IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL."
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st March 1877. A. communication
from abroad by Stephen Barker, of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of
America.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
STEEL."
A communication from abroad by Stephen Barker, of Knoxville, Ten-
nessee, United States of America.
According to these improvements I take the following brands of pig metal,
known by their trade mark as follows, namely:-Carter cold blast charcoal pig
metal; Eagle cold blast charcoal pig metal; Embreeville cold blast charcoal pig
metal; Pottsdale cold blast charcoal pig metal; Unaka cold blast charcoal pig
metal, and work them in a common puddling furnace.
I first prepare my puddling furnace by fixing or lining it with pulverized fos-
siliferous and magnetic iron ore (or with shady and other ores) around the sides, and
prepare the bottom of the furnace by melting wrought-iron scrap; and when the
side fixing and bottom of furnace are set and ready to receive the charge of pig
metal, I first put into the furnace ten per cent. of slag or roll scale, with the following
weights of pig metal of the brands before mentioned, that is to say, for every four
hundred pounds of iron to be puddled, about two hundred pounds of Carter cold
blast, fifty pounds of Eagle cold blast, twenty-five pounds of Pottsdale cold blast, fifty
pounds of Embreeville cold blast, fifty pounds of Unaka cold blast; other pig
metals of the same grade and nature, and having the same chemical affinity, may
be used in proper proportions.
To fire the furnace I prefer to use bituminous lump coal. After the iron is
melted, or while it is melting, I introduce three pounds of pulverized magnetic iron
ore, and mix this with the melted iron; after this is well worked through the iron,
and the iron begins to boil, I add the following chemicals, with the damper down on
the stack, close enough to carry off the waste smoke, namely, black oxide of man-
ganese, about one and a half pound; carbonate of soda, one half pound; pul-
Ferized oyster shells, three pounds; common salt, four pounds; soda ash one quarter
bound.

page_text: I do not boil the iron at such a high temperature as is required for making puddle
iron for wrought-iron purposes, but I keep it at a proper heat so as to obtain the
full effect of the chemicals.
When the iron has been worked thoroughly and made into puddle balls, it is
drawn and hammered into blooms; it is then reheated in a common heating furnace,
and hammered into flat bars. I cut these bars up into small pieces; I then put
these small pieces of iron into a common crucible with about one half pound of
black oxide of manganese, one pound of common salt, one half pound powdered
oyster shell; these chemicals are introduced into the crucible when putting iron
in for smelting.
By my Invention the metals yield more readily than heretofore to the chemicals
to produce their effect through the iron. By introducing the pulverized oyster
shell, a fine flux is given to the iron, which boils the iron longer, and casts off
impurities and gives a fine grade of steel.
In place of the oyster shells I may substitute wood ashes in the same proportion
I have given the proper qualities of iron to be used; but it is well known that
other brands of iron possess substantially the same properties, and may be used
instead of those named without departing from my Invention.