Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-09-19
SKYLIGHTS OF WOOD PULP.
Experiments That Will Probably Lead
to Changes in Factory Windows.

to Changes in Factory Windows.
Numerous attempts have been made
to obtain a substitute for glass for
use in skylights and other similar sit
uatiOns where the brittleness of the
existing ma terial is an annoyance and
source of expense, but few Of the arti-
fetal products have merited the claims
made by their inventors. Glass roofs
are never entirely satisfactory when
they cover goods of fine texture and
! colors, since changes in temperature
result in warping of the framework
and cracking of the glass, with the
result that valuable goods are seri-
Ously injured or machines rusted from
the water that leaks through.
One of the latest suggestions is a
, translucent substance made from
wood pulp, which is intended tc take
! the place of glass in skylighns, or
rather places exposed to the elements,
and where the admission Of rays of
light is needed without transparency.
In an article in the Paper Trade Jour-
nal, George Damon Rice speaks IA
vorably of this new product, and de-
ScrlbeS It's process of manufacture.
The great feature of wood pulp rem
dered translucent is that it is elastic
and 'can conform itself readily to
changed conditions of the atmosphere
Heat or cold, which seriously affects
glass, causes no trouble with this ma
terial.
The process of making the trans
lucent pulp, as described by Mr.. Rice,
is somewhat intricate, although not
expensive, as the materials employed
for reducing the pulp and rendering
it available for lighting purposes are
not costly. A white wood is selected,
ground, digested and treated with a
compound prepared by combining
glycerine with acids in the following
proportions: One hundred parts Of
glycerin of 26 B., four parts Of pic1ic
acid, three parts of salicyic acid,
thirty parts of boracic acid and ten
parts of fish glue. This mixture is
introduced into a tank containing 900
pounds of the dissolved wood pulp,
and the whole is thoroughly mixed and
allowed to lie for three or four days.
by which time the fiber is we'll pene-
trated with the compounds and is
ready for treatment in newly con-
sSructed machine. The pulp is put in
tank whence it emerges uniformly
through an outlet, where there is an
arrangement to govern the flow.
AS the pulp leaves the outlet it
passes liz the form of a sheet into two
rubbing rollers, around which there is
lea Their apron the width Of the sheet
of pulp. An eccentric imparts
slightly rubbing motion to the rollers,
so that the sheet of pulp is smoothed
little. Next the sheet passes be-
tween heating and drying devices,
which receive steam from a pipe.
When the sheet arrives at a second
set Of rubbing rollers it is dry enough
to be handled without danger of the
fiber separating. From this point the
sheet is conveyed into another tank,
and is drawn around several rollers.
The ingredients for rendering the
pulp translucent are now applied. The
liquid in the tank consists chiefly Of
distilled water and bichromate of
potash. A glass cup containing an al
coholic solution of tortoise shell feeds
its contents by drops into a receptacle
in which is mixture compounded
from sulphuric acid and resin. Valves
are arranged to deposit the contents
of the top reservoirs in desired guam
titles to the main tank, where they
unite and form a liquor having tbs