IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM HAMMERS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis William Webb, of Bolton, in the County
of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM HAMMERS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN."
Sealed the 14th May 1869, and dated the 23rd November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis William Webb
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd November 1868.
I, FRANCIS WILLIAM WEBB, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM HAMMERS, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
The object of my improvements is to facilitate the construction and
at the same time to increase the strength of steam hammers.
The standards, which have heretofore been made of cast iron, cast and
wrought iron combined, or wrought iron only, I now propose to make
of Bessemer metal or cast steel, and in order to prevent the injury
caused by the sudden contraction of the molten metal I make the cross
ribs at each end of the moulding box loose and capable of yielding

page_text: when the metal is contracting. The steam cylinder is made of a plain
shell of cast steel or other metal, either cast, forged, or rolled, the ends
of which fit in annular grooves in the cross piece connecting the two
standards and in the cylinder cover, both of which are made of Bessemer
metal or cast steel. The cross piece contains the steam ports, and
passages and similar ports and passages are cast in the cylinder cover
when the hammer is double acting. The upper and lower steam ports
are connected by a plain pipe, one end of which is left loose in a stuffing
box to allow for expansion and contraction, and the steam valve is made
as usual. The cross piece is connected to the standards by bolts as
usual, but two or more of those bolts are prolonged and taken through
the cylinder cover by which the steam cylinder is held in its place, and
strong springs are placed between the cylinder cover and the nuts of
the bolts to allow for expansion; or the cylinder may be cast with a
closed or partially closed top, in which case the bolts for holding it in
its place will be shorter, and to examine the piston the cylinder may
be lifted off by mearely unscrewing the nuts and partially turning the
cylinder round to disengage it from the bolts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis William Webb in the Great Seal Patent!
Office on the 20th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
WILLIAM WEBB, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Francis William Webb, Her
special license that I, the said Francis William Webb, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Francis William
Webb, 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

page_text: "
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM HAMMERS, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Francis William Webb, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 I, the said Francis William Webb, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the samė
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
The object of my improvements is to facilitate the construction and at
the same time to increase the strength of steam hammers.
The standards, which have heretofore been made of cast iron, cast and
wrought iron combined, or wrought iron only, I now propose to make of
Bessemer metal or cast steel, and in order to prevent- the injury caused
by the sudden contraction of the molten metal I make the cross ribs at
each end of the moulding box loose and capable of yielding when the
metal is contracting. The steam cylinder is made of a plain shell of
cast steel or other metal, either cast, forged, or rolled, the ends of which
fit in annular grooves in the cross piece connecting the two standards
and in the cylinder cover, both of which are made of Bessemer metal
or cast steel. The cross piece contains the steam ports and passages,
and similar ports and passages are cast in the cylinder cover when the
hammer is double acting. The upper and lower steam ports are con-
nected by a plain pipe, one end of which is left loose in a stuffing box
to allow for expansion and contraction, and the steam valve is made as
usual. The cross piece is connected to the standards by bolts as usual,
but two or more of these bolts are prolonged and taken through the
cylinder cover by which the steam cylinder is held in its place, and
strong springs are placed between the cylinder cover and the nuts of the
bolts to allow for expansion; or the cylinder may be cast with a closed
or partially closed top, in which case the bolts for holding it in its
place will be shorter than in the arrangement above described, and to
examine the piston the cylinder may be lifted off by merely unscrewing

page_text: the nuts and partially turning the cylinder round to disengage it from
the bolts.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
a, a,
Figure 1 is an elevation, Figure 2 a section, and Figure 3 a plan of
a steam hammer constructed according to my improvements.
are the standards, which instead of being made of cast iron, cast and
wrought iron combined, or wrought iron only, as heretofore, I now
propose to make of Bessemer metal, or cast steel, and in order to
prevent the injury caused by the sudden contraction of the said molten
metal I make the cross ribs at each end of the moulding box loose and
capable of yielding as the metal contracts in cooling. The standards a
are bolted as usual to the foundation plate b, and they are connected
above by the cross piece c, in which are the steam ports and passages, and
which is made of Bessemer metal or cast steel. The steam cylinder d is
made of a plain shell of cast steel or other metal, either cast, forged, or
rolled and put together in one or more pieces, the ends of which fit in
annular grooves turned in the cross piece c and in the cylinder cover e,
which when the hammer is double acting contains the steam ports and
passages, as shewn in Figure 2. This cylinder cover is also made of
Bessemer metal or cast steel. The valve f for admitting steam to the
cylinder may be made in the usual manner, but the upper and lower
ports in the cover e and cross piece c are connected by the plain pipe g,
the upper end of which fits in a stuffing box in the cover e to allow for
expansion and contraction and to prevent the breaking of joints by the
concussion of the blow of the hammer. The cross piece c is connected
to the standards a by the bolts h, which are prolonged and pass through
holes in the cover e to hold the cylinder d in its place, and in order
to provide for the expansion of the cylinder I place strong springs i
between the cover and the nuts of the bolts h.
By means of these improvements in the construction of steam hammers
the weight is reduced while the strength is increased, the number of parts
is also reduced, and consequently the labor in fitting up; provision is also
made for the vibration, expansion, and contraction, thereby to a great
extent preventing the breaking of the steam-tight joints and of the
parts of the hammer.

page_text: In hammers of large dimensions the standards may be cast of two or
more parts bolted or rivetted together.
Figure 4 is an elevation, and Figure 5 is a plan of the cylinder of a
single-acting steam hammer constructed according to my Invention. In
this case the cylinder d is made of Bessemer metal, or cast steel, or other
cast metal, and the top of the cylinder is closed in the casting, or
partially closed if it should be found desirable to leave a hole through
it to guide the core barrel forming the interior. The cylinder is cast
with two projecting flanges a, in which are open slot holes, as shewn in
Figure 5, for the bolts to pass through; these bolts connect the cylinder
to the cross piece c, and if it should be desired to remove the cylinder it
is only necessary to slacken the nuts of the bolts h and then to turn the
cylinder partially round in order to disengage the slots in the flanges' d'
from the retaining bolts. Or the flanges may be provided with circular
holes instead of slots, as shewn, in which case the nuts would have to be
taken off before the cylinder was removed.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim as my improve-
ments in the construction of steam hammers,-
Firstly. Making the standards, cross piece, cylinder, and top cover, or
any of them, of Bessemer metal or cast steel, as described.
Secondly. Making the cylinder of a plain shell of cast metal or wrought
iron or steel, as shewn and described.
Thirdly. Connecting the cylinder to the cross piece and to the cylinder
cover in the manner shewn and described.
Fourthly. The application of springs between the nuts of the holding
down bolts and the flanges of the cylinder, as described.
And, fifthly. Constructing the cylinders of steam hammers as shewn
and described in reference to Figures 4 and 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis William Webb, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.