IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING CIRCULAR BLOOMS, SUCH AS ARE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TYRES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Bartholomew and John
Heptinstall at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
· Petition, on the 22nd November 1861..
We, CHARLES BARTHOLOMEW, of Broxholme, Wheatley, near Doncaster,
Civil Engineer, and JOHN HEPTINSTALL, of Masbrough, Rotherham, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention: for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING CIRCULAR
BLOOMS, SUCH AS ARE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TYRES AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in making circular blooms
such as are used in the manufacture of tyres and for other purposes.
In making a circular bloom of iron, after the iron is made and rolled into a
puddled bar it is then cut into segments or radial pieces, that is to say, the
puddled bar is divided into pieces of equal and comparatively short length by
cutting it across at an angle, the cuts being made to slope alternately in
either direction and in such a manner that if the pieces be laid round in a
circle, their longer sides outwards and shorter sides inwards, they will butt
accurately end to end and make-up a complete polygonal ring.
The mode in which the the pile is made for the bloom from these segments or
radial pieces is as follows:-A smaller bar of iron of sufficient length is coiled
round a mandril so as to produce a flat coil of sufficient width to form the top
and bottom of the intended-pile. Upon the bottom coil a circle of the pieces
of flat bar above mentioned is placed, and upon that circle another circle of
pieces is built so as to break joint with the pieces below, and then another

page_text: circle of such pieces of iron is placed, likewise breaking joint, until a sufficient
thickness is obtained. Upon the whole a top coil, similar to the bottom coil,
is placed, and the pile is then completed ready to be placed in the ball furnace,
and when it has attained sufficient heat it is then put in a die of the requisite
form for producing the bloom of the required outside shape, when it is struck
by a steam or other hammer of the requisite power and weight to thoroughly
weld the pile into the requisite form. The die is formed by a circular hoop of
iron of requisite strength and depth and cross section according to the intended
form. After the bloom has been struck in the die a punch of wrought iron is
struck into the middle of the bloom to form the inner surface according to the
inner shape desired, and to consolidate the iron laterally, and the whole is
sufficiently hammered for thorough consolidation.
When a steel bloom is required, cast or blistered steel is rolled into flat bars
and cut into segments or radial pieces as above described; with respect to the
iron two coils are prepared from the same material (steel), one being placed at
the bottom and the other at the top, and intermediately the pieces piled as
above described, when the same is struck in the die and punched also as above
mentioned and well hammered, which completes the bloom for a steel tyre.
When the bloom is to be made combining iron and steel two coils of iron
and also flat bars of the same material are employed, as described in the
first process, and together with these flat bars of steel, as described in the
second process. The flat iron and steel bars are cut into radial or segmental
pieces of such size that when the outside of the bloom is intended to be steel
the pieces of steel shall form the outer circle, and on the same level and
thickness the iron pieces shall form the inner circle of the pile for the first
course, then for the second course the outside shall also be formed of the
steel pieces somewhat narrower or broader than the lower course so as to
break joint not only with the pieces of steel of the first course but also with
the back joint of the pieces of iron in such course, and the pieces of iron to be
piled on the second course for the inner circle are of the requisite breadth for
completing the bloom. The third course of piling will likewise be made on
the outside of steel and the inside of iron, the pieces being made so as to
break joint with those underneath, and so on until the proper thickness has
been obtained; the top coil is then put on. The whole of the pile thus built up
is placed in the furnace, and when properly heated to a good welding heat the
same is placed on the die and struck with the hammer as described in the
first process, and likewise punched in a similar manner to consolidate the
bloom both vertically and laterally, and thoroughly hammered for con-
solidation.
.!"

page_text: In some cases we make the top and bottom coils of steel, and build up
radial pieces of iron between the two, the pile being afterwards completed by,
enclosing it in a spiral coil of steel. Thus an annular bloom is obtained
having a thin coating of steel both externally and top and bottom. The whole
of these blooms when manufactured are in a fit condition to be rolled by the
method for which-a-Patent-was-granted to ourselves, and dated 14th May 1857,
No. 1369.