IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND INSTRUMENTS TO BE USED FOR BORING THE EARTH AND SINKING SHAPTS OF ANY GIVEN DIAMETER FOR MINING AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF LINING SUCH SHAFTS
Year: 1851

page_text: COME, we, CHARLES
GOTTHELF KIND, of Paris, in the Republic of France, Engineer, and CHARLES
ALEXIS DE WENDEL, Ironmaster, also of Paris, in the Republic of France,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of January, in the fourteenth year of Herreign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Charles Gotthelf Kind and Charles Alexis de Wendel Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Charles Gotthelf
Kind and Charles Alexis de Wendel, our exors, adiiors, and assigus, or such
ethers as we, the said Charles Gotthelf Kind and Charles Alexis de Wendel,
our exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might raake, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS
AND INSTRUMENTS TO BE USED FOR BORING THE EARTH AND SINKING SHAPTS OF ANY
GIVEN DIAMETER FOR MINING AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN THE MEANS OF LINING
SUCH SHAFTS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging
us, the said Charles Gotthelf Kind and Charles Alexis de Wendel, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal

page_text: of one of us, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause
the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Gotthelf Kind and Charles Alexis de Wendel, do hereby declare that
the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, is particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Our Invention relates to improvements, firstly, in the means of and apparatus
for boring the earth.
Secondly, for sinking shafts of large diameter.
And, thirdly, to the means of lining such shafts.
FIRSTLY, BORING THE EARTH.
This part of the Invention is applicable when holes are required to be bored
in the earth for the purpose of sounding for water or mineral products.
The improvements consist in a peculiar arrangement of apparatus whereby
the cutting tool is allowed to rise and fall freely whatever may be the depth at
which it is working, and also in a novel arrangement of boring tools.
In order to avoid confusion, we think it advisable to state, that what is
designated as mechanism in the following description is the peculiar arrange-
ment of apparatus whereby the cutting tool is alternately held and allowed
to fall, and which mechanism is adapted to the main shaft; and by the tool is
simply meant the cutting implement by which the earth is operated upon.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet 1, represents the improved
boring apparatus in vertical section, the holding tongs being open and the tool
at the bottom of its course; Fig. 2 is a similar view, shewing the tongs closed
and holding the boring tool; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, shewing the parts in
the same situation as Fig. 1; these three figures are drawn to a scale of one.
tenth the real size. Fig. 4 shews the boring apparatus complete, the opera-
ting tool being furnished with wings or borers for the purpose of enlarging the
aperture below the tubing; this Figure is drawn to a scale of one-twentieth
the real size. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
these Figures. a, a, a, is a square bar of iron firmly bolted to the lower rod
which carries the tool; its upper end terminates in a peculiarly shaped head

page_text: or catch piece , and a little lower down are two lugs c, c, which take into
slots made for that purpose and fastened by means of rivets d, d; e, e, are
two flat bars enclosing the square bar a, a, and furnished at their lower part
with a ring ff, in which the rod a works freely. The rod a, a, is passed
between the bars e, e, and through the ring before fixing the lugs c, c, upon it.
When the sounding apparatus is raised or lowered, the ring fcomes against
the shoulder of the lugs c, c, upon which it rests, and thus supports the tool
and its rods. 9, 9, 9, g, are four bolts, fixing the upper part of the forked
rods e, e, to the rod h, h, which unites the mechanism to the rods at the sur-
face of the ground; i, i, shews the upper threaded end of the rod h, h; k, k, are
two claws or tongs mounted loosely upon pivots 1, 1; m is a bolt for keeping
in place the forked bars e, e, in order to keep them clear of the claws 7, le, so
as not to interfere with their working; m, n, are hinges, one on each side, for
the claws, k, to which are bolted at p the draw rods o, o, working up and
down in grooves made in the forked bars e, e, and rod h; 9,9, are three strong
leather discs, of the same diameter as the hole to be bored, bolted together
between two plates 1, 1, which are of smaller diameter and mounted loosely
on the shaft. To the leather discs 9, 2, are fastened the draw rods o, o,
which receiving from them an up or down movement act upon the hinges
11, n, in such manner as to cause them to open or close the tongs k, k. It may
be as well to observe that all the bolts passing through the forked bars e, e,
are fastened by screw nuts.
The manner in which this apparatus works is as follows:-When the
cutting tool has descended to the bottom of the hole, it is held up by the
ring,as shewn in Fig. 1; the boring is then proceeded with in order to equalize
somewhat the bottom of the hole. The forked rods are then slidden down
upon the rod a, a, until the ring f,f,comes in contact with the screw box t, t.
By this downward movement the water contained in the hole bored will
forcibly drive up the disc 2, 2, which will carry with it the draw rods o, o,
and the hinges n,n; by this means the tongs will be opened at their lower
part, and take hold of the head u of the rod a, a. When, on the contrary,
the apparatus is raised, the discs being pushed back by the water will act
the draw rods, and, consequently, the hinge, in such manner as to close
the lower part of the tongs, which will take hold of the head of the tool
and raise it, as shewn in Fig. 2. When the apparatus has done working up-
wards and when it is again about to descend, the tool, which retains a slightly
ascending movement from the momentum it had acquired, and thediscs being
retained by the water, the head u will be detached from the tongs by the
opening of the latter, and the tool will fall without touching them. This
upon
.

page_text: operation is effected with such regularity and precision that it can be repeated
thirty times per minute without missing a single stroke.
The improvement in the boring tool consists in furnishing it at its upper
part with two cutters set in such a manner that during working they may not
be thrown out of their position. These cutters should be made of iron case-
hardened, or better still, of good steel. They serve, firstly, to shape and
equalize the aperture, and also to prevent the tool from deviating from a
vertical position, especially in soils of variable hardness, so that the shaft may
be perpendicular and the piping descend easily, leaving the least possible play
between it and the rock. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the boring apparatus with
the moveable boring tools screwed to the lower end of the main shaft;
Fig. is an elevation of the same, detached, drawn to a scale of one-tenth
the real size.
In Fig. 4 the upper moveable borers project beyond the diameter of the
lower part of the cutting tool in the form of a cross, and in Fig. 5 they are
precisely the same diameter. a, a, is the cutting tool, furnished with enlarging
cutters c, c; the body of the tool has a projection at 6, b, in which on each
side is made a slot of about five-eighths of an inch, in which the cutters c, c,
enter; these latter must be of such dimensions as completely to fill the slots.
d, d, are bolts passing through the cutters c into the body of the cutting tool,
and forming the pivots on which they work; these bolts are protected from
displacement or injury by plates of iron e, e, fastened by nuts and screws g, g:
To the moveable cutters c, c, are attached at the points h, h, two small draw
rods i, i, having rings k for the reception of the cord t; the other end of these
cords t are attached above to rings or studs m (see Fig. 4) at each side of the
main shaft. Every time the enlarging tool is made to descend, the wet cords
are replaced by fresh ones; and in order that the cutters may remain closed
during the descent of the tool through the tubing, small wooden pins are
inserted in the holes n, n, in order to keep them steady until they have passed
the tubing. These pins will then break easily, and the moveable cutters will
have acquireda tendency to open from the shrinking of the cord by the action
of the water, and will thus be caused to remain open during the boring opera-
tion. On the tool being withdrawn, these blades will close by their upper
rounded part coming in contact with the lower part of the tubing, into the
interior of which they will then enter easily. With respect to the cutting
chisel, it is smaller than the diameter of the tubing, and therefore will easily
pass through it. The lower part of the blades is thicker and of greater con
vexity in proportion to the circumference of the hole bored, in order better to
excavate the earth below the tubing.

page_text: The main rod b, b, is rounded a certain portion of its length at its upper
part in order to receive the moveable guide A, A, (Figures 2, 4, and 6,) which
is capable of sliding along the said rounded part of the shaft, and serves to
keep the apparatus upright in order that the hole may be vertical; Fig. 6
represents a plan view of this guide piece. It consists of four pieces of hard
wood held firmly together by means of rings B, B. Below this guide are
fixed several leather dises fastened together by two iron plates C, C, and D, D.
These discs are of the same diameter as the hole, and act as a parachute,
that is to say, that in case the rod should break on entering or leaving the
hole, the whole apparatus would be thereby prevented from falling sharply to
the bottom. Two additions to this apparatus are shewn in Figures 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, of Sheet 1. They consist of instruments by means of
which a lump of earth may be fetched up at any required depth, so as to
furnish an indication of the nature of the soil and the depths of the various
strata. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of what we denominate our hollow border;
Fig. 9 is a section of the same taken in the line M, N, of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is
a view, as seen from beneath. a, a, are branches dovetailed in the cylinder b, b,
and fastened thereto by rivets. They are adjusted to the upper part c, c, by
the bolts d, d, and c, e; the piece c, c, is screwed at top, which screws into
the socket of the driving shaft. The two branches a, a, which are parallel to
each other, are about four and a half inches in breadth, and are made to take
a curve proportioned to the circumference of the hole, as seen at a, a, in Fig. 9.
The piece C, C, which constitutes the head of the tool, is rounded off at the
screwed part, and afterwards made flat to the hollowed out part at g, g,
where the pieces a, a, meet in the centre.
The cylinder b, b, which is about nine inches in length, carries at its lower
part six steel teeth h, k, l, h, inserted in the holes i, i, made in the body of
the cylinder. The tenons k, k, of the teeth are held in their places by dowels
1, 1. The space m, m, (Figures 9 and 10) between each tooth is cut away
both inside and outside to allow of the free passage of the substances pul-
verized. The teeth h,.h, are at their upper part of a thickness corresponding
to that of the cylinder, and have below a cutting edge about two and a half
inches in width.
When it is required to ascertain the nature of the soil at any particular
depth, this may be easily ascertained, provided that the soil be not of such a
nature as to be easily pulverized. For this purpose the hollow borer is
lowered, and the work is commenced with gentle blows; by this means a
lump of earth is cut out, which remains inside the borer. This may be con-

page_text: tinued to the depth of three feet without any fear of breaking the cloil,
providing the soil be of sufficient consistency.
This operation being concluded, the boring tool is withdrawn, and in order
to withdraw the clod entire as cut from the soil, the apparatus shewn at
Figures 11, 12, and 13 is employed; Fig. 11 being a vertical section in
the position when its moveable internal ring is beneath, and keeps the teet!
closed; Fig. 12 is a horizontal section in the line A, B, of Fig 11, of the lower
part of the instrument, as seen from above; and Fig. 13, a longitudinal section
of the instrument when the ring is raised, and the teeth holding a clod of
earth of a round form as cut by the borer. The same letters indicate the
same parts in all these Figures. a, a, is a sheet-iron cylinder about an eighth
of an inch thick, and of such a diameter as to enter easily in the hole and pass
between the sides thereof and the clod of earth; b, b, are two flat iron bands
rivetted inside to the cylinder and forming a fork; they meet at c, and form
a handle with a small central rod fastened by the bolts d, d. This central rod
is threaded at its upper front at e to allow of its being screwed into the
working shaft. ff, are two other flat iron bands attached below to the
circular ring, 9, and being attached at top by screws to a rod having a screw
hat its upper extremity, similar to that above mentioned. The position of the
two bands f, f, forms a handle, so that the draw rod screwed into the threaded
top may easily pass by the side of the central rod which sustains the cylinder.
This handle crosses that of the bands b, b, and comes against it on raising
the ring g, g. The cylinder or "scoop" a, a, carries at its lower end a strong
fixed ring h, k, about three-fourths of an inch in thickness rounded inside near
the bottom; this ring has a slot 1, 1, cut in it for the reception of an iron
wire, upon which work the teeth or hooks m, m, m, in mortices cut in the
ring; the points of these teeth can either rest against the cylinder or can be
lowered so that their heels shall rest against the shoulder of the ring k, k;
o, Fig. 13, is the block of earth which has been cut out by the boring tool.
When this has been done the borer is to be withdrawn, and the scoop a, a,
is screwed on to the working rod and lowered, care being taken to raise the
bands f, f, with the ring g, g, above the handle of the bands b, b, and fix them
there with a splinter of wood, which will break easily when the ring g, g, is
lowered upon the teeth m. The ring g will then be placed in the position
shewn in Fig. 13. When the lower extremity of the cylinder arrives in con-
tact with the top of the block of earth, the moveable teeth m, m, will be raised
as shewn in Fig. 13, and will slide in that position with the cylinder a, a, to
the bottom; then by pressing upon the screwed rod h, the ring g will be forced

page_text: down against the back of the points of the teeth m, and by drawing or pulling
the rod e, the instrument will be raised and the teeth m caused to bite into the
block, and finally tear it from its bed.
The second part of our Invention consists in apparatus for sinking wells or
shafts of large diameter, which is represented in Sheets II. and III. of the
accompanying Drawings, Fig. I. being a front elevation of the large cutter;
Fig. II., a section taken in the line A; B, C, D, of Fig. 1; Fig. III., a hori-
zontal section in the line M, N, of the same Figure; and Fig. IV. an under-
neath view; similar letters are marked on corresponding parts in all these
Figures, which are drawn to a scale of one-twentieth the real size.
As so
large an instrument cannot be made in one piece, we make it in eleven pieces,
independently of the teeth, by which means any part which may receive injury
can be easily removed and repaired. u, a, a, a, represents in various views the
principal part of the instrument, called the tooth carrier, the cutting teeth
being adapted thereto; it carries at each end a tenon c, c, which tenons serve
to support the bent pieces b, b, fastened thereto by means of rivets and
bolts d, d. These curved pieces, which form segments of the circumference of
the shaft, are about twenty inches in length, ten inches in height, and fourand
a half inches thick; they each carry four teeth, which serve to cut and round
the circumference of the shaft. The piece a may either be straight, as repre-
sented in Fig. 1, or it may be of an elliptical or triangular form. In either
of the latter cases it would of course also be furnished with teeth, the
cutting part of which must be made horizontal. Both of these forms offer
advantages according to the nature of the soil operated upon. e, e, e, e, are the
teeth, fastened by tenons f and bolts g to the teeth carriers a, a. These teeth
are of a wedge shape and about three-fourths of an inch in length without
their tenons, and three-eighths of an inch in thickness at their thick end. The
four teeth e, el, el, e', of each cross piece b, b, project slightly beyond it (sayan
eighth of an inch) to prevent the pieces b, b, from striking against the sides of
the shaft, The teeth are arranged in such manner on each half of the instru-
ment that the teeth on one half will attack the space which had been left
untouched by the teeth on the other half; moreover, as the arcs described by
the teeth in rotating will always be more extended towards the extremities,
the teeth are made nearer to each other from the centre to the circumference,
the distances between them decreasing in regular progression. h, h, h, are
three standards or arm,terminating at their lower ends in forks h¹, h¹, h¹, which
embrace the teeth carrier to a depth of about six inches, and are fastened
thereto by bolts and pins i, k, and having forks h", h, h, at their upperends,

page_text: SMALL BORER.
When a shaft of large diameter is required to be bored, it is advantageous
first to bore a small one of about two or three feet in diameter, the whole
depth of the intended shaft; in fact, this precaution is indispensable in working
in soils consisting of freestone, as the sand detached by the tool accumulates
and cannot be removed by the ordinary scoops. For this purpose the small
instruments shewn in elevation, side view, and plan in Figures V., VI., and VII.
is employed. By employing the same method in setting the teeth this instru-
ment will serve for boring holes varying from sixteen inches to five feet; the
essential point to be observed being to diminish the distance between the teeth
as the extremities are approached from the centre, and so to place the said
teeth that those of one radius shall fall into the space left between those of the
other. The advantage of this arrangement is to diminish: considerably the
surface of resistance, and consequently to expedite the working. In the above-
mentioned Figures, a, a, a, are the teeth carriers, of the same thickness and
height as those of the large borer; b, b, are curved pieces, shorter that those
shewn in Figures I., II., aud IV., as for a smaller diameter less teeth are
required. In this instance two arms h, h, will suffice instead of three. As
this shaft is intended to serve as a guide for the large one, it is necessary that
it should be kept strictly vertical; for this purpose the borer has two cross
pieces c, c, bolted to it at i, i, at right angles to the teeth carrier. These cross
bars are furnished at their extremities with the teeth d, d, to which they are
fastened by bolts e, e, and are intended to clear away any inequalities which
may have escaped the first teeth, and will consequently render the surface
smooth and even. In order to increase the working power of this tool it may
be provided with a heavy rod. With this instrument any shaft may be
sunk either for a well or for mining or ventilating purposes.

page_text: In Sheet III. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. VIII. represents our
improved scraper in an open position, and showing also the manner of its
attachment to the tubing. The dotted lines represent it in the position it
assumes when almost closed, and when it has scraped the loose matters to the
edge of the small hole. Fig. IX. represents the instrument in side view, in its
open position. a, a, is the receiving vessel, suspended in the small hole by
means of four hooks b, b, fixed inside the pipe. These hooks project about a
quarter of an inch beyond the sides of the small shaft,and are held down by the
ring c, c, which is laid upon the ground at the bottom of the large shaft; d, d,
represents a band of sheet iron thinner than that of the receiving vessel; this
band consists of several pieces, the joints of which overlap in order to press
against the sides of the shaft and prevent the loose materials from slipping
between those sides and the receiving vessel. e, e, are two strong bars fixed in
the pipe in the form of a cross, across which the forked rods f,f,f, rides, and
is fastened to it underneath by means of a bolt h. The instrument is provided
at its lower extremity with four spring catches 9, 9, 9, g, which are made to
slide over and take hold of the head, being held their by the springs i, i, i, i,
the spring catches turning upon pivots at , by which they are held on the
cross pieces l, l. By these means the instrument is capable of turning round
in the shaft without becoming detached. A little above the cross piece's 1, 1,
the rod carrying the spring catches is forked, and the arms m, m, m, of this
fork are held together by means of collars at n, n, n¹, n¹. A draw rod t, t, t,
works up and down between the arms of this fork, and has shoulders 0, 0,01,0¹,
which are intended to come against the collars n, n, n¹, n', in order to fixa
limit to the upward course of the rod and to remove the tube when full. p, p,
is a jointed piece permanently fixed to the draw rod t, t; 9.9, is a joint similar
to p, p, but capable of sliding up and down on the rod t, t. The arms', r, 1, T,
work ou the joint p, p, where they are set at nearly right angles; they carry
at their lower extremities the drags or scrapers s., which serve to remove the
refuse. The arms 1, 1, are jointed at their upper part to two moveable levers
,, which work on a joint q above. To this joint are fixed the rods v, v,
furnished with plungers w, w, w wl, working in wooden bearings u, u, u, u,
fixed between metal plates A, dovetailed on to the arms m, m.
On com-
pressing the two springs B, B, by means of the collar C, and adjusting screw D
(see Fig. IX.), the pistons will be pressed against their bearings with sufficient
force to keep the joint 7 rigid during the descent of the rod t, t, and conse-
quently the arms r, r, with their scrapers s, s, will open to the extent of the

page_text: diameter of the large shaft. The shoulder a, a, of the rod t, t, will by this
means be caused to rest upon the joint 7, 9, and will bring into action the
whole weight of the upper rods, causing the draw rod to descend with the
scrapers open to the bottom of the shaft. On drawing the draw rod t, t,
upwards, the upper joint 7 being still kept rigid by the action of the
plungers, the scrapers being thereby prevented from rising, will be drawn
together and caused to scrape the bottom of the shaft. The instrument
must be slightly turned round after cach up and down stroke in order that the
scrapers may be made to act successively upon every portion of the bottom of
the shaft or well, and thoroughly cleanse it.
The third part of our Invention consists in lining shafts or wells so as to
render them impervious.
The apparatus above described is intended to perform the operation of
boring, with speed, safety, and economy, shafts of large diameter, without its
being necessary to draw off the water before the boring is completed to the
depth required; it is indispensable to line the said shafts so as to render them
impervious before drawing off the water. Our method applies to cylindrical
shafts, and consists in the employment of iron or wooden cylinders, the space
between which and the sides of the shaft we fill up with mortar or cement.
The water which remains in the shaft during the sinking operation keeps
up the sides by exerting a degree of pressure about equal to that of the earth
liable to fall in. When it has been settled whether they shall be lined with
wood or iron, the lining or casing must be constructed so as to be ready as
soon as the shaft has been sunk, in order that no time may be suffered to
elapse to allow the sides to fall in.
Care must be taken to make the diameter of the cylinder about eight
inches less than that of the shaft, so that there may be between the cylinder
and the sides of the shaft an annular space of about four inches. This pre-
caution is necessary from the fact that notwithstanding the supposition that
the column of water remaining in the shaft will keep up the soil, it is never-
theless likely that there will be a slight fall of earth in certain light soils. It
will also, perhaps, be advisable in some cases to apply temporary sheet-iron
cylinders. Oak cylinders require to be constructed with great care; they
are composed in the same manner as a cask of nicely adjusted staves, bound
together by a hoop outside. They are to be made perfectly smooth at their
extremities, and joined together end to end by means of an iron band, from
one to two-eighths of an inch in thickness, and from twelve to thirteen inches
in depth, screwed on to them, the join of the two ends being exactly in the
middle of the band,

page_text: Iron cylinders require no less care in their construction. The top and bottom
flanges project inside, which allows of their being easily got at for the purpose
of bolting them together without interferring with the space between the
cylinders and the inside of the shaft. In Sheet IV. of the accompanying
Drawings two kinds of cylinders are shewn, of iron and oak, as required to
be lowered into the shaft.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a cast-iron cylinder, from eleven to twelve feet
in internal diameter, the cast iron being about one-fourth of an inch in thick-
ness. Three forms of cylinders are necessary:-First, that serving as the
foundation, marked b, b, in the Drawing, with a double flange c, c, at its base,
bolted to a woolen ring a, a; secondly, the covering cylinder d, d, which fits
into the cylinder b, b. All the other cylinders fare of the same form and
laid one upon the end of the other, and are bolted together on their inner
edges or flanges, as shewn at e, e, between the cylinders d and f.
The cylinder f, f, as well as all those above it is about six feet in depth,
including the flanges at each end; gand is a double platform, made of very
thick planks and crossing each other, to give greater solidity and prevent the
water from penetrating. In the centre of this platform a hole is made, above
which is fixed a small cast-iron cylinder i, i, about a foot in height, open at
bottom; the bolts which keep it in place pass through the plate q, and bolt
the whole firmly together. In this cylinder works a piston k, about eight
inches in height by twelve in diameter. In the centre of this piston is made a
hole for the reception of the rod p, to the shoulder of which the piston is
screwed; 1, 1, are two openings in the piston, above which are the valves
m, m, for the admission of water; n is a plate, closing the cylinder; it has two
openings at y, y, in order to allow the water to flow over the platform.
When the shaft has been bored as low as the solid stratum of earth, the
cylinder b, b, with the wooden foundation bolted to its lower part, is laid upon
blocks of wood laid across the shaft; in this position the cylinder is covered
on the outside with hydraulic cement laid upon the wooden foundation a, a,
and which can be easily kept in place until the cylinder is lowered by means
of planks and a few hoops covered with canvas.
The two cylinders d and fare first bolted together and the platform fixed
inside below the flanges e, e. The piston rod of the pump above described is
then adapted to a shaft driven by a steain engine in order to raise the cylinders
and lay them vertically upon the cylinder b, b, so that they shall fit of them-
When these three
selves when the foundation rests upon the solid earth.
cylinders are in this position, the clamps A, A, are to be applied, the claws at
the extremities of which take into the flanges of the cylinders b, b, and f, f;

page_text: by this means the cylinder 0, 0, is suspended from the other cylinders
supported by the platform.
In order to prevent the clamps A, A, from being thrown out of place by
any sudden shock, and thereby detached from the flange c of the cylinder b,
they are held in place by the ring B below. The series of cylinders are then
introduced into the shaft, the one b, b, first, which is suspended by the clamps
to the cylinder, d, and after it the cylinders f, f; the cylinders must be
bolted together as they are lowered. When the cylinder b, b, with its founda-
tion rests upon the solid earth, the cylinder d, d, will still descend a little, and
thereby forcibly compress the hydraulic cement against the sides of the shaft,
thus rendering it perfectly water-tight.
While the cylinders are being lowered, the piston rod p is drawn up in such
a position that the valves m, m, shall close the apertures y, y, in the cover
n, and thereby prevent the water from rising; the cylinders will therefore in
descending be supported by the water, and will descend slowly by their own
gravity. If the resistance of the water should be so great as to prevent the
descent of the cylinders, it is only necessary to lower the rod pa little, whereby
the valves will be opened and the water allowed to rise and flow over to such
an extent as to allow the cylinders to descend.
When the whole of the cylinders have been lowered, the space between the
lining and the sides of the shaft are filled with cement, which is well beaten
down by means of a suitable instrument. This instrument consists of an
iron box in the form of a parallelopiped with curved sides, embracing the
radius of the space between the lining and the sides of the shaft, and being of
the breadth of that space. This box, which may be of any suitable height,.
is open below and above, where it is provided with small internal flanges. An
iron plate is capable of working in this box like a piston
It is fixed to a
fork carrying a draw rod which rises above the mouth of the shaft. The box
is previously filled with hydraulic cement of great consistency, which is
retained there by a slight cord at bottom. When the box has reached
the bottom, the plate is acted upon by a draw rod; which plate during the
descent remained above the pressed cement against the upper sides; by this
means the cement is compressed, the cord is broken, and the cement is
discharged and beaten down by the moveable plate.
Figure II. represents our improved method of lining shafts with oak of
from four to five feet diameter. This plan is much the same as that pursued
when iron is used. a, a, is the wooden foundation, bolted to the cast-iron
cylinder b, b; d, d, is the first wooden cylinder, fitting into the cast-iron one
b, b. The oaken lining cylinders are furnished at distances of about three feet

page_text: with iron hoops about four inches in width and quarter of an inch in thick-
ness. The double platform g, h, is the same as for the iron cylinders, with a
similar pump in the centre of this platform. The descent of the wooden
cylinders is conducted in the same manner. The space between the lining and
the sides of the shaft is also filled with cement, as above described. The
lining being thus effected, the water is pumped out and the platform g, h, is
broken away, and the sinking of the shaft is continued.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Gotthelf Kind and Charles
Alexis de Wendel, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-one.
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of Our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.