Mav I, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



265 



RUBBER USED IN MAKING HATS. 



RUBBRR hat bags are used in the process of making prac- 

 tically' all the stifl (or derby), straw and soft felt hats 

 that are worn to-day. Until comparatively recent years 

 very little machinery was utilized in the manufacture of the 

 derbies and soft hats, but the frequent reductions in the cost 

 of production, in order to meet the demand for cheaper hats, 

 made it necessarj' to go more and more into machinery. To- 

 day the rubber hat bag has become an essential part of the 

 machines used in shaping hats. 



Notwithstanding the extensive use of hat bags, the hat 

 bag business is not so large as one might imagine. When one 

 considers that a hat manufacturing companj-, like Dunlap's, 

 in New York, for example, makes annuallj' about 240,000 

 hats with the use of but nine machines, that six of these ma- 

 chines are each equipped with bags which wear on the aver- 

 age of eight months, and that the remaining three are each 

 equipped with bags which wear about seven weeks, he will 

 understand that the hat bag business is small, as compared 

 with other branches of the rubber trade. 



Rubber hat bags are used in hydraulic 

 pres.ses to size and shape hats. Owing 

 to the high elasticity of rubber and to 

 the law of hydrostatics, the pressure, 

 usually about 300 pounds, is distributed 

 equally and stretches the hat to the 

 exact shape and size of a steel die. 



The relative positions of the die, hat 

 bag and other principal parts of the hy- 

 draulic pressing apparatus are indicated 

 in the accompanying cut of a machine 

 made by M. A. Cuming, of New York, 

 showing the rubber hat bag ; the metal 

 box surrounding the steel die ; the metal 

 dome into which water passes before it 

 enters the bag ; and the hose through 

 which pressure is applied by means of 

 steam pump. The hat is placed in the 

 die and the dome with hat bag attached 

 descends so that the bag is surrounded 

 by the felt. The pressure is then applied 

 by turning a faucet ; after the pressure 

 has been applied for about a minute, it 

 is removed bj^ turning another faucet. 

 This is the principle on which all hat 

 bags are used. 



The shapes of hat bags vary according 

 to the purposes for which they are used, 

 which are either to crown the hat or to 

 curl the rim, or, as in case of ladies' 

 straw hats, to give the hat its general 

 shape. 



Another figure represents cross sec- 

 tional views of a bag (made by The B. F. 

 Goodrich Co.), used to crown derby hats. 

 The rim of this bag is often protected by an apron, 

 which is simply a bag rim minus the crown. 

 The apron is slipped over the crown and serves 

 as a shield against the hard 

 metal surface surrounding the ^^^^uci^^^ 

 die. Among other shapes of hat section of 



bags are those used in shaping straw hats and soft felt hats. 

 Those used for making straight rimmed straw hats resemble 

 the ordinary derby crowning bag, while those used in mak- 

 ing the curved straw hats worn by women are, oJ course, 

 more complete. 



The most common form of hat bag next to the ordinarj' 

 derby crowning bag is the curling bag, used to curl the rims 

 of hats. It is attached to the metal dome like the crowning 

 bag ; that is, with convex surface depending, and when it 

 descends presses against a metal form which lies on the hat 

 rim supported on a steel die. These curling bags are used 

 in curling the rims of both derbies and soft felt hats, and are 

 shaped according to the style of rim. The shapes of hat 

 bags, then, are many, and vary according to whether they 

 are used for crowning or curling, with due regard for the 

 style desired. 



As to durability of hat bags, it depends largely upon the 

 skill of the workmen. Some bags have been known to burst 

 within 5 minutes ; others have worn as long as iS months. 

 The consumers generally agree, however, that the average 

 length of wear of the crowning bag is 

 about 8 months. The life of the curling 

 bag is much shorter, being on the aver- 

 age about 6 or 7 weeks. A hat bag is 

 sometimes mended six or seven times 

 before it is discarded. Some hat manu- 

 facturing concerns have in their employ 

 rubber experts who not only mend, but 

 make hat bags, being supplied with 

 sheet rubber for the purpose. 



Owing to the great strain to which the 

 rubber is subjected, the kind used is in- 

 variably the best. The fact that bags 

 are used on steam heated dies in the 

 manufacture of straw hats does not 

 affect their durability, as they are al- 

 ways shielded from the heat bj- an as- 

 bestos leather covering. 



Hat bags are manufactured by several 



V I 1 VII/1 *'^ ^'^^ mechanical rubber goods manu- 



Jlw/?)l inT *?/ a facturing companies. Among the lead- 



lll'y/f'i S/yM^rtfe^'"^ hydraulic manufacturers of hat 



Irfllibl *""f LirlS^r jiressiug machines are M. A. Cuming & 



Co., and The Turner Machine Co. of 



Danburj', Conn., the latter being a 



)ranch of J. Turner, Denton, England. 



HYDRAULIC HAT PRESS. 



6 y. 



3. -! 



Mt)Z,\MmQVE. — The last annual report 



of the Companhai de Mozambique shows 



a credit balance, instead of the annual 



deficits hitherto. Enterprise in Mozam. 



bique is attended by many difficulties, 



but this great Portuguese companj- has 



vigorously plodded on until it .seems to 



have paved the way to success. The 



report mentions an increase in rubber 



gathering in its teritorj\ During the year its 



agents gathered 18,502 kilograms [=40,790 



pounds], which was sold in Europe at a profit 



of .^3920 t8s. [=$19,081 06], or 



an average of 46 34" cents per 



26'/! DIAM. 



RUBBER HAT BAG- 



pound. 



