400 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



March 1, 1921 



ened surface is then covered with vulcanizing cement, and a 

 patch cut the proper size, one side of which has been cemented 

 and dried, is applied to the prepared surface. This is rolled down 

 hard. The edges of the patch whicli should have been skived 

 thin are set with the stitcher. The repaired portion is then put 

 between the platens of a small plate vukanizer. If tlie repairer 

 has no plate vukanizer, small patches may be cured by placing 

 the freshly repaired portion against the hollow steam-heated last 



The Arthur Repair Vulc.^nizer 



of the foot vukanizer, tying with broad tape and fitting the 

 clamps to hold it firmly in place. 



REPAIRING TENNIS SHOES 



A salesman in the tennis shoe department of a large sporting 

 goods store in a western city, being asked by the writer if repairs 

 could be made on the soles of old shoes, stated that the factory 

 from which the shoes came would readily do any needed 

 mending. "How do the makers fix a big hole in a sole?" he was 

 asked. "Very easily," he replied. "They just get a wad of soft 

 rubber, press it into the hole, and simply solder it in place." But 

 the faci remains that rubber shoe repairing is not yet quite as 

 simple as the work of a tinker. 



The best method of repairing tennis shoes is by the cure already 

 described. Experts claim to be able to repair any sort of rubber 

 wear by this process from "Keds" to baptismal pants. 



Qoth-surfaced footwear, such as cloth-topped arctics, wading 

 stockings, etc., are quite as easy to repair. The fabric about the 

 worn or torn place, after 'being well cleaned, is given several thin 

 coats of cement, each being allowed to dry well. The solvent 

 carries the rubber into the fibers of the cloth and prevents water 

 from entering by capillary attraction. A rubber patch is pre- 

 pared in the usual way and affixed by rolling down and vulcaniz- 

 ing, as in the case of the rubber-surfaced boot leg. 

 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 



The tools needed are few in number, that is, for a small plant. 



They comprise a vukanizer, zinc-covered work bench, rack or 

 cabinet for raw stock, shoemaker's jack, and covered scrap bins 

 for both vulcanized and unvulcanized scrap. The hand tools are 

 at least two knives ; a heavy skiver and a pointed cutting knife, 

 machinist's hammer, covered cement can, cement brushes, naphtha 

 can, roller, stitcher, wire brush, rasp and awl. To this might be 

 added experience in rubber work, patience and ingenuity. 



VULXANIZING MACHINES IN GENERAL 



Repairs on rubber footwear are cured on or in vukanizers that 

 are heated by gas, oil or electricity. The gas or oil may heat the 

 vulcanizing plates directly or may be used in forming steam 

 which heats the vulcanizing platens. Electric vukanizers heat 

 the plates directly. The open steam cure is not easily adaptable to 

 footwear repair, nor is the dry heat cure, that is, the exposure to 

 heated air in a closed chamber. 



The time for cure varies widely, very thin patches calling for, 

 say, a 20-minute cure, and thick ones as much as an hour and a 

 half. This further depends upon the type of compound used, the 

 proportion of sulphur, and the degree of heat employed. 



Complete vulcanizing equipment will range in price from $100 

 for an outfit well suited for any small repair shop to $450 for 

 apparatus with which not only every form of rubber footwear 

 repairing can be done, but also many kinds of tire and tube re- 

 pairing, with the utmost dispatch and efficiency. 



THE ARTHUR APPARATUS 



Of the various makes of machines for repairing rubber foot- 

 wear, one of the most complete is the Arthur footwear vukanizer. 

 This apparatus generates its own steam, is suited for even a large 

 repair shop, and not only can half-soles and full or half-heels of 

 any size rubber boot or shoe be cured with it, but a tire repair 

 man can also use it for mending inner tubes and other rubber 

 goods. 



The outfit has a steam table or hot plate 10 by 31 inches for 

 flat vulcanizing work, mounted on cast-iron legs. From the table 

 project eight hollow boot and shoe forms, with a similar number 

 of brackets projecting from the forms and attached to the under 

 side of the latter; eight jacks are fastened to the bottoms of the 

 brackets. Eight canvas belts are supplied to be placed over the 

 footwear being repaired, and which can be tightened by the jacks 

 so as to give adequate pressure on the gum during the curing. 

 Other features are : a water tank with gage attached ; a steam 

 gage ; a pop valve ; a heater with gas or gasoline burner ; a fol- 

 lower plate with clamp for short forms, and two follower plates 

 and clamps for long heeling forms! two pairs of foot forms with 

 overhead frame and clamp for half soling, the bottoms of the 

 shoe forms being flattened to fit on steam table, four pairs of sole 

 lasts, and three pairs of heel lasts ; two 6-inch C clamps, six sets 

 of foot leads, and six sets of knurled-inside ^-inch heel leads. 

 With the outfit is also supplied a quantity of this 1/16-inch lead 

 for covering patching jobs and a moderate amount of supplies for 

 trial jobs. The machine weighs about 700 pounds, has a length 

 of 64 inches, and a width, with brackets extended, of 87 inches. 



A smaller outfit, but which nevertheless provides an excellent 

 equipment for shops having only a moderate amount of repair 

 work, is known as the "Baby" footwear vukanizer. It has about 

 half the capacity of the vukanizer just described. The same 

 maker also produces a large and a small combined footwear and 

 tire vulcanizing outfit. 



RUBBER FOOTWEAR PATCHING AND CURING FORMS 



The forms sliown in the illustrations and numbered from 1 

 to 6, inclusive, are all hollow to receive steam used in curing. 



1. A short form used for mending the rear part of a heel on 

 light rubbers with hollow heels as well as top lifts. A follower 

 plate and clamp press the end, and a bracket and jack below aid 

 in tightening a canvas band pressing the top surface. 



2. Form adapted to the shape of the back of a boot to facilitate 

 patching that section. Pressure is obtained by a canvas band 



