IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING IRON, AND IN THE FURNACES AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,*
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING IRON, AND IN THE FURNACES AND
APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR THE PURPOSE."-A communication.
Sealed the 1st December 1857, and dated the 15th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th June 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING IRON, AND IN THE FURNACES
AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR THE PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
Heretofore in the process of puddling iron it has been customary to heat
the iron in a puddling or reverberatory furnace, and expose the heated iron to
constant contact with the atmosphere, by stirring up the heated mass while in
the reverberatory furnace by means of appropriate tools worked by hand.
This has always been found to be very severe labor, and in hot weather
exceedingly exhausting to the men engaged in the work.
A small quantity of iron only can be worked at one time by the manner in
which puddling furnaces have been heretofore constructed and used. The
improvement has for its object the employmont of mechanical power for
working the iron during the process of puddling, and consists in constructing

page_text: the puddling furnace with a rotating or revolving bottom, which can be con-
stantly revolved during the puddling process, and in conjunction with this a
revolving tool is adapted to the revolving bottom, for agitating the heated iron
and exposing it to the free decarbonizing action of the atmosphere. By this
improvement a much larger mass of iron can be puddled at one time than
heretofore. The work can also be done more thoroughly, economically, and
rapidly than by the old process, and much severe and exhausting labor is
avoided; a great saving in fuel also is effected thereby.
In conjunction with the above, air is introduced in the bottom of the
puddling furnace below the surface of the metal. This improvement may
also be adapted to ordinary puddling furnaces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of. the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license, that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such- others
as I, the said William Edward 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, exèrcise, and: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING IRON; AND IN THE FURNACES AND APPARATUS
EMPLOYED FOR THE PURPOSE," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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."

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed;
and. to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Heretofore in. the process of puddling iron it has been customary to heat
the iron in a puddling or reverberatory furnace, and to expose the heated iron
to constant contact with the atmosphere, by stirring up the heated mass while
in the reverberatory furnace by means of appropriate tools worked by hand..
This has always been found to be very severe labor, and in hot weather-
exceedingly exhausting to the men engaged in the work, and only a small
quantity of iron can be worked at one time by the manner in which puddling
furnaces have been heretofore constructed and used.
The Invention that has been communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent has for its object the employment of mechanical means and power
for working the iron during the process of puddling, and consists in con-
structing the puddling furnace with a rotating or revolving bottom, which can
be constantly revolved during the puddling process, and in conjunction with
this revolving bottom a rotating tool is adapted for agitating the heated iron
and exposing it to the free decarbonizing action of the atmosphere. By this
improvement a much larger mass of iron can be puddled at one time than
heretofore. The work can also be done more thoroughly, economically, and
rapidly than by the old process, and much severe and exhausting labor is.
avoided; a great saving in fuel also is effected thereby.
In conjunction with the above improvement, air is introduced in the bottom
of the puddling furnace below the surface of the metal.
The improvement.
may also be adapted to ordinary puddling furnaces.
Figure 1, in the accompanying Drawings, is a horizontal section, or sectional
plan view, of a puddling furnace constructed and arranged according to the
present Invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 is a
vertical transverse section of the same.; Fig. 4 is an end view of the appar
ratus or gearing for actuating the stirrer; Fig. 5. is a top or plan view of the
revolving bottom, shown detached; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the support for
the revolving bottom.
In Fig. 2, A, A, are the grate bars of the furnace; B is the door for
charging the fuel; C is the opening of the tuyere; D, D¹, is the top or arch
of the reverberatory. furnace; E, the fire-bridge wall; F, the flue bridge.
These parts are constructed in the ordinary manner. A bed of masonry G, G¹,
is constructed to support a step H, H, which is
provided with a flango

page_text: extending all around it, as shown in Fig. 2, for the purpose of retaining the
oil or lubricating material. There is no stationary bottom constructed as is
ordinarily placed in reverberatory furnaces, but a revolving bottom I, I, which
corresponds in diameter with the reverberatory furnace, is employed in lien
thereof. This revolving bottom is composed of several parts, as shewn in the
Figures. I, I, is a ring or circle of cast iron, about one foot deep, and of a
diameter corresponding with the horizontal section of the furnace. 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 (see plan view, Fig. 5,) represent the pieces composing the bottom of
the revolving floor I, I. These pieces 1, 2, 3, and 4 are made of cast iron,
each being a quarter circle, and are about one and a half to two inches in
thickness, and are fitted together and laid upon a rim or projection around
the lower edge of I, I. The rim I, I, is cast so as to have a continuous
circulating tube through it for the passage of water to keep the revolving
bottom from burning. This revolving bottom is lined with cinder or other
refractory material, and is supported in the following manner:-A vertical
shaft or spindle K, K, rests at its lower extremity upon a step H, II', and
also passes through a box, which rests upon a cross plate 7, 14, attached to the
masonry. Upon the top of the shaft K, K', rests a circular plate of cast
iron M, M (shewn detached in Fig. 6). This plate is keyed fast to the shaft
at its centre, and has two sets of circular projections or flanges cast upon its
upper surface, and four sets of radial projections, so as to form two circular
grooves extending around the plate M, M', and four radial grooves. Into
these grooves corresponding projections fit, which extend down from the lower
side of the revolving bottom I, I'. The position of these circular and radial
grooves and the projections of the lower surface of the revolving bottom is
shewn by plan view, Figure 6. The projections of the bottom I, I', having
been fitted into the plate M, M', below, they are kept there by means of
melted cinder inserted therein.
On the under side of the plate M, M', a circular plate P, P¹, (Figures
3 and 6,) is cast; around the circumference of this plate is a flange of about
eight or ten inches vertical projection. Immediately under this plate P, P¹,
is a circular groove or trough Q, Q', into which the flange on P, P¹ fits, as
seen in Fig. 3. The flange on P, P¹ revolves in the trough or groove Q, Q,
which is filled and kept full of water so as to maintain an air-tight joint at
the intersection of P, P¹ and Q, Q. A bevel wheel R, R', is placed on the
lower part of the vertical shaft K, and a bevel pinion Ru gears into it. This
pinion R is connected with the main driving power by any convenient
gearing. By this construction of the bottom and its appendages it can be
made to revolve constantly while the puddling process is going on. In order

page_text: to keep the working parts from getting overheated or destroyed, a constant
circulation of water is maintained through the vertical shaft K, and through
the interior of the rim I, I, of the revolving bed, and also through the circular
trough or groove Q, Q'. The water enters at a, passes through a cup and
ball joint at b, into a tubular projection of the step H, H¹, thence through the
vertical shaft K to the point d, whence it passes by the tube e to the top of the
tubular casing of the rim I, I'¹. After pursuing a descending spiral course
through this rim, the water passes into the circular trough Q, Q', by the tube f,
and thence escapes by the tube g. By this means a constant circulation of
water is maintained through the interior of the shaft K and the revolving.
bottom I, and the parts are kept from burning and in working order.
In conjunction with the revolving bottom there is also employed a revolving
tool, shaped as shewn at J, J, J". It is composed of wrought iron, hardened
or covered with cast iron, and is made with a tubular passage throughout its
interior. This tool is the shape of a double screw with a half twist. It is
attached to a horizontal shaft U, U₁; the section of the arms of this screw are
triangular, as shewn at t (Fig. 3 A).
A constant circulation of water through the interior of the revolving tube
J, J, is maintained as follows:-The water enters through the tube m, which
is connected by a water box with the tubular passage n, n', formed in the shaft
U, U, thence the water passes through the tubular passage on the inside
of J, J, J, and thence through k, k¹, k", to the stuffing box attached to
the tube p, whence the water finally escapes.
The shaft U, U¹, is revolved
constantly by any convenient power.
The spiral part of the tool that agitates the iron is a half twist, or twisted
one half revolution in the length of the tool, whether the tool is long or
short, bent in a screw shape, that is, in the length of the tool as far as it
works on the bottom. The sides or hollow worm that forms the cylindrical
helix of the tool are bent or coiled spirally around one half its periphery, or
twisted one half a revolution in a regular spiral form in the length of the
working part of the tool, and as the spiral part of the screw or tool is
double, with a coil of half a revolution, it will form a true cylinder on the
outside surface of the helix on which it revolves on the bottom.
The tool and bottom when in operation are both made to revolve in such
a manner that the bottom carries the iron under the screw part of the
tool. The motion of both during the process of puddling must be reversed
if only one tool is used on the bottom, as the tool with its spiral shape
works the iron to or from the centre of the bottom. The tool is geared
in such a manner with the bottom, that by the time the bottom moves

page_text: from six to eight inches on its periphery the tool will make one revolution,
by which motion the tool will turn and take hold of three or four inches
of iron every half revolution; with its double spiral coil the tool may
revolve at pleasure from twenty-five to fifty revolutions per minute, and if a
furnace with a bottom of ten to fifteen feet in diameter be used, and from one
to four tons or more of iron be puddled at one time, two of the above-
described tools may be used on one bottom to facilitate the operation. When
two tools are used on one bottom the motion in the process of puddling need
not be reversed, as the tools can be constructed by making the spiral part of
one of them right-handed and the other left-handed, in which case one tool
will work the iron to the centre and the other to the periphery, and by the
operation of the two combined will keep the iron regularly over the whole
bottom.
The tool is introduced at one side of the furnace, if used in a small furnace
of six or eight feet bottom; but if a large furnace, with a bottom of ten to
fifteen feet is used, two of the above-described tools ought to be used,
and in such a case the tools are introduced at some distance away from the
central working doors, one near the fire bridge and the other near the flue
bridge, at opposite sides, and both pointing to the centre of the furnace, and
in this case the tools can be no longer than to reach to the centre, so that they
wont get in contact with each other. When the iron is puddled, the tool
or tools are not taken out of the furnace, but are raised off the bottom about
twelve inches into a dome built into the roof of the furnace for that express
purpose.
In connection with the rotary tool and bottom the Inventor also frequently
uses what he calls an air tool, to introduce air to the bottom of the puddling
furnace, below the surface of the heated or melted iron, as a decarbonizing
agent, to facilitate the process of puddling, by which means a large saving in
fuel is-effected; he also diminishes the waste of iron, improves the quality and
uniformity of the same, and accomplishes the puddling operation in much less
time than by any process heretofore known, and with less skilled labor,
whereby he largely increases the quantity and uniformity of production
throughout the year, and largely reduces the cost of converting pig iron
into malleable or wrought iron, and much severe and exhausting labor is
saved by the operation.
The air tool may also be used and worked in an ordinary furnace, and by
hand, which will equally facilitate the process, the same as when worked
with the rotary tool and bottom.
In the furnace with a rotary bottom and tool, the air tool may be worked by

page_text: hand, the same as on a stationary bottom, or by mechanical power, either
with a tool that revolves with a vertical shaft through the roof of the furnace,
or horizontally, and introduced through the door or sides of the furnace;
or the air may also be introduced with a tool that has a backward and
forward motion endways with the tool, or with. a motion from side to side:
The air is introduced under pressure sufficiently strong to blow through
the melted. iron and keep the same out of the apertures through which the
air passes.
The construction of the tool to introduce air on the bottom of a puddling
furnace when worked by hand is a hollow straight tool, hook-shaped at the
end where the air escapes, or flattened like a peel, or in the shape of a rake,
connected with a small hose or pipes with universal joints to the main.blast
pipe, so that the workman can move it in any direction...
The tool worked with artificial power has a backward and forward motion,
or from side to side, and may be constructed the same as the above-described
tools, with the exception of the connections to attach, to the gearing. The
tool that works from side to side is constructed with an eye at the proper
distance from the end, to fasten the same, and form the axis on which it
moves as the bottom revolves.
The tool, that works with a vertical shaft through the roof of the furnace, is
worked by mechanical power, and constructed in such a manner, with tubes
passing through the shaft to the extreme end in the furnace, to convey a
continual stream of water through it to keep it from burning, and also with
a tube to convey the air through the tool to the bottom of the furnace, with
small apertures around the outside edge at the lower end of the tool, for the
air to escape into the iron and pass off through it, with suitable joints and
connections with the shaft of the tool above the furnace, to convey the water
to and from the tool and also the air to it. The shaft of the tool is straight
until it reaches some distance in the furnace, then the shaft is bent or cranked
to nearly a right angle with the shaft, to describe a certain circle on the half
diameter of the revolving bottom, and the crank to have such a sweep as not
to come in contact with the rotary tool that agitates and works the iron.
the end of the crank, about eight inches or ten inches long, the tubes in the
tool are bent to run parallel with the shaft, and which part dips in the heated
iron when the tool is at work. When the iron is sufficiently decarbonized,
the tool is raised out of the iron against the roof of the furnace, and the blast
stopped from blowing into the furnace. The tool when in operation will
describe a number of circles on the bottom as both revolve, and bring the air
in contact with all the iron on the bottom.
At

page_text: Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in Puddling Iron,
and in the Furnaces and Apparatus employed for the Purpose," and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I would observe that I do not mean or intend to
confine myself rigidly to the precise arrangement of parts herein shewn and
described, as they may, perhaps, be varied in some respects without departing
from the nature and object of the present Invention, nor do I intend to claim
all the parts separately; but that which I claim as new, and desire to
secure by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is,―
First, the employment in a puddling furnace of a revolving tool, for puddling
iron as above described,
Second, the use of the revolving bottom in combination with the revolving
tool, arranged and operating as above described.
Third, the introduction of air in the bottom of a puddling furnace, that is,
below the surface of the metal, in combination with the revolving bottom or
the revolving tool.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane,
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)