After the sorting, the slabs are placed in steam boxes and subjected to
a steam bath, which it is claimed softens the material and also prepares
it for the scraper, who cleans and removes the dirt and callous or
“raspa” accumulated in its mountain home. This scraping is done either
by hand or machine, the handwork being done with a short handle, curved
bladed knife called a “doladera,” raspador or raspeta: a workman being
able to scrape from two to three metric quintals of cork in a day, or
ten hours. The scraper machine being a vertical steel shaft carrying
several knives placed at a very slight helix and making about 1400
revolutions per minute and will scrape from ten to twelve metric
quintals[35] per day or ten hours. Cutting the slabs into strips or
fillets (tiras ó’rebanadas) is the next step. These strips, the width of
which is equal to the length of the cork to be cut, as the cutting is
done across and not with the grain, were formerly cut by hand with a
knife having a flat surface and curved edge called “cuchilla de
rebanar,” but now replaced by the circular knife, which operates the
same as a rip-saw. From here the strips go to the stopper-makers’
punches or blocking machines. This machine has a rotating tubular die
with sharpened edges of the diameter of the cork to be cut, made to
revolve about two thousand revolutions per minute, the operator having a
foot lever attachment which permits him to thrust the die through the
strips of cork as he holds it against a resisting piece parallel with
the operating plane of the die. Thus, he can punch out many thousands of
corks a day, the noise of the punches being a very characteristic sound
in all such establishments. The operator, of course, must use care to
avoid defective spots in the bark, and also to cut the corks out as
closely together as possible so as to reduce waste to a minimum. For it
is here that the cork manufacturer seems to lay his particular lament.
If he could but make his corks the sizes most in demand, ship them and
thereby do a business that would clearly figure up the year’s work, and
perhaps keep a surplus on hand for unexpected orders. But this he cannot
do, for almost every cork he cuts there is enough waste material to make
three or four smaller sizes, and this he fain would discard if it were
not for the possible profit there is in it; and consequently in almost
every cork factory will be found a large surplus stock of all sizes, and
the owner anxiously hoping that some one will take them off his hands.
[35] The metric quintal is used officially in Spain, which is equal
to 220.36 pounds, the Catalon quintal equaling 91.71 pounds.
The stoppers which come from these machines are round with parallel
sides. If tapered corks are desired, larger at the upper end than at the
lower, the cylindrical or straight pieces must be passed through another
machine which handles them deftly, holding them against the edge of
another circular knife; seemingly motionless, the only outward
indication of the speed with which the keen blade is revolving being a
delicate shaving which curls upward for an instant, and then is drawn
away by air suction to the waste bin, where this material is all
collected and used in various, useful ways as will be shown later. In
cutting the corks, although care is exercised, many will be imperfect
and defective, and in order to utilize them they are cut into smaller
sizes by men who sit at low tables and deftly handle the sharp-edged
knife, which with one stroke reduces the cork to the size that it can
fill, using a scale which is apparently standard with all cork dealers.
The general standard of corks or stoppers, known as the United States
standard, is as follows: