The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives - Sciencemadness Dot Org

116 PYROTECHNICS
carry the fuses. When this is dry, holes corresponding to the tubes
are punched in the paper. The operation is carried out by young
girls who punch the holes four at a time by means .of four bamboo
sticks held in one hand while they hold the bundle of tubes
steady with the other; Figure 39. The edges of the paper are
then bent slightly upward, giving it the form of a shallow saucer
with 1000 holes in its bottom. The powder for charging the
crackers is then introduced into this saucer, and the whole is
FIGURE 44. Wrapping the Bunches. (Courtesy Wallace Clark.)
shaken gently until all the tubes are full; Figure 40. Then, by a
deft movement of the worker's hands and wrists, the excess powder
in the saucer, and a portion of the powder in each of the
tubes, is emptied out quickly, each of the tubes being left partly
full of powder with enough empty space at the top for the fuse
and the crimp. This operation, of all those in the manufacture,
is considered to be the one which requires the greatest skill. Day
after day the average consumption of powder per 1000 or per
100,000 crackers is remarkably constant.
The paper is then torn off from the hexagonal bundle, and the
fuses, cut to length, are put in place by onp workman while another
with a pointed bamboo stick rapidly crimps the paper
around them; Figure 41. The fuse is made from narrow strips of
tissue paper about 2 feet long. While one end of the strip is
clamped to the bench and the other is held in the hand, the strip