CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR MAKING PAPER
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DONKIN, of Blue Anchor Road, Bermondsey, in the County of Surrey, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King William the Fourth, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of November now
last past, did give and grant unto me, the said John Donkin, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Donkin,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Donkin, my exors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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, an
Invention, communicated to me by a person residing abroad, of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR MAKING PAPER;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said John Donkin, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said

page_text: John Donkin, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained
in the following description thereof, reference at the same time being had to the
annexed two Sheets of Drawings, marked Sheet 1 and Sheet 2, in which said
two Sheets of Drawings are seven Figures, marked Fig. 1, Fig. 2, &c. to Fig. 7,
representing several views of the machinery employed in carrying the said
Invention into effect, and used in connection therewith. In these said Draw-
ings I have used, wherever practicable and convenient to do so, the same
letters or figures of reference to denote the same things or parts of the said
machinery, that is to say:-
The nature of the said Invention consists in the application of two perforated
hollow cylinders of convenient length and diameter, and made of brass, copper,
or other fit material, but I prefer copper, each of the said two cylinders being
covered with a jacket of wove wire (such as is commonly used for the purpose
of making paper by machines now well known by the name of Fourdrinier's
paper machines), so as that by placing the said cylinders in a vat or vessel
containing stuff or pulp fit for making paper, the said cylinders being partially
immersed therein, and made to revolve whilst in contact with and parallel to
each other, a sheet of paper shall be formed between them in the manner
herein-after more particularly explained.
I shall now proceed to describe the construction and manner of applying the
herein-before mentioned Invention in machinery for making paper, namely, the
two perforated hollow cylinders, that is to say :-
Fig. 1 in Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings is a plan or longitudinal view of
one of the said cylinders. c, c, c, c, is the cylindrical part, made of copper.
The said cylinder is nineteen inches in diameter, and its length fifty-four
inches and a half. The copper of which the said cylinder is formed is per-
forated throughout its whole extent, so as somewhat to resemble a cylindrical
sieve. The perforations in the said cylinders may be made in various ways
and in various forms, by drilling or by punching; but the hollow perforated
cylinders herein-before mentioned are made and perforated in the manner
described in a Specification inrolled in the Petty Bag Office in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery, the Twenty-eighth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and thirty, in compliance with a proviso in a Patent granted by
His Majesty King George the Fourth to John Wilks "for his Invention of
an Improvement or Improvements in a Part or Parts of the Apparatus for
Making Paper by Machinery," bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty. And perhaps
I ought here to state that I prefer the said method of procuring the said

page_text: perforations to be made in the said cylinders to any other with which I am
acquainted. By reference to the said Specification it will be clearly under-
stood that the exterior surface of the said cylinders is composed of a series of
ribs and grooves alternately throughout its whole length, such ribs and grooves
being in a direction round the said cylinder, and at right angles with the axis
thereof, and that the interior surface of the said cylinder is also composed of a
series of ribs and grooves alternately; but the said ribs and grooves in the
said interior surface are in a direction at right angles with those on the exterior
surface, and parallel with the axis of the said cylinders. The number of ribs
in the exterior surface of the said cylinders is at about the rate of twenty ribs
in one inch, and those on the interior surface about ten to the inch. The
thickness of the sheet of copper from which the said cylinder is formed is
about one eighth of an inch, and the grooves on each side of the said sheet of
copper (being cut as is described in the herein-before mentioned Specification
of John Wilks) to the depth of half the thickness of the said sheet of copper.
It will be evident that the perforations herein-before alluded to will have been
made by the intersections formed by the said two series of ribs and grooves.
I have herein-before stated that the diameter of the said cylinders is nineteen
inches, and the length of the same fifty-four inches and a half; but I must
here observe that these dimensions may be varied, that is, the diameter may be
made more or less, at the discretion of the maker; at present, however, I can
only state that the aforesaid diameter of nineteen inches answers the purpose
very well. The length also of the said cylinders may be varied, but must
always be determined by the width of the sheet of paper to be made thereby.
The said cylinder c, c, c, c, as shown in Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is mounted upon a
round iron axle A, A, by means of two brass rings, with arms, one at each end
thereof, at d, d, d, d, of which said rings and arms Fig. 2 is a plan, and between
the ends thereof, by means of five other rings and arms, as shewn at e, c, e, e, e.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the said rings and arms, which rings e, e, e, e, e, as shewn by
the Drawing, are made narrower and thinner than those at the ends marked
d, d, d, d. The whole of the said rings and arms are fixed to the round axle A
by the usual means of keys; the said axle A passing through the central pieces
of the same at f, ff ff ff, and the said copper cylinder is made fast at
each end to the said rings d, d, d, d, by means of pins, as shewn in Figs. 2
and 4 at 9, 9, 9.9.9.9. The exterior diameter of the five rings e, e, e, e, e, is
made to correspond with the interior diameter of the said cylinder, so as to
support the same, and preserve its cylindrical form, the said five rings being
reduced by turning into a knife-e.lge form, as shewn by the Drawing, in order
that the edges may not impede the passage of the water which must flow

page_text: through all the perforations in the said cylinder. B, in Fig. 1, Sheet 1,
represents a part of the said cylinder as being covered with a jacket of wove wire,
and C represents a part of the said cylinder, with its ribs and grooves, as
herein-before described. D represents the longitudinal grooves and ribs on
the interior surface of the said cylinder. As both the said cylinders are made
exactly in the same manner, and are alike in every other respect, the descrip-
tion I have already given of one will suffice for both. The jackets of wove
wire, with which the said cylinders are covered, are made from a web of wove
wire of a width corresponding to the length of the said cylinders, and cut into
lengths corresponding to the length of the said cylinders, and cut into lengths
corresponding to the circumference of the said cylinders, the two ends of
each jacket being brought together and joined in the manner now well known
and commonly practised in joining the webs of wove wire used in making
paper by machines well known by the name of Fourdrinier's paper machines.
One of each such jackets is then drawn tightly over each of the said copper
cylinders, so as completely to cover the same from end to end. The fineness
or coarseness of the said wove wire of which the said jackets are made, or the
number of wires to the inch, must be left to the discretion of the paper maker,
and must in a degree depend upon the quality of the paper intended to be made
therewith. If for very fine paper, I would recommend about seventy wires or
holes to the inch.
Fig. 5, in Sheet 1, is a vertical sectional view, shewing the relative
position of the two herein-before mentioned perforated cylinders with each
other, and with the vat in which they are to be employed, together with other
parts of machinery used in conjunction therewith. The two circles c, c, c, and
c, c, c, denote the position of the said cylinders, and A, A, the axes thereof,
from which it will be apparent that one of the said cylinders is placed higher
than the other, being about four inches higher. F, F, F, F, F, F, F, shew the
outlines of one of the ends of the said vat, of which the other end is nearly a
counterpart; the said two ends are formed of wooden planks, about two inches
and a half thick, and serve the double purpose of forming ends to the said vat,
and of supporting the same in the position required, together with the said two
cylinders and other apparatus in connection therewith. E, E', E', E, E³, shew
the bottom and side pieces of the said vat.
E is the bottom of the said vat.
E', E, E, and Es are side pieces of the same, all of which are let into
appropriate grooves made in the two ends herein-before mentioned. G, G, are
sections of two circular-shaped planks, about one inch and a quarter thick,
one of which, on the left-hand side of the said Fig. 5, is made to cover the
vacancy left between the top of the side E' and the bottom of the piece E.

page_text: The other of the said pieces on the right hand of the said Fig. 5 in like manner.
is made to cover the vacancy between the top of the side E' and the bottom of
the piece E³. Both of the said two pieces G, G, are made to slide in circular
grooves formed in each of the said ends F, F, &c. of the said vat, so that each
of the said pieces should move in a circle concentric with each of the said
cylinders to which they are respectively applied, the interior surface of each of
the said circular planks being at the distance of about half an inch from the
exterior surface of each of the said cylinders. Between the top of each of the said
side pieces E, E, and the bottom or exterior surface of each of the said circular
planks G, G, a wedge-shaped piece of wood, of which H is a section, is intro-
duced; and for the purpose herein-after mentioned the two pieces H, H, are
covered with felting or flannel. I, I, represent two of four pieces of wood or
plank, which are employed in the position shewn in the Drawing for the
purpose of retaining and tightening up the said pieces H, H, in their places by
means of the screws J, J. It will be evident by the Drawing that the side of
the piece Es, as also the side of the piece E which is nearest the said cylinders
c, c, c, is made of a circular shape, and concentric with the said cylinders
C, C, C. It will also be seen that at h, h, the edges of the said circular planks
G, G, lap over or reach beyond the lower ends of the said pieces E², Es; and
in order to render the junction at h, h, between the two pieces G, G, and E²
and E as nearly water-tight as possible, the circular faces of the pieces E2 and
Es must be lined with flannel, or a piece of flannel may be fastened to the back
or under side of the said pieces G, G, at h, h. The other edges of the said
circular planks G, G, are formed into the shape as shewn in the Drawing at
jj; and to each of the said edges throughout their whole length is affixed, by
copper tacks, a strip of leather, so as that the upper edge of each of the said strips
of leather may fall upon or apply itself to the exterior surface of each of the
said cylinders c, c, c, as shewn at o, o. M is the section of a plank forming a
partition in the said vat, upon the upper edge of which is fixed a strip of
copper N throughout the whole length of the said vat, also forming part of the
said partition. QQ, are circles representing the place of two hogs or
agitators, such as are commonly used for agitating the paper stuff or pulp in
the operation of making paper either by hand or machinery, and need
not here be more particularly described. K, K, are two of four racks, one
of which is affixed to each end of both the said circular planks G, G,
two of which are shewn at K, K; and to each of the said racks there
is a joint, as shewn at 1,1. L, L, are two axles and two of four pinions,
the teeth of which take into or work in the teeth of the said four racks,
so as that by turning the said pinions the said racks K, K, and also the

page_text: said circular planks G, G, may be moved backwards or forwards, and so as that
the distance between the upper edges of either or both of the said two strips of
leather o, o, and the line of contact between the said two cylinders c, c, c, at S
may be increased or diminished to suit the thickness and quantity of paper
intended to be made. One end of each of the said axles L, L, is
made to project through one end of the said vat, upon which said end a
handle for turning the same is fixed. The pulp or stuff, of which paper is
intended to be made, is introduced near the bottom of the said vat at each
side thereof, through two pipes, portions of which are shewn at T, T, and T, T.
It is necessary here to explain that the altitude of the surface of the pulp in
the vessel or vessels from whence the said pulp flows through the said pipes
T, T, and T, T, into the said vat must be higher than the upper edge of the
said piece E, as will be herein-after more particularly explained. The pulp
being thus admitted into the vat during the revolution of the said cylinders
c, c, c, and c, c, c, moving in the direction as shewn by the arrows m, m, the
said pulp will fill the interior of the said vat until it rises above the upper
edges of the said pieces of leather o, o, where it comes in contact with the
surface of the wove wire covering the said cylinders, through which said wire
the water will escape into the interior of the said cylinders, whilst the fibres
of the paper stuff will be intercepted by the said wove wire, and thus a layer
of pulp will be formed on the surface of each of the said cylinders, and the
said cylinders continuing to revolve in contact with each other, the said two
layers of pulp will be thereby united into one sheet of paper, which may be
made of any indefinite length so long as the said cylinders continue in motion,
and a proper quantity of pulp continues to be supplied. During this operation
the water which escapes through the said wove wire, between O and S. as also
above S, into the lower or left-hand cylinder e, c, c, will again find its way out
of the said cylinder at the bottom and opposite side thereof, and be discharged
over the top of the said piece E into the trough P. It is necessary in thus
forming a sheet of paper by means of the aforesaid two cylinders that the said
sheet should be made uniformly to adhere to the lower or left-hand cylinder,
and this is effected by causing the surface of the water which passed through
into the interior of the sai upper cylinder, between 0 and S, to be raised
above the upper edge of the piece E; thus, the said water, by its weight,
forces the said sheet of paper to be detached from the said upper cylinder
immediately on the separati. a of the two cylinders taking place above S, and
made to adhere to the surface of the lower or left-hand cylinder; and the
water which passes into the interior of the said upper cylinder between O
and S, will again find its way out at the bottom and opposite side thereof,

page_text: and be discharged over the upper edge of the piece E into the trough P, as
is well understood in making paper by machinery. The water which has
passed through the said cylinders into the troughs P, P, will have carried
along with it a portion of the pulp. The said water is therefore conveyed
from the troughs, and again raised by scoops or other well-known means, and
again mixed with the pulp or stuff as it flows from the stuff chest or chests
to the said vat. The sheet of paper thus formed upon the upper surface of
the said lower or left-hand cylinder is removed from thence, or couched upon
an endless web of flannel or felting n, n, (such as is commonly used in paper
machines), passing round the couching roller R and the roller U; and so soon
as the said sheet of paper, by the revolution of the said felt n, n, arrives at
the roller U, it is there detached by hand in the usual manner, and deposited
upon another endless felt p, p, together with which it passes through a pair of
pressing rollers V, V, such as are commonly used in machines for making
paper, and subsequently to a drying machine, such as are also in common use
for drying paper.
I have here to observe that, by means of the said partition
M, N, in the said vat, a sheet of paper may be made of two different qualities
of pulp, that is to say, one side of the said sheet may be made of a stuff of a
finer and the other side of a coarser quality, or the sides of the said sheet may
be made of different colours, by supplying the said vat on one side of the said
partition M with pulp of one quality or color, and the opposite side of the
said vat with pulp of another quality or colour. When the machine is
employed for making the sides of a sheet of paper of two different qualities of
pulp, the pulp of the coarser quality is introduced into the left-hand side of
the vat below the lowest of the said cylinders, and the finer pulp on the
opposite side. The thickness of the sheet of paper, to be made by means of
said cylinders, may be regulated by increasing or diminishing the distance
between the upper edges of the said strips of leather o, o, and the line of
contact between the said two cylinders at S, which said pieces of leather may
be moved in the manner herein-before described. In Sheet 2, Figure 6 is an
end view of the said vat, a section of which is shewn in Sheet 1, Figure 5,
in connection with other apparatus, as herein-after described; and Figure 7,
in said Sheet 2, is a plan or bird's-eye view of the same, in which said
Figures 6 and 7, c, c c, and c, c, c, shew the situation of the herein-before
mentioned perforated hollow cylinders A, A. The axles of the said cylinders
are supported by plummer blocks fixed upon the cast-iron carriages W, W,
one of which said carriages is fixed to each end of the said vat, as is shewn
in Figures 6 and 7. The axle of the couching roller R is made to turn in a
brass bearing at each end thereof, which is made to slide upon the cast-iron

page_text: carriage 16, by means of the screw 17. The carriage 16, being fixed to the
carriage W, W, the screw 17 serves to adjust the pressure of the couching
roller upon the cylinder c, c, c. Upon one end of the axle of the said couch-
ing roller is fixed the pulley 15, which is turned by a band or chain 13, 13, 13,
passing round the pulley 14, the said pulley 14 being fixed upon the axle of
the lower pressing roller V. The diameters of the said pulleys 14 and 15 are
so proportioned to each other that the herein-before mentioned web of felt or
flannel passing round the couching roller R, and the roller U, may be made
to move with about the same velocity as the exterior surface of the said two
cylinders c, c, c, and c, c, c.
The surfaces of the said two cylinders c, c, c, and
c, c, c, are made to revolve with exactly the same velocity, one with the other,
by means of the two toothed wheels X, X, the teeth of which take into each
other. Y, Y, are two spindles upon which the said wheels X, X, are hung.
The said spindles Y, Y, are connected with the said cylinders c, c, c, and c, c, c,
by means of the two coupling boxes Z, Z. The band wheel q is employed to
give motion to the said wheels X, X, and consequently to the said cylinders
c, c, c, and c, c, c. The two plummer blocks 18, 18, in which the axle of the
said upper cylinder c, c, c, turns, is made capable of being moved backwards or
forwards so as to bring the surface of the said upper cylinder c, c, c, into contact
with the surface of the said lower cylinder c, c, c, or in the contrary direction, so
as to separate the surfaces of the said two cylinders from each other; and it
is expedient that this separation should be made whenever the machine ceases
to make paper. For this purpose the oval-shaped piece U, as shewn in
Figure is made to project from one side of the said plummer block 18.
The plummer block in which the opposite end of the axle A turns is also
furnished with a piece similar to that at u.
upon a pin fixed to the carriage W, W, at a.
lever is made to apply itself against the oval piece u. From the longer
radius s of the said lever a weight is suspended so as to force the said upper
A similar lever is also
cylinder c, c, c, against the said lower cylinder c, c, c.
placed at the other end of the said cylinder. y is an iron axle which extends
beyond each end of the said vat, and is made to turn in appropriate bearings
near each end thereof, which are affixed to the said vat. Upon each end of
half an inch radius, and upon
each of the said cranks one end of a hook is applied, the hooked end of the
same being made to pass round the oval piece u.
the said crank axle y, which, by being turned up into the opposite position,
the said upper cylinder c, c, c, will be drawn back by the effect of the said
cranks. 19, 19, is one of two iron carriages for supporting the two rollers
the said spindle y, a crank is formed of about
s, t, is a crooked lever turning
The short radius t of the said
w is a handle affixed to

page_text: and 7, and the two washing pipes 4 and 6, herein-after described, which
two carriages 19, 19, are shewn in the plan Figure 7; 5 represents a copper
tube lying parallel with the said lower cylinder c, c, c, and of a length corre-
sponding to that of the said cylinder. The side of the said tube nearest to the
said cylinder is pierced with two rows of small holes. The said tube is closed
at one end, the other end thereof being joined to a leaden or other water pipe
furnished with a cock through which water is constantly applied into the said
copper tube, and projected upon the surface of the said lower cylinder c, c, c,
through the said holes, for the purpose of washing the same. The said water
is allowed to run upon the said cylinder c, c, c, during the time the machine
is at work. 4 is also a copper tube similar to that shewn at 5, and employed
in a similar manner for washing the surface of the upper cylinder. 6 is a
tube also made in a similar way to those shewn at 4 and 5, and is employed
for washing the surface of the felt n, n. 7 is a copper roller of a length
corresponding to the width of the said felt n, n, and is supported at each end
by a bearing, one of which is shewn at 7, in the Drawing Figure 6. The
said roller 7 is introduced for the purpose of preventing the superfluous quan-
tity of water which is thrown upon the under side of the said felt n, n, through
the holes of the tube 6, from being carried down towards the couching roller
R, and in its passage from falling in drops upon the layer of pulp formed
upon the said lower cylinder c, c, c. It will be evident, in order that the said
roller 7 should have this effect, that the said felt n, n, should bear upon the
said roller with a slight degree of tension. 20 is a plank of wood fixed
under the said roller 7, for the purpose of carrying off the water that falls
from it. I have herein-before stated that the paper stuff or pulp is intro-
duced into the said vat through the pipes T, T, and T, T. Each of the said
pipes, as shewn in Figure 6, communicate with a vessel similar to the one
shewn at 8, 8, in Figures 6 and 7. 12 represents the end of a trough or
spout by which the paper stuff is conveyed from the reservoir or stuff chest
into the said vessel 8. I have already herein-before stated that the altitude
of the surface of the pulp in the vessel or vessels, from whence the said pulp
flows through the said pipes T, T, and T, T, into the said vat, must be higher
than the upper edge of the piece E in Figure 5; and it is necessary here to
state that the said altitude requires to be varied according to the different
qualities and thickness of paper to be made; therefore, in order to effect such
a variation with facility, the regulating copper pipe 9 is introduced into one
side of the said vessel 8; the lower end of the said pipe being turned at right
angles therewith, is introduced into the socket 11, and held in its place by
means of its collar 22 and the cap 21. The end 10 of the said pipe 9 being

page_text: round, is made capable of turning in the said socket 11, so that the upper
end of the said pipe 9 may be turned down until it arrives at the height at
which it is desirable to maintain the surface of the pulp in the said vessel 8,
for whenever the supply of pulp from the trough 12 exceeds the quantity
required for supplying the said vat, the superfluous quantity will escape, and
be carried off through the upper end of the said pipe 9. As the escape of
such a superfluous quantity of pulp through the said pipe 9 may frequently
take place, provision must be made to return the said pulp back into the said
vessel 8 by any of the well-known means in common use for such a purpose.
At the bottom of the said vessel 8, for the purpose of emptying or wash-
It will
ing the same when necessary, a cock or plug is introduced, as at 23.
be understood from what has been herein-before stated, that during the opera-
tion of making paper with the herein-before mentioned cylinders c, c, c, and
c, c, c, that the surface of the water which enters the said upper cylinder c, c, c,
will rise or be above the axle of the same, and would escape through the
opening at each end of the said vat at r, to prevent which the said axle A is
surrounded by two pieces of sheet copper fitted to the same, one below and
the other above the said axle at each end thereof, the said pieces of copper being
I must here observe
fitted into grooves in each of the ends of the said vat.
that the length of the said vat, between the two ends thereof, must exceed as
little as possible the length of the said cylinders c, c, c, and c, c, c, leaving no
more space between the ends of the said vat and the ends of the said cylinders
than is absolutely necessary to allow the said cylinders to turn freely between
the same.
I have also to state that the velocity with which the surface of
the said cylinders may be driven will vary according to the quality of the
paper stuff, and the thickness of the paper to be made thereby, from about
twenty to about forty feet per minute. I may here remark that it is not
necessary that the said two cylinders c, c, c, and c, c, c, should be of the same
diameter, but that it is found most convenient to make them so.
Lastly, although I have herein-before described various apparatus employed
in conjunction with the said two perforated hollow cylinders, as also the
manner of making the said cylinders, I hereby declare that I only claim, as
constituting the Invention herein-before mentioned, (and for which I have
obtained His Majesty's said Letters Patent,) the application of two cylinders
of the same or a similar construction, for the purpose of making paper
thereby, when the said two cylinders are so employed as to allow or cause a
layer of pulp to be formed on the surface of cach, and the said two layers of
pulp are made to unite by being compressed between the said two cylinders,
and formed into one layer or sheet of paper previously to the said united

page_text: layers or sheet of paper being couched or detached from the said lower
cylinder by the said couching roller R and endless felt n, n.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Donkin, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five
Inrolled the same Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year above written.