CERTAIN ALLOYS AND COMBINATIONS OF METALS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Jois
DAVIE MORRIES STIRLING, of Black Grange, North Britain, Esquire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great'
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
December, (One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Davie Morries Stirling, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
John Davie Morries Stirling, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Davie Morries Stirling, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN ALLOYS AND COMBINATIONS OF METALS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John
Davie Morries Stirling, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately

page_text: after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Davie Morries Stirling, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manuer the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following Statement thereof (that is
:-
to say)-
66
In the Specification of certain Letters Patent granted to me on the
Thirty-first of January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, for
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metallic Sheets, in Coating Metals, in
Metallic Compounds, and in Welding," I have described, amongst other
things, the coating iron with tin and its alloys, after having coated the iron
with zinc. Now I have discovered that it is advantageous to coat the iron
first with copper, for which purpose the simple immersion of the iron in a
solution of a salt of copper is sufficient, and then deposit the zine on the
copper, as is well understood, the articles are then dipped into the tin as in
making tin plates.
Another part of my present Invention of Certain Alloys and Combinations of
Metals consists of causing iron so coated with copper to be tinned by dipping
the same into melted tin, as when making tin plate.
Another part of my Invention consists of causing iron so coated with
copper to be coated with zinc by dipping in melted zinc in the usual manner
of coating iron with zinc.
I would remark, I prefer that the iron so conted with copper, or with
copper and zine, should, previous to the dipping in melted zinc or melted tin,
be passed between polished rolls, care being taken not to render the iron too
brittle by over pressure. Instead of using acid to cleanse the surfaces previous
to dipping, I prefer to use a saline solution, and I find sal ammoniac to
answer well for this purpose.
Another part of my Invention has for its object the combining certain alloys
of lead harder than lead with a coating of tin or some of its ductile alloys.
This combination may be advantageously substituted in some cases for Queen's
metal, British plate, Britannia metal, pewter, or similar alloys. To produce
this combination I proceed as follows:-1 take the hardened lead in the form
of cake or otherwise as may be most convenient, and after subjecting it to the
action of the rolls, so as to produce an even surface and to reduce it to the
required thickness, I take a piece of tin or suitable alloy thereof, which I roll
down to the required thickness (from a tenth to a twentieth of the thickness
of the alloyed lead I have found to answer well); I then place such tin or

page_text: alloyed tin on one or both surfaces of the hardened lead, taking care that
such surfaces are clean and that the tin or alloy thereof is placed as flatly
and smoothly as may be on the hardened lead. I then apply pressure by
means of rolls at first, chiefly to bring the coating and coated metals into
as near contact as may be; I subsequently employ stronger pressure by
giving what is technically called a severe pinch by means of the rolls, and it
will be usually found that the combination or adhesion takes place at the third
or fourth passage through between the rolls. The rolling is to be conducted
subsequently as when rolling tin, Britannia metal, and other ductile alloys of tin.
Lead may be hardened in various ways, and such hardening is well understood.
For the above purposes, however, I prefer the following modes of hardening:-
I produce an alloy of zinc and tin by melting them together, and although
various proportions of these metals may be so melted together as to form an
alloy suitable for hardening lead, I find an alloy of equal weights of tin and
zine suitable, and this I add to lead in the proportion of five parts of the
alloy to ninety-five parts of the lead. The metals, when melted together,
should be thoroughly well mixed by stirring. I have found that the addition
of antimony, in the proportions of one part of antimony to fifteen of lead,
answers well for many purposes. Antimony may be added in various pro-
portions to lead for hardening it, but I do not recommend that such additions
should exceed one ninth of the weight of the lead, as excess of antimony
produces brittleness. Arsenic in the proportion of from one to two per cent.
renders lead sufficiently hard for many of the above purposes, and the making
such alloy is well understood. I prefer tin, Britannia metal, tin hardened
with antimony, as the coating metal for these hardened alloys of lead.
not, however, confine myself to the above means of hardening lead for being
coated, nor to any particular alloy of tin as the coating metal, so long as the
relative hardness of the coated and coating metal allows of combination (and
extension by means of pressure), whether such pressure be produced by
rolling, by drawing through orifices, or otherwise. I am aware that lead has
before been coated with tin by pressure. I wish it therefore to be under-
stood that this part of my Invention consists of combining hardened alloys
of lead with tiu or ductile alloys of tin, which combinations of metals will be
found suitable in many cases as substitutes for Queen's, Britannia, and other
5 metal.
I do
Another part of my Invention relates to coating zinc with lead and ductile
alloys of lead, so as to produce combined or coated metals suitable for many
purposes. In carrying out this part of my Invention I employ pure or

page_text: ordinary lead, or alloy of lead with tin, as the coating metals when the com-
bined metal is to be employed for roofing, the lining of cisterns, and the like.
When desired, the lead employed may be hardened, as above described.
Another part of my Invention has for its object the combining zinc or tin,
or their ductile alloys, with cadmium by pressure, for which purpose I roll
out the cadmium into sheets, and apply them to sheets or plates of zinc or
of tin, or of their said alloys, and subject them to pressure, as above
explained.
Another part of my Invention consists in coating copper and its ductile
alloys with tin and ductile alloys thereof by pressure, which I perform as
above explained in regard to other metals.
Another part of my Invention has for its object to coat tin, Britannia metal,
and other suitable ductile alloys of tin with silver, by means of pressure; and
I also employ silver as a coating metal on zine; and to effect these I proceed
as in coating or covering zinc, hardened lead, and other metals, as already
described.
Another part of my Invention consists of employing gold or platinum in
like manner as a coating metal, by combining it with tin and ductile alloys
thereof.
As a general rule for the guidance of the workmen in coating one metal
with another by pressure, I would remark, that the harder the metals or alloys
are the more care is required to ensure their perfect union. The surfaces
should also be clean, and they should be laid flatly and smoothly together.
Another part of my Invention consists in casting certain of the more fusible
metals, such as zinc, alloyed zinc, tin, and alloyed tin, on plates of silver or
platinum; and such casting is performed by simply running the melted
metal on to the less fusible metal, and then rolling them to any required
thickness.
Another part of my Invention has for its object to solder or otherwise
unite, by means of heat, German silver to copper and alloys of copper, and
then to roll them, as is well understood in the making of other plates or
sheets.
Another
part of
my Invention consists in the addition of chromium to iron,
which I find to improve the quality; and I prefer making such addition by
means of the ore usually called chrome iron or chromate of iron, and I find
from too of each puddling charge to answer well; but it may be
introduced at an earlier stage. And where the iron is particularly cold or red-
short, I add a chloride; and I prefer common salt at the rate of about one
:

page_text: and a half to three lbs. to each charge. I prefer adding the chromate when
the iron is nearly or quite melted; and I find that the softer iron takes more
than the harder class of iron. The chloride niay be added at the same time;
but I prefer the making such addition when the melted iron begins to boil, or,
if possible, before it comes to nature.
:
Another part of my Invention is to add baryta, or its salts or compounds
to iron, and this I do, by preference, by means of carbonate of barytes, as
above described. When treating of the addition of chromium to iron, I have
found that 1lb. of the carbonate to each charge of the puddling furnace
answers well & improves the iron.
Another part of my Invention consists of adding carbonate of lime and
muriate of soda to iron to improve its quality, and for this purpose I mix
carbonate of lime with chloride of soda (common salt), and I find equal pro-
portions to answer well; about two lbs. to three lbs. of this mixture are to
be added to the charge of iron when melted, or nearly so, in the puddling
furnace.
Another part of my Invention consists of using an alloy of tin with
arsenic or lead and arsenic on iron. These alloys are applied to or coated on
the iron when hot, in like manner as soldering or tinning. The combination
of iron with the last-mentioned alloys will be serviceable for shipbuilding and
similar purposes. The iron for these purposes may advantageously be first
coated with copper.
Another part of my Invention consists of applying lead or ore of lead in
the process of making iron in the blast furnace, and I also employ, in
combination with lead or lead ore, or oxide of lead, chlorides, preferring
common salt for this purpose.
In carrying out this part of my Invention, I, in charging a blast furnace,
throw in at the rate of from one lb. to two lbs. of lead to the ton of iron ore,
and when a chloride is used I prefer to throw the same into the furnace with
the lead, lead oxide, or other compound of lead; and the quantity of chloride of
sodium I use is at the rate of fifteen to twenty-five lbs. for each ton of iron ore,
but I do not confine myself to these quantities. The iron thus made will be
found more free from impurities, and more suitable for making wrought iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Davie Morries Stirling, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
J. D. MORRIES (L.S.) STIRLING.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of June, in
the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid John Davie Morries Stirling came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.