Title:PLANT AND OPERATIONS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GASMASKS [Main Title]
Film Number:IWM 279
Other titles:
Summary: Manufacture of the small box respirator at a Boots factory, probably Nottingham, 1918.
Description: The workforce is mainly women working at benches or on production lines. They test rubber mouthpieces for leaks with a probe. They test the expiratory valves in the same manner. The corrugated tubes are tested for leaks by immersion in water at sinks fitted to the workbenches. The expiratory valves are tested on a vacuum machine. One bench tests the angle tubes with probes, and another by putting them in water. At another bench girls fill the canisters with chemicals, and these are then soldered shut. The join between the canister and corrugated tube is tested under water for leaks. Each canister is tested on a manometer to make sure that normal breathing is possible through it. Another manometer is used to check pressure resistance on the cellulose pads, for the same reason. A spring balance is used to weigh the wool pads - the point is made that the balances are scratch built as an example of wartime economy. A sergeant demonstrates putting on the completed gas mask from the ready position. Women workers continue setting the valves on the angle tubes, and binding rubber round the valves to seal them. Another production line is at work wiring the angle tubes to the corrugated tubes. The finished masks are packed into satchels and the crates of satchels taken up in a conveyor belt. Outside the building the conveyor runs down to the street. After returned packages have been thrown onto it for return to the factory the completed crates come down and are loaded onto an electric platform, which drives away.
