IMPROVEMENTS IN ROOFING AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st May 1872.-A communication from abroad by David Gardner
Conger, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
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 ROOFING AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME,” a communication,
to be as follows:-
"
According to the said Invention I construct a roofing either in the
form of sheets, slabs, or slates made of a sheet of paper, felt, or other
sheet material of a close texture, coated or covered on one side with a
composition of materials having as its basis reduced coal tar or asphaltum,
or both, mixed or combined with other materials as herein-after described.
The composition layer may or may not be covered with another sheet
of paper, felt, or other sheet material of a close texture covered with a
composition of materials as before, and so on if desired for any number
of layers or thicknesses of sheet material and composition. The com-
position for this roofing is made of reduced coal tar, asphaltum, or both,

page_text: resin, cement, sand, and gypsum or field plaster, in the proportions or
thereabouts of one or more barrels of reduced coal tar or asphaltum
or both together, and four quarts of resin, with sand in the proportion
of three to four to one each of the cement or plaster.
For preparing this composition the reduced coal tar or asphaltum or
both together in or about the proportions stated must be first boiled in
any suitable vessel for four (4) hours or thereabouts to expel the volatile
elements. I then add the resin previously melted and let the whole boil
or cook for an additional thirty minutes or thereabouts. I now add
the compound of one part of cement (the so-called Akron or Newark
cement being preferable), three to four parts of sand, and one part of
gypsum, and let the whole boil for seven hours or more until it becomes
reduced to the consistency of thick paste.
I place a bed between parallel rails for the reception of sand in com-
bination with a carriage adapted to travel over the said parallel rails and
to deposit on the bed a layer of cement or plastic composition and a
sheet of paper or other suitable material, the cement being deposited
just in front of the paper sheet. The carriage is provided with a roller
or rollers to roll and press the sheet material upon the cement and sand
and thus secure a perfect union of the whole.
I employ an arrangement of cement distributing receptacles and
paper delivery rolls for laying two or more layers of cement and paper
sheets one after another upon the sand in the bed.
The guide rails of the bed for the cement and paper delivering carriage
are made with cutting edges to trim the edges of the sheet material,
and are secured to the sides of the bed by set screws passing through
slots, so that by simply loosening the said screws and without detaching
them the rails can be removed for sharpening their cutting edges.
The bed for the sand is constructed at intervals of its length to cut
the sheet materials as deposited on the bed, and is rolled across the
width of paper, thereby dividing the roofing into slates or slabs. I
combine with the bed a griper or gripers for clasping and firmly holding
the end of the paper sheet as it is being laid on the bed from the
carriage.