CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING METALLIC TUBES, AND ALSO IN THE PROCESS OR MACHINERY FOR FORGING OR ROLLING METAL FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
EDWARD HARVEY, of the Horseley Iron Works, in the Parish of Tipton, and
County of Stafford, Mechanical Draftsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Third day of February, in the sixth year of Ilis
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Edward Harvey and JEREMIAH BROWN, of Tipton, in the same
County, Roll Turner, our executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Frederick
Edward Harvey and Jeremiah Brown, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederick Edward Harvey and
Jeremiah Brown, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING METALLIC TUBES, AND ALSO IN THE PROCESS OR
MACHINERY FOR FORGING OR ROLLING METAL FOR OTHER PURPOSES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging us, the said Frederick
Edward Harvey and Jeremiah Brown, or one of us, by an instrument in
writing under our hands and seals, or hand and seal, particularly to describe

page_text: and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Frederick Edward Harvey, on behalf of myself and of the said Jeremiah
Brown, do hereby declare that the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say) :-
Our improvements in the process and machinery for manufacturing metallic
tubes, and also in the process or machinery for forging or rolling metal for
other purposes consists,-
First, as regards the manufacture of cylindrical tubes in preparing iron
for skelps, by rolling it in a heated state to particular forms suited to the
production of such tubes.
Secondly, in partially bending or turning over a portion of the edges at the
end of each prepared skelp by means of rolls having excentric and peculiarly
formed grooves, and afterwards completing the bending of the whole length
of the skelp (whilst still in a heated state) upon a stationary mandrel between
a pair of rollers having semicircular grooves, or the same effect of bending
may be obtained by passing the skelp through suitable forming moulds.
And, thirdly, after again heating the skelp to a welding heat in a hollow
fire or air furnace, closing or welding the edges or junctions of such bent skelp
upon a stationary mandrel by the external pressure of a pair of grooved rollers
between which the skelp is made to pass.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents the flat side and trans-
verse section of an iron skelp A, prepared by rolling for forming a cylindrical
tube to be closed at its edges when welded by what is technically called a
jump joint. Fig. 2 is another skelp also prepared by rolling, shewn in flat and
sectional views, bevelled on its edges and intended to be closed by what is
called a lap joint. It is not necessary to shew in the Drawings figures of
rollers suited to produce these skelps, as the forms of the skelps being ex-
hibited, the manner of producing them by rolling will be well understood.
Having prepared the skelp A, as shewn at Figures 1 or 2, we introduce its
end edgewise through a free passage between a pair of rollers B, B, having
segment grooves formed by excentric or convolute curves, and tapering in

page_text: width, as shewn in the front elevation at Fig. 3, and in transverse section at
Fig. 4. The skelp A is pushed forward in the free passage between the
rollers B, B, until it arrives at a fixed stop, the rotation of the rolls in the
direction of the arrows will then bend inward the edges of the skelp, as shewn
by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and cause the skelp to assume the shape represented
at A, Fig. 5, where it is just about to be discharged from the rollers. We
now introduce the bended end of the skelp between another pair of rollers
B, C, having semicircular grooves, as shewn in front view at Fig. 3, and in
transverse section at Fig. 6, passing the bent tubular end of the skelp on to.
a fixed mandrel D, placed in the grooves of the rollers. This mandrel D is
represented detached in two views at Fig. 7; it is intended to be mounted in
a frame, and firmly held by a thin arm or fin extending from its side, con-
necting it to the part or disc by which it is attached to the frame, and held as
shewn in the front view, Fig. 3, or in any other convenient manner, observing
that it must be made stationary in the centre of the grooves of the rollers.
The rotation of the rollers B, C, will now cause the skelp to be drawn
forward, and by the pressure of the grooved rollers bearing upon it externally
and the resistance of the mandrel internally, the whole length of the skelp
will be bent up nearly into a cylindrical form, leaving a small opening between
the edges, as represented in the longitudinal and sectional Figures 8 and 9,
which exhibit the skelp, Figures 1 and 2, bent up ready for welding, observing
that as the bent-up skelp advances, the arm or fin which supports the
mandrel protrudes through the open space between the bent-up edges of the
skelp, and there operates as a guide in keeping the edges parallel. We have
said that we can bend the skelps by conducting them through forming moulds.
To effect this we put the flat skelp A between a pair of parallel grooved
rollers E, E, as shewn in section at Fig. 10, and insert the flat end of the
skelp into the bell mouth of the forming mould F, shewn in a front view at
Fig. 11. In order to assist the passage of the skelp through the forming
mould, it may be necessary to employ a slight pair of tongs; these may: bo
inserted into the forming mould, by providing a straight groove or passage for
them. The internal shape of the forming mould cannot be very well shewn in
the Drawing; it will, however, be sufficient to say that the mould should be
made in two pieces, that is, divided longitudinally in the middle, and that tho
groove through which the skelp is to pass should gradually curve from the flat
mouth in front of the circular part behind, at which the skelp is discharged.
A back view of the forming mould and the conducting rollers is shewn in
elevation at Figure 12. In order to close and weld the joints of the tubes
wo place them in a suitable hollow fire or air furnace, for the purpose of

page_text: bringing the metal to a welding heat from end to end; we then employ a pair
of rollers G, G, having semicircular grooves and a stationary mandrel D, of
nearly the same construction, and fixed in a similar manner as described above
at Figures 3 and 6 in reference to the bending. In this case, however, the
arm or fin which supports the mandrel must not extend so near to the rollers
as in the former, it being required to close and weld the edges of the skelp
upon the largest or swell part of the mandrel, as the welding operation cannot
be done at that part from which the fin protrudes. This welding mandrel is
shewn detached at Fig. 13; a is the swell or head which forms the resistance
when the welding takes place; b is the point and conducting part; c is the
thin arm or fin, which, by means of its block or disc d, screwed to the
standard, holds the mandrel firmly in its place. Fig. 14 is a front elevation
of the welding rollers, shewing the position of the mandrel. Fig. 15 is a
transverse section of the sanic. It is only necessary to say that on with-
drawing the skelp from the fire it is to be immediately slipped on to the point
of the mandrel, and pushed along the guide, the opening between the edges of
the skelp being opposite to the fin or arm which holds the mandrel. The
rotation of the rollers now carries it forward, and the external pressure of the
rollers opposed by the swell or head of the mandrel a within cause the edges of
the skelp to become closed and firmly welded together. The elongated part or
rode, extending from the head of the mandrel beyond the rollers is merely
intended as a guide to support the tube and prevent its bending, but if it
should be required to draw down the tube to a smaller diameter, then another
swell or head f, may be affixed upon a rod e as a second mandrel, and the tubo
be drawn between a second pair of rollers II, II, Fig. 16. We have above
described our improved mode of making cylindrical tubes or pipes, the samo
mode of welding between rollers with a fixed internal mandrel will also apply
to the making of tubes of other forms, as for instance, a triangular tube, shewn
in the transverse sections at Fig. 17, which may be used for the rail of a
tram road, or for conducting steam or hot water in warming buildings, or tho
double tube shewn in sections at Figures 18 and 19, and longitudinally at
Figures 20 and 21, may be closed by welding between grooved rollers with
fixed mandrels, and afterwards may be cut into sections transversely for making
chains. The same mode of welding between grooved rollers with fixed mandrels
is also applicable for hollow sash bars and stiles for windows, hollow rafters for
hothouses, hollow handrails for staircases, hollow copings for palisadings, and a
great variety of other things for which bars may be rolled into forms or swaged,
and after being bent up by hand or otherwise require to be welded together; which
mode of welding, in its various applications, we al o claim as part of our Invention.

page_text: Our improvements in forging or rolling metals apply principally to rolling iron
rails for railways, in effecting which we first spread out and elongate the billet of
iron into the form shewn in transverse section at Fig. 22, by means of ordinary
grooved rollers; we then further shape the billet by the operations of rollers
with other formed grooves successively bringing the billets into the shapes
shewn at Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26. When we have brought it to the shape
represented at Fig. 26 we further work it into the shapes shewn at Figures
27 and 28 by means of mandrels or guides placed in the grooves of the rolls in
the same way as that described above in reference to forming the tubes, the
effect of which mode of rolling or forging is that the grain of the iron will be
made to lie in a different direction to the grain of rails prepared by the ordinary
process of rolling.
Lastly, we desire it to be understood that the subjects claimed by us under
the above recited Letters Patent are,―
First, the means employed for preparing, bending, and forming skelps for
making cylindrical, or nearly cylindrical tubes or pipes, as above described.
Secondly, the process of and machinery for welding tubes, of whatever form,
by means of pressure rollers in connection with an internal stationary mandrel
fixed between the rollers.
And thirdly, the method of forming bars to particular figures for various
purposes by rolling them upon a fixed mould or mandrel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Edward Harvey, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six
FREDERICK EDWARD (L.s.) HARVEY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED that on the Third day of August, in the
seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth, the said
Frederick Edward Harvey came before our said Lord the King in His
Chancery and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing
therein contained and specified in form above written. And also the instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-
fifth
year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Third day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-six.