[ 144 ] [Marcii I, 



NEW PATENTS AND MECHANICAL INVENTIONS. 



To James Gladstone, o/" Liverpool, 

 iroiimoii ffer; for increasing theStrength 

 of Timber. 



MR. G.'s method of increasing the 

 strength oi timber intended to 

 be used in the construction of bridges, 

 beams, rafters, and roofs of buildings, 

 is by trussing and combining them to- 

 gether in the following manner. For 

 constructing bridges, he places lon- 

 gitudinally, and joins together, by 

 moans of iron fastenings, as many 

 pieces of timber as will be necessary 

 to reach from one abutment or pier to 

 another ; the ends of which he pro- 

 perly secures, and draws the timber so 

 connected to the tension or tightness 

 he desires, forming thereby a catena- 

 rian curve between tiie piers or abut- 

 juents ; and, according to the width of 

 the road or way he desires to make, he 

 places as many of tliese combined 

 timbers parallel to each other, and on 

 the same plane, as he tiiiuks neces- 

 sary. From the joints of each timber 

 so connected, he suspends other tim- 

 bers of various lengths, to the lower 

 ends of which he secures horizontal 

 timber, in order to form the road- 

 way. For the purpose of constructing 

 beams, rafters, and other parts of 

 buildings, he takes three pieces of 

 timber, all of them the required length 

 and scantling, and places them cither 

 close together, side by side, or a little 

 distance apart ; and at the ends of the 

 two outermost he cuts dove-tails, to fit 

 into corresponding mortises, cut into 

 and near the ends of two short cross 

 pieces, through the middle of each a 

 powerful screw having been placed. 

 He then subtends tlie middle timber, 

 by means of the screws acting on the 

 ends (previously prepared with iron) 

 of the middle timber, which causes the 

 two end-pieces to belly, ar.d press upon 

 the ends of the two outside timbers, 

 thereby causing them to rise or camber 

 upwards in the middle. He then 

 wedges up the ends of the middle tim- 

 ber (or the screws may be left in), and 

 proceeds to brace the three timbers in 

 their places. 



To John Frost, of FincMey, hdlder; 

 for a new Method of castiuy or con- 

 structing Foundations, Piers, Walls, 

 Ceilings, Arches, Columns, Sec. 

 This invention consists in casting or 



coustructing foundations, &c. so that 



the same may be finished at once ia 

 their places as the work proceeds ; for 

 which purpose, Mr. F. first constructs 

 moulds in convenient sizes, cither of 

 wood, nietal, or other substances, with 

 a finished face, either plain or enrich- 

 ed, exactly the reverse or counterpart 

 of the work designed to be executed ; 

 which moulds are to be firmly fixed by 

 the means of proper supports and 

 braces, as their intended situations 

 may require, so as to bound exactly 

 the surface or the part of the surface 

 of the intended work ; and all void 

 spaces through which the materials to 

 be used in the work can ooze, must 

 be stopped with putty or other soft 

 substance. Ho makes as few of the 

 moulds answer the purposes of the in- 

 tended work as he possibly can, by 

 removing them as the correspondent 

 parts of the work become set and soli- 

 dified, and refixiug them in the otjjer 

 parts of the work in progressive conti- 

 nuation, as the nature of it will permit. 

 He divides the surface of a circular 

 ceiling or arch into parallel compart- 

 ments, extending from abutment to 

 abutment. He also divides or sub- 

 divides domes or spherical ceilings 

 into compartments, and uses three or 

 more moulds at a time for similar 

 compartments ; and, when the corres- 

 pondent parts of the work, supported 

 by their surface, become set and solidi- 

 fied, he removes the middle mould 

 only, and refixes it in continuation, as 

 before described. 



Mr. F. also divides or subdivides 

 the surface of ceilings into compart- 

 ments, with iron ribs (such ribs being 

 strong enough to support flooring or 

 roofing when required), the bottom 

 parts thereof being furnished with 

 small rims or mouldings to receive and 

 support the compartments of the ceil- 

 ings. The face of each mould must, 

 before it be used, be covered or smear- 

 ed over with some substance which 

 will prevent any adhesion thereto of 

 the materials to be used in the con- 

 struction of the work, and which sub. 

 stance will not act chemically either 

 upon the materials or the moulds ; for 

 example, when plaster of Paris or 

 prepared gypsum is used for the face 

 of the work, he uses grease or oil; 

 when other quick-setting calcareous 

 cements are used, fine linen or other 

 cloth, or paper, or thin glue, or thick 



size 



