IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Neilson, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN STEAM HAMMERS."
Sealed the 9th December 1859, and dated the 3rd September 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter. Neilson .at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his l'etition, on the 3rd
September 1859.
I, WALTER NEILSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention has for object the constructing and arranging of steam
hammers so as to render them capable of more varied, general,and convenient
application than hitherto; and in carrying out the Invention according to one
modification the hammering details are mounted so as to be capable of acting
at different points of an arc of a given radius, such details being carried upon
an arm or bracket mounted upon or connected to a massive standard or
pillar by means of trunnions or otherwise, so as to be capable of turning
about a vertical axis. The minor details may be arranged in a variety of
ways. The hammering details may be contrived to strike vertically or
[Price 8d.]

page_text: obliquely, or the parts may be rendered adjustable, so that the stroke may be
given at any required inclination. According to another modification the
bracket maybe formed in two parts,connected by a vertical joint,so as to still
further facilitate the adjustment of the position of the hammering details.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Neilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
NEILSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Walter Neilson, Her special licence that I, the said Walter
Neilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
the said Walter Neilson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Walter Neilson, 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 performed, and cause the same to he
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 Walter Neilson, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for object the constructing and arranging of steam
hammers so as to render them capable of more varied,general,and convenient

page_text: application than hitherto,and consists mainly in mounting the details so that
they may be moved or adjusted to cause the hammering action to take effect
upon various points and invarious directions within the scope of the apparatus.
In carrying out the Invention according to one modification, the hammering
details are carried upon an arm or bracket mounted upon or connected to a
massive standard or pillar by means of trunnions or otherwise, so as to be
capable of turning about a vertical axis, and thus bring the hammering action
to bear on, any point in an arc of the radius of the arm or bracket.
According to a second modification, the arm or bracket may consist of two
parts connected by a vertical joint, so as to still further facilitate the adjust-
ment of the position of the hammering details. The minor details may be
arranged in a variety of ways; and the hammering details may be contrived
to strike vertically or obliquely; or the parts may be rendered adjustable, so
that the stroke may be given at any required inclination; or, again, the parts
may be made adjustable as to height.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood and
carried into effect, I have delineated upon the four accompanying Sheets of
explanatory Drawings, and will now particularlydescribe, four modifications of
steam hammers as examples of the practical application of myimprovements,
premising that the same reference letters mark the saine or like parts in all
the Figures.
5
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the Drawings is a sectional side elevation of a double-
cylinder "radial steam hammer," constructed according to my said Inven-
tion; and Figures 2 and 3 are a front elevation and plan corresponding.
A massive conical pillar or standard A carries the whole of the hammer
details; these are attached to a moveable arm or bracket B, formed with a
conical'sleeve C, which encoinpasses and turns upon the standard A, but which
bears thereon at the top and bottom only. The standard A and sleeve Care
turned to fit for a short distance at the upper end, whilst wrought-iron or steel
bearing pieces 1) are provided at the extreme end, the upper and outer one
being securely bolted to the moveable arm B, C, and turning upon the under
one, which is fixed to the standard A. At the bottom three brass bearing
pieces E are introduced between the standard A and the sleeve C. On the
bottom flange of the standard A there is fixed a toothed ring or wheel F,and
in gear with this toothed ring there is a pinion G, fast ou the lower end of a
vertical spindle H, carried in bearings in the moveable arm B, and fitted with
a hand-wheel I at its upper end; the moveable arm B can thus, by. means of
the hand wheel I, be moved with ease round the standard A, and it can be

page_text: fixed in various positions by means of a pin J, which can be inserted down.
through the hand wheel I into a socket in the top of the arm B. The work-
man when actuating this hand wheel I, or the levers appertaining to the
hammer details, stands upon a platform K, fixed by brackets to the moveable
arm B. The hammer details carried at the outer end of the moveable arm B
may be arranged in a variety of ways. In the present example the arm B is
formed with a pair of flanges L (Figure 3), to which are bolted a pair of
steam cylinders M, the inner contiguous sides of which are formed with
grooves to receive and guide the hammer or hammering ram N; this ram
is formed with a cross-head. O, by which it is attached to the piston rods P of
the steam cylinders; these cylinders M are supplied with steam by a single
valve chest, which is in this instance a small cylinder Q, placed between the
cylinders and behind the ram N, and is shown iu section in Figure 1. The
valve R, which is actuated by means of the lever S, is of the piston class, the
steam entering at the top of the cylinder Q, and passing through the centre of
the valve to the bottom, whilst the exhaust pipe T communicates with the
cylinder Q at its middle, between the two projecting and packed parts of the
valve R. The passages to the bottoms and tops of the hammer cylinders M
are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2, and communicate with annular
ports in the sides of the valve cylinder Q, these ports being barred across in
the usual way, and being uncovered to the steam or exhaust, as required, by
the movement of the piston valve R. The steam enters the valve cylinder Q
by a passage U formed in the moveable arın B, and this passage communi-
cates with a pipe V, provided with a steam-tight joint in the axis of the
standard A, to admit of the turning round of the moveable arm B. To
prevent the ram N from falling, more particularly when the position of the
moveable arm B is being changed, a guard W is provided to be turned under
the ram in the manner shown, this guard being jointed to snugs formed or
fixed upon the bottoms of the steam cylinders M, and being actuated by a
small lever X. This guard W may be arranged to be actuated simultaneously
with a boltcontrived to fix the moveable arm in any position, that is, so that
the movement releasing the bolt shall also shift the guard under the ram.
Figure 4, Sheet 2, of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation of a
single-cylinder "radial steam hammer," constructed according to my said
Invention; and Figures 5 and 6 are front elevation and plan corresponding.
This example differs from that already described and represented in Sheet 1
of the Drawings in the form and arrangement of parts of the framing, in the
hammering details, and in being provided with a crane, by means of which the

page_text: articles to be operated upon can be lifted and moved. The moveable.arm B.;
is made with two vertical, webs or plates 6, 1, (Figure 6) which are con
nected by transverse, webs indicated by dotted lines ate and d, Figure 4, the
ni
whole forming a structure of great strength. The standard A and the sleeveC
of the moveable arm are made conical, as in the modification already described,
(Sheet 1,) and the movement of the arm round the standard is obtained by
means of a pinion G, which is in gear with a toothed wheel or rim F cast or
fixed upon the standard A. The spindle H of the pinion G has its lower end
passed through a lug 8 formed on the bottom rim of the sleeve C, its upper
end passing through a bracket bearing 9, and carrying a hand wheel I. The
hammering ram N in this instance has the lifting piston formed upon its upper
eud, and it works through the stuffing box me of the steam cylinder M, the
stuffing box m being elongated, but circular in transverse section, whilst other.
guides for the ram are dispensed with. The steam cylinder M is bolted by
broad flanges to flanges formed on the ends of the vertical webs 6 of the
moveable arm, the valve chest Q being situated between the webs b. The
crane details consist simply of a horizontal arm Y, which is centred on a
vertical pin Z, fixed in the top of the steam cylinder M, and is supported by
an inclined strut e, forked at its lower end,aud jointed to a ring, which rests
upou and is capable of turning about a flange g formed on the steam
cylinder M. For the suspension of the article to be operated upon, a screw
link is hung to a flanged wheel i, which ruus along the top of the crane
arm Y. The lever X of the guard W is in this example connected by the
link 1 to a hand lever 2, formed with an arm 3, from which is suspended by a
link 4 a stop bolt 5. This stop bolt 5 is passed through a lug 6 formed on
the bottom rim of the sleeve C, and drops into one of a series of holes 7
formed in the base of the pillar A. With this arrangement one movement of
the lever 2,3,releases the stop bolt 5,so as to permit of the arm B being shifted
round to another position, and at the same time puts the guard into positiou
to prevent the fall of the hammer ram N, whilst the guard caunot be moved
clear of the ram until the arm B is again in a position permitting the stop
bolt 5 to enter one of the holes 7 provided for it.
. Figure 7, Sheet 3, of the accompanying Drawings is a sectional side
elevation of a "radial angular steam hammer" constructed according to iny
said Invention, and Figures 8 and 9 are a front elevation and plan corre-
sponding. This example differs from that first herein-before described and
represented in Sheet 1 of the Drawings in the mode of. couuecting the
moveable arm B to the standard A, and in the mode of mounting the
-

page_text: hammering details, which, in the example now being described, can be
adjusted so as to act at various inclinations. The standard A is formed with
bearings to receive trunnions / formed upon the moveable arm B, a steel
bearing piece being inserted beneath the lower trunnion to support the weight
of the arm and parts attached to it, The moveable arm B is formed with a
circular flange at its outer end, to which is fixed a disc / bearing the steam
cylinder M. This disc is formed with a horizontal stalk or long hollow
trunnion n, which is entered in a socket formed for it in the arm B, and it is
through this stalk that the steam, entering through a stuffing box at the end
nearest the standard A finds its way, by a passage formed in the disc l,to the
valve chest or cylinder Q. For the purpose of adjusting the angular position
of the cylinder M and hammering ram N, a portion of the edge of the disc /
hasworm-wheel teeth formed upon it, as at p,and with these teeth there gears
a worm q, carried by a small double-eye lug fixed on the arm B. The
adjustment is effected by means of a handle or key inserted when required in
the worm q,and when adjusted, the disc (, with the hammering details, is fixed
by bolts s passed through segmental slots in the disc.
Figure 10, Sheet 4, of the accompanying Drawings is a sectional side
elevation of a "universal radial steam hammer" constructed according tomy
said Invention; and Figures 11 and 12 are a front elevation and a plan
corresponding. In this example the moveable arm is formed in two lengths,
B1, B2; the inner length B 1 is jointed to the standard A by means of
truunions kand bearingsj, as in the example represented in Sheet 3,already
described; and the second length B 2 is similarly jointed to the first B 1 by
means of trunnions and bearings. The steam pipe V-is correspondingly
formed with two joints, v 1, 2, fixed in the continuation of the respective arm
trunnions k, k¹, so as to have the same axes.
With this arrangement the
hammering ram-N can be brought to bear not only on various points of an
are described by the extreme radius of the moveable arm B, but also on
almost every point within that arc. The steam cylinder Mand hammering
ram N are disposed at the outer end of the second or outer moveable arm
length B2, nearly as in the examples represented in Sheets 2 and 3, herein-
before described: This double-joint radial hammer (Sheet 4) may be con-
veniently worked by means of a single long horizontal lever (not shown in the
Drawing). This lever is to be jointed to the trunnion of the outer arm
length B 2, so as to stand out at right angles from it in plau, whilst its move-
ment on the joint is vertical. By moving this lever-augularly in a horizontal
plane, the workman can turn the outer arm length B 2 about its trunnions,

page_text: whilst by pushing the lever from or drawing it towards him, he can turn the
inner arm length B 1 round its trunnions. By moving the lever vertically,
the workman acts upon the steam valve, the lever of that valve being linked
to the main working lever for that purpose. Thus, one workman with the
single lever in his hands has complete control over the position and action of
the hammer. A short lever t is fixed on the trunnion of the outer arm
length B 2, for the purpose of fixing this arm length when necessary in line
with the inner one B 1, the latter being provided with a catch a, by which the
levert can be held. In combination with the capability of varying the position
of the hammering details by moving the arm carrying them round the fixed
pillar or standard, the power of adjustment in height may be obtained by
making the bearing portions of the standard Aandarm sleeve C(in apparatus
constructed more or less like the examples represented in Sheets 1 and 2 of
the Drawings) of a cylindrical form for distances corresponding to the range
of vertical adjustment required. The adjustment may be effected by means of
a screw, or rack-and-pinion movement, and the steam may be introduced
through the standard and moveable arm, or by pipes made "telescopic " to
admit of vertical elongation or contraction.
The present Invention having more particular reference to the "mobility"
(or adjustment as to position) of the parts carrying the steam cylinder or
cylinders, hammering ram, and details immediately connected therewith, the
improved modes of construction for obtaining such mobility herein-before
described and illustrated, have been so described and illustrated as combined
with what are considered suitable modifications of the hammering details. It
is, however, obvious that various other modifications of hammering details may
be adapted to the improved moveable or adjustable framing or supporting
details. It may also be remarked that the different modes of adjustment and
otherarrangementsmay be combined otherwise than as herein-before described.
Thus, for example, contrivances for obtaining an angular adjustment, such as
represented in Sheet 3 of the accompanying Drawings, may be adopted in
modifications of the arrangements represented in Sheets 1, 2, and 4, of the
Drawings, and also in combination with fixed standards or arms.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manuer
in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I have
to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein-before
described or delineated, and that I do not claim to have invented every separate
detail herein-before described and dolineated; bnt that what I consider to be
novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-

page_text: before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the arranging or constructing of the
framing or supporting details of steam hammers, so as to be adjustable as to
position, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Neilson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
WALTER (L.s.) NEILSON..
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow.