Cotton Linters for Ammunition

[JWinAZ]

From the Library of Congress: "Rolls of lint from the cottonseed used in making of ammunitions and various cellulose products. Oil plant, Clarksdale, Mississippi Delta"
1939, U.S. Farm Security Administration

According to Philipe Sharpe wood pulp replaced cotton lint, or linters, as the feedstock for nitrocellulose early on during the Second World War. The lint is a product of removing short fibers from the cotton seed during ginning. Cotton lint is available now from sources for artisanal paper making. This fellow has some protection from the lint, must be a very dusty place.

 

[JWFilips]

It was part of the source of nitrogen cellulose collars and cuffs at the turnof the 20th century!
Unfortunately those folks wearing them were also fond of smoking!
Was not a good combination!
They really got “smoked”!

 

[fiver]

the cotton floating around will clog up your lungs,, nasty stuff.
i passed on a job dealing with the stuff even though it was gonna be a good raise in pay.

 

[Michael]

My wife cuts cleaning patches for me out of cotton flannel using her cutting mat, rotary cutter and quilting rulers. Once cut she put them into quart zip-locks. I once grabbed a bag, opened it to push out the air, just as I was pushing the air out a bunch of "cotton dust" come out with it. Of coarse I happened to be inhaling at the time. Not sure if I was able cough up all of the cotton I inhaled, sure felt like I was trying to bring up a piece of lung though.

 

[dloud]

Brown lung, breathing cotton dust in textile mills due to poor ventilation.

 

[beagle]

When I was a kid in NC in the 40s, we were “blessed” with “spinning mills” that processed cotton into yarn for various articles. These ran 24/7 and even in winters with windows fully op