Year: 1885

page_text: I, JAMES WASS DAVIES, of N° 32, Theobald's Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is the utilisation of waste leather i.e., such hard
parts as always occur in flanks and shoulder pieces, which it is the common
practice to treat as waste, or to use as fuel; and to render the same capable,
by submitting it to the process which is the subject of my invention, of being
manufactured; into various useful articles.
In carrying my invention into effect, I pick all the hard pieces out of the general
shop waste, and pass the remainder through a suitable devil or disintegrator, and
afterwards through sieves of about 16 to 24 meshes to the inch.
I then mix the sieved mass with small quantities of glue, or gutta percha, or
similar binding material, so as to form a stiff paste, to which a modicum of acid
may be added when necessary.
For goods which are required to be varnished before they are finished, I mix the
Bieved leather with resins, or gums, and methylated spirits, in suitable proportions,
to form a stiff paste. I do not confine myself to natural guns, as I may, according
to my invention, use artificial ones, e.g., a mixture of starch, sugar and gum arabic,
as the binding material.
After the compound, brought up to the proper consistence by due proportioning
of the ingredienta, has been well kneaded, it is pressed in dies, or rolled into the
desired shape.

page_text: The Industrial CONTROL
I, JAMES WASS DAVIES, of N° 32, Theobalds Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 relates to the utilisation of leather waste, and consists in sub-
mitting it to a treatment which renders it capable of a varied and profitable
application in various arts and branches of manufacture.
-
It is a well-known fact that when a whole hide is cut up previous to being
manufactured into any of the various articles produced from leather, there are
certain hard parts always occuring in the flanks and shoulder pieces, which must
be discarded as they cannot, because of their hardness, be used as leather.
These are the pieces which with the other available waste of the leather
industries, for the purpose of describing my invention I include under the term
leather waste.
It has hitherto been the practice to use this waste as fuel, or to throw it away
as rubbish.
In carrying my invention into practice, the hard pieces are picked out of the
general shop-waste, leaving a remainder consisting of softer pieces and scraps.
This remainder is next fed into any suitable kind of devil or disintegrator, and
having been pulverized is ready for being treated.
The degree of fineness to which the leather is reduced in the disintegrator is
decided by the size of the articles to be manufactured or the smoothness of surface
required to be given thereto, as it is evident that when small articles are to be
produced, they can be made more compact in substance and closer in fibre when
the raw material is fine to begin with, than if it were comparatively coarse. So
also, if it be desired to give a superior surface to the finished article, it is evident
that the preliminary selection of a comparatively fine material will contribute to
achieving the desired result.
The sifting, or any analogous process, is preferably conducted within the disin-
tegrator, and may be effected by this machine.
The mass rejected by the sieving process may be returned to the disintegrator,
or discarded as useless, according to its quality, or the amount of dirt in it.
The sieved mass or leather flock is next mixed with a small percentage, of glue,
gutta percha, or other similar binding material so as to form a stiff paste, with
which other substances are incorporated according to the particular class of goods
to be manufactured, with the intention of increasing the utility of the finished
article or of improving its appearance.
The following enumeration of various articles, for manufacturing which my
invention is well adapted, will suffice to give a tolerably correct idea of the
numerous useful and beneficial industrial applications of which it is capable.
The heels of boots, shoes, and slippers.
Knobs for doors, drawers, or shutters.
Finger plates; door panels; plaques; trays.
Reels for cotton silk or the like.

page_text: The following proportions in which the pastes should be compounded, according
to the varied uses to which the goods manufactured therefrom are to be put, are
those I have found in practice to give very satisfactory results, but, at the same.
time, I wish it to be distinctly understood that they may be slightly varied,
without departing from my invention.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim às,
The industrial utilization of leather waste by first reducing it to a flock, sifting
it, mixing the mass with proper binding agents, and giving the final form by
pressing, rolling or any similar and convenient process, substantially as herein-
before described with respect to the different uses for which the manufactured
goods are severally destined.
i