IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOD TO RENDER IT PLIABLE AND NON-INFLAMMABLE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pastor Perez de la Sala, of Bond Court Chambers,
Walbrook, in the City of London, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE TREATMENT OF WOOD TO RENDER IT PLIABLE AND NON-INFLAMMABLE."
Sealed the 11th July 1879, and dated the 19th April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pastor Perez de la Sala at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th April 1879.
"
PASTOR PEREZ DE LA SALA, of Bond Court Chambers, Walbrook, in the City
of London. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOD TO RENDER IT PLIABLE
AND NON-INFLAMMABLE."
This Invention bas for its object improvements in the treatment of wood to render
it pliable and non-inflammable.
For this purpose I saponify the resin contained in the wood by means of an
alkali. I soak the wood for a longer or shorter time according to its thickness and
permeability in a solution of potash or other alkali, in such proportion as is requisite
to combine chemically with the rosin. Where the wood employed is deficient in
rosin, I impregnate the wood with a solution of rosin in turpentine before sub-
mitting it to treatment.
I also employ glycerine with a view to give greater suppleness to the wood.
Veneers or thin sheets of wood treated in this manner become pliable like leather,
and thicker pieces thus treated can be easily bent to a desired form. At the same
time the wood is rendered quite uninflammable.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Pastor Perez de la Sala in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
October 1879.
"
PASTOR PEREZ DE LA SALA, of Bond Court Chambers, Walbrook, in the City of
London. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOD TO RENDER IT PLIABLE
AND NON-INFLAMMABLE."
My Invention consists in modifying in the following manner the brittle and
inflammable properties of lifeless vegetable substances, either in their compact
woody state, or in their fibrous state, rendering them more pliable and at the same
time proof against the risks of conflagration.
To attain these objects I saponify the resins and neutralize the acids of woods
either by means of the alkalies extracted from their ashes or from mineral or animal
sources.
Though all alkaline compounds have the property of rendering vegetable matter
more or less flexible and non-inflammable, I preferably make use of carbonates of
fixed alkalies in the following way :-I dissolve in cold or warm clear water carbonates
of potash or soda, or I make use of them in a solution made with filtered water heated
to the boiling point and add bydrate of lime to this solution, graduating the strength
so as not to exceed a specific gravity of 1060 if potash is used, or 1050 when soda
is used. In the first case the strength of the solution corresponds to about 30
grains of hydrate of potash to the fluid ounce, or about 20 grains of hydrate of soda
to the fluid ounce.
Wood to be used in naval constructions and in buildings or structures of wood on
land will, after being treated with the above alkaline solution, be free from the
danger of conflagration on account of the non-inflammable nature of the salts and
saponaceous coatings formed by the chemical action of the alkalies.
Land buildings and vessels already constructed can also be rendered fireproof by
saturating the floors and decks and all exposed woodwork with alkalino lyes, and
when dry the wood may be whitewashed, painted, or varnished in the usual way.
For boards, planks, or thicker pieces of timber I graduate the time of immersion
so as to form a coating of from 1/18th to 1/8th of an inch, which can be obtained in
from 4 to 12 hours, according to the more or less porous nature of the wood or the
compactness of its fibre.
16
I consider a coating of about 1/8th of an inch deep to be a sufficient fire pro-
tection for all kinds of timber for building purposes, as the spread of fire and great
conflagrations generally originate in relatively small causes, such as burning cinders
dropped, sparks from fire places, matches accidentally ignited, inflamed liquids,
candles left burning, gas explosions, lightning, &c.; but the fire proof coating can be
made deeper or even to go through the whole timber in the event of its being con-
sidered desirable to combine great flexibility with absolute non-inflammability. In
this case I make use of hydraulic or other pressure so as to force the alkaline lyes
through the wood to the extent desired.
Thin veneers of any close grained wood treated in the above manner may be
caused to acquire such a degree of pliability, smoothness, and non-inflammability
as to make them to resemble tanned leather.
To obtain these results I immerse the veneers in the already described alkaline
solutions for the necessary time to make them acquire a translucent appearance
which is obtained in from 15 to 40 minutes, according to the nature and thickness
of the veneers. I then let them dry and afterwards press and roll them between
steel cylinders or plates.
Veneers treated in this manner can be applied to many of the purposes to which
leather, parchment, and paste, or cardboard are used, either for wall decorations,
seats, and backs of chairs, bookbindings, &c., as well as for painting, writing, and
printing. It can also be used for the manufacture of mattings, cordage, baskets,

page_text: hats, and numerous fancy articles. Shavings of wood treated in the same way can
be utilized as fireproof elastic packings, as well as for the stuffing of mattrasses and
furniture.
The same treatment that I apply to the wood of trees gives analogous non-inflam-
mable results when applied to leaves, branches, shrubs, plants, and grasses, or to
their loose fibres, such as hemp, jute, cotton, flax, &c., even when manufactured into
goods, offering thus an additional security for public places of entertainment,
especially in rendering non-inflammable stage curtains, scenery, &c.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim is,―
The rendering pliable and non-inflammable by treating with alkali in the
manner substantially as herein before described, all vegetable substances, whether
such vegetable substances be in their compact and natural state, such as wood,
plants, shrubs, grasses, or in their artificially rendered loose and fibrous forms, or
when manufactured into textile fabrics of all kinds, such as canvas, linen, cotton, &c.,
or any other manufactured article, the material of which is of vegetable origin.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pastor Perez de la Sala, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
P. P. DE LA SALA. (L.S.)