1851 Great Exhibition: Official Catalogue: Class VII.: F. F. Woods

42. WOODS, F. F., 5 Pelham Terrace, Brompton - Inventor, Patentee, and Manufacturer.

Patent union paving, for public and private roads; a new application of materials, being a combination of wood and stone; designed to possess the following advantages: Less noise than stone-paved roads; less mud than roads made with loose stones; less slippery than wood paving; besides having a better foothold for horses, and being more durable than the latter.

The principle of this invention consists in the application of stone and wood to the construction of a paving material, which is effected in the following manner: the stone which is employed for the purpose, is broken into pieces, and inserted in grooved or perforated blocks of wood, as in fig. 1, which is a section of one of the blocks, showing the position of the broken pieces of stone in the grooves or holes of the block.

The grooves or holes in the wood are about 3 or 4 inches deep; 2 or 2.5 inches wide, and 2 inches apart. The pieces of stone are driven into the grooves tight with a hammer, and their angles or corners are made to penetrate the wood at each side, so as firmly to retain their position. The pieces of stone are driven hard on to the wood at the bottom of the grooves or holes, which are previously lined with a small portion of a composition consisting of small gravel and ground lime. When the grooves or holes are filled up with the pieces of stone, a portion of the same composition is poured over the surface, and compressed with a brush or otherwise, in order to fill up any interstices that may remain between the stones and the wood. There are various designs which may be formed for the arrangement of the grooves, either for beauty or utility; and circular holes may be also used, according to a variety of patterns. These ought to be of 3 or 4 inches diameter, and within an inch or half an inch of each other. When straight grooves are used, which are most easily constructed, the illustrations in fig. 2 and fig. 3 will show the appearance which the paving will assume. These designs may be applied to blocks of any size.

When the grooves are cut in a ziz-zag form, the illustration, fig. 4, shows the appearance of the pavement. This design is to be applied to planks 3 inches by 11 inches.

The fourth illustration, fig. 5, shows a design intended for the use of round timber, and causing but small waste in preparation. The holes in these blocks are cut in the form of equilateral triangles.

The fifth design, fig. 6, is applicable to blocks of any size and, instead of grooves, has circular holes in the blocks. The angles of the stones are seen in this figure as well as in the other figures projecting into the wood.

The sixth design, fig. 7, is intended for the same use as that in fig. 5. The holes in this design are circular, and so disposed that five holes are contained in every block, which is constructed of the hexagonal form.

The blocks can be placed on thin boards, laid close to assist in keeping the under soil from coming up through the joints between the blocks; to aid in distributing the load passing over the blocks more equally; and to promote the under-drainage of the paving.

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