AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATus for TemperING AND STRAIGHTENING SAWS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF STEEL OR OF STEEL AND IRON
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of “AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATus for TemperING
AND STRAIGHTENING SAWS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF STEEL OR OF STEEL AND
IRON." A communication from abroad by George F. Simonds, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING
AND STRAIGHTENING SAWS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF STEEL OR OF STEEL AND
IRON." A communication from abroad by George F. Simonds, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 9th December 1875, and dated the 11th October 1875.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 11th October 1875, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
*PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING AND STRAIGHTENING SAWS AND OTHER

page_text: ARTICLES OF STEEL OR OF STEEL AND IRON," and have petitioned Her Majesty
to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it
has been communicated to me from abroad by George F. Simonds, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming a
part of this Specification :—
This Invention relates to tempering and bringing to their ultimate
form saws and other articles of steel or steel and iron combined without
hammering, and it consists in the process and apparatus herein-after
explained and claimed, whereby saws may be tempered and straightened
without the usual process of hammering.
Figure 1 is a vertical cross section of the said apparatus; Figure 2 is
a longitudinal section of the same; Figure 3 is a plan; and Figure 4
shews separate views of the formers herein-after described.
A, A, represent the walls of an oven; B, the roof; C, the fire-box;
and D, the tempering and forming chamber. Above the fire-box is
placed the fireproof tile a, to distribute the heat in its passage to the
tempering and forming chamber. This chamber I make air-tight and of
any suitable material, preferably of boiler iron, with hot-air chambers H
on each side and above it.
The door L which closes the tempering chamber I prefer to line with
asbestos or other non-conducting material, to prevent the escape of heat
by radiation, but this is not essential to the successful working of my
Invention.
The formers c, c, are suspended in the tempering chamber, as shewn
in Figure 1, by means of the revolving shafts b, b¹, provided with
necessary bearings in framework E, E. The outer ends of these shafts
are provided with screws f,f, by which they can be moved longitudinally,
and the formers can be closed or opened within the tempering chamber.

page_text: By means of the wheel F the shaft 6 may be readily revolved, and when
the formers are brought in contact or closed on an article to be tempered,
it is evident that the shaft b' will also be caused to revolve with the
shaft b, and the two formers may be revolved within the chamber D.
This revolution of the formers may become desirable in order to secure
more certainly a uniform temperature. The great purpose of this
construction is to place the article to be tempered and formed entirely
out of the reach of any draught, and thus secure an evenness of heat
essential to success.
The heat in the surrounding chambers H may be readily regulated or
directed from one portion of the chamber D to another, by means of the
small vents e, e, through the top of the furnace.
When the saw or article to be tempered and brought to its ultimate
form has been properly hardened, it is placed between the formers c, c,
the door is closed, and the article is secured in position by the gradual
movement of the screws f, f, until the pressure is sufficient to bring the
piece to the desired form, where it is held subjected to the perfectly
uniform and desired amount of heat until the article takes a permanent
set to the required form, when it can be removed to make place for
another.
My formers c, c, are of a novel construction, as shown in Figure 4.
The face of the former instead of being a smooth flat surface, is grooved
in such a manner as to divide it up into numerous small surfaces
resembling somewhat the face of a waffle iron. Behind this face is a
series of radial ribs k to strengthen and support the same.
I find it desirable to make the former double, by interposing between
the face plate and the backing an open space l, as shewn in the
Drawing, Figure 4, so as to admit the heat freely over the rear of the
face plate, which being of uniform thickness is thus more certainly
heated to a uniform temperature.
It is evident from the description herein given of the said apparatus
for tempering and straightening saws, that by using a long horizontal
tempering and forming chamber, band saws of any length or size may be
successfully made. Instead of employing the formers used for pressing
the ordinary circular saws, band saws may be stretched while being
subjected to the heat in the tempering and forming chamber with
perfect success.

page_text: The leading object of this Invention is the production of a perfect saw
without the necessity of hammering, and in order to readily straighten
the saws and leave them sufficiently hard, it is necessary to use a more
highly carbonized steel than is or can be successfully worked by the
present mode of straightening by hammering, by which means in 5
connection with my improved oven and devices, I not only secure the
desired object, but produce an article very much superior in many
respects to those made by the old method.
"
The saws or other articles tempered and formed by this improved
process, being free from "buckle or uneven strain if slightly out of 1
position, can readily be brought back by any ordinary method of
straightening, provided care be taken not to buckle the steel in so
doing.
It is evident from the above description that the formers may be
arranged within the air-tight chamber otherwise than vertically, as 1
shown in Figure 1, without departing from the spirit of this Invention,
the essential feature of which is the means for securing a perfectly
uniform temperature in the formers and tempering chamber.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the 2
same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. Formers c, c, constructed with a cross grooved face, as above
described and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The combination of formers for holding articles to any
required position with an air-tight chamber D, as above described and
for the purpose set forth.
Third. The combination of formers for holding articles in any
required position with an air-tight oven D enclosed in a heating furnace,
as above described and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. The combination of formers c, c, and revolving shafts b, b', 8
with the oven D enclosed in a heating furnace, as above described and
for the purpose set forth.
Fifth. The combination of formers c, c, revolving shafts b, b', and
screws ff with the oven D enclosed in the heating furnace, as above
described and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: Sixth. In combination with a tempering oven, revolving vertical
formers, as above described and for the purpose set forth.
Seventh. The improved process herein described of tempering and
straightening saws by means of heat and pressure and without ham-
mering, the saw being protected from atmospheric currents, as above
described for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Eleventh day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five
Witness,
HY. JA. NoONE.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)