IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, of the Firm of
Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING,
AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."-A communication from abroad by
Pierre Adolphe Dormov. of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th November 1866.
I, CLINTON EDGCUMBE BROOMAN, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PUDDLING, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention is based upon the combined and simultaneous action of
mechanical power and manual labor. It consists in imparting mechanically
rotary motion on their axes at any desirable speed to tools which the puddler at
the same time.directs by hand in the metal in a state of fusion in the furnace,
so as to forcibly agitate the metal in all required directions. The ends of the
tools which enter the metal may be of any desirable forms, round, square,
flat, oval, or excentric, and arranged so as to agitate the metal as much as

page_text: possible. The tools may be rotated either vertically, obliquely, or horizontally,
and from left to right, or from right to left, or alternately in both directions.
In carrying out this Invention I fit on the shaft of the tool a pulley, round
which a driving strap, band, chain, or cord is passed from a drum; on the
shaft of the drum are a fast and a loose pulley, round one or other of which a
strap from any motive power is passed; a clutch or fork actuated by the
puddler moves this strap from the fast to the loose pulley, or vice versa, as
required. The outer end of the tool shaft has fitted thereon a handle in the
form of a tube in which it rotates. While the driving strap imparts rotation
to the tool, the puddler by means of the handle directs the working end of
the tool to any part of the furnace required so as to agitate the molten metal.
Any desirable number of tools may be employed in each furnace; where two
or more are employed the motion may be imparted to the drums of two tools
by straps from an intermediate drum which receives its motion from any prime
mover. Sometimes where flat driving. bands.are employed I form the pulleys
with or in the form of a ball, round which the band passes, a uniform surface
is thus always presented to the strap no matter in what direction. the tool may
be moved. It is preferred to make the pulleys hollow with a conical opening,
and pierced transversely to allow a key to be passed into the tool shaft. In
some cases, in addition or not to the employment of tools driven. from drums
and directed by hand, as before explained, I employ tools actuated as follows:-
Upon a plate on the top of the furnace I mount a frame or. bracket. In the
plate there is a conical opening passing through and at the middle of the arch
of the furnace; this opening is wider at the lower end to allow of the
inclination of the tool which is passed through it. This opening during the
puddling is closed by a sliding plate on the first-named plate, and through
which the tool also passes, so that the sliding plate moves according to the
direction given to the tool. Upon the frame or bracket a lever is pivotted;
one end is weighted, and the other end has suspended therefrom a chain con-
nected to a forked carrier for the tool; in this manner the weight of the tool
and carrier are equalized. The tool carrier is rotated by bevil gearing moved
by a shaft which is supported by the bracket, and carries a drum, round which
a, driving band is passed. From the commencement of the fusion of the
metal the greatest possible speed can be given to the tools, but the speed
should not be, accelerated to such a degree as to throw the metal out of the
furnace. The puddler, will himself judge at what rate of speed the tools
should be worked, and will regulate it according to the difficulties he finds in
working the metal. The speed is easily, governed by gradually passing the
band which runs on each drum from the loose to the fast pulley by means of a

page_text: convenient guide or clutch apparatus: If possible the mechanical niovement
should be obtained in such a manner that a speed can be imparted to the
tools of one thousand revolutions per minute. These tools penetrating into the
metal like a drill divide and agitate it very violently, at the same time sensibly
warming it by the rapid friction which takes place between the particles of
molten metal and the ends of the tools which turn and are moved in all
directions in the midst of the metal. As soon as the metal hardens and
agglomerates the tool is changed. One of the workmen takes a tool for
lifting the metal which has become deposited on the sole of the furnace while
another workman cuts the metal in all directions. When the metal is
sufficiently cut and refined the cutting tool is withdrawn, and the puddler
makes balls in the usual way, and takes them out of the furnace to shingle.
The kind of tools which are used to cut the metal are worked with pulleys of
larger diameter, and are heavier that the first on account of the metal
becoming harder, and a greater force being therefore required to work it.
For the same reason the speed is considerably and gradually diminished
according as the metal becomes more difficult to work, from about 50 to 100
révolutions per minutë being sufficient. The furnaces may be made with
two or more doors to facilitate the work; on account of the quantity of metal
which can be worked at once; in general it will be well to have two cords
or straps on each drum, the one serving for the small pulleys and first work,
and the other, which should be longer, serving for the large tools with which
the metal is cut, and which carry pulleys of greater diameter. By this means
the shortening or lengthening of the bands or cords when the tools are
changed will be avoided. The drums on which the cords or straps work
should be long enough for the cords to have sufficient length to move over
when following the movements or directions given by the puddler. When
there is not sufficient space for & drum long enough, cheeks or discs should
be placed at each end of the drum of sufficient height to prevent the cords
coming off; it is sufficient to cross the straps to make the tools turn either
to the right or left: The point or end of the tools, which should be very
heavy, should work upon the sole of the furnace to prevent adherence of the
metal. In puddling iron when it is required to purify and ameliorate the
quality of the metal, änd to facilitate the decarburation, I employ a tool
formed at the end with a cup or recess in which a piece of wood is fitted, a
space being left between the wood and the inner end of the recess. As con-
venient forms of cutting tools I may mention one with a hooked end or point
in the form of a diamond; also one with a hooked end, consisting of a plate
having cutting edges and thickened at the middle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CLINTON
EDGCUMBE BROOMAN, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of
166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,'
the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or.
such others as I, the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, 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 PUDDLING, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," (communicated to me from abroad by Pierre Adolphe
Dormoy, of Paris, France,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention is based upon the combined and simultaneous action of
mechanical power and manual labour. It consists in imparting mechanically
rotary motion on their axes at any desirable speed to tools which the puddler

page_text: at the same time directs by hand in the metal in a state of fusion in the
furnace, so as to forcibly agitate the metal in all required directions. The
ends of the tools which enter the metal may be of any desirable forms, round,
square, flat, oval, or excentric, and arranged so as to agitate the metal as:
much as possible. The tools may be rotated either vertically, obliquely, or.
horizontally; and from left to right, or from right to left, or alternately in both.
directions.
:
In carrying out this Invention I fit on the shaft of the tool a pulley, round.
which a driving strap, band, chain, or cord is passed from a drum; on-the
shaft of the drum are a fast and loose pulley, round one or other of which a..
strap from any motive power is passed; a clutch or fork actuated by the
puddler moves this strap from the fast to the loose pulley, or vice versa, as.
required. The outer end of the tool shaft has fitted thereon a handle in the
form of a tube in which it rotates. While the driving strap imparts rotation to
the tool, the puddler, by means of the handle, directs the working end of the
tool to any part of the furnace required, so as to agitate the molten metal.
Any desirable number of tools may be employed in each furnace; where two
or more are employed the motion may be imparted to the drums of two tools.
by straps from an intermediate drum which receives its motion from any prime
mover.
.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a view of a furnace with one'
puddling tool applied thereto. a is the tool, on the shaft of which a pulley b.
is fitted; c. is a band passed round the pulley 6 from a drum e, on the axis or
shaft of which are a fast and a loose pulley f,f; g is a strap from any prime
mover for driving the drum e; this strap is shifted from one pulley f'to the
other as required by a clutch or 'fork h, the shaft of which is in reach of the
puddler; d is a tubular handle in which the outer end of the tool shaft is free
to rotate.
Figure 2 is a section of a furnace with two puddling tools applied thereto.
a, a', are the tools, and 6, 61, their pulleys; e, e, are drums, which by cords or
straps respectively drive the two pulleys and tools; e" is an intermediate drum
which receives motion from the prime mover and transmits it by straps c², c¹,
to the drums e, e¹; h, h, are the clutches or forks for moving the straps from
the loose to the fast pulleys, and vice versa. Sometimes where flat driving
bands are employed I form the pulleys with or in the form of a ball as seen
at 6, Figure 2, round which the band passes; a uniform surface is thus
always presented to the strap no matter in what direction the tool may be
moved. It is preferred to make the pulleys hollow with a conical opening,
and pierced transversely to allow a key to be passed into the tool shaft.

page_text: ⚫ In some cases in addition or not to the employment of tools driven from
drums and directed by hand, as before explained, I employ tools actuated as
represented in Figures 3 and 4, which show a combined arrangement. Upon
a plate on the top of the furnace I mount a frame or bracket i. In the
plate j. there is a conical opening passing through and at the middle of the
arch of the furnace; the opening is wider at the lower end to allow of the
inclination of the tool a¹¹ which is passed through it. This opening during
the puddling is closed by a sliding plate k on the plate j, and through which
the tool also passes, so that the sliding plate moves according to the direction
given to the tool. Upon the frame or bracket i a lever is pivotted, one end
is weighted at. m, and the other end has suspended therefrom a chain connected
to a forked carrieren, n³ for the tool; in this manner the weight of the tool and
carrier is equalized: The tool carrier is rotated by bevil gearing o, o¹, moved
by a shaft r, which is supported by the bracket i, and carries a drum, round
which a driving band is passed; p is a rope passing round a fixed pulley p',
and provided with a hook p". When the tool a¹ has to be lifted out of the.
furnace the hook p" is attached to it, and the opposite end of the rope p pulled.
by the attendant.
Figure 5 shows an arrangement with a fork and rollers for throwing out
of action and stopping the tool when it is required to change it or otherwise.
The pinion o which works the pinion o¹ slides on the shaft r, which transmits
the motion thereto; on the shaft r is a key which enters the nave of the
pinion o by means of a groove or guide of the same form as the key. Figure 6
is a detached view of the tool carrier n, n¹; Figure 7 shows by way of
example a section of a pulley for the tool shafts. From the commencement
of the fusion of the metal the greatest possible speed can be given to the
tools, but the speed should not be accelerated to such a degree as to throw
the metal out of the furnace. The puddler will himself judge at what rate
of speed the tools should be worked, and regulate it according to the difficulties
he finds in working the metal. The speed is easily governed by gradually
passing the band which runs on each drum from the loose to the fast pulley
by means of a convenient guide or clutch apparatus. If possible the mecha-
nical movement should be obtained in such a manner that a speed can be
imparted to the tools of one thousand revolutions per minute; these tools
penetrating into the metal like a drill divide and agitate it vory violently, at 3
the same time sensibly warming it by the rapid friction which takes place
between the particles of molten metal and the ends of the tools which turn and
are moved in all directions in the midst of the metal. As soon as the metal
hardens and agglomerates the tool is changed; one of the workmen takes a tool

page_text: like that shown in Figure 8, for lifting the metal which has become deposited on
the sole of the furnace, while another workmen cuts the metal in all directions.
When the metal. is sufficiently cut and refined the cutting tool is withdrawn,
and the puddler makes balls in the usual way, and takes them out of the
furnace to shingle. The kind.of tools which are used to cut the metal are
worked with pulleys of larger diameter, and are heavier than the first on
account of the metal becoming harder, and a greater force being therefore
required to, work it. For the same reason the speed is considerably and
gradually diminished according as the metal becomes more difficult to work,
from about 50 to 100 revolutions per minute being sufficient. The furnaces
may be made with two or more doors to facilitate the work on account of the
quantity of metal which can be worked at once. In general it will, be well
to have two cords or straps on each drum, the one serving for the small
pulleys and first work, and the other which should be longer serving for the
large tools with which the metal is cut, and which carry pulleys of greater
diameter. By this means the shortening or lengthening of the bands or cords
when the tools are changed will be avoided. The drums on which the cords
or straps work should be long enough for the cords to have sufficient length
to move over when following the movements or directions given by the puddler.
When there is not sufficient space for a drum long enough cheeks or discs
should be placed at each end of the drum of sufficient height to prevent the
cords coming off. It is sufficient to cross the straps to make the tools turn
either to the right or left. The point or end of the tools which should be
very heavy should work upon the sole of the furnace to prevent adherence of
the metal. The forms and dimensions of the tools employed are exceedingly
variable. Several specimens are given in the Figures. In puddling iron
when it is required to purify and ameliorate the quality of the metal and to
facilitate the decarburation, I employ a tool formed at the end with a cup
or recess, in which a piece of wood is fitted as seen in Figure 12, a space
being left between the wood and the inner end of the recess.
Figure 9 shows a cutting tool with a hooked end in the form of a diamond;
Figure 10 shows a tool with a hooked end, consisting of a plate having cutting
edges, and thickened at the middle. The forms of the other tools for puddling
or working the metal are clearly shown in the Drawings. I do not limit
myself to any particular arrangement for imparting rotary motion to the
tools.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First, the mode of puddling, substantially as herein-before described, that

page_text: is to say, by means of tools to which rotary motion on their axes is imparted
mechanically, while they are at the same time directed by the puddler to any
required part of the furnace.
: Second, constructing apparatus for imparting rotary motion to puddling
tools, substantially as herein-before described and represented in the accom-
panying Drawings:
Third, constructing tools to be employed in puddling, with a handle which
will allow the tool shaft to rotate while the handle is held by the puddler,
substantially as herein-before described and représented in the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, One thousand
- eight hundred and sixty-seven.