IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE MANUFACTURE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Tombs, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE
MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 3rd November 1866, and dated the 21st May 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Tombs at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
May 1866.
I, JAMES TOMBS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufac-
turer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE
MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in
casting the corner blocks of metallic bedsteads, and at the same time fixing
them on the pillars of the sald bedsteads, which said improvements are also
applicable to the manufacture of metallic cots and couches and other articles
of like manufacture.
I will describe my Invention in connection with metallic bedsteads. I tako
a series of pattern corner blocks of the shape of the blocks to be cast, excepting
that the parts in which the dovetail slots are made are somewhat longer than
the corresponding parts in the corner blocks to be cast, and without dovetail
slots. I support these pattern corner blocks in a row on a metallic moulding

page_text: frame, the concave side of each block being upwards. The said moulding
frame has depressions in it in which the under convex sides of the corner
blocks fit. I place upon the said moulding frame a half mould box in which
sand is rammed in the ordinary manner of making a sand mould. The
metallic moulding frame carrying the half mould box, half mould and pattern
is inverted, and the said moulding frame which is now uppermost is lifted off
the half sand mould, the pattern blocks being left in the said half mould. I
place another half mould box on the one containing the half sand mould, and
I put sand in the said second half mould box and ram it in the usual mauner.
There is thus formed the second half mould; this is lifted from the lower half
mould and the pattern corner blocks are removed. Pattern dovetails made of
metal are placed in the proper positions in the lower half mould, and the
pillars on which the corner blocks are to be cast being placed in the lower
half mould the upper balf mould is replaced upon the lower one, and the
casting of the corner blocks on the pillars is effected by the casting process
conducted in the usual manner.
By the process described several corner blocks may be cast at the same
time on pillars, the casting being effected in a mould made of sand, excepting
the parts of the mould by which the dovetail slots are made, which are formed
by the metal pattern dovetails.
By my improvements great economy is effected in the manufacture of
metallic bedsteads and other articles of like manufacture, as by conducting the
manufacture according to my Invention several corner blocks can be cast on
pillars at one casting process, and the expense of making the chill or metal
moulds used in the ordinary manufacture is avoided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Tombs in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
November 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
TOMBS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ane, the said James Tombs, Her special licence that I, the said James Tombs,

page_text: my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Tombs, 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 METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE MANU-
FACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Tombs, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describo
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 James Tombs, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after described, in
casting the corner blocks of metallic bedsteads, and at the same time fixing
them on the pillars of the said bedsteads, which said improvements are also
applicable to the manufacture of metallic cots and couches and other articles
of like manufacture.
.
I
I will describe my Invention in connection with metallic bedsteads.
take a series of pattern corner blocks of the shape of the blocks to be cast,
excepting that the parts in which the dovetail slots are made are somewhat
longer than the corresponding parts in the corner blocks to be cast and
without dovetail slots; I support these pattern corner blocks in a row on a
metallic moulding frame, the concave side of each block being upwards. The
said moulding frame has depressions in it in which the under convex sides of
the corner blocks fit. I place upon the said moulding frame a half mould
box in which sand is rammed in the ordinary manner of making a sand
mould. The metallic moulding frame carrying the half nould box, bali
mould and patterns is inverted, and the said moulding frame which is now
uppermost is lifted off the half sand mould, the pattern blocks being left in.
the said half mould. I place another half mould box on the one containing
the half sand mould, and I put sand in the said second half mould box and
ram it in the usual manner. There is thus formed the second half mould;.
this is lifted from the lower half mould and the pattern corner blocks aru

page_text: removed.
Pattern dovetails made of metal are placed in the proper positions
in the lower half mould, and the pillars on which the corner blocks are to be
cast being placed in the lower half mould the upper half mould is replaced
upon the lower one and the casting of the corner blocks on the pillars is
effected by the casting process conducted in the usual manner.
By the process described several corner blocks may be cast at the same
time on pillars, the casting being effected in a mould made of sand, excepting
the parts of the mould by which the dovetail slots are made, which are formed
by the metal pattern dovetails.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
In casting a series of corner blocks, and at the same time fixing them on
the pillars of the bedstead, I take a metallic moulding frame of the kind
represented in side elevation in Figure 1 and plan in Figure 2 of the Drawing,
I take
the said moulding frame having a series of depressions marked a, a.
a series of pattern corner blocks and support them in a row on the metallic
moulding frame represented, the depressions a, a, receiving the convex sides
of the said pattern blocks, as represented in elevation in Figure 8 and plan
in Figure 4, the concave side of each block being uppermost. The pattern
corner blocks are marked c and the moulding frame b, in Figures 3 and 4.
The pattern corner blocks care of the shape of the corner blocks to be cast,
excepting that the parts marked c in which the dovetail slots are made are
somewhat longer than the corresponding parts in the corner blocks to be cast,
and the said parts are without dovetail slots. The series of pattern corner
blocks c being arranged on the moulding frame b in the manner represented in
Figures 3 and 4, the production of a mould therefrom is effected as follows:-
I take an ordinary half mould box and place it upon the moulding frame b
and pattern blocks c, and I ram sand in the said half mould box in the
ordinary manner of making a sand mould; this having been done, the
metallic moulding frame b carrying the half mould box, half mould and
patterns is inverted, and the moulding frame 6 which is now uppermost is
lifted off the half sand mould, the pattern blocks c being left in the said half
I take another half mould box
mould, their convex sides being uppermost.
and place it on the one containing the half sand mould and pattern blocks
and put sand in the second half mould box and ram it in the usual manner;
there is thus formed a second half mould moulded from the convex sides of
the pattern corner blocks. The second or upper half mould is lifted from the
lower balf mould, and the pattern corner blocks are removed from the said

page_text: lower half mould. The half moulds are thus complete with the exception of
the parts to form the dovetails in the finished corner blocks; these dovetails
are formed by inserting pattern metal dovetails in the proper positions in the
lower half mould (see Figure 5) and the half moulds are then complete.
The pillars on which the corner blocks are to be cast being placed in the lower
half mould the upper half mould is replaced upon the lower one and the com-
plete mould is ready for the casting process, the parts of the said mould
occupying the respective positions represented in longitudinal section in
Figure 5, side elevation in Figure 6, and plan in Figure 7. In the said
Figures 5, 6, and 7 the upper half mould is marked d, the lower half moulde;
the pattern metal dovetails in the said lower half mould are marked f, and the
pillars upon which the corner blocks are to be cast are marked 9; the casting
process is conducted in the ordinary manner. After the casting process, and
on the removal of the corner blocks from the mould, the pattern dovetails ƒ
drop or are removed therefrom, as in ordinary chill castings.
My improvements may be modified in the following way :----Instead of
moulding the balf moulds from opposite sides of moveable pattern blocks, as
described and represented, I use two moulding frames, each frame having
fixed to it or made in one piece with it one-half of the series of pattern corner
blocks to be moulded. The fixed half pattern corner blocks on the moulding
frame may be made of plaster or of metal; in this case one half of the mould
is moulded from one pattern moulding frame and the other half mould from the
other pattern moulding frame. After the insertion of the pattern dovetails
and pillars into the lower half mould and placing the upper half mould upon
it the mould is ready for the casting process, as herein-before explained.
In casting the corner blocks on the pillars of metallic cots, couches, and
other articles of like manufacture I proceed in the manner herein-before
described with respect to a metallic bedstead. I do not limit myself to any
particular number of pattern corner blocks from which I mould the half
moulds, as a greater or less number than four may be employed.
By my improvements great economy is effected in the manufacture of
metallic bedsteads and other articles of like manufacture, as by conducting
the n.anufacture, according to my Invention, several corner blocks can be
cast on pillars at one casting process, and the expense of making the chill or
metal moulds used in the ordinary manufacture is avoided. The corner blocks
are also soft and malleable, and are not so liable to break as corner blocks
cast in chill moulds.
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

page_text: limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention ;
but I claim as my Invention the improvements in the manufacture of metallic
bedsteads and other articles of like manufacture, berein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, casting several corner
blocks at one casting process and at the same time fixing them on the pillars
of the bedstead or other article in a mould, the halves of which mould are
moulded from a series of moveable pattern corner blocks or from a series of
fixed half pattern corner blocks, and the mould afterwards completed by the
insertion of pattern dovetails, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Tombs, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JAMES TOMBS. (L.S.)