CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF WOOD FOR PLANKING AND SHEATHING SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, ALSO IN HOUSE, SHIP, AND PIER BUILDING, RAILWAY SLEEPERS, &c., AND ALL OTHER PURPOSES WHATSOEVER WHERE WOOD IS REQUIRED
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Kemp, of Creekmoor, Poole, in the County of
Dorset, Gentleman, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PREPARATION OF WOOD FOR PLANKING AND SHEATHING SHIPS AND OTHER
VESSELS, ALSO IN HOUSE, SHIP, AND PIER BUILDING, RAILWAY SLEEPERS, &c.,
AND ALL OTHER PURPOSES WHATSOEVER WHERE WOOD IS REQUIRED."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Kemp at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on the
8th day of April 1854, pursuant to the 9th section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
KEMP, of Creekmoor, Poole, in the County of Dorset, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PREPARATION OF WOOD FOR PLANKING AND SHEATHING SHIPS AND OTHER
VESSELS, ALSO IN HOUSE, SHIP, AND PIER BUILDING, RAILWAY SLEEPERS, &C., AND
ALL OTHER PURPOSES WHATSOEVER WHERE WOOD IS REQUIRED," and have petitioned
Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her
Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that I
verily believe myself to be the true and first Inventor thereof:

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Kemp, do hereby declare that the
following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully describes and
ascertains the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, viz*:-
The nature of my Invention is as follows:-
My said improvements relate to the preparation of wood to be subsequently
employed or used for various purposes, as for planking or sheathing of ships
and vessels, thereby rendering the bottoms or surfaces of such ships or vessels
more effectually protected or preserved from the adhesion of weeds, barnacles,
crustacea, and all kinds of aquatic insects to which they may be exposed; the
wood is also rendered more durable by such preparation, and also for all
descriptions of marine or hydraulic works, bridges, piles, piers, railway sleepers,
and works and building generally.
My mode of operating or preparing the wood is to subject it to the action
of sulphate of barytes after calcination with charcoal, which renders it soluble
in water, and sulphate of copper; in the following manner, viz:-The timber or
wood to be prepared is placed within a suitable cylindrical or other convenient
shaped vessel or receiver, the strength of which to be such as to withstand the
pressure which has subsequently to be applied; this vessel to be also capable
of being closed air-tight, the wood being placed within it; the atmospheric air
to be extracted or exhausted from within it by air-pump machinery or other
effectual means, so as to produce within the vessel a vacuum or practically
approaching to a vacuum. This being done, the prepared sulphate of barytes,
in a state of solution, is admitted into the vessel in sufficient quantity to
completely immerse the wood within it. I sometimes use the solution in a
saturated or highly concentrated state, and sometimes in a less concentrated
state, depending upon the degree of preparation I wish to give to the wood
and other circumstances. The solution being injected into the vessel con-
taining the wood in sufficient quantity, the contents of the vessel are then
subjected to a pressure of from fifty pounds to one hundred and fifty
pounds per square inch; this may be effected by condensing atmospheric
air within the vessel to the pressure required by pumps or other machinery.
In some cases it may be necessary for the pressure to be even exceeding
one hundred and fifty pounds per square inch. After remaining in this
state for a short time, the vessel is opened and the wood removed from it,
and placed in any convenient situation until it becomes partially dry, when
it is to be replaced within the vessel, from which, however, the barytic
solution has now been removed; or the wood may be placed in another closed
vessel, whether similar or different, and a solution of sulphate of copper
is now

page_text: injected into the vessel, so as to cover or immerse the wood. The strength of
this solution of sulphate of copper may vary according to circumstances. The
contents of the vessel are now again subjected to pressure, as before described
with respect to the solution of sulphate of barytes. After remaining in this
state a short time, the vessel is opened and the wood removed and placed
conveniently, so as to dry it gradually. When the wood has become suffi-
ciently dry it is submitted to the action of a puncturing apparatus, for the
purpose of puncturing the surfaces of the wood to a short depth. This punc-
turing machinery is shewn in the annexed Drawings; Fig. 1 being a front, and
Fig. 2, a side view of the machine, in which the puncturing rollers A, A, are
mounted upon the framing B, and table C. These rollers are composed of a
central shaft, upon which are mounted steel discs, serrated or toothed upon
their edges; they have collars or washers between them, by which they are
retained at certain distances asunder, and these distances are determined by
the distance required to be between the punctures. D, the plank or board of
wood under operation of puncturing; it is placed upon the table and pushed
forward under the puncturing rollers as they revolve, the teeth of which
penetrate the wood. The two rollers are so mounted in the machine that the
teeth of the second one pass into the wood, and make their punctures in the
intervals of space between the punctures made by the first roller, and the depth
of the punctures is regulated or determined by the thickness of the plank or
other piece of wood under operation. After the wood has been punctured,
these punctures are filled with a chemical compound, composed of arseniate of
copper, sulphuret of arsenic, carbonate of barytes, oxide of copper, and red
lead. When all these materials are used, I prefer the following proportions,
though other proportions may sometimes be employed:-Equal parts of arse-
niate of copper, sulphuret of arsenic, oxide of copper, and carbonate of barytes,
ground together in oil; one part of this compound is then mixed with three
parts of red lead and reground, so as to thoroughly incorporate them. Some-
times I use sulphuret of arsenic and oxide of copper alone or with red lead.
This mixture is then pressed or forced into the punctures previously made in
the wood by rubbing or by other convenient means. The process is now
complete, and when dry, the wood is in a fit state for use.
I have now duly described my said Invention, but I do not, however, strictly
confine myself to all the details shewn or described, as I sometimes use and
employ one and sometimes three or more puncturing rollers for puncturing the
wood; and I sometimes use the chemical compound at the same time that I
perforate the wood, so that as fast as the punctures are made by the revolutions
of the machine they are filled by the compound, which is applied in sufficient

page_text: quantity completely to cover the surface; and sometimes more effectually to fill
the cavities, the wood is afterwards submitted to the high pressure before
described. Neither do I confine myself to the size and shape of the teeth
of the puncturing rollers shewn or the intervals of space between them, as
they may be varied; and also sometimes I use the barytic solution in a heated
state.
In conclusion, I claim as my Invention, the preparation of wood for the
purposes herein described, by the employment therein of a solution of prepared
sulphate of barytes and a solution of sulphate of copper and the injection of
a chemical compound, as before described; and I also claim as my Invention,
the puncturing of wood by a rolling process for the purpose of facilitating
such injection.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Kemp, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
Eighteen hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
JOSEPH STAYNER EIDMANS, C.E.
HENRY KEMP. (L.S.)