16 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1914. 



be possible but for rubber in one form or another, and the 

 United States Government, as do most other maritime nations, 

 imposes a very high standard for all of these preparations. Tin- 

 submarine is entirely electrical in its propulsion when submerged, 

 and only the verj best of insulation is permissible, for a chance 

 spark through any defect would he pretty certain to invite dis- 

 aster if not destruction. So, too, the hull must be kept perfectly 

 watertight and all hatches must be so fashioned that their covers 

 can be screwed tight against seatings of the best of soft rubber 

 packing. A leak of sea water might lie quite as dangerous as a 

 short circuit, because if that water found its way into the storage 

 batteries it would lead to the generation of that insidiously suf- 

 focating chlorine gas which has already asphyxiated more than 

 tbmarine crew. 

 No up-ti ip of war is complete without her wireless 



outfit, and the readers of The India Rubber World know already 



"HENDERSON RUBBER." 



Diving Outfit. 



how much rubber helps to make this wizardry of the air pos- 

 sible; and just as messages go and come through the atmospheric 

 ocean so, too, knowledge of what is happening in the depths is 

 sometimes quite as necessary to the warship. If the craft be in- 

 jured below water, if there be some doubt as to the structural 

 condition of her bottom, or if an anchor be fouled or lost, then 

 a man must be sent overboard for inspection or for search. 

 Here is where the naval diver fulfils his mission, and here, like- 

 wise, is where rubber makes his important work possible. 



WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? 



To The Editor of The India Rubber World, Dear Sir: 



A Xew York newspaper man passing an establishment 

 which combined the functions of a retail hardware 

 store and a junk shop saw a window full of queer looking 

 objects and carrying that illuminating placard: "Do you 

 know what the\ are' We don't, but we have a lot of them 

 and are going to sell them at a quarter each if we can find 

 anybody fool enough to buy them." The newspaper man did 

 not fit the description of the desired customer, but the mys- 

 tery weighed upon him until good fortune brought him to the 

 fount of knowledge which overflows in the pages of The 

 India Rubber World. He saw a picture and from that mo- 

 ment he knew more than the junkman. It was an india 

 rubber tapping knife. 



rAU-I years the object of a certain group of chemists has been 

 " the manufacture of a synthetic rubber. The methods of 

 approaching tins subject vary greatly, but the ultimate object 

 has always been a chemical compound having all the characteris- 

 tics and the same chemical composition as true rubber. What 

 is known as "Hendei on Rubber" is an entirely new product; it 

 is not a synthetic rubber nor is it a rubber substitute. 



Its basis is raw hide scrap. This as it comes from the dealer 

 is very hard and tough and difficult to cut or work with ordinary- 

 tools. The scrap is first treated to remove all impurities, and is 

 then given a further chemical treatment which partly breaks 

 down the hide. Tins reaction is accompanied by a change of 

 the relation of the atoms in the molecule and what appears to 

 be a colloidal arrangement is set up. The material is then in a 

 very unstable condition and must undergo further treatment 

 which results in a product of great stability. The treatment not 

 only preserves and stabilizes the substance but also has an effect 

 in the finished product on its affinity for true rubber. The product 

 is then cleaned, masticated and sheeted out and is ready for the 

 market. 



It has the appearance and many of the characteristics of light 

 plantation crepe. It is tough, very nearly as elastic, and may be 

 worked in the same way. Used in rubber mixings it is said to 

 increase tensile strength and resiliency. It is used in the same 

 manner as rubber, except that a certain percentage of rubber 

 should be present in soft goods if the product is to be vulcanized. 



Henderson Rubber, it is claimed, resists oxidation and keeps 

 down deterioration, thereby increasing the life of the article. 

 When used with reclaimed rubbers of all grades it is said to im- 

 prove their quality very materially and also to have the faculty of 

 taking up a large percentage of minerals. 



Its uses, so the manufacturers assert, are as varied as those of 

 rubber and it may be used to advantage wherever rubber is used, 

 either in soft or hard goods. It is on the market and is being 

 used in molded goods, frictions and surfaces for belting, auto, 

 casings and tubes, hard rubber and ebonite goods. 



RUBBER DISC SHOCK ABSORBER. 



The majority of the automobile shock absorbers that have been 

 placed on the market in the past operate either by means of steel 

 spring resistance or by the friction of steel discs. However, here 



is a newer type of shock 

 preventer which takes up 

 the shock of the road by 

 virtue of the graduated 

 resistance of a series of 

 rubber discs. The illus- 

 tration shows one of 

 these devices set above 

 the spring between the 

 axle and the frame of 

 the car, to control the 

 action of the spring as 

 it moves up and down. 

 The device comprises a 

 series of inclined planes 

 of high carbon steel 

 working against discs of 

 brass on the principle of 

 the wedge. As these 

 wedge-like discs operate, they expand and contract other discs of 

 rubber. This rubber cushion rapidly increases in resistance the 

 farther it is compressed, so that a heavy shock meets with a 

 corresponding resistance while a light shock encounters small 

 resistance. 



Tin: Shi eK Absorber with the 

 Rubber Discs. 



