IMPROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS AND IN MECHANISM USED THEREWITH
Year: 1866

page_text: near Leeds, in the County of York, Consulting Engineer, and Thomas
Sturgeon, of Burley, near Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, for
Sealed the 25th January 1867, and dated the 1st August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sammel Chatwood, John
Sturgeon, and Thomas Sturgeon at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 1st August 1866.
We, SAMUEL CHATWOOD, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster,
Safe and Lock Engineer, and JOHN STURGEON, of Burley, near Leeds, in the
County of York, Consulting Engineer, and THOMAS STURGEON, of Burley, near
Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS AND IN MECHANISM USED
THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in a certain class of steam hammers
which are of the lever form, and are generally known by the name of steam
[Price 8d.]

page_text: olivers, and which may be said to have heretofore consisted essentially of a
lever having a hammer head attached to one end thereof, and to which an
up-and-down movement through an arc of a circle is imparted by means of a
vertical steam cylinder, the power obtained from which is usually applied
between the hammer head and the fulcrum of the said lever.
Now the first part of our Invention consists in placing the cylinder in a
horizontal, inclined, or vertical position behind the fulcrum (that is, so that
the fulcrum may be between the cylinder and the hammer head). We
prefer the lever to be of the bent form, having a long and a short arm; the
long arm has the hammer block fixed at the end, and to the short arm the
power derived from the cylinder is applied. A toothed segment worked by a
rack attached to the piston rod or other convenient mechanism may be used
instead of the short arm of the lever as above described.
By this arrange-
ment a clear space is obtained between the anvil and the fulcrum, which is of
great importance when forging long pieces of metal. In the ordinary form of
steam oliver the position of the cylinder is such as comparatively to block up
this space, and thus impede the workmen in manipulating the bars, &c.
under operation on the anvil; the valve of the cylinder may be worked either
by hand or by a man placing his foot on a lever suitably connected with the
valve gear.
The second part of our Invention consists in arranging lever steam
hammers in such a way as to be enabled to turn the lever so as to strike a
blow in the direction from vertical to horizontal without altering the position
of the cylinder which actuates the hammer. For this purpose, the cylinder
being a fixture, we carry the axis bearings of the lever upon a bracket capable
of being turned round concentrically with the cylinder, so that the lever arm
segment or other contrivance may. whatever position the lever may be in, be
always in the same relative position with regard to the piston rod which is
connected therewith. By this arrangement a workman will be enabled to
make a great many forgings which it would be inconvenient to make under a
hammer giving only a vertical blow.
The third part of our Invention consists in arranging lever steam hammers
upon a central pivot, so as to be readily swung round in a circle in order to
bring the hammer over any one of a series of anvil blocks fixed at equal dis-
tances from the centre upon which the lever hammer turns.
For this purpose
we use a vertical cylinder fixed concentrically with the bracket which carries
the fulcrum of the lever hammer, and which is arranged so that it can he
turned horizontally round the centre of this cylinder, so that the hammer may

page_text: be brought to any required position in a horizontal plane without disturbing
the relative positions of the lever arm of the hammer and the piston rod con-
nected therewith, which are caused to turn round with the bracket.
We use
the hollow or trunk form of piston rod applied so as to give the advantages
of greater area on the piston for striking the blow with less area for raising
the hammer where the weight of the piston. &c., are in its favour, and also
enables the use of a long connecting rod, at the same time effecting a saving
in room.
It is evident that the above described arrangement for a radial lever
hammer may also be suitably applied to hammers worked by the foot or other
power. Any one of the various arrangements above described may also be
adopted for a radial lever hammer, the whole of the mechanism, including
cylinder. hammer. and bracket carrying the hammer, being made to revolve
upon a central pivot.
The next part of our Invention consists in applying to lever steam
hammers of the forms above described self-acting mechanism to work the
valve, such as is described in the Specification, of a Patent granted to the
herein-named John Sturgeon, No. 1292. May 23rd, 1863, and which is such
that the stroke of the hammer adjusts itself to every variation in the thickness
of the metal operated upon, no matter how rapidly it may vary, and which
also insures the steam or other motive power being kept at its full pressure
on the piston until the blow as been actually struck.
Another part of our Invention consists in arranging lever steam hammers, so
as to strike an elastic blow in cases where it is not desirable for the hammer
to give a rigid blow: we accomplish this by making the lever arm of spring
steel or other suitable elastic material.
Another part of our Invention consists in making the hammer head of a
polygonal or other suitable forin presenting two or more faces, in which faces
differently shaped dies may be so formed, and in so connecting the hammer
head thus formed to the shaft or lever that it may readily be turned round so
as to bring any one of the faces opposite the anvil as required.
Another part of our Invention consists in arranging two or more lever
hammers so that they may all be worked from the piston rod of one and the
same cylinder placed vertically in a central position equidistant from the lever
arms of the hammers to which the power is applied. The lever arms may be
in the form of grooved segments placed in frictional contact with the piston
rod, so as to receive motion therefrom. The piston rod receives a constant
to-and-fro movement. and any one of the hammers may be brought into action

page_text: or stopped as required by pressing a foot lever which imparts a partial
revolution to an eccentric bush which carries the fulcrum pin of the
hammer, thereby forcing the grooved segment against the piston rod or
releasing it as required.
DI LUIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letiers Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Chatwood, John Sturgeon, and Thomas Sturgeon,
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
CHATWOOD, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Safe and Lock
Engineer. and JOHN STURGEON, of Burley, near Leeds. in the County of York,
Consulting Engineer. and THOMAS STURGEON, of Burley. near Leeds, in the
County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
is
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six. in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did. for Herself. Her heirs. and successors. give and grant unto us. the said
Samuel Chatwood, John Sturgeon. and Thomas Sturgeon. Her special licence
that we, the said Samuel Chatwood. John Sturgeon. and Thomas Sturgeon.
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Samuel Chatwood. John Sturgeon. and Thomas Sturgeon. 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS AND IN
MECHANISM USED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Samuel Chatwood, John Sturgeon. and Thomas Sturgeon. 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
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
to be
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Chatwood, on behalf of myself
and the said John Siurgeon, and Thomas Sturgeon. do hereby declare the

page_text: nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to improvements in a certain class of steam hammers
which are of the lever form and are generally known by the name of steam
olivers, and which consist essentially of a lever having a hammer head
attached to one end thereof. and to which an up-and-down movement through
an arc of a circle is imparted by means of a steam cylinder.
Our Invention consists in arranging lever steam hammers in such a way as
to be enabled to turn the lever so as to strike a blow in any direction from
vertical to horizontal without altering the position of the cylinder which
actuates the hammer. For this purpose, the cylinder being a fixture, we
carry the axis bearings of the lever upon a bracket capable of being turned
round concentrically with the cylinder so that the lever arm segment or
other contrivance may. whatever position the lever may be in. be always in
the same relative position with regard to the piston rod which is connected
therewith. The capacity of giving an inclined or side blow will enable a
workman to make a great many forgings which it would be inconvenient to
make under a hammer giving only a vertical blow.
Figure is a side view, partly in section, of a hammer thus arranged in be
worked by steam or other fluid under pressure.
à, a, is a frame bolted firmly down to a foundation, and having the
cylinder fixed or formed upon it; a' is a ring forming part of the frame a
and truly bored to receive within it the bracket c, which is thus firmly held.
but the bracket is able to turn within the ring. At c' teeth are formed on the
bracket with which the pinion d gears, the axis of this pinion is carried by the
frame a, and it has a hand wheel e upon it, the head f of the piston rod is
arranged to slide in guides on the bracket c. and it is slotted to receive within
it the slide g. through which the pin h, fixed in the shorter arm of the
hammer lever h¹. passes. The lever turns on a fulcrum at on the
bracket c. and it carries the hammer head : kis the anvil and anvil block.
As arranged in the Drawing the valve is actuated by self-acting mechanism or
it may be worked by a lever and treadle placed at the side of the anvil. The
hammer may be caused to strike at any required inclination by turning the
hand wheel e.
Another part of our Invention relates to the arranging lever steam
hammers upon a central pivot. so as to be readily swung round in a circle in
order to bring the hammer over any one of a series of anvil blocks fixed at

page_text: equal distances from the centre upon which the lever hamuner turns: and
consists in using for this purpose a vertical cylinder, fixed concentrically, with
the bracket which carries the fulcrum of the lever hammer, and which is
arranged so that it can be turned horizontally round the centre of this cylinder.
so that the hammer may be brought to any required position in a horizontal
plane without disturbing the relative positions of the lever arm of the hammer.
and the piston rod connected therewith. which are caused to turn round with
the bracket.
Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section, and Figure 3 is a plan of this
arrangement.
a is a base plate bolted firmly to a foundation: b is a cylinder fixed upon it.
and furnished with a piston having a tubular or trunk-form piston rod working
through the cylinder cover: steam or fluid under pressure is led to and from
the cylinder by induction and eduction pipes passing underneath the base
plate a. and communicating with the valve or valves of the steam cylinder.
which are situated in the annular space left. between the cylinder b and the
outer ring c. The exterior of the cylinder b forms a pivot or post for the
outer ring c to turn about, it carries upon it at e¹ the fulcrum of the hammer
lever d. the longer arm of which carries the hammer head d. and the shorter
is connected by the rod e with the piston; f. f. are the anvils arranged in a
circle around the cylinder b: the valve works on the side of the cylinder b, and
is actuated by means of a treadle: there is a treadle at each anvil, but the
treadles not required for use are thrown out of gear. Rods pass from the
treadles to a four-armed lever g (shown in plan at Figure 4), and this lever
works a bevilled pinion gearing with another pinion. in connection with which
is an arm from which the valve takes its motion.
The next part of our Invention consists in applying to lever steam hammers
of the forms above described self-acting mechanism to work the valve, such
as is described in the Specification of a Patent granted to the herein-named.
John Sturgeon. No. 1292. May 23. 1863. and which is such that the stroke
of the hammer adjusts itself to every variation in the thickness of the metal
operated upon. no matter how rapidly it may vary. and which also insures the
steam or other motive power being kept at its full pressure on the piston
until the blow has been actually struck. for in this arrangement the con
cussion resulting from the hammer striking the work is caused to give motion
to instruments by which the valve is reversed. This method of working the
valves is illustrated at Figure 1 of the Drawings, and a plan of the cylinder
with the valve apparatus is also shewn at Figure 5. In this arrangement the

page_text: piston rod of the engine carries a bracket or cross head i¹, to which it is
connected in such a way that the piston rod may be turned round without
turning the cross head . To the top of the cross head is attached a straight
rod or bar, working in guides on the top of the cylinder, so that whatever
position the piston may be in it carries the rod or bar to and fro with it,
sliding in the guides on the cylinder. To this rod or bar are connected radius
rods and links, which are also in connection with the system of levers 7,
which are thereby caused to move to and fro with the hammer, and are so
arranged that the shock caused by the sudden stoppage of the hammer in
giving the blow imparts the requisite motion to the valve, as described in the
Specification of the above-named Patent granted to the herein-named John
Sturgeon, but in this case the system of levers works in a horizontal position,
whereas in the case of the steam hammer the levers work in a vertical
position.
Another part of our Invention consists in arranging lever steam hammers
so as to strike an elastic blow in cases where it is not desirable for the bammer
to give a rigid blow; we accomplish this by making the lever arm of spring
steel or other suitable elastic material.
Another part of our Invention consists in making the hammer head of a
polygonal or other suitable forni, presenting two or more faces, in which faces
differently shaped dies may be formed, and in so connecting the hammer
head thus formed to the shaft or lever that it may readily be turned round so
as to bring any one of the faces opposite the anvil as required. This part of
our Invention is illustrated at Figure 2, the hammer head d, which is also
shewn at Figure 6, is made with four faces; it has a conical hole through it
into which the hammer lever fits, and a key passing through a keyway in the
lever and lying in a channel in the hammer head secures the head to the
lever. The head may, as is evident, be put on in four different ways, the key
entering one or other of the grooves formed for it.
Another part of our Invention consists in arranging two or more lever
hammers so that they may all be worked from the piston rod of one and the
same cylinder, placed vertically in a central position, equidistant from. the
lever arms of the hammers to which the power is applied, the lever arms being
in the form of grooved segments placed in frictional contact with the piston
rod so as to receive motion therefrom. The piston rod receives a constant
to-and-fro movement, and any one of the hammers may be brought into
action or stopped as required by pressing a foot lever which imparts a partial
revolution to an excentric bush which carries the fulcrum pin of the hammer,

page_text: thereby forcing the grooved segment against the piston rod or releasing it as
required.
Figure 7 is a side view, and Figure 8 a plan of this arrangement. a is a
steam cylinder in which is a piston with a rod b, and by suitable valves the
piston is kept constantly working up and down; c, c, are brackets springing
from the cylinder a and carrying the hammer levers d, d, these levers revolving
on axes which are fixed eccentrically to cylindrical blocks e, which turn in
bearings on the brackets c; 1, 1, are arms fixed on the blocks e, and connected
with treadles in such manner that when a treadle is depressed the corres-
ponding hammer lever is forced up against the piston rod, and the shorter
arm of the hammer lever, which is an arc of a circle, is caused to press
sufficiently forcibly against the piston rod to cause the hammer head to be
lifted and to descend as the piston rod moves to and fro.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Chatwood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
SAMUEL CHATWOOD. (L.S.)