What was a Vulcanite comb maker?.....

sweetpea · Post by **sweetpea** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:11 pm

My great great grandfather worked in Edinburgh as a 'Vulcanite comb maker? Has anyone got any ideas what this would entail?

Thanks

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:24 pm

Vulcanite Comb Maker Rubber worker making hard (vulcanite) combs for the textile industry, for combing wool etc.
from www.scotroots.com/occupations.htm
the site seems to need some password to get into it now - got hold of it via a cached version.

Best wishes
Lesley

sweetpea · Post by **sweetpea** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:38 pm

Thanks Lesley, Fascinating!! Wonder why it had to be Vulcanite? I thought that was tyres?

Cheers.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:10 pm

Hi Sweetpea

Think back to when they actually invented plastic. Its quite recent in genealogical terms. The forerunner was bakelite - you know the old black telephones they have in the black & white movies.

Vulcanite was processed under heat and pressure to make it compact and hard.
Must have been a noisy, smelly and dangerous job. Most of the rubber works were at the Haymarket end of the town. There used to be a massive shunting yard for the railway there too. Some of the factories had their own railway line into the factory.
The relic of the rubber industry was a surgical glove manufacturer (Ethicon) until quite recent times. they may still be based in Edinburgh.
My great aunt started her working life in the rubber goods factory.

Russell

sweetpea · Post by **sweetpea** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:29 pm

Thanks Russell. You learn something new every day. Quite a few of my g x 2 grandfather's family worked in Rubber Factories but I hadn't associated this with the Vulcanite comb making. As you say a horrible job which makes you glad for what you do for a living!