IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE AND CEMENT OR PLASTER, AND IN TREATING TIMBER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRESERVING THE SAME
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Ransome, of Ipswich, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE AND CEMENT
OR PLASTER, AND IN TREATING TIMBER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRESERVING
THE SAME."
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 9th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ransome at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th April 1861.
I, FREDERICK RANSOME, of Ipswich, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE AND
CEMENT OR PLASTER, AND IN TREATING TIMBER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRESERVING
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
artificial stone and cement or plaster, and in treating timber for the purpose of
preserving the same. For the purpose of manufacturing artificial stone I mix
broken or powdered chalk with the silicates of soda or other alkali, and I
mould the compound into blocks or shapes; afterwards, when the blocks or
shapes are dry and hard, I wash over the surface with a solution of chloride
of calcium or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or with a solution of
chloride of aluminum or iron, in order to insure, as far as possible, the con-
version of the soluble silicate into an insoluble silicate of lime or other alkaline
earth, or of aluminum or iron. In this manner I obtain blocks or shapes
which absorb little or no moisture, and which are hard and of great durability.
I also employ a mixture of broken or powdered chalk and soluble silicate as a
plaster or cement to coat walls and other surfaces, and when the same is

page_text: sufficiently dry and hard I wash over the surface with the solution of a salt of
an alkaline earth, or of aluminum or iron, as before. I also similarly employ
a mixture of chalk, quick lime, and soluble silicate; when quick lime is added
to the other ingredients it is not so necessary to wash the surface over after-
wards with the solution of a salt of an alkaline earth, or of aluminum or iron,
as the quick lime immediately converts a portion of the soluble silicate into an
insoluble silicate of lime. Still I prefer to wash over the surface as before in
case the soluble silicate should be in excess. In addition to or in place of
chalk in this compound, sand, clay, and other similar substances may be
employed, as the chalk in this case is not itself necessarily chemically acted
on; but it serves to give substance to the composition, and makes it durable
when moulded into a mass or applied as a plaster to a surface, which a com-
position consisting wholly of quick lime and soluble silicate is not. In some
cases I make a composition consisting of chalk, sand, or other suitable mineral
in a powdered state, soluble silicate and a soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or
of aluminum or iron. I mix this compound so as to bring it to a plastic
state, and then immediately mould it or apply it to the surface to be coated
when it is to be used as a plaster; this moulding or spreading must be done
rapidly, as the compound sets hard almost immediately it is mixed. Artificial
stone may also be produced by mixing the silicates of soda or other alkali
with sand, clay, or other substance, and then, in place of burning the blocks,
as heretofore practised when such blocks have been made, treating them with
a solution of chloride of calcium or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or
with a solution of chloride of aluminum or iron; or a composition of this
description may be applied to surfaces as a plaster or cement, and afterwards
treated with a solution of chloride of calcium or otherwise, as above men-
tioned. In treating wood for the purpose of preserving the same, I apply to it
a solution of silicate of soda or other alkali, by preference forcing the said
solution into the pores of the wood, and afterwards apply a solution of chloride
of calcium or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or chloride of aluminum
or iron, by preference forcing the same into the pores of the wood as before.
TO ALL
HOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK 85
RANSOME, of Ipswich, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Ransome, Her special licence that I, the said Frederick Ransome, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick
Ransome, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ARTIFICIAL STONE AND CEMENT OR PLASTER, AND IN TREATING TIMBER FOR THE
PURPOSE OF PRESERVING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Frederick Ransome, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Ransome, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
artificial stone and cement or plaster, and in treating timber for the purpose
of preserving the same. For the purpose of manufacturing artificial stone I
mix broken or powdered chalk with the silicates of soda or other alkali, and
I mould the compound into blocks or shapes afterwards. When the blocks or
shapes are dry and hard I wash over the surface with a solution of chloride of
calcium, or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or with a solution of chloride
of aluminum or iron, in order to insure as far as possible the conversion of the
soluble silicate into an insoluble silicate of lime or other alkaline earth, or of
aluminum or iron.
It is preferred in producing artificial stone in this manner that the chalk
should be in a finely powdered state, and that it should be mixed with
a solution of silicate of soda so as to produce a plastic mass; the silicate
of soda being such as is now commonly employed in the manufacture of
artificial stone, and by preference of a specific gravity of 1-700. The plastic
mass produced is moulded to the form required in any convenient manner,

page_text: and the articles produced are usually, although not necessarily, dried in the air
till they become hard, which will usually be in from two to three days
according to the thickness of the article and the state of the weather (or the
articles may be dried in a stove). They are then washed over by preference
with a solution of chloride of calcium of specific gravity 1.200, or thereabouts.
This solution may be applied with a brush so as thoroughly to wet every part
of the surface; or, if convenient, the article may be dipped into the solution.
In place of chloride of calcium, as before mentioned, other soluble salts of
alkaline earths may be employed, as may also the chlorides of aluminum and
of iron. If any of these salts are employed the strength of the solution should
be such as to contain about as much salt per gallon as the prescribed solution
of chloride of calcium, but within certain limits the strength of these solutions
is not of great importance. Silicate of potash may be substituted for silicate
of soda, but it is more expensive, and the result obtained will not be improved.
In this manner I obtain blocks or shapes which absorb little or no moisture,
and which are hard and of great durability.
Broken or powdered chalk thus manufactured produces an artificial stone,
which for many purposes is superior in texture to the artificial stones here-
tofore made, besides which it is believed that it is not only the soluble silicate
at or near the surface of the article which by the application of chloride of
calcium or other salt is converted into silicate of lime or insoluble silicate, but
that throughout the whole mass the soluble silicate becomes slowly converted
into insoluble silicate of lime, a portion of the chalk being decomposed to
supply the lime to the silica. I also employ a mixture of broken or powdered
chalk and soluble silicate as a plaster or cement to coat walls and other
surfaces, and when the same is sufficiently dry and hard I wash over the surface
with the solution of a salt of an alkaline earth, or of aluminum or iron, as
before. The pulverized chalk is for this purpose mixed to the consistency
of plaster with a solution of soluble silica; but as it works more conveniently
if not made so stiff as when for moulding, the soluble silica employed is pre-
ferred for this purpose to be of a less specific gravity, viz., 1.500, or there-
abouts. The solution of chloride of calcium, or other solution, is applied by
a brush, as before, and is of similar strength. In the manufacture of artificial
stone, and also as a cement for plastering and other uses, I sometimes employ
a mixture of chalk, quick lime, and soluble silicate. When quick lime is
added to the other ingredients it is not so necessary to wash the surface over
afterwards with the solution of a salt of an alkaline earth, or of aluminum, or
iron, as the quick lime immediately converts a portion of the soluble silicate
into an insoluble silicate of lime. Still I prefer to wash over the surface, as

page_text: In addition to or in
before, in case the soluble silicate should be in excess.
place of chalk in this compound, sand, clay, and other similar substances may
be employed, as the chalk in this case is not itself necessarily chemically acted
on, but it serves to give substance to the composition, and makes it durable
when moulded into a mass or applied as a plaster to a surface which a com-
position consisting wholly of quick lime and soluble silicate is not.. Very
useful compositions of this description are the following:-

page_text: solution of chloride of calcium, and when the materials are properly mixed,
the composition is at once moulded or applied as may be required. When the
composition is required for use as a cement or plaster, the quantity of silicate
of soda and of chloride of calcium is advantageously increased, the specific
gravities of the solutions being reduced in proportion.
Artificial stone may also be produced by mixing the silicates of soda or
other alkali with sand, clay, or other substance, and then in place of burning
the blocks, as heretofore practised, when such blocks have been made, treating
them with a solution of chloride of calcium, or other soluble salt of an alkaline
earth, or with a solution of chloride of aluminum or iron. Or a composition
of this description may be applied to surfaces as a plaster or cement, and
afterwards treated with a solution of chloride of calcium, or otherwise, as
above mentioned. The ingredients used in this case, and the proportions
employed, will vary, as heretofore, according to the purposes to which the said
artificial stone, is to be applied in making stone for building purposes. The
following proportions will be found suitable :-

page_text: or paint. The artificial stone and cement or plaster, after being prepared as
above, and allowed to dry, is then treated with a solution of chloride of
calcium, or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or of aluminum or iron, and
for this purpose I generally employ a solution of chloride of calcium of specific
gravity about 1.200 or 1.300, which is applied either by means of a common
brush to the surface, or by simply immersing the stone in the solution, or
where convenient, by forcing the solution into the pores and interstices of the
stone, &c., by means of hydraulic pumps, or otherwise.
In treating wood for the purpose of preserving the same, I apply to it a
solution of silicate of soda or other alkali, by preference forcing the said
solution into the pores of the wood, and afterwards apply a solution of chloride
of calcium, or other soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or chloride of aluminum
or iron, by preference forcing the same into the pores of the wood as before.
In carrying out this process I brush over the surface of the wood first with a
solution of soluble silicate, the specific gravity of which may conveniently be
from 1.100 to 1.200, or I immerse the wood in such solution; or, where
practicable, I prefer to place the wood to be operated upon in a suitable air-
tight vessel, capable of sustaining considerable pressure, and after exhausting
the air from the vessel and from the cells of the wood by means of an air
pump, or otherwise, I admit the solution of silicate, and by means of a force
pump connected with the vessel, I drive the silicate into the pores or cells of
the wood; when the silicate has become dry, I brush freely over the surface
of the wood so treated with a solution of chloride of calcium, or other soluble
salt of an alkaline earth, or with a solution of chloride of aluminum or iron of
specific gravity of from 1-100 to 1.200; or I immerse the timber in such
solution, or, where practicable, I prefer, as before, to place the timber in
a suitable air-tight vessel, and after exhausting the air by means of an air
pump, or otherwise, to force in a solution of chloride of calcium, or other
soluble salt of an alkaline earth, or a solution of chloride of aluminum or
iron, by means of a hydraulic or other pump, the object being in all these
cases by aid of the solution of chloride of calcium or other salt, to convert the
soluble silicate of soda or other alkali into an insoluble silicate, either of lime
or other base.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Ransome, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.