Excerpt from Paper Birch in the Northeast

Shoe pegs are made in two distinct ways. The more usual method is to cut the bolts into small blocks, which are in turn split up into pegs. The other method is to cut the bolts into peg ribbons. These are manufactured at only two places in this country - or prob ably in the world, for that matter - at Conway, N. H., and Brown ville, Me. The round bolts are first cut into Short pieces, usually 25% inches long, and the bark peeled from them. The peeled bolts are then put into a machine which revolves them against a series of sharp knives, which cut off veneers of the width and thickness of the pegs. These veneers are in the form of long, narrow ribbons, and are out under considerable pressure so that much of the sap is forced out of them. They are next run through a machine which puts one sharp edge on the ribbons, and finally through a third machine which heats, compresses, and toughens them. They are shipped in the ribbon form and are cut into pegs with an automatic machine when used by the cobbler. A marked difference between this process and that used in making spools is that in this case the wood is seasoned when the article is turned out rather than before. In the manufacture of peg ribbons, even more than in the manufacture of Spools, it is impera tive that only the very best wood be used. Red heart has to be entirely discarded, knots unfit the wood for use, and the bolts must be of fairly good size. Consequently peg wood frequently costs $15 per cord at the mill, while spoolwood usually costs only $5 or $6.

Shoe shanks, which are used in the insteps of some Shoes between the heel and the broad part of the sole, are usually manufactured in connection with Shoe pegs. They also require fairly clear, white wood, but not necessarily of so high a quality as for Shoe pegs. They are first cut from the peeled bolts as veneers, which are later cut by an automatic machine into finished shanks of various Sizes. These are neither polished nor seasoned and are shipped loose in large sacks.

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