DECEMnER 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



125 



Rubber Hose in the Machine Shop and Foundry. 



PROBABLY no ntlicr branch uf tlic rubber industry com- 

 bines such a diversified list of uses as does that of rubber 

 hose. At first glance this would seem to be a subject 

 easily covered in a few .short paragraphs, but when we stop to 

 consider for what extensive and varied uses rubber hose is em- 

 ployed in air compression machinery alone, without taking into 

 account its now indispensable employment in pneumatic tools 

 such as riveters, drills, grinders and sand blasts, as well as in 

 many other lines, it is easily seen that this is by no means an 

 unimportant subject. 



Rubber hose lirst came into use by virtue of its flexibility, and 

 it is this important factor that makes it invaluable in many ways 

 as a means of transporting such substances as air, water, steam, 

 gas, sand, etc., to the points where they are to be used. 



In the machine shop, perhaps, is seen the greatest variety of 

 different classes of work in which rubber hose is used. Upon 

 entering any engine repair shop of a railroad, for instance, one 

 of the first things that attracts the attention is the b-r-r-r-r 

 of a pneumatic riveter. Less than ten years ago nearly all rivet- 

 ing in boiler and engine shops was done by hand, but this has 

 lieen gradually superseded by the more modern compressed air 

 riveter. Such a riveting machine is held in the hands of the 

 operator, and the hammer directed against the tail of the rivet 

 at any desired angle. If it were not for the part which the 

 rubber hose contributes to this important factor in engine and 

 boiler building and repairing, it is easily seen that the scope of 

 the pneumatic riveter would be extremely limited. But for the 

 aid of flexible hose only such small work as could be easily 

 handled would be subject to the advantages of this style of 

 riveter, for the work would then have to be taken to the machine 

 instead of taking the machine to the work 



The pneumatic riveter is used almost altogether in modern 

 shops devoted to the manufacture of boilers and tanks of all de- 

 scriptions. In such shops, where a number of riveters are con- 

 stantly in use, it is necessary to install n stnrasp tank in which 



^' «««*«• 



• ^ 



Fig. 1. The Rockwell Port.vble Heater in Boiler Shop Work. 



the air is compressed by means of an electric or steam-driven 

 compressor. From the tank the air is usually distributed around 

 the walls of the building through iron pipes which are tapped at 

 various points for making connection with the rubber hose. The 



same or a similar arrangement is also used in pneumatic installa- 

 tions for nearly all other purposes, while air for operating 

 riveters, drills, sand blasts, blow torches, etc., may be taken from 

 the same pipe line. 



The pressure in the storage lank may vary from only a few 

 pounds per square inch up to 200 or more, and the streng^th of 



the rubber hose must, of 

 course, vary accordingly. 

 A hose for pneumatic 

 tool service must be light, 

 strong and flexible to 

 withstand intermittent 

 pressures. It should re- 

 main free from kinks 

 when bent in sharp 

 curves and the lining or 

 inner tube should be of 

 heavy quality to protect 

 the fabric. Hose of this 

 type is built up of alter- 

 nate layers of rubber and 

 duck fabric, the latter 

 varying from three to 

 eight-ply; four and five- 

 ply hose are the kinds 

 most commonly employed 

 in connection with ma- 

 chine shop tools. The 

 demand for this type of 

 hose has increased rap- 

 idly in recent years, due 

 to the popularity of the 

 pneumatic tool. For very 

 high pressures the hose is 

 usually armored with a 

 coil of strong wire to 

 and prevent them from blow- 



Fu',. 2. Urucklieb S.and Bl.\st With 

 Rubber Hose Att.\ched. 



support tlie walls of the tubin 

 ing out. 



It is sometimes much easier to take the tool to the work than 

 to take the work to the tool, especially where moving the ob- 

 ject which is to be worked upon involves heavy handling. Here, 

 also, the rubber hose plays an important part. For instance, if 

 it is required to drill a number of holes in a heavy piece of 

 machinery which cannot be placed upon a drill press, how much 

 more advantageous and labor-saving it is to simply attach a 

 pneumatic drill to a hose and thus do the work in one-quarter 

 of the time required by a hand drill. Many jobs which were 

 formerly impracticable are now made easy and inexpensive 

 through the introduction of the rubber hose in connection with 

 the compressed air-driven drill. Hose for this purpose is of the 

 same type and construction as that for the pneumatic riveter, 

 llie size and ply varying with tlie air pressure and size of the 

 tool. 



For conveying both steam and water in the machine shop and 

 foundry the rubber hose has made itself indispensable. Every 

 one knows the great variety of purposes for which w'ater hose 

 is used in the shop. The workman picks up a length of hose for 

 a different purpose perhaps a dozen times a day. In the engine 

 room the fireman keeps a hose attached to the water connection 

 for the purpose of sprinkling the coal in order to settle the dust. 

 In the machine room the hose is used for carrying water and 

 ofttimes steam. 



Hose for conveying steam must be of special construction on 

 account of the constant heat to which it is subjected. The vital 



