IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND MANUFACTURE AND STOREL
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, of Holmes Engine
and Railway Works, Rotherham, in the County of York, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND MANUFACTURE
AND STOREL "
TRON
Sealed the 1st September 1853, and dated the 7th March 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Weatherburn
Dodds at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th March 1853.
I, THOMAS WEATHERBURN DODDS, of Holmes Engine and Railway Works,
Rotherham, in the County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND
MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL" to be as follows:
This Invention relates to various arrangements to be employed, as
well in the primary treatment and manufacture of iron and steel from
the raw metal, as to the application of such manufactured metals, or
the steeling or hardening processes, to special articles of metal manu-
facture. In making a mass of steel by this process, the operator places
the required mass of wrought iron in a suitable case or hardening
chamber, containing a mixture of any suitable carbonaceous, matter, as
charcoal by preference, potash, pearlash, or other, alkaline, matter, and
carbonate or bicarbonate of lime, as marble clippings, gypsum, oyster-
Price8d1

page_text: shells, or other matter containing lime. The common kind of furnace
may be used for this process, but it is preferred to use a plan of furnace
wherein a range of retorts is so built and contrived that the working
heat may be uniformly, or nearly so, kept up whilst the charging and
discharging goes on; each retort being drawn in succession, the treated
metal being plunged into a wet or dry carbonaceous bath or bed to
cool. By this process the furnace is prevented from sustaining injury
in rapid heating and cooling, and great economy arises in the manu-
facture. To produce non-oxydisable steel for various purposes, a
quantity of nickel, or an alloy thereof, is incorporated in the metal
in any convenient manner. In annealing wrought-iron articles, or
articles partially steeled or hardened, a bath or mixture of carbonate of
lime and soda, or pearlash, is employed. This produces a fine, soft,
fibrous metal, and is especially valuable in softening the inner non-
abrading portions of tyres for railway wheels. In order to obtain an
effective rapid tilt or hammer action in the manufacture of metals, a
hammering apparatus is used wherein the power acts directly in both
directions. In one modification a constantly revolving crank is placed
either above or below the hammer lever, and a connecting rod passes
from this crank to the lever, so as to draw and press the hammer lever
in both directions. Or, by another plan, a steam cylinder may be placed
above or below the lever, or on either side of the lever fulcrum, with
an adjustment for the varying length of stroke required both at the work-
ing connexion of the lever and at the anvil.
The anvil is to be supported by an arrangement on the principle of
the hydrostatic press, so as to secure an effective adjustment of the
height
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 7th September 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WEATHERBURN DODDS, of Holmes Engine and Railway Works, Rotherham,
in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Weatherburn
Dodds, 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 TREATMENT AND MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Weather-
burn Dodds, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what mauner 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 Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, 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 following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:
My said Invention relates as well to the primary treatment and
manufacture of iron and steel from the raw material or metal, as to
the application of such manufactured metals, or the steeling or case-
hardening processes thereof, to special articles of metal manufacture.
In making a mass of steel by this process, the operator places the raw
unmanufactured material, or wrought iron, in a suitable case chamber or
furnace containing a mixture of any suitable carbonaceous matter, as
charcoal by preference, potash, pearlash, or other alkaline matter, and
carbonate or bicarbonate of lime, as marble chippings, gypsum, oyster-
shells, or other matter containing lime. The common kind of furnace

page_text: may be used for this process, but it is preferred to adopt a plan of
furnace wherein a range of retorts is so built and contrived that the
working heat may be uniformly, or nearly so, kept up whilst the
charging and discharging operations are going on, each retort being
drawn in succession, and the treated metal plunged into a wet or dry
carbonaceous bath or bed to cool. By the adoption of this system,
the furnace is prevented from sustaining injury in rapid heating and
cooling, whilst the cost of the process of manufacture is considerably
reduced. For the production of a non-oxydisable metal or steel for
various uses, I incorporate a quantity of nickel in the metal, in any
convenient manner. And in the annealing of wrought-iron articles,, or
articles partially steeled or casehardened, I use a bath or compound
mass of carbonate of lime and soda, or pearlash or potash. This treat-
ment produces a fine, soft, fibrous metal, and the process is especially
valuable for softening the inner non-abrading portions of railway wheel
tyres.
Another general head of my Invention relates to the obtainment of a
rapid and effective tilt action in hammers or helves for the manufacture
of metals, the actuating power in such apparatus being made to act in
both directions of the hammers movement. According to one modifica
tion, a constantly revolving crank is placed either above or below the
hammer lever, and a connecting rod or link is passed from this crank
to the lever, so as to draw and press the hammer lever in both direc-
tions. Or, by another modification, a steam cylinder may be placed
above or below the hammer lever, or on either side of the lever's
fulcrum, with an adjustment for the varying length of stroke required,
both at the working connection of the lever and at the anvil. The
anvil is supported by an arrangement of base, on the principle of the
hydrostatic press, so as to secure an effective and certain means of
adjustment as to height.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1, of my drawings is a vertical longitudinal section
of a single steel furnace; that is to say, a furnace fitted up with a single
row of retorts or manufacturing chambers. Figure 2, is a correspond-
ing vertical section of the furnace at right angles to Figure 1. Figure 3,
is a sectional plan of the furnace taken through the line or story of

page_text: retorts. Figure 4, is a complete external elevation of a furnace on the
same general principle, with a double row of retorts; and Figure 5,
is a sectional plan of the same, taken through the line of retorts.
Figure 1, on Sheet 2, of my drawings, is a side elevation of one arrange-
ment of my improved tilt hammer, as contrived for small work. Figure 2,
is a plan of the hammer corresponding. Figure 3, is an enlarged elevation
in detail of the anvil detached; and Figure 4, is an enlarged side view
of the working slot in the helve or short end of the hammer lever.
Figure 5, is a side elevation of one form of my steam forge hammer;
and Figure 6, is a corresponding plan of the same. Figure 7, is a
detached elevation of the anvil, as supported on the hydrostatic principle;
and Figure 8, is a sectional detail of an atmospheric buffer, or spring.
for obtaining a rapid action in hammers. Figure 9, represents a detached
detail of a portion of a steam cylinder placed above instead of below the
helve. In the arrangement of furnace, Figures 1, 2, and 3, on Sheet 1,
of my drawings, the retorts or chambers A, pass directly through the
furnace, and are open at both ends B, for charging and discharging.
The fire-place for heating the retorts is at C, beneath; and the heated
currents pass up from it through the flues D, encircling the retorts, and
off by the overhead discharge flues E, above the dome F, which is built
of fire clay, fire stone, or other suitable material. The openings B, to
the retorts may be either fitted with adjustable doors, or left open to
be bricked up after each charging operation. In Figures 4, and 5, the
retorts are in two rows, set end to end, as represented in the plan
Figure 5, each retort being open at one end B, only, but fitted up in
other respects like the single-row furnace; the flues C, being similarly
contrived for carrying the heated currents round the retorts. The special
composition which I prefer to use in the retorts, when manufacturing
or treating the metal therein, is made up of ten parts of charcoal, one
part of soda ash, and two parts of lime; and when the articles are im-
bedded in this mass, the retorts are closed, and are heated to a bright
red heat, continuing for five or six days. The iron, which is now con-
verted, is then withdrawn whilst it is in a red-hot state, and it is plunged
into a bath of water, or water impregnated with carbonaceous matter,
or liquid ammonia, or ammoniacal liquor, or a solution of prussiate of

page_text: potash, or hydrate of potash; or it may be immersed in a bed or dry
bath of carbonaceous materials, as highly carbonized sand or other
material containing carbon. I prefer to use these proportions of
materials, as I have hitherto found them the best suited for my purposes;
but I do not confine myself to the precise quantities which I have
given; and in cases where the steel is required to be of greater
hardness, or to be used for purposes of superior delicacy, I substitute
potash, pearlash, or other alkaline matter, and carbonate or bi-carbonate
of lime, as chalk, limestone, marble chippings, gypsum, oyster-shells,
or other matter containing lime. In steeling or case-hardening by my
improved process, I place the iron or the manufactured article, as the
case may be, in a retort charged in the manner which I have already
described; but when fineness or superior polish is required, I add bone-
dust or animal charcoal in the proportion of one-twentieth, or thereabouts,
of the compound mass. The articles are then treated as I have already
explained, and they are withdrawn from the retorts in a red-hot state,
and plunged into a wet or dry bath in a similar way, after having been
kept in the retorts for a period of two hours, or longer, according to the
intended depth of steeling or case-hardening to be given.
In any or
either of these processes, the retorts are arranged by preference in the
manner which I have set forth in my drawings, whereby the heat may
be kept up to a uniform temperature, each retort being discharged and
charged in succession, whilst the general furnace operation is continuous,
so as to economise time and prevent injury to the furnace.
In manu-
facturing non-oxydisable steel, as well as metal for articles requiring a
superior polish, 1 use pounded nickel, German silver, or argentine,
varying in amount from one twenty-fifth to four twenty-fifths of the mass
of treated metal. This added matter I place in the crucible in small
pieces, imbedded in small balls of charcoal or plumbago paste, adding,
in some cases, a small proportion of manganese, the mixture of charcoal,
soda, ash, and carbonate of lime, or other flux, being used or not in
this case.
And if English irou is used, a superior amount of carbon may
be necessary.
In manufacturing cast steel, I place suitable pieces of soft iron in
the casting pot, vessel, or crucible, together with the mixture which I

page_text: use for conversion, taking care to skim the molten mass well before
pouring it into the moulds. In constructing tilt hammers for working
metal of small size, or articles which vary but triflingly in diameter
and breadth, I prefer the general plan shewn in Figs. 1, and 2, Sheet 2,
of my drawings. This tilt is entirely carried upon the base plate
casting A, on which are cast the two parallel pedestals B, fitted with
brasses to receive the stud centre C, fast in the lever, and on which the
lever turns. The hammer lever D, carries upon its longer arm the
hammer E, fitted in the usual manuer; and beneath its line of action is
the stationary anvil F, with its tail recessed into the base plate. The
anvil bears in reality upon a layer of cork or other suitable elastic sub-
stance G, interposed at the shoulder of the tail; and this elastic layer
answers as a means of making allowance for the variation of the
hammer stroke, in conjunction with a similar elastic layer H, placed
between the cap of the driving joint slot, and the solid part of the
lever. The hammer is actuated by a short horizontal transverse shaft
I, driven by the fast and loose band pulleys J, and carried in pedestal
bearings K, on the hammer base plate, or fly wheel L, being set on one
end of the shaft to steady the motion. The central portion of this
driving shaft is cranked as at M, and this crank is passed through a
sliding bearing brass N, set in a longitudinal slot O, in the short or
back arm P, of the hammer lever. In this way, as the cranked
driving shaft revolves, the crank action rapidly elevates and depresses
the hammer, giving a powerful action in each direction.
The driving
shaft may be set on either side of the fulcrum or working centre of the
hammer lever; and, instead of the crank and slot arrangement which I
have here shewn, I propose to accomplish the same end by the use of
a connecting rod or link between the crank and the hammer lever, the
necessary elasticity being afforded by interposed layers of suitable
material at the points of junction of the details. In Figures 5, 6, and
7, I have shewn how I construct and work a larger tilt or forge ham-
mer. In this instance, the helve or single hammer lever A, is carried
upon an end stud centre B, working in the two pedestal bearings C,
on the base support D. The hammer E, is at the opposite end of the
helve, and between the hammer and the working centre is a short

page_text: vertical steam cylinder F. The piston G, of this steam cylinder works
up through a curved guide H, bolted to the top of the cylinder; and to
the upper end of the piston rod is jointed the lower end of a forked
connecting rod, or a pair of links I, the upper end being joiuted at J,
to the lever overhead. The cylinder has an ordinary slide valve K,
fitted to it, arranged to be worked by a simple hand lever L, for
the regulation of the steam admission and exit as the hammer is
to be raised or lowered. And instead of this manual working,
the steam action may be rendered self-acting by the addition of stops
or tappets, or by any other known means, as will be well understood by
the practical .man. Immediately beneath the line of the hammer
action is a short hydrostatic cylinder M, properly bored out and fitted with
a ram N, the upper end of which carries the anvil face 0. This ram
N, is thus capable of being raised or lowered at pleasure by pumping
in or withdrawing water from the cylinder in the usual manner of
working hydrostatic presses, whilst the principle of this support enables
the anvil to be carried in a solid and effective manner. By this plan of
adjustment the full hammer stroke can be kept up whatever may be
the size of the work in hand. Figure 9, shews a mode by which the
actuating steam cylinder can be arranged to work overhead, links
being passed downwards from the piston to the lever.
The steam
cylinder may be arranged to act in one direction only for lifting the
hammer, or it may be double-acting, so as to bring the hammer back
also with the full steam pressure. And instead of being stationary, as
I have represented it, it may be made to oscillate. For tilts or hammers
where a very quick action is required, I adopt a species of atmospheric
buffer, Figure 8. This buffer consists of a short cylinder A, bored out
and fitted with a ram B, the top of the cylinder having a flap valve C,
fitted in to open inwards. This buffer, being disposed above the hammer
lever, with the ram fitted at its lower end to receive the hammer as the
latter rises, it follows that during the fall of the hammer the valve C,
opens to admit air to the cylinder. But, when the hammer rises, the
valve C, closes from the internal air pressure in the cylinder, and con-
sequently the upward traverse of the ram B, compresses the air in the
cylinder, and produces a powerful spring to aid the downward hammer-

page_text: .
ing blow. The cylinder has an adjustable valve or stop cock D, fitted
into it, so that the attendant can regulate the strength of the spring by
allowing more or less air to escape from the cylinder.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not con-
fine or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangement which I
have had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be.
made therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features
of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery,
apparatus, or means for the treatment or manufacture of iron and steel,
as herein-before described.
Second, the conversion of iron into steel wholly or partially by the
use of a carbonaceous fuel, or a mixture of soda-ash, or soda, or potash,
or pearlash, or other alkaline matter, and carbonate or bi-carbonate of
lime, or matter containing lime with charcoal.
Third, the system or mode of converting iron wholly or partially
into steel, by the use of a compound of soda ash, lime, and charcoal,
or any mixture of alkaline matter, with carbonate or bi-carbonate of
lime and charcoal.
Fourth, the system or mode of treating iron, or partially or wholly
converted metal, by plunging the same when red hot or thereabouts
into a wet or dry bath, that is, either into water, water impregnated
with carbonaceous matter, or liquid ammonia or ammoniacal liquor, or a
solution of potash or hydrate of potash, or into a mass of dry carbona-
ceous material, as highly carbonized sand, charcoal, and soda-ash, or
other carbonaceous matter.
Fifth, the system or mode of arranging and working the furnaces
of conversion, wherein the retorts or converting chambers may he
charged and discharged whilst they are in a working condition, without
being permitted to cool.

page_text: Sixth, the system or mode of adjusting the anvil level of, steam:
hammers by means of a hydrostatic cylinder or chamber.
Seventh, the system or mode of working hammer or tilt levers, 80
as to strike in both directions, by the use of a rotatory crank shaft con-
nected therewith.
-Eighth; the application and use of an atmospheric buffer for in-
creasing the rapidity of the hammer strokes.
Ninth, the application and use of cork or other partially elastic
material, at the points of metallic connection of hammer details, for
the purposes herein-before déscribed.
•
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Weatherburn Dodds, have
hereunto set my hand and seal the Third day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three.