IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST-METAL PIPES AND CASTINGS TERMED CORE BARS OR SPINDLES AND CHAPLETS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Wight, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the
County of York, Foundry Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST-METAL PIPES AND
CASTINGS TERMED CORE BARS OR SPINDLES AND CHAPLETS."
Sealed the 20th December 1859, and dated the 29th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Wight at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th June 1859.
I, THOMAS WIGHT, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the County of York,
Foundry Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST-METAL
PIPES AND CASTINGS TERMED CORE BARS OR SPINDLES AND CHAPLETS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in the arrangement of a core bar or spindle, so that
it is made to expand and contract, and is to be used in casting pipes and other
cylindrical articles, whereby hay or straw ropes are not required, consequently
several pipes can be cast from the same spindle in a short time, and the core
is dried quickly, which is a great saving of coke and labour. The core bar or

page_text: spindle is made of two circular plates of cast or wrought iron, a little tapered,
so as to suit the size of core required, but not to form a semicircle, there
being a sufficient space left for two longitudinal bars of the same taper as the
plates where the two plates of the two taper bars or wedge pieces are put
together, they will then form a circle. On the top and bottom, and also the
middle of the said circular plates, snugs or brackets are attached, which are
to be of a form to suit the shaft or axle of the core bar or spindle, that is to
say, they are to have the same incline to suit the shaft. A cast or wrought-
iron shaft for a certain length is cone-shaped at or near to each end, and also
in the middle, which passes through the brackets attached to each circular
plate before mentioned. When the coned shaft and the two longitudinal wedge
bars are driven up, the plates are locked fast upon the shaft; by this means the
core bar expands, & when the core bar is to be contracted to free itself from
the casting, the coned shaft and two longitudinal wedge pieces only needs to be
driven down.
I
may
here mention that I do not confine myself to any number of cones on
the shaft; but whatever number are used, the same number of brackets or
snugs will be required on the plates. To make the core bars durable and
strong, the parts will be made of both wrought and cast iron, though I do not
confine myself to either. For the convenience of making metal pipes of a
certain size I use the same description of shaft, coned with three or more
curved plates, either of wrought or cast iron, to which internally I attach
snugs, with the same incline as cones upon the shaft or axle. The curved
plates are not intended to meet or butt together when placed upon the shaft,
but a sufficient distance will be left for the expansion and contraction of the
core bar. When the shaft or axle is removed to keep the curved plates firm
upon the shaft, they will be recessed to admit of a thin, iron or steel hoop, the
ends of which will be secured and drawn tight by iron wire or otherwise.
do not confine myself to recessing the hoops except it is necessary; I also
claim the use of wire instead of hoops when convenient. With this core bar
or spindle I use the improved stud chaplet (which may also be used inde-
pendently thereof), made of thin hoop iron, the stud of which is screwed, and
has a countersunk head the same or nearly so as a screw (called wood screw),
used by joiners & cabinet makers. When a nail chaplet is used for pipes, the
shank is screwed and pointed in the usual way; the advantages of the stud and
shank of the chaplet being screwed will easily be seen by practical iron-
founders, that is, the extreme fine end of screw will undoubtedly unite with the
liquid metal during the casting, whatever the article may be; at the same time,
if, owing to the want of fluidity and proper heat of the metal, the chaplet stud
I

page_text: or nail should not unite, the chaplet could be rivetted and made perfectly
secure. The screw, it will be observed, prevents the stud or nail being driven
back during the operation of rivetting.
The above is a description of the nature of this Invention, the details
whereof might probably be varied in practice.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Wight in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WIGHT, of Middlesboro'-on-Tees, in the County of York, Foundry Manager,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Wight, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Wight,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Wight, 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 THE APPARATUS
USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CAST-METAL PIPES AND CASTINGS TERMED CORE
BARS OR SPINDLES AND CHAPLETS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Thomas Wight, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Thomas Wight, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention consists in certain novel constructions or arrangements bere-
after set forth and described by reference to the accompanying Drawings, as

page_text: applicable to the apparatus termed core bars or spindles, and to chaplets used
in the manufacture of cast-metal pipes and castings, the nature and character
whereof, and the manner of performing or putting in practice the same, being
herein set forth, described, and ascertained, as immediately follows:-
The accompanying two Sheets of illustrative Drawings will more fully
explain the manner in which the said Invention is to be performed.
In Drawing No. 1, Figs. 1 to 5 are several full size views of one of my
improved core bars for casting iron pipes (with a socket at one end, Fig. 1 being
a side elevation (partly in section); Fig. 2, a longitudinal section; Fig. 3, an end
view at A; Fig. 4, an end view at B; and Fig. 5, a transverse section through
the line A, B. The loam to be used in the process of casting is omitted in
the Figs. 1 and 2, but is represented in the other Figures. a, a, are two
tapered plates or shell plates, externally of circular shape; and b, b, two longi-
tudinal wedge bars of corresponding taper, and likewise externally of circular
shape, the whole being so shaped that when in the expanded position repre-
sented in the Figures, they form a complete circle or cylinder, directly on to
which a thin layer of loam is to be plastered or laid on and dried without
necessarily employing hay bands, as heretofore. The Drawing shews the shell
plates a, a, as formed of cast or wrought iron, and strengthened with a rib a*.
c, c, are the snugs or brackets with which they are furnished, one at each end,
and one or more between them, the several snugs being uniformly made
conical or tapered, to suit the core bar, shaft or spindle d, and the form and
inclination of the spindle at the parts in contact with the snugs being such as
to produce an amount of expansion corresponding with that produced by the
inclination of the shell plates and bars a and b when drawn up together by
means of the nut e on the screwed end of the spindle. f.f, are links or short
chains holding the parts together, and serving also at the end at which they
are placed to limit the extent or amount of expansion to the intended size, and
consequently the action of the screw nut by which the expansion is caused, the
limit at the other end being effected by means of frame rings 9, g, fixed to the
short lengths of layer cylinders g*, which envelopes the other parts, and serves
to form the enlarged or socket end of the core bar. And the edges of the wedge
bars b, b, are made to dovetail against and to lie within the edges of the shell
plates a, a, so that the whole system of parts may become locked firmly
together by the action of the nut and screw, or the expansion and locking
together may be effected by means of driving up with a key or otherwise; and
the method of limiting the expansion may also be varied, as herein-after
described.
Another improved core bar is represented on a reduced scale at Figs. 6 to 9,

page_text: Fig. 6 being a longitudinal section, and the other Figures transverse sections,
taken through C, D, through E, F, and through G, H, respectively, (the loam
covering not being represented in any of these Figures. In this case the
longitudinal wedge bars are dispensed with; and instead of two, I employ three
(or it may be more) shell plates a, a, a, of wrought iron, the edges of which
are not dovetailed together, but in the expanded position leave small spaces
between them (not abutting together, but allowing room for contraction), and
these spaces are covered over on the inner side by additional thin plates i, i, i,
rivetted or screwed each to one only of the shell plates. Each of the shell
plates carries a tapering conical wedge piece or snug c, and the same is
repeated at or near both ends, and may be introduced at one or more inter-
mediate positions in the length, the expanding action being caused by the tapering
conical enlargements upon the spindle d, and the limiting action effected by
collars k, k, threaded loosely on the spindle d, which are tapped with screw
holes, into which screw bolts or screws 1, 1, 1, are fixed after passing loosely
or easily through the shell plates, each screw or bolt having a head or enlarged
portion fitting and lying within a corresponding countersunk recess in the shell
plate through which it passes.
full size longitudinal and trans-
In Drawing No. 2, Figs. 10 and 11 are
verse section respectively of another improved core bar, the loam z being
shewn upon it. The expansion in this instance is caused by means of three
tapering arms n, n, n, instead of a conical taper upon the core spindle, the
exterior edges being V-shaped, and fitting against corresponding tapering
V-shaped edges formed on the shell plates a, a, a. These arms are shewn
applied at both ends, and may be applied in one or more intermediate positions.
The limiting action is also effected in a different manner, namely, by the
introduction of binding rings 0, 0, 0, which may either lie in recesses, as shewn,
or they may project; and these may be either complete or endless rings or
incomplete rings, that is to say, having the ends united by wires or otherwise,
or wires only may be substituted in place of rings; and this method of binding
or limiting the expanding action may also be applied not only at the ends of
the core bar, as shewn, but also in one or more intermediate positions. And I
would also remark, that any convenient number of arms may be employed
instead of three, the Figure 12 shewing the modification necessary in the case
of four arms upon the spindle; and I would further remark, that the spindle,
instead of carrying arms proper, may have tapering projections in different
parts of a square or any other convenient transverse sectional form, the shell
plates being either made to correspond or carrying tapering wedges or snugs

page_text: (fixed to them) to correspond, or the spindle may be of any convenient section,
and may taper throughout its entire length.
Figs. 13 and 14, full size longitudinal and cross section of another improved
core bar, the loam being shewn upon it, this being only a modification of the
system of short tapering conical projections upon the spindle represented in the
Fig. 6 in combination with the system of binding rings represented in the
Figs. 10, 11, and 12. No further detailed description will be necessary.
Fig. 15 is a full size transverse section of core bar, shewing a modification
applicable to some of the foregoing plans, the feature it is intended to illustrate
being that the covering plates i, i, i, may be dispensed with by forming the shell
plates and causing them to lap against each other in the manner represented in
the Figure. The holes y, y, shewn in the Fig. 1, are for the purpose of vent
holes for the core bar. It is to be understood that similar holes exist in all
the improved core bars, though not so represented in the Drawings. And I
would remark, that where it can conveniently be applied, hay may be used
between the joints to afford an additional means of vent.
Fig. 16 (Drawing No. 1) is a view of a double hoop stud chaplet drawn to
the full size requisite for 9-inch pipes; Fig. 17 (Drawing No. 1) is a similar
view of a single hoop stud chaplet drawn to the full size requisite for 6-inch
pipes; and Fig. 18 is a view of a nail chaplet drawn to the full size requisite
for 3-inch pipes. The peculiarity in all these chaplets is, forming the distance
studs with screws or screw-like serrations or edges, which I prefer to make
sharp and thin, and similar to the edges of wood screws, in order that the cast
metal may unite the more firmly to them; and in the case of the nail chaplet,
the screwing entirely prevents the nail yielding when the nail is rivetted into
or to the pipe cast upon them.
Having now described the said Invention, I hereby declare that what I
claim as constituting the nature and character thereof secured to me by the
aforesaid Letters Patent, is,-
(1st), the constructing expanding core bars of shell plates and longitudinal
wedge bars of corresponding taper, fitting together, and shaped so that the
plates and bars shall together produce the required external form when drawn
or driven up into the expanded position.
(2nd), the constructing the core bars with a spindle having a conical or
other tapered surface, or having projections with a conical or other tapered
surface fitting against corresponding tapered surfaces, either upon the shell
plates or upon snugs, wedge pieces, or blocks, cast or formed upon or affixed
to them for the purpose of producing the desired expansion of the shell plates,

page_text: the which method of producing the expansion I claim not only when the shell
plates are used in combination with longitudinal wedge bars, as aforesaid, but
also generally when used in combination with the modes of limiting the
expansion, as herein-after claimed.
(3rd), the mode of limiting the expansion to the desired extent by the use
of hoops made of iron, steel, or metals or wires, or a combination of any of
them when applied externally to the shell plate, and either placed or not
placed within recesses. or grooves for keeping the core bar firm when the shell
plates are expanded.
(4th), also the constructing recesses or grooves externally in or upon the
shell plates to admit the hoops or wires.
(5th), and, further, I claim the mode of limiting the expansion by the use
of loose collars on the shaft, the collars carrying screw bolts or stops passing
through the shell plates, and formed with heads or enlarged portions made to
fit and lie within corresponding countersunk recesses in the shell plates.
(6th), lastly, I claim constructing chaplets for supporting or holding down
in cores, in pipes, and other castings, with screwed studs or screwed portions,
far more effectually than heretofore, causing a proper adhesion or union of
cast metal with the chaplet, and for affording a better hold in the cast metal
when rivetting nail chaplets.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wight, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
THOMAS WIGHT. (L.S.)