March 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



283 



Gutta, or rubber facings are used on some of the heads. 



In reply to my inquiry as to whether more or less rubber 

 was being used in this department now than in tlie past, the un- 

 hesitating reply was "More." 



By the way, before leaving the shops where the clubs are 

 made I went into the forge. Golfers may rest assured that all 

 Spalding irons are genuine hand-made goods. I saw the irons 

 Ijeing made from start to finish, and the only machines with 

 which they came into contact — there are no others in this part 

 of the premises — were the buffs which do the polishing. 



GOLF BALLS. 



Golf balls essentially come under tlie heading of rubber 

 goods; and in this country, at anj- rate, it is customary to guard 

 nearly every place where any such goods are made more jeal- 

 ously than a royal residence. 



The door leading into the golf ball part of tlie factory was 

 labeled "No Admittance." Upon reaching it, I was requested 

 to wait until the manager had been specially asked whether he 

 meant me to be shown in here. He was soon on the spot by 

 my side.' and on the outer thresliold of tiiat closed door we dis- 

 cussed the great secret of the rubber goods industry. It is diffi- 

 ci'ilt to persuade the public that there is nothing sordid about 

 that secret ; but any one with a practical knowledge of the rub- 

 ber industry is well aw'are that the rule of "No admittance ex- 

 cept on business" has a right to command respect. 



Stalding Golf Balls. 



I explained that I had no wish to spy into the composition 

 of the "dough," that I knew there was a logical reason for my 

 not being taken to see the mixing process. Immediately the 

 door was opened, and I was allowed to pass through into the 

 spacious apartment where from 100,000 to 120,000 dozen of the 

 world's supply of golf balls are made every year. One hundred 

 and fifty women and girls, besides a large number of men, are 

 employed by this factory solely for the making of these balls. 

 I will describe the process of manufacture as I saw it, with my 

 own eyes, being carried on in the various stages. 



The start of the core is a special "dough." Round this is 

 wound rubber tape, the width thereof used in the successive 

 layers being 1 inch, 'j inch, |^ inch and 3/16 inch; the core is 

 completed by the winding thereon of a layer of rubber thread, 

 3/32 of an inch in width. Up to the stage when the 3/^-inch tape 

 is used, all the winding is done by hand. At this juncture, the 

 core undergoes examination by a special machine, which tests the 

 compression ; and it is checked with regard to size. The nar- 

 rowest tape and the thread are then wound upon it by machinery, 

 and when the core is thus completed it is again tested. 



The rubber covers are made in two parts, within cup-like molds 

 which have a plain surface. A machine cuts away the "spue" 

 separately from each half cover. A core is then placed between 

 two of them, and the whole is enclosed in a mold whose surface 

 is patterned with the well-known "Dimple" design of the Spalding 

 marking. Each ball is now vulcanized, after which it again goes 

 through the "heavy" or "light" compression machine. Finally it 

 is painted, by being rolled between the palms of hands that are 

 kept well coated with fresh white paint. 



Since all the rubber, dough, tape and thread is weighed before 



it is used, on scales that are so finely adjusted as to register 

 correctly to within less than half a gram, and every ball is 

 separately tested over and over again as regards compression and 

 weight, it is practically impossible for a defective ball to sneak 

 its way out from the factory. 



The Spaldings are about to put on the market, simultaneously 

 in America and England, an entirely new golf ball, to be called 

 the "Domino." This is a totally different article from the ball 

 of that name which has already been on the American market. 



The ingredients used in the special preparation which is to be 

 used in the "start" of this new "Domino Ball" have never be- 

 fore been mixed in the particular manner to be followed in 

 this method of compounding them. The dough is something 

 entirely new in the rubber world. The "Domino" will be a 

 heavy ball, with "Dimple" marking. And it is to be of medium 

 size, that is to say, exactly between midget and full size. The 

 price has been fixed at 30s. per dozen, retail. 



CRICKET BATS AND HOCKEY STICKS. 



In the cricket bat department, I devoted most of my atten- 

 tion to handle making, for it is in this part of the bat that rub- 

 ber plays a highly important constructional function. I saw the 

 special patent handles being made for the high grade "Record" 

 and "Century" bats. In the center of the rattan canes forming 

 the main body of the handles a piece of solid rubber, square in 

 section, is fixed, and over this, throughout the length of the 

 handle, is placed a strapping of rubber. In one corner of the 

 workshop stood a big lot of these specially high grade bats, and 

 the past history of their class naturally set me speculating on the 

 marvelous feats that any one of these representatives might be 

 destined to accomplish. Today, they were all passively await- 

 ing the m.omentarily expected arrival of Tom Hayward of the 

 Surrey Eleven. He examines every one of Spaldings' best 

 cricket bats, and according to his judgment they are classed and 

 stamped "Record," which is to say first grade, or "Century," 

 which indicates a slightly lower standard. 



Strips of rubber are put in the centre of the handles of all 

 other cricket bats made in this factory, with the exception of 

 the practice class. The bats are graded according to the num- 

 ber of these rubber strips in the handles, on a descending scale 

 from three strips to one. Hockey sticks are made and graded 

 in a similar way, four strips of rubber entering into the com- 

 position of the best variety. Some idea of the extent to which 

 rubber enters into the manufacture of athletic goods may be 

 gathered from the fact that in their London workshops alone 

 Spaldings use about thirty tons of the material yearly. 



FOOTBALLS. 



The Spalding footballs are made at the Cowley branch 

 of their works some little distance out of London. This interest- 

 ing topic will be reserved for a later story. 



Basket balls, with Para rubber bladders, are also made in the 

 Cowlev factory. 



THE GOSSEL RUBBER SUBSTITUTE FROM SOYA BEAN OIL. 



.According to details published of the French patent No. 

 430,183, granted to F. Gossel and A. Sauer for a rubber sub- 

 stitute, four alternative processes are described, as follows : 



1. Treating Soya bean oil with nitric acid of specific gravity 

 1.14 to 1.40. 



2. Heating 40 parts of Soya bean oil, with 7 to 12 parts of 

 sulphur up to lSO-190 degs. C. 



3. Mixing 40 parts of Soya bean oil with 8-14 parts chloride 

 of sulphur, diluted with benzine while being heated; the mix- 

 ture being then cooled. 



4. Soya bean oil is heated for some time above its boiling 

 point, in order to partially polymerize it, and is then treated 

 with sulphur while being heated. 



