A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING ALUMINIUM BRONZE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Webster, of Edgbaston, near Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
METHOD OF PRODUCING ALUMINIUM BRONZE."
aled the 6th February 1880, and dated the 31st October 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Webster at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st October 1879.
JAMES WEBSTER, of Edgbaston, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer. "A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING ALUMINIUM BRONZE."
The object of my present Invention is to produce a cheaper and better aluminium
bronze than has hitherto been produced; and of effecting the amalgamation of the
metals employed with more certainty and with a better result than has hitherto
been attained.
I take a piece of sheet copper and thoroughly cleanse it by acid, alkali, or other
means, and then deposit on such copper, by battery or otherwise, a coating of
aluminium, or an alloy of aluminium, to the extent of from one to ten per cent., or
even more if desired, by weight of the copper, according to the quality and hardness
of bronze required.
I then melt the said coated copper in a crucible or melting furnace together with
one per cent. of the alloy No. 2, hereinafter described, and cast such molten metal
into ingots or other convenient forms.
This aluminium bronze I call alloy No. 1, which, when containing one per cent. of
alloy No. 2, is suitable for all kinds of ships' sheathing, and for ordinary castings
where strength and toughness are required.
The said alloy No. 2 is constituted and made as follows:-
The said alloy No. 1 may be varied in its relative constituents for different
purposes when greater strength and hardness are required, by adding thereto from
2 to 6 per cent. of the alloy No. 2.
Granulated copper, scrap copper, or any other form thereof, or a mixture of
copper and zinc, may be used instead of sheet copper for receiving the said coating.
Or, instead of coating the copper as previously described, such copper may be
melted alone, and the alloy No. 2 then added in such portions as may be required
for different qualities of bronze with the extra portion of aluminium used in coating
added thereto, but I prefer the process first described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Webster in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th April
1880.
"
JAMES WEBSTER, of Edgbaston, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer. A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING ALUMINIUM BRONZE."
The object of my present Invention is to produce a cheaper and better aluminium
bronze than has hitherto been produced, and to effect the amalgamation or union
of the metals employed with more certainty and with a better result than has
hitherto been obtained.
I take the requisite quantity of sheet copper and thoroughly cleanse it by the
aid of acids, alkalis, or other suitable and efficient means, and when so cleansed I
deposit on such copper by electric battery or otherwise a coating of aluminium to
the extent of from one to ten per cent. by weight of the copper, according to the
quality and hardness of bronze required. This coated copper is then melted in a
crucible or suitable furnace, adding thereto one per cent. (more or less as may be
required) of the alloy No. 2 hereinafter described, and the whole well mixed and
combined. This molten metal is then cast into ingots or other convenient or
required forms and constitutes my improved aluminium bronze, which I herein
designate "alloy No. 1."
This improved bronze, when containing one per cent. of alloy No. 2, is suitable
for all kinds of ships' sheathing; also for ordinary castings where strength and
toughness are required. This bronze may be varied in its relative constituents for
different purposes where still greater strength and hardness are required by adding
thereto from two to six per cent, of the alloy No. 2.
Granulated copper or any other form thereof, or a mixture of copper and zinc,
may be used instead of sheet copper for receiving the said coating of aluminium.
Or, instead of coating the copper with aluminium, such copper inay be melted
alone and the alloy No. 2 then added in such portions as may be required for
different qualities of bronze, and with the extra portion of aluminium as required
for coating the copper added thereto, but I prefer the process first described,
The said alloy No. 2 consists of,—
These metals I melt and well mix in a crucible or a suitable furnace, first fusing
the 20 parts of nickel with 2 parts of the copper added thereto for the purpose of
melting easier and in less time; the surface of the metals being kept carefully
covered with charcoal or other carbonaceous matter, free from sulphur, during the
process of fusion and mixing. When the metals are melted, I add to the charcoal
an equal weight or thereabouts of chloride of sodium and of oxide of alumina
mixed together so as to well cover the molten metal. To this metallic mixture the
remaining 18 parts of the copper are added by degrees, stirring such metals well
together until they are thoroughly combined. Iron being injurious to this alloy
the stirring rod must not be of iron, but of wood, earthenware, or the like. To
the said mixture of nickel and copper I now add by degrees the 53 parts of tin,
well stirring the whole until thoroughly mixed, which can be ascertained by casting
a small ingot of the mixture and, when cold, breaking it; the broken faces of the
metal will clearly show whether it is thoroughly mixed or not; if found to be clear
in grain the process is complete, and the broken ingot may be returned into the

page_text: crucible or furnace and remelted with the inetal therein; but should the broken
ingot show that the mixture of the metals is imperfect, the process must be
continued until the combination thereof is complete and satisfactory. When this
is attained the temperature of the alloy may be lowered and the 7 parts of
aluminium added thereto by degrees, taking care not to add too much of the
aluminium at a time, and to stir the whole continuously with a wood or earthen-
ware stirrer. When this mixture is supposed to be well incorporated I try a test
ingot and proceed as hereinbefore described, and raise the temperature of the molten
metal until it becomes thin and will run out of the crucible or furnace, as in the
ordinary way of casting brass or the like, when it is cast into ingots or other forms
as required.
Or I make the said alloy No. 2 as follows:-
I melt and mix the nickel and copper as before described, then add thereto 5
parts of the tin, and well stir and mix these three metals together, and then
cast the compound into ingots or other forms as desired. This alloy I designate
No. 28.
I then melt the 7 parts of aluminium by preference in a crucible, carefully
covering the metal with a mixture of charcoal, chloride of sodium, and oxide of
alumina, and when the metal is melted I add by small degrees the remaining 48
parts of tin, well stirring the metals with by preference a wood stirrer until the
two metals are thoroughly mixed, when the alloy may be cast as before described.
This alloy I designate No. 2b,
It will be seen that when the two alloys 2a and 2b are mixed together they will
give the same proportions of the several metals composing alloy No. 2, and can be
used in making my improved bronze by adding the proper relative proportions of
each to the said coated copper..
Making the alloy No. 2 in two separate alloys as above will be found preferable
to fusing the aluminium with the nickel, copper, and tin as first herein described.
In this case I prefer, first, to add to the melted coated copper the proper pro-
portion of alloy No. 2a, and to thoroughly incorporate them; and then add thereto
the proper proportion of alloy No. 2b; thus formning by the two mixings the alloy
No. 1, or my improved bronze, as hereinbefore described,
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and the method of performing the same, I wish to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise relative proportions of the several metals employed, as they
admit of some variation without departing from the main characteristics of the
Invention; but what I claim as new and desire to secure by the before-mentioned
in part recited Letters Patent is,-
The composition of and the method of producing the aluminium bronze, herein.
designated alloy No. 1, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Webster, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
JAMES WEBSTER. (L.S.)