IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF ORNAMENTING WOOD AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William King at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 24th May 1878.
WILLIAM KING, of Islington, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE METHOD OF ORNAMENTING WOOD AND OTHER MATERIALS."
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture and ornamen-
tation of slabs or blocks of wood and other materials to be used as name or sign
boards, and in which letters, characters, figures, or ornamental designs are sunk, or
impressed, or indented into the wood, and gilded or coloured, the surface of the
wood being painted or stained black, or of any colour which will contrast well with
the sunken and gilt or coloured letters, characters, figures, or designs.
The treatment of wood will be herein-after mainly described, the like operations
when applied to other substances or materials being exactly similar.
When a number of wooden slabs or blocks precisely similar are required, the
desired letters, characters, figures, or designs are cut in a slab or block of wood of
the desired shape and size.
When this operation has been completed a cast of plaster or other suitable material
is prepared from the indented wooden slab or block, and from such cast an impres-
sion in sand is taken, as well understood, and from the latter a metallic casting,
preferably of iron, is made.
The latter casting necessarily constitutes a die having in relief letters, characters,
figures, or designs corresponding and coinciding with those which had been pre-
viously sunk or indented into the wood.
Another casting of printers' rollers composition or other suitable flexible material
for the purposes of printing is also made, the same having letters, characters, figures,
or designs thereon in high relief, exactly similar to those of the metallic die before
mentioned.
As many of the slabs or blocks of wood as required are prepared, and one of the
same is placed on a suitable bed plate or foundation, and the metallic die with its.
projecting letters, characters, figures, or designs is placed downwards on the face of
he wood.

page_text: By a blow or series of blows imparted by any suitable and known means the
projecting letters, characters, figures, or designs are forced into the wood, after
which the latter is removed to make room for another strip, and thus the slabs or
blocks are subjected to the action of the die under impact, until the desired number
has been completed. Each slab or block is then painted and polished, and gilders' i
size imparted to the sunken letters, characters, figures, or designs of every slab or
block of wood, the same being so applied by a brush in the usual manner, but
preferably, in accordance with this Invention, by the less tedious mode of first
coating the projecting letters, characters, figures, or designs of the elastic die with
the said size by the operation of dipping in gold size, and then applying the same
to the slabs or blocks of wood until the letters, characters, figures, or designs have
been properly sized. The gold leaf, bronze powder, or colour is then applied in the
usual manner to the sunken and sized letters, characters, figures, or designs of each
slab or block.
With regard to the kind of wood which it is desirable to employ for the purposes
" American
of this Invention, it has been found that a variety of poplar, known as
white wood," may be employed with very advantageous results, although mahogany,
walnut, and other woods may be so used.
It is obvious that this Invention is applicable to many purposes other than those
herein-before mentioned, such as for picture frames, furniture, and the decoration of
the interior of houses, and that it may, as herein-before mentioned, be applied to
suitable materials other than wood, such as papier maché and plaster, and various
compositions may be used.