JENKINS’
NEW AND IMPROVED HEATER AND PRESS,
FOR MAKING CEMENTED BOOTS AND SHOES.

This “Heater” is a new invention recently introduced, to heat the soles and shoes of the most delicate stock for cementation. The heat is applied only to the cemented surfaces, which require uniting. This process prevents the hardening and contracting of the sole leather and uppers. The old “cooking” process greatly damaged the stock, and frequently spoiled it utterly, as it was simply a matter of pure luck whether the stock was heated to a proper degree or crisped by over-heating. This “Heater” can be regulated to the exact degree of heat desired. They are manufactured in a portable form for such as wish to do a limited business. The heat from a single lamp, or hot water, or steam can be used.

Jenkins’ Press, patented Sept. 7, 1858, is designed to hold every description of shoes and soles, in their proper position, while being pressed and cooled. The thinnest soles and taps, double-soles or welts, from the finest ladies’ shoes to coarse brogans or kip boots are held firmly by this Press. They are cooled in a very short time and receive equal pressure on the bottom of the shoe or its edges, together with the clamping apparatus holding the shoe, soles and stock. The Press can also be used as a “Heater” when desired, by filling the base containing the water for cooling the shoe, with hot air, steam, or hot water, thus securing all the heat that is required for melting the cement, and for uniting the various parts of the shoe. The shoe can then be placed in a cold water-press and cooled. It is then ready for the finisher. By the use of this Press, all outer soles, middle soles, lifts, &c., &c., may be cut with dies; this process is of obvious advantage to the manufacturer, as all thin or thick soles will not require paring off, or may have their edges finished before they are put on, thus preventing all cutting of the uppers in paring off, which item is of great importance to the manufacturer.

The following highly important recipes have been arranged and selected with great care. Some of them are original discoveries, the result of personal test and application, and are entirely reliable. Others have been compiled from the highest sources, and are submitted with full confidence in their virtues. The cements for boots and shoes of India-rubber and gutta-percha are of great practical utility, and the information we thus furnish we regard as almost invaluable to the boot and shoe manufacturer. The varnishes are also equally important, and may be relied upon as the best yet discovered. The Water-Proof Cement and Glues are simple in their ingredients and easily prepared.

Bisulphuret of Carbon is remarkable for its great solvent powers, readily dissolving substances which no other fluid can so effectually influence, such as sulphur, phosphorus, iodine, etc. It has, however, a fetid odor, and is inflammable, burning with a blue flame. It has been used as a solvent of India-rubber, but for the common cements of rubber and gutta-percha the triple refined camphene is preferable. The rubber cement has long been used for cementing shoes in Lynn, Roxbury, and other large shoe manufacturing towns in Massachusetts. It is easily made, by dissolving it in pure camphene and grinding it in a paint mill; many manufacturers mix it in large portions of lampblack, sulphur, zinc and charcoal. The charcoal is remarkable for its indestructibility, resisting the most intense heat; the fact is, that the more carbon an organized body contains, so much the less liable is it to decomposition, it is for this reason that it is by some regarded as much better than lampblack, for rubber cements. It is ground into the rubber in large quantities, making a paint or mixture of any required tenacity. The Bogarbus eccentric rubber mill is most commonly used for grinding rubber cements for shoes, or for spreading upon cloth. Rubber cements are only good for cementing shoes when the stock is perfectly free from oil or grease, and kept free from such contact; a condition which is hardly possible. All oleaginous substances are sure to decompose rubber in all its common preparations, vulcanized or not. Gutta-percha cements, on the contrary, are not easily affected by oleaginous substances, unless too much heat is used in perfecting the union of the various parts of a boot or shoe. Calf skins are frequently “stuffed” to full, thus causing the grease to mix with the cement when first applied in a heated state. To prevent this result, use proper care in the application of the cement; see that it is not too hot, also be careful that the shoe itself is not too hot. These precautions well observed, will result in a cementation which will resist the oil in the leather until it is completely worn out.

Gutta-percha cement is made by dissolving it in triple refined camphene. Take from four to five times its weight of camphene, place it into a common glue kettle, boil it on a stove, or by a gas or spirit lamp, as is most convenient; always keeping the water around the vessel to prevent ignition; boil until it is completely dissolved, then strain it, if it is required, and it is ready for use. Always apply the cement warm. If too thick to spread easily with a brush, reduce it with camphene. Heat and mix by stirring the compound well together.

A HARD BRILLIANT BLACK VARNISH FOR BOOT AND SHOE EDGES AND HEELS.

Take three ounces shellac, one ounce sandarach, reduce them to a coarse powder, add one half ounce of lampblack, place them in a glass vessel, into which pour a pint and a half of the best alcohol; cork tight, and frequently shake the vessel to hasten solution. This varnish will retain its brilliancy for years. It may be spread with a sponge or brush. When it is used for upper leather add half a pint of alcohol and one ounce of turpentine or an ounce of gummastic.

By adding a small portion of sandarach varnish to the common sponge blacking it will make it brilliant and hard. By adding a small portion India-rubber dissolved in triple refined camphene it renders the blacking elastic and water-proof, and useful for boot and shoe uppers, etc.

Asphaltum is a smooth, hard, brittle, black substance, which breaks with a polish, melts easily when heated, and, when pure, burns without leaving any ashes. It makes a cheap and brilliant varnish for boot and shoe heels, by dissolving it in triple refined camphene. It should be made thick so as to spread with the finger or a brush.

India-rubber has been highly extolled for a varnish. Dissolve in five times its weight of triple refined camphene. By keeping it a few days, after it is cut fine, then boil one ounce of this solution in eight ounces of “drying” linseed oil, for a few minutes; strain the solution and use it warm.

WATER-PROOF CEMENT.

Take of the best glue four ounces, of isinglass two ounces, and dissolve them in mild ale over a slow fire, in a common glue kettle, to the consistence of strong glue, when one ounce and a half of well boiled linseed oil must be gradually added, and the whole be well mixed by stirring. When cold and made into cakes, it resembles India-rubber. When wanted for use dissolve a piece of it in a proportionate quantity of ale. This cement is applicable to all joints of wood, to join earthen-ware, china, glass. It is an excellent cement for leather, for harness, bands for machinery, &c. The joints of these are to be prepared as if for sewing, the cement to be applied hot, laying a weight upon each joint as it is made, in which state it is to be left six hours, when the joints will be found nearly as firm as if they were of an entire piece. By adding a little tow to the above, you have an excellent cement for leaks in casks, &c.

Take three ounces of seed-lac, and put it, with a pint of spirits of wine, into a bottle, of which it will not fill more than two-thirds. Shake the mixture well together, and place it in a gentle heat, till the seed-lac appears to be dissolved: the solution will be hastened by shaking the bottle occasionally. After it has stood some time, pour off the clear part, and keep it for use in a well-stopped bottle. The seed-lac should be purified before it is used, by washing it in cold water, and it should be in coarse powder, when added to the spirit.

This varnish is next to that of copal in hardness, and has a reddish-yellow color: it is, therefore, only to be used where a tinge of that kind is not injurious.

SHELLAC VARNISH.

Take five ounces of the best shellac, reduce it to a gross powder, and put it into a bottle in a gentle heat, or a warm, close apartment, where it must continue two or three days, but should be frequently well shaken. The lac will then be dissolved, and the solution should then be filtered through a flannel bag; and, when the portion that will pass through freely is come off, it should be kept for use in well-stopped bottles.

The portion which can only be made to pass through the bag by pressure, may be reserved for coarse purposes.

Shellac varnish is rather softer than seed-lac varnish, but it is the best of varnishes for mixing with colors to paint with, instead of oil, from its working and spreading better in the pencil.

To prepare glue, it must be steeped for a number of hours, over night, for instance, in cold water, by which means it will become considerably swelled and softened. It must then be gently boiled, till it is entirely dissolved, and of a consistence not too thick to be easily brushed over wood.

When glue, by repeatedly heating it, has become of a dark and almost black color, its qualities are impaired; when newly melted, it is of a light ruddy brown color, nearly like that of the dry cake held up to the light; and while this color remains, it may be considered fit for almost every purpose. Though glue which has been melted is the most suitable for use, other circumstances being the same, yet that which has been the longest manufactured is the best. To try the goodness of glue, steep a piece three or four days in cold water; if it swell considerably without melting, and when taken out resumes, in a short time, its former dryness, it is excellent. If it be soluble in cold water, it is a proof that it wants strength.

A glue which does not dissolve in water, may be obtained by melting a common glue with the smallest possible quantity of water, and adding by degrees linseed oil rendered drying by boiling it with litharge; while the oil is added, the ingredients must be well stirred to incorporate them thoroughly.

A glue which will resist water, in a considerable degree, is made by dissolving common glue in skimmed milk.

Finely lixiviated chalk added to the common solution of glue in water, constitutes an addition that strengthens it, and renders it suitable for boards, or other things which must stand the weather.

A glue that will hold against fire or water, may be prepared by mixing a handful of quick-lime with four ounces of linseed oil: thoroughly lixiviate the mixture, boil it to a good thickness, and then spread it on tin plates in the shade; it will become exceedingly hard, but may be dissolved over a fire, as ordinary glue, and is then fit for use.

TO MAKE PORTABLE GLUE.

Take one pound of the best glue, boil and strain it very clear; boil likewise four ounces of isinglass, put it in a double glue-pot, with half a pound of fine brown sugar, and boil it pretty thick; then pour it into moulds; when cold, cut and dry them in small pieces. This glue is very useful to draughtsmen, architects, &c., as it immediately dilutes in warm water, and fastens the paper without the process of damping.

TO MAKE GLUE THAT WILL RESIST MOISTURE.

Dissolve gum sandarach and mastic, of each two ounces, in a pint of spirit of wine, adding about an ounce of clear turpentine. Then take equal parts of isinglass and parchment glue, made according to the directions in the preceding article, and having beaten the isinglass into small bits, and reduced the glue to the same state, pour the solution of the gums upon them, and melt the whole in a vessel well covered, avoiding so great a heat as that of boiling water. When melted, strain the glue through a coarse linen cloth, and then put it again over the fire, adding about an ounce of powdered glass.

This preparation may be best managed by hanging the vessel in boiling water, which will prevent the matter burning to the vessel, or the spirit of wine from taking fire, and indeed it is better to use the same method for all the evaporations of nicer glues and sizes; but, in that case, less water than the proportion directed, should be added to the materials.

ANOTHER METHOD.

A very strong glue, that will resist water, may be also made by adding half a pound of common glue, or isinglass glue, to two quarts of skimmed milk, and then evaporating the mixture to the due consistence of the glue.

TO MAKE PARCHMENT GLUE.

Take one pound of parchment, and boil it in six quarts of water, till the quantity be reduced to one quart; strain off the fluid from the dregs, and then boil it again till it be of the consistence of glue.

The same may be done with glovers’ cuttings of leather, which make a colorless glue, if not burnt in the evaporation of water.

A VERY STRONG COMPOUND GLUE.

Take common glue in very small or thin bits, and isinglass glue: infuse them in as much spirit of wine as will cover them, for at least twenty-four hours. Then melt the whole together, and, while they are over the fire, add as much powdered chalk as will render them an opaque white.

The infusion in the spirit of wine has been directed in the recipes given for glue; but the remark on the use of it in one of the preceding articles will hold good also in this, and the mixture may be made with water only.

TO MAKE COMPOUND GLUE.

Take very fine flour, mix it with white of eggs, isinglass, and a little yeast; mingle the materials; beat them well together; spread them, the batter being made thin with gum-water, on even tin plates, and dry them in a stove, then cut them out for use. To color them, tinge the paste with Brazil, or vermilion for red; indigo or verditer, &c., for blue; saffron, turmeric, or gamboge, &c., for yellow.

TO MAKE ISINGLASS GLUE.

This is made by dissolving beaten isinglass in water by boiling, and having strained it through a coarse linen cloth, evaporating it again to such a consistence, that, being cold, the glue will be perfectly hard and dry.

A great improvement is made in this glue by adding spirit of wine or brandy after it is strained, and then renewing the evaporation till it gains the due consistence.

TO MAKE ISINGLASS SIZE.

This may also be prepared in the manner above directed for the glue, by increasing the proportion of the water for dissolving it, and the same holds good of parchment size. A better sort of the common size may be likewise made by treating cuttings of glovers’ leather in the same manner.

NEW WATER-PROOF CLOTH.

According to a recent statement of M. Payen, a chemist of some note, cloth is rendered water-proof by the aid of alum and sugar of lead, without the aid of India-rubber or gutta-percha, or any other gums or oils. The process given is very simple, and is claimed to render any species of tissue water-proof. “Dissolve two pounds and a half of alum in four gallons of water; dissolve, also, in a separate vessel, the same weight of acetate of lead in the same quantity of water. When both are thoroughly dissolved mix the solutions together, and when the sulphate of lead, resulting from this mixture, has been precipitated to the bottom of the vessel in the form of a powder, pour off the solution, and plunge into it the tissue to be rendered water-proof. Wash and rub it well during a few minutes, and hang it in the air to dry.”

When dry, the fabric or cloth so treated will repel rain and moisture, but allow the air or perspiration to pass through it.

Immerse dry timber in a strong solution of alum, and dry it in a kiln, the warmer the better, and we will warrant it to be the best and cheapest substance for preserving wood from decay and burning. To those who are acquainted with the nature and effects of alum, they know what a great heat alumina can stand, and alum when deprived of its water by strong heat, does not easily combine with it again, by any common means. Therefore, the reasonableness of the foregoing statements.

By washing wood with strong soap suds, allowing it to dry, and then washing it with a strong solution of alum, a most excellent water-proof coating is the result.

Make up a weak solution of soap containing a very small quantity of glue, and immerse paper in it until it is wet through. Now take it out, dip it into a solution of alum, and dry it.

The alum, gluten, gelatine, and soap unite together, and form an insoluble compound, which coats every fibre of the textile fabric, and when dry repels water like the natural oil in the feathers of a duck. There are various substances which are soluble in water singly, but when combined form insoluble compounds, and vice versa. Alum, soap, and gelatine are soluble in water singly, but form insoluble compounds when united chemically. Oil is insoluble in water singly, but combined with caustic soda or potash it forms soluble soap. Such are some of the useful curiosities of chemistry.

TO RENDER CANVAS WATER-PROOF.

Take 7 lbs. of soap and dissolve it in two gallons of water, and while at the boiling heat add 3½ lbs. of the sulphate of zinc (white copperas). The sulphuric acid of the salt combines with the alkali of the soap, and the oxide of the salt combines with its oil and forms an insoluble metallic soap, which, when cold, rises to the surface and has the appearance of a white hard mass. This is afterwards re-boiled to purify it. The next step to be taken is to boil 2? gallons of linseed oil along with one pound of potash until it assumes a soapy appearance. The whole is now boiled along with two pounds of fine animal charcoal and five quarts of water, which purifies the mixture, after an hour’s boiling, when the whole is filtered and is of a clear color. About one pound of sugar of lead (acetate) and one pound of rosin is mixed with the oil, and boiled for one hour. Into this mixture is stirred at a boiling heat, 2 lbs. of the metallic soap described above, and after it is dissolved, about two quarts of India-rubber dissolved in turpentine is added, and this completes the making of the mixture. This is put on to the canvas with a brush at the heat of 160° Fah. Two coats will be found sufficient to make it water-proof. More however may be applied. Each coat should be allowed to dry before the other is put on. If copperas be employed in this mixture, it will make it of a brown color, and cobalt a blue.

To make leather water-proof, take equal quantities of the metallic soap and raw linseed oil, mix them together, and place the liquid in at a heat of 225° and suffer it to cool gradually. The leather should be dried in the atmosphere, when it will be perfectly pliable. Any quantity of the above may be made, so as the proportions are maintained.

This is a first rate composition for the purpose stated, and one to which painters should give peculiar attention, so should the manufacturers of glazed and patent leather.

In November, 1838, William Gates, of Hanover, N. Y., received a patent for preparing and applying elastic japan to leather, to produce the kind now known by the name of “glazed leather.” Two quarts of linseed oil were boiled until the yellow scum disappeared, and two ounces of umber and one of litharge were added and boiled for an hour and a half. The fire was then withdrawn, and all sediment allowed to settle, after which the clear liquor was run off. Eight ounces of India-rubber in shreds were then heated in a close vessel with two quarts of turpentine, and the two quarts of prepared linseed oil described were added, and the whole kept boiling until the India-rubber was dissolved, when eight ounces of asphaltum were added. This constituted the japan for the leather. It was put on the leather with a sponge or brush and allowed to dry, which it did rapidly. It was then rubbed down with pumice stone, then another coat laid on, and so on successively, like varnishing and polishing mahogany or rosewood. This method of japanning leather is now public property.

GUM.

This word stands for a number of substances which, when dissolved in suitable liquids, possess a powerful adhesive property, and the common and well-known gum-arabic may stand as a type of the class. It is the product of an acacia, and was originally imported into Europe from Barbary and Morocco. In its purest condition, it forms white or rather yellowish masses, which are destitute of any crystalline structure, and break with a shell-like fracture. Its solutions are wrongly called mucilage, which is an entirely different substance. Gum-arabic dissolves in cold water, from which the pure gummy soluble principle can be precipitated by alcohol and by basic acetate of lead. Arabin is composed of 42.1 per cent. of carbon, 6.4 per cent. of hydrogen, and 51.5 per cent. of oxygen, which, by a curious chemical coincidence, is exactly the composition of crystallized cane sugar, and it illustrates the fact, that among organic bodies, substances of the same ultimate composition may have very dissimilar properties.

Another gum is mucilage, very abundant in linseed, in the roots of the mallow, in salep, and in the fleshy roots of the orchis and other plants. It is soluble in cold water, but is less transparent than gum-arabic, and it is precipitated by the neutral acetate or sugar of lead.

Gum Tragacanth is chiefly composed of a kind of mucilage to which the name of bassorin has been given, and which does not dissolve in water, but simply assumes a gelatinous aspect. Caustic soda or potash will dissolve it. The principle use to which this gum is put, is in the manufacture of marbled paper, where it forms the bath on which the colors are thrown, and from which they are taken up by the paper.

Cerasin is the insoluble portion of the gum of the cherry tree, and is nearly like bassorin. Mr. Schmidt has determined the composition of these various substances, and has found them all more or less allied to starch, invariably containing hydrogen and oxygen, the proportions in which they form water, and all when treated with acids yield grape sugar.

The jelly of fruits or pectin is closely related to the gums, but as yet chemists have not paid much attention to it, and consequently much that is said of it is merely conjectural.

GUM ARABIC CEMENTS.

Gum arabic, dissolved in as small quantity of water as may be, and diluted to a proper consistence with gin, or any proof spirits, forms a very useful cement for all purposes where gum-water is commonly used, the spirit preserving it from becoming putrescent. As the spirit evaporates, more should be added. It should be stirred and mixed together at the time of using. If plaster of Paris be added to gum-water, it makes a cement useful to ladies in filigree works.

Gum ammoniac added to the solution of gum-arabic in proof spirits very much improves the cement. It answers very well for joining broken glass and ornamental articles of porcelain.