Improvements relating to the Bending, Twisting, and Decoration or Ornamentation of Wood and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 1st Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 14th Dec., 1888
Improvements relating to the Bending, Twisting, and Decoration or
Ornamentation of Wood and to Apparatus therefor.
I, BERNHARD LUDWIG, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Cabinet maker to the
Imperial and Royal Court of Austria, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows
1
This invention relates to the bending, twisting and decoration or ornamentation of
wood.
Heretofore wood has been bent in the following manner viz. the said wood was
first tr ated with boiling water or steam, the desired curvature being then imparted to
it, and finally the wood thus bent was allowed to dry slowly while it was held fast in
suitable moulds or otherwise.
This well known method requires much time and labour.
By my improved method of bending wood which forms the subject matter of the
present application I am enabled to impart to dry wood within a few minutes any
desired and permanent curvature.
For this purpose I employ one or more pairs of heated rollers in combination with
particular guiding devices.
The dry wood to be bent may be in the shape of boards, strips or bars. It is
introduced between the heated rollers which are caused to revolve slowly and on
emerging from between the said rollers meets suitably shaped guiding devices whereby
the permanent bending of the wood into any desired form is effected as will be herein-
after more fully described.
The treatment of the dry wood by the heated rollers softens it for a short time-
about a minute and thus imparts to it a certain degree of plasticity enabling me to
give to the wood any desired curvature by means of the said devices.
On cooling, which takes place very rapidly, the wood again becomes rigid, per-
manently keeping the curved or bent shape which has been given to it by the operation
of the said guiding devices.

page_text: Thus for instance it is even possible to bend a straight flat strip or bar of dry wood
within a few minutes into the shape of a ring without breaking or otherwise injuring
the wood, such ring then retains its shape unaltered.
In carrying the said invention into practice the dry wood inserted between the
heated rollers is compressed by the latter.
By the action of the heat of the rollers the wood is rendered flexible and plastic, so
that when by a guiding device an obstacle is placed in the way of the direction in
which the wood would otherwise advance the latter is bent according to the position
or shape of the said obstacle. Thereby it is possible to impart to the wood any suitable
curvatures.
The guides may be in the shape of curved supports or rollers or moulds.
The guide may be so arranged that the bend is directed upwards or downwards or
alternately upwards and downwards or only laterally.
The guiding devices may be adjustable so that more or less sharp bends may be
produced in the wood as may be desired. The heated rollers may be adjustable
towards or from each other.
If it is desired to give the wood a very sharp bend it is advisable to employ a series
of pairs of heated rollers of gradually increasing curvature of outline. Or the wood
may be caused to pass again between the same heated rollers.
.
When it is desired to produce a spirally wound rod from a straight one the rod
emerging from between the heated rollers is rotated round its own axis by means of
tongs.
The wood being flexible and plastic only for a very short time after leaving the
rollers only those parts which come out frou between the rollers and are still hot can
be bent into the form desired and the wood become rigid again very soon when
it has moved away a little from the rollers and has cooled down. Therefore the
wood may if desired be partly bent and partly straight.
When boards, strips or bars of considerable thickness have to be bent as herein-
before described it is advisable to heat them before hand, so that the wood is
already heated in its mass before it enters between the rollers, because with thick
wood the heat given off by the rollers has not time to penetrate into the interior
of the wood.
The rollers may be heated in any desired way. I prefer however to heat them
from their interior by the aid of gas-burners, and I prefer to heat them to such
a temperature as to slightly char the wood.
I sometimes combine with the method for bending wood hereinbefore described
a method for decorating the same by providing the rollers with suitable engravings,
whereby designs or ornaments are partly pressed and partly charred into the wood.
By this method I am enabled to produce from a dry straight and smooth board
within a few minutes for instance a curved chair back provided with various
light and dark brown ornaments. When this method is employed for decorating
wood it is advisable to provide the rollers with grooves or flutings parallel to
their axis in order to produce a better grip upon the wood whereby the ornaments
are much improved in appearance. Those parts in which the ribs or projections
produced by the flutings in the rollers appear, are afterwards cut away.
Dated this 13th day of February 1888
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements relating to the Bending, Twisting, and Decoration or
Ornamentation of Wood and to Apparatus therefor.
I BERNHARD LUDWIG of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria Cabinet maker to the
Imperial and Royal Court of Austria, 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:
This invention relates to the bending twisting and decoration or ornamentation of
wood.
Heretofore wood has been bent in the following manner viz., the said wood was first
treated with boiling water or steam, the desired curvature being then imparted to it,
and finally the wood thus bent was allowed to dry slowly while it was held fast in
suitable moulds or otherwise.
This well known method requires much time and labour.
By the improved method of bending wood which forms the subject matter of the
present application I am enabled to impart to dry wood within a few minutes, any
desired and permanent curvature.
For this purpose I employ one or more pairs of heated rollers in combination with
particular guiding devices.
It is
The dry wood to be bent may be in the shape of boards strips or, bars.
introduced between the heated rollers which are caused to revolve slowly and on
emerging from between the said rollers comes in contact with suitably shaped
guiding devices whereby the permanent bending of the wood into any desired form is
effected as will be hereinafter more fully described.
The treatment of the dry wood by the heated rollers softens it for a short time-
about a minute and thus imparts to it a certain degree of plasticity enabling it to be
formed with any desired curvature by means of the said devices.
On cooling, which takes place very rapidly, the wood again becomes rigid and per-
manently retains the curved or bent shape which has been given to it by the operation
of the said guiding devices.
Thus for instance it is even possible to bend a straight flat strip or bar of dry wood
within a few minutes into the shape of a ring without breaking or otherwise injuring
the wood, such ring then retains its shape unaltered.
The accompanying drawing shows the application of the said particular guiding
devices in combination with the heated rollers, the figures of the said drawing being
bercinafter referred to.
In carrying the said invention into practice the dry wood b inserted between the
heated rollers a a is compressed by the latter and fed onward in the direction indicated
by the arrow.
By the action of the heat of the rollers the wood is rendered flexible and plastic,
so that when by a guiding device c c or ² an obstacle is placed in the way of
the direction in which the wood would otherwise advance, the latter is bent according
to the position or shape of the said obstacle. Thereby it is possible to impart to the
wood any suitable curvatures such as indicated in figures 1 to 9ª.

page_text: Figures 19 to 21 show the arrangement of the guide block c for the purpose
described.
The guides may be in the shape of curved supports Figures 10 to 15 and
Figures 19 to 21 or rollers & Figure 18 or moulds Figures 16 and 17.
The guide may be so arranged that the bend is directed upwards as in figures 10, 13
and 18 or downwards as in figure 11 or alternately upwards and downwards or only
laterally as in figures 16 and 17.
The guiding devices may be adjustable so that more or less sharp bends may be
produced in the wood as may be desired. The heated rollers may be adjustable towards
or from each other.
If it is desired to give the wood a very sharp bend it is advisable to employ a series
of pairs of heated rollers of gradually increasing curvature of outline as shown for
example in figures 23 to 30 or the wood may be caused to pass again between the same
heated rollers.
When it is desired to produce a spirally wound rod, figure 9, from a straight one
the rod emerging from between the heated rollers is rotated round its own axis by
means of tongs.
The wood being flexible and plastic only for a very short time after leaving the rollers
only those parts which come out from between the rollers and are still hot can be
bent into the form desired and the wood becomes rigid again very soon when it
has moved away a little from the rollers and has cooled down. Therefore the wood
may if desired be partly bent and partly straight.
When boards, strips or bars of considerable thickness have to be bent as herein-
before described it is advisable to heat them beforehand so that the wood is already
heated in its mass before it enters between the rollers, because with thick wood the
heat given off by the rollers has not time to penetrate into the interior of the wood.
The rollers aa may be heated in any desired way I prefer however to heat them
from their interior by the aid of gas-burners, and prefer to heat them to such a
temperature as to slightly char the wood.
I sometimes combine with the method for bending wood hereinbefore described
a method for decorating the same by providing the rollers with suitable engravings,
whereby designs or ornaments are partly pressed and partly charred into the wood.
By this method I am enabled to produce from a dry straight and smooth board
within a few minutes for instance a curved chair back provided with various light and
dark brown ornaments.
When this method is employed for decorating wood it is advisable to provide the
rollers with grooves or flutings parallel to their axis in order to produce a better
grip upon the wood whereby the ornaments are much improved in appearance.
Figure 31 shows a
strip of wood thus produced from which those parts in which
the ribs or projections produced by the flutings in the rollers appear are afterwards
cut away.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
First The method of quickly imparting any desired and permanent bend, twist
or curvature to dry boards, plates, rods or bars of wood which consist in the employ-
ment of a combination of heated smooth or grooved rollers in connection with guiding
devices which are also heated or in a cold state and which are arranged in proximity
to the place where the blank leaves the rollers.
Second-The construction of the guiding devices c, c¹ or 2 substantially as herein-
before described and shown, and for the purpose, set forth.
Third The employment of engraved instead of smooth rollers whereby designs or
other decorations are charred or burnt into the wood to be bent, and also providing
short grooves or flutings in the rollers in order to produce a better and more regular
feeding of the wood by the aid of parallel projections (Figure 31) formed on the
surface of the same.

page_text: Fourth As a new article of manufacture boards, rods or bars of wood bent to any
suitable degree of permanent curvature by means of a combination of heated.rollers a, a
with cold or heated guiding devices c, or substantially as described and shown in
the drawings.
Fifth As a new article of manufacture boards rods or bars of wood bent to any
suitable degree of permanent curvature and provided with charred or burnt in orna-
mental designs by means of a combination of heated engraved rollers a, a with cold
or heated guiding devices c, c or c substantially as described and shown in the
drawings.
Dated this 1st day of November 1888
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.