Improvements in Protecting Fence Posts, Railway Sleepers, and other Timber from Decay.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in Protecting Fence Posts, Railway Sleepers, and other
Timber from Decay.
I WILLIAM BLAKELY of Dene House, Bournemouth, in the County of Hants
Estate Agent, 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 :-
My Invention has for its object to protect gate, fence, signal and other wooden posts
fixed in the ground and also railway sleepers from decay; and the invention consists
in providing a means of maintaining a waterproof and preservative coating between
the wood and the part buried in the ground.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the inven-
tion as applied to the pointed end of a stake, figure 1 being an elevation, figuro
a vertical section on line 1, 1 and figure 3 a horizontal section on line 2. 2.
a is a sheathing of galvanized iron, corresponding in form to, but rather larger
than, the part to which it is to be applied, said sheathing being formed by bending
it to the shape of a tubo and uniting the meeting edges by a folded lap joint, as
at b, the end of the tubular sheathing being then closed by flattening it and folding
together the meeting edges, as at c. The sheathing is then filled with melted pitch
and the end of the stake or post (which may have been previously dipped in
melted pitch) is then pushed into the sheathing, displacing the pitch contained with
the exception of a thin layer d which is left between the adjacent surfaces of the
wood and the sheathing, and forms an effectual protection against decay.
The sheathing may be continued any desired distance along the post, according to
the extent to which it is to be buried in the ground, and the part of the post
intended to be ensheathed as above described may be wrapped in canvas, the part
so wrapped then being dipped in melted pitch Stockholm-tar, or gas-tar, or a mixture
thereof in suitable proportions and ensheathed as above described, the object of the
canvas being to retain a thicker layer of the preservative coating between the wood
and sheathing, and form a padding between the two, to prevent injury in driving small
stakes. The form of sheathing would of course be varied so as to approximately
correspond to the shape of the part to which it is to be applied.

page_text: The layer of pitch etc. acts as a waterproof and preservative agont whilst the
metallic sheathing provents the chipping off of the pitch ete. in handling and fixing
the post or other timber. By this moans, which is of ready application, the operation
of creosoting is rendered unnecessary, and the destructive influence of the surface
arth is effectually provided against.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to bo performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
The heroin described means of protecting fence posts sleepers and other timber from
decay, which means consist of a metallic sheathing and of a layer of pitch or pitch and
tar intervening botween the wood and the sheathing, and applied substantially as
specifiod.
Late Ath A HAHA ME
WM. BLAKELY.-
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.
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