IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Rothwell Jackson, of Salford, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS."
Sealed the 19th January 1855, and dated the 11th September 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Rothwell Jackson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th September 1854.
I, PETER ROTHWELL JACKSON, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS" to be as follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in an improved mode of manufacturing
the nave, spokes, and fellue of wrought-iron wheels. I take a piece of
cylindrical iron, the diameter of which is rather less than the finished size of
the nave of the wheel, and the length considerably greater than the depth
thereof. This piece of iron is then heated and placed in the centre of a face
plate, in which are as many radial grooves as there are to be spokes in the
wheel. The centre of the face plate is of the form of the finished nave, and a
hoop or flange is put over the centre of the face plate to cover the radial
grooves and to form the upper part of the nave. Pressure is then applied to

page_text: each end of the heated cylinder by means of rams, actuated by high pressure
steam or other means, the effect of which is to force the heated metal into the
centre of the face plate and into the hoop or flange to form the nave, and into
the radial grooves to form the spokes of the wheel. In order to keep the
spokes of the same length, and to make their ends of the requisite shape, I
apply a sliding block with a bevelled face to each radial groove. These
sliding blocks have nuts and screws worked by a centre wheel or by other
means to keep them equidistant from the centre of the face plate. When the
pressure is applied to the ends of the heated cylinder, the sliding blocks are
near the centre of the face plate; consequently as soon as the heated metal is
forced into the grooves it comes in contact with the bevelled face of the sliding
block, and is by this means formed into the requisite shape for welding.
The sliding blocks move or are moved from the centre of the face plate
until each spoke is of sufficient length to allow the outer portion thereof when
bent to form a portion of the felloe; and in order to facilitate the bending,
and afterwards the welding, I cause a cutter or other instrument to make a
groove on one side of each spoke at the requisite distance from the nave.
The bending of the spokes can be done bringing rollers or blocks against
their outer ends, or by moving the face plate so that the spokes come against
stationary blocks or rollers.
The bevelled end of each spoke fits, when bent, the angle of the adjoining
spoke, and is afterwards welded thereto by hand or otherwise; the tyre
or rim is then put on the felloe in the usual manner to complete the wheel.
If it is requisite to make a hole into or through the nave, I make a suitable
projection on one or both of the instruments, by which pressure is given to the
cylinder. This projection or these projections enter into the cylinder, and
form the hole.
I also propose, instead of the cylindrical piece of iron above referred to, to
form a tube in the following manner:-A bar of square or flat iron is coiled
round a mandril, the diameter of which is about the size of the hole required
in the nave. This coil is heated to a welding heat, and subjected to pressure,
so as to form a solid tube. The tube thus formed is put on a mandril in the
face plate, and treated in the manner above described.
In order to ensure a uniform diameter in the felloe, care must be taken that
the pressure is kept up on the ends of the nave until the iron is at a uniform
temperature.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Peter Rothwell Jackson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th March 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ROTHWELL JACKSON, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Peter Rothwell Jackson, Her special license that I, the said Peter Rothwell
Jackson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Peter Rothwell Jackson, 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 MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Peter Rothwell Jackson, by an instrument in writing
under ny 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 1, the said Peter Rothwell Jackson, 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 Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in an improved mode of making wheels, whereby I
am able to mould and form, by means of pressure or percussion, heated wrought
iron of cylindrical, angular, or other desired sectional form and suitable
dimensions, to form the nave, spokes, and felloe of a railway or other wrought-
iron wheel; or, if so thought fit, to form the nave and portions of the spokes
only. This Invention is carried into effect by means of a block or die, formed
in a face or bed plate, furnished with radiating grooves or channels, opening
outwards from the inould in suitable positions, form, and strength to correspond

page_text: with the spokes of the wheel to be made, and with other suitable mechanical
arrangements and power, so that the heated iron, after having been placed
in such mould or die, may not only be forined to the shape of such mould, but
also forced through the grooves or channels radiating therefrom to form
spokes or parts thereof, and bent, if so desired, at their outer cuds, so as to
make each spoke form a portion of the felloe of the wheel. I have in the said
Drawings given Figures for shewing how my improvements may be performed,
similar parts in each of the Figures being marked with similar letters of
reference.
Figure 1 of the said Drawings is a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a plan,
of machinery suitable for manufacturing the nave, spokes, and felloe of wheels
according to my improved mode. a, a, is a cast-iron bed plate, having eight
or other number of radiating grooves b, b, the length of which must be deter-
mined by the diameter of the inner part of the felloe of the wheel to be
manufactured; the circumference of the space between the radial grooves
serves as blocks, on which the felloe is formed. Above the bed plate a is the
hoop or flange c, which is held down by the clamps d, or in any other con-
venient manner. The boss of the bed plate a and the hoop or flange care
strengthened by wrought-iron hoops, as shown in Figure 1. The rams e and f
fit in holes in the centre of the bed plate a, and of the hoop or flange c, and
pressure is applied to one or both of these rams when required by high pressure
steam or other means, or percussion may be used instead of pressure. Above
and projecting beyond each of the grooves 6 is a rack g. The outer ends of
these racks are supported in boxes h, and the inner ends of them are furnished
with projections, which enter into the grooves b. The ends of these projections
are bevelled or V shaped, as seen in Figure 2. The racks g gear into.
pinions i, fixed on upright shafts j, to the lower ends of which are fixed the
pinions k, gearing into the internal wheel l. The break m is jointed to the
lever n; this break is pressed against the outer circumference of the wheel
when required. To the ram f is fitted a double lever o, to which are fixed
bushes for the studs of the rollers p. These rollers, when motion is given to
the lever o, come in contact with the sides of the spokes. The mode of
operation is as follows:-The hoop or flange c being placed over the centre of
the bed plate a, and held by the clamps d, and the projections from the ends
of the rack g being close to and equidistant from the centre of the bed plate,
a piece of cylindrical or other shaped wrought iron of suitable dimensions,
after being sufficiently heated, is placed in the centre of the bed plate a, bearing
on the ram e. The ram is then introduced into the hole in the hoop or

page_text: flange c, and pressure applied to the rams e and f, or to one of them, the other
being fixed; the effect of which on the heated iron causes it first to fill up the
hole in the centre of the bed plate a, and in the hoop or flange c, and then to
enter into the radial slots b. The heated iron in the radial slots, on coming in
contact with the ends of the projections on the racks, first takes the shape of
the said ends; the pressure on the rams then continues to force the iron into
the grooves b, which pressure, acting on the ends of the racks, causes them to
recede from the centro of the bed plate. This motion of the racks imparts
rotary motion to the pinions i and k, and to the internal wheel I, the object
and effect of which is to maintain a uniform receding motion in all the racks.
If the wrought iron is forced into all the grooves at the samo velocity, it is
evident that the spokes will be of equal lengths at every stage of the operation;
but if, from any inequality in the heating of the iron, or from other cause, one
or more of the spokes should be shorter than the others, the attendant, by
pressing against the lever n, applies the break m to the wheel 1, thereby
arresting or checking the motion of the racks, and consequently of the longer
spokes, until the spoke or spokes that were shorter have attained the same
length as the others. The break m is then taken from the wheel I, and the
pressure on the ram or rams is continued, until the spokes are of sufficient
length that the extremities thereof when bent may form the felloe of the
wheel.
I wish to remark here, that instead of the racks 9 and parts connected
therewith for maintaining a uniform length in the spokes, the same object
may be obtained by sliding blocks, each provided with a nut and a coarse
screw; these screws being furnished with pinions working in a wheel would
keep all the sliding blocks at the requisite uniform distance from the centre of
the bed plate; in this case the break would have to be applied to the wheel
as before. Figure 3 represents the nave and spokes of a wheel made
according to my improvements, and the dotted lines in the same Figure
represent the outer extremity of each arm when it has been bent to form the
felloc. This bending is effected in the following manner: When the pressure
on the ram or rams ceases, the wheel / must be turned partly round by the
cross handle q and pinion k, so that the ends of the projections on the racks g
may be clear of the ends of the spokes; the attendants then, acting on the
handles at the ends of the double lever o, bring the rollers p against that part
of the spokes projecting beyond the grooves b, and bend the said parts against
the projections on the bed plate; by this means the bevelled end of each spoke
is brought against the angle formed by the bending of the adjoining spoke:

page_text: A cutter or other instrument may be employed to make a groove on one side
of each spoke, at the point where it has to be bent, to facilitate the operation
of welding and of the rollers o. The bending of the spokes may also be
effected by moveable blocks, or by moving the face plate, so that the spokes
come against stationary blocks or rollers. In order to ensure a uniform length
of the spokes, the pressure on the ram or rams must be kept up until the
wrought iron has cooled to a certain temperature, which may be ascertained
by the application of a pyrometer, or of a bar formed of an alloy of metal
fusible at a given temperature. It is advisable to ascertain the temperature
before the spokes are bent to form the felloe. When the spokes have been
bent, the clamps d are unhooked, the hoop or flange c taken off, and the
portion of wheel thus formed is removed from the bed plate. The bevelled end
of each spoke is then welded to the bent angle of the adjoining spoke, so as to
form the inner rim or felloe, and the outer rim or tyre is put on in the ordinary
manner to complete the wheel. It may be preferable in some cases to make
the nave and only a portion of the spokes in the manner above described, and
subsequently to weld the remainder of the spoke or felloe to the portions pro-
jecting from the nave. In the above description I have supposed the nave
and spokes to be formed out of a solid piece of cylindrical or other sectional
formed iron, and the nave to be completed without any hole through the centre
thereof; but by making the ends of the rams e and f with conical projections,
as shewn in Figure 4, the nave would be made with a taper hole at each end;
consequently the operation of boring the requisite hole through the nave
would be facilitated. I also propose to make the nave and spokes of a wheel
in the following manner :-Figure 5 represents a tube formed of a square or
flat bar of iron coiled round a mandril, the diameter of which is about the
size of the hole required in the nave of the wheel. This coil is heated to a
welding heat, and subjected to pressure to form a solid tube. The tube thus
formed is put on a mandril in the centre of the bed plate a, and treated in the
manner above described. In this case the upper ram must be furnished with
a hole in the centre to fit on the mandril; by this arrangement the navo is
provided with a hole of the required size. Instead of coiling a bar of iron in
the manner above described, a series of hoops or washers may be piled to form
a tube of the required depth.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the particular machinery or arrangement or description of power set forth,
as the same may be varied without departing from the peculiar "character of

page_text: my Invention; but what I claim is, the improved mode of manufacturing
wheels or portions of wheels by pressing or forcing, by means of moulds, dies,
and machinery, in manner herein-before described, the heated wrought iron
into suitable form for finishing into wheels.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Rothwell Jackson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the year of our."
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness to the signature of Peter Rothwell
Jackson,
H. B. BARLOW,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
P. R..JACKSON. (L.B.)