IMPROVEMENTS IN HARDENING AND TEMPERING STEEL
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Fox, of Stockbridge Works, Deepcar, near
Sheffield in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HARDENING AND TEMPERING STEEL,"
Sealed the 10th October 1861, and dated the 25th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Fox at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th April
1861.
I, SAMUEL Fox, of Stockbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN HARDENING AND TEMPERING STEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in hardening and tempering
steel. For these purposes a furnace is constructed with one or more flues or
passages built of fire tiles or bricks through which the heat from the furnace
passes and the steel strips or steel wire or other forms of steel are passed,
the steel being passed into cisterns containing water, oil, or other fluid or
material for hardening the heated steel. The steel, when in the form of
wire, or strips, or otherwise suitable for being wound on a drum or reel, is so
wound and the wire strips or other form of steel is conducted through the
heated passages above mentioned, and then such steel wire or steel strips or
other form of steel is received on to and wound on a reel or drum which is
Price Sd1

page_text: caused to revolve in the fluid in the cistern or vessel into which the heated
steel is conducted.
In order to temper steel wire, or strips or narrow sheets of steel, the same
is caused to pass through tubes, or pipes, or passages containing melted lead,
tin, or other material kept suitably heated for tempering steel, such tubes or
pipes or passages being externally heated to the proper extent. Or, in place
thereof, the tempering may be performed by means of two heated plates, one
having a groove of tapering width from end to end formed in it and the
other a projection from end to end tapering in width corresponding with the
groove of the other plate. Or the tempering may be performed by means
of a pair of heated plates as follows:--One plate has formed in it from end
to end a groove of uniform depth and slightly tapering in width. The depth
of the groove is the same as the width of the steel to be tempered. The
other plate has a projection or rib on it which fits closely and fills the
groove of the first-mentioned plate when it is placed thereon, so that the
ends of the two plates are "flush." On sliding the last named or top plate
spaces or hollow passages will be produced between the sides of the groove
and the projection or rib. The steel is tempered by being conducted (edgewise)
through these spaces or hollow passages whilst the plates are kept at a proper
heat. The further the rib of the top plate is slided out of the groove the
wider will be the hollow passages which will admit of steel of a greater
thickness being tempered by passing through the spaces. The sliding of
the top plate is caused by a hand lever suitably connected to that plate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Fox in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 25th 2
October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
Fox, of Stockbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, in the County of Yark,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenth-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Samuel Fox, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Fox,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel a
Fox, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
terin 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
HARDENING AND TEMPERING STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I; the said Samuel Fox, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Fox, 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 hardening and tempering
steel. For these purposes a furnace is constructed with one or more flues or
passages built of fire tiles or bricks, through which the heat from the furnace
passes. The steel strips or steel wire, or other forms of steel to be hardened
are passed through these flues or passages and afterwards the steel is passed
into cisterns containing water, oil, or other fluid or material for harden-
ing the heated steel. The steel, in the form of wire or strips or otherwise
suitable for being wound on a drum or reel, is so wound, being then in a soft
state, and the wire strips or other form of steel is, after passing through the
heated passages above-mentioned, received on to and wound on a reel or
drum which is caused to revolve in the fluid in the cistern or vessel into
which the heated steel is conducted.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawing shews a longitudinal section of a furnace.
arranged in a suitable manner for hardening steel, together with the apparatus
employed in connection therewith. a and bare two flues, separated from each
other by a fire-brick partition; each of these flues is about nine feet long, eight
inches wide, and six inches high; c and d are two fire-grates, each having
about one square foot of fire-bar surface; the flames from these two fire-grates
in which bituminous coal is burnt) pass at once through the flues a and b into
the passage c¹ leading to the chimney.
The steel to be hardened is brought to the furnace wound on the reel (l', to
the periphery of which friction is applied in any convenient manner, to prevent
the steel running off it too freely; the steel is led from this reel along the
flue a, the i around the circular bar of iron e, and it is brought back through

page_text: the flue to the drum f, on to which it is wound, the drum being driven in any
convenient manner; this drum f, as will be seen, is partially immersed in oil
or other material suitable for chilling the steel.
The drum should be so driven as to cause the steel to pass through the
flues at a speed of about fifty to seventy feet per minute; but this will be
varied by the workman according to the heat of the furnace and other circum-
stances, until the steel, as it passes into the chilling bath, appears to him to be
at the best temperature for hardening. In order to temper steel wire or strips
or narrow sheets of steel, the same is caused to pass through tubes or pipes or
passages containing melted lead, tin, or other material kept suitably heated
for tempering steel, such tubes or pipes or passages being externally heated
to the proper extent.
a is
Figure 2 shews the arrangement I prefer to employ for this purpose.
a tube about eighteen inches long and two inches diameter; it is bent, as the
Drawing shews, and contains by preference, lead. kept perfectly liquid by
means of a fire underneath, but the heat employed should not be greater than
is necessary for this purpose, or undue waste of metal will result. The steel
is brought from the hardening process on the reel b, and friction is applied to
the periphery of this reel to prevent the steel running off from it too freely;
the steel is conducted through the tube, and is then wound on another reel c,
which is driven in any convenient manner and so that its speed can be regu-
lated at pleasure, and in this manner the steel is driven continuously through
the tube, the workman regulating the speed according to the appearance of
the steel as it issues from the tube, which will enable him as heretofore to
judge whether the proper temper is being produced. Or, the tempering may
be performed by means of a pair of heated plates arranged as follows:-One
plate has formed in it from end to end a groove of uniform depth, and slightly
tapering in width. The depth of the groove is the same as or greater than the
width of the steel to be tempered. The other plate has a projection or rib on
it, which fits closely into and fills the groove of the first-mentioned plate,
when the one plate is placed on the other, so that the ends of the two plates are
"flush." On sliding the top plate back a short distance, spaces or hollow pas-
sages will be produced between the sides of the groove and the projection or
rib. The steel is tempèred by being conducted (edgewise) through these
spaces or hollow passages, whilst the plates are kept at a proper heat.
The further the rib of the top plate is slid out of the groove the wider will
be the hollow passages; by thus sliding the plates they may be adjusted to
receive steel of a greater or less thickness. The sliding of the top plate is
caused by a hand lever suitably connected to that plate.

page_text: Figure 3 is a side view; Figure 4, a plan; Figure 5, an end view of such
plates; and Figure 6 is an opposite end view of the same; the lower plate has a
fire-grate formed underneath it, the upper plate rests on the lower by its own
weight. The plates are planed, so that they may fit nicely together, and the
upper one has a lever attached to it, by which its position on the lower one can
be varied, so as to suit the thickness of the steel to be tempered; this lever
may be arranged in any convenient manner.
The steel is drawn through
between the plates by means of two drums, as already described, and the heat
of the plates and the speed of the steel passing between them is regulated by
the workman, according to the appearance of the work, as will be well under-
stood by one acquainted with the tempering of steel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Fox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
SAMUEL FOX.
(L.S.)