Untitled record

R. MARCHER.

Enameling Mouldings.

Patented May 10, 1859.

No. 23,930.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT MARCHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR LAYING METAL LEAF ON MOLDINGS, &amp;c.

Specification, of Letters Patent No. 23,930, dated. May 10, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Robert Marcher, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful 5 Method of Laying Gold and Silver Leaf on Moldings and other Surfaces; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying draw10 ings, making part of this specification, in which—

Figure 1, is a plan of the machinery; Fig. 2, a cross vertical section taken at the line A, a of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a longitudinal 15 vertical section.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The only mode of gilding or silvering moldings and other surfaces with gold and 20 silver leaf, so far as I am informed, is to take up the leaf metal with a flat brush called a tip and lay it gently on the prepared surface to be coated which surface is previously wet with alcohol and water, an 25 operation which is tedious, and requires skill and patience, and which is otherwise attended with serious difficulty particularly with concave moldings in which case a seam must be made in the middle of the concavity by 30 laying the leaf metal on each half and joined in the middle of the concavity, for if laid on the whole width of the concavity the leaf will first touch the elevated surface on each side of the concavity and cannot 85 be forced down into the concavity without rupturing the leaf. I have discovered however that the capillary attraction induced by the contact of a portion of the leaf metal with the moistened surface of the molding 40 is such as gradually to draw down the leaf, and that if the leaf be rolled up on a roller placed with its axis parallel with the axis of the molding, and capable of moving across the molding, that the leaf metal will be 45 drawn gradually from the roller and laid smoothly in the concavity or on any other surface which is parallel with the axis of the roller or nearly so; and with a view to a clear presentation of the characteristic 50 features of my said invention I will describe the construction of the apparatus employed, and the various modifications thereof which I have contemplated to illustrate the mode of operation.

In the accompanying drawings (a) represents a suitable bed, table or bench provided with dogs or other suitable means for securing the molding (b) or other article, the surface of which is to be gilded or silvered. To the frame is fitted a carriage (c) which ⁶⁰moves longitudinally on ways constructed as represented or in other suitable manner r to enable the operator to shift the position of the apparatus in a longitudinal direction relatively to the molding for laying on the ⁶⁵gold or silver leaf. This carriage should also be provided with suitable means for 7 adjusting the apparatus to the molding or other article in a vertical direction. In the accompanying drawings this is effected by ⁷⁰making the carriage in two parts connected by a slide (d) and clamp screw, and a ? swivel (e) to vary the inclination of the rails to be presently described. But it will be obvious that this may be done by other ⁷⁵and equivalent means and that instead of adjusting and moving the carriage with the rails, &amp;c., that the molding to be gilded or silvered may be placed on a carriage and moved under the apparatus, the inclination ⁸⁰of the rails being separately adjustable. On one side of the carriage there is a table (/) on which the book (g) of leaf metal is placed and held at the upper edge by means of pins or other suitable means. This table ⁸⁵is placed between two round or other formed rails (h, A) which cross the carriage at right angles as represented, and which are slightly inclined to a horizontal plane, the elevated end being at the back edge of the ⁹⁰book of leaf metal. The rails are adapted to slide in the carriage and at right angles to the line of motion of the said carriage, and at the back end they are connected with a hand lever (i) to enable the workman to ⁹⁵move them as will be presently described. There is a cylindrical roller (/) which may be grooved in the direction of its circumference in two places to fit on the rails and to be guided thereby as it rolls over the book ¹⁰⁰and above the surface to be gilded, &amp;c. This roller is grooved longitudinally as represented in the cross section and the groove filled to the surface with tallow or other equivalent material which, when ¹⁰⁵brought in contact with the leaf metal, will cause it to adhere sufficiently to be taken up by it.

The table on which the book is placed should be a little more inclined than the rails ¹¹⁰that the roller may rest on the book in taking and rolling up the leaf and then pass

23,930

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onto the rails. The inclination of the rails should be just sufficient for the cylindrical roller to roll doxvn by force of gravity, and xvhen it reaches the front it is stopped by txvo stops (7c, 7c) on the rails and these stops carry two levers (Z, Z) connected by a hand rod (m) by which the xvorkman forces doxvn the opposite ends of the said levers to confine the roller and hold it in place xvhile xvith 10 the other hand he turns the said roller to slightly unwind the leaf of metal, as xvill be presently described.

To the inside of the front edge of the front rail of the carriage is secured an ad^r 15 justable bar rabbeted as represented at («·) in a line parallel with and at a very short distance from the edge of the molding. I prefer to make the bottom surface of this rabbet inclining upxvard toward the front 20 edge of the molding, the elevation of xvhich should be slightly above the bottom surface of the rabbet.

The mode of operation is as follows, viz: The surface of the molding having been 25 properly prepared and wetted with alcohol and water, and adjusted, the workman places the roller at the upper end of the rails on the table against the pins, taking care to place the streak of tallow in contact with the leaf 80 metal and near the back edge thereof and to press it doxvn gently that the leaf may adhere, and being started it will run down rolling up the leaf of metal. When it gets to the bottom of the inclined rails the work35 man operates the levers (Z, Z) which secure it in place, and then with one hand he turns the roller to unwind the leaf of metal until the edge of it comes in contact with the bottom of the rabbet which acts as a gage. The 40 levers (Z, Z) are then depressed to liberate the roller, and the lever (¢) is operated to push it back a short distance, or until the leaf of metal is brought in contact with that portion of the xvet surface of the molding which 45 is nearest the gage, and so soon as it comes in contact with the liquid on the surface capillary attraction takes place by which it is drawn down to the surface of the molding with a force sufficient to cause the roller to 50 run up the rails and unwind the leaf xvhich is thus laid smoothly on the surface xyhatever may be the depressions and elevations. The covering leaf of paper is then taken off from the book to expose the next leaf of 55 metal, the apparatus is shifted by the carriage to a distance equal to the length of one leaf of metal and the operation repeated. In this way I am enabled to lay gold and silver leaf on moldings and other surfaces with 60 more expedition, accuracy, and smoothness, and less expense than by any other known plan, while at the same time I am enabled to lay unbroken sheets across hollow moldings instead of making a break in the middle 65 of the concavity as heretofore. And al though I prefer to place the rails at an inclination as above described, to resist in part the force of capillary attraction and thereby insure the laying of the leaf metal in the concavities xvhich could not be effected with- 70 out danger of breaking the leaf metal if the roller were permitted to travel too fast, nevertheless I do not wish to be understood as limiting my claim of invention to the placing of the rails at an inclination as the mo- 75 tion of the roller may be retarded by other and equivalent means. And although I claim as of my discovery and invention operating the roller for unwinding and laying leaf metal on surfaces by the force of capil- 80 lary attraction as the safest, and most perfect, as well as automatic, means of performing this delicate and heretofore artistic operation, I desire to secure as part of my said invention the performing of this operation 85 by means of the roller irrespective of the force by xvhich the roller is impelled, and irrespective of the mechanical means described, as I am aware that the roller may be moved by hand on the rails to unwind and 90 lay the leaf metal on the surface to be covered, and that this can be done by the workman taking hold of one or both ends, or by giving to the rails when they are used a sufficient range of motion across the molding 95 by the hand lever or other equivalent means. And I am also axvare, and therefore suggest it as one of the modes in xvhich I have contemplated the application of this part of my invention, that the roller may be employed 100 xvholly by hand if the workman be skillful and careful to manipulate it. But either of these modes of application of one part of my said invention require skill and attention on the part of the operator, and are more liable 105 to accident than when the whole operation is performed according to the several parts of my invention. And although I . have described the use of rails for sustaining and guiding the roller in passing over the mold- 110 mg or other surface in laying the leaf metal I do not wish to limit myself to the use of such rails as other and equivalent means may be employed for this purpose, as for instance the roller instead of rolling on the rails may 115 be mounted in pendulous arms so as to turn freely as the pendulous arms or frame swings over the book of leaf metal to roll or wind up a leaf and above the molding or other surface to lay the leaf properly on such sur- 120 face. And the roller instead of being cylindrical may be of other form, such as polygonal, so long as it is free to turn as it is carried over such surface.