A NEW AND IMPROVED PROCESS AND COMPOUND FOR BLOWING GLASS AND FOR THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jean Baptiste Fondu, of Braine-le-Comte, in
tbe Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW
AND IMPROVED PROCESS AND COMPOUND FOR BLOWING GLASS AND FOR THE
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 1st January 1870, and dated the 19th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jean Baptiste Fondu
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th July 1869.
I, JEAN BAPTISTE FONDU, of Braine-le-Comte, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "A NEW AND IMPROVED PROCESS AND COMPOUND FOR BLOWING GLASS AND
FOR THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the combination, for the purpose of blowing
glass, of a metallic block and a new and improved compound which
serves to cover the interior surfaces of the block so as to prevent the
glass from coming in contact with the metal.
The block is a piece of metal of a size more or less great, with a sloping
curvilineal hollow in which the melted glass is poured, and a very thick

page_text: bottom; it is placed over a receptacle filled with beer or greasy water
by an axis turning in bearings on the edge of the sides of said receptacle
in such a manner as to be able to oscillate and to be dipped in the liquid
of the receptacle or raised out of it by a lever having a counterweight
on its exterior end and the other end fixed to the moveable axis of the
said block.
The compound is formed of 85 per cent. of charcoal, 14 per cent. of
pitch, and 1 per cent. of incense, all being ground and compounded with
beer so as to form a paste of such a thickness that it can be laid over
the interior surface of the hollow of the block before the glass runs into
it and is blown. The beer forming part of the compound imparts to it
a fireproof property when under the intense heat of the glass and renders.
it unnecessary to renew the laying on of the paste during an entire day's
work, the block after each operation being dipped in the beer or greasy
water of the receptacle which cleans the hollow and maintains the fire-
proof property of the covering of the compound.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jean Baptiste Fondu in the Great. Seal Patent
Office on the 1st January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JEAN
BAPTISTE FONDU, of Braine-le-Comte, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Jean Baptiste Fondu, Her special licence,
that I, the said Jean Baptiste Fondu, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Jean Baptiste Fondu, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW AND
IMPROVED PROCESS AND COMPOUND FOR BLOWING GLASS AND FOR THE APPARATUS

page_text: CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Jean Baptiste Fondu, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jean Baptiste Fondu, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My Invention consists in the combination, for the purpose of blowing
glass, of a metallic block and a new and improved compound which
serves to cover the interior surfaces of the block so as to prevent the
glass from coming in contact with the metal.
The block is a piece of metal of a size more or less great, with a sloping
curvilineal hollow in which the melted glass is poured, and a very thick
bottom; it is placed over a receptacle filled with beer or greasy water
by an axis turning in bearings on the edge of the sides of said receptacle
in such a manner as to be able to oscillate and to be dipped in the liquid
of the receptacle or raised out of it by a lever having a counterweight
on its exterior end, and the other end fixed to the moveable axis of the
said block.
The compound is formed of 85 per cent. of charcoal, 14 per cent.
of pitch, and 1 per cent. of incense, all being ground and compounded
with beer so as to form a paste of such a thickness that it can be laid
over the interior surface of the hollow of the block before the glass runs
into it and is blown. The beer forming part of the compound imparts
to it a fireproof property when under the intense heat of the glass and
renders it unnecessary to renew the laying on of the paste during an
entire day's work, the block after each operation being dipped in the
beer or greasy water of the receptacle which cleans the hollow and
maintains the fireproof property of the covering of the compound.
Having thus briefly described the nature of the said Invention, I will
ow proceed to describe the same more fully, reference being had to the
ccompanying Drawings for that which concerns the apparatus connected
with my Invention.

page_text: In these Drawings Fig. 1 is a section in elevation by A, B, Fig. 2;
and Fig. 2 a plan or top view of the apparatus.
A is the sheet iron receptacle for the liquid surrounding the concave
part of the block; B, the rivetted cast-iron bottom of the same; C, the
metal block represented in the position for placing the glass and
operating the blowing process; D, the lever for moving the block in
order to dip it in the liquid, and which is jointed on the axis 1 and 2
mounted on the bearings M, N; this lever can be stopped in its move-
ment by means of the hook E, and the block C is then in the position J
indicated by red ink lines on the Drawing, the same lever raises the
block from the receptacle in order to free it from the liquid it has drawn
on to it, and is then in the position L also indicated by red ink lines,
the block is then lowered and stopped by the piece F by means of which
the slope of the block is regulated to the degree desired by changing
the little peg G for one of the holes worked in the piece F to another,
the lever thus stopped supports the block during the blowing process.
H is the counterweight intended to counterbalance the weight of the
block; O is the paste laid on the interior concave surface of the block.
With regard to the compound the proportions herein-before mentioned
are necessary to obtain a good result, because a greater proportion of
pitch stains the glass and renders the materials combustible, whilst a
less proportion of the same prevents the charcoal from adhering to the
metal and consequently causes the paste to disappear when the block is
dipped in the liquid. The incense is not indispensable, but it gives a
certain facility for turning the glass round in the block especially when
the operation is on a large scale.
The great thickness given to the bottom of the block is the means
by which I prevent the warming of the liquid and the block, thus
rendering it unnecessary to change the liquid during the day's work.
The hollow shape of the back part of the block serves to make the glass
descend without returning as it now does, and thus the defects which are
so often visible are avoided.
Numerous other advantages are derived from this combination of the
apparatus and compound, amongst which are the constant washing of
the block and consequently its being continually clean, the minimum
of labour and attention required in the working, the durability of
the block, the wooden and metal ones used at present requiring to be

page_text: constantly replaced, the security afforded against combustion and
carbonization, and the less brittle character of the glass thus procured.
All the materials employed as yet for the purpose of preventing the
contact of the glass with the wooden or metal block have always been
subject to carbonize and thus produce defective glass, which this com-
pound and apparatus overcomes as has been shewn.
This compound and arrangement and this manner of the immersion of
the block in the liquid may be applied to wooden blocks, a much longer
durability of the block being obtained by this application, the work also
being facilitated.*
The compound may also be employed in the expansion process, the
wooden polisher employed for this purpose being covered with a layer of
the compound either by means of a brush or a bath, it is thus able to
resist the heat of the fire. A metal polisher can also be used by means
of a layer of this compound.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner of perform-
ing the same, what I claim and desire to secure by the said Letters
Patent is,―
1st. The oscillating metal block working as and for the purpose
described and represented in the Drawings.
2ond. The compound composed of charcoal, pitch, and incense com-
bined and applied as described.
3rd. The oscillating arrangement of the block as described applied
to wooden blocks.
4th. The application of the compound to the expansion process of the
glass.
5th. The immersion of the block after every operation in a bath' of
beer or greasy water, as described and shewn in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jean Baptiste Fondu, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.