IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING IRON PLATES FOR SHIP BUILDING, BOILER MAKING, AND SIMILAR USES, AND ALSO WROUGHT IRON IN OTHER FORMS, TO RENDER IT CAPABLE OF RESISTING OXIDATION OR DESTRUCTION BY SEA AND OTHER WATER, AND ATMOSPHERIC AND OTHER CORRODING INFLUENCES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Neil McHaffie, of Broad Street, Mile End, Glasgow,
Iron Founder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING IRON
PLATES FOR SHIP BUILDING, BOILER MAKING, AND SIMILAR USES, AND ALSO
WROUGHT IRON IN OTHER FORMS, TO RENDER IT CAPABLE OF RESISTING
OXIDATION OR DESTRUCTION BY SEA AND OTHER WATER, AND ATMOSPHERIC
AND OTHER CORRODING INFLUENCES."
Sealed the 20th January 1865, and dated the 6th August 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Neil McHaffie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
6th August 1864.
the
I, NEIL MCHAFFIE, of Broad Street, Mile End, Glasgow, Iron Founder, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING
IRON PLATES FOR SHIP BUILDING, BOILER MAKING, AND SIMILAR USES, AND ALSO
WROUGHT IRON IN OTHER FORMS, TO RENDER IT CAPABLE OF RESISTING OXIDATION
OR DESTRUCTION BY SEA AND OTHER WATER, AND ATMOSPHERIC AND OTHER CORRODING
INFLUENCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating iron plates for
ship building, boiler making, and similar uses, and also wrought iron in other
forms, to render it capable of resisting oxidation or destruction by sea and

page_text: other water, and atmospheric and other corroding influences. For these
purposes the wrought iron, whether it be in the form of plates or sheets, or
forged or fashioned to any desired shape, is surrounded with oxide of iron,
or oxide iron ore, or with oxide of manganese, or oxide of zinc, or matters
containing these or similar metallic oxides or substances, and the whole is
heated by preference to a full red heat; it is maintained at this temperature
for many hours, and afterwards is gradually cooled. The wrought-iron plates,
sheets, forgings, or other pieces will by this treatment be found to have under-
gone a peculiar change, which enables them to resist more or less completely
destructive or corrosive influences.
the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Neil McHaffic in the Great Seal Patent Office
6th February 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NEIL
M'HAFFIE, of Broad Street, Mile End, Glasgow, Iron Founder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Neil McHaffie, Her special licence that 1, the said Neil McHaffie,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Neil
McHaffic, 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 TREATING
IRON PLATES FOR SHIP BUILDING, BOILER MAKING, AND SIMILAR USES AND ALSO
WROUGHT IRON IN OTHER FORMS, TO RENDER IT CAPABLE OF RESISTING OXIDATION
OR DESTRUCTION BY SEA AND OTHER WATER, AND ATMOSPHERIC AND OTHER
CORRODING INFLUENOES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Neil M Hallie, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Neil McHaffie, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating iron plates for
ship building, boiler making, and similar ases, and also wrought iron in other
forms, to render it capable of resisting oxidation or destruction by sea or
other water, and atmospheric and other corroding influences. For these
purposes the wrought iron, whether it be in the form of plates or sheets, or
forged or fashioned to any desired shape, is surrounded with oxide of iron,
or oxide iron ore, or with oxide of manganese, or oxide of zinc, or matters
containing these or similar metallic oxides or substances, and the whole is
heated by preference to a full red heat; it is maintained at this temperature
for many hours, and afterwards is gradually cooled. The wrought-iron plates,
sheets, forgings, or other pieces will by this treatment be found to have under-
gone a peculiar change, which enables them to resist more or less completely
destructive or corrosive influences.
The plates or other articles to be treated may be placed in troughs or pans
of cast iron, or troughs built of fire-bricks; if of fire-brick suitably protected
from fire or air by plastering with fire-clay or wet sand, that is, the brick
troughs or troughs of other material placed or built inside of an oven, kiln,
or furnace, such as used for cementing bar iron for converting into steel, or
such as used for annealing iron castings or hard hematite iron castings for
making what is called malleable iron castings, the form of the furnace and
apparatus used not being material, so long as it is air-tight, and capable of
being raised to and maintained at a red heat when containing the plates or
other forms of wrought iron, together with the oxide or oxides; and I would
state that the furnaces or ovens used form no part of my Invention. Alternate
layers of oxides of iron or other oxides above named, with the sheets or plates
or other articles of wrought iron to be treated, being placed in the troughs,
and by preference troughs of iron, and closed air-tight, are placed in a furnace
or oven, and are raised to and maintained at a red heat, and then allowed to
cool slowly, excepting when the iron is desired to be hard, in such cases the
cooling is to be quickened according to the effect it is desired to obtain. The
length of time the red heat is to be maintained will depend on the intended
uses of the sheets or plates or other forms of wrought iron, and also on the
quality of the oxides, but a workman after some experience will readily judge.
I have found that with thick iron plates or sheets, such as armour plating,
three days are sufficient, but from 12 hours to 3 days will generally suffice.

page_text: I prefer to employ oxides of iron (such as hæmatite iron ore which has
been once used in converting hematite cast iron into malleable cast iron),
adding thereto about of fresh hæmatite ore, but other oxides of iron or of
other metal may be used in place thereof, or with such oxides of iron. The
oxides thus employed are again and again used, adding each time about of
fresh oxide ore. The plates or other articles of iron may be placed, as above
described, in the troughs with layers of the oxide materials when the furnace
or oven is cold, and the whole brought up to a red heat; or the filled troughs
may be drawn into a hot frunace or oven, and they may be withdrawn there-
from and cooled separate from the oven, more particularly when it is desired
to quicken the cooling.
Wrought iron thus prepared and without being painted or coated, on being
immersed for a length of time in sea water, is found to be free from shell fish
or marine animals, and also in a great degree free from corrosion or rust.
In witness whereof, I, the said Neil Mellaflie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
NEIL M'HAFFIE. (L.S.)