IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Deane John Hoare at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
November 1856.
I, DEANE JOHN HOARE, of Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of a novel and peculiar arrangement of apparatus, by
means of which the important operation of puddling is performed upon iron
without the intervention of the puddler; the result of such operation being
that a fibrous character is imparted to what would otherwise be a crystalline
mass of metal, whilst the necessity for reheating the metal is avoided, and
much expense of fuel and labor is saved.
I shall proceed to describe the process as to the arrangement of the appa-
ratus, and as to the nature of the operation which it is to perform.
The iron having been converted into a molten or fluid state by Bessemer's
process or by any other, for the purpose of purifying or decarbonizing it, I
cause the stream of molten or fluid metal to flow out on to the head of an
inclined channel, instead of, as heretofore, casting it direct from the converting
vessel into a mould for the formation of an ingot. This channel may be con-
structed of fire-brick or other suitable heat-resisting material, and at such an
angle or inclination as will cause the stream of molten or fluid metal to force
itself onward by its own gravity in a course either direct or tortuose, as may
be deemed most expedient, into the receiver hereafter mentioned. This incline

page_text: channel may be wholly or partially open, or it may be so constructed as to be
capable of being entirely closed; and if deemed expedient it may be built upon
or over flues, so as to be heated by the waste heat from a reverberatory or other
furnace, or by any other suitable means. At the bottom or end of this inclined
channell a suitable receiver may be constructed, into which the metal (which
will then bo in a semi-fluid or pasty state) will be delivered by its own gravity,
as before mentioned. And this receiver may, if deemed expedient, form the
bed of a reverberatory or other furnace for the purpose of maintaining the
metal run therein, as described, at an equal or uniform temperature. In
its passage through or along this incline channel the metal (having first
been, as I have stated, converted into a molten or fluid state) will be subjected
to sudden changes in its direction, caused by the interposition of certain breaks,
obstructions, or turning points, constructed and placed in such a manner as to
thoroughly work, break up, turn over, and cause the same to free itself from
air bubbles, and to a great extent from other chemically or mechanically com-
bined impurities, and thus a continually fresh surface of the stream of metal is
from time to time throughout its passage exposed to the action of the air, and
a continuous process of self-puddling carried on.
The period of the working or treatment described may be extended or
limited, the whole mass, after having been gradually cooled down in its course
through, along, or down the incline channel, being delivered into the receiver at
an uniform temperature throughout and in a condition suitable for undergoing
the next process of manufacture, whether it be for the purpose of producing
merchant bar or other iron or steel.