Improvements in the Manufacture or Treatment of Steel or Nickel Steel and of Articles made from Steel or Nickel Steel, and in Apparatus Employed therein.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Apr., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 31st Aug., 1897- Accepted, 24th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
"Improvements in the Manufacture or Treatment of Steel or Nickel
Steel and of Articles made from Steel or Nickel Steel, and in
Apparatus Employed therein.
I, BENTON KNOTT JAMISON of 441 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference to the manufacture or treatment of steel or nickel
steel and of articles made from steel or nickel steel and its objects are first to
treat a low grade or mild open hearth steel so as to produce a high grade or
refined steel or nickel steel suitable for the manufacture of projectiles, lathe tools,
chisels or the like and for general industrial purposes requiring great strength
combined with elasticity, rigidity and toughness; secondly to treat articles made
from low grade or crude steel with or without an alloy of nickel in such manner
that the parts of same most exposed to wear shall be hardened at their wearing
face to any desired depth, the surface of the wearing parts being also in some
cases submitted to a subsequent tempering, and the parts not subjected to wear,
or forming a back to the wearing parts, being also in some cases submitted to an
annealing or softening process.
According to my invention when it is required to obtain a high grade tool
steel I take mild open hearth steel (containing say from .60 to .85 per cent of
carbon or with .20 to .50 carbon with an alloy of nickel according to the use for
which the product is intended) in the form of ingots, billets, bars or the like
and heat it slowly and gradually until it attains a bright red heat or a little
higher heat and then with as little delay as practicable immerse it in a cold bath
of hardening liquid such as is hereinafter described of such character that the
contact of the heated metal and liquid bath will generate hydrocarbon gases
which will be absorbed or taken up by the metal. The time occupied in slowly
heating the ingot or the like to a bright red as above described will depend upon
the thickness of the ingot; for an ingot 6 inches thick the time will be from
3 to 4 hours. I leave the ingot in this bath for a sufficient length of time to
effect the hardening process viz:--until hydrocarbon gases cease to be generated
from the bath and to be absorbed by the ingot, the time depending upon the
thickness of the ingot, say 30 to 40 minutes for a thickness of 6 inches and I
maintain the bath as nearly as practicable at a uniform temperature during the
whole time, so that the chemical properties of the liquid will be retained and
the ingot be gradually cooled. This temperature should be about 100° to
125° Fahrenheit to which temperature approximately the bath will be raised
by the heat of the ingot when the ingot is first introduced; I have found that a
temperature of 110° gives good results. The maintenance of a practically uniform
temperature may be best effected by admitting more cold hardening liquid through
a regulated outlet to the lower part of the bath, providing the bath at the same
time with an over flow orifice.

page_text: The effect of the above treatment is that the steel of the ingot undergoes a
molecular change from a granular to a fibrous condition and becomes hardened.
While any suitable bath liquid may be utilized for the treatment of ingots,
bans, billets, or the like in accordance with my invention, I prefer that the bath
liquid shall be composed of the following ingredients in approximately the pro-
portions named :-
Spirits of Nitre
Aqua Ammonia
Chloride of Ammonium
3 oz.
3 oz.
4 oz.
Sulphate of Zinc
Sulphate of Alumina and Ammonia
Glycerine
-
Water
3 oz.
3 oz.
-
6 oz.
1 gal.
Or I may use merely a mixture of glycerine and water in the proportions of
6 oz. of glycerine and 1 gal. of water, but while this last named bath answers well
and is found to be entirely practical, it has also been found by experiment that
the first named ingredients and proportions are better adapted for the purpose.
"It should be stated that either of the baths above described gives substantially
the same results in the treatment of low grade steel, and in practice this process
(which should be understood as being distinguished from the process of temper-
ing steel in oil) changes the nature, the physical structure and molecular con-
struction of the steel, whereas the tempering of steel in oil simply tempers the
steel more slowly than is done by tempering in water and other agents, leaving
the steel less hard but somewhat tougher than water tempered material.
further, the changes caused by the oil tempering process are merely temporary,
and do not change the physical and granular structure of the metal, and such
changes of the metal caused thereby can be readily neutralized by re-heating and
allowing the metal to cool. The ingots or the like treated according to my inven-
tion as above described can be re-heated, forged and re-forged without changing
their natural physical structure or molecular construction and are eminently
adapted for the manufacture of lathe tools, chisels and the like.
And
The treatment of an ingot when at proper temperature by this liquid, causes
the ingot to absorb a large quantity of hydro carbon gas, which has a strong
affinity for the metal when the latter is in a heated state, thus facilitating this
absorption, which has been shown to greatly improve the quality of the steel in
its tensile strength and elasticity, and yet not deteriorate it in its capacity or
ductility.
When applying my process to the hardening to any desired depth of the wear-
ing face of articles of steel or nickel steel such for example as railway rails and
more particularly points and switch rails for which my process is especially
useful, I heat the article say a rail which may be of low grade steel with or
without nickel as an alloy slowly and gradually to a bright red heat immerse
it wearing face downwards when at this heat to a depth corresponding with the
depth to which it is required to harden it in a cold bath of hardening liquid of
the character hereinbefore described and I carry out in other respects the harden-
ing process in the manner already explained with reference to the treatment of
steel ingots and the like. The result is that I produce a rail the wearing face
of which to the depth to which it has been immersed in the bath has undergone
a molecular change from a granular to a fibrous condition, blending with the
softer or untreated back portion of the rail but leaving this backing or untreated
portion in its original condition.
While the desired portion of the rail is being treated and hardened as above
described I may place upon the non-submerged part or back of the rail, a hot
plate or several hot plates in succession; the hot plate or plates should be heated
to a greater heat than the rail preferably to a bright red heat which is a greater
heat than that of the rail at the time the hot plate or plates are applied thereto

page_text: the said rail being then at a black heat; they have the effect of drawing a portion
of the carbon from the back part of the rail and of annealing this portion thereby
rendering it exceeding tenacious and ductile and counteracting the tendency of
the front portion of the rail to crack when it receives a sudden shock or strain.
The wearing or hardened portion of the rail or article may if desired be sub-
sequently surface tempered by immersion in water and in this case I obtain a
rail or article of three different grades viz:-the tempered surface, the portion
hardened by the action of the bath, and the remainder either in its original con-
dition or more or less annealed by the application of a hot plate or hot plates to
the back as above described.
My invention includes a special construction of apparatus for carrying out the
mode of manufacture above described. In this apparatus I place in a con-
venient position relatively to a furnace for heating the ingots, billets, bars, rails
or other articles and as close thereto as practicable, a bath tank to and from
In the bath tank
which the ingots &c. may be conveyed by a travelling crane.
there may be for articles to be hardened only for a portion of their depth or
thickness supports for the article and this tank has leading therefrom an over
flow pipe in which is a valve for regulating the level of the liquid within the
tank, as will be readily understood; and for convenience in determining the
level of the liquid within the bath tank a graduated scale may be provided.
The outer end of the pipe empties into an overflow tank or reservoir, and this
tank is preferably of a size to act as a reservoir to store a sufficient quantity of
bath liquid for a continuous operation.
A pump is connected by a pipe with the over-flow tank, the object of which is
to force the bath liquid through a pipe to a cooling coil, which latter is arranged
within a casing having a spray nozzle at the upper portion thereof, which is fed
by a suitable water supply so as to reduce the temperature of this coil and the
liquid passing there through, and the water which accumulates within the casing
is drawn therefrom through the waste pipe; or the casing may be filled with ice.
From the coil leads a pipe to a flush tank, the latter being of sufficient capacity
to hold enough of the bath liquid to supply the bath tank with sufficient speed
to maintain the temperature within the bath tank when a hot ingot &c., has been
placed therein; and for the regulation of the down flow of the liquid from the
flush tank, a valve is interposed in the pipe which leads from the flush tank to
the bath tank.
The operation of this apparatus will be obviously as follows:-
The pump being set in operation, a portion of the liquid will be drawn from the
reservoir and overflow tank, and forced upward through the coil, when this tem-
perature will be reduced, and from thence it will be conveyed to the flush tank
where it is stored for use when needed. Now when an ingot or other article to
be treated has been properly heated within the furnace, it is conveyed therefrom
by the travelling crane to the bath tank entirely immersed in the bath or (as the
case may be) deposited upon the supports within said tank and immersed to the
depth that it is desired to face harden the surface of the article, and the proper
flow of bath liquid to the bath tank will be established by the manipulation of
the valve and the level of this liquid will be maintained at the desired point by
the adjustment of the valve in the overflow pipe.
When the article is first introduced into the bath tank, it is obvious that the
intense heat thereof will tend to greatly increase the temperature of the bath,
but as it is essential that the temperature of this bath, should not be unduly in-
creased, as the chemical action thereof would be altered, the supply valve is so
manipulated at this stage of the process as to greatly increase the flow of the
bath liquid to the tank, but this increased flow will not alter the level of the
liquid within the tank, since the over flow is of a capacity sufficient to carry away
this increased supply; but the result of this increased supply will be to maintain
the temperature of the bath liquid within the tank at the proper degree, which

page_text: may be determined by a thermometer extending downward below the level of
the bath.
In mild or small classes of work it may be found desirable to maintain the
overflow or level of the bath liquid at a given point, and regulate the depth of the
article therein by the movements of the supports. This may be provided for by pro-
viding the supports with suitable guide-ways within the bath tank and support-
ing them upon a piston rod which passes through the bottom of the tank and
into a hydraulic cylinder where it is attached to a suitable piston; inlet and out-
let pipes being arranged for the operation of this piston. Thus the depth of the
article within the bath may be regulated by the lowering and raising of the
supports. When articles with curved faces are to be treated, the upper surface
of the supports within the bath tank may have a similar curvature therein so
that said articles may be placed firmly against the supports, thereby preventing
a tendency to warping.
When the low grade steel employed for the purpose of my invention is alloyed
with nickel the proportion for ordinary purposes will be from 1 to 5 per cent.
For articles that are required to be non-corrosive such for example as boiler
tubes and the component parts of cycles, the proportion of nickel should be
approximately 20 to 25 per cent and the proportion of carbon .18 to 30.
metal in all cases should contain as little silicon sulphur and phosphorus as
practicable, but it preferably contains a proportion of manganese say .60 to
.75 per cent.
Dated thin 2nd
1 100%
The
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London. Chartered Patent Agents.
66 Improvements in the Manufacture or Treatment of Steel or Nickel
Steel and of Articles made from Steel or Nickel Steel, and in
Apparatus Employed therein."
I, BENTON KNOTT JAMISON of 441 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention has reference to the manufacture or treatment of steel or nickel
steel and of articles made from steel or nickel steel and its objects are first to a
treat a low grade or mild open hearth steel so as to produce a high grade or
refined steel or nickel steel suitable for the manufacture of projectiles, lathe tools,
chisels or the like and for general industrial purposes requiring great strength
combined with elasticity, rigidity and toughness; secondly to treat articles made
from low grade or crude steel with or without an alloy of nickel in such 4
that the parts of same most exposed to wear shall be hardened at their wearing
face to any desired depth, the surface of the wearing parts being also in some
cases submitted to a subsequent tempering, and the parts are not subjected to wear,
or forming a back to the wearing parts, being also in some cases submitted to an
annealing or softening process.
According to my invention when it is required to obtain a high grade tool
steel I take mild open hearth steel (containing say from .60 to 85 per cent of
carbon or with .20 to .50 carbon with an alloy of nickel according to the use for
4

page_text: which the product is intended) in the form of ingots, billets, bars or the like
and heat it slowly and gradually until it attains a bright red heat or a little
higher heat and then with as little delay as practicable immerse it in a cold bath
of hardening liquid such as is hereinafter described of such character that the
contact of the heated metal and liquid bath will generate hydrocarbon gases
which will be absorbed or taken up by the metal. The time occupied in slowly
heating the ingot or the like to a bright red as above described will depend upon
the thickness of the ingot; for an ingot 6 inches thick the time will be from
3 to 4 hours. I leave the ingot in this bath for a sufficient length of time to
effect the hardening process viz:-until hydrocarbon gases cease to be generated
from the bath and to be absorbed by the ingot, the time depending upon the
thickness of the ingot, say 30 to 40 minutes for a thickness of 6 inches and I
maintain the bath as nearly as practicable at a uniform temperature during the
whole time, so that the chemical properties of the liquid will be retained and
the ingot be gradually cooled. This temperature should be about 100° to
125° Fahrenheit to which temperature approximately the bath will be raised
by the heat of the ingot when the ingot is first introduced; I have found that a
temperature of 110° gives good results. The maintenance of a practically uniform
temperature may be best effected by admitting more cold hardening liquid through
) a regulated outlet to the lower part of the bath, providing the bath at the same
time with an overflow orifice.
The effect of the above treatment is that the steel of the ingot undergoes a
molecular change from a granular to a fibrous condition and becomes hardened.
While any suitable bath liquid may be utilised for the treatment of ingots,
bars, billets, or the like in accordance with my invention, I prefer that the bath
liquid shall be composed of the following ingredients in approximately the pro-
portions named :-
Spirits of Nitre
Aqua Ammonia
Chloride of Ammonium
Sulphate of Zinc
-
Sulphate of Alumina and Ammonia
Glycerine
Water
3 oz.
3 oz.
4 oz.
3 oz.
3 oz.
6 oz.
1 gal.
Or I may use merely a mixture of glycerine and water in the proportions of
6 oz. of glycerine and 1 gal. of water, but while this last named bath answers well
and is found to be entirely practical, it has also been found by experiment that
the first named ingredients and proportions are better adapted for the purpose.
It should be stated that either of the baths above described gives substantially
the same results in the treatment of low grade steel, and in practice this process
(which should be understood as being distinguished from the process of temper-
ing steel in oil changes the nature, the physical structure and molecular con-
struction of the steel, whereas the tempering of steel in oil simply tempers the
steel more slowly than is done by tempering in water and other agents, leaving
the steel less hard but somewhat tougher than water tempered material.
further, the changes caused by the oil tempering process are merely temporary,
and do not change the physical and granular structure of the metal, and such
changes of the metal caused thereby can be readily neutralised by re-heating and
allowing the metal to cool. The ingots or the like treated according to my inven-
tion as above described can be re-heated, forged and re-forged without changing
their natural physical structure or molecular construction and are eminently
adapted for the manufacture of lathe tools, chisels and the like.
And
The treatment of an ingot when at proper temperature by this liquid, causes
the ingot to absorb a large quantity of hydrocarbon gas, which has a strong
affinity for the metal when the latter is in a heated state, thus facilitating this
absorption, which has been shown to greatly improve the quality of the steel in

page_text: its tensile strength and elasticity, and yet not deteriorate it in its capacity or
ductility.
When applying my process to the hardening to any desired depth of the wear-
ing face of articles of steel or nickel steel such for example as railway rails and
more particularly points and switch rails for which my process is especially
useful, I heat the article say a rail which may be of low grade steel with or
without nickel as an alloy slowly and gradually to a bright red heat immerse
it wearing face downwards when at this heat to a depth corresponding with the
depth to which it is required to harden it in a cold bath of hardening liquid of
the character hereinbefore described and I carry out in other respects the harden-
ing process in the manner already explained with reference to the treatment of
steel ingots and the like. The result is that I produce a rail the wearing face
of which to the depth to which it has been immersed in the bath has undergone
a molecular change from a granular to a fibrous condition, blending with the
softer or untreated back portion of the rail but leaving this backing or untreated
portion in its original condition.
While the desired portion of the rail is being treated and hardened as above
described I may place upon the non-submerged part or back of the rail, a hot
plate or several hot plates in succession; the hot plate or plates should be heated
to a greater heat than the rail preferably to a bright red heat which is a greater
heat than that of the rail at the time the hot plate or plates are applied thereto,
the said rail being then at a black heat; they have the effect of drawing a portion
of the carbon from the back part of the rail and of annealing this portion thereby
rendering it exceeding tenacious and ductile and counteracting the tendency of
the front portion of the rail to crack when it receives a sudden shock or strain.
The wearing or hardened portion of the rail or article may if desired be sub-
sequently surface tempered by immersion in water and in this case I obtain a
rail or article of three different grades viz:-the tempered surface, the portion
hardened by the action of the bath, and the remainder either in its original con-
dition or more or less annealed by the application of a hot plate or hot plates to
the back as above described.
My invention includes special constructions of apparatus for carrying out the
mode of manufacture above described. In this apparatus according to one
modification which is shown in sectional elevation in Figure 1 I place in a con-
venient position relatively to a furnace A for heating the ingots, billets, bars,
rails or other articles and as close thereto as practicable a bath tank D to and
from which the ingots &c. may be conveyed by a travelling crane B mounted on
rails C. In the bath tank there may be for articles F to be hardened only for a
portion of their depth or thickness a support or supports E for the article and
this tank has leading therefrom an overflow pipe G in which is a valve H for
regulating the level of the liquid within the tank, as will be readily understood;
a hand wheel I being connected with the valve to operate the same, and for con-
venience in determining the level of the liquid within the bath tank a graduated
scale J may be provided.
The outer end of the pipe G empties into an overflow tank or reservoir K, and
this tank is preferably of a size to act as a reservoir to store a sufficient quantity
of bath liquid for a continuous operation.
A pump L is connected by a pipe M with the overflow tank K the object of
which pump is to force the bath liquid through a pipe N to a cooling coil O,
which latter is arranged within a casing P having a spray nozzle Q at the upper
portion thereof, which is fed by a suitable water supply so as to reduce the tem-
perature of this coil and the liquid passing there through, and the water which
accumulates within the casing is drawn therefrom through the waste pipe R;
or the casing may be filled with ice.
From the coil O leads a pipe S to a flush tank T, the latter being of sufficient
capacity to hold enough of the bath liquid to supply the bath tank D with
sufficient speed to maintain the temperature within the bath tank when a
hot

page_text: ingot &c. F has been placed therein; and for the regulation of the down flow of
the liquid from the flush tank a valve U is interposed in the pipe V which leads
from the flush tank to the bath tank.
The operation of this apparatus will be obviously as follows:-
The pump
L being set in operation, a portion of the liquid will be drawn from
the reservoir and overflow tank K, and forced upward through the coil O where
this temperature will be reduced, and from thence it will be conveyed to the
flush tank T, where it is stored for use when needed. Now, when an ingot or
other article to be treated has been properly heated within the furnace A, it is
conveyed therefrom by the travelling crane B to the bath tank D) entirely
immersed in the bath or (as the case may be) deposited upon the support E within
said tank and immersed to the depth that it is desired to face harden the surface
of the article, and the proper flow of bath liquid to the bath tank will be estab-
lished by the manipulation of the valve U and the level of this liquid will 'be
maintained at the desired point by the adjustment of the valve H.
When the article is first introduced into the bath tank it is obvious that the
intense heat thereof will tend to greatly increase the temperature of the bath,
but as it is essential that the temperature of this bath, should not be unduly in-
creased, as the chemical action thereof would be altered, the supply valve U is
so manipulated at this stage of the process as to greatly increase the flow of the
bath liquid to the tank, but this increased flow will not alter the level of the liquid
within the tank, since the overflow is of a capacity sufficient to carry away this
increased supply; but the result of this increased supply will be to maintain the
temperature of the bath liquid within the tank at the proper degree, which may
be determined by a thermometer W extending downward below the level of the
bath.
In mild or small classes of work it may be found desirable to maintain the
overflow or level of the bath liquid at a given point, and regulate the depth of
the article therein by the movements of the supports. This may be accomplished
by the modified construction shown in Figure that is to say by providing the
support a with suitable guide-ways within the bath tank b and supporting them
upon a piston rod c which passes through the bottom of the tank and into a
hydraulic cylinder d where it is attached to a suitable piston; inlet and outlet
pipes e e being arranged for the operation of this piston. Thus the depth of
the article within the bath may be regulated by the lowering and raising of the
support. When articles with curved faces are to be treated, the upper surface
of the supports within the bath tank may have a similar curvature therein so that
said articles may be placed firmly against the supports, thereby preventing a
tendency to warping.
i
When the low grade steel employed for the purpose of my invention is alloyed
with nickel the proportion for ordinary purposes will be from 1 to 5 per cent.
For articles that are required to be non-corrosive such for example as boiler tubes
and the component parts of cycles, the proportion of nickel should be approximately
The metal in all
20 to 25 per cent and the proportion of carbon .18 to .30.
cases should contain as little silicon sulphur and phosphorus as practicable, but
it preferably contains a proportion of manganese say .60 to .75 per cent.
I do not Claim in this Application for Patent the treatment or manufacture
of armour plates by the mode and in the manner herein before described as the
manufacture or treatment of armour plates by a very similar mode and by a
very similar apparatus is described and Claimed in a separate Applica-
tion for Patent deposited simultaneously with the present Application on the
3rd. April 1897 No. 8577.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
Claim is
1. The mode hereinbefore described of treating steel or nickel steel and of

page_text: articles made from steel or nickel steel (and not being armour plates) which con-
sists in slowly heating an ingot, billet, bar or article of low grade steel or nickel
steel to a bright red heat or a little higher heat, submerging it when at this
heat (either entirely, if it is to be converted into a high grade steel, or partially
if it is to be face hardened) in a bath of hardening liquid such as is hereinbefore
described, keeping it in the bath for a sufficient length of time to effect the
hardening process and maintaining the bath during the process at as nearly as
practicable a temperature of about 100° to 125° Fahrenheit substantially as set
forth.
2. In the manufacture of face hardened articles of steel or nickel steel (and not
being armour plates) submitting an article of low grade steel or nickel steel to
the treatment described in Claim 1 in order to harden the face to any required
depth and during the said treatment applying one or more hot plates to the
non-submerged part or back of the said article. substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
3. In the manufacture of face hardened articles of steel or nickel steel (and
not being armour plates) submitting an article of low grade steel or nickel steel
to the treatment described in Claim 1 in order to harden the face to any required
depth, and then surface tempering the hardened portions, whereby an article of
three different grades of steel or nickel steel is obtained, substantially as herein-
before described.
4. The special construction or constructions of apparatus, substantially as here-
inbefore described for employment in the manner set forth in the manufacture
or treatment of steel or nickel steel or of articles (not being armour plates) made
from steel or nickel steel.
eu this ist day of August 1837.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London. Chartered Patent Agents.