped shank (that is, giving it the rounded form, to prevent its cutting the threads), by detached punches, and dies, or pincers, as will be hereinafter described. Fig. 192. is a representation of one of the improved shanks, which has merely portions, f f , of the back of the button connected to its ends. This shank may be used for buttons which have a metal shell to be closed in upon the bevelled edges of the ends, or the shank piece may be otherwise connected to the face part of the button. Fig. 193. is a representation of a shank raised out of a small disc of metal g g , intended to be soldered to the disc of metal forming the button, or it may be otherwise fixed to the back; fig. 194. is a representation of another shank for the same purpose, having only portions of metal h h , for soldering or otherwise attaching it to the back of the button, as by placing a ring or annular piece over it forming the back, which shall be confined to the face, as before described; fig. 195. is a representation of a shank raised upon a dish or bevelled piece of metal, and is intended to be used for buttons made from pearl-shell, horn, wood, paper, or other substances. The back part of the button has a dovetailed rece formed in it to receive the dish-shaped back, which is pre ed into the rece , the edges of the dish being expanded in the dovetailed parts of the rece by the ordinary means, and thereby firmly fixing it to the button, as shown in fig. 196. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0198c.png:Buttons and tools Having now explained the peculiar forms of his improved shanks, he proceeds to describe the tools, or punches and dies, by which he cuts the disc or back from out of a sheet of metal, and at the same operation produces and forms the shank complete. Fig. 197. is a longitudinal section taken through a pair of dies and punches when separated; fig. 198. is a similar section, taken when they are put together, and in the act of forming a shank after cutting out the disc or back of the button from a sheet of metal; fig. 199. is a face view of the punch; and fig. 200. is a similar representation of the counter die, with the tools complete, a is the punch or cutter, and b the counter bed, by the circular edges of which the disc of metal is cut out of the sheet; c is a die, fixed in the cutter a , (upon which the name of the button-maker may be engraved). Fig. 201. is a face view of this die when removed out of the punch; d is the counter die to the die c . It will be perceived that these dies c and d , together with the punch and bed, compre the disc of metal into the form required for the back of the button; that shown in the figures, as before stated, is of the shape used for buttons to be covered with Florentine or thin plate metal, in a round shell closed in upon the inclined or bevelled edge of the back; e is the cutting and shaping punch of the shank, which is fixed within the counter die; this punch cuts through the metal of the disc, and forms the shank as the dies approach nearer together, by raising or forcing it up into the rece or opening in the die c , where it is met by the end of another shaping punch f , fixed in the punch a , which compre es the upper part of the shank into the rece g , in the end of the punch e , thereby giving the shank its rounded figure, and at the same time forming the other part of the shank into the required shape, as described at figs. 185. to 189. The ends of these shaping punches fit into and over each other, as will be seen by the detached figures of the punches designed for forming the shank first described. Fig. 202. is a representation of the punches when apart and removed out of the dies; fig. 203. is a longitudinal section of the same; fig. 204. is another view of the punches as seen on the top. The sharp edge of the rece h , in the punch e , comes in contact with the cutting edges of the projecting rib i , of the die c , and thereby cuts through so much of the metal as is required. The edge k of this die keeps the outside ends of the shank of a spherical figure, as before explained, while the punches force up the metal, and form the elevated loop or shank: u u are holes made through the counter die d , for the pa age of clearing pins, which force out the shank or back piece from the counter die when finished; the operation of which will be shown when describing the machinery hereafter. There are adjusting screws at the back of the punches and dies, by which they can be regulated and brought to their proper position one to the other. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0198d.png:Button dies Although he has shown the punches which form his improved shanks, fixed into and working in conjunction with the punch and dies which cut out and shape the discs of metal for the back of the button, yet he does not intend to confine himself to that mode of using them, as flat blanks or discs for the backs of buttons may be cut out in a separate stamping pre , and afterwards shaped in the same pre or in another, and then brought under the operation of the punches which form his improved shanks, fixed in any suitable pre . This last-mentioned mode of producing button shanks and backs he prefers when such metals are employed as require annealing between the operations of shaping the backs and forming the shank. Fig. 205. is a section taken through a pair of dies, in which the operation only of forming the shank is to be performed, the backs being previously shaped in another pre . In this instance the punches e and f are mounted in guide-pieces m and n , which keep them in the proper position towards each other, the die c being mounted in the piece n , and acting against the face of the guide m . The blanks or backs of the buttons may be fed into these dies by hand or any other means; and after the shank is formed, the finished back can be pushed out of the lower die by clearing rods pa ed through the holes u u , and removed by hand, or in any convenient manner. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0198e.png:Buttons and tool When his improved shanks are formed out of iron or other metal which is too brittle to allow of the shank being forced up and finished at one operation in the dies and punches, he prefers cutting out and shaping the blank or back of the button first, and after annealing it, to raise or force up the portion of metal to form the shank into the shape shown in fig. 206. , that is, without the edges of the metal being turned to prevent their cutting the threads, and after again annealing it, to bend or turn the edges into the shape shown in fig. 191. by means of suitable punches in another pre , or by a pair of pincers and punch as shown in fig. 207. , which is a side view of a small apparatus to be used for turning the edges of the shank by hand, with a partly formed shank seen under operation. a , is the upper jaw of a pair of pincers, this jaw being fixed on to the head of the standard b ; the under jaw c , is formed by the end of the lever or handle d , which has its fulcrum in the standard b . e , is a small punch, pa ed through a guide hole in the head of the standard, one end projecting into the jaws of the pincers, the other against a piece f , attached by a joint to the lever d , and working through a slot in the head of the standard; this piece f , has an inclined plane on the side next the end of the punch, which, in its descent, projects the punch forward against the top of the loop of the shank, (placed at g ,) as the pincers are closed by forcing down the lever d , and, in conjunction with the jaws of the pincers, compre es the shank into the required form, as shown at h , and in the enlarged fig. 191. A spring, i , acts against a pin fixed into the punch e , for the purpose of bringing it back as the jaws open after forming a shank. Figs. 208. and 209. represent the face and section of the dies mentioned before, for cutting the slits in the discs, as at fig. 190. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0201a.png:Punch machine IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0201b.png:Punch machine IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0201c.png:Punch machine IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0201d.png:Punch machine Having explained the peculiar forms of his improved metallic shanks for buttons, and the tools employed in making the same, he proceeds to describe the machinery or apparatus by which he intends to carry his invention into effect. He proposes to take a sheet of metal, say about 30 or 40 feet long, and of the proper width and thickne ; which thin sheet is to be wound upon a roller, and placed above the machine, so that it can be easily drawn down into the machine as required for feeding the punches and dies. Fig. 210. is a plan view of a machine, intended to work any convenient number of sets of punches and dies placed in rows. Eleven sets of punches and dies are represented, each set being constructed as described under figs. 197 to 204 ; fig. 211. is a side view, and fig. 212. a longitudinal section, taken through the machine; figs. 213. and 214. are transverse sections taken through the machine between the punches and counter dies, fig. 213. representing its appearance at the face of the punches, and fig. 214. the opposite view of the counter dies. a a , are the punches; b b , the counter dies; each being mounted in rows in the steel plates c c , fixed upon two strong bars d and e , by countersunk screws and nuts, the punches and dies being retained in their proper position by the plates, which are screwed on to the front of the steel plates, and pre against the collars of the punches and dies. The bars d and e are both mounted on the guide-pins g g , fixed in the heads h h of the frame, which guide pins pa through the bo es on the ends of the bars. The bar d is stationary upon the guide pins, being fixed to the heads h h , by nuts and screws pa ed through ears cast on their bo es. The bar e slides freely upon the guide pins g g , as it is moved backwards and forwards by the crank i i , and connecting-rods j j , as the crank shaft revolves. The sheet of thin iron to be operated upon is placed, as before stated, above the machine; its end being brought down as at a a , and pa ed between the guide rod and clearing-plate k , and between the pair of feeding-rollers l l , which, by revolving, draw down a further portion of the sheet of metal between the punches and dies, after each operation of the punches. As the counter dies advance towards the punches, they first come in contact with the sheet of metal to be operated upon; and after having produced the pre ure which cuts out the discs, the perforations of the sheet are pushed on to the ends of the punches by the counter dies; and in order that the sheet may be allowed to advance, the carriage which supports the axles of the feeding-rollers, with the guide rod and clearing-plate, are made to slide by means of the pin m , which works in a slot in the sliding-piece n , bearing the axis of the feeding-roller l l , the slide n , being kept in its place on the frame work by dovetailed guides shown in fig. 214. When the counter dies have advanced near to the sheet of metal, the pin m comes in contact with that end of the slot in the piece n , which is next to the punches, and forces the carriage with feed-rollers and clearing-plate, and also the sheet of metal, onwards, as the dies are advanced by the reaction of the cranks; and after they have cut out the discs, and raised the shanks, the sheet of metal will remain upon the punches; and when the bar e returns, the finished backs and shanks are forced out of the counter dies, by the clearing-pins and rods o o , which project through the bar e , and through the holes before mentioned in the counter dies; these clearing-pins being stationary between the bars p p , mounted upon the standard q q , on the cro bar of the frame, as shown in figs. 210. , 212. , 213. Immediately after this is done, the pins m come in contact with the other ends of the slots in the pieces n , and draw back the feeding-rollers l l , together with the clearing-plate k , and the sheet of metal, away from the punches into the position represented in the figures. At this time the feeding of the metal into the machine is effected by a crank-pin r , on the end of the crank-shafts coming in contact with the bent end of the sliding-bar s , supported in standards t t ; and as the crank-shaft revolves, this pin r forces the bar s forward, and causes the tooth or pall u , on its reverse end, to drive the racket-wheel v , one or more teeth; and as the racket-wheel v is fixed on to the end of the axle of one of the rollers l , it will cause that roller to revolve; and by means of the pair of spur-pinions on the other ends of the axles of the feeding-rollers, they will both revolve simultaneously, and thereby draw down the sheet of metal into the machine. It will be perceived that the standards which support the clearing-plate and guide-bar are carried by the axles of the feeding rollers, and partake of their sliding motion: also that the clearing-pins o , are made adjustable between the bars p , to correspond with the counter dies. There is an adjustable sliding stop x upon the bar s , which comes in contact with the back standard t , and prevents the bar s sliding back too far, and consequently regulates the quantity of sheet metal to be fed into the machine by the pall and ratchet-wheel, in order to suit different sizes of punches and dies. In case the weight of the bar c , carrying the counter dies, should wear upon its bearings, the guide pins g g , have small friction-rollers y y , shown under the bo es of this bar, which friction-rollers run upon adjustable beds or planes z z , by which means the guide pins may be partially relieved from the weight of the bar c , and the friction consequently diminished. c.