Improvements in the Manufacture of Buoyancy Apparatu, such as Air Tanks for Boats, Life Buoys and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Buoyancy Apparatu, such as
Air Tanks for Boats, Life Buoys and the like.
We, FRANCIS SWANZY and WILLIAM CLEAVER, both of 147, Cannon Street, in
the City of London, Merchants, and HENRY THAME, of Orchard Works, Yiewsley,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of buoyancy apparatus, such as air
tanks for ships boats and life buoys for use on board ship and has for its object the
construction of such apparatus in a simple, efficient, and reliable manner.
To carry our invention into effect we construct the devices by first making a
skeleton framework of wood or other equivalent material which may be joined
together by tongues, dowels, or the like. Over the skeleton framework we fix
sheets of prepared fibre, such as moulded sheets of wood pulp, leather board or of
any other equivalent fibrous substance, capable of being beaten to a pulp; or
moulded into a sheet. The said sheets after drying are saturated in a hot bath
of suitable oil capable of oxidation. The said oil has incorporated with it from
2 to 30 per cent. of gum or resin. The sheets so treated are afterwards baked in
a suitable stove or dryer, at a temperature of approximately 250° F., for a period
of from 2 to 12 hours, according to the degree of hardness desired.
Such boards or sheets of fibre are fixed over the said wooden framework by means
of nails or screws, and the joint between said sheets and the framework is made water-
tight by means of strips of the following material for cement, viz.-Gutta
percha 1 part, shellac 12 to 1 part, and sulphur ½ to 1 part. We may use in
place of shellac any other suitable gum.
The component parts of the above material or cement are incorporated together
by melting under heat and then rolled into sheets of the required thickness, which
are cut into strips of even width to that of the wooden framework.
The sheets of fibre are partly screwed down on to the said strips of cement, inter-
posed between the wooden framework and the fibre sheets, after which the tank
is heated to cause the cement to soften, when the screws are tightened up and the
whole is afterwards allowed to cool, which hardens the cement and completes the
joint or joints.
In the case of circular life-buoys the same process is used, the buoy being
moulded in two halves from circular sheets of lightly pressed fibre. Wooden
hoops are used in place of the above mentioned framework, and the cement is
interposed between the said hoops and moulded fibre sheets, the whole being
drawn together by screws passing through the pulp halves into the wooden hoops
within the hollow space.
Dated thin 7th don of Tu1.. 1000
FELL & JAMES,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Buoyancy Apparatus such as
Air Tanks for Boats, Life Buoys and the like.
We, FRANCIS SWANZY and WILLIAM CLEAVER, both of 147, Cannon Street, in
the City of London, Merchants, and Henry ThamE, of Orchard Works, Yiewsley,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of buoyancy apparatus, such as air
tanks for ships boats and life buoys for use on board ship and has for its object the
construction of such apparatus in a simple, efficient, and reliable manner.
To carry our invention into effect, we construct the devices by first making a
skeleton framework of wood or other equivalent material which may be joined
together by tongues, dowels. or the like. Over this skeleton framework we fix
sheets of prepared fibre, such as moulded sheets of wood pulp, leather board, or of
any other equivalent fibrous substance capable of being beaten to a pulp and
moulded into a sheet. The said sheets after drying are saturated in a hot bath
of suitable oil capable of oxidation. The said oil has incorporated with it from
2 to 30 per cent. of gum or resin. The sheets so treated are afterwards baked in
a suitable stove or dryer at a temperature of approximately 250° F., for a period
of from 2 to 12 hours according to the degree of hardness desired.
Such boards or sheets of fibre are fixed over the said wooden framework by means
of nails or screws, and the joint between said sheets and the framework is made water-
tight by means of strips of the following material for cement, viz.:-Gutta
percha 1 part, shellac 1 to 1 part, and sulphur 1/4 to 1 part. We may use in
place of shellac any other suitable gum.
The component parts of the above material or cement are incorporated together
by melting under heat and then rolled into sheets of the required thickness, which
are cut into strips of even width to that of the wooden framework.
The sheets of fibre are partly screwed down on to the said strips of cement, inter-
posed between the wooden framework and the fibre sheets, after which the tank
is heated to cause the cement to soften, when the screws are tightened up and the
whole is afterwards allowed to cool, which hardens the cement and completes the
joint or joints.
In the case of circular life buoys the same process is used, the buoy being
moulded in two halves from circular sheets of lightly pressed fibre. Wooden
hoops are used in place of the above mentioned framework, and the cement is
interposed between the said hoops and moulded fibre sheets, the whole being
drawn together by screws passing through the pulp halves and the wooden hoops
within the hollow space.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
1st. A jointing composition for buoyancy apparatus and the like consisting of
gutta percha 1 part, shellac or other equivalent gum 2 to 1 part, and sulphur
¼ to 1 part, incorporated together by melting under heat and adapted to be
inserted between the parts to be jointed and pressed into close contact under
heat, so as to form a hard jointing when cooled, substantially as described.
2nd. The process of forming watertight joints in buoyancy apparatus and the
like consisting of the insertion of strips or layers of the composition as claimed
in Claim I between the parts to be jointed, and the application of pressure between

page_text: the said parts to produce close contact by means of screws or other equivalent
fastening devices under heat so that the said jointing material hardens on cooling,
substantially as described.
Dated this fith dore of Inil 1900
FELL & JAMES,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.