Process of producing mosaic articles

Claim 1

A process for producing slabs having a pattern on one surface thereof formed by exposed surfaces of mosaic stones arranged in a predetermined pattern, said process comprising: (a) placing a spacer member upon a horizontal support surface; (b) positioning a flat wooden sheet of predetermined outline with the lower surface thereof resting upon said spacer member, the latter being contained entirely within said predetermined outline, the upper surface of said sheet lying in a horizontal plane a predetermined distance above said support surface; (c) arranging a plurality of border stones in closely spaced succession about the entire perimeter of said wooden sheet, said border stones resting upon said support surface and extending to a substantially uniform height substantially flush with the upper surface of said wooden sheet; (d) arranging a plurality of mosaic stones in a desired pattern closely spaced relation over substantially all of said wooden sheet upper surface and extending over the upper surfaces of said border stones, said mosaic stones being cut to a substantially uniform thickness and ground substantially flat on both sides said stones being placed with the surfaces thereof which are to form said exposed surfaces of the finished slab facing upwardly; (e) pouring a first quantity of hardenable resin material in liquid state over said mosaic stones to fill all spaces therebetween, and to extend at least partly between said mosaic stones and said border stones and between the lower surfaces of said mosaic stones and said wooden sheet upper surface; (f) allowing said resin to dry, thereby forming a unitary sheet of said mosaic and border stones and ssaid wooden sheet with said exposed surfaces of said mosaic stones facing upwardly between said spaces filled by said resin material (g) inverting said unitary sheet to place said lower surface of said wooden sheet in an upwardly facing direction, and placing it upon a horizontal support; (h) filling the area over said upwardly facing lower surface of said wooden sheet bounded by said border stones with a second quantity of hardenable resin material substantialy to a plane defined by the edges of said border stones to form a continuous resin layer; (i) allowing said resin layer to dry, thereby providing a unitary slab having one major surface of polished mosaic stones, and the opposite major surface of a continuous resin layer surrounded by said border stones with resin filling the spaces therebetween; and (j) polishing said exposed surface of said mosaic stones to provide a finish of desired smoothness and to remove all excess resin from said exposed surface.