IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BEAMS, MOULD BOARDS, AND SHARES OF PLOUGHS."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Charles Ransome, Robert James Ransome,
and James Edward Ransome, all of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BEAMS,
MOULD BOARDS, AND SHARES OF PLOUGHS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Charles Ransome,
Robert James Ransome, and James Edward Ransomo at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 18th February
1864.
We, ROBERT CHARLES RANSOME, ROBERT JAMES RANSOME, and JAMES
EDWARD RANSOME, all of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BEAMS,
MOULD-BOARDS, AND SHARES OF PLOUGHS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of beams,
mould boards, and shares of ploughs. In the manufacture of the beam of a
plough, malleable cast iron is employed, and a beam of the desired form is
cast, and then converted by the process of cementation. It is preferred that
a plough beam should be hollow, and of a rectangular transverse section, but
such form is not essential as other transverse sections may be employed, and
some parts of a beam may be of different transverse sections and of different
thicknesses of metal than other parts. If desired different degrees of hardness
may be obtained at any particular parts of a beam at the same time that the
malleability of other parts is retained. These advantages cannot be obtained
when making beams of ordinary cast iron; nor can such advantages bo
obtained except at great cost when using sheet iron or sheet steel.

page_text: When manufacturing the mould boards of ploughs malleable cast iron is
used, and a mould board of the desired form is cast, which is then converted
by the process of cementation, and when it is desired that different parts
should be of different hardness such parts are heated and quenched, by preference,
in sea water. By thus casting mould boards of malleable cast iron the
thickness of the different parts may with facility be varied.
When manufacturing shares for ploughs malleable cast iron is employed,
and shares of the desired form are cast of that metal, which are afterwards
converted by the process of cementation, then the cutting edges are heated
and quenched by preference in sea water, by which means the boxes or sockets
or hinder parts are malleable, and the cutting parts very hard. In some cases
ploughshares have separate cutting edges, in which cases the boxes or sockets
or hinder parts are manufactured of malleable cast iron, as above described,
and any suitable separate cutting edges are used therewith.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Charles Ransome, Robert James Ransome, and
James Edward Ransome in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 17th
August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
CHARLES RANSOME, ROBERT JAMES RANSOME, and JAMES EDWARD RANSOME,
all of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Robert Charles Ransome, Robert James Ransome,
and James Edward Ransome, Her special licence that we, the said Robert
Charles Ransome, Robert James Ransome, and James Edward Ransome,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Robert Charles Ransome, Robert James Ransone, and James Edward
Ransome, our 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BEANS, MOULD-BOARDS, AND SHARES OF PLOUGHS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Robert Charles

page_text: Ransome, Robert James Ransome, and James Edward Ransome, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, or them, should par-
ticularly 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 we, the said Robert Charles Ransome and James
Edward Ransome, on behalf of ourselves and the said Robert James Ransome,
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 consists, first, in the manufacture of the beams of ploughs of
malleable cast iron by casting them of the desired forms and sections and then
converting them by the process of comentation. It is preferred that a plough
beam should be hollow, and of a rectangular transverse section, but such form
is not essential as other transverse sections may be employed, and some parts
of a beam may be of different transverse sections and of different. thicknesses
of metal than other parts. If desired different degrees of hardness may bo
obtained at any particular parts of a beam at the same time that the. mallea-
bility of other parts is retained. These advantages cannot be obtained when
imaking beams of ordinary cast iron, nor can such advantages be obtained
except at great cost when using sheet iron or sheet steel.
"
Secondly, the Invention consists in the manufacture of the mould boards of
ploughs of malleable cast iron by casting them of the desired forms and then
converting them by the process of cementation. When desired different parts
of such mould boards may be made of different hardness by heating some part
or parts and quenching the same by preference in sea water.
By thus
casting mould boards of malleable cast iron the thickness of the different parts
may with facility be varied.
Thirdly, the Invention consists in the manufacture of the shares for ploughs
of malleable cast iron by casting shares of the desired forms and afterwards
converting them by the process of cementation. The cutting edges of such
shares are heated and quenched (by preference in sea water) by which means
the boxes or sockets or hinder parts are retained malleable whilst the cutting
parts are rendered very hard. In some cases ploughshares have separate
cutting edges, in which cases the boxes or sockets or hinder parts are
manufactured of malleable cast iron, as above described, and any suitable
separate cutting edges are used therewith.

page_text: In order that the manner of performing our said Invention may be more
fully understood we will describe the Drawings hereto annexed.
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 is a side elevation of a portion of a plough
in which a is the beam; 6 is the body; c, the handles; d, the head; e, e, are
projections formed on the beam a for receiving the wheel fastenings; fis a
socket also formed on the beam a for receiving the coulter. We prefer to
employ a beam which is hollow and of a rectangular transverse section, as at
Figure 4, but such form is not essential, as other transverse sections and other
shapes of beams may be made according to our Invention. Figures 3, 5,
and 6, show other transverse sections of beams, or parts of a beam, as some
parts of a beam may be of different transverse sections, and by reason of the
beams being cast they may be readily made of different thicknesses of metal
at different parts, according as the parts are subject to more or less strain in
We have shewn the head d as a separate piece fixed into the end of the
beam, but it is obvious that this part may be formed in one piece with the
beam.
use.
In the manufacture of plough beams according to this part of our Invention
the beams are cast of suitable cast iron and of the desired forms, and are then
converted and rendered malleable by the process of cementation, by which
means plough beams are produced of greater strength and lightness than can
be obtained by making plough beams of ordinary cast iron, and malleable cast
iron beams offer advantages in cost and otherwise over beams made of steel or
wrought iron.
Figure 7 is a plan, and Figure 8 is a side elevation, of a mould board of a
form now much used, and is shown merely to illustrate the application of our
Invention to the manufacture of mould boards in general. It is found that in
some forms of mould boards the front or part at or about a is exposed to more
wear than the other parts, and again in other forms of mould boards the greatest
amount of wear will be at or about the part y.
Our improvements consist in the manufacture of the mould boards of
ploughs by casting them of the desired form of suitable iron, and then con-
verting them by the process of cementation into malleable iron, and when it is
required that different parts should be of different hardness, such parts are
heated and quenched by preference in sea water. The thickness of the parts
exposed to more wear (or of any other parts) may by reason of the mould
boards being cast be with facility varied, which however is common to mould-
boards made of common cast iron, but malleable cast iron mould boards are
greatly superior to mould boards heretofore manufactured.
Figure 9 is a plan, and Figure 10 is an elevation, of a ploughshare of

page_text: malleable cast iron in which the cutting edge v is hardened by heating and
quenching, as above described, being rendered thereby very hard and durable,
while the box or socket w is malleable and not liable to be broken; the cutting
edge v of these shares when worn by use may be drawn out by being heated
and forged and then rehardened in the same manner as that practised when
using wrought-iron shares with steel cutting edges.
Figure 11 is a plan, and Figure 12 is an elevation of a ploughshare in
which the box or part w is made of malleable cast iron, and the cutting edge v
is attached thereto by rivets or otherwise.
According to our Invention shares of the desired forms are cast of proper
iron and are then converted into malleable iron by the process of cementation.
We would state that the casting of parts of plough beams and mould boards
of ploughs and ploughshares is not claimed by us, neither is the process of
cementation separately claimed by us, it being a process well-known as applied
to the manufacture of other articles.
The peculiarity of our Invention consists in the manufacture of plough
beams, also the mould boards of ploughs, and also ploughshares by the com-
bined processes of casting and cementation with or without hardening as
herein described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Charles Ransome and James
Edward Ransome, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth
day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four.
ROBERT CHARLES RANSOME. (L.S.)
JAMES EDWARD RANSOME.
(L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the said Robert Charles
Ransome and James Edward
Ransome, in the presence of
Josi. RD. CLEMENT,
Clerk with Messrs. Ransomes & Sims,
Ipswich.