CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR HEWING, DRESSING, SPLITTING, BREAKING, STAMPING, CRUSHING, AND PRESSING STONE, OR OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
NASMYTH, of Patricroft, in the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Second day of December, in the eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Nasmyth, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said James Nasmyth, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said James Nasmyth, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR HEWING, DRESSING, SPLITTING, BREAKING, STAMPING, CRUSHING,
AND PRESSING STONE, OR OTHER MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said James Nasmyth, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,.
and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Nasmyth, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
I hereby declare my Invention consists, in the first place, in the direct
manner in which I employ high-pressure steam to exert its elastic force in
alternately lifting up and accelerating the fall of a piston sliding in a vertical
cylinder; to which piston I attach, by means of a rod, a certain mass of iron
or other suitable material sliding in another cylinder placed vertically, or as
nearly so as may be found convenient, under the former, and to which mass
of iron I attach certain chisels, cutters, stampers, or hammers, for the purpose
of hewing, dressing, splitting, breaking, stamping, crushing, and pressing
stone, or other materials. And,
Secondly, my Invention consists in the peculiar manner by which I am
enabled to modify the speed or number, as well as intensity of the blows,
which the above-named mass of iron is capable of giving to the objects
desired to receive them, according as may be desirable in the various stages
of the before-named processes. In order to describe more clearly the nature
and arrangement of the apparatus in which I have embodied my Invention, I
shall refer to the accompanying Drawing, in which the general arrangement
of the parts characteristic of and essential to my Invention will be more
clearly seen. These consist, in the first place, of a cylinder A, in which is fitted
a piston B, and piston rod C, working through a steam-tight stuffing box D,
the steam being conveyed to this cylinder from a suitable boiler, by means of
a pipe E, so that by means of a slide valve F (in all respects similar to that
generally employed in high-pressure steam engines) the steam is permitted
to exert its elastic force upon the upper and under sides of the piston B,
alternately, by the sliding up and down of the valve F, which receives its
motion from a small piston, sliding in a cylinder G, the piston rod of which
is at the same time the valve rod for the valve F; the requisite amount of
motion of this valve F, being regulated by a small crank and fly wheel g, g¹;
which at the same time gives the duly regulated motion to the valve of the small
cylinder G, by means of an excentric at (w). The piston rod C is attached
to a cylindrical mass of iron K, sliding nearly airtight within a 'cylinder H,
placed immediately under the cylinder A. Steam being admitted by a pipe

page_text: at I to the small cylinder G, it immediately gives a rising and falling motion
to the valve F, the rapidity of which motion is regulated by the rate of
admission and pressure of the steam let into the small cylinder G. While the
valve F is being thus moved steam is permitted to enter by the pipe E, and
so obtain access alternately to the upper and under side of the piston B,
which, together with its attached mass of iron K, is lifted up and forced down
with a degree of force and rapidity, as due to the pressure of the steam on the
piston B, together with the weight of the mass K. But as there would be
nothing to limit the motion of the piston B in its upward and downward action
except its coming in contact with the top and bottom of the cylinder A
(which in its action would soon knock out, and so destroy, that part of the
apparatus), it becomes requisite to give a certain and definite motion to the
piston B, as also to the attached block K. To attain this object I employ
certain means of which the following is a description:-It will be seen that
the clear spaces in the cylinder H, above and below the upper and under sides
of the mass K, are very nearly equal to those spaces above and below the upper
and under sides of the piston B, the object of which is this, that when the
upper edge of the mass K in its upward motion passes the hole L, the air
remaining in the space M, M, is shut up and confined, and, as it cannot escape
so fast as it is compressed by the violent upward motion of the mass K, it very
soon acquires a degree of elasticity sufficient not only to arrest all risk of the
upper end of the mass K from striking the bottom of the cylinder A, and
also that of the piston B striking the top of the cylinder; but, what is of
more importance, the so confined and compressed air exerts a powerful elastic
action, which gives vast energy to the downward action or blow which is given
out by the fall of the mass K, aided by the pressure of the stean on the top
of the piston B, together with that of the compressed air on the upper side of
the mass K. So far then I have described the manner in which I limit
the upward action of the mass K. I shall now in like manner describe how
I limit the downward action of the mass K. It will be seen that the cylinder
H, in which the mass, K slides, has a bottom at M, through which the chisel
or cutter holder T slides through a nearly airtight hole (n); and as the under'
edge of the mass K in its downward action confines and compresses the air
in the space P, P, by passing the hole O, it shuts up, the air in the space
P, P, in the same manner as before described in the upward action; so
that according to the degree of intensity I desire the mass K to transmit its
momentum to any object placed under the chisel holder T,, all that has to be
done is to regulate the degree of compression of the air in the under chamber
P, P, which is accomplished in the most simple manner, by having means to

page_text: regulate the degree of opening of an escape aperture at Z, which gives me
the power of regulating at pleasure the thickness of the cushion of air in
the chamber P; the force of the blow from the fall of the mass K is modified
according to pleasure. And also by this simple means I obtain a species of
elastic or springing blow, which enables me to touch with delicacy or strike
with force any object placed under the chisel holder T; besides which the
elasticity of the air cushion in the chamber P, P, very importantly assists in
recommencing the upward motion of the mass K, without any jerk or
destructive action whatsoever. The same means are provided for regulating
the elastic air cushion in the upper chamber M, M; and with similar and
favorable results, as just described in the case of the action of the air in the
chamber P, P, on the return stroke of the mass K, the holes L and O
permit the air to re-enter with perfect freedom at every stroke. It will now
be evident that, having by means of this apparatus obtained all due power
and controul over the energy of motion of the mass K, I can in that case
apply its action to give the requisite lifting and falling action to certain chisels,
cutters, stampers, or hammers, such as may be attached or fixed to the end
of the holder T, so that on placing an object, as a block of stone or other
material, under the chisels, and at due distance, the surface of such object will
receive such portion of the full force of the blow arising from the fall of the
mass K as I may desire it to receive. In the case of hewing or chopping
the surface of stones by such means, all that has to be done is to fix the
stones on to a sliding table, which has a progressive motion given to it in
directions at right angles to each other; so that, by the combined or separate
action of such sliding motion, all or any portion of its surface may be in
succession brought under the action of the blows transmitted to it by the rapid
rise and fall of the mass K, and its attached chisels, and by the due regulation
of the air cushion under the mass K, in the chamber P, P, powerful blows or
delicate touches may be transmitted to its surface at pleasure, in any order
or degree of variety, both as to force and rapidity; the air cushion regulating
the force, while the admission of the steam into the eylinders G and A
regulates the rapidity. With respect to the means employed for fixing the
stones or other substances to the traversing tables, so that they may be duly
subjected to the action of the chisels or stampers, there are so many ways of
accomplishing these objects, and they are so well known, that I shall not
describe them; the more so, as such do not immediately belong to the apparatus
embodying my Invention, which I have declared to consist of the means I
have described of employing the elastic force of steam and air to create and
modify the power to be employed for the before-named purposes.

page_text: In conclusion I must observe, that though I have shewn in the accom-
panying Drawing a peculiar construction of machinery, in which I have found
it convenient to embody my Invention, I do not intend to confine myself
precisely to the forms or arrangements there shewn, as the particular objects
I have in view may be attained by several modifications or variations of the
same elements. I therefore desire it to be understood that I found my
claim of Invention (secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent),―
Firstly, in the direct application of the clastic force of steam to raise and
depress the tool or tools, by which stones may be chipped or dressed, whatever
may be the character or construction of steam engine by which such elastic
force is brought to act directly in raising and depressing the working chisel,
pick, or other tool, that operates upon the surface of the stone.
Secondly, in the employment of compressed air or air cushions, to temper
or regulate the action of the steam piston, and the intensity of the blow given
by the tool in the act of striking the surface of the stone; also the means
described, by which I am enabled to vary the elastic resistance of such
volumes of compressed air, and thereby to modify and determine the force of
the striking tool, according to the work under operation.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Nasmyth, have hereunto set my
land and seal, this Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.