A NEW PASTE MADE FROM WOOD TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES, TOGETHER WITH THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE SAME
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stevens, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "A NEW PASTE MADE
FROM WOOD TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES, TOGETHER
WITH THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE SAME" -A
communication from abroad by Mr. Loyer, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris,
in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 21st June 1861, and dated the 15th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
January 1861.
I, CHARLES STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW
PASTE MADE FROM WOOD, TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES,
TOGETHER WITH THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE SAME." (&
that it has been communicated to me from abroad by Mr. Loyer, of 42, Rue
Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire of France,) to be as follows:-
The object of the present Invention is the manufacture of a paste from the
lignum or fibrous particles of wood, to be employed in a variety of purposes,
which will be hereafter specified. The mode of manufacture is as follows:
The wood is first reduced to shavings by means of a machine constructed for

page_text: the purpose; these shavings are then subjected for several hours to the action
of caustic lye, in order to thoroughly separate the fibres of the wood. The
lignum is then placed in the open air and allowed to ferment during several
days, care being taken to water the lignum every day to prevent the upper
portion from becoming dry. The duration of the fermentation varies according
to the nature of the wood and the degree of temperature; but it is easy to
perceive when the operation is complete, as the wood is then soft and glutinous.
The lignum is then reduced to a paste by means of cylinders and blocks con-
structed for the purpose, a description of which will be hereafter given. From
the employment of these cylinders and blocks widely different results are
obtained. The nature of the wood must be examined with care, and should
determine the choice of the cylinder. By means of this machinery, instead of
cutting the fibres of the lignum, the parts which the first operation has already
separated may be frayed, torn, or divided. The length of the operation is
proportioned to the fineness of the pastes. The woods which we consider
preferable are soft woods (such as poplar, lime, birch, or fir,) as they offer less
difficulty to the manipulation. Other species of wood may, however, be
emplved.
The lignum when reduced to a paste may be employed in the
manufacture of a variety of articles, among which may be mentioned ornamental
and other mouldings; furniture & imitation of wood carving; panels for
paintings; frames for looking glasses, pictures, & engravings; floors, mosaics,
or bricks, roofing for houses; receptacles for grain and meal; and many other
purposes.
Bark or tan may also be employed in the manufacture of the paste by means
of the following process:-The bark is broken up by means of stampers moved
by cams, in order to reduce it to a smaller volume, and is then subjected to
the preparation and fermentation already described. Before submitting the
bark to the action of the tearing cylinder the rough and defective parts should
be removed, as they frequently contain earthy matters, so as to retain as far as
possible only the fibres and filaments; the trituration by means of the cylinder
completes the operation. The method of preparing tan is the same as for
bark, and the tan may be either fresh or may previously have served in the
dressing of skins.
The apparatus employed differs from all those hitherto used, and may be
applied to the preparation of all kinds of wood. It consists of, 1st, a cylinder
of cast iron or other material, on which steel blades are fixed at equal distances,
one side being edge-shaped; 2nd, a steel block, shaped so as to form blades;
this block is placed in a receptacle (similar to those employed for the trituration
of rags) in an oblique position to the axis of the cylinder, and in such a

page_text: manner that when the apparatus is put in movement the blades of the cylinder
and those of the block came in contact with each other at one point only.
By means of these, arrangements the wood is divided in the direction of the
Glues
and
manner that when the apparatus is put in movement the blades of the cylinder
and those of the block came in contact with each other at one point only.
By means of these, arrangements the wood is divided in the direction of the
Abree, and forme in a short time a fine paste, composed of extremely, smalt
filaments, and perfectly adapted for the purposes above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
'STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January. 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 grant unto
me, the said Charles Stevens, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Stevens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Charles Stevens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "A NEW PASTE MADE FROM WOOD, TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS
ARTICLES, TOGETHER WITH THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE
SAME." a communication to me from abroad by Mr. Loyer, of 42, Rue Laffitte,
in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Charles Stevens, my executors, or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Stevens, 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 (and accompanying Drawings), that is to say:-

page_text: The object of the present Invention is the manufacture of a paste from the
lignum or fibrous particles of wood to be employed for a variety of purposes
hereafter specified.
The mode of manufacture is as follows:-The wood is
first reduced to shavings, care being taken that they are sufficiently fine to be
acted on with ease by a caustic solution in which they are boiled long enough
to effect the separation of the fibres; the length of time for this operation
varies according to the nature of the wood used. The woods best adapted for
the manufacture of the paste are those termed soft, such as the poplar,
lime, birch, and fir, as they offer less resistance in the manipulation; other
species of wood can, however, be employed. When sufficiently boiled, the
fibrous matter is withdrawn and subjected for several days to fermentation, for
the purpose of softening and rendering it supple; this is effected by exposing
the lignum in a mass to the air, and watering it each day sufficiently to prevent
its becoming dry on the outer surface; the operation is completed when the
wood has become soft and glutinous, which may be ascertained by touching it
with the hand. When the lignum has arrived at this state it is subjected to
the action of a machine constructed as follows:-1st, of a cylinder of cast iron
or other suitable material, on which steel blades are fixed at equal distances;
the steel blades are shaped so as to slope on one side; 2nd, of a steel block
cut so as to form blades having a sharp edge on their upper surface and sloping
on each side; this block is placed in a receptacle (similar to those employed
in the trituration of rags) in an oblique position to the axis of the cylinder, so
that when the machine is put in movement the contact between the blades of
the cylinder and those of the block takes place only at one part.
Various modifications may be introduced in the arrangement of the apparatus
both as regards size and thickness of the blades, as they must vary more or
less to suit the different sorts of wood they are required to act on, and the
fineness of the paste to be produced.
Fig. 1 represents the cast-iron cylinder; Fig. 2 represents the steel plate
or block.
1
By means of this machine the fibres of the wood are completely separated,
and form in a short time a fine paste applicable to the manufacture of the
following articles-Ornamental and other mouldings & furniture frames to
imitate wood carving, in the latter the lignum is colored by the ordinary means
used in staining woods; panels for painting on, to be used instead of canvas;
frames for glasses and pictures, which can be gilt by the ordinary means, or
stained. By mixing the paste with earthy or silicatious matters and subjecting
it to a rolling and pressing machine it becomes admirable adapted for floorings,
as the paste can be made of any color and into any shape that may be required.

page_text: The paste on being pressed and rolled to a thickness proportionate to the use
to which it may be put is well suited from its lightness, durability and cheap-
ness to replace zinc and other materials employed at present for roofing.
The paste can be moulded into staves, which, bound together by hoops, form
excellent receptacles for flour and grain.
From its lightness and tenacity, the paste is also well adapted for boxes and
travelling cases.
Various roots can also be used in the formation of the paste; the roots are
first bruised and then boiled in caustic lyc, and treated in the same manner as
the lignum, taking care, however, to remove any knotty or defective parts
before subjecting them to the action of the cylinder.
Tan, either new or old, can also be used for making the paste, but it must
first be sifted to separate from it the dust which it contains, and also any
pieces too thick must be reduced in size, as they would interfere with the
action of the cylinders; thus prepared, the tan is subjected to the same
operations as above described for wood shavings.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim and desire to secure by
Letters Patent, is,-
1st, the means used in the reduction to a paste of wood, tan, and roots, as
above described.
2ndly, of the cylinder and block above described and represented by Figs. 1
& 2 in the accompanying Drawings.
3rly, the right of useing the paste in the manufacture of all articles to which
it may be suitable, but specially to those herein-above enumerated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Stevens, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
i
CHARLES STEVENS. (L.S.)