IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING FURNACES, AND IN PREPARING IRON FOR BEING OPERATED UPON THEREIN, AND CHARGING SUCH IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING FOR AND CHARGING, BEING APPLICABLE IN CONNECTION VIBRATORY AND REFINERY FURNACES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Withy and William Gibson, both of
West Hartlepool, in the County of Durham, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING FURNACES, AND IN PREPARING IRON FOR BEING
OPERATED UPON THEREIN, AND CHARGING SUCH IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING
FOR AND CHARGING, BEING APPLICABLE IN CONNECTION
VIBRATORY AND REFINERY FURNACES.”
WITH CUPOLAS,
Sealed the 28th January 1873, and dated the 9th September 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Withy and
William Gibson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th September 1872.
We, EDWARD WITHY and WILLIAM GIBSON, both of West Hartle-
pool, in the County of Durham, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING FURNACES, AND IN PREPARING
IRON FOR BEING OPERATED UPON THEREIN, AND CHARGING SUCH IMPROVEMENTS IN
PREPARING FOR AND CHARGING, BEING APPLICABLE IN CONNECTION WITH CUPOLAS,
VIBRATORY AND REFINERY FURNACES," to be as follows:-
:―
Our puddling furnaces we construct with a hole or door made as
hereafter described for the purpose of charging at the top of the furnace

page_text: stack at any distance between the top and bottom of the stack, or at
any point between the fire and the bottom of the stack, and we charge
the vibratory furnaces and cupolas in the same manner as the puddling
furnaces, and by exposing so large a heating surface to the flame we
effect a great saving of fuel.
We prepare the iron for charging by casting it into such forms as will
afford the greatest amount of heating surface to the flame or heated
gases, and we charge the same as before mentioned at the top of the
puddling furnace stack. The castings for charging we make as thin as
possible and with plenty of partitions in them in order to give the
greatest amount of heating surface, only allowing thickness enough to
accommodate the moulders, and likewise to allow sufficient strength in
them to bear carriage from the blast furnace to where they are wanted.
It must be understood that we intend these charging castings to be cast
at the blast furnaces or refinery.
Sometimes we use a corrugated section, (a number of these can be
charged together).
Sometimes we put a flat plate between the corrugated plates; this
leaves suffi cient space for the flame to pass through between the plates.
The sections may be charged at the puddling door; they may be put
into the puddling hearth with a pair of tongs or a charging fork slung
on a chain attached to a bracket above the furnace. To charge the
ordinary puddling furnace with castings, one of these castings is taken
and placed far back in the puddling hearth, the next is then placed
against the first, and so on until the furnace is charged, the first layer
The
being covered by others until the top of the furnace is reached.
furnace being thus full the flame passes through between each section,
and by playing on such thin sections soon melts them. The result is a
great saving of fuel and time which enables the puddler to take so
many more heats per day.
Sometimes we use two puddling hearths to one furnace, with a bridge
between them to keep the metal separate, so that while the puddler or
the mechanical puddler is working the heat in one hearth the charge is
melting in the other.
For charging at the top of the stack or at a hole or door made for
the purpose any way between the top and bottom of stack, a square

page_text: casting is provided without any partitions in it, ready for lowering down
to the casting which is resting on a foot. This foot keeps the castings
in the stack until they are melted, the bottom ones melting first and
the others following down to take their place. There is a chamber for
receiving the metal as it is melted in the stack. It is run from this
chamber to the puddling hearth by a channel from the tapping hole to
the inlet to puddling hearth. In this case the receiving hearth is as
high as the bottom of the puddling door to allow for sufficient descent
for the metal to run into the puddling hearth. The receiver has a door
which in case the tap hole gets stopped enables the puddler to work his
heat on the receiving hearth. The receiving chamber is provided with
one or two tapping holes to run off part of the slag from the surface of
the metal occasionally.
We do not confine ourselves to any particular shape in the receiver;
its edges may be either round, square, or oval; the hearth may be flat,
or be in the form of a basin; the sections we use for charging the stacks
may be of various forms; some have the greatest amount of heating
surface to the weight of metal, others are without any partitions in
them and are charged with the charging dogs. These dogs free
themselves as soon as the casting is lowered down and finds a resting
place; the dogs have feet and a rack bar; the rack drops on to a pin
and keeps the dogs close until they are drawn clear from the casting;
charging tongs are used for charging flat plates; these tongs are
provided with a rack to keep them open when they have lowered the
casting down on to the preceding one.
Where square stacks are used we can charge flat plates by crossing
them alternately, and the four corners of the stack guide the plates.
Where a round stack is charged with flat plates there are grooves made
in the brickwork at any suitable distance apart to guide the plates in
their descent. We also make grooves in the square stack when it is
intended to charge the stack with flat plates or with pig iron; in this
case each alternate layer of iron is crossed.
We sometimes charge cupolas with pig iron in the same way as the.
square or round stack.
Where this Invention is applied to revolving puddling furnaces
the stack and receiver are similar to that which has been already
described, except that where the receiver comes against the revolver

page_text: that part of it is built to correspond with the revolver. Where the
receiver is low the metal is run from it into ladles, and from these
into the revolver, the ladles being worked either by a crane or by hand.
Where the Invention is applied to air furnaces for foundry casting the
stack is similar to what has been described, and the present hearth i
answers as the receiving hearth.
Where the Invention is applied to cupolas we charge them at the
ordinary door or at the top, or at a hole or door made for the purpose
at any point between the top and the regular charging hole with the
above sections; the coke being broken small is thrown into the sections 1
and passes freely into the spaces in them.
When the air furnace or cupola is charged at the top one air furnace
or one cupola may be made to answer for large castings, as a continual
stream of metal can be kept running for hours.
Sometimes we charge the air furnace hearth and the revolving 1
puddler with the above sections in the same way as the ordinary
puddling hearth.
Sometimes we make holes in the stack about half an inch in diameter
and about 12 inches apart on opposite sides for the admission of air to
keep the heated gases in a state of combustion, and at the same time to 2
act as a smoke consumer.
Sometimes we make the boles larger, and in this case fit a rod on each
side of the stack with small plates or doors to cover the holes. These
rods are worked up and down with levers or with screw gear by the
attendant. When he sees a volume of smoke coming out of the top of a
the stack he will know at once that the heated gases require more air to
convert them into flame, and as soon as the smoke disappears he will
know that the holes are sufficiently open.
•
We do not confine ourselves to the above described sections as the
sections will depend much on the size and shape of the stacks and a
furnace.
Points of importance in our Invention are,-
1. The form of charging castings.
2. The method of charging said castings, as also the application of
the same to charging flat plates and pig iron.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Withy and William Gibson in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 8th March 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
WITHY and WILLIAM GIBSON, both of West Hartlepool, in the County
of Durham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Edward Withy and
William Gibson, Her special license that we, the said Edward Withy
and William Gibson, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Edward Withy and William Gibson,
our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING FURNACES, AND IN PREPARING IRON FOR
BEING OPERATED UPON THEREIN, AND CHARGING SUCH IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING
FOR AND CHARGING, BEING APPLICAble in ConnectION WITH CUPOLAS, VIBRATORY
AND REFINERY FURNACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Edward Withy and William Gibson, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: m, m, columns to support gangway. The foot of crane H passes
through the gangway and into the top of column m. A collar on
the crane rests on the gangway and stops the crane from going too far
into the column. The gangway and stage may be made the same as
those used for blast furnaces.
R, a sliding door to be let down in front of the ash-pit. The puddler
makes use of this door when he cannot use the damper n.on account of
the charging.
Fig 3 is a section designed to be charged at the puddling door, which
section is flat on one side and has a row of ribs on the other side; these
ribs may be from two to four inches apart, and about the same depth by
about half an inch thick in all parts.
We do not confine ourselves to these sizes, but what we aim at is to
have the charging castings made as thin as possible and with plenty
of partitions in them in order to give the greatest amount of heating
surface, only allowing thickness enough to accommodate the moulders
and to make the castings sufficiently strong to bear carriage from the
blast furnace to where they are wanted. It must be understood that we
intend these charging castings to be cast at the blast furnace or refinery.
Fig. 4 is a corrugated section; a number of these can be charged in the
same way as Fig. 3.
Sometimes we put a flat plate between the corrugated plates; this
leaves sufficient space for the flame to pass through between the plates.
'
Any of the following sections may be charged at the puddling door.
They may be put into the puddling hearth with a pair of tongs or a
charging fork slung on a chain attached to a bracket above the furnace.
To charge the ordinary puddling furnace with castings, like Fig. 3, one
of these castings is taken and placed against the back of the puddling
hearth, the next is then placed against the first, and so on until the
furnace is charged. The flame passes through between each section
and by playing on such thin sections soon melts them. The result is
a great saving of fuel and time which enables the puddler to take so
many more heats per day.

page_text: Sometimes we use two puddling hearths to one furnace with a bridge
between them to keep the metal separate, so that while the puddler or
the mechanical puddler is working the heat in one hearth the charge is
melting in the other, or the metal is run into them from the receiver
or refiner.
Our next improvement is in charging at the top of the stack or at
a hole or door made for the purpose at any point between the top and
bottom of the stack; J (Fig 1) is a square casting without any partitions
in it, ready for lowering down to casting H which is resting on foot G.
This foot goes about one quarter across the stack and keeps the castings
in the stack until they are melted, the bottom one melting first and
the others following down to take their place. E is a chamber for
melting the metal when charged through door U or receiving the
metal as it is melted in the stack.' The metal runs from this receiving
chamber to the refiner D through an open space which is provided in
the bridge T. The metal enters at the bottom of the receiving chamber
and flows out near the top of the bridge T (as shewn by the arrows),
the heaviest metal falling to the bottom of the receiver. The slag being
much lighter than the metal finds its way to the surface of the metal.
The tap hole S, (Fig. 2), is level with the surface of the metal, so that
the slag is kept running from the tap hole S. The metal by its own
gravity finds its way through the uptake into the refiner D; the metal
is run from the chamber D to the puddling hearth by the channel O,
(Fig. 2), from P¹ the tapping hole to Q the inlet to puddling hearth.
In this case the refinery hearth is as high as the bottom of the puddling
door to allow sufficient descent for the metal to run into the puddling
hearth. U is a door by which the receiver may be charged in case
it is not desired to charge from the top of chimney stack; or in case
the tap hole P² gets stopped the puddler is enabled to work his heat on
the receiving hearth.
We do not confine ourselves to any particular shape in the receiver,
its sides or edges may be either round, square, or oval, the hearth may
be flat or be in the form of a basin. We sometimes use several receivers
the more effectually to get rid of the slag and other impurities, and to
produce iron of different degrees of fineness.
Figs. 5 to 12 are such sections as we use for charging the stacks;
Figs. 5 to 8 are sections which have the greatest amount of heating

page_text: surface to the weight of metal; Figs. 9 to 12 are without any partitions
in them, and are charged with the charging dogs, shewn in Fig. 13.
These dogs free themselves as soon as they lose the weight of a casting
by lowering it down on to a preceding one.
Fig. 14 shews a pair of charging tongs for charging flat plates, or
such as Figs. 5 to 8. These tongs are provided with a rack to keep
them open when they have lowered the casting down on to the preceding
one.
In charging an ordinary puddling furnace square stack with flat
plates we cross them alternately, the four corners of the stack guiding
them. When we build or alter a stack for the purpose of charging it
with flat plates we provide grooves in the brickwork to guide them
down in the stack, the grooves being suitable distances apart and each
alternate layer of plates crossed.
We sometimes provide grooves in cupolas for the charging of flat
plates or pig iron.
When this Invention is applied to revolving puddling furnaces the
stack receiver and refiner are the same as in Fig. 1, except that where
the refiner comes against the revolver that part of it is built to corre-
spond with the revolver. Where the refiner is low the metal is run
from the refiner into ladles and from the ladles into the revolver, the
ladles being worked either by cranes or by hand. Where the receiver
or refiner is connected to a continuous revolving puddling furnace the
metal runs from the receiver or refiner into the revolver at one end, and
passes out at the other end in the state of wrought iron or steel, or
partly wrought iron and partly steel.
Where this Invention is applied to vibratory furnaces for foundry
casting, the furnaces, stack receiver, and refiner are the same as in
Fig. 1, except the puddling bearth, which in this case is not required.
We charge the receiver with the above sections, or we charge the stack;
when common castings are wanted the metal is run direct from the
receiver; when castings of a finer quality are required the metal is run
from the refiner.
When this Invention is applied to cupolas we charge them with the
above sections, or with flat plates at the regular charging hole, or at
the top of the cupolas, or at a hole or door made for the purpose at any

page_text: point between the top of the cupola and the regular charging hole. The
coke or coal, or both of them being broken small, are thrown into the
sections and pass freely into the spaces in them. Sometimes we charge
the revolving puddling chamber with the above sections.
Sometimes we make holes in the stack about half an inch in diameter
and about 12 inches apart on opposite sides of the stack for the admission
of air to keep the heated gases in a state of combustion, and at the same
time to answer as a smoke consumer. Sometimes we make the holes
·larger, and in this case we fit rods or bars of iron down each side with
holes at intervals, as shown in Fig. 2. V, bar of iron; W, W, W, plates
to keep bar close to stack; X, X, levers to work rods or bars as they
may require, or they may be worked with screw gear..
It must be understood that these holes in the bars are made to corre-
spond with the holes in the stack. When the charge man or puddler
sees a volume of smoke coming out of the top of the stack he will know
at once that the heated gases are requiring more air to convert them
into flame, and as soon as the smoke disappears he will know that the
holes are sufficiently open. By this plan of converting the smoke or
heated gases into flame we effect a great saving of fuel.
To show our best plan for saving fuel we will take a section similar to
Fig. 5.
Its depth is 12 inches and 18 inches each way on the top, with
twelve partitions each way in it, each partition being half an inch thick,
and so leaving a space of one inch between each partition. The heating
surface of this section is no less than 50 feet. When a stack 40 feet
high is charged with forty of these sections the heating surface amounts
to 2,000 feet against less than 10 feet, given by four pigs of iron laid at
the bottom of the puddling hearth. By this plan of charging we claim
to effect a great saving of fuel.
We do not confine ourselves to the above sections, as this will depend
much on the size and shape of the stacks and furnaces.
We do not confine ourselves to the number of refining chambers
as this depends on the work that the furnace is intended for; one
receiver and one refiner are sufficient for ordinary casting. Where
we want good malleable cast iron we run the metal through two or
three more refiners. Where we want good cast steel we run the
metal through so many more refiners. The number of refiners depends

page_text: '
on the quality of the metal to begin with and the temperature
of the furnace. To get mild steel we run the metal through two
or three more refiners until a sufficient quantity of carbon has been
burnt out. When we use a number of refiners in a row we leave a
descent of three or four inches between each hearth for the metal to
work from one hearth to another. When a number of refiners are used
the metal after having entered the refiner D passes along to the other
end of it, where it enters an uptake similar to that by which it entered
at the bridge T, and so finds its way into a second refiner. Passing
along to the other end of the second refiner it is conveyed by another
uptake to a third refiner, and so on, becoming purer as it passes through
each refiner. From the metal running and working itself from the
bottom of one refiner to the surface of another by its own gravitation it
may be called a self-acting puddler. We provide each refiner with a tap
hole at the level of the hearth and another at the surface of the metal
to run off the slag when required; and we sometimes provide each
refiner with a door. In case the tap hole gets stopped the door can be
opened and the metal taken out with hand ladles.
When the founder has a furnace like this he can choose what metal
he likes. He can have common. cast iron, refined iron, malleable cast
iron, hard cast steel, or mild cast steel from one furnace.
Sometimes we run the metal direct from a cupola or blast furnace into
the receiving chamber; this saves the expense of moulding and casting
the above sections. Where the puddling furnaces are too far from the
blast furnaces for the metal to be run direct it may be conveyed in large
ladles on wheels when the distance is not too great. We do not claim
to be the first who have run the metal direct from a cupola or blast
furnace, but we claim to be the first who have run it into such receiver
and refiners as above mentioned and in the manner described.
Our improvements in puddling furnaces thus comprise —
(1). Providing them with a receiving chamber and refiner or refining
chambers.
(2). Making grooves in the brickwork in the stack to guide flat plates
or pig iron down the stack.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our

page_text: carried out in practice, we hereby declare that we claim in respect
thereof,-
(1). The form and method of charging the castings, as also the appli-
cation of the same to charging flat plates and pig iron.
(2). The receiving chamber or chambers, and refining chamber or
chambers, and the grooves in the stack for guiding flat plates or pig
iron, substantially as herein described.
(3). The making of holes in the stack for the admission of air to
promote the combustion of the heated gases, substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edward Withy and William
Gibson, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day
of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-three.
Witness,
WILLIAM KELK,
Middleton Ship Yard,
Hartlepool.
EDW³. WITHY. (L.S.)
WM GIBSON.
(L.S.)