IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO: WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 'I, HENRY
BROWNE, of Codner Park' Iron Works, in the County of Derby, 'Iron
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-second day of April, in the fourth year of Her reign, did
for Herself; Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto me, the said Henry
Browne, Her especial licence, 'full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Henry Browne, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Henry Browne, my exors, admiors, or 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, my
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL," in which said
Letters Patent 'is-contained a proviso, that I, the said Henry Browne, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next' and 'immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being, thereunto had,' will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the' said
Henry Browne, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to a mode of nianufacturing steel from iron; by obtain-
ing the iron in a fine granulated state, and then treating it with cementation

page_text: with carbon, as hereafter described.
And in order that my Invention may be
fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the
means pursued by me. In working according to my Invention, the crude or
pig or refined metal is to be treated as if about to be made into bar or
malleable iron by the purifying and decarbonizing process of puddling, that is,
by stirring the melted mass in the furnace with iron tools, and exposing it to
the action of the heated air, as usually practised, until the metal becomes in a
dry granulated state, all which is well understood by puddlers; and, in place
of carrying on the process further in the puddling furnace, the iron in the
granulated state is to be removed from the furnace; and when cold, a large
proportion may be passed through sieves, the meshes of which are about
twenty in an inch, and the remainder may be crushed or ground until the
grains will pass through the same sieve; or the various sized grains may be
separated by various sieves, differing in the size of the mesh according to the
will of the operator, but I consider that the smaller the grains, the more
advantageously will the process of manufacturing steel therefrom be carried on,
and it is the converting of granulated iron, such as above described, into steel
by cementation with carbon, that constitutes my Invention. The granulated
iron is next submitted to cementation, which I perform in the following
manner: I use an ordinary cementing or converting furnace, the nature.
of which is well known, and the cementing chests, or what are usually called.
pots, are about ten feet long, three feet wide, and three feet deep, but the
dimensions may be varied. I prepare a number of frames of iron or wood,
I prefer wood, and that which is called pine, an inch or two less in length and
breadth so that they will pass easily into the pots; the frame made of wood.
about a quarter of an inch thick, and one inch deep, and divided by wood
partitions at distances of about every ten or twelve inches. The carbon I
prefer to use is wood charcoal, crushed and passed through a sieve, the meshes
of which may be about one quarter of an inch square, tho' other carbon may
be used; I place a quantity of the charcoal, to the extent of about half an inch
in thickness over the bottom of the pot, and this I cover with paper, or other:
suitable substance, on which I place one of the wood frames, and fill the
compartments thereof with granulated iron, before described; on the surface:
of the granulated iron I place another covering of paper, and apply.more.
charcoal, and press it into all the spaces between the frames and the sides of
the pot, and I cover the paper evenly to the extent of half an inch; I then
apply another thickness of paper, then another frame which I fill with granu-;
lated iron as before, and cover it with paper, then charcoal, then paper, and.
then another frame, and so on until the pot is full, having charcoal on the top
to the extent of three or four inches deep; I then cover the whole close down.

page_text: with loam sand or "swarf" from a cutler's grinding mill, or other suitable
substance to exclude the air, tempered and spread over the top of the pot, to
the thickness of five or six inches. I now heat the furnace to a high heat, as
is well understood by steel manufacturers, and let the pot and its contents
remain at that heat for a sufficient time, which I find to be from thirty to
sixty hours, the time and heat may be varied according to the state of
carbonization required. The pot and its contents are to remain until cool,
and when opened, the steel will be formed into cakes of the size of the com-
partments in the frames, and may be removed, the charcoal and paper may bo
brushed off; the steel thus produced is then broken into pieces and melted in
the usual manner in crucibles. The high or low state of carbonization may
be judged of by the color which will vary from blue to purple, straw color and
grey; that which is blue having less carbon, and is less firmly united together,
and that which is grey and more united is charged in a higher degree with
carbon. The quality and hardness of the steel may be varied by a judicious
selection of the cemented steel, so as to adopt it to the purposes to which it
has to be applied.
Having thus described the means I consider best calculated for carrying
into effect my Invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself thereto, provided the peculiar character of my Invention be retained;
but what I claim, is the mode of manufacturing steel by obtaining iron in a
granulated state by the means above described, and submitting the same to
cementation with carbon.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Browne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
HENRY (L.s.) BROWNE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of October, in
the year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid Henry Browne came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged 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 Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.