58 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1912. 



CHEMICAL ROOM. 



"The chemical room should be carefully inspected to make sure 

 that all chemicals are stored in standard self-closing bins of 

 lock-jointed tin. The best mills store their chemicals in a 

 separate building from which the boxes containing mixed chemi- 

 cals and raw rubber stock are conveyed by a belt to the mixing 

 machines. Lampblack is a decidedly dangerous substance, com- 

 posed almost entirely of carbon. If it becomes damp it will heat 

 up sufficiently to char its paper wrappings, or the paper linings 

 of barrels in which it is shipped, and if left long enough will 

 eventually set fire to the barrel itself. Barium sulphate is a 

 rapidly oxidizing metallic substance which is a frequent source 

 of trouble if allowed to become damp ; carbon disulphide is a 

 liquid similar to benzine in its volatile and explosive qualities. 

 There is danger also from unslaked lime becoming slaked and 

 setting fire to things about it. Sulphur is not bad, and there is no 

 danger from whiting, paraffin or litharge. 



MIXING .^ND CALENDERING. 



''In the nii-xing process the underwriter will find little or no 

 special hazard, as a high temperature would spoil the rubber. 

 The temperature of the mixing rollers is maintained at about 

 176 degrees Fahr., and steam heat is now almost universally 

 employed. 



VULCANIZING. 



"The fire hazard from the vulcanizers themselves cannot be 

 said to amount to anything more than the usual steam pipe 

 hazard, steam being the medium now employed in vulcanizing 

 in practically all factories. With the boiler house properly 

 isolated and the vulcanizers set on metal, and with all surround- 

 ing woodwork protected with metal sheathing, the hazards of 

 the vulcanizer can be reduced to a minimum. 



RECLAIMING HAZARDS. 



"The hazards of the reclaiming house are chiefly those of the 

 storage of chemicals. Sulphuric acid, nitric acid and caustic soda 

 are the chemicals principally used. .\11 are dangerous unless kept 

 in approved receptacles, preferably in a detached building. The 

 machinery and arrangement of the reclaiming plant present no 

 more serious hazard than that the floors must of necessity be 

 pierced in numerous places to facilitate the handling of the re- 

 claimed material, thus making a total loss on this structure a 

 high probability if fire once gets a start. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



".\s before indicated, the hazard of oily waste and lint is to 

 be looked for in the department where jackets are woven for 

 hose. Self-closing metal cans should be provided for waste in 

 this department. Large plants frequently run their own printing 

 establishments, the hazards of which have been pointed out in 

 another article in this series. Benzine is the dangerous sub- 

 stance here, and should be kept in patent safety cans and only a 

 day's allowance kept in the shop at one time. 



OTHER RUBBER INDUSTRIES. 



"While this article will not deal with the hazards to be found 

 in factories making rubber clothing, boots and shoes, tires and 

 druggists' sundries, it will be well to note that the hazard in the 

 clothing industry is chiefly in the spreading of the daub, which 

 is virtually a rubber cement mixture. Static electricity is the 

 dangerous feature here. In the boot and shoe industry the 

 lacquering room seems to be the source of most trouble. Here 

 the lacquer, composed of highly inflammable materials, is 

 'slathered' over the boot or shoe by hand, and the article is at 

 once put on a rack and taken into the drying room, where a high 

 temperature prevails. Trouble may frequently develop here. 



FIRE PROTECTION. 



"A full equipment of fire pails, extinguishers, standpipe and 

 hose, and, above all, a thorough sprinkler equipment will do much 

 toward making rubber works profitable to the underwriters. 

 Good housekeeping is. of course, an essential to every well or- 

 ganized factory, and should be insisted upon by the inspector at 

 all times. 



"In closing we desire to acknowledge the courtesies extended 

 to us in the preparation of this article by the Manhattan Rub- 

 ber Manufacturing Company, The India Rubber World, the In- 

 surance Society oi New York, the Biggs Boiler Works Company 

 of Akron, Ohio, and the Birmingham Iron Foundry of Derby, 

 Conn." 



A TIRE KETTLE AND TREAD ROLLING MACHINE. 



'pHE WILLI A.\1S FOUNDRY AND MACHINE CO., of 



^ Akron, Oliio. has recently put on the market a boltless, 



quick-opening tire kettle that has sufficient capacity for all except 



the very largest shops. It measures about 43j2 inches inside 



The Williams Tire Kettle. 



diameter in the clear, and the curing space is 16 inches high 

 above the bottom grating, making capacity for about four tires 

 42 inches or smaller at a time. The kettle and lid are made of 

 open hearth cast steel, tested with 200 pounds hydraulic pressure 



and 75 pounds steam pres- 

 sure, making it safe for any 

 condition of service. The 

 crane head handling device 

 and bottom grating which 

 keeps the tires out of the 

 water, and permits the steam 

 to circulate all around the 

 tires, overcome the common 

 objections to vertical kettles. 

 The boltless head saves so 

 much time and labor that a 

 retreaded tire can De cured 

 with as little trouble as a sec- 

 tional repair in a mold — a 

 very obvious advantage. 



This company is also plac- 

 Tkead Rolling Machine. j^g ^^ f,,^ ^^^^^^ j^^ ^^^^ ^^^ 



of repair men who are retreading tires, a tread rolling machine that 

 will enable the repairmen to roll the fabric much harder than it 

 can be done by hand. The upper or concave roll is raised by 

 means of a large hand wheel, and the tire inserted between the 

 rolls. The desired pressure is applied by screwing down the 

 hand wheel. The heavy oil tempered steel springs which roll 

 the convex roller insure even pressure, and turning the crank 

 causes the tire to turn between the rollers. 



