IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING OR OVERLAYING WOODS ACCORDING TO Two METHODS; 1ST, BY MEANS OF STEAM EXHAUSTION OR STEAM PRESSURE, OR AIR EXHAUSTION OR AIR PRESSURE; 2DLY, BY THE EMPLOYMENT OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Macivor, of the Edinburgh University,
North Britain, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING
OR OVERLAYING WOODS ACCORDING TO Two METHODS; 1ST, BY MEANS OF
STEAM EXHAUSTION OR STEAM PRESSURE, OR AIR EXHAUSTION OR AIR
PRESSURE; 2DLY, BY THE EMPLOYMENT OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM."
Sealed the 21st August 1863, and dated the 25th February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Macivor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
February 1863.
I, ALEXANDER MACIVOR, of the Edinburgh University, North Britain,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN VENEERING OR OVERLAYING WOODS ACCORDING TO TWO METHODS; FIRST,
BY MEANS OF STEAM EXHAUSTION OR STEAM PRESSURE, OR AIR EXHAUSTION OR AIR
PRESSURE; SECONDLY, BY THE EMPLOYMENT OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM," to be as
follows:-
According to the first-named plan, which when exhaustion is employed
alone I term "vacuum veneering," I discard altogether the customary method.
of "cauls" or "reverses," either flat or curved, for veneering flat or curved
surfaces, and employ entirely atmospheric pressure, using an impervious
flexible diaphragm of valcanized india-rubber, or other substance interposed
and made to act directly on the veneer. When condensed air or high-pressure
steam alone is used I designate the pressure "plenum veneering," and when
both are employed I entitle the process pleno-vacuum veneering.

page_text: My method partakes of all these, and extends to flat and curved surfaces
alike. The exhauster, where air is alone concerned, is an air pump worked
by a steam engine or by the hand. The vacuum may be prepared directly or
in a separate vessel of relatively large size to the true veneering apparatus,
and wholly outside of a workshop, and the exhaustion of the veneering appa-
ratus may be effected and secured by connecting tubes and stop-cocks. When
steam is employed my plan admits of a condensing vessel into which steam
is passed, driving out the air, and then condensation is effected by the injection
of cold water, by means of a water pipe carried into the condenser, and ter-
minated with a rose jet within the condenser.
The true veneering apparatus which I employ in the above process, is a
vessel of cast iron, provided with a strong projecting rim planed on its upper
edge to receive upon it an iron frame, also planed to apply to the top of the
rim, hooked-iron hasps, with powerful pinching screws acting from above
brace together the frame and rim, with the flexible diaphragm interposed.
The exhaustion of this vessel is attended with the depression of the india-
rubber, or its close application to any object to be veneered, which is placed
upon an adjusting table fitted within the cast-iron vessel. When conden-
sation is combined with exhaustion, the aforesaid frame is converted into a
metal box inverted over the cast-iron vessel, and whilst air or steam is being
withdrawn below, either air or steam is injected above, so as to reduplicate the
effect of the aerial or steam pressure. In this case, also, the parts are braced
together by iron hasps, as before.
In order to expedite the drying of the veneering when the work is under
pressure, quicklime is thrown over the bottom of the cast-iron vessel.
No. 2. The method of veneering by electro-magnetism consists of the
employment of electro-magnetic force to press or urge down a "caul" upon
the veneer. In this case an iron armature acted upon at one or both ends over
a "caul" is solicited with force to the electro-magnet, and so effectively as
to express the superfluous glue from under the veneer and secure the latter to
the surface of the wood. The electro-magnet is fixed in position, and secured
strongly to framing, and so also the other end of the armature, when one
power alone is employed, is hinged to an opposite part of the framing.
Between these two points an adjusting table is made to move by a screw, so
as to suit the different thicknesses of the wood and "caul," which at any time
may be employed in the process of working.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Macivor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MACIVOR, of the Edinburgh University, North Britain, Chemist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 25th day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alexander Macivor, of the Edinburgh University, N. B., Chemist,
Her special licence that I, the said Alexander Macivor, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Macivor, 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 IN
VENEERING OR OVERLAYING WOODS; 1ST, BY MEANS OF STEAM EXHAUSTION OB
STEAM PRESSURE, OR AIR EXHAUSTION OR AIR PRESSURE; 2DLY, BY THE EMPLOY-
MENT OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alexander Macivor, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Alexander Macivor, of the Edinburgh
University, N. B., 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:-
My Invention consists of two distinct methods of overlaying or veneering
woods, by which I consider that the work may be better as well as more
rapidly done than heretofore.
According to the first of those methods which I shall describe, curved, angular,
or flat surfaces may be veneered or curves combined it may be with angular
or flat surfaces, may be veneered without the intervention or aid of solid cauls
or reverses. A steam vacuum, or an air vacuum combined with atmospheric

page_text: pressure either at its normal amount, or that force increased by artificial con-
densation affords, or may be made to afford, the necessary power for the work
to be done, and this force is made available by certain mechanical appliances
which I shall immediately explain.
To illustrate my method of veneering I shall first adduce the simplest
possible plan according to which it can be employed. This more obvious
plan I call "vacuum veneering," and reference to Fig. 1 of the Drawings will
assist description.
Let A be a strong vessel of cast iron or of brass, which I call the " exhaustion
vessel." It may be rectangular in form, as here represented, or of any
required shape or cubical capacity to receive any piece of wood that is to be
veneered. This vessel has a projecting flange or fillet carried completely
around its rim outside, as shown at (a) Fig. 2. A strong and inflexible
metal frame B, Fig. 1, is hinged to the exhaustion vessel, and is of exactly the
same length and breadth as the rim of that vessel. Both the upper edge of
the exhaustion vessel and the applying face of this pressure frame are planed
so as to fit close to each other. A sheet of india-rubber (C) is stretched
across the pressure frame (B) and buttoned on its outer edge so as to
attach the rubber securely to the frame. When the pressure frame is folded
down upon the rim of the exhaustion vessel it encloses a cubical space, of
which the yielding rubber forms the top. The metal or pressure frame
is folded down upon the rim of the exhaustion vessel, and braced gas-
tight upon it by strong iron hasps (6) which bestride the said vessel, and
book under the projecting flange of the rim (a). The hasps are worked by
turning the lever screws c, c, the points of which are urged with great
force upon the upper side of the pressure frame, whilst they at the same
time hook upon the flange below. Within the exhaustion vessel there
is placed an adjusting table of simple construction, the top of which may be
raised or lowered to meet the requirements of work. Upon this table the
wood to be veneered is placed, and on the veneer being put in position the
pressure frame is brought down upon it and then secured. Two hand-worked
exhausting syringes D, D, as shown in the sketch are attached to the vessel
by adjusting screws, and stop-cocks & are employed in exhausting it. This
being done, the pressure of the atmosphere operating externally urges the
veneer with great force into all the sinuosities of outline which the surface to
be veneered may possess. This method of exhaustion applies with equal
facility to flat as to curved surfaces, as will be quite obvious. For heating
purposes a steam pipe E may be carried through the body of the exhaustion
vessel.

page_text: When the condensation of steam is employed as the means of producing a
vacuum, a separate vessel F, Fig. 3, the capacity of which must greatly
exceed that of the exhaustion vessel, for effective working is required. The
steam may be led into this "condensation vessel "from an engine boiler
by a pipe G, and on the air being expelled by the injected steam, the
stop-cocks are all closed, and the cold condensation water is thrown in by
another pipe (H). The condensation of the steam being completed, as may be
percieved by means of an attached barometer tube, and the exhaustion vessel
with the veneer being in readiness, the stop-cock L is opened and the air in
the exhaustion vessel diffuses itself into the large steam vacuum, and the
external atmosphere comes thereon to exert its pressure on the veneer through
the india-rubber diaphragm or sheet. When steam " pressure" is employed
a lid k is made to fold down gas-tight on the exhaustion vessel, and steam is
led in above the rubber sheet. The veneer is also heated from above by this
method.
Further, when greater pressure may be necessary or desirable than a single
atmosphere affords, my Invention includes the facility of employing at the
same time a pressure compounded of exhaustion and of condensation together,
for effectually urging the veneer against the wood; this peculiar method I call
"pleno-vacuum veneering." Fig. 4 will illustrate this plan and explain it.
An exhaustion vessel M is in this case introduced, as before, which is in all
respects like the last the only difference being that to give greater breadth to
the rim of the vessel, a flange or fillet is formed within the vessel, as well as
on the outside of it. The pressure frame, also, is made narrower and shorter
that the area of the top of the exhaustion vessel, in order to permit of the
lid (N) of the exhaustion vessel coming down and enclosing within it the
pressure frame, and of applying at the same time to the rim of the exhaustion
vessel, with the rubber interposed, to secure a gas-tight joint. This joint is
secured by means of of hasps, as in the former case, and they are of precisely
the same form as those previously noted. A condensing syringe is attached to
the top or elsewhere of the lid of the exhaustion vessel, and when this part is
fixed down by the hasps, air to the extent of several atmospheres of pressure
may be forced into the vessel on the top of the india-rubber sheet, whilst
exhaustion may be effected below it. This compound action of condensation
and of exhaustion puts within the power of the workman the facility of
exerting great force upon a veneer, and I have designated the method, as
above, "pleno-vacuum veneering."
The syringes employed, as described above, for condensing or exhausting

page_text: the air may be substituted by an air pump, worked either by the hand or
by a steam engine, and my Invention takes account of or includes this.
My Invention also includes the introduction of an air vessel of large size
between the air pump and the veneering vessel, elsewhere called the exhaus-
tion vessel. This air vessel may be separately exhausted, and employed as a
reservoir of force when the veneer is to be laid down, so as to bring the
pressure to bear upon the veneer with greater speed and convenience.
Besides the employment of flat sheets of india-rubber, my Invention
includes also the use of sheets of rubber, which have a flat margin or border
and a loose bag centre. This plan was devised to facilitate the veneering of
columns all around, or of bulky objects possessing several surfaces, which
require to be veneered at the same instant of time.
My Invention includes an arrangement for assisting down the veneers
before exhaustion into the hollows or angles of any moulding or surface to be
veneered, so as to prevent any rupture or tearing of the veneer by injudicious
handling while the process of exhaustion is going on.
The iron hasps employed to brace down the pressure frame, and secure the
gas-tight joint on the exhaustion vessel may be substituted by studs fixed in
the rim of the vessel, which are made to pass through the pressure frame,
and are secured by nuts above. Or the pressure frame may be urged down
by levers which move on axes fixed to the sides of the exhaustion vessel, and
slip into a slot formed for each lever on the top of the pressure frame.
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details
of apparatus set forth in the foregoing description of my Invention, as from
the nature of the trade to which they apply it is obviously impossible that any
definite dimension or particular form of vessels would suit all cases that my
plans should embrace in their adaptations.
My second method of overlaying woods includes the employment of electro-
magnetism as the source of the force for pressing the veneer against the
wood to be overlaid, here as usual solid reverses or cauls are employed.
In illustration of this portion of my Invention, the Drawing Fig. 5 is given.
This sketch is designed to represent two vertical beams of wood a, a', crossed
and held together by two stout rails b, b, which are morticed into them. The
vertical pieces are below morticed into cross pieces for a rest or feet. An
adjusting table (c) is made to move by a screw acting in the cross bar b,
and between the uprights. Upon this table the bed to be veneered is placed,
and so also the veneer to be laid, and the caul or metal plate in succession.
An electro-magnet d is securely bolted to one of the uprights, and on the out-

page_text: side of it an armature e is hinged to the top of one of the uprights a,
and is so long as to rest upon the top of both uprights, and extend over the
poles of the electro-magnet. A battery is in the usual manner connected by
pincing screws to the electro-magnet, and when the current is travelling, the
armature is solicited to the magnet with great force, and as the armature
from its great size extends over the caul which rests upon the veneer, it urges
it also with great force upon the veneer, and secures it to the bed upon which
it is to be laid.
Here again also I would repeat that altho an apparatus like that figured in
the Drawing would be found exceedingly useful to the trade, yet I do not
limit my claims to the details of form and construction given. A combination
of electro-magnets could be made to veneer the largest surfaces, and one such
might be employed with advantage in executing very minute work, such as
occurs in inlaying in marquetry and Buhl work, and for such varied use of
my Invention I hold myself entitled to claim.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Macivor, of the Edinburgh
University, North Britain, Chemist, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-fourth of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
ALEXANDER MACIVOR. (L.S.)