AN IMPROVED PUDDLING FURNACE FOR THE BETTER PRODUCTION OF MANUFACTURED IRON IN THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING IT FROM THE PIG
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DANIEL
HORTON and GEORGE HORTON, of the Loys Ironworks, in the Parish of
Kingswinford, in the County of Stafford, Ironmasters and Copartners, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent King William the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Seventh day of September, in the third year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Daniel
Horton and George Horton, His especial licence, that we, the said Daniel
Horton and George Horton, our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Daniel Horton and George Horton, our exors, adiñors, and
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 "AN IMPROVED PUDDLING FURNACE
FOR THE BETTER PRODUCTION OF MANUFACTURED IRON IN THE PROCESS OF
OBTAINING IT FROM THE PIG;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso obliging us,. the said Daniel Horton and George Horton, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of our said
Invention; and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause
the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, may
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Daniel Horton and George Horton, do hereby declare that the nature of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the figures and letters
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
In the ordinary process of producing manufactured or malleable iron from
the pig, it is usual to pass the same first into the refinery or refining furnace,
and afterwards into the puddling furnace, as is well understood in the manu-
facture of iron; but efforts have been made and are now used to produce
manufactured or malleable iron in the puddling furnace, direct from the crude
pig iron, without subjecting the same to the operation of the refining furnace;
yet, owing to the higher. degrees of heat to which it is necessary to raise the
iron, in at once producing manufactured or malleable iron from the pig in the
puddling furnace, beyond that at which the puddling furnace is usually con-
ducted when puddling iron which has previously been operated on by the
refining process, the puddling furnace becomes quickly destroyed, and thus
are the benefits considerably lessened which would otherwise be obtained by
producing manufactured or malleable iron direct from the pig iron in the
puddling furnace. The object, therefore, of our Invention is, to construct the
puddling furnace in such manner that the sides and ends of those parts in
which the iron is puddled shall be less prejudicially acted on by the high
degree of temperature to which the puddling furnace is liable when used to
produce manufactured iron direct from the pig; and this we do by a new
combination of apparatus, superadded to parts of the old puddling furnace,
and which consists of placing around the sides and ends of the puddling
furnace iron vessels, in such manner that any superabundance of heat which
might be taken up by such vessels is carried off by a flow of water or by
the atmosphere, whereby the sides and ends of the puddling furnace so com-
posed of vessels will be kept at a temperature which materially preserves the
same from the otherwise prejudicial heat of the metal which is being puddled,
and at the same time considerably higher degrees of heat may be used in such
puddling furnaces without risk of destroying the materials of which the furnace
is composed, which combination may be varied in some instances by forming the
fronts and backs of the puddling furnace with plates of wrought or cast iron
from an inch to an inch and a half thick, such plates being entirely exposed
to the atmosphere..

page_text: In order that our Invention may be clearly understood and carried into
effect, we will now describe the Drawings hereunto annexed, first observing
that the same letters of reference indicate similar parts wherever they occur.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a puddling furnace constructed
according to our Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1 shewn in section;
Figure 3 is a vertical section of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a transverse section
of Figure 1, taken across the middle of the puddling furnace. And in all of
these Figures it will be seen that the lower parts of the puddling furnace, where
the iron is puddled, are exposed to the atmosphere, the same being supported
on cast-iron pillars A, A. B is a plate of cast iron, having holes C, C (see
Figure 2), for the passage of air. This plate B rests on the brickwork D
and E (see Figure 1), and is supported on the pillars A, A. On to the plate B
is placed the wrought or cast-iron bottom F, Figures 3 and 4, as is usual in form-
ing the bottom of puddling furnaces. G, G, are two angular cast-iron vessels,
which run from front to back of the puddling furnace, and form the two ends
of the puddling furnace. These vessels are hollow, as will be seen by the
section in Figure 3, and have funnels H, for the admission of a stream of
water, and an overflow pipe I, Figures 1 and 2, by which the water constantly
flows as it becomes heated; and they have also two openings J, left for the
emission of any steam which may be generated, and thus prevent the possi-
bility of accident. On to the top of the vessel G, nearest the fire, is built two
course of firebrick, and also three course of firebrick next to the fire, and thus
forming a bridge. On the top of the other vessel G is built only one course
of brick, and thus is the bridge formed at the other end of the puddling
furnace. The front and back of the furnace is either formed of similar angular
vessels for the purpose of the admission of water, as will be fully described
hereafter, or the same are formed of plates of iron, which are entirely exposed
to the direct action of the atmosphere, and they slope in like manner to the
vessels G, G, in Figures 1, 3, and 4. The front and back are composed
of these plates K, K, placed at an angle similarly to the sides of the
vessels G, G, thus forming a recess in the puddling furnace to receive the iron
to be puddle. L, L, are short props or supports which carry the upper part
of the furnace, and yet leave the space all around to permit the direct action
of the atmosphere to the plates K, K, thus leaving those plates entirely
exposed, and thus to carry off any superabundance of heat which would other-
wise quickly destroy such plates. The manner of constructing the upper part
and top of the puddling furnace, which are similar to those in ordinary use,
will be evident from the various Figures in the Drawings, and does not
require further description; and it will only be desirable further to add, in

page_text: respect of the construction of the puddling furnace, that the parts in which the
iron is puddled are to be made air-tight; and we perform this where the iron
parts are connected by means of the usual iron cement, to which we mix a
very small quantity of Stourbridge clay, say one twentieth, for the purpose of
making the same work more readily. M is the ordinary furnace or firegrate
for the fuel, the construction of which in no way differs from those connected
to the old. puddling furnace, and the same is clearly shown in the Drawing:
N is the flue, and O. is the chimney, and these also are similar to those in
common use in puddling furnaces.
We will now describe Figures 5, 6, and 7, which represent an elevation and
a plan of a puddling furnace, and also several of the parts separately of which
the same is composed. In these Figures the puddling furnace is shown sur-
rounded with water vessels G, G, which form the two ends or bridges of tho
furnace, and P,.P, other water vessels, which form the front and back of the
furnace, being a plate of iron called a breast plate, which is fixed below
the charging or puddler's door. These water vessels have induction and
eduction ways for the water in like manner to the water vessels G, G. In
other respects the furnace is similarly constructed to that above described. In
Figure 5 the manner of supplying the vessels G, G, and P, P, is shown, and
consists of the main pipe R, which is connected to a cistern or tank con-
taining water, and by means of the descending pipes S, S, a constant stream'
of water is kept flowing into the funnels of the water vessels G, G, and P, P.
X is an opening for permitting the melted cinder to run from the furnace after
the charge of puddled iron has been withdrawn.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of con-
structing our improved puddling furnace, we will proceed to describe the
manner of using the same. On to the bottom and sides of the furnace is to
be strewed, to the depth of about an inch or an inch and a half, the cinders
and slag which come from the iron in thus producing manufactured or
malleable iron from the pig in the puddling furnace, mixed with hammer
slag. And when the cinder and slags are melted, and form a bottom, as is well
understood, we then charge the furnace with broken pigs of iron, together
with about one fourth by weight of the cinder slag from the pig and hammer
slag. These are to be raised to a higher degree of heat than is usual for
puddling refined iron, which will cause the pig iron to boil, during which
operation the same is to be well worked and stirred about by the puddler until
the malleable iron is disengaged from the cinder. At this point of the process,
if the heat be too great, the puddler should damp off the draft, as is the case
when working the common puddling furnace; but this must depend on the

page_text: judgment of the operator, as heretofore; and the iron is then to be balled, and
the process of puddling completed in the ordinary way; and after the balls
have been withdrawn, the fluid cinder is then run off at the opening X, and a
fresh charge of iron and cinder and slag is put into the puddling furnace. A.
constant stream of water is flowing through the water vessels G, G, during
the whole time of working, by which means these parts which form the bridges;
and are more directly acted on by the fuel, are kept down to a degree of
temperature which will materially tend to preserve them from destruction; and
also the front and back of the furnace, as described in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
are preserved from the prejudicial effects of the heat, by the atmosphere being
entirely in contact with the plates K, and carrying off the superabundant heat
therefrom; or when the whole of the furnace, except the part occupied by the
breast plate, is surrounded by water vessels; which we prefer, and as shewn in
Figures 5, 6, and 7, the heat will be more readily carried off by the water
constantly flowing in contact with the heated surface of those vessels. And
here it may be observed, that it will be evident from the above description of
our Invention that our object is to carry off as much heat as possible from
those parts of the puddling furnace which, according to the present construc-
tion, are quickly destroyed, particularly when used in producing malleable
iron direct from the pig; and although we particularly recommend that the
vessels G, G, may be used as water vessels, yet the same may be used for
the passage of air, and in this case the two ends of such vessels should be left
open for the free passage of the air.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
constructing and using the same, we would have it understood that we lay no
claim to the various parts of which the same is composed separately, nor do we
claim any arrangements of those parts which are already well known and in use.
And we do hereby restrict our claim of Invention "of an Improved Puddling
Furnace to the new combination with the old puddling furnace of the
vessels G, G, through and against which water or air is permitted to act, such
vessels forming, partly or wholly, the bridges at the two ends of the puddling
furnace, and thus carrying off any superabundance of heat therefrom, as above
described; and, secondly, in forming the backs and fronts of the puddling
furnace with similar water vessels P, P, as above described in Figures 5, 6,
and 7, or this combination may be varied by forming the backs and fronts of
the puddling furnace with iron plates. When such plates are entirely exposed
to the atmosphere, as above described in Figures 1, 3, and 4, and thus pro-
ducing an improved puddling furnace in which pig iron may be manufactured
into malleable iron to greater advantage than can be done in the ordinary

page_text: puddling furnaces; and we would have it further understood, that we do not
confine ourselves to the precise forms of the vessels or plates described, as the
same may be varied without departing from our Invention; neither do we
confine ourselves to using such puddling furnace only for the purpose of
making manufactured or malleable iron from the pig; but the same may
also be used for making from refined pig iron.
In witness whereof, we, the said Daniel Horton and George Horton,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the First day of March, in
the third year of the reign of His said Majesty King William the
Fourth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-three.
Inrolled the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-three:-