IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Mushet, of Coleford, in the County of
Gloucester, Metallurgist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUDDLING
IRON AND STEEL."
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 7th May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Mushet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
May 1859.
1, ROBERT MUSHET, of Coleford, in the County of Gloucester, Metallurgist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PUDDLING IRON AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in employing ores or oxydes of titanium, titanic acid,
or the ores of iron and titanium, called titaniferous iron ores, or titaniferous
iron ore which has been previously deoxydized in any process by which pig
iron, cast iron, or refined iron, or any mixtures of these are in the puddling
furnace puddled into steel or malleable iron, in order by the use of these
substances to improve the quality of the products obtained therefrom by the
puddling process whether such products are steel or malleable iron. I prefer
to use titaniferous iron ore, such as iserine, as being more economical than the
richer and more expensive ores of titanium. The titaniferous iron ore, or such
ore when deoxydized, is prepared for my process by stamping or crushing it so
as to reduce it to the state of a fine powder; I introduce this powder into the
puddling furnace during the process of puddling pig iron, cast iron, or refined
iron into the state of steel or malleable iron, and I prefer to introduce the said
powder at that stage of the puddling operation termed the "boiling" stage,
that is to say, when the cast iron charged into the puddling furnace is melted
down, and is being stirred or worked by the puddler in order to facilitate its

page_text: decarbonization and conversion into steel or malleable iron. The quantity of
the prepared titaniferous iron ore, or of such ore deoxydized, which I introduce
into the pudding furnace varies from one per centum to ten per centum by
weight of the weight of pig or cast iron or refined iron, which constitutes the
charge of the puddling furnace. But I do not limit myself to use these propor-
tions which may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention.
I introduce the pulverized titaniferous iron ore, or such ore deoxyed by raising
the door of the puddling furnace and throwing the said ore on to the surface of
the boiling iron, the puddler then incorporates it with the mass by stirring and
raking the mixture with the tools commonly used in puddling steel or iron.
The operation of puddling is then continued in the usual manner until the
charge of metal is so far decarbonized and purified as "to come to nature,"
that is to say, so as to pass into the state of steel or iron, whichever of these
products it is intended to obtain from the charge of cast iron, and the steel or
iron is then balled up in the ordinary manner, and being removed from the
puddling furnace, the balls are subjected to the action of squeezers, hammers,
or rollers in the usual manner as practised by manufacturers of puddled steel
or puddled iron in order to draw or roll them into bars, blooms, or slabs.
I do not claim as of my said Invention the use of iron ore or oxyde of iron in
the puddling furnace, I also sometimes add oxide of manganese along with the
pulverized titaniferous iron ores or deoxydized titaniferous iron ore in the
proportion of one pound of manganese to from two or three pounds of the
titaniferous iron ore, or that ore deoxydized, but I do not limit myself to these
proportions. I do not claim as of my Invention the use of manganese in the
puddling furnace. I sometimes mix the pulverized titaniferous iron ore, or that
ore when deoxydized, with carbonaceous matter before introducing it into the
puddling furnace. In this case I prefer to mix the pulverized ore with pitch
or resin, or tar, combining a given weight of the pulverized ore with an equal
weight of pitch, resin, or tar, though I do not confine myself to these propor-
tions, I also sometimes add oxyde of manganese to this mixture, in which case
I combine these substances in the following proportions:-To thirty pounds of
tar or of melted pitch or resin I add twenty pounds of titaniferous iron ore, or
of titaniferous iron ore deoxydized, and ten pounds of oxyde of manganese, and
I incorporate these substances by stirring the mixture with a rod or stick.
The essence of my Invention consists in the use and application in the
puddling furnace of ores of titanium, titanic acid, titaniferous iron ores, or titani-
ferous iron ores previously deoxydized for the purpose of improving the quality
of the steel or iron obtained by puddling pig iron, cast iron, or refined iron
into steel or malleable iron, whether the said compounds of or mixtures con-

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Mushet in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th November 1859.
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 Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PUDDLING IRON AND 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 par-
ticularly 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
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:―
My Invention consists in employing ores or oxides of titanium or tatanic
acid, or the ores of iron and titanium called titaniferous iron ore, or titaniferous
iron ore which has been previously deoxidized, in any process by which pig
iron, cast iron, or refined iron, or any mixtures of these in the puddling
furnace, are puddled into steel or malleable iron, in order by the use of the
said titanium compounds to improve the quality of the products obtained from

page_text: the cast iron by the puddling process; whether such products are steel or
malleable iron. I prefer to use titaniferous iron ore, such as "iserine," or
such other titaniferous iron ores as contain from five to twenty-five per centum
of titanic acid, as being more economical than the richer and more expensive
ores of titanium, such, for instance, as rutile, brookite, ilmenite, or anatase.
The titaniferous iron ore, or such ore when deoxidized, is prepared for my
process by stamping or crushing it, so as to reduce it to the state of a
powder sufficiently fine to pass through a sieve or riddle of from 100 to 1600
meshes per square inch, though I do not confine myself to these limits. I
introduce the said titaniferous iron ore, or such ore when deoxidized and
reduced to the state of powder, into the puddling furnace, during the process
of puddling pig iron, cast iron, or refined iron, or any mixtures of these, into
the state of steel or malleable iron; and I prefer to introduce the said powder
at or during that stage of the puddling operation termed the "boiling stage,"
that is to say, when the cast iron charged into the puddling furnace has been
melted down and is being stirred or worked by the puddler in order to
facilitate its decarbonization and conversion into steel or malleable iron. The
quantity of the prepared titaniferous iron ore, or of such ore deoxidized, which
I introduce into the puddling furnace varies from one per centum by weight
to ten or twenty per centum by weight of the weight of pig or cast iron, or
refined iron, or any mixtures of these, which constitute the charge of the
puddling furnace; but I do not limit myself to use these proportions, as the
proportion may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention.
I introduce the pulverized titaniferous iron ore, or such ore deoxidized, by
raising the door of the puddling furnace and throwing the said ore from a
shovel, or otherwise projecting it on to the surface of the boiling iron. The
puddler then incorporates the said titaniferous iron ore, or such ore deoxidized,
with the mass, by raking and stirring the mixture with the tools commonly
used in puddling steel or iron. The operation of puddling is then conducted
in the usual manner until the charge of metal is so far decarbonized and
purified as "to come to nature," that is to say, so as to pass into the state of
steel or iron, whichever of these products it is intended to obtain from the
charge of cast iron; and the steel or iron is then balled up in the ordinary
manner, and being removed from the puddling furnace, the balls are subjected
to the action of squeezers, hammers, or rollers, in the usual manner as
practised by manufacturers of puddled steel or puddled iron, in order to draw
or roll them into bars, blooms, or slabs. I do not claim as of my said
Invention, the use of iron ore or oxide of iron in the puddling furnace.
I also sometimes add oxide of manganese along with the pulverized titani-

page_text: ferous iron ore or deoxidized titaniferous iron ore, in the proportion of one
pound of manganese to from two to ten pounds of the titaniferous iron ore, or
that ore deoxidized; but I do not limit myself to these proportions. I do not
claim, as of my said Invention, the use of manganese in the puddling furnace.
I sometimes mix the pulverized titaniferous iron ore or that ore deoxidized
with carbonaceous matter before introducing it into the puddling furnace. In
this case, I prefer to mix the pulverized ore with pitch, or resin, or tar, com-
biuing a given weight of the pulverized ore with an equal weight of pitch,
resin or tar, though I do not confine myself to these proportions. I also
sometimes add oxide of manganese to this mixture; in which case, I combine
these substances, by preference in the following proportions:-To every thirty
pounds of tar or of melted pitch or resin I add twenty pounds of titaniferous
iron ore, or of titaniferous iron ore deoxidized, and ten pounds of oxide of
manganese, and I incorporate these substances by stirring the mixture with a
rod or stick. The deoxidized titaniferous iron ore which I employ consists of
titaniferous iron ore which has been deoxidized or reduced by having been
heated in close chambers with charcoal or peat, or other carbonaceous or
reducing matter, such as hydrogen or coal gas.
The essence of my Invention consists in the use and application in the
process of puddling steel and iron of ores of titanium, titanic acid, titaniferous
iron ores, or titaniferous iron ores previously deoxidized, for the purpose of
improving the quality of the steel or iron obtained by puddling pig iron, cast
iron, or refined iron, or any mixtures of these into steel or malleable iron,
whether the said compounds of or mixtures containing titanium be used in
conjunction with oxide of manganese or without oxide of manganese.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Mushet, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witnesses,
EDwD. M. MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
BROOKLYN MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
ROB. MUSHET. (L.S.)