IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL WIRE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, SEWING NEEDLES, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL WIRE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, SEWING
NEEDLES, AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 15th January 1856, and dated the 18th July 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18:1
July 1855.
I, WILLIAM SMITH, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "I-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL WIRE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,
SEWING NEEDLES, AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of steel wire for various purposes, it is well known that
the repeated drawing to reduce it to the desired size has the effect of harden-
ing, and thereby rendering the same brittle, and it becomes necessary to resort
By
to beating the wire to redness to anneal it during the drawing processes.
cans generally adopted, wire to be auncaled is placed in a mass in an anneal-
ing pot in a furnace till heated to redness, and it is often several hours before
the desired redness to such mass is fully obtained. Now, I have discovered
that wire when expanded by heat is very susceptible of injury, by imbibing
the gases generated in the heating furnace, and that the injury is increased
by the time of exposure; 1 therefore in annealing the wire pass it in a string
through the furnace, and in direct contact with the heat evolved therefrom,

page_text: allowing it only to remain there sufficiently long to obtain the heat desired;
and, by preference, I cause the string of wire to pass round a pulley on the
opposite side to that at which it enters, by which it may be drawn from the
furnace at or near the same point as that at which it enters, and the time
occupied will vary with the diameter of the wire or the heat of the furnace,
but ordinarily it will not exceed a few seconds. And in order to temper the
wire as required for the purpose to which it is to be applied, I conduct it as it
comes from the heating furnace, and whilst in a state of red heat, into a
chamber largely charged with oxygen gas, which may be obtained by the
application thereto of oxide of manganese, through which the wire will be
drawn, or by passing therethrough currents of cold air.
By thus tempering the wire, the surface becomes more compact and less
liable to injury during the subsequent drawings, whilst the tenacity of the
central portion is improved by the protection afforded from the surface. I
prefer to effect these processes previous to the final drawing, but I do not
confine myself thereto.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Scal Patent Oflice on the
17th January 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William Smith,
my excentors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 STEEL WIRE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, SEWING NEEDLES,
AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Smith, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: 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 I, the said William Smith, 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):
:―
In the manufacture of steel wire for various purposes, it is well known
that the repeated drawing to reduce it to the desired size has the effect of
hardening, and thereby rendering the same brittle, and it becomes neces-
sary to resort to heating the wire to redness to anneal it during the drawing
processes. By means generally adopted, the wire to be annealed is placed
in a mass formed of layers or coils, with one layer or coil lying close upon
another in the annealing pot or furnace till it is heated to redness, and it is
often several hours before the desired redness to such mass is fully obtained.
Now, I have discovered that wire when expanded by heat is very susceptible
of injury, by imbibing the gases generated in the heating furnace, and that
the injury is increased by the time of exposure. And my improvement relates
to so conducting the annealing process, that whilst I obtain the redness desired
to the wire, the time during which the wire is retained at such temperature,
and consequently subjected to the injurious influence of the gases generated in
the heating furnace, is materially lessened, by which the wire obtained is found
to be of a superior character.
But that the nature of my said Invention and the means which I adopt
may be fully understood, I will proceed to explain the means pursued by me.
In annealing the wire, I pass it in a string through the furnace and in direct
contact with the heat evolved therefrom, allowing it only to remain there
sufliciently long to obtain the heat desired; and for this purpose the furnace is
provided with a hole or holes sufficiently large to admit of the passage of the
wire into and from it, and, by preference, I cause the string of wire to pass
round a pulley within the furnace, and on the opposite side to that at which
it enters, by which arrangement it may, if desired, be readily drawn from
the furnace at or near the same point as that at which it enters; but I do not
confine myself to this arrangement. The plan which I ordinarily adopt is the
following:-
I first place the wire to be annealed upon a reel or pulley, from which it
passes through a hole in the furnace sufficiently large to admit of the passage

page_text: of a small shaft or rod, to which the end of the wire is attached. This rod is
introduced to the pot or furnace through an opening for that purpose on the
opposite side thereof to that by which the wire enters, or at such other
position which may be found more convenient, and by it the workman is
enabled to draw that end of the wire into the pot or furnace to conduct it
round the pulley referred to, and thence to the exit aperture, when the end of
the wire will be disconnected from this conducting shaft or rod, and the wire
will then be drawn away from the pot or furnace as desired. The time
occupied in obtaining the desired heat will vary with the diameter of the wire
or the heat of the furnace, but ordinarily it will not exceed a few seconds.
And in order to temper the wire as required for the purpose to which it is to
be applied, I conduct it as it comes from the heating furnace, and whilst in a
state of red heat, into a chamber largely charged with oxygen gas, which may
be obtained by the application thereto of oxide of manganese, through which
the wire will be drawn, or by passing therethrough currents of cold air. By
thus tempering the wire, the surface becomes more compact and less liable
to injury during the subsequent drawings, whilst the tenacity of the central
portion is improved by the protection afforded from the surface. I prefer to
effect these processes previous to the final drawing.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the means
which I adopt in carrying the same into practice, I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein referred to, so long
as the peculiar character of the Invention be retained; but what I do claim
is, the method of operating in the manufacture of steel wire for musical
instruments, sewing needles, and other purposes, substantially as herein
explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
LEWIS BENNETT,
Birminghau.
WILLIAM SMITH. (L.S.)