IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC FISH BOLT WASHERS DUST GUARDS OR PACKINGS FOR OIL BOXES OF RAILWAY CARS, WASHERS GASKETS FOR PIPES PUMPS BOILERS AND SUCH LIKE, CONDENSOR FERRULES CHAIR SEATS TRUNKS AND BOXES LOOM PICKS HARNESS LOOPS BEARINGS FOR MACHINERY AND SUCH LIKE AND IN THE PREPARATION OF A MATERIAL FOR THESE AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sydney Pitt, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC FISH BOLT WASHERS DUST GUARDS
OR PACKINGS FOR OIL BOXES OF RAILWAY CARS, WASHERS GASKETS FOR
PIPES PUMPS BOILERS AND SUCH LIKE, CONDENSOR FERRULES CHAIR SEATS
TRUNKS AND BOXES LOOM PICKS HARNESS LOOPS BEARINGS FOR MACHINERY
AND SUCH LIKE AND IN THE PREPARATION OF A MATERIAL FOR THESE AND
OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by the Vulcanized Fibre
Company of Wilmington, Delaware, in the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sydney Pitt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th March 1877.
SYDNEY PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC
FISH BOLT WASHERS DUST GUARDS OR PACKINGS FOR OIL BOXES OF RAILWAY
CARS, WASHERS GASKETS FOR PIPES PUMPS BOILERS AND SUCH LIKE, CON-
DENSOR FERRULES CHAIR SEATS TRUNKS AND BOXES LOOM PICKS HARNESS
LOOPS BEARINGS FOR MACHINERY AND SUCH LIKE AND IN THE PREPARATION OF
A MATERIAL FOR THESE AND OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by
the Vulcanized Fibre Company of Wilmington, Delaware, in the United States of
America.
According to this Invention elastic fish bolt washers, dust guards, or packings for
oil boxes of railway cars; washers, gaskets, and such like, are made from sheets
of material called vulcanized fibre, and made in the manner herein-after described.
Sheets of this material are more easily and accurately cut than leather, and being
uniform in quality and thickness throughout, there is no waste in cutting, like that
which occurs from the "skirts and flanks" of sides of leather; they are also inso-
luble in and uninjured by hot or cold water, oil, grease, petroleum, gas, turptine,
or alcohol. The material is made from paper or textil fabric treated in the manner
herein-after described, or from paper pulp, which after treatment may be made into
sheets in the ordinary manner of making sheets of paper.
The first step in the process is to immerse the paper pulp or other substance to be
treated until it is saturated in a bath of concentrated mother water or liquor

page_text: resulting from the manufacture of chloride of zinc, or of the chlorides of tin, calcium,
magnesium, or aluminum. As this mother water is a waste product, and not
cominonly an article of merchandize, and therefore not easily obtained in sufficient
quantities, it will be more convenient as well as more economical to produce it for
this express purpose froin the manufacture of the chlorides above named, which
are easily made and command ready sale. For this purpose (if chloride of zinc is
employed) I dissolve metallic zinc in dilute muriatic acid, and then concentrate the
solution by heat to about 70° or 75° Baumé. On cooling, the solution will deposit
crystals of chloride of zinc, which being removed, the resulting mother liquor is
obtained. To this mother liquor I then add a solution of chlorine in water until
the presence of chlorine is detected by the smell on the agitation of the liquor. This
solution may be obtained by dissolving chloride of lime in water to the strength of
from 1° to 2° Baumé. I then add to the liquor a sufficient quantity of carbonate of
zine (or any other carbonate) to render the solution neutral."
If it is desired to render the paper or other substance to be treated very opaque,
I add to the bath of mother liquor as much oxide of tin or oxide of zinc (or other
suitable oxide) as it will retain in solution. For this purpose an excess of oxide is
preferable so as to insure the desired result. Care should be taken not to employ
ingredients having iron or sulphur in combination when it is important that the
colour of the article to be treated should not be injured.
The paper or other fabric to be be treated should be heated before being immersed,
so as to expel all moisture and facilitate the process; this may be done by passing.
it through a heated chamber or over a heated surface, the plan which is found most
effective being to pass it over a hollow metallic roller heated internally by steam or
otherwise, with a surrounding jacket having slits for the paper or fabric to pass
through between the roller and the jacket. The heating chamber, roller, or other
apparatus should be so placed that the paper, &c., may pass immediately from it
into the bath of mother liquor so as to loso as little heat as possible.
The vessel containing the chemical bath should be made of lead, sandstone, or
other substance not readily affected by chlorine, and should be sufficiently large to
permit the paper or other fabric, if in a continuous sheet, to pass backward and for-
ward within it while immersed in the bath; this may be effected by the use of a
series of leaden rollers, over which the the paper, &c., may pass up and down or hori-
zontally, so as to remain a sufficient time in the bath to become completely saturated;
or a series of baths may be employed, if preferred, for this purpose.
As the paper or other fabric passes out of the chemical bath, the surplus adhering
liquor is removed by means of scrapers, or by passing between rollers, and is allowed
to run back into the bath. The paper or other fabric is then passed into a trough
of water, and washed until free from all surplus liquor.
The wash water is used again and again until the water contains a large per-
centage of chloride of zinc; it is then boiled until by the evaporation of the water
the solution acquires a density of 65° to 75° Baumé, at which density it is used for
treating a new quantity of paper or pulp in the manner herein-before described.
The paper or other fabric treated as above described is then dried slowly at
moderate heat, and afterwards smoothed and calendered, if desired, in the manner
usual in the manufacture of paper. By this process the paper or other fabric is
rendered strong and tough, approaching in these respects to the quality of parchment
or skin, while some degree of flexibility is retained. Paper thus treated may be made
of any desired thickness by placing together the sheets as they pass from the
chemical bath, as by rolling continuously around a cylinder or otherwise, and
uniting them by pressure, after which the article thus formed is washed in water to
remove the surplus liquor. The requisite pressure may be obtained by using a pair
of rolls, one of which should be heated.
Paper pulp or other vegetable fibre may be saturated in the chemical bath and
then moulded by pressure into any desired form, and then hardened, as herein-after
described.
To make from paper, paper pulp, or other vegetable fibrous substance an article

page_text: having the solidity and hardness of horn or vulcanite, I employ the same chemical
batlı, as before described, but concentrated to a strength of about 50° Baumé, or
upwards, according to the article to be treated. The bath is heated to about
150° Fahrenheit, and the paper or other article after being first heated and then
saturated in the bath, as above described, is passed (on leaving the bath) over or
between heated rolls, and then plunged in water, pure or only slightly alkaline, in
which it is allowed to remain for from 6 to 24 hours, according to degree of hardness
required, after which it is subjected to pressure to solidify it and make it. smooth, or
give it any desired shape; it is then slowly dried at a temperature of from 70° to
80° Fahrenheit. It may be made of any required thickness by bringing together
several plies or layers as it passes out of the chemical bath. A still greater degree
of hardness may be attained by dissolving in the chemical bath vegetable fibre,
dextrine, gum, or starch, and also by sifting on to or between the layers of the paper
or fabric as it passes from the bath any mineral substance or gums.
If it is desired to produce a substance having great flexibility and softness,
resembling soft vulcanized rubber without the clasticity of that article, the paper or
other fabric is immersed to saturation in the chemical bath in the manner first
above described, and then as it leaves the bath it is passed over a heated roller of
lead (or other suitable material) into a washing vessel containing a weak solution of
any suitable alkali in water, and thenco into a bath of a solution of water and
glycerine in the proportions of two parts by measure of water to one of glycerine, or
a solution of sugar and water in similar proportions. This glycerine or sugar bath
may be used cold, but it is better to have it heated a little below 212° Fahrenheit.
In this bath it should remain about 6 hours or more, according to the degree of
softness required. Paper thus prepared and made of suitable thickness by uniting
several plies as they pass from the chemical bath makes excellent belting, the
strength of which may be increased by introducing between the layers of paper
cloth made of cotton or vegetable fiber, either dry or previously saturated in the
chemical bath, as may be preferred; but it adheres better if inserted dry.
In uniting several thicknesses of paper or other vegetable. fabric as they pass out
of the chemical bath a pair of rolls may be used, so arranged as to give the requisite
pressure, and yet allowing a gradual separation as the thickness of the article passing
between them increases, the upper roll being heated to from 120° to 200° Fahrenheit,
and the lower one around which the paper, &c., is to pass being partially immersed
in the bath of alkaline solution, or of glycerine and water, or sugar and water, as
the case may be.
The paper, paper pulp, or other fibrous vegetable substance treated as above
described, when of suitable thickness is extremely soft and pliable, and resembles
soft leather in texture, and may be used for many purposes for which leather is
employed. When of increased thickness it may be employed for belting, packing,
and various other purposes to which soft vulcanized rubber, owing to its great
elasticity and its liability to be acted upon by heat and various chemical substances,
is inapplicable.
When manufactured in a hard state, by omitting the glycerine or sugar treat-
ment, it may be made as horn and used for various purposes, being susceptible of
being molded or otherwise formed into any desired shape. The article thus pro-
duced, whether soft or hard, when exposed to sufficient heat burns without flame
and is not readily combustable. It may be used to advantage in making hose or
pipe for conducting water, gas, and other fluids, and also for the bodies of carriages,
railroad cars, or boats, and for various other purposes in the arts and manufactures.
Short tubes of the above material form ferrules for making a tight joint around
condensor tubes and such like.
It has been found that ferrules so formed possess the property of swelling under
heat and moisture, and of resisting their decomposing effects as well as those of
grease, so that the tubes whilst free to move endwise with comparatively little
friction are tightly packed.
Boxes and trunks may also be made from sheets of the material.

page_text: The sheets may for this purpose be moulded when in a moist state by pressure
but it is preferred to make them in the following manner:-A mould forming the
counterpart of the bottom or top of the trunk or box is taken and covered with a
sheet of fibre cut at the corners to permit its being folded up; an envelope or outer
mold of a shape corresponding to the inner one is then applied upon the material
which is compressed into the shape desired by suitable well-known means, one or
both of the molds being first heated to cause the material readily to assume the
shape desired; the corners are then sewed together in the usual way of making
leather trunks.
The material possesses stiff and unyielding qualities which allow of all framing
being dispensed with, or a comparatively slight frame will be found sufficient even
for large trunks. The material is not injuriously affected by moisture or by heat,
and admits of being handsomely embossed or ornamented in the process of manu-
facture, and of straps, locks, and hinges being attached as with trunks made of other
materials. Owing to the hardness of the material employed it is not defaced by
wear or rough usage, and unlike leather it is not stained by water should the trunk
be exposed to rain, neither is it discolored by age, nor is its appearance marred by
the wrinkles or irregularities so common in trunks made of the usual materials.
The material is also applicable for the manufacture of washers for use on the
axles of carriages and other vehicles. Washers so made are very hard and light,
and do not wear away quickly; they are much more durable than leather, and much
cheaper than iron.
"
The material is also applicable for the manufacture of boxes and bearings for the
shafts of machinery, and also for linings to boxes and bearings; it forms a secure
and smooth bearing surface which will not cut or wear away the journals or heat
under their action, and one also which is easily renewable.
Chair seats, loom picks, harness loops, and such like articles may also very
advantageously be formed from the material herein described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Sydney Pitt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th September
1877;
SYDNEY PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC
FISH BOLT WASHERS DUST GUARDS OR PACKINGS FOR OIL BOXES OF RAILWAY
CARS WASHERS GASKETS FOR PIPES PUMPS BOILERS AND SUCH LIKE CON-
DENSOR FERRULES CHAIR SEATS TRUNKS AND BOXES LOOM PICKS HARNESS
LOOPS BEARINGS FOR MACHINERY AND SUCH LIKE AND IN THE PREPARATION OF
A MATERIAL FOR THESE AND OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by
the Vulcanized Fibre Company of Wilmington, Delaware, in the United States of
America.
According to this Invention clastic fish bolt washers, dust guards, or packings for
oil boxes of railway cars, washers, gaskets, and such like are made from sheets of
material called vulcanized fibre, and made in the manner herein-after described.
Sheets of this material are more easily and accurately cut than leather, and being
uniform in quality and thickness throughout there is no waste in cutting like that
which occurs from the "skirts and flanks" of sides of leather; they are also
insoluble in and uninjured by hot or cold water, oil, grease, petroleum, gas,
turpentine, or alcohol. The material is made from paper or textile fabric treated in
the manner herein-after described, or from paper pulp, which after treatment may
be made into sheets in the ordinary manner of making sheets of paper.
The first step in the process is to immerse the paper pulp or other substance to
be treated until it is saturated in a bath of concentrated mother water or liqour
resulting from the manufacture of chloride of zinc or of the chlorides of tin, calcium,

page_text: magnesium, or aluminium. As this mother water is a waste product and not
commonly an article of merchandise, and therefore not easily obtained in sufficient
quantities, it will be more convenient as well as more economical to produce it for
this express purpose from the manufacture of the chlorides above nained, which are
easily made and command ready sale. For this purpose (if chloride of zinc is
omployed) I dissolve metallic zinc in dilute muriatic acid, and then concentrate the
solution by heat to about 70° or 75° Beaumé. On cooling, the solution will deposit
crystals of chloride of zinc, which being removed, the resulting mother liquor is
obtained. To this mother liquor I then add a solution of chlorine in water until the
presence of chlorine is detected by the sinell on the agitation of the liquor. This
solution may be obtained by dissolving chloride of lime in water to the strength of
from 1° to 2° Beaumé; I then add to the liquor a sufficient quantity of carbonate of
zine (or any other carbonate) to render the solution neutral.
If it is desired to render the paper or other substance to be treated very opaque,
I add to the bath of inother liquor as much oxide of tin or oxide of zine (or other
suitable oxide) as it will retain in solution. For this purpose an excess of oxide is
preferable so as to insure the desired result; care should be taken not to employ
ingredients having iron or sulphur in combination when it is important that the
color of the article to be treated should not be injured.
The paper or other fabric to be treated should be heated before being immersed
so as to expel all moisture and facilitate the process. This may be done by passing
it through a heated chamber or over a heated surface, the plan which I find inost
effective being to pass it over a hollow metallic roller heated internally by steam
or otherwise with a surrounding jacket, having slits for the paper or fabric to pass
through between the roller and the jacket. The heating chamber, roller, or other
apparatus should be so placed that the paper, &c., may pass immediately from it
into the bath of mother liquor so as to lose as little heat as possible.
The vessel containing the chemical bath should be made of lead, sandstone, or
other substance not readily affected by chlorine, and should be sufficiently large to
permit the paper or other fabric, if in a continuous sheet, to pass backward and
forward within it while immersed in the bath; this may be effected by the use of a
series of leaden rollers over which the paper, &c., may pass up and down or
horizontally, so as to remain a sufficient time in the bath to become completely
saturated; or a series of baths may be employed, if preferred, for this purpose.
As the paper or other fabric passes out of the chemical bath the surplus adhering
liquor is reinoved by means of scrapers, or by passing between rollers, and is
allowed to run back into the bath. The paper or other fabric is then passed into a
trough of water and washed until free from all surplus liquor.
The wash water is used again and again until the water contains a large per
centage of chloride of zinc; it is then boiled until by the evaporation of the water
the solution acquires a density of 65° to 75° Beaumé, at which density it is used for
treating a new quantity of paper or pulp in the manner herein-before described.
The paper or other fabric treated as above described is then dried slowly at
moderate heat, and afterwards smoothed and calendered, if desired, in the manner
usual in the manufacture of paper. By this process the paper or other fabric is
rendered strong and tough, approaching in these respects to the quality of parchment
or skin, while some degree of flexibility is retained. Paper thus treated may be
made of any desired thickness by placing together the sheets as they pass from the
chemical bath, as by rolling continuously around a cylinder or otherwise, and
uniting them by pressure, after which the article thus formed is washed in water to
remove the surplus liquor. The requisite pressure may be obtained by using a pair
of rolls, one of which should be heated.
Paper pulp or other vegetable fibre may be saturated in the chemical bath, and
then moulded by pressure into any desired form and then hardened as herein-after
described.
To make from paper, paper pulp, or other vegetable fibrous substance an article
having the solidity and hardness of horn or vulcanite, I employ the same chemical

page_text: '
bath as before described, but concentrated to a strength of about 50° Beaumé, or
upward, according to the article to be treated. The bath is heated to about
150° Fahrenheit, and the paper or other article after being first heated and then
saturated in the bath as above described is passed (on leaving the bath) over or
between heated rolls, and then plunged in water, pure or only slightly alkaline, in
which it is allowed to remain for from six to twenty-four hours, according to degree
of hardness required, after which it is subjected to pressure to solidify it and make
it smooth or give it any desired shape; it is then slowly dried at a temperature of
from 70° to 80° Fahrenheit. It may be made of any required thickness by bringing
together several plies or layers as it passes out of the chemical bath. A still greater
degree of hardness may be attained by dissolving in the chemical bath vegetable
-fibre, dextrine, gum, or starch, and also by sifting on to or between the layers of
the paper or fabric as it passes from the bath any mineral substance or gums.
If it is desired to produce a substance having great flexibility and softness, re-
sembling soft vulcanized rubber, without the elasticity of that article, the paper or
other fabric is immersed to saturation in the chemical bath, in the manner first above
described, and then as it leaves the bath it is passed over a heated roller of lead (or
other suitable material) into a washing vessel containing a weak solution of any
suitable alkali in water, and thence into a bath of a solution of water and glycerine
in the proportion of two parts by measure of water to one of glycerine, or a solution
of sugar and water in similar proportions. This glycerine or sugar bath may be used
cold, but it is better to have it heated a little below 212° Fahrenheit. In this bath
it should remain about 6 hours or more, according to the degree of softness required.
Paper thus prepared and made of suitable thickness, by uniting several plies as they
pass from the chemical bath, makes excellent belting, the strength of which may be
increased by introducing between the layers of paper, cloth, made of cotton or vegetable
fibre, either dry or previously saturated in the chemical bath, as may be preferred,
but it adheres better if inserted dry.
In uniting several thicknesses of paper or other vegetable fabric, as they pass out
of the chemical bath, a pair of rolls may be used so arranged as to give the requisite
pressure, and yet allowing a gradual separation as the thickness of the article passing
between them increases, the upper roll being heated to from 120° to 200° Fahrenheit,
and the lower one around which the paper, &c., is to pass, being partially immersed
in the bath of alkaline solution or of glycerine and water, or sugar and water, as the
case may be.
The paper, paper pulp, or other fibrous vegetable substance treated as above de-
scribed, when of suitable thickness, is extremely soft and pliable, and resembles soft
leather in texture, and may be used for many purposes for which leather is employed.
When of increased thickness it may be employed for belting, packing, and various
other purposes to which soft vulcanized rubber, owing to its great clasticity and its
liability to be acted upon by heat and various chemical substances, is inapplicable.
When manufactured in a hard state, by omitting the glycerine or sugar treatinent,
it may be made as horn and used for various purposes, being susceptible of being
moulded or otherwise formed into any desired shape. The article thus produced,
whether soft or hard, when exposed to sufficient heat burns without flame and is not
readily combustible. It may be used to advantage in making hose or pipe for con-
ducting water, gas, and other fluids, and also for the bodies of carriages, railroad
cars, or boats, and for various other purposes in the arts and manufactures.
Short tubes of the above material form ferrules for making a tight joint around
condenser tubes and such like.
It has been found that ferrules so formed possess the property of swelling under
heat and moisture, and of resisting their decomposing effects as well as those of
grease, so that the tubes whilst free to move end wise with comparatively little friction
are tightly packed.
Boxes and trunks may also be made from sheets of the material,
The sheets may for this purpose be moulded when in a moist state by pressure,
but it is preferred to make them in the following manner:-A mould forming the

page_text: counterpart of the bottom or top of the trunk or box is taken and covered with
a sheet of fibre cut at the corners to permit its being folded up. An envelope or
outer mould of a shape corresponding to the inner one is then applied upon the
material, which is compressed into the shape desired by suitable well-known means,
one or both of the moulds being first heated to cause the material readily to assume
the shape desired. The corners are then sewed together in the usual way of making
leather trunks.
The material possesses stiff and unyielding qualities which allow of all framing
being dispensed with, or a comparatively slight frame will be found sufficient even
for large trunks. The material is not injuriously affected by moisture or by heat,
and admits of being handsomely embossed or ornamented in the process of manu-
facture, and of straps, locks, and hinges being attached, as with trunks made of other
materials. Owing to the hardness of the material employed, it is not defaced by
wear or rough usage, and unlike leather it is not stained by water, should the trunk
be exposed to rain, neither is it discolored by age, nor is its appearance marred
by the wrinkles or irregularities so common in trunks made of the usual
materials.
The material is also applicable for the manufacture of washers for use on the axles
of carriages and other vehicles. Washers so made are very hard and light and do
not wear away quickly, they are much more durable than leather, and much cheaper
than iron.
The material is also applicable for the manufacture of boxes and bearings for the
shafts of machinery, and also for linings to boxes and bearings; it forms a secure and
sinooth bearing surface, which will not cut or wear away the journals, or heat under
their action, and one also which is easily renewable.
Chair scats, loom picks, harness loops, and such like articles may also very advan-
tageously be formed from the material herein described.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I would have it understood that I claim the improvements in elastic fish
bolt washers, dust guards, or packings for oil boxes of railway cars; washers, gaskets
for pipes, pumps, boilers, and such like condensor; ferrules, chair seats, trunks and
boxes, looms, picks, harness loops, bearings for machinery, and such like; and in
the preparation of a material for these and other purposes, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sydney Pitt, have hereunto set my hand,
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
SYDNEY PITT. (L.S.)