IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL PIPES OR TUBES
Year: 1849

page_text: CUTLER'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOB CUTler,
of Sparkbrook, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Civil Engineer,
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 Twenty-eighth day of February, in the twelfth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Job Cutler, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and.
authority, that I, the said Job Cutler, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Job Cutler, my 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL PIPES
OR TUBES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Job Cutler, should cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled
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, I, the said
Job Cutler, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon.

page_text: The first part of my Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture
of metallic pipes or tubes, which have hitherto generally been brazed or
soldered and cold drawn, and with a seam or joint. The various methods
hitherto ordinarily practised are as follows:-If the tube about to be made is
for a brazed or soldered joint tube, a strip of copper or brass, or other alloys
of metals, is rolled into the required length, width, and thickness; it is then
'bevelled or chamferred on its two alternate edges; this being done, it is then
turned up at the end, some nine to twelve inches of the strip of metal, into a
cylindrical shape, or nearly so, to enable it to pass through a die with a hole
in it, commonly called a turning-up or lapping-bed; the turned up part of
the strip is taken hold of by a pair of tongs attached to an endless chain fixed
on a drawbench, and, being put in motion, the strip is drawn through the die
(a plug being used with the die in this process), when the flat strip is converted
into a round or cylindrical form, with one edge overlapping the other; this
process being performed, it is then (what is termed) closed and bound round
in places with wire, to prevent its altering in shape while undergoing the
process of brazing or soldering; it is then charged, that is, metal solder in a
powdered state mixed with borax is placed all along the seam or joint; it is
then placed into a stove or small furnace, and heated, a small portion at a
time, to such a heat as to cause the solder to melt and run in the seam, and
thereby causing the two edges to be secured, the one on the top of the other;
the process of soldering being completed, and the two edges secured firmly
together, the wire bands are removed, and the tube is pickled and cleansed
from the scale or oxide that has been formed by the soldering process; it is
again taken to the bench, and passed through holes or dies, and mandrils are
passed through the tubes, so as to make them round and cylindrical, and to
make them the exact external diameter required; they are then stretched to make
them straight. All the above processes are practised and well understood by
brass or copper tube makers. The expence attending the making of tubes by
this process, and their imperfections when made, have led to many methods of
manufacturing tubes without a brazed or soldered joint, as being more
serviceable and advantageous for steam boiler and other purposes. Such tubes,
without seams or joints, are now manufactured as follows:-A brass cylinder is
cast in a mould with a sand or iron core inside, and when the metal is suffi-
ciently cold the core is removed, and the brass cylinder annealed, and, when
cold, pickled and cleansed from all oxide or scale or other impure matter;
when so cleansed, a mandril of steel or iron, well oiled or greased, is inserted
into the metal cylinder, which is then passed through holes or dies, or through
grooved rolls, cach hole or groove passed through being of smaller diameter

page_text: than the hole or groove through which it had been drawn previously, which
has the effect of reducing the thickness of the metal and elongating the
cylinder or tube; but this repeated drawing of the tube on a mandril in a cold
state having the effect of hardening the metal, and causing it to crack
very much, it is necessary to withdraw the mandril from time to time by
means of a drawbench, for the purpose of annealing the tube, to soften it,
and then to pickle and cleanse the tube from the oxide or scale occasioned by
such annealing, so that the same operation of withdrawing and reinserting the
mandril, of annealing and cleansing the tube, and of drawing the tube and
mandril through holes or through grooves of rolls, cach time of smaller
diameter, has to be repeated several times before the tube is reduced to the
required length, diameter, and thickness. The withdrawing of the mandril is
often effected with great difficulty, and many tubes are spoiled and made
waste in performing this operation. Others, instead of drawing the tubes
through holes or dies, or through grooves of rolls, by means of plyers attached
to the endless chain of a drawbench, adopt the principle or method of passing
them through grooves of rolls by the means of the rollers being driven by
gear or toothed wheels, and worked by motive power, while the tube is in a
cold state, the friction or pressure on the tube propelling it forward; and by so
rolling the same, or nearly the same, results are obtained as though they were
driven or drawn by the aid of a drawbench, the same withdrawing of the
mandril, the same amount of annealing, pickling and cleansing, and the same
reinserting of the mandril, and the same repeated rollings, being necessary to
prevent the inetal from cracking, and to prevent the tube from being so firmly
fixed on the mandril as to render it impossible to withdraw the mandril
without spoiling the tube, and to reduce it to the length, diameter, and
thickness required.
The part of my Invention which relates to the manufacture of tubes of copper
or brass or other metals or alloys of metals is to be performed as follows:-In
making metal tubes without seam or joint, if for a brass tube, I take the necessary
proportions of copper and zine similar to Muntz's mixture for rolling hot, (or the
patent brass mixture of J D M Stirling, as described in his Specification
enrolled on the Twenty-ninth day of December, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-six, which will, in my opinion, be found to answer better,) or any
other mixture that will roll hot, and put such proportions into a casting pot,
which pot is in a furnace, as is well understood amongst metal casters; when
the metal is sufficiently heated, I proceed to run it into a mould or matrix,
either of iron or steel, or other known substance; in the centre of the mould
or matrix I place a core of sand, or other suitable or proper material, and

page_text: which is well understood and practised by, various branches of the metal trades,
such as printing cylinders, blunderbuss barrels, casters, &c., the mould or
matrix being of sufficient diameter to hold sufficient metal to enable the tube
to be rolled out to the proper length, diameter, and thickness required; when
this is done, the metal in its melted or fluid state is then poured into the mould
or matrix so prepared, and, when sufficiently cold, and the metal set, I remove
it from the mould or matrix, and also remove the core, and afterwards, if
necessary, I pickle and clean it; I then place it in a furnace, to become suffi-
ciently hot to stand rolling; when in this state I insert a mandril within the
tube, and proceed to pass it through a series of grooves in rolls, each groove
through which it passes in succession being smaller than the one through
which it last passed; and in this way and by this means I continue to roll the
tube while hot until it is elongated to the required length, and reduced to the
required thickness (and the required, or nearly so, diameter). Having thus
reduced the tube, by passing them through a succession of grooves in rolls,
and the kind of rolls which I prefer to use are those described by me in my
Specification, enrolled on the Thirteenth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-eight, (to Letters Patent granted on the Thirteenth day of
January, One thousand cight hundred and forty-eight, to myself and one
Charles Robinson, now deceased, for certain improvements in welded iron
pipes or tubes to be used as the flues of steam boilers,) I next proceed to
withdraw the mandril, which I effect in the following manner:-I pass the
tube on the mandril from the rolls to a machine containing two, three, or
more rolls. (See Figures 1, 2, and 3.)
Fig. 1 is a drawing of a three roll machine. A is a front view; B is a side
view; C is a plan or horizontal view of the machine. a, a, a, is the framing; b,b,b,
are the rollers; c,c,c, are peg pulleys, by means of which the rolls are driven; d,d,
is an endless chain or belt, working on the peg pulleys, by which means the rolls
are driven; e, e, are friction pulleys, over which the chain or belt runs, to tighten
it as circumstances may require; f.S, are metal wheels used in connection with
the rod or shaft g, to move backwards and forwards one of the rolls b, so as to give
ease to the tube on the mandril while it is pushed farther between the rollers b,b,b,
so as to cross-roll the tube on the mandril, that is, to roll the tube a portion at
a time, in lieu of having the rolls the full length of the tube; g is the rod or
shaft carrying the wheels ff, which move the roll b backwards and forwards;
h is a cross shaft working wheels to give motion for tightening and slackening
the friction pulley while the rod 6 is being moved backwards and forwards;
L is the driving wheel by which the rolls are set in motion; i are adjusting
pins by which the rolls b, b, b, are set to operate on the various sized tubes;

page_text: jis the aperture or space between the rolls where the tube on the mandril is
placed for the purpose of being cross-rolled by the rolls b, b, b'; k is the
handle or crank by which g is turned to move backwards and forwards the
roller b; this may either be worked by power or by hand; roll b' is made to
move up and down so as to be adjusted to the other rolls.
.
Fig. 2 is a drawing of a three roll machine, with the rolls at angles, so as to
form a circle in the centre. D is a front view; E is a sectional view; and F.is
a side view. a, a, a, is the frame work; b; b, b, the rolls; c, c, c, c, c, are toothed
wheels for working the rolls b, b, b, and which are made to slide in their
journies to enable the rolls to be adjusted to any sized tube; d are adjusting:
pins by which the rolls b, b, b, are set in their proper position to accommodate
any sized tube that may be required to be cross-rolled, either to loosen it on
the mandril or make the tube perfectly straight and cylindrical, and regulating'
and equalizing the thickness of the metal throughout; is the opening or
space between the rollers into which the tube on the mandril is passed; f, the
blue line, represents the tube between the rollers.
.
Fig. 3 is a drawing of a two roll machine. G is a front view; His a plan
or horizontal view; and I is a side view. a, a, a, a, is the frame work; b, b, are
the two rollers; c, c, are the adjusting pins to the rollers; d, d, is a cross bar in
front of the rolls, on which are placed two sliding stops, e, e, to fix against each
end of the mandril while the rolls are operating on the tube, the mandril.
projecting at each end beyond the tube which has been rolled upon it; e, e,.
are the two stops to fix against the mandril, as before described; f.f, are the
two adjusting screws or pins by which the stops are regulated; h, h, are the two
screws and nuts by which the cross bar d in the frame a is moved nearer to and
farther from the rolls; g, g, are two stops placed in the frame on the reverse
side of the rolls, as steadying blocks to the mandril; i, i, are the adjusting
pins to the stops g, g. By the means of the several sorts of rollers just.
described I cross-roll the tube. This has the effect of sufficiently enlarging the
diameter of the tube, and releases it, or eases it upon the mandril, so that the
mandril can easily be withdrawn, either by a pair of plyers or tongs or other-
wise, without difficulty, or without in the slightest manner injuring the tube.
The mandril may be made in compartments, so as to facilitate the withdrawing-
it from the tube, but I prefer a mandril all in one piece (whether taper-
or parallel); but it is not necessary it should be solid, as hollow tubes as.
mandrils for large diameter tubes will be found to answer very well. If the
tube should be slightly too large in its diameter from the cross-rolling, it can
be passed once through a hole, die, or drawplate, or through a groove in the
rolls, the hole being of the exact external diameter of the tubes required. If

page_text: the rolls for cross-rolling are of a greater length than about four or five feet,
as shewn in the Drawings, they should be slightly stayed or supported in
places, to prevent them springing. This may be done by having some soft
substance on the top of the support, such as leather well oiled or other soft
material. It will not require any very great pinch or pressure to cross-roll the
metal sufficiently to ease it on the mandril. A tube may be eased by placing it
on a flat plate of iron or other hard substance, and another flat plate brought
to bear upon it, and rolled backwards and forwards, in the same manner as iron
tubes are now straightened; or it may be placed in the groove of an anvil, and
by means of a rounding seat or iron tool, and by hammering, the tube may be
released; or it may be done more effectually by having a machine worked like
a tilt hammer, in which grooves may be placed to fit the required sized tube to
be operated upon, so as slightly to expand the metal tube, and thereby give
ease to the mandril; but the mode of cross-rolling which I prefer to use for
this purpose. is a machine consisting of three rolls (see Fig. 1), which may
be made three, four, five, or six feet long, as may be found most suitable, and
by moveable gear one of the said rolls may be made to play backwards and
forwards, as shewn in Drawing, Fig. 1. By this means the tube on the mandril
may be moved forwards in the rolls with ease and at pleasure, so as to cross-
roll the tube a portion at a time, without any fear of the rolls springing. The
strength of the rolls and machinery required will depend upon the work it has
to perform. Tubes, either rolled or drawn upon a mandril in a cold state, may
be released by the means of cross-rolling, or by the other modes as herein
described; and the modes of working the rolls may be varied from those shown
in the Drawings, not confining myself to any particular mode of working or
driving the rolls. The great advantage of this mode of making tubes of copper,
brass, and other alloys, over the modes now practised, arises from their being
rolled hot to their required length, diameter, and thickness, and thereby avoid-
ing soldering, or what is termed "doctoring up" of the fractures that are
frequently made by cold rolling or drawing, and which are very injurious to the
wear of the tubes.
The second part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of tubes of
iron of a form and description suited for sheaths as sword scabbards. Similar
sheaths or tubes of iron have hitherto been made of iron plate bent round,
and the two edges brazed together, the tube has then been made of the required
size, and put into the proper form and shape by manual labour. In the manu-
facture of such tubes, according to my Invention, I proceed as follows: I take
a piece of rolled iron or steel of the required length, width, and thickness (or
I take a tube previously welded, of the required diameter, thickness, and

page_text: length); if the former, I proceed to bevil the two alternate edges, and then
convert it into a pipe or tube with one edge overlapping the other, as is well
known and understood by tube makers; I then proceed to weld it in the groove
of the rolls c, Fig. 4, K, over a mandril; I then pass it through a groove turned
in the same rolls, d, to flatten it, I then insert a cold plate of steel, which is in
the form and of the required size of a sword blade; I then pass it through
another groove, e, in the same rolls, and I then pass it edgewise through
another groove, f, in the same rolls; I then withdraw the steel plate that has
acted as a mandril, to give it form and shape, when the article is complete,
except cutting off; the tube is then fit for mounting and finishing as a sword
scabbard. The following is a description of the Drawing relating to this
part of my Invention:-Fig. 4 is a Drawing of a two roll machine for the
manufacture of sword scabbards. K is a front view, and L is an end view of
the machine. a, a, are the iron standards or framework; b, b, are the rolls; c is
a groove in the rolls through which the tube of which the scabbard is to be
made is welded; this is effected in the same manner as iron tubes for steam
boiler purposes are now welded, that is, through grooves in rolls and over a
mandril; d is another groove in the rolls, through which the tube just welded
through c is passed; e is another groove, through which the tube is passed
after leaving the groove d; when it is passed through the groove e
a steel or iron blade is then passed into the tube or case, and it is
then passed in succession through the groove f and e alternately until finished,
or it may be finished by passing through holes in dies at a drawbench; the
steel blade is then withdrawn.
The third part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of iron tubes or
pipes which are required to be perfectly cylindrical and of great uniformity,
both as to density of material and its form. Such tubes are peculiarly appli-
cable for cases to be used for rockets, either as Congreves or what are known
as Hale's Patent Rockets, or any other in which iron tubes are employed; and
to shew the difference and advantage of my new tubes or cases over those now
used I will briefly explain the kind of cases now used for these purposes.
The ordinary cases now used are made in the following manner :-A strip or
plate of iron of the required length, thickness, and width, is prepared; it is then
turned up into a cylindrical shape, with one edge overlapping the other; holes
are frequently perforated through the iron, for the purpose of riveting the
edges together; this being done at suitable distances, they are then what is
termed brazed or soldered all along the edges (and which is well understood),
to still further secure the seam or joint, and render it sound and strong; this
being done, then the heads of the rivets are made to lie as flat as they possibly

page_text: can get them, either by hammering down or filing off, and the tube or case is
dressed along the part where the seam or joint has been riveted, soldered, or
brazed; the tube or case is then made as round as they can make them,
when they are considered fit for mounting, and are then charged for use. It
must be obvious that the expence of making tubes or cases in this manner is
very great, as well as when so made they are very imperfect for the purpose for
which they are required. If a tube or case is thicker or heavier on the one
side than on the other, it is natural that as it passes through the air in its
flight it has an inclination or tendency to bear or lean towards that part which
is the heaviest, and through or by means of this bias it frequently goes wide of
its intended destination. This has been found hitherto to be an objection in
rocket practice, as there is great uncertainty of their going straight to the
intended mark. I now propose to obviate this objection by making lap jointed
welded iron tubes, and then rolling them on a mandril crossways in a machine
(see Fig. 2) until I get them perfectly cylindrical, and quite smooth on the
internal and external surfaces, and equalize the thickness of the iron all
round, so that the tendency to bias the rocket in its flight will be avoided,.
and the mode in which I manufacture these tubes is as follows:-I take
a strip of iron the length, breadth, and thickness of the tube or case required,
and I prefer the grain or fibre of the iron to be crossways, and not long
ways, and then proceed in the usual way for making a lap jointed tube, and
prepare it for welding; I then proceed to weld it in the usual way, that is;
through the grooves in rolls, and over the bulb of a mandril; when this
operation is performed, I insert within the hot tube a steel or other mandril,
which is of the same diameter which the rocket case is to be on its internal
surface; I then place the tube or case, with the mandril within it, in the
machine (Fig. 2), and continue to roll it crossways for a short time, which
has the effect of equalizing the thickness of the metal throughout, and render-
ing the grain of the iron close and compact, and smoothing the external and
internal surfaces of the tube or case; instead of the tube being made as
described in lengths required for the rockets, a long tube may be made,
the grain or fibre of the iron in this case not being crossways, but the
longway of the iron, and then cut into the necessary lengths, and then heated
and cross-rolled, with a mandril within them, as herein described; or this
operation may be performed while the tube is cold, but I prefer doing it while
in a hot state.
The fourth part of my Invention relates to improvements in metal pipes
or tubes by coating or covering them. Metal pipes or tubes may be much
improved by coating or covering them with metals other than that of which

page_text: the pipe or tube is composed, but more particularly by coating, or covering
iron pipes or tubes to be used as the flues of steam boilers, or for the con-
veyance of water, gas, &c. The coating or covering the pipes or tubes will
have the effect of rendering them less corrodible than they otherwise would
be, and prevent that rapid oxidation and destruction of the tubes which
now takes place. The coating now usually given to iron is that of copper
or zinc, but I prefer to give them two or more coatings or coverings of
metal such as the following metals: tin, lead, antimony, zinc, bismuth,
arsenic, and copper. This may be done by giving the pipe or tube a coating
or covering of one kind of metal first, and then a coating or covering of
another kind of metal on the top of that, but the last coat I should prefer to
give them is one of copper. For some purposes this will be very desirable and
important; this greatly depending on the use the tube or pipe is about being
applied to, as, if iron tubes be required for the flues of steam boilers, they may
be coated or covered with zinc and copper only, and although these two metals
may be held in solution together in the vat, so that they may be precipitated on
to the metal tube or pipe at one and the same time, I prefer to give them a
compound coating of the two metals, by first precipitating on the tube or pipe
a coating or covering of zinc, and then precipitating on to the zinc a coating or
covering of copper; other compound coatings or coverings may, however, be used
for such tubes. The coating or covering of the pipes or tubes with other
metals is to be performed in some of the following ways, so that one metal may
be firmly precipitated on the other. The metal about to be so precipitated on to
any
other metal for coating or covering must first be reduced into a hydro or
other suitable salt capable of being held in solution, and when mixed with an
alkali or alkaline earth, also in solution, the metal or metallic salt is held in
solution along with the alkali in a trough or vat, and by placing the tube or
pipe in the trough or vat containing the solution of alkali and metallic salts,
and by passing a current of electricity into the liquid, causes the pipe or tube
to take up a portion of the metal which is held in solution in the trough
or vat; and the longer the pipe or tube remains in the solution, and the
stronger the electric current so passed into the trough or vat, the thicker the
coating or covering of metal becomes on the surface of the pipe or tube.
Electric currents are produced more copiously by chemical action by heat,.
or by magnetism, such as voltaic batteries and other electrical or galvanic
apparatus; or if a very thin coating or covering of metal is required, this may.
be obtained from galvanic action of the metals themselves, by immersing them
in an alkaline solution containing the metallic salts of the metal required to
coat or cover with. The compound, coating or covering, as above described,

page_text: (that is to say,) the coating or covering of a metal pipe or tube with a coat of
a different metal and of different qualities or properties, and, secondly, again
coating or covering on the first coating or covering of the metal on the pipe
or tube with another kind of metal, as, for instance, a pipe or tube of iron
coated with zinc or tin or any other metal first, and then coated or covered
with copper or with some other metal different to that with which the iron
pipe or tube has been so first coated or covered,) is new and useful, whether
done at one and the same time or at separate times; and this mode of coating
or covering is applicable to the coating or covering of most metallic or other
articles which are now or may be coated or covered by known means.
The fifth and last part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of pipes
or tubes to be used for underground or other servico pipes in lieu of the
ordinary cast iron pipes now used, or of the wrought iron pipes which are
made, and the joints rivetted, and then soldered or brazed together, for the
conveyance of water, gas, and other fluids. These tubes or pipes may be made
of iron, welded with lap-joints, by any of the known modes for making lap-
jointed iron tubes. When the tube is so welded and made cylindrical, I procced
to screw each end of the tube so as to joint them together with a socket, in
the same way as gas tubes are now jointed together. When the tube is so
prepared I proceed to coat the internal and external surfaces of the tube. On
the external surface of the tube I employ a metallic coating of one, two, or
more metals, to protect the tube from oxidation and decay, while on the internal
surface I employ a coating of enamel, similar to that which is given to cast
iron vessels, such as saucepans, frying-pans, &c., as is well known and used by
the makers of enamelled cast iron goods. In lieu of giving the outside surface
a coating of metal, an enamel coating may be given it, but I prefer a metallic
coating on the external surface of the pipe or tube.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
the exclusive use of the rolls herein-before described and represented, except
when the same are employed in the manufacture of pipes or tubes of copper,
brass, or other alloys of metal as herein described.
But I claim, firstly, the manufacture of pipes or tubes of brass, copper, and
alloys of metal, by rolling or drawing them bot on a mandril, whether parallel
or taper, and then enlarging them by means of cross-rolling or hammering, for
the purpose of extracting the mandril, as above described.
Secondly, I claim the manufacture of metal tubes, such as are applicable
for sword scabbards, in the manner herein-before described.
Thirdly, I claim the manufacture of pipes or tubes which are required to

page_text: be cylindrical, regular and uniform in the density of metal, by equalizing the
thickness of the metal by means of cross-rolling, as herein described.
Fourthly, I claim in the manufacture of metal pipes or tubes for steam
boilers and other purposes with a compound coating of two or more metals or
alloys of metals, as herein-before described.
And, lastly, I claim as an improvement in the manufacture of pipes or tubes
such as are commonly employed for service or underground pipes, or other
similar purposes, the giving them a compound coating of two or more coatings
or coverings of metals, or the alloys of metals, on their external surfaces, and
glazing or enamelling them with an earthy or other substance on their internal
surfaces, as herein-before described; or the giving them one or more coats of
metal, or the alloys of metal, (when so coated upon the outside,) upon their
internal surfaces; or by glazing or enamelling them on the external and
internal surfaces, in lieu of coating or covering them with metals, as above
described
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Job Cutler came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.