IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING OR PROTECTING IRON OR STEEL WITH ANOTHER METAL
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bowser, Engineer, and Howard Bowser,
Ironfounder, both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING OR PROTECTING IRON OR
STEEL WITH ANOTHER METAL."
Sealed the 26th.June 1863, and dated the 30th December, 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bowser and
Howard Bowser at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 30th December 1862.
We, WILLIAM BOWSER, Engineer, and HOWARD BOWSER, Ironfounder, both
of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark. North Britain, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING OR PROTECTING
IRON OR STEEL WITH ANOTHER METAL" to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates more particularly to the coating or protecting of iron
or steel with copper, but is also applicable, where the coating metal is an alloy
containing copper.
"The arrangements for carrying out the Invention comprise a reverberatory
furnace for heating the iron or steel, and a chamber in close communication
therewith, to which the iron or steel is transferred to have the coating metal
applied to it. Arrangements may be made for working continuously, in
other words for gradually moving the articles through the furnace and coating
chamber at a speed suited to the heating powers of the furnace and the size
of the articles under treatment, and so that whilst some articles are undergoing
Price 8d1

page_text: the latter part of their treatment fresh articles may be entering and passing
through the furnace. The iron or steel plate, sheet, or other article to be
coated must be heated to about a white or welding heat, or to such a heat
When
that the copper or other coating metal will melt upon its surface.
sufficiently heated the article is transferred to the coating chamber, wherein
there is brought into contact with it the coating metal in the form of sheets,
strips, or grains, proportioned to suit the thickness of coating to be applied at
one operation. When these operations are performed in a careful and skilful
manner, the coating metal becomes most intimately and firmly united to the
iron or steel article, and it spreads over and covers the edges and all exposed
parts of the article, the combination being so complete that the article may be
subsequently reheated, rolled, hammered, or drawn without the coating metal
becoming separated. In the case of some articles the coating metal may be
more satisfactorily applied by melting the coating metal in a separate furnace,
and introducing it into the coating chamber in a bath or vessel. when the
article to be coated (being previously heated as before) may either be immersed
in the bath, or have the melted metal projected upon it by suitable apparatus.
In the case of articles of considerable size or bulk, it may be sufficient to
bring the coating metal, in either the solid or fluid state, into contact with the
articles at about a white or welding heat without particular precautions to
exclude the cold or external air, but in the case of articles of small size
or bulk it is necessary to exclude the cold or external air (as nearly as possible)
from contact with the surface of the iron or steel article to be coated when such
article is brought to the proper heat and is about to have the coating metal
applied to it, and with this view the coating chamber and furnace are
constructed so as to prevent any injurious amount of air currents from passing
through them, whilst, if necessary, such a pressure of heated gases may be
maintained within the furnace and coating chamber as will effectually prevent
the entrance of fresh external air by any openings that it may be necessary to
uncover.
In coating or protecting sheets or plates which for the purpose of being
fixed together, as in ship-building, for example, have rivet or other holes
formed in them, it is by this Invention preferred to subject them to the
protecting process after such holes have been formed, and after the sheets of
plates have been cut to the required shape, in order that the edges of the
holes and the outer edges of the plates may be coated equally with the other
surfaces.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 30th June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, WILLIAM
BOWSER, Engineer, and HOWARD BOWSER, Ironfounder, both of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, send greeting.
"
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser. Her special licence, that
we, the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser, our executors, .adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we. the said William Bowser and Howard
Bowser, our 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 COATING OR
PROTECTING IRON OR STEEL WITH ANOTHER METAL," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed. to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates more particularly to the coating or protecting of
iron or steel with copper, bnt it is also applicable where the coating metal is
an alloy containing copper.
The arrangements for carrying out our said Invention comprise a rever
beratory furnace for heating the iron or steel, and a chamber in close com-
munication therewith, to which latter the iron or steel is transferred to have

page_text: the coating metal applied to it. Arrangements may be made for working
continuously, in other words, for gradually moving the articles through the
furnace and coating chamber at a rate which can be adjusted to suit the
heating powers of the furnace and the size of the articles under treatment, and
so that whilst some articles are undergoing the latter part of their treatment,
fresh articles may be entering and passing through the furnace. The iron
or steel plate, sheet, or other like article to be coated. having had its. surfaces
rendered as clean as possible, must be heated to about a welding heat, or to
such a heat that the copper or other coating metal will melt freely upon its
surface. When sufficiently heated, the article is transferred to the coating
chamber, wherein there is brought into contact with it the coating metal in
the form of sheets, strips, or grains, proportioned to suit the thickness of
coating to be applied in one operation. When these operations are performed
in a careful and skilful manner, the coating metal becomes most intimately and
firmly united to the iron or steel article, and it spreads over and covers the
edges and all exposed parts of the article, the combination being so complete
that the article may be subsequently reheated, rolled. hammered, or drawn,
without the coating metal becoming separated.
And in order that our said Invention, and the manner of performing the
sume, may be properly understood, we have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, representing an example or modification of arrange-
ments suitable for carrying our Invention into practical effect.
Figure 1 is a vertical section, as taken across the hearth or reverberatory
chamber A of a reverberatory furnace, which may be constructed in the
ordinary way. On one side a doorway B, with sliding door C, is formed in
the walls of the reverberatory chamber A, for the introduction of the iron or
steel plate, or other article D to be coated. On the other side, and directly
opposite to the doorway B, a doorway or communication E is formed into the
coating chamber F, which is built immediately alongside of the furnace, and
in much the same manner as the furnace, that is to say, with walls and roof
of fire-brick, bound together by iron plates and bolts or tie rods. A plate D
is represented as being passed through the apparatus, this plate being entered
between a pair of rollers G just outside of the door C, and passing under that
door which is opened just enough for that purpose. The rollers G are driven by
means of gearing in connection with any convenient prime mover, at a rate, which
is found to allow suflicient time for each part of the plate to be in succession
heated to the necessary degree in passing across the reverberatory chamber A.
The bottom surface H of the chambers A and F is of fire-clay, and to reduce

page_text: the frictional resistance thereof to the onward movement of the plate, this
surface may be grooved, as shown in Figure 2, which is a section taken at
right angles to the direction of the plate's motion across. For the like
purpose a roller 1 is fitted in the coating chamber F in a box J, formed with
spaces for the passage of cold water to keep the parts sufficiently cool. On
leaving the coating chamber F, the plate D is passed between a second pair
of feeding rollers K, which being driven like the entering rollers G, assist in
passing the plate or plates through the apparatus; the intermediate roller I
may also be driven if it is found desirable. The doorway or communication E,
between the chambers A and F, is provided with a sliding door L, and the
copper M (in the form of a sheet in this example) is introduced into the
coating chamber F just within this door L, the lower part of the door being
shaped to guide the copper with a suitable inclination into contact with the
iron or steel plate D. The copper sheet M is fed in by means of a pair of
rollers N, driven at a suitable rate, between which rollers it is passed, and the
opening P, by which it enters the coating chamber F is closed as much as
possible by a narrow door or valve Q, which rests against the sheet M, and
keeps it in close contact with the guiding surface, along which it passes into
the chamber F. At the outlet of the chamber F a close fitting door R is
arranged to lie in an angular position against the plate D as it issues, so as to
prevent the ingress of air at that outlet as much as possible. In the case of
articles of considerable size or bulk it may be sufficient to bring the coating
metal into contact with the articles; when these articles have been heated to
about a welding heat without particular precautions to exclude the cold or
external air, but in the case of articles of comparatively small size or bulk it
is necessary to exclude the cold or external air as completely as possible from
contact with the surface of the iron or steel article to be coated when such.
articles is brought to the proper heat and is about to have the coating metal
applied to it, and with this view the coating chamber and furnace must be
constructed so as to prevent any injurious amount of air currents from passing
through them, whilst, if necessary, such a pressure of heated gases may be
maintained within the furnace and coating chamber as will effectually prevent
the entrance of fresh external air by any openings that it may be necessary to
uncover. A suitable pressure may be maintained within the coating chamber
and furnace by supplying the air for combustion by means of blowing or
forcing apparatus of any convenient kind, the egress of the fire gases being
restrained and regulated by means of a damper in the chimney.
The process forming the subject of the present Invention does not appear to

page_text: be so satisfactorily applicable to sheets of iron or steel of a less thickness than
one-eighth of an inch as it is to sheets of that thickness and upwards, but it
will be obvious that this must greatly depend upon the amount of care and
skill used in the manipulation.
Some articles, such as rivets, bolts, nuts, rings, and the like, cannot be
conveniently conted in the manner herein-before described as suitable for
sheets, plates, and the like, and in such cases, the articles being previously
heated as before, are either immersed in melted copper, or melted copper is
poured or projected upon them. It was formerly proposed to coat iron or
steel articles by immersing them in melted copper, or by pouring the copper
upon them, but the arrangements formerly adopted or proposed for carrying
this mode into effect were such as to involve considerable waste of the copper,
and other disadvantages. By the present Invention, however, instead of
introducing the heated iron or steel articles into the chamber or furnace in
which the copper is melted, the copper is transferred from the chamber or
furnace in which it is melted in a suitable vessel, such as a ladle or bath, to
the coating, chamber formed in connection with the furnace wherein the iron
or steel articles are heated, and it is in this coating chamber that the melted
copper is applied to the iron or steel articles by immersing those articles in it,
or by pouring or projecting it upon them. With these arrangements the
furnace or apparatus in which the copper is melted can be easily maintained
uniformly in the condition best suited to prevent waste of the metal.
In coating or protecting sheets or plates which for the purpose of being
fixed together, as in ship-building for example, have rivet or other holes formed
in them, it is by this Invention preferred to subject them to the coating or
protecting process after such holes have been formed, and after the sheets or
plates have been cut to the required shape, in order that the edges of the
holes and the outer edges of the plates may be coated equally with the other
surfaces.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, we have to state that we do not
restrict ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated; but
that what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
1. The coating of iron or steel with copper or with alloys containing copper
by bringing the copper or alloy, without being previously melted, into contact
with the iron or steel previously brought to about a welding heat, substantially
as herein-before described.

page_text: And, 2, the system of coating heated iron or steel with melted or with a
melted alloy containing copper, wherein the copper or alloy is. melted in a
separate furnace, and transferred thence to be applied to the iron or steel
in a coating chamber in communication with the furnace in which the iron or
steel is heated, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Bowser and Howard Bowser,
having hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-seventh day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square,
Glasgow.
HOWARD BOWSER. (L.S.)