IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BALLS, BLOOMS, OR SLABS OF MALLEABLE IRON OR STEEL
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Player, of Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, in the
County of Durham, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BALLS, BLOOMS, OR SLABS OF MALLEABLE IRON OR
STEEL."
Sealed the 13th March 1866, and dated the 23rd September 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Player at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
September 1865.
I, JOHN PLAYER, of Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County of Durham,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BALLS, BLOOMS, OR SLABS OF MALLEABLE IRON OR
STEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to facilitate the forming a ball, bloom, or
slab of iron or steel after it has been deprived of a portion of its carbon and
impurities by the puddling or other operation, and: consists in pressing or
forcing by manuál or mechanical means semi-fluid malleable iron or steel into
a form or mould placed outside the furnace or containing vessel in which the
iron operated on has been converted, thus causing it to agglutinate or weld
together into a ball, bloom, or slab instead of "balling it up" by hand in the
furnace in which it has been converted, which is the méthod at present
adopted with puddled iron or steel. For this purpose the crude or pig iron

page_text: to be made into malleable iron or steel is melted in a cupola or reverberatory
furnace, and the fluid metal is then agitated, either in the same furnace in
which it is melted or other containing vessel, either by manual labour or
steam power, or both, in contact with fluid oxide of iron and other matters (as
is usual when puddling iron) until the mixture boils or froths up and the iron
becomes malleable, or is as it is termed brought "to nature." When in this
state the semi-fluid mass is forced or drawn out of the furnace or containing
vessel in which it has been agitated into a cast or wrought-iron-receiver,-form,
or mould in this receptacle (should the quality of the iron or steel require
it). The mass is exposed to the action of a jet, jets, or draft of atmospheric
air, olefiant gas, or other gases. It is then compressed to such degree
of density that it can be removed from the mould and forged or rolled to the
size that is required.
SPECIFICATION in. pursuance. of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Player in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd
March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PLAYER, of Norton, Stockton-on Tees, in the County of Durham, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Player, Her special licence that I, the said
John Player, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Player, 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, exercise, and-vend, within-the-United Kingdom of Great Britain.
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BALLS, BLOOMS, OR SLABS OF MALLEABLE
IRON OR STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John.
Player, 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 Seal

page_text: Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Player, do hereby declare, the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is; to say.:-
:
This Invention has for its object to facilitate the forming a ball, bloom, or
slab of iron or steel after it has been deprived of a portion of its carbon and
impurities by the puddling operation, and consists in transferring the semi-fluid
malleable iron or steel into a form or mould outside the furnace in, which the
iron operated on has been converted, and subjecting the metal to heavy pressure
in this form or mould, thus causing it to agglutinate or weld together into a ball,
bloom, or slab, instead of "balling it up" by hand in the furnace in which
it has been converted, which is the method at present adopted with, puddled
iron or steel. For this purpose the crude or pig iron to be made into-malleable
iron or steel is melted in a cupola or reverberatory furnace, and the-fluid metal
is then agitated, either in the same furnace in which it is melted, or otherwise;
either by manual labour or steam power, or both, in contact with fluid oxide
of iron and other matters (as is usual when puddling iron) until the mixture
boils or froths up and the iron becomes malleable, or as it is termed "brought
to nature;" when in this state the semi-fluid mass is forced-or-drawn out of
the furnace in which it has been agitated into a cast or wrought iron receiver,
form, or mould, in this receptacle; it is, then compressed to such degree of
density that it can be removed from the mould and forged or rolled to the
size that is required. Whether the pig or crude iron operated on be converted
into malleable iron or steel by machinery. or inanual labor, the process will
be the same after the metal has been brought "to nature, or in other words
made malleable. I will suppose a common puddling furnace to be used.
Figure of the annexed Drawings is a plan of a common puddling furnace,
in which slight alterations have been made to adapt it to my process; Figures
2, 3, and 4, are other views of the same.
.
I prefer to have two doors opposite each other ;-one, the working door, is
of the usual construction; the other door opens to the level of the hearth,, it
may be constructed and opened with a-lever in the usual way. Before the
furnace is charged this door is shut and wedged. close, and fettling of red ore
or other material is rammed from: the working. door: against the lower part of
it, so that the fluid iron when melted in, or by preference, poured into the
furnace cannot run-under the door. The operation of puddling is then com
menced, and the charge worked in the usual manner until the metal "falls".

page_text: and is fit to ball up; it is then turned over in the slag and exposed regularly
to the flame for a short time. In making steel the operation is bastened,
towards the end. The slag is, then partly run off in the usal way; the lower
door is then opened, any, fettling in front of it removed, and the whole or part
of the charge as may be required is pushed or forced with a rabble or tup
(which is introduced at the working door) out at what is termed the back.
door into a form or mould hereafter described. As soon as the furnace is 'clear,
which-only-takes-two-or-three-minutes, the back door-is-shut,-and-the-furnace
refettled and charged again with metal run in, by preference, in a melted state
from a cupola furnace. The saving of time in puddling one charge by this
method is about twenty-five to thirty minutes, that is, the time the pig. takes
to melt and the time the charge takes to ball up. The mould into which the
puddled metal has fallen is, by preference, made of vertical bars of square iron.
It may be constructed, as shewn at a, a, in the several Figures, of square
bars rivetted inside two strong hoops of iron, the heads of the rivets being
flush on the inside; this forms a receptacle with open top and bottom. The
mould is placed on a low bogie, so that the top of the mould can be brought
under the level of the sill of the back door of the furnace to receive the,
puddled metal when pushed through the back door. If the metal has not,
been sufficiently worked in the puddling furnace, jets of blast from tuyeres
suitably placed may be caused to impinge on it during the time it is 'discharged
from the furnace; air thus applied improves the quality of the iron though it
causes more waste. Olefiant gas may be used with advantage when "puddled
steel" is being made, as it will prevent the carbon from being burnt out
during the time the charge is being pushed out of the furnace. The bogie
should after the puddled metal is on it be removed as quickly as possible to
the press, which, by preference, should be an hydraulic ram worked by an
accumulator.
The arrangement I prefer is shewn at Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8; the bogie
fits on the top of the ram and is carried upwards by it. Over the mould is a
block of cast iron, which fits into it when the ram raises, the mould, and the
block comes in.contact_with_the_puddled-metal-which-is-thus--pressed-into-a
bloom. On the top of the block which fits into the mould is another ram,
fixed to which is a cross head and hooks so arranged that it may be fastened
to the hoops surrounding the mould; then by giving an upward motion to the
upper ram, the mould is raised up the sides of the block, thus leaving the
bloom of iron or steel on the bogie, which is then lowered and the bloom taken
to a hammer rolls, or otherwise disposed of. The mould is lowered on a bogie
and used as before.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
forming a ball, bloom, or slab of iron or steel made malleable by the
operation of puddling by moving the metal out of the furnace where it has
been puddled into a mould or form in which it is subjected to heavy pressure,
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Player, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOHN PLAYER. (L.S.)