IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE BEARINGS OR 'BRASSES' IN WHICH THE AXLES OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES REVOLVE, AND ALSO IN THE BEARINGS, BRASSES,' AND OTHER PARTS OF PLUMMER BLOCKS EMPLOYED IN MACHINERY GENERALLY
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Daniel Allen, of Laithfield House, Norfolk
Road, Sheffield, in the County of York, Steel Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE BEARINGS OR
'BRASSES' IN WHICH THE AXLES OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES
REVOLVE, AND ALSO IN THE BEARINGS, BRASSES,' AND OTHER PARTS OF
PLUMMER BLOCKS EMPLOYED IN MACHINERY GENERALLY."
Sealed the 12th June 1861, and dated the 13th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Daniel Allen at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th December 1860.
1. WILLIAM DANIEL ALLEN, of Laithfield House. Norfolk Road. Sheffield,
in the County of York, Steel Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE BEARINGS
OR BRASSES IN WHICH THE AXLES OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES
REVOLVE. AND ALSO IN THE BEARINGS, BRASSES,' AND OTHER PARTS OF PLUMMER
BLOCKS EMPLOYED IN MACHINERY GENERALLY," to be as follows:--
My invention relates to the manufacture of the bearings, "brasses,"
linings of the axle boxes of locomotive engines and carriages used on railways,
and also in the bearings or linings of plummer blocks. known technically as
"brasses," which are generally made in two paris. enveloping the axle or
journal of the shaft, and retaining it in its required position. My Invention
also relates to the manufacture of the "caps" of plummer blocks and the
pieces of metal sometimes used between the said caps and the upper brass
or bearing.
In the ordinary mode of manufacturing axle boxes and plummer blocks,
the bearings or brasses are made of unwrought metal by casting them in
[Price Sd.]

page_text: monids of the required form, gun metal, or other amoy of copper being mon
employed for that purpose.
Now, the first part of my said Invention consists in a method or methods
of forming the aforesaid brasses, bearings, or other parts of plummer blocks,
in wrought or rolled metal, for which purpose I first cast an ingot of copper,
or the yellow alloy of zinc and copper known as "Muntz's metal," or I cast it
in zinc, or other metal or alloy capable of being rolled in a heated state; the
ingot when heated is to be rolled between suitable grooved rollers until a bar
is formed, the transverse section of which is such as will form, when cut into
short pieces, the said brasses, bearings, or other parts of plummer blocks, or
the shape when rolled may be such, that by curving, bending, stamping, or
pressing the aforesaid pieces of rolled metal, or by forming flanges thereon by
means of dies or suages, the desired form and configuration may be given,
the stamping or pressing of the pieces being effected while the metal is still
hot, or after they have become cold.
Brass, gun metal, and other malleable alloys of copper may be manu-
factured in a similar manner by rolling the metal in a cold state; as already
practised in the manufacture of sheet brass.
The cutting of the rolled bars into suitable lengths I prefer to effect with
circular saws or by cutters acting like a pair of shears, the cutting edge being
made to fit the sectional form of the rolled bar; in either case the bar may
be cut in a heated or cold state. Brasses or bearings so manufactured may
be perfected by boring, turning, planing, or filing, and in those cases where a
white metal or tin surface or lining is desirable, they may be coated with such
metals in the manner already practised.
Although I have herein-before described how any suitable malleable metal,
such as copper and its alloys, may be manufactured into brasses, bearings, or
other parts of plummer blocks, I nevertheless desire it to be distinctly under-
stood that an important part of my said Invention consists in forming brasses
or bearings in which the axles of locomotive engines and carriages used on rail-
ways revolve, and also the bearings, brasses, and other parts of plummer blocks
employed in machinery generally by rolling billets or ingots of malleable iron
or steel, or iron and steel combined in suitable grooved rollers, and forming
thereby bars of such a sectional form as will, when cut into suitable lengths,
produce the said brasses or bearings, or the form of the bars may be such, that
by curving, bending, stamping, or pressing the aforesaid pieces of rolled bars,
or by forming flanges thereon by means of dies or suages, the desired form and
configuration may be given. Brasses or bearings so made may, when desired,
be wholly or partially hardened by quenching: when they are made of

page_text: malleable iron, the rubbing surfaces may he case or surface hardened by any
of the usual methods employed for such purposes, and when made wholly of
steel, they may be hardened throughout in oil or otherwise, and afterwards
tempered, but where hardened bearings are required I prefer to employ either
of the following modes in making the bar-I take a billet of iron or mild
steel, and on to one or both sides of it. I weld a piece of steel of such a thick-
ness as will give the required thickness of hardening surface to the finished
article or I take a bar or billet of iron or of mild steel that will not harden
sufficiently, and I convert the external surface of it into steel or into more
highly carbonized steel by cementation, and then proceed to roll it into the
desired form, or I first complete the rolling of the bars, and in some cases
the making of the bearings, and then convert their surfaces into sicel by
cementation. When the hardening process is to be dispensed with I prefer
to form the said bearings of a very highly carbonized steel, and in all cases I
prefer to cut the rolled bars into the desired lengths by sawing or shearing
whilst in a heated state. Although this process may be effected after they
have become cold, the kind of steel employed for the above purposes may be
varied, but I prefer to employ cast steel.
Brasses or bearings so manufactured, if of malleable iron and steel, may be
perfected by boring, turning, planing, or filing, and in those cases where a
white metal or tin surface or lining is desirable, they may be coated with such
metals in the manner already practised.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Daniel Allen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. WILLIAM
DANIEL ALLEN, of Laithfield House, Norfolk Road, Sheffield, in the County
of York, Steel Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Daniel Allen, Her special licence that I, the said William Daniel Allen,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Daniel Allen, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the

page_text: 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 THE MANU-
FACTURE OF THE BEARINGS OR 'BRASSES' IN WHICH THE AXLES OF LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES AND CARRIAGES REVOLVE, AND ALSO IN THE BEARINGS, 'BRASSES,' AND
OTHER PARTS OF PLUMMER BLOCKS EMPLOYED IN MACHINERY GENERALLY," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Daniel Allen, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my. or their
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Greai 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 William Daniel Allen, 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 thereof. that is to say:
My Invention relates to the manufacture of the bearings, brasses, or linings
of the axle boxes of locomotive engines and carriages used on railways, and
also in the bearings or linings of Plummer blocks, known technically as
"brasses." which are generally made in two parts, enveloping the axle or journal
of the shaft, and retaining it in its required position. My invention also relates
to the manufacture of the "caps" of plummer blocks, and the pieces of metal
sometimes used between the said caps and the upper brass or hearing.
In the ordinary mode of manufacturing axle boxes and plummer blocks,
the bearings or brasses are made of unwrought metal by casting them in.
moulds of the required form. gun metal, or other alloys of copper being
chiefly employed for that purpose.
Now, the first part of my said Invention consists in a method or methods of
forming the aforesaid brasses or bearings, or other parts of plummer blocks in
wrought or rolled metal, for which purpose I firsi cast an ingot of copper, or
the yellow alloy of zinc and copper, known as "Muntz's metal," or I casi it
in zinc, or other metal or alloy. capable of being rolled in a heated state; the
ingot when heated. is to be rolled between suitable grooved rollers until a bar
is formed, the transverse section of which is such as will form when cut into
short pieces the said brasses bearings, or other parts of plummer blocks.
The form and size of the bar may be varied to suit the form and size of the
brass or bearing, or other part of a plummer block desired to be produced by
varying the size and shape of the grooves in the rollers in such manner as is

page_text: well understood, in rolling bars of required forms. In order more fully to
exemplify this part of my Invention, the annexed Drawings, Figures 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. represent transverse sections of several of the ordinary
forms of bearings, brasses, and other parts of plummer blocks that may be pro-
duced simply by rolling a bar to the section shewn, and afterwards cutting it
into the required lengths.
Figure 10 represents a perspective view of a common form of railway axle
bearing that may be made by rolling a bar to the section shown at Figure 11;
notches or grooves may then be cut crossways of it as shewn at Figure 12,
which is a side elevation of a bar so notched; the notches or grooves may he
made with a thick circular saw or cutier, or by planing, each notch or groove
being far enough apari to leave sufficient metal for the body of the bearing
between them, and cut in such a width and such a depth only, that when an
entire separation of the pieces is made at the lines B, Figure 12, by means of
a thinner saw or otherwise, a strip of metal will be left upon one end of each
piece sufficient to form the lip A. Figure 10; the pieces may afterwards be
finished by planing the sides so as to leave the projecting ribs C. Figure 10,
and the bevelled end of the bearing formed by boring or turning; or the
shape, when rolled. may be such that by bending. curving. stamping, or pressing
the aforesaid pieces of rolled metal, or by forming flanges thereon by means of
dies or swages. the desired form and configuration may be given.
::
This part of my Invention will be more readily understood by reference to
the annexed Drawing. Figure 13 is a cross section of a rolled bar, and
Figure 14 a longitudinal section of the same; such or similar rolled bars when
cut into lengths, and the pieces bent or pressed into a semi-circular form by
means of dies or swages, will form hearings or brasses of an ordinary shape
used in railway axle boxes, and in plummer blocks of machinery; generally
upon one side of the rolled bar are slight curves or undulations shown in the
cross section Figure 15 at B; these or any similar configurations may be given
in rolling the bar by making the grooves or gates in the rolls of the form
to produce them, so that when the bar is cut into pieces of the required
length. and the plain side of such pieces is bent into a semicircular shape
forming the inside of the brass or bearing, the slight curves or undulations
upon the other side will produce the half octagonal or other form to the exte-
rior, when. however, a plain semi-circular exterior only is required, the bar
may be rolled plain on both sides; accordingly a side view partly in section of
a die or swage, in which the bending or stamping may be effected, is shewn at
Figure 16, and an end view also partly in section of the same at Figure 17.
Figures 18, 19, 20, also represent cross sections of bars, which may be cut

page_text: into lengths for bearings or brasses, and may afterwards have flanges given by
means of dies or swages. When this intended to be done, the pieces should
be cut long enough to have sufficient metal to form the flanges; a die or swage
by which the flanging may be effected is shewn in vertical section at Figure 21.
A is a piece of round steel of the diameter of the hore of the bearings to be
flanged: F. F. are a pair of clamps held together by screws shewn more clearly
in plan at Figure 22: the depth of these clamps should be equal to the distance
intended to be left between the flanges: C. Figure 21. is an anvil block, with
its face recessed to the form it is intended to make the flanges. and in the
centre of this recess is a hole in the block of the diameter of the shaft A: D is
a block of metal, also recessed like C, and forming the reversed side of the die;
in proceeding to use this die or swage two of the pieces of rolled metal of
which it is intended to form the bearings may be by means of the clamps
and screws, Figure 22. fastened firmly round the shaft A: one end of the shaft
may then be inserted into the hole in the block which will hold it in position;
the block D may then be placed over the other end of the shaft A, and upon
the two blocks being driven by a blow or pressure towards each other the
superfluous metal of the bearing will become compressed into the form of the
recesses in the blocks, and the flanges thereby will be produced, the stamping
or pressing of the pieces being effected while the metal is still hot, or after
they have become cold. Brass, gun metal, and other malleable alloys of copper
may be manufactured in a similar manner by rolling the metal in a cold state,
as already practised in the manufacture of sheet brass.
The cutting of the rolled bars into suitable lengths I prefer to effect with
circular saws or by cutters acting like a pair of shears, the cutting edge being
made to fit the sectional form of the rolled bar; in either case the bar may be
cut in a heated or cold state. Brasses or bearings so manufactured may be
perfected by boring, turning, planing, or filing; and in those cases where a
white metal or tin surface or lining is desirable. they may be coated with such
metals in the manner already practised.
Although I have herein-before described how any suitable malleable metal,
such as copper and its alloys. may be manufactured into brasses. bearings, or
other parts of plummer blocks, I nevertheless desire it to be distinctly under-
stood, that an important part of my said Invention consists in forming brasses
or bearings in which the axles of locomotive engines and carriages used on
railways revolve; and also the bearings, brasses. and other parts of plummer
blocks employed in machinery generally by rolling billets or ingots of malleable
iron or steel, or iron and steel combined, in suitable grooved rollers, and
forming thereby bars of such a sectional form as will, when cut into suitable

page_text: length, produce the said brasses or bearings, or they may be finished by
notching, planing, boring, or turning. in the manner herein-before described,
or the form of the bars may be such, that by curving, bending, stamping, or
pressing the aforesaid pieces of rolled bars, or by forming flanges thereon by
means of dies or swages, the desired form and configuration may be given.
Brasses or bearings so made may, when desired. be wholly or partially hardened
by quenching when they are made of malleable iron, the rubbing surface may
be case or surface hardened by any of the usual methods employed for such
purposes, and when made wholly of steel, they may be hardened throughout in
oil or otherwise. and afterwards tempered; but when hardened bearings are
required. I prefer to employ either of the following modes:-In making the bar
I take a billet of iron or mild steel, and on to one or both sides of it I weld a
piece of steel of such a thickness as will give the required thickness of hardening
surface to the finished article, or 1 take a bar or billet of iron, or of mild steel
that will not harden sufficiently, and convert the external surface of it into
steel or into more highly carbonized steel by cementation, and then proceed to
roll it into the desired form, or I first complete the rolling of the bars, and in
some cases the making of the bearings and then convert their surface into
steel by cementation; when the hardening process is to be dispensed with I
prefer to form the said bearings of a very highly carbonized steel, and in all
cases prefer to cut the rolled bars into the desired lengths by sawing or
shearing whilst in a heated state, although this process may be effected after
they have become cold; the kind of steel employed for the above purposes may
be varied, but I prefer to employ cast steel, in the manner herein-before
described.
Brasses or bearings so manufactured of malleable iron and steel may be
perfected by boring, turning, planing, or filing, and in those cases where a
white metal or tin surface or lining is desirable, they may be coated with such
metals, in the manner already practised.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Daniel Allen, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
WILLIAM DANIEL ALLEN. (L.S.)