I-'ehuuaky I, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



151 



■ manufacturers. Among German firms who make a specialty of 

 balata belting are the Guttapercha-Waaren und Treibriemcn- 

 Fabrik of Lowitz & Rohlfs, at Ahona, a suburb of Hamburg, 

 and the firm of Scholtz, of the latter city; the well known 

 Calmon Rubber and Asbestos Works being also credited with mak- 

 ing it. The large belts made by the Altona rubber company men- 

 tioned above have already had pictorial mention in The India 

 Rubber World. I may say that it is not the easiest matter in 

 the world to give a list of the actual manufacturers ; mention may 

 be made, however, of the Christiania (Norway) balata belting 

 factory, Den Norse Remfabrik. 



To give a synopsis of the balata belting manufacture, it may be 

 stated in a general way that the machinery used closely re- 

 sembles what is ordinarily employed in a rubber works. So 

 far the business has not been of importance enough to warrant 

 the rubber machinery makers issuing special catalogues, and the 

 work so far done has been rather to the design of the in- 

 dividual belting manufacturers than from standard patterns of 

 machinery. Of special mention in this connection is the firm of 

 William Rowan & Sons, Park lane, Bridgton, Glasgow, who have 

 specialized in balata belt machinery. 



To return, however, to the manufacture, the raw balata, which 

 is used both in the form of sheet and block, after having been 

 washed and dried, is dissolved to a thick paste in coal tar 

 naphtha or shale spirit if the current price is in the latter's 

 •favor. This operation is carried out in a large closed-in vessel 

 which hardly calls for minute description. The fabric, which is 

 a coarse canvas, is passed through the solution on the belt stick- 

 ing machine which in its form much resembles an ordinary 

 spreading machine. When the solutioning has been completed 

 and the solvent evaporated, the fabric is doubled to form a 

 four-ply and passed through calender bowls whereby the balata 

 is forced into the interstices of the canvas to form a homo- 

 geneous mass. The subsequent process of stretching is of some 

 importance both to the manufacturer and the purchaser. The 

 former is benefitted by the increase of length obtained and the 

 latter by having the belt well stretched at first is free from 

 trouble associated wuli "taking up" after the belting has been 

 in use for some time. 



There is general testimony among users of balata belting to 

 the non-necessity of taking up and the claims of the manufac- 

 turers in this respect need not be considered exaggerated. This 

 stretching operation is carried out on a special machine worked 

 by hydraulic power. In the case of endless belting the making 

 of a perfect joint is an important desideratum, and for the pur- 

 pose a solution of balata in bisulphide of carbon is commonly 

 used,, the exact proportion of the ingredients being a matter re- 

 quiring careful attention. The coating of balata which forms the 

 face of tlie belt and which is put on after the compression in 

 the Calendar may be of the same composition as that of the 

 naphtha solution, but is not always so. In some makes of belt- 

 ing a different material is used and economy has also been ef- 

 fected by the admixture of a small amount of mineral matter. 



FIRE HOSE DAMAGED BY ACID. 



' I " HE care of tire hose is a matter that the chief engineer of 

 every well managed fire department is constantly watching 

 and to which he gives his close attention. Now and then, how- 

 ever, by accident or through the carelessness of persons to whom 

 this duty is assigned, in handling acid carboys or acid charges in 

 close proximity to fire hose, a small quantity may be thrown on 

 the fabric jacket and ruin several hundred feet of high grade and 

 expensive hose as it lies coiled up in the fire station, or when 

 chemical engines are being recharged at fires. These accidental 

 occurrences are not always noticed, until, at the next succeeding 

 fire, the hose, to all intents and purposes, appears to be defective, 

 and, in some instances, is returned to reputable and reliable manu- 

 facturers, with the complaint that it has not stood the test of 



wear guaranteed, and a request that the defective goods be re- 

 placed. These demands, of course, are made in good faith and 

 in ignorance of the true cause that put the hose to the bad. A 

 little care in handling acids will entirely prevent the foregoing 

 trouble. Sometimes, however, this may occur at fires in buildings 

 where chemicals are manufactured or stored, and vessels con- 

 taining acids are broken, and the acid mingles with the waste 

 water and saturates the hose lines which have been run into the 

 burning building. — Fire and Water Engineering. 



A FELT AND RUBBER COMPANY IN CANADA. 



■ I ' HE readers of The India Ribber World will perhaps re- 

 ■*■ member the felt and rubber footwear factory that was 

 started at Saugus, Massachusetts, as the Snowdrift Footwear Co. 

 [See our issue of July i, 1900 — page 267.] But for some reason 

 or other it went out of business, not because of inherent fault in 

 the goods but in all probability from lack of capital. The in- 

 ventor of this type of footwear, Mr. H. C. Richardson, of Haver- 

 hill, Mass., was more successful in Canada, where he started the 

 Brantford Felt and Rubber Co., Limited, which is now operating 

 successfully. The company's factory is situated at Holmdale, 



The Brantford F.^ctory. 



where they have four buildings of mill construction, one of them 

 three stories 155X55 feet, and the three other two-story buildings 

 which are respectively 88X34 feet, 55X21 feet and 26X57 feet. 

 This plant gives them room to make 250 pairs a day and at 

 the present they are making about one-half that ticket. The com- 

 pany, by the way. are working under Mr. Richardson's patents. 

 The issues in the United States were numbered as follows : The 

 first, issued August 28, 1906, No. 829.487. The additional patents 

 were September 2, 1907, No. 864.916. and October 15, 1907, No. 

 868,484. The product of the company is wholly confined to foot- 

 wear of felt and rubber made under these patents, the line cover- 

 ing a stormproof boot, a dry snow boot, a snagproof gum over, 

 and a patent fold felt sock. The goods are exceedingly tasteful 

 in appearance and are very durable, and have appealed very 

 strongly to Canadian footw-ear dealers. 



The Faultless Rubber Co. (Ashland, Ohio) are marketing a 

 new line of cloth lined rubber goods — water bottles, fountain 

 syringes, and combinations — under the brand "Wearever," which 

 are referred to as being very light, strong, and durable. They 

 come in maroon (non-blooming) or white, with smooth or ribbed 

 surface. 



The Selangor Government Gazette in a recent issue contained 

 a notice regarding a patent for an invention for "a wheel for 

 motor cars or other vehicles manufactured in one entire piece 

 and wholly from rubber, gutta-percha, or other elastic materials." 

 rials." 



Send for the Index (free) to Mr. Pearson's "Crude Rubber 

 and Compounding Ingredients.'' 



