IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS;
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HUNT, of Whitehall, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria that I had invented" "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS;" and Her said Majesty, being willing to give
encouragement to all arts and inventions which may be for the public good,
was graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirty-first day of January One thousand eight hundred and
forty-two, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, to give and grant unto me, the said James Hunt, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full' power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, or they, by myself or themselves, or by my or their deputies,
servants, or agents, or such others as I or they should agree with, and no
others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters
Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend my said
Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's Dominions called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, in such manner as to me, my
exors, admors, and assigns, shall seem meet, and as I or they shall enjoy the
whole profit and advantage arising by reason of the said Invention during

page_text: the said term of fourteen years, and for that end Her said Majesty requires
and strictly commands all Her subjects whatsoever within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and the Colonies and Plantations aforesaid, that
they shall not, neither directly nor indirectly, make, use, or put in practice my
said Invention, or any part thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or
resemble the same, nor make any addition thereto or subtraction therefrom,
whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the inventor or inventors
thereof: And whereas the said Letters Patent contain a proviso obliging me,
the said James Hunt, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in written under my hand and seal, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same (reference being thereunto had) will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Hunt, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described and
ascertained in manner following, and by the aid of the four Sheets of
Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say) :-
My said improvements in the manufacture of bricks relate to that portion
of the said manufacture which is termed moulding by machinery; that is to
say, the soft or plastic brick earth, duly prepared and tempered with water, is
moulded into masses of the form or shape of bricks by operation of certain
.machinery, and the masses so moulded, after being dried so as to evaporate the
superfluous water from them and harden the masses, are then burned by fire
in order to become bricks fit for use. And whereas many different combinations
of machinery have been invented for facilitating or for performing that
portion of the manufacture of bricks, which is termed moulding by machinery.
And whereas my said improvements are for the most part applicable to certain
machinery of that description for which a Patent was granted by His late
Majesty King William the Fourth, to George, Marquis of of Tweeddale, on
the Ninth day of December One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six. I will
commence this my Specification by describing a combination of machinery for
moulding bricks, which is constructed in part according to the said Invention
of the said Marquis of Tweeddale, and partly according to my said improve-
ments, and I will at the end of this my Specification ascertain the nature of
the peculiar improvements which I claim as new Invention under the Letters
Patent granted to me as aforesaid.

page_text: "DESCRIPTION OF A COMBINATION OF MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANU-
"FACTURE OF BRICKS FOR MOULDING THE PLASTIC BRICK EARTH INTO
66 MASSES OF THE FORM OR SHAPE OF BRICKS."
This machinery operates to mould or form plastic brick earth into masses of
the form of bricks without any other manipulation than that of turning a winch
handle round with a continuous rotative motion in order to give motion to the
machinery, but which continuous rotative motion may be given by horse labor
or other mechanical power, if preferred. The machinery requires no other
attendance than such as is requisite for keeping it duly supplied with plastic
brick earth as fast as it disposes of that stock of plastic brick earth which has
been previously supplied to it, together with sufficient occasional attendance.
for furnishing the machinery from time to time with small wooden boards,
called pallet boards or pallets, whereon the masses of brick earth which are to
be moulded into the form of bricks by the operation of the machinery are to
be deposited one by one as those masses are so moulded, and also so much
further occasional attendance as is requisite for removing the said pallets, with
the masses or moulded bricks thereon, as fast as the same is required to be
removed from the machinery out of the way of other like masses which aro
to be moulded in due succession. The machinery is represented in various
views in the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the writing on the Drawings
states the nature of the principle of those views; but previous to entering into
details, I will give a general description of the mode of action by aid of the
section Figure 3 and plan Figure 4 in Sheet II. The machinery operates
by carrying the plastic brick earth with a downwards motion through a space
or interval which is left between a pair of large rollers or wheels A and
B, which are mounted on horizontal axes a, b, situated parallel one to the
other in the same horizontal plane; each of those wheels A and B being sur-
rounded by an endless web e and f of strong cloth, which applies closely to the
circumference of each wheel A and B around the upper half or semicircle
thereof, and the two webs e and ƒ are conducted vertically downwards in the
direction of tangents to those semicircles respectively, and are pressed beneath
two small rollers c and d, and also beneath two other like rollers 1 and p.
The space between the two wheels A and B, and their webs e and f, is
enclosed laterally on each side by vertical sides D, D, which are fixed to
the frame of the machine, see the horizontal plan Figure 4, wherefore it is
apparent that the said space included between the wheels A and B (with
their webs e and f), and the sides D and D, forms a sort of hopper which,
being kept filled with plastic brick earth, and the two wheels A and B, being
turned round both together by action of the machinery in the direction shewn
2

page_text: by the arrows with a slow motion, the earth will be thereby carried downwards
between the webs e and f of the two wheels A and B, and as it is so carried
downwards the earth will be compressed into the form of a vertical prism E, of
the exact horizontal dimensions of the interval that is left, between the two
wheels A and B (with their webs a and f), and between the two sides D and
D, the said dimensions being the same as the horizontal dimensions to which
the bricks are required to be moulded; and when such prism E of brick earth
has by such motion of the wheels A, B, been carried so far downwards that the
lowest end of it comes very nearly in contact with a small pallet or wooden
board g, (which is situated horizontally beneath that lower end,) then by self-
action of the machinery the further motion of the two wheels A, B, is inter-
rupted and suspended for a short time, so that those wheels and the brick earth
that is between them will stand motionless whilst a suitable portion is cut off
from the lower end of the prism E of brick earth with a horizontal cut by
means of a horizontal cutting wire k, see Figure 5, that is moved by the
machinery with a horizontal motion in a direction parallel to the axes a and b
of the wheels A and B, and in such manner that the vertical height of the
portion of earth h so cut off may be equal to the thickness to which the bricks
are required to be moulded; and whereas the prism E of brick earth from
which the said portion h is so cut off will have been previously reduced to the
proper size as to its horizontal dimensions, as already mentioned; and whereas
the said portion h which is so cut off will be of the proper thickness to suit the
vertical dimensions to which the bricks are required to be moulded, it follows
that such portion h will be of proper dimensions to form one of the intended
moulded bricks, which moulded brick, on becoming detached from the lower
end of the prism E of earth, will rest by its weight on the pallet g, which
pallet has been previously lifted upwards a little distance by means of a lifter J,
which is actuated by the machinery, in order that the pallet g may meet the
end of the prism E, so as to receive the portion which is cut off therefrom
by the action of the cutting wire k; and very soon after the said portion h
becomes so detached as to rest on the pallet g, the cutting wire k may begin
to return; but without waiting for that return, the pallet 9, with the moulded
brick / upon it, drops down that little distance which it had been lifted up, as
before mentioned, and by so dropping (which takes place immediately after the
portion his detached), the pallet g comes to rest across two parallel endless chains
F, F, which are at the same time motionless, but which then begin to move
horizontally by action of the machinery, so as to carry away the pallet g,
together with the moulded brick h, which is upon that pallet, with a horizontal
motion, in a direction sideways to the length of the moulded brick, and that

page_text: motion continues so far as is necessary for bringing another like pallet i, (which
has been previously laid across the said endless chains F, F,) beneath the
recently cut lower end of the prism E of brick earth, and over the lifter J, and
when the pallet i arrives exactly beneath the prism E, and over the lifter J, then
the motion of the chains F, F, stops, by self-action of the machinery, leaving
the pallet i at rest, and immediately after the chains have stopped; then the
wheels A, B, commence turning round again by self-action of the machinery,
so as to carry the brick earth further down between them, or rather between
their webs of cloth e, f, and thereby the prism E of earth is carried as much
further downwards as is equal to the proper thickness of another moulded
brick, and then the further motion of the wheels A, B, is suspended again for
the present; but during the time of their motion, the lifter J, with the pallet i
upon it, has been lifted up by action of the machinery a little distance
above the chains F, F, and so far as that the pallet may meet the lower end of
the prism E, in readiness to receive another portion of brick earth which is
about to be cut off from that lower end, in order to form another moulded
brick by an exact repetition of the operation above described; and in that manner
a succession of moulded bricks are formed and deposited upon as many distinct
pallet boards, which are carried away by the chains F, F, one after another,
so as to form a long row of pallets and moulded bricks upon them, which row
reaches out from beneath the wheel B into a convenient situation for a person
to lift off and remove the pallets with the moulded bricks thereon, in order
that they may be carried away and set up in stacks for drying the moulded
bricks previous to burning them, all which may be done in the usual manner
of conducting the manufacture of bricks.
The action, above described, of the machinery is performed without any labor
or manipulation, except that of merely turning a winch handle Q, which is
fitted loosely on one end of the axis a of the wheel A, that turning being
performed by a man (or it may be performed by mill-work, worked by horse or
by mechanical power) with a continuous uniform rotative motion, and by the
combination and arrangement of the various parts of the machinery now to be
described, all the requisite motions of those parts are derived from that
continuous rotative motion, as well the several motions already stated, as the
pauses or intervals of rest between those motions, that is to say: -First, the
wheels A, B, with their endless webs and f, are turned round just so far as
will carry the prism E of plastic earth dowward a distance equal to the required
thickness for a moulded brick, and then the wheels A, B, with their webs & and
f, stand still. Secondly, the cutting wire k is moved horizontally forwards in
the direction of the lengthway of the moulded brick, so as to cut off a sufficient

page_text: portion from the lower end of the prism E, for forming a moulded brick, and
after a very short pause that wire k is moved back again, and rests until the
proper time arrives for repeating its cutting action. Thirdly, the wooden
pallet g, whereon the moulded brick, so formed by cutting off, is to be received,
is lifted upwards a little during the time whilst the wheels A and B are in
motion, that lifting being performed by means of the lifter J, in preparation
.for receiving the intended brick upon the pallet g, which pallet is afterwards
let down again with the moulded brick upon it immediately after the cutting
wire k has performed its cutting action, but before it begins to return, and then
the lifter J, by which the pallet was so raised and let down, remains down until
the proper time arrives during the next motion of the wheels A and B for
lifting another wooden pallet i, in preparation for receiving another brick.
Fourthly, the two, endless chains F, F, are moved endway forwards horizon-
tally as soon as the lifter J is got down, and by so moving they carry away
that moulded brick which has been last made and deposited on a pallet, and
by the same motion of the chains a fresh wooden pallet i is brought into its
place, in readiness for receiving the next succeeding brick which is to be
moulded, and then the chains F, F, stand still until that brick is moulded.
The combination of machinery, whereby the actions above described are all
produced, is as follows: see the Drawings in Sheet 1. Figure 1 is a lateral
elevation of one side of the machinery; and Figure 2 a corresponding hori-
'zontal plan thereof. In Sheet II., Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section,
and Figure 4 a corresponding horizontal section of the two large wheels A
and B; Figures 5, 6, and 7 relate to the cutting wire k, and the parts for
giving motion thereto; Figures 8 and 9 relate to the lifter J, and the parts for
lifting the wooden pallet upwards in preparation for receiving the moulded
brick, and for letting the same down again; Figure 10 is a lateral elevation
of the opposite side of the machinery to that shewn in Sheet I.; Figure II. is
'a transverse vertical section of the machinery; Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15
represent the vertical sides D, D, between which the brick earth is retained.
In all the Figures the same letters of reference denote the same parts of the
machinery, and all the Figures are drawn to the same scale, that scale being
one-eighth part of the real size.
1
The fixed framing of the machinery consists principally of two side frames
G, G, of cast iron, which stand up in parallel vertical planes, and are firmly
united one to the other by horizontal cross rails H and H, Figures 3 and 11.
Two long wooden rails I, I, are fixed horizontally withinside of the side
frames G, G; the rails I, I, being parallel one to the other, and they extend
to a considerable distance each way, in order to sustain the centres of motion

page_text: for a series of rollers K, K, over which the endless chains F, F, travel, so as
to move easily along over those rollers K, K. The ends of the said rails I, I,
are supported on legs from the ground. The horizontal axes a and b of the
wheels A and B, are sustained in bearings screwed on the upper parts of the
side frames G, G, near the ends thereof, as is plainly shewn in Figures 1 and 2;
those bearings being fastened down by screws upon the frames G, G, and
having adjusting screws, by which the positions of the bearings can be adjusted
in order to place the two axes a and b exactly parallel one to the other, and at
such distances asunder as that the circumference of the wheels A and B,
including the endless webs of clothe and f, around those circumferences will
be so far apart as to leave a clear space between them equal to the breadth to
which the bricks are required to be moulded. The wheels A and B are:made
of cast iron turned in a lathe to be truly cylindrical on their circumferences,
and they are fixed fast on their respective axes a and b. The end pivots of the
two rollers and p, beneath which the endless webs of clothe and fare passed,
are sustained in bearing sockets affixed by screws to arms, which reach out
from each frame G, G, with adjusting screws to those sockets, for the purpose
of setting the rollers and p truly to suit the endless webs e and f respectively;
so as to cause sufficient tension of the cloth of each of those webs to make that
cloth apply closely to the upper portions of the circumferences of the wheels
A and B, and so as that the webs e and f, in circulating around the said wheels
A and B, and the rollers l, c, and p, d, will keep properly in place thereon
without working laterally towards one side or other of the machine. The
bearing sockets for the pivots of the other two rollers c, d, beneath which the
same endless webs e and fare conducted, are affixed to upright parts of the
arches of the side frames G, G, as is shewn in Figure 1; the positions of those
bearing sockets being such that the said webs will form two parallel and vertical
planes in descending in tangential directions from the circumferences of the
two large wheels A and B to the circumferences of the two small rollers c and d
as is plainly shewn in the section Figure 8. The two vertical sides D, D,
which enclose the space between the two wheels A and B lateraly, are formed
of plates of cast iron of a suitable shape, and they have projecting flanges,
which are fixed down on the upper edges of the side frames G, G, by means of
screw bolts. Each of the said plates of cast iron has a boarding of wood
affixed to its inside fiat surface, which wood is covered with thick leather, in
order that such leather may form the surfaces against which the plastic brick
earth is to apply, and the leather is kept continually moist by means of water,
which is introduced into small branching channels cut out in the wood behind
the-leather, that water being supplied through pipes m, m, which stop-cocks

page_text: from a water cistern L, L, which is mounted on the upper ends of two legs or
standards erected vertically from the two side frames G, Gi The aforesaid
wood boarding of the two sides D, D, is affixed in close contact with the flat
surfaces of the two cast-iron plates by means of several screws, which are
inserted through holes in the iron and screwed into the wood, so as to fasten
the wood securely to the iron: see the separate views of these parts in Figures
12, 18, and 14. The surface of the wood, wherein the aforesaid channels aré
cut, is shewn in Figure 14, where those channels are clearly représented; they
all branch off from the orifice of the water pipe m at the upper part of the wood;
so as to convey the water downwards therefrom in order to distribute the same
throughout the whole surface of the wood wherein those channels are cut, as is
shewn in Figure 14, and that surface is covered over with the leather, which
is fastened on with nails driven through the leather into the wood, as shewn in
Figure 18, so that the water is distributed by the channels behind the leather;
or between the wood and the leather, in order that the water may percolate
through the leather. The water which descends from the cistern L through
the cocks and pipes m, m, into the said channels in the wood behind the leather
acts with a considerable bydrostatic pressure to force its way through the
thickness of the leather; and although the water passes through in a very slow
and almost imperceptible manner, that is nevertheless sufficient to keep the
surface of the leather as much moistened as is requisite for facilitating the
downward motion of the plastic earth against the sides D and D.
Note. The two sides D and D are firmly united together at their upper
angles by two horizontal cross bars o, o, which are fastened to the cast iron of
the sides D and D by screw bolts. The two sides D and D are a little wider
apart at their upper parts than at their lower parts, as is shewn by the vertical
transverse section Figure 11, that is to say, the inner leathered surfaces of those
sides D and D, against which surfaces the plastic earth applies, are not exactly
vertical, but they approach very gradually one towards the other from the upper
part downwards as low as the level of the centres of the wheels A and B; but
the further continuation of the same surfaces downwards below that level are
exactly vertical, and parallel one to the other. The border edges of the cast-
iron plates of the sides D and D apply closely flatways to the edges of the
circumferences or rims of the wheels A and B; but the edges of the wood which
is fastened against those cast-iron parts, as well as the edges of the leather
covering to that wood, enters between the curved circumferences of the two
wheels A and B; and those edges of the wood and the leather are formed to fit
truly and somewhat closely to the two endless webs of clothe and.f, which
surround the upper semicircles of the two wheels A and B, and which webs

page_text: descend vertically in tangental directions from those upper semicircles down to
the two guide rollers c and d. The said edges of the wood and leather apply
with a gentle contact against the said webs e, f, so as not to cause any material
friction or wear thereof, but yet with sufficiently close contact to effectually
retain the plastic brick earth from getting in between the said edges and the webs.
And note, although it has been described and represented in Figure 18 that
the inner surfaces of the sides D and D are covered with leather, it is not
necessary, in all cases, that such leather should extend from the upper part to
the lower through the whole height of the sides D and D, but the upper part
of the surface of the wood being covered with the leather as aforesaid, the
lower part of the same surface of the wood below the the level of the centres
of the wheels A and B may be covered with brass plate instead of leather, the
surface of such brass plate forming one continuous even surface with the
surface of the leather, as is shewn in Figure 15. The brass plate may be
fixed to the wood with screws, whereof the heads are countersunk into the
brass, and a series of rows of holes should be perforated through the brass,
those holes being opposite to the several channels in the wood behind the
brass, the said holes being plugged with wooden pegs of some open grained
porous wood which will absorb and transmit water slowly through the wood,
such, for instance, as the wood of cane. The ends of all those wood pegs
being cut off smooth and even with the surface of the brass, they will transmiţ
some water through them, so as to moisten the surface. The reason for using
brass in that manner would be to obtain more durability than can be expected
from leather alone, but the nature of some kinds of plastic brick earth may
require more moisture to be supplied to the surfaces of the sides D and D
than would be consistent with such use of brass, and in those cases leather
is to be used for the whole height of those surfaces, as already described.
The two wheels A and B are caused to turn round with equal and cor-
responding motions by means of two equal spur cog-wheels M, N, with
seventy-six teeth each, which wheels are fastened on the axes a and b of
the wheels A and B respectively, and the requisite motion of both the
wheels A and B is communicated to the spur wheel M. by means of a
pinion r, with only two teeth, which is fastened on a horizontal axis n
extending all across the machine, and sustained in bearings affixed to arms
which project out horizontally from the upright legs of the side frames G, G,
as is shown in Figure 3. The axis n is turned round by a spur cog-wheel O,
with eighty-four teeth fastened upon the axis n, the teeth of that wheel O
being engaged by the teeth of a smaller spur cog-wheel P, with forty-two
teeth, which wheel, together with the winch handle Q, is fitted freely on the

page_text: end of the axis a of the wheel A, so that the wheel P and handle Q can turn
round easily upon the said end of the axis a, which end serves them by way
of a centre pin. The workman who actuates the whole machine does so by
turning the winch handle Q continually round, and a continuous revolving
motion, half as quick, is thereby given to the wheel O and axis n, and the
pinion on that axis acts occasionally in the teeth of the wheel M, so as to
turn the same round a distance equal to two of its teeth, but no more, and
then the said pinion r leaves the wheel M at rest, although the pinion r
continues to turn round itself without pause. The said pinion has only
two teeth, which are diametrically opposite one to the other, as is shown
in the separate view, Figure r, Sheet III., and at every half revolution
that is made by the wheel O, axis n, and pinion r, one of the two teeth of
that pinion takes into the space between the teeth of the wheel M, and acts
therein, so as to move that wheel M round a distance equal to exactly two of
its teeth, but no more, because that tooth of the pinion r which has so given
the said motion then quits the teeth of the wheel M altogether, and leaves it
standing still. The friction of the wheels A and B on their respective axes a
and b, and of the webs e and f against the plastic earth, and of that earth against
the sides D and D, is sufficient to keep the wheels A and B motionless until
the next half revolution of the wheel O, axis n, and pinion r, and then the other
tooth of that pinion will have got round; so as to take into the teeth of the
wheel M, and will act therein in the same manner as the former tooth did to
move the wheel M round another distance equal to two of its teeth, but no
more, and will then leave it again at rest, as before; and every time that the
wheel M is thus moved round two of its teeth it communicates a like motion
to its fellow wheel N, and thereby causes the two wheels A and B, with their
endless webs e and f, to move so far as will carry down the plastic brick earth
which is included in the interval between the said webs e and f, and between
the sides D, D, just so far as the prism E of that plastic earth requires to
descend, in order that the next portion h, which will be cut off from the lower
end of that prism E, may be exactly equal to the thickness to which the bricks
are required to be moulded; and the said action of carrying down the plastic
earth is aided by the weight thereof, and is facilitated by the moisture that is
supplied from the cistern L, and pipes m, m, to the surfaces of the sides D
and D, and the concurrent motions of the wheels A and B, and of the webs e
and f, tend to gather in the plastic brick earth between the two webs 6 and f,
and to compress the said earth somewhat in the manner of passing such earth
through between a pair of revolving rollers, and, in consequence, the prism E,
of plastic brick earth, is rendered sufficiently solid to be fit for forming moulded

page_text: bricks, by merely entting off a portion from the lower end of the prism E with
a horizontal cut by means of the horizontal action of the wire k, herein-before
mentioned, and now about to be more particularly described. The cutting
wire is extended horizontally between the points of two hooks which
descend from the ends of the two prongs of a fork j, the plane of which fork
is horizontal, see the separate views, Figures 5, 6, and 7, and the fork j is
guided so as to move with a horizontal motion by means of grooves in the
edges of two fixed horizontal rulers q, q, which are fixed parallel one to the
other across the machine, beneath the rollers c and d, by being screwed to
suitable parts of the side frames G, G, at each end of each ruler q, q. The
ends of the two prongs of the fork ; have small ears of brass projecting
laterally from each of those ends, in order to fit into the grooves in the edges
of the two fixed rulers 9, 9, so as to guide the fork j, aud consequently the
wire k, to move in a horizontal direction. The fork j is moved by means of a
long lever R, the extreme end of which is jointed to the fork j, and the other
end of the lever R (which end is its centre of motion) is jointed to a collar
which is fitted on the axis n, so as not to turn round with that axis, but
the said collar is included between the centre bosses of two double-ended
arms S, S, T, T, and which arms are carried round therewith; and at the
extremities of these arms wedge pieces are fastened in suitable positions for
acting laterally against a small rollers, which is borne by the lever R, as is
shown in Figure 6%; that is to say, as the axis n revolves, it brings up one of
the wedge pieces at one end of its arm S into contact with the roller s, that
contact commencing an instant after the motion above described of the
wheels A and B ceases, in consequence of one of the teeth of the pinion 7 or
Figurer quitting the teeth of the wheel M. The said wedge piece on one of
the arms S acts laterally against the rollers of the lever R, as is shown in
Figures 2, 5, and 11, and in consequence of the obliquity of the said wedge
piece the lever R is moved about its centre of motion (which, as already
mentioned, is a collar fitted on the axis n), so that the lever R is (moved in a
nearly horizontal plane until it assumes the position shown-in Figure 7, and in
so moving from the position represented in Figure 5 to the position represented
in Figure 7, the lever R moves the fork j between its grooved rulers q, q, and
the fork j carries the cutting wire k horizontally (or with motion in a horizontal
plane), across the prism E of plastic earth, so as to cut all across the same, and
separate the portion h from the lower end of the prism E, in order that the
portion so separated may become a moulded brick, which rests by its weight
upon the wooden pallet 9; and soon after the cutting wire k has made its cut,

page_text: in such manner and after a short pause, during which the lifter J with the
pallet g and the moulded brick thereon is let down; then the cutting wire
may begin to return, which is done by one of the wedge pieces at one end o
the arm T coming up into contact with the rollers of the lever R, and by
oblique action of the said wedge piece against that roller s, the lever R, together
with the fork j and the cutting wire k, is moved back again from the position
Figure 7 to the original position Figure 5, and à. little further than that
position, and there it remains at rest for the present. The lever R and the
cutting wire & must get back to the said resting position, which is nearly the
same as Figure 5 (see also Figures 2 and 11), before the pinion r resumes its
action on the teeth of the wheel M, so as to begin to move the prism E of
plastic brick earth downwards again. All the motion that is given to the
cutting wire k must be performed while the prism E remains motionless, and
all the motion that is given to the prism E must be performed whilst the
cutting wire le remains motionless; the said wire, when it is motionless, being at
its resting position nearly the same as Figure 5, in which position the wire is
sufficiently at one side of the prism E to be quite out of the way thereof, and
so as to permit of the descending motion of the prism E without interference
from the cutting wire k. These conditions are fulfilled by due adjustment of
the relative positions in which the pinion r or Figurer and the two double-
ended arms S, S, and T, T, are all three fastened upon their common axis n,
also the several wedge pieces at the ends of the said arms S, S, and T, T, are
fixed thereto by means of screws, so as to admit of adjustment. The several
adjustments being such as that one of the two teeth of the pinion shall have
quitted the teeth of the wheel M, so as to cease acting thereon an instant before
one of the wedge pieces of the arm S begins to act laterally against the rollers,
in order to begin moving the cutting wire to produce the cutting action thereof;
also that the opposite corresponding wedge piece of the arm T shall not begin
to act against the rollers until a short time after the wedge piece of the arm $
has quitted the roller s, so that the said wedge piece of the arm T shall not
begin to act against the rollers until after the lifter J has descended, and so
that it shall cease acting against the rollers a little before the other tooth of
the pinion & resumes the action in the teeth of the wheel M. Likewise the
obliquity and lateral prominency of the several wedge pieces of the arms S, S,
and T, T, must be adjusted so that they will cause the cutting wire / to be
moved through the proper extent of motion for performing the intended cutting
across of the prism E of brick earth in the manner already explained, that
extent of motion being such as will carry the cutting wire & about one inch

page_text: and a quarter beyond the prism E at each side thereof, so that in the whole
cutting wire should be moved about two inches and a half farther than the
length of the moulded brick.
Note. The lever R is formed with an opening or eye in it, as is shown in
Figure 6, at that end of the lever which is its centre of motion, and the said eye
receives the collar, which, as before mentioned, is fitted freely on the axis n, the
centre pins of the lever R being inserted through the sides of the said eye of the
lever into the collar. Also the lever R has an opening through it near to its
other end, through which opening a fixed horizontal guide rod t passes, that rod t
being firmly fixed to the side frame G, and projecting out therefrom, in order that
the rod t may form a rest for supporting the weight of the lever R, so as to cause
the end of the lever and fork j which is joined to that end to move in a hori-
zontal plane. The cutting wire k is stretched, as already mentioned, between
the points of two hooks which project downwards from the extreme ends of the
prongs of the forkj; the wire k is thereby held so much below the plane of the
fork as that the fork, together with its fixed guiding rulers q, q, will be clear
above the upper side of the portion h, that is cut off from the lower end of the
prism E, to form a moulded brick, and the said portion h or moulded brick is
(as already mentioned) let down a little by the descent of the lifter J, imme-
diately after it has been cut off, and become detached from the lower end of
the prism H, and therefore the cutting wire k, in returning back again in the
manner already explained, will not act at all upon the upper surface of the
moulded brick which has been detached, but the wire k in returning does act
slightly beneath the lower end of the prism E, although so slightly as to have
very little effect on that lower end. It has been already mentioned that the
wooden pallett g is lifted up a little way by the lifter J, in order that it may
meet the lower end of the prism E, in preparation for receiving the portion h
or moulded brick upon the pallet, and that the lifter J and the pallet g,
together with the moulded brick h upon the pallet, is then left down again
immediately after the moulded brick has been so received upon the pallet;
the lifter J for that purpose is distinctly seen in Figures 1, 8, 10, and 11, and
is shown separately in Figures 8 and 9. The lifter J is a round plate of iron,
fastened on the upper end of an upright stem, which is guided in two fixed
bearing sockets affixed to one of the cross pieces of the long wooden rails I, I.
The lower end of the said upright stem of the lifter J is actuated by a lever
arm U, which fastened on the middle part of a horizontal cross axis V, on
one end of which axis a longer lever arm W is fastened, and the extremity of
the long lever arm W is acted upon by a small camm w fastened on the axis n.
As the camm w is carried round by the motion of the axis.n, it comes in contact

page_text: with the end of the lever W, in order to depress that end, and thereby the
other lever arm U acts so as to raise up the lifter J, together with the wooden
pallet board g, which is situated over the lifter J. That lifting-up of the
pallet board g by the said action of the lifter J takes place a little before the
time when the motion of the wheels A, B, and consequently the descending
motion of the prism E of plastic earth ceases, as already explained, and the
pallett board g is by that time lifted up so high as to apply very nearly in
contact with the lower end of the said prism E, but not so as to apply with.
any forcible contact which could cause any injurious or adhesion of the pallet
board beneath the lower end of the prism E, but the pallet g is nevertheless
lifted so high as that the moulded brick or portion h, which is to be cut off
from the lower end of the prism E, will not have to drop or descend any
sensible distance, when it is cut off and detached, in order to have its weight
supported on the pallett board g; and immediately after the cutting wire k has
made its cut all across, and has completely severed and detached the portion h
or moulded brick, so as to leave the same resting by its own weight on the
pallet board g, then the cutting wire k makes a short pause before it begins to
move back again, and during that pause the lifter J, with the pallet board g,
and the moulded brick thereon, are let down again, in consequence of the
camm w moving away from contact with the end of the lever W, and thereby
allowing the lifter J, with the pallet and moulded brick upon it, to descend by
their own weight. When the lifter J descends in that manner, the pallet
board g, which was resting upon the lifter J, then comes to rest with its two
ends across the two endless chains F, F, by means whereof the moulded bricks
are to be carried away horizontally sideways in succession on pallet boards,
one after another, as fast as they are made, and deposited on those pallet.
boards, and also by the same action of the chains F, F, fresh pallet boards are
continually brought forwards, one after another, as they are wanted, in order
to receive other moulded bricks, one after another, in succession.
The two endless chains F, F, are extended parallely, side by side, over con-
ducting pullies X and Y at the opposite ends of the wooden rails I, I, the
upper portions of those chains F, F, being sustained in a horizontal plane on a
row of bearing rollers K, K, which supports the chains F, F, but allow them
to move easily along horizontally. Each endless chain F is composed of links,
which are alternately an open link and a solid link, as is sufficiently shown in
the plan, Figure 2; and the two endless chains F, F, are moved both together
from time to time, so as to circulate over their pullies X and Y, x and y, and
their bearing rollers K, K, K, all which is done by means of two wheels Z, Z,
which are mounted on a horizontal axis z, which extends across the machine;

page_text: and each of those wheels Z, Z, has sixteen teeth to enter into the open links
of the chains F, F, in order to give motion to those chains. On the end of the
axis za cog-wheel u, with twenty-four teeth, is fastened, and the teeth thereof
are actuated by a pinion v with only four teeth, two on each side of its centre
of motion, see also Figure v, Sheet I., which pinion v is fastened upon the
axis n, and is carried round therewith; and when in the course of being so
carried round, one of the two adjacent teeth of the pinion encounters the
teeth of the cog-wheel u, then the same begins to be turned round, and with
it the two wheels Z, Z, are also turned, and they give corresponding motion to
the two endless chains F, F, to cause them to circulate around their pullies
X and Y, x and y, and over their bearing rollers K, K, K, all the said parts
moving respectively in the directions indicated by the arrows in the Drawings.
The position in which the pinion v is fastened on the axes n is such that its
teeth will begin to act, so as to begin to put the endless chains F, F, into
motion in an instant after the lifter J has descended, and let down the pallet
board g with the moulded brick h thereon, so as to leave the pallet board g
resting with its weight, and that of the moulded brick, on the endless chains
F, F, and so as to be clear from the lifter J; then by action of the pinion v in
the teeth of the wheel u, the said endless chains begin to circulate around
their several pullies X, Y, x, y, and the wheels Z, Z, so as to carry forwards
the row of pallet boards 9 and moulded bricks h, which are resting in a row
on the upper sides of those chains F, F, which upper sides are sustained on
the bearing rollers K, K, K; and in so moving, the chains F, F, carry away
the last made of those moulded bricks which has been recently severed from
beneath the lower end h of the prism E of brick earth, and they,
the same
action, bring a fresh pallet board i beneath the said lower end of the prism E.
The pinion v, (see also the separate view, Figure v, Sheet I.,) has only two
teeth, which can act in succession in manner aforesaid in the teeth of the
wheel u, and they turn the wheel u round a distance equal to three of its
teeth and no more, and then the pinion v ceases to act, and although it con-
tinues to move forwards without cessation, it leaves the wheel u and the
endless chains F, F, motionless, the cessation of their motion taking place an
instant before the wheels A and B begin to move, in order to carry the
prism E of plastic brick earth further downwards, as already explained. The
motion which will have been given to the chains F, F, by the time when the
cessation of that motion occurs is just so much as will have carried the two
chains F, F, forward the width of one pallet board, and no more, that is to
say, the space occupied along the length of the chains from the centre of one
pallet board to the centre of the next adjacent board, those spaces being

page_text: regulated by means of pins which are fixed into the solid links of the chains
at every alternate solid link thereof, and which pins stand up from those links
to a sufficient height above the same to form cells or divisions, into which the
several pallet boards are laid, and are by that means kept separate one from
another, and at regular distances apart along the chains F, F, so as that one
pallet board will be brought exactly beneath the lower end of the prism E
whenever the chains F, F, come to rest and are left standing still. The
several pullies X, Y, x and y, around which the two endless chains F, F,
circulate, as well as the bearing rollers K, K, for sustaining those chains, are
double, or in parts, being two of each such pulleys situated side by side, one
pulley for one of the chains F, and the other pulley for the other of those
chains; and excepting the endmost pullies X and Y, the two pullies of each
such pair are fastened on the same horizontal axis, which axis is mounted on
pivots at each end of it in bearing sockets sustained by the two long wood
rails I, I. The two pullies of each of the endmost pairs X and Y, are
mounted on distinct axes, as is seen in the plan, Figure 2, and the bearing
sockets for the pivots of the separate axes of the said four endmost pullies
X and Y, are adjustable by means of setting screws, so that each pulley can
be set to suit the tension of that endless chain which is to pass-over it.
The pullies X, Y, a, y, have raised rims around their circumferences for
lateral guidance of the chains F, F, in order to keep them in place upon the
several pullies, and prevent the chains getting off sideways from their pullies.
The bearing rollers K, K, do not require such side rims. The endless chains
F, F, require to be very regularly made as to the equi-distance of their links.
The open links are oblong square links of iron, and the intermediate solid
links are made of strips of iron plate folded around the ends of the open
links, and the folded parts are rivetted together being the same kind of chains
as are commonly used in the machinery called scribling and carding engines,
for scribling and carding wool for the manufacture of woollen cloth. The
pins for determining the places of the pallet boards are rivetted into the said
solid links at every alternate link of that kind, as already stated, and as is
shewn in the plan, Figure 1. In the working of the foregoing machinery,
pallet boards are supplied to it from time to time as fast as is required from
the end of the rails I, I, these pallet boards being laid in place across the
two endless chains F, F, in the intervals between the aforesaid pins which
project upward from each chain, and the supply of pallet boards is removed
from time to time, so as keep the said chains sufficiently furnished with pallet
boards, side by side, in a row without leaving any intervals between the boards;
but incessant attention is not necessary for putting on one pallet beard every

page_text: time that one brick is moulded, because when a number of pallet boards have
been laid upon the chains, so as to furnish them completely, the machinery
may go on working, so as to make several bricks before it is requisite to put on
more pallet boards, and then a number may be put on at once. And the
same may be said of taking off the pallet boards with moulded bricks thereon
from the endless chains F, F, at the opposite end Y of the rails I, I. Those
chains may be extended to a sufficient length to afford room for a number of
moulded bricks in a row, and after the whole of that row has been removed
from off the chains, then the machinery can go on moulding more bricks, in
order to form another such row, without taking them off, brick by brick, as fast
as they are so moulded.
Note. Figures 1 and 2 shew the long wooden rails I, I, to be broken off,
because they and the endless chains F, F, are extended to a considerable length
at the end Y. Every revolution of the winch handle Q and its cog-wheel P
produces one moulded brick. The cog-wheel O being double the size, and
having twice as many teeth as the wheel P, the axis n makes only one
revolution whilst two bricks are moulded by the operation of the machinery,
as herein-before described.
Note. Respecting the adjustment of the parts of the machinery herein-
before described to suit the dimensions to which the bricks are required to be
moulded, in order that the bricks which are so moulded may, after having
been dried and burned, (and after having undergone all the contraction con-
sequent on drying and burning,) come to the required dimensions for the
finished bricks; such contraction is subject to some variation, according to
different circumstances of the nature of the plastic brick earth, and the mode
of its preparation, and according as more or less water is used in the prepara-
tion of the plastic brick earth, and also according to the burning. The bricks,
which have been moulded by the machinery after it has been adjusted, as well
as can be done in the first instance, should be examined from time to time
after such moulded bricks have been dried, and after they have been burned;
and from such examinations it will be found whether it is necessary for future
proceedings to alter any of the dimensions to which the machinery has been
previously moulding such bricks, and any alteration which may be so found
necessary can be made in manner following:-The distance between the
circumferences of the two wheels A and B, and of the webs e and f, by which
they are surrounded, must be equal to the breadth to which the bricks are
required to be moulded. The said distance can be regulated by adjusting the
position of the bearing sockets for the axis a of the wheel A, or for the axis b
of the wheel B, by means of the adjusting screws provided for that purpose, as

page_text: already described, and as is shewn in-Figures-1 and 2. The bearing sockets
for the end pivots of the two rollers c and d must be adjusted in a corre-
sponding manner as to the positions in which they are fastened to the side
frames G, G, in order that those webs e and f may be stretched in parallel
vertical planes in descending from the circumferences of the wheels A and B
to the circumferences of the rollers and d; the distance or interval.between
those parallel vertical planes being equal to the width to which the bricks are
required to be moulded. The two sides D, D, must have the border edges of
their wood and leather coverings made to correspond, as already explained, to
the interval between the said wheels A and B, and rollers c, d, with their
webs e and f; and that correspondence may be obtained by..cutting away the
said border edges of the wood and leather, in case those edges require to be
reduced, or else by applying and fastening strips of leather over those edges, in
case they are deficient and require to be increased. The positions of the two
sides D and D must also be adjusted. as to their distance apart one from the
other, in order that the interval between them may be equal to the length to
which the bricks are required to 'be moulded. This adjustment is permitted
by the screw bolts which fasten down the projecting flanges of the cast-iron
parts D and D upon. the upper edges of the side frame G, G, and also by, the
screw bolts which fasten the horizontal cross bars o, o; to the upper angles of
the sides D and D, all those screw bolts passing through oblong holes, in
order that they may permit of setting the sides D-and D a:little nearer to or
farther apart one from another. The adjustment for the thickness. tot which
the bricks are required to be cut off from the lower end of the prism E, or
moulded by the machinery, is effected by changing the two large wheels M
and N for two other similar wheels of the same size, but having a greater or
lesser number of teeth than those represented in the Drawing, and which have
seventy-six teeth. It has been already explained that those wheels. M. and N
are moved round a distance equal to two of their teeth, and no more;. at every
time when a brick is to be moulded, and therefore if the wheels.M and N have
a less number of teeth, it will follow that those two teeth. which the wheels
have moved round will cause .the prism E of plastic brick earth to be carried
farther downwards than it would be carried downward in case the wheels M, N,
had a greater number of teeth. The wheels M and N are fastened on the
ends of their respective axes a and b by means of one key for each wheel, so
that it is easy to remove the wheels M and N, and replace them by another
pair; and the machinery may be provided with two or three pairs of such
wheels, all of the same size, but with different numbers of teeth, between
seventy-two and seventy-six teeth, suitable for all the variations that can be

page_text: required to be made in the thickness to which the bricks are to be moulded.
The adjustment of the several parts of the machine, and particularly of the
parts which are fixed on the axis n, is such as will cause the several actions
herein-before described to be performed, one after the other, in the following
order of succession:-The cog-wheel O on the axis n has eighty-four teeth,
and, as already mentioned, makes only one revolution whilst two bricks are
moulded, wherefore the wheel O is turned half round, or as much as forty-two
of its teeth, whilst one brick is moulded. Suppose the description of the
action of the machine to commence at the instant when one of the teeth of the
pinion is just come into contact with the teeth M, so as to be just beginning
to move the wheels A and B from their state of rest, in order to carry the
plastic brick earth E downwards; the pinion r, after so coming in contact,
will continue to act in the teeth of the wheel M until it has moved that
wheel M round two of its teeth, and that will have been accomplished when
the wheel O has moved round fourteen of its teeth, being one-third of the time
of moulding one brick, and then the pinion r will quit the wheel M, so as to
leave it and the wheels A and B at rest.
Note. The lifting up of the lifter J with the pallet board 9 upon it com-
mences by the camm w on the axis n coming in contact with the end of the
lever W, at the time when the wheel O has moved only seven of its teeth, and
the pallet board g is fully raised up by the time that the wheel O has moved
fourteen of its teeth, as aforesaid. At the moment when the wheel O has moved
fourteen of its teeth, as aforesaid, the motion of the cutting wire k is com-
menced, in consequence of a wedge piece of the arm S then coming up into
contact with the roller s of the lever R, and that contact continues and gives
motion to the wire k (in order that it may make its cut horizontally across the
prism E), during the time whilst the wheel O moves round eight more of its
teeth, by which time the cutting will be finished, and then the wire k will stand
still, after having been moved a space of about twelve and a half inches; and at
the same moment that the wheel O has moved those eight teeth aforesaid, then
the camm w begins to quit the end of the lever W, in order to let down the
lifter J with the pallet board g, and the moulded brick h thereon, and they are
let quite down, so as to leave the pallet board and the moulded brick resting
upon the chains F, F, by the time that the wheel O has moved two more of
teeth, and then the returning motion of the cutting wire k may be commenced
in consequence of a wedge piece of the arm T then coming in contact with the
roller s of the lever R, and also at the same instant the motion of the endless
chains F, F, is commenced by one of the teeth of the pinion coming in
contact with the teeth of the cog-wheel u. The motion of the chains so

page_text: commenced is continued during the time whilst the wheel O moves eighteen
more of its teeth, and the pinion v will by that time have moved the wheel
three of its teeth, and by that time the wheel O will have moved forty-two of
its teeth, and, as it has eighty-four teeth, it will have gone half round, and one
brick will have been moulded and deposited on a pallet board, with which it
will have been carried forwards out of the way, and another pallet board will
have been brought into its place, and all the parts will have regained their
proper positions for commencing the moulding of another succeeding brick, by
an exact repetition of the motions above described.
Note. The cutting wire will have got back to its resting position by the
aforesaid action of the wedge piece of the arm T against the roller & of the
lever R, by the time when the the wheel O has moved thirty-two of its teeth,
that is, ten teeth before the wheel has got half round, as before mentioned.
The cutting wire k requires to be wiped from time to time, in order to remove
any small quantity of earth that may have adhered to it. It is a strong
iron or steel wire, which, when worn and broken, can be easily renewed by
applying a new wire to the points of the two hooks of the fork J. The fork J is
strong enough to sustain the force wherewith the wire is kept extended. The
endless webs e and ƒ are made of strong woven cloth, of a close texture and an
even surface, such, for instance, as the cotton cloth called fustian or velveteen;
the two ends of each web are overlapped and united together by double sewing
of all the ends where they overlap each other, that is, with sewings at each of
the extreme ends, to secure the same to that part of the web which is over-
lapped by such end. The side borders of the webs may be doubled by folding
the margins of the cloth, and sewing down the folded part, to give greater
strength to the webs.
Note. The water that is supplied to the cistern L should be clean, to avoid
depositing sediment in the channels, Figure 14, in the wood of the two
sides D, D, behind the leather, or behind the leather and brass plate, Figure 15.
A plug hole should be made through the cast iron and the wood, to commu-
nicate with the lowest parts of those channels; when the machino is in use
those holes are to be stopped with plugs; but when such plugs are withdrawn,
the water from the cistern L will run out, so as to cause a rapid stream through
the channels, in order to wash out any sediment that may have lodged in them.
The cistern L should have a strainer in it, to intercept any impurities that may
be mixed in the water which is poured into it, and the cistern should have a
cover to keep out dust. The rapidity with which the foregoing machinery may
be worked admits of considerable latitude, according to the nature and condition
of the plastic brick earth on which it is to operate; but, for an average, it may be

page_text: reckoned that the handle Q should be turned round at the rate of about twenty
revolutions in a minute, in which case the machinery will mould about twenty
bricks per minute; and if the machinery is tried at that rate, at will be easy to
find whether the nature and condition of plastic brick earth on which it is at the
time operating will admit of working the machinery more rapidly, or whether,
on the contrary, it must be worked more slowly, in order that the operation of
moulding the bricks may be properly performed by the machinery, and the
rapidity of the revolving motion of the handle Q must be regulated accordingly.
Note. According to the foregoing description, the cog wheel O and its
axis n make only one revolution whilst two bricks are moulded; but the
machinery may, if preferred, be constructed so that the axis n will make one
revolution for every brick that is moulded, in which case the handle Q may be
fixed on the end of the axis n, in place of the cog wheel O, which, together
with the cog wheel P, may be dispensed with. An excavation may be made
in the ground for a person to stand in, in order to turn the handle Q, in case
that handle is fixed on the end of the axis n; or if the machinery is to be
turned by the power of millwork, the same may be connected to one end of
the axis n, so as to turn the same round with a steady and uniform motion.
Figures 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, Sheet IV., explain the differences that
must be made in the machinery from the foregoing description, and from the
representations in the first three Sheets of Drawings, in order that the axis n
may make one revolution (instead of two) for every brick that is moulded.
The said differences are almost confined to the parts which are fastened upon
the axis n, and are as follows:-The pinion r, Figures 17 and 19, Sheet IV.,
on the axis n, has two teeth formed out of the solid metal of the axis n, and
they do not project out far therefrom. Those two teeth of the pinion r are
adjacent one to the other on the same side of the centre of the axis n, see
Figure 19, and they operate in the teeth of the wheel M, as is there shewn,
in immediate succession, one tooth of the pinion r after the other tooth of that
pinion, so as to turn the wheel M round a distance equal to exactly two of its
teeth, but no more; the action as regards the wheel M being the same as that
already described in respect to Figure r, the difference in the action of the
pinion r is, that the axis n and pinion r in Figure 19 moves round twice as
far during the performance of that said action on the wheel M as is the case.
in Figure r, but owing to the teeth in Figure 19 projecting but very little out
from the axis n, the action of those teeth on the wheel M gives the same
extent of motion thereto as is given in Figure r, namely, two teeth of the
wheel M. To explain this, let it be supposed that a wheel with forty-two
divisions or teeth were to be fastened on one end of the axis n, in place of the

page_text: wheel O, such wheel, together with the axis n, would be turned once round, or
as much as forty-two of its teeth, whilst one-brick is moulded, being the same
number of teeth for the moulding of one brick as is mentioned in the fore-
going description, for, although in that case the wheel O has eighty-four teeth,
it is turned only half round. During the time of the aforesaid action of the
pinion r, Figure 19, in the teeth of the wheel M, as above described, the said
pinion r will be turned round a distance equal to fourteen teeth of such a
supposed wheel of forty-two teeth, if the same were to be fastened on the axis
n. The arms S and T, Figures 17 and 18, Sheet IV., which are fastened on
the extreme end of the axis n, are not double-ended arms, for each arm:S and
T carries only one wedge piece to act against the rollers of the lever R, for
giving the requisite motion to 'the' cutting wire k, as herein-before described.
The said wedge pieces are shown in Figure 18 to be curved, so as to conform
to portions of the circles in which they revolve, and each of the soveral.wedge
pieces extends so far round in that circle as will qualify them for giving exactly
the same motion to the cutting wire k, as already explained; that is to say, at
the moment when the pinion'r, Figure 19, quits the teeth of the wheel M,
and leaves the latter motionless, then the curved wedge piece of: the arm S
comes up into contact with the roller s, in order to move the wire k,.so that
it may make its cut, and that contact continues until the axis n has moved
round a distance equal to eight teeth of the said supposed wheel of forty-two
teeth on the axis n, by which time the wire will have completed its cutting
action; and after the axis n has moved-round two more such teeth, then the
wedge piece of the arm T comes up in contact with the roller s, so as to begin
to move the wire k back again, and the said contact continues until the axis n
has moved round eight more of the said teeth. The lever R, Figures .17 and
18, may be the same as herein-before described in reference to Figures 5, 6,
and 7, or else, instead of having an eye at that end which is the centre of
motion for the lever, that end may be made with a socket to fit upon a round
centre pin which projects out in a radial direction from the collar, which is
fitted, as before-mentioned, on the axes n, so as not to turn round with that
axis, and which collar is included in the space between the centre bosses of
the arms S and T. The camm w, Figure 20, Sheet IV., on the axis n, ope-
rates on the end of the lever W, in order to actuate the lifter J nearly in the
same manner as already described in reference to Figures 8 and 9, that is to
say, during the time whilst the pinion r, Figure 19, is acting in the teeth of
the wheel M, and at the moment when the wheel M has been thereby moved
a distance equal to one of its teeth (or half as far as it is intended to be moved),
then the camm w comes down into contact with the end of the lever W, so as

page_text: to begin to depress the same, in order to raise the lifter J and the pallet board
g thereon, and the lifter and pallet will be fully raised (by such action of the
camm w) by the time that the axis n has moved round a distance equal to five
teeth of the supposed wheel of forty-two teeth on that axis n; after that, the
camm w keeps the parts in the same position, Figure 20, with the lifter J
raised up, whilst the axis n has moved round ten more of such teeth, and then
(that being at the same monent when the wedge piece of the arm S quits the
roller s) the camm w begins to quit the end of the lever W, in order to let
down the lifter. J together with the wooden pallet board g, and the newly
moulded brick thereon, and the camm w must let them quite down by the time
that the axis n has gone round two more of such teeth, and then it is that
the motion of the endless chains F, F, is commenced by one of the teeth of
the pinion v, Figure 21, on the axis n coming into contact with the teeth of the
cog wheel u. The action of the pinion on the wheel u is the same as already
explained in reference to Figure v, except that the teeth of the pinion v, Figure
21, are a portion of a smaller circle, and are all adjacent one to another on the
same side of the centre of the axis n, and they operate in the teeth of the wheel
u, as is shewn in Figure 21, in immediate succession, one tooth of the pinion v
after another tooth of that pinion, so as to turn the wheel u round a distance
equal to exactly three of its teeth, but no more. And during the time that
the pinion vis so acting in the teeth of the wheel u, that pinion and the axis
n is turned round a distance equal to eighteen teeth of the said supposed wheel
of forty-two teeth on the axis n, and by the time that the last tooth of the
pinion quits contact with the teeth of the wheel u, the foremost tooth of
the pinion r will have come round into contact with the teeth of the wheel M..
and at that moment the axis 'n will have gone quite round, and will have
moved round forty-two teeth, and a brick will have been moulded and deposited
on a pallet board, which with the brick upon it will have been carried side-
ways out of the way, and another pallet board will have been brought into its
place, in readiness for commencing the moulding of another succeeding brick
by an exact repetition of the operation above described.
And, note, when the parts on the axis n.are, as above described, and as
represented in Sheet IV., if it is preferred to apply the handle Q upon the
end of the axis a, in the manner represented in Figures 2 and 11, instead of
fastening the handle on the end of the axis n, then the cog wheel P, which
is fastened to the handle Q, should be..of the same size, and should have
the same-number-of-teeth-as the-wheel O on the end of the axis_n.
Note. The machinery which is represented in the Drawings, and which has
been described, may stand on its own legs on the ground of a brick field, if

page_text: small piers of brickwork or slabs of wood are laid in the ground, suitably for
each foot of the side frames of the machinery to rest upon; but it will be
better to place the machinery on a strong frame or platform of wood, whereof
the upper surface will conform with the ground line in the Drawings; and
when such platform is used it may, if desired, be furnished with small wheels
or trucks to run upon two long horizontal cross rails or planks, which may be
laid on the ground crossways to the lengthway of the machine, (that is, parallel
to the axes a and 6 of the wheels A and B,) and such long cross rails may be
beneath or nearly beneath the legs of the side frames G, G; and the machinery
being so supported, it can be removed sideways with ease, in order to bring it
opposite to the places where the moulded bricks are to be stacked for drying;
and therefore when a stack of moulded bricks has been completed, then the
machine being removed laterally, so as to be opposite to the new place where
the next stack is to be formed, there will be less labour for carrying the
moulded bricks to that new place. The said cross rails or planks whereon
the said wheels are to run may be iron rails, such as are used for railways, or
may be wood rails, or planks and slips of hoop iron may be laid on such wood
for the wheels or trucks to run upon.
And note, the water cistern L may, if thought desirable, be placed higher
up than is represented in the Drawings, so as to give more force of hydrostatic
pressure to the water, in order that it may pass readily through the leather
when thick leather is used.
And note, the machinery herein-before described may be constructed without
the two endless webs e and f, by substituting in place of the vertical portions
of those webs two vertical planes, which apply in tangental directions to the
two large wheels A and B, in order to include the prism E of brick earth
between those two vertical planes, in the manner shown in the section, Figure
16, Sheet IV., which section is the same as Figure 3, already described, in
most respects, except as to the omission of the two endless webs e and f
together with their rollers c, d, and l, p, and excepting the substitution of the
said two vertical planes, which are marked 1 and 2 in that section, Figure 16.
Each of the said planes 1 and 2 is a plate of cast or wrought iron, against
which a boarding of wood is applied, and fastened thereto by screws, and the
wood is covered with leather nailed to the wood, that leather forming the
surface against which the plastic brick earth applies; and the said surface is
kept moistened by water supplied from the cistern L, and introduced through
suitable water pipes into channels cut out in the wood behind the leather, so
as to distribute the water to every part of the back of the leather, in order
that the water may percolate the thickness of the leather, so as to moisten the

page_text: surface thereof with which the brick earth is in contact, in the same manner
as already explained respecting the sides D and D, in reference to Figures 12
to 15. One of the vertical planes 1 or 2 is shown separately in Figures 22,
23, and 25. The two lateral borders 3, 3, of each of those planes apply with
close contact to the upright edges of the sides D, D, in the same manner as
the lateral borders of the vertical portions of the two webs e and ƒ would apply
to those edges according to the foregoing description of Figure 8. The upper
edges of the vertical planes 1 or 2, Figure 16, 22, and 25, are furnished with
metal plates 4, which are fastened by countersunk screws or rivets to the
upper edges of the iron plates 5, where that iron is bended forwards as far as
(or somewhat farther than) the front surface of the wood, so that the front
surfaces of those plates 4 will conform with the front surfaces of the leather,
in order to constitute the vertical surfaces against which the brick earth is
to apply, as is shown in Figures 16 and 25. The upper edges of the said
metal plates 4 extend upwards beyond the wood and the iron 5, and the
said edges of the plates 4 are bevilled behind to conform to the circum-
ference of the wheels A and B, against which circumferences those bevilled
edges apply with close contact; that contact of the bevilled edges should
not reach up so high as the level of the centres of the wheels A and B.
The bending forwards of the iron plates 5 at their upper edges causes them
to be bevilled behind, so that they conform generally to the surfaces of the
wheels A and B, but the only contact must be that of the aforesaid bevilled
edges of the metal plates 4, where those edges extend upwards beyond the
iron plates 5, in order that the said edges 4 may act as scrapers to the circum-
ferences of the wheels A and B, so as to detach the plastic brick earth therefrom,
and conduct the same downwards in the parallel space that is left for the
prism E of that earth, between the parallel vertical surfaces 1 and 2 and
the parallel vertical surfaces of the sides D, D. And in order that the said
contact of the said bevil edges of the plates 4 may be rendered certain, the
metal plate 4 may be so thin and elastic as that it will have some spring, and
being applied with due force to the circumferences of the wheels A and B,
will press against the same with a sufficient elastic force to ensure a continual
contact in order to detach the plastic brick earth effectually. The metal
plates 4 may be of hard hammered brass or of steel, similar to the blade of a
saw, to give them the required elasticity. The lower edges of those plates 4
should extend downwards so far as to overlap the wood a little, and should
join closely edge to edge, in conformity with the leather wherewith the rest
of the wood is covered; or the upper edges of the leather may be thinned
away with a bevil at the front sides of those edges, so as to allow the lower

page_text: edges of the metal plates 4 to overlap the leather, with a corresponding bevil
behind those lower edges, and by that means the front surfaces of the metal
plates 4 will be effectually conjoined with the front surfaces of the leather, to
constitute even surfaces of metal and leather wherewith the plastic brick earth
is to come in contact. The supply of water for moistening those surfaces may
be conveyed from the cistern L through a pipe b, which descends at one side
of the machinery towards the lower part of one of the sides D, and there the
pipe 6 divides into two branches, which extend horizontally each way in order
to turn sideways in beneath the wheels A and B, and behind each of the vertical
planes 1 and 2, in a suitable manner for joining at 7, 7, to the middle part of
the iron plates 5 of each of those planes at-the-back thereof, see the horizontal
plan, Figure 24, and the water conveyed by those branches is admitted through
holes through the thickness of the iron and the wood at 7, 7, into the channels
which are cut out in that wood, as is represented in Figure 28, so as to extend
behind the leather wherewith the wood is covered, in order to distribute the
water equally behind all parts of the leather. The two branches of the pipe b
may have. stop-cocks to regulate the passage of the water and the vertical
part 6 of the water pipe, and also the branches of the pipes may have screw
joints, of the kind which are called union joints, at the places shewn in the
Drawings, which joints will admit of disconnecting. easily when required,
whether for cleaning out the pipes or for disconnecting the vertical surfaces
1 and 2, or either of them, which may require any repair, and for facilitating
the mounting and dismounting of the vertical surfaces 1 and 2. They may
be held. in. their places, as is shewn in Figures 22, 23, and 24, between the
points of two bearings screws 8, 8, for each surface 1 or 2, the said screws
being sustained horizontally in sockets answering to, the bearing sockets of
the-four pivots of the two rollers c, d, and, which sockets may be fastened in
the same manner, as already explained, to the upright parts of the arches
of the side frames G, G, by screw bolts, which pass through oblong holes, so
as to admit of placing the screws 8, 8, somewhat higher or lower, as may be
required, and there may be setting screws for raising the said sockets as they
may require. The points of two of the bearing screws 8, 8, are to be inserted
into centre holes in the border edges 3, 3, of each of the iron plates 5, near
to the lowest part of those edges, and the several screws 8, 8, being held fast
in their respective sockets by binding nuts, they will sustain the vertical
surfaces 1 and 2 as were upon centres of motion; and as the border edges 3, 3,
of each of those surfaces apply to the edges of the sides D, D, whilst the
upper bevilled edges of their plates 4, 4, apply to the circumferences of the
wheels A and B, the two vertical surfaces 1 and 2 will be thereby kept in.

page_text: their intended vertical positions and at their proper distance asunder, and the
plates 4, 4, being fixed to the uppermost margins of the iron plates 5, 5, so as
to have a tendency to spring a little towards the wheels A and B, the upper
bevilled edges of the plates 4, 4, will, in consequence, be certain to apply
closely to the circumferences of those wheels.
And note, as fast as the said bevilled edges of either or both of the plates
4, 4, become worn away by gradual wear from friction, the vertical sides
1 and 2 can be raised upwards as much as may be requisite, in order to raise
up the said edges to a sufficient height for acting in tangenal (or nearly
tangental) directions to the circumferences of the wheels A and B, and which
height out not to be far below a level with the centres of those wheels.
The vertical surfaces 1 or 2 can be so raised by adjusting the positions of the
aforesaid bearing sockets, by which the bearing screws 8, 8, are sustained,
in order to fix those screws higher, and, as already mentioned, setting screws
may be applied to those sockets for raising them up.
And note, the two vertical surfaces 1 and 2 may be made narrower in their
horizontal direction between their edges 3, 8, than is represented in Figures
22 and 28, so that their said edges 3, 3, will be exactly included between
the two sides D, D, which sides must in that case be somewhat wider at their
lower ends than they are at the level of the centres of the wheels A and B,
in order that the sides D, D, may apply transversely across the edges 3, 3, of
each of the vertical surfaces 1 and 2, and the said surfaces being mounted, as
already explained, on the points of the bearing screws 8, 8, in the manner
of centres of motion, the bevilled edges of the plates 4, 4, at the uppermost
parts of the said surfaces 1 and 2 may be pressed into due contact with the
circumferences of the wheels A and B respectively, by means of regulating
screws acting by springs or by means of weights pulling horizontally with
cords passing over pullies, so as to urge the surfaces 1 and 2 towards the
wheels A and B, and when required the surfaces 1 or 2 can be easily taken
out from the machinery by withdrawing the bearing screws 8, 8, and the
grooved rulers q, q, for guiding the cutting wire, being removed, and the
branches of the water pipe 6 being disconnected, the surfaces 1 or 2 can be
taken out beneath the wheels A and B.; and if the bevilled edges of the plates
4, 4, are notched or damaged they can be repaired, or if the plates 4, 4, are
worn away so much as to have become too narrow, they can be removed by
withdrawing the countersunk 'screws or revets by which those plates are
fastened to the iron 5, and they can be replaced by new plates 4, 4, of the
full breadth.
And note, the channels which are cut in the wood, as is shewn in

page_text: Figure 23, for carrying the water upwards behind the leather, may be
continued up above the wood by cutting each channel in the iron 5 behind that
part thereof against which the plate 4 is fastened by the screws or rivets in
order that water may be conveyed up behind each plate 4, and those plates
being perforated with two small holes communicating with each of the said
continuations of the channels, moisture will be supplied through those holes
to the surfaces of the plates 4 above the level to which the moistened leather
reaches. The circumferences of the two wheels A and B may be kept
moistened by supplying water from the cistern L to the upper part of each
of those circumferences in cases when it may be found that the adhesion of
the plastic brick earth to the said circumferences will be diminished by such
supply of water, which may be conveyed by pipes 9, 9, Figure 16, leading
from the cistern L to hollow channels cut in the under sides of cross pieces
of wood 10, 10, which are covered at their lower sides with leather or coarse
cloth nailed to the wood at the border edges of the channels, so that the
leather or cloth will form the lowest side of each channel, and will apply in
easy contact with the circumferences of the wheels A and B, in order that
the water, which makes its way slowly through the thickness of the leather or
cloth, may be distributed evenly in small quantity over the cylindrical surfaces
of the circumferences of the wheels A and B, so as to keep the said surfaces
moistened. The quantity of water which is supplied to the said circum-
ferences can be regulated by means of stop-cocks in the pipes 9, 9, and
according to the height at which the water cistern L is placed above the said
pieces of wood 10, 10, and also according to the thickness and to the close-
ness or porousity of the leather or coarse cloth through which, as already
mentioned, the water is to pass. The cistern L may be placed higher, if
preferred; and there may be two water cisterns such as L, one over each end
of the framing G, G, of the machinery, as appears by the dotted lines in
Figure 16. The supply of water to the circumferences of the wheels A and
B must be regulated by discretion of the person who attends the machinery,
according to the nature and consistency of the plastic brick earth which is at
the time operated upon, so that its passage downwards between the wheels
A and B, and then between the vertical planes 1 and 2, may be best effected.
And as to the supply of moisture to the leathered surfaces of those planes
1 and 2, and of the sides D and D, the same will be infuenced by the thick-
ness and by the porousity or closeness of the leather which is used, and the
height at which the water cistern L is placed (or the water cisterns are
placed), which circumstances being suitably adapted one to the other, the
regulation to suit the nature and consistency of the plastic brick earth can be

page_text: easily made by means of stop-cocks in the pipes which convey the water from
the said cistern or cisterns to the several surfaces which are to be moistened.
And note, the circumferences of the wheels A and B, Figure 16, may, if
preferred, be covered with cloth of the same kind as that whereof the endless
webs e and would be made, that cloth being smoothly extended and firmly
fastened around the said circumferences by any suitable means, and the thick
joinings of the ends of the cloth, where those ends are overlapped and sewn
together, may have notches cut across the circumferences of the wheels A, B,
suitably for receiving the extra thickness of those joinings, so as to avoid any
protuberance of the cloth beyond the proper cylindrical form that the exterior
surface of the cloth covering is required to have. In case of such cloth
covering being used, the plates 4, 4, at the upper parts of the vertical planes
1 and 2, should be thick enough not to spring and exert elastic pressure, and
the bevilled edges of those plates should not be so sharp or acute so as to
risk injury to the cloth. Those edges should not stand up so high as the
level of the centres of the wheels A and B, and they should stand fixed very
near to the cloth covered circumferences of the wheels A and B, but without
pressing in close contact therewith.
In supplying the machinery of either of the kinds herein-beforo described with
plastic brick earth, the same may be prepared in any of the usual modes com-
monly practised for brick making, so that it would be ready for being moulded
by the ordinary mode of manipulation without machinery into the form of
bricks; and plastic brick earth so prepared is brought by proper attendants
to a workman who stands on a bench which is fixed at a suitable height above
the ground along that side of the machinery which is represented in elevation
by Figure 1. The prepared plastic brick earth is brought by the attendants
in lumps of a convenient size for handling, which are laid upon a raised part
of the said bench, which is so much higher than the part whereon the said
workman stands that he can with ease take up such lumps, one after another,
and fills them into the space included between the two sides D, D, and between
the two cross bars o, o, by which those sides are held together; and whilst
another person turns the handle Q steadily round, the said workman has only
to keep the machinery duly supplied with plastic brick earth as fast as it
requires, and to take care that the several lumps which he supplies in suc-
cession are effectually conjoined one to another, so as to leave no seams or open
joints between them in the mass, and also to keep out or remove all dry sand,
dust, or dirt, which can occasions seams to be formed in the bricks which are
moulded from that mass. The weight of the plastic brick earth concurs with
the revolving motion of the wheels A and B to carry the plastic brick earth

page_text: downwards in the form of the prism E; and the motion downwards is greatly
facilitated by the moistening of the surfaces against which the earth has
to slide in so moving down; hence there is no need of any great compression
of the plastic brick earth in the operation of the foregoing machinery, but the
bricks which are moulded thereby may be of the same consistency as if they
where moulded by the ordinary modes of manipulation without machinery,
which consistency is well understood by persons accustomed to brick making,
being such as previous experience shows them to be (according to the nature
and composition of the brick earth) the most advantageous for qualifying the
moulded bricks for going through the subsequent operations of drying and
burning. The pallet boards on which the moulded bricks are deposited by the
machinery are just the same as those usually employed in brick making when
machinery is not used, and they are in like manner to be dusted with dry sand
or not, according to circumstances, as may be requisite for avoiding too much
adhesion of the moulded bricks to the pallets.
And note, although it has been herein-before described that the direction in
which the cutting wire k operates to cut horizontally across the prism E of plastic
brick earth, is the lengthway of the bricks which are moulded, it should be ob
served that the same is not a necessary condition, for the cutting horizontally
across the said prism E might be performed in the direction of the breadthway
of the said bricks. The space or interval between two sides. D and D might be
made equal to the breadth to which the bricks are required to be moulded, and
the space or interval between the wheels A and B (with their webs e and f) might
be made equal to the length to which the bricks are to be moulded if there
were any sufficient motive for arranging the machinery to operate in that-man-
ner; in such case, the succession of pallets and moulded bricks would be
disposed in a row, one at the end of another, as they would be conveyed
forwards by action of the two endless chains F, F, provided those chains were
to be in the same direction as herein-before described, and as is represented in
all the Drawings; but the said chains might be disposed in a different direc-
tion beneath the prism E, that is, crossways to the rest of the machinery, or
parallel to the axes a and b of the wheels A and B, and in such case the
succession of pallets and moulded bricks would be disposed in a row, side
by side, on the two endless chains F, F, in the same manner as represented,
although the breadthway of the moulded bricks were to be included between
the sides D and D, and the lengthway between the wheels A and B with their
webs e and f.
In all the cases herein-before described or mentioned the surfaces which aro
produced by the cutting wire k constitute what are called the uppermost and

page_text: lowermost surfaces of the moulded bricks, because they will be so when the
bricks are used in building; but the space between the wheels A and B and
their webs e and might be made equal to the thickness to which the bricks
are required to be moulded, and the space between the sides D and D being,
as represented in the Drawings, equal to the length to which the bricks are
required to be moulded, then, in such case, the moulded bricks would be
deposited edgeways upwards on the pallet boards, and the surfaces produced by
the cutting wire k would constitute what are called the upright sides of the
moulded bricks. Of all the variations that might be made in the position in
which the bricks are moulded and deposited on pallet boards by action of the
machinery of the nature of any of that herein-before described, I prefer that
which is represented by the Drawings, and already explained.
Having now described the combination of machinery to be used in the
manufacture of bricks for moulding plastic brick earth into masses of the form
or shape of bricks, together with certain variations which may be made in
such combination, I, the said James Hunt, proceed to ascertain the nature of
the improvements which I claim as new Invention under the Letters Patent
granted to me, as herein-before mentioned, and as distinguished from previous
Inventions for the the same object.
In the Specification which was inrolled by George, Marquis of Tweeddale,
in pursuance of the Patent granted to him on the Ninth of December One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, certain machinery is described for
moulding tiles of different kinds, and it is also explained how such machinery
was to be altered in order to adapt it for moulding bricks.
The machinery so altered was to operate by passing plastic brick earth
through between two 'revolving rollers or wheels, which were placed one above
the other, and each one was surrounded by an endless web, leaving a sufficient
interval between the said webs to suit the thickness to which the bricks were
to be moulded; the plastic brick earth was passed through the machinery by
advancing forwards a certain distance at a time in a horizontal direction, and
then pausing. In so passing through, the earth was compressed or reduced, by
action of the said two wheels and their endless webs, to a prism of parallel and
uniform thickness and breadth, that said thickness being suitable for the thick-
ness to which the bricks were to be moulded, but the said breadth was to be
twice or thrice the breadth to which the bricks were to-be moulded, because such
prism, as it advanced further forward, was to be slit or divided-lengthways-by
means of one or two fixed vertical cutting wires, in order to split it into two or
three narrower prisms, suitable for the breadth to which the bricks were to be
moulded. The said two or three prisms remained close together side by side

page_text: after being so divided, and they were then all cut across together by one
simultaneous cross motion given by the machinery to two or three upright
cutting wires, which motion took place during the pause in the advancing
motion of the prisms of brick earth, and thereby all those prisms were cut off
on to detached pieces suitable for the length to which the bricks were to bo
moulded, and the said detached pieces constituted the moulded-bricks, but
there was no provision for depositing each such moulded brick on a pallet
board.
In the machinery herein-before described the two revolving wheels A and
B, with their endless webs e and f (when such webs are used), are similar to
those invented by the Marquis of Tweeddale, as aforesaid, and the said
machinery also resembles that of the Marquis in the circumstance that the
plastic brick earth which is passed through between the said two revolving
wheels and their endless webs (in order to be thereby reduced to a prismatic
form), is stopped in its advancing motion by self-action of the machinery, and
makes a pause whilst the prism is cut across by action of a cutting wire,
moved by self-action of the machinery, in order to cut off and detach a suitable
portion from the end of such prism to constituted a moulded brick.
The mode herein-before described of obtaining the said pause by means of a
pinion, such as r, which has only a few teeth disposed around a small portion
of its circumference, is similar to that of the Marquis, and so is the mode
herein-before described of giving motion to the cutting wire by mounting such
wire in a frame, which is moved backwards and forwards at the proper times
during the pause in the motion of the prism of earth, by means of a lever, such
as R, actuated by wedge pieces carried round with a revolving axis, wherefore
I make no claim to any of the parts of the said machinery herein-before
described, which, as above stated, are similar to corresponding parts of the
machinery so invented by the said Marquis of Tweeddale, but the improve-
ments which I claim are as follows:-
My first improvement is the whole combination of all the parts of the
machinery, herein-before described, with the variations of that combination also
herein-before described, by virtue of which combination, or varied combination
of the several parts one with another, the said parts are qualified for operating
in due concert one with another, and in due succession one after another, for
performing the operation of moulding bricks in the manner herein-before
described. The essential character of that combination, as distinguished from
any other combination for the same purpose, being that the plastic brick
earth is carried perpendicularly downwards, so that its weight concurs with the
action of the machinery in carrying it forwards and reducing it to the required

page_text: prismatic form, and that the surfaces against which the plastic brick earth is to
slide whilst it is so carried downward are all kept moistened by application of
water in the new manner herein-before described, in order to facilitate the
motion of the earth in contact with those surfaces; also, that by action of new
parts of the machinery a suitable pallet board is brought beneath or opposite
to the lowermost extreme end of the prism of brick earth, and presented nearly
in contact with that end at the proper time, when by action of a cutting wire
and accessaries (similar to those invented by the said Marquis, but which
action of cutting, and cutting wire and accessaries, are not claimed), a portion
of the brick earth is about to be cut off from that lowermost extreme end of
the said prism, in order to constitute a moulded brick, and in consequence of
the pallet being so presented, it follows that as soon as such portion or moulded
brick becomes detached it is received upon the said pallet, which thereupon
descends a little, and is then carried away, with the moulded brick upon it, in a
horizontal course by action of the machinery, so as to remove the said pallet
and moulded brick away from beneath the lower end of the prism of brick
earth, in order to leave a clear space for the formation of another succeeding
moulded brick, and also by the same action of the machinery another pallet
board is brought beneath the said lower end of the prismn in readiness for
being prepared to receive such succeeding moulded brick upon that last-men-
tioned pallet.
My second improvement is those parts of the machinery,, herein-befor
described, which are represented separately in Figures 12 to 15, and also in
Figures 22 to 25, and all which parts have been herein-before described in
reference to those Figures, as well as to other Figures where the same parts
are shewn in their places in the machinery, the said parts being surfaces
against which the plastic brick earth is to slide, and having new arrangements
for moistening those surfaces with water by distributing that water in interior
channels at the back of or behind the substances whereof the said surfaces are
composed, so as that the water may, by its hydrostatic pressure, be caused to
percolate through the thickness of such substances in order to moisten the said
surfaces, in the manner herein-before deseribed. Likewise, the parts marked
9 and 10 in Figure 16, Sheet IV., which, as herein-before described, are for
supplying moisture to the circumferences of the two wheels A and B in cases
where such moisture is thought desirable.
My third improvement is in those parts of the machinery, herein-before
described, which are represented in Figures 1, 2, 8, 10, and 11, also Figure v,
and therein marked with the letters F, I,,K, X, Y, Z, v, u, z, y, z, and which
parts are the two parallel endless chains, with projecting pins for receiving the

page_text: pallet boards and carrying them one after another beneath the lowermost end
of the prism of plastic brick earth, as well as for removing the said pallet
boards therefrom one after another, with the moulded bricks thereon, together
with the supporting pullies and rollers and the wheels and parts for giving a
suitable extent of occasional motion to those endless chains; also, the parts
represented separately in Figures 8 and 9, and marked J, U, V, W, w, which
parts are the lifter, with its accessaries, for raising up each pallet board when
the same is in its turn brought beneath the end of the prism of plastic brick
earth, in order to present that pallet in readiness for receiving the portion which
is to be cut off from the said end of that prism to form a moulded brick,
and also for afterwards letting down the said pallet with such moulded brick
upon it.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hunt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One