124 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1903. 



SOLE AND BLANK CUTTING MACHINES. 



"T^HE Wellman sole cutting machine is adapted to cut all 



manner of irregular forms, especially 

 those where a bevelled edge is a requisite. 

 As shown in an illustration on this page, 

 it is arranged for the cutting of boot and 

 shoe soles, taps, balls, syringe bulbs, and 

 other blanks of that nature. By adapta- 

 tion the machine may be made to cut any 

 shape or any size. The soles and the taps 

 shown in illustrations herewith also are 

 samples of the range of work done on this 

 machine. All of the soles were cut on one 

 machine, adapted to sole cutting, and the 

 taps on another machine adapted to that 

 work. Round ends, angular points, square 

 ends, as will be seen, offer no difficulties 

 and are, as a matter of fact, more easily 

 cut by the machine than by hand. The 

 output of the machine is limited only by 

 the ability of the operator to care for the 

 material cut; in many instances, with the 

 help of an assistant to care lor the blanks, 

 as many as 10,000 pieces have been 

 cut in less than nine hours, the pieces 

 being made up of no less than thirty 

 different forms or sizes. An average 

 of over 3,500,000 pieces are cut each 

 month on these machines in the 

 United States alone, in addition to 

 what is being done by them in Cana- 

 da, England, Scotland, Germany, 

 Austria, Sweden, and Russia. The 

 machine is simple in construction, 

 but, to use the words of a well 

 known superintendent, almost hu- 

 man in its action. The knife carry- 

 ing device consists really of a hand, 

 wrist, elbow and shoulder ; the ma- 

 chine has a " head " also, which, to- 

 gether with the leader, guides the 

 hand just as the brain guides the 

 hand of the hand cutter. The ma- 

 chine is well built and all its parts 

 are interchangeable. 

 There is no doubt 

 that this machine 

 could be used to great 

 advantage where 

 many pieces of one 

 kind are to be cut, 

 and will find a place 

 in many factories in 

 t h e druggists' sun- 

 dries and mechanical 

 lines. It is interest- 

 ing to note that the 

 same brilliant inven- 

 tor who perfected 

 this machine is now 

 devoting himself to 

 the production o f 



that will do away with hand labor. In other words, he places 

 himself and his finely equipped machine shops at the service 

 of the rubber trade the world over. Not as an advertisement, 

 but as a piece of valuable information to 

 the progressive, we aie glad to add here 

 that the gentleman relerred to is Mr. A. 

 M. Stickney, of the Wellman Sole Cutting 

 Machine Co., Medlord, Massachusetts. 



To those who are not familiar with the 

 Wellman sole culling machine the illustra- 

 tion that accompanies this article may not 

 be altogether clear. Briefly, the machine 

 works in this way : The small metal table 

 at the upper part of the frame is that on 

 which the rubber sheet rests as it is drawn 

 through from right to left. Just above 

 this sheet is a form which, at rest, gives 

 perhaps hall an inch clearance above the 

 sheet of rubber. This form is something 

 ke the presser foot to a sewing machine. 

 To it is attached a metal pattern of the 

 shape to be cut. When the operator puts 

 his foot on the treadle the form is instant- 

 ly pressed down upon the sheet of rubber 

 and a knife point held either at an angle 

 or vertically, as the case may require, runs 

 swiftly around the form, cutting out the 

 shape desired. By a variety of simple ad- 

 justments one form may be made to cut 

 a number of sizes, and all with per- 

 fect exactness. 



WELLMAN SOLE CUTTING MACHINE. 



machines and devices 

 in rubber factories 



The word " niackintosn " with a 

 k is usually considered an American- 

 ism, but it is by no means certain 

 that this spelling originated in the 

 Stales. In the official reports of the 

 juries on awards at the Great Lon- 

 don Exhibition of 1851 may be found 

 more than one mention of " mackin- 

 toshes," relating to the display made 

 by the original manufacturers of 

 these articles, at Manchester. The 

 publications in connection with this 

 first great world's fair, no doubt, 

 helped to fix the spelling of very 

 many trade terms then new. 



OUT ON SAME SOLE CUTTING MACHINE 



CUT ON SAME TAP CUTTING MACHINE. 



