460 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1917. 



LIFE PRESERVER FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT, 



The difficulty of rescuing people from the water 

 at night or in a fog is readily apparent, and many 

 lives have been lost at sea owing to the inability 

 of would-be rescuers to see the victims or hear 

 their cries for assistance. A newly invented life- 

 saving apparatus, shown herewith, is specially 

 designed to overcome this disadvantage. This 

 device consists of a rubber bag in 

 which is contained an electric flash- 

 light, tlie whole being attached by 

 straps or other suitable fastening 

 means to the ordinary form of life- 

 preserver or life-belt. The rubber fits 

 tightly around the lens, so as to exclude water, 

 but the body of the bag is sufficiently loose to 

 permit operation of the contact button of the 

 flashlight. [A. M. McGiff, 2i7 West Twentieth street, New 

 York City.] 



EXPLOSION OF A HORIZONTAL VULCANIZER. 



NON-SKID RUBBER HEEL AND FIBER-SOLE. 



A rubber heel embodying the same non-skid angle design as 

 the well-known tire tread of its manufacturer has recently been 

 placed upon the market. This heel is tough 

 wearing and springy, and the angle tread, 

 shown in the accompanying illustration, af- 

 fords a firm foothold. 



Coincident with the manufacture of this 

 heel, the company began making a fiber sole 

 ihich is claimed to be an exceptionally high- 

 grade product that can be stitched, trimmed 

 and finished the same as leather. The same 

 material is also made in sheets of any de- 

 sired thickness for soling. Both heels and 

 soles are supplied in black, tan or \vhite. [The Marathon Tire & 

 Rubber Co., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.] 



IMPROVED FIRE HOSE CABINET. 



An interesting invention for fire equipment comprises a metal 

 hose cabinet 18 inches high, 13 inches wide and 4 inches deep, 

 inside measurements, so constructed that as soon as the hose 

 is drawn out of the cabinet, water 

 begins to flow through it. Fifty feet 

 of j4-inch fire hose, provided with 

 a nozzle and so arranged that it 

 takes up but 8 inches of the cabinet's 

 entire width, is held in place by two 

 steel coil springs which are covered 

 with rubber, thus preventing all dam- 

 age to the hose should it be replaced 

 after use before it is thoroughly dry. 

 One end of the hose is connected to 

 an automatic, double-seated valve, 

 locked when not in use, and seated 

 against the pressure. When in use, 

 this valve is seated with the pressure 

 and the more pressure is applied the 

 tighter it becomes. 



This cabinet can be placed in any house or public building 

 and is supplied by a water pipe connected with the house sup- 

 ply, atifording the same facilities as a fire department. [John 

 Egleston, Westfield, Massachusetts.] 



The National Insulate Co., Inc., with offices at 1239 Broadway, 

 New York City, is now equipped to manufacture articles made 

 of composition materials, such as phonograph records, molded 

 electrical parts, buttons and novelties. 



SEVERAL months ago a horizontal vulcauizer used for open 

 steam curing in an English rubber mill exploded violently, 

 blowing off the head, but, fortunately, no one was injured. 

 ■ The investigation that followed revealed the following facts 

 which proved beyond all doubt that with ordinary care the 

 accident would not have happened. 



The vulcauizer was of the ordinary horizontal type, with a 

 ^-inch iron shell, 4 feet 6 inches in diameter by 6 feet long. The 

 back end iron plate was % inch in tliickness, flanged and single 

 riveted to the shell with rivets lYt, inches apart. The door was 

 the full diameter of the pan and of 5^-inch iron plate, dished 



Vui.c.wizER Door Blown Uff bv Explosion. 



about 6 inches. It was hinged to the shell and held in place by 

 21 hinged bolts, 1J4 inches in diameter, fitting into slots in the 

 angle bar and door. Steam was supplied through a reducing 

 valve set to 45 pounds, and the usual fittings were provided, 

 including a relief valve set to 45 pounds. 



The cause of the explosion was the forcing out of the 12 

 lower bolts from their slots, due to the door flange being angled 

 or sprung, the door being then forced away from the remaining 

 9 bolts. 



The explosion was of a violent nature, the door being blown 

 bodily off, breaking the hinge at the pan, and tearing the door 

 flange in way of the hinge, as shown in the illustration. The 

 reaction lifted the pan bodily and forced it back, breaking the 

 front standard, the pan finally being held up by two of the 

 lower bolts resting on the top of the front standard. Practically 

 all the contents of the pan were discharged and the pan itself 

 suffered no damage except the broken hinge. 



BRICTSON COMPAUY TO BUILD IN OMAHA. 



The Brictson Manufacturing Co., Brookings, South Dakota, 

 has decided to locate in Omaha, Nebraska, although the date 

 when building operations on its new plant will be begun has 

 not yet been decided upon. This company manufactures a metal- 

 studded tire with a 10,000 mile guarantee. The Omaha factory 

 will be equipped for the manufacture of a complete line of rubber 

 •tires, in both plain tread and non-skid types, also inner tubes, 

 and later on the company contemplates adding to its present line 

 other rubber articles which can be manufactured to advantage. 

 The directors are as follows : A. O. Brictson. president and 

 general manager; George W. Cobel, H. F. Haroldson, G. J. 

 Flittie and W. L. Montgomery. 



