IMPROVEMENTS IN WELDING
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ramsbottom, of Longsight, near the City of
Manchester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WELDING."
Sealed the 18th July 1854, and dated the 21st February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ramsbottom at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st February 1854.
I, JOHN RAMSBOTTOM, of Longsight, near the City of Manchester, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WELDING" to be as follows:-
My improvements consist in giving a reciprocating rubbing motion to the.
parts that are to be welded together in combination with the usual application
of pressure or percussion; this rubbing motion is greatest when the parts are
first brought together for welding, and gradually diminishes as they become
united. This Invention is particularly applicable for welding the tyres of
wheels. The reciprocating rubbing motion may be communicated by levers
and excentrics, or other suitable mechanism.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Ramsbottom in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RAMSBOTTOM, of Longsight, near the City of Manchester, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date'the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Ramsbottom, Her special license that I, the said John Ramsbottom,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Ramsbottom, 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 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
WELDING, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Ramsbottom, by an- instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said John Ramsbottom, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner, the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say::
The nature of my. Invention consists in improvements in welding, which are
effected by giving a reciprocating rubbing motion to the parts to be welded,
and in combining pressure, and, if requisite, percussion thereto, whereby pieces
or parts of pieces of iron or steel may be firmly united in less time: and. more
securely than heretofore.
.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed. to describe
the manner in which I perform the same.

page_text: the same. In these views a represents a bent tire bar, which is to be welded
at a'; this tire bar is supported on the bed b, bolted to the foundation plate c.
The driving shaft d is put in, motion by a steam engine or other motive power,
and to it is fixed the pinion d', gearing into the wheel e', fixed to the shaft e
On this shaft are two excentrics marked e² and e³; the former gives a short up
and down motion.to the excentric rod f, and gab f', and the latter gives a
similar motion to the excentric rod f, and gab f; the excentrics are so placed
on the shaft that when one of the gabs is ascending the other is descending.
These gabs must be fitted so as to slide in the excentric rods. The wedges g
and g' pass through the excentric rods and gabs above described; and they are
jointed to the levers h and h', by the links i and ; both the levers h and h¹
are fixed to the shaft j, to which is also fixed the handle j'. The wedges g
and g fit easy in the connecting rods and gabs, so that by moving the handle j¹
from the position in which it is represented in Figure 1, to the position indi-
cated by the dotted line, the wedges are pushed partially through the
connecting rods and gabs. The object of this is to gradually reduce the upward
and downward motion imparted to the gabs by the excentrics e" and e; for as
the slots in tlie gàbs are deep enough to admit the larger end of the wedges,
it is evident that when the shaft e revolves, and the wedges are in the positions
shewn by the full lines in Figure 1, they take the gabs up and down the entire
throw of the excentrics; but when the wedges have been pushed partly back,
as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 1, the excentrics may revolve without.
imparting vertical motion to the gabs, as the taper of the wedges between the
limits of action is equal to the throw of the excentrics; consequently by
gradually pressing down the handle, the amount of motion in the gabs f¹.
and is gradually reduced; the object of this will be explained hereafter..
The bed b is furnished with two slides b', which are for the purpose of holding
down the tire, and pressing the ends thereof together during the operation of
welding; the slides 6' are acted upon by the screw l, one end of which has a
right-handed thread passing through the swivel nut m, hinged to the lever m²,
and the other end has a left-handed thread passing through the nut n, hinged
to the lever n¹. The levers m¹ and n' are jointed below in the bed b, con-
sequently by turning the spoke wheel in one direction or the other, the slides.
6 are made to approach or recede from each other. The spring o, which is
placed between the gabs f and f³, is for supporting them in a vertical position
at half stroke when the wedges are back, so that the gabs will be held at the
same level for the admission. of the tire to be welded. This may also be
effected by means of a lever. The mode of operation is as follows:-The tire:
bar a, having been squared at the ends by a circular saw or other means, is:

page_text: bent into a circle in the ordinary manner; the hoop thus formed is then sprung
open by a prop or other suitable means, to enable the ends of the bar to be
heated to a welding, heat. When taken from the fire the prop is removed,
and the hoop is placed on the bed b, in the position shewn by the dotted
circles a²; the attendant then pushes the hoop into the gabs f' and f³, and
between the slides b', which had previously been left sufficiently apart to admit
the hoop; the attendant then tightens the slides ¹ against the hoop, in order
to give the requisite pressure, and at the same time the shafte is put in motion.
The wedges are then drawn home, or into the positions shewn in Figure 1,
thus rubbing the ends of the hoop against each other the full throw of the
excentrics, or about one half of an inch; the attendants then gradually press
down the lever j', so as to diminish the motion in the gabs f¹ and f³, according
to the setting or cooling of the metal; it may also be necessary to hammer
the parts slightly during the process, in order to produce a finish. The press-
ing down of the lever j¹ must be so regulated that the motion of the gabs,
and consequent rubbing together of the parts to be united, shall cease when
the metal is set, and the weld completed.
Figure 4 represents the end view; and Figure 5, a side elevation of a
machine for welding shafts or other articles; in this machine the reciprocating
rubbing motion is round a centre, instead of being up and down as in the
machine above described; p is a bed plate, to which are fixed the headstock
the loose headstock 1, and block s.
The headstock 7 supports the spindle q', to which is fixed at one end the
face plate 22, and at the other end the ratchet wheel q3; the curved slot lever u
is hinged to the spindle q', and a vibrating motion is given to it by the crank
pin u, fixed in the wheel v, and the connecting rod . The catches u² and u³,
which take into the ratchet wheel q³, are hinged on studs fixed in the lever u.
The requisite rotary motion is given to the wheel v, by the driving pulley w,
and pinion w¹, as clearly shewn in Figure 4. When both the catches u² and u
are in gear with the ratchet wheel q³, the face plate vibrates upon its axis,
the amount of vibration being greatest when the connecting rod v² is near the
fulcrum of the lever u; when the catch u² is in gear, and the catch u out of
gear, the vibrating of the lever u imparts a slow rotary motion to the face
plate in the direction of the arrow in Figure 4, and the contrary action
takes place when the catch 3 is in gear, and the catch u² out of gear. The
mode of operation is as follows:-When a shaft or other article has to be
welded, the ends thereof must be squared so as to form what is technically
called a jump joint; they are then heated to a welding heat, and one part of
the shaft or other article is made fast in the chuck attached to the face plate q,

page_text: the end to be welded lying on the block s; the other part is secured to the
chuck attached to the spindle of the loose headstock with its welding end also
on the blocks. Motion being given to the crank shaft, and the catches being
both in gear, the attendant then turns the fly wheel of the loose headstock, so
as to bring the heated ends of the shaft or other article in contact; by this
means the requisite rubbing motion is given to the parts to be welded, and the
amount of the vibration is reduced by the attendant gradually increasing the
distance of the end of the connecting rod 2, from the fulcrum of the lever u;
at the same time one of the attendants must by turning the fly wheel of the
loose headstock give the requisite pressure to the parts. When the rubbing
motion ceases the attendant may impart a rotary motion to the article under
operation by throwing one of the catches u² or out of gear; by this means
the entire circumference of the weld may be examined and hammered, if
desired, before the article is taken out of the machine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and two modes of per-
forming the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the
precise forms and arrangements of the parts shewn and described, as the same
may be varied to suit the particular shape of the articles to be welded; but
what I do claim is, the application of machinery for giving a rubbing motion
to surfaces during the operation of welding.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ramsbottom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four.
JOHN RAMSBOTTOM. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, & delivered by the within-
named John Ramsbottom in the presence of
H. B. BARLOW,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.