IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUM AND GUM-LIKE SUBSTANCES FROM LINSEED OIL AND OTHER SIMILAR OILS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUM AND
GUM-LIKE SUBSTANCES FROM LINSEED OIL AND OTHER SIMILAR OILS."-A
communication from abroad by Donald D. Cattanach, of Provi-
dence. Rhode Island. United States of America.
Sealed the 7th July 1874, and dated 2nd February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd February 1874.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
GUM AND GUM-LIKE SUBSTANCES FROM LINSEED OIL AND OTHER SIMILAR OILS," a
communication, to be as follows :-
:-

page_text: involving mainly the exposure of the oil to air and light, accompanied
by frequent and continued agitation or stirring of the oil during such
exposure, with or without a preliminary purification of the oil so
treated.
The process of purification is not indispensable, but I prefer it for
many purposes. The pure linseed oil of commerce is first subjected to
certain processes, herein-after described, for the purpose of freeing it from
vegetable fibre, acids, and foreign matter, so as to leave it pure and
limpid. It is then subjected to the action of the atmosphere, the rays
of the sun, and artificial heat, accompanied with constant agitation and 1
stirring. Under the last operations the oil gradually becomes thick and
tough, and exhibits more and more tenacity and elasticity, taking on
the appearance and having nearly all the properties of rubber. By
carrying the manipulation to a sufficient extent the oil becomes changed
into a solid gum, so stiff and tenacious that a stirring rod cannot be 1
passed through it without the application of considerable power, even
when the gum is softened by a high degree of artificial heat.
The several operations in the process employed by me are as follows:―
I take a good quality of raw linseed oil of commerce and wash it
thoroughly by placing with the oil in a vessel about an equal quantity
of rain water or distilled water, and keeping the mixture agitated by
stirring. This should be done in a warm place, in a temperature, say,
of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit or upwards. After the stirring has
continued some time the mixture will assume a milky appearance. The
agitation is continued for several days, say, from three to five, and then 2
the mixture is allowed to settle. The water after settling will appear
milky, with more or less whitish sediment at the bottom of the oil; one
washing, as above described, will for most purposes be sufficient, but if
the best results are desired the water should be renewed and the washing
repeated until the water comes clear after separating from the oil by
settling.
After this process I subject the oil to further treatment for the
removal of acids and moisture by the use of lime or carbonate of lime.
Placing the oil in a vessel I immerse it in a water bath, and bring the
water to the boiling point; I then introduce the lime into the oil vessel,
and allow it to remain a sufficient time to act upon the whole mass of
the oil, and until the oil becomes of a clear amber color. The vessel con-

page_text: taining the oil is then removed from the water bath, and after settling
the oil is drawn off.
The oil is then treated with a solution of vinegar of lead in the
following manner :-Eighteen (18) ounces of neutral acctate of lead are
dissolved in about four and a half (4) pints of rain water, when the
solution is complete about eighteen (18) ounces of litharge are added.
The whole is allowed to stand in a moderately warm place and kept
frequently agitated to aid the solution of the litharge. This solution may
be considered complete when no more of the small bright scales are
apparent. I do not limit myself strictly to the above proportions. The
solution of vinegar of lead or tri-basic acetate of lead thus formed is
sufficient for the preparation of about twenty-two (22) pounds of the oil.
For this purpose the solution is diluted with about an equal volume of
rain water, and the oil is slowly poured into it with constant agitation,
and having had previously mixed with it about eighteen (18) ounces of
litharge. This mixture should be kept in a warm place and frequently
stirred. The action will be sufficiently complete when the oil, being
allowed to rest and rising to the top, presents a limpid straw colored
appearance. A copious whitish deposit will be found at the bottom of
the oil. At this stage another application of the lime in the manner
above described will be beneficial. The oil thus purified is then placed
in shallow vessels and exposed to the rays of the sun, while in these
vessels the oil must be sufficiently agitated night and day to prevent
the formation of any skin upon the surface; but this agitation should be
so conducted as to interfere as little as possible with the action of the
sun's rays, and should not be so violent as to cause bubbles or froth to
rise on the top of the oil to obstruct the action of the sun. If it should
become necessary to discontinue the agitation for any considerable time
the formation of a skin may be prevented by enclosing the oil in an air-
tight vessel. This exposure in the manner described is continued until
the oil assumes a whitish or very pale amber color. The depth of oil in
these vessels should be slight, say, from half an inch to two inches.
The sunning process having been completed the oil must now be
subjected to further agitation, during which it is exposed to the air and
to the daylight. For this purpose I prefer to place it in a deep vessel, which
I call the agitator, where it is agitated and mixed day and night. Here
a very important change gradually takes place. The clear limpid fluid
oil by degrees assumes the consistency of thick dough, and if the

page_text: process is carried further becomes more and more solid, and as the
process continues the gradual application of artificial heat becomes
necessary to render the working practicable. The heat to be applied in
this part of the process may be carried as high as 200 degrees Fahren-
heit, although from 100 degrees to 150 degrees, or even less, will be
sufficient in most cases.
After bringing the gum to the desired consistency I remove it from the
agitator and press or roll it out into thin sheets, say, from one-sixteenth
of an inch to half an inch in thickness. These sheets I place on racks
and expose them to the air and sun's rays, and allow them so to remain
for further use. The bleaching which the gum undergoes by this
exposure helps to remove any discoloration it may have received from
the heat in the agitator, and also to remove any unctuousness that may
be remaining; it may remain here any desired length of time. When
the gum in sheets, as described, is required for use it can readily be
brought into solution by the use of benzole, wood spirit, ether, and the
like solvents; such solution will be hardened by the application of
artificial heat, and takes place very slowly without.
Boiled oil will be converted into gum sooner than raw oil, but the
same will not have the same clearness of color nor so much elasticity.
It is to be remarked that in place of the treatment with vinegar of
lead, before described, the infusion of free oxygen into the oil at any
part of the process before it begins to change into the solid state will
have a similar effect.
The gum can be produced in the agitator by the presence of free
oxygen accompanied by agitation without the presence of air or sun-
light, or by providing the agitator with a glass cover the light may be
admitted to act in conjunction with the gas and the agitation. The
action of light is not essential to the production of the gum in the
agitator, but I prefer to employ light, as before described, as a lighter
shade of gum is obtained thereby.
Instead of linseed oil any of the other drying oils can likewise be con-
verted into a similar gum by the means above described for the
management of linseed oil. I would not however be understood to say
that all of the drying oils are of equal utility for this purpose. I con-
sider linseed oil among the best,

page_text: Many useful results are obtained at various stages of this process, and
before it is finally completed. For example, when the oil in the agitator
has reached to about the consistency of a fat oil it constitutes without
any further preparation a very perfect gold size; and as soon as it
arrives at a doughy state it is well adapted for the making and mixing
of all the more ordinary varnishes and paints, and for such purposes it
is preferable to take it at or about this stage, as it is then readily soluble
in rectified turpentine, such solution being employed in the same way
as boiled oil, and with or without the addition of other gums. My im-
proved gum can be applied to cloth as a waterproof coating just as it comes
from the agitator by means of hot spreaders or other suitable devices.
Thus applied it adheres equal to any known waterproof coating. If the
gum is exposed to air and light after completion in the agitator it retains
its characteristic properties for a long time, and by the employment of
a suitable solvent it can be reduced to the proper consistency for
spreading, or for the preparation of varnishes and the like, the same as
before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS

page_text: IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUM AND GUM-LIKE SUBSTANCES FROM LINSEED OIL AND
OTHER SIMILAR OILS," a communication to me from abroad by Donald D.
Cattanach, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This Invention consists in the production of a gum or gum-like
substance from linseed oil or kindred oils by a process of treatment
involving mainly the exposure of the oil to air and light, accompanied
by frequent and continued agitation or stirring of the oil during such
exposure, with or without a preliminary purification of the oil so
treated.
The process of purification is not indispensible, but I prefer it for
many purposes; I shall therefore first describe the purifying operation
and then the process by which this purified oil, as well as oil not thus
preliminarily purified, may be converted into the gum or gum-like
substance that is the main object of my Invention. The pure linseed
oil of commerce is first subjected to certain processes, herein-after
described, for the purpose of freeing it from vegetable fibre, acids, and
foreign matter, so as to leave it pure and limpid. It is then subjected
to the action of the atmosphere, the rays of the sun, and artificial heat,
accompanied with constant agitation or stirring. Under the last opera-
tions the oil gradually becomes thick and tough, and exhibits more and
more tenacity and clasticity, taking on the appearance and having
nearly all the properties of rubber. By carrying the manipulation to a
sufficient extent the oil becomes changed into a solid gum, so stiff and
tenacious that a stirring rod cannot be passed through it without the
application of considerable power, even when the gum is softened by a
high degree of artificial heat.

page_text: The several operations in the process employed by me are as follows:-
I take a good quality of raw linseed oil of commerce and wash it
thoroughly by placing with the oil in a vessel about an equal quantity
of rain water or distilled water, and keeping the mixture agitated by
stirring. This should be done in a warm place in a temperature, say, of
about 70 degrees Fahrenheit or upwards. After the stirring has con-
tinued some time the mixture will assume a milky appearance. I
continue the agitation for several days, say, from three to five, and then
allow the mixture to settle. The water after settling will appear milky,
with more or less whitish sediment at the bottom of the oil; one
washing, as above described, will for most purposes be sufficient, but if
the best results are desired the water should be renewed and the washing
repeated until the water comes clear after separating from the oil by
settling. The length of time required will depend largely upon the
rapidity of the stirring, so as to bring the water in contact with every
portion of the oil in the minutest divisions. The proportion of water to
oil may of course vary somewhat according to convenience.
After this process I subject the oil to further treatment for the re-
moval of acids and moisture by the use of lime or carbonate of lime.
Placing the oil in a vessel I immerse it in a water bath and bring the
water to the boiling point. I then introduce the lime into the oil vessel,
and allow it to remain a sufficient time to act upon the whole mass of
the oil, and until the oil becomes of a clear amber color. The vessel
containing the oil is then removed from the water bath, and after settling
the oil is drawn off. The quantity of lime is easily judged of by persons
skilled in the preparation of oils for fine qualities of varnishes.
The oil is then treated with a solution of vinegar of lead in the
following manner:-Eighteen (18) ounces of neutral acetate of lead are
dissolved in about four and a half (41) pints of rain water, when the
solution is complete about eighteen (18) ounces of litharge are added. The
whole is allowed to stand in a moderately warm place, and is frequently
agitated to aid the solution of the litharge. This solution may be con-
sidered complete when no more of the small bright scales are apparent.
I am not confined to the above proportions, but I have found that those
now given work most economically. The solution of vinegar of lead or
tri-basic acetate of lead thus formed is sufficient for the preparation of
about twenty-two (22) pounds of the oil. For this purpose the solution
is diluted with about an equal volume of rain water, and the oil is

page_text: slowly poured into it accompanied with constant agitation, and having
had previously mixed with it about eighteen (18) ounces of litharge.
This mixture should be kept in a warm place and frequently stirred, the
oftener the better, to insure the action of the solution upon every portion
of the oil. Several days will ordinarily be required. The action will
be sufficiently complete when the oil, being allowed to rest and rising
to the top, presents a limpid straw colored appearance. A copious
whitish deposit will be found at the bottom of the oil. At this stage
another application of the lime, in the manner above described, will be
beneficial, although not necessary, unless very perfect results are re-
quired. The oil thus purified is then placed in shallow vessels and
exposed to the rays of the sun. While in these vessels the oil must be
sufficiently agitated night and day to prevent the formation of any skin
upon the surface; but this agitation should be so conducted as to inter-
fere as little as possible with the action of the sun's rays, and should not
be so violent as to cause bubbles or froth to rise on the top of the oil to
obstruct the action of the sun. The passage of an agitator slowly
through the mass of the oil so as to stil the whole in its passage once in
every ten or fifteen minutes, increasing in frequency to once in every
five or ten minutes as the mass gradually thickens, will be sufficient,
allowing the oil to repose in the intervals. If it should become
necessary to discontinue the agitation for any considerable time the
formation of a skin may be prevented by enclosing the oil in an air-tight
vessel. This exposure in the manner described is continued until the
oil assumes a whitish or very pale amber color, appearing like very
clear olive oil, and becomes somewhat thickened, the darker amber or
straw color having disappeared. The length of time required will
obviously depend very largely upon the state of the weather and the
depth of oil. I have found that from two to four days in clear sunny
weather in summer is ample. The depth of oil in these vessels should
be slight, say, from half an inch to two inches.
The sunning process having been completed the oil must now be sub-
jected to further agitation, during which it is exposed to the air and the
daylight. For this purpose I prefer to remove it from the shallow
vessels and place it in a deeper vessel, which I call the agitator, where
it is agitated and mixed day and night. Here a very important change
gradually takes place. The clear limpid fluid oil by degrees assumes the
consistency of thick dough, and if the process is carried further becomes

page_text: polished surface without varnish or dressing of any kind. A gum may
however be formed of less purity by a sufficient agitation in the manner
already described without the various preparatory steps detailed above,
or after the employment of any one or more of them. A much longer
period of time for agitation will however be necessary to effect the
change, as each of the preparatory steps helps to hasten the result in the
agitator.
Boiled oil will be converted into gum sooner than raw oil, but the gum
will not have the same clearness of color nor so much clasticity. It is
to be remarked that in place of the treatment with vinegar of lead, 1
before described, the infusion of free oxygen into the oil at any part of
the process before it begins to change into the solid state will have a
similar effect.
The gum can be produced in the agitator by the presence of free
oxygen accompanied by agitation without the presence of air or sun- ]
light, or by providing the agitator with a glass cover the light may be
admitted to act in conjunction with the gas and the agitation. The
action of light is not essential to the production of the gum in the
agitator, but I prefer to employ light, as above described, as a lighter
shade of gum is obtained thereby.
Instead of linseed oil any of the other drying oils can likewise be con-
verted into a similar gum by the means above described for the treat-
ment of linseed oil. I would not however be understood to say that all
of the drying oils are of equal utility for this purpose; I consider linseed
oil among the best.
Many useful results are obtained at various stages of this process, and
before it is finally completed. For example, when the oil in the agitator
has reached to about the consistency of a fat oil it constitutes without
any further preparation a very perfect gold size; and as soon as it arises
at a doughy state it is well adapted for the making and mixing of all
the more ordinary varnishes and paints, and for such purposes it is
preferable to take it at or about this stage, as it is then readily soluble
in rectified turpentine, such solution being employed in the same way
as boiled oil, and with or without the addition of other gums.
The gum or gum-like substance made under my Invention differs
essentially from any other body heretofore produced from oils of the
kind referred to. It comes from the agitator a mass of uniform consistency

page_text: throughout, homogeneous, cohesive, flexible, adhesive, and elastic. It is
unlike oil when dried into skins in the ordinary way, especially in the
qualities of adhesion and cohesion, which latter qualities require to be
supplied to such skins by the addition of some foreign body before they
can be spread upon fabric successfully for a waterproof coating, for
example, while my gum can be applied to cloth as a waterproof coating
just as it comes from the agitator by means of hot spreaders or other
suitable devices. Thus applied its adhesion is equal to that of any
known waterproof coating. If the gum is exposed to air and light after
completion in the agitator it retains its characteristic properties for a long
time, and by the employment of a suitable solvent it can be reduced to
the proper consistency for spreading or for the preparation of varnishes
and the like, as before.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The process of treating linseed oil and kindred oils for the
purpose stated by subjecting the oil to agitation in the presence of air
or light and air, or the specified equivalent oxydising agent, in the
manner described, with or without the preliminary purification of the
oil, as set forth.
Second. A gum
or gum-like substance made from linseed oil or
kindred oils, in the manner and by the process described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
HENRY JAS. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
Wч. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)