Richmond daily palladium., 1900-03-05
new USE FOR COPPER.
Can BE Used to Sheet Thin
Steel Plates.
INVENTION OF A BOSTON GENIUS.


Art In which He Ha. Interested
Frank Rockefeller New Material
Stood Test In Long Lake Voyage.
Has the Strength of Steel
For ages the scientists of the world
have been trying TO rediscover the Sc
cret Of tempering copper. secret
known TO have been possessed by the
ancients from the discovery of knives
made of solid copper in ancient ruins.
To fathom the secret of how the copper
in these keen old rustless knives was
tempered would probably mean as
much profit to the man who patented
the process now as any other invention
that could be conceived.
Tempered copper would be possible
of use for many purposes for which the
best copper that can now be made is
untitled, for the reason that II is not
sufficiently stiff or strong. By new
process of rolling Massachusetts gen
ius has succeeded in attaining results
that so far as sheet metal work Is con
cerned are almost equal to what he
would be able to accomplish If he had
rediscovered the secret of tempering
copper. says the Cleveland correspond
ent of the Chicago Record. The Mas
sachusetts genius is Charles Fletcher
Of Boston He has succeeded in get
ting Frank Rockefeller. brother Of the
president of the Standard OIL compan!
and himself a very rich man. interest
ed in the matter. Mr.. Rockefeller says
that If he finds on investigation that
~ I'm ic he. in
for IT and not too expensive a process
he will take ii up. If he does. he says
the plant for making the new material
which will revo!utionize some things
will be located in Cleveland
BY his invention Fletcher has sue
ceeded in making sheets Of. SO far as
appearance goes. pure copper of won
derful thinness. and with the spring.
ness strength and capacity for being
tempered that steel has Many
thousands of dollars have been spent
on the experiments and the few
sheets of the new material that have
been made cost a great deal more than
their weight in gold. Mr.. Rockefeller
has made arrangements to meet the
Inventor in New York and go into de
tails in few days.
F1etcher's process consists in rolling
hot steel plate and two heated cop
per plates at the same time in such a
way that the copper forms skin over
the surfaces of the steel and gives IL
all the wet and weather resistance that
pure copper has II will not rust and
has at the same time the strength of
steel Ii can be stamped as well as
tin and crirnped or otherwise worked
IN ways and under circumstances that
would be impossible with sheets Of
copper.
On his desk In the Standard OIL Of
fees in Cleveland Frank Rockefeller
has small sheet of the new material
no name for which has yet been Sc
iected. The sheets were the size of
letter paper and so thin as not to be
very much heavier. The steel itself
was several times as thick as the cop
per. and yet. on each surface of the
steel there was a perfect skin Of COP
per so thin that strong magnifying
glass did not show Its edge at the edge
Of the plate. To all appearances the
sheet was all copper. but its spring.
ness shovel that it was not These
pieces of sheet metal represent the cul-
mination OF experiments extending
over years.
The inventor Is an odd genius. His
letter paper is beaded "Faraday Lab
oratory. Boston. Mass. What Hath
God Wrought Numbers xiii. o3'' On
the letter heading there are about a
dozen references to texts In the Bible
Although he has had considerable cor
respondence with the inventor. Mr..
Rockefeller has not yet met him Last
summer the inventor sent some sam
piles of his new sheet metal to Mr.
Rockefeller. who had an Idea that such
plates Of greater thickness would be
valuable material for making steel lake
steamers He arranged with Captain
McDcugan- inventor of the whaleback.
to tow a model made of the new ma
terial behind one Of bis whalebacks for
q trip up and down the lakes to see
how 1t would stand It When the model
came back. the copper skin over the
steel plates was as shiny as when II
had been put into the water. Whether
IL is along this line or In the making of
stamped articles of use and ornament
such as gas chandeliers. cornices and
ro0fngs, that the new materials will be
used will in a measure depend on the |
cost Of production under actual condi- |
tons
Il think that the invention is one of |
the most remarkable that has come
to my notice" said Mr. Rockefeller |
and people are all the time trying to |
get me into something of that sort
The copper and steel are rolled at the
same time. and In the finished plate,