CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
GREGORY, Coal Master, and WILLIAM GREEN, Tinner, both of West Bromwich,
in the County of Stafford, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Fourteenth day of May, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said James Gregory
and William Green, our exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege, and authority, that we, the said James Gregory and
William Green, our exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said
James Gregory and William Green, our exors, admors, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
hereafter, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, that we, the said James Gregory and William Green,
or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of:
us, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, reference being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
James Gregory and William Green, do hereby declare the nature of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof (that is to say):
Our Invention consists of an improved method of treating crude, cast, or pig
iron, whereby it is rendered better adapted for the uses both of the foundry or
forge and for the manufacture of steel. The manner in which we effect this
improvement is by submitting the crude, cast, or pig iron to the action of
water; we take crude or cast iron, either in the form of pigs or broken into
· smaller pieces, or in any convenient form, and immerse it in water, and allow
it to remain exposed to the action of the water until there is no longer any
change produced upon it; a period of from two to three weeks is generally
sufficient for this purpose. The appearance of any oily-looking scum on the
surface of the water indicates that the water has produced its full effect upon
the iron; we do not find, however, that a longer exposure to the action of
the water produces any injurious effect upon the iron. Instead of being
exposed to the action of standing water, we sometimes expose the crude or
cast iron to the action of running water, and we find, by experiment, the action
of running water is as efficacious as that of standing water. We wish it to be
understood, however, that we prefer .exposing the cast or crude iron to the
action of standing water, for by exposure to running water the scum which
rises, and which, as we have before remarked, indicates that the water has
produced its full effect upon the iron, is carried away; and inasmuch as
different kinds or qualities of cast or crude iron require to be exposed to the
action of water for different lengths of time, in order to produce upon them
the same effect, there is no means of ascertaining when the running water has
produced the desired effect upon the iron, and therefore in using running water
we allow the iron to be exposed to its action a longer time than that which
our experience has shown to be necessary to produce the desired effect upon
iron of average quality. The exposing of crude or cast iron to the action of
water, as described, causes the iron to become softer and tougher. If we wish
the iron to be of a close texture, or of that kind called brittle iron, we subject
it to the following process after it has gone through the preceding one:--We
heat the crude or pig iron to redness in any convenient furnace, and while red
hot, we submit it again to the action of water, either by sprinkling it with cold.

page_text: water, or by throwing cold water upon it, or by plunging it into cold water;
in conducting this process we deem it necessary to make the iron of a bright
red heat; we do not find, however, that by exposure to a higher temperature
before treating it with water, that the process is less effective, or that the iron
is thereby injured. We find that this last process makes the iron of a close
and brittle texture. If the crude or pig iron is originally of a very impure
kind, we fuse it in an air furnace, a cupola, or the furnace called by iron
manufacturers a finery, after it has been submitted to the preceding processes.
When the crude or pig iron has been subjected to the two first-mentioned
processes, (and when necessary to the last also,) we find that it is very superior
for the purpose of casting, and also for conversion into wrought iron..
We will now describe another process for refining iron, which may either be
used alone or in conjunction with the processes herein-before described.. We
melt the iron in a reverberatory or other convenient furnace, and pour it while
in its melted state through a vessel, the bottom of which is perforated with
holes about a quarter of an inch in diameter, lined with clay, which may be of
the form of a founder's ladle, or of any other convenient form. The fused metal
is received in a vessel of cold water of any convenient size; we prefer for this
purpose a deep vessel, so that the drops of metal may be well cooled before
arriving at the bottom of it. The iron is found to be considerably refined by
this operation; it possesses a close texture, and is of a white color; we also find
that iron treated in the manner herein-before described is much better adapted
for conversion into steel than the iron manufactured in the ordinary method;
and our improvement in the manufacture of steel consists in making it from
iron which has been treated by the methods herein-before described.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we desire it to be understood that we claim
exclusive right, first, to improving the quality of cast or pig iron by subjecting
it to the action of water, whether such water be hot or cold, or the iron at the
time of the application of such water be hot or cold; second, to improving
the quality of iron by pouring it into water while in a melted state, and in the
manner herein before described.
As witness our hands and seal, this Tenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
JAMES (L.S.) GREGORY.
WILLIAM GREEN, his × (L.S.) mark.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of November, in
the year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid James Gregory and William
Green came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.