OcTdHKK 1. 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



Eyelets and Grommets in Rubber Goods. 



The Stimi'sox Eyelet- 

 tint. Machine. 



AMON'c THE LITTLE THINGS which are used by the million in 

 rubber factories are eyelets and their big brothers, grom- 

 mets. They are used on various lines of goods, wherever 

 a hole in the material needs strengthening so that strain upon 

 it will not tear through. They sell at $100 to $1,500 per mil- 

 lion, according to size, kind, quality, and finish. 



MANY DIFFERENT VARIETIES. 



The ordinary eyelet is of brass, 

 in one piece, much the shape of a 

 miniature hat writhout a crown. It 

 consists of a rim and a "barrel," 

 the latter being tubular and of 

 varying length, according to the 

 thickness of material on which it 

 is used. The whole may be of 

 plain brass or may be japanned, or 

 the rim only may be enamelled or 

 covered with a coating of celluloid. 

 The brass eyelet may be finished 

 in silver, tin, copper or nickel. The 

 enamelled and celluloid-covered 

 eyelets are made in a large variety 

 of colors. 



While most of these eyelets are 

 circular, there are oval ones and 

 long narrow ones to accommodate 

 wide flat laces. There are also 

 some made with scalloped or cor- 

 rugated rims for ornamental pur- 

 poses. These eyelets are made 

 entirely by automatic machinery 



which stamps the disks out of sheet metal and draws each 



piece into the shape desired. 



GROMMETS ARE LARGE EYELETS. 



Eyelets are made in a great variety of sizes, from the little 

 one only large enough to allow passage of the smallest twine, 

 to those measuring one and one-half inches in diameter. The 

 larger ones are called grommets, though in some trades this 

 name is given to an eyelet of large size which is backed either 

 by a metal washer, or another eyelet just enough smaller in 

 the barrel to fit inside the larger, the two being inserted on 

 opposite sides of the fabric, and pressed firmly together, spread- 

 ing the ductile barrels, and thus showing rims alike on both 



The under side of the common eyelet, when in place, shows 

 the barrel split into six or eight sections which radiate evenly 

 from the center. This effect is accomplished in two ways. If 

 the barrel is scored the "set" of the machine breaks it at the 

 scored lines. If the barrel is not scored, a corrugated "set" is 

 used in the machine, which cuts the barrel into these sections, 

 and curves them, as the pressure is applied. 



RUBBER TRADE LARGE USERS. 



In the rubber trade, footwear manufacturers are the largest 

 users of eyelets. Shoes which close by lacing require them — 

 principally hunting and lumbermen's boots, bootees, and other 

 heavy duck lines. Some short rubber boots are made with an 

 oblong "knob pull-on" in place of a pull-strap or loop, and in 

 order that these boots may be hung up when not in use a 

 grommet is placed above the pull-on. 



But the large use is in the production of tennis shoes. The 

 common, low-priced "sneakers" made by the million, consume 

 eight to twenty in each shoe. These are of the low-priced 



variety. To-day the tennis lines have been improved in style, 

 in quality of material, and in workmanship, and in place of the 

 plain brass eyelets, those of finer quality, enamelled or celluloid- 

 covered, are used, matching in color the fabric in which they 

 are inserted, or finished in contrasting colors. 



LACING STUDS. 



Besides eyelets, or in place of them, lacing studs are used 

 in men's and boys' footwear, and to some extent upon puttees 

 and leggings. The lacing hook is an adaptation of the eyelet 

 and is used to facilitate fastening the shoe. It is not used 

 extensively on women's and misses' footwear, mainly because 

 the hooks were found to catch and tear women's skirts, and 

 although present fashions of short skirts obviate this objection, 

 they have not become popular on feminine footwear. The lacing 

 stud is practically an eyelet, with an extension bent over 

 to form a flat, button-like hook which obviates the necessity 

 of inserting the lacing through an eyelet. 



MACHINES FOR SETTING EYELETS. 



There arc various machines made for "setting" eyelets and 

 studs. The small hand tool, much like a leather-punch, is the 

 simplest. Next, there are adaptations of the same mechanism, 

 by which the eyelet is set by pressure of the foot on a treadle. 

 Then come machines which punch the holes, insert the eyelels, 

 and carry forward the work the proper distance for the next 

 eyelet. These machines are quite complicated. The eyelets 

 or studs are poured into a hopper in which is a revolving brush, 

 which places them right side up in a raceway whence they are 



fed to the proper point for insertion. These machines have a 

 capacity limited only by the ability of the operator, some men 

 being able to eyelet 4,000 pairs of shoes per day. 

 DUPLEX MACHINES. 

 There arc machines which set two eyelets at once, on oppo- 

 site sides of the lace space, thus insuring exact matching to 



