The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-03-14
How Rubber Boots and Shoes are
Made

Did you ever see any crude rubber, and
have you any idea how it is gathered and
worked? There are twenty or thirty va
rieties of crude rubber, varying greatly in
quality, and of all these the best is known
as Para, South American product, OBJ
tanned in Brazil, about 1900 miles above
the mouth of the Amazon. 1t is called
Para from the city of that name from
which it is shipped to foreign parts. The
gum is gathered by tapping the rubber
trees, as we tap maple trees for sap for
maple sugar The sap is gathered into
large pot, into which the native dips fiat
wooden paddle, to which gum adheres.
He withdraws the paddle and holds it in
smoke made by burning palm nuts, which
dries and cures the film of rubber on the
paddle. He then dips again, and smokes
again, repeating the process until he has on
the paddle bunch of gum weighing sew
eral pounds Then he splits the ball or
roll to get the paddle out, and it is ready
for market.
These natives are not models of honesty,
however, as these chunks of gum frequently
contain palm nuts, rubber nuts, pieces OF
iron, or are freely mixed with sand to
add weight, which often causes the manu-
facturer great trouble. The public, or
large share of the public, have an idea that
crude rubber gum comes something like
tamarac, and that it is melted and cast into
whatever form is desired, but this is not
true. A rubber shoe factory is not a
foundry; it comes nearer being a printing
office.
These chunks of rubber are sliced into
steaks, you might say, by sharp knives re-
volving rapidly and kept constantly wetted
When one of these knives strikes an iron
spike, there is apt to be emusic in the air.
The operators are on the lookout, however,
and accidents are so thoroughly guarded
against that they are very rare. These
steaks are then put into chopping ma
chine, where they are made into an article
closely resembling boarding house hash,
only that this hash is the straight goods,
except that it needs cleaning. The small
pieces thus formed are then put through a
machine which makes mince meat OF them,
and at the same time washes out all the
dirt and sand This (not the dirt and
sand) is now shoyeled into a rolling ma
chine which congresses the mass into
rough sheets. This is the first process.
These sheets are then taken to another
building and put into steam drying room,
where they remain about three months, to
/ free them from all moisture.
By the drying process they lose from 10
to 80 per cent of their weight. 1t the
least moisture remains in the rubber when
made up into shoes, the heat of vulcaniza-
ton causes its expansion, and consequently
causes blisters in the stock. The dry gum
is then run between heavy iron rolls, heated
by steam, and called grinders, by which it
is softened to permit the admixture OF the
vulcanizing material.
Rubber in its natural state is unit for
USE and Goodyear's process of vulcaniza-
ton by the aid of sui phur is necessary to
utilize it. This mixing is done by running
the ground rubber through still another
series of rollers, which press the rubber
and sulphur together in one soft, fine body,
| winch Is HnallJ lun ehiouSn N'iANn~N.
between great steel cylinders, the mass Is
pressed out into long smooth sheets of any
desired width or thickness. Then comes
the printing process. These sheets are
fed through steel cylinders, on the face of
which is engraved the pattern for sole, heel
and upper desired to be produced, and these
impressions are as clearly printed on the
rubber as this type impression is on this
paper.
Then the sheets go to the cutters, who
cut out the different parts and send them
to their respective departments. The last
ing is done similarly to that of other shoes,
except that the parts are all put together
by rubber cement, and, before removal
from the last, they are placed in the vul
canizing ovens, where they are subjected tC
a degree of heat that transforms the variou;
parts into homogeneous mass in the shape
of boot or shoe without seam, nail or peg
Then, if dull finish is desired, the last il
removed, and the goods are ready fol-
market. Otherwise they are vanished tc
give the bright finish, and dried, when they
are ready