IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARS FOR FORGING INTO SHAFTS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HENRY BRAMALL of Oughtibridge near Sheffield in the county of York Steel
converter and refiner do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARS FOR FORGING INTO SHAFTS AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES to be as follows:—
This invention relates to the manufacture of such shafts, axles and other similar
articles as may be required to combine a hard steel exterior with the toughness of
wrought iron.
I am
aware that this object has been attempted to be attained by casting an
ingot of molten steel around a wrought iron core but as the two metals were not
thoroughly fused together, they were liable to become separated (by bending a
crank for example) and the steel thus produced was also brittle and not capable of
being easily welded.
By my improved manufacture I produce a shaft, axle or other similar article of
one solid inseparable mass having a fine steel exterior for any required depth
combined with a core of wrought iron which can be bent or cranked to any
extent without fear of splitting and will weld with perfect ease.
According to my process I take a quantity of old horse-shoe nails or other small
pieces of the best Swedish iron which I place in a wooden box, adding about one
pound of oxide of manganese and one pound and a half of rock salt to each hundred-
weight and a half of the metal.
The whole is then well shaken together to solidify the same as much as possible,
after which the box is placed in a furnace and the timber being immediately burnt
off leaves the contents to become fused and run together into a solid mass or ball,
or the same matters may be fused together in a Martin-Siemens' furnace without
the use of the wooden box.
When the ball or mass has arrived at a welding heat, it is removed from the
furnace, and placed under a tilt, steam or other hammer, and worked into a
"bloom" in the ordinary manner, after which it is reduced to the required shape
of rods, bars or otherwise by means of grooved rolls as usual,
.

page_text: The rods or bars are then placed in an ordinary converting furnace, where they
undergo the usual process of conversion to a certain extent only; that is to say,
the heat and the time and other conditions are so regulated as to convert the
wrought iron into a mild welding steel for a certain depth only from the outer
surface, leaving the centre or core wrought iron as at first.
These rods or bars can be worked up into axles, crank or other shafts, or other
similar articles, and can be turned, filed, bent, welded and otherwise treated as
wrought iron; at the same time that they combine a fine steel surface with a
tough wrought iron core as above described.

page_text: I, HENRY BRAMALL of Oughtibridge near Sheffield in the county of York Steel
Converter and Refiner do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BARS FOR FORGING INTO SHAFTS AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates principally to the manufacture of such shafts, axles and
other similar articles as may be required to combine a hard steel exterior with the
toughness of wrought iron.
I am aware that this object has been attempted to be attained by casting an
ingot of molten steel around a wrought iron core, but as the two metals were not
thoroughly fused together, they were liable to become separated (by bending a
crank, for example) and the steel thus produced was also brittle and not capable of
being easily welded.
By my improved process I produce a shaft axle or other similar article of one
solid inseparable mass, having a fine steel exterior for any required depth combined
with a core of wrought iron, which can be bent or cranked to any extent without
fear of splitting and will weld with perfect ease.
According to my process I take a quantity of old horse-shoe nails, or other small
pieces of the best Swedish iron which I place in a wooden box adding about half
a pound of oxide of manganese and three-quarters of a pound of rock salt to each
hundredweight of the metal; in some cases about half a pound of borax may also
be added.
The whole is then well shaken together to solidify the same as much as possible,
after which the box is placed in a furnace, and the timber being immediately burnt
off leaves the contents to become fused and run together into a solid mass or ball,
or the same matters may be fused together in a Martin-Siemens' furnace without
the use of the wooden box.
When the ball or mass has arrived at a welding heat it is removed from the
furnace and placed under a tilt, steam or other hammer, and worked into a
"bloom" in the ordinary manner, after which it is reduced to the required shape of
rods, bars or otherwise by means of grooved rolls as usual.
The rods or bars thus produced may be used without any process of conversion
where only an iron surface is required, or if a steel surface is desired they are then
placed in an ordinary converting furnace, where they undergo the usual process of
conversion to a certain extent only; that is to say the heat, and the time and other
conditions are so regulated as to convert the wrought iron into a mild welding steel
for a certain depth only from the outer surface, leaving the centre or core wrought
iron as at first.
These rods or bars can be worked up into axles, crank or other shafts or other
similar articles, and can be turned, filed, bent, welded and otherwise treated as
wrought iron, at the same time that they combine a fine steel surface with a tough
wrought iron gore, as above described.

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 declare that what
I claim is
The manufacture of shafts axles and other similar articles, by the combination
of old horse-shoe nails or other small pieces of Swedish iron with oxide of manganese
and rock salt, either with or without borax, fused together as above described, and
then hammered and rolled to the required form in the usual manner, and either
afterwards converted into steel for a certain depth from the surface or otherwise as
herein before particularly described.