A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE QUALITY OF THE MALLEABLE METALS AND ALLOYS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 20, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE OF AND
APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE QUALITY OF THE MALLEABLE METALS AND
ALLOYS."A communication from abroad by Gustav Bischof, junior,
of Bonn, in the Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 13th December 1870, and dated the 20th June 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th June 1870.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE
OF AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE QUALITY OF THE MALLEABLE METALS AND
ALLOYS," to be as follows:-
In testing the quality of metals or alloys according to this Invention
a distinction is made between such as do not or not materially alter in

page_text: quality through smelting, viz., zinc, tin, &c., and such as do alter in
quality, viz., copper, brass, &c.
In preparing the former for being tested in the apparatus to be
presently described, they are smelted under constant stirring with a
porcelain spatula, and as soon as the smelting is completed they are
poured into upright iron moulds which contain rectangular cavities 4
inches long and an inch by of an inch wide.
The bars formed in these moulds are rolled in a test rolling mill at
the ordinary temperature into strips 5 inches long and inch (full) wide
until such strips have a weight of 23.5 grains in the case of zinc and
tin, and of 38.7 grains in the case of lead.
The rolling must be effected under the same conditions if different
samples of the same metal or alloy are to be compared.
In the case of copper, brass, or other metals or alloys which alter in
quality through smelting one must again distinguish whether plates or
ingots are to be tested. If the former, several strips, each of a width of
an inch weighing about 60 grains, are cut out in the direction in which
the plate has passed through the rollers. The strips are rolled for
testing as hereafter described. If ingots are to be tested a strip inch
wide, inch (full) thick, and 3 inches long is sawn out of such ingot
with a metal saw, then filed smooth, and finally rolled under repeated
annealing until a strip 5 inches long and inch (full) wide weighs 27
grains. The equivalent weight of other metals or alloys to be tested
is found by comparing their specific gravity with that of copper. The
annealing must be likewise effected under the same conditions if
different samples of the same metal or alloy are to be compared. It is
preferred to use for annealing an iron tube internally coated with a thin
copper plate and heated externally.
As the edges of samples sometimes become jagged through rolling,
and thus the accuracy of the test hereafter described is impaired, the
strips inch wide above mentioned are cut out of the middle of the
test samples after they have been rolled to nearly the required thickness.
The rolling of these strips is then continued until they have the required
weight.
The method of testing the metal strips prepared as before described
consists mainly in bending them sharply to a considerable angle alter-
nately in reverse directions until they fracture, the number of times the
strips of metal are so beut before fracturing being duly recorded, and

page_text: thus a reliable and accurate indication obtained of the quality of the
metal relative to standard measurements previously ascertained.
The apparatus employed for this purpose (which is termed a
" metalo-
meter") consists of a vice or equivalent contrivance for holding the
strips suspended from an axle supported by a framing, to which vice an
oscillating motion between certain limiting angles is given by any
suitable contrivance, such as by a toothed quadrant fixed thereto, in gear
with which is a pinion driven alternately in contrary directions by clock-
work mechanism or other suitable motive power. In the jaws of the
vice are held one or more strips of the metal to be tested, to the lower
ends of which are attached weights so as to hold the strips vertical
no matter what angle the vice is made to assume in its reciprocating
motion, so that the strips of metal are thus alternately bent in reverse
directions, as above described, at the point where they are held by the
vice. If the metal to be tested is not of a very pliant nature so that it
will not readily bend sharply at the point where it is held, it is passed
through a slit in a guide carried by and turning upon pins fixed at the
outer edge of the jaws of the vice, which guide has pendant arms with
heavy weights at the lower ends, so that the feather edge of the guide
being situated close to the edge of the jaws of the vice, the metal is
sharply bent between the two edges at each oscillation of the vice.
The clockwork mechanism or other driving power carries an indicating
dial and pointer for registering the number of times the vice oscillates
before the fracture of the metal.
5 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
O the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and

page_text: grant unto me, the said Charles Denton Abel, Her special licence that
I, the said Charles Denton Abel, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Denton Abel, our 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED
MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE QUALITY OF THE MALLEABLE METALS
AND ALLOYS," a communication to me from abroad by Gustav Bischof,
junior, of Bonn, in the Kingdom of Prussia, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Denton Abel, 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 Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Denton Abel, 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 accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say :—
This Invention is based upon the fact that if different qualities of one
and the same metal or alloy have been rolled in exactly the same
manner the better the quality the oftener the metal can be bent without
breaking. If, for instance, samples of pure and commercial zinc have
been rolled in the same manner, and are afterwards bent under the same
conditions, the quality of the respective samples can be estimated from
the number of times they may be bent backwards and forwards without
breaking.
The present Invention consists, firstly, in the method of testing the
quality of malleable metals and alloys by bending strips thereof, by
preference prepared as hereafter described, alternately in contrary
directions until they fracture, the number of times they are so bent before
fracture being duly recorded, whereby a reliable and accurate indication
is obtained of the quality of the metal relative to standard measurements

page_text: previously ascertained. Thus it has been ascertained in testing by this
process that the number of to-and-fro movements which pure zinc, the
best, and the most inferior quality of commercial zinc hitherto tested
withstood without breaking were respectively in the ratio of 100,54, and
19. From this therefore it can be inferred that another sample of zinc
which endured, say, 30 to-and-fro movements is better in quality than the
one which endured 19 and inferior to that which withstood 54 to-and-fro
|previously ascertained. Thus it has been ascertained in testing by this
process that the number of to-and-fro movements which pure zinc, the
best, and the most inferior quality of commercial zinc hitherto tested
withstood without breaking were respectively in the ratio of 100,54, and
19. From this therefore it can be inferred that another sample of zinc
which endured, say, 30 to-and-fro movements is better in quality than the
one which endured 19 and inferior to that which withstood 54 to-and-fro
movements.
Another part of this Invention consists in the construction of certain
apparatus to be herein-after described, whereby such bending of the
metal strips is effected.
In testing the quality of metals or alloys according to this Invention
a distinction is made between such as do not or not materially alter in
quality through smelting, viz., zinc, tin, &c., and such as do alter in
quality, viz., copper, brass, &c. In preparing the former for being tested
in the apparatus to be presently described they are smelted under
constant stirring with a porcelain spatula, and as soon as the smelting is
completed they are poured into upright iron moulds which contain
rectangular cavities 4½ inches long and an inch by of an inch wide.
The bars formed in these moulds are rolled in a test rolling mill at the
ordinary temperature into strips 5 inches long and inch (full) wide
until such strips have a weight of 23.5 grains in the case of zinc and tin,
and of 38.7 grains in the case of lead. The rolling must be effected
under the same conditions if different samples of the same metal or
alloy are to be compared. In the case of copper, brass, or other metals
or alloys which alter in quality through smelting, one must again
distinguish whether plates or ingots are to be tested. If the former,
several strips each of a width of an inch, weighing about 60 grains,
are cut out in the direction in which the plate has passed through the
rollers. The strips are rolled for testing as hereafter described. If
ingots are to be tested a strip an inch wide, ½ inch (full) thick, and
3 inches long, is sawn out of such ingot with a metal saw, then filed
smooth, and finally rolled under repeated annealing until a strip 5 inches
long and inch (full) wide weighs 27 grains. The equivalent weight
of other metals or alloys to be tested is found by comparing their
specific gravity with that of copper. The annealing must be likewise
effected under the same conditions if different samples of the same
metal or alloy are to be compared. It is preferred to use for annealing

page_text: an iron tube heated externally, which when testing copper or brass is
internally coated with a thin copper plate. Or a tube of fire-clay may
be used. The heat in the tube is in the case of copper, iron, and steel a
rather bright red; in the case of brass a dull red. All samples should
only remain in the tube until they have acquired the heat of the tube and
then be at once taken out. Samples of copper and brass are immersed in
water when taken out of the tube. As the edges of samples sometimes
become jagged through rolling, and thus the accuracy of the test here-
after described is impaired, the strips inch wide above mentioned are
cut out of the middle of the test samples after they have been rolled to
nearly the required thickness. The rolling of these strips is then
continued until they have the required weight.
The apparatus employed for testing such strips (which is termed à
"metallometer"), consists of a vice or equivalent contrivance for
holding the strips suspended from an axle supported by a framing to
which vice an oscillating motion between certain limiting angles is
given by any suitable contrivance such as by a connecting rod and crank,
or by a toothed quadrant fixed to the vice, in gear with which is a pinion
driven alternately in contrary directions by clockwork mechanism or
other suitable motive power. In the jaws of the vice are held one or
more strips of the metal to be tested, the lower ends of which are passed
through a slit in a guide carried by and turning upon pins fixed at the
outer edges of the jaws of the vice, which guide has pendant arms with
heavy weights at the lower ends so as to hold the guide and the lower
ends of the strips vertical no matter what angle the vice and the upper
part of the strips fixed in the vice are made to assume in their
reciprocating motion. Thus the feather edge of the guide being
situated close to the edge of the jaws of the vice the metal is sharply
bent between the two edges at each oscillation of the vice. The clock-
work mechanism or other driving power carries an indicating dial and
pointer for registering the number of times the vice oscillates before the
fracture of the metal.
The construction of the before-mentioned apparatus employed, by
preference, for carrying out the process of testing herein-before described
is shown on the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 shews a
front elevation of the apparatus, and Figure 2 a sectional side elevation
of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in both
Figuros

page_text: The metallometer consists of two essential parts, namely, a vice (or
equivalent contrivance) a for holding the metal strips m to be tested,
and a guide through which the strips pass. The guide is capable of
turning upon two axles c, c, which rest in bearings fixed to the vice a.
Weights d, d, attached by rods d', d', to the guide 6 keep the latter in
a vertical position, no matter what angle the vice a may assume, and
the guide is thus made to form an angle with the vice at each oscillation
or to-and-fro movement thereof. The vice is carried upon a spindle f,f,
supported by the uprights e, e, of the framing, and receives the requisite
to-and-fro movement by means of a connecting rod k hinged at h to
the arm a¹ of the vice, which carries a counterpoise i to balance some-
what the weights d, d, and thus lessen the power required to impart
motion to the vice. This power is supplied by any suitable mechanism
(not shown on the Drawing), by preference clockwork, which actuates
the connecting rod %, and has a registering dial or counter of any
suitable known construction for indicating the number of to-and-fro
movements of the vice.
The metal strips m, m, to be tested are passed through the slit of the
guide b, and are secured in the jaws of the vice. Upon imparting the
required oscillating motion to the latter the guide 6 will cause the strips
to be bent sharply alternately in contrary directions at each oscillation
to an angle of, by preference, 67 degrees with the vertical line, as
indicated in dotted lines at Figure 2 (though any other angle may be
employed) until they break, whereupon the part severed is caused to
fall off by means of the weights g, g, attached thereto, and the dial or
counter of the registering mechanism will then indicate the number of
to-and-fro movements the metal strips withstood up to the point of
breaking, this number is termed the "test mark." In the arrangement
shewn on the Drawing only one vice is employed, but it is preferred for
the purpose of accelerating the testing to have a number of vices, each
arranged to hold two metal strips, so that by making a number of tests
simultaneously of one and the same quality of metal or alloy an average
and therefore more accurate result may be arrived at, as no metal or
alloy, however carefully prepared, would prove to be perfectly homo-
genous throughout its mass. For testing iron and steel, however, only
one strip should be tested at a time in each vice on account of the
strain put upon the apparatus.

page_text: If the metal or alloy to be tested is of a very soft and pliant nature
the guide 6 may be dispensed with, the operation being otherwise carried
on as above described. It will be understood, however, that if different
samples of the same metal or alloy are to be compared all tests must
be made either with or without the guide.
By means of the above-described process and apparatus the most
accurate and reliable tests are obtained. If, for instance, pure zinc be
alloyed with 0.001 per cent. of iron, or 0.5 per cent. of lead, or 0·000001
per cent. of tin, or 0.0004 per cent. of cadmium, the inferiority of the
quality of all these alloys to that of the pure zinc is detected with ease
and certainty. Thus all data are given for comparing the quality of
different samples of metals and alloys, the method being the more
reliable as properties which are most valuable for practical purposes
form the criterion of the test, and thus although the process does not
directly indicate the nature and quantity of the impurity which has
the deteriorating effect upon the metal, yet for practical purposes this
method may for the above reason be considered of greater value than
chemical analysis, which indicates the nature and quantity of the various
substances contained in the metal or alloy, but does not in any way
ascertain what effect those substances have upon the strength, tough-
ness, or cohesive power of the metal. Moreover, while a chemical
analysis will take many days to perform, and may even then fail to
indicate the minute traces of impurities herein-before mentioned as
being ascertainable by the new test, the performance of this test may
in most cases be accomplished in less than one hour.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what
manner it is to be performed, as communicated by my foreign corre-
spondent, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the
various weights and measurements of the various test samples herein-
before specified, as, although these are particularly suited to the
purpose,
yet they may be varied according to circumstances; nor do I limit
myself to the precise details of the testing apparatus or metallometer,
as shewn on the accompanying Drawing, as these may be variously
modified without departing from the essential features of my Invention;
nor do I claim any particular construction of mechanism for actuating
the apparatus and registering the movements thereof, as any suitable
known construction of such apparatus may be employed. I am aware

page_text: that the quality of iron and steel has been tested by twisting bars or
plates thereof longitudinally alternately in contrary directions, and I
do therefore not claim such method of testing by torsion; but what I
claim is,-
First. The before described method of testing metals and alloys by
bending them to a definite angle alternately in reverse directions until
they fracture, the number of times they are so bent being compared with
the number of similar bendings withstood by a piece of the same metal
or alloy of ascertained quality and composition.
"
Second. The construction and use of an apparatus termed "metallo-
meter for testing metals wherein one or more vices or equivalent
appliances is or are suspended from an axle, and has or have imparted
to it or them an oscillating motion by means of clockwork or other
convenient motive power in such manner as to cause the metal to be
tested, and which is suspended from the said vice or vices to be bent to
a certain angle alternately to the right and, to the left, the number of
oscillations of the vice being recorded by suitable registering apparatus
in connection with the clockwork or other actuating mechanism, sub-
stantially as herein-before set forth.
Third. Combining with the before described apparatus a guide b
connected to the vice a, and provided with weights d, substantially as
and for the purposes herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy.
CHAS D ABEL (LS)
CHAS D ABEL
ABEL (LS)