The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-15

Is carried only to the extent of curing
the crude stock.
II would be difficult indeed to imag-
Inc the resistance offered by this crude
rubber stock that goes into the mills
without seeing it. A piece two feet
square in being crushed will check the
revolutions Of a 100-horse-power en-
cine. When a mill Is first started the
rollers have hot water forced into them
tn heat them. but in a short time the
friction of the rubber is SO great that
the hot water Is substituted by cold.
This watching of the temperature of
the rollers is necessary, Us to allow the
rubber to go into the mills without any
care or supervision would cause the
rollers to burst and the mill to be
ruined.
LIKE A BIG SAUSAGE.
When this crushing process is fin
tshed all the fibre in the rubber has
disappeared and it is of a dark brown.
shiny appearance. Its consistency is
about that of a piece CT chewing gum
which high school girl has thorough
masticated, although hardly as soft as
that-the gum, not the girl. 1t Is in
the shape of roll and looks not unlike
great big bologna sausage, although
of a much darker brown. Its elasticity
now becomes apparent, and II you pull
a little piece away from the roll 1t will
snap back when released from the fin
gers. Another popularity of the rub
ber at this stage Is that it will heal
itself If a cut or wound Is made in 1t.
the knife hardly being withdrawn be-
fore the cut has disappeared.
The rubber Is allowed to stand again
for some hours to become more thor
10 tal- y
run through mill the rollers of which
are hot. though not hot enough to burn
the stock. The rubber is now warmed
up and easily worked.
Now 1t goes to the calendar. This is
the biggest and most expensive ma
chine in the rubber plant. The crude
stock Is crushed by immense pressure
into a great thin sheet which goes over
the big rollers of the calendar time and
again. The calendar like the other
mills. can be described by it's compari-
son with the clotheswringer. only that
Its rollers are nearly two feet in diam
eter, and so arranged that either hot or
cold water can be forced into them to
change the temperature
When the rubber comes from the cal
ender 1t Is cut I'm strips about two and
one-half inches wide by knives on the
sides of the rollers of the calendar. 1t
Is still in crude state and II the thin
sheets We're allowed to come in contact
one with another they would stick to-
gether. To obviate this trouble the
thin rubber is wound In roll with can
vas between each two strips.
So far the process has been solely
one of preparing the crude rubber. but
now the material begins to assume the
shape of tire. A steel bar equal In
diameter to that of a bicycle tire Is used
and the rubber strip shaped about 1t
| and cemented on with rubber cement.
FINISHING TOUCHES.
1t next goes to the machine which
| covers the rubber inside tube. This
| machine Is the most interesting to
| watch and at the same time the most
difficult to describe. The rubber tire Il
| must be remembered Is stretched over
| steel pole and covered with cement
The machine to which it goes Is for the
purpose of weaving linen coat over
the rubber. The steel pole Is set on a
hanger In the middle of the machine
| The machine has a circular rim like
| carriage about eight feet in diamet.,
| of steel and about four inches across
On this rim are mounted sonnet thing
| like ninety-six big spoOls in pairs
Wound on these spools are strands oi
the strongest kind of linen cord, eaci
strand containing nine distinct piece.
of the cord. The ends are taken from