September 1, 1919/ 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



CEMENTING. 



The lasted shoe is given a liberal coating of rubber cement, 

 brush-spread over the bottom and allowed to dry thoroughly 

 before the application of the rubber parts. By means of a con- 

 veyor belt, the uncementcd shoes reach the ccmenter and leave 



Attaching the Outsole. 

 him continuously, drying as they travel toward 



,ie next opera- 



FOXING. 



The finishing strip which encircles t 

 skived edge of the rubber sole is ne 

 with a rubber toe piece, in case one is 

 times called uppering the shoe. 



SOLE CUTTING. 



The rubber stock for outer soles is 

 special calender provided with a knurled roll to impress the de- 

 sign for sole and heel snrfare and trade-mark in the shank. In 



shoe and receives the 

 put in place, together 

 d. The work is some- 



sheet form bv a 



The Oper.\tion of Rolling. 

 the form of short sheets the calendered soling stock is fed 

 through the sole-cutting machine by which the sole is cut with 

 skived edges, the form and size being controlled by the particular 

 sheet-iTietal pattern adjusted to the machine. 



OUTSOLING. 



A part of this operation is done by hand and a part by ma- 

 chinery. The rubber sole must be accurately placed as to width 

 and length and is set as viewed from above. If hand-rolling 

 only is practiced, the work of soling is all done by one operator 

 using an ordinary hand-roller and a stitcher to turn up the 

 skived edge of the sole and unite it perfectly to the fo.xing. 

 Otherwise the shoe is taken to a rolling machine which rolls 

 the sole and presses it down tirmly. 



For the work of rolling, automatic machines are used wdiich, 

 although complicated, are simple to handle. The worker sets 

 the shoe in place, moves a switch, and the machine carries the 

 shoe under heavy rollers and back again. Most machines are 

 double so that the operator can set one shoe for each movement 

 of travel. In this way an operator may roll as high as 30.000 

 to 40,000 shoes in one day. 



EDGING. 



In teain work it is customarj' to employ a power edging ma- 

 chine which comprises a motor, a rubber hammer, and a steel 



St.xkching \\ hitk Tennis Shoes. 

 edger. The machine is constructed so that the hammer is driven 

 at a high speed with about a half-inch stroke. The operator holds 

 the shoe up against the hammer and the action of the machine 

 welds the sole down firmly. The edger works much like the 

 hammer and the worker holds the shoe so that the sole is 

 trimmed and the foxing stitched at the same time. 



FINISHING. 



Clean-finish white tennis shoes are sometiines dusted with 

 starch. They are arranged on trays and placed in a chamber 

 provided with means for carrj'ing away the dust from the work- 

 ers . Colored shoes receive a brush coat of special vulcanizing 

 varnish on the soles. 



CURING. 



Vulcanizing is effected, as a rule, in pressure-cure vulcanizers. 

 Following this come stripping oiT the lasts, inspection, tying, 

 sorting, and boxing in cartons usually made on the premises. 



During the month of February, 1919, 745,906 pounds of 

 plantation rubber were exported from British North Borneo. 



