IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR SHIPS, FORTIFICATIONS, AND FORTS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATES TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING OF SHIPS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND FOR ATTACHING COPPER OR OTHER LIKE PROTECTIVE METAL TO THE OUTSIDE OF METAL PLATES FOR MAKING COPPER BOTTOMS OR BOTTOMS WITH A SIMILAR PROTECTION TO IRON SHIPS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi, of No. 1, South
Villas, South Street, Greenwich, in the County of. Kent, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR SHIPS,
FORTIFICATIONS, AND FORTS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATES TO BE USED
IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING OF SHIPS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND
FOR ATTACHING COPPER OR OTHER LIKE PROTECTIVE METAL TO THE OUTSIDE OF
METAL PLATES FOR MAKING COPPER BOTTOMS OR BOTTOMS WITH A SIMILAR
PROTECTION TO IRON SHIPS."
Sealed the 13th February 1863, and dated the 31st October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Marie Celeste de Casteras
Sinibaldi at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with her Petition,
on the 31st October 1862.
I, MARIE CELESTE DE CASTERAS SINIBALDI, of No. 1, South Villas, South
Street, Greenwich, in the County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of
the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES
FOR SHIPS, FORTIFICATIONS, AND FORTS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATES TO BE
USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING OF SHIPS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND
FOR ATTACHING COPPER OR OTHER LIKE PROTECTIVE METAL TO THE OUTSIDE OF
METAL PLATES FOR MAKING COPPER BOTTOMS OR BOTTOMS WITH A SIMILAR PROTEC-
TION TO IRON SHIPS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of armour plates
for ships, fortifications, and forts, and in the manufacture of plates to be used

page_text: in the construction and building of ships and for other purposes, and for
attaching copper or other like protective metal to the outside of metal plates
for making copper bottoms or bottoms with a similar protection to iron ships.
My method of constructing armour plates for building ships of war is to use
laminated plates combining iron and steel, and also plates of iron without steel,
perfectly wrought, and to unite them by soldering with copper, brass, or other
metal. The laminated plate I form with the best iron (either Swedish or
charcoal made) mixed with scrap iron. The iron is well worked and rendered
extremely tough, and then formed into bars and flattened by rolling. To
procure great strength I use in combination laminated plates of steel and iron.
The steel plate is made with equal care to that used in the manufacture of the
iron plate. To form a plate of the greatest resisting power, I take two lami-
nated steel plates so prepared that although they will bend and rebound with
the usual elasticity of steel, they are yet sufficiently soft not to fracture; these
two plates of corresponding size are placed together, and on the outside of
cach is placed a laminated plate of iron one-eighth of an inch thick or greater,
then another laminated plate of steel 1th of an inch thick next the iron plate,
and on this another laminated steel plate, and then another laminated iron
plate, and so I repeat the layers until the intended degree of thickness is
obtained, the outside skin or surface being formed by two thin laminated plates
of iron, equal to four times the thickness of the last layer of steel. A less
expensive plate is obtained by taking a thin steel plate about th of an inch
thick, and placing on each side laminated plates of iron of the usual thickness
until half way on each side of the centre plate has been built, then a plate of
steel th of an inch thick is added, and outside such plate the iron laminated
plates are resumed till the intended thickness has been obtained. Another
mode is by taking a thin steel plate well worked, and on each side placing
laminated iron plates until the desired thickness is obtained; thus a plate
with a steel centre is obtained. Another mode is by simply using laminated
iron plates and placing them side by side until the requisite thickness is
obtained. This latter plate without the steel will be of superior strength to
any plate of the same thickness now manufactured. Before uniting the lami-
nated plates as above described they are carefully examined to ascertain that
they are all sound and of perfect manufacture; the faces of the plates should
also be scraped and perfectly cleaned from any scales which may exist. The
smoother the surface is eventually left the better. Having placed the plates
in position for soldering as above directed, the plates are next prepared for the
metallic bath or soldering. The compound or piled plate is held together by
thin iron bands and placed in a cradle or frame, and dipped into a strong

page_text: solution of borax, where it remains about ten minutes; it is then lifted into a
drying furnace, and gradually heated throughout to what is termed a black
heat, or rather a blue red heat. It is now in a fit state to solder or braze, and
this is done by dipping the laminated plates into a bath of liquid copper or brass
sufficiently heated to run freely. The plate after immersion is raised from the
bath and suffered to cool a little; the plate is then freed from its bands and
passed under a roller, and gradually reduced to the thickness it had before
immersion. The copper will exude from the sides and a very thin layer
remain. The plate must now be allowed to gradually cool. It may be desirable
to have a good layer of copper between each lamina; to obtain this result,
I. cradle the plate and stop the sides and bottom; in this state the plate
should be heated as before directed, and when at the described heat I pour in
or on molten copper or brass perfectly fluid. The interstices should be kept
open to the intended width of the copper layer by plugging or other means;.
afterwards I allow the plate gradually to cool, and when the whole is suffi-
ciently cool to prevent the copper running, I knock off the cradle and end or
side plates, and pass the plate, now an homogeneous mass, between rollers, and
subject it to a slight pressure, then I let the plate cool, and it is ready for use.
A. plate may be made in the same manner of laminated iron without the aid of
laminated steel; the two centre plates should be of iron, not more than one-
fourth of an inch thick, and equal to the best manufactured boiler plates, and
then built to the requisite thickness by the addition of other laminated
plates.
Plates for building ships for the merchant service are manufactured in like
manner, but with thinner plates. By the same means I produce all other
formation of iron for machinery, beams, and other purposes. The soldering
can also be made with a mixed metal of cast iron and wrought iron.
By the process above described an external coat of copper or other like
protective metal can be given to each plate of iron, which, when the plates are
used in the construction of ships will produce the effect of copper bottoms.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th April 1868."
TO ALL TO WHOM. THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARIE
CELESTE DE CASTERAS SINIBALDI, of No. 1, South Villas, South Street, Green-
wich, in the County of. Kent, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi, Her special licence that I,
the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi,
my exécutors, 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 THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR SHIPS, FORTIFICATIONS, AND FORTS, AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PLATES TO BE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING OF SHIPS
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND FOR ATTACHING COPPER OR OTHER LIKE PROTECTIVE
METAL TO THE OUTSIDE OF METAL PLATES FOR MAKING COPPER BOTTOMS OR BOTTOMS
WITH A SIMILAR PROTECTION TO IRON SHIPS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 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 Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to the improvements in the manufacture of armour
plates for ships, fortifications, and forts, and in the manufacture of plates to
be used in the construction and building of ships and for other purposes, and
for attaching copper or other like protective metal to the outside of metal
plates for making copper bottoms or bottoms with a similar protection to
iron ships.
My method of constructing armour plates for building ships of war is to
combine laminated plates of iron and steel, and also plates of iron without
steel, and steel without iron, perfectly wrought by soldering with copper, brass,
or suitable metal or alloys of metals.
The description of iron I prefer to use in the manufacture of the laminated

page_text: plates is either Swedish or charcoal made iron mixed with scrap iron. The
iron must be well worked and rendered extremely tough, and then formed
into bars and flattened by rolling in the usual: way until the desired thickness
is obtained; and in order to obtain great strength I use in combination
laminated plates of steel and iron. The steel plates should be made with as
much care as that used in the manufacture of the iron plates. To form a
plate combining the greatest resisting power, I take two laminated steel plates
so prepared that although they will bend and rebound with the usual'elasticity
of steel, they are yet sufficiently soft not to fracture; these two plates of cor-
responding size are placed together, and on the outside of each is placed a
laminated plate of iron, which I prefer to be of about of an inch thick or
more; then I place another laminated plate of steel of about 1 of an inch
thick next the iron plate; then another iron plate, and on this another
laminated steel plate, and then another laminated iron plate, and so on,
repeating the alternate layers of iron and steel until the desired thickness is
obtained; the outside skin or surface being formed by two thin laminated
plates of iron, which I prefer to be equal to about four times the thickness of
the last layer of steel.
At Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings I have represented a cross
section of part of a plate made as above described. a, a, represent the two
laminated steel plates; b, are the iron plates, and c, the steel plates. The
outside skin or surface of iron is shewn at d, d.
1. A. less expensive plate may be obtained by taking a thin steel plate of about
th'of an inch thick, and placing on each side laminated plates of iron of about
the same thickness until about half way on each side of the centre plate has
been built; then a plate of steel of about of an inch thick is added, and
outside such plate I place other laminated iron plates, as before described,
until the desired thickness of plate is obtained. Figure 2 represents a cross
section of a plate formed in the above manner. a, shews the thin steel plate
which I place in the centre of the thickness of the desired plate; b, b, shew
the laminated iron plates; c, shows the steel plates, which I prefer to place
about half way between the centre plate and the outside of, the desired thick-
ness of armour-plate, and d, d, shew the laminated iron plates placed on the
outside of the steel plate c, until the desired thickness is obtained..
Another mode, shewn at Figure 3, is by taking a thin steel plate a, which
should be well worked as before described, and on each side placing laminated
iron plates b, until the desired thickness is obtained.
Another mode is by simply using laminated iron plates and placing them
side by side until the desired thickness is obtained. Figure 4 represents; a

page_text: cross section of a plate thus formed.
I prefer to be of iron not more than
best manufactuted boiler plates; b, b, shew other iron plates, which are added
till the desired thickness of plate is obtained. This plate without a steel centre
will be superior in strength to plates of the same thickness of ordinary manu-
facture.
a, a, shew the two centre plates, which
of an inch thick, and equal to the
At Figure 5 I have shewn another mode of carrying out my Invention, in
which the central portion of the plate is formed of plates of steel; a, placed at
right angles to the outer side of the armour plate, and between which in some
cases I prefer to leave spaces b, the plate is then built up to the desired thick-
ness by adding on one side plates of steel, c, and on the other side by adding
plates of iron, d.
At Figure 6 I have shewn another mode, in which the centre portion of the
plate is formed of alternate plates of steel a and iron a', other steel plates c, c,
and iron plates d, d, are added till the desired thickness is obtained, as described
in respect of Figure 5. Before uniting the laminated plates above described
by copper or other soldering metal they should be carefully examined to
ascertain that they are perfectly sound and of good manufacture; the faces of
the plates should also be scraped and perfectly cleansed from scale or other
impurity, the smoother, the surface is eventually left the more perfect will be
the plate produced, and one of my principal objects in using laminated plates
being to ensure perfection in manufacture and the obliteration of air cells, the
thickness of such plates may be increased to any extent consistent with such
perfection of manufacture. Having placed the plates in position as previously
described, they are next prepared for the metallic bath or soldering metal in
the following manner :-The compound or piled plate is held together by thin
iron bands or wire or other suitable means, it is then placed in a cradle or
frame, and dipped into a strong solution of borax or other suitable flux, where
it remains about ten minutes, or sufficiently long to remove any impurities
from the plates. The cleansed compound plate is then lifted into a drying
furnace, and gradually heated throughout to a temperature not exceeding a
black heat. The plate is now in a fit state to solder or braze, and this is done
by dipping the laminated plates into liquid copper or brass sufficiently heated
to run freely. The plate after immersion is raised from the bath and freed
from its bands and passed under a roller and gradually reduced to about the
thickness.it had before immersion. The copper or brass will exude from the
sides and a very thin layer. remain ; the plate must now be allowed gradually
to cool. For this purpose of soldering no greater thickness of metal need be
used than is necessary for completely uniting the plates, but for special pur-

page_text: poses, as for the protective outer coating, different thickness may be used.
For these purposes I place the compound plate in a suitable cradle or frame,
as shewn at Figures 7 and 8, which represent respectively a section, and a plan of
the cradle or frame with the compound plate in position to receive the copper or
other soldering metal, or a box of the size of the desired plate may be employed
and placed on edge or other position. a shews the frame for receiving the
compound plate 6, between each lamina of which I place studs or distance
pieces g, or other suitable means, as indicated at Figure 9, and I leave a space
round the plate and between it and the frame, and when it is desired that the
plate should have an exterior coating of copper or other soldering metal I
arrange the frame so that its side shall rise above the plate to such a distance
as will allow of the desired thickness of copper or other soldering metal being
poured on to the compound plate. By these means not only is the soldering
metal caused to flow between the several plates of which the compound
armour plate is composed, but a thickness of copper is obtained on the edges
and on one or both sides of the plate which will render these plates peculiarly
valuable when such plates are employed in the construction of ships, floating
batteries, or other structures where it would be desirable to protect the iron
or steel from injurious action of the atmosphere or other agent, no extra
copper or other sheathing will be necessary. When the plate is sufficiently
cool to prevent the copper running, I knock off the end and side plates a¹ of
the cradle or frame a, and pass the plate between rollers, which subject it
to a sufficient pressure, the plate is then allowed to cool and is ready for
use.
In Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the copper or other brazing or soldering
metal is shewn at x, x, and the outside protective coating y, y.
When coating thin plates with a protecting coating of copper or other metal,
or when the plate is of large dimensions, I find it convenient to apply the
coating in comparatively small sections. In some cases instead of pouring the
copper, brass, or other soldering metal upon the compound plate, I dip the
various lamina of iron and steel into a bath of copper or other soldering, metal,
taking care to keep them separate in order to insure their being thoroughly
coated. When this is effected I withdraw them from the bath, which I prefer to
do at an angle inclined to the bath, so that the superfluous copper may run off.
I then pass them between rollers in order to compress the several lamina.
When using plates with an outside protective coating of copper or other metal
manufactured according to my Invention as armour plating for ships of war,
floating batteries, or other structures, or for the construction of merchant ships,
instead of the ordinary iron bolts or other fastenings, I form such bolts of

page_text: copper or iron coated with copper or, other protective metal. In some cases
instead of uniting the plates at their edges and to the outer skin of the
vessel or other structure by the ordinary means, I unite their edges by brazing
or soldering.
Plates for building merchant ships may be made in like manner, but with
thinner plates, or the desired thickness of iron plate may be in one thickness
and an outside protective coating of copper applied as previously described.
Plates manufactured according to my Invention may be employed for machi-
nery, beams, girders, and other purposes.
Although I prefer copper or brass as the soldering metal, a mixed metal of 1
cast iron and wrought iron may be used for the same. purpose.
I claim the manufacture of plates as above described.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marie Celeste de Casteras Sinibaldi,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of April; in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three. .
1
MARIE CELESTE DE CASTERAS SINIBALDI. (s.)