AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR PUMICING FELTS; TISSUES, & SKINS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Stanislas Béliard, of Bordeaux, in the
Empire of France, Hatter, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR PUMICING FELTS; TISSUES, & SKINS."
Sealed the 31st May 1859, and dated the 21st December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Stanislas Béliard
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st December 1858.
I, AUGUSTE STANISLAS BÉLIARD, of Bordeaux, in the Empire of France,
Hatter, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR PUMICING FELTS, TISSUES, & SKINS," to be as follows:-
In the ordinary mode of preparing felts for making hats and other purposes
the long hairs and projections are removed or smoothed by a flat piece of
pumicestone, which is rubbed on the surface by hand; this is a tedious
operation, and the to-and-fro motion of the stone produces irregularities in the
action, and does not lay all the fibres in the same direction. By the present
Invention these disadvantages are obviated. Instead of a flat piece of pumice-
stone rubbed backwards and forwards by the hand, I employ a revolving
pumicestone of cylindrical, conical, or other suitable form; by moving this
over the surface of the felt the operation is rapidly and easily performed, and
the fibres are all laid in the same direction, owing to the rotation of the stone,
even when it is traversed backwards on the felt. I prefer to pass the spindle

page_text: of the stone through a block or handle, and to connect it by universal joints
and sliding or elongating bars or tubes, or "lazy-tongs," or similar con-
nections, with a shaft revolving in fixed bearings, and which may be driven
by a band and a foot wheel, or by a steam engine, or otherwise. By means
of the handle the revolving stone may be moved about in all directions on the
surface to be pumiced. For pumicing hats, the table of the machine has an
opening, which is covered by a disc, in the centre of which is a hole of the
diameter of the form or body of the hat which is placed in it, while the rim
rests upon the disc, being kept in place by four small rollers at the edges.
The hat is turned round by the hand to bring all parts of the rim in succes-
sion under the action of the revolving stone; the hat is then reversed, and the
other side of the rim is pumiced; the disc is then removed, and a frame with
four small rollers is substituted; the hat, with a wooden shape or block inside,
is laid upon these four rollers and turned round by hand, to bring all parts of
the sides under the action of the stone. If the crown of the hat is too flat to
be operated upon in this position, it is treated in the same manner as the rim,
or it may be supported on a half-round shape of wood or metal, which admits
of its being moved in any direction to accomodate itself to the action of the
machine. A support or rest is fixed on the table, on or against which the
handle may be placed while the workman is adjusting the work without its
being necessary to stop the revolution of the stone.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Auguste Stanislas Béliard in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
STANISLAS BELIARD, of Bordeaux, in the Empire of France, Hatter, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Auguste Stanislas Beliard, Her special licence that I, the said Auguste
Stanislas Beliard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
J, the said Auguste Stanislas Beliard, 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

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR PUMICING FELTS, TISSUES, AND SKINS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Auguste Stanislas Beliard, 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 per-
formed, 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 Auguste Stanislas Beliard, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
In the ordinary mode of preparing felts for making hats and other purposes
the long hairs and projections are removed or smoothed by a flat piece of
pumicestone, which is rubbed on the surface by hand; this pumicing is
fatiguing to the workman, and has moreover the inconvenience of not laying
all the fibres in the same direction, owing to the to-and-fro motion con-
municated to the stone, which produces a want of uniformity in the pumiced.
surface. By the present Invention the labour of the workman is diminished,
and the operation is performed with great rapidity, and at the same time the
fibres are all laid in the same direction; and the surface thus acquires a
uniformity of appearance which cannot be obtained by the ordinary process
herein-before mentioned. In my improved mode of proceeding the felt is
submitted to what may be called a grinding operation, by means of a small
mill or grindstone of pumicestone, which is caused to revolve by mechanical
means, and is pressed by hand upon the felt. It will be understood that the
rapid revolution of the grindstone being constantly in the same direction, it
can be traversed about in different directions on the felt, but will still lay the
fibres in one constant direction, and thus produce a uniformity of appearance
which is wanting in the felts pumiced in the ordinary manner. The details of
the machine admit of variation, and in the accompanying Drawing I have
shown an arrangement which I have found to be advantageous.
Figure 1 is an elevation or front view of the machine, with a part of the
framing omitted. A is a pulley on a crank shaft a, which carries a fly wheel b,
and is driven by a connecting rod c and a treadle or pedal B, like the wheel
of an ordinary lathe. The pulley A drives a small pulley d on a spindle C by

page_text: means of a band or cord f. The spindle C is connected by a universal joint D:
to another spindle E, E', which is connected by another universal joint F to
the spindle G of the small grindstone H, as shewn on a larger scale in section
in Figure 2, and in elevation in Figure 3. The spindle E, E', is composed of
two flat bars or pieces E and E', each of which carries a clip or square
ring e, e', at its end, which embraces or surrounds the other piece, but allows
it to slide through it. The two pieces are thus caused to revolve together, but
the spindle can be shortened or lengthened while it is revolving. The
spindle G passes through a block or handle I,. provided with flanges or guards
J and K. The lower portion of the guard J may be removed, as shown in
Figure 2, so as to allow the grindstone to come close to the table. The
handle I is grasped by the workman, and by means of the universal joints D.
and F, and the elongated spindle E, E¹, he is enabled to move the grind-,
stone Hover the hat or other surface in every required direction, while he
moves the treadle with his foot so as to cause the grindstone to revolve with
rapidity. L is a support or catch for holding the handle I while the workman
arranges the work upon the table without its being necessary to stop the
revolution of the grindstone or mill, which may be driven by steam power or
other means instead of being driven by a treadle, as shown in Figure 1.
In lieu of the sliding pieces E and E¹, a "lazy-tongs," or system of levers
jointed together, as shown in Figure 4, or other suitable elongating apparatus,
may be employed to connect the spindles C and G.
The machine, as herein-before described, is sufficient for the pumicing of
felts, tissues, and skins in flat surfaces; for operating upon hats I make the
following additions or modifications:-For pumicing the edges or brim, I
make a rectangular hole in the table, which is covered by a disc M, shown in
plan in Figure 5, in the centre of which is a circular hole, whose, diameter is
equal to that of the form or block of the hat, which is placed in it, while the
brim rests on the surface of the disc M, which is kept in its place by four
small horizontal rollers N, which, however, allow it to be turned round by the
hand so as to bring each part of the surface into the most favorable position
for being pumiced by the mill. When one surface of the brim has been
pumiced, the hat is turned over, and the other surface is then pumiced.
.
To pumice the sides or body of the hat the disc M is removed, and beneath
it there is a frame O, shown in plan in Figure 6, carrying four vertical
rollers P, P, P, P, on which the hat is placed, with the form or block inside
it. The mill is held against the hat while it is turned round upon the rollers;
and the cylindrical part or body of the hat is thus pumiced. The crown is
pumiced in a similar manner, or it is pumiced like the brim, by placing it

page_text: horizontally and turning it round, or it may be supported on a half-round
form or block, capable of moving in every direction, and accomodating itself
to the operations of the workman.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim is, constructing machinery for pumicing felts, tissues, and skins with a
revolving grindstone or mill which is capable of being traversed about on the
work, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Stanislas Beliard, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD, Ing" Civil,
Boulev de Strasbourg, No. 23, à Paris.
A. BELIARD. (L.S.)