AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COATING METALS FOR SHEATHING SHIPS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF ATTACHING SHEATHING PLATES TO SHIPS OR VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, of Coleshill Street,
Eaton Square, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COATING METALS FOR SHEATHING SHIPS, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF ATTACHING SHEATHING PLATES TO
SHIPS OR VESSELS."-A communication.
Sealed the 8th August 1856, and dated the 24th May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierse Eustace Laurence
Barron at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th May 1856.
I, PIERSE EUSTACE LAURENCE BARRON, of Coleshill Street, Eaton Square, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COATING METALS FOR SHEATHING
SHIPS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF ATTACHING SHEATHING
PLATES TO SHIPS OR VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The improved process for coating metal for sheathing ships or other
purposes, which forms the subject of the present Invention, relates to a novel
means of coating iron with other metals or alloys of metals, for the purpose of
protecting it from oxydation. Heretofore iron has been coated with other
metals or alloys of metals, either by depositing the superior or coating metal,
by the agency of electricity, from a solution of the metal intended to be

page_text: deposited; or the metal has been reduced by heat to a liquid state, and the
sheets or pieces of iron to be coated, having been previously cleaned and
prepared, have been dipped or immersed in the molten metal, and have by
that means taken up a certain quantity of the molten metal, and having been
coated therewith, will be protected thereby.
Sheets of metal covered or coated by either of these processes may be
employed for sheathing ships, or roofing buildings, or for other purposes to
which such coated or protected metal may be applicable, but the processes
above described are both of them troublesome and somewhat expensive.
My improved process consists in coating iron or other metal with another
metal or alloy of metals by means of friction, or causing the metal to be coated
to be rubbed with the metal or alloy of metals that is to form the coating.
In order to effect this object, I securely hold the sheet or article to be coated,
and by hand labor, or by means of a mechanical arrangement similar to that
used in planing machines for traversing the cutting tool, I force a lump or
piece of metal (say copper) of any convenient size and shape over the surface
of the iron or other metal to be coated, and by means of the friction created
between the two metals during the passage of the copper or other soft metal
or alloy of metals over the iron or other metal, the former will be abraded,
and will leave a coating thereof on the iron or other metal to be coated.
This operation will be facilitated by the application of artificial heat to the
copper or other soft metal or alloy of metals, and this may be effected either
by the employment of a jet of ignited hydrogen gas, or by other contrivances,
which will readily suggest themselves to any intelligent operator.
This metal so coated will be found particularly applicable to sheathing
ships or vessels constructed of iron, and which heretofore have not been
sheathed, covered, or protected with sheets of other metals, as is the case with
wooden ships. In order to sheath iron ships, I secure to the sides of the ship
or vessel, at about the water run, grooved rebated metal strips or pieces, into
which sheets of my improved coated metal, or of copper or other sheathing
metal are inserted, and afterwards secured therein by hammering down the
The
edges of the grooves or rebates in which the sheets are placed.
sheathing sheets may, however, be secured in the grooves of the metal in any
other convenient or suitable manner if preferred. By this means the attach-
ing the copper or other sheathing metal to the sides of the ship by means of
nails or other analogous metal fastening is dispensed with, and therefore iron
ships may be sheathed with the same facility as wooden ones.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERSE
EUSTACE LAURENCE BARRON, of Coleshill Street, Eaton Square, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, Her special license that I, the said Pierse
Eustace Laurence Barron, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 "AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COATING METAL FOR
SHEATHING SHIPS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF ATTACHING
SHEATHING PLATES TO SHIPS OR VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):--
This Invention of an improved process for coating metal for ship-building
and other purposes, and in the means of attaching sheathing plates to ships
or vessels, which forms the subject of the Letters Patent granted to me as
aforesaid relates, first, to a novel means of coating iron with other metals or
alloys of metals, for the purpose of protecting it from oxydation. Heretofore
iron has been coated with other metals or alloys of metals either by depositing
the superior or coating metal, by the agency of electricity, from a solution of

page_text: the metal intended to be deposited; or the metal has been reduced by heat to
a liquid state, and the sheets or pieces of iron to be coated, having been pre-
viously cleaned and prepared, have been dipped or immersed in the molten
metal, and have by that m ns taken up a certain quantity of the molten
metal, and having been coated therewith, would be protected thereby.
My improved process consists in coating iron or other metal with another
metal or alloy of metals by means of friction, or causing the metal to be
coated to be rubbed with the metal or alloy of metals that is to form the
coating. In order to effect this object, I securely hold the sheet or article to
be coated, and by hand labor, or by means of a mechanical arrangement
similar to that used in planing machinery for traversing the cutting tool, I
force a lump or piece of metal, or a suitable alloy, of any convenient size and
shape, over the surface of the iron or other metal to be coated, and by means
of the friction created between the two metals during the passage of the soft
metal or alloy of metals over the iron or other metal, the former will be
partially fused and abraded, and will leave a coating thereof on the iron or
other metal to be coated. This operation will be facilitated by the application
of artificial heat to the soft metal or alloy of metals, and this may be effected
either by the employment of a jet of ignited hydrogen gas, or by other con-
trivances, which will readily suggest themselves to any intelligent operator.
In order, however, that my Invention may be clearly understood, I have
shewn in the accompanying Drawings various views of the machine whereby
I propose to coat metals by my improved process.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section; and
Fig. 3, an end view. a, a, is the main stationary framing; and b, b, a
travelling table, upon which the plate or sheet of metal 6* to be coated is
secured in any convenient manner. This table 6 moves on guides c, c, and is
actuated by the pinion d on the main shaft gearing into a rack e, on the
under side of the table b. The coating metal f, consisting of a bar of soft
metal or any suitable metallic alloy, is secured in a holder g, extending across
the machine, and the bar of coating metalf is kept in contact with the surface
of the sheet of metal to be coated by forcing down the holder g by means of
the tightening screw h, that passes through a female screw or box in the cross
framing of the machine.
In order to facilitate the coating process, I find it advisable to heat the
coating metal during the passage of the sheet of metal to be coated under
the coating metal, and this I effect by means of ignited jets of hydrogen,
which is supplied from any gas main to the pipe i through a flexible pipe,
not shewn in the Drawings. By igniting the jets of hydrogen and causing

page_text: manner.
the flame to impinge on the bar of soft metal or metallic alloy f, the latter
will be softened to a certain extent, and will more easily coat the plate or
sheet of metal than if in a cold state. The plate or sheet of metal to be
coated may also, if thought desirable, be heated from below, and it must be
first scaled and well cleaned to remove any rust that may exist on the surface,
and which would prevent the coating of metal from adhering to the surface
of the plate or sheet, after which it must be dipped in a solution of caustic
potash or sal ammoniac, in order to neutralize or remove any acid base that
may remain on the iron; the plate or sheet of iron is then ready to be laid
on its bed in the machine, on which it must be secured in any convenient
When the plate is dry it may be heated by the application of heat
to its under side, as above mentioned; or, if preferred, the plates of iron may
be heated to the desired temperature before being placed on the bed of the
machine. Before the temperature of the plate exceeds one hundred degrees
of Fahrenheit, the surface to be coated should be wiped over with a brush
dipped in naphtha or naphthaline, with a quantity of colophine dissolved in it,
in the proportion of one or two pounds of colophine to one gallon of naphthaline
or spirits of turpentine. Within a few seconds after this preparation is laid
on, pressure is placed on the holder g, equal to half a ton, so as to bring down
the bar of coating metal or alloy on to the surface of the sheet of iron; this
is effected by means of the screw h. The table 6 of the machine is then put
in motion, and the fusion of the coating metal or alloy takes place, in con-
sequence of the pressure and friction of the latter on the sheet of iron, assisted
by the gas jets from the burners on the tube or pipe i; and as the bed of the
machine moves the plate to and fro with a quick motion, the coating metal
leaves a compact even covering on the sheet of iron, and the process is
completed.
To adapt my improved process to the heads of rivets, I use lumps or blocks
of alloys, cut or cast in the form of a cup, and sufficiently large to allow the
.convex head of the rivet to rest on the bottom of the cup. This cup is
previously placed in an instrument made something in the shape of a breast
bit, and by a rapid circular motion of the lump of alloy against the head, the
latter becomes coated or covered with the metal or alloy. If the coated
plates of iron are applied to the construction of ships, I apply thereto (after
the vessel is built) a process for preserving the bottom from becoming foul
at sea, or preventing the metal plates from becoming oxydized. This process,
however, forms no part of the present improvements, having been invented
and patented some time since by another person, I have not therefore con-
sidered it necessary to give any description of such process.

page_text: The alloys I propose to employ for the purposes of the Invention are com-
posed of two or more of the following metals, viz, copper, tin, nickel, lead, zinc,
antimony, and bismuth, mixed in various proportions, according to the degree
of fusibility required. The metal plates so coated will be found particularly
applicable to constructing ships or vessels of iron, and which heretofore have
not been sheathed, covered, or protected with sheets of other metals, as is the
case with wooden ships. In order to sheathe iron ships, I secure to the sides of
the ship or vessel, beginning at about the water run, metal strips or pieces,
between which and the sides of the ship sheets of my improved or other
coated metal, or other suitable sheathing metal, are inserted, and afterwards
secured therein ih any convenient manner. By this means the attaching the
sheathing metal to the sides of the ship by means of nails or other analogous
metal fastenings is dispensed with, and therefore iron ships may be sheathed
with the same facility as wooden ones.
Fig. 4 in the accompanying Drawings is a sectional view of a ship with
sheathing plates adapted thereto according to the plan above mentioned;
Fig. 5 is a side view of part of the side of a ship. j, are the sheathing
plates; k, l, are narrow strips of metal, screwed or bolted on to the sides of
the vessel, so as to leave grooves or spaces between them and the vessel for
the sheathing plates to slide in. The narrow metal strips having been secured
in their places, the sheathing sheets are applied to the sides of the vessel by
running the edge of the flexible sheathing an inch or more under the overlap
of the binding strip on the water run, and the other sheets are continued
from aft forwards to the cutwater, which is provided with a plate of the
same metal, but broader, so as to cover by two or three inches the ends of the
sheets that terminate there on each side of the cutwater, and which plate is
previously screwed down in the centre with screws about five-eighths of an
inch thick with sunk heads.. The keel plate is screwed down in a similar
manner to the cutwater plate, with a lap of about three inches on each side,
for the purpose of receiving the sheets or gussets that may terminate there.
Having so far secured the cutwater and keel plates, I commence my second
streak of sheets by screwing down in its centre the second strip, three inches
broad, about eighteen inches long, and double the weight or thickness of the
sheets, and I slip the bottom edge of the first streak an inch or more under
the overlap of the lap side of the second strip, and so on, in a similar manner,
until the ship is entirely and compactly sheathed, taking care that the sheets
themselves will overlap one or one and a half inch with the lap to the stern,
as is usual in sheathing wooden ships with copper or other metal sheathing.
As soon as the sheets are all in their place, or as the work goes on, I secure

page_text: the sheets to the strips at their top and lower edges by screws of three-eighths
diameter; or, if preferred, these top strips may be secured by rivets.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Process for Coating
Metals for Sheathing Ships, and for other Purposes, and in the Means of
Attaching Sheathing Plates to Ships or Vessels," and having explained the
method I propose for carrying the same into effect, I would observe, that
although I have shewn and described certain mechanical arrangements for
carrying the first part of my Invention into effect, I do not mean or intend
to confine myself thereto, as various other machines may doubtless be devised
for effecting the same purposes, as it is evident that a similar effect will be
produced if the coating metal is made to travel over the surface of the metal
to be coated as if the latter travelled while the former remained stationary, as
shewn in the Drawings; in conclusion, I claim,-
First, coating or covering plates or sheets of metal with another metal or
alloy of metals, by causing the coating metal (when brought down with some
pressure on the surface to be coated) to be drawn over the surface of the
metal to be coated, on which by the friction of the two metals against each
other the coating metal will be partially fused, and a film thereof deposited
on the metallic surface of the plate to be coated.
Second, I claim sheathing ships with plates or sheets secured to the sides
of the ship by metal strips, in which the said plates or sheets are inserted and
slidden forward to their proper places, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierse Eustace Laurence Barron, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
PIERSE E. L. BARRON. (L.S.)