IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDS AND MOULD BOXES FOR CASTING METALS."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cooper, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Iron Founder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MOULDS AND MOULD BOXES FOR CASTING METALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Cooper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st January 1873.
I, JOHN COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Iron
Founder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDS AND MOULD BOXES FOR CASTING METALS," to be
as follows:-
My Invention has for its object principally to facilitate the casting of
pulley block wheels, hand wheels, and other small articles, and to effect
the casting of the same with greater truth of figure than can be effected
by the use of moulds and mould boxes of the ordinary kind.
I will describe my Invention with reference to the casting of a pulley
block wheel. I make a model having on its upper side the figure of one

page_text: of the faces of the wheel to be cast. The said model has a thickness
equal to half the thickness of the wheel to be cast. Its under side is
plain and of larger diameter than the upper side, the edge of the said
model being conical. This model is fixed with its plain side downwards
to the centre of a base plate, the said base plate being provided at its
corners or other convenient part with guides which, when the mould box
is placed on the said base plate, determine with the greatest nicety the
position of the said box, the centre of the model being exactly in tho
centre of the box..
A half mould box being placed upon the base plate a half mould is
moulded thercon in sand in the usual way, the base plate with the half
mould box and half mould being together inverted the mould plate and
model are lifted therefrom. A second half mould is formed in the other
half mould box in a similar manner to the first. The sand is scraped
level half an inch or so below the edge of the half mould box in which
the first half mould is made. This is done for the purpose of permitting
of the introduction of a temporary plate or bottom. There are thus
formed two half moulds which, when put together, have the figure of
the wheel to be cast, excepting with respect to its edge.
In order to form the groove in the edge of the pulley an annular core
has to be laid in the first half mould before the placing of the other half
mould upon it. This annular core is formed in two halves from a mix-
ture of sand, and flour. These halves are fixed together after they have
been dried by flour paste or other adhesive matter.
Tho said core,
together with the central core and "get" core, having been put in the
one half mould, the other half mould is inverted upon it, and the whole
taken up and put in an inverted position on a pedestal, the top of which
is somewhat less than the bottom of the mould.
The half mould boxes being of a slightly tapering figure a gentle
tapping detaches the mould box from the sand, and the mould box falls
down around the leg of the pedestal, leaving the mould supported on the
plate which formed the temporary bottom of the mould box standing on
the top of the pedestal. The mould is removed from the pedestal and
used for casting in the ordinary, way, the mould box and false bottom
being again ready for forming a second mould.
The sand mould requires no support when being used when the
article has an annular core similar to that described. Where requisite,

page_text: however, the mould may be strengthened by the insertion in the sand of
rings of hoop iron or other binding pieces.
Where small wheels are to be cast, the base board may carry four, six,
or other number of models, so as to make a mould in which several
wheels may be cast at one time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John Cooper in the Great Seal Patent Office, on
the 26th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Iron Founder,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Cooper, Her special license that I, the
said John Cooper, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Cooper, 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 Ircland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDS AND
MOULD BOXES FOR CASTING METALS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Cooper, my exccutors 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 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 Cooper, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention has for its object principally to facilitate the casting of
pulley block wheels, hand wheels, and other small articles, and to effect
the casting of the same with greater truth of figure than can be effected
by the use of moulds and mould boxes of the ordinary kind.
I will describe my Invention with reference to the casting of a pulley
block wheel. I make a model, having on its upper side the figure of
one of the faces of the wheel to be cast. The said model has a thickness
equal to half the thickness of the wheel to be cast. Its under side is
plain, and of larger diameter than the upper side, the edge of the said
model being conical. This model is fixed with its plain side downwards
to the centre of a base plate, the said base plate being provided at its
corners or other convenient part with guides, which when the mould
box is placed on the said base plate determine with the greatest nicety
the position of the said box, the centre of the model being exactly in the
centre of the box.
A half-mould box being placed upon the base plate a half mould is
moulded thereon in sand in the usual way. The sand in the said box is
scraped level half an inch or so below the edge of the half mould box,
and a plate or temporary bottom is placed therein. A second half
mould is formed in the other half mould box in a similar manner to the
first. There are thus formed two half moulds, which when put together
have the figure of the wheel to be cast, excepting with respect to its
edge..
In order to form the groove in the edge of the wheel an annular core
has to be laid in the first half mould before the placing of the other half
mould upon it. This annular core is formed in two halves from a
mixture of sand and flour. These halves are fixed together after they
have been dried by flour paste or other adhesive matter. The said core
together with the central core and get core having been put in the one
half mould the other half mould is inverted upon it, and the whole taken
and put on a pedestal, the top of which is somewhat less than the
bottom of the mould.
up
The half mould boxes being of a slightly tapering figure a gentle
tapping detaches the mould box from the sand, and the mould box falls
down around the leg of the pedestal, leaving the inould supported on

page_text: the plate which formed the temporary bottom of the mould box standing
on the top of the pedestal. The mould is removed from the pedestal,
and used for casting in the ordinary way, the mould box, with another
plate or temporary bottom being again ready for forming a second
mould.
The said mould requires no support when being used when the article
has an annular core similar to that described. Where requisite however
the mould may be strengthened by the insertion in the sand of rings of
hoop iron or other binding pieces.
Where small wheels are to be cast the base plate may carry four, six,
or other number of models, so as to make a mould in which several
wheels may be cast at one time.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan of upper side, Figure 2 in side elevation,
and Figure 3 in section, a compound pattern or moulding plate con-
structed according to my Invention. The said pattern or moulding plate
consists of a base plate a, with a foot, to the upper side of which four
wheel models b, b, are fixed. Each of the said, models is made of
metal, and has a thickness equal to half the thickness of the wheel to be
cast. The under side of the model is flat, and its edge is conical, as
represented. The models b, b, are arranged on the base plate a in the
manner best seen in Figure 1, and are secured with their plain side
downwards to the said base plate by means of the screws c and nuts d.
The heads of the said screws c projecting from the models 6 form the
prints or impressions for the central cores of the wheels to be cast. This
method of fixing the models b, b, to the base plate a pormits models of
different sizes and for different articles to be attached to the same basc
board. e is the model to form the print for the get. At two of the
corners of the base plate a are pegs ƒ,ƒ, and at the opposite corners
are holes g, g. By means of these pegs and holes the position of the
mould box upon the base plate is accurately determined.
Figure 4 represents in plan and vertical section one of the half mould
boxes constructed according to my Invention, and Figure 5 represents
in section the other half mould box. The half mould boxes marked

page_text: respectively and i have a slightly tapering figure as represented. Two
of the corners of the half mould box h have holes k, k, in them, and
the opposite corners have pegs 1, 1, upon them. The other half mould
box i is similarly provided with pegs m, m, and holes n, n, but the pegs
and holes in the last named box i are so arranged that when the two
half mould boxes h and i are placed together the pegs on one half
box come opposite and fit in the holes in the other half box.
In making a compound mould for casting pulley block wheels
according to my Invention, I proceed as follows:-I take the smaller
half mould box h, Figure 4, and place it upon the base board a of the
pattern, the pegs 7 on the said box taking into the holes in the base
plate, and the holes k in the box taking upon the pegs f. on the base.
plato; a half mould is then made in sand from the pattern in the usual
way. The sand at the top or narrow end of the half mould box h is
next scraped away about half an inch below the edge of the box by
means of the scraper represented in Figure 6. Into the space thus made
at the top of the half mould box / the plate or temporary bottom p
represented in plan of under side and edge view in Figure 7 is placed.
A half mould with the plate or bottom p at its top is represented
in Figure 8. The pattern a, b, with the half mould in the box h
and bottom p is next inverted and the said pattern a, b, is lifted
therefrom.
•
The half mould has now the position represented in Figure 9. The
other half mould bex i, Figure 5, is next taken and placed upon the
pattern a, b, as described with respect to the half mould box h, and a
second half mould is moulded therefrom as illustrated in Figure 10.
Two half moulds are thus formed which together have nearly the figure
of the wheel to be cast. The groove in the edge of the wheel mould is
next formed by means of the annular core q represented in plan and
section in Figure 11. This core q is made in halves from a mixture of
sand and flour, the said halves being fixed together after they have been
dried by flour paste or other adhesive matter. The mould from which
the halves of the annular core q are made is represented in section in
Figure 13. Each annular core q has a get q² which opens into the get
made by the pattern e, Figure 1.
.The annular cores 7 of the several moulds are placed in the half
mould in the manner represented in Figure 9, and having introduced

page_text: (
the central cores into the said half mould, Figure 9, the other half
mould, Figure 10, is inverted upon it, as illustrated in Figure 12, the
two half moulds being secured together by the pegs on one half mould
box, engaging with the holes in the other half mould box. The mould
thus formed is next placed on a pedestal r, Figure 12, and supported
thereon by means of the temporary bottom p of the mould. The top of
the pedestal is somewhat less than the bottom of the mould. By gently
tapping the mould box h, i, it is detached from the sand mould, and the
said mould box falls down around the pedestal r, leaving the mould
supported on the plate or temporary bottom p, standing on the top of
the pedestal. The mould thus detached from the mould box is removed
from the pedestal r, and used for casting a series of pulley block whicels
in the ordinary way. The mould box may now be used with a second
plate or temporary bottom for forming a second mould.
Figure 14 represents in elevation, Figure 15 in plan, and Figure 16 in
section a pulley block wheel cast in a mould formed as described. In
making moulds for casting articles other than wheels I use patterns or
models of the required form fixed on the base plate a, and proceed to
form the moulds substantially as before described with respect to a
wheel mould.
Moulds made according to my Invention may be strengthened if
required by rings of hoop iron inserted in the sand.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details hercin described and illustrated, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Inven-
tion; but I claim as my Invention of improvements in moulds and
mould boxes for casting metals,-
Firstly. Making moulds for casting pulley block wheels, hand
wheels, and other small articles by moulding the same from a pattern,
the parts of which are constructed and combined substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. Forming the groove in the edge of the wheel or other like
article, or forming the edge of the wheel or article by placing in the
mould an annular or other core, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN COOPER. (L.S.)