IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BENDING, STRAIGHTENING, AND PUNCHING RODS, BARS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF METAL
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Barningham and
John Thompson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 18th July 1867.
We, WILLIAM BARNINGHAM of the Rolling Mills, Pendleton, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, and JOHN THOMPSON, of the same Place, Manager,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR BENDING, STRAIGHTENING, AND PUNCHING RODS, BARS, AND OTHER
ARTICLES OF METAL," to be as follows:-
Our improved machinery is particularly adapted for straightening and
punching railway rails of any of the ordinary sections now in use, but it may
be used for various other purposes. Our improved machinery consists of a
strong cast-iron bed supporting the adjustable die holder of the punch and
the blocks of the bending and straightening apparatus; an adjustable roller
is placed under the centre of the punch, and is so arranged that it can be

page_text: raised or depressed; the frame for the carrying roller is made with a taper
lower edge, which is acted upon by a wedge which is made to slide underneath
The punch is made of a plain bar of
by a screw furnished with a lock nut.
steel fitting in the sliding ram, and it is provided with taper packing pieces to
utilise the steel to the greatest possible extent; the sliding
ram has a stop
motion so that the punch can be thrown out of action without stopping the
machine. The bending or straightening ram is worked by a cylinder attached
to the main casting, and a piston and rod to work an
ordinary crank shaft
or crank
on which is a pinion driving a spur wheel for working an eccentric
shaft, and the sliding ram moved alternately backwards and forwards, the
stroke or movement of which is adjustable by means of a screw with right
and left hand threads; or the lengthening or shortening of the ram may be
effected by water pressure either by having a head of water at the command
of the operator, or by injecting water into either side of the piston or ram; or
the stroke may be varied by means of a taper block moved with a screw, or
the stroke may be lengthened or shortened by means of an adjustable crank
pin or other suitable mechanism. The bar or other article to be bent or
straightened is pressed against loose blocks that may be taken out and replaced
when worn or when thicker or thinner ones are required. Elliptical wheel;
may be used for the purpose of giving a quick return to the sliding ram, and
the stroke may be varied by a single or double ended screw, or by loose distance
pieces applied to the end of the ram, or by using an adjustable connecting
link that may be lengthened or shortened at will, or by using a vibrating link
which can be raised or depressed by means of a lever, or by a hand wheel aud
screw. The ram for bending or straightening may also be moved to and fro
by the direct action of steam or compressed air, the motion of the ram being
controlled by balance valves or other equivalents.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, file
by the said John Barningham and John Thompson in the Great S
Patent Office on the 17th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
WILLIAM
BARNINGHAM, of the Rolling Mills, Pendleton, in the County of Lancaster
Engineer, and JOHN THOMPSON, of the same Place, Manager, send greeting
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of July, in the year
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letter
of our
Lon

page_text: we,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said William Barningham, and John Thompson, Her special license that
the said William Barningham and John Thompson, our executors, adminis-
5 trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Barningham and
John Thompson, our executors, administrators, and 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,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
o Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR BENDING, STRAIGHTENING, AND PUNCHING RODS, BARS, AND OTHER
ARTICLES OF METAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
William Barningham and John Thompson, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or 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 be 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 we, the said William Barningham and John
Thompson, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
-
Our improved machinery is particularly adapted for bending, straightening,
and punching railway rails of any of the ordinary sections now in use, but it
may be used for various other purposes. Our improved machinery consists
of a strong cast-iron bed supporting the adjustable die holder of the punch.
and the blocks of the bending and straightening apparatus. An adjustable
roller is placed under the centre of the punch, and is so arranged that it can
be raised or depressed. The frame for the carrying roller is made with a taper
lower edge, which is acted upon by a wedge which is made to slide underneath
by a screw furnished with a lock nut. The punch is made of a plain bar of
steel fitting in the sliding ram, and it is provided with taper packing pieces to
utilize the steel to the greatest possible extent; the sliding ram has a stop
motion so that the punch can be thrown out of action without stopping the
machine. The bending or straightening ram is worked by a cylinder attached
to the main casting, and a piston and rod to work an ordinary crank shaft on
which is a pinion driving a spur wheel for working an eccentric or crank, and
the sliding ram is thus moved alternately backwards and forwards, the stroke

page_text: or movement of which is adjustable by
ght and left
hand threads; or the lengthening or shortening of the ram may be effected by
water pressure, either by having a head of water at the command of the
stroke may be varied by means of a taper block moved with a screw, or the 5
operator or by injecting water into either side of the piston or ram; or the
stroke may be lengthened or shortened by means of an adjustable crank pin
The bar or other article to be bent or
or other suitable mechanism.
may
straightened is pressed against loose blocks that may be taken out and replaced
when worn or when thicker or thinner ones are required. Elliptical whee
- be used for the purpose of giving a slow forward and quick return motion 10
to the sliding ram, and the stroke may be varied by a single or double ended
screw, or by loose distance p'eces applied to the end of the ram, or by using
an anjustable connecting link that may be lengthened or shortened at will, or
by using a vibrating link which can be raised or depressed by means of a lever,
or by a hand wheel and screw. The ram for bending or straightening may
also be moved to and fro by the direct action of steam or compressed air, the
motion of the ram being controlled by balanced valves or other equivalents.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation we will proceed to describe the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked 2
thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 an elevation of our improved
machinery for bending, straightening, and punching. 1 is the main casting,
consisting of a strong cast-iron bed properly strengthened in the necessary
parts with ribs and brackets; 2 is the die holder made in such a manner that
it can be adjusted to the punch by means of taper-headed bolts; 3, 3, are
bolts for lifting the die bed; and 4, 4, are bolts for moving it longitudinally,
also for the purpose of holding it down; 5 is the die of cast steel or wrought
iron, faced with steel or other suitable material; 6 is an adjustable roller
placed under the centre of the punch, and so arranged that it can be raised
or depressed with accuracy to the required distance or height from the centre
of the punch; 7 is the frame for carrying the roller 6, which frame is made
with the bottom edge taper, and a corresponding taper frame is made to slide
underneath with a fine pitch screw, the head of which is shewn at 24, and the
screw can be locked by means of the lock nut 25; 8 is the sliding
which the punch is fixed; the punch is made of an ordinary bar of steel,
without expending any mechanical labor on it, such as turning or
ram
in
planing.
It is also arranged by means of taper packing pieces to utilize the steel
1

page_text: on
to the greatest possible extent. In the common method usually adopted
in punching machines when the punch breaks it is no longer useful
as a punch for that machine, ut a new one must be made; whereas
according to our improvements when the punch breaks an ordinary smith
5 can forge a new end on repeatedly. The sliding ram 8 has also connected
to it a stop motion 23, so that the punch can be worked at the will of the
operator, the machine working continuously. 12 is a steam cylinder attached
to the main casting 1 to work the machine by means of an ordinary crank 21,
pinion 14, and spur wheel 13, fixed on the eccentric or crank shaft 15, which
has the desired amount of eccentricity for moving the sliding ram 16 alter-
nately backwards and forwards, the stroke or movement of the ram being
adjustable by means of a screw with right and left hand threads, which is
entirely at the command of the operator by means of the hand wheel 18; by
this means he can effect the bending to the desired amount by lengthening
the stroke of the said ram 16 or shortening it without stopping the machine;
or the same lengthening or shortening of the ram may be effected by water
pressure, either by having a head of water at the command of the operator, or
by injecting water into either side of the piston in the ram by means of a
small pump, as shewn in Figure 3 at 29; or the stroke may be varied by
means of a taper block moved with a screw shewn on Sheet 2, Figure 6, at
30; or the stroke may be lengthened or shortened by means of an adjustable
crank pin, as shewn on Sheet 2, Figure 8 at 16. All and each of the means
of adjustment referred to are at the will and command of the operator by
means of levers or wheels, as shewn at 18 in Figures 1. 2, 4, 6, and 7. In
Figures 1 and 2, 17, 17, are two malleable iron rollers coated with steel, or
chilled cast-iron rollers, or other suitable material supported in slots in the
main casting, and which can be elevated or depressed at pleasure. 19 is a fly
wheel on the first motion shaft to equalize the motion of the machine; 22, 22,
are two loose wrought-iron blocks faced with steel that may be taken out and
replaced when worn or when thicker or thinner ones are required; 9 is a
wrought-iron guard for stopping the rail or other article and allowing the
punch to be withdrawn; 10 is a wrought-iron sliding block at each side of
the punch, into which are fixed stops to regulate the distance of the holes to
be punched.
Figure 3 represents our improved bending, straightening, and punching
machine with the pump 29 for regulating the length of the stroke of the ram 16.
Figure 4 represents a modification of our improved machine for straightening
and punching wherein the ram 8 for punching works vertically between guide
pieces 26, and it is actuated by the vertical lever 27, which vertical lever is

page_text: worked by the eccentric shaft 15, and gives mou
ram 16
for straightening the bar or other article. The wedge 28 has a rack attached
to it, into which a pinion works, thereby enabling the operator to lengthen or
shorten the stroke at will by raising or depressing the said wedge. The machine
may be worked by an engine attached to the main casting as shewn in Figures
1 and 2.
tion of our improved machine for bending, straightening, and punching; in
On Sheet 2, Figures 5 and 6 are a plan and elevation of another modifica
this machine the punch ram and the straightening or bending ram are move
to and fro by an eccentric on the driving shaft 15, as in Figures 1 and 2, and 1
in Figures 7 and 8.
The rams are worked by the crank pin 31 projecting from
the driving shaft 15, taking into a sliding block to work the pendant lever 32.
On Sheet 3, Figure 9 is a modification of a machine for straightening and
the purpose of giving a slow forward and quick return motion to the ram. 1
punching wherein we propose to use a pair of elliptical wheels 33 and 34 for
may be
On the second motion shaft is keyed an elliptical wheel 33 working in a
similar elliptical wheel 34 on the eccentric shaft 15; the stroke
varied by a single or double ended screw, or by loose distance pieces applied
to the end of the ram, or by using an adjustable connecting link that
lengthened or shortened at will.
may
Le
Figure 10 is also a modification of our improved straightening and punching
machine with variable stroke wherein we propose to give a quick return
motion to the ram by elliptical wheels, as in Figure 9, and a variable stroke
is obtained by means of the lever 36, or by hand wheel and screw. The said
vibrating link 35 is actuated by the eccentric shaft, the stroke of the ram
being at its maximum when the link is at its lowest point, and at its
minimum when the link is at its highest point. The ram for bending or
straightening and punching may also be moved to and fro by the direct
action of steam or compressed air, the motion of the ram being controlled by
balanced valves or other equivalents.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we declare that we claim,-
First, the general combinations and arrangements of machinery, as shewn
and as described, for bending, straightening, and punching bars and other
articles of metal.
26
Secondly, the improved modes described for varying the stroke and length
of the ram.
Thirdly, the roller for supporting the articles to be punched, and the mode
of regulating the level of the same.

page_text: And, lastly, the direct action of steam or compressed air for working the
rams of bending, straightening, and punching machines.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Barningham and John
Thompson, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth day
of January, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.