IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
SOUTHALL, of Kidderminster, in the County of Worcester, Druggist, and
CHARLES CRUDGINGTON, of the same place, Banker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eighth day of February, in the seventh year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Thomas
Southall and Charles Crudgington, Her especial license, full power, sole privi-
lege and authority, that we, the said Thomas Southall and Charles Crudgington,
our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Southall
and Charles Crudgington, our exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that we, the said Thomas Southall
and Charles Crudgington, or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Thomas Southall and Charles Crudgington, do hereby declare that the
nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof (that is to say) :-
Our Invention consists of treating iron when in a melted state, in the
process of manufacturing malleable iron, by applying sulphur and a nitrate, as
hereafter explained, whereby the iron so treated may be greatly improved in
quality, and also when desired iron may be converted into steel. And in order
that the Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect,
we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
We take sulphur and nitre with. borax, soda, or potash and alum, and the
qualities of these ingredients used by us are sulphur in the form of brimstone
of commerce, nitre in the form of saltpetre of commerce, and the borax, soda
(subcarbonate of soda), potash, and alum, are of the usual qualities ordinarily
sold in shops; and we mention these circumstances in order to give the
manufacturer the best information we possess, that the Invention may be well
understood and readily practised, at the same time we do not confine ourselves
to these qualities. The materials above mentioned are broken into a small
granular state, and equal parts by weight of sulphur, nitre, borax, and alum,
with half a part by weight of soda or potash, and are to be well mixed
together. We make up these mixed matters into parcels of about one and a
half pounds each, that quantity being proper for treating about four hundred
weight of pig iron, and in like proportion for any quantities of iron in the
puddling furnace. These proportions are used when it is wished simply to
improve the quality of the iron, but when it is desired to convert the iron into
steel then we have found that about four pounds or more of the mixture are
required for each four hundredweight of iron. The above parcels of materials
are placed in packets of thick paper, which we have found to be a convenient
mode of getting the mixed matters below the surface of the melted iron, before
the action caused thereby takes place. A quantity of iron being in a melted and
white hot state in an ordinary puddling furnace, whether such melted iron be
obtained from melting pigs or otherwise, as is well understood when manu-
facturing malleable iron, we now treat such melted iron in the following
manner-The damper of the furnace is to be first closed for about a minute.
The packets containing the sulphur, nitre, and other matters, as above
explained, are then to be introduced by the puddler into the melted iron in his
furnace, and as he incorporates the same by well stirring the iron the damper
of the furnace is to be gradually opened, and a violent boiling of the iron will

page_text: take place for some minutes, and the iron will then come to nature, and the
same may be balled and then worked under the tilt hammer, and rolled as in
making malleable iron, according to the means now generally practised, and
the result will be greatly improved iron or steel, according to the quantity of
the ingredients used. As the qualities of iron differ very much, we have found
that the quantities of the materials above mentioned, requisite to produce as
nearly as may be a similar effect in each case, somewhat vary, but the
manufacturer who has operated with care and observation upon given qualities
of iron will, on subsequent occasions, if the process of puddling be carried on
with like care, produce similar results from like qualities and quantities of
materials; and he will find that, by increasing the quantity of the combined
materials for the same quantity and quality of iron, the product obtained will
more and more approach the character of steel, care being observed that the
quantity of the matters above mentioned be not increased so as to make the
steel too brittle; for it is to be understood that, according to our Invention,
the same process and the same ingredients are used for improving the quality
of iron and for making steel, the only difference being that a larger quantity of
the matters is introduced into the melted iron for making steel than when it is
simply desired to improve the quality of the malleable iron which may be
produced from particular qualities of iron. And we would remark, that, so far
as our experience goes, although the materials employed according to our
Invention improve every class of iron which we have experimented on, yet
there still remain differences of quality of iron.
Although we believe it best to employ all the matters above mentioned, yet
we do not confine ourselves thereto, as the effects derived from treating
melted iron with sulphur and a nitrate in the process of puddling are very
beneficial, without the employment of the other matters. We would further
remark, that we are aware that some of the materials herein mentioned as
being used by us have before been employed in the manufacture of iron, such
as nitre, soda, and potash; and we mention this circumstance in order to state
that we do not claim the separate use of either of the ingredients mentioned;
nor do we confine ourselves to the details herein set forth, so long as the
peculiar character of the Invention be retained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Southall and Charles Crudgington,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
THOMAS (L.S.) SOUTHALL.
CHARLES (L.B.) CRUDGINGTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of August, in
the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid Thomas Southall and Charles
Crudgington came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
Durpose.
Enrolled the Eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.