IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Sanderson, of Sheffield, in the County of
York, Steel Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES."
Sealed the 23rd September 1864, and dated the 1st April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Sanderson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st April 1864.
I, CHARLES SANDERSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Steel Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in improvements in the manufacture of armour plates
whereby a more solid plate is obtained than by welding plates together as is
usually practised.
The object of my Invention is to unite plates or slabs of iron by running
between such plates molten steel or iron, whereby a perfect union between
the wrought iron and the molten metal will be effected or produced..
I begin by obtaining a pure, clean, and soft iron rolled down into bars, the
surfaces of which are cleaned as usual with water, whilst hot, to cast off the
scale, as is well known and practised.. These bars I pile into a convenient
form so as to obtain a bloom or block of iron perfectly sound and free from
flaws.. In order to form a mass heavy enough to make one thick plate; I take

page_text: two or more of these blocks and put them into a reverberatory furnace until
they are brought to a welding heat, they are then taken out and placed in a
cast iron or other mould at a small distance one from the other. I then
pour in steel or iron in a fluid state, so as to fill up the distance left between
one block and another, the iron surface thus becomes soldered or incorporated
with the steel or metal poured between them so as to form one solid mass of
metal composed of iron and steel carbonized to any degree required. The
quality or degree of hardness of the steel is optional, and in making a plate I
place the steel in such a position relatively to the iron as I consider best
calculated to give strength to the finished plate. Or the iron plates may be.
placed in a frame in the reheating furnace, and when sufficiently hot, the
molten metal may be run into the frame into the interstices between the
plates without removing the latter from the furnace. These blocks of molten
and cast metal so incorporated together are next heated in a furnace, and
hammered or rolled to a plate of the required thickness for manufacture into
an armour plate. According to the size and thickness of the plate required;
2, 4, 6, or more of these plates are put into a reverberatory furnace, and
heated to a welding heat, and placed in a mould or frame as before described,
leaving spaces between the several plates, into which I pour molten steel;
which will solder the whole mass together without any internal flaws. The
mass so obtained may then be hammered and rolled into an armour plate, and
will be found to have a soft but very tough surface with a core of harder
metal
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Sanderson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I; CHARLES
SANDERSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Steel Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letter's
Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of our: Lord
'One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Sanderson, Her special license that I, the said Charles
Sanderson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,.the
'said Charles Sanderson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at

page_text: 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES," upon the condition.
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Sanderson, 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 Charles Sanderson, 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 fol-:
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and,
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture of Armour Plates,"
relates to a novel mode of manufacturing thick and ponderous plates in an
easy and economical manner, and whereby a more solid plate is obtained than.
by welding plates or slabs of iron together as is usually practised.
9
The object of my.Invention is to unite plates or slabs of iron by running:
between such plates molten steel or iron, whereby a perfect union between the
wrought iron and the molten metal will be effected or produced, and the.
slabs or plates of iron will thus be soldered together.
In carrying out my Invention 1 first obtain a pure, clean, and soft iron
rolled down into bars or slabs, the surfaces of which are cleaned as usual with.
water whilst hot, in order to cast off the scale, as is well known and practised.
These bars or slabs I pile into a convenient form so as to obtain a block of.
iron perfectly sound and free from flaws. In order to form a mass heavy.
enough to make one thick plate I take two or more of these blocks and put
them into a reverberatory furnace until they are brought to a welding heat,
they are then taken out and placed in a cast iron or other mould at a small.
distance one from the other. This mould may be so constructed that some;
of the slabs or plates of iron, may themselves constitute the sides and ends of
the mould, the several slabs or plates being kept apart by means of pieces of
iron placed at the bottom and ends, the whole being held together by means
of hoops of iron, or by transverse rods or bolts, which will hold the plates
together. Into the mould thus formed of heated blocks or plates of iron I.
then pour steel or iron in a fluid state so as to fill up the spaces or interstices

page_text: left between the blocks or plates, the iron surfaces thus become soldered or
incorporated with the steel poured between them so as to form one solid
mass of metal composed of iron and layers of steel, which steel may be
carbonized to any degree required, but a low degree of carburization is best.
Or the iron plates or slabs properly secured together as aforesaid may be
placed in the reheating furnace, and when sufficiently hot the molten metal
may be run into the interstices between the plates without removing the latter
from the furnace.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn the construction of furnace
which I propose to use for the purposes of my Invention, but I do not mean
or intend to confine myself thereto.
The heated
The blocks
Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of the furnace, and Fig. 2 is a longi-
tudinal section of the same. The furnace consists of a large chamber with
an arched or dome roof, the central part a of which is moveable and is capable
of being raised and lowered when required to obtain access to the interior of
the furnace; b, b, is a flat level floor constructed of fire brick, and covered
with sand, fine ashes, or some suitable pulverized substance to a sufficient
depth to form a bed for the plates or blocks of iron c, c, to stand upon, and
form a tight joint, which will prevent the molten metal from running out
beneath them. There are two fire-places d, d, one on each side of the floor,
and the heated gases and flame from these fire-places are reverberated by
the arched roof a on to and made to play on the sides of and between the
blocks or plates c, c, and to heat the same to a welding heat.
gases subsequently pass away along the flue c¹ into the chimney.
or plates c, c, are provided with end plates to complete the box or frame, and
are held together laterally by the tie rods e, e. When the blocks have been
brought to a welding heat, the fires in the furnace must be damped, and the
moveable part a of the roof of the furnace removed. Molten steel or iron
may then be poured from above into the spaces between the blocks or
plates c, c, and the whole will be soldered into one mass. The large block
thus composed of wrought iron and molten cast steel incorporated together as
above described is then lifted out of the furnace, and hammered or rolled into
a plate or block of the required thickness for manufacture into an armour
plate. Sometimes, however, before removing the block from the furnace it
may require a little reheating in order to bring it into a proper state for
hammering or rolling. If desired to produce a plate of great size and thick-
ness, two, four, six, or more of these plates may be put into a reverberatory
furnace similar to that already described, and heated to a welding heat, and
placed in a mould or frame as before described, leaving spaces between the

page_text: several plates into which I again pour molten steel which will solder the
whole mass together without any internal flaws. The mass so obtained may
then be hammered and rolled a second time into an armour plate, and will
be found to have a soft but very tough surface, while the hard steel that
has been run in between the plates of iron will have become softened
by parting with a portion of its carbon to the wrought iron, and the whole
having become converted into one nearly homogeneous solid mass, will pro-
duce an armour plate of very great strength and toughness.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Manufac-
ture of Armour Plates," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent,
forming armour plates for ships and other purposes by a combination of plates
or blocks of iron soldered together by means of molten iron or steel, and then
rolled or hammered down into the required shape and thickness as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Sanderson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
20 Witness,
JOHN WILLIAM BUCKLEY, .
of Wilkinson Street,
Sheffield.
CHARLES SANDERSON. (L.B.)