The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-02-19
How Rubber Boots and Shoes arc 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 il
known as Para, South American PRO.
duct, obtained in Brazil, about 800
miles above the mouth of the Amazon.
II Is called Para from the city Of that
namo from which it is shipped to foreign
parts. The gum is gathered by tapping
lhc Rubber trees. IA we tap maple trees
for sap, for maple sugar. The sap is
gathered into n large pot into which the
native dips fiat wooden paddle, to which
gum adhercs. He withdraws the paddle
and holds it in smoke made by burning
palm nuts, (which dries and cures the
him o! rubber on the paddle. He then
h'ps again, and smokes again, repeating
the process until he has on the paddle a
bunch of gum weighing several pounds
Then he splits the ball or roll to get the
paddle out. aud it is ready for market.
These natives are not models of homes.
ty, however, az these chunks of gum ire.
qnent!y contain palm nuts, rubber nuts.
pieces OF iron, or are freely mixed with
sand to add weight, which often causes
the manufacturer great trouble. The
public. or a large share of tho public,
have IN idea that crude rubber gum
comes something like tamarac, and tha,
It is melted and cast into whatever form
ID desired, but this is not true. a rubber
shoe factory IL not foundry; It comes
nearer being a printing office.
These chunks OF rubber are sliced into
steaks, you might say, by sharp knives
revolving rapidly and kept constantly
wetted. When one of these knives
strikes an iron spike, there is apt to be
music in the air." The operators are
on tho lookout, however, and accidents
are so thoroughly guarded against that
they are very rare. These steaks are
t1en put into chopping machine, vhere
they hre made into m article closely re
semb'ing boarding house hash. only that
this hash ia the straight goods, except
that it needs cleaning. The small pieces
thus formed are then put through n
machine which makes mince meat of
them. and at tho same time washes out
all the dirt and sand. This (n0t the dirt
and sandy in now shoveled into rolling
machine which congresses the mass into
rough sheets. This is the frat process.
These sheets are then taken to another
building and put into steam drying
room, where they remain about three
mnnths to free them from all moisture.
by the drying process they lose from
5 to 80 per cent. OF their weight. If the
east moisture remains in the rubber
when made up into shoes, the heat of
vulcanization causes its expansion, and
consequently, causes blistcrs in the stock.
The dry gum is then run between heavy
iron rolls, heated by steam, and called
grinders, by which it IN sof,ened to per.
NIT the admixture Of tho vulcanizing
mnterial.
Rubber In it's natural state, Is unfit for
use, and Goodyear's process of vulcani.
zalion by the aid of sulphur 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. which is finally run through
calendar, 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 nre fed through steel cylinders on
the face of which is engraved the pattern
for sole, heel. aud 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 60 TO the cutters, who
cut out the different parts and send them
to their respective departments. The
lasting 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 vulcanizing ovens, where they are
subjected to n degree of heat that trans
forms the various parts into homegene.
GUS mass in the shape of boot or shoe
with seam, nail or peg. Then, if a
dull finish il desired, the last Is removed,
and the goods are ready for market.
Otherwise they are vanished to give tho
bright finish, and dried, when they are
ready.-Scientifc american.