3i8 MODERN PAPER-MAKING
which is almost indispensable for a winder is an indicator showing the length
of paper that is wound. Immediately the webs are taken off the winding
spindle hard wood plugs should be driven into the open ends of the centres
to prevent the pressure from buckling them inwards, as the outside edges of the
paper swell by absorbing atmospheric moisture.
When a break takes place the winder is stopped, the broken edges
are cut square, and joined with gutta-percha tape or paste. A hot iron
is pressed over the join to dry and fix it, and a slip is put in to indicate
its presence. A piece torn from the edge should also be marked in the same
way.
In order to run good tight webs, such as will run off well on the newspaper
presses, it is essential that the webs should be tightly wound from the start,
and all joins must be very carefully made, especially at the edges. Voith and
Cameron machines are excellent for this work.
Sorting and Finishing.—After the paper has been cut it passes to the 'salle'
ot finishing room to be overlooked by women sorters, who remove damaged
or faulty sheets, and it is then 'told out' or counted by tellers in reams con-
taining a certain number of sheets, after which it is weighed, tied up and put
into store, or packed up in bundles of two or more reams and dispatched to
the customer.
Obviously this sorting department is a very important place, and calls for
very strict and careful supervision if the good name of the mill is to be pre-
served. Generally speaking, the finer the qualities of paper being made the
more careful must the sorting be, for while a few specks of dirt may not be of
much consequence in a sheet of cheap printing or wrapping paper, they cannot
be allowed to pass in a sheet of good writing paper.
In the sorting room of a mill the light must be good, and must come in
through windows facing north if possible, otherwise blinds will have to be
arranged on the windows to lessen the glare of the sun. It is always best to get
most, if not all, of the overhauling or sorting done during the hours of daylight,
and this is of paramount importance if the paper contains different shades which
have to be picked out and packed separately.
The girls generally stand at benches with the pile of paper to be sorted on
their right-hand side. In front of them they lay the good or perfect sheets,
which they jog up* periodically into a neat pile. It is usual to have an arrange-
ment of bricks on wooden elbows, in order to form a kind of frame into
which the size of paper being sorted will fit. This helps to keep the pile straight
and tidy.
If they are sorting three grades—'good', 'retree' and 'broken—they will
need to make three piles, the good in front of them, the retree over on the