AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING UPON MARBLE AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES DESIGNS OR FIGURES IN IMITATION OF SCULPTURED OR CARVED WORK
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Augusto Guattari at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st December 1880.
AUGUSTO GUATTARI, of Paris, in the Republic of France, and temporarily of
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF AND
MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING UPON MARBLE AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES
DESIGNS OR FIGURES IN IMITATION OF SCULPTURED OR CARVED WORK."
This Invention relates to a mechanical process and machinery for producing
upon marble, stone, and other similar hard substances, designs or figures in relief
in imitation of sculpture or carved work, and the Invention consists in the
production of such imitation carvings by the percussive action of moulds or
counterparts of the design to be reproduced on the marble or other stone, the
percussive action by which the stone is removed from the intaglio or sunk portions
of the design being assisted by the abrasive action of emery powder or other
suitable abradant introduced by means of water between the mould and the surface
to be "carved" or sculptured.
The percussive movement may be imparted to the mould in a variety of ways,
and the construction of the machinery may be varied accordingly. For example,
the mould or moulds may be fixed on a long lever or frame, which is raised by
tappets or wipers on a rotary shaft in the manner of a tilt hammer, and allowed to
fall upon the block or blocks to be "carved," which are firmly fixed upon a suitable
bed or table. Or the mould or moulds may be raised and dropped in vertical
guides, or may be operated in any other way by which a light and rapidly
reiterated percussive action can be obtained, either in a vertical, horizontal, or
other direction.
a
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I have illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings an example of the machinery by which the process
can be carried out in practice.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the machine, and Figure 2 a plan of the
lever and frame in which the mould or moulds are carried.
In these two Figures the same reference letters indicate the same parts. a is the
machine frame strongly constructed, preferably of wood, and supporting a table b;
c is the block of marble or other stone to be sculptured or "carved" firmly fixed
on the table b; d is a strong iron frame or lever capable of being oscillated on
pivots at one end, mounted in bearings e capable of being raised and lowered to

page_text: suit the thickness of the block to be carved, the bearings being supported at the
proper height by cross bolts e¹ passed through the frame. The free end of the
lever is provided with three or more projections f, which are secured to the lever
by screw bolts or keys, and are caused to project more or less from the end of the
lever in order to regulate the height of fall of the mould. h are wipers fixed on a
shaft j provided with a flywheel k and receiving continuous rotary motion from
any suitable motor, the said wipers taking under the projections f, and thereby
raising the lever d and letting it fall again in rapid succession; l is the mould of
cast iron, steel, or other very hard material, firmly fixed in the lever frame d by
bolts or keys m, its counterpart surface of the design to be carved or reproduced
being downwards so as to strike upon the block c; n is a hopper containing coarse
emery powder or other pulverulent abrasive material, which escapes through
perforations or tubes o at the bottom of the hopper and falls upon the top of the
mould. This hopper n may have a vibrating motion imparted to it to facilitate
the regular escape of the powder, or it may be furnished with a distributing device;
is a tank containing water, which may be distributed through a rose s onto the
back of the mould, or may pass through the hopper n with the powder to serve
as a vehicle for carrying the emery or other abrasive powder between the acting
surface of the mould and the block, and also to assist the abrasive action. The
mould is perforated with a number of holes p of conical form, as shown in dotted
lines in Figure 1, and leading from the top or back of the mould to its acting
surface, channels in the back or top of the mould leading to and connecting the
several holes in all directions to ensure the regular distribution of the emery or
.other powder. Towards the end of the operation a finer grade of powder is used
in order to obtain a smooth and almost polished surface. The table is provided
with means of adjustment, so that its level may be varied to suit the form of the
block of marble operated on.
In operating upon certain materials a very light and rapid percussive action is
required, and in this case the mould may be actuated by a ratchet wheel and lever
arrangement, such as shown in Figure 3, which is particularly suitable where the
design to be executed being small and the mould light but little power is required.
To execute work in high relief and detailed figures generally, a number of
moulds are disposed circularly or otherwise around the block of marble or stone,
the several moulds being respectively counterparts of portions of the complete
design to be produced by their combined action. The moulds are operated
alternately or otherwise by means of any suitable mechanism, and strike in
directions normal to the block which is at their common centre. It will be under-
stood that the greater the number of the moulds, the more perfect will be the
relievo-design produced.