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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1903. 



NEW PATENT FIRE HOSE DRIER. 



A SERIOUS problem which confronts fire departments is 

 that of quickly and thoroughly drying hose after use. The 

 covering of cotton hose, absorbing moisture as it does, requires 

 careful attention to prevent mildew and decay. An objection to 

 the hose tower — in which the hose is elevated to the top and 

 suspended on end — is the expense involved, besides which there 

 is a great deal of labor and inconvenience, and the wear and 



tear of the hose. Where hose is placed upon racks or supports 

 along the walls of engine houses, there is equal labor involved, 

 besides a disorderly appearance of the walls. In either case 

 much time is required for drying the hose, necessitating a large 

 supply in order that there may always be dry hose available. 

 There has been patented lately a new device — illustrated on 

 this page — which consists of a box 51 feet in length (to accom- 

 modate a section of hose, without kink or bend), with a fan or 

 blower attached to a funnel at one end, the blower being pro- 

 pelled by a motor (electric, gasolene, or water), which drives a 

 strong current of air through the box, which, passing over and 

 through the hose, absorbs and evaporates all the moisture in a 

 very short time. The box is 22 inches wide and 25 inches high, 

 and can be placed conveniently along the wall of an engine 

 house. The hose can be taken directly from the reel and 

 placed in the box, and removed when dry and replaced upon 

 the reel, by one man. While in the box there is no strain upon 

 the hose, which rests upon galvanized iron cross bars, which 

 have depressions to prevent the several sections of hose from 

 rolling together or coming in contact with the sides of the box. 

 The size above mentioned will hold twelve sections (600 feet) 

 at a time. [American Hose Drier Co., No. 112 North Eighth 

 street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania.] 



DRYING RUBBER IN VACUO. 



THE saving of time in drying materials in vacuo, not to 

 mention other advantages, is so marked as to have led to 

 the adoption of this method in a number of different indus- 

 tries. It has been demonstrated that rubber in sheets can be 

 dried in vacuo within two hours, at lowest temperature and 

 without oxidation, which latter takes place when rubber is 

 dried in the atmosphere by weeks of exposure. Recent English 

 writers, while acknowledging the injurious consequences of the 

 old method of atmospheric drying, have found fault with the 

 system of drying in vacuo. To this criticism the reply has been 

 made that any failure has been due, not to the system itself, 

 but to the improper handling of the apparatus, as the forma- 

 tion of a watertight film on the surface of the rubber after the 

 surface moisture has evaporated can be avoided, instead of 

 preventing the evaporation of the moisture from the interior. 



POWER PUNCH FOR RUBBER NIPPLES. 



THE problem of punching a hole in a rubber nipple would 

 not seem at first one of much moment, as it could be 

 very easily accomplished by a hollow needle on a standard and 

 a mallet in the hands of a nimble fingered girl. When, how- 

 ever, it conies to punching a thousand 

 gross of them, and it is figured that the 

 ordinary rate of pay is 40 cents a hun- 

 dred for punching, it is really worth 

 consideration. The illustration shows 

 apower machine that is very simple and 

 that successfully and rapidly punches 

 all sorts of nipples, even those made of 

 pure gum. The machine as shown has 

 a hollow die over which is hung a needle 

 with an eight inch clearance between 

 needle and die. The standard on 

 which the needle is hung is attached to 

 a thimble which revolves easily on a 

 bolt attached to the revolving disc and 

 when run up to speed the punch works 

 noiselessly and with perfect accuracy. 

 There is also a special arrangement 

 in connection with the needle and die 

 not shown in the illustration which 



goes far toward making the aperture in the rubber perfect. 

 [Excelsior Machine Works, Akron. Ohio.] 



THE ADAMSON DISC CUTTER. 



THE old time manner of cutting discs or rings was by the 

 combination of a boy, a knife, and a lathe. The boy 

 was apt to be slow, and even if he did his best it was almost 

 impossible for him to cut a number of discs of exactly the same 

 thickness. The next step in advance was, therefore, a machine 

 capable of cutting rapidly, accurately, and automatically. 



Quite a variety of such machines were designed and are to-day 

 in use, some of them being but a slight advance over the old 

 fashioned method. The machine shown in the accompanying 

 illustration is designed to be the best for the purpose that can 

 be made. It is capable of handling both hard and soft rubber 

 discs of standard sizes and makes a perfectly clean cut, averag- 

 ing 60 to 100 per minute, depending, of course, on the thick- 

 ness of the stock. As will be seen, the machine is exceedingly 

 simple in construction, easily operated ; is automatic through- 

 out and does the work with a surprisingly small amount of 

 waste. [A. Adamson, Akron, Ohio.] 



