A NEW OR IMPROVED METALLIC ALLOY
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th March 1875.-A communication from abroad by Adrien Le
Marquand, of Paris, France.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED METALLIC ALLOY," to be as follows :—
This Invention relates to a new metallic alloy or white metal
which is not liable to oxidation, and also to the applications of the same.
This alloy is very malleable both when hot and cold, is remarkably
sonorous, ductile, strong, and tough, and melts only at a high tem-
perature, although it may be readily welded. This alloy takes a brilliant
white lustre when polished, and when fractured (which is difficult to
accomplish) it presents a very fine grain. It may be rolled, drawn, and
forged. This alloy is not liable to oxidation either in air or water, and
may be produced at a very cheap rate, and is therefore applicable for a
great variety of uses.

page_text: The alloy may be produced and sold in a granular form for
melting and casting in sand or other moulds, or rolled for the production
more especially of articles requiring to be cleaned and polished, such as
saddlery and harness mounts, military equipments, lock furniture,
hardware, medals, coins, musical instruments, reflectors, and other
purposes.
The qualities possessed by this improved alloy are obtained by the
decoloration of pure copper alloyed with nickel, and subjected to the
direct action of black oxide of cobalt at a very high temperature without
the presence of iron, aluminum, or bismuth, which metals in alloys
hitherto produced give rise as regards some of them to difficulties in
the mixing and rolling, and as reguards others are of too high a price to
be generally employed or render the alloy liable to alteration in use.
The following is the composition of the alloy, although it will be under-
stood that I do not limit myself to the exact proportions of the several 1
ingredients herein indicated.
Pure copper
nickel
"
Oxide of cobalt
Bar tin
750 parts by weight.
140
وو
"
20
"
"
18
ingredients herein indicated.
Pure copper
nickel
"
Oxide of cobalt
Bar tin
Pure zinc
750 parts by weight.
140
"
دو
-
"
20
"
"
18
-
72
"
"
Total 1000
The following is the method of producing the alloy, I first melt the
copper-and nickel in a plumbago crucible, and cover the same with two
hundred parts by weight of borax in powder, and when the metal is
thoroughly melted I stir for about five minutes continually with a stick
of green birch wood, after which the metal is run into water to facilitate
the perfect mixing. the of two metals, as well as to eliminate the
residues and produce a granular mass from which the borax is entirely
separated.
The granular material resulting from the first melting above described
is then melted in another crucible together with black oxide of cobalt,
the latter being placed at the bottom of the crucible and carefully
covered. This which is the principal operation is continued from
one hour to an hour and a quarter, after which the crucible is uncovered
and all scoria on the surface removed by skimming. The purity and

page_text: brilliancy of this metallic alloy depends greatly on the care with which
these residues are eliminated therefrom. The mixture is then stirred
with an iron bar previously heated to redness, after which a sufficienţ
quantity of pounded wood charcoal is introduced and the crucible
again covered and the heating continued. This second operation-would
require about two hours for a crucible containing 55 lbs. over a moderately
brisk fire. After this time has elapsed the crucible is uncovered and the
mixture stirred with an iron bar made white hot, after which the tin is
added and the stirring continued. I then introduce, a large piece of
pure yellow wax for the purpose of preventing evaporation and the
oxidation of the alloy of the time at introducing the zine which is added
immediately before running the alloy into the sand or metal moulds.
When the metal is intended for sale in a granular form I place a
double quantity of black oxide of cobalt in the bottom of the first.
crucible, and after carefully covering the same allow it to melt and heat
the same for one hour and a half, after which it is stirred with a red hot
iron bar and the whole surface covered with pounded wood charcoal.
After again stirring at the end of an hour hot water is run in to produce
grains of a uniform quality. The tin and zinc are added at the moment
of running off the melted metal by modifying the composition of the
alloy as follows:-
-