A New Leather Automobile. Tyre Guaranteed for 10,000 Miles.

Progress, Volume IV, Issue 6, 1 April 1909, Page 193

A New Leather Automobile. Tyre Guaranteed for 10,000 Miles.

Tyre trouble has from the first been the bugbear which has seemingly been inseparable from the lot of the automobile owner or user, and yet fully as much ingenuity has been expended upon the perfection of tyres which should answer all conditions of extremely exacting service as upon the driving mechanism itself. With the perfection of the new mineral tanning processes for the treatment of leather, an exceedingly tough, pliable and serviceable material was developed, which was quickly levied upon for use in the composition of automobile tires. Some were made entirely of the new chrome leather or used in combination with rubber, canvas, and other materials which are ordinarily utilised in tyre construction. Of the several leather tyres which have been offered to the motoring public as a charm against dreaded tyre troubles, there is one type which so combines the use of leather, canvas, rubber and steel in its construction, that the best possible service is obtained from each material. This tyre, suggestively called the Ke-pa-go-in, is made by the Beebe-Elliott Company, of Racine, Wis. There are a number of features about the tyre, both in material and method of construction, which place it in a class by itself. Its makers are so well satisfied as to its re-

markable service-giving qualities, that they are not content with the usual 2,000 to 4,000 miles service life of the ordinary rubber tyre, but guarantee 10,000 miles service for their 3-inch and 3i/2in. tyres, 7,000 miles for the 4-inch, and 5,000 miles for the 5-inch tyres, or agree to replace tyres without question. The result of the combination of materials used in the construction of these tyres is a puncture-proof leather tread, rendered skid-proof by the use of colddrawn steel rivets, and reinforced by canvas and rubber carcasses of the type ordinarily used in rubber-tire construction. The leather is thoroughly water-proofed in the tanning process. There are no glued lap joints of leather to open after a short time in service. The rivets are put in to stay, being driven through two thicknesses of leather and resting against a third. Eubber is used for its adhesive qualities, and not where its strength will be taxed beyond reasonable limits, as in the ordinary tyre. The lining next to the inner tube is of a soft, tight-fitting material, making a smooth, frictionless wall. The heat generated in the tyre casing, caused by the compression of air in the inner tube, is radiated off through the steel rivets in the casing as they travel rapidly through the outer air or come in contact with the cooler pavement. But the unique feature of this particular tyre construction is found in the method used of building up the tread in such a manner that whole sections of it may be renewed at the factor}^ and new ones substituted.