192 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



I March 1. 1911. 



CUTTING BOARDS AND BLOCKS. 



r^ \'ERV rulibcr factory however small has some place where 

 '—' cutting is done. It may be only a chopping block on which 

 with die and mallet the work is done. Or it may be a great 

 room where scores of skillful knife wielders stand over the 

 latest types of cutting boards and turn miles of sheeted stock 



ReVERSIBLK ClTTI.VG Bo.\RD. 



into shapes adapted to making up. .And this leads up to the 

 subject of prepared surfaces upon which the cutting is done. 

 It will be at once apparent that the substance of which they are 

 made must be one that will not injure knife or die. Wood 

 being the cheapest and most available, is what is generally in use. 

 Some cutting, however, is done on hard slabs, some on sheets 

 of heavy packing and some on zinc. But nearly all of it is on 

 wood and the cutting block and board are today as scientifically 



Reversible Cutting Bo.ards. 



made as any intricate machine in the factory. As cutting with 

 or across the grain would cause splintering, it is done on ends 

 of boards. That is, strips of wood are placed end up and securely 

 bolted together, giving a surface that cannot splinter and that 

 finally wears away in fine powder ; then it is planed smooth and 

 is as good as new. Blocks for dicing out, both by hand and 

 machinery, are made in the same way. Indeed, so great a busi- 

 ness has this grown to be that factories are devoted to the pro- 

 duction of these goods alone. They are situated where pine 



DiEiNG Out Machine Blocks. 



and maple are plentiful and with great drying kilns and modern 

 machinery they turn blocks out by the thousand. Not alone to 

 the rubber trade do they cater, but to shoe, glove, envelope, har- 

 ness and corset factories, to artificial flower makers, to packers 

 and butchers, to stencil works and scores of lesser industries. 



MORE ABOUT BALATA BELTING. 



npilE constantly increasing use of balata belting in the United 

 •^ States naturally prompts the inquiry as to why, up to the 

 last year or two, its manufacture has not been in American 

 hands. The answer lies first in the fact that most American 

 rubber factories were equipped to make rubber belting, which 

 they felt fully covered the field, and they were, therefore, averse 

 to laying down a separate plant for balata work. The second 

 reason is that they were unwilling to put into its manufacture 

 the attention to fussy details, which is one of the chief reasons 

 for the great success the English, for example, have made of 

 the balata belting business. 



Among the many reasons for the increasing use of balata 

 belting is the fact that it is free from many faults which most 

 other belts have. First, it is practically unafifected by atmos- 

 pheric changes, and may, therefore, be used in paper mills and 

 similar places where damp and moist atmospheres predominate. 

 It is not affected by acid and other injurious fumes. It also 

 remains pliable under almost every climatic condition, and there- 

 fore transmits practically the full horsepower at all times. It 

 needs no pulley covering nor other article to make it adhere as 

 do most other belts. In its manufacture, a more closely woven 

 fabric is used, than in canvas belts coated with rubber or those 

 which are treated by processes similar to, or by the Gandy 

 process. This, of course, gives a belt of great strength, and one 

 that is less liable to stretch. 



In making this type of belt, the fabric is dried and then coated 

 with balata composition in a solution. Such solvents as naphtha, 

 benzol, or any solvent which will dissolve crude rubber, are 

 used. The fabric is then run over what is known as a spreader, 

 which is a device for spreading the cement on the fabric by the 

 use of a rubber covered roll and an adjustable knife, which 

 enable the operator to put ori a thick or thin coat of cement and 

 also to permit of using different thicknesses of fabric. After 

 the fabric has gone over the roll and is coated with cement, it 

 passes over a steam table or coils of steam pipes, which being 

 heated quickly dries the cement. After the fabric has received 

 the proper number of coats of cement it is then either cut into 

 proper widths or is folded over upon itself to the thickness 

 required, according to the width and horse power to be trans- 

 mitted. When it is cut, this is done on a machine similar to 

 that which is used in the manufacture of rubber belting. The 

 plies are next pressed more firmly together, either by the use 

 of a hydraulic press or by a set of rolls heated to the proper 

 temperature. After this is done, the belts are practically finished 

 as they are not vulcanized, which is why, in part, that the belt 

 is so much more pliable and retains its life to such a remark- 

 able extent. 



We believe that the time is not far distant when many Amer- 

 ican manufacturers will take on the manufacture of balata belt- 

 ing. It will be the means of saving to themselves some business 

 they are bound to lose if they do not do so. While it may never 

 entirely supplant rubber and leather belting its use is rapidly 

 growing, and no one who has once used balata belting will ever 

 go back to any other. There are no especial secrets in the 

 manufacture of this belting which the up to date manufacturer 

 cannot guess, and as suggested in the beginning of this article, 

 it is only due to the infinite care in the details of its manufac- 

 ture that the foreign manufacturers have been enabled to 

 monopolize this field. 



According to the annual report of the director of forestry of 

 the Philippine Islands, for the year July 1, 1909, to June 30, 

 1910, there were included in the exports of forest products from 

 the islands for the period in question. 157,731 kilograms (347,- 

 008 pounds) of rubber, and 95,082 kilograms (209,180 pounds) of 

 gutta-percha. None of the gutfa-percha and 225,526 pounds of 

 the rubber, were exported to the United States. 



