AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS OR GIRDERS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING
WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS OR GIRDERS."-A communication.
Sealed the 16th April 1858, and dated the 24th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th October 1857.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF
MAKING WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS OR GIRDERS," to be as follows:-
Wrought-iron girders are usually made in the form of an I, or the section
having a central upright web or stem, and an upper and lower flange. In
making such girders it has been customary to make a solid pile of rectangular
section, by laying a number of flat bars or strips of iron, one on top of the
other. The pile so made is then inserted in the furnace, and heated to welding
heat, and then passed through a series of grooves in rollers, of forms gradually
approximating to the ultimate I form of the girder. The effect of so preparing
the pile and rolling it, is that the iron being forced to undergo great changes
in its sectional shape, it is unduly strained in some parts and unduly com-
pressed in others, and hence it is frequently torn and broken, so as to be
rendered unfit for use, and when girders so made are used, they are so weakened

page_text: in parts that the amount of strain which they should sustain is very much
diminished. In order to obviate this difficulty, and to add greatly to the
strength of beams and girders by a more economical application of the metal
used, it is now proposed to form the pile for a double-headed beam or girder
of three parts, that is, two flat pieces or bars rolled out, with a groove running
from end to end thereof, to form the flanges, the third part being the webbing
which is fitted into the grooves of the flange pieces. These three parts are
secured together temporarily by wedges, and the pile thus formed is placed in
a furnace heated to a welding heat, and then rolled through a series of grooves
in rolls, the first groove and all the subsequent grooves being of the same or
I shape, as the section of the ultimate grooves.
A T-shaped bar can be made on the same plan, by using one flange piece
instead of two in forming the pile, and inserting the upright strip into the
groove in that piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING WROUGHT-
IRON BEAMS OR GIRDERS," being a communication from abroad, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Wrought-iron girders are usually made in the form of an I, or the section
having a central upright web or stem, and an upper and lower flange. In
making such girders it has been customary to build up a solid pile of rect-
angular section, by laying a number of flat bars or strips of iron, one on top of
the other. The pile so made is heated in a furnace to welding heat, and then
passed between rollers provided with a series of grooves of forms gradually
approximating to the ultimate I-form of the girder. The effect of so preparing
the pile and rolling it, is that the iron being forced to undergo great changes
in its sectional shape, is unduly strained in some parts and unduly compressed
in others, and hence it is frequently torn and broken, so as to be rendered
unfit for use; and when girders thus made are used, they are so weakened
in parts that the amount of strain which they are capable of sustaining is very
much diminished.
Now, the
present Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, consists in forming the pile of two flat pieces or bars, of about double
the width of the upper and lower flanges respectively.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of a pile
prepared for making a girder according to this Invention; Figs. 2 and 3
represent the parts thereof, detached; and Figs. 4 and 5 represent modi-
fications of the pile shewn in Fig. 1.
The flat bars are first rolled out with a groove in them, such as is shewn in
Fig. 2, of about three quarters of an inch deep, and two and a half inches
wide for a seven inch girder, for example. Then two or more bars of iron
are laid one on the top of the other, as shown in section C, Fig. 3, and these
are placed in the lower groove e, e¹, of B, and secured in position by a small
wedge of iron. The upper piece A is next laid on the top of the pile C, so
that the upper end of the pile fits in the groove d, d, and then a wedge is
driven in the groove d, d', in like manner as before. The pile thus formed has
the appearance in section of Fig. 1, and it is placed in a furnace, where it is
heated to a welding heat. It is then removed and rolled through a series of
grooves in rolls, the first groove and all the subsequent grooves approximating

page_text: more or less closely to the same or I shape, as the section of the ultimate or
finishing grooves.
The advantages of this mode of preparing the pile are, first, that the number
of grooves through which the girder has to be passed is reduced about one-
third; second, the shape of the pile being nearly the same in sectional shape
as that required for the girder, the iron is equally and uniformly compressed
at all parts; third, the insertion of the pile or piece C in the grooves d, d¹,
and e, e¹, insures a perfect joint or connection of the web with the flanges
while heating; fourth, the. amount of splitting and tearing, and consequent
waste in the rolling of the girders is materially diminished. It has been found
by experiment that twenty-five per cent. in the cost of making girders can be
saved by adopting this mode of manufacturing, and that girders so made
possess considerably increased strength.
The form of the pieces A and B may be modified by changing the shape of
the grooves, as is shewn at A and B', Fig. 4.
A T-shaped bar can be made on the same plan by using one piece A" in
forming the pile, as shewn in Fig. 5, and inserting the upright strip into the
groove in that piece. Instead of employing a series of two, three, or more
pieces to form the pile on the webbing, one thick piece might be used, but
for T bars it should be bevilled.
Having thus explained the nature of the Invention, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim, the manufacture of wrought-iron I or T girders and
bars, by forming the pile of grooved pieces in combination with the inter-
mediate webbing, arranged and combined in the manner substantially as above
'described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)