While I'm on the topic of snorkels, I am just wondering if anyone might know how they made the bends in the rubber snorkels back in their day? Was this done in the mold, or formed later by some special process? I've often wondered about this and have asked a few people over the years but nobody knows. It seems every brand of mower had its own unique bends in the snorkel.
Exactly what kind of rubber was used also seems to be a mystery today. I was always led to believe it was 100% natural rubber, but must have been treated so it could handle oil and some heat, as well as sun exposure. One thing is for certain, the countries that once manufactured quality rubber no longer seem able to. All of the rubber products coming from Asian nations perish and crack in no time. Last year I purchased some rubber plug covers made in Taiwan and got them out to use the other day, only to find they had perished while still inside their packets. I had them stored in a dark, timber cabinet. Basically they just crumbled up in my hands. Yet most of the rubber parts on old Victas from the 1960s are still intact, but have gone a bit hard. That was generally what happened to rubber in the old days. It went hard over time. These days it just perishes and falls to bits. Something about the art of rubber manufacturing has been lost to the modern world.
It surprises me that India is no longer manufacturing natural rubber hoses, or maybe they are?
So how did they produce those bends in the rubber snorkels? The fountain of all knowledge (Google) says this: "Use antifreeze or detergent to make the hose slip easily. Bend it to the shape you want then place in oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Take it out and let it cool slowly." Seems a bit extreme to me, you'd think it would melt at that temperature? I know of a Gates product called Unicoil that provides a useful way to bend modern automotive hoses.
Bad country. Very bad nation. Manufacturing should be left to Europeans and their colonies and no trade secrets shared with "the aliens on earth".
China makes very good products and some dodgy ones. Most dodgy ones are made by foreign investors getting stuff made there on the cheap. But who else is making this stuff? Guess where I'm getting the 4 different kinds of hoses from to test? That's right, all 4 from China. They are the only country that can produce so many different types of flexible hoses. I guess if you can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em. Haha!
Yes I would think the Victa snorkel is made the same way as an automotive hose is made ,make the straight hose, put the hose on a mandrel and apply heat. I guess the snorkel was also made using child labour .
Amazing what they do in India under the most primitive conditions and always plenty of young kids working in those factories. OH&S in Aus and you wouldn't last 2 seconds
Yes Norm, lots of backyard industries in India (Pakistan too) that are capable of making very good products, because they specialize. But no masks to safeguard against fumes etc. I wonder how many are still alive who worked with rubber manufacture as children back in the 1950s-70s? However I know plenty of old fellas in their 90s who are still fairly active who worked as mechanics with their hands in contact with all sorts of chemicals for decades and they are no better or worse than the ones who worked in offices. Now that I think about it, the more active ones who worked all day up to their necks in chemicals seem to be a lot healthier today than the ones who didn't, so it does make me wonder just how "lethal" some of this stuff really is. My own father lived to be 90 and he did everything but drink the weedicides which came in drums with a big skull and crossbones on the sides. It was nothing to see him stirring these lethal chemicals in the spray drum with his bare arms down as far as his shoulders in the stuff. He wore no protective gear while spraying and regularly kept on the same farm clothes for a week before giving them a basic wash in a washing machine. they came out smelling just as bad as when they went in. So yeah, deadly only to some people it seems. :-)
Yes VM, I have seen them making tennis balls, crash helmets, motorcycle sprockets, I'm guessing a lot of the machinery they use came from England 50/60 years ago and still going strong to this day
