The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-11-04
REDUCING RUBBER.
HOW ARTICLES OF USE ARE MADE
FROM THIS VALUABLE PRODUCT.

HOW ARTICLES OF USE ARE MADE
FROM THIS VALUABLE PRODUCT.
A Long List From Rubber Bands to Sur
ton Of How Bulbs For Syringes and
Atomizcrs Are Made.
Rubber is one of the most staple and
useful articles in modern use. There are
but few uses to which the wonderful
product cannot be put. 1t can be made
as pliable as putty or as hard as wood,
and is just as adapted for use as hair
pin as for a golf ball or waterproof
jacket. Few people, however, are as IA
miliar with the process Of manufacture
as with the product itself.
The larger part Of our rubber goods
comes from Brazil, which is the great
est rubber producing country in the
world. Here, Of course, rubber workers
handle their elastic material with an
ease and celerity which is a revelation
to the man who has wasted the greater
part Of forenoon trying to mend hole
in his punctured tire. Although the
larger part of rubber manufacturing is
done by machinery there is still consid-
erable done by hand. In making up
goods for druggists, stationers and sur
gical supplies the best grades of Para
rubber, the best in the world, are gen
orally used.
The ordinary commercial rubber is
gray, but its coloring is an easy matter.
This is done By mechanically mixing
with the rubber, after it is washed and
dried, different kinds of pigments-ox-
ide Of zinc for white, lampblack for
black, golden sulphuret of antimony for
yellow and vermilion for red. The rub
Der mixed with the pigment is run
through heavy steam heated rollers into
thin sheets.
The making of rubber bands is SIM
pie process Thin sheets of pure gum
are wrapped around form until it is
shaped into a fat tube of the required
thickness. This tube is then vulcauized,
when it is shipped off the form and run
through a machine, which cuts it cross
wise into strips.
Rubber erasers contain finely pow
dered pumice stone or emery dust. The
abrasive materials are mixed with the
rubber mechanically, which is then
nodded into shape and vulcanized an
der steam heat.
One of the most interesting processes
in the manufacture of rubber goods is
that Of bulbs. Long bulbs, such as syr-
inges and atomiZers, are made from two
pieces of rubber, but round bulbs, such
as pumps and balls, are made from
three pieces. For cutting the rubber
zinc or galvanized iron patterns are
used Considerable care is necessary
in this, as the strength Of the seam de-
pends upon the smooth fitting of the
edges. The three parts for hollow balls
may, however, be cut with die. If the
bulb has neck, small pegs Of iron are
first prepared by being cemented and
wound with strips of rubber as nu-
cleus
After the rubber is cut into the proper
parts it is then brushed with cement the
whole length of the skived edges and
thoroughly heated. The bulbmaker then
takes the softened rubber, and tax
ing prepared peg places the neck
OF one piece on one side Of the rubber
core and another neck piece on the op-
posite side, then presses them firmly to-
gether, and, rolling the whole tube
shaped piece between thumb and fore
finger, has finished the neck Of the bulb
The next process is that of knitting the
edges which form the seam. This is
done by holding the finished neck to-
ward the operator in his left hand,
while with the thumb and forefnger OF
the right he pinches the edges firmly
together for nearly the whole distance
around. Into the side aperture, which
is left open, is poured a little water or
liquid ammonia. The opening is then
made still smaller, and as final touch
the maker puts his lips to the crifce and
blows full and hard into the bulb. The
softened rubber under this pressure e1-
pands, the hattened shape is lost in a
fuller and more rounded outline, while
the operator, with quick nip of his
teeth, closes the opening, the imprisoned
air and water holding the sides apart in
symmetrical corpulency.
The partly made bulb is now passed
on to the turner's, who, armed with scis-
sors with curved blades, carefully circle
the seams, cutting away all uneyenness,
till the whole exterior is ready for the
mold.
The bulbs, as soon as they leave the
trimmers' hands. are laid in shallow
pans filed with chalk When taken
from here, they are carefully busted
with talc, so that the rubber will not
adhere to the inside Of the mold. A
mold worker then takes one-half Of the
mold in his left hand and with his right
gently forces bulb into it, Gaping it
with the second half. Each bulb, if the
pattern worker is skillful, will fit its
OlISk W. GAC 1I44SiAOu CO&b 40 e<HS
to be imperfect.
The molds are run upon small tracks
into the vulcanizer. After they have
been cured sufficient time the vulcan
izers are opened and the cans are run
under an ordinary shower bath, which
quickly cools them. They are then un-
keyed, the molds twisted open and the
bulbs taken out. If the work be we'll
done, the swelling of the liquid within
its rubber prison has exerted SO intense
q force that every line and letter within
the mold is reproduced upon the outside
of the bulb. while the sulphur. ccmbin-
ing with the heat, accomplishes the
vulcanization.
The final process takes place in the
cylinder room, where in slowly revolv-
ing tumblihg barrels the bulb undergoes
a thorough securing. When taken out
of the cylinders, the dirty yellow color