IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR GUN BOATS AND LAND BATTERIES,
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Arrowsmith, of Bilston, in the County of
Stafford, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR GUN BOATS AND LAND BATTERIES, AND IN
Sealed the 19th July 1861, and dated the 26th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Arrowsmith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition, on the 26th
January 1861.
I, JOHN ARROWSMITH, of Bilston, in the County of Stafford, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES FOR GUN BOATS AND LAND BATTERIES, AND
MACHINERY AND FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of improvements on the Invention described in the
Specification of a Patent granted to me, bearing date the Eighth day of
December in the year of our Lord One thousandeight hundred and fifty-nine,
and numbered 2781.
My improvements in making armour plates for gun boats and land att ins
and in the machinery emplyel in the said manufacture as follow:
make the said plates from piled bars, each of which is formed of the hars
rolled to the forms and fitting into each other as described and represented in
the said Specification, exceptine that in some of the pil as I make
the three bars broader than the others on one side, so that when one of tur

page_text: described piled bars is introduced into an armour plate a rib is formed on the
plate for the purpose of attaching the plates, instead of attaching them by
drilling holes in them. When I wish to make two or more ribs on the plate
I take two or more of the piled bars having the projection, and a sufficient
number without the projection, to make up the necessary width. The bars
having the ribs may be placed either at the outside or in any intermediate
position of the plate as required. The pile to be made into a plate is then
heated in my improved furnace herein-after described, and being raised to a
welding heat is passed through the rolling machinery. This machinery
consists of four rolls, two working horizontally and two vertically. The
horizontal rolls have one, two, or more grooves as required for forming the
ribs on the back of the plates. The vertical rolls are fixed between the necks
of the horizontal rolls. One of these rolls has a groove and the other a pro-
jection corresponding to the groove and projection on the edges of the plate.
The lengths of the four rolls vary for the varying thicknesses and widths of
plates required. By my Invention I can roll plates of any required length,
width, and thickness. If it is required to bend the plates, two other horizontal
rolls are fixed at front and back of the rolling machine, by means of which the
plates may be bent as required.
My improvements in furnaces to be used in the manufacture of wrought
iron armour plates are as follows:-Instead of supporting the pile or plate on
the fire-bars I construct columns of brickwork in the ash-pit on which the pile
or plate is supported. The top of each pillar is made of fire-brick, and sand
is put on the said fire-brick to support the pile or plate. The said fire-bricks
are hollow and perforated with holes; through which hollow and holes a blast
is supplied to the furnace in addition to the blast from the sides and bottom of
the furnace. I place a pair of vertical rolls at the mouth of the furnace by which
the pile of heated iron is compressed as it is drawn at a welding heat from the
furnace to be submitted to the action of the rolling machinery herein-before
described. The said rolls compress the pile sufficiently to partially weld
it and prevent the several bars composing it from falling apart.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Arrowsmith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, T, JOHN
ARROWS ITH, of Bilston, in the County of Stafford, Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her inost Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Arrowsmith, Her special licence that I, the said John Arrowsmith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Arrowsmith,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
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PL TES FOR GUN BOATS AND LAND BATTERIES, AND
IN MACHINERY AND FURNACES USED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Arrowsmith, 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 1, the said John Arrowsmith,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:-
My Invention cousists of improvements on the Invention described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to me bearing date the Eighth day of
December in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine,
and numbered 2781.
Myimprovements in making armour plates for gun boats and land batteries,
and in machinery and furnaces employed in the said inanufacture, are bereiu-
after described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In making arinour plates, according to my Invention, I make the said plates
from piled bars, each of which is formed of three bars rolled to the forms and
fitting into each other as described and represented in the Specification of the
Patent before referred to, excepting that in some of the piled as I make one
of the said bars broader on one of its sides than the other bars of which the
piled bar is composed, so that when one of these piled bars is introduced into
an armour plate a rib is formed on the plate for the purpose of attaching the
said plates to the gun boats or batteries instead of attaching the said plates by

page_text: drilling holes in them. Or the said piled bars having ribs or projections may
be made up of a number of small bars as herein-after explained. When I
wish to make two or more ribs on the plate I take two or more of the piled
bars having the ribs or projections and a sufficient number without the pro-
jections to make up the necessary width. The bars having the projections
may be placed either at the outside or in any intermediate position of the
plate as required. The pile composed of piled bars of the kinds described is
then heated in my improved furnace herein-after described,and being raised to
a welding heat is passed through the rolling machinery also herein-after
described, and the parts composing the said pile thereby welded together and
rolled into an armour plate. Or the bars made as before explained may be
used as armour plates by simply locking or engaging them together instead
of welding them together.
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings represent in section piles
of different sizes to be made into bars for armour plates according to my
Invention.
The said piles consist of three bars a, b, c, rolled of the forms and joined
together in the manner represented. The middle bar b is broader on one
side than the outer bars a, c, the said broad bar & forming a rib or projection d
on the said piles. The piles are heated in my improved furnace, and being
raised to a welding heat are passed through my improved rolling machinery
and made into a compact mass.
Figures 3 and 4 represent edge views of finished armour plates made
according to my Invention, that is to say, the said plates are made from a pile
composed of two piled bars of either of the forms represented in Figures 1
and 2, and of other bars without the rib or projection d on the said bars, as
represented in Figures 5 and 6, which said Figures 5 and 6 represent a
section and edge view respectively of a series of piled bars with and without
ribs or projections on them, connected together for forming a pile for an
armour plate, the said bars being locked or engaged together by the projection
on one engaging in the groove in the other bar. The pile, Figures 5 and 6,
is heated in my improved furnace and raised to a welding heat and passed
through the rolls herein-after described. By passing the compound pile
through the rolls, armour plates, similar to those represented in Figures 3
aud 4 are produced. In the armour plates, Figures 3 and 4, the ribs or
projections d, 7, are shaped differently by the rolls by which the plates aro
formed. Instead of forming the pile from which the armour plates are rolled
of single piled bars of the form of Figure 1, or of Figure 2, compound bars
made up of a single bar with a rib or projection, and two such bars without a

page_text: rib or projection may be rolled into a mass, and piles for forming armour plates
made from such compound bars; a compound bar of this kind is represented
in ection in Figure 7. In place of welding a pile made of bars of the form
of Figure 1, or of Figure, into an armour plate by rolling as described, a
pile or series of piled bars of either of the said forms may be used in the con-
struction of batteries and gun boats without welding, that is to say, by simply
locking or engaging the said bars together in the manner represented in the
Drawings. Instead of making the piles from which the piled bars are made of
three bars, as before described, the said piles may be made from more than three
bars, as rep esented in Figures 8 and 9; Figure 8 represents in section a pile
for making plates for land batteries, made up of several bars of iron, the said
bars being so disposed in the pile that the central bare makes the projection
or rib on the bar made from the said pile; Figure 9 represents in section a
pile for making plates for floating batteries. In this pile the end bars f,t,
are so disposed in the pile that they form a projection or rib on each end
of the piled bar made therefrom.
Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 represent sections of other piles and piled bars
made therefrom, made according to my Invention. I prefer to make these
piles of small puddled bars, such as may be rolled in an ordinary forge train, and
thus make them much cheaper than when made of large bars. Figure 10 is
a pile for large armour plates, and Figures 11, 12 and 13 are piles for large
rectangular bars. The piles, Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13, differ only from
those herein-before described in being made up of small puddled bars.
Figures 14, 15 and 16 represent edge views ofarmour plates made according
to my Invention, the said Figures 14, 15 and 16 also showing the methods by
which the rods or bolts by which the armour plates are connected to the gun
boat or battery, are secured to the ribs or projections on the said plates. In
securing the rods or bolts according to the method represented in Figure 14,
I cut at the required intervals in the rib y a wedge-shaped recess into which I
fix a wedge-shaped nut h, (best seen in the front elevation of Figure 14 at i).
The said nut is tapped before being fixed in the rib g, and into the said
tapped nut the end of the screw k is screwed as represented. Instead of
fixing the bolts or rods to the ribs by screwing, they may be fixed to the ribs
on the plates by making on the ends of the said bolts or rods dovetail pieces
which fit into dovetail recesses made in the ribs. Figures 15 and 16 represent
different edges of an armour plate, the rods or bolts being connected to the rib
in the mauner last described; Figure 16 represents a plan of a portion of
the same.
A wedge or dovetail shaped recess is made in the rib 112, the said
recess being sunk to a slight distance in the body of the plate. A shallow

page_text: "'
recess n, also undercut or wedge-shaped, and somewhat wider than the recess/,
is made in the body of the plate. In fixing the rods or bolts o the dovetail
end is dropped into the recess n, and from thence passed into the recess
in the rib m. A curved plate with bevilled edges, shown separately at 2,
Figure 15, is then placed with its concave side downwards in the recess n,
and being hammered flat fills up the said recess and fixes the rod or bolt in
the rib m.
Figure 17 represents in clevation a series of armour plates,joined together,
made according to my Invention.
Figure 18 represents in longitudinal vertical section a portion of a floating
battery provided with armour plates made and secured to the said battery
according to iny Invention; and Figure 19 is a transverse vertical section
of the same. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 17, 18,
and 19.
a, a, a, are the armour plates, and b, b, are the ribs or projections on them;
c, c, are the wedge-shaped nuts fixed in the ribs in which wedge-shaped
nuts the rods or bolts e are screwed and thereby fixed to the ribs, as before
explained and represented on a larger scale in Figure 14. The armour plates
a, v, a, are locked or engaged together in the manner best seen in Figure 19.
The said armour plates are secured to the sides d of the battery by the screwed
rods or pins e and nuts g. The interior of the floating battery has other plates
fixed thereto, against which the nuts g on the ends of the rods or pins e bear,
and thereby bind the parts of the battery together. An india-rubber washer/
is interposed between each of the nuts and the surface of the plates f. In
order to prevent wet from acting on and injuring the screwed rods or pins e
and nuts c, each of the said rods or pins is passed through a metal tube i
inserted in the sides of the battery, as represented in Figures 18 and 19.
9
The rolling machinery, by which the heated pile is welded into a bar to be
used in the construction of armour plates, is represented in front elevation
(partly in section' in Figure 20, and end elevation in Figure 21 of the accom-
panying Drawings. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 0
and 21. The said machinery consists essentially of four rolls, a, b, c, d, the
two larger rolls a, b, working horizontally, and the other two rolls c, d, working
vertically. The upper horizontal roll a has a groove e in it for forming the
rib or projection on the back of the bar. When two or more ribs are required
on the bar a corresponding number of the grooves e are made in the upper
roll. The vertical rolls c, d, are fixed between the necks of the rolls a, b, and
are supported in bearings in the manner represented in Figure 20. The roll c
has a groove c2, and the roll d has a projection d², the said groove and projec-

page_text: tion corresponding to the groove and projection described on the edges of the
bar. The lengths of the said rolls a, b, c, d, vary for the varying thicknesses
and widths of bars required. The horizontal pair of rolls are driven in the
ordinary way, and the upper roll can be lowered upon or raised from the lower
roll by the levers ff, and the mechanism connected with them, as is well
understood. If it is required to curve the bars, two other and smaller hori-
zontal rolls, as indicated in dotted lines at g, h, Figure 21, are fixed at front
and back of the horizontal rolls a, b. By adjusting the smaller rolls g, h, to
the necessary height the bars may be bent to the curve required. By length-
ening the rolls a, b, Figures 20 and 21, the said rolls may be used for rolling
a compound pile made up of a series of single piled bars into an armour plate.
The upper roll has in this case two, three, or more grooves, similar to the
groove e, corresponding to the number of ribs or projections on the back of
the armour plate.
For rolling square piled bars of large size I prefer to use a series of pairs of
rolls of the kind represented in elevation in Figure 22 of the Drawings. The
heated pile is first passed through the grooves in the first pair of rolls i, k,
then through the grooves in the second pair of rolls l, m, and lastly, through
the grooves in the third pair of rolls », o. The shape of the grooves in the
rolls, Figure 22, by which the projection or rib on the bar is rolled, as well as
the position of the bar in the different grooves, will be readily understood by
an examination of the Drawing. The edge of the projection or rib ou the bar,
while being passed through the last pair of rolls n, e, is supported laterally by
the horizontal roll p. By passing the heated pile through the rolls in the
order described the said pile is reduced to the required size and made into a
compact mass. If the bars are required to be bent they are passed, after they
leave the rolls, Figure 22, through the rolls, Figure 20 and 21, the said rolls
being provided with the necessary bending rolls, as before described. By
my Irvention I can roll bars and plates of any required length, width, and
thickness.
My improvements in furnaces to be used in the manufacture of wrought-
iron armour plates consist in constructing them in the manner herein-after
described and illustrated in Figures 23, 24, and 25 of the accompanying
Drawings. Figure 23 represents a transverse vertical section of a furnace
constructed according to my Invention. Figure 24 is a longitudinal vertical
section of the said furnace; and Figure 25 is a horizontal section of the said
furnace. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 23, 24, and 25.
Instead of supporting the pile or plate a upon the fire-bars I construct
columns of brickwork b in the ash-pit, on which the said pile or plate a is

page_text: supported, as seen in Figures 23 and 24. The top of the column b is made of
fire-brick, and sand is put on the said fire-brick to support the pile or plate a.
The said columns b are hollow and perforated near the tops thereof, through
which hollow and perforations a blast is supplied to the furnace in addition to
the blast from the sides and bottom of the furnace. The blast to the columns b
and to the sides of the furnace is supplied by the tuyeres c and d respectively.
The tuyeres copen into the hollow columns b, and the blast passes through
the perforations in the said columns to the furnace and immediately under the
pile or plate, as best seen in Figures 23 and 24. The tuyeres / open into the
sides of the furnace, as best seen in Figure 23. The blast is supplied to the
tuyeres c, d, by the horizontal and vertical pipes e,f. The blast is supplied to
the bottom of the furnace through the perforated horizontal pipes g, the blast
being supplied to the said pipes g by the horizontal pipe and vertical pipe i.
By the arrangement of blast pipes and parts of furnace, described and repre-
sented, a rapid and perfect combustion is obtained, and the pile or plate is
speedily raised to a uniform welding heat. The mouth of the furnace is
supplied with rolls k, l,by which the pile can be introduced with great facility
into the furnace. I also place at the other end of the furnace a pair of rolls m,n,
by which said rolls the pile or plate is compressed as it is drawnataweldingheat
from the furnace to be submitted to the action of the rolling machinery herein-
before explained. The said rolls m,n, compress the pile sufficiently to partially
weld it, and prevent the several bars composing it from falling apart. Instead of
making the furnace, Figures 23, 24, and 25, with a top, as represented, it may
either be made without a top, or with a loose top, which latter can be readily
removed, and the furnace charged through the top with the iron to be heated
by means of a travelling crane or other contrivance. The travelling crane or
other contrivance will in this case serve to carry the heated iron to the rolls.
My improved furnace may be used for heating piles for single bars and piles
made up of a number of bars to be rolled into armour plates.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented in the accom-
panying Drawings, as the saine inay be varied without departing from the
nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, the improvements in the manufacture of armour plates for gun
boats and land batteries, herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say, making armour plates with one, two, or
more ribs or projections on them from piled bars of the kinds herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, whether the saidpiled

page_text: bars be welded together and rolled into armour plates, or the said piled bars
be locked or engaged together without welding, the said ribs or projections on
the plates serving as means whereby the said plates can be conveniently
attached to the gun boat or land battery.
Secondly, the methods herein-beforedescribed and illustrated in Figures 14,
15, 16, and 16, of the accompanying Drawings, of connecting rods or bolts
to ribs or projections on armour plates, by which said rods or bolts the said
armour plates are secured to the gun boat or battery. Also the method of pre-
venting the entrance of wet to the said rods or bolts, and parts in which they
engage, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 18 and 19 of the
accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly,theimprovementsin rolling machinery, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 20, 21, and 22 of the accompanying Drawings for
welding and rolling piles into bars for armour plates, and welding and rolling
the said bars into armour plates.
Fourthly, the improvement in furnaces for heating piles to be welded and
rolled into bars and into armour plates,herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 25, 24, and 25, of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, sup-
porting the pile or plate upon hollow perforated columns fixed in the ash-pit
of the furnace, through which hollow and perforated columns blast is supplied
to the furnace immediately under the pile or plate.
Lastly, the general arrangement or combination of parts of furnaces for
heating piles to be welded and rolled into bars and into armour plates herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 23, 24, and 25,of the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Arrowsmith, have hereunto set my
hund and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
0 Witness,
EDMUND HOLMES.
JOHN ARROWSMITH. (L.S.).