IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF UNITING METALLIC SURFACES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent Office,"
No. 12, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF UNITING
METALLIC SURFACES."-A communication from abroad by William
Brainerd Barnard, of New Haven, State of Connecticut, United States of
America.
Sealed the 8th May 1863, and dated the 4th February. 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
February 1863.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 12, South-
ampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF
UNITING METALLIC SURFACES," a communication from William Brainerd Barnard,
of New Haven, State of Connecticut, United States of America, to be as
follows:-
The nature of said Invention chiefly consists in securely joining thin metallic
sheathing to iron plates by means of simple rivets, cut in suitable lengths
from copper or other wire, and for preventing galvanic action between the
sheathing and plates by the introduction of india-rubber or gutta percha

page_text: between the sheathing and said plates, either in the form of thin sheets, or by
one or more coats of paint or wash, composed of said material, or of other
substances, possessing similar properties. These rivets, made to completely fill
the perforations in the sheathing, pass into interiorly enlarged cavities formed
for their reception in the metal plates. After their insertion into these
cavities the rivets are secured by blows struck upon the outer ends which
causes them to spread sufficiently at their inner ends to completely fill the
cavities in the plates. A countersink is made in the plate at the mouth of
each cavity into which the edges of the sheathing is forced by the blows, which
form at the same time the head of the rivet. By this means the sheathing
is securely fastened to the plates, the heads forming with the sheathing a
smooth and uniform exterior surface.
In applying the above mode of uniting metallic surfaces to vessels plated
with iron armour in which the-joints between the plates are covered by strips
of iron, I insert between the iron strips wooden strips of equal thickness to
secure a uniform exterior surface to the hull of the vessel. These wooden
strips render the process of sheathing the hull more convenient and less
TT.
expensive.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th July 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 12, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that I, the said
George Haseltine, my executors, 'administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Haseltine, '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
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF UNITING METALLIC SURFACES," (a com-

page_text: munication,) upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said George
Haseltine, 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 George Haseltine, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, forming a part
of this Specification, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of a plate of iron
faced with a metallic coating, showing the manner of securing the facing to
the iron; Figure 2, an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 1, showing more
distinctly the new and peculiar mode of uniting the non-corrosive facing plates
or sheets, to iron surfaces; Figure 3 is a section of the side of an iron plated
vessel, the joints of which are broken by metal strips; Figure 4 is a similar
section, the spaces between the metal strips being filled by strips of
wood.
The nature of said Invention consists in a new and improved manner of
securing thin plates or sheets of metal upon thicker metallic bodies. Its chief
advautage consists in the economical and efficient method which it affords of
protecting iron surfaces, especially the iron hulls of sea-going vessels from
corrosion, and the destructive influence of the elements thereon.
The evils resulting from the rapid oxydation of iron when exposed to the
action of water or acids upon its surface have been seriously and sensibly felt,
and have greatly diminished the value of this metal in many of its most useful
applications. In order to prevent these evils and secure the full benefit of
this metal in those cases where its peculiar and important qualities render its
use indispensable or advantageous, numerous means and methods have been
invented and tried whereby a thin coating of non-corrosive metal might be
made upon its surface. These methods consist chiefly of various devices for
the precipitation of a metallic solution upon the previously prepared iron
surface, and are all exceedingly elaborate and expensive.
The rapid developments recently made demonstrating the great value of iron
in the construction and protection of ships both in the merchant and naval
service have rendered the need of a cheap, effectual, and speedy mode of
protecting the hulls of vessels built of or plated with iron, a matter of great
interest, and the serious drawback to the use of this metal in ship-building,

page_text: which results' from its speedy corrosion in salt water, and its liability to the
attachment of barnacles, has become a subject of grave importance.
This Invention offers a cheap, sure, and effective remedy for these evils by
affording the means of securing the coppering of the hull of an iron or iron-
plated vessel, with nearly the same facility and economy as is attained in
coppering wooden ships. It consists in fastening thin metallic sheathing to the
iron plates by means of simple rivets cut in suitable lengths from copper (or
other) wire. These rivets A, Figures 1 and 2, pass closely through
apertures made for the purpose in the metallic sheathing B, into interiorly
enlarged cavities C formed for their reception in the iron plates D, the shape
of which cavities is clearly shown in Figure 2. After their insertion into
these cavities the rivets are secured by simple blows upon their upper and
outer ends which cause them to spread and closely fill the cavity C, at the
same time the edges of the metallic facing encircling and closely filling the
upper portion of the rivets, are forced down into the counter-sink at the mouth
of the cavity, and the rivets themselves being headed upon the surface of the
sheathing permanently fasten the same. The countersinks in the mouth of
the cavities by receiving the heads formed upon the rivets together with the
edges of the metal adjacent to the apertures which are forced down into the
same, permit a perfectly smooth and uniform finish to the exterior surface of
the sheathing used.
When by means of my Invention the hulls of iron vessels are to be pro-
tected with a sheathing of copper, if the copper be placed in immediate contact
with the iron a powerful and injurious galvanic action will ensue whenever the
least moisture is created between the opposing surfaces. In order to prevent
this voltaic action of the copper and iron, and to avoid entirely its evil effects,
I introduce a thin layer of india-rubber or gutta percha between the metals,
either in the form of a very thin sheet of said material or, as will be found,
perhaps, more convenient, by painting or washing the iron surface with a
suitable preparation of this gum before superimposing the copper sheathing.
In lieu of india-rubber any cheap and convenient insulating paint or other
material may be used with like facility for this purpose.
In applying my Invention to the hulls of vessels plated with iron armour
in which the joints between the several plates are secured and protected by
strips of iron placed so as to break these joints, as represented in Figure 8, it
will be useful and advantageous to insert between the iron strips X, X,
wooden strips Y, Y, Figure 4, of an equal thickness, in order to insure a
flush and uniform exterior surface to the hull of the vessel. By the use of
such wooden strips alternating with the iron over the protecting armor

page_text: beneath, the hull may be more cheaply and rapidly coppered because of the
lesser number of rivets required to be inserted in the iron armor. These
wooden strips Y, Y, may be fastened by an overlapping bevel formed upon
the edges of the necessary iron strips X, X, as represented in Figure 4, or in
such other mode as may be found convenient and satisfactory.
Having fully described the said improvements, what I claim as my
Invention is, the new and improved method of uniting thin and thick metallic
sheets or plates by means of metallic rivets combined with simple apertures in
the thin facing sheets and interiorly enlarged cavities in the thicker underlying
plates of metal, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set
forth.
When my Invention is used for the purpose of protecting with a facing of
copper the hulls of iron-plated vessels or other iron surfaces exposed to the
action of water or other liquid, I claim the use of a thin layer of india-rubber,
gutta percha, or other insulating substance or material when interposed and
combined with the outer copper facing and the iron surface beneath, the samo
being rivetted and secured, substantially as herein set forth.
When my Invention is used for the purpose of protecting the hulls of iron-
plated vessels, I also claim the introduction of wooden strips Y, Y, (Figure 4),
in combination with the iron strip X, X, the iron surface D, and the rivetted
metallic facing B, in order to obtain a uniform exterior surface, substantially
in the manner herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
GEORGE HASELTINE.
(L.S.)