IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HARDENING SAW BLADES AND OTHER PLATES OR SHEETS OF STEEL
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Dodge, of Waterford, Saratoga County,
State of New York, United States of America, Engineer, at present
residing in Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HARDENING SAW BLADES AND OTHER
PLATES OR SHEETS OF STEEL."
Sealed the 20th October 1864, and dated the 23rd April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Dodge at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd April
1864.
I, JAMES DODGE, of Waterford, Saratoga County, State of New York,
United States of America, Engineer, at present residing in Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HARDENING SAW BLADES AND OTHER PLATES OR
SHEETS OF STEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the employment for the purpose of hardening
saw blades, and other plates or sheets of steel, of two hollow metal boxes or
chills with a thin steel or other metal plate on the face side, or side in contact
with the plate or sheet to be hardened; these boxes have strips or partitions
of metal placed inside in any position to protect or sustain the thin steel
plates or covers. The covers are fitted water-tight, and are cooled by a
current of water circulating through them in a zig-zag or any other inauner,

page_text: as may be arranged, with the strips or partitions above referred to; the boxes
or chills are also fitted at the back or outside with india-rubber or any other
yielding or elastic substance, and are made of any size or shape to suit the
article or plate to be hardened. The boxes or chills are placed vertically or
edgewise in a strong frame, and the saw blade, plate, or sheet of steel to be
hardened is placed whilst in a heated state between them, when the two
boxes are caused to approach and compass the article between them, the
pressure being applied by means of cams, screws, or any other known
inechanical' contrivance until the blade or plate has attained the proper
temper or hardness.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Dodge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd
October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
DODGE, of Waterford, Sarotoga County, State of New York, United States of
America, Engineer, at present residing in Manchster, in the County of
Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Dodge, Her special license that I, the said James Dodge,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Dodge, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time, and at all, times, thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HARDENING SAW BLADES AND OTHER PLATES OR SHEETS
OF STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Dodge, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, or, under the hand and seal of one of them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal, Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Dodge, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings; and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention consists in the employment for the purpose of hardening
saw blades and other plates or sheets of steel of two hollow metal boxes or
chills with a thin steel or other metal plate or cover on the face side or side
in contact with the plate or sheet to be hardened. These boxes have strips or
partitions of metal placed or formed inside in any position so as to sustain the
thin steel plates or covers. The covers are fitted water-tight on to the boxes
or chills, and are cooled by a current of water circulating through them in a
zig-zag or any other manner as may be arranged with the strips or partitions
above referred to. One or other or both the boxes or chills are also fitted at
the back or outside with india-rubber or any other yielding or elastic substance
which is interposed between the box or chill and the supporting framing. It
is obvious that these boxes or chills may be made of size or shape to suit the
article or plate to be hardened. The boxes or chills are placed vertically or
edgewise in a strong frame, and the saw blade, plate, or sheet of steel to be
hardened is placed whilst in a heated state between them, whereupon the two
boxes are caused to approach and compress the article between them, the
pressure being applied by means of cams, screws, or any other known
mechanical contrivance, until the blade or plate has attained the proper
temper or hardness. By placing the boxes or chills edgewise or with their
chilling faces in a vertical or nearly vertical position, the water inside such
chills will always be in actual contact with the chilling plate or surface, and
any steam space that may be found inside the boxes or chills will be at the
upper edges thereof.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same; and for that purpose
I shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Fig. 1 of my Drawings represents a side élevation of my improved appa-
ratus for hardening saw blades and other plates or sheets of steel; Fig. 2 is a
corresponding plan of the same; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the
apparatus; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6, represent similar views of one of the chills
on a larger scale with the middle portion broken away.
A represents a cast-iron or other strong metal frame provided with

page_text: supporting brackets B bolted thereon; at each end of this frame on the lower
and inner side thereof, is cast a small supporting ledge or rib a, upon which
the extremities of the boxes or hollow chills C, C', rest, these boxes or chills
being made to fit easily inside the frame A, as shewn in the Drawings; D is a
cam shaft situate inside the frame A, and carried in a bearing at each end
thereof; it is provided with a lever handle E on one end outside the frame,
and has keyed on to it inside the frame the cams or eccentrics F, F, F, which
bear against the back of the chill C and forcibly press it, when the handle E
is partially turned against the face of the chill C'. This chill is supported at
the back by the frame A, but between it and the frame there is interposed a
sheet of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material or yielding substance
G, the object of which is to allow the chill to conform under pressure to the
slight irregularities of the plate or saw blade to be hardened, and also to
compensate for any contortion or twisting of the chill arising from the
expansion produced by the heat of the plate or saw blade. The construction
of these chills will be readily understood on referring to the enlarged details,
Figs. 4, 5, and 6, they each consist of a hollow cast iron or other metal box C
open on one side, and provided internally with a number of ribs or partitions
c, c, which may either be fitted in any convenient manner inside the box, or
cast in one piece therewith, as shewn in the Drawings. The edges of these
ribs or partitions are flush with the edges of the box, so that they may
serve to support and retain in a firm and solid manner the thin steel plate or
cover d which forms the face of the chill, and which is attached by screws or
otherwise to the box C, the joint being rendered water-tight. In some cases
hollow cast-iron cbills may be used with water circulating through them, and
having the chilling face supported by studs cast therein, the thin steel face
plate or cover d being dispensed with. By being thus supported at the back
the chilling faces or plates d, are prevented from bending or giving way under
the pressure which is exerted against them. e and fare flexible or other
pipes attached to each chill for the purpose of allowing of a free circulation of
cold water through them, so as to keep them cool, the water taking a zig-zag
course between the several ribs or partitions c, as shown by the arrows, and
openings being made through the partitions to admit of the unimpeded flow
of the liquid between the several ribs or partitions. In using this apparatus
the saw blade or sheet of steel to be hardened is first heated to the proper
temperature, and then dropped between the contiguous faces of the two
chills C, C', after which the chill C is pressed firmly against the beated metal
by the action of the cams or eccentrics F, so as to compress the same between
the cold surfaces of the chills, the elastic or yielding backing of the chill C₁

page_text: enabling it to adjust itself to any irregularities in the plate or sheet of steel to
be hardened.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general construction and arrangement of apparatus for hardening
saw blades and other plates or sheets of steel, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use to and in the hardening of saw blades and
other plates or sheets of hollow chills through which cold water is allowed to
circulate in combination with a backing of india-rubber or other suitable
elastic or yielding material, substantially as herein-before described.
Third, the application of a backing of india-rubber or other suitable elastic
or yielding material behind one or both of a pair of metallic chills, substantially
in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the peculiar construction of chills for bardening saw blades and
other plates or sheets of steel with a thin chilling face of steel or other metal
which is supported or sustained by ribs, studs, or other means of support,
substantially as berein-before described.
Fifth, the placing of chills, through which water is allowed to circulate,
and which are intended to be used in the hardening of saw blades and other
plates or sheets of steel with their chilling faces in a vertical or nearly vertical
position, for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Dodge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the above-named James Dodge,
in the presence of
FRA. HAMPSON,
Sol., Manchester.
JAMES DODGE. (L.S.)