CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL FUELS, MASTICS, AND CEMENTS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of Fleet Street, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eleventh day of March, in the eighth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Richard Archibald
Brooman, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my exors, admors, 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 from abroad of an Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL
FUELS, MASTICS, AND CEMENTS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the before.in part recited Letters, Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
Whereas there has been recently imported from the East Indies a natural
resin, resin-like substance, or mastic, not previously known or used in the arts
and manufactures of Europe, called gutta percha (sometimes gutta tuban),
which has been found to possess properties that render it peculiarly adapted to
the effecting of improvements in the preparation and application of artificial
fuels, mastics, and cements.
First, it is of a highly combustible quality, being chiefly composed of carbon
and hydrogen, while at the same time it inflames only at a very high degree
of heat, and is not injuriously affected by any known degree of atmospheric
heat. Second, it is soluble, in essential oils, but resists. to a great extent the
action of grease and unctuous oils. Third, it mixes. readily with paints, pig-
ments, and most other coloring matters. Fourth, it. is. repellent of and
unaffected by cold water or damp. Fifth, it may be. so softened by immersion
in hot water, or by exposure to steam or hot air, as to be capable, without
further treatment, of being kneaded or moulded, or rolled out or pressed into
any desired shape, and to any extent of tenuity. Sixth, it is of a strongly
adhesive or agglutinating quality; and when dry is free from stickiness:
Seventh, in the dry or solid state it is flexible, of great tenacity, and to a slight
degree elastic.
Eighth, it is impermeable. to. and not injuriously affected
by atmospheric air. Ninth, it is in a pure state,. nearly inodorous.. And
tenth, it is little, if at all, injured by use (except as a fuel); and may, after:it
has been employed in a manufactured state; be. recovered or renovated and
manfactured: anew. In some of these properties, namely; its adhesive, and
water and air-repellent properties, gutta percha. resembles: caoutchouc, but it
is advantageously distinguished from it in its freedom from stickiness when dry,
in its not being so affected: by atmospheric heat or: by. unctuous oils, and in its
being workable by means of hot water alone.
Now the nature of the said: Invention consists in. the preparation from the
said natural resin, resin-like substance, or mastic, either: by itself: or:in.combi
nation with other materials, of certain improved. artificial fuels, mastics;. and
cements, and the application thereof to various new and useful purposes; and
the manner of carrying the said Invention into effect is as follows:-
Artificial Fuels. First, I make an artificial fuel, of which the principal
ingredients are the same as those ordinarily employed; in. this: branch. of

page_text: manufacture, namely, small coal or coal dust, and the pitch made from coal
tar; but I add to these materials, while they are undergoing the process of
fusion or commixture, a portion of gutta percha in the crude and solid state as
it is imported, in the proportion of from ten to twenty parts (more or less) of
the gutta percha, to from eighty to ninety parts of the other materials. The
admixture of the gutta percha improves the coal in point of cohesiveness and
hardness, and enables it the better to bear exposure to the weather or to high
temperatures before it is used. An artificial fuel of this sort is therefore well
adapted for consumption on board of steam vessels, and for exportation to
warm climates. Second, I make an artificial fuel composed of the gutta
percha in its imported state, and of small coal or coal dust, sawdust, or
any other ligneous fibre in a like comminuted state, and coal tar or pitch, each
in or about the following proportions:-Gutta percha three and a half parts,
small coal or coal dust four parts, saw or wood dust two parts, and coal tār
one half part. I mix, melt, fuse, compress, and mould these materials
according to any of the modes commonly followed in the manufacture of
artificial fuels; where a fuel is required that will give a great heat but burn
slowly, as in many digesting and distilling processes, this sort of artificial fuel
will be found well adapted to the purpose. Third, I make an artificial fuel,
composed of about' three parts of gutta percha and one part rectified coal tar;
for the purpose of obtaining, by the burning of the same, a black pigment
suitable for the manufacture of printing ink. Fourth, I make an artificial fuel,
suitable for the same purpose as the last herein-before described, of a mixture
of gutta percha and caoutchouc in about equal proportions. And fifth, I make
an artificial fuel for the same purpose as the two last herein-before specified
of gutta percha alone.
Artificial Mastics and Cements:-To prepare gutta percha for application as
a mastic or cement it is first freed from the fibrous and foreign matters, with
which it is usually found intermixed in the state in which it is imported, by
repeated washings in manner following:-It is soaked for a short time in hot
water in order to make it pliable, and then passed five or six times or oftener
through a cleansing machine constructed as shewn in the sectional elevation of
it given in Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed. A, is a double-
sided tank filled to about the height of the dotted line a, a, with water, which
is kept at a temperature of from 180° to 200° by means of steam or hot
water introduced into the space B between the two sides of the tank. C¹, C
are two parallel steel or iron rollers of cqual diameters, which are mounted in
suitable bearings, and fixed in such a position as to be about three fourths
immersed in the water in the tank. D1, D2, are two wheels affixed to the axes

page_text: of the rollers C¹, C, which work into one another and give motion to these
rollers, the wheel D being twice the diameter of the wheel D¹, in order that
it may serve as a sort of drag upon the latter. F is a pinion which gives
motion to a large toothed wheel E, which drives the roller C, C. The gutta
percha being removed from. the hot water is passed between the rollers
D', D (as indicated by the red line), and this process is repeated till all the
fibrous and foreign matters have been squeezed out of it, and it has been
reduced to a sheet of more or less thickness. The rollers D', D are provided
with adjusting screws (after the well-known mode adopted in flatting mills),
by which the distance between them may be diminished as the process;
proceeds, and diminished to such an extent as to produce pieces of the gutta
percha of any required degree of thickness. The dragging action which the
wheel D² exerts on the wheel D' is useful in protracting or staying the progress
of the material while it is being squeezed between the two rollers. The refuse
matters resulting from this cleansing process float on the surface or fall to the:
bottom of the tank. The gutta percha after it has been thus cleansed may be
applied as a mastic or cement, or as an ingredient in mastics and cements, in
any, one of three states, namely, first, in a plastic state; second, in a granular
or pulverized state; and third, in a state of solution. And it may be applied
in any one of these states, either by itself or in combination with other;
substances.
Plastic Applications.-When the gutta percha is intended to be used in the
plastic state, it is next subjected to the operation of a kneading machine, such
as represented in Figures 2 and 3, the former being ann end elevation in
section, and the other a side view partly in section. K is a framework or
hollow case, in which is mounted a hollow iron cylinder L, containing within
it a grooved roller M of considerably smaller diameter, the axis of which
passes through the end bearings H, H, of the cylinder. The top of the
cylinder is divided from the rest so as to form a lid turning back-
wards on a hinge at N when opened, and made fast in front when closed
by bolts passed through the two projecting flanges m, m.
A rotary
motion is given to the grooved roller M by a wheel P fixed on one end
of its axis, and the roller M derives its motion through the medium
of a pinion from a steam engine or any other first mover. The lid being
opened a ball or mass of gutta percha (formed by working up together by
hand. and in hot water a number of the cleansed pieces) of sufficient size to
fill about one third of the space between the cylinder L and roller M is
introduced, as shewn at Q, and the lid fastened down. Motion is then given
to the roller M, the flutes of which serve not only to carry round the mass of

page_text: gutta percha but to knead it thoroughly. The process is continued till the
mass becomes perfectly ductile, and the length of time required for this pur-
pose varies from an hour to an hour and a half, more or less, according to the
quality of gutta percha; some sorts being more stubborn than others. The
heat ultimately evolved in the process is considerable; but it will in most cases
be found necessary to aid the process at the commencement, by enclosing the
case K in a tank of hot water, as shewn in Figure 2, or by introducing steam
by a pipe into the cylinder L. When it is desired to give to the mass of
gutta percha a greater degree of elasticity than is natural to it, I mix up and
incorporate with it, while it is going through the kneading machine, either a
portion of caoutchouc or a portion of sulphur, or portions of both caoutchouc
and sulphur. The following are good average proportions:-About three
parts of caoutchouc for every six parts of gutta percha, or one part of sulphur
for every eight parts of gutta percha, or two parts of caoutchouc and one part
of sulphur for every six parts of gutta percha. When caoutchouc, however,
is employed to encrease the elasticity of the gutta percha a degree of heat of
not less than 150° Fahrenheit is necessary to effect the amalgamation of the
two substances. The caoutchouc is most conveniently introduced into the
machine at the same time with the gutta percha; but the sulphur should be
dropped into and upon the gutta percha from time to time, and in small
quantities at a time, through the small doors R in the top of the cylinder L..
The gutta percha takes up the other materials readily, and the whole are, at
the end of the process, thoroughly amalgamated. Should it be desired to give
any color to the mass of gutta percha to render it better adapted to the pur-
poses to which it is to be applied, the requisite pigment or coloring matter is
introduced in the same way as the sulphur, through the doors R, R, in the top
of the cylinder, and also in small quantities at a time. The color penetrates.
every part of the mass and becomes perfectly amalgamated and identified with
it. The gutta percha may be also improved in smoothness by incorporating
with it some pulverised French or Turkey chalk or other soft powder, adding.
it in the same way as the sulphur or colors. Or should it be desired to.
render it rough and abrasive, it may be mixed up with some ground emery,
sand, or other haŕd substance, in a granular state. The gutta percha in
any of the several plastic states in which it has been thus prepared may be
applied either by itself or in combination with other substances or materials to
numerous useful purposes. By itself, and in one or other of the said states, it
may be manufactured by moulding, stamping, embossing, casting, or any
other known process or processes for giving figure and form to plastic
substances into various articles of use, as glass and picture frames,: cor-

page_text: nices, mouldings, and other architectural ornaments, pannelling mosaics, &c.;
.buttons, studs, counters, labels, balls, &c.; bracelets, armlets, garters, rings, and
other circular articles; reins, bridles, belts, bands, &c. Or it may be used
(when sulphurized especially) for any purpose for which an elastic air
and water proof substance, unaffected by ordinary degrees of heat, is suitable,
as for example, as a material in which to produce pictures, either in relief or in
intaglio, or as a covering for beds, couches, and cushions, or as a material for
billiard-table cushions, or as a substitute for metallic springs, or as a bearing for
railway rails and chairs, nuts or parts of machinery, or for atmospheric railway
.and other valves. In combination with other substances or materials the gutta
percha may in.
.any of the plastic states aforesaid be used either to cement them
together, or to render them air or water proof. The articles of manufacture to
which the gutta percha is in these states most usefully applicable are single and
double fabrics of cotton wool, and other fibrous materials, leather and other mem-
.branous textures, table-covers, floorcloths, goods, wrappers, tarpaulins, printers'
blankets, lappings for the cylinders and bowls of printing and embossing
machines, driving bands, &c. In this class of application the gutta percha may
be applied in a state of solution to the articles by means of a machine, such as
represented in Figures 4 and 5, and which is similar to that ordinarily employed
for the like purpose in the caoutchouc waterproof manufacture.
Figure 4 is a front elevation, and Figure 5 a side elevation of the machine.
T is the framework.. V; V2, two hollow iron rollers which revolve in suitable
bearings, and are kept by steam at a temperature of about 140°. Z is a
guage under which the gutta percha is fed from behind; and z, z, are screws
for regulating the thickness to be given to it. The web or piece of cloth or
other article which is to be coated is laid in a hollow ledge X, from which it
is carried forward under the. guage Z, and over the cylinder V1, V2, becoming
coated with a layer of the gutta percha as it passes under the guage. When
the gutta percha is applied in the plastic state an arrangement, such as that
represented on the right-hand side of Figure 5, may be adopted. S is a
roller on which the cloth or other article to be coated is wound, and from which
it is delivered on to the cylinder V2. The ball or mass of gutta percha is
placed on the top of the cylinder V', immediately behind the guage Z, as
shewn at W, where the warmth of the cylinder causes a portion of the gutta
percha to adhere to and be carried round by the cylinder; which portion, as it
passes under the guage, is smoothed and reduced to a sheet or layer of a
thinness corresponding with the adjustment given to the guage. The cloth
from-Ș, as it passes between the cylinders V1, V2, receives upon it and is com-
bined with the sheet or layer of the gutta percha brought over by the

page_text: 5
cylinder. V. The guage should in both cases be kept warm, and for this
purpose it should be constructed with a hollow passage y running through it
for the reception of steam or hot water or hot air, as shewn separately in
Figure 6. In all cases where the article to which the gutta percha is applied
is likely to be exposed to considerable variations of temperature or to unctuous
oils, the sulphurised sort should be preferred. In all the combinations before
described the plastic gutta percha is either superimposed upon or interposed
between surfaces, but there are other combinations in which the gutta percha
is, in its plastic state, intimately mixed or blended with other materials; as, for
example, there may be added. to the gutta percha while in the kneading
machine, paper pulp, wood dust,. leather dust, hair, bristles, oakum, &c.,
(taking care when they are not originally in a comminuted state, to cut them
small, and compound fabrics will be thus produced, very suitable for paving,
roofing, sheathing, and other purposes.
Granular Applications.-I take the gutta percha of any of the varieties
before described, that is to say, either plain, or sulphurised, or colored, and
rasp it down to a powder. I then apply it in this state to the taking of casts
of busts, cornices, and other works of art, in round or curved forms, and to the
producing impressions in relief from surfaces engraved in intaglio, or perforated
through and through, of any given pattern. When casts of busts, &c. are to
be taken, the mould is filled with the grains or powder of the gutta percha, and
then heated till the gutta percha becomes reduced to a mass sufficiently ductile
to be pressed into all parts of the mould. When impressions in relief from flat
surfaces, engraved or perforated as above, are to be taken, the surface is laid
upon a flat table, and the powder sprinkled rather thickly over it; a straight
edge is then drawn across the surface, which causes all the sunken parts or
holes to be filled up, and removes any superfluous powder from the raised
parts. The surface is then subjected to a heat sufficient to soften the gutta
percha. When the piece of cloth, leather, paper, or any other substance on
which it may be desired to take the impression in relief, is laid upon the
surface, and pressure applied to it by a roller or otherwise, the gutta percha
leaves the broken parts or holes, and attaches itself to the cloth or other
substance, which then exhibits an exact copy in very bold and durable relief of
the original subject.
Applications in the State of Solution. The gutta percha, as before stated,
may be dissolved in most of the essential oils, and by the application of the
gentle heat. I prefer using for the purpose rectified naptha or rectified oil of
turpentine. It may be used in this state either by itself or mixed with
sulphur, caoutchouc, colours, French chalk, or any other of the substances

page_text: .
with which it has been before directed to be mixed in the plastic state, for
the purpose of increasing its elasticity or giving it color, or smoothness, or
roughness. It may also be applied in a state of solution to rendering water
and air proof or to cementing the various articles to which gutta percha has
been before stated to be applicable for these purposes in the plastic state,
when superimposed upon or interposed between the surfaces of articles. A
convenient method of forming it in this state into sheets is to float it upon
plates of glass, slabs of polished slate, or any other flat and smooth surface
(using it at such a temperature that it will spread evenly over the whole plate
or slab) and then leaving it to cool or dry. These plates may also have
patterns or designs engraved upon them, which will be transferred to the
sheets of gutta percha. In the state of solution gutta percha may be applied to
the better coating and protecting of articles that have been previously treated
with caoutchouc, either simple or sulphurized, or any other water or air-repellent
substance or preparation, or for the purpose of obviating the stickiness peculiar
to unsulphurized caoutchouc. Further, it may be applied in this fluid state to
the saturation of cordage of all sorts in order to increase its strength and render
it waterproof, and as a size for stiffening silks, ribbons, and other fabrics.
And, lastly, it may be employed in this liquid state mixed with colors for
printing silk, cotton, cloth, and other fabrics, leather, &c. The degree of con-
sistency proper to be given to the solution will necessarily vary with the particular
purposes to which it is applied, and with the mode of application. When it
is desired to apply as much of it as that it will form, when cold, a solid sheet,
and when it is laid on with a spatula and passed under a guage in the manner
commonly followed in the caoutchouc manufacture; the proportions may be
one of the solvent for about two parts of the gutta percha; but when a
very thin application of it is only required, as in the case of sizing silks and
ribbons, and it is laid on with a brush, the proportions may be encreased to
eight parts of the solvent for one of the gutta percha. In all cases it should
be applied in a warm state, especially when mixed with colors and used in
printing. A fabric extremely suitable for sheathing, roofing, and other like
purposes, may be made in manner following, of fibrous materials cemented
together by a solution of gutta percha, or a solution of gutta percha and
coautchouc, or a mixture of gutta percha, caoutchouc, coal tar, or pitch.
Figure 7 represents a machine for sizing and consolidating the fibrous
materials, and Figure 8 a machine for saturating them with the solution.
A, A, is a double-sided tank, similar to that represented in Figure 1, which is
heated by steam introduced into the space between the two sides. It is filled
to the height of the line a, a, a, a, with water mixed with a little-size or gum,

page_text: or other glutinous substance. B, B, B, and C, C, are. a series of rollers,
round. which are carried endless gauze belts or apron R, R, R, R... G. is a
cylinder, round which is wound a fleece or bat of cotton wool, or any other
fibrous. material, such as is ordinarily delivered by carding machines, and
which may be of any thickness. required. From G this fleece is carried over
and between B, B, B, which act as flatting rollers, and are made to revolve by
connecting them with the steam engine or any other moving power. From
B, B, B, it is carried over and between two hollow revolving cylinders C', C¹,
which are kept heated by steam, after which it is wound upon the roller D.
Sometimes a pulp is mixed with the water and size or gum in the tank A, and
kept stirred by an agitator, such as Q, which project the pulp on to the gauze,
belt or apron R, and is thereby conveyed. to the fleece. The. machine,
Figure 8, to which the fleece is next transferred, consists of a double-sided:
tank, similar to that in Figure 7, and is filled to the height of the line b, b,
with the solution of gutta percha or of gutta percha and caoutchouc, or of
gutta percha, caoutchouc, and coal tar or pitch, held and kept warm by steam
introduced into the space between the two sides. N, N, N, are three revolving
flatting rollers, which carry endless gauze bands or aprons G, G, G. M is a
cylinder, round which the prepared bat is wound after being removed from the
sizing machine, Figure 7. From this cylinder it is carried over and between
the rollers N, N, N, and having been fully saturated in its progress with
the gutta percha or gutta percha and caoutchouc solution, it is passed
round a steam-heated cylinder, in order to be dried.. A very good
article of this description may be made by passing the fleece or bat at once
through the machine, Figure 8;-that is to say, without any previous sizing.
In before describing the various matters with which gutta percha may be
combined I have directed sulphur should be added to it either while it is under-
going the process of kneading, or when it is in a state of solution; but should
that have been omitted, or should any article manufactured of gutta percha, or
gutta percha and other substances combined, require to have additional and
more permanent elasticity given to it, it may be sulphurised by steeping it
in melted sulphur at a heat of about 300° Fahrenheit, or by exposing it to the
fumes of heated sulphur. Most of the articles which have been herein-before
enumerated or referred to as being formed of gutta percha, or of gutta percha
in combination with other substances, possess in common this valuable pro-
perty, that after they have been in use the gutta percha may be recovered from
them with but little, if any, loss, and restored to a state fit for manufacturing
into new articles of the same or any other description.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I am aware that
the application of gutta percha to the manufacture of corks, bungs, and
other stoppers has been the subject of Letters Patent granted to Charles
Hancock, and that I do not claim its application to such articles or any of them.
I declare further, that I do not claim as of my Invention, or the exclusive
use of, the machinery herein-before described and referred to as employed in
the working of the gutta percha, except when applied to the particular pur-
poses herein mentioned. But that what I claim an exclusive right to under
the present Patent is the employment in the manufacture of artificial fuels,
mastics, and cements of the natural resin, resin-like substance, or mastic, called
gutta percha, sometimes gutta tuban, in manner before described, and the
application of such artificial fuels, mastics, and cements to the various, purposes
and in the several states and modes before stated and' exemplified.
In witness' whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh'
day of September :One thousand eight hundred and forty five