May 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



375 



THE STORAGE OF RUBBER CEMENT. 



GUTTA-PERCHA-TISSUE CEMENT. 



Plate 1. Model Rubber Cement Storage System 



AV/ITH a costly product like rubber cement the prevention of 



' ' waste is a matter of considerable moment. It is impor- 

 tant that every gallon purchased should be used, and this result 

 cannot be attained when the wooden barrel, which has served 

 for transportation, is then utilized for storage. The staves being 

 porous, they become warped through changes in temperature, 

 while this defect is further increased by rough handling. The 

 barrel is not and can- 

 not be made air- 

 tight, so that its con- 

 tents solidify through 

 the evaporation of 

 the thinning liquid. 



This loss repre- 

 sents 20 per cent, per 

 week, so that at the 

 end of that period 

 100 gallons of cement 

 only represent 80 gal- 

 lons. It is claimed 

 that all this loss can 

 be stopped by using 

 a "Bowser" equip- 

 ment; so that the 

 buyer of fifty gallons, 

 by transferring that 

 quantity, when re- 

 ceived to the Bowser 

 tank, can absolutely count on using fifty gallons. 



Such a result is obtained by the possibility of ensuring the 

 delivery of any desired quantity, by setting the indicator to the 

 quantity desired, when a single stroke of the pump handle de- 

 livers just the amount needed. 



A particularly valuable feature of the Bowser system is the 

 absence of the risk 

 of fire. Up to the 

 present, firemen have 

 been afraid to go 

 near a fire in a 

 cement house where 

 the ordinary methods 

 of handling cement 

 are in use, while they 

 now fight fire along- 

 side of a Bowser 

 equipment without 

 the least fear. This 

 system has the un- 

 qualified endorsement 

 of insurance experts. 



Its operation is 

 shown in the sub- 

 joined cuts; Fig. 2 

 illustrating its de- 

 tailed arrangement, 

 while in Fig. 1 the 

 cement is stored in a 

 separate building, but 

 handled in the fac- 

 tory instead of in the 

 cement room. 



The "Self-Measuring Rubber Cement Tank" is made by S. F. 

 Bowser & Co., Fort Wayne, Indiana. 



Plate 2. Model Rubber Cement Storage System. 



According to Consul Report 8472, a firm in Germany wishes 

 to get in touch with American manufacturers and exporters of 

 rubber abdominal and other bandages and rubber stockings. 



IT was at a meeting of shoe men, and a shoe manufacturer was 

 * speaking on the subject of "Efficiency." Most of his talk 

 was on the proper adjustment of machinery, but one point he 

 made may be of interest to the readers of The India Rubber 

 World. 



Shoe manufacturers have for years been in the habit of "back- 

 ing" the finer, thinner qualities of leather, by cementing strong 



cloth to the under 

 side, to give greater 

 strength and thick- 

 ness, and to prevent 

 stretching. This 

 W e s t e r n manufac- 

 turer, some years ago, 

 found that case after 

 case of shoes had 

 been returned to him 

 because the solvent in 

 the rubber cement had 

 penetrated the cloth, 

 and not only stained 

 the lining, but col- 

 lected dust and dirt. 



"It was up to me," 

 he said, "to stop that 

 trouble. At that time 

 I had a suit of clothes 

 repaired at my tailors. 

 I saw him take a little strip of gutta-percha, thin as tissue paper, 

 and iron it between the thicknesses of cloth in the hem of my 

 trousers, sticking them together, where stitches would have shown 

 badly. This solved my problem. I got some of that gutta-percha, 

 and backed my leather. You Yankees afterwards came out to 

 sell us backing cloth, and we bought it, but up to that time we 



made our own back- 

 ing cloth. We copied 

 that from the tailor, 

 long before you ever 

 sold it." 



The use of gutta- 

 percha tissue was for 

 years confined almost 

 exclusively to the 

 tailoring trade. To- 

 day it has a wider use, 

 many trades utilizing 

 it because of its ef- 

 ficiency and conveni- 

 ence. Hat makers use 

 it to stick labels in 

 their hats. Box mak- 

 ers find it convenient 

 in making velvet- 

 lined cases. The 

 metal cases for hold- 

 ing spectacles and 

 eye-glasses have their 

 velvet linings and the 

 leather coverings 

 cemented with this 

 tissue. For all these 

 purposes it is less messy than glue, more adhesive than paste, 

 and less likely to penetrate than rubber cement. 



For many years all of this material used in this country was 

 imported from Germany, but American manufacturers experi- 

 mented, and after many failures, and at a very considerable 

 expenditure of money, its production has been a success in this 



