IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND OF STEEL BARS, RAILS, AND PLATES, AND IN THE FURNACES AND MOULDS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF STEEL AND OF STEEL BARS, RAILS, AND PLATES, AND IN THE FURNACES AND
MOULDS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE." -A communication from
abroad by John Absterdam, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lakė
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st December 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
3 Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND OF STEEL BARS, RAILS, AND PLATES, AND IN THE

page_text: FURNACES AND MOULDS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," a communication, to
be as follows:-
"
The nature of this Invention consists in the manufacture of merchant-
able steel bars composed of cast steel with one or more sides of blistered
steel or case-hardened wrought iron. Also in the manufacture of
merchantable steel bars composed of the metal known as "Bessemer
steel with one or more sides of blistered steel or case-hardened wrought
iron. Also in the formation and use for and in the manufacture of
armour plates, of bars made of combined case-hardened wrought iron or
steel of cementation and cast steel or "Bessemer" steel. Also in the
formation and use for and in the manufacture of railway bars with steel
heads of a pile having on one of its sides a bar of combined case-
hardened wrought iron or steel of cementation and cast steel or
"Bessemer" steel. Also in the formation and use for and in the
manufacture of railway bars with steel heads of a pile having on one of
its sides a bar of cemented steel or case-hardened iron placed in and
between a bar of "Bessemer" steel or cast steel and the iron bars
composing the pile or fagot. Also in clamping the cemented steel or
iron plate between the closing faces of the mould used for casting the
cast or "Bessemer" steel ingot. Also in the furnace for casting either
'the cast steel. or the metal now called "Bessemer" steel, which consists
of one or more closed crucibles built on the hearth of a reverberatory
furnace so arranged that streams of air may be blown through the
molten metal when it is required to decarbonize the pig or refined cast
iron and capable of being closed as an ordinary crucible when the
carbon is introduced into the metal to recarbonize the same.
In carrying the said Invention into practise I unite the cast steel or
"Bessemer" steel or case-hardened wrought iron either by pouring the
molten cast or "Bessemer" steel against plates or slabs of blistered steel
or case-hardened wrought iron, or I heat the bar of cast or "Bessemer"
steel to a yellow heat, and the bar of cement steel or case-hardened wrought
iron to a welding heat, and place them one on top of the other under a
suitable press capable of exerting a pressure over the entire surface of
the said bars, and by this pressure the two metals are firmly united.
For the purpose of pouring cast or "Bessemer" steel against slabs of
wrought iron or blistered steel I use a mould which is provided with a
cover so constructed that the slab of iron or blistered steel can be
clamped firmly against the face of the mould, or the mould is made in

page_text: two halves, and the faces and the backs of the said parts are planed off
so that two slabs of iron or blistered steel can be clamped between the
two halves of the mould, or that a slab of iron or blistered steel can be
placed between the face of one half and the back of the other. The
furnace in which the steel is manufactured is made in the form of a
reverberatory furnace with one or more crucibles built in the hearth
thereof, the said crucibles or cavities being provided with removable
covers, so that the metal contained therein can be shut off from contact
with the air if desired, or that by removing the cover or covers the air
can be allowed to come in contact with the said metal, and the said
crucibles are provided with suitable air channels, so that currents of air
can be blown through the molten metal contained therein if it should be
desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th June 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton
Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND OF STEEL BARS, RAILS, AND PLATES, AND
IN THE FURNACES AND MOULDS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," a communica
tion to me from abroad by John Absterdam, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Engineer, upon the condition

page_text: (amongst others) that I, the said 'William Robert Lake, my executors of
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 5
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
The nature of this Invention consists in the manufacture of merchant-
able steel bars composed of cast steel with one or more sides of blistered
steel or case-hardened wrought iron. Also in the manufacture of
merchantable steel bars composed of the metal known as "Bessemer"
steel with one or more sides of blistered steel or case-hardened wrought
iron. Also in the formation and use for and in the manufacture of
armour plates of bars made of combined case-hardened wrought iron or
steel of cementation and cast steel or "Bessemer" steel. Also in the
formation and use for and in the manufacture of railway bars with steel
heads of a pile having on one of its sides a bar of combined case-
hardened wrought iron or steel of cementation and cast steel or
"Bessemer" steel. Also in the formation and use for and in the manu-
facture of railway bars with steel heads of a pile having on one of its
sides a bar of cemented steel or case hardened iron placed in and between
a bar of "Bessemer" steel or cast steel, and the iron bars composing the
pile or faggot. Also in clamping the cemented steel or iron plate
between the closing faces of the mould used for casting the cast or
"Bessemer" steel ingot. Also in the furnace for casting either the cast
steel or the metal now called "Bessemer" steel, which consists of one
or more closed crucibles built on the hearth of a reverberatory furnace
so arranged that streams of air may be blown through the molten metal
when it is required to decarbonize the pig or refined cast iron, and capable
of being closed as an ordinary crucible when the carbon is introduced
into the metal to recarbonize the same.
In carrying the said Invention into practise I unite the cast steel or
"Bessemer" steel or case-hardened wrought iron either by pouring the

page_text: molten cast or "Bessemer" steel against plates or slabs of blistered stecl
or case-hardened wrought iron, or I heat the bar of cast or "Bessemer"
steel to a yellow heat, and the bar of cement steel or case-hardened
wrought iron to a welding heat and place them one on top of the other
under a suitable press capable of exerting a pressure over the entire
surface of the said bars, and by this pressure the two metals are firmly.
united.. For the purpose of pouring cast or "Bessemer" stcel against
slabs of wrought iron or blistered steel I use a mould which is provided
with a cover so. constructed that the slab. of iron or blistered steel can be
clamped firmly against the face of the mould, or the mould is made in
two halves, and the faces and the backs of the said parts are planed off,
so that two slabs of iron or blistered steel can be clamped between the
two halves of the mould, or that a slab of iron or blistered steel can.be.
placed between the face of one half and the back of the other..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING..
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the mould used for,
uniting cast or "Bessemer" steel with wrought iron, steel of cemen-
tation, or puddled steel; Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same;
Figure 3. is a similar section of a modification of the same; Figure 4 is
a similar section of another modification of the same; Figure 5 is a
transverse section of the pile for the formation of the steel headed rails;
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the improved furnace which may
be used in some of the foregoing operations. Similar letters indicate
corresponding parts throughout the Drawing..
The mould which is used to facilitate the process. for casting molten
cast or "Bessemer" steel on slabs of wrought iron or of inferior steels,
and which is shown in Figures 1 and 2, is provided with a chamber A
and a closing cover C working on hinges and provided with straps and
keys b, d. In casting with this mould the red hot slab of wrought iron
or of inferior steel is placed flat down on the interior of the cover C;
which is immediately closed and fastened so as to clasp the slab between
its closing faces, and the. mould is placed in an inclined position, as
shown in Figure 1, the molten cast or "Bessemer" steel being poured
in with the least possible delay.. This process possesses some advantages
for quick work. If desired, however, ordinary moulds may be used,
the face of one being placed against the back of the other, so that the
plates of wrought iron or blistered steel can be clamped between their

page_text: closing faces, as shown in Figure 4, or the moulds may be placed face to
face and two slabs of wrought iron or blistered steel clamped between them,
as shown in Figure 3, so that two ingots can be cast one in each mould.
It will be readily understood that the mould can be left open on both-
sides so that two bars or slabs of wrought iron or inferior steel can be
clamped one on each of its faces, and a bar or ingot can be produced
composed of a body of cast or "Bessemer" steel, having iron or inferior
steel on two sides, or if in the mould shown in Figure 3 only one bar
or slab of wrought iron or inferior steel is clamped between the
closing edges, cast or "Bessemer" steel can he poured in both com-
partments of the mould and a bar or ingot is produced composed of
two layers of cast or "Bessemer" steel united by an intermediate
layer of wrought iron or inferior steel. In all of these operations the
wrought-iron slabs may be case hardened previous to their introduction
into the mould, and by thus imparting to the surface of the wrought-
iron slab a higher degree of carbonization the fusing or melting together
of the two metals can be accomplished at a lower heat than it could be
with an ordinary wrought-iron slab containing a smaller amount of
carbon. After the ingots are cast in the above manner they are
hammered or rolled into bars or plates ready for use as a merchantable
article. These bars or plates are mostly intended for welding to iron
such as is used in forming a pile or fagot to be rolled into railway
rails, the iron or blistered steel surface of the bar being placed against
the pile so as to insure its welding to the same, and the cast or
"Bessemer" steel forming the head of the rail, as seen in Figure 5,
where D represents the fagot, and e, f, the head bar composed of a
wrought iron or blistered steel slab e and a barf of cast or "Bessemer"
steel. The bars or plates are also intended for making armour plates
by welding the same to iron, in placing the iron or blistered steel surface
of the bar against the iron plate to be welded, or to be welded steel
to steel in the manufacture of armour plates, where only steel is required,
and for various other purposes where cast steel or "Bessemer" steel is
required to be used and welded to itself or to other articles.
The advantages of this part of my Invention are as follows:-
First. By placing in a mould a bar of steel of cementation and fusing
to it an ingot of cast steel in the process of casting the same, the
molten steel in coming in contact with the blistered bar causes the

page_text: surface of the cemented bar to .melt, and the two metals are united
so as to form one solid mass. When case-hardened wrought-iron bars
are used instead of blistered steel, the carbon embodied in the iron plate
renders its surface fusible, and the two metals fuse together into one
solid mass.
Secondly. Since the metal known as "Bessemer" steel can be pro-
duced very cheap compared to other homogeneous stecl, but is very
uncertain of welding, it is of the utmost importance to impart to that
metal the properties of welding; this object is readily accomplished by
fusing to it a surface of steel of cementation or case-hardened iron in
the manner above stated.
Thirdly. By clamping the cemented steel or iron bar in the mould
between its closing edges the molten metal can be poured to that side
only on which it is required, the fluid metal being kept from running
round the bar, as would be the case if the edges of the iron or steel bar
were not firmly held between the closing faces of the mould.
Fourthly. By clamping two bars of cemented steel or wrought iron
face to face in the mould between its closing edges, and pouring the
molten metal in both compartments of the mould, as seen in Figure 3,
the clamped bars are brought to such an intense heat as to cause a
fusing of the same to the fluid steel without previously heating them
to a welding heat. And furthermore if the bars of iron or cemented
steel should be required very thin they can be used and inserted into
the mould without previously heating them by simply subjecting the
same to a cleansing process, such as is commonly practised in cleansing
sheet iron in the manufacture of tinned plates. The cast or "Bessemer"
steel may also be united to case-hardened wrought iron or blistered
steel by heating the bar of cast or "Bessemer" steel to a yellow heat,
and the bar of cemented steel or case-hardened wrought iron to a welding
heat, and placing them one on the top of the other under a suitable
press capable of exerting a pressure over the entire surface of said bars,
and by this pressure the two metals are firmly united. The furnace,
which can be used with great advantage for the purpose of melting
the cast or "Bessemer" steel to be poured into the mould as above
stated, and which is represented in Figure 6, is built in the form of an
ordinary reverberatory furnace, with the exception, however, that its
hearth is provided with one or more depressions forming crucibles

page_text: for the reception of the metal to be melted. Each of these crucibles is
provided with a cover h, so that the metal while being melted can be
shut off from the atmospheric air. Suitable doors in the sides of the
furnace give give access to the various crucibles, and by opening these
doors and removing the covers currents of air may be blown through
the molten metal for the purpose of decarbonization, whenever such may
be required, as, for instance, in melting pig or refined cast iron, and
when the carbon is introduced into the metal to re-carbonize the same
the covers are put on and the doors closed..
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First. The manufacture of merchantable steel bars composed of cast
steel with one or more sides of blistered steel or case hardened wrought
iron, substantially as described..
Second. The manufacture of merchantable steel bars. composed of
the metal known as "Bessemer" steel, with one or more sides of
blistered steel or case-hardened wrought iron, substantially as set
forth.
Third. The formation and use for and in the manufacture of armour
plates of bars combined with case-hardened wrought iron, or steel
of cementation and cast steel or "Bessemer" steel, substantially as
described.
Fourth. The formation for and in the manufacture of railway bars
with steel heads of a pile having on one of its sides a bar of com-
bined case-hardened wrought iron or steel of cementation and cast steck
or "Bessemer" steel, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The formation and use for and in the manufacture of railroaul
bars with steel heads of a pile having on one of its sides a bar of
cemented steel or case hardened iron placed in and between a bar of
"Bessemer" steel or cast steel and the iron bars composing the fagot
or pile, substantially as described.
Sixth. Clamping the plate of cemented steel or wrought iron between
the closing faces of the mould used for casting the ingot of cast or
"Bessemer" steel, substantially as described.

page_text: Seventh. The arrangement of one or more crucibles built into the
hearth of a furnace and provided with doors and covers, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
J. TEARE,
Clerk to Mess. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Southampton Buildings,
London.