AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS FOR BOBING AND FORMING PIPES, CYLINDERS, COLUMNS, AND CIRCULAR DISKS, OUT OF SOLID BLOCKS AND SLABS OF STONE OF ANY KIND OR DESCRIPTION
Year: 1810

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MURDOCK, of Soho Foundry, in the Parish of Harborne, in the County of
Stafford, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, on or about the Fifteenth day of January, in the fiftieth year of
His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said William Murdock, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, His special licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said William Murdock, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, during the term of fourteen years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend the
Invention therein mentioned, to wit, "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS FOR
BOBING AND FORMING PIPES, CYLINDERS, COLUMNS, AND CIRCULAR DISKS, OUT OF
SOLID BLOCKS AND SLABS OF STONE OF ANY KIND OR DESCRIPTION," within that part
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, the
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as
to me, the said William Murdock, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or any of them, should seem meet, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said
licence, powers, privileges, and advantages therein granted unto me, the said
William Murdock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, for and during
and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date of the said
Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be complete and
ended, according to the Statute in such case made and provided; in which

page_text: said Letters Patent there is (amongst other things) contained a proviso that
if I, the said William Murdock, should not particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the
same to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery within two calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and
by the said Letters Patent (reference being thereunto had) will more fully
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Murdock, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, as follows,
that is to say:
When I intend to form a pipe or hollow cylinder of stone, instead of boring,
cutting out, or grinding to powder the whole inside contents of the same, I cut,
grind, or saw out of it, in manner berein-after described, a core or solid cylin
der, whose outside diameter is about half an inch less than the inside diameter
of the pipe; and in like manner, when I intend to form a column, or solid
cylinder, or a round plate of stone, instead of breaking off, cutting, or chiz-
zelling away the superfluous outside parts of the stone, I form, by a similar
method, these superfluous parts of the stone into a hollow cylinder, the core
thereof being the required solid cylinder, and if the stone is large enough to
leave the outside parts of a proper thickness, they may be used as a pipe, and
the cores cut out of the larger sorts of pipes I use as columns, or by a further
operation form them into smaller pipes, so that in some cases I cut several out
of one another, and thus save labour and stone. I perform these operations of
perforating and rounding the said pipes or columns as follows:-1st. I fix the
block of stone to be perforated or rounded upright or in such a position that
the bore or perforation or intended column may be nearly perpendicular to the
horizon, or if a disk or round plate is to be formed or cut out of a flat stone or
2d. I fix in the
slab, that the upper surface may lie nearly horizontal.
centre of the intended pipe or column a plug or step of wood or metal Z (sec
Drawing in the margin), having in its centre a hole which shall fit the pivot
of the perpendicular axis or spindle A, next mentioned. 3d. I place in the
said step the pivot of the axis or spindle A, considerably longer than the pipe
or column to be formed, and of a size or thickness proportioned to the work to
be done. This rod or spindle I make square or trianglelar or cylindrical, with
a groove or grooves in it, or of any other form, on which sockets may slide up

page_text: and down without being able to turn round upon it; but whatever may be the
form of its section I make it uniformly thick or of one size from end to end as
far as the tube is to slide upon it. Fourth. Upon the upper end of this axis
or spindle I fix a hollow socket B, B, which fits tight upon the spindle. The
middle part of the outside of this socket I make square, but it may be of any
other convenient form to receive a pulley C, C (or a small toothed wheel or
pinion), by which the axis or spindle may be turned round; but the upper and
lower parts of the socket are cylindrical, to serve as gudegeons, on which it
turns round in a fixed wooden, iron, or other frame of suitable materials, such
as D, D, as shewn in the said Drawing. Upon or near the lower end of the
axis or spindle, near to the stone to be bored, I fix or attach a wheel or cross
J, J, with arms, and having a hole in the centre which the axis or spindle fits,
and the circumference of this wheel or cross is made like a hoop, two or three
inches or more broad or deep; its diameter is a little less than that of the pipo
intended to be bored, or a little more than that of the cylinder or core intended
to be formed, and fits to the inside of the tube L, L, so as the latter may slide
easily over it. It is fixed fast to the spindle by a screw pin or key, so that it
may be taken off at pleasure. This wheel or cross J, J, I. call the fixed or
lower wheel or cross; the upper part of the axis or spindle is perforated lon-
gitudinally to O, a few inches below the socket, where the perforation comes
out obliquely. Fifth. Upon this axis or spindle, and concentric with it, I place
a hollow cylinder or thin tube L; L, of iron, copper, or brass, or any other
proper material, its diameter being nearly that of the pipe or cylinder to be
formed, and the length exceeding the length of the proposed pipe or cylinder by
about two feet or more. This pipe is made as truly cylindrical as possible; in
its lower edge is fixed, by means of tin solder, rivets, screws, or otherwise, a
hoop or ring M, M, of iron, copper, or other proper material, so much thicker
than the tube. that the groove it makes in the stone may free the tube to
which it is attacheil. This hoop or ring being intended to grind or cut
away the stone by its lower edge, that the said lower. edge is left either smooth
or may be cut or jagged like the saws used by stone cutters; I call this the
saw; its thickness may be varied according to the size of the tube, so as to
give the mecessary strength and liberty for the tube to act, but the thinner the
tube is made, preserving the necessary strength, the better. The tube is con-
nected with the axis or spindle by means of a second wheel or cross K, K,
which I call the upper wheel or cross, which is fixed or attached by its circum-
ference to the inside of the tube, having a hole in its centre which fits the
axis or spindle, so as to slide up and down casily upon it without being able to
turn round upon it, which is prevented by the form of the axis or spindle

page_text: being square, triangular, round, with a longitudinal groove or grooves, in which
a feather or tongue can slide, or is of some other proper form, and that of the
hole in this wheel or cross which fits it. The tube then-can be slid up. or
down upon the axis or spindle, and is kept always concentric with it by reason
of this wheel or cross and the lower wheel or cross. To one of the arms of
this upper wheel or cross is fixed a small cord P, P, or a chain, rod, or rack,
which passes upwards through the perforation of the axis or spindle, and over
a pulley 2, fixed at some convenient heighth above it; this I describe as the
most simple; and from that pulley to a windlass R, to which it is attached, the
use of which is to raise or lower the tube upon the axis or spindle as required,
even while the latter is in motion. On the upper end of the tube I place
weights N, N, proportioned to the texture and hardness of the stone to be
bored, which tend to press it. downwards, and cause it to act upon and pene-
trate the stone. Sixth. The pulley or pinion C, C, is fixed upon the socket
which receives the upper end of the axis or spindle; this I generally make
about twice the diameter of the tube, or of the inside of the pipe to be bored,
but it may be made larger or less according to circumstances. When the
apparatus is to be put in motion by men's force, I use generally a pulley (as
shewn in the said Drawing); a rope E, E, is wound round this pulley, the ends
of which pass over two other pulleys F, F, fixed one on each side of the
spindle, as represented in the Drawing, and at some convenient distance from
it. The ends of this rope then turn downwards, and having handles G, G,
fixed to them, are pulled. alternately by a man at each end, so as to cause the
spindle and pulley to make a reciprocating or alternate rotative motion on the
axis of the spindle. Seventh. At some convenient distance on one side I place a
tub or cistern S, containing water, with its bottom as high as the pulley of the
spindle. In the side of this cistern, near its bottom, I fix a cock T, by which a suffi-
cient stream of water is discharged into á trough or conductor Y, placed gently
sloping, whose other end reaches near to the axis or spindle; some sand being
generally from time to time sprinkled into this trough or conductor, is by the
water washed or carried-down-into-the-tube,-and-the-tube-being-set-in-motion,
the water and sand getting under the saw which forms its lower end, abrades
or grinds away the stone, and forms a circular groove in it concentric with the
axis of the spindle, and the tube being constantly pressed downwards the
groove becomes deeper and the water accumulates in the inside of the tube
until it can force its way under the saw and escape by the outer side of the
groove. In its passage it carries the sand along with it, which continues the
action of the saw upon the stone, and when it has done its office it is carried
away by the water in the form of mud or sludge, so that the action is con-

page_text: tinued without interruption as long as the motion of the tube is maintained;
should that however cease for any considerable time the sand will set fast
round the tube, and it will be found difficult to free it again; therefore when
any accident or circumstances causes an interruption in the motion of the tube,
it must be raised up by means of the small cord P, P, which passes through
the central perforation of the axis or spindle and the windlass R, to which it is
attached, at which time the water cock may be stopped or not, as convenient,
but if stopped the watercock must be again opened when the motion is recom-
menced, and the timber must be lowered till the saw reaches the bottom of
tlie groove where it was before, and the process is continued from time to.
time until the saw and tube have passed quite through the stone, and the pipe,
column, or disk is formed as required.-N.B. By the means before described
the dead sand and sludge are removed as they are formed, and the necessity
there would otherwise be of raising up the tube from time to time, in order to
take out the sand and sludge by some other means, is avoided, and the opera-
tion goes on without interruption. The maintaining always of a pillar of water.
during the operation in the inside of the tube, sufficient to force its way under
the lower edge of the tube and saw, and to carry the sand with it, forms there-
fore an essential principle of my Invention; without this the tube would
require to be frequently removed, and it would be almost impossible for the
saw to penetrate beyond a few feet in depth in any reasonable time. When
the depth of the bore or length of. the pipe to be formed exceeds six or seven
feet, I find it advantageous to make a readier outlet for the water, sand, and
sludge by boring a hole or holes of an inch diameter, more or less, in the sides:
of the pipe, at such depth as may be found convenient, and when the pipe is
finished I stop up the said hole or holes. When the apparatus is to be put in
motion by a wind or water mill, by a steam engine, or horses, or by any other:
species of power than that of men, instead of the pulley C, C, I fix upon the
socket B, B, a small toothed wheel or pinion, which is acted upon by a reci-
procating toothed wheel belonging to the mill, or by a reciprocating rack or
sector put in motion by the same, or I retain the pulley and cord as if were
to be acted upon by men, and I affix a sufficient weight or weights, or a spring,
in place of one of the handles G, and cause the mill and its machinery to pull.
the other end of the rope by means of a crank or other equivalent contrivance..
Eighth. When the outside of a pipe is to be rounded I begin the operation by
employing the tube L, L, and saw of sufficient diameter, so as to leave the
stone strong enough round the intended pipe, and proceed with them, as has
been before described, until they have gone down through the whole depth of
the stone, leaving within them a cylinder of a proper size for the intended.

page_text: pipe. I then remove the tube and its appurtenances, and put in their place
a smaller tube, &c., of a proper size for the bore of the pipe, and proceed as
before described, and if the bore of the pipe admits, by means of a stil
smaller tube and saw, I continue the operation so as to form as many pipes
as the stone will admit. In some cases it is convenient to turn the tubo
and saw with an uniform rotative motion always in one direction; but in
such cases, as they make slower progress in doing the work, which is much
accelerated by the reciprocating or alternate motion I give them in general;
and in these cases where an uniform rotative motion is used it will be found
adviseable to fix a swivel in the small cord P, P, as that represented at W,
to prevent it's over twisting, and this again requires the pulley Q to be placed
higher up, so as to give room to place the swivel between it and the pulley
C, C, to prevent its interfering with the swivel. And be it remembered that
as cylindrical saws have been invented many years ago, and applied to and
used for the boring of wooden pipes, I do not now claim any exclusive right
to the use of such saws as applied, and claim under this Patent only the
particular application and construction of them herein-before described,
especially the method of grinding the saw by means of the spindle passing
through its axis, and the two crosses or wheels, one sliding upon the spindle
and the other attached thereto, on which the tube can slide up and down; the
working of the saw, by a reciprocating or alternate motion instead of a rotative
one, and the method of discharging the sand and sludge by a pillar of water,
and in certain cases through a hole or holes in the sides of the pipe to be bored;
all which I claim as new and invented by me, as well as the general construc-
tion and manner of using the apparatus herein described, which I have set
forth particularly in order that my Invention, and the manner of using and
applying the same, may be compleatly disclosed and understood so as to be
put in practice by others when my Patent expires.
REFERENCE TO THE DRAWING.
A, A, the axis or spin:lle. B, B, the hollew socket fitted to its upper end.
C, C, the pulley round which the rope that turns it goes. D, D, the frame in
or which the pulley turns. E, E, tho rope or cord which turns the pulley and
spindle. F, F, two pullies over which the rope passes. G, G, two handles
fixed to the ends of the rope E, E, by which the ends of it are pulled
alternately. J, J, the lower wheel or cross which is fixed or attached to the
axis or spindle, and slides freely within the cylindrical tube. K, K, the upper
wheel or cross, the rim of which is fixed or attached to the inside of the tube,
and the centre hole of which is fitted to the spin lle, on which it slides freely

page_text: up and down, but cannot turn round upon it, but. when the spindle turns
round it causes this wheel or cross and tube to turn also. L, L, the cylin-
drical tube. M, M, section of the saw affixed to it. N, N, weights to load
the tube and cause the saw to act upon and penetrate the stone by the action
of the water and sand. O, the aperture of the perforation of the spindle.
P, P, the small cord which raises the tube when required. Q, a pulley over
which it passes. R, a windlass to which one end is attached. S. a cistern or
tub containing water. T, the discharging cock. Y, the sand through or
conductor. W, a swivel to be inserted in the cord P when the tube and
spindle are turned in one direction, and in this case the pulley Q is to be
placed higher up. Z, a plug or step of wood or metal for the pivot of the axis
or spindle to move on; this is fixed in the stone to be bored.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Murdock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
Inrolled the Fourteenth day of March, in the year above written.