A New or Improved Method of Manufacturing Hacking, Cutting, and Punching Blocks from any suitable kind of Pasteboard.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Method of Manufacturing Hacking, Cutting,
and Punching Blocks from any suitable kind of Pasteboard.
We, FRIEDRICH EDUARD LANG of 22 Wilhelm Strasse, Leipzig-Anger, in
the Empire of Germany, and HUGO FELIX OBERLÄUTER, of 2 Schlossgasse,
Leipzig, in the Empire of Germany, Merchants do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to a new or improved method of manufacturing from any
suitable kind of pasteboard blocks serving as base for hacking, cutting, and
punching purposes.
It is a well known fact that wooden blocks, cut across the grain of the wood as
hitherto used for hacking, cutting, or punching leave much to be desired as regards
durability. These blocks which must be entirely free of knots, cracks and clefts
have hitherto been frequently made from pieces of wood glued together. This
method however is not only very expensive, but owing to the great number of
component pieces the working surface of the blocks is not in all places of an equal
degree of hardness whereby the hacking cutting or punching instruments suffer
considerably and are often spoiled. Blocks composed of a number of pieces of
wood are further liable to cracking and must frequently be replaned and adjusted,
because the incisions made by the instrument remain open.
On the cther hand, hacking cutting or punching blocks made in accordance
with our present invention from wood-pulp, leather, straw or other suitable paste-
boards are in all parts of their surface of an exactly equal degree of hardness,
and in consequence blunting the edge of the cutting or punching tools or their
splintering is completely obviated. Replaning or adjusting is much less frequently
required as the pasteboard blocks can be kept in good working order for a full
month or more by occasionally washing them with a moist sponge or cloth, the
incisions made by the tools are thereby caused to reclose spontaneously, restoring
the former level surface.
The process of manufacturing pasteboard blocks of this description is as
follows:-
A mixture of 5 parts of gelatine or glue, 1.5 kitchen salt, 0-5 of glycerine and
35 parts of water is heated in a suitable receptacle to 70 or 750 Centigrade.
Plates of pasteboard are left in this liquid until they are completely soaked and
are then placed in a cold bath, composed of 1 part of alum and 40 parts of water,
and subsequently dried. The pasteboard is then covered with an adhesive com-
position consisting of two parts of lactrin, (animal casein), 1 part of glue, 1 part
of starch and 3 parts of water, and as many layers as required for the block are
placed together, compressed and subsequently dried.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
A new or improved method for-producing hacking cutting or punching blocks by
pasting together with a composition of lactrin (animal casein), glue, starch and

page_text: water and then pressing, plates of pasteboard previously soaked in a heated
solution of gelatine or glue, kitchen salt glycerine and water, and then treated in
a bath of alum and water.
Dated this 8th day of September 1896.
HUGHES, ELI & HUGHES,
Agents for Applicants.