AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BAR IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
BAR IRON AND STEEL."-A communication from abroad by Bernard Lauth,
of Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th April 1866.
I, ALPRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF BAR IRON AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to treat bars of malleable iron and steel
that they will receive a perfectly smooth and polished surface which will not
be liable to oxidize by exposure.
The iron or steel bar in its usual merchantable state is immersed in an acid
bath to remove the oxide from its surface, and is subsequently washed in an
alkaline solution. The bar thus cleaned is now coated with oil by immersion
or otherwise; petroleum oil is preferred, and its efficiency is enhanced by
mixing with it a small quantity of wood ashes. The bar of iron or steel
thus treated is placed in a muffled furnace so prepared that a uniform or

page_text: nearly uniform heat may be maintained within it, and care must be taken that
too great a heat is not imparted to it, for on this depends the success of the
operation. When the bar approaches a red heat it is to be removed from the
furnace and subjected to the action of finishing rolls, the grooves of which
have been carefully prepared. After the bar has been passed between the
rolls from four to six times, the desired effect will have been attained, the bar
having a uniform surface as though it had been turned in a lathe, and that
surface being of the smooth, polished, and dark character, similar to that of
Russian sheet iron.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th October 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BAR IRON AND STEEL," being a com-
munication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained manu by the
following statement (that is to say):
-
This Invention consists in a process of treating bars of malleable iron and
steel whereby they will receive a perfectly smooth and polished surface which
will not be liable to oxidize by exposure.
In order to enable others skilled in the art to carry the Invention into use,
I will now proceed to describe its nature and mode of application.
1
:
Take, for example, an ordinary bar of malleable iron in its usual merchantable
state and remove the oxide from its surface by the application of diluted
sulphuric acid, after which wash the bar in an alkaline solution as now
commonly practiced in cleaning the surface of malleable iron preparatory
to imparting a tin surface to the same. When the bar has been thus
prepared proceed to cover its entire surface with oil. It has been found
that ordinary petroleum will serve the desired purpose, and that its efficiency
is enhanced by mixing with it a small quantity of wood ashes. Either
apply the oil to the surface of the bar or immerse the bar in a bath of the
oil, after which the most important branch of the process has to be prosecuted.
A muffled furnace is so prepared that an uniform or nearly uniform heat
may be maintained within it, and in this furnace the bar is placed, care
must be taken that too great a heat is not imparted to it, for on this
depends the success of the operation. When the bar approaches a red
heat or when the redness is just perceptible it is a certain indication that
the proper degree of heat has been attained. The operator must now remove
the bar from the furnace, for a greater heat would induce the formation on
the surface of the bar of scales of oxide of iron, which would effectually
frustrate the attainment of the desired result. The bar on its removal from
the furnace is at once to be subjected to the action of finishing rolls, the grooves
of which have been carefully prepared. After the bar has been passed
between the rolls from four to six times the desired effect will have been
attained, the bar having an uniform surface as though it had been turned in
a lathe, and that surface being of the smooth, polished, and dark character,
similar to that of Russian sheet iron. Bars thus treated possess two most
important advantages over bars hitherto manufactured. First, they are so
perfectly round and smooth that after being subjected to the action of a proper
straightening machine they can be used for shafting, piston rods, and other like
purposes without resorting to the costly preparatory process of turning and
polishing. Second, the bars will not readily rust by exposure to the atmosphere,
heuce the uniform smoothness of their surface is preserved under circumstances
which would affect the appearance and quality of ordinary bar iron.

page_text: Steel bars can be treated with the best results in the manner above
described.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improvement in
the Manufacture of Bar Iron and Steel, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above
in part recited Letters Patent I claim, treating bars of malleable iron and
steel substantially in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)