Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of the Shanks of Buffers used on Railway and Tram Carriages, Trucks, and Wagons.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th May, 1890-Accepted, 14th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of the Shanks
of Buffers used on Railway and Tram Carriages, Trucks, and
Wagons.
We JABEZ LONES and CHARLES VERNON and EDWARD HOLDEN and RALPH
BENNETT trading as Lones Vernon and Holden of Sandwell Iron Works Smeth-
wick in the County of Stafford Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention to be as follows:-
In the ordinary method of manufacture the said buffer shanks are made from a
bloom of iron or steel by a swaging or forging process the swaging tools being
worked in a steam hammer.
Our invention consists in making buffer shanks by a rolling process_conducted
in the manner and by the use of the machinery herein after described.
We will describe the process of rolling the buffer shanks in conjunction with
the machinery which we employ.
We take a thick cylindrical bloom or billet of iron or steel and divide it trans-
versely into short pieces or lengths and from each of the said pieces we make a
buffer shank by heating the said short piece and subjecting it to a back rolling
process so as to draw down or lengthen and reduce in diameter a part of the said
piece of iron or steel leaving a short portion at one end of the original diameter.
From this unreduced part of the partly made shank the head or disk of the shank
is fashioned in the ordinary way. The whole of the reduced part of the shank
may be cylindrical or the extreme end of the reduced part may taper into a
square part the square end varying in length as may be required. Or in short
buffer shanks a cylindrical enlargement of varying length may be rolled under
the head part left of the original thickness and the end of the enlargement rolled
down to the required size.
In effecting the back rolling of the buffer shank we use a pair of flanged cylin-
drical rolls having in their peripheries a series of square or angular grooves of
progressively diminishing size followed by a series of circular grooves of progres-
sively diminishing size and terminating in a small square or angular groove.
About one third of the periphery of each of the rolls is cut away for the purpose
of introducing the bloom or partly made shank between the rolls as is well under-
stood. In order to limit the distance which the bloom or partly made shank can
be introduced between the rolls and thereby limit the action of the rolls on the
bloom or shank stops fixed on the plate supported by the housings of the rolls or
on the cut away face of one of the rolls are employed the stops on the plate sup-
ported by the housings being preferably used when long shanks are to be rolled
and stops on the roll when shorter shanks are to be rolled. The rolls have a con-
tinuous rotary motion given to them and move in a direction proper to deliver
the rolled shank back to the workman situated in front of the rolls. When the
cut away portions of the rolls come opposite one another the heated bloom or
partly made shank is passed the required distance between the said parts. As
the acting peripheries of the rolls advance they seize the heated bloom or partly
made shank elongate or draw it down and shape it and return it to the workman

page_text: in front of the rolls. In this way the heated bloom or partly made shank is
passed in succession through the required grooves of the rolls and made into either
of the forms of buffer shanks herein before described.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of the Shanks
of Buffers used on Railway and Tram Carriages, Trucks, and
Wagons.
We JABEZ LONES and CHARLES VERNON and EDWARD HOLDEN and RALPH
BENNETT trading as Lones Vernon and Holden of Sandwell Iron Works Smeth-
wick in the County of Stafford Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and'ascertained in and by the following statement:-
In the ordinary method of manufacture the said buffer shanks are made from a
bloom of iron or steel by a swaging or forging process the swaging tools being
worked in a steam or other hammer.
Our invention consists in making buffer shanks by a rolling process conducted
in the manner and by the use of the machinery herein after described.
We will describe the process of rolling the buffer shanks in conjunction with
the machinery which we employ.
We take a thick preferably cylindrical bloom or billet of iron or steel and
divide it transversely into short pieces or lengths and from each of the said pieces
we make a buffer shank by heating the said short piece and subjecting it to a
back rolling process so as to draw down or lengthen and reduce in diameter a part
of the said piece of iron or steel leaving a short portion at one end of the original
diameter. From this unreduced part of the partly made shank the head or disc
of the shank is fashioned in the ordinary way. The whole of the reduced part
of the shank may be cylindrical; or the extreme end of the reduced part may
taper into a square part the square end varying in length as may be required.
Or in short buffer shanks a cylindrical enlargement of varying length may be
rolled under the head part left of the original thickness and the end of the enlarge-
ment rolled down to the requisite size.
In effecting the back rolling of the buffer shank we use a pair of flanged cylin-
drical rolls having in their peripheries a series of grooves of progressively
diminishing size. About one third of the periphery of each of the rolls is cut
away for the purpose of introducing the bloom or partly made shank between the
rolls as is well understood. In order to limit the distance which the bloom or
partly made shank can be introduced between the rolls and thereby limit the
action of the rolls on the bloom or shank, stops fixed on the plate supported by
the housings of the rolls or on the cut away face of one of the rolls are employed
the stops on the plate supported by the housings being preferably used when
long shanks are to be rolled and the stops on the roll when shorter shanks are to
be rolled. The rolls have a continuous rotary motion given to them and move in
a direction proper to deliver the rolled shank back to the workman situated in
front of the rolls.
When the cut away portions of the rolls come opposite one another the heated
bloom or partly made shank is passed the required distance between the said parts.
As the acting peripheries of the rolls advance they seize the heated bloom or

page_text: partly made shank elongate or draw it down and shape it and return it to the
workman in front of the rolls. In this way the heated bloom or partly made
shank is passed in succession through the required grooves of the rolls and made
into either of the forms of buffer shanks hereinbefore described.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which our invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in end and side elevation a short piece or length cut from
a cylindrical bloom or billet of iron or steel from which piece or length we pro-
duce according to our invention a buffer shank; Figures 2. 3 and
represent a
partly made buffer shank produced by progressively drawing down and reducing
in diameter by the back rolling process the portion a of the piece or length of
iron or steel Figure 1 leaving a short portion b at one end of the original diameter,
a curved shoulder being left by the action of the rolls between the head and the
reduced part of the partly made shank. From the unreduced part 6 the head
or disc of the shank is fashioned in the ordinary way. The reduced part a of
the partly made shank Figure 4 may be further lengthened and reduced in
diameter so as to produce a shank of either of the kinds represented in Figures 5
and 6; that is, the reduced part a may be lengthened and reduced in diameter
in the manner shown at 2 in Figure 6 and its extreme end made square at ³
by hammering or by rolling. Or a cylindrical part e Figure 5 of the original
diameter of the part a², Figure 6, may be left under the head part 6 and the
end of the part c rolled down at and the extreme end of the rolled down part d
flattened on opposite sides by hammering. A shorter bar than that represented
at in Figure 6 may be used to produce the shank Figure 5. The length and
shape of the enlarged part c rolled under the head as well as the length and
shape of the part may be varied.
7
Figure represents a finished buffer shank made from the rolled shank Figure 5,
that is, after the head or disc of the shank Figure 7 has been fashioned from
the part 6 left of the original diameter. The fashioning of the head or disc 2
Figure 7 from the part 6 of the rolled shank constitutes no part of our invention.
Instead of reducing the piece or length of bloom Figure 1 by the action of the
circular grooves of the rolls hereinafter described it may be first shaped by the
hexagonal (or angular) grooves of the rolls and finished by the action of the
circular grooves.
Figures 9 and 10 represent a portion of the cylindrical piece or length of the
bloom Figure 8 increased in length and reduced in diameter by the action upon
it of the hexagonal grooves of the rolls the reduced portion having a hexagonal
figure in cross section. By subjecting the hexagonal reduced portion of the partly
made shank Figure 10 to the action of the circular grooves of the rolls, a shank
of either of the kinds represented in Figures 5 and 6 may be produced.
We will now describe the rolling machinery which we use in conducting the
back rolling process by which the buffer shanks are partly made.
Figure 11 represents in front elevation and Figure 12 in cross section the rolling
machinery containing our improvements, Figure 13 represents in end elevation
the said rolling machinery together with the supporting appliances which we use
for supporting the cut off length or piece of the bloom and the partially rolled
shank during the rolling operation and for facilitating the passing of the said
length or shank between the rolls and to the different grooves of the rolls.
Figure 14 represents a portion of the supporting appliances represented in
Figure 13. The rolls in Figure 13 are drawn to a smaller scale than those
represented in Figures 11 and 12. The same letters of reference indicate the
same parts in Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14.
The machinery consists essentially of a pair of flanged cylindrical rolls e, f
having in their peripheries a series of grooves of progressively diminishing size.
At the right hand end of the rolls is a series of hexagonal (or angular) grooves
of progressively diminishing size followed by a series of circular grooves of pro-
gressively diminishing size. In place of the last and smallest circular groove in

page_text: the rolls a square or angular groove may be substituted for rolling down the
extreme end 3 of the buffer shank Figure 6 in place of hammering it. The
said rolls ef are geared together by the toothed wheels g, h and are driven in
the ordinary way.
They have a continuous rotary motion given to them in the direction indicated
by the arrows in Figure 12 so that by their motion they deliver the rolled shank
back to the workman situated in front of the rolls at 13 Figure 13. It will be
seen by referring to the drawings that about one third of the periphery or acting
part of each of the rolls is cut away at ii for the purpose of introducing the length
or cut off piece of the bloom or partly made shank between the rolls for the back
rolling operation as is well understood.
The stops which we use for limiting the distance to which the partly made shank
can be introduced between the rolls and thereby limiting the back rolling action
of the rolls on the partly made shank are of two kinds. The stops of one kind
are fixed on and carried with the rolls and the stops of the other kind are fixed
to the housings of and are situated in front of the rolls. The stops on the rolls
are bolted to the cut away faces of the rolls and are marked k, l.
Against these stops the shoulder on the partly rolled shank is pressed during the
rolling operation the curvature of the shoulder being formed by the shape of
the mouths of the grooves against which the shoulder bears (see the cross section
Figure 12). In addition to the stops k, on the cut away parts of the rolls e, f
a second stop or guide n on the bottom roll and in front of the stop I may be
used for the gripping end of the holding tongs hereinafter described to take into
or abut against to facilitate the holding of the partly made shank during the
rolling operation: m is the stop fixed to the housing of the rolls and opposite the
finishing grooves in the rolls. This stop is used in rolling down the thin part
of the shank represented in Figure 5. When a more advanced stop is required
than that marked m it may be fixed on the rest p at the front of the rolls.
The appliance for supporting the bloom and partly made shank and to facilitate
the operation of the workman during the rolling process consists of the ordinary
supporting crane q, q² represented in Figure 13 carrying the pendent and sliding
arm working upon the horizontal arm of the crane. The forked bottom of the
pendent and sliding arm q³ carries a chain pulley r and by means of an endless
chain the second pulley is supported from it. This second pulley acts as a
carrier or support for the tongss by which the partly made shank t (or the bloom)
is held as seen in Figure 13. The tongs s are capable of rotating by being sup-
ported in the manner represented. The said tongs s are jointed to the supporting
pulley the joint parts of the said tongs working in an oblong slot in the said sup-
porting pulley as represented. By means of the said tongs and its flexible con-
nection with the arm 3 of the crane the partly made shank can be readily intro-
duced by the workman holding the handle ends of the tongs between the rolls
and passed to the stops on or in front of the rolls and by means of the crane and
the supporting appliance represented the partly made shank can readily be
brought opposite to and operated upon by any of the grooves of the rolls.
In making either of the buffer shanks represented in Figures 5 and 6 by the use
of the machinery represented we proceed as follows:-The cut off length of the
bloom Figure 1 having been heated is introduced into the holding ends of the
tongs and when the cut away portions of the advancing rolls moving in the
direction of the arrows come opposite one another at the back of the machine or
just before reaching the position represented in Figure 12 the workman passes
the heated bloom the required distance between the said cut away parts of the
rolls and in a line with the circular grooves u of the rolls, the end of the tongs s
being made to bear against the guide n in front of the stop 7 on the rolls. As the
acting peripheries of the rolls advance in the direction indicated by the arrows
in Figure 12 the heated bloom is seized by the groove u and a portion of the
said bloom is elongated or drawn down and shaped in the manner represented
in Figure 2 and returned to the workman in front of the rolls. The heated partly

page_text: shaped shank having the shape represented in Figure 2 is now passed by the work-
men in succession to and is operated upon by the grooves u², u³ so as to shape the
partly made shank in the manner represented in Figures 3 and 4 the workman
by means of the tongs s during the last described rolling operations pressing the
shoulder on the shank against the stops k, l on the rolls so as thereby to limit
the action of the rolls to the reduced part a of the partly made shank.
The partly made shank having been brought to the shape represented in
Figure 4 it is further operated upon by the grooves u in the rolls so as to give
it the form represented in Figure 6 and afterwards if required the partly made
shank Figure 6 is operated upon by the last groove u in the rolls so as to elongate
and reduce in diameter only a portion of the part a², thereby leaving the shoulder a
under the head band forming the reduced part d in front of the shoulder cas
represented in Figure 5. During the last described rolling operation the shoulder c
between the head part and the other part d of the shank is brought against
the front stop m so as to limit the operation of the rolls to a portion only of the
reduced part a² of the shank Figure 6.
When the part d of the shank Figure 5 is required to have a square or hexagonal
form the groove by which it is operated upon has a corresponding figure in place
of the circular figure represented.
For giving the reduced part of the shank a hexagonal (or other angular) figure
by the first rolling stages as represented in Figures 9 and 10 the bloom and partly
made shank are operated upon by the hexagonal (or angular) grooves of the rolls
instead of by the circular grooves.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that we
claim as our invention of "Improvemements in and machinery for the manu-
facture of the shanks of buffers used on railway and tram carriages trucks and
wagons";
First Making the said buffer shanks by taking a cylindrical or other bloom
or billet of iron or steel and dividing it transversely into pieces or lengths suitable
for the manufacture of buffer shanks, subjecting the said pieces or lengths in a
heated state to a back rolling process so as to draw down or lengthen and reduce
in diameter a part of the said pieces or lengths leaving a short portion at one end
of the original diameter from which unreduced portion the head or disc of the
buffer shank is fashioned the said back rolling process being conducted sub-
stantially in the manner and by the use of machinery of the kind hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly:-The combination with rolls of the kind hereinbefore described and
illustrated for effecting the back rolling of the buffer shanks, of stops and guides
fixed to and carried by the rolls and also of stops fixed in front of the rolls the
said stops and guides being constructed and used in the manner and for the
purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly: The combination with rolls of the kind hereinbefore described and
illustrated for effecting the back rolling of the buffer shanks of the arrangement
of parts in connection with the crane in front of the rolls for supporting the heated
bloom or partly made shank and for facilitating its movement for the rolling
operations substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
1000
JABEZ LONES.
CHARLES VERNON.
EDWARD HOLDEN.
RALPH BENNETT.