AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON CRANK AXLES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Taylor, of the Firm of Taylor Brothers and
Company, of Clarence Iron Works, Leeds, in the County of York,
Ironmaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF
MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON CRANK AXLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Taylor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th November 1859.
I, GEORGE TAYLOR, of the Firm of Taylor Brothers and Company, of
Clarence Iron Works, Leeds, in the County of York, Ironmaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE
OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON CRANK AXLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a mode of increasing the strength of crank shafts
or axles without adding to their weight, and thereby preventing the destruc-
tion of such axles by fracture at the cranks, to which they are especially liable
when applied to locomotive engines. I propose to impart increased tenacity
to crank shafts or axles, by piling the slabs of iron from which the axle is to
be formed, in such manner that the fibre of the middle slabs will cross the
fibre of the outer slabs. By thus arranging the slabs into a web for the
rolling mill, the iron composing the finished shaft or axle will be so disposed

page_text: that the fibres of the outer portion will run in lines parallel with the axis of
the shaft, while the fibres of the inner portion of the iron will run in lines
that cross its axis.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TAYLOR, of the Firm of Taylor Brothers and Company, of Clarence Iron
Works, Leeds, in the County of York, Ironmaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Taylor, Her special license that I, the said George
Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON CRANK AXLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Taylor, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 George Taylor, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
The object of this Invention is to increase the strength of crank shafts or
axles of locomotive engines and other machinery without adding to their
weight, and thereby to prevent the destruction of such axles by fracture, to
which they are specially liable at the angles of the cranks, when, as in the

page_text: propose to
case of locomotive engine crank axles, they are exposed to violent and sudden
strains. To impart increased tenacity to crank shafts or axles I
pile the iron from which the axle is to be manufactured in such manner that
the fibre of the middle layers will cross the fibre of the outer layers of
the pile.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn the manner in which I prefer
to pile the iron to obtain the crossed fibres, which, when the pile is wrought
into an axle, will ensure the requisite strength in every part.
Fig. 1 represents in side or edge view a pile of iron suitable for conversion
into a crank axle; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. In these Figures
the direction of the fibre of the slabs a, a, which form the outer layers of the
pile is shewn by red lines as running lengthwise of the pile, and the fibre of
the slabs b, b, which form the inner layers of the pile (represented by blue lines)
is shewn as running across the pile, or at right angles to the fibre of the
slabs a, a.
I have said that I prefer this arrangement, as I find in practice
that it is desirable so to dispose the iron forming the outer portion of the pile,
that its fibre shall lie parallel with the axis of the shaft; but this is not abso-
lute, as a good result may also be obtained by reversing the arrangement, so
long as an efficient crossing of the fibres is produced. The slabs I form from
blooms in the ordinary way under a drop hammer, and the pile formed by a
combination of the slabs a, a, I weld into a solid mass and reduce to the form
shewn in edge view at Fig. 3, and in plan view at Fig. 4, by subjecting the
same, while at a welding heat, to the action of a powerful steam or other suit-
able lammer. By this means I obtain a block of iron fit for conversion into
a crank axle, with the fibres so disposed as most effectually to resist the strain
to which crank axles are specially liable. I then proceed with the manufacture
as ordinarily practised; that is, I then cut out from the solid block the central
piece marked c, and also the end pieces marked d, d, and I next beat the
part e to a welding heat, twist it a quarter of a turn, and elongate it by ham-
mering. The object of thus twisting the metal is to get those portions which
go to form the cranks at right angles to each other. I then proceed to work
out the ends of the shaft, remove the superfluous metal in the cranks, b: ing
the cranks into shape under the hammer, and finish the shaft in the usual way,
as shewn at Fig. 5, which represents a crank shaft or axle of a locomotive
engine drawn to the same scale as the pile and blank of Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
from which it is supposed to have been formed.
By the application of this Invention, it will now be understood that the inner
portion of the iron forming the cranks will have its fibre running in the direc-
tions indicated by the blue lines at Fig. 6, which is a section of the crank axle

page_text: taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow, and
that the fibre of the outer portions will run at right angles to the fibre of the
inner portion. Thus the tendency of the crank shaft to break under severe
and repeated strains at the angles of the crank will be effectually destroyed, and
an effectual remedy will be provided against a serious class of accidents to
which railway and marine engines are particularly liable.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improvement in
the Mode of Manufacturing Wrought-iron Crank Axles," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the means herein-before
described for increasing the strength of crank axles.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Taylor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
JAMES JOWETT,
Willow Tree House, Beeston Hill,
Leeds.
GEORGE TAYLOR. (L.S.)