MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OR ARRANGEMENT OF PILES OR FAGOTS FOR WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS, GIRDERS, OR BARS OF DIFFERENT FORMS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OR ARRANGEMENT OF PILES OR FAGOTS FOR
WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS, GIRDERS, OR BARS OF DIFFERENT FORMS."-A com
munication from abroad by George Walters and Thomas Shaffer, of
Phoenixville, County of Chester, State of Pennsylvania, United States
of America.
Sealed the 1st May 1868, and dated the 27th November 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th November 1867.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OR ARRANGEMENT OF PILES OF FAGOTS
FOR WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS, GIRDERS, OR BARS OF DIFFERENT FORMS," a com-
munication from abroad by George Walters and Thomas Shaffer, of
Phoenixville, County of Chester, State of Pennsylvania, United States of
America, to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar modes of arranging bars of iron
and securing them together so as to form piles or fagots approximating in

page_text: shape to that which they have to assume when converted by suitable rolls
into bars of different sectional forms, and consists,―
First. Of four modes of arranging and securing together plain bars of
wrought iron in piles or fagots to be rolled into beams, girders, trusses,
braces or ribs of different shapes required for building purposes or in the
construction of bridges, piers, ships, and other objects.
Second. Of two modes of arranging and securing together wrought-iron
bars some of which are solid and have longitudinal ribs, while others are plain
so as to form piles or fagots of a transverse shape approximating to that of
the beams, girders, and other shaped bars into which the said piles or fagots
have to be converted by the action of appropriate rolls.
According to one mode of carrying out the first part of this Invention, two
ordinary flat bars are placed side by side and cut to the desired length of the
pile or fagot, these two bars forming the web, on each side of and near the
upper and lower edges of which are placed other and narrower bars of a
width equal to the thickness of the flange, boles having been punched through
the latter as well as through the web for receiving transverse rivets or bolts
by which the series of narrow bars are permanently secured to the web. The
pile which approximates to the shape of an I beam or girder is reduced to a
welding heat in a suitable furnace, and subjected to the action of rolls which
convert it into a beam of the desired form and size.
It will be understood that the web of the pile may be composed of a
single or of more than two bars, and that more or less than three narrow
bars may be used for each flange, and that the Invention may be applied to
the formation of piles or fagots of several forms thus,-[ 1 TZ X I.
When a beam or girder of more than usual depth has to be performed the web
may be composed of four exterior bars and three intervening bars arranged
so as to break joint and rivetted together, or the web may be composed of
any other system of bars arranged in layers, as the size of the said web may
suggest; according to a second arrangement of pile or faggot two plain bars
are placed side by side so as to form the web of the pile, and near the upper
and lower edges of this web, on both sides of the same, and arranged other
bars of a width equal to the depth or projection of the flange, such bars being
permanently secured together by rivets or bolts. The middle bar or rather
the middle layer of these bars is made in sections arranged at such a distance
apart from each other as to permit the passage between them of other bolts
or rivets which also pass through holes punched in the web plates, and serve
to secure the latter permanently to the bars which form the flanges. This
plan of forming a pile or fagot may be carried out in rolling iron of the following

page_text: different transverse forms TIEZ X. It will be understood that the
web of the pile may be composed of one bar or more than two bars, three or
more than three bars being however necessary for each flange, so that one of
the inside layers of bars may be made in sections arranged so far appart as to
advit the transverse rivets or bolts between them.
According to a third mode three bars are placed side by side and secured
by rivets or bolts so as to form the vertical web of an I-beam against the
upper and lower edges of which web are placed two bars of a width equal
to the full width of the flange or head, the latter bars forming the flanges
of the pile and being punched to receive bolts or rivets arranged one
on each side of and close to the web and serving to secure the said bars to
the same.
In this case any desired number of bars may be used either for
the flanges or web, but when the latter is composed of three baths the middle
bar may be made in sections arranged so far apart as to permit central bolts
or rivets to pass between them instead of having bolts on each side of the
web. This mode of piling may be adapted to the following shapes of beams
or bars ILLZXUU.
In a fourth mode of piling the plan of securing the bars by bolts or rivets is
for the most part discarded and dependence is placed on clamps. In this case
a plain bar of iron is cut to the desired length, and on the top face of this
bar is placed a vertical bar, a similar bar being placed beneath the bottom
face in line with the top bar, thus forming a cruciform pile. At the upper
and lower corners of the top and bottom vertical bars there is an inclined
notch into which notches fit clamps, each of which consists of a short bar as
wide as the vertical bars are thick, and this clamp is bent at both ends so
that the bent portions will fit over or into the inclined notches. The clamps
are fitted to their places while hot, and the bent ends hammered into the
notches so that when they become cool the several bars will be firmly held
together. In order that there may be no lateral displacement of the bars
the vertical ones may be confined between studs or pins secured to the flat
or horizontal bar at suitable intervals. This system of piling is applicable to
T and I girders.
In the four modes described above of carrying out the Invention the
several piles are composed of plain bars without any flanges or ribs, but in
the two remaining plans herein-after described one or more of the bars is
rolled with a rib or flange which aids in securing together the several parts
which compose the pile.
In the first of these two plans the web is composed of four plain bars
rivetted together, and each of the flanges is composed of a solid bar from one.

page_text: face, near one edge of which projects a longitudinal rib. The inside bar of
the web fits between the flanges, but the outer bar is as wide as the pile or
fagot is deep while the intermediate bars fit between the ribs rolled on the
two flange bars. Whether one or more intermediate bars are used the space
between the two outer ones should be wider than the ribs of the flange bars,
so that there may be a narrow space between the ribs and inside bar for the
introduction of wedges, on driving which tight the whole of the parts com-
posing the pile are held together. Four wedges are used and are driven
into their places at the two ends of the pile. This mode of piling is applicable
flange bars may be built up of
to shaped bars; in some cases the
several bars and the web composed of a single bar with ribs rolled on.
According to the second of the two last plans a rib is rolled on the upper
and lower flange bars of an I beam, and is embraced between the outer bars
of the web, the inner bars of which are together slightly less in width than
the said ribs so that the latter when the bars of the web are revitted together
will be embraced and held firmly by and between the outer bars with a
gripping effect, and the whole of the bars composing the pile will be thus
firmly held together. The same mode of securing the bars is applicable to
piles for girders, angle bars, and cruciform beams or bars, also where the
web is of more than ordinary depth and is composed of a number of bars
arranged and revitted together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OR ARRANGEMENT OF PILES OR FAGOTS FOR
WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS, GIRDERS, OR BARS OF DIFFERENT FORMS," a communication
from abroad by George Walters and Thomas Shaffer, of Phoenixville, County
of Chester, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to certain peculiar modes of arranging bars of
iron and securing them together so as to form piles or fagots approximating
in shape to that which they have to assume when converted by suitable rolls
into bars of different sectional forms, and consists,―
Firstly. Of four modes of arranging and securing together plain bars of
wrought iron in piles or fagots to be rolled into beams, girders, trusses, braces,
or ribs of different shapes required for building purposes, or in the construction
of bridges, piers, ships, and other objects.
Secondly. Of two modes of arranging and securing together wrought-iron
bars, some of which are solid and have longitudinal ribs, while others are plain,
so as to form piles or fagots of a transverse shap approximating to that of
the beams, girders, and other shaped bars, into which the said piles or fagots
have to be converted by the action of appropriate rolls.
The said Invention is especially applicable to the construction of wrought-
iron beams or girders of the larger class, and has for its main objects the
retention of the pile or fagot in its proper shape while it is in the furnace, the
prevention of the access of cinders or other impurities between the bars or
layers of bars composing the pile facilitating the building of piles of different
forms approximating to that which they have to assume after being subjected
to the action of rolls and the attainment of more uniform solidity and better
finish than has heretofore been imparted to wrought-iron beans or girders.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now

page_text: proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer
to the several Figures in the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters
of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding Figures.
In the Drawings six different plans of carrying out the said Invention and
numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, are illustrated, and these will now be separately
described.
In Plan No. 1 Figure 1 represents a transverse section of one of the
improved piles or fagots for wrought-iron beams, girders, or bars; Figure 2, a
side view; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and Seven, illustrate this part of the Invention as
applied to the formation of piles fagots for wrought-iron beams, girders, or
bars of different transverse shapes; and Figure 8 shews the improvement
applied to the arrangement of bars for a pile to be converted into a beam of
more than ordinary depth.
or
In Figures 1 and 2 a, a, represent two ordinary flat bars placed side by
side, and cut to the desired length of the pile or fagot, these two bars forming
the web, on each side of and near the upper and lower edges of which are
placed the bars b, c, and d, holes having been punched through the latter as
well as through the web for receiving the transverse rivets or bolts e, by which
the bars are permanently secured to the web. The pile, which approximates
to the shape of an I beam or girder, is reduced to a welding heat in a suitable
furnace, and subjected to the action of rolls which convert it into a beam of
the desired form and size. It will be understood that the web of the pile may
be composed of a single bar or of more than two bars, and that more or less
than three bars may be used for each flange, and that the Invention may be
applied to the formation of piles or fagots of the several forms represented in
the Drawing, Figure 8 being a pile arranged for conversion into channel iron,
Figure 4 a pile for angle-iron bars, Figure 5 for T-iron, Figure 6 for Z-iron,
and Figure 7 for a cruciform bar. When a beam or girder of more than
usual depth has to be formed the web may be composed of the four exterior
bars a, a, and a¹³, a', with three intervening bars f, f, arranged in the manner
illustrated in Figure 8, and rivetted together; or the web may be composed
of any other system of bars arranged in layers as the size of the said web may
.suggest.
In Plan No. 2 Figure 1 is a transverse section of a pile or fagot for a
wrought-iron I beam or girder; Figure 2, a side view of the same, partly in
section; Figure 3, a plan view of Figure 2, with the upper layer of flange
.bars removed; and Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 represent piles or fagots
composed of pieces arranged and secured together according to this part of the
Invention for beams or bars of different transverse forms.

page_text: In this case a, a, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent two plain bars placed side
by side so as to form the web of the pile, and near the upper and lower edges
of this web, on both sides of the same, are arranged the bars b, c, and d, per-
manently secured together by rivets or bolts e. The middle bar c, or rather
the middle layer of bars, is made in sections arranged at such a distance apart
from each other as to permit the passage between them of bolts or rivets f,
which also pass through holes punched in the web plates a, a, and serve to
secure the latter permanently to the bars b, c, and d, which form the flanges.
This mode of forming a pile or fagot may be carried out in rolling iron of the
different transverse forms illustrated. It will be understood that the web of
the pile may be composed of one bar or more than two bars, three or more
than three bars being, however, necessary for each flange, so that one of the
inside layers of bars may be made in sections arranged so far apart as to admit
the transverse rivets or bolts between them. If a web of more than usual
depth is required it may be composed of bars arranged and rivetted together
as shewn in Figure 8, Plan No. 1.
In Plan No. 3 Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a pile or fagot
for I beams; Figure 2, a side view; Figure 3, a transverse section of a
modified arrangement of bars and rivets for I beams; and Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
and 10 are sections of piles for beams or bars of different transverse shapes.
In this plan a, b, and c (Figures 1 and 2) represent three bars placed side by
side, and secured by rivets or bolts h, so as to form the vertical web of an
I beam, against the upper and lower edges of which web are placed two bars c
and d, the latter forming the flanges of the pile and being punched to receive
bolts or rivets f, f, arranged one on each side of and close to the web, and
serving to secure the said bars d and e to the same. In this case any desired
number of bars may be used either for the flanges or web, but when the latter
is composed of three bars the middle bar may be made in sections arranged so
far apart as to permit central bolts or rivets f to pass between them, as seen in
Figure 8, instead of having bolts on each side of the web. The remaining
Figures illustrating the pile as arranged for beams or bars of different shape
will be understood without further description.
In Plan No. 4 Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a pile for
cruciform bars; Figure 2 is a side view; Figure 3 represents a pile for
T-bar; Figure 4, a side view of Figure 3; Figure 5, a plan view of an I bar
partly in section; and Figure 6 is a transverse section of Figure 5. In this
case the mode of securing the bars by bolts or rivets is for the most part
discarded, and dependence is placed on clamps.
In Figures 1 and 2 A represents a plain bar of iron cut to the desired length,

page_text: and on the top of this bar there is placed a vertical bar B, a similar bar B₁
being placed beneath the said bar A in line with the bar B', as shewn in
Figure 1, thus forming a cruciform pile. At the upper corner of each bar B
and the lower corner of each bar B₁ is an inclined notch b; or the notches
may be cut into the end of each of these bars, as shewn at a. D, D, are
clamps, each of which consists of a short bar as wide as the bars B and B¹ are
thick, and this clamp is bent at both ends, so that the bent portions will fit
over the inclined notches b or into the inclined notches a. The clamps are
fitted to their places while hot, and their bent ends are hammered into the
notches, so that when they become cool the several bars A, B, and B', will be
firmly held together. In order that there may be no lateral displacement of
the bars the bars B and B' may be confined between studs or pins a secured
to the bar A at suitable intervals.
In Figures 3 and 4 the clamping arrangement is illustrated as applied to a
pile or fagot for a T-beam or girder; and in Figures 5 and 6 the two lower
flanges of an I pile are secured by a clamp to the web, which may be composed
of two or more bars rivetted together, as in Plan No. 8, while the upper
flanges are composed of three bars rivetted together and to the web, as shewn
in Plan No. 2.
In the four modes described above of carrying out the said Invention the
several piles are composed of plain bars without any flanges or ribs, but in the
remaining Plans Numbers 5 and 6 one or more of the bars is rolled with a
rib or flange, which aids in securing together the several parts which compose
the pile.
In Plan No. 5 Figure 1 is a side view of a pile or fagot for a channel bar
or beam; Figure 2, a transverse section of the same; and Figures 3, 4, and 5
modified piles or fagots.
In Figures 1 and 2 A is the web, and B and B are the flanges of the pile
or fagot. The web in the present instance is composed of four plain bars a, b, c,
and d rivetted together, and each of the flanges B and B' is composed of a solid
bar from one face near one edge of which projects a longitudinal rib e. The
bar a of the web fits snugly between the flanges B and B', but the bar d is as
wide as the pile or fagot is deep, while the intermediate bars b and c fit snugly
between the ribs of the two flange bars, as seen in Fig. 2.
Whether a
single bar or more than two bars are interposed between the bars a and d,
the space between the latter should be wider than the ribs of the flange bars B
and B', so that when these ribs are confined between the said bars there may
be a narrow space between the ribs and bar a for the introduction of wedges f.f,
on driving which tight the whole of the parts composing the pile are held

page_text: together. Four wedges are used and are driven into their places at the two
ends of the pile.
The remaining Figures 3, 4, and 5 will be understood without further
description.
Plan No. 6 In this case a rib a on the upper and lower flange bars A and
A of an I beam is embraced between the outer bars 6 and 6¹ of the web, the
inner bars c and d of which are together slightly less in width than the said
ribs, so that the latter when the bars of the web are rivetted together will be
embraced and held firmly by and between the bars 6 and b¹ with a gripping
effect, and the whole of the bars composing the pile will be thus firmly held
together. The same mode of securing the bars is adopted in the pile Figure 8
for a T-girder, in the pile Figure 5 for angle bars, and in the pile Figure 4 for
a cruciform beam or bar, also in the pile Figure 6, the web of which being of
more than ordinary depth is composed of a number of bars arranged and
rivetted together after the manner illustrated in Figure 8, Plan No. 1.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The construction and use of a pile or fagot composed of one or more
bars for the web, and any appropriate number of bars for the flange or flanges,
the said bars being arranged and permanently secured together by rivets or
bolts, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the Figures in
reference to the plan or method No. 1 of the Drawings.
Second. The construction and use of a pile or fagot composed of one or more
bars for the web and three or more bars for each flange, the whole being held
together by rivets or bolts, substantially as herein-before described and
represented in the Figures referred to in the plan or method No. 2 of the
accompanying Drawings.
Third. The construction and use of a pile or fagot composed of one or more
bars for the web and any desired number of bars for the flange or flanges, the
said bars being arranged and permanently secured together by rivets or bolts
substantially as herein-before described and represented by the Figures on
Plan No. 3 of the Drawings.
Fourth. The construction and use of a pile or fagot (for cruciform and
other shaped beams or girders) composed of bars arranged and secured
together by clamps, substantially as herein-before described and represented
by the Figures of Plan No. 4 of the Drawings.

page_text: Fifth. The construction and use of a pile or fagot composed in part of a
solid bar or bars with a rib or ribs, and in part of bars rivetted together and
wedged to the said rib or ribs, substantially as herein-before described and
represented in and by the Figures on Plan No. 5 of the Drawings.
Sixth. The construction and use of a pile or fagot consisting of a solid bar
or bars having a rib or ribs confined between bars by rivetting the same.
to any desired number of intervening bars whose aggregate thickness is less
than the said rib or ribs, all substantially as herein set forth and illustrated by
the Figures on Plan No. 6 of the Drawing annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of May,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)