The filled frames are conveyed away to be clipped. They are placed on a flat table, and levelled by taps upon a piece of board. Matches were formerly all tipped with sulphur to convey the flame ; but this is now done only when, for economy's sake, the sweepings of the factory are re-dipped, and these are sold as inferior goods. If not already paraffined, first one side and then the other is immersed and withdrawn from the paraffin-bath ; they are then passed on to the dipping-room, The apparatus here consists of a steam-jacketed iron pan, containing the igniting composition, and a hollow iron table, also kept hot by steam, upon which a sufficient quantity of the composition is from time to time ladled to supply the requirements of the work ; this is spread in the necessary thickness, and to cover a space somewhat larger than the dipping-frame. Tho splints projecting from one side of the frame are applied to the composition for a moment, and, in the case of common matches, are removed, reversed, and applied at once to the other side ; but with good matches, after one side is dipped, the frame is suspended, and dipped end downwards for some 15-20 minutes, being slid between light iron supports provided for this purpose at the sides of the dipping-room ; the composition thus assumes a more sightly form, and the top of the match is well rounded, the other side of the splint being completed in precisely the same way when the first is dry.
The matches are finished by being removed in the frames to a drying-room, where, after remaining for a short time, they are ready for cutting and packing into boxes.
The matches, when dry, are laid in heaps, cut down, and put into boxes by the handful. The boxes, when filled, are placed in frames called " ducks," holding three to four gross, and passed through iron doors into the packing-room, where they are put into packages, glued up, and labelled.
It has been supposed to be advantageous to point the ends of splints before dipping, and to effect this economically, Pace has devised the machine shown in Figs. 969 to 976. In manu facturing pointed splints, he first sorts them, so as to get rid of all short or otherwise imperfect ones. For this purpose, machinery such as that represented in end view Fig. 973, vertical section Fig. 975, plan Fig. 969, and side view Fig. 976, is employed. The splints are placed in a reciprocating box a, provided with projections, working on guide-bars b. The box a is prevented rising from b, by guide s, fixed to standards a, carried by the table d of the machine, and adjusted side ways by guides a". The box a is provided with divisions, and the bottom is formed by a fixed plate e, provided with grooves e' to receive the splints. A series of wires and rods f mounted on a rod f act in combination to push the splints out in u manner similar to the filling-machine, Fig. 967. An arm A' has on its end a roller C', running in the groove of a cam g, provided with
axes working in bearings fixed to a bracket. This cam receives motion by means of a belt passing partly around a grooved pulley on one end of g, and partly around a grooved wheel h on the driving-shaft.• By these means, an endwise reciprocating motion is given to the box a, in order to agitate the splints. The rod f, with the pushing-wires, is carried by brackets fixed to a table i, which has a reciprocating motion derived from a lever j mounted on the frame, and provided with a pulley, working in the groove of a cam le fixed on the driving-axis. The grooves e (Fig. 974) extend a short distance beyond the front of a, and, at their ends, the bottoms are removed, and replaced by short pins e', occupying only a portion of the width. In connection with e, are sliding supports, Figs. 971, 972, 975, consisting of straight wires k and bent wires k', the latter turned at their points, so that these partially cross the spaces between tho wires k. Both k and k' are fixed in a bar k," joined to the slides, which move to and fro in grooves, formed in the table d; they are forced in the one direction by weights x, and in the other, by pushers which also act upon projecting plates k" fixed to the slides. Thus the reciprocating supports k h', the travelling bed 1, and the pushers f travel together in the one direction until the travelling supports k le arrive at the box a, when the travelling bed i and pushers f continue their motion a short distance, and the motion of the travelling supports k h' is stopped for a time ; then, on the return journey of the pushers f, the latter travel for a short distance alone ; and finally, the pushers and the travelling supports k h' move together for the remainder of the distance.
As the splints are pushed out from e, and fall on to e', a brush 1 descends, and brushes aside the faulty splints. This brush is fixed to a lever l', mounted on to a fixed axis. The tail of the lever l' is acted upon by a projection, fixed on the travelling bed i, so that, as the projection approaches the box a, it acts upon the tail-piece , and raises the brush 1 to permit the required motion of the sliding supports k k' to ensure the proper drawing off of the selected splints. These drawing-off rollers are covered with indiarubber, mounted in bearings, and rotated by a strap from an intermediate wheel, motion being communicated from one roller to the other by toothed wheels. Thus any short or faulty splints will fall down, whilst the good splints will remain supported by e' and k ; in the return motion of the travelling bed i, the splints will be taken by the delivery-rollers.