Show splints from mancos become matches splints around mancos colo are re not used to protect broken lama arms or legs begs they re what heads ed matches are attached to mancos lying about 20 miles directly east of cortex on highway 10 is the site of the splint mill of the diamond match co they dont make the matches there just the wooden sticks which are hipped shipped east where the heads are re put on the diamond match co opened ch mill III at mancos because of Tin the inexhaustible exhaustible amount of aspea aspen wood in the area and because W t availability of labor the plant has ikas been operating now for several years and contributes much to the be welfare of the district J just u so y aull know splints are ahe W wooden sto d on shafts without u t the striking head the splints are manufactured scientifically to dimension n with a preciseness that would be surprising to the observer A match stick itself Is a rather lin insignificant significant appearing piece of wood it is small and the average person would imagine a tree will produce enough match sticks to supply the country for a whole year that is not the case however quite to the contrary A company official herrick V cair carr manager of the mancos plant explains that nearly three million board feet of lumber is used annually in making approximately eight million splints each day to turn out but the splints an average of 40 people are on the payroll during winter months and nearly twice that many in the summer months during the logging season although the match company will not permit pictures to be made inside the plant because some of the processes used could be duplicated by other such companies mr carr will show certain visitors through the factory there are ten operations in the manufacture of splints the logs are taken from the stockpile outside the plant and cut into 24 inch lengths the bark removed then placed in a refrigerator for either thawing or cooling depending upon whether it is winter or summer about 24 hours later the logs are taken from the room to a veneer lathe which cuts the logs into one tenth inch thick pieces of veneer the next operation takes the veneered vene ered pieces to a chop chopper edl where accuracy is first not noted mr carr explains the chopper is a machine with seven blades and cuts the veneered vene ered wood into pieces one tenth of an inch wide by ten thirteenths of an inch long it will turn tam out 1080 splints per second from the chopper the cut pieces go into a pneumatic blower hower chamber where the splints are subjected to treatment rougher than received at the hands of any match user the blower removes wood scraps plus eliminating any inferior wood which would break under light pressures next neit is the impregnating tank W where here the splints are soaked in a solution sol ution of mono ammonium amm to pre vent what is known as after glow or sparking which may ignite forest land when careless drivers toss matches aiom their car windows after the match sticks are dried in a special tank they go to a loiis polishing hang drum where all rough edges are removed the final operation is the pack aging of the splints for transportation to the factory in the east where the heads are affixed and prepared so that you can buy them in the nations retail stores du during all of the operations rations regular ro nade inspections ons are a made to assure at only top quality splints are an produced the mancos match factory is one oft of only two in the coun country tai mr carr said the other is ai cloquet mum minn |