Brass and Copper Plating, or Plating- Iron or Steel with Brass or Copper, both Plain or Ornamental, and Working the same into Plates, Bars, or other Articles
Year: 1821

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
POOLE, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Victualler, send-greeting.
WHEREAS His late most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of His United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, on or about the Third day
of August, in the fifty-sixth year of His reign, did give and grant unto me,
the said John Poole, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Poole, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns; should and lawfully might, during the term of years
therein mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "Brass and Copper
Plating, or Plating- Iron or Steel with Brass or Copper, both Plain or
Ornamental, and Working the same into Plates, Bars, or other Articles;"
in which said Letters Patent there is a contained a proviso, that if I, the
said John Poole, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar

page_text: months next and immediately-after the date of the said Letters Patent, then
the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby
granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void; and whereas I, the
said John Poole, in compliance with the said proviso, particularly described
and ascertained the nature of my said Invention; and in what manner the
same was to be performed, by a Specification or instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, which was duly inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery, pursuant to and within the time limited by the said Letters Patent:
AND WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the
Fourth did by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of His United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the
Eighteenth day of October, in the second year of His reign, give and grant
unto me,.. the said John Poole, my exors,, adiñors, and assigns, His said
Majesty's especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said John Poole, my exors, adññors, and assigns, by myself and themselves,
and by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others
as I, the said John Poole, my exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, from time to time and at all times, thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make; use, exercise, and vend,
my, Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATING. IRON OR STEEL. WITH
BRASS OR COPPER, OR COPPER. ALLOYED WITH OTHER METAL OR METALS, BOTH
PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ROLLING AND WORKING. INTO PLATES,
SHEETS; OR BARS, AND SUCH GOODS OR WARES TO WHICH THE SAME: MAY BE FOUND
APPLICABLE,"
," within that, part of His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Colonies and, Plantations abroad,
to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence,, powers, privileges, and
advantages, last mentioned, unto me, the, said: John Poole, my exors, admors;
and assigns, for and during, and unto the full end, and term of fourteen years;
from the, date of the; said now reciting Letters Patent; in which said now
reciting Letters Patent is, contained a proviso, that if I, the said John Poole,
should not particularly describe and ascertain the. nature of my said last-
mentioned, Invention, and in, what manner the same is to be performed,. by. an
instrument, in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High, Court of Chancery, within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said, now reciting Letters Patent,
then that the same Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever

page_text: thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and
by the said several in part recited Letters Patent and. Specification, reference
being thereunto respectively had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the proviso contained in the
said last-mentioned Letters Patent, I, the said John Poole, do, hereby describe
and ascertain the nature of my said last-mentioned Invention in manner..
following (that is to say):
My improved mode of single plating, or plating a plate or ingot of iron
with brass on one side only, is as follows:-I provide myself with a shallow
flat-bottomed cast-iron pan (the length and width according to the size of the
plate or ingot of iron intended to be plated), with raised sloping sides, having
all round the inside of the bottom, where the sides and the bottom meet, a ledge
or projection on which the plate or ingot of iron is to, rest while being plated,
and which may vary in height according to the thickness of the brass with
which the iron is intended to be plated, and which should be of a convenient
width to support the iron, but about a quarter of an inch will suffice. The
said pan is to be supported by several small feet (cast with and forming part
of it) about an inch and a half in height, so as to admit of the fire acting
freely under the pan in the furnace, and so situated as to admit of a forked
or any other convenient instrument being applied to the pan to take it out of
the furnace; the number of the feet may be varied according to the size of
the
pan.
To a pan of twelve inches by seven in the bottom, I find thirteen
to be convenient number of feet, distributed in three rows from end to end,
four being placed in each of the two outer rows, and five in the centre row,
and the three interior feet of the centre row being somewhat smaller than the
rest; in a larger or smaller pan the number should be proportionally increased
or diminished respectively. I then take an ingot or plate or plates of brass, of
sufficient extent to cover the bottom of the pan within the said ledge or pro-
jection, and of such a thickness as that, when fused or melted, it may rise a
little above the said ledge or projection; I then take a plate or ingot of mal-
leable iron, of such thickness as I wish to plate with brass, and of such a size
as when placed and resting upon the ledge or projection of the pan will cover
the same, and I grind, file, or scrape the surface intended to be plated to
make it level, and free it from scale or rust; I then take a thick mixture of
whiting and water, and lay on a coat of the same with a brush, inside the pan,
to prevent the brass adhering to it in the process of plating; I then take the
ingot or plate or plates of brass, and place it or them at the bottom of the

page_text: pan, and place the plate or ingot of iron with the surface which has been so
ground, file, or scraped upon the brass (the surfaces of the brass and iron so
placed in contact having been previously bathed with a strong solution of sal-
ammoniac or borax, but I do not claim the application of either of those
substances as a part of my present improvements); I then take four or any
other convenient number of pieces of bar iron, about half an inch thick and
an inch and a half broad, and (after coating them with whiting) I place them
flat upon the plate or ingot of iron, close to the sides of the pan, to act as a
weight or pressure to force the plate or ingot of iron down upon the ledge or
projection when the brass is in a state of fusion, in doing which the superfluous
brass will rise up the edges of the plate or ingot of iron; I then place the
whole together in a reverberating furnace, having a flat level bottom sufficiently
heated to fuse or melt the brass.
While the brass is in a fluid state I turn the pan round repeatedly, to cause
a more regular and complete adhesion of the brass and iron. I then take it
from the furnace, and immediately place it in a level position over a trough or
vessel of cold water, suspended or supported by means of the said forked
instrument or some other convenient apparatus, in such a manner that the feet
of the pan may be partly immersed in the water (but so that the feet may not
touch the bottom of the trough or vessel, nor the water the bottom of the pan),
in order to chill or cool them, and thereby stop the boiling of the metal. When
the metals are sufficiently cooled I take off the weight or pressure, and then
raise the united metals from the pan, and the process is finished.
For my double plating, or plating a plate or ingot of iron on both sides with
brass, I take a plate or ingot of iron, of the same dimensions as for my single
plating, and grind, file, or scrape both sides to make them level and free from
scale or rust; I then take an ingot or plate or plates of brass, and place it or
them at the bottom of the pan, and the plate or ingot of iron upon it, in the
same manner in all respects as for single plating; I then place another ingot
or plate or plates of brass, of the same thickness as the former (or varying in
thickness, if required), upon the plate or ingot of iron; I then place within the
pan, and upon the last-mentioned ingot or plate or plates of brass, a cover or
lid of cast iron (previously coated with whiting), with a projecting ledge all
round to correspond with or fit upon the ledge or projection of the pan, and of
a depth equal to the thickness of the plating required for that side of the iron,
but with notches in the said ledge, through which the superfluous brass may
pass from under the said cover." I then place the pan in a reverberating

page_text: furnace, and use, the same method as before directed in respect of single
plating. When the brass is completely fused or melted on both sides the iron,.
and while in a fluid state, I press down the cast-iron cover, so that it may on
all sides force down the plate or ingot of iron close upon the ledge or projection
of the pan; I then withdraw it from the furnace, and cool it in the same
manner as directed for the single plating. In this process both sides of the
plate or ingot of iron, and the sides of the brass to be placed in contact with it,
must be bathed with the solution of salammoniac or borax.
The mode of plating on both sides of the plate or ingot is applicable to the
plating of round or square bars of iron; but for that purpose the bottom of the.
pan is fluted longitudinally into round or square grooves of such shape and
form as to receive half the bar, leaving room, for the metal to flow round it,
and at each extremity there is a ledge for the bar to rest upon; the cover or
lid is made on its interior. surface, with grooves corresponding, and ledges at
each end, so that during the process the corresponding projections of the
grooves meet through their whole extent, and thus each bar undergoes the
same process as is described for a single plate or ingot.
For my ornamental plating with brass upon iron, I take a plate of iron with
a flat or level surface, on which I cut or sink an ornament or device; I then
provide myself with a pan similar to that described for my plain plating, but
without the ledge or projection at the bottom; I then take an ingot or plate
of brass sufficient to cover the bottom of the pan to the depth or thickness
required, and place the plate of iron with the ornamented side upon it,
and pursue the other parts of the process as above described for my plain
plating, except that the cut or sunk parts only of the iron are to be bathed with
the solution of salammoniac or borax; and the plate of iron is to be pressed
down flat to the bottom of the pan, so as to force the brass into the ornament
or device. The superfluous metal must be ground or filed off to the level
surface of the plate of iron, so as to shew the ornament.
The same processes are to be pursued in all the above cases for plating iron
with copper, or copper alloyed with other metal or metals, and also for plating
steel with brass, copper, or copper alloyed with other metal or metals. The
iron or steel which I prefer for plating upon are those made with charcoal
from the Cumberland ore, and I think it best to have them sheared and after-
wards softened in a common annealing furnace. Great care must be taken
in all cases to free the metals from rust, scale, or grease before the process of
plating is begun.

page_text: The Drawings in the margin of these Presents, with explanations of the
Figures, are added to give a greater facility in understanding the Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Poole, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twelfth day of April, in the third year of the reign of our
Sovereign Lord George the Fourth, by the Grace of God of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith,
and in the year of our Lord Christ One thousand eight hundred and