IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 113 A AD SONY AND HOON MDMAT
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Whitworth, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
113 A
AD SONY AND HOON MDMAT"
Sealed the 29th April 1864, and dated the 5th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Whitworth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
November 1863.
I, JOSEPH WHITWORTH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF STEEL AND HOMOGENEOUS METAL,"
to be as follows:-
In employing steel and the metal which is usually termed homogeneous
metal, and which is a mild kind of steel, it has been considered hitherto that
the only practical mode of properly working such metal or steel and rendering
it sufficiently close, strong, and ductile, is to hammer it or otherwise compress
it by powerful machinery, such as very heavy steam hammers or rolls or
squeezers, which compress the metal and give it the necessary closeness and
strength. The employment of such machinery is however extremely expensive,
and renders the material when used in large masses too costly to allow it to

page_text: be used with sufficient advantage. After a series of experiments made with
a view of discovering a more economical and convenient mode of treating
such metal, I have ascertained that the requisite strength and ductility may
be imparted to it without having recourse to the mechanical compression
given by the action of steam hammers or squeezing machinery, or apparatus
of that class, and that the result is obtained more economically and advan-
tageously by dispensing with such mechanical compression and giving the
metal the requisite closeness and strength, by casting it in a form approxi-
mating to that in which it is intended to be used, and by immersing it without
any previous forging in a bath of suitable liquid, such as oil or water, and
giving it afterwards, where requisite, the temper necessary to enable the metal
to be worked. The metal being made by this process so much harder and
stronger, it will be desirable in some cases, as in the construction of ordnance,
to rough turn, bore, or shape the casting preparatory to the hardening and
tempering of the metal. It may be employed in the manufacture of ordnance
and large pieces of work that can be cast of approximate shape, with very
great economy in cost and time as compared with the process hitherto adopted,
where compression by mechanical apparatus is relied upon for giving the
required strength.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Whitworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WHITWORTH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Whitworth, Her special license that I, the said Joseph Whit-
worth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Whitworth, my executors, administrators, and 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

page_text: "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF STEEL AND HOMOGENEOUS
METAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said - Joseph Whit-
worth, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing, under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Whitworth, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
:-
In employing steel and the metal which is usually termed homogeneous
metal, and which is a mild kind of steel, it has been considered hitherto that
the only practical mode of properly working such metal or steel and rendering
it sufficiently close, strong, and ductile, is to hammer it or otherwise compress
it by powerful machinery, such as very heavy steam hammers, or rolls, or
squeezers, which compress the metal and give it the necessary closeness and
strength. The employment of such machinery is however extremely expensive,
and renders the material when used in large masses too costly to allow it to
be used with sufficient advantage.
My improvements consist in the employment of a more economical and
convenient mode of treating such metal, by means of which the requisito
strength, closeness, and ductility may be imparted to it without having recourse
to the mechanical compression given by the action of steam hammers or
squeezing machinery, or apparatus of that class. Instead of employing the
usual mechanical compression above referred to, the requisite strength, close-
ness, and ductility are given to the metal by casting it in a form approxi-
mating to that in which it is intended to be used, and by immersing it without
any previous forging in a bath of suitable liquid, such as oil or water, and
giving it afterwards, where requisite, the temper necessary to enable the metal
to be worked. As by using this process great strength and hardness is im-
parted to the metal operated upon, it will be desirable in some cases, as in
the construction of ordnance, to rough turn, bore, or shape the casting pre-
paratory to the hardening and tempering of the metal. The process may be
very conveniently employed as well in the manufacture of ordnance as in the
manufacture of other kinds of work, consisting of large pieces that can be
cast of approximate shape in the first instance, and thereby considerable
economy in cost and time will be effected as compared with the process

page_text: hitherto adopted, where compression by mechanical apparatus is relied upon
for giving the required strength.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Whitworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Joseph Whitworth,
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JOSEPH WHITWORTH. (L.S.)