IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING PRESSES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Board, 7 & 8, St. James's Barton, Bristol,
Cabinet Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING PRESSES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Board at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
September 1861.
J, CHARLES BOARD, Cabinet Maker, 7 & 8, St. James's Barton, Bristol, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VENEERING PRESSES," to be as follows:-
On the top of a strong wood or metal frame, see Drawing Fig. 1 A, I place
a thin sheet of zinc or any other metal, Fig. 1 B, on which I put, edgeways, a
series of metal bars, a, a, a, a, Fig. 3, which have been made perfectly straight
and parallel; I then place round the sides and ends of the sheet of metal strips
of wood or metal b, b, b, b, Fig. 3, of the same depth as the aforesaid metal bars,
and cover the whole with another thin sheet of zinc or any other metal C,
Fig. 1. The upper and lower sheets of metal must be secured together round
the sides and ends by means of screws or rivets, so as to form a box or chamber
capable of holding steam or water.
In using the veneering press it is necessary to heat the upper sheet of metal
so as to keep the glue used in attaching or connecting the veneer to the
foundation in a fluid state until such time as the superfluous glue can be
squeezed or pressed out, and for this purpose I connect the press with a boiler,
and force in through the pipes c, c, c, c, Figs. 1, 3, & 4, either steam or hot
water; or I use hot air instead of steam or hot water, and force it in by

page_text: means of a fan or pair of bellows. After the superfluous glue has been
squeezed or pressed out by means of the clamps D, D, D, Fig. 1 & 2, it is
desirable to cool the upper sheet of metal, so as to hasten the setting of the
glue remaining between the vencor and the foundation, and also to prevent
the veneer from being split or contracted by remaining in contact with the
heated metal plate; and for this purpose I turn off the cock d, Fig. 4, and
turn on the cock e, Fig. 4, through which I force a current of cold air by
means of a fan or pair of bellows; or I use cold water, and force it in by
means of a pump, or let it run in from a cistern or reservoir placed abovo the
level of the top of the veneering press.
I construct the clamps for squeezing or pressing out the superfluous glue of
wood and india-rubber, as shewn in the Drawing D, D, D, Fig. 1 & 2,
h, h, h, is wood, and i, india-rubber; and I apply the necessary pressure by
means of a scrow at each end, one of which may have a hinged joint as j,
Fig. 2, so as to allow the clamp to be thrown back when removing the
veneered article from the top of the press; and the other may be formed as g,
Fig. 2, which is released from its hold on the catch; by turning back the
handle ; or both screws may be made as 9, in which caso it would be
necessary to remove the clamps altogether before being able to remove the
veneered article.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Board in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st March 1862.
.. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
BOARD, of the City of Bristol, Cabinet Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Hor Letters
Patent, bearing date tho Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and graut unto mo, the
said Charles Board, Her special licence that I, tho said. Charles Board, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Board, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times thereafter during tho
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might mako, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING

page_text: PRESSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Board, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent....
NOW KNOW YE, .that I, the said Charles Board, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is
to say:-
I
My Invention consists in constructing veneering presses in the following.
manner:-
Upon a strong wood or metal frame I lay and secure a sheet or plate of
zinc or other metal, on the upper surface of which I fix metal bars, in such
manner that series of chambers or passages extending from end to end, of the
plate are formed. I place strips of wood or other suitable material at the ends
and sides, and I cover the whole with another sheet of metal similar to the
first, in order to obtain a smooth and hollow bed on which to perform the
veneering. Having formed the hollow bed, I place pipes below it in com-
munication with the ends of each of the passages, at one end of which I admit
steam, hot air, or hot water, which travelling along the passages passes off at
the other end. Clamps are fitted to the press, which, for convenience, I binge
at one end to the frame.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation, Figure 2 is a
vertical section through the line x, y, of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a plan,
with the top plate removed, of a veneering press constructed according to my
Invention. a is the frame of the press; 6 is a metal plate secured to it;
c, c, are the bars, extending along the plate 6, forming passages d, d, which are
in communication with the steam, air, or water inlet pipes e, e, through
tubes ff. At the opposite end of the passages tubes f, f, are inserted into
the outlet pipe e¹; h, h, are cocks in the inlet pipes e, e, one for the admission
of steam, hot water, or hot air, and the other for cold water or cold air; g is
the upper metal plate or bed; i, i, are the clamps, made of wood, the under
surface being somewhat curved, as shewn in Figure 2; k, k, are strips of india-
rubber, inserted near the lower edge of the clamps, as is usual in veneering
clamps. The clamps are secured at one end to the frame by screws 1, 1,
passing through flanges m, m, and hinged to plates n, n, which are secured by

page_text: bolts or otherwise to the frame. a. The other ends of the clamps are secured
by screws o, o, passing through flanges similar to m, m; the scrows have
hooks or catches p, p, at their lower ends, which hook on to plates 9, 7, let
into the frame a, as shewn in Figure 2. The pressure exerted by the clamps
is applied by the thumb screws r, r.
To use the press I heat the bed plate 9 on which the veneer and wood are
laid sufficiently to keep the glue in a liquid state until the superfluous part is
pressed out from between the veneer and the wood. For this purpose steam
or hot air is admitted or forced in through the pipes e, e; and after traversing
the passages d, d, passes off through the outlet pipe el. After the superfluous
glue has been forced out in consequence of the pressure exerted by the clamps i, i,
the metal bed plate is cooled in order to hasten the setting of the glue between
the veneer and the wood, as well as to prevent the veneer splitting or con-
tracting by remaining too long in contact with the heated metal plate. This
cooling is offected by admitting or forcing cold air or cold water into and
through the hollow bed. When hot water is used, I fit a cock to the outlet
pipe o. Presses constructed according to my Invention are also employed for
flattening and preparing veneers for laying.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not limit myself to
the particular method of forming the hollow bed, so long as the upper plate bo
formed of metal with a smooth surfaco; but I claim as my "Improvements in
Veneering Presses,-
First, constructing veneering presses with a hollow bod, having a smooth
metal surface at top, and with channels inside the same, substantially in
manner herein-before described.
Second, heating the hollow bed of. veneering presses by steam, hot air,
or hot water, and cooling the same by means of cold air or cold water, or
heating alone, or cooling alone, in manner and for the purposes herein-boforo
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Board, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, Ono thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two.