A NOVEL COMBINATION OF MINERAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN MAKING STEAM AND WATER TIGHT JOINTS, ALSO AS A PACKING FOR COCKS AND VALVES AND OTHER USES FOR WHICH THE SAID COMBINATION OF SUBSTANCES IS ADAPTED
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Rhodes, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Brassfounder, for the Invention of "A NOVEL COMBINATION OF
MINERAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN MAKING STEAM
AND WATER TIGHT JOINTS, ALSO AS A PACKING FOR COCKS AND VALVES
AND OTHER USES FOR WHICH THE SAID COMBINATION OF SUBSTANCES IS
ADAPTED."
Sealed the 30th September 1879, and dated the 4th April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Rhodes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th April 1879.
BENJAMIN RHODES, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and Brass-
founder. "A NOVEL COMBINATION OF MINERAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES TO
BE EMPLOYED IN MAKING STEAM AND WATER TIGHT JOINTS, ALSO AS A PACKING
FOR COCKS AND VALVES AND OTHER USES FOR WHICH THE SAID COMBINATION OF
SUBSTANCES IS ADAPTED."
My Invention relates to the combination, preparation, and manufacture of
asbestos in conjunction with caoutchouc and other substances hereinafter men-
tioned for the purpose of forming a solid, durable, permanent, and yet slightly
elastic bed or packing to be used for all purposes where "gasketting," "luting,"
millboard," "rubber," or other jointings have hitherto been used, and especially
for such joints as are subject to great heat, as in the cases of steam boilers and
pipes, jacketted pans, super-heated steam coils, and the like.
"
Asbestos as is generally known is indestructible by heat, but being very tender
and fragile it requires to be used in conjunction with other materials possessing
tenacious and adhesive properties in order to make it generally useful, and adapted
for the purposes indicated in the first paragraph of this Specification. I am aware
that asbestos has been used in various forms alone, and also in combination with
other materials, such as varnishes and "sizes" of different kinds, but the actual
results of the same have in practice proved very unsatisfactory, and shewn the
comparative inutility of the same for jointing, packing, and similar applications.
In carrying out my said Invention so far as it relates to the formation of a
waterproof material to be used for making fast or immoveable joints, I take pure
asbestos and caoutchouc in certain proportions together with finely powdered

page_text: sulphur, shellac, and amber, and thoroughly incorporate, combine, and amalgamate
them by repeatedly passing them between calenders or heated rollers, after which
the resultant mass can be rolled out into sheets of any required thickness, or cut
and moulded into any desired form or shape. For making joints where the
surfaces are very true and where no elasticity is required, I take asbestos, paper, or
millboard, and saturate it by suspension in a boiling bath of suitable solutions,
after which the said asbestos, paper, or millboard is taken out of the bath, dried,
and is thus rendered impervious to wet, ready to be cut up into form for the use
intended.
In carrying out that portion of my said Invention as applied for the purposes of
packing indicated in the title of my Invention, and more particularly where there
is a rubbing or surface motion, as in the cases of packing a piston rod, or the lining
the interior of cocks and valves, I take the hereinbefore described asbestos com-
pound or sheet, or other formation of the same, and after preparing the surface that
is to be subject to the frictional or rubbing motion with any suitable "size" or
adhesive material, I cover the said surface with pure asbestos, cloth, or paper, or
fibre, accordingly as may be most suitable for the desired purpose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Benjamin Rhodes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th October
1879.
BENJAMIN RHODES, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and Brass-
founder. "A NOVEL COMBINATION OF MINERAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES TO
BE EMPLOYED IN MAKING STEAM AND WATER-TIGHT JOINTS, ALSO AS A PACKING
FOR COCKS AND VALVES AND OTHER USES FOR WHICH THE SAID COMBINATION OF
SUBSTANCES IS ADAPTED."
My Invention relates to the combination, preparation, and manufacture of
asbestos in conjunction with caoutchouc and other substances hereinafter named,
for the purpose of forming a solid, durable, and permanent, yet slightly elastic bed
or packing, to be used for all purposes, where "gasketting," "luting," millboard,
or rubber jointings have hitherto been used, and especially for such joints as are
subject to great heat, and also when required to withstand the action of various
acids or alkalies and other chemical liquors, and likewise spirits and spirituous
liquors.
Asbestos as is generally known is indestructible by heat, but being very tender
and fragile requires to be used in conjunction with other materials possessing
adhesive properties in order to make it generally useful, and adapted for the
purposes indicated in the first paragraph of this Specification. I am aware that
asbestos has been used in various forms, both alone and in combination with other
materials, such as varnishes and "sizes" of different kinds, but the actual results of
the same have in practice proved very unsatisfactory.
In carrying out my said Invention so far as relates to the formation of a water-
proof compound or material to be used for making fast or immoveable joints,
and for lining cocks, valves, and the like, subject to the action of acids or alkalies,
I take 45 parts pure asbestos, 40 parts pure caoutchouc, 10 parts sulphur, 3 parts
shellac, and 2 parts amber resin all finely powdered.
To form a compound to withstand the action of fats, oils, greases, and the like,
I substitute the following instead of the preceding combination, namely, I take 40
parts pure asbestos, 35 parts pure caoutchouc, 5 parts gutta-percha, 7 parts finely
powdered chalk or gypsum, 5 parts shellac, 5 parts sulphur, 2 parts sulphate of
zinc, and 1 part of glycerine.
To form a compound specially adapted for use as a packing or lining to with-
stand the action of coal tar oils or naptha, I take asbestos fibre 40 parts, caoutchouc
36 parts, shellac dissolved in wood naptha 10 parts, finely powdered lime 5 parts,
sulphur 7 parts, sulphur of zinc 2 parts.
When it is required to form a compound according to my Invention to withstand
the action of spirits obtained from the distillation of vegetable substances, I omit
the shellac and amber named in the previous compounds, and I substitute in place
thereof a suitable proportion of gutta-percha which may also be combined with any
chemical equivalent for the before mentioned resinous or gummy materials which
would not be liable to be dissolved or deteriorated when brought in contact with
the said vegetable spirits or spirituous liquors.
In each of the before mentioned combinations the several materials named are
amalgamated and compounded together by being passed through heated calenders
or rollers until the whole are thoroughly mixed and incorporated together, when
the resultant mass can be rolled into sheets of any desired size or thickness, or be
cut or moulded into any desired form or shape, and be subjected to the action of
steam pressure for vulcanizing in the usual manner.
For some particular purposes I take asbestos millboard sheets, and to make them
waterproof I suspend them in a bath of melted tallow or stearine, or a mixture of
both, until thoroughly saturated, after which they are taken out of the bath and

page_text: allowed to cool when they are ready for use. In cases where the said asbestos
millboard sheets are required to resist the action of oils and grease, I saturate the
said sheets in a solution of shellac and other gums of a like nature, dissolved in
wood naptha until the sheets are thoroughly penetrated and charged with the said
solution, when they are allowed to dry and are then ready for use.
For making a packing according to my Invention, especially adapted for piston
glands and other purposes where there is a rubbing motion, I take a core made of
the hereinbefore first described compound, and I plait or twist around the said core
strands of asbestos fibre alternately with white or other equally pliable metal coils
or strands, so plaited or twisted that the metal shall support the asbestos fibre, and
the coil being elastic shall allow the piston rod to work freely, and yet so tight as
not to allow of vapours or liquids escaping through.
Where the asbestos compound sheet is intended to be used for lining cocks and
valves, and is to be subjected to a rubbing motion, I face the compound on the side
to be exposed to the friction by "sizing" it with a waterproof solution, and I cover
the same with asbestos finely powdered and sifted thereon; or sometimes I cover
it with asbestos, paper, or cloth, according to the amount of wear it will be
subjected to.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and the
modes or manners in or under which the same is or may be used and practically
carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the
exact proportions of the ingredients herein named, as these, as also their chemical
equivalents, may in certain cases be varied and substituted in order to meet the
requirements of-particular applications, and to withstand the action of the fluids
or vapours to which they may be subjected.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Rhodes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy nine.