INDIA RUBBER 



Its Manufacture and Use. 



lUttb flllustratlona. 



BY 



GEORGE N. NISSENSON. 



OR OF 



•PRACTICAL TR 



I89I: 

NEW YORK, U 



4 



INDIA RUBBER 



Irs Manufacture and Use. 



BY 



GEORGE N.'NISSENSON. 



,r. 



AUTHOR OF 



'PRACTICAL TREATISE ON I..XJ ECTORS. 




t.L^ 



1891: 
NEW YORK, U. S. A. 






Copyright, 1881, 

BY 

GEO. N. NISSENSON, 



LC Control Number 




2008 



530320 



PREFACE. 

FOR the past fifty years India Rubber has become an object 
of great interest since the art of vulcanization has been 
discovered and improved by Chas. Goodyear of New York, 
most valuable discovery connected with this manufacture, and 
at the present time India Rubber occupies such an important 
position in the economy of modern arts and manufactures, 
that were it suddenly withdrawn from circulation many minor 
industries would in consequence cease to exist, while numer- 
ous large and important branches of handicraft would languish 
until arrangements would be made to adapt their operation to 
the altered circumstances. 

The procuring of raw Rubber, and the art of its vulcan- 
ization and also the manufacture of articles of India Rubber 
for so many various and useful applications are of great inter- 
est, not only to the Mechanical profession, but also to every 
intelligent man, and therefore the need of a practical and 
accessible work on this subject is greatly felt at present. 

In offering the following pages to the consideration of the 
Mechanical Skill and Intelligence of the United States, I trust 
that the book, such as it is, ma) - answer to its title and recom- 
pense the labor of 



THE AUTHOR. 



New York: 
iy6 East 108th Street. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface, 3 

India Rubber, 5 

Vulcanization, 14 

Caoutchouc Threads, 19 

Wearing Appliances, 20 

Clothing and Shoes, 20 

Cements, ...•'. 21 

Play Balls 23 

Toy Balloons, 24 

Mechanical Appliances, ....... 25 

Belting -25 

Hose Making, . 29 

Emery Wheels, 31 

Steam Packing, . 33 

Enlarging and Diminishing Drawings of Pictures, . . 33 

Caoutchouc Leather, 34 

Surgical Appliances, ........ 35 

Nurse Bottles, Breast Pumps, Etc -35 

Caoutchouc Sponges, • • 35 

Deodorization of India Rubber Goods. 36 

Gutta Percha, 37 

Use of Gutta Percha in Surge y, ...... 38 

Coating of Wires 40 

Hard Rubber, 41 

Hard Rubber Lacquer, ........ 44 

Caoutchouc Rollers for Marbling and Engraving, . . 45 



INDIA RUBBER (Caoutchouc). 

The earliest rumors of the existence of Caoutchouc, 
best known to us as India Rubber, reached Europe 
nearly 500 years ago, the first visit of Columbus to 
Hayti having brought to light the fact that the natives of 
that Island were in the habit of making play balls of 
elastic gum. In 1736, La Condamine first discovered 
that the substance is a dried milky juice of a tree which 
the Indians on the coast of the river Amazon called 
Caout-Chou, and from which they have been making 
waterproof fabrics and other articles. 

Among the first of the important patents regarding 
the utilization of Caoutchouc is that granted in 1823 to 
Chas. Mackintosh of England for dissolving the sub- 
stance in coal oil or coal naphtha and the use of this 
solution as a waterproof agent. About the same time 
elastic webbing was first made with threads cut from 
the raw rubber, afterwards other minor applications of 
rubber to the industrial arts were adapted from time 
to time. 

The properties of India Rubber are: it is imperme- 
able, tenacious and elastic, and these are so widely 
different from those of most other substances that it 
became an object of very great interest as soon as it 
made its appearance in the civilized world, and its 
industrial importance has rapidly increased as the 
knowledge of its remarkable characteristics and mani- 
fold applicability has become most extended. 



INDIA RUBBER. 

It is, however, during the last fifty years that India 
Rubber has enjoyed its greatest triumphs as an indus- 
trial agent ; that is to say, since the art of vulcanization* 
was discovered and improved by Chas. Goodyear of 
New York. This discovery proved both curious and 
valuable because it altered the rubber to such an 
extent as to render it capable of resisting both heat and 
cold. 

Caoutchouc or India Rubber is a concrete milky juice 
produced by various trees. The trees which yield the 
largest supply of the best quality of rubber consist of 
various species of Hevea, which flourish in the Northern 
districts of South America, especially in the province of 
Para, about 1800 miles above the mouth of the Amazon, 
which is crowded to an extraordinary extent with 
heveas. 

The abundance of the India Rubber trees in Para 
may be judged by the fact that this province alone 
exports about 18,000.000 pounds of rubber annually, 
more than half of which is sent to England. Among the 
heveas most productive of rubber may be mentioned the 
Hevea Brazilience, which flourishes in Para and yields 
some of the finest rubber, often attaining a bright of 
60 to 75 feet and having a diameter of nearly 3 feet. 

The Hevea Guianensis is a similarly magnificent 
tree, and the Hevea Spruceana is a smaller tree which 
grows almost exclusively in the province of Para. 

The figure 1 represents the flowers and foliage of 
Hevea Guianensis. 

* Vulcanization is the art or process of imparting new properties to rub- 
ber by causing it to combine with sulphur through the agency of a high 
temperature. It will be explained hereafter. 




HEVEA GUIANENSIS. Fig. i. 



8 INDIA RUBBER. 

As a rubber producing tree the Ficus Elastica stands 
next in importance to the heveas. The Ficus Elastica, 
represented on the fig. 2, grows abundantly in India 
and East Indian Islands, one district in Assam occupy- 
ing a space of about 160 square miles being said to 
contain 43 thousand trees, many of them attaining a 
height of 100 feet. The juice of the Ficus Elastica con- 
tains very much less rubber than that of the American 
trees, the proportion very often falling as low as 10 per 
cent, of the juice. 

A vine-like plant, the Urccola Elastica, which grows 
abundantly in Madagascar, Borneo, Singapore and 
other places yields a considerable amount of rubber, 
which seems to be well adapted to some classes of work. 
The vine is rough and knotty and about as thick as a 
man's arm, and it grows to a length of fully 200 feet. 
The rubber taken from the top of the vine is of better 
quality than that which comes from the bottom. The 
juice is procured from a transverse incision in the large 
root. The incision penetrates the wood, but the flow of 
juice is from the bark alone. Under the incision a hole 
is scooped in the earth in which a leaf is folded like a 
cup, or else a tin vessel is suspended, into which the thin 
and nearly colorless juice runs. The juice flows rapid- 
ly at first but diminishes in a few moments, and in two or 
three days a layer of rubber is formed over the wound 
and the flowing ceases. After the juice has been col- 
lected the moisture is evaporated and the rubber 
smoke-cured in the following original way: A sort of 
Bat is dipped into a pail filled with the juice, and then 
held in the smoke of a fire, as shown in the fig. 3, and 
this process is continued until the rubber on the Bat 







FICUS ELASTICA. Fk;. 2. 



IO 



INDIA RUBBER. 



becomes about an inch thick, when a cut on one 
end allows the Bat to be removed, and the rubber is 
hung up to be still further dried. 

The method of curing makes it always easy to distin- 




Fig. 3. 



guish Para rubber, for the fire over which it is smoked 
is made of wild nuts, which besides giving a very dense 
smoke, imparts to the rubber a certain fragrant 
aromatic odor that is readily detected. 



INDIA RUBBER. 



I I 



The juice can also be imported in the same liquid 
state as procured from the tree, without losing any of 




Fig. 4. 



its properties, if the following method be employed : 
It must be strained through a cloth into glass vessels or 
tin cans, and then for every pound of juice one ounce of 



12 INDIA RUBBER. 

concentrated caustic ammoniak must be added and the 
mixture well stirred. This must be done before the 
juice becomes oxydized by the constant action of the air. 
The milky juice of Para rubber trees has approxi- 
mately the following composition : 

Rubber (or Caoutchouc), • • • 33 

Albuminous, extractive and saline matters, . 13 

Water 54 



Total, 100 parts. 

Caoutchouc like many other substances contains 
nothing but carbon and hydrogen, but its properties 
differ very widely from those of other hydrocarbons 
almost identical in composition. It has been found to 
contain in 100 parts 12.5 hydrogen and 87.5 carbon, the 
specific gravity being 0.95. The rubber is soft and 
elastic at the ordinary temperature, and is very firm and 
unexpansive below 0°, but becomes converted into a 
variety of volatic hydrocarbon at the temperature some- 
what above 200 C. Fresh cut surfaces of rubber 
adhere very strongly when brought into contact. 

It possesses in the highest degree the property of 
expanding or swelling in certain fluids, and in conse- 
quence of that becomes dissolvable in many substances, 
to which, under other conditions, it is entirely indiffer- 
ent. In pany solvents, for instance, in mixtures of 
alcohol and bisulphide of carbon, Caoutchouc swells up 
to 30 times its original volume. The residue of Caout- 
chouc, after ;the treatment with the solvent, appears, 
when examined with a microscope, like a net, having 
quite wide meshes, which contract, though, considerably 
in drying out. This shows that Caoutchouc consists of 



INDIA RUBBER. I 3 

an insoluble base with minute pores containing the 
soluble parts, which resemble vegetable glue ur mucein 
in being distended by absorbing fluid it is in contact 
with, and thus facilitating the action of the solvent. 

The elasticity of Caoutchouc depends upon the quan- 
tity of soluble matter it contains. 



VULCANIZATION. 

The Vulcanization is the most important of all the 
operations in the manufacture of rubber, and one without 
which all the other steps would have been worthless. 
It consists in subjecting the rubber, mixed with its 
proper proportion of sulphur and other chemical sub- 
stances, such as oxides of lead, zinc, iron, etc., to a 
certain degree of heat for a special time, the amount of 
heat and the time necessary varying according to the 
mixture, the kind of rubber and the article to be manu- 
factured. Whatever foreign substances may enter into 
the compound it is the sulphur, which, by making a 
chemical affinity with the rubber, effects the Vulcani- 
zation. 

The following is a description of the process : the raw 
masses of rubber are first placed in a large tank of hot 
water and allowed to soak until the exterior is partially 
softened and the impurities on the surface, such as dust, 
bark, leaves, etc., always mixed with it are removed. 
By this process the rubber loses a substantial portion 
of its weight, from 1 2 to 15 per cent, in the best quali- 
ties, to as high as 40 per cent, in the cheapest kinds. 
The rubber is then cut into convenient pieces by means 
of a large knife. In the large rubber shops a circular 
knife is used for that purpose, between 3 and 4 feet in 
diameter, which revolves with great speed, cutting the 
tough mass as easily as if it was clay. These slabs are 
then taken to a machine called Crackers, having large 

14 



VULCANIZATION. 1 5 

deeply grooved cast iron cylinders, which revolve in 
pairs, and stretch the rubber in the form of a rough 
sheet with a broken surface. A stream of water is kept 
flowing on the rubber during that operation and con- 
tinued until all extraneous substances have been re- 
moved and nothing but pure rubber remains. 

These sheets then go to the steam heated drying 
room (before the next so-called mixing operation can be 
undertaken), where it requires from one to four months 
to thoroughly evaporate all the moisture they contain ; 
unless this is done the rubber would be fit only for the 
inferior kinds of goods. 

The operation of mixing consists in passing the rough 
sheets, which preparation has been previously described, 
between smooth iron rollers heated from the inside to a 
temperature of about ioo° F., and gradually feeding in 
the sulphur and the other substances to be incorporated. 
The rollers run at different speeds, and the sheets are con- 
tinually passed and repassed between them until the 
mixture has been brought into a state more soft and less 
tenacious and elastic than the ordinary India Rubber, so 
that it may be compressed or moulded into any desired 
shape by the machinery employed. It is passed between 
the rollers, beginning with those which are somewhat 
apart and gradually contracting them each time after the 
rubber has passed through, until they produce the 
thickness required. If any colouring matter is required, 
it may be mixed in during this operation, and the 
amount necessary for this purpose is always slight. 

Sulphur gives great elasticity to rubber, and is the 
vulcanizing agent, and must form a part of all the mix- 
tures used. , It is impossible to determine the exact 



1 6 VULCANIZATION. 

proportion of sulphur to be mixed in, as every manu- 
facturer mixes it differently. Mr. Nickel's patent con 
sists in kneading together 10 pounds of sulphur and 60 
pounds of rubber. About 10 per cent, of the weight of 
the rubber is generally taken as a common proportion. 
The quantity of sulphur and other chemical substances 
is generally determined according to the quality of 
rubber or goods it is desired to produce. 

The substances to be worked into the rubber are 
accurately weighed, a quantity of mixture for a fixed 
quantity of rubber, and care must be taken that the sul- 
phur should be free from acid, and also from the 
moisture which sulphur always takes up so rapidly on 
exposure to the atmosphere. After the mixing process 
has been thoroughly completed the rubber is ready to 
receive the shaping required to produce the required 
article, either by being pressed into moulds, or passed 
between heavy rollers to form it into thick sheets; or 
through powerful calendering machines to spread it on 
cloth that is now in general use for such purposes. 

The Calendering machine or Calender consists of a 
cast iron frame and cast iron smooth cylinders which are 
heated from the inside. As a different degree of heat is 
required for each kind of goods the temperature can be 
regulated by means of steam and water valves, through 
which steam and water enter into the cylinders. The 
upper roller or cylinder and the lower one can be raised 
or lowered by means of the gearing having hand wheels. 
The centers are for the mandrel or roller around which 
the cloth to be made waterproof is rolled. 

The rubber is first worked to a perfect uniformity and 
thickness by the upper and middle rollers of the Calen- 



VULCANIZATION. 



17 



der, the uniformity of the whole mass being ascertained 
by cutting a piece and holding it up to the light. If 
there are any granular particles to be seen the operation 
must be resumed until they disappear, and by gradually 
closing the rollers at the time of passing through, a sheet 




6»m4. 



CALENDERING MACHINE. Fig. 5. 



of the required thickness, say from i-i6th of an inch and 
less will be formed, and being in contact with the cloth 
or fabric is pressed upon it. 

The fabric intended to be made waterproof must be 



1 8 VULCANIZATION. 

rolled round a wooden mandrel having iron centers and 
placed in the center pieces of the Calender. The other 
end of the fabric is brought up and passed through the 
lower and middle cylinders of the Calender, and the 
softened sheet or film of rubber which has already been 
worked out to the required thickness is passed down on 
the fabric and remains on it. After the fabric has been 
drawn through the cylinders it passes over wooden roll- 
ers to the place where it is rolled up on a wooden roll- 
er. To prevent the adhesion of the fresh rubber film 
while rolled up some powdered soapstone is placed be- 
tween the rollers and the fabric, thus covering the whole 
surface while passing to the roller to be rolled up. 

The waterproof fabric is then folded in lengths upon 
a metallic plate or platform resting on four or more 
small wheels running on a track, and is discharged into 
a large empty steam boiler, arranged with thermome- 
ters for the purpose of accurately gauging the tempera- 
ture, where it is exposed to the action of steam of the 
temperature of about 250 F. for a few hours, during 
which the rubber film becomes dry and firmly attached 
to the fabric. 



CAOUTCHOUC THREADS. 

On account of their elasticity and tenacity they are ex- 
tensively used for the manufacture of elastic tissues, 
from which elastic webbing for shoes, braces, garters 
etc. are made. There are different methods of manu- 
facturing them, but the elasticity of threads and their 
toughness depend principally on the raw material used. 
When cut out from caoutchouc plates they come with a 
square section. The plate must be fed to the knife of 
the cutting machine continuously, so as to obtain an un- 
broken thread, and a stream of water should fall on the 
knife steadily so as to prevent the caoutchouc from stick- 
ing to it. The round threads, on the contrary, are made 
from prepared caoutchouc, which has been changed into 
a plastic dough by treating it with proper solvents, and 
this dough is then pressed through a metal plate having 
circular holes, in the same way as vermicelli is made. 



•v^fe#i^K>. 



19 



LIST OF ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF 

INDIA RUBBER AND THE MODE 

OF THEIR MANUFACTURE. 

Wearing Appliances: Clothing, Shoes and Boots, 
Hats, Caps, Leggings, Gloves, Umbrellas, 
Etc , Etc. 

The above mentioned articles are made of the water- 
proof fabric (for description see page 17). In making 
shoes and boots the rubber sheets are subjected to the 
printing process. They are fed through steel cylinders 
of the Calender, on the face of which is engraved the 
pattern for sole, heel and upper desired to be produced. 
The waterproof fabric as well as the rubber sheets are 
taken to the cutting room, where the different parts are 
cut out and then sent to their respective departments, 
where they are put together in a fashion similar to that 
of other clothing and shoes, except that the parts are all 
put together by rubber cement, a liquid substance of 
rubber. After the parts of the articles have been put 
together they are placed in the vulcanizing boiler, whose 
description is on page 18, where they are subjected to a 
steam pressure of about 250 F. Some of the articles 
are also varnished to give them a bright finish, and dried, 
after which they are ready for sale. 

*Many of the articles are formed of pure vulcanized rubber, and others 
prepared with various pigments according to the required colour, quality or 
intended application of the article. 



CEMENTS. 

The rubber liquid or cement is made of vulcanized 
rubber soaked in Benzine and Turpentine Oil in equal 
proportions, and subjected to a stirring process for sev- 
eral hours. By the action of the two liquids on the rub- 
ber it becomes converted into a liquid, adhesive, sticky 
clay. 

For Vulcanized Caoutchouc take: 



Stockholm Pitch, 


3 parts 


American Rosin, 


3 " 


Oil of Turpentine, 


8 " 


Caoutchouc, 


6 " 


Petroleum, 


12 " 



While heated, the mixture must be stirred. Should it be 
too thick for certain purposes, add more oil of turpen- 
tine. The surfaces to be joined together should be 
roughened by rubbing them with emery or pumice stone 
before the cement is applied. 
For Glass take: 

Caoutchouc, . . . . 12 parts. 

Chloroform, ..." 500 " 
Mastic, 120 " 

When applied to glass, this cement adheres at once, and 
possesses a high degree of elasticity. For Rubber Shoes 
make a solution of 10 parts of caoutchouc in 280 parts 
of chloroform by letting them stand in a bottle till the 
caoutchouc is entirely dissolved. Prepare another mix- 
ture by melting 10 parts of caoutchouc with 4 parts of 



22 



CEMENTS. 



colophony. Add turpentine 2 parts and dilute with 40 
parts of Oil of Turpentine. Pour the two solutions to- 
gether. 

Caoutchouc Glue for damp walls: This glue will pre- 
vent the falling off of painters' work, or the puffing up 
and becoming stained of the wall paper, when dampness 
It is made of 



comes through 



Caoutchouc, 

Whiting, 

Oil of Turpentine, 

Bisulphide of Carbon, 

Colophony, 

Asphaltum, 

These ingredients are 
tight 



10 parts. 
10 
20 
10 

5 

5 

, put in a bottle and closed air- 
The bottle must be kept in a warm place until 
every solid substance in it is dissolved. Occasional 
shaking, as a matter of course, will hasten the process 
of dissolution. Paper will adhere very tightly to it, and 
the wall will always remain dry after this glue has been 
applied to it with a flat brush. 

Marine glue consists of a solution of one part of 
Caoutchouc in twelve parts of rectified petroleum, which 
are combined by heating and stirring with 6 parts of 
shellac or asphaltum. Marine glue will stick to wood 
and metal, and should be used hot. 



PLAY BALLS. 

Like many other India Rubber articles Play Balls are 
pressed from vulcanized Caoutchouc in suitable metallic 
moulds or forms and made in two or more pieces, which 
are joined together by a solution of Caoutchouc. But 
there is an important difference between the making of 
Play Balls and the production of dolls, toys and other 
ornamental figures so extensively used in our days. 
While in the case of the latter the air, enclosed in the 
hollow of such figures, must be removed, as it would 
otherwise expand during the burning process and burst 
the object, the former, that is the Balls, must be filled 
with compressed air by a special apparatus to give them 
necessary elasticity. A small condensing air-pump used 
for that has a fine needle attached to the end of the 
pipe condensing the air, and penetrating into the 
interior of the Ball. At the time of withdrawing the 
needle the hole is closed with some vulcanite matter. 



'^^j^^ 



23 



TOY BALLOONS. 

They are made from a clear solution of caoutchouc. 
A glass balloon serves as a form. A certain quantity of 
this solution is poured into it and distributed over its 
entire inner surface by swinging it to and fro, and the 
excess of solution is then allowed to run out. When 
nothing more drops out of the glass balloon, it is turned 
with the opening up and air is blown into the interior 
for the purpose of accelerating the evaporation of the 
solvent. In order to detach the balloon from the glass, 
to which it adheres quite tenaciously, it is necessary to 
loosen carefully the lower edge from the glass and blow 
some air between the film and the glass. After the 
thin caoutchouc film becomes separated from the glass, 
it has a form of an empty bag and can be easily pulled 
out through the open neck of the glass balloon. 




24 



MECHANICAL APPLIANCES. 

Belting, Hose, Emery Wheels, Brose Pipes, 
Valves, Discs, Steam Packing, Buffer and 
Bearing Springs, Wringer Rollers, Wheel 
Tires, Etc., Etc. 

Machine Belting. From a composition consisting 
of gutta-percha, caoutchouc, sulphur and sulphide of 
antimony, and possessing great tenacity, solidity and 
elasticity are manufactured belts used for transmitting 
power and for driving machinery. Their first cost is 
greater than that of genuine leather, but in the end they 
are cheaper, because they can be easily repaired. 
Bands are rolled from the mass, obtained from the above 
mixture, until they are entirely homogeneous. When 
the thickness of the band nearly approaches that of the 
belt required the temperature must be lowered so much, 
that the band can be forced through between rollers 
only at the expense of great power, to make the mass 
as compact as possible. The edges of the belt are then 
trimmed, and it is covered with linen cloth on one side 
before it is wound together. This precaution is neces- 
sary, as during the burning process, to which the belt 
has to be subjected before it is ready for use, the mass 
would fuse together, the temperature being raised for 
thick belts as high as 320 F. 

The fabric used for that purpose is heavy cotton 
duck, such as is used for sails for ships. This duck, 
combined with the rubber by running through the 

25 



26 



MECHANICAL APPLIANCES. 




MECHANICAL APPLIANCES. 27 

calender, is taken to a large department, where this 
branch of business is carried on, and unrolled upon 
tables 100 feet long, where the workmen cut it accu- 
rately to the required width. 

One strip is cut so that folded it will make the width 
of belt, and another so that the wide strip will just fold 
over its edges and meet in the middle, which makes a 
three-ply belt. In this way the strips are passed 
between a series of powerful rollers, the temperature of 
which is evenly regulated, as in all other operations ; 
the folding over at the sides makes an even and per- 
fectly uniform half-round edge, and at the middle, where 
the edges of the outside strip come together, a narrow 
ribbon of rubber is fed to cover exactly the line of 
meeting. 

In this way the entire outside of the belt is pressed by 
the heated rollers into an even, regular surface, each 
different kind of belt showing the same form and width 
for any number of feet, and presenting none of the 
irregularities in surface and thickness so often seen in 
leather belting, where copper rivets are plentifully 
used, and where the substance of the hide varies so 
greatly. As the rubber surfaces, before being vulcan- 
ized, would stick together, they are rolled up with a 
thickness of duck between, and the belt-making machine 
represented in fig. 6 has an attachment which takes 
up this fabric as the machine is fed. 

Lately there has been introduced by the New York Belt- 
ing and Packing Co. an improvement of especial import- 
ance in the manufacture of belting, by which the stretch can 
be thoroughly taken out of the largest sized belt by the 
aid of the immense hydraulic press represented in fig. 7. 



28 



MECHANICAL APPLIANCES. 



The press, which weighs 85,000 pounds, will take a belt 
6 feet wide and 15 feet long at one time, the steam is 
then let into the bed and platen so that the temperature 




the great hydraulic press. 
Fig. 7. 



can be readily regulated ; the platen is stationary and 
the bed is lifted by hydraulic pressure. The most novel 
feature of this great press, however, is that it is arranged 
with appliances at each end for stretching the belts, so 
that, while the belt is under the full tension of the 
heaviest strain it may be desired to put upon it, it may, 
at the same time, be compressed between both plates, 
and thus its fibres be set as firmly as in a bar of steel. 



HOSE MAKING. 

In making rubber hose, special care is taken in the 
first place in the selection of the best kinds of raw 
rubber for the particular description of goods to be 
manufactured, different mixtures being used, and the 
treatment varying in all the processes in order to obtain 
the exact condition and temper which will allow the 
rubber to be applied to the duck in the most favorable 
manner, and incorporated with the duck, so as to give 
the greatest amount of strength. The lengths and 
widths required for making each piece of hose are cut 
from long strips previously made ready in the calender- 
ing machine, and wrapped around long cylinders or 
mandrels, not tightly, but so that the freshly cut edges of 
the rubber will just meet. The rubber is then in such 
condition that, when the edges are pressed together, 
they unite so firmly as to hold with great tenacity, but 
to make the joint more firm, and of equal strength with 
the other portions, a thin ribbon of rubber is pressed 
against it, and then the mandrel or cylinder is revolved 
against the other cylinder, where the powerful pressure 
and the requisite degree of heat makes the entire section 
of fabric which has been fitted around it firm and com- 
pact. 

This mandrel remains in each length of hose until the 
subsequent vulcanizing process has been completed ; 
but to prevent the rubber sticking to it, the latter is 
coated with a powder such as soapstone or steatite. 

29 



30 HOSE MAKING. 

When hose is made over brass or galvanized iron wire, 
or the latter is entirely imbedded therein, so that only a 
smooth rubber surface shall be presented outside and 
inside, this is effected by working the different layers 
successively, and then, as in other kinds of hose, sub- 
jecting each to powerful pressure by heated rollers 
before vulcanizing. 

Although the materials used are somewhat different, 
and the working varies accordingly, this is substantially 
the way in which all kinds of hose are made from that of 
half an inch in diameter to that which is ten inches — 
from the common garden hose to that made for the 
steam fire engine, which will stand a pressure of over 
400 pounds to the square inch. 

Tube making covers the production of a great variety 
of goods, and tubes are made either of pure rubber or 
with a cloth insertion. Their manufacture proceeds on 
substantially the same principles as hose making, 
except that from their small diameter they are, after 
being formed on the mandrel, rolled and finished for the 
vulcanizing by hand. 




EMERY WHEELS. 

Engravings 8 and 9 represent front and side view of 
a solid vulcanite emery wheel for grinding and polishing 
metals, and these wheels have been adapted in hundreds 
of the manufacturing establishments throughout this 
country and in Europe. Its general adaptability has 
enabled it to drive out the grindstone to a great extent 
in the manufacture of files, and it has greatly reduced 
the amount of work in which lathe tools were formerly 
used, so that it is now generally employed by workers 
in wrought, cast and chilled iron, hardened steel and 

SOLID WHEEL-MOUNTED. 

12 IN. DIAMETER; 2 IN. WIDE. 
FRONT VIEW. 




A, Emery Vulcanite Wheel ; B, Mandrel ; C, Fixed Flange ; D, Loose FJange i E, Nut to screw against Loose Flange. 

Fig. 8. 



31 



32 



EMERY WHEELS. 



also in making hardware and cutlery as well as in the 
manufacture of plows, safes, stoves, agricultural imple- 
ments and small machinery of every description. 




SIDE VIEW. Fig. 9. 



STEAM PACKING. 

This article being a compound and fibrous material 
is eminently adapted for packing pistons, stuffing boxes 
and for the various parts of steam engines that require 
packing. It is supplied in sheets, square and round 
strips, and the fibres are so arranged in the compound 
as to give the greatest possible amount of durability 
and relief from friction. 



ENLARGING AND DIMINISHING OF 
DRAWINGS AND PICTURES. 

The property of vulcanized caoutchouc to expand and 
contract uniformly in every direction is taken advantage 
of for enlarging and diminishing the size of plans and 
other graphical representations, without making a new 
drawing on a desired scale. This is accomplished by 
stretching a plate of vulcanized caoutchouc in a frame, 
which is provided with suitably arranged screws for 
making the bars or rails farther apart and uniformly. A 
few parallel lines intersecting each other drawn before- 
hand on the plate enable to match and regulate the pro- 
cess of stretching accordingly. 

If the drawing is to be enlarged, then it must be 
transferred on the caoutchouc plate before the same is 
stretched. If the drawing is to be reduced, then it must 

33 



34 CAOUTCHOUC LEATHER. 

be transferred on the plate after stretching. In retransfer- 
ing to the stone, the plate remains stretched in case of 
enlarging, but is taken off the frame, when the drawing 
must be reduced. 



CAOUTCHOUC LEATHER. 

Small pieces of caoutchouc waste, of which there is 
such a large quantity in rubber factories, are dissolved 
or at least are allowed to swell up considerably in 
purified petroleum. To this half fluid mass is added any 
kind of fibrous substances, such as hemp, flax, jute, etc. 
The incorporation is done by stirring, and then the 
dough is placed on the table, where some more of those 
substances are worked into it by kneading. After that 
the mass is transferred to rollers, where the incorpor- 
ation is continued, until a suitable degree of solidity is 
imparted to it. Bands, which are obtained by this pro- 
cess, must be refolded a number of times, and let pass 
through the rollers, as the fibres become in this way 
piled in every direction, forming thus a kind of felt. 
This increases the solidity and tenacity of the substance, 
which turns to be a splendid substitute for the genuine 
leather in all those cases where elasticity is not of prime 
importance. 



SURGICAL APPLIANCES. 

Nursing Bottles, Breast Pumps, Syringes or In- 
jection Bottles, Air Beds or Mattresses, In- 
valid Cushions, Bath Tubs, Etc., Etc. 

These articles are made in the same way as the 
articles of wearing appliances, except where irregular 
shapes and forms are wanted, as in the case of bottles, 
balls, cups, etc. In such instances they must be made 
in moulds, and the rubber after having been prepared 
by mixing and otherwise, as in the other operations, 
must be pressed into moulds. 



CAOUTCHOUC SPONGES. 

A thickly fluid solution of caoutchouc in benzol, chlo- 
roform or bisulphide of carbon is placed in a high vessel 
of tin of a prismatic form, and is then heated to above the 
boiling point of the solvents. This makes the mass 
more tenacious and thicker in consequence of the evapor- 
ation of the solvent ; the steam bubbles find it more diffi- 
cult to break their way through it, and the mass behind 
remains porous and full of holes. By using caoutchouc 
dough and heating it very slowly, sponges are obtained, 
which have very fine pores, and surpass by their softness 
the finest bathing sponges. The finished product is 
then vulcanized by plunging it in a solution of chloride 
of sulphur. 

35 



DEODORIZATION OF INDIA RUBBER 
GOODS. 

The odor emanating from articles made of vulcanized 
caoutchouc, being very' repugnant to some persons, it is 
a matter of great importance to the manufacturers to 
remove this objection to the use of their products. The 
method employed to accomplish this consists either in 
exposing the articles to a constant high temperature, or 
they are treated with animal charcoal. Heat drives out 
the unpleasant smell, but requires too much time, and 
for this reason animal charcoal, which possesses the 
property of absorbing odors in a high degree, is more pre- 
ferable. Steam also is much more effective and more 
economical than direct heating of objects in a special 
oven. Frequently the two methods are combined, as for 
instance in case of India Rubber sponges, which are 
wrapped up in tissue paper, and being placed in a ves- 
sel filled with powdered animal charcoal, are put in a 
warm place, where they must, however, remain a few 
weeks before they entirely lose all odor. 



'rp^^j^r 



36 



GUTTA PERCHA. 

Gutta Percha is the dried milky juice of a plant, and 
is extensively used in all rubber factories, by being 
worked in connection with caoutchouc, or separately for 
special purposes, for which it is better adapted than 
any other material. 

The plant yielding this milky juice is the Inosandra 
Gutta, and is an immense tree, reaching a height of 80 
feet and 6)4. feet in diameter. East India is the country 
where it grows. While the milky juice of the caoutchouc 
trees remains fluid for a long time, that of gutta 
percha trees congeals within a few minutes after it 
has been tapped. When exposed to the air gutta per- 
cha undergoes a process of oxydation, becomes heavier 
and resinous but loses its hardness, and can be dissolved 
in alcohol. At an ordinary temperature it has no more 
elasticity than wood or leather, but its pliability in- 
creases when subject to heat, and it melts at 248 F. 
It has a fibrous structure, and may be easily stretched 
in the direction of its fibres, but ruptures in any other 
direction. 




37 



USE OF GUTTA PERCHA IN SURGERY. 

On account of its greater plasticity as compared to 
caoutchouc, gutta percha occupies a very prominent 
place among the substances from which various surgical 
apparatuses and implements are made. Besides that, 
dissolved in chloroform, it is applied to external wounds 
and bruises, and is superior to colladium, because it is 
less brittle and does not irritate the wound so much 
as the latter does. For dentistry gutta perch'a is of 
great service, and without exaggeration, it may be 
affirmed, that it owes to this substance its present de- 
velopment. It is namely used for making plates for 
artificial sets of teeth. Having dissolved gutta percha 
in chloroform, the dentist must filter it and submit it to a 
process of distillation, before he obtains a mass of de- 
sired purity and plasticity, which will easily assume the 
required form, and at the same time remain hard and 
tasteless under the temperature of the mouth, behaving 
itself perfectly indifferent to the chemical action of 
whatever it comes in contact with. 

There is quite a variety of vulcanizing apparatuses, 
each constructed to satisfy some special requirements 
the articles to be vulcanized impose upon it. The sim- 
plest and the handiest among them is unquestionably 
that which is designed for the use of dentists. It con- 
sists of two cylindrical vessels, one of which serves as a 
boiler and the other as an oven for burning. This last 
one is made with a double bottom and sides, so as to 

38 



USE OF GUTTA PERCHA IN SURGERY. 39 

leave space between for the steam, admitted from the 
boiler, to circulate all around the inside cylinder, in 
which are put the articles to be burned. A spirit lamp 
under the boiler produces the steam and another one, 
under the burning oven, superheats it. The boiler is 
provided with a water gauge and an inlet opening for 
feed water. The burning oven has a safety valve com- 
municating with the intermediate steam space, and is 
usually set so as to blow off when the pressure goes 
beyond one atmosphere. 




COATING OF WIRES. 

Being a perfect non-conductor of electricity, gutta- 
percha is employed, in preference to any other sub- 
stance, for insulating telegraph and other lines which 
transmit electricity. It also serves as an absolute pro- 
tection against rust, by excluding air. A coat of an 
ordinary solution of gutta percha allowed to dry upon 
the wire is amply sufficient in those cases, where the 
wire is not subject to heavy wear or liable to outside 
injuries. But the electric light wire, cables, etc., require 
a much thicker coating, in order to insure a perfectly con- 
tinuous covering and prevent the possibility of the 
smallest crack, as it would destroy the insulation, admit 
sea water and air. This is done by pressing gutta 
percha, which must be already softened by heat, through 
an opening discharging it into a cylindrical tube, of a 
diameter larger than the wire to be coated by the de- 
sired thickness of the coating. As the wire comes out 
covered, a stream of water is applied to cool it, before it 
is wound upon a drum. 



r ~"^^' 



40 



HARD RUBBER. 

For the past few years the application of hard rubber 
became extensive and especially for ornamental pur- 
poses such as Ladies' medallions, Bracelets, Scarf and 
Hair pins, Buttons, Earrings, Combs, and for many 
other similar articles. For making hard rubber the 
same materials are employed as for vulcanite, but differ 
in their proportions and treatment. The hardness and 
elasticity of hard rubber principally depend on the 
quantity of sulphur, which has been added to the caout- 
chouc. Frequently the amount of the former equals 
one half of the weight of the latter. The greater 
amount of the admixtures necessitates the keeping of 
the mass between the kneading-rollers for a long time, 
until a perfectly homogeneous compound has been 
formed. The dough obtained is not as soft as that of 
unburned vulcanite, but nevertheless it can be pressed 
into moulds and rolled into sheets in the same manner 
as it is done with vulcanite. But the burning of hard 
rubber is a much more troublesome operation than that of 
vulcanite, as it must be gone over several times before 
the objects subjected to burning can pass for finished 
goods. This is due to the property of hard rubber to 
suffer contraction in course of burning and to show 
cracks and holes, so that the objects must be taken 
out, repaired and put back again in the oven. By the 
application of heat it can be bent into any required 
form, pressure being applied at the same time. The 

41 



42 HARD RUBBER. 

polish of which this substance is so acceptable renders it 
equal to Ebony. 

The manufacture of artificial ivory, known under the 
name of Ebonite, principally depends upon the process 
of bleaching the caoutchouc. The difficulty of decolor- 
izing caoutchouc lies in this, that the bleaching agents 
tried and recommended appear to produce a chemical 
change in it, so that the bleached product loses more or 
less of the properties of caoutchouc. The method con- 
sists in letting the mass swell in a solvent, and to intro- 
duce chlorine gas into the swelled mass. For solvents 
are used chloroform, bisulphide of carbon, benzol, tur- 
pentine, and rectified petroleum. Although considera- 
bly decolorized by these agents, caoutchouc still retains 
a brownish-yellow color, so that it is necessary to use 
various admixtures and pigments in order to impart to 
it the whiteness of ivory, of which it must be an imita- 
tion. 

As the admixture of pigments or the incorporating of 
coloring substances through the entire mass injures the 
property of hard rubber, two other methods are em- 
ployed, which give to it any desired color, without alter- 
ing its nature. The first method is known as dusting 
and consists in dusting with a finely powdered coloring 
substance the article which has been shaped and to 
burn with the covering of dust. The second is that of 
plating or enamelling. The enamel is nothing else 
than caoutchouc to which the coloring agent was incor- 
porated during the process of vulcanization. After that 
plates of any desired thickness are made of it in the usual 
manner, and they constitute the enamel. The rubber 



HARD RUBBER. 



43 



plates which have to be enamelled are covered on one 
or both sides with enamel plated and passed through the 
rollers, and thus become colored on the outside, while 
the inner mass remains unaffected by pigment. 




HARD RUBBER LACQUER. 

When applied to wood or metal, it forms a brownish- 
yellow to black coating, which strongly resists at- 
mospheric influences, and is well adapted for varnishing 
machines erected in the open air. It is made out of 
waste and broken articles, occurring in the manufacture 
of hard rubber. The pieces of hard rubber are melted 
in an iron pot and must be constantly stirred to prevent 
it from burning. When thoroughly melted, the mass is 
poured in a thin stream on iron plates, where it congeals 
to a brittle plate. After being broken into small pieces 
it is put in a bottle and dissolved with rectified petroleum 
or benzol. The quantity of solvent added must be suf- 
ficient to produce a fluid, which can be easily applied 
with a brush. The fluid must be allowed to stand for a 
considerable time before using it, in order to give 
a chance to foreign substances, generally contained in 
the rubber, to settle to the bottom. 



44 



CAOUTCHOUC ROLLERS FOR MARBLING 
AND ENGRAVING.. 

The. superiority of India Rubber Stamps over metal 
and wooden ones is due to the elasticity of caoutchouc, 
which enables to stamp with distinctness on hard sur- 
faces, while metallic stamps do not give a good imprint 
on hard stuff. The same property of rubber is taken 
advantage of in making stereotype plates of it, instead of 
metal, and not only pages of printed matter can be 
transferred on it, but also drawings and pictures. The 
most interesting and extensive application of this 
method is found in giving to plane and curved surfaces 
on wood, leather, paper, etc., the appearance of any other 
substance, or in producing imitations. 

This is done by designing or by transferring on a 
vulcanized caoutchouc plate the figures and shade lines, 
corresponding to marble, oak, or of anything else, and 
in making from this plate a roller similar to what prin- 
ters are using. Covered with the proper pigment or 
color, this roller transfers the design to the surface it is 
made to pass over. 



-^f^r**^ 



45 



IRatban Manufacturing Co., 

92-94 LIBERTY ST., NEW YORK. 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



FREEDmflNN'S PATENT INJECTORS, 

LIFTING AND NON-LIFTING WITH ALL THE LATEST IMPROVEMENTS, 

For Locomotive and Stationary Boilers. 

also STEAM BOILER WASHERS and FILLERS, 
EJECTORS OR WATER ELEVATORS, RELIEF VALVES, LUBRICA- 
TORS, ROD AND GUIDE OIL CUPS, ETC. 



SEND EOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE. 

BURKE'S 

Hot Air Boiler Tube Cleaner. 



PATENT APPLIED FOR. 




Cleans the Tubes DRY. 

ONCE USED, IT WILL ALWAYS BE FOUND INDISPENSABLE. 



— APPLY TO — 

THOS. BURKE, Foot of East 125th Street, 

STEERS' MILLS, NEW YORK CITY. 



M. J. HANNA, 



MANUFACTURER OF 



gtecriiis Water Keating APPMtitus 

VENTILATION. 

ENGINEERS' SUPPLIES. 
Office: 192 Water Street, New York. 



Particular Atttention Given to jobbing. 

Homan Bros. & Couch, 

STEAM AND HYDRAULIC 

ELEVATORS 

AND HAND HOISTS, 

Shop: 206 Hester Street, 

NEAR CENTRE, NEW YORK. 

Elevator Repairing Promptly Attended to, Day or Night. 



pbK \ Washburn Refining Co. 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



OILS # GREASES 

243 & 245 Front Street, 
NEW YORK CITY. 



J - HJUDSON ' Telephone: 601, Cortlandt. 



City Salesman. 



Burns' Bros. 

Weehawken Coal Pockets 

••• COAL ••• 

Up-town Depot, ... - Weehawken, N. J. 
Down-town Depot, - Foot of Delancey Street, E. R. 



DIRECT RECEIVERS OF COALS FROM MINES. 



BRANCH OFFICES: 

59 West 42d Street, - - Telephone Call: 95, 39th St. 
32 South Street, - - Telephone Call: 91 New. 

MAIN OFFICE: 

Foot of Delancey Street, - Telephone Call: 1084 Spring. 

" " 916 Spring. 



t 






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