12 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



1 October 1, 1913. 



samples contained. Each sample should be dated and marked 

 with Plastometer reading and such other desifinating re- 

 marks as the maker deems necessary, direitly upon the rinji 

 or upon a label attached thereto. 



The Plastometer is being used l)j' many leading rubber 

 manufacturers in this country and by users of paper making 

 machinery in this country and abroad. It could, undoubtedly, 

 be made useful to manufacturers of soap, glue, etc. It can 

 also, perhaps, be utilized to standardize raw rubbers so that 

 the jjurchaser can have determined the values of his ship- 

 ment without the delay which seems necessary under present 

 methods used for such determinations. 



The instrument is in its infancy, having thus far been 

 developed by a buyer of rubber. Its further development for 

 the 1)enerit of the ruliber trade will, undoubtedly, depend 

 upon the engineers and cliemists directly associated with the- 

 rnbt)er trade. 



THE SICO YIELD GAUGE. 



■V T l"Ml'"ROUS methods have been devised for measuring llic 

 ^ ^ hardness of metals and other comparatively hard sub- 

 stances, but until recently no way liad been found to dependably 

 measure the hardness or flexi!)ility of such substances as rubber, 

 leatlier nr compositions of like nature. Testing rubber in its 

 elastic state by merely feeling it and compressing it with the 



lingers is at the best very 

 unsatisfactory even for ex- 

 perts, for it is difficult for 

 one til determine what 

 another lias meant by hard. 

 nRMliiini iir soft. 



In order to obviate these 

 difficulties and to bring 

 about a standard method 

 of determining the exact 

 state of elastic rublier, a 

 company which makes a 

 specialty of manufacturing 

 gauges for particular pur- 

 poses, has introduced an in- 

 strument known as the "Sico 

 Yield Gauge," which is: 

 illustrated herewith. This 

 gauge is intended to substi- 

 tute the uncertain element 

 of feeling, by merely press- 

 ing the sensitive blunt point against the material to be tested. 

 The indicating liand normally rests at 100, so that when 

 very soft rubber is tested and a deriectinn of 5 degrees re- 

 sults, there is a resistance to yield of only 5 per cent., while 

 the yield is 95 per cent. Therefore the S per cent, may be 

 considered as the hardness of that sample. On the other hand, 

 if a substance having practically no yield be tested, and the 

 pointer swings over to zero, it indicates no yield or 100 iier 

 cent. hard. The gauge is pressed down until the knurled 

 knob rests squarely upon the material to be tested, when the 

 number indicated on the scale shows the percentage of yield 

 or softness of the luaterial. 



It is said that the gauge is finding wide use in testing auto- 

 mobile tires. A good tire shows a yield of about 55 to 60 per 

 cent while a poor one shows only from 35 to 40 per cent. This, 

 however, does not imply that the softer the tire the better it is. 

 There is a lituit up or down and when once the standard has 

 been determined, comparative tests are easily and quickly made 

 by means of this gauge. [Made by the Shore Instrument & 

 Mfg. Co., 555 West 22 street. New York.] 



AUTOMATIC AUTOMOBILE-TIRE PUMP. 



PXERY one who uses an automobile knows how unpleasant it 

 *— ' is if an accident occurs in some place where there is no 

 garage to pump up '^he tires. iThe pump shown in the accom- 



I anying picture is a useful in\entii'n. In ii l:; .::■. tire, 



the air pump is connected with one of the cylinders of the motoi 

 and the power is turned on. The pumping is done very quickly 

 an<l (if course much better than by hand. When the tire is 

 liUciI. the air-pump is screwed off. 



NEW WRINGING MACHINE. 



.\ new wringing machine with a pneumatic roller has been 

 brought out in Germany under the name of the "Clothes Saver " 

 It wrings the clothes uniformly dry, even if not specially 

 arranged on the rollers. Buttons, hooks and eyes are no longer 

 crushed, and consequently the clothes are not injured. It only 

 requires one person's attendance, the washing going direct from 

 the tub to the wringer. 



The pneumatic roller can be pumped up like a bicycle tire, and 

 if the air gives out it can be pumped up again. When the 

 wringing is finished there is no need to let out the air. On 

 the other hand, it is necessary to loosen the lever fastenings, 

 so tluil the pressure against the pneumatic ruller may be relieved. 



A NEW SIX-DIE INSULATING MACHINE. 



The Watson Machine Co. of Paterson, New Jersey, has applied 

 for a patent on a new seamless rubber covering machine for 

 covering as many as si.x wires simultanenusly. The dies are 

 independent of each other, so that the llnw of rubber can be 

 stopped from any one die without interfering with the others. 

 It has a special device in the head which supports the wires so 

 that the insulation is of uniform thickness. The machine can 

 also be used for manufacturing rubber tubing or tape. The steam 

 and water supplies are so arranged that water is led from the 

 jacket directly surrounding the worm, while steam is applied only 

 to the head ; over-heating is avoided, and danger to the rubber 

 because of heating is eliminated. 



Most tire users have no doubt met wilb ■-ituations where 

 stmie instrument which would pick small pebbles or other 

 foreign matter out of their tires would have been found a 

 most useful and welcome addition to their tool kit. An instru- 

 ment intended for this purpose and known as a "tyre pick," is 

 supplied on request by The Victor Tyre Co., Limited, of 

 London, England. 



