IMPROVEMENTS IN. FURNACE AND OTHER BUILDING BRICKS, OR BLOCKS, RETORTS, CRUCIBLES, AND OTHER FIRE-RESISTING ARTICLES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Richard Salwey, of Bryngarw, Bridge End, in the
County of Glamorgan, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS
IN. FURNACE AND OTHER BUILDING BRICKS, OR BLOCKS, RETORTS, CRUCIBLES,
AND OTHER FIRE-RESISTING ARTICLES."
Sealed the 22nd April 1879, and dated the 1st November 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Richard Salwey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st November 1878.
EDWARD RICHARD SALWEY, of Bryngarw, Bridge End, in the County of
Glamorgan, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACE AND OTHER BUILDING
BRICKS, OR BLOCKS, RETORTS, CRUCIBLES, AND OTHER FIRE-RESISTING ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of furnace and other
bricks or building blocks, retorts, crucibles, and other fire-resisting articles, and of
the materials of which they are to be composed; also the use of the same material
for the manufacture of bricks or blocks for building purposes, which may be applied
to such parts of a building where dressed stone is usually employed, for which
purpose the material may be moulded into any convenient form, and be used either
as a face brick, or to take the place of dressed stone in copings, quoins, string courses,
and the like.
The bricks or building blocks are to be made from flints without the addition of
any aluminous materials, which detract from the pure siliceous character of the flint,
and no binding or cementing material other than the milk of lime herein-after
described is to be used.
I am able by my improvements to produce from flints bricks or blocks of great
structural strength and durability, and of the greatest possible capability of resisting
the action of furnace fires such as are used in furnaces of all descriptions.

page_text: According to my improvements I take common flints or pebbles, such as are
found in or upon the chalk formation, or in such other places as flints are
abundant
These flints or pebbles I first calcine in an open-clamp.or a suitable kiln or furnace,
having removed any traces of alumina or clay which may be found adhering to the
surface by washing the flints or by other suitable means.
Talso use the-flints with or without calcining, as may be found desirable.
I next reduce the flints either in the calcined state or as-extracted from the ground
into a fine powder by means of a pan with edge runner, or with " Carr's
disintegrating machinery.
or other
To this pulverized flint in the calcined condition or otherwise I find it advanta-
geous to introduce by means of a pipe-a-stream of water containing white or chalk
lime in solution, known as "milk of lime," containing 2 per cent. of white-or-chalk-
lime to 98 per cent. of pulverized flint or thereabouts, and by means of a Carr's
machine or other suitable method I incorporate the milk of lime thoroughly and
evenly with the pulverized flint.
With the mortar thus formed bearing this high proportion of siliceous material
or flint I form my bricks or blocks, first having by treading with the feet or other
suitable means tempered the mass into a proper consistency for moulding in order
to expel thereby any excess of moisture, or I add pure water should the material be
too dry for my purpose.
The bricks or blocks may be moulded in wooden, iron, or metal moulds, either by
hand or otherwise, and if by a machine 2 or more bricks or blocks may be made at
the same time.
In order to prevent the material from adhering to the moulds I dust the
interior of the moulds as well as the surface of the bricks with common sea or river
sand.
The bricks or blocks are then dried on wooden or iron trays or plates or without
them in stoves with hot floors heated by suitable means previous to being burnt in
kilns or furnaces of proper construction.
I use also the calcined and pulverized flints, with or without lime, for cement for
the purpose of setting the bricks or blocks in buildings or furnace linings.
The peculiar hardness, durability, and colour of the bricks or blocks (resembling"
freestone) renders them adaptable for use as herein-before mentioned for ornamental
work for building purposes, as well as (owing to their being constructed of pure
flint) for fire-resisting purposes, but for the former I use blue lias or greystone lime
instead of chalk or white lime, that the bricks or blocks may better withstand the
action of the weather in exposed situations.
Fire-bricks or blocks manufactured in the manner previously described of pure
flint calcined and pulverized, with the addition only of a small proportion of milk
of lime, and without any exterior coating, will resist the highest possible degree of
heat, owing to the flint being composed of almost pure silica.
These bricks also if the flint is first calcined do not expand under the action of
fire, as is the case in some descriptions of silica bricks, nor do they contract under
the same action, as is the case with ordinary fire-clay bricks.
The texture of the bricks or blocks will vary according to the fineness to which
the flint is reduced in pulverizing. I prefer to pulverize the flint to dust, when the
texture of the bricks or blocks will resemble a fine grained freestone, and if properly
burnt will be exceedingly hard and almost white in appearance.
I select the lime for the manufacture of these bricks or blocks by picking the
lumps from a freshly burnt limekiln, which should remain unslaked till the milk
of lime is prepared for adding to the pulverized flint.
The bricks or blocks as made for ornamental building purposes will admit of
being glazed on one or more sides in the ordinary way, should it be deemed
desirable.
The foregoing Specification describes the manufacture of bricks or blocks for fire-
resisting purposes or for ornamental work in buildings by mixing with calcined and

page_text: pulverized flint a small proportion of milk of lime, but I can also manufacture these
bricks or blocks from pure flint by moistening it when calcined and pulverized with
pure water, and without the addition of any lime, either as a solid or fluid, and
without the addition of any other material in place thereof or otherwise,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Richard Salwey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
April 1879.
EDWARD RICHARD SALWEY, of Bryngarw, Bridge End, in the County of
Glamorgan, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACE AND OTHER BUILDING
BRICKS, OR BLOCKS, RETORTS, CRUCIBLES, AND OTHER FIRE-RESISTING ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of furnace and other
bricks or building blocks, retorts, crucibles, and other fire-resisting articles, and of
the materials of which they are to be composed; also the use of the same materials
for the manufacture of bricks or blocks for building purposes, which may be applied
to such parts of a building where dressed stone is usually employed, for which
purpose the material may be moulded into any convenient form, and be used either
as a face brick, or to take the place of dressed stone in copings, quoins, string courses,
and the like.
The bricks or building blocks are to be made from flints without the addition of
any aluminous material which detracts from the pure siliceous character of the flint,
and no binding or cementing material other than the milk of lime herein-after
described is to be used.
I am able by my improvements to produce from flints or flint rock bricks or
blocks of great structural strength and durability, and of the greatest possible
capability of resisting the action of furnace fires, such as are used in furnaces of all
descriptions.
According to my improvements I take common flints or pebbles, such as are
found in or upon the chalk formation, or in such other places as flints are
abundant.
These flints or pebbles I first calcine in an open clamp or a suitable kiln or
furnace, having removed any trace of alumina or clay which may be found adhering
to the surface by washing the flints or by other suitable means.
"
I next reduce the flints in the calcined state into a fine powder by means of a
pan with edge runners, or with "Carr's or other suitable disintegrating
machinery.
To this pulverized flint in the calcined condition I find it advantageous to intro-
duce by means of a pipe a stream of water containing white or chalk lime in
solution, known as " milk of lime," containing two per cent. of white or chalk lime
to 98 per cent. of pulverized flint or thereabouts, and by means of a mixing pan or

page_text: other suitable method I incorporate the milk of lime thoroughly and evenly with
the pulverized flint.
With the mortar thus formed bearing this high proportion of siliceous material
or Hint I form my bricks or blocks, first having by treading with the feet or other
suitable means tempered the mass into a proper consistency for moulding-in-order
to expel thereby any excess of moisture, or I add pure water should the material be
too-dry-for my purpose.
The bricks or blocks may be moulded-in-wooden, iron, or metal moulds, either by
-hand or otherwise, and if by a machine two or more bricks or blocks may be made-
at the same time, and the bricks or blocks may be moulded of any convenient
shape or form.
In-order-to-prevent_the_material from adhering to the moulds I dust the
interior of the moulds, as well as the surface of the brick, with-common-sea.or.river
sand.
The bricks or blocks are then dried on wooden or iron trays or plates, or without
them, in stoves with hot floors heated by suitable means previous to being burnt in
kilns of suitable construction.
I use also the calcined and pulverized flints, with or without lime for cement,
for the purpose of setting the bricks or blocks in buildings or furnace linings.
The peculiar hardness, durability, and colour of these bricks or blocks (resembling
freestone) renders them adaptable for use, as hercin-before mentioned, for ornamental
work for building purposes, as well as (owing to their being constructed of pure
flint) for fire-resisting purposes, but for the former I use blue lias or greystone lime
instead of chalk or white lime that the bricks or blocks may better withstand the
action of the weather in exposed situations.
Fire-bricks or blocks manufacturned in the manner previously described of pure
flint or flint rock calcined and pulverized, with the addition only of a small propor-
tion of milk of lime and without any exterior coating will resist the highest possible
degree of heat, owing to the flint being composed of almost pure silica.
These bricks also, if the flint is first calcined, do not expand under the action of
fire, as is the case in some descriptions of silica bricks, nor do they contract under
the same action, as is the case with ordinary fire-clay bricks.
The texture of the bricks or blocks will vary according to the fineness to which
the flint or flint rock is reduced in pulverizing.
I find it advantageous to pulverize the flint to dust, when the texture of the
bricks or blocks will resemble a fine grained freestone, and if properly burnt will
be exceedingly hard and almost white in appearance.
I select the lime for the manufacture of these bricks or blocks by picking the
lumps from a freshly burnt limekiln, which should remain unslaked till the milk of
lime is prepared for adding to the pulverized flint.
The bricks or blocks, as made for ornamental building purposes, will admit of
being glazed on one or more sides in the ordinary way, should it be deemed
desirable.
The foregoing Specification describes the manufacture of bricks or blocks for fire-
resisting purposes or for ornamental work in buildings by mixing with calcined
and pulverized flint a small proportion of milk of lime, but I can also manufacture
these bricks or blocks from pure flint by moistening it when calcined and pulverized
with pure water, and without the addition of any lime either as a solid or fluid, and
without the addition of any other material in place thereof.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
or carrying the same into practice, what I claim is,-
First. The improved manufacture of furnace and other building bricks or blocks,
retorts, crucibles, and other fire-resisting articles from calcined flints reduced to
powder, and with a small quantity of milk of lime, substantially in the manner and
for the purposes herein-before described.
I also claim the improved manufacture of bricks, blocks, and other fire-resisting
articles from pure flint by moistening it with water when calcined and pulverized

page_text: without the addition of lime or other ingredients, substantially as herein-before
described.
I also claim the improved manufacture and application of cement made from
calcined and pulverized flints, with or without the addition of lime for setting the
bricks, blocks, or other articles or for furnace linings, substantially in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Richard Salwey, have hereunto set
hand and seal, this 24th day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
EDWARD RICHARD SALWEY. (L.S.)