AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Mushet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
September 1860.
I, ROBERT MUSHET, of Coleford, in the County of Gloucester, Metallurgist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL," to be as follows:-
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, and bearing date
19th March 1859, I have described and claimed as
alloying of steel with titanium, by melting the said
along with titanic acid or titanium ore, such as rutile, ilmenite, or iserine,
mixed with carbonaceous matter.
of my Invention the
steel in melting pots
My present Invention consists in melting together with blister steel, bar
steel, or scrap steel, titanium ores, which contain besides titanic acid a large
proportion of oxide of iron, such as ilmenite and iserine, the said ores of
titanium having been deoxidised before use, by being heated in contact with
carbonaceous matter, either solid or gaseous. In order to effect the said
alloying, I introduce the said deoxidised titanium ores together with the said
steel into a melting pot or crucible, placed in an ordinary steel-melting
[Price 8d.]

page_text: furnace, and I heat these substances together therein until they are melted
and alloyed; I then pour the cast steel thus obtained into suitable ingot or
other moulds.
The ores of titanium which I prefer to use are those which contain, in
addition to titanic acid, a large proportion of oxide of iron. Iserine and
ilmenite are such ores of titanium, but I prefer to use, as most convenient,
that variety of iserine called New Zealand iron sand found at Taranaki, near
the port of New Plymouth, in New Zealand. This iserine is found naturally
in the state of fine sand, which readily passes through a sieve of 3,600 meshes
per square inch, and is therefore peculiarly adapted to my process.
In preparing the iserine or iron sand of New Zealand for my process, I
prefer to proceed as follows:-I mix the said iron sand with from one-fifth
part of its weight to one-fourth part of its weight of dry and finely pulverized
carbonaceous matter, such, for instance, as powdered charcoal, and I intro-
duce the mixture thus prepared into a cementing chamber or converting
furnace, such as is ordinarily used by steel manufacturers for converting bar
iron into blister steel; or I place the ore in alternating layers with charcoal
in the said cementing chamber. In either case the cementing chamber is
then closed, so as to prevent access of air, and raised to a white heat, at which
temperature it is maintained until the deoxidisation of the iserine is effected,
which will be in the course of from about seventy-two to ninety-six hours
according to the size of the cementing or converting chamber or furnace.
The deoxidized iserine thus prepared is the substance I prefer to use for my
process, and I use it either alone or mixed with carbonaceous matter along
with blister steel, bar steel, and scrap steel, or any mixtures of these, in order
to improve the quality of the steel thus produced. 1, nevertheless, employ
ilmenite and other similar ores of titanium, when deoxidised, in a similar
manner.
When the iscrine, or ilmenite, or ores of titanium are in the state of lumps.
I deoxidise these lumps in a converting furnace or chamber, in order to
prepare them for my process, in the following manner-I cover the bottom
of the cementing or converting retort or chamber with a layer of coarsely
pulverized charcoal. Upon this I place a layer of iserine or ilmenite lumps,
and upon that a second layer of charcoal, and so on until the retort or
chamber is filled with alternating layers of charcoal and lumps of iserine or
ilmenite. I then proceed to deoxidise the said iserine or ilmenite as I have
before described when operating upon the New Zealand iserine or iron sand.
The proportion of deoxidised iserine or ilmenite to be added to the steel which
it is intended to melt may be varied at pleasure, but I have found that forty

page_text: pounds of blister steel, bar steel, or scrap steel, and two pounds of deoxidised
iserine or ilmenite melted together afford an excellent result. Should the
resulting cast steel prove too soft, it may be made harder by adding with
the deoxidised iserine or ilmenite from one ounce to four ounces of charcoal
or other carbonaceous matter to every forty pounds of steel to be melted, but
I do not confine myself to these proportions.
In practice I find it answers well to mix the deoxidised iserine or ilmenite,
when pulverized, with melted pitch or resin, and I introduce the compound
thus obtained along with the steel intended to be melted into the melting pot
or crucible. I prepare this compound by melting the requisite quantity of
pitch or resin in a pot or pitch kettle, and I then stir and mix in the pul-
verized deoxidised iserine or ilmenite. The compound is then emptied out
upon a cold wet slab or plate, and when cold is broken up for use. I do not
confine myself to the proportions herein described of deoxidised iserine or
ilmenite to be added to and melted with the blister steel, bar steel, or scrap
steel, for these proportions may be varied at pleasure.
Manganese or other fluxes, and also scrap iron or ordinary deoxidised iron
ore, may be added to the steel and the deoxidised titanium ore, but such
additions form no part of my Invention, neither are they essential to its
success.
The essence of my Invention consists in melting, in pots or crucibles, blister
steel, bar steel, or scrap steel, or any mixtures of these substances, together
with ores of titanium, containing, besides titanic acid. a large proportion of
oxide of iron, such, for example, as iserine and ilmenite, and which titanium
ores have been deoxidised previously to their addition to and melting with the
steel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Mushet in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th March 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MUSHET, of Coleford, in the County of Gloucester, Metallurgist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto

page_text: me, the said Robert Mushet, Her special licence, that 'I, the said Robert
Mushet, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Robert Mushet, 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 "AN
IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST STEEL," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Mushet, 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 Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Mushet, 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:-
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, and bearing date the
Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine, I have described and claimed as of my Invention the alloying of
steel with titanium, by melting the said steel in melting pots along with titanic
acid or titanium ore, such as rutile, ilmenite, or iserine, mixed with carbonaceous
matter.
My present Invention consists of the following improvements in the
manufacture of cast steel; I take blister steel, bar steel, scrap steel, puddled
steel, or cast steel of any description, broken or cut up, or granulated for re-
melting, or any mixture of these varieties of steels, which it is intended to
melt into cast steel, and I mix and melt therewith titanium ores, which con-
tain, besides titanic acid, a large proportion of oxide of iron, such as the ores
called ilmenite and iserine, the said ores of titanium having been deoxidised
before use, by being heated in contact with carbonaceous matter, either solid
or gaseous. In order to effect the said alloying, I introduce the said deoxidised
titanium ores, together with the said steel or mixtures of various steels,
into a melting pot or crucible placed in an ordinary steel melting furnace, and
I heat these substances therein until they are melted and alloyed. I then
pour the cast steel thus obtained into suitable ingot or other moulds.
The ores of titanium which I prefer to use, are those which contain, in

page_text: addition to titanic acid, a large proportion of oxide of iron. Iserine and
ilmenite are such ores of titanium, but I prefer to use, as most convenient,
that variety of iserine called New Zealand iron sand, found at Taranaki,
near the port of New Plymouth, in New Zealand. This iserine is found
naturally in the state of fine sand, which readily passes through a sieve of
3,600 meshes per square inch, and is therefore peculiarly adapted for my
process. Iserine contains from eight to about eleven and a half per centum of
oxide of titanium, the remainder consisting essentially of oxide of iron.
In preparing the iserine or iron sand of New Zealand for my process, I prefer
to proceed as follows:-I mix the said iron sand with from one-fifth part of
its weight to one-fourth part of its weight of dry and finely pulverised carbo-
naceous matter, such for instance as powdered charcoal; and I introduce the
mixture thus prepared into a cementing chamber or converting furnace, such
as is ordinarily used by steel manufacturers for converting bar iron into blister
steel, and which said cementing chamber is furnished at either end with a spy
hole closed by a brick or clay stopper, through which said spy hole the interior
of the cementing chamber can be from time to time inspected during the
cementing operation. Or, I place the ore in alternating layers with charcoal
in the said cementing chamber, and upon the floor of the said chamber, layer
over layer until the said chamber is filled. In either case the cementing
chamber is then closed so as to prevent access of air and raised to a white heat,
at which temperature it is maintained until the deoxidisation of the iserine is
effected, which will be in the course of from about seventy-two to ninety-six
hours, according to the size of the cementing or converting chamber or furnace.
When sufficiently deoxidised, the charge of ore and charcoal with which the
cementing chamber was filled will be found to have shrunk together, and to
have sunk down, so that it will not be found to occupy more than about half
the space it at first occupied in the converting chamber, and this state of the
charge of ore and charcoal is ascertained by opening the spy hole herein-before
mentioned, and inspecting the state of the said charge of ore and charcoal.
When cooled, the cementing chamber is opened and the deoxidised iserine
is withdrawn. I then break up the deoxidised iserine into lumps of about two
pounds weight and under, so as to be of a convenient size for introducing into
the melting pots containing the steel with which the said deoxidised iserine is
intended to be melted. Or the deoxidised iserine may be stamped, crushed,
and pulverised in any convenient manner to prepare it for my process. I wish
it to be observed that when iserine is thus deoxidised, some portions of it are
found to be agglutinated into tough metallic masses, which can be broken or
cut up into pieces, but which cannot readily be crushed or pulverised.. Other

page_text: portions of the deoxidised iserine are agglutinated into friable masses, which
can be readily crushed and pulverised. The deoxidised iserine, therefore, when
prepared in either manner described for my process, consists either of tough
metallic pieces or of metallic granules obtained by pulverising the friable
portions of the said deoxidised iserine.
The deoxidised iserine thus prepared; is the substance I prefer to use for my
process, and I add it either alone or mixed with carbonaceous matter to the
blister steel, bar steel, scrap steel, puddled steel, or cast steel of any description,
broken or cut up or granulated for remelting, or any mixture of these varieties
of steels which it is intended to melt into cast steel, the addition of the deoxi-
dised iscrine. improving the quality of the steel produced. I nevertheless
employ ilmenite and other similar ores of titanium when deoxidised in a
similar manner.
When the iserine, or ilmenite, or ores of titanium are in the state of lumps.
I deoxidise these lumps in a converting furnace or chamber, in order to
prepare them for my process in the following manner: I cover the bottom of
the cementing or converting retort or chamber with a layer of coarsely
pulverised charcoal. Upon this I place a layer of iserine or ilmenite lumps.
and upon that a second layer of charcoal, and so on until the retort or chamber
is filled with alternating layers of charcoal and lumps of iserine or ilmenite. T
then proceed to heat the cementing furnace or chamber containing the said
iserine or ilmenite as I have herein-before described when operating upon the
New Zealand iserine or iron sand. The proportion of deoxidised iscrine or
ilmenite to be added to the steel which it is intended to melt may be varied at
pleasure; but I have found that forty pounds of blister steel, har steel. scrap
steel. or other steel or mixture of steels, and two pounds of deoxidised iserine
or ilmenite melted together afford an excellent result. When, however. iscrine
can be cheaply and abundantly procured. from five to ten pounds or more of
deoxidised iserine may be advantageously added to and melted with forty
pounds of steel, or of a mixture of steels which it is intended to melt into cast
steel. Should the cast steel obtained by the process herein-before described
prove too soft, steel of a harder quality may be obtained by adding with the
deoxidised iserine or ilmenite from one ounce to four ounces of charcoal, or
other carbonaceous matter to every forty pounds of steel to be melted, but I
do not confine myself to these proportions.
In practice I find it answers well to mix the deoxidised iserine or ilmenite
when pulverised with melted pitch or resin, and I introduce the compound
thus obtained along with the steel intended to be melted into the melting pot
or crucible.
I prepare this compound by melting the requisite quantity o

page_text: pitch or resin in a pot or pitch kettle, and I then stir and mix in the pulverised
deoxidised iserine or ilmenite. The compound is then emptied out upon a
cold wet slab or plate, and when cold is broken up for use. I do not confine
myself to the proportions herein described of deoxidised iserine or ilmenite to
be added to and melted with the blister steel, bar steel, scrap steel, or other
steel, for the proportions may be varied at pleasure.
Manganese or other fluxes, and also scrap iron or deoxidised iron ore pre-
pared from iron ores not containing titanium may be added to the mixture of
steel and deoxidised titanium ore, but such additions form no part of my
Invention, neither are they essential to its success. In place of adding the
deoxidised iserine or the mixture of pulverised deoxidised iserine and pitch or
resin to blister steel, bar steel, scrap steel, puddled steel, or cast steel broken
or cut up, or granulated for remelting, or any mixtures of these varieties of
steel which it is intended to melt into cast steel, and introducing the said
deoxidised iserine, or the said mixture of deoxidised iserine and pitch or resin
into the melting pot or crucible along with the steel or mixtures of steels which
it is intended to melt into cast steel, I sometimes first introduce into the
melting pot the steel or mixture of steels intended to be melted, and I drop
into the melting pot containing the said steel at any subsequent stage of the
melting operation the requisite quantity of the deoxidised iserine, whether
mixed or unmixed with pitch, resin, or other carbonaceous matter; and find
it convenient thus to introduce the deoxidised iserine when the third fire
required for the fusion of the steel has so far burned away that the lid of the
melting pot can be uncovered and removed. I then remove the said lid, and
I drop into the melting pot the requisite quantity of the deoxidised iserine, or
of the pulverised deoxidised iserine mixed with pitch or resin. I then replace
the lid of the melting pot, and I complete the melting operation in the usual
manner. I then withdraw the melting pot from the furnace, and I pour the
cast steel produced into an ingot mould, or into any other suitable mould. I
do not confine myself to the use of pitch or resin, for bitumen, lamp black,
coal tar, or other carbonaceous matters may be mixed with the pulverised
deoxidised iserine, or the said pulverised deoxidised iserine may be employed
without being previously mixed with carbonaceous matter. The melting pots
I employ, and the furnaces in which they are placed and heated, are such as
are ordinarily employed by steel manufacturers. Oxide of manganese may be
employed as a flux when my Invention is carried into effect in the manner I
have last described. From one ounce to three ounces or more of the oxide of
manganese of commerce may be added to every forty pounds of steel, or

page_text: mixtures of various steels which it is intended to melt into cast steel, but the
use of manganese as a flux forms no part of my Invention.
The essence of my Invention consists in melting in pots or crucibles blister
steel, bar steel, scrap steel, puddled steel, or cast steel of any description,
broken or cut up, or granulated for remelting, or any mixture of these varieties
of steel which it is intended to melt into cast steel, together with ores of
titanium containing besides titanic acid a large proportion of oxide of iron,
such, for example, as iserine and ilmenite, and which titanium ores have been
deoxidised previously to their addition to and melting with the steel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Mushet, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witnesses,
EDwD. M. MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
BROOKLYN MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
ROBT. MUSHET. (L.S.)