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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



June 1. 1921 



Dressing-Comb Sawing Machine 



COMB-CUTTING MACHINES 



The American niachiiie sImwii lurcwitli feeds aiu! stops auto- 

 matically. The weight 

 draws the comb down on 

 tlie saw that cuts the tirst 

 tooth, and a cam then 

 raises the comb from the 

 saw which is carried 

 along the space for one 

 tooth by a cam and rack. 

 This continues until all 

 the teetli have been 

 sawed, when the ma- 

 chine stops. The rack 

 and cam can be taken 

 out and others substi- 

 tuted if a different num- 

 ber of teeth to tlie inch 

 are to be sawed. 



These machines are 

 usually operated in 

 gangs, 15 machines be- 

 ing operated by one op- 

 erator who can turn out under favorable conditions 1,200 to 

 l.SOO dressing combs a day. 



A GERMAN MACHINE 



This German comb-cutting machine is claimed to be self- 

 acting. It cuts fine and coarse teeth witli one pair of knives 

 without interruption. Both edges of the teeth arc completely 

 cut automatically. Fur- 

 thermore, the machine 

 throws out the comb 

 when finished. It is re- 

 corded that 12 dozen 

 combs each S'A inches 

 long can be cut in one 

 hour, and that one man 

 can easily handle two 

 of these machines which 

 work at 90 revolutions 

 a minute. 



In making a toilet 

 comb with fine and 

 heavy teeth the lengtli 

 of the teeth is measured 

 upon an adjustable ruler. 

 The width of the corner 

 teeth is regulated by a 



Huckator" Comb Cutter 



special adjuster. After the plate is inserted, the machine is turned 

 by hand a few revolutions until the knife has found the proper 

 position for cutting the corner tooth. The first comb is cut and 

 the machine is adjusted for further work. 



RUBBING-DOWN PROCESS 



To give the combs a very high luster, a rubbing-down process 

 is employed. Dried corn husks are used to make large buffing 

 wheels, and this is quite an art in itself. These wheels are then 

 treated with water and coated with fine rotten stone. The comb 

 is next applied to this wheel in a manner similar to applying the 

 comb to a flannel buffing-wheel when polishing. This is dirty 

 work and the labor turn-over is somewliat large. After the 

 corn husk wlicels are used for several days a very strong sour 

 odor permeates the atmosphere which adds to the disagreeableness 

 of the task. It is not, however, injurious to the hcjlth, as vari- 

 ous tests and experiments by able health authorities have shown. 



POLISHING AND FINISHING 



The combs are then washed in plain water and sent to the 

 buffing and polishing department, where girls arc employtd. The 



buffing and polishing wheels are made of large flannel disks and 

 the outside diameters of the assembled wheels are treated with 

 ■il, fine rotten stone, and rouge. The combs are then inspected 

 lor evenness of teeth and luster and sent to the stamping or mark- 

 ing room where the manufacturer's or customer's name is 

 stamped thereon. This is done with a kick-press, the stamp 

 being electrically heated. When letters in gold are required, 

 the impression is first made and a sheet of paper with a very 

 thin coating of gold is inserted under the die which is brought 

 down on the comb again. The combs are then packed in boxes 

 tor shipmenr. 



POSSIBLE SHORTAGE IN WORLD'S COTTON SUPPLY 



That a reduction in acreage, such as proposed for cotton planters 

 in order to bring up the price level of the staple, would be a 

 grave mistake, is the view of some of the best-informed experts 

 in the industry. It is pointed out that were the acreage reduced 

 i.nc-third, as some advocate, or from 35,504,000 to 23,670,000 

 acres, the approximate yield on the past five years' basis would 

 be 8,000,000 bales. Such a crop could not fail to be inadequate, 

 despite the surplus carried over from the current season, to meet 

 even the present slackened demand. All signs indicate a very 

 decided and early improvement in business this year in both the 

 tire and general textile trades, and a demand for probably 14,- 

 OOO.OOO bales in the 1921-22 season. As this demand would have 

 to be met almost entirely from the crop planted this spring, it is 

 not hard to see what would happen were acreage reduced al 

 agitators unwisely advise. 



For five years American cotton prices kept steadily mounting 

 until in 1920 they reached the highest level known since the 

 Civil War; and in the same year they dropped to the low-est 

 level known in the country's history. Naturally the violent re- 

 action hit many planters and dealers hard, and there has been 

 much casting about for ways and means both to mitigate their 

 plight and to strengthen their position. Some of them decided 

 that the best w-ay out of the difficulty would be to curtail the 

 crop in order to get higher prices, overlooking the fact that 

 they might be inviting trouble through a federal inquiry as to 

 "combinations in restraint of trade." 



Much sympathy is expressed for the planters who have suf- 

 fered considerably from unfavorable weather and boll-weevil 

 depredations, coupled with higher labor and living costs; but 

 clear-sighted students of the situation contend that the remedy 

 for the adverse conditions does not lie in retaliation on the mill 

 owners who failed to keep on buying at high prices as their own 

 trade fell off, but in a sensible get-together policy. Mill owners 

 need an ample supply, and planters need a fair price. Hence 

 conferences are advised at which both producers and consumers 

 may frankly discuss the status of the industry and devise some 

 cooperative course that will be mutually helpful. 



Cotton prices are low, abnormally low, but the far-sighted 

 planter must realize that the whole world will soon be clamoring 

 more than ever for cotton, and that the wise ones who can meet 

 the demand will be the ones who will profit most, not the re- 

 sentful or the faint-hearted who are planning to plant less. He 

 may, too, take some comfort from the speculator's axiom that 

 booms always begin in gloom and end in gladness. 



HERMETIC AIR BAG 

 A new construction of air bag for use in curing straight- 

 side automobile tires is the bag built of special rubber com- 

 pound upon a patented flexible air container. Another pat- 

 ented feature is the hard bead wedge protected and bound 

 by fabric cured to the rim side of the bag. There is no heavy 

 splice in the construction. Uniform pressure, expansion, and 

 coinpression are secured by this construction. Compression 

 at the beads is due to the patented bead wedge.— Cupples Co., 

 St. Louis, Missouri. 



