AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE, OF METALLIC HOOPS, BANDS, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clay, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Iron and Steel Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MANUFACTURE, OF METALLIC HOOPS, BANDS, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS
ARTICLES."
Sealed the 7th December 1858, and dated the 4th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clay, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th August 1858.
I, WILLIAM CLAY, of Liverpool, in the County, of Lancaster, Iron and
Steel Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC HOOPS, BANDS, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS
ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of an improved manufacture of metallic hoops, bands, and
other analogous articles consists in the application to such manufacture of
steel instead of iron, which is now generally used for the purpose. By this
means I am enabled to produce bands or hoops of greatly increased strength
and tenacity. The particular kind of steel which I prefer to employ for the
purpose is that known by the names of "puddled steel" or "wrought steel,"
but other kinds of steel or steel iron, or homogeneous metal, or a mixture of
steel and iron, may be advantageously employed.
In manufacturing the above-mentioned articles from steel, I find it advisable
and preferable to take the ball from the puddling furnace, and after ham-
mering and converting it into a billet, I reheat the latter and roll it down to

page_text: the required form and thickness for making hoops or bands. It is preferable
to make the whole length required for a hoop or band from one billet rather
than to pile two or more billets or bars together. Should an extra finish be
desired, I find it advantageous to reheat the billet or bar one or more times.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clay in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLAY, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Iron and Steel Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clay, Her special license that I, the said William Clay, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clay, my exécutors, 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 "AN IMPROVED MANU-
FACTURE OF METALLIC HOOPS, BANDS, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clay, 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
ierformed, 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 William Clay, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 (that is to say):-
Metallic hoops and bands have for all ordinary purposes heretofore been
made of iron, and are liable to be rapidly destroyed, or so far damaged by
exydation as materially to impair their strength. Steel, on the contrary, is not

page_text: only much stronger and tougher than iron, but is less liable to oxydation, and
consequently hoops or bands made of steel will possess much greater strength
and tenacity, and will last much longer than if made of iron, as heretofore.
My Invention, therefore, consists in making hoops, bands, and other
analogous articles of steel instead of iron, as heretofore. The particular kind
of steel which I prefer to employ for the purposes of my Invention is that
known by the names of "puddled steel" or "wrought steel," but other kinds
of steel, or a mixture of steel and iron, may sometimes be advantageously
employed.
In manufacturing bands, hoops, and other analogous articles from steel the
ball of metal when taken from the puddling furnace is to be hammered and
converted into a billet, after which it must be reheated and rolled down to the
required form and thickness for making the desired articles.
The whole length required for a hoop or band may, if preferred or found
more advantageous, be rolled from one billet, but any convenient number of
bars of steel may be piled together in the ordinary way, or, by preference, in
the manner known as box piling, and after heating the pile it may be subjected
to a powerful hammer or rollers, or to both these mechanical contrivances, so
as to perfectly consolidate the mass before commencing to roll it into hoops or
bands. By this means hoops or bands of different temper and strength may, if
required, be obtained, or hoops or bands with the interior of a barder nature
than the exterior, or vice versa, may be produced. When hoops or bands of a
very tough and fibrous quality are required, I use steel of a mild nature,
and more nearly approaching to the characteristics of the best charcoal iron.
This steel is to be formed into a billet and rolled down in the usual manner;
but if it be desired to produce articles of an extra good quality, it will be found
advantageous to reheat the billet or bar one or more times before finally
reducing it to the desired thinness. For the manufacture of the toughest
descriptions of steel bands or hoops, I prefer to use turnings or small cuttings
or clippings of scrap steel, which are to be reduced in a charcoal fire, and after
being manufactured into billets or bars in the usual way, the latter are to be
rolled down to the required gauge.
In order still further to improve the quality, finish, or appearance of the
bands or hoops, and to increase their tenacity, strength, and hardness, and at
the same time give them a smoothness and evenness of surface which will
enable them to resist oxydation to a great extent, I submit the bands, hoops,
or other articles to a cold rolling process, previous to or after which, however,
they may, if desired, be pickled to remove any scale that may be on the surface,-
and during the process of rolling they may also be subjected to the action of

page_text: oil or grease, to which end the rollers may be greased, or the hoops, bands, or
other articles may be previously covered or coated with oil or grease. Some-
times, in place of or in combination with the oil or grease, I cover the surface
of the articles with pulverized plumbago or black lead, which will by the
process of rolling be forced into close combination with the steel, and will form
a kind of film, skin, or polish on the surface thereof. The cold rolling process,
even without the addition of oil, grease, or black lead, will impart a polish to
the surface, and will consolidate and condense the metal. The bands or hoops
made of steel in the manner above described may be tempered or blued in the
ordinary way, or they may be tinned or coated with some metal or substance
that is less liable to be injured by atmospheric influences than the naked
steel.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Manufacture of
Metallic Hoops, Bands, and other analogous Articles," and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid the manufacture of hoops, bands, and
other analogous articles of steel, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clay, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J: W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM CLAY. (L.S.)