IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON TUBES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON AND OTHER METALLIC TUBES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Henry Lloyd, and Charles Faulkner, and William
Ellis Lloyd, and William Henry Lloyd, trading as the Weldless Steel Tube
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON TUBES, AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON
AND OTHER METALLIC TUBES."
Sealed the 30th June 1876, and dated the 17th March 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Henry Lloyd, Charles
Faulkner, William Ellis Lloyd, and William Henry Lloyd at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 17th March 1876.
FRANCIS HENRY LLOYD, and CHARLES FAULKNER, and WILLIAM ELLIS LLOYD,
and WILLIAM HENRY LLOYD, trading as the Weldless Steel Tube Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF STEEL AND IRON TUBES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON AND OTHER METALLIC TUBES."
Our Invention consists, first, in manufacturing steel and iron tubes by tho
following process or combination of processes:-We first make a short thick hollow
cylinder of iron or steel, either by punching or drilling a hole in the axis of a
cylinder of steel or iron, produced by forging, rolling, or casting; or we take a
hollow cylinder or ingot of iron or steel made by the casting process. We roll down
the said hollow cylinder at a red heat by means of rolls of the ordinary construction,
the interior of the hollow cylinder being supported by a stationary bulb mandril.
After the hollow cylinder has been elongated and reduced in diameter and in
substance of metal, as far as can be conveniently effected by the rolling process, wo
finish the partially made tube, that is, we elongate it and reduce its diameter and
thickness of metal to the required degree by the drawing process; that is, we draw
the tube through a draw plate or die by means of a chain draw bench, the interior
of the tube being supported during the drawing process by a stationary bulb
mandril or by a travelling slightly taper mandril. The chain draw bench employed
in carrying this part of our Invention into effect is similar in construction to but
stronger than chain draw benches commonly used for drawing tubes of copper and
brass. In some cases, as for example, when a tube of large diameter has to be
made, we effect a preliminary drawing by means of a hydraulic draw bench before
[Price Gd.]

page_text: effecting the final or finishing drawing by means of a chain draw bench. The
bulb mandril we employ is by preference constructed according to the improve-
ments herein-after described, and which improvement constitutes part of our
Invention.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in the following improvements in hydraulic
machinery employed for drawing tubes of steel, iron, and other metals. In place of
the ordinary methods of packing the piston of the hydraulic cylinder, we employ a
packing of hemp gaskin enclosed between two collars capable of a slight sliding
motion between the two faces of the piston. The pressure of the water forces these
collars towards each other, and thereby compresses the packing of hemp gaskin
enclosed between them and ensures the tight working of the piston. The return
motion of the piston is effected by the pressure of the water on the upper side of
the piston, the area of which, diminished by the area of the piston rod or plunger,
is so small that the return motion is effected rapidly and with little expenditure of
water.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, of the following improvements in the construction
of bulb mandrils used in the manufacture of metallic tubes. Instead of making
the bulb in one piece and of the same piece of steel as the stem or rod of the
mandril, we make the acting part of the bulb of a separate piece of steel; this
separate piece is hollow, and fits on a small head or bulb formed on the end of the
rod of the mandril; it can casily be replaced when worn or injured, and from its
small bulk of metal, from its hollow figure, and its complete detachment from the
rod of the mandril, it can be made and hardened with a certainty and uniformity
unattainable in bulb mandrils of the ordinary kind.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Francis Henry Lloyd, Charles Faulkner, William Ellis Lloyd, and
William Henry Lloyd, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th September
1876.
"5
FRANCIS HENRY LLOYD, and CHARLES FAULKNER, and WILLIAM ELLIS LLOYD,
and WILLIAM HENRY LLOYD, trading as the Weldless Steel Tube Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF STEEL AND IRON TUBES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF STEEL AND IRON AND OTHER METALLIC TUBES."
Our Invention consists, first, in manufacturing steel and iron tubes by the
following process or combination of processes:-We first make a short thick hollow
cylinder of iron or steel, either by punching or drilling a hole in the axis of a
cylinder of steel or iron, produced by forging, rolling, or casting; or we take a
hollow cylinder or ingot of iron or steel made by the casting process. Although
we prefer to make the short thick hollow cylinder of iron or steel on which we
commence to operate in manufacturing steel and iron tubes according to our
Invention by one of the methods referred to, yet we do not confine ourselves to any
particular method of making the said short thick hollow cylinder of iron or steel.
We first operate upon the said short thick hollow cylinder raised to a red heat by
means of rolls of the ordinary construction, the interior of the said hollow cylinder
After the
being supported during the rolling process by a stationary bulb mandril.
said hollow cylinder has been elongated and reduced in diameter and in substance of
metal, as far as can be conveniently effected by the rolling process, we finish the
partially made tube, that is, we still further elongate it and reduce its external
diameter and thickness of metal to the required degree by the drawing process,
that is to say, we draw the tube through a draw plate or die by means of a chain
draw bench, the interior of the tube being supported during the drawing process
by a stationary bulb mandril or by a travelling slightly taper mandril, such as is
on only used in the manufacture of brass and copper tubes. The chain draw

page_text: bench employed in carrying this part of our Invention into effect is similar in
construction to but stronger than chain draw benches commonly used for drawing
tubes of copper and brass. In some cases, as for example, when a tube of large
diameter has to be made, we effect a preliminary drawing by means of a hydraulic
draw bench before effecting the final or finishing drawing by means of a chain draw
bench. By this preliminary drawing by means of a hydraulic draw bench any
excessive strain on the chain draw bench from irregularity of thickness of the rolled
tube is avoided. The bulb mandril we employ is by preference constructed according
to the improvement herein-after described, and which improvement constitutes part
of our Invention. A bulb mandril of the ordinary kind may however be employed
with like effect. By the process or combination of processes described the tubes
are produced with great speed, and hence economy in their manufacture results.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in the following improvements in hydraulic
machinery employed for drawing tubes of steel, iron, and other metals. Although
this part of our Invention is especially applicable to the manufacture of steel and
iron tubes, yet it may also be applied advantageously to the manufacture of brass
and copper tubes and tubes of other metals and alloys. In place of the ordinary
methods of packing the piston of the hydraulic cylinder, we employ a packing of
hemp gaskin enclosed between two collars capable of a slight motion between the
two faces of the piston. Instead of hemp gaskin, hemp or plaited cotton, or other
like material may be used. The pressure of the water forces these collars towards
each other, and thereby compresses the packing of hemp gaskin enclosed between
them and ensures the tight working of the piston. The return motion of the piston
is effected by the pressure of the water on the upper side of the piston, the area of
which, diminished by the area of the piston rod or plunger, is so small that the
return motion is effected rapidly and with little expenditure of water. This packing,
besides being applicable to the piston of the hydraulic cylinder, is also applicable to
other parts of the hydraulic tube drawing machinery, such for example, as the
pumps of the hydraulic machinery and the glands or stuffing boxes of the hydraulic
cylinder, as herein-after particularly explained.
In
Packing constructed according to our Invention is both efficient and durable.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents, partly in section and partly
in elevation, a portion of a hydraulic cylinder piston and piston rod having a
packing constructed according to this part of our Invention. a is the hydraulic
cylinder, and b and b² are the two portions of the piston between which the packing
is situated; c, c², and c³, represent the piston rod; the portion c above the piston
being of a diameter nearly equal to that of the piston, the portion c² between
the two parts b, 62, of the piston is of less diameter than the part c, and the
part is of still less diameter than the part c. That part of the piston rod between
the parts c and c³ has a screw thread on which the part 2 of the piston screws.
order still further to support the part b² and prevent it unscrewing a key or cotter
may be passed through the hole c of the piston rod. d, d, is the hemp gaskin
enclosed between the collars e, e², made of iron, brass, or other hard metal or alloy;
these collars e, e², are capable of a sliding motion on the part c² of the piston rod,
and contain the cupped leathers f, f, for forming a tight joint between the collars e, e²,
and the piston rod . Although we prefer for greater safety to employ the cupped
leathers ff, yet the said cupped leathers may be dispensed with. The pressure of
the water exerted in the direction of the arrows effects the compression of the
gaskin packing d, d, by causing the collar c² to slide towards the collar e. On
the return motion of the piston the water presses on the collar e and moves it.
towards the collar e², and the hemp gaskin is thereby compressed between the two
collars.
Figure 2 represents in longitudinal section our improved arrangement of packing
applied to the stuffing box of the pump cylinder of hydraulic tube drawing
machinery. The pump cylinder is marked g, the plunger or piston h, and the
packing of hemp gaskin . The metallic collars between which the packing i is
contained are marked respectively k and ; the pressure of the water on the collar

page_text: causes the said collar to compress the hemp gaskin i between it and the collar k.
We also apply an arrangement of packing, essentially the same as that represented
in Figure 2, to the stuffing boxes or glands at the end or ends of the hydraulic
cylinder of the hydraulic tube drawing machinery.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, of the following improvement in the construction
of bulb mandrils used in the manufacture of metallic tubes. Instead of making the
bulb in one piece and of the same piece of steel as the stem or rod of the mandril,
we make the acting part of the bulb of a separate piece of steel; this separate piece
is hollow, and fits on a small head or bulb formed on the end of the rod of the
mandril; it can easily be replaced when worn or injured, and from its small bulk of
metal, from its hollow figure, and its complete detachment from the rod of the
mandril, it can be made and hardened with a certainty and uniformity unattainable
in bulb mandrils of the ordinary kind.
Figure 3 represent in elevation, and Figure 4 partly in longitudinal section and
partly in elevation, a bulb mandril constructed according to our Invention. m is
the stem of the mandril, and n is the separable or detachable bulb of the same;
m² is the conical or enlarged end of the stem m of the mandril, on which conical or
enlarged end m² the separable bulb n fits, as will be understood by an examination
of Figure 4. The bulb n is fixed in its place by the lock nuts p, q, which take upon
the screw on the stem of the mandril.
We do not restrict ourselves to any particular shape of the head m² of the
mandril stem, nor to any particular method of fixing the separable bulb n on the
mandril shank or stem, but the arrangement we have described and represented
answers well in practice.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do no limit ourselves
to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention
of improvements in the manufacture of steel and iron tubes, and in machinery or
apparatus employed in the manufacture of steel and iron and other metallic
tubes,―
First. Manufacturing steel and iron tubes by the process or combination of
processes hercin-before described, that is to say, by first operating upon a short
thick hollow cylinder of steel or iron by means of a rolling process, and subsequently
by a drawing process, the said drawing process being conducted wholly by a chain
draw bench, or partly by a hydraulic draw bench and partly by a chain draw
bench.
Secondly. Constructing and arranging the parts of the packing of hydraulic tube
drawing machinery, substantially as herein-before described, and illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly. Constructing bulb mandrils used in the drawing of metallic tubes in
the manner herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making the bulb of the said mandrils
separable from the stem and connecting the bulb to the stem, substantially as
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof I, the said William Ellis Lloyd, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousandleight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM ELLIS LLOYD. (L.S.)