A method for jacketing a product having a generally cylindrical outer
surface locates a sheet of jacketing material on first and second belts
for conforming the sheet of jacketing material to and pressing the sheet
of jacketing material against the outer surface of the product and
locates the product on the sheet of jacketing material. Preferably, the
belts are mounted on frames that are pivoted from a first position where
the sheet of jacketing material can be placed on the belts and the
product can be placed on the sheet of jacketing material to a second
position where the belts are each wrapped part of the way around the
outer surface of the product while the product remains stationary to
conform the sheet of jacketing material to and press the sheet of
jacketing material against the outer surface of the product so that the
sheet of jacketing material may be bonded to the outer surface of the
product. When the frames are pivoted from the first position to the
second position, the frames draw the belts over the sheet jacket with a
force less than that required to crush the product and greater than that
required to overcome friction between the belts and the sheet of
jacketing material.