AN IMPROVED LUBRI- CATING GREASE OR PASTE FOR RAILWAY WHEELS AND ALL KINDS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis William Perrott, of Hanover Cottage,
Hanover Street, Walworth, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED LUBRI-
CATING GREASE OR PASTE FOR RAILWAY WHEELS AND ALL KINDS OF
MACHINERY."
Sealed the 19th July 1861, and dated the 21st January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis William Perrott
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st January 1861.
I, FRANCIS WILLIAM PERROTT, of Hanover Cottage, Hanover Street,
Walworth, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IM-
PROVED LUBRICATING GREASE OR PASTE FOR RAILWAY WHEELS AND ALL KINDS OF
MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of the use of micaceous ore in combination, by
preference, with oleaginous and fatty matters, or with other suitable sub-
stances. Micaceous ore is a species of hæmatite iron ore found in various
parts of the kingdom. The proportions I prefer to use are, for one sort of
lubricant, 7 tons of the said ore to one of tallow and oil combined. The tallow
is first boiled, and then the ore, which must have been carefully washed and
freed from grit, is stirred in and mixed with the tallow, to which the oil is

page_text: added. 6 tons of ore, a of a ton of tallow, and of a ton of oil will make
another sort; and 5 tons of orc, th of a ton of tallow, and ths of a ton of oil
will make another sort.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis William Perrott in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
WILLIAM PERROTT, of Hanover Cottage, Hanover Street, Walworth, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 21st day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Francis William Perrott, Her special licence that I, the said Francis William
Perrott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Francis William Perrott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thero-.
after 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 "AN
IMPROVED LUBRICATING GREASE OR PASTE FOR RAILWAY WHEELS AND ALL KINDS OF
MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francis
William Perrott, 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 Francis William Perrott, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to s
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the use of micaceous ore combined, by preference,
with oleaginous or fatty matters, or both together, or other suitable substances,
in the manufacture of grease or paste for lubricating the axles of locomotives S

page_text: and carriages, the bearings of engines, and working parts of machinery.. The
micaceous ore which I employ for this purpose is that well known as a species
or variety of haemetite iron ore found in various parts of this kingdom.. It is
soft, greasy, and friable in its nature, and forms a good base, or principal
component part of my lubricant, when combined with oleaginous or fatty
matters, or both; being of considerable specific gravity it has more body or
substance than many other materials used for lubricating purposes, and does
not so readily run or melt from the action of the sun or continuous working
of the machinery to which it is applied, and therefore lasts longer, and when
properly prepared and mixed with oleaginous or fatty matters will not injure
the spindles, shafts, axles, or bearings of any engine, carriage, or machine.
But in order that my said Invention may be better understood and carried
into effect, I will now proceed to describe the method I adopt of making my
improved lubricating grease or paste.
The micaceous ore must necessarily in the first place be freed from all
extraneous and gritty substances. This is accomplished by a process well
known in the mining districts as "puddling.". The ore as soon as dug is put
into a vessel of water, and puddled or stirred up, and together with a stream
of water caused to descend down an inclined plane, at the foot of which over
another vessel of water is placed a sieve of very fine mesh. The orc is
puddled out of the first vessel, leaving the heavier matters at the bottom, and
by being disintegrated in its passage down the incline it passes through the
sieve, which intercepts any stones, grit, or extraneous substances. The ore is
then taken out of the last vessel and dried in the open air, or by artificial heat.
But as this process forms no part of my Invention, and is well understood in
connexion with washing ores, it is not necessary to say more than that before
I can use the micaceous ore, it must. be washed or otherwise freed from
impurities, and especially from all gritty particles. It may be found better in
practice to levigate, triturate, or grind the ore after it has been washed, but
hitherto I have not done so, and to the best of my knowledge the process of
puddling will suffice to render the ore fit for my purposes.
The next step depends on the quality of the lubricating material I intend to
make. I have found it most advantageous to make three kinds or qualities.
One is of a strong and thick nature, another of an intermediate nature, and
the third thinner and finer. These results follow from the quantities of oil
and tallow combined with the ore, and are to be regulated by the use to which
the lubricant is to be applied, videlicet, to heavy or light machinery. The first
kind is better adapted for the axles of locomotives and carriages, and for the

page_text: bearings of large machines, the second for smaller engines, and the third for
finer machinery. The more oil is added the more liquid or finer the paste
becomes. Although I shall describe only the manufacture of these three
qualities, it is obvious that by increasing or diminishing the oil and tallow,
various other kinds or qualities may be made, but the description of my mode
of manufacturing the above will suffice for all. The first or stout micaceous
lubricant is composed of the following proportions, videlicet, seven parts of ore
and one of oil and tallow combined. I first boil, say, a half hundredweight
of tallow, and then add seven hundredweight of ore, stirring and mixing them
well together until they are well amalgamated, and then before they are cold
I add a half hundredweight of any suitable oil, such as linseed, cotton seed,
palm, sperm, train, and more commonly the latter, and keep stirring and
mixing until the three substances are amalgamated; the whole is then
poured off into a vat or cooler, becoming a greasy pasty mass, and when cold
is fit for use. The second or intermediate quality consists of the following
proportions, videlicet, say, a quarter of a hundredweight of tallow boiled as
before described, then six hundredweight of ore is added and mixed, and
three-quarters of a hundredweight of oil is mixed with the two, as before
described. The third or more liquid quality is composed of the following
proportions, videlicet, say, one-eighth of a hundredweight of tallow to five
hundredweight of ore, and seven-eighths of a hundredweight of oil, prepared in
a similar manner to the other two sorts. But with regard to this latter or
finer kind, it is necessary after it is made to grind it on a stone, exactly in the
way that pigments or paints are ordinarily ground, by which means it is moro
thoroughly amalgamated, rendered finer, and free from sediment. It may be
better in practice to subject all the qualities to this process, but hitherto I
have not found it requisite to do so, and to the best of my knowledge, such
as are intended for coarse machinery or engines will not require so to be
treated.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and how the same
is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to
the use of any particular variety of micaceous ore, nor to the use of any
particular oleaginous or fatty matters in combination with such ores in the
manufacture of lubricating grease or paste, nor to the exact proportions or
quantities berein-before enumerated, but reserve the right to use any micaceous
ore in combination with resinous, bituminous, or other mineral, vegetable, or
animal substance capable of being advantageously combined and employed
with it for the purpose of lubricating machinery, although I prefer to use the

page_text: ore in combination with oleaginous and fatty matters; and that what I claim
and desire to secure by these Letters Patent is, the manufacture of a lubricating
material composed principally or partly of micaceous ore.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis William Perrott, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
FRANCIS WILLIAM PERROTT. (LS.)
Signed, sealed and delivered, by the above-
named Francis William Perrott, in the
presence of
JAMES PRICE,
12, Serjeant's Inn, Fleet St.,
Solicitor.