IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING, AND IN FASTENINGS, BOLTS, AND SHEET METAL TO BE USED THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Betteley, of Cavendish House, Bootle,
near Liverpool, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIP
BUILDING, AND IN FASTENINGS, BOLTS, AND SHEET METAL TO BE USED
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Betteley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th April 1868.
I, JOSEPH BETTELEY, of Cavendish House, Bootle, near Liverpool, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SHIP 'BUILDING, AND IN FASTENINGS, BOLTS, AND SHEET METAL TO BE USED
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The improvements in iron ships consist in forming an iron tube or
semi-tube on the under side of the ship laid longitudinally, which will
increase the strength and buoyancy of the vessel. I also make iron
plates with bulbs or ribs on them, which I place at the upper part of the
ship's side or shear strakes.
The improvements in what are known as composite ships consist

page_text: in building such vessels with wood floors and placing the iron
frames between them, which I fasten by means of lugs or flanges
attached to the iron frames, they have holes in them and are bolted
to the wood floor. I also apply what is known as long and short
wood floors, and I also make the iron frames of sections of iron
flanges. On to the outside of these floors and frames I place
longitudinal planks, which are fastened to them by. means of screw bolts
and nuts. I sometimes fill up these frame irons with wood charred to
preserve it, or with cements, and bolt through the whole.
I also use bulb iron for stringer plates in composite ships. At the
end of the wood floors I apply a bilge log or a thick plank placed
longitudinally, and when the ceiling plank is fixed on the floors I place
an iron strap or rider over the wood ceiling bilge plank fastening them
.together; this gives great strength to the bilge of ships;. and I plank
such floors and iron frame on the outside and fasten them with metal
.bolts and trenails, and use iron nuts on the metal screw bolt.
I also make a complete iron frame for ships of trough iron or of the
sections as shown, the iron over the floor of ship being larger, or I fill
up the trough iron floor frame with a more solid piece of iron and so
give it extra strength. In this case I dispense with wood floors, and on
the outside of these iron frames and floors I place planks and fasten
them by means of screw bolts and nuts. I also apply iron riders over
the wood ceiling and keelson of such vessels.
When I use trough iron for the bottom of the vessel I fill it with
cement or wood and bolt through the whole, and when long lengths are
required for floors or frames I attach two pieces together by overlapping
them and rivetting together through the flanges, and I prefer to do this
above the turn of the bilge, which will be more easily done as the parts
will be nearly straight.

page_text: insides of the iron, whereby I obtain a more secure fastening. At the
back of the iron frames and fastenings I place strips of the white
sheathing metal as described, or sheet zinc. I fill up the groove in the
metal frame with wood charred or partly burnt.
I fasten composite ships with white metal bolts. I make or cast
metal bolts composed of zinc 100 parts, alloyed with tin 5 to 40 parts,
to which I also add lead in such a quantity as can be introduced by
alloying it with the zinc and tin. I also make or cast bolts composed
of brass 5 to 10 parts alloyed with zinc 100 parts, and tin or tin alloyed
with lead 5 to 40 parts. I sometimes pass them through or between
rollers or swage them for extension or finish. I also place steel or iron
cores in the centre of such bolts to give strength by casting the metal
over them. I also make or cast screw bolts of brass or white metal,
in the centre of which I place an iron or steel core of varying thickness
to allow sufficient outside metal to form the screw on it, and in other
cases the steel or iron core is larger at one end so that it may have a
screw upon it, the part in the brass or white metal being less. I also
indent or form a screw on the steel or iron cores, by which means the
brass or white metal is caused to adhere more firmly to them than
when plain. When using screw bolts in composite ships for fastening
planks to iron frames the bolt is driven through the plank and iron
frame, the screw end passing through the iron frame, on which I place a
washer or ring composed of soft metal or gutta percha or india-rubber,
or their mixtures that will expand with pressure; over these rings I
place metal washers, after that the screw nut is put on and when turned
will press down upon the metal washer and cause the soft material
beneath to be forced into the holes in iron frame that may not be
completely filled with the bolt; the soft washer will adapt itself to an
angle when the bolts are driven askew. I also use iron nuts on the white
metal screw bolts when fastening planks to the ship's frame.
I make sheet metal of zinc 100 parts alloyed with tin 1 to 40 parts,
to which lead in such quantity as can be alloyed with the zinc and tin is
or may be added. Or for sheathing metal I use zinc 75 to 95, tin 5 to
25 parts, zinc 75 to 95, alloyed with tin 2 to 23 parts, lead 2 to 23
parts, to which I add a small portion of antimony or brass for hardening.
I also form such metal into sheets about 4 feet + 14 inches for ships'
sheathing, this will make a more durable metal than zinc. I also make
nails of the same materials.

page_text: I also make a sheet metal composed of lead or alloyed with tin and
antimony, in the centre of which I place a small portion of zinc plate,
and when the sheet is rolled down the zinc will be a third or less than
the whole thickness; this is to make the sheet metal stiffer and more
suitable for sheathing.
Tlmillam on stauncheons for sunnanting ching' hoams of section.
I also make a sheet metal composed of lead or alloyed with tin and
antimony, in the centre of which I place a small portion of zinc plate,
and when the sheet is rolled down the zinc will be a third or less than
the whole thickness; this is to make the sheet metal stiffer and more
suitable for sheathing.
I make pillars or stauncheons for supporting chips' beams of section
of iron thus
H
which I connect to the beams by means of lugs
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Betteley in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BETTELEY, of Cavendish House, Bootle, near Liverpool, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Betteley, Her special licence that
I, the said Joseph Betteley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Joseph Betteley, 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 SHIP BUILDING,
AND IN FASTENINGS, BOLTS, AND SHEET METAL TO BE USED THEREFOR AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Joseph Betteley, 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

page_text: Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Betteley, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ship building, and in
fastenings, bolts, and sheet metal to be used therefor and for other
purposes, and consists first in forming an iron tube or semi-tube
longitudinally on the outer side of an iron ship so as to strengthen the
vessel and add to its buoyancy.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings is a side view of an iron ship to
which this improvement is applied. Figure 2 shows to a larger scale
a vertical section of a portion of the side of the vessel. a, a, is the tube
or semi-tube which is applied to the vessel's side to increase its strength
and buoyancy; it consists of plates bent to the form shown and rivetted
together and to the ship's side.
The second part of my Invention consists in the employment as the
shear streak or the upper part of a ship's side of iron plates rolled with
.bulbs or ribs upon them; in this way great strength is given to this
part which is most exposed to shocks, and liability to local injury is
thus much lessened.
Figure 1 shows a shear streak 6 of this construction, and it also
appears in section at Figure 2, and in this Figure the bulb or rib is
marked b¹.
The third part of my Invention consists in a method of combining an
iron frame for the sides of a ship, with wooden floors for the bottom.
The ends of the iron frames are placed between the floors, which are
made alternately long and short (that is to say, to project a longer or
shorter distance beyond the keel), and the floors and frames are secured
together by lugs or connecting plates rivetted to the frames and bolted
to the floors.
Figure 3 shows in plan this method of construction. a, a, are the
wooden floor timbers arranged alternately long and short; b, b, are the
iron fraunes between them; and c, c, are the lugs or connecting plates;
they may be either in short lengths each rivetted to one only of the

page_text: frames, or as is shown and as is preferable they may be in long lengths.
and extend over a number of the frames. On the outer side a timber
planking, d is applied over the frames, and floors, and within a ceiling e
is laid as is seen at Figure 4, which is a transverse section of the parts
show at Figure 3. Figure 5 is a portion of a longitudinal section of
the same taken at the line 1, 1, Figure 4. The frames are bolted
through the planking, and the floors are bolted to the lugs or connecting
plates c. The ceiling is secured by trenails passing through the frames
and the planking. The ceiling is continued beyond the ends of the
floors and terminates at the longitudinal trough iron stringer f.
The fourth part of my Invention relates to the application of iron
straps or riders over the ceiling at the turn of the bilge of the ship.
This part of my Invention is also illustrated by Figure 4. 9, 9, are the
straps or riders, they are secured by bolts passing through the ceiling
floors and planking.
Figure 6 shows the vessel in frame and ready to receive the planking;
which is then applied and fastened by trenails through the floors and
screw bolts (which should be of yellow metal, white metal, or copper)
through the frames. I prefer to use iron nuts, as brass or copper nuts
have an injurious action on the frame. The spaces between the frames
and the ceiling I fill with timber or cement to exclude the bilge
water.
The fifth part of my Invention consists in constructing the frame of
a composite ship without wooden floors, but with trough iron frames
connected over the keel, with filling pieces or fish plates inserted into
the troughs and bolted through; a planking is applied on the outer
side and a ceiling on the inner side of the frames, and over the ceiling
again are fixed riders extending across the ship from the turn of the
bilge on one side to the turn of the bilge on the other.
Figure 7 is a transverse section of a ship thus constructed, and
Figure 8 is a portion of a vertical and longitudinal section taken at
the centre line of the keel. a, a, are the frames connected together
over the keel by a fish plate or filling piece introduced into the trough
and rivetted through; b, b, is the planking bolted to the frames by
means of copper, yellow metal, or white metal bolts receiving iron
nuts; c, c, is the ceiling terminating at the stringers d, d, on either side;
fare the riders placed at distances apart over the ceiling and secured

page_text: by bolts passing through them and also through the ceiling and
planking, and in this way the ceiling also is secured.
The sixth part of my Invention consists in constructing the frames
of composite ships of double trough izon, and in filling up the groove
next the planking with filling pieces of timber.
Figure 9 is a section of a frame of this description with the filling
piece of wood and a portion of a bolt passing through. Metal of this
form is more cheaply rolled and more easily bent to the form of the
frame than is single trough iron.
The seventh part of my Invention relates to the construction of the
riders, knees, and similar fastenings of ships, and consists in forming
them of iron rolled with a taper longitudinal groove, in which the head
of the bolts are able to bed themselves.
Figure 10 is a transverse section of iron so formed, and the head of
a bolt lodging in the groove is also indicated. To form the riders this
metal is simply bent to the required forms. To form knees it is first
drawn down under a steam hammer with suitable tools to preserve
the trough-like form, and it is then bent at right angles, as is shown
at Figure 12. In some places I weld a plate upon the trough iron,
as is shown at Figure 11, to increase the substance at the angle.
This part of my Invention also consists in making the riders, knees,
and similar fastenings of double trough form, like the section shown
at. Figure 9, and when using such fastenings. I fill the trough on the
inner side with wood.
The eighth part of my Invention consists in forming the stanchions
or uprights which support the deck beams of double trough iron.
Such stanchions are shown in Figure 7, and on a larger scale one of
them is shown separately at Figure 13.
The ninth part of my Invention relates to the method of fastening
the planking of composite ships to the iron frames. When iron bolts
are used for this purpose they rapidly corrode in consequence of the
proximity of the sheathing; on the other hand when copper, yellow
metal, and similar fastenings are employed with nuts of the same
material, the nuts cause the rapid corrosion of the iron frames with
which they come in contact. This part of my Invention consists in
securing the planking of a composite ship to the iron frames by means
of copper, yellow metal, or white metal bolts and iron nuts. In this

page_text: way the durability of the bolt is secured and the 1,ames are not
subject to corrosion.
The tenth part of my Invention also relates to the fastening of the
timber planking of composite ships to the iron/frames, and also to the
fastenings of other parts of the ship which are of timber and iron
respectively. It is found practically impossible to form the bolt holes
in the iron frames and parts exactly of the size to receive the bolt,
and consequently the bolt is liable to work in the bolt hole. According
to my Invention I avoid this by placing a ring of soft metal, by
preference lead, upon the end of the bolt so as to come in contact
with the metal frame or part; over this I then place a hard metal
washer, usually iron, and screw on the nut.
Figure 14 is a side view of a bolt thus provided. a is the bolt; b, its
nut; c, the soft metal ring; and d, the iron or hard metal washer. By
screwing on the nut the soft metal of the ring is pressed into the
bolt hole, which is thus accurately fitted.
The eleventh part of my Invention consists in fastening the composite
ships with white metal bolts composed of zinc and tin, or zinc, tin, and
lead. The alloy is made in the proportion one hundred parts of zinc to
from five to forty parts of tin; the tin may be alloyed with lead to
an extent not exceeding equal parts. Also I employ for this purpose
white metal bolts of zinc and tin together with brass or yellow metal.
I employ a mixture of zinc one hundred parts, brass or yellow metal
from five to ten parts, tin from five to twenty-five parts; the tin may
be alloyed with lead as in the former case. A small quantity of antimony
may be added to the compositions. I use iron nuts with these bolts.
Such metal bolts will be found to resist the galvanic action of copper
and of yellow metal sheathing.
The twelfth part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of
sheathing metal and of nails for fastening the same to the ship. For
this purpose I employ an alloy consisting of zinc one hundred parts,
brass or yellow metal from one to ten parts, tin or lead alloyed with
tin from one to ten parts. Copper may be substituted for the yellow
metal, but less advantageously. The metal is rolled out to form sheathing
metal and is formed into nails in the ordinary way.
The thirteenth part of my Invention consists in an improved method
of making bolts suitable for fastening composite ships and for other
purposes, and consists in casting white or yellow metal around an iron core

page_text: of a screw or spiral form, or it may be indented on the surface, and the
screw thread is cut either on the metal so cast on or on the enlarged
end of the core.
Figure 15 is a side view of such a bolt as it appears when completed,
and Figure 16 shows a longitudinal section of the same. a is a spiral
iron core which is introduced into a mould, and the white or yellow
metal 6 is cast upon it; c is an ordinary screw nut; it may be of iron
in some cases. I form the thread of the bolt upon the iron core
which I then leave exposed at one end, whilst the other parts of the
core are entirely imbedded in the white or yellow metal.
Figure 17 is a longitudinal section of a bolt thus constructed.
a spiral core with a screw thread upon its exposed end a¹; b is the white
or yellow metal cast on the core. By forming bolts in this manner
greater strength is obtained than they would have if formed entirely
of the cast metal.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Betteley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.