The Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Assistant and Guide. / Containing a Brief History of the Trade. History of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, and Their Application to the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes. Full Instructions in the Art, With Diagrams and Scales, Etc., Etc. Vulcanization and Sulphurization, English and American Patents. With an Elaborate Treatise on Tanning.

by Unknown

GUTTA-PERCHA IN ITS APPLICATION TO WOOD WORK, &C.,—IMPORTANT TO SHIP AND BOAT BUILDERS.

It may be applied to vats, drains, cisterns, sinks, etc., to great advantage. All square joints should be first prepared by raising a fibre, as in veneering work. Apply the cement hot, as glue is spread. In a few hours the solvent will evaporate; then heat the parts sufficiently to melt the cement; press together firmly. The gutta-percha will be found to be an excellent cement for all leaky places in stone, brick or wood work. Mix it with sand, or any fibrous substance, apply hot, or melt it in with a hot iron. The pure gutta-percha will cement broken stone, marble or brick, so firmly that it will remain for years. It is undoubtedly the best cement ever yet discovered. Ornamental work, centre-pieces, etc., may be thus cemented to their position.

It is a well known fact, that sub-marine wires, enclosed in the gutta-percha tube, are indestructible, as all sea insects, worms, &c., never molest it. In caulking all ships, boats, &c., oakum, or any fibrous substance, may be saturated with pure gutta-percha, and then pressed hot into the joints with a hot iron. This process renders the joints proof against all agencies. The joint thus cemented is made more firm and solid than the plank itself.

TESTIMONIALS
CONCERNING THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF GUTTA-PERCHA, AND ITS APPLICATION TO BOOTS AND SHOES, IN LONDON.

Gutta-Percha Company of London, Oct. 1st, 1849.

The application of gutta-percha soles for boots and shoes have been extensively and satisfactorily tested, its merits having been acknowledged by all who have worn them. Indeed, experience has proved that gutta-percha soles wear twice as long as leather, with great additional personal comfort, and remain perfectly impervious to wet until worn through.

Southampton Row, Sept. 1st, 1847.

Gentlemen: I write to thank you because I can speak confidently of the advantages of gutta-percha over leather soles. I made the first pair last October, and wore them eight months before I wore the soles through. I had them heeled six times, and one pair of extra fronts I put to the same soles. I only kept one pair in use to see how long they would last. I will never wear another leather sole so long as I can obtain gutta-percha soles, and I walk from twelve to twenty miles a day.

C. Wright,

Boot and Shoe Maker.