IMPROVE- MENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS, ANVIL BLOCKS, AND THEIR FOUNDATIONS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Morrison, of the Town and County of the
Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS, ANVIL BLOCKS, AND THEIR FOUNDATIONS."
Sealed the 19th May 1865, and dated the 22nd November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Morrison at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
November 1864.
I, ROBERT MORRISON, of the Town and County of the Town of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS, ANVIL BLOCKS, AND THEIR FOUNDATIONS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in double and single action steam
hammers intended more especially for shingling iron or steel, but is applicable
also to forging hammers, and to anvil blocks, and their foundations.
According to this Invention I dispense with the present arrangement of
fixing steam hammers upon a separate foundation plate, and separate from the
anvil block, and in lieu thereof I bolt the base of the hammer frames or legs
to brackets cast upon or bolted to or secured in any other way to the sides of
the anvil block, and I extend the base of the said anvil block to such an extent
as will sufficiently steady the machine without further foundations. I inter-
pose a thickness of hard wood between the frames and the flanges of the block,
in order to relieve the bolts from any jar caused by the action of the hammer.
At present such hammers are generally laid down upon two pillars of
masonry, built on each side of the anvil block; those pillars carry the founda-
tion plates and frames or legs of the hammer, and the anvil block being placed

page_text: in the space between the masonry, the blow of the hammer acts upon the anvil
block like a pile driver driving a pile every blow it gives, tending to send the
block further from it or into the foundation, and can never strike a solid
blow, whereas according to my Invention the blow of the hammer is given
against a perfectly solid mass, so that the whole force of the said blow is
received within the machine itself, and not spent upon the foundation as at
present, but its full force is spent upon the iron. under the face, or between it
and the block. By this means the work is done in less time and much more
efficiently, whilst such hammers will not have the same tendency to shake the
ground, buildings, and tools near them as the hammers provided with the
ordinary foundation. It is a well-known fact that the heavier is the anvil
block for a hammer, the more steadily and efficiently it will work, and the
whole weight of the hammer in this case resting upon the anvil block, and being
firmly secured to it, will nearly double the weight or inertia of the anvil block,
and thereby render it more capable of withstanding the force of impact. I
make the cylinders in two pieces and bolt them together, and prefer to make
each half in one piece with one of the frames or legs, or it may be bolted to
them. By making the cylinder in two pieces I am enabled to make the piston,
piston rod, and hammer head so as to receive the face in one solid mass,
according to my practice at present, without the necessity of having separate
covers and stuffing boxes in two halves as at present, and which causes a great
deal of care and trouble. In this Invention the cylinder bottom and stuffing
box are cast in one piece with the cylinder and frames (the gland only being
in two pieces), they are well bolted together with steam-tight flanges, and in
fact form the whole casting of the hammer proper. Beneath the cylinder the
inside faces of the frames are formed into guides to receive the hammer head,
and present when the hammer is fitted together a hollow square section in
which the hammer head works up and down, and not only prevent the hammer
bar from turning round, but guide the hammer head close down upon its work.
The lower parts of these guides meet and are firmly bolted together with strong
flanges and bolts, as already described, experience having shewn that at this
point the greatest tendency to twist the bar and strain the hammer occurs.
Having served the purpose of guides, the frames recede from each other so
as to admit the anvil block between them, and give room for working the balls,]
and afford a wide base for the hammer to rest upon. I make this class of
hammers specially for puddling or shingling iron or steel, and as there is not
so much room required as when forging, and the blows are more severe and
irregular, I bring the frames down near to the anvil block, and I guide the
hammer head between the said frames solidly down close to its work in

page_text: guides with large wearing surfaces as described above, and I bolt the frames
together at the bottom of the said guides, so that the whole is made very
compact and firm, whilst the hammer head is well guided down upon its work.
For forging purposes the cylinder may be made in two pieces as described, or
bolted to the frames in the usual way, and by this new arrangement the ad-
vantage of a solid blow will be secured, whilst the frames are firmly held in
their place.at the base by the anvil block as already described. By these
improvements the saving in the cost of each steam hammer, with anvil block
and bed plate, will be about 20 per cent. and in the foundation about 50 per
cent. whilst the maker will be able to deliver the hammer complete, fitted to
the block and ready for work, and avoiding all the inconvenience and delay of
waiting for building and settling of masonry, finding foundation bolts, supply-
ing and levelling bed plate and anvil block, and making and fitting bottom
face, all of which have at present to be done by the purchaser before he can
erect his hammer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Morrison in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MORRISON, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Robert Morrison, Her special license that I, the
said Robert Morrison, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Robert Morrison, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at auy 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 STEAM HAMMERS, ANVIL BLOCKS, AND THEIR FOUNDATIONS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Morrison, 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

page_text: 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 Robert Morrison, 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 accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to improvements in double and single action
steam hammers intended more especially for shingling iron or steel, but is
applicable also to forging hammers, and to anvil blocks, and their foundations.
According to one part of my Invention I entirely dispense with the founda-
tions of masonry used with that class of steam hammers which it has here-
tofore been found requisite to support on foundations of that description, and
in which the anvil blocks are partly under ground, and in lieu of fixing such
steam hammers upon a separate foundation plate, and separate from the anvil
block, I bolt the base of such hammer frames or legs to brackets cast upon
or bolted to or secured in any other way to the sides of the anvil block itself,
and I extend the base of the said anvil block to such an extent as will suffi-
ciently steady, the machine without further foundations. I interpose a
thickness of bard wood between the frames and the flanges of the block, in
order to relieve the bolts from any jar caused by the action of the hammer.
At present hammers of the class above referred to are generally laid down
upon two pillars of masonry built on each side of the anvil block. Those
pillars carry the foundation plates and frames or legs of the hammer, and the
anvil block being placed in the space between the masonry, the blow of the
hammer acts upon the anvil block like a pile driver driving a pile, as every
blow tends to send the block further from it or into the foundation, and can
never strike a solid blow. But according to this part of my Invention the
blow of the hammer is given against a perfectly solid mass, so that the whole
force of the said blow is received within the machine itself, and not spent
upon the foundation as at present, but its full force is spent upon the iron
under the face, or between it and the block. By this means the work is done
in less time and much more efficiently, whilst such hammers will not have the
same tendency to shake the ground, buildings, and tools near them as the
hammers provided with the ordinary foundation. It is a well-known fact
that the heavier is the anvil block for a hammer the more steadily and effi-
ciently it will work, and the whole weight of the hammer in this case resting
upon the anvil block, and being firmly secured to it, will nearly double the

page_text: weight or inertia of the anvil block, and thereby render it more capable of
withstanding the force of impact.
.
According to another part of my said Invention 1 make the cylinders of
steam hammers in two pieces and bolt them together, and prefer to make
each half in one piece with one of the frames or legs, or it may be bolted to
them. By making the cylinder in two pieces I am enabled to make the
piston, piston rod, and hammer head so as to receive the face in one solid
mass, according to my practice at present, without the necessity of having
separate covers and stuffing boxes in two halves as at present, which neces-
sitates a great deal of care and trouble. I also propose to cast the cylinder
bottom and stuffing box in one piece with the cylinder and frames (the gland
only being in two pieces), and to bolt them firmly together with steam-tight
flanges, so that in fact they form the whole casting of the hammer proper.
Beneath the cylinder the inside facings of the frames are formed into guides
to receive the hammer head, and present when the hammer is fitted together
a hollow square section, in which the hammer bead works up and down, and
not only prevent the hammer head bar from turning round, but guide the
hammer head close down upon its work. The lower parts of these guides
meet and are firmly bolted together with strong flanges and bolts, as already
described, experience having shewn that at this point the greatest tendency
to twist the bar and strain the hammer occurs. Having served the purpose
of guides, the frames recede from each other, so as to admit the anvil block
between them and give room for working the balls, and afford a wide base
for the hammer to rest upon. I make this class of hammer specially for
puddling or shingling iron or steel, and as there is not so much room required
as when forging, and the blows are more severe and irregular, I bring the
frames down near to the anvil block, and I guide the hammer head between
the said frames solidly down close to its work in guides, with large wearing
surfaces, as described above, and I bolt the frames together at the bottom of
the said guides, so that the whole is made very compact and firm, whilst the
hammer head is well guided down upon its work.
:
For forging purposes the cylinder may be made in two pieces as described,
or bolted to the frames in the usual way, and by this new arrangement.the
advantage of a solid blow will be secured, whilst the frames are firmly held in
their place at the base by the auvil block as already described. By these
improvements the saving in the cost of each steam hammer, with anvil block
and bed plate, will be about twenty per cent., and in the foundation about fifty
per cent., whilst the maker will be able to deliver the hammer complete, fitted
to the block, and ready for work, and avoiding all the inconvenience and

page_text: delay of waiting for building and settling of masonry, finding foundations
bolts, supplying and levelling bed plates and anvil block, and making and
fitting bottom face, all of which have at present to be done by the purchaser
before he can erect his hammer.
. . And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
nów proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto
annexed; the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
Figure 1 on Sheet 1 of my Drawings represents a side elevation, and
Figure 2 a corresponding edge view of a three-ton double-acting steam
hammer specially arranged for shingling, as constructed in accordance with
my said Invention; Figures 3 and 4 (Sheet 2) represent similar views of a
double-acting three-ton hammer. arranged either for shingling or for forging,
and Figure 5 illustrates a self-acting variable valve gear adapted for either
hammer.
In all these Figures A, A, are the frames or legs, the bases of which are
bolted down upon the brackets B, B, which are cast in one piece with or
bolted or otherwise secured to the sides of the anvil block C. The base D of
the anvil block is extended to a sufficient extent to steady the superstructure
without the necessity for further foundations. Slabs E of hard wood are
interposed between the bases of the frames A and the flanges or side brackets
B, B, for the purpose of relieving the bolts from any jar caused by the blows
of the hammer. The anvil block, with the hammer attached, rests upon
cross-timber sleepers F, F, laid upon a bed of concrete G. In constructing
these hammers I prefer to make the cylinder in two halves, each half being
cast in one piece with the frames, and provided with a flange H to enable them
to be bolted together, or they may be cast separately and bolted to the frames.
By this means I am enabled to make the piston, piston rod, and hammer
head so as to receive the face in one solid mass, as heretofore practised by me,
without the necessity for separate cylinder covers and stuffing boxes in two
halves as at present.
I now propose to cast the bottom of the cylinder and the corresponding
stuffing box in one piece with the cylinder and frames, the glands alone being
made in two halves. The inside faces I, I, of the frames beneath the cylinder
are formed so as to operate as guides for the hammer head K to work in,
and not only prevent it from turning round, but guide it in the case of the
shingling or puddling hammer close down upon its work. The lower part of
these guides meet and are firmly bolted together with strong flanges and bolts

page_text: at L. The same construction applies equally to forging hammers, as illus-
trated on Sheet 2 of my Drawings; but in hammers of this class the frames
A are not brought down close to the anvil, so that sufficient space may be
afforded for manoeuvreing the work whilst under the action of the hammer.
As any convenient or well-known arrangement of valve gear may be
applied to the steam hammers constructed and arranged in accordance with
my said Invention, I do not consider it necessary to describe the same, as it
forms no part of my present Invention. The valve gear illustrated in my
Drawings, which will be readily understood by the practical engineer, I have
found to answer well.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my 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, bolting the frames of steam hammers direct on to the anvil block,
or on to brackets cast on or bolted or otherwise secured thereto for that
purpose, where such anvil blocks are partly under ground, whereby special
foundations or supports of masonry are rendered unnecessary.
Second, making the cylinders of steam hammers in two halves, and casting
them in one piece with the corresponding halves of the frame, or bolting them
thereto, the whole being arranged substantially as herein-before described.
Third, casting the cylinder bottom and stuffing box of steam hammers in
one piece with the halves of the cylinder and frame substantially as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Morrison, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
ROBT. MORRISON. (L.S.)