IMPROVEMENTS IN PILING IRON BOR HEATING PREPARATORY TO RE-ROLLING OR HAMMERING THE SAME."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bernard Lauth, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the
United States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILING
IRON BOR HEATING PREPARATORY TO RE-ROLLING OR HAMMERING THE SAME."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bernard Lauth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
January 1861.
I, BERNARD LAUTH, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN PILING IRON FOR HEATING PREPARATORY TO RE-ROLLING OR HAMMERING
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
The best methods now in use for piling iron are more or less uncertain in
their result, both on account of the bars or pieces not being square at the ends,
and the pieces being of unequal length and thickness, which causes the piles
to be of various weights, and consequently being irregularly crooked they lie
so open in the pile that a much greater surface is exposed to the action of the
fire and free oxygen than is desirable; finally, the bars being coated with a
heavy scale consisting of the black oxide of iron, with more or less "scoria,"
(silex, alumina, and other extraneous matter) combined, which prevents the
iron from welding perfectly.

page_text: I will now point out the causes of some of these difficulties, and then explain
my process for obviating or avoiding the whole of them.
In the first place the "puddle-balls" come from the hammer or squeezer
much hotter at some times than at others, and as a natural consequence
the hottest are drawn by the rolls much thinner than the colder balls, and thus 5
different thicknesses of "inuck-bars" are produced.
Secondly, the "muck-bars" are laid out to cool after being struck on the
floor, and perhaps beaten two or three times with a hammer, or more frequently
with the tongs by the "drag-out," for the purpose of taking out the great
bends; but even allowing that they are made perfectly straight whilst hot, 1
they will become warped again in cooling, therefore it is next to impossible to
procure "muck-bars" true and level by the present mode of operating.
Thirdly, unless extraordinary care be taken in keeping the rolls in good
order the "muck-bar" is turned out with "fins" and ragged edges.
Fourthly, when these crooked and rough bars are placed in the shears to be
cut into piling lengths, it is quite evident that although the end may be
jammed against the guage plate it
may
be pointing upwards or downwards,
and at the same time to the right or left, and in this way we get bars of
different lengths and far from being square at the ends.
Now in constructing a pile with this description of "muck-bar" pièces it s
is necessary to make a liberal allowance for waste or "shorts," and we
frequently see twenty or thirty inches cut off (for the scrap pile) when
particular lengths of bars are required. It matters not how much care is
observed in laying the pieces together, some of the ends will project more
than others, and the pile will be much more open in some parts than in others,
and when rolled into bars and tried it will be found that the weld is more or
less imperfect throughout.
Now the remedy which I have discovered for all these defects is, firstly,
when the bars come from the "muck-rolls" to cast them into water, which
causes the scale and other extraneous matter to be loosened from the metallic
iron, and it can easily be knocked off afterwards.
Secondly, I take the bars thus cooled and then pass them through rolls for
the purpose of straightening the bar, levelling the surface, and reducing the
fins to a level with the bar. It is to be understood that the temperature is
so reduced that the bars will not warp afterwards; in fact, the second rolling
can be done when the bars are perfectly cold. By a simple arrangement of
guides the bars can be uniformly curved to any pitch desired, and as the
screws to the rolls need not be disturbed after being once properly set, the
bars will be brought down to one uniform thickness as well as shape. I have

page_text: reduced cold "muck-bars," five inches wide and three-quarters of an inch
thick, as much as one-sixteenth of an inch at a single pass..
When bars are thus prepared there is no difficulty in shearing them into
pieces of a perfectly uniform length, and square at the ends. Thus I obtain.
all that is required to make a perfect pile, namely, the surface free from scale
and scoria, uniformity of length, shape, and thickness, being enabled thereby
to form piles perfectly compact, which adds upwards of two and a half per
cent. to the product of finished bars.
My Invention is applicable to all descriptions of iren bars as well as the
kind commonly known as "muck or puddle-bars;" I therefore do not intend
to confine myself to "muck-bars" only.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Bernard Lauth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BERNARD
LAUTH, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth 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 Bernard Lauth, Her special licence that I, the said Bernard Lauth,,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Bernard Lauth, 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 "IMPROVE-.
MENTS IN PILING IRON FOR HEATING PREPARATORY TO RE-ROLLING OR HAMMERING
THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Bernard Lauth,:
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 per-
formed, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Bernard Lauth, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 in writing, that is to say:-
The best methods now in use for piling iron are more or less uncertain in
their results, both on account of the bars or pieces being of unequal length
and thickness, and not being square at the ends, thereby causing the piles to
be of various weights, and to be irregularly crooked, one consequence of
which is that the bars or pieces lie open in the pile, and a much greater
surface than is necessary or desirable is exposed to the action of the fire and
free oxygen; finally, the bars or pieces being coated with a heavy scale,
consisting of the black oxide of iron with more or less "scoria" (silex,
alumina, and other extraneous matter) combined, the iron of which the bars
or pieces consist is thereby prevented from welding perfectly.
I will now point out the causes of some of the defects in the ordinary
process of piling iron, and then explain my process for obviating or avoiding
the whole of them.
In the first place the "puddle balls" come from the hammer or squeezer
much hotter at some times than at others, and as a natural consequence the
hottest are drawn by the rolls much thinner than the colder, and thus different
thicknesses of "muck-bars" are produced.
Secondly, "the muck-bars" are laid out to cool after being struck on the
floor, and sometimes also beaten two or three times with a hammer, or more
frequently with the tongs by the "drag-out," for the purpose of reducing the
bends; but even allowing that they may be made by any existing process
perfectly straight whilst hot, they will become warped again in cooling,
therefore it is next to impossible by the present mode of operating to procure
or produce true and level "muck-bars."
Thirdly, unless extraordinary care be taken in keeping the rolls in good
order, the "muck-bar" is, according to the present mode of operating, turned
out with "fins" and ragged edges.
Fourthly, when bars or pieces so crooked or having fins and ragged edges
are placed in the shears to be cut into piling lengths, it follows as a necessary
consequence, that although the ends of the bars or pieces may be jammed
against the guage plate they will be pointing upwards or downwards, and at
the same time to the right or left, and thus bars or pieces are produced of
different lengths, and with ends out of square.
In respect of a pile so constructed or formed, it is necessary to make a
considerable allowance for waste or "shorts," and frequently, more especially

page_text: when particular lengths of bars or pieces are required, twenty or thirty inches
are cut off (for the scrap pile), and the greatest care observed in piling bars
or pieces formed as before mentioned will not prevent the ends of some pro-
jecting more than those of others, and accordingly the pile will be much more
open in some parts than in others, and when rolled into bars or pieces, and
tried, the weld will be found to be more or less imperfect throughout.
Now, the remedy which I have discovered for all these defects is, firstly,
when the bars or pieces come from the "muck rolls," to cast them into water,
which causes the scale and other extraneous matter preventative of proper
welding to be loosened from the metallic iron, and when so loosened it can
easily be removed from the bars or pieces.
Secondly, when the bars or pieces have become sufficiently cooled I pass
them through rolls for the purpose of straightening them, smoothing their
surface, and reducing their fins to a level with such surface; and one of the
effects of reducing the temperature of the bars or pieces before they are
subjected to the second process I have described will be to prevent them
afterwards warping; in fact, the process I have secondly described can be
effected when the bars or pieces are thoroughly cold, and by a simple arrange-
ment of guides they can be uniformly curved to any pitch desired; and as the
screws to the rolls need not be disturbed after being once properly adjusted,
the bars or pieces on coming out of the rolls will be found to be of uniform
thickness and shape.
When bars or pieces are thus prepared there is no difficulty in shearing
them into pieces of a uniform length, and squareness at the ends can also be
secured; thus I obtain all that is required to make a compact and perfect
pile, namely, the surface free from scale and scoria, the prevention of warping,
and uniformity of length, shape, and thickness, and thereby two and a half
per cent. in weight at least will be added to the product of finished bars.
Ilaving now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improvements in Piling Iron for Heating preparatory to Re-rolling or Ham-
mering the same," together with the manner in which the same is to be or
may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in con-
clusion that my Invention is applicable to all descriptions of iron bars or pieces
as well as the kind commonly known as "muck or puddle bars," and I
therefore do not intend to confine myself to the use of "muck-bars" only;
but what I claim as my Invention is, re-rolling iron bars or pieces, either at
a low temperature or when perfectly cold, at my option, for the purpose of
reducing them to or forming them of an uniform length, shape, and thickness,
free from scale and scoria, and protected against warping previously to piling

page_text: the same, substantially in the manner and with the objects and advantages
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bernard Lauth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
BRISTOW HUNT,
Sol'. & Patent Agent,
1, Serle St., Lincoln's Inn.
BERNARD LAUTH. (L.S.)