Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
December 1941. Goodrich plant at Akron, Ohio. "Rubber stock for track treads of scout cars and other Army halftrack vehicles is milled in one Ohio tire plant. All rubber firmly 'welded' to the steel parts is formed into one tough durable piece." View full size. 4x5 negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.
I've seen almost identical machines in the late 1970's at the Firestone plant in Los Angeles. They mix the rubber compounds after they come out of the "Banburys" that do the initial mixing. The drums contain cold water run through them. After the worker peels up the rubber from the drum, he will put the batch in the top, where it will be squashed & blended. The friction & compression would heat the rubber up to smoking hot. There have been several guys pulled into the machine over the years. The overhead bars are for an emergency stop to shut off the machine.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5