IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON TUBES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
Roose, of Darleston, in the County of Stafford, Tube Manufacturer, 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-ninth day of August, in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Roose, my exers, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James, Roose, my exors,
admors, and assigns, or such others as I,. the said James Roose, my exors,
admors, or assigns, should. at any time agree with, during the term of years.
therein mentioned, 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 WELDED IRON TUBES;" in which
said. Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said James Roose, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed; by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her, said 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Roose, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto 'annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
First I take a strip of iron of the required length, breadth, and thickness,
depending upon the size of tube required; if for a lap joint, I proceed to
bevil or chamfer the two edges, as is well understood amongst tube manu-
facturers. After the skelp or strip is thus far prepared, I proceed to turn the
two sides of one end of the skelp or strip when at a red heat, the two edges
curling towards each other, and one lapping under the other, so that the first
end is made smaller than the size of the tube when finished. The skelp or
partly turned and partly flat strip is then put in the furnace, and when
brought up to a welding state is introduced into a bell or mouthpiece, similar
to that shewn in the Drawing, and the turned end is sufficiently inserted
through the bell-mouthed piece, and between the rolls to allow the flyers on
the draw bench to catch hold of the end of the skelp; the chain being then
set in motion, the skelp will be drawn through the bell or mouthpiece, and,
owing to the ridge on the bell or mouthpiece, the one edge of the skelp will be
caused to overlap the other edge, and when the skelp has left the bell and it is
in the pinch of the rolls, the place of contact of the rolls being the point
which gives the welding pressure, the mandril being within and offering resist-
ance to the internal part of the tube. Between the back part or small end of
the bell and the entrance of the rolls I have fixed a pipe or tube, through
which there is conveyed either hot or cold blast, blown by the engine or other
mechanical means; the end of this tube is fixed over the seam or joint of the
skelp or tube. The blast will have the effect of producing the metal at the
seam or joint into a partly liquid state or state of fusion. The rolls revolve
by machinery and traverse at the same surface speed as the chain on the draw.
bench, so that the draft on the tube is eased, and the draft has not the
tendency to stretch the tube more in one place than another, nor to pull the
tube in two. The mandril is placed in front of the bell or mouthpiece, the'bulb
protruding through and into the groove of the rolls. By this process the
skelp, with the one end turned up, is produced at one heat and at one.opera-
tion into a lap joint welded iron tube. This process will be. found: most
advantageous in the production particularly of lap joint iron tubes, on account
of the small quantity of hands required, the very great facility it offers in their
production, and the superiority of the article produced. Tubes, when pro-

page_text: "
duced by this process, will be found to stand' a greater pressure on the inch,
according to the substance of metal, than other similar tubes produced by any
of the other known processes, on account of the properties of the iron being
retained, the tube only having been heated once: By other processes the
tubes are repeatedly.heated in the furnace, which necessarily tends to destroy
the fibres of the iron. Another very great advantage resulting from this pro-
cess is in the blast playing on the seam or joint' of the tube before it goes
under. the welding pressure, so that you may in all cases depend on the
joint 'being in a good welding state, which joint 'might in some degree.
have got chilled in the bell or mouthpiece in the 'bending. In case of the
strip: being too heavy for one or two men to conveniently pull out of the
furnace, I place from the back end of the furnace, when the skelp is partly up.
to a welding heat; a: rod of iron, shown at Figure 1, that will freely pass.
through the small bent up:end of the skelp; this rod a having a swell a¹ on
the end, and being formed conically towards the stem thereof, fastens itself in.
the end of the skelp. When this is so far accomplished, I place; on the stem
or rod of iron a tube 6 that' is capable of sliding easily along it. To the one
end of the tube b next to the skelp is fixed a bell or mouthpiece 6', which is
capable of entering on the end of the skelp, and is of sufficient size to pass.
through the small part of the. mouthpiece D and through the groove of
the rolls, the plyers on the draw bench laying hold of the stem a, and the,
mouthpiece being on the outside. The chain being set in motion will draw.
the skelplout of the furnace. through the bell and through the groove of the
rolls without any stoppage:: This will facilitate the workmen' very much and
prevent time being lost, and the heat will be retained. A represents a skelp
passing through. the mouthpiece, and being converted from a partly flat strip
into a tube before it goes under the welding pressure; B represents the
mandril giving internal support to the tube while under the welding pressure
of the rolls; C represents a pipe or tube conveying the blast. (which I prefer,
to be cold blast). to the joint or seam of the skelp, when it has left the mouth-
piece, and is going to enter under the pressure of the rolls;: D. represents the
bell or mouthpiece in front of the rolls, and the skelp passing through it..
Figure 2 représents a front. and back view: separately, on a larger scale,
of the bell or mouthpiece D, with the ridge D' formed in the bell for the
purpose of lapping, the skelp or tube. E represents a plate of iron fixed
in front of the rolls; for the purpose. of holding the bell, or mouthpiece.
Figure 3 represents a side view of the rolls with the tube passing through
the grooves thereof. G represents an iron frame, against which the carriages
supporting the axles of the rolls are secured and made fast.

page_text: Figure 4 represents a front view of the frame supporting the rolls N, and.
other of the parts.
Figure 5 represents a front view of the rolls; these rolls when screwed down.
will adjust themselves on account of the bottom roll having two flanges, one
at each side, as will be seen by the Drawings; the top roll being turned to fit
in it cannot when screwed down get out of its place. This is a simple and easy.
plan, on account of the rolls adjusting themselves without the aid of setting
pins. E represents the plate in which the bell or mouthpiece is fixed;
J represents the shafts of the two rolls geared together, one of which is driven
by any suitable mechanical power thought proper; K. represents the carriages
screwed to the frame, and the shafts of the rolls passing through with the
driving wheels thereon; L represents the draw bench, with the plyers drawing
the tube through the bell or mouthpiece, and through the groove of the rolls.
Figure 1, a large skelp, with rod a passed through the small end of the
skelp; b represents the tube that slides on the outside of the stem of the rod
of iron, with the bell mouth placed on the outside of the small end of the skelp,
so that when the rod of iron is pulled, the more the resistance the tighter the
bell will hold the skelp, owing to the enlargement on the rod being inside and
acting when drawn as a wedge.
What I claim as the first part of my Invention is the using of either hot or
cold blast, acting on the metal to be joined in the welding of the seams
or joints of tubes.
Secondly, I claim the rolls, with one flange on each of the ends of the
bottom roll and the top roll fitting on it, and adjusting themselves when
screwed down.
Thirdly, I claim the combination of the machine so as to produce a welded
iron lap joint tube by one heat when a mandril is being placed in the inside of
the tube, and capable of giving sufficient internal support at one process, the
ond of the skelp or plate only being turned up.
Fourthly, I claim the method of pulling a large skelp out of the furnace, in
the particular manner before described.
And, after having so far described the nature of my Invention, I would wish
it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the various details shewn
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Roose, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
JAMES (L..) ROOSE,

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid James Roose came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.