294 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1920. 



1\'. The more the rul)her is milled ihc greater the expansion. 



v. There is no hreak in the expansion ai the point of vul- 

 canization. 



\T. The increase in the specific gravity is caused by the 

 pressure and not by physical change or internal contraction of 

 vohnne. 



FOUNTAIN PEN INK SACKS. 



In reinoving the sack from the "formers" after vulcanization, 

 they are turned inside out to get them oflf, which leaves the 

 corrugated surface on the inside. They arc turned back, cleaned 

 for a short time in a tumbling barrel, counted by weight, and 

 are then ready for shipment. 



Tut MECHANICAL perfection of fountain pens has enhanced 

 their utility and convenience to the extent that their accept- 

 ance as a writing instrument is well nigh universal. As a result 

 their manufacture has become a highly specialized and important 

 branch of the rubber industry. The hard parts of the appliance, 

 except the gold point, are made of high-grade vulcanite capable 

 of rapid and accurate machining. The production of these parts 

 has been reduced to highly elTicient machine shop practices, in 

 which sixty or more distinct operations are involved. 



The well-known self-filling feature of fountain pens depends 

 on the use of a rubber collapsible bag filling the pen barrel 

 and serving as a reservoir of ink. It is connected with the ink- 

 feeding device and so arranged that the user may expel the air 

 from the bag by collapsing it and, by thus causing a vacuum, 

 draw in the ink supply. 



These soft rubber ink sacks arc hand mide rtciuirnig some 

 deftness in manipulation 

 in their manufacture. 

 Briefly, calendered sheets 

 of Para rubber compound 

 of good quality are coated 

 on ribbed holland cloths 

 for the production of a 

 ribbed effect on the rub- 

 ber. This ribbing in the 

 finished bag serves as a 

 support to maintain the 

 cylindrical form when the 

 sack is only partly filled. 



Although the corruga- 

 tions on the sheet from 

 which the sacks are made 

 are usually produced as 

 described above, there are 



other ways of doing it. 



_ , , Seaming and Trimm 



For example, engraved 



rolls in connection with a calender are sometimes used, or 

 impression plates of vulcanized rubber are substituted, the cal- 

 endered sack sheet being placed upon the engraved plates and 

 pressure applied until a definite ribbing is effected. 



From the calendered sheet, short length strips are cut cross- 

 wise of the ribbing. These are. formed into tubing of the required 

 size by hand-drawing through a die which unites the edges in 

 a perfectly tight joint. Sections of this tubing are cut, slipped 

 over suitable forms and, by means of sharp scissors, cut to fit 

 the taper of the form at one end and the hemispherical end of 

 the other, these cuts being formed into tight joints by the 

 thumb-nails of the operator. 



Instead of drawing the sheet through a die, the sack stock 

 may be furnished in continuous lengths by being run through a 

 tubing machine. There is another way: After the pieces have 

 been died into blanks of the proper width, the edges are cemented 

 and seamed by hand, the thumb-nails of the worker finishing 

 the seam. In a third process a hammering machine strikes the 

 two edges together, causing them to adhere firmly. 



The sacks are then packed in pans of soapstone and vulcanized 

 in open heat. In making these sacks in quantity, the metal 

 "formers" over which they are made are assembled by the 

 hundred on boards, each "former" standing on end in a little 

 hole let into the board. 



SELECTING SERVICE MANAGERS. 



By Adrian B. French. 



THE DUTIES of a service manager are of such a nature that he 

 can almost be termed a "Trinity." lie must be in a posi- 

 tion to listen to the story that usually accompanies a claim for 

 adjustment and handle the situation in such a manner as to 

 produce a result fair to both his firm and the customer. It is 

 not an easy matter to effect such a condition ; types of persons 

 differ in temperament and each one has to be handled differ- 

 ently; a constant psychological study is necessary to produce 

 the best results. As long as rubber tires are manufactured, 

 there will be adjustments to be made; tires may be adjudged 

 perfect, after test, yet use is the final proof of the serviceability 

 of the tire. It is almost a physical impossibility to produce a 

 tire that will meet the demands of everybody, and hence arise 

 conditions that are cause for adjustments. These conditions 

 differ according to the nature of the service the tire is asked 

 to perform as do also the class and conditions of roads over 

 which it has to travel. I 

 Xo manufacturing process 

 can anticipate these things. 

 The service man has to be 

 on the jump all the time 

 to get at real facts and 

 lias to be careful to keep 

 the customer "coming." 

 He must therefore be the 

 first of the trinity — a dip- 

 lomat. 



Tires are manufactured 

 according to the best 

 methods and with the best 

 material obtainable, and 

 workmen are trained to 

 turn out the best possible 

 work. There is repre- 

 sented in every tire put on 

 the market the best possi- 

 its makeup. In order to know 



ble of all elements that enter 



when a tire is good, it is necessary to be familiar with its manu- 

 facture. This is not to be learned by tearing a tire to pieces to 

 find out what is in it, but by knowing how it is put together 

 from the start to the finish of its process of manufacture. With 

 this knowledge, intelligent adjustment of tires is made possible in 

 connection with detecting the presence of physical defects. The 

 service man must therefore be in a position to size up a tire 

 and discover these things. In this regard he must be the second 

 of the trinity — a tire maker. 



In dealing with adjustments service men are continually con- 

 fronted with the situation of "the customer." It is to his 

 interest to serve him conscientiously and fairly and at the same 

 time protect his company. At times he may have to deal 

 with a customer Who "has a grouch on," due to tire troubles. 

 The branch wants that customer's name to remain on its books 

 as long as his business yields a profit. The salesman who 

 secured his business at the start started with a perfectly good 

 tire with which to demonstrate his product ; the service man 

 starts with a tire a customer is claiming to be defective ; he 

 therefore has two things to accomplish, satisfy his customer 

 on a basis of adjustment and also sell him a new tire. There 

 is consequently a responsibility resting with the service man, 

 that of being the third feature of the trinity— a salesman. .\nd 



