IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF MATERIALS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A COMPOSITION OR COMPOSITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE MANU- FACTURE OF BUTTONS, KNIFE AND RAZOR HANDLES, INKSTANDS, DOOR KNOBS, AND OTHER ARTICLES WHERE HARDNESS, STRENGTH, AND DURABILITY ARE REQUIRED
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
from C. Goodge
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Greet Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of March, in the fourteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege, and
authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, adññiors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred. Vincent Newton, my exors,
adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF MATERIALS FOR
THE PRODUCTION OF A COMPOSITION OR COMPOSITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BUTTONS, KNIFE AND RAZOR HANDLES, INKSTANDS, DOOR KNOBS, AND
OTHER ARTICLES WHERE HARDNESS, STRENGTH, AND DURABILITY ARE REQUIRED,"
being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
"

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof (that is
to say):-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
relates to the preparation and treatment of caoutchouc and gutta percha, either
alone or in combination, for the purpose of producing a new manufacture or
composition applicable to various uses, where hardness, strength, and durability
are required. The composition designed to be produced according to the
present Invention will possess some of the characteristics of horn, ivory, and
jet, and may, according to the color imparted to it, be employed in place
thereof; or it may be used as a substitute for costly woods, and be applied to
furniture in the form of vencer.
Having thus indicated some of the uses of the new manufacture, for the
purpose of shewing more distinctly the objects sought to be obtained, I will
proceed to describe the manner of carrying out the Invention to produce the
required result.
In treating caoutchouc for this purpose it is combined with sulphur, the
best proportion being about equal parts by weight of each ingredient. By
combining sulphur in this proportion with the caoutchouc, and subjecting the
compound to the curing operation hereafter to be described, a hard substance
will be produced; but a still better result will be obtained by the introduction
of magnesia or lime, or of carbonate or sulphato of magnesia, or carbonate or
sulphate of lime, or calcined French chalk, or other magnesian earth, into the
composition; in which case the following proportions will be found highly
advantageous (viz.): one pound of caoutchouc, half a pound of sulphur, and
half a pound of magnesia, or lime, or carbonate or sulphate of magnesia, or
carbonate or sulphate of lime, or calcined French chalk, or other magnesian
earth. The proportions specified in both of these compounds may be con-
siderably varied without materially changing the result; but in no case is it
desirable to use a much less quantity of sulphur than four ounces to every
pound of caoutchouc. With either of these compounds just described gum
lac or gum shellac may be combined to great advantage, say, in the proportion

page_text: of from four to eight ounces of gum lac to every pound of caoutchouc. Rosin,
oxides or salts of lead or zinc of all colors, and other similar substances, both
mineral and vegetable, may be added in small quantities to either of the com-
pounds, for the purposes of imparting a polish or a suitable color thereto, and
for making the mixture work more easily; but no precise rules for these addi-
tions can be given, nor, indeed, is it necessary, as the taste and judgment of
the operator will be his guide in this particular. The compounds produced
according to the plans above set forth are next treated in the manner to be
presently described; but as this process is equally applicable to the treatment
of other compositions included under this Invention, I will first explain of
what these compositions consist. When using gutta percha in lieu of india-
rubber, the Inventor takes certain proportions of gutta percha, sulphur, mag-
nesia, or lime, or a carbonate or a sulphate of magnesia or lime, or calcined
French chalk, or other magnesian earth, and mixes them thoroughly in any
convenient manner. The proportions preferred are the following (viz.): onc
pound of gutta percha, six ounces of sulphur, and from six to eight ounces of
either magnesia or lime, or a carbonate or a sulphate of magnesia, or of lime
or calcined French chalk, or other magnesian earth. Instead of using the
specified proportion of the magnesia or lime, or of the carbonate or sulphate
of magnesia or lime, or of calcined French chalk, or other magnesian earth,
the same proportion of any two or more of these substances combined may be
employed, only taking care that the quantity of this third ingredient in the
composition does not vary from the proportion of six or eight ounces. These
proportions may, however, be slightly varied without materially changing the
result. To the composition above specified a fourth ingredient may be added
(viz.), gum shellac, by which a still better article will be obtained, the body
thus obtained being stronger and more easily worked. The quantity of shellac
in such case should be about four ounces to every pound of gutta percha. Rosin,
oxides or salts of lead or zinc of all colors, and other like substances, both
mineral and vegetable, may be added in small quantities to either of the above
compositions, for the purposes before stated with respect to the india-rubber
composition.
The compounds or compositions before described, whether of caoutchouc or
of gutta percha, may be mixed by a masticating machine (or by any other
means employed in the manufacture of india-rubber compounds) until the
several ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. The mineral ingredients
mixed with the caoutchouc or gutta percha should be finely divided, and good
results are produced by reducing them before mixture to an impalpable
powder. When mixed, the compounds are either rolled into sheets by means

page_text: of calendering rollers, for the purpose of being used in the manufacture of such
articles as the same are applicable to, or formed by moulding or other well-
known processes into any desired shape.. When. thus rolled or moulded, the
compounds are then to be "cured." This is effected by exposing the com-
pound to a high degree of artificial heat, using for this purpose either steam,
hot water, or hot air. The degree of heat to which the compound is to be
exposed, and the duration of its exposure, will depend somewhat upon the size
or thickness of the article, but in ordinary cases the heat should be raised to
about 260° or 270° Fahrenheit, and the compound exposed to such heat about
four hours; as a general rule, however, it may be stated that the heat should
range from two hundred and fifty degrees to three hundred degrees Fahrenheit,
and the time of exposure from two to six hours. The compounds or compo-
sition, by undergoing this heating or curing operation, will attain a hard and
stiff character, in many respects resembling tortoiseshell, horne, bone, ivory,
and jet. In the compounds described as compositions of caoutchouc con-
siderable proportions of gutta percha may be substituted for caoutchouc without
injury, and in the compounds described as compositions of gutta percha
considerable proportions of caoutchouc may be substituted for gutta percha
without injury.
Under this division of the Invention I claim the treating of caoutchouc
and of gutta percha, and of caoutchouc and gutta percha combined, as above
described, for the purpose of producing a composition or compositions appli-
cable to the various uses above set forth.
The second part of the Invention refers to certain modes of applying the
improved compounds to the production of various articles of manufacture:
In many cases the mode of application will be obvious, as the compositions,
when hardened, may be worked like wood or bone; but in some instances it
is proposed to mould, shape, or otherwise treat the compositions so as to render
them better suited to, the purpose for which they are intended prior to sub-
mitting them to the hardening process. Thus, when it is desired to use these
new compositions in combination with common flexible vulcanized caoutchouc,
as, for instance, in the manufacture of artificial jet bracelets, the parts intended
to be hardened may be united to a connecting band or connecting pieces of flexible
vulcanized caoutchouc by cementing or pressing together the surfaces required
to be joined before the heating or curing process has been effected, by which
means during the process of curing the abutting elastic and non-elastic surfaces
will become firmly united together. Another plan consists in so treating the
compositions, while in a plastic state, that they will harden into any desired
shape. This is effected by the use of sand, pulverized soapstone, or some

page_text: similar granular matter, to sustain and keep the compounds during the process
of heating to the shape into which they were previously moulded. For
this purpose the compounds of coutchouc or gutta percha before described
are taken in the green or plastic state, and cut or pressed, or otherwise formed
into the exact shapes which it is desired they shall retain after vulcanization.
The articles thus formed are covered with pulverized soapstone, or other
similar non-adhesive powder, placed in a box filled with sand, (the finer the
sand the better), or pulverized soapstone, or other similar equivalent granular
or pulverized matter, so that each article shall be completely surrounded and
covered by the sand or pulverized soapstone, and imbedded in the same.
When it is desired to give a very smooth surface to the article, it is com-
pletely surrounded with a layer of soapstone, even though sand may be
employed; about the layer of soapstone sometimes moist sand or pulverized
soapstone is used. The articles being thus properly placed in the box, the
sand or other material is subjected to pressure, and then by means of a cover,
or sometimes by pressure, the consolidated sand or other material is retained
in close contact with the articles, so long as the process of heating continues.
The articles thus packed are placed in an oven or heater, and subjected to
the beating process before described, and upon removing the articles from
the sand or other material, they will be found to have attained the requisite
hardness, without losing the form which they received before being put into
the sand. By this means, with a considerable economy of labor, a great
variety of objects may be produced, among which may be enumerated em-
bossed, or indented, or plain sheets, or plates, or masses of regular or irregular
forms, convex or concave, such as pieces of furniture, book covers, buttons,
toys of various kinds, door knobs, and knife handles.
Another mode of applying the compositions consists in uniting them, in
their plastic or green state, with iron or other metals, or rigid substances
which will bear a high degree of artificial heat without alteration or damage.
For this purpose the article of iron, or other metal or substance which will
bear a high degree of artificial heat without alteration or damage, is
roughened in such portions of its surface as are intended to be brought into
contact with the compound of caoutchouc or gutta percha, and the compound
is then applied to the roughened surface of the article of iron, or other sub-
stance. When it is desired that the compound of caoutchouc or gutta percha
shall serve as a covering to the iron or other substance, a thin sheet of the
compound (sometimes one thirty-second part of an inch in thickness, or less)
is pressed with great care upon the iron or other substance, so as to expel
all air from between the adjoining surfaces; and to cause the nest perfect

page_text: union and adhesion, the coated article is bound with strips or ribbons of
cloth, or other suitable material, whereby the compound is kept in close
contact with the article during the process of hardening. The combined
materials thus treated will be found to possess the qualities desired, the iron
or other substance giving strength, and the compound giving a hard and
durable surface. In this way may be produced many articles used in and
about harnesses or carriages, such as saddle-trees, buckles, terrets, bits, stirrups,
martingale rings, dasher irons, and articles intended to be used as furniture,
either whole or in parts, and a great variety of other useful objects. When
it is desired to unite these compounds with wood, the wood should be pre-
viously prepared by steaming it for several hours, or by other means, so that
it shall not be warped or damaged by the high degree of heat to which it will
be subjected.
Under this head of the Invention I claim the completion of the manufacture
of the composition or compositions having the qualities above mentioned, after
the application of the same to any one or more of the purposes indicated in the
title of the above in part recited Letters Patent.
In witness whereof I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, bave hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.