A MATERIAL OR COMBINATION OP MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR PAVING, PIPING, ROOFING, AND HOST OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH WOOD AND IRON ARE APPLICABLE
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
EDWARD CASSELL, of Millwall, Poplar, in the County of Middlesex, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by He:
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-sixth day of September, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edwin Edward Cassell, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edwin Edward Cassell, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of A MATERIAL OR COMBINATION
OP MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR PAVING, PIPING, ROOFING, AND HOST OTHER PURPOSES
FOR WHICH WOOD AND IRON ARE APPLICABLE;" in which said Letters Patent there
is contained a proviso that I, the said Edwin Edward Cassell, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imine-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edwin Edward Cassell, hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described and set
forth in the present Specification thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
The said material or combination of materials, when intended to be applied
to paving, flooring, or other like purposes, is composed of four varieties,
which, for the sake of distinction, may be designated as compounds No. 1,
No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4. I prepare No. 1 compound in manner following:-
I saturate a quantity of chalk or marl, or lime, or loamy clay, or sandy carth,
previously reduced to the state of a fine powder, with oil of tar or mineral tar,
or vegetable naptha; or any other resinous, oily, or fatty matter; I take one
hundred weight of rosin and melt it in a cauldron, exposed to a gentle fire, until
all the water in it has evaporated. I then throw into the cauldron two hundred
weight of the saturated chalk or other earth, and mix it well with the melted
rosin. I next add from three to six pounds of liquid caoutchouc, or from 1 to
3 lbs. of essential oil of tar or turpentine, or some other oily or fatty or cemen-
titious substance (varying the quantity according to the degree of elasticity
desired to be given to the ultimate compound), and after that from three to five
pounds of sulphur, and finally two hundred weight of fine dry grit, keeping all
the while the contents of the cauldron well stirred till the whole are thoroughly
amalgamated. When cool this compound is of a slatish grey color, and of a
close granular texture. No. 2 compound is prepared in the same way as No. 1,
and composed of the same materials and in like proportions, excepting only
that I substitute for the rosin vegetable pitch, and use a larger proportion of
sulphur, say from six to eight pounds. No. 3 is also prepared in the same way
as Nos. 1 and 2, and composed of the same materials in the like proportions,
excepting that, instead of the rosin or vegetable pitch, I use equal parts of
rosin and Stockton tar, and reduce the quantity of sulphur to about four pounds.
No. 4 compound differs from No. 3 in the substitution of equal parts of rosin
and mineral or coal tar for the equal parts of rosin and vegetable pitch. Any
of these four compounds may be used by itself for paving, flooring, or any other
like purposes, the same being laid down in a hot and fluent state, and of a
sufficient, thickness. Or they may be employed for these purposes in any of the
following states of combination:-Firstly, they may be combined with any of the
natural asphalts or bitumens, or any artificial compound of a bituminous quality.
Secondly, they may be formed in combination with small pieces of wood into
large blocks for use as follows:-I fill an iron frame or mould, of the same area
as the intended blocks, with a number of small prisms of wood of nearly equal

page_text: sizes, and of a square or oblong form, laid with the grain upwards in regular
rows, smearing the abutting edges of the pieces with one or other of the com-
pounds 1, 2, 3, or 4; in a hot state as they are brought together, and pressing
them close to one another so that there may be a strong lateral adhesion estab-
lished throughout the entire mass. I then cover the whole over with one or
other of the said compounds in a fluent state, and while it is yet in that state
I lay upon it several binding laths or narrow strips of wood, of the length (or if
more convenient, of the breadth), of the mass, placed at a distance of an inch
or so apart. I then place heavy weights on the combined mass, or otherwise
subject it to strong pressure, in order that it may be firmly consolidated, and
after it has cooled I pour another coating over it, of any of the compounds
aforesaid to such a depth as completely to conceal the binding laths. The block
is now finished, and when turned out of the frame presents on one side a
surface of wood and on the other a surface of the particular compound which
has been made use of. Figure 1 of the accompany drawings represents a
plan of a block of this description, and Figure 2 a section. Figure 3 shews
it in a half finished state after the binding laths have been laid on. These
blocks may be made of any thickness which the purpose to which they are to
be applied may render expedient. Or where greater solidity is desired, double
blocks of the same description may be employed, that is to say, blocks formed
of two layers of wooden prisms, the first being laid down, joined together, and
covered over in the way before described, after which, and while the coating
with which the binding laths have been covered is yet warm, a second layer of
wooden prisms is to be imbedded in it, but laid the reverse way of the first
layer. A double block thus formed will of course have both its surfaces of wood
represented in the section, Figure 4. In some cases, as where there is a great
thoroughfare and an extensive traffic in heavy goods, it will be found an advan-
tage to lay upon the top of the usual concrete foundation a supplementary founda-
tion of planking and asphalt, or instead of the asphalt any of the four compounds
aforesaid combined, and to lay upon the latter the blocks of either of the sorts
last herein-before described, by which arrangement the blocks, when they become
worn on their upper surface can be readily turned over and a new surface placed
uppermost. To prevent the slipperiness complained of in wooden pavements,
the upper surface of the blocks may be done over with a mixture of oil, rosin,
and sulphur, in a hot and fluent state, and when this has sunk into the wood a
quantity of fine grit should be strewn over it. After this coating has become
dry, another of the same may be added, and a third or fourth, if necessary.
Instead of the wooden laths before directed to be used, lengths of slate or iron
may be employed where the same can be done with equal economy. Thirdly,

page_text: any of the compounds before described may be used in combination with wood
in manner following, to form a flooring for the ground floors of buildings, which
will be quite impermeable to under damp, and exceedingly durable. The ground
is to be first covered over, to the depth of about an inch, with a layer of any of the
four compounds before mentioned (being previously well beaten down and
levelled) and then small square blocks of wood of equal sizes are to be set in
this composition while yet warm, with the grain uppermost, and placed in re-
gular order side by side. Any interstices which may be left between the
blocks are to be carefully filled up with the compounds. Figure 5 represents
a plan, and Figure 6 an elevation of a piece of flooring of this description. The
blocks are here represented as bevelled off at their upper edges, so as to produce
grooves running in both directions; but this need only be done where a rough
surface is required. Or instead of using small blocks of solid wood, as just
described, composition blocks of a large size, prepared as follows, may be
employed: I take a number of pieces of deal, from 3 to 5 inches wide, and
from 10 to 18 inches long, such as may be picked out of the wood imported
from abroad under the denomination of fire wood, and which, paying a small
duty, may be had cheap, and lay them in an iron frame or mould, in the
direction of the grain, jointing them roughly together lengthwise, but so that
they shall back joint transversely; I then cover them to the depth of one or
more inches with any of the four compounds before described, in a hot fluent
state, and leave this coating to settle and cool, whereby it becomes firmly
united to the wood beneath. On removing this mass or block from the frame
or mould and fitting it into a piece of flooring, it is placed with the wood upper-
most, which remains ever after beyond the reach of damp from beneath. For
such a description of ground flooring no rafters are requisite. The blocks may
be made of any length or breadth most convenient, but I prefer making them
of about 4 feet in length by 2 feet 6 inches in breadth. When a very strong
flooring of this kind is wanted, I cross the layer of wooden pieces before de-
scribed with a second of exactly the same description, but laid the reverse way
and upon an interposed bed of one or other of the four compounds before men-
tioned; the two layers are then pressed together, and when the compound
which unites them has cooled and set, I pour over the whole another coating
of the same compound, so as to cover completely the second layer of wood.
Instead of the blocks being all of one sort of wood or of one colour, they may
be of different woods and different colours, so as to give the flooring a tesselated
appearance.
For forming piping, such as water-pipes, drains, sewers, &c., I make use of
any of the four compounds before described, combined with wood, in manner

page_text: following: -I place two cylinders on end, one within the other, the inner being
of the size of the desired pipe, and the spaces between it and the outer being of
the diameter intended to be given to the case of the pipe. I form in the middle
of the space between the two cylinders a ring of small oblong or square pieces
of wood, of from 3 inches thick to 4 or 5 wide, building them one upon the
other after the manner of bricks, and cementing them together by any of the
four compounds before mentioned in a hot and fluent state. When this ring
has been completed (in which state it exhibits externally the appearance repre-
sented in Figure 7, I fill up the spaces remaining between the two cylinders
outside of the ring with any of the four compounds aforesaid in a hot and fluid
state. After this compound has cooled the cylinders are withdrawn, when a
complete pipe remains, perfectly smooth on both surfaces, as represented in the
top plan, Fig. 8. Where pipes of very large dimensions are required the
internal rings may consist of two sets of wooden blocks, side by side, and they
may be further strengthened by vertical tee rods terminating at both ends in
nuts and screws. Where the piping is of not less than 18 inches in diameter,
I substitute for the wooden ring a skeleton framework, made of iron or
wooden hoops, placed three or four inches apart and connected together vertically
by wooden laths, as represented in the sectional view of a pipe of this sort,
given in Fig. 9. Still smaller pipes may be made without either ring or
skeleton framing, by filling up the space between the two cylinders with one of
the compounds alone.
To form casks, tanks, cisterns, garners, and other vessels of capacity, I pro-
ceed as follows:-I make use of an iron mould of the form of the intended
vessel, and first form a bottom of pieces of wood laid in the direction of the
grain, and united laterally by one or other of the compounds aforesaid, and
covered over with a layer of the same compound. I then build up the sides
with prisms of wood raised one upon the other, after the manner of brickwork,
and cemented together by any of the compounds aforesaid, bringing the prisms
on their outer face close to the mould but leaving a small space between the
inner face of the prisms and the mould. At intervals, say after every three or
four courses, I lay binding slips of wood on the top of the prisms embedded in
a coating of the compound, and subject them to heavy pressure in order the
better to unite and consolidate the structure beneath, and when the desired
height has been attained, I fill up the space between the inner face of the
prisms and the mould with the compound used, so that on the vessel being
separated from the mould it has on its inner surface a smooth and impervious
coating of cement, and has on the outside the appearance of being all of wood.
A cover or top (when such is required, may be made of wood or metal, and

page_text: fitted to it. Instead of making the vessels all in one, as just directed, they may
be made of several pieces separately constructed, in the same manner as before
described, and then united together either by mortise and tenon joints or by
bolts and nuts, or by any suitable cement. Casks and garners of this descrip-
tion will be found particularly suitable for storing bread, biscuit, flour, grain,
and other perishable commodities, from their being proof against the inroads of
vermin, and capable of being made perfectly air tight. Should the odour of the
compound employed be likely to have an injurious ellect on the contents of the
vessel, it may be coated on the inside with some composition calculated to
obviate that effect.
To form large blocks for wharfing, I combine, in manner following, one or
other of the four compounds before-mentioned, with pieces of wood previously
prepared with tar-oil, sulphate of copper, or some other anti-dry-rot compo-
sition, in order to preserve the same from decay. I employ, for the purpose of
moulding, the block cast-iron frames of a quadrangular form having a recess or
groove at one end, and a projecting piece at the other adapted to fit into that
groove (mortice and tenon fashion); I pour into this mould any of the four
compounds before described, in a hot and fluent state, to the depth of about
a quarter of an inch, and set in this compound while it is yet hot a layer
of pieces of the prepared wood, taking care to have them perfectly dry),
and so shaping and arranging them as that they may be kept within
about a quarter of an inch of the mould all round; I then cover this layer of
wood with another coating of the compound, and set in that coating a second
layer of pieces of wood laid with the grain the reverse way to the first as in
Fig. 10, and so I proceed till the block has attained its required thickness, after
which I fill up the quarter of an inch or thereabouts left vacant all round
with the compound, which gives a good finish to the block on its outer surface.
When several blocks so formed are laid down end to end, the projecting or
tenon pieces of the one take into the hollow or morticed parts of the other, as
represented in Figure 11. Apertures may be also left in them for the purpose of
connecting them by ties transversely by inserting cores at suitable places in the
course of building up the blocks, and where a series of such blocks have been
laid down they may have a facing of vertical blocks given to them, either of
wood with the grain uppermost, or of stone, or any other suitable substitute,
care being taken to place the vertical blocks so as to break joint with the
horizontal layers of wood, as also shewn in Fig. 10. For these horizontal
layers I prefer wood of about 3 inches thick and four inches wide. A
wharf wall composed of such blocks should be raised on a good foundation of
concrete, and its upper surface should have a good coating finally given to it of

page_text: one of the four compounds before mentioned, in order that the wood may be
completely protected from air and water. The external front towards the
water may be faced with plates of cast or wrought iron in the manner in
common use, or with slabs of slate or stone.
I form also long planks suitable for railway sleepers and other like purposes
(as represented in Figure 12), of one or other of the four compounds before-men-
tioned, combined with wood in the same way as the blocks before described; and
when such planks are used for railway sleepers they may have a hollow space
left in the centre (or any other more convenient part) as shewn in Figure 13, to
serve for containing gas pipes, telegraph wires, &c. The wood should, in this
instance also, be previously prepared with some anti-dry-rot composition.
For roofing, and other purposes where lightness is desirable, I make use of a
compound differing in some material respects from the four before specified, and
this I call No. 5 compound. It consists of a mixture of one hundred weight of rosin
or vegetable pitch, or one hundredweight of rosin and vegetable pitch in equal
proportions, or one hundredweight of rosin and Stockton tar in equal proportions,
or of one hundredweight of rosin and mineral tar in equal proportions, one cwt. of
fine grit, eight pounds of sulphur, and from four to five pounds of cork cut tings
or raspings, the whole being compounded in the manner before directed to be
followed in the preparation of the other cements, and thoroughly incorporated
together; while yet hot this compound is removed from the cauldron, and formed
into sheets by subjecting it to strong hydraulic pressure between plates of iron
perforated with numerous holes, and having also channels or grooves in them
in order that any liquid matter squeezed out by the pressure may run over at
the sides and ends. The sheets, when intended for roofing, should be reduced
by the pressure applied to about one-fourth of their original bulk, say from four
inches to one, and should be coated with some anti-igniting substance or com-
position. Where greater strength is required, each sheet may be covered with
canvas, or paper cemented to it by any of the four compounds aforesaid.
The same compound, No. 5, may be also usefully employed in the manner
represented in Figures 14, 15, and 16 for the prevention or lessening of noise
or vibration in the construction of roads and railways. A, A, Figures 14 and
15, are a series of wooden blocks cemented together by one or other of the
four compounds aforesaid, and having deep grooves in them of a dovetail form,
which are filled with the compound while in a hot state, so that on its cooling
and settling it remains immoveably incorporated with the blocks, but still
possessed of considerable elasticity. Figure 16 is an elevation of an iron rail
having a similar groove in it filled with the compound, which is raised a little
above the rest of the rail in order that the wheels of the carriages may take

page_text: their bearings upon it. Should it be found, in practice, that the compound is
in either case unequal to the friction to which it is exposed, the grooves may
be filled with it to the height of the lines, a, a, only, and a covering of some
harder material be superimposed, which, in the case of the common road
paving may be granite, and in the case of the rail iron, the pieces of granite
or iron being bevilled off at the sides so as to fit into the top of the grooves,
and be held fast thereby. The cork compound would, in that case, form a
sort of clastic cushion, on which the granite or iron would rise and fall as acted
on by any superincumbent pressure. Slabs suitable for paving footpaths,
stables, barns, &c., may be also formed of cork in the solid state cemented to
wood, slate, or iron by means of any of the four compounds first before
described, and in manner following:-I take a number of square pieces of
cork of about one inch thick, two to three inches wide, and five to six inches
long, and lay them side by side in the bottom of an iron mould of suitable size,
taking care to break joint throughout, as in brickwork; I then pour over the
layer of cork some one or other of the four compounds first before described
in a hot and fluent state to the depth of about a quarter of an inch, and while
it is yet hot I place in it pieces of wood, or slate, or iron about two feet long,
and from three to five inches wide. I next subject the mass to strong pressure
by heavy weights or otherwise, so as to unite the cork, the compound, and the
wood, or slate, or iron firmly together. When the whole has cooled I add a
second coating of the compound of the same thickness as before. The slab is
then completed, and on removal from the mould has the appearance of cork
on the one side and of stone on the other. A still stronger combination of the
same materials may be formed by imbedding a second layer of corks in the
second coating of the compound while it is yet warm, laying the second layer
the reverse way of the first. The slabs in this case will have cork surfaces on
both sides.
I form also a good substitute for firewood by combining certain of the
materials before-mentioned in manner following; and this peculiar combination
I call No. 6 compound. I melt seven pounds of any resinous, bituminous,
oily, or fatty matter in a cauldron, and when the same is in a boiling state, I add
four pounds of cork cuttings or raspings (with which a portion of chips or
shavings of wood or small coal may be intermixed), and mingle the whole
intimately together; I then throw in about one pound of salt, and when that
has been absorbed, I add finally two pounds of manganese diluted with
sulphuric or some other acid, an effervescence ensues, and immediately on its
appearance the mixture is removed from the cauldron to be formed into sheets
by subjecting it to strong hydraulic pressure in the same way as before directed

page_text: to be adopted with respect to the compound No. 5. The sheets thus produced
are afterwards cut up into any lengths most convenient for lighting or kindling
fires. A strong fuel fit to take the place of coals altogether may be formed by
adding to ten pounds of cork cuttings or raspings well saturated with some
oily or fatty matter, fifty pounds of breeze, or coal, or coke in the state of
powder, twenty pounds of pitch, ten pounds of manganese, four pounds of
sulphuric acid, and two pounds of common salt, and mixing the whole
thoroughly together.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is the new
material or combination of materials for paving, piping, roofing, and other
purposes, in the six several varieties thereof herein-before described.
In witness whereof I, the said Edwin Edward Cassell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Twenty-sixth day of March, One thousand eight
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord Ond
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.