STAMP MACHINES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19045, 19 June 1936, Page 13

STAMP MACHINES

ANNUAL SALES £38,000 A CLEVER APPLIANCE The extent to which automatic stampvending machines are .meeting the convenience of the public in New Zealand ..-. demonstrated by the fact ,that last .car £38.000 worth of penny stamps went out into circulation through the tiny slots of these devices, pulled out one by one by people who bad put in ;i penny. It Will be interesting to those who use the machine to learn something of its construction and method of operation. They' have /probably discovered that the penny N<s to be pushed into the slot lirmly, t. e reason being that sufficient pressure must be exerted to lift a light weight 'which, in its subsequent fall,' provides the power necessary to actuate the machine to the point ol producing one stamp in return for the penny. There is a very simple, but cleverly designed. mechanism within tlumachine which prevents the stamp feed from working unless a bona fide penny has been inserted to start operations. Lead discs, half-crowns, and the circular tops ol' match boxes have been tried, the general result being that they are thrown out through the lowest slot on the lace of the instrument. But it a penny is inserted the mechanism works smoothly, revolving a small drum which carries tiny pins fitting exactly into the perforations ol' the stamp.

■Great accuracy is needed in constructing the moving parts of the mechanism, the stamp drum being machined to bunts of l/1000tbs of an inch. The preparation in the Government Printing Office of the stamp rolls carrying 480 penny stamps involves the use of a specially designed ma chine.