IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Vaughan, of the Firm of Charles William
and Richard Vaughan and Brothers, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL."
Sealed the 19th September 1865, and dated the 11th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Vaughan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th April 1865.
I, CHARLES VAUGHAN, of the Firm of Charles William and Richard
Vaughan and Brothers, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in
treating iron and steel after they are taken from the puddling furnace, by
which said improved treatment the quality of the iron and steel is much
improved.
I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of iron, its
application to such steel as is or may be puddled differing in no essential
respect from its application to iron.
After the iron has been worked in the puddling furnace to the extent
ordinarily practised a ball of the puddled iron is withdrawn from the puddling
furnace, and is immediately subjected to the operation of a steam or other

page_text: hammer or stamp, a blast of air from a pipe being directed upon the iron
during the stamping process. The blast of air employed may either be hot or
cold. The hammering or stamping of the iron is effected in a pair of moulds,
one fixed on the bed of the hammer or stamp and the other to the ram of the
hammer or stamp. I prefer to make the moulds of such a figure as to prevent
the elongation of the ball, and thus subject every part of it to the percussive
action of the stamp. During the stamping process the workman turns the
ball by means of the bar of iron which is affixed to it on withdrawal from the
puddling furnace, thus subjecting every portion of the iron to the action of
the stamp and the blast of air. One or more sets of moulds may be employed
in succession as circumstances may require. The blast of air directed on the
iron maintains the high temperature of the puddled ball, and thus enables the
hammer or stamp to force out the scoria contained in the iron more effectually
than is effected in the ordinary process of manufacture.
In rolling iron, a jet of air may be directed upon the iron just as it enters
the rolls; the high temperature of the iron is thereby maintained, and by the
action of the rolls on the iron the scoria is effectually removed from the iron.
Although I prefer to treat iron, according to my Invention, as it comes
from the puddling furnace, yet it may be treated with the same effect after
rehenting.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Vaughan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
VAUGHAN, of the Firm of Charles William and Richard Vaughan and
Brothers, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Vaughan, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Vaughan, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Vaughan, 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,

page_text: 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 IRON AND STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Charles Vaughan, 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 six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Vaughan, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in
treating iron and steel after they are taken from the puddling furnace or after
reheating the said puddled iron or steel, by which said improved treatment
the quality of the iron and steel is much improved.
I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of iron, its
application to such steel as is or may be puddled differing in no essential
respect from its application to iron.
After the iron has been worked in the puddling furnace to the extent
ordinarily practised a ball of the puddled iron is withdrawn from the puddling
furnace, and is immediately subjected to the operation of a steam or other
hammer or stamp, or squeezing or pressing machine, a blast of air from a
pipe being directed upon the iron during the stamping or pressing process.
The blast of air employed may either be hot or cold. The hammering or
stamping of the iron is effected in a pair of moulds, one fixed on the bed of
the hammer or stamp and the other to the ram of the hammer or stamp. I
prefer to make the moulds of such a figure as to prevent the elongation of the
ball, and thus subject every part of it to the percussive action of the stamp.
During the stamping or pressing process the workman turns the ball by
means of the staff or bar of iron which is affixed to it after its withdrawal.
from the puddling furnace, thus subjecting every portion of the iron to the
action of the stamp and the blast of air. One or more sets of moulds may be
employed in succession as circumstances may require. The blast of air
directed on the iron maintains the high temperature of the puddled ball, and
thus enables the hammer, or stamp, or pressing machine to force out the
scoria contained in the iron more effectually than is effected in the ordinary
process of manufacture.

page_text: In rolling iron a jet of air may be directed upon the iron just as it enter's
the rolls; the high temperature of the iron is thereby maintained, and by
the action of the rolls on the iron the scoria is effectually removed from the
iron.
;
Although I prefer to treat iron, according to my Invention, as it comes
from the puddling furnace, yet it may be treated with the same effect after
reheating.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the apparatus which I prefer to
use in carrying my Invention into effect.
Figure 1 represents, in elevation, the bed of a steam or other hammer or
stamp, and Figure 2 the ram of the said hammer or stamp, the said bed and
ram being fitted with working tools or moulds for stamping or hammering the
iron or steel while the blast of air is directed upon tho said iron or steel.
Figure 3 represents a plan of the working face of the ram or bed. The
said moulds or tools a, b, of the hammer or stamp are each divided into three
compartments marked respectively c, d, e. The compartment c consists of a
nearly rectangular space or depression, the middle part d of a semi-cylindrical
depression, and the end part e of a nearly flat anvil or bed. Instead of
making the depression c open on three sides, the ends of the said depression
may be closed, as indicated at c², Figure 3, and thus prevent the elongation
of the iron or steel in that direction. The end f of the semi-cylindrical
depression is closed, and the other end has a taper opening 9 made in it,
through which opening the staff or rod of iron which is affixed to the ball of
iron or steel to be operated upon is passed. When the tools or moulds a, b,
of the hammer or stamp come together they enclose a rectangular space at
the one end, a cylindrical space at the middle, and a shallow rectangular
space at the other end. Instead of making the middle recess d in the moulds
a, b, of a semicircular figure, it may be made of an angular figure, as repre-
sented in Figure 4, so that when the said recesses come together they enclose
Around the
a space having the figure of a square with the angles removed.
bed of the hammer or stamp I arrange four or other convenient number of
pipes h, i, which pipes convey hot or cold blast and direct it upon the iron or
steel on the said bed of the bammer or stamp. The blast of air may be con-
After the iron or steel
veyed to the pipes h, i, in any convenient manner.
has been worked in the puddling furnace to the extent ordinarily practised, a
ball of the puddled iron or steel is withdrawn from the said furnace, and is
immediately placed by the workman in the depression of the bed, and the
blast of air from the pipe or pipes at / directed on the said iron or steel. The

page_text: ram of the hammer or stamp descends upon the iron the requisite number of
times and the puddled ball is roughly shaped, the mass of iron or steel being
turned during the stamping operation. The roughly-shaped mass of iron or
steel is if necessary reheated in a furnace, and the staff or rod of iron, one
end of which is raised to a welding heat affixed to the mass, and the said
mass is transferred to the middle compartment d, and the blast from the pipe
or pipes at i directed on the said mass, the staff or rod to which the iron or
steel is affixed passing through the opening 9. By the operation of the
hammer or stamp the slab is made to assume a cylindrical figure or the
form represented in Figure 4, the said cylinder or slab being turned in
the space d from time to time by the workman. During the last described
operation the elongation of the mass of iron or steel is prevented by the closed
ends of the space d. The cylindrical or nearly square mass of iron or steel is
finally transferred (if required) to the end part e, where it is flattened out
and elongated. By the operations described, every part of the iron or steel
is subjected to the action of the hammer or stamp and the blast or blasts of
air, the said blast or. blasts of air maintaining the high temperature, of the
puddled iron or steel, and thus enables the hammer or stamp to force out
the scoria contained in the iron or steel more effectually than is effected in
the ordinary process of manufacture; the quality of the iron or steel is by this
treatment much improved.
I do not limit myself to the configuration of the working tools or moulds
of the hammer or stamp used in carrying this part of my Invention into
effect, as the said tools or moulds may be varied, and one or more sets of
moulds or tools may be employed in succession, as circumstances may require.
Instead of taking a puddled ball direct from the furnace, as described;
puddled iron or steel may be reheated and treated by the combined action
of a stamp or hammer and a blast or blasts of air.
Although I havo only described and represented my Invention carried into
effect by the use of a stamp or hammer, yet a squeezer or other convenient
pressing machine may be used in combination with a blast or blasts of air
with the same or nearly the same result.
In rolling iron or steel, according to my Invention, I arrange in front of
the rolls at which the bar or rod or other mass of iron or steel is to be intro-
duced into the rolls a series of pipes, which pipes direct a blast or blasts of
hot or cold air upon the iron or steel as it enters the rolls, and thus maintains
the high temperature of the iron or steel, and enables the rolls to effectually
remove the scoria from the said iron or steel.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in

page_text: which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention of improvements
in the manufacture of iron and steel,-
Firstly, subjecting the iron or steel either immediately it is withdrawn from
the puddling furnace or after the reheating of the said puddled iron or steel to
the combined action of a steam or other hammer or stamp or pressing
machine, and a blast or blasts of air directed upon the said iron or steel,
whereby the high temperature of the iron or steel is maintained and the scoria
effectually removed, as herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing.
Secondly, directing a blast or blasts of air upon the iron or steel during
the process of rolling the same, in order thereby to maintain the high tem-
perature of the iron or steel, and enable the rolls to effectually remove the
scoria from the said iron or steel, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Vaughan, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
CHARLES VAUGHAN. (L.S.)