Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Sept., 1888
Specification Accepted, 16th Nov., 1888
We AUGUSTE Guattari, of 91 Shirland Road, Paddington, London, Engineer and
ERNEST TRUPTIN, of 108 Rue Vercingetorix Plaisance, France, Gentleman 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 :-
Our invention relates to the mechanical production of ornamental wood work in
imitation of hand carving by the combined action of pressure and of heat sufficient to
char the wood.
The application of this mechanical process of wood carving has not heretofore been
commercially successful in consequence of the high cost of production resulting from
the complication of the plant employed and the want of finish in the result unavoidable
with the means hitherto used.
The object of this invention is to remedy these defects which is accomplished by
means of processes and apparatus which we will proceed to describe (with reference
to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification) and which are
distinguished from all others heretofore adopted by the fact that the apparatus by
which the pressure is applied are combined with independent means of heating
whereby the use of a furnace is rendered unnecessary whilst the moulds are maintained
at a sufficient temperature to ensure the charring of the wood thus avoiding all
manipulation and transport of the moulds between the furnace and press. Moreover
the wood to be ornamented is operated on end grain and apparatus is provided for
operating on the wood after charring in lieu of finishing by hand.
Figures 1 and 2 are side and front elevations of the combined mould-heating and
pressing apparatus of our invention. In this press, which is actuated by hand,
represents a series of moulds constituting the counterparts of the designs or orna-
iments to be produced upon the block of wood G. To prevent cooling of the moulds I,
which would lead to their oxidation and the consequent deterioration of the pattern
surface, they are constantly exposed to the heat of a furnace M conveyed to them

page_text: :
through a flue N and thence through other flues O to a chimney. The press by which
the block of wood G is brought with great pressure into contact with the moulds is
carried by a frame A upon which it may be moved as hereafter described. It com-
prises a hand screw K turned by a hand wheel B and terminating in a head C acting
as an abutment for cams D on a shaft mounted on the holder E which carries the
block of wood G to be operated on. This block-holder E is suspended by four strong
spring rods F and it is caused to approach the wood towards the moulds I and
suddenly withdraw it therefrom by rotating the cam shaft through the medium of the
hand lever H which gears by a toothed sector with a pinion on the shaft, the cams in
their rotation producing the separation of the holder E from the abutment plate C,
whereby the wood is brought down˝towards the moulds. After this movement it is
only necessary to apply the pressure proper, by turning the hand wheel B.
The particular arrangement of the cam and spring arrangement above described is
designed to ensure the immediate removal of the wood from contact with the mould
which being heated to redness would injure the work by an excessive charring were
the contact too prolonged.
As it is necessary that the mould should be heated to a bright red, and, as, after
applying several pressures it becomes cooled down so far as to prejudice the result of
the operation, several moulds I are provided arranged in a rectilinear or circular series,
and the press is made movable on its supporting frame, so that when a mould has been
used a sufficient length of time the press may be shifted and brought into position
over one of the adjacent moulds which has been heated whilst the former has been in
use. In order to ensure exact correspondence of the work with the mould to be
brought into use, the frame A is provided with notches S in which lugs P on the
press are received.
For producing work in high relief, the press is operated by hydraulic, steam, com-
pressed air, or other power, the motive fluid being conveyed through pipes A (figure 3)
connected by joints B, to permit of the necessary motions of the press, as above
⚫ described.
The wood after being thus charred is scoured in warm water by means of revolving
brushes immersed in the bath whereby the loose carbonized particles are removed.
The wood after being cleaned is completely dried and then subjected to the action of
another apparatus which is illustrated in figures 6 to 9.
This apparatus comprises metallic or other brushes whereby any particles that may
remain in the hollows of the design are removed.
The block of wood R is held by claws on a sliding carriage F moved by rack and
pinion motion Q, and the brush D is mounted on a vertical shaft driven by a belt from a
countershaft P and mounted in a ball and socket bearing A (figures 6 and 7) through
which the brush shaft is free to slide, the shaft being held up therein by a spring 8.
The operator guides the brush over the carved surface to be cleaned, by means of
. handles G the spring O allowing it to be moved up and down according to the depth
of the carving. When the work is of considerable area, a number of brushes K may
be used arranged, as shewn in figures 8 and 9. This arrangement is mounted between
the collars II and the shaft C has a central gear wheel A from which the three
pinions B on the brush shafts are driven, the pulley J being in this case driven by a
belt from pulley H on the counter shaft P figure 7. The brushes may be moved
about over the work by the action of an eccentric M, link L, and jointed connection N
instead of by hand, as above described.
The wood after being cleaned, as above described, is subjected to the action of a
finishing press, represented in figures 4 and 5. This finishing operation is performed
by means of a finishing mould, shewn in figure 13, and constructed with regard to the
action of the heat on the first mould I by which the work has been roughed out. This
finishing press comprises a toothed cylinder A turned by a hand wheel B. This cylinder
in rotating carries with it, through the press, the finishing mould, figure 13, which
has corresponding teeth on its under side, pressure being applied by means of the
upper cylinder A, hand-wheel G, and screw C, an indicator N denoting the amount
of pressure thereby applied. If it is desired in certain cases to substitute flat surfaces

page_text: for these cylinders A A¹, a plate E is connected to the support D by means of jointed
links F whilst another plate to support the finishing mould is placed on the
cylinder A.
As before stated, the work is done end grain on the wood, i.e. perpendicularly to
the fibres, and in the case of small work, used for making small chests for instance,
the waste pieces from larger work is utilized. In this case, the same mould may bear
several subjects, and to utilize the waste pieces, they are combined as shewn in
figures 10, 11, and 12, so as to form a surface equal to the area of the mould, each
piece of end grain wood being large enough to receive a complete subject.
The various pieces are firmly bound together in a single block by means of a frame
composed of side bars A spiked on the inner surface and connected at the ends by
cross bars B bolted to the side bars A and provided at one end of the frame with a
pressure screw and clamping plate D whereby the necessary pressure is applied.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
.1. The herein described process of wood carving by the combined action of pressure
and charring, which process consists in applying the heat and pressure to the end
grain surface of the wood by means of a series of successive moulds placed in line or
circularly, and kept constantly hot, over which moulds is arranged a movable press,
and then submitting the surface which has received the imprint of the mould first to
the action of rotary brushes in hot water and, after drying, to finishing brushes and
finally to the action of a special finishing mould, substantially as specified.
2. The combination of a series of moulds with flues conveying hot gases from a
furnace whereby the moulds are kept constantly heated and with a movable press
adapted to be traversed on the frame and to be fixed exactly over each mould of the
series, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
3. The mode of mounting and driving one or more finishing brushes by means of a
vertical rotary shaft adapted to be moved mechanically or by hand so as to carry the
brush or brushes over the surface to be cleaned, as described with reference to
figures 6 to 9 of the drawings.
Dated this 27th day of September 1888.