IMPROVEMENTS IN STRAIGHTENING, FLATTENING, SETTING, AND SHAPING HARDENED STEEL
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Jonn
SILVESTER, of West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Whitesmith, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of July
(One thousand eight hundred and fifty), in the fourteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Silvester, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Silvester, my exors, admors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Silvester, my exors, admors
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STRAIGHTENING,
FLATTENING, SETTING, AND SHAPING HARDENED STEEL;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Silvester, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Silvester, hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
many
Whereas articles formed of steel, such as saw blades, become spoiled
by their being warped in the process of hardening, and have either to be
hammered into form, or softened and re-hardened, and in some cases they are
so damaged that they have to be altogether thrown aside; now, my Inven-
tion consists in straightening, flattening, setting, and shaping such plates, as
may be warped in the process of hardening, by placing and pressing them
between dies previous to or while they are being "brought back" by tem-
pering. Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 an end elevation, Figure 3
a longitudinal section, and Figure 4 a plan of a machine by which this is
effected. A, A, is a strong metal frame, which is mounted on a basement
plate B, to which it is firmly connected. C is a carriage, which carries the
dies D, D, between which the steel plates to be straightened, flattened, or set
are placed. The plates are inserted between-the dies, and the carriage is then
run in underneath the frame A, or the plates may be put between the dies
after the carriage is in its place beneath the frame. Then, by means of the
screw E and hand-wheel F, the dies are compressed or forced together, so as
to bring them to bear uniformly upon the plate or other article between them.
The dies, being thus compressed, are next bound together by means of clamps,
and the pressure of the screw E removed, so as to leave the carriage C free to
be removed and pushed into the furnace, in order that the plate may be heated
to the temperature requisite to "bring back" the article to the proper temper.
The carriage C runs upon rails G, G, by which means it is more readily moved
and put into the furnace, and into its position under the frame A. H, H, is a
frame or bearer, which is slid underneath the lower die while the dies are
being brought together by the action of the screw, in order that this bar may
relieve the pressure from the axles of the carriage.
The upper dic can be raised by means of the screw, and the introduction of
the sliding frame H, to such an extent as to admit of the plates being either
removed or introduced at pleasure.
Sometimes, instead of running the carriage with the articles to be tempered
into the furnace, the dies themselves are previously heated to such a degree as
will "bring back" the hardness of the steel to the requisite temper. In this
case the upper die is raised by means of the sliding frame H, and the article
introduced when the pressure requisite to straighten, flatten, set or shape the
plate, is produced by the screw E and hand wheel F, as before.
a cross section of a pair of dies for straightening, flattening.
Figure 5 is
setting, and

page_text: shaping, and tempering thin steel plates, on which the weight of the upper die
may be sufficient for producing the requisite pressure without the assistance of
a screw or other press. A is the lower die; B the upper one; C a lever,
which is jointed to the upper die by means of a pin D; the other end of the lever
is jointed to some fixed point, as at E. These dies may be heated previous to
the blade or other article to be tempered being laid between them, as in the
method of tempering last herein-before explained, or the whole may be heated
together in the furnace.
I also temper blades, plates, and other hardened articles made of steel, by
immersing them in a bath of molten lead or other metal; and while the articles
are thus being tempered they are flattened and set by being placed between
dies, which are perforated all over with numerous holes, so as to allow the
molten metal to speedily communicate the requisite temperature to the article
placed between them. It is necessary that the dies should be bound together
by means of clamps, both for the purpose of holding the dies and producing
the pressure upon the article.
And having now described my said Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is the straightening,
flattening, setting, and shaping of plates, and other articles of hardened steel,
by mechanical pressure previous to or while they are in the course of being
tempered (the pressure being continued during the process of tempering), as
before exemplified and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Silvester, have hercunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord