A New or Improved Manufacture of Artificial Stone for Building, Decorative, and other Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Feb., 189€
Complete Specification Left; 2nd Nov., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL
ON.
A New or Improved Manufacture of Artificial Stone for Building,
Decorative, and other Purposes.
We, FRANCIS WILLIAM MAXWELL, Architect, and WALTER BEER, Civil Engineer,
both of 41 Corporation Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to a new or improved manufacture of artificial stone for
building decorative and other purposes.
In carrying our invention into effect we take a quantity of any suitable stone, other
than marble, in the form of chips or fine particles or powder and oxide of magnesium
or its chemical equivalent and mix them together thoroughly in a dry state and
preferably in a dry room in the proportion of say for example three parts stone to
one part of oxide of magnesium and with the addition if required of any suitable
colouring matter.
The mixed materials are then moistened with a solution of magnesium chloride or
its chemical equivalent and then beaten or otherwise treated until the materials are
intimately mixed into a mass of a suitable consistency which is then moulded and
allowed to remain in the moulds until set hard. It is then removed from the moulds
and rough finished and then saturated or treated with some material or substance
which will exclude moisture, an example of such suitable material or substance being
a solution of soap, preferably of olive oil soft soap.
The moulded materials thus impregnated are then cleaned with say a solution of
acetate of alumina or sulphate of alumina or other suitable substance and polished or
otherwise finished as required.
The proportions stated are merely given as examples and not necessarily as
limitations, and further the order of proceeding may be varied or modified for
instance, the soap solution may be mixed with the magnesium chloride or its equivalent
instead of being added subsequently.
DL4th day of February 1896
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
Agents for Applicants.
A New or Improved Manufacture of Artificial Stone for Building,
Decorative, and other Purposes.
We, FRANCIS WILLIAM MAXWELL, Architect, and WALTER BEER, Civil Engineer,
both of 41, Corporation Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to bo

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to a new or improved manufacture of artificial stone for
building, decorative and other purposes.
In carrying our invention into effect we take a quantity of any suitable stone,
other than marble, in the form of chips or fine particles or powder and oxide of
magnesium or its chemical equivalent such as magnesite, or the sulphate of aluminium
or potassium or the carbonate of magnesium or calcium and mix them together in
a dry state and preferably in a dry room in the proportion of say for example,
fifty to seventy five per cent. of stone to twenty five to fifty per cent. of oxide of
magnesium or its chemical equivalent, and with the addition if required of any suitable
colouring matter.
The mixed materials are then moistened with a solution containing from sixteen to
twenty five per cent. of magnesium chloride or its chemical equivalent such as chloride
of calcium or hydrochloric acid may be used and beaten or otherwise treated until the
materials are intimately mixed into a mass of a suitable consistency preferably earth.
moist. The mixed mass of materials is then moulded and allowed to remain in the
moulds until set hard which will be in about twenty four hours. It is then removed
from the moulds and may be rough finished and then saturated or treated with some
material or substance which will exclude moisture, an example of such suitable material
or substance being a solution composed of eight to sixteen per cent. of olive oil soft
soap dissolved in a twenty to forty per cent. solution of alcohol. The stone may be
immersed in this solution for say two to four hours, and it is then after an interval of at
least an hour immersed for say two to four hours in a five to ten per cent. solution of
acetate of aluminium, or sulphate of aluminium or other suitable substance.
Or instead of immersing the stone the process may be varied by applying the
solutions with a brush. Two or three-applications of each solution are necessary with
sufficient time between each application to allow the stone to completely absorb it.
At least an hour should be allowed to elapse between the last application of the first
or olive oil soft soap solution and the first application of the second solution; but the
order of application may be changed without prejudice to the finished article.
The result of this treatment is to form an insoluble soap of aluminium (oleate
alumina soap) in the pores of the material rendering it non-absorbent and harder than
before. The oleate soap of any other metallic oxide may be employed.
Stone blocks thus formed should be allowed to harden for at least four days when
they may be polished or otherwise finished as required.
The proportions stated are merely given as examples and not necessarily as limita-
tions and further the order of proceeding may be varied or modified for instance, the
acetate of aluminium or second solution may be mixed with the magnesium chloride,
instead of being added subsequently. In this case the acetate of aluminium solution
is combined with the magnesium chloride solution in equal parts (the solution being
of any strength between the limits herein before specified) and the mixed solution may
be used to moisten the stone base and magnesium oxide, the mixture thus forined
being further moistened with the soap solution; or instead of combining the solution
of acetate of aluminium with a solution of magnesium chloride it may be combined
with a solution of aluminium chloride or hydrochloric acid.
Stone blocks thus formed become hard enough to remove from the moulds in about
forty eight hours and are then rough finished and require to stand at least a week
before acquiring sufficient hardness for polishing. The hardening of the stone formed
.by this alternative process may be accelerated by heating in an oven or by other
means at a suitable temperature, this course being sometimes very desirable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
t
The manufacture of artificial stone by either of the processes herein specified said

page_text: processes comprising the admixture of a stone base with oxide of magnesium or its
chemical equivalent and subsequent treatment of the mixed materials with solutions
of thagnesíum chloride, oleate soap and acetate of aluminium or their chemical
equivalents substantially as herein described.
Doted this 31st day of October 1896.
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
17 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for Applicants.