The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-21


purpose of exploiting a new invention To-
day I met one Of the original directors
He had. he considered, been ousted unjust
Is from his Position. He spoke or IN
without intending TO reveal what was POI
sIbly secret, but when he said thai t1
invention had been taken advantage of 80
Sir Thomas Upton his revelation became
more interesting than he was aware. He
described the new invention 1T materia
as about a quarter of the weight of steel
ana much stronger.
why" ne said. waxing enthusiastic.
you could make no impression on it with
an AK and the only shipment made was
for Glasgow and, 1 believe. for Sir Thomas
Upton yacht.
Describes the Material.
He mentioned the name Of the syndicate
which is a limited company ] called upon
the manager. 1 said I had heard that he
owned an invention which for certain pur-
poses would superscde steel He admitted
this, and gave me the following eXpiaUa-
too:
We have acquired patents for manufac-
turing a tubing from wood fibre, whereby
the natural fibre and grain OF various
woods are utilized TO construct tubes and
cylinders Of any size and shape so as TO
obtain strength and lightness and cheap
ness in production. This accomplished, We
use thin SHEETS Of natural Wood of veneer
grain, the OutermOst and innermost layers
running parallel 20 the longitude % the
tube while the intervening layers are
placed with the grain crossways. spirally
diagonaly. ANA in transverse order. These
several layers are cemeuted with special
material impervious 10 moisture, and mold
Ell by means Of mandrils Of the required
size and shape
what do you propose to do with the
inVention?"
II viii revoluuOnize and practically con-
troll the cycle trade of the world" he said.
There were cycles made of the material
on the premises. He lifted one with his
finger.
what else is it useful for?' I asked.
1T will he replied. "re the only mater
isl used for yachts masts"
Had he made any? He refused to say YES
or no, but admitted that ne had shipped
a lot of the material TO Glasgow. Then he
grew enthusiastic and said:
owing 10 the peculiar construction of
the compound tubing, the strength of the
natural grain and the flores Of the various
woods are preserved and utilized in a com
pound manner, while the tendency to split
or snap is entialy obviated, thus making
the tubing practically unbreakable It is
one-fourth the weight of steel tubing, yet
of the same diameter. The strength and
cheapness Of the material and the SIM
Dlicity of its construction render its man
ufacture inexpensive, and adapted to the
masts OF ships the construction Of boats,
and larger vessels, cycles. poles, shafts.
ana all articles requiring strength ana
liEhtness.
BY the use OF paint the exterior tubing
is protected from atmospheric change and
moisture. while the use Of an insoluble
damp and steam proof cement renders the
tubing impervlous 10 the attacks of heat.
moisture. and insects"
Tests of the New Tubing.
Had he tested the strength of the tubing?
He showed me the opinion of an expert.
who said: q have tested two samples of
the patent wood tube 1t stood 500 pounds
of pressure to the square inch with no Wis
ible sign of fracture. 1t stood a pressure OF
735 pounds before it showed any signs of
expanding or bursting. There is no doubt
that the tube Is immensely strong. A steel
tube of the came diameter and of equal
weight would NOT have stood a pressure of
more than 400 pounds
The manager further said that the ma
chine used by his company shaved the
wood as thin as q ribbon and almost as
thin as paper. The compressed combina-
lions of these ribbons make the material
of extraordinary strength and toughness
He was surprised that | had heard of il.
He would not say the Shamrock's mast
was made of the material, but admitted
shipping a lot to Glasgow, where her
spars were made. He would not say why
the company had not pushed the inven-
ton or deny that he was waiting for the
result of the races for the Americas cup
If, as there is some ground 70 suppose
Shamrocks mast, boom. etc, are made Of
this material her victory would mean ar
advertisement that would place the new
invention on the road to fortune
Iightncss is great desideratum ir
yacht building, especially in the upper
works This material could be used for
everything but the huh of Shamrock, ant
not even necessarily barred for that I
might. in fact, be used in the fittings O
| the hull in a hundred ways to save deat
weight. For the mast and boom it would
| of course. be invaluable.
The manager said the material. wher
! painted. looked like steel The difference
| could only be detected by sounding
Sir Thomas Upton acted from the star
| as if he had something up his sleeve Thi!
might well be the something.
ASLEEP ON THE OPERATING TABLE