NOVEMPER I, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



57 



THE USES FOR GUTTA-PERCHA TISSUE. 



■ I ' H E increasing number of uses to which gutta-percha tissue 

 ■'• is being put is responsible for making this article quite im- 

 portant to the trade. When gutta-percha tissue was first made 

 in the United States, something more than 50 years ago, it was 

 manufactured exclusively for the use of hatters. By these it 

 was used to stick the manufacturer's name plate or trade mark 

 on the inside of the crown. The name plate was printed in 

 silver or gold on the tissue, placed in the crown of the hat, a 

 hot iron passed over it and it became inseparably a part of the 

 felt. This use of gutta-percha tissue was for a long time the 

 only important one to which it was put, although some hos- 

 pitals used it for bandages and surgeons sometimes used it in 

 dressing wounds where it was desirable to keep out the air. E.x- 

 cept for these surgical uses it is commercially employed only 

 as a cement for sticking cloth or for making it waterproof. 



The archives of the Bishop Gutta-Percha Co. (New York) tell 

 the story of the American demand. In his report to his stock- 

 holders in about 1866 Mr. Bishop relates that since the end of 

 the war the demand for gutta-percha for cables, for splints, and 

 for other surgical purposes had decreased very rapidly, but that 

 in order to keep his factory busy and at the same time make a 

 good profit, he had undertaken to supply the hat-making trade 

 with gutta-percha tissue, which was used for affi.xing labels. 

 This, Mr. Bishop said, was keeping the factory fairly busy. 



Since that time the adhesive qualities of gutta-percha tissue has 

 brought it into many uses. The principal of these is the demand 

 created by the tailors, who use large quantities of the tissue in 

 finishing the bottoms of trousers. For this purpose the tissue is 

 put up on spools in strips of from i inch to lyi inches in width, 

 each spool containing 100 yards. Its use at the bottom of trousers 

 prevents any stitching being necessary and therefore makes a 

 much smoother finish, hher the hem is turned up at the bot- 

 tom of the leg a strip of gutta-percha tissue is placed between the 

 two layers of the cloth, a hot iron is passed over it and the hem 

 is cemented firmly and evenly. For this purpose the tailors use 

 tissue that ranges from 6 to 8 square yards to the pound and 

 is fully twice as heavy as the tissue used by the hatters. In some 

 instances the tissue is also used in finishing the ends of sleeves, 

 and in shaping coat collars. For the latter purpose, however, a 

 stifFer material is generally needed. 



.'\mong the principal uses for which the tissue is used at pres- 

 ent is the making of dress shields, and in covering corset steels. 

 Dress shields are manufactured by placing a sheet of tissue, 

 somewhat heavier than that used by the tailors and made of 

 the pure gum, between two layers of cloth and cementing by 

 the use of a hot iron. This makes a moisture proof shield, prac- 

 tically as light and pliable as the cloth itself. Large quantities 

 are used in this manufacture. In the manufacture of corsets, 

 steel stays are now generally used instead of whalebone. Gutta- 

 percha tissue is used in furnishing a waterproof covering for 

 these so as to prevent rusting. In cheap corsets the tissue is 

 simply attached by heat to the steel itself, giving it a moisture 

 proof coating, but in the finer grades strips of muslin and tissue 

 are cut to exactly cover both sides of the steel; these are folded 

 around the steel with the tissue between the metal and the cloth 

 and cemented by the application of heat so that "skinning" or 

 slipping off is an impossibility. 



Another considerable use to which gutta-percha tissue has been 

 put in recent years, is in dressing and repairing furs. For 

 this purpose the tissue is invaluable. It is backed by a piece of 

 cloth and these are furnished in a variety of colors to match 

 the skins upon which they are to be used. The edges to be 

 fastened are brought together, the tissue side of the fabric 

 placed next to the skin and the iron applied with the result, if 

 the color is well matched, that the joint cannot be discovered 

 from either side of the fur. Patches are applied in this way 

 and skins are pieced together. The process is also the basis 



of the manufacture of the cheap furs that are so plentiful in 

 the market. These are made up from scraps and odds and 

 ends that formerly were thrown away. By careful workmanship 

 and the use of gutta-percha tissue jackets, muffs and boas are 

 now made at an extremely low price that require very close 

 scrutiny to be detected. Quantities are used for this purpose 

 and the joints are practically unbreakable. 



Speaking of the patching utility of the tissue, it might be 

 pointed out that one big firm, Larkins & Co. (Buffalo, New 

 York) uses from 400 to 500 pounds of tissue a month which it 

 cuts up and sells in envelopes as "mending tissue" at 10 cents 

 a package. This tissue is cut into strips 6 inches wide and one 

 yard long, one strip to the package. The directions say that it 

 will mend instantly any fabric from the finest to the coarsest 

 weave, kid gloves, rubber goods, hats or shoes. For mending 

 a rent or cut the edges are drawn together, on the under side 

 is placed a strip of tissue large enough to cover the hole, this is 

 backed with a piece of the cloth and the whole hermetically 

 sealed by the application of heat. If it is a hole that is being 

 patched a piece of paper is placed on the outside to absorb the 

 surplus tissue. In this case the tissue will adhere to the paper 

 rather than to the cloth, leaving upon the latter no evidence 

 of its presence. 



The tissue is also used by shoemakers for mending shoes with 

 invisible patches and for cementing in the original manufacture 

 of the shoes. For this purpose and for splicing leather belts 

 the gutta-percha cement is more generally used than the tissue. 

 In the belt splicing great success has been obtained. The two 

 surfaces to be joined are covered with a coating of the cement 

 which is mi.xed in some volatile solvent. After evaporation has 

 dried out the solvent and left the leather covered with the ce- 

 ment the surfaces are pressed together between hot irons and the 

 adhesion is so perfect that the splice can scarcely be detected 

 and is as strong as any other portion of the belt. 



High class printing establishments are using quite an amount 

 of tissue recently for underlaying cuts. This is made thicker 

 than the mending tissue, running only 4 or 5 square yards to 

 the pound. Cuts are backed with the tissue when hot, and run 

 through the press. The plastic condition of the gutta-percha 

 builds the cut to exactly the right height and when cold this 

 is rigid. This is principally used in magazine and fine book 

 work. The government printing office at Washington uses quite 

 a quantity of gutta-percha tissue tape, Yz inch wide, one sixty- 

 fourth of an inch thick and wound on spools of 100 yards each. 



Paper manufacturers also use the tissue to a considerable ex- 

 tent for fastening the ends of rolls. The ends of the rolls are 

 lapped with a strip of tissue between and the passage between 

 the rollers furnishes enough heat for a perfect fastening. 



New uses for the tissue are constantly being devised and the 

 sale of it is gradually increasing, although some of the original 

 services to which it was put have been lessened by substitutes. 

 This is notably the case with the hat labels, only the higher priced 

 goods now using the tissue. There are enough services for it, 

 however, to keep the makers active and the demand is steady. 



An eight-day taxicab test has been arranged to take place 

 in Paris this month. One object is to give an opportunity of 

 more accurately controlling and combining the consumption 

 of the various fuels employed. 



The city of New York now owns, for the use of the various 

 municipal departments, 102 automobiles. As mentioned in .. 

 former India Rubber World, rumors were not lacking of the 

 want of system in keeping the machines in order, and the absence 

 of economy in the matter of repairs. According to The Motor 

 World, however, a municipal garage has now been opened, under 

 the charge of responsible employes of the city, all the city 

 automobiles now being cared for in one place, and all repairs 

 and supplies being obtained at a minimum cost. 



