An Efficient Process for Making Wire Marking Pins

In forest research work it has become standard procedure to use painted wire pins to mark the position of planted seedlings. The time involved in making pins can be long and wasteful if efficient practices are not followed. The conventional method of making pins consists of cutting a roll of wire into specified lengths with hand wirecutters and forming a loop in the end of the wire with a pair of pliers. When a sufficient number of pins are made, the top two-thirds are dipped in paint and set aside to dry. No doubt anyone who has ever made pins has used some labor-saving scheme somewhere in the process. However, what is really needed is an efficient system from beginning to end. Such a system has been developed and is presented here in detail, with drawings. It is estimated that one-half to three-fourths of the time involved in making pins by the old conventional means can be saved by using the system outlined. The expected production rate will be 1,000 to 1,200 pins per hour. This method requires two men; one man operates the cutting device, the other crimps the wire to make the completed pin (fig. 1). The #9 wire is fed off the roll, which is attached to a frame that permits easy wire removal. Different size rolls of wire can be used by simply placing the holding bolts in a different position on the frame. The wire can be cut into any desired length after moving the stop to a new position.

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Author(s): Cortland E. Young, Isaac D. Auld, Jr., Rudolph Gaskins

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Issue 53 (1962)