Improvements relating to the Hardening or Tempering of Steel Bullets or Projectiles and similar Articles and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 29th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 1st Feb., 1887.
Improvements relating to the Hardening or Tempering of Steel
Bullets or Projectiles and similar Articles and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, CLAUD THORNTON CAYLEY, of Brackley Street, Golden Lane, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to bullets or projectiles for fire-arms and to other like articles
which are first forged and then hardened or tempered by means of oil or other liquid;
and the said invention comprises novel apparatus for effecting the hardening or
tempering of the said bullets or other articles in such a manner that the hardening
effect can be limited to one end or any other desired portion of the same.
The said invention is chiefly designed for hardening bullets or projectiles manu-
factured by the machines described in the specification of Letters Patent of George
Frederick Simonds No. 7028 A.D. 1885. These projectiles are forged by rolling
heated bars between reciprocating plates which serve as dies and the projectiles leave
the forging or rolling machine while at a bright red heat. I propose to take these
forged or rolled projectiles as they come hot from the machine and to partially
immerse them in the liquid so as to harden the point and toughen the body or
intermediate portion of the projectile, while leaving the base or rear end sufficiently
soft to permit the subsequent finishing of the same, by the grinding and grooving or
other tools.
For this purpose I use oil or other suitable liquid in a peculiarly constructed
apparatus placed in a tank or other vessel containing cold water or having cold water
circulating through the same. I construct the cold water tank or vessel of cast iron
or other suitable metal; it may have any required capacity and is of square, circular
or other convenient shape. In this tank I fit a tray or vat of thin sheet metal formed
Over this tray I place
with a series of channels extending along or across the same.
a rack formed of wire or of perforated sheet metal. This rack has rows of holes
arranged over, and in line with, the channels in the tray. The said holes are for the
reception of the heated bullets or other articles which are placed in the rack with their

page_text: points projecting downward into the said channels. The tray is filled with oil and the
channels are of such a depth that the portion of the projectile to be hardened will be
immersed in the oil while the end or base which is to remain tinhardened is supported
by the rack above the surface of the oil. I prefer to arrange a strip of sheet metal in
each trough or channel for the points or ends of the bullets or other articles to
rest upon and to keep the upper ends of the said articles at the proper height above
the liquid.
The oil is supplied to the tray from a cistern or reservoir conveniently arranged
above the tray. And it is discharged from the latter by an overflow pipe, or two or
more of such pipes.
The upper surface of the oil becomes heated while the lower portion remains cool, I
therefore arrange this pipe with its aperture at such a height in the tray that it will
carry off the oil from the upper surface thereof; and as the suitability of the oil for
my purpose is not impaired by repeated use I arrange the said overflow pipe to pass
around the interior of the cold water tank and then into a vessel or receptacle whence
it can be returned to the cistern.
The cold water tank and oil tray are so constructed and arranged that the water is
in close contact with the surface of the tray at the bottom of all the channels and at.
the sides of, and between, the latter, and as the cold water is continually flowing
through the tank, the oil or other hardening medium will be kept cool, and will
effectually cool and harden the parts of the projectiles or other articles immersed
therein without changing the condition of the part above the rack.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Hardening or Tempering of Steel
Bullets or Projectiles and similar Articles and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, CLAUD THORNTON CAYLEY, of Brackley Street, Golden Lane, in the City of
London, Engineer 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 relates to steel bullets or projectiles for fire-arms and to like articles
which are first forged and then hardened or tempered by means of oil or other liquid;
and my said invention comprises novel apparatus for hardening or tempering the said
bullets or other articles in such a manner as to limit the hardening effect to one end or
any other desired portion of the same.
The said invention is chiefly designed for hardening bullets or projectiles manufac-
tured by the machine described in the specification of Letters Patent granted to
George Frederick Simonds and dated 9th June A.D. 1885, No. 7028. These projectiles
are forged by rolling heated bars between reciprocating plates which serve as dies, and
the said projectiles leave the forging or rolling machine while at a bright red heat.
propose to take these forged or rolled projectiles as they come hot from the machine
and to partially immerse them in the liquid so as to harden the point and toughen the
body or intermediate portion of the projectile, while leaving the base or rear end
thereof sufficiently soft to permit the subsequent finishing of the same by the grinding
and grooving or other tools.
I
For this purpose, I use a peculiarly constructed apparatus comprising a tray or vat
through which oil or other suitable liquid is kept constantly flowing and in which the
projectiles are so supported that they are partially immersed in the oil or other liquid
therein. This tray or vat is supported in a tank or other vessel containing cold water,
in such a manner that the water will come in contact with the exterior surfaces of the
said tray or vat and will thus cool the oil or other liquid therein. I prefer that the
cold water should be kept constantly circulating through the said tank or other vessel.
Moreover I prefer that the said tray or vat should be formed with troughs or channels
extending either along or across the same, to increase its cooling surface, the water
coming into contact with the bottom and sides of each trough or channel.
In the accompanying drawings, I have shewn a convenient form of apparatus
constructed according to my said invention.
Figure 1 is a plan of the said apparatus.
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line, a, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line ¹,, Figure 1.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the water-tank, which is provided with an inlet pipe a and an overflow pipe a',

page_text: The inlet pipe a is to be connected with any suitable water supply; it is provided with
a cock a² for regulating or controlling the flow or circulation of the water through the
said tank. This tank may be made of wrought iron or other suitable metal; it may,
moreover, have any required capacity, and, instead of being rectangular, it may be of
circular or other convenient shape. B is a tray, vat or shallow tank of thin sheet
metal, which is supported in any convenient manner within the tank A. This tray or
vat is formed with a series of troughs or channels bextending from end to end thereof;
it is, moreover, provided with overflow pipes ', . C is a rack formed of wire and
having rows of pockets e which extend downward into the troughs or channels b.
These pockets are for the reception of the heated bullets or other articles which are to
be hardened or tempered. The said bullets are to be placed in the pockets e with their
points projecting downward into the said troughs or channels.
The said troughs or channels are of such a depth that the portion of a projectile
to be hardened may be immersed in the oil, while the end or base which is to remain
unhardened is supported, and the projectile thus kept in a vertical position, by the
rack C. I prefer to arrange a strip c¹ of sheet metal along the lower end of each of
the rows of pockets c for the points or ends of the bullets or other articles to rest upon,
so that the upper ends of the said articles will be kept at the proper height above the
surface of the oil.
In some instances, I make the said rack of perforated sheet metal having rows of
holes arranged above, and in line with, the said troughs or channels, for the purpose
above specified. Or I provide other suitable means for supporting the projectiles or
other articles while partially immersed in the oil.
D is a fank or reservoir for the oil or other hardening liquid. This tank is provided
with a cock d and with pipes d', d for conducting the liquid from the said tank into
the tray B. The pipes d' extend downward to the bottom of the troughs or chaunels b.
The overflow pipes ', are so arranged that, when the cock d is opened, the oil
will rise in the tray B to a level a short distance above the rack C, and will maintain
this level, any surplus oil being discharged through the pipes b', .
When the apparatus is in use, the upper surface of the oil becomes heated, while
the lower portion remains cool. As the suitability of the oil for my purpose is not
impaired by repeated use, 1 arrange the said overflow pipes to pass around the interior
of the cold water tank A as shown, so that the oil will be thoroughly cooled before it
leaves the apparatus; and I collect the oil, as it flows from the pipes 61, 63, in a vessel
or receptacle, whence it can be returned to the tank or reservoir D.
It will be seen that the tray B has a large cooling surface, the water being in close
contact with the bottom and sides of each of the troughs or channels b; moreover the
cold water is continually flowing or circulating through the tank A; therefore the oil
or other hardening medium is kept cool and will effectually cool and harden the parts
of the projectiles or other articles immersed therein, without changing the condition
of the parts above the surface of the said oil or other liquid.
In some instances, I combine, with the other parts of my apparatus, a small tank E
having an inlet pipe e furnished with a stop-cock e', and an overflow pipe e. A
rack made of sheet metal or other suitable material is supported in this tank and
is provided with holes for the reception of the projectiles or other articles to be
hardened. The said rack is, moreover, provided with a strip of sheet metal for
the ends of the projectiles to rest upon. By these means, I am enabled to harden or
temper the projectiles in water instead of in oil and thus make their pointed ends
extremely hard.
It is obvious that the construction of my improved apparatus may be somewhat
modified without departing from the nature of my invention.
By my improved method of hardening or tempering, I obviate the necessity for
holding each article by means of a pair of tongs or the like whilst partially immersing
it in the oil or other liquid. Moreover I ensure extreme hardness of the point of
a projectile, toughness of the body or intermediate portion thereof, and softness of
the base.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it understood that I claim:
First. The above described improved method of hardening or tempering steel bullets
or projectiles and similar articles by the employment of a tray or vat through which
the oil or other hardening liquid is caused to flow and in which the projectiles or other
articles are supported in such a manner that they are partially immersed in the said
liquid.
Second. The combination, with a tank or other vessel for containing water, of a
tray or vat supported therein and provided with inlet and outlet pipes for oil or other
hardening liquid, and a rack or equivalent device for supporting projectiles or other
articles in the said tray or vat in such a manner that they are partially immersed in
the said hardening liquid, for the purposes above specified.
Third. The combination, with the rack provided with the rows of pockets, of strips
of sheet metal arranged along the lower ends of the said pockets, substantially as, and
for the purpose, set forth.
Fourth. The improved apparatus consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings (with or with-
out the tank E and rack C), for the purposes above specified.
CLAUD T. CAYLEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.