AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF MANU- FACTURING WELDED IRON TUBES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
ROOSE, of Westbromwich, in the County of Stafford, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
land, bearing date at Westminster, the Ninth day of May, in the sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Roose, Her especial licence that I, the said James Roose,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Roose,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
other, 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
"AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF MANU-
FACTURING WELDED IRON TUBES;" in which said Letters Patent there is con-
tained a proviso obliging me, the said James Roose, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within two calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said 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 that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascer-
tained by the Drawing in the margin hereof, and the words following, that is
to say:-
My Invention relates to improvements in welding the joints or seams of
wrought-iron tubes when made by external pressure, by passing the iron in
a welding state between dies or through holes; and the improvement consists
of a means or particular mode of employing internal support, and in such
manner that the instrument commonly called a mandril, which gives the
internal support, being fixed or stationary whilst in the operation of the tube
being welded, with an internal slit sliding tube and a fixed outer or outward
tube or pullies and guides being placed on the outside of the stem of the
mandril for the purpose of stiffening the stem of the mandril and for giving
the internal support, by which means the requisite external pressure is obtained,
and when the tube has passed the bulb and on the stem of the mandril and
the weld is completed, the mandril used for giving internal support, owing to
its being of smaller diameter when compared with the internal diameter of the
finished tube may readily be withdrawn. And in order to give the best infor-
mation in my power, I proceed to describe the manner in which my Invention
may be most fully and readily carried into effect..
Firstly, I take a strip of iron of the required length, breadth, and thickness,
depending on the diameter and length of tube required, and proceed to turn,
draw, or convert it into a skelp or form of a tube. If for a lap-joint tube I
proceed to bend the strip of iron into a cylindrical shape by bringing the
edges together or nearly so, the one edge a little passing or lapping over the
other edge, as is practised when making welded lap-joint iron tubes. When
the tubes are thus far prepared, they are to be placed in a furnace so as to
bring the two edges to a good welding heat; and when in this state, the tubes
having a mandril between each of them, are to be drawn through the dies.
At the mouth of the furnace I place the end of a draw bench; upon this
bench I place two stops, against these stops a die or dies, or a pair of groove
rolls of the required size for the tube about to be welded, a mandril made in
the form of that shewn in the Figure A is placed upon the draw bench as is
shewn, with pullies and guides placed upon the outside of the stem of the man-
dril. The pullies have grooves in them of the required diameter, and revolve by
the passing of the tube, and are for the purpose of stiffening the stem of the
mandril so as to keep it from bending while the welding pressure is upon it.
One end of the mandril is to be made secure at the back end of the draw

page_text: bench, the other end of the mandril is to be passed through the die or dies or
groove of the rolls; a ferrule or ring of iron or steel is to. be placed into the
end of the tube which first passes over the mandril, and is capable of sliding
over the stem thereof (see Figure B). When these instruments are so pre-
pared, and the skelp or tube is at a welding heat, the mandril is to be forced
through the die or dies, and sufficiently inserted into the skelp or tube to allow
the end (which was previously made smaller, being passed through the die or
dies, or groove of the rolls; the iron or steel ring or ferrule is then to be
pushed inside the end of the skelp, the pliers should then take hold of that
part of the skelp or tube in which the ferrule or ring is inserted; the chain of
the draw bench being then attached to the pliers should be immediately set in
motion, when the hot skelp or tube will be drawn along and over the mandril
and through the die or dies, or through the groove in the rolls. The compres-
sion on the outer surface of the edges or join of the hot skelp or tube, and
the resistance opposed by this way of using or stiffening the stem of the
mandril within, will effect the welding of the joint or seam more firmly, and
allow more or greater external pressure on the outer surface of the skelp or
tube, which will cause a greater reduction of the substance or thickness of
the iron, and lengthen the skelp or tube much more than is now done in the
welding of welded wrought-iron tubes, which will be found most advantageous
in such production. The iron I should prefer for welding into tubes upon the
principle of lap joint would be from nine to fifteen wire gauge, depending
upon the reduction of each heat and strength of tube wanted, but I do not
confine myself to any particular thickness or form of iron. The pliers are the
same as those now used in the welding of iron tubes when drawn, with this
difference, that at the top of the perpendicular pillars they turn in or are bent
in a direction pointing to each other, and form at their end part of a circle, so
as to go between the pullies and grasp the pipe or tube (see Figure C). The
mandril has a bulb at the one end which first enters the tube and should be
a little taper. The back end of the bulb should be the size required for the
diameter of the tube wanted, where the final welding pressure would be from
the die or dies, or from the groove in the rolls, which would leave the inside
surface perfectly smooth. I do not confine myself to any particular
form of the mandril, but prefer the one shewn at Figure A for this pur-
pose. The die or dies are in the form of hand tongs, having a bell or
enlarged mouth; these tongs are very similar to those now used in
the welding of wrought-iron tubes. I do not confine myself to the form or
shape of the die or dies, but prefer the pressing dies in the form of tongs,
on account of the cheapness of their construction and the facility they offer

page_text: for being cleansed by dipping them in water after each time of use, when the
scale (if any adhere) may be readily removed, such construction of dies also
allowing the workman to change them from one size to another more readily.
At the same time I do not confine myself to dies in the form of tongs or any
particular dies. A butt joint can be made by the means and upon the same
principle. In doing so the two edges of the skelp should stand up a little, or
should, in the preparing the skelp, leave the edges standing up touching each
other, that part being partly of an oval form or shape, so that when the
welding pressure is upon it, such would have the effect of pressing the joint
together, the greater part of the pressure being on the joint or seam. The tube
is again reheated and drawn through the die or dies, as may be required, the
same end first entering the die or dies as before, which may be kept a little larger
than the bulb of the mandril on account of its allowing the mandril to be quickly
inserted and the pliers to grasp it without chilling the heat. The tube, after
being passed through the die or dies sufficiently often so as to finish and
complete the welding and making it equal in its thickness, it is then placed
on a shortening plate, the ends cut off, and then finished. If the grooved rolls
are used in the drawing of the tubes when in the process of welding, they
should only revolve by the draft of the tube passing, and not by machinery.
Another method of producing welded iron tubes according to my Invention
is (as follows) :-
:-
I take a strip of iron and convert it into a skelp or form of tube
by any of the known methods, and place it into the furnace as before.
Near the mouth of the furnace I place a pair of rolls driven by
machinery; these rolls have grooves of a required diameter and form;
between or in the grooves of the rolls I place the bulb or bulbs of a mandril
or mandrils; at the back end of the mandril I place a stop, which is inserted
in a slit at the back thereof, the stop (see Figure D), which stop is
attached and fastened in or to a trough, by which the mandril is suspended. On
the outside of the mandril I place a tube with a slit partly the whole of the
way down; the tube is much longer than the mandril. This slit is for the
purpose of allowing the tube to slide over the stop at the back end of the
mandril; on the outside thereof I place a fixed tube, which is large enough in
its diameter to admit the hot tube to pass without being an obstruction; and
when the tube has reached a good welding heat I then force the tube in or
under the grasp of the rolls, and the draft or friction of the rolls passes the
tube through immediately; the slit sliding tube is drawn off by machinery, or
any other means that may be preferred. When the hot tube is sliding on the
mandril the cold slit tube is sliding off. This sliding tube slides inside the fixed

page_text: tube, and is for the purpose of preventing the end or edge of the hot tube
offering resistance against the fixed tube. These two tubes, namely, the slit
sliding tube and the fixed outer tube, are for the purpose of giving support and
preventing the stem of the mandril from bending, so that it may retain its
position while the welding pressure is upon it. After the hot tube has passed
the bulb of the mandril, and the sliding tube passed off, then the back end of
the stem of the mandril is heaved up and knocked with a hammer; the bulb
is then taken hold of and the hot tube drawn off. It is then placed in the
furnace and passed under the pressure of the rolls as before, as often as found
required. I do not confine myself to the using of these tubes, as pullies may
be applied in this case. I do not claim the welding of tubes on a mandril,
either rolling or drawing.
What I claim as this part of my Invention is, giving support to the stem of
the mandril, in whatever way it may be applied, for the purpose of giving support
or stiffening. I likewise claim the construction of the mandril with a slit in it,
in which the stop is fixed in; and I claim the construction of the pliers
used for grasping the tube between the pullies, &c.
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, provided the particular mode of applying internal support, when
support is given to the stem of the mandril, combined with the welding of
wrought-iron tubes by external pressure, be retained, whereby a mandril, with
pulley or pullies and guides, or a slit sliding tube and a fixed outer tube is
placed on the outside of the stem of the mandril, and is thereby caused to give
any internal support that may be wanted to the seam or joint of the tube
when being welded by external pressure, and whereby the mandril is stationary
while in the operation of the tube being welded, very similar to that called and
well known by tube masters of the suspended mandiil, and be released after the
weld is obtained, owing to the stem of the mandril being smaller in its
diameter than the internal diameter of the tube, and the support of the
mandril being no obstruction, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Roose, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid James Roose 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.
Enrolled the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.

page_text: Letters 1.2.3, 4.5,6, 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Hillies for the support of the stem of the Mandril
13 Stop at Buck end of Mandril
14 Step for Tomas Dies
17°