IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OP SINKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF SLATE OR STONE
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME; I, EDWYN
JOHN JEFFERY DIXON, of the Royal Slate Quarries, Brynhafod, near Bangor,
North Wales, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirtieth day of May,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the thirteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her
especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others;
as I, the said Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, my exors, admors, or assigns,.
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully;
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town,
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OP SINKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF SLATE OR STONE;" in which said.
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Edwyn John Jeffery
Dixon, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said. Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument,
in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's.

page_text: High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, do hereby declare my said improvements to
consist,―
First, of the manufacture of a better and more perfectly made description
of sink out of slate or stone.
Also in the mode of forming sinks of slate or stone with parts of traps in the
solid block, so as to prevent the escape of effluvia from the sub-drains.
And also in improved machinery for effecting these objects, parts of
such machinery being suitable in preparing stone or slate in the manufacture
of other articles therefrom.
The rough block of slate or stone, as split and taken from the quarry,
I submit to an improved machine, which I name a "suspension saw
beam," see Figures 1 and 2, to have its edges or its edges and surfaces
sawn, and reduced to the size required. I construct the said suspension
saw beam after the following manner, and which is represented in the
Drawing A-A beam of timber a, or other suitable material, either solid
or in parts, and of sufficient length for the purpose required (that which
I use being forty-five feet long by one foot square), is trussed, as shewn,
to afford rigidity, and is placed between two or more frames (b, b). Into the
lower part of each of these frames I introduce a horizontal roller (c, c), the
axle (d) of which is placed in bearings which are fitted into perpendicular
slots or grooves made in the sides of the said frames 6, b, so that the roller may
be lifted up or let down by levers e placed under the said axles or bearings,
and then connected with other rods and levers, as hereafter described. This
trussed beam is made to rest upon the said lower rollers c, c, in each frame,
and the said frames 6, b, being set at convenient distances apart from each
other, the beam a is sustained in a horizontal position. In each of the
frames b, b, and above the said horizontal rollers c, c, two upright levers f,ƒ,
are placed parallel to the sides of the beam a, they being intended to act as its
lateral guides when the said beam is in motion. These side rollers f, f, are
longer than the beam a is deep, to admit of the latter always having a bearing
against them, whether it happen that the bottom rollers c, c, are lifted or
depressed in order to provide for the descent of the saws in their process of
cutting; and for lifting them up when fresh blocks are introduced, projecting
arms 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, extending to each of its sides, are bolted transversely to
this trussed beam a, and at such distances from each other as may be conve-

page_text: nient for the length of the saws h, h, h, h, the saws which I now use being
from ten feet to eighteen feet long. From the end of one of these arms g to
the end of another the saws h, h, h, h, are stretched parallel to the sides of the
beam a, and on both sides thereof, by means of levers (i, i,) called stretchers,
which have their fulcrums on the edges of the arms fitted with screwed rodsj
so as to give the saws the requisite tension. The trussed beam a receives an
alternating movement from a crank or otherwise. The blocks of slate or stone
k, k, k, are fastened by suitable cramps 1, 1, and the saws h, h, h, h, being
lowered upon them in the manner about to be described, the motion is com-
municated, and the said blocks k, k, k, have their edges or their edges and
their surfaces cut as desired; the cutting being either performed by the
application of sand and water, or by the saws having teeth or notches, which
are to be sharpened from time to time as they shall require, and in the latter
case they are of course used without the sand. When saws are used which
are adapted to cutting with sand, the water is supplied by a pipe m, or
by pipes running the whole length of the beam, and which are placed upon
and travel with it, from which branch pipes n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, with small
taps feed the saws with water and wash the sand into the several curfs.
The frame or bed o on which the blocks of slate or stone are placed to be
sawn being fixed, it is necessary that the beam a with the saws h, h, h, h,
thereto attached, should be raised up to admit of different thicknesses of
slate or stone blocks being placed beneath it to be cut, and that it should
also descend as the cutting proceeds and until the work on the "cut" in
progress is finished.
It is for this purpose that the beam a is to be
"suspended," and the suspension I prefer to accomplish in the following
manner-Short levers e, e, are placed under the bearings of the bottom
rollers c, c, or under their axles. These short levers e, e, rest upon fulcrums or
bearings e, e, projecting from the frames, while the other ends are jointed
to rods e, e, which drop perpendicularly by the sides thereof, while a cross or
head-piece connects these two perpendicular rods with each other, and they
are alike in each frame. Through this head-piece an eye bolt passes and
is screwed occasionally, and as occasion may require, so as to regulate the lift,
and to this eye bolt p, p, a long lever is jointed and is then fulcrumed on a
pedestal q, q, fixed on the cap pieces of the roller frames b, b. It must
therefore be obvious that any depression of these long levers r, r, will raise
the bottom rollers c, c, in their bearings, which slide in the slots b¹, b¹, and
with it the beam a also, and of course the saws which are attached to the
latter; or a relaxation of these levers 7, 7, will again lower the beam a with
the saws in the same manner. Upon the arms of these long levers r, r,

page_text: .I therefore place sliding weights s, s, which can be drawn to and from its
, extremity by means of racks and pinions t, t, or a screw, or by other proper
nover, and it is the graduation of this weight upon the arms of the said
long levers r, r, which suspends the beam a. A very slight alteration of
the position of these weights s, s, upon the arm of the lever will instantly.
give more or less pressure of the saws upon the slate or stone k, k, k, in
. process of being cut, and at the same time will admit of the passage of the
sand (if sand is used), and of their descent through the curfs, as the cutting
proceeds. I modify the details of this plan by using slide pieces or fixed
guides in place of any of the rollers; or the guides may be placed above or
below the beam, instead of at its sides, or they may be V-ed into the bottom
roller with counterparts placed under the beam; or the latter may work between
flanges on the rollers c, c, which would then answer both purposes and would
guide and support at the same time; or the parts may be, otherwise
modified so long as the beam is kept suspended and capable of acting in the
manner herein-described. In place of the fixed bed or framed table under the
saws h, h, h, h, I in some instances use a frame (or frames) so constructed that
the upper surface or table rises and falls by means of racks and pinions or by
other suitable means, so that the blocks of slate or stone being placed upon its
upper surface may be lifted up to meet the saws; this plan is useful when cutting
very thick blocks, or generally, as circumstances may require. I also provide that
the arms 9, 9, 9, 9, to which the saws h, h, h, h, are stretched, need not be per
manently bolted to the beam a, but their ends next to it may be fitted into slide
plates, or into sockets which may themselves be bolted fast, while the arm can be
screwed up and down in the said slide plates or sockets at pleasure, in which case
the saws h, h, h, h, can be adjusted so as to accommodate for their difference of
breadth, through their wear, or from any other cause. Two or more beams may
be connected together to form a sort of frame, with sufficient space between
each to place the blocks of slate or stone required to be cut, and the whole
suspended together; but I prefer to use a suspension saw beam of the
construction I have herein-described at length.
DRAWING B.
I will now proceed to describe other improvements in machinery for cutting
slate and stone preparatory to making articles therefrom. A horizontal
shaft or axis a, capable of rotary motion, is fixed at a convenient height
from the ground, and from this shaft a frame b projects at right angles to it.
This frame is hung to the said shaft a on proper and moveable bearings c, c,
at the end nearest thereto. At the extremity of the other end of the said

page_text: projecting frame, I place a spindle in bearings d, d, in such a manner
that it may be parallel to the said shaft, the same spindle being fitted
with collars, &c., to receive a circular saw e in the ordinary way. I connect
this circular saw spindle by a band wheel f (or by a cog wheel) fixed on
the horizontal shaft a, already described, and to which the said saw frame
is hung on the moveable bearings d, d, having also a corresponding band
wheel g (or cog wheel) on the saw spindle, and I communicate motion to the
saw spindle by revolving the-horizontal shaft a. By this improved construction
and mode of driving, it will be seen that the axis or spindle of the saw e
will revolve in an orbit g', g', g', g', g', g', round its own driving shaft a, and con-
sequently will be in motion at any section of that orbit where its services are
required; its position being altered by simply lifting up the frame b, which is
hung as described to the driving shaft a, for in any position of the frame the
sawe is always revolving. The lifting of this frame b, with its circular saw e,
is performed by a segment rack, or by means of a chain h or rope over a
wheel i, i, or wheels above it, or in any other convenient manner, and by
the attachment of a weight j (or weights) to any or either of these methods,
the sawe and its frame bis balanced, and its pressure apportioned, as the
work to be performed requires. I modify this plan by using the orbit saw
in a horizontal position if required, and that by simply placing the driving
shaft a perpendicular instead of horizontal, when of course the saw spindle
and sawe are also reversed.
.
Having described the construction of this orbit saw, I proceed to point
out the mode of its operation. The block k of slate or stone being fastened
to a bench or table l, which is constructed so that its upper surface shall
move in slides which are set at right angles to the saw e and to the driving.
shaft a, the said bench or table top is drawn backward and the frame.
with its revolving saw e is lowered towards it until the under edge of the
said saw meets the block of slate or stone k intended to be cut. It now
proceeds with its operation and will be cutting under its own centre, the.
sliding bench or table being kept against the saw as the cutting goes on,*
by means of a weight or a rack or screw or of other suitable mode of pressure..
Proper stops are placed to prevent the saw from descending too deep, and,
these stops are regulated by screws according to the thickness of the blocks:
to be cut. I use this improved circular saw worked in an orbit, as described, in
form as a toothed or notched saw, which is to be sharpened from time to time as
required; or as a circular plate without teeth and used with sand and water in..
the same manner and supplied as the straight saws are in my suspension saw
beams.

page_text: Having detailed my Inventions and improvements for the purpose of
sawing out the blocks of slate or stone to a proper shape and size, as the
first process of their being manufactured into sinks and other articles,
I proceed to describe other improvements in machinery, and which machinery
I call the "excavator," its use and purpose being that of excavating or cutting
out the hollow or bason of the sink or other article, and to the required size
and depth, whether the said excavation is intended to be round or oblong with
'curved ends, or of any other shape which can be produced by the rotatory
motion of the said excavator. Whether it is intended that the blocks of slate
or stone shall be formed into the "trapped" sinks, the common bason
sinks, or the trough sinks, the two former being used for letting off' foul and
waste water continuously, and the latter for retaining water at pleasure,
the machine is the same for all these uses, the difference being in the form of
the cutting tools only. On the end of a strong shaft a, which is to be
revolved horizontally by a competent power, I fix a metal boss or tool box b, of
great strength, and through the face of the same I cut slots which very accurately
intersect its centre; into these slots I introduce steel cutting tools c, c, c, c, c, c, C,
which I fix in their places, as required, by wedged keys or by screws. The cutting
edges of some of these tools I make to fit the shape of the bason hollow or
ring, or the semi shape of the same (the full shape being perfected when in work
by the complete revolution of the tool), others being straight knives or cutters
adapted to the purpose of dressing off the margin or flat surface of the "sink"
or "other articles" in slate or stone, either before or after the other tools
have done their portion of the work. On a frame d, having proper support
and fixed opposite to the end of this shaft a with its box and cutters, I place
a strong iron plate or iron frame e, which is fitted into slides, on which it
works with an alternating movement by means of a rack and pinion, or of a
screw, or of other proper contrivance, the said movement being at right
angles to the shaft a but parallel to the face of its boss or tool box b. Upon
this plate, moving as described, I construct another plate moving in slides f
in a contrary direction, or backwards and forwards in a straight line with the
shaft a itself. This second or top platef has a fence or upright piece of
iron 9 cast upon it or bolted to it, and forming therewith a right angle
or piece; the whole being so placed that the horizontal centre line of this
fence g presents itself exactly to the centre of the boss or tool box b. The said
fence is fitted with moveable ledges h, and with griping screws i, and against
the one and by the other the blocks of slate or stone k, which have been
previously sawn by the machinery described, or otherwise, are fastened. The

page_text: top plate is then to be pushed forward against the cutters fixed in the boss
or tool box by means of a screw or other suitable mode of pressure, and the
shaft a, with the boss or tool box being set in motion, the excavation takes
place to the depth required upon the top plate f being so pushed or pressed
forward. When the blocks thus hollowed by the excavator are intended for
common (or untrapped) sinks), the necessary holes to allow of draining off the
water are bored by machinery in the ordinary manner of drilling slate.
DRAWING D.
When it is intended to "trap" the sinks so as to prevent the return of
effluvia from the drains above which they may be used, a tool is placed in
the excavator calculated from its peculiar shape further to excavate a circular
cavity or well a, a, in the slate or stone block b, and to leave a collar c in the
centre, through which the same tool or a separate one fixed in another quarter
of the boss or tool box forms a hole d for the passage of the water. The
same tool (or a separate one) also makes a rebate e on the outer edge of the
said well wherein to drop the thickness of the trap cover f. This cover of
the "trap," which is of ordinary construction, is formed of metal, and is pro-
perly perforated round about its extreme edge to allow of the passage of the
water into the cavity or well a. This cover rests in the groove or rebate c,
which has been cut, as just described, so that its top surface is flush with the
bason part g of the sink. Thus is a trap obtained partly formed in the stone
or slate of which the sink is made, but having an ordinary metal cover. I
would remark, that the central tubular part of the trap may be of metal let
into the well made in the sink, in place of the centre tube c, c, being of stone.
or slate, as shown in the Drawing. When required to make the oblong
sinks with curved ends (Drawings C, Fig. 3), the under plate d first described.
is worked at right angles to the shaft a, which has the boss or tool box alter-
nately with the top plate f, which carries the fence g with the block of slate
or stone thereto attached, and when a revolution of the shaft a has made a
cut in the depth (by pushing the top plate forward), that cut is immediately.
carried sideways against the same cutter to the length desired, and when
it stops, the movement of the tool being rotatory, the end of the sink will of.
course be curved. Another depth is then screwed forward by moving the
top plate, and the side motion returns and again carries the cut to the other
end, and so the process is repeated, until all the desired excavation has been
obtained. I use a similar excavator and apparatus at both ends of the same
horizontal shaft, or at the ends of many such shafts working in connexion ;.
or, when I desire to make circular sinks only, I dispense with the first-

page_text: it in its slides at any given or desired point in its progress sideways. I also,
sometimes, use the tool for forming these trapped sinks in one plate or piece
of steel, cut out to the shape required, instead of placing many tools in the
same boss, and so make the said sink at one operation.
DRAWINGS E.
As it is desirable that the paving flags which surround the sinks when they
are laid or set, and paving flags generally, should be kept perfectly even, so
that water on the surface of the flags may not rest in pools from uneven
sinkage of the ballast or undersoil, I adopt the following plan for the purpose
of giving such connection laterally, and so that each piece of slate or of stone
paving and each sink shall be fastened together as one even surface. In the
edges of my sinks, and in the corresponding edges of my slate or stone
paving slabs (or in slate or stone paving only when used alone), I cut a
narrow and curved curf or hollow by means of a 'small circular saw or cutter
a, a, a, a. This is guaged from the top surfaces of the sinks or paving
flags, so that each curf or hollow will exactly correspond when the edges
are laid together. Before, however, laying them permanently, I introduce
into these curfs or hollows small metallic plates b, b, b, b, b, b, previously
stamped or cut out to the exact shape and size of the two united curfs or
hollows, so that the half of one of the said metallic plates can be
embedded into the curved curf or hollow in the edge of the sink, and the
other half into the corresponding curved curf or hollow in the adjoining
paving flag, or of the slate or stone paving flag alone, as the case may require.
The said curf or hollow may be made in the corners of each sink, or in the
corners of each piece of slate or stone paving flag, or in the middle of the
edge of each, as described and shewn at Figs. 1 and 2. And it will be seen
that by this method no individual lowering of the sinks or of the paving flags
can take place.
"
I will now describe the method by which I manufacture "ridges" and
hips" for the roofs of buildings as follows, premising that my said ridge
or hip is always composed of three distinct and separate pieces of slate,
namely, of two flat pieces c, c, of suitable or convenient lengths, and of a
roll or cap piece d, which covers the joint at the apex of the roof, the said
joint being made by the meeting of the edges of the two flat pieces c, c,

page_text: already described, and by such covering making the roof. secure. These
two flat pieces of slate c, c, being both precisely similar, I saw and cut to
their dimensions, and on their under surfaces I make a groove c' through all
their length, by means of the afore-mentioned orbit saw, or by some other
desirable method. The piece of slate to form the roll or cap piece d is first
sawn equa-sided. This square or equa-sided piece of slate I first submit to
a circular saw, to cut a curf two thirds of its diameter in depth in its centre
and throughout its length, and then to a machine (Drawing F) constructed
after the following manner:-A number of strong iron plates a, a, a, a, having.
openings in the centre of each pair, and being in their surfaces separated from
each other by means of blocks or grooved slide pieces b, b, through which
they are fastened upon an iron bed plate c, so that the opening in the centre
of each pair of plates forms one continuous passage through their line. From
these plates so fastened on the bed plate c shelves or platforms d, d, project
therefrom at each end, in a line with the openings. through the pairs of plates.
These openings are sufficiently large to admit of the passage of the equa-sided
piece of slate already described, and which is intended to form the roll or
cap piece e of the ridge or hip. Through the openings caused by the sepa-
ration of the aforesaid pairs of plates, and attached to them, are semicircular
cutting tools, which are kept in their places by means of screws f, f, f, f.ff. ƒ ƒ‚
which screws are so contrived as to enable me to adjust the said cutting tools a,
and set them to the depth required. The equa-sided piece of slate is then
laid upon the shelf or platform which projects from the opening in the series
of pairs of plates, and on one end thereof then entering the opening in the
first pair of plates it meets with the first pair of cutting tools, against which it
is now forced by a screw or other suitable power brought to bear against the
other or extreme end of the said equa-sided piece of slate. These, the first
pair of tools or cutters a, a, are so set by their screws f, f, that they merely
take off a portion of the four sharp corners of the equa-sided piece of slate,
which being still pressed onward by the screw or other power behind, then
meets the next pair of tools a¹, a¹, fixed against the second pair of plates,
which are so regulated as to take off a little more of the corners of the said
piece of slate, and reduce it to an eight-sided form. From the bottom of the
bed plate an additional set of tools g, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, are fixed, and calculated
from their peculiar shape to commence the A groove, which is to adapt
the roll for resting in its place on the apex of the roof. This is repeated
throughout the remainder of the series, each tool cutting a little deeper than
its predecessor, and until the piece of slate, which commenced at one end
an equa-sided but otherwise unshaken strip, comes out at the other end of the

page_text: macmme a perfectly formed roll or round bar of slate, with a cavity cu
through its length like a Y (the leg or stem having been previously made
by the circular saw as aforesaid, and when in its place upon the roo
its section is like the letter Y reversed, thus :-
I also manufacture this cap or roll piece by
means of an ordinary slate plane, but not with
the same facility or the same accuracy as by the
machine now described, and which therefore I
prefer.
I now proceed to explain the manner of con-
necting the three separate pieces of slate when
placed upon the roof (see Drawing E), and there to form the ridge or hip;
and where they are firmly sustained in their places without their being pierced
by any bolt, nail, pin, or screw, I form metal of the shape of which a section
is shown, Drawing E, Fig. 3, and this metal I in the first instance firmly
fasten to the timber at the apex of the roof, and throughout the entire length
of the same. I then hang the two flat or wing pieces of slate c, c, before
described by the groove c', which have been made in their length upon the
ribs or projections 2, %, which is for that purpose made or turned up in the
metal saddle y), and the roll piece or cap d is then driven on upon the
reversed leg of the Y (which is also formed in the metal saddle), using a little
white lead, and a strip of canvas between the metal and the groove in the
roll d, into which it fits. The said roll or cap piece d, pressing by its weight
and assisted by its bite on the metal leg of the reversed Y, confines the wing
pieces c, c, in their places on the metal ribs or projections z, z, running through
the grooves c', as already described. I also fix this metal saddle (in the form
shown) in detached pieces upon the roof, instead of its running the entire
length (that is to say), I leave spaces between each separate piece of metal
saddle in placing them upon the roof, but I prefer the first-described method.
In making fancy or ornamental ridges x, I adopt the same mode of connection
on the roof, but, instead of the roll for a cap piece d, I make with a slate
plane, or other proper machine, the same sort of groove as is made in the
roll d in the edge of a piece of slate slab, of sufficient width and thickness,
and which I ornament as shown (a) with a similar or with any other device
upon its uppermost edge, the only other difference being that I construct
the leg of the Y for these ornamented caps of greater length, so as to have
more hold or bite, and to compensate thereby for the additional pressure of
the wind against the greater surface of this flat cap than against the cap in
the roll form..

page_text: The process by which I manufacture the sockets for bull's-eyes and other
glasses, to connect with street and other paving, for the purpose of giving
light to cellars and other places, and for other purposes where such lights
in buildings and in walls are required, is as follows:-The block of slate
or stone having been sawn to the required size, I submit the said block of
slate or stone to the machine which I have called the "excavator," and have
herein already particularly described, and with a suitable tool or with suitable
tools placed in the boss or tool box, I work a hole or holes in the centre, or in
any other part of the said block of slate or stone (or in any desired part of
larger paving flags), and of sufficient size to admit the bull's eye or other
descriptions of glass, taking care that the said tool or tools are so formed as
to leave a rebate or rim upon which the glass shall rest when sufficiently
embedded in the slate or stone blocks, and there to be fastened by any of the
ordinary methods. For these sockets I use the plan of lateral connection I
have already described for joining paving sinks, &c., and I construct, by the
same means as I do these sockets, "street coal traps," the only difference
being that I place an iron, or a slate or stone cover to them, in the place of
the glass bull's eye.
I will now describe my improvements in the manufacture of tops for washstands
and for dressing tables, The manner in which I manufacture these is as follows:
The slab of slate or stone having been sawn and prepared to the required
dimensions, I place the same at the machine which I call the "excavator," and
with it work out a hole or excavation of sufficient size to admit the washing
basin. This being done, another description of tool is introduced, which cuts
a narrow groove in the thickness of the slab of slate or stone through which
the excavation has been made, and around the inside edge thereof. Into this
groove so made in the inside edge of the said excavation I place a piece of
cane or wood, or a strip of gutta percha or of india rubber, or of any other
soft and pliable substance, which is to project a little beyond the said groove,
and thereby guard the bason, when placed within the hole, from coming into
violent contact with the hard and unyielding edge of the slate or stone top,
whereby the bason is often broken, but in this improved top for the washstand
it will have its bearing against the softer substances used; or I dispense with
the groove altogether, and overlap the edge entirely by a band of gutta percha.
or india rubber.
Chimney tops for houses, Drawing E, Figures 5 and 6, I manufacture
out of slate in the following improved manner:-Four or other proper
number of slabs of slate are reduced to the length and size required. They
are then rebated, or are mitred on their several edges, so that they may be

page_text: joined accurately. These are then firmly held together at the top by an
ornamental cast metal cap or crown, w, w, the bottom being confined by a
common piece of cask hoop fitted to the shape as a temporary band, and
until the chimney top be substantially set in brickwork in the place of its
destination. I would remark that I do not claim the simply combining of
slabs of slate by hoops, so as thereby to form chimney pots, that having
before been done; this part of my Invention consists of the mode of combining
as above described.
I
I will now describe another part of my Invention, which relates to the
making of letter-copying and napkin and other presses: The rust of iron
is detrimental to letter copying, and it is equally so for napkin presses, for the
latter, also, the alternative of wood is liable to be rendered useless, from the
tendency of the latter material to warp and twist through changes of
weather, &c. These defects I propose to obviate by the introduction of
presses made of slate, and which I make after the following manner:
Suitable slabs of slate for my purpose are brought into proper dimensions.
then construct my presses with three of these slabs of slate, all of which are to
have even surfaces, and are to be of sufficient thickness to resist the intended
pressure. Two of these pieces of slab have their surfaces separated from
each other by small pillars of metal, or of other suitable material, and the
third slab is made to slide up and down between these pillars, and is guided
and kept in its place by contact with them. In these machines I prefer that
the pressure should be upwards, and I therefore introduce a proper screw
between the top surface of the bottom slab and the under surface of the
middle slab. This screw is turned by a hand fly-wheel or by other suitable
means, and between the said surfaces, the turning of which screw lifts the middle
slab upwards, and towards the top slab, and the article or articles intended to
be pressed having been laid upon the top surface of the middle or moving
slab receives pressure against the under surface of the top or fixed slab. For
napkin and other domestic presses I excavate a bason or hollow (by the agency
of the excavating machine) in the upper surface of the top or fixed slab of the
press, in which water is to be kept to render the slate which forms the
press damp, and the machine therefore more effective for the purpose of
smoothing linen, &c.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
F. J. J. (L.S.) DIXON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of Novem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Edwyn John Jeffery Dixon
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.