IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING CHILLED ROLLS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Richard Wheeldon, of Wolverhampton,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING CHILLED ROLLS"
CERTAIN
Sealed the 27th July 1866, and dated the 14th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Richard
Wheeldon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th February 1866.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD WHEELDON, of Wolverhampton, in the County of
Stafford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING CHILLED ROLLS," to be as follows:-
The ordinary mode of casting chilled rolls is by pouring the metal down a
"runner" or "gate" formed of sand; the fault of this method is that the
air contained in the sand expanded by the heat is carried down into the
mould, and this air being further expanded by the heat of the iron during its
progress into the mould causes a violent ebullition within the mould, which
has the effect of throwing up particles of iron the size of horse beans, which
particles afterwards form hard places on the surface of the roll. The "
or "gate" generally enters the mould on one side of the neck, and this has
the effect of causing the fluid iron to have a rotary motion, by which means
the denser and purer portions of iron are carried to the outside, and the scoria
or other impurities are thrown into the centre and ultimately find an outlet
"

page_text: through the head of the mould, but the moment the fluid iron comes in con-
tact with the iron chill it is cooled, and immediately deprived of a great part
of its fluidity. Now this centrifugal motion has also the effect of carrying with
the iron particles of air, as well as the round globules of iron caused by the
ebullition before described, and the moment these reach the iron surface of
the chill they are retained in the iron from the impossibility of escaping from
the chilled and semi-fluid liquid, and they therefore cause air bubbles and hard
globules in the surface of the roll. The former are called by the workmen
"pinholes," and the latter "shots," or "shot corns." Now, as the rolls bave
to be turned out so as to leave a perfectly clear and silvery surface, the present
mode of casting is a source of great loss, as the roll frequently proves to be
what is called "mottled," and must then be rejected. In addition to the air
drawn down the runner by the column of liquid iron, a considerable portion
of air is also carried into the mould from the stream of iron in pouring from
the ladle into the head box of the runner, and this air not having time to
escape is also carried down the runner into the mould, thus tending to increase
the evil.
The first part of my Invention consists in enclosing or insulating the column
of iron in the "runner" or "gate" by means of a pipe or pipes formed of
iron or fire-clay or other suitable substance impervious or nearly impervious
to air.
The second part of my Invention consists in constructing the head box of
the runner with a plug at the bottom, so that after the necessary quantity of
iron has been run into the head box, and the air has been allowed to escape,
the iron is allowed to flow into the mould from the bottom of the head box by
drawing the plug. The said plug is actuated by an iron rod and lever, and so
much thereof as is necessary is covered with a coating of loam, to prevent the
iron from adhering to it: It is usual to line or coat the insides of the chills
with a wash composed of charcoal, clay, and water, but as the charcoal
frequently contains portions of coal dust it is found that when it comes in
contact with the liquid iron it ignites, and the gas arising from it (not being
able to escape from the iron) again causes air bubbles or pinholes in the
'surface of the roll. ****
The third part of my Invention consists in the use of whitening or other
mineral and incombustible wash for the inside surface of the chills.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Richard Wheeldon in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 14th August 1866.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
RICHARD WHEELDON, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Engineer,.
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Frederick Richard Wheeldon, Her special licence that I, the said Frederick'
Richard Wheeldon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other3
as I, the said Frederick Richard Wheeldon, my executors, 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 CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTING CHILLED ROLLS," upon the condition'
(amongst others) that I, the said Frederick Richard Wheeldon, 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 t
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 Frederick Richard Wheeldon, 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 (that is to say):-
The ordinary mode of casting chilled rolls is by pouring the metal down;
a "runner or "gate" formed of sand; the defect of this method is that the
air contained in the sand being expanded by the heat is carried down into
the mould by the stream of molten iron, and this air being further, expanded
by the heat of the iron during its progress into the mould causes a violent
ebullition within the mould, which has the effect of throwing up globules of
iron, the size of which vary from small shot corns to the dimensions of horse
beans, which said globules afterwards form hard places on the surface of the.
roll. The "runner or "gate" generally enters the mould on one side of
the neck, and this has the effect of causing the fluid iron to have a rotary.
"

page_text: motion, by which means the denser and purer portions of iron are carried to
the outside, and the scoria or other impurities are thrown into the centre and
ultimately find an outlet through the head of the mould; but the moment the
fluid iron comes in contact with the iron chill it is cooled or chilled, and
immediately deprived of a great part of its fluidity. Now this centrifugal
motion has also the effect of carrying with the iron particles of air, as well as
the round globules of iron caused by the ebullition before described, and the
moment these reach the iron surface of the chill they are retained in the iron
from the impossibility of escaping from the chilled and semi-fluid liquid, and
they therefore cause air bubbles and hard globules in the surface of the roll.
The former are generally called by the workmen "pinholes," and the latter
"shots" or "shot corns." Now, as the rolls have to be finished (by turning)
till a perfectly clear and silvery surface is obtained, it frequently happens that
to get rid of the defects herein-before mentioned so much has to be turned off
the surface that it presents a speckled appearance and becomes what is termed
"mottled," so that it will be readily understood that the present mode of
casting cannot but be a source of great loss, as all such mottled rolls must Le
rejected. In addition to the air drawn down the runner by the column of
liquid iron, a considerable portion of air is also carried into the mould 'from
the stream of iron in pouring from the ladle into the head box of the runner,
and this air not having time to escape is also carried down the runner into
the mould, thus tending to increase the evil.
. The first part of my Invention consists in enclosing or insulating the column
of iron in the "runner" or "gate" by means of a pipe or pipes formed of
iron or fire-clay or other suitable substance impervious or nearly impervious
to air.
The second part of my Invention consists in constructing the head box of
the runner with a plug at the bottom, so that after the necessary quantity of
iron has been run into the head box, and the air has been allowed to escape,
the iron is allowed to flow into the mould from the bottom of the bead box
by drawing the plug. The said plug is actuated by an iron rod and lever,
and so much thereof as is necessary is covered with a coating of loam to
prevent the iron from adhering to it. It is usual to line or coat the insides
of the chills with a wash composed of charcoal, clay, and water, but as the
charcoal frequently contains small particles of coal (from being generally
ground in the same mills as the coal dust used by founders) it is found
that when these said particles come in contact with the liquid iron they
ignite, and the gas arising from them (not being able to escape froin the
iron) again causes air bubbles or pinholes in the surface of the roll.

page_text: The third part of my Invention consists in the use of whitening or other
mineral and iucombustible wash for the inside surface of the chills. But for
this third part of my Invention I do not make any claim.
That my Invention may be better understood I have annexed Drawings
thereof, which I now proceed to describe.
Fig. 1 shews a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a horizontal section at the
line A, B, of my improved mould for casting chilled rolls. C; C, are the
upper and lower portions of the cast-iron chills; D and E are the upper and
lower boxes rammed with sand, in which are moulded the necks and wabblers
F and G of the roll; H is the feeling head or vent for the escape of air
from the mould when the liquid iron is admitted, and for afterwards feeding
the body of the roll with fluid iron till the whole has become perfectly
crystallized or solid.
ני
The first part of my Invention consists in the use of the pipes a formed of
iron or fire-clay or other suitable substance forming the " runner or "gate,"
and which are for the purpose of conducting the liquid iron from the head box
6 into the lower part of the mould G. The pipes a (the joints of which are
carefully stopped up with clay or other suitable material, so as to prevent any
air being drawn in by the stream of liquid iron) are surrounded with sand,
and enclosed in a box c projecting from the main mould. b is the head box
referred to in the second part of my Invention; it is lined with sand d in the
usual manner, and is provided with a plug e fitting into a washer f forming
the mouth of the pipes a. When the air bas been allowed to escape from the
liquid iron poured into the head box b the plug e is raised by.the rod 9 and
levers h and i, so as to allow the escape of the liquid iron into the pipe a.
The part of the lever h is made to slide in a slut or groove in the upright
standard which forms the fulcrum of the lever i. I cast the meeting surfaces
of the plug e and washer fupon turned iron chills; by this means they are so
true when cast that they do not require to be turned in the lathe. k is the
coating of loam upon the plug e and rod g to prevent the iron from adhering
to it, as herein-before described.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, as these may be to some extent
varied or modified without departing from the nature of this my said
Invention, but what I do claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the application or use of a pipe or pipes for.ned of iron or fire-clay

page_text: or other suitable material for lining the "runner" or "gate" in casting
chilled iron rolls, as herein-before described..
Second, the application or use of the head box with a stopper of iron
or other suitable material for discharging the molten iron into the mould,
as herein-before described. But I do not desire to make any claim for
this part of my said Invention, excepting so far as regards the casting of
chilled rolls..
And I desire.it to be further understood that in the casting of chilled rolls
I reserve to myself the right of employing the means described in the first
part of this my said Invention without being obliged to employ those set
forth in the second part of this my said Invention (or vice versa) should I
think fit...
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Richard Wheeldon, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
G. R. HOLLAND,
Patent Office,
Birmingham.
F. R. WHEELDON. (L.S.)