IMPROVEMENTS IN TUBULAR AXLES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, EDGAR PECKHAM, of the City of Syracuse, County of Onondaga and State of
New York, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN TUBULAR AXLES, and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to furnish at a reduced cost of manufacture à
hollow axle with tapering spindles, which shall be self-lubricating and possess the
same advantages of maximum strength with minimum weight of material, as the
ordinary taper-swaged axle with the smooth finish of the solid carriage axle, but
have a greater diameter throughout and thus obtain a better bearing in the boxes
of the wheels, and, consequently, cause the waggon to run easier than either of the
aforesaid prior axles. Hitherto, tubular axles with tapering spindles have been
formed solely by the swaging process which compresses the spindles circumferen-
tially to the requisite taper, the consequence was that the interior of the spindles
became contracted gradually from the inner end of the spindles to the outer end
thereof, and the bottom portion of the cavity of the spindles was thus made
descendingly toward the inner end.
This renders it impossible to utilize said cavity as a lubricant reservoir to
successfully lubricate the exterior of the spindle, inasmuch as the lubricant is
caused to flow toward the inner end of the cavity of the spindle and if emitted
there to the exterior of the spindle, the outer and greater portion of the spindle
would be left dry. Furthermore, the swaging process left the spindles with a rough
surface and sometimes out of true owing to the want of a proper fit of the dies,
hence, when it is desired to render said swaged spindles smooth and true, the
extra expence of grinding or polishing the same is incurred, although tubular taper-
swaged axles, finished as aforesaid, are not generally furnished to the trade, but are
usually rough and defective as aforesaid.
By my invention I am enabled to supply the trade with a self-lubricating tubular
axle having smooth and true-tapering "spindles of comparatively greater diameter
throughout their length and properly braced to resist the strain they are subjected
to and at a greatly reduced cost.
In the annexed drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of an axle embodying my
improvement, and figures 2 and 3 are longitudinal sections of the end-portions

page_text: thereof, illustrating the means for stiffening the same, and for connecting the nut
thereto, and also for rendering the same self-lubricating.
In constructing my said improved tubular axle, I take a plain wrought metal
tube of the length of the axle to be formed, and, after heating the end-portions
thereof, I insert therein a cold metal bush or plug d fitted closely to the interior of
the tube, said bush being forced into the tube the requisite distance to bring it at
or near the point where the usual collar c is affixed to the exterior of the axle.
The cooling and consequent shrinking of the tube securely retains the bush or
plug d in its position.
In the ends of the tube I secure another bush or thimble a, as illustrated in
figures 2 and 3 of the drawing.
The attachment of the bush a shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing is made by
inserting said bush into the end of the tube and then subjecting said portion of the
tube to a welding heat and to sufficient hammering to effectually weld the bush
in the tube. A cold iron or steel bar should be inserted in the bush during the
operation.
The attachment of the bush a, as represented in Fig. 3 of the drawing consists
in providing the interior of the end portion of the tube and the exterior of the
bush with corresponding screw-threads, and, after applying to the bush sal-
ammoniac or other corrosive, screwing the bush into the tube. The corrosion of
the surfaces in contact with each other serves to cement the parts together.
After the two bushes d and a are secured in the tube, 1 mount the latter on a
suitable lathe, the bushes then serving as central bearings for the live and dead
spindles of the lathe, and, after setting the lathe in motion, I apply a suitable
cutting or abrading tool by which I trim the end portions of the tube to a uniform
and smooth taper from the collar c to the extremities of the tube. I thus maintain
the interior of the tube of a uniform size from end to end thereof, and produce in a
very expeditious and comparatively inexpensive manner a tubular axle having
smoothly finished tapering spindles with a cylindrical interior. The cylindrical
cavity of the said axle I utilize as reservoirs for lubricant, the bushes a and d
constituting dams of said reservoir. The outer thimble or bush a having a central
orifice through which to introduce the lubricant into the reservoir, and apertures
or ports e e being made in the bottom portion of the spindle to allow the lubricant
to escape to the exterior of the spindle.
The importance of combining a cylindrical cavity in the spindle with a tapering
exterior of the same will be apparent when considering their joint operation. The
cylindrical cavity allows the lubricant to flow from end to end thereof and to be
uniformly distributed therein, and by a proper disposition of the ports e e the
lubricant becomes likewise distributed over the exterior of the spindles, the taper
of which tends to conduct the lubricant toward the large end of the spindle at
which point the lubricant is most required. In addition to the functions already
ascribed to the bushes a and d, these bushes also serve to brace the axle, and the
outer bush a affords effective means for the attachment of the wheel retaining nut
by means of which I close the channel through said bush. The nut and its
attachment may be made in either of the forms shown in figures 2 and 3 of the
drawing. In fig. 2. the bush a terminates flush with the end of the spindle and is
screw-threaded internally for the reception of screw-threaded shank b on the nut N.
In fig. 3 of the drawing the bush a is made to project from the end of the spindle
and the protruding portion of the bush is screw-threaded externally for the
reception of the nut N' which is in the form of a female screw-threaded cap screwed
on to the bush and effectually closing the longitudinal channel thereof. I prefer
the last described construction and combination of the nut and bush, inasmuch as
the nut is much lighter than that shown in fig. 2 of the drawing, and its screw-
threaded portion is of greater circumference and, consequently, has a more secure
hold on the bush.
I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not claim a tubular axle which
*has its spindles tapered internally as well as externally; such construction does not

page_text: accomplish the object of my invention, it being impossible to render such axle
successfully self-lubricating for the reason herein before set forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The within described tubular axle consisting of a plain wrought metal tube
of uniform dimensions internally from end to end thereof, and having the exterior
of its end-portions turned off or cut down gradually to a uniform taper and smooth
surface substantially as specified.
2. A tubular axle composed of a plain wrought metal tube of uniform dimensions
internally from end to end thereof, and having the exterior of its end-portions cut
down gradually to a uniform taper and reinforced by bushings inserted in the end
of the tube, substantially as described and shown.
3. An axle composed of a metal tube having its exterior of uniform dimensions
from end to end thereof and its spindles tapered externally, lubricating ports in the
spindles, a dam at the inner end of the interior of the spindles, a damn at the outer
end of the spindles and provided with lubricant induction ports or channels and a
wheel retaining nut attached to said dam and closing the channel thereof, all
constructed and combined substantially in the manner specified and shown.
Dated this 10th day of March 1885