IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS "BARS, PLATES. CYLINDERS. VESSELS. AXLETREES. CRANKS, WHEEL TYRES. AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL, AND ALSO IN THE MACHINERY USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Joseph Bramwell, of 35, Great George
Street, Westminster, and William Owen, of Phoenix Iron Works, Rother-
ham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS
"BARS, PLATES. CYLINDERS. VESSELS. AXLETREES. CRANKS, WHEEL TYRES. AND
OTHER ARTICLES OF WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL, AND ALSO IN THE MACHINERY
USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURES."
Sealed the 24th October 1861, and 'dated the 1st May 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Joseph
Bramwell and William Owen at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 1st May 1861.
We, FREDERICK JOSEPH BRAMWELL, of 35, Great George Street, West-
minster, and WILLIAM OWEN, of Phoenix Iron Works, Rotherham, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF RAILS, BARS, PLATES, CYLINDERS, VESSELS, AXLETREES, CRANKS, WHEEL TYRES
AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL AND ALSO IN THE MACHINERY
USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURES," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of rails, bars, and plates it has been usual to employ either
piles or blooms, which, after being heated to a suitable heat, have been passed
and repassed through between a pair of rolls until by the form of the grooves
in the rolls, if for rails or bars, or by the gradual approximation of the rolls, if

page_text: for plates, they have been made of the suitable section or thickness of the
rails, bars, or plates. The ends of such rails, bars, or plates are irregular and
imperfect, and in order to insure soundness and regularity it has been
necessary to cut off considerable portions from the ends, which when so cut
off are not of the same value per ton as the rails, bars, or plates from which
they were cut, but merely of the value of scrap iron. In the rolling of rails,
bars, or plates when the work has been passed through the roll it has been
necessary in each case to bring it back again over the top of the roll for the
purpose of passing it again through the rolls from the entering side, thus
causing great loss of time and considerable labor; to obviate which recourse
has, in some works, been had when the plates or bars have been heavy,
to the employment of reversing gear to the rolls, or to the use of a third
roller, so that the work might be returned through the rolls without having
to be passed over to the side from which it was entered; but both these
arrangements are objectionable on the ground of great cost, and in reference
to the reversing gear of great wear and shocks to the machinery.
Now parts of our improvements relate to a mode of manufacturing rails,
bars, and plates in such a manner as to avoid the loss arising from the cutting
off the ends, and also to avoid the loss of time and labor in bringing the rails,
bars, or plates over the top of the roll. We make an annular pile either by
coiling iron spirally around a mandril, or without a mandril, or by putting
rings or segments inside of or on each other, or by other means, (but to the
making an annular pile we lay no claim,) and then after having heated this
pile to a welding heat, we (by preference) hammer it into an annular bloom;
this bloom either at the same heat or after being re-heated, if necessary,
or this annular pile, if not hammered into a bloom, we place between a pair
of rollers, so that the rollers nip a portion of the circumference of the annular
pile or bloom, and thus continuously roll it out, diminishing the section of the
ring, and increasing its diameter until the section is that which is required for
the finished bar or rail, or the thickness that which is required for the finished
plate. We then remove the completed ring from the rolls, cut it through, and
open it out into a bar, rail, or plate, and straighten it either by hammers or
by passing it through rolls. In the case of rolling thin plates which would
not retain sufficient heat to admit of their being cut and flattened after they
were removed from the rolls, we provide cutters by which we cut the cylinder
while in the rolls and deliver it from them as a sheet.
A similar course, if
preferred, may be pursued with the bars or rails.
In certain cases it may be desirable to roll the ring with a somewhat
oblique section to allow for the greater stretching of the inside of the ring

page_text: when opened out. By this mode of manufacture it will be seen that there are
no waste ends cut off. It will also be seen that the rolling is continuous,
there being no loss of time or labor in passing the iron from one side of the
rolls to the other. Or, in lieu of the annular pile before described, we make
a disc pile thicker in the middle than at the edges. which pile we consolidate
either by hammering or by rolling between conical rollers, but to the making
either by hammering or rolling between conical rollers we lay no claim;
and then we cup this pile by hammering, and also open the centre, so that a
roll or a bar serving as an anvil can he introduced, and then we draw the
thicker metal that is near the centre of the pile either by hammering or by
rolling until we have made it into a cylinder, when we continue the rolling. if
required, until the cylinder is increased in circumference, and reduced in
thickness to the intended dimensions of the plate, bar, or rail to be produced
from the cylinder when opened out as before described.
Our improvements in the manufacture of wrought-iron vessels and cylinders.
including boilers. and flues of boilers and funnels, consist in using a ring or
disc pile, as before described, and in rolling it out to such a diameier and
thickness as may be required; and we make the ends of the plates for a
boiler or flue with a thickened part around them to receive the rivets to join
them to the next length or section, which may be rolled either so as to fit
inside or outside the before-mentioned length or section, or to have butt joints
and strips. By the same means hollow iron ware may be rolled over rollers
of a suitable form, and then the bottom or ends may be rivetted in. Or, in some
cases, it may be sufficient to roll grooves in one part, and projections to cor-
respond in the other part, which being put the one into the other may be
closed so as to form a tight joint.
By the means above stated not only may the expense and difficulty of
making the longitudinal seams in boilers and similar vessels be obviated, but
the full strength of the metal in the bulk of the plate may be made available
uninjured by rivet holes, and a slight increase of metal at the ends where the
transverse seam of rivets is to come will render that portion as strong as the
rest, and thus will nearly the whole strength of the plate be made available.
We are aware that it has been before proposed to bend plates and to weld
them together, and then to roll them out into a hoop of increased diameter
and decreased thickness, and to make such hoops of increased section at the
euds, and to use such hoops for portions of boilers; but this method was open
to the objection of wasting the cut-off ends in the manufacture of the plates,
and to the expense and uncertainty attendant on the weld, which was in the
direction of the greatest bursting strain-in a boiler.

page_text: Another of our improvements relates to the forming of hollow ware, and
consists in making a disc pile, as before described, except that we do not open
the centre, (which pile we prefer to hammer into a bloom), and then give this
bloom a cup-shaped form by hammering the same in dies, and afterwards
rolling it out between rollers of suitable form, increasing its diameter and
diminishing (in all or some of its paris) its thickness, and forming a brim, if
one be required, and thus making cauldrons and other articles of hollow ware
without a joint. In making plates of considerable breadth. or portions of
cylinders of considerable length, it may be inconvenient to form the annular pile
of such depth as would equal the width of the plate or the length of the
cylinder, and in those cases we make the pile shallower or narrower than the
width of the intended plate or length of the cylinder, and in order to extend
it we draw it under a hammer by placing it on an anvil in the nature of a
mandril, going through the pile and letting the hammer act on the outside of
the pile, or if the pile be large enough to admit the head of the hammer with
the amount of motion acquired for blow, we draw it by placing the pile on the
anvil and leiting the hammer strike, it on the inside. Or we widen the pile
(after it has been consolidated by hammering, or by rolling between cylindrical
rollers), by rolling it between rollers having rounding faces, which by acting
on the various parts of the pile in succession will extend it lengthways, at the
same time, if desired, we prevent it from increasing in circumference by the
application of external rollers which bear against it.
It has been before proposed by us and by others to manufacture railway tyres
by making an annular pile or bloom, and then rolling such annular pile or bloom"
into a hoop of smaller section and larger diameter. Now our improvement in
making railway tyres consists in taking an annular pile and putting it into a
mould fixed on the surface of the anvil, or the mould may be attached to the
face of the hammer, which anvil is to have a chamber, in which is to be con-
tained a mandril, which is raised up through the anvil and the annular pile;
we then hammer on the pile by means of an annular or plain hammer face
until we have sufficiently consolidated it; we then by means of a piece intro-
duced between the hammer face and the end of the mandril drive the mandril
into the recess in the anvil and secure it there; the hammered annular pile
being thus free from the mandril can be removed from the external mould
with facility.
Another of our improvements relates to the manufacture of cast steel tyres,
and consists in casting a ring of greater width than the finished tyre, and in
putting this ring into a mould and hammering it with a powerful hammer to
reduce its width, so as to become suitable for rolling into a finished tyre hoop

page_text: and to materially consolidate it. We are aware that it is not new to make
steel tyres by casting rings and rolling them out to the finished tyre hoop; but
the peculiarity of our Invention consists in casting them of a greater width,
and consolidating them by hammering, as above described. The kind of
rolling machinery that we prefer to use for rolling out the cylinders that are
afterwards to be cut to be made into bars or plates or rails, or for rolling out
the vessels, cylinders, boilers, and parts of boilers, or for rolling tyres, is
described further on under the head of our improved rolling machinery.
Other of our improvements in the manufacture of rails and tyres consists in
taking a rail that is reduced by wear, bending it into a circle, and joining the
ends together, if necessary, by welding. then heating the ring thus made, and
rolling it between rollers bearing on the outside of it, so as to diminish the
diameter of the hoop, and increase its section when the ring is to be cut at
the part where it has been welded and opened out into a rail of the full
section of a new rail, but shorter than the original. This rail may be opened
out by hand, or by passing through rollers; or it may have its section regu-
lated by being so passed through rollers. Worn tyre hoops may be treated in
a similar way by heating and rolling so as to make them into smaller and
thicker hoops, and thus render them fit to be used on smaller wheels than
those on which they have first been employed.
Another of our improvements consists in taking worn rails, and in heating
them and laying them in a guide so as to prevent their escaping sideways, and
then forcing them against a stop, which by the action of a weight, or by
hydraulic pressure, or by the pace at which the stop is suffered to recede
being controlled by the action of machinery, shall offer such resistance to the
progress of the rail that it shall become larger in section or "upset," as the
technical phrase is, or by forcing it through a groove in a pair of rollers pre-
vented from revolving at such speed as to admit of the rail passing through them
at the rate at which, by the action of the machine, it is driven out of the guide
towards the rollers, and thus compelling it to become larger or to "upset"
between the narrow part of the guide and the roller. To make the first
upsetting a stop must be provided, against which the end of the bar is to be
pressed until it is increased to such a size as not to pass through the groove
in the rolls except by their revolution. This stop may be detached from the
rolls, and may be removed as soon as the first upsetting is performed, or it
may be a portion of the rolls, in which case they must be made of such size
that the circumference of them will be sufficient to contain in less than one
revolution the whole length of the bar. In some one of the modes above-
mentioned the bar will become of the required increased section, or even some-
°

page_text: what larger, when it may be reduced and regulated by passing through a pair
of ordinary rolls. In this manner a worn rail may be made of full section
and fit for service again, although reduced in length.
Another of our improvements applicable to the manufacutre of wrought iron
or puddled sicel generally consists in hammering or squeezing the puddle ball
while in a mould. Heretofore the practice has been to expose the puddle ball
to the action of the hammer or squeezer without confining it sideways, and
the result has been that the puddle ball cannot be struck or squeezed with full
force while at the hottest, because it will thereby become broken, and it has
therefore been necessary to strike the ball gently until it became somewhat
consolidated. Now, by our Invention of supporting the ball by a mould, we
are enabled to exercise much more force on it even when it is quite fresh from
the furnace, and are thus enabled to consolidate the ball better, and to cleanse
the interior of it from cinder, which comes to the outside between the ball
and the mould, and is cleared off from the surface of the iron at the next
heating. This our improvement is also applicable to the cases when two or
more puddle balls are joined together, which process is technically known as
"doubling." In some cases we do not conduct the whole process while the ball
is in the mould, as, for instance, we occasionally hammer it before putting it
in the mould, then hammer and finish it in the mould. In other cases we
hammer it, then put it in the mould, and then withdraw it to finish. In other
cases we put it into the mould to begin with, and then after it has received
such number of blows there as the workman sees are necessary, we remove it
and finish it out of the mould.
Another of our improvements applicable to the manufacture of all such bars
of wrought iron and of steel as are made from hammered blooms consists in
enclosing the bloom in a mould and hammering on it when in that mould, and
this we prefer to do with a hammer face as large as the bloom, so that the
whole surface may be struck at once. The practice heretofore pursued has
been to hammer the blooms without lateral support, from want of which the
various bars of which are composed occasionally shift; and the practice
has also been to operate with the hammer on only a small portion of the
bloom at a time, which has produced this bad result,, that while it closed the
part of the bloom on which the hammer first began to act, it caused the other
portion to open, and thus admitted the air to the surface of the bars composing
the pile, and formed a cinder on them, which prevented those surfaces adhering
with certainty.
Another of our improvements consists in making a railway axle (by which
we mean axles of the class that are ordinarily used under the carriages and

page_text: waggons on railways) from a pile of the whole length, or nearly of the whole
length of the axle. This pile we compose of numerous bars of a suitable
quality, and made by stamping, rolling, or hammering. into such forms that
the whole of the bars when laid on each other will present somewhat of the
outline of the finished axle. This pile we then lay in a mould having the
shape of the lower half of the finished axle, and then we beat on it with
another half mould, and thus weld the pile together. Occasionally this
operation will leave a "fin" or "thin" at the sides of the axle, which we
remove by any of the ordinary means, and if it be desired to give the axle a
good face, we finish it by rolling it between rollers running parallel to the line
of the axle, and so shaped as to have the space between them the shape of the
finished axle, or swage them in the usual manner. In some instances we
make the tools of such a shape that the axle formed by them, although it
has the outline of an axle, is larger in diameter, and shorter than the re-
quired finished size; these axles are then drawn out in swage tools.
Another of our improvements consists in making the crank axles of
locomotives, or other cranked axles, whether having one or more throws, by
forming the pile of bars bent or formed into the shape or approximately into
the shape of the crank axle; these bars we place in a part mould the size of
the intended forging, and then we beat on them with another part mould,
and thus unite the various bars into the form of an axle.
Another of our improvements consists in the manufacture of those cranks
which are not forged in one with the shaft, which we effect by cutting out or
otherwise forming slabs to the size, or nearly so, of the finished forging, which
slabs or bars we place on each other, and by preference confine them in a
mould, and then beat on them with a hammer of sufficient force, and having a
face the full size, or nearly so, of the crank, and thus unite the various slabs
into the form of a crank. Rails, tyres, and other bars being narrow, may be
rolled when in the hoop by means of rolls overhanging their bearings, such as
have heretofore been used for similar purposes. But to roll cylinders and
other matters requiring rolls of considerable length, and which could not,
therefore, be used safely when overhanging their bearings, we prefer to employ
the following, which are our improved rolls, and which are thus constructed.
That one of the two rolls which is exterior to the cylinder to be rolled we
make with a bearing at each end, one bearing being carried in a housing, and
the other in a fixed bearing, this latter being at that end of the roll from which
the work is to be entered. The roll, which is internal to the work to be
rolled, we make with a bearing at one end carried in the housing, and with a
prolongation beyond the bearing extending to another frame, somewhat in the

page_text: nature of a housing. but without any means for putting pressure on the rolls,
its object being to guide the bearing of the outer end of the prolongation of
the roll sideways, and to receive balancing gear. At the end of this roll
opposite the prolongation we have a neck working in a bearing, capable of
being readily removed when it is required to put on or take off the work to be
rolled. but which, when the rolls are in action. we attach by suitable links io
screws or hydraulic presses, by which we regulate the pressure put on the
work to be rolled. Similar means are applied to that bearing of this roll
which is carried in the housing. The rolls are driven in the usual manner by
coupling spindles from a pair of pinions. the spindles being connected to the
end of the lower roll at the housing side, and to the prolongation of the upper
roll. By this improvement, although the rolls are pressed together at both
ends, we, nevertheless, have no housing to remove at the end where the work
to be rolled is entered, but merely a bearing, and thus we are enabled to get
the work in and out with great facility. The moveable roll we have described
as being the one within the cylinder to be rolled, but this roll may be the
fixed one, and the roll exterior to the cylinder may be the one that is moved.
The moveable roll we balance so that it may be supported when the work is
being introduced or removed.
Another of our improvements consists in combining wedges and screws, or
levers with hydraulic presses, to effect the putting of the pressure on the work
to be rolled, so that by the withdrawal of the wedge or screw the presses are
allowed to act; by this means we insure the presses acting exactly to the
extent required. Although, as we have before stated, rails. tyres, and other
narrow bars may be rolled in the overhanging rolls, we, nevertheless, prefer to
use such rolls as those above mentioned, and to have in them several grooves,
so that the ring. that is being rolled may by the separation of the rolls be
moved from one groove to another, and thus the benefit arising from passing
it through grooves of varying sections may be obtained. In addition to the
rolls which nip the cylinder to be rolled, other rolls, two or more, external or
internal to the work, should be used, in order to steady it: these rolls should
be mounted in carriages capable of movement to suit the diameter of the
matter being rolled. When forging large masses in moulds in order to get
the fullest effect from the blows, in each case we employ two hammers, one
at each end of the mould, operating simultaneously and in opposite directions,
and when making hollow forgings we use a mandril, capable of being moved
through one or both of these hammer faces.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Joseph Bramwell and William Owen in
Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st November 1861.
the
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
JOSEPH BRAMWELL, of 35,, Great George Street, Westminster, and WILLIAM
OWEN, of Phoenix Iron Works, Rotherham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Frederick Joseph Bramwell and William Owen, Her special licence
that we, the said Frederick Joseph Bramwell and William Owen, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederick
Joseph Bramwell and William Owen, our 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 law-
fully might make, use. exercise. and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS, BARS, PLATES, CYLINDERS,
VESSELS, AXLETREES. CRANKS. WHEEL TYRES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WROUGHT
IRON OR STEEL, AND ALSO IN THE MACHINERY USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Frederick Joseph Bramwell
and William Owen, our executors, or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or their hands and seals, or under the hand and scal of
one of us or them, 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.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that 1, the snid Frederick Joseph Bramwell, on
behalf of myself and the said William Owen, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
10 be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
:
In the manufacture of rails, bars, and plates, it has been usual to employ
either piles or blooms, which after being heated to a suitable heat, have been
passed and repassed through between a pair of rolls until, by the form of the
grooves in the rolls, if for rails or bars, or by the gradual approximation of the

page_text: rolls, if for plates, they have been made of the suitable section or thickness of
the rails, bars, or plates. The ends of such rails, bars, or plates are irregular
and imperfect, and in order to insure soundness and regularity it has been
necessary to cut off considerable portions from the ends, which when so cut off
are not of the same value per ton as the rails, bars, or plates from which they
were cut, but merely of the value of scrap iron. In the rolling of rails, bars,
or plates, when the work has been passed through the roll, it has been neces-
sary in each case to bring it back again over the top of the roll for the purpose
of passing it again through the rolls from the entering side, thus causing great
loss of time and considerable labor; to obviate which recourse has in some
works been had when the plates or bars have been heavy, to the employment
of reversing gear to the rolls, or to the use of a third roller, so that the work
might be returned through the rolls without having to be passed over to the
side from which it was entered, but both these arrangements are objectionable
on the ground of great cost, and in reference to the reversing gear, of great
wear and shocks to the machinery.
Now parts, of our improvements relate to a mode of manufacturing rails,
bars, and plates, in such a manner as to avoid the loss arising from the cutting
off the ends, and also to avoid the loss of time and labour in bringing the
rails, bars, or plates over the top of the roll. We make an annular pile either
by coiling iron spirally around a mandril, or without a mandril, or by putting
rings or segments inside of or on each other. or by other means, (but to the
making an annular pile we lay no claim), and then after having heated this
pile to a welding heat, we (by preference) hammer it into an annular bloom:
this bloom either at the same heat, or after being reheated if necessary, or this
annular pile if not hammered into a bloom, we place between a pair of rollers
so that the rollers nip a portion of the circumference of the annular pile or
bloom, and thus continuously roll it out, diminishing the section of the ring
and increasing its diameter until the section is that which is required for the
finished bar or rail, or the thickness that which is required for the finished
plate. We then remove the completed ring from the rolls, cut it through,
and open it out into a bar, rail, or plate, and straighten it either by hammers,
or by passing it through rolls. In the case of rolling thin plates which would
not retain suflicient heat to admit of their being cut and flattened after they
were removed from the rolls, we provide cutters by which we cut the cylinder
while in the rolls, and deliver it from them as a sheet. A similar course if
preferred may be pursued with the bars or rails. In certain cases it may be
desirable to roll the ring with a somewhat oblique section to allow for the
greater stretching of the inside of the ring when opened out. By this mode

page_text: of manufacture it will be seen that there are no waste ends cut off. It will
also be seen that the rolling is continuous, there being no loss of time or
labor in passing the iron from one side of the rolls to the other.
In Sheet 1. Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, represent. in plan and section
various modes of piling iron into annular piles.
Figure 1 represents a pile as being made up of rings of bar iron a, a, a.
welded or unwelded at the joints, laid one on another to any height desired.
The Drawing shows the rings as having unwelded joints, and as being arranged
as we prefer to arrange them, namely, so that the joints shall be evenly dis-
tributed around the pile. Or the pile may be composed of rings. some of
which, say, the upper and lower may be welded. and others not: Figure 2
represents a pile made of bar iron wound into a spiral coil; the bar is shown
as having been welded into one length prior to coiling. The upper end is
drawn as terminating square, which is a mode that may be adopted for the
ends, but we prefer to bevil them in the manner shown for the lower one.
Instead of welding the bar into a continuous length, short bars may be coiled
into spirals, which may then be laid one on another to form the pile. The
ends of these spirals may be square, so as to butt up against each other, but
we prefer to bevel them so that they may make overlaps or scarf joints, as
shewn at Figure 2: Figure 3 represents a pile composed of bar iron, the
whole depth of the pile wide, and wound into a spiral, one fold outside another.
Or it may be composed of bar iron of a less depth than that of the pile, and
wound into a spiral, and one or more such spirals placed on another until any
desired height is attained; Figure 4 represents a pile composed of bar iron
the full depth of the pile wide, bent into segments of circles, and placed one
segment outside another, care being taken to "cross the joints." This may
be composed of segments made out of bars of a less depth than the pile, and
one or more such sets of segments placed on another until any desired height
is attained: Figure 5 represents a pile composed of bar iron the width of
that of the ring of the pile, and bent into segments placed one on another
until any requisite heat is attained, care being taken to cross the joints.
This may be composed of segments made out of bars not so wide as the
width of the pile, and one or more of such segments may be placed outside
another until any desired width is obtained; Figure 6 represents a pile
similar to that. described under Figure 4, except that the bars are long
enough to form complete circles in lieu of segments.
It is obvious that a pile may also be composed of a combination of two or
more of the systems above described. For example, a pile might be composed
having the inner and outer rings like those shewn in Figure 6, with the space

page_text: between them occupied with rings arranged like those in Figures 1, 2 or 5.
This would be a species of "cross piling."
Figure 7 shows a front elevation, and Figure 8 a side view partly in
section of an annular pile or bloom being rolled and cut open, and of so
much of the machinery for performing these operations as is necessary to
enable the following description to be understood.
a, the lower overhanging
A represents a portion of one of the housings.
roll; a', the upper ditto; b, b, the guide rollers carried in b'. ', brackets,
sliding on 2, 2, hinged guides, which are composed each of two parallel bars
or slides united together near b. b, the joints, and at the outer ends 7, 14,
where they form supports for two screws which lie within them, and which
by means of nuts attached to the brackets b', b', can move these latter along
the guides . 12. The ends of the screw spindles carry bevel wheels c, c, by
which they are geared to the other bevil wheels c'. c', on the shafts c, c, which
are in connection with each other by the bevil wheels c. ; thus when motion
is given to the screw on one side of the machine by the hand wheel d or by
power, the screw on the other side will be moved through a similar amount,
and if the screws be made of equal pitch to each other, and one right hand
and the other left, the guide rollers b, b, will be caused to move equally from
or towards the centre of the machine. The ends b, b, of the guides are
formed into, brackets and are supported in the segmental guides b, b, and
when up are retained in their places by the locking bolts b, b The
guides b, b, are counterbalanced by the weights b, b7.
The upper roll a' being lifted away from the lower one a by any of the
modes in use for such purpose, the annular pile e or the annular bloom e pro-
duced from hammering such pile is introduced between the rolls a, a', and then
the one being brought towards the other, so as to nip the annular bloom, and
being made to revolve, the bloom will become diminished in section (and will
moreover take the form of the groove in the rolls a, a'), and will thereby increase
in diameter until it will make a hoop of thinner section and of corresponding
larger diameter than the bloom, as shewn in dotted lines at e'. As the hoop
increases in diameter the guide rollers are to be drawn in the direction from the
centre towards the outside. so that when the hoop has attained the diameter
shewn by the dotted lines q', the guide rollers would be in the position b*, bx.
When the pile has thus been rolled out to the required dimensions, it may
be treated in either of the following ways to make it into a straight bar. The
rolls a, a, may be separated and the hoop removed and exposed to the action
of a circular saw, to be cut in one place, or in more if more than one bar be
required, and then the cut hoop may be subjected to the action of a set of

page_text: rollers similar to those which are now commonly used to bend straight bars
into hoops. but for this purpose so arranged as to bring the curved form of the
hoops into a straight bar.
Figure 9 represents in plan an outline of such an arrangement.
The end of
the hoop would have to be set out or in by a maul, to enable the rollers to lay
hold; or the rolls a, a', being stopped in their revolution, and the rolled out
hoop e being therefore stationary, it may be cut through. A convenient
arrangement for accomplishing this is exhibited in Figure 8, where is a
circular saw mounted on an axis on which is also the driving pulley f;
ft is carried in radial arms f, forming part of a sector . which works on a
centre at . and is made to vibrate by a segment rack and pinion shaft and
wheel, with hand chain f. At the centre is a shaft . which carries a
pulley P. which by the band " drives the saw and also a pulley ", which is
driven from some other shaft by the band f This arrangement of saw and
shafts and pullies is supported in a sliding bracket g, which by means of the
hand chain g', chain wheel g, and bevel wheels gg. and screw g³. can be
raised or lowered against the face of the fixed carriage h.
The saw
being set revolving by the bands can, by the hand chains, be
brought into contact with the hoop e', and be driven through it and then
withdrawn. The hoop e' is to be supported against the pressure of the saw by
means of the guides i, i, attached to the upper part of the headstock, which
are also useful in giving sideway steadiness to the upper part of the hoop
while being rolled.
As soon as the saw is withdrawn, the rolls a, a are to be started and the
hoop brought round until the cut part is just through the rolls a, a', and
assuming them to be moving in the direction of the arrows, the left-hand
guide is to be lowered to the position shewn by the dotted lines, and the end
of the bar el laid hold of by a pair of tongs, when the hoop e', being no longer
supported by the guide roller b, will be delivered by the rolls a, a', (notwith-
standing that their circumferential velocities may not be equal,) as a bar
approaching sufficiently to the straight form to admit of its being laid on an
ordinary levelling plate and levelled in the usual way.
provided. capable of being made to move towards or from the rolls a, a, in a
direction parallel to their axes and carrying a roller k, as shewn in dotted lines,
which roller is to be adjustable in the frame, so that it may pass from the
position to the position /'. With this arrangement, when the hoop had been
cut through and the cut part had been brought round to the left-hand side of
the rolls, and the left-hand guide be lowered out of the way, the frame above
described would be caused to approach towards the hoop and the roll k carried
Or, a framing may be

page_text: by it would thereby he introduced into the hoop, and then the roller k being
moved into the position k'. would force down its cut end, and on the rolls a. a¹.
being made to revolve, would in conjunction with those rolls, make the hoop
into a straight bar by a similar action to the three rolls shewn at Figure 9.
The framing may be moved to and from the hoop, and the roll k may be forced
from the position to and back again, either by screw or by hydraulic
pressure.
Figure 10 shews the section and part of the face view of a hoop intended
when cut and opened out to form a flat bar. but made in the hoop with taper
sides; this to allow for the stretching of the side and the compressing and
swelling out of the side j', that takes place when a hoop is opened out into a
straight bar. Figure 10 is a section of the bar that would be produced by
the opening out of such a hoop. The taper of the side is slightly exaggerated
in the Drawing, in order to make the fact of their being taper clearly visible,
the actual amount required would be such as would make the width of the
side bear such a ratio to the side as the diameter of the outside of the hoop
bears to the diameter of the inside..
In lieu of the annular pile before described, we make a disc pile either with
or without a hole in the centre, and thicker in the middle than at the edges,
which pile we consolidate either by hammering or by rolling between conical
rollers; but to the making of such a pile ceither by hammering or by rolling
between conical rollers we lay no claim: and then we cup this pile by
hammering, and also, if made without a hole, open the centre, so that a roll or
a bar serving as an anvil can be introduced, and then we draw the thicker
metal that is near the centre of the pile either by hammering or by rolling.
until we have made it into a cylinder, when we continue the rolling, if required,
until the cylinder is increased in circumference and reduced in thickness to
the intended dimensions of the plate. bar, or a rail to be produced from
the cylinder when opened out, as before described.
In Sheet II. Figure 11 represents in plan and section and to a larger scale
than any of the other Figures on this Sheet a disc pile, thicker in the middle
than at the sides, and composed of numerous rings of bar iron, each ring
shewn as being without a joint, but this is not imperative, and the disposition
of the rings may be varied by having those near the centre made with the
narrow way of the iron vertical, as in the pile, Figure 6, Sheet L., and then
the rings outside this may be arranged as shewn. Another variation may be
the substitution of a plate for the bottom series of rings, which would be a
convenient mode of supporting the pile while in the furnace.
Figure 12 exhibits the pile after having been raised to a welding heat, being

page_text: welded into a bloom by a hammer capable of operating on the whole surface
at once. a is the anvil: a, the bottom tool carried by the anvil; 2, the pile
made into a bloom; ", the top tool carried by a', the hammer, which is lifted
by the piston rod of a steam cylinder, and guided by b, b, guide rods.
Figure 13 is a part plan some portion in section. and Figure 14 an elevation
partly in section on the crooked line x, y, in plan of a machine to be employed
in place of the hammer for consolidating by rolling the disc pile when raised
to a welding heat. in this Figure also represents the pile carried on a
circular revolving plate b; this plate is supported on an axis b', which revolves
in a step b, carried by b. the ram of an hydraulic press b.
6, 6, 6, are three
conical rollers carried by necks c. c. c, in bearings, and having level
pinions ² ². These rollers are pressed on by the revolving cone d on the
shaft. d, which is carried by the top frame dx, which is jointed to the lower
frane at the bearings c'. c', c' On the shaft d' is fixed the bevel wheel d²,
which gears into and drives the bevel pinions c² ², c². d is made to revolve
by the bevel wheel and pinion on the shaft . which is driven by the
steam engine or other power. To introduce the pile the ram is lowered,
which lets down the plate b; the pile is then put on, and water forced into the
hydraulic press b direct. from the force pumps or from an accumulator, and
the ram rising, takes up with it the pile against the under side of the
conical rollers, which roll over it and consolidate it, pressure being kept up by
the ram.
The ram is prevented from turning by the sliding crosshead b
Scale and cinder are thrown off by the covering plate e. The pipe to the
hydraulic press, with the inlet and outlet valves, and the handles for operating
on the same, are not shown: they are well understood. The machine may be
modified by having the plate b always at one level, and having the three
rollers with their driving gear to lift to allow the pile to be put in, and the
disc to be taken out, and also to give the pressure. It may also be modified
by not making the three rollers c, c, c, of the true cone to give the correct
amount of motion to each part of the disc; this would involve some slipping
between parts of the surface of the pile and the rollers, but this would
not be of more importance than the slipping that constantly takes place in
ordinary rolls with deep grooves, and it would have the effect of making the
rollers so much larger at their small end as to admit of a bearing being
introduced there in lieu of the pressure of the cone d, and these rollers might.
then be driven by wheels on the outside of their outer bearings. At the same
time the revolving plate b might be replaced by three lower rollers similar to
and immediately below the three upper ones, which rollers might be driven
by coupling pinions off the upper rollers, and either the upper or lower system

page_text: of rolls might be made to move to allow of the admission of the disc. It
may also be modified by placing the three rollers c. c. c. in a ring frame,
supported by a central vertical axis above it, and guided by guide rollers at its
circumference, and having also on its circumference, but above or below the
part occupied by the guide rollers, bevel or spur teeth, by which it would be
made to revolve, carrying around with it the three rollers, which by their
travelling over the disc pile would (if that pile did not rotate) be made to
revolve on their own axes at the same time they revolve round the centre of
the frame that carried them. With this arrangement the plate b on which
the pile rested would be capable of movement in a vertical direction only, and
would be prevented from rotation by suitable stops bearing against the frame
and sliding on it when the plate b was raised or lowered.
After the pile has been welded together and consolidated, either by the
action of the hammer or the rolls, it is to be reheated, if necessary, and then
subjected to the action of a pair of top and bottom tools of a steam hammer,
such as shewn in Figure 15, by which it will become dished or made into a
flat cup; it is then to be subjected to another pair of tools, such as shewn at
Figure 16, and then to such a pair as shewn at Figure 17, by cach of which
it will become more cupped. The same letters of reference are used for thesc
The discs are to be worked under all these
as are used for Figure 12.
hammers at the usual heat for such operations. These different tools in large
works would be attached to as many different hammers, and the discs would
pass from one to the other, and would probably not require reheating. but in
small works a number of discs might be prepared in the pair of tools,
Figure 12, then the tools might be changed to those of Figure 15, and the
discs operated on again after being heated afresh, and then the tools changed
for those of Figure 16, and the discs being reheated and then changed for
those of Figure 17, in which the disc would be finished.
On Sheet III. Figure 18 shews the disc pile (after it has been consolidated
and cupped as already described) in the act of having the thicker metal near
the centre drawn by hammering. a² is again the cupped disc, placed on b, a
cylindrical mandril carried on b', an anvil with an overhanging beak b. The
mandril b has one end 2 with holes for the reception of bars, by which the
workınan may turn it from time to time and thereby present different parts of
the disc a to the action of the hammer. c is the hammer face carried in ',
the head of a steam hammer. When he disc pile has been drawn to an
uniform thickness, it will form a cylinder, as shown by the dotted lines a.
Although the cylindrical mandril is convenient for turning the disc so as to
bring different parts under the hammer face, it is not necessary that it should

page_text: be used, as the disc may rest upon the top of the anvil, it being made of a
suitable form to receive the disc, or it may rest upon a tool fastened into the
anvil, and which may he changed in the ordinary way. With either of these
arrangements the disc would have to be revolved by hand.
Figure 19 (also on Sheet III.) shews an apparatus for equalizing by rolling
the thickness of metal in the disc so as to produce a cylinder. a is again the
disc; is a roll passing through the hole in the disc, and d¹ is a roll pressing
on the exterior of the disc: e, e, are a pair of housings. The rolls are driven
by an upper wobbler with its coupling boxes f. f. 1, and a lower wobbler with
its coupling boxes f. f, f, from a pair of coupling pinions g, g, carried in
pinion housings g¹, g; one of these pinions is driven from any convenient
source of power. The roll is supported at its end by hearings which are as
large as the body of the roll, and rest on brasses or seats in the frame h, which
slides in and is guided by the headstocks e, e, and is supported and moved
vertically, when required, by the rods h', ', which are carried on sliding blocks
actuated by the double levers h, h, which by means of links h³, h³, are con-
nected to the piston rod of the piston
the upper part of which only is shewn.
contained in an hydraulic cylinder 1.
This cylinder is provided with inlet
and outlet valves at both ends, so that the piston may be moved up or down
these valves. and the handles for actuating them are not shewn, as the
arrangement is one of an ordinary and well understood kind. The frame h
carries a bracket which serves to partially support the wobbler box f¹, when
the roll d is withdrawn from it. The roll has a neck in it at its right hand
end, which is embraced on its upper half by a collar carried on a pin d³ in h,
which collar can be lifted up and turned over on the pin as a centre, and
thereby be removed from the neck in the roll d, when it is required to draw
that roll endways. When the rolls are near their lowest position the neck is
embraced around its lower half by a portion of a collar on the sliding bar i;
this bar is supported on rolls in the carriage which has also an upper
roll, which bears on the top of the roll d when it is drawn below it. The
bar i may be moved to the right and left hand, either by a rack and pinion, by
a screw, or by the motion of a piston in an hydraulic cylinder, or by other
suitable means.
The top roll d' is carried at its left-hand end in a bearing k,
which by two trunnions is carried from the top of the housing by the traps k³
and intermediate blocks. At the right-hand end the top roll a¹ is carried in
a bearing k, which by trunnions is supported on a pair of bars ke, which
are carried on the trunnion of the bearing k as a fulcrum, and are attached by
the trunnions to the frame h, the hole in the frame being made oblong to
allow for the vibration of the bars ko,

page_text: .
The machine is used in the following manner-Assume a disc to have been
rolled into a cylinder, the rolls are lowered into the position shown, and then
the collar which embraces the upper part of the neck of the roll d' is turned.
over on the pin . so as to set the neck free from it. The neck is now engaged
in the portion of a collar i on the bar i, and this Bar is drawn towards the right
hand taking the roll with it, the roll end leaves the wobbler box f', which
then lies on the support . Just before the bottom side of the left-hand end
of the roll d quits its bearing, the upper side of the right hand end has got
below the roller i. by which arrangement the roll is kept from overbalancing
and raising up its right hand end. As soon as the roll d is drawn so far
towards the right hand that it would have a tendency to overbalance in the
other direction, its under side receives support from the rollers ; this
roller d having been withdrawn to the right hand the completed work can be
removed and another cupped disc inserted, when the roll is to be returned
towards the left hand by the reversal of the action of the bar i; this will re-
insert the left hand end of the roll d into the wobbler box f'. The half
collar will be turned on the pin d, so as to retain the roller d endways, and
the whole apparatus will be in the condition in which it is drawn. The rolls
will now be made to revolve, and as they revolve water under pressure will be
admitted above the piston h, by which the frame h will be raised; this will
lift the roll d against the work and will also move the roll d' as much towards
the horizontal as will be requisite for the amount the disc a² has been rolled
out. This will go on until the disc a has been rolled out into an uniform
thickness, and made cylindrical, by which time the top roll d¹ will be horizontal.
While being rolled the work is to be guided by four guide rolls 1, 1, 1, 1, two
on each side; these rolls are carried at the ends of bars 1, 1, which slide
through long sockets contained in the boxes P, P. These long sockets have
feathers in them, which cause the bars 1, 1, to be turned with them when they
are turned, which they can be by the capstan wheels F, P. They can be set by
the set screws 1, 1, at any angle at which they may be placed. The bars l', 1',
terminate in screws 11. 11, and they are moved towards or from the work by
the handles ³, F. The boxes P. F, are supported on the bars 1, 1, which are
carried by the housings. The boxes, P, can be set at any required place
on these bars by the screws 17, 17.
Figure 19 shews as much of a transverse section as is necessary to exhibit
the parts referred to in this paragraph. These rolls are shewn arranged to
roll only conical discs of the proportions of a. In order to adapt them to roll
discs, having the same thickness at the thin edge but a greater thickness at
the thick edge, the trunnions k¹ must be raised by substituting a shallow

page_text: block in lieu of the deep one shown, and by putting block packings below
the trunnions. If on the other hand the cone is to be thinner at the thick
end, then the trunnions must be lowered by taking out packings from below
it and putting them in above. If it be desired to adapt the machine to roll
cones thicker or thinner on the thin edge than shewn, all that is required is
to employ packings below the bearings of the roll d, and to fix the carriage
with its three rollers as much lower as the lowest position to which the roll d
would have to descend when rolling the greatest thickness. The roll d would
always have to be brought to this level to be drawn sideways; adjustable
packings would also be required on the support h to receive the wobbler box f'.
Or, in lieu of the arrangement of rolls described, a pair of rolls may be employed,
in which the lower one has no vertical movement, but merely one of rotation
and one endways, when it is desired to withdraw finished work or to insert
fresh, and in which the upper roll is pressed on at the two ends by screws
driven either by hand or power, and unconnected with each other, so that the
workman may screw down one or the other, or both, and thus give the pressure
to such parts of the pile as his judgment (guided by the appearance of the pile)
tells him requires it. Or, in lieu of these screws, the ends of the upper roller
may be forced downwards by hydraulic pressure, one press for each end, by
which means the workman can also force down one or both ends as he pleases.
In either of the above arrangements it will be more convenient to balance the
top roll, as is well understood. Or, in lieu of the top roll being the one to give
the pressure, the bottom may be arranged to do so, but such arrangement
would probably be not so convenient as that in which the bottom roll has no
vertical movement. The peculiarity of this part of the Invention consists in
the manufacture of rails, bars, and plates, by first forming them into rings or
cylinders of the desired sections, and by then cutting and opening them out.
Our improvements in the manufacture of wrought iron vessels and cylinders,
including boilers, and flues of boilers, and funnels, consist in using a ring
or disc pile as before-described, and in rolling it out to such a diameter
and thickness as may be required, and we make the ends of the plates for
a boiler or fluc, with a thickened part around them to receive the rivets to
join them to the next length or section, which may be rolled either so as
to fit inside or outside the before-mentioned length or section, or to have
butt joints and strips. By the same means hollow iron ware may be rolled
over rollers of a suitable form, and then the bottom or ends may be rivetted in.
Or in some cases it may be sufficient to roll grooves in one part, and projec-
tions to correspond in the other part, which, being put the one into the other,
may be closed so as to form a tight joint. By the means above stated not only

page_text: may the expense and difficulty of making the longitudinal seams in boilers
and similar vessels be obviated, but the full strength of the metal in the bulk
of the plate may be made available uninjured by rivet holes, and a slight
increase of metal at the ends, where the transverse seam of rivets is to come
will render that portion as strong as the rest, and thus will nearly the whole
strength of the plate be made available. We are aware that it has been
before proposed to bend plates, and to weld them together, and then to roll
them out into a hoop of increased diameter, and decreased thickness, and
to make such hoops of increased section at the ends, and to use such hoops
for portions of boilers, but this method was open to the objection of wasting
the cut off ends in the manufacture of plates, and to the expense and
uncertainty attendant on the weld which was in the direction of the greatest
bursting strain in a boiler.
On Sheet III., Figure 20 shews in section a portion of a boiler, or flue of
a boiler, formed by placing the end of one such cylinder a (or more properly
slight cone) into the end of a similar one a' and riveting them to each other
at the thickened parts a, a, these being the only rivets, no longitudinal seam
being required. Figure 21 shews cylinders a, a', such as above described,
jointed to each other by strips a² and.riyets.
On Sheet IV., at Figure 22 is shown a cauldron of which the upper part a
is made in one piece by rolling as before described, and is attached to the
lower part b by rivets.
At Figure 23 is shewn another cauldron, the upper part a being made
as before, except that the lower edge has a dovetail formed on it to be
received into a groove in the bottom, as shown at the right-hand side of
the Figure, which groove when closed up over the dovetail in the manner
shewn on the left-hand side makes a joint between a and b without the aid
of rivets; this closing up may be done either by rolling or hammering.
Figure 24 shews the mode of forming the groove in the cauldron bottom.
b is the bottom, which is heated and placed in the support; c, d. is a vertical
shaft guided at din a bearing which is made to move up and down, to allow
of the descent of the shaft when forced down by screws or hydraulic pressure;
the shaft carries a cross arm of which has at its extremities rollers d., these
as they are carried round by the shaft d revolve over the edge of b and make
the groove. The bottoms of the cauldrons are formed on the same principle
as those cauldrons which are made in one piece, and the manufacture of which
is about to be described.
Another of our improvements relates to the forming of hollow ware, and
consists in making a disc pile as before described except that we do not

page_text: open the centre, (which pile we prefer to hamner into a bloom) and then give
this bloom a cup-shaped form by hammering the same in dies, and after-
wards rolling it out between rollers of suitable form, increasing its diameter,
and diminishing (in all or some of its parts.) its thickness, and forming a
brim, if one he required, and thus making cauldrons and other articles of
hollow ware without a joint.
On Sheet IV., Figure 25 is a pile. which at Figure 26, is shewn being con-
solidated under a hammer. a is the pile, b, the hammer face attached to b'.
the head of a hammer, and c is the bottom tool.
By this arrangement a cup-shaped bloom is produced which may be of any
desired depth, diameter, and thickness; this bloom may be finished by hammer-
ing in successive tools of regular varying form, but it may be completed by
rolling. Figure 27 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 28 an end view of a
pair of rolls arranged for this purpose. a is the cupped bloom after it has
been hammered, caried on b. the internal roller, and pressed on by c, the exter-
nal roller; the internal and external rollers are geared together by the
pinions b and c, and the roller is driven by the wobbler shaft. ²; b is
supported in the housings d. d', and c is supported in the housings d, ; c
is pressed down by the two screws e. e', which are driven by the worm
wheels e, e, operated on by worm pinions on the shafts e, e, geared toge-
ther by the spur wheels e, e'; the shaft et is driven by the hand wheel c
or it may be driven by power. On the screws e, e', are the handles e, e, which
when the rolls are at work are held fast by the catches e, e, this prevents
the screws from revolving, and thereby enables the hand wheel e to force down
the roll by the revolution of the nuts c², c. But when the work is com-
pleted, and it is desired to allow the roll to come up rapidly to liberate the
work the catches e. e, are taken away, and the workmen by the handles e", e":
turn the screws e, e'. which rise up through the nuts in the wheels e². e³, which
now remain stationary.
If it be desired to make the axis of the roll incline towards the axis of the
roll c, it can be done by the screw in the housing d' the bearing & being made
rounding to admit of it. The roll is balanced by balance weights in the
ordinary way acting on it by the rods . . and the roll bis balanced at its
left hand end by weights acting on it through the rods . It may occasionally
be desired to give end way pressure of the roll c against the article to be rolled;
this may be done by hydraulic or screw pressure applied to the right hand end
of that roll, or by making the bearings of c work in guides inclined out of the
vertical, so that the roll c would be driven endways while being screwed down,
no Drawing is given of these modes, as this explanation is sufficient. The hous-

page_text: ings d, d, are placed at a sufficient distance apart to enable the work to be got
readily on and off advantage is taken of this to make the end c* of the roller c
of a different form to the other end so as to suit another form of cupped bloom.
Bars g, g. are carried in brackets g', g. on the housings to support sliding
boxes gg. in which are carried the apparatus of guide rollers similar
to those already described in reference to Figures 19 and 19°. In making
plates of considerable breadth, or portions of cylinders of considerable length,
it may be inconvenient to form the annular pile of such depth as would equal
the width of the plate or the length of the cylinder, and in those cases we
make the pile shallower or narrower than the width of the intended plate or
length of the cylinder, and in order to extend it we draw it under a hammer
by placing it on an anvil in the nature of a mandril going through the pile
and letting the hammer act on the outside of the pile, or if the pile be large
enough to admit the head of the hammer with the amount of motion required
for blow we draw it by placing the pile on the anvil and letting the hammer
strike it on the inside. Or we widen the pile (after it has been consoli-
dated by hammering or by rolling between cylindrical rollers) by rolling it
between rollers having rounding faces which, by acting on the various parts
of the pile in succession will extend it lengthways, at the same time, if
desired, we prevent it from increasing in circumference by the application
of external rollers which bear against it.
On Sheet V., is shown at Figure 29 a side elevation partly in section, and
at Figure 30 part of a transverse section of a machine for widening the pile
by the action of a hammer; a is the pile placed on b, a mandril, by preference
of a cylindrical form, which mandril is carried in b', b', two saddles cast together
and capable of being moved endways on a foundation plate c. This movement
is produced when required by the action of water pressure in the double acting
hydraulic cylinder d, acting on either one side or the other of the piston (',
which by the rod operates on the saddles b', b'. The mandril b has a rod e
attached to it, which slides through a stop e and can be prevented from doing
so when required by placing a key in the key way is the hammer face,
which is attached to the head of a steam hammer or of a helve.
Assume thick and narrow hoop a to be on the mandril b, as drawn, the
hammer is set to work to extend that hoop, which is gradually twisted round by
the workman so as to bring every part of its circumference below the hammer
face; this having been done the piston d' of the hydraulic cylinder d is
operated on to drive the saddles b', ', and mandril b, with the hoops a on it
towards the right hand so as to bring another portion of the length under the
action of the hammer face f, and this fresh portion having been hammered all

page_text: round the work is moved still further to the right hand until the whole has
been subjected to the action of the hammer face f. and has thereby become
elongated and also enlarged in diameter as shown in dotted lines at a*. The.
piston is now brought back to the left hand into the position shewn, and.
then the key is inserted in the key way e. The piston is again moved to.
the right, driving the saddies b', b', from under the mandril b, which is held by
the rod e; the saddles b', b', take with them the finished work, which as soon
as the left hand saddle b' has got past the end of the mandril b, can be removed
and be replaced by another thick hoop; the piston d' then makes its motion
towards the left hand by which the two saddles b'. b', are brought under the
mandril, and the key being removed the whole is ready to operate on the
hoop just inserted. The inlet and outlet valves for the hydraulic cylinder d,
and the handles for actuating the same are not shewn, being intended to be.
of any ordinary and well-known description.
No Drawing is given of the arrangement of widening the pile by placing
it on an anvil and letting the head of a helve beat on the inside of it, as
this description is sufficient to instruct any competent workman in this mode
of widening a pile, a mode which is only available in the case of hoop piles
of very large diameter.
Figure 31 and Figure 32, both on Sheet V., shew, the one a longitudinal
view, the other an end view, both partly in section, of a mode of widening the
pile by rolling it between rollers with rounding faces. In this machine a is
the thick hoop to be widened; b is a lower nipping roll; b' is an upper ditto;
be, b, b, b, are four guide rolls external to the hoop, which guide it, and.
prevent its increasing in diameter, but if the hoop be allowed to increase in
diameter as well as in length, then only the upper two guide rolls will be
required, and these must be made adjustable to suit the increasing size of the
hoop. The rolls are carried in three housings c', c, and c³; c' and care
fixtures, but is capable of being moved endways by the piston d in the
hydraulic cylinder d', a portion of which only is shown. This cylinder is
provided with valves to admit water under pressure to enter at either end, or
to allow the waste water to escape from either end. so as to be double-
acting. The rolls b, b, are driven by wobbling shafts and boxes b3, bt.
The upper roll b' is a fixture as regards movement in a vertical direction, but
the lower roll b can be moved upwards or downwards by means of the three
screws e¹, e e", which are driven by their respective worm wheels ex, ex, e,
actuated by worm pinions carried on the shaft e, which at its left-hand end
is provided with a feather to admit of the worm pinion that drives the
wheel ex of the moveable headstock being slid along when that headstock.

page_text: to
is moved. The shaft et is actuated through the bevel wheels e, which are
driven by the hand wheel e, or by power. When a hoop is to be put in, the
piston d is to be driven towards the left hand. taking with it the housing
the position shewn by the dotted lines: the hoop can then be put on the
roll b. and the housing returned to its place. The various rolls will all have
been upheld by the other two housings c¹, c², so that there will be no difficulty
in the moveable housing going properly over the rounded ends of the rolls.
The hoop will then be put with its left-hand side just between the nipping
part of the rolls b. b. and will be pressed against by the permanent hoop
which is supported by the guide rolls b³, b. be, be, and is driven forward by the
two rolls f. f. which are at the ends of two rods f. f, worked by racks on
them. gearing into pinions f. f. on the vertical shaft f. which receives
motion from bevel wheels f. f. driven by the horizontal shaft fo, moved
either by the hand wheel f", or by power. The rolls b, b'. being set revolving,
and pressure being applied by the screws e¹. e. e. the hoop will be thinned
and elongated, and will be pressed forward by the permanent hoop f until
the whole has been subjected to the nipping action of the rolls; then the
screws e¹, e², e, are to be slacked off so as to separate the rolls, and the
rods are to be drawn towards the right hand; this will admit of
the workman forcing the hoop that is to be operated on back, and the per-
manent hoop being moved in that direction until the left-hand edge of is
got to the nipping point of band b¹, when those rolls are to be again brought
together, and the operation of rolling repeated. This may be done until the
hoop operated on has got to the desired length, or until it requires removal to
be reheated. In those cases where it is not desired to restrict the. hoop from
becoming larger, and where, thereof, only two upper guide rollers 62, 63, are
used, the permanent hoop will only bear against the whole circumference of
the hoop to be operated on at some one stage of such operation, but it will at
all times bear against that part which is adjacent to the point of nipping of
the rolls b, b. This permanent hoop should, under the circumstances above
mentioned, be supported by special rollers attached to the brackets which
carry the lower roller f, as shown at 2, or by flanches on the lower roller f
as shown at y.
Figure 33 and Figure 34, on Sheet V., show, the one in sectional elevation,
the other in plan, another arrangement of apparatus for widening thick hoops
by rolling. a is the hoop put over the mandril b, made in segments, and
capable of being expanded by the right and left-hand screw .b' causing the
cones 3, 3, to approach each other, and thereby force out the segments of
which the mandril is composed, and increase its diameter. The segments are

page_text: carried on the bottom ring bt, and have grooves in them taking on to pro-
jections on this ring, and thus are prevented from turning round independently
of the ring, although they can expand on it. The cones b, b, have projections
on them let into grooves in the segments, by which they are prevented turning
relative to the segments. The ring b is formed on the top part of a circular
stem b, which is guided at top by a set of three guide rollers 66, and at bottom
by the square shank of the right and left-hand screw b', which passes through
a fixed guide bi. Round about the circular stem b5 is a bevel wheel bs, which
is guided above and below by a set of three pairs of friction rollers 6º, 6, and
actuates the stem bby projections taking into grooves in that stem, so that
the stem may slide freely through the wheel. The wheel b is driven by a
bevel pinion on a shaft b", which, by another pair of bevel wheels ba, is
driven from the vertical shaft 6, on which is the hand wheel b". The weight
of the cone, ring, screw, stem, and other parts is nearly balanced by three
counterweights 6 attached to the end of chains 6, which pass over the three
pullies b, and lay hold of the three-armed bar 18, which bears against the
bottom of the stem b. Although three top guide rollers 6, and three counter-
weights 6, with chains and pulleys, are mentioned, and also three pairs of
friction rollers b, b, only one of each is shown, but it is to be understood that
the others would be placed equally around the stem b, so that it might be
supported at three equal intervals. Ranged regularly round the expanding
mandril are six rollers c', c', c', c', c', c'; these are bushed, and run loose on
fixed pins c, c, c, c², c, c², which are carried in the supports c³, e, c³, c³, c³, c³.
Each roller, except the one that is driven, has cast or attached to it two bevel
wheels c c c', by which the rollers are all geared one to another, so that if
one rotates on its axis the others all rotate to an equal extent. In gear with
the single wheel c on the roll that is driven is a pinion c, which is on the
driving shaft c, deriving its motion from any convenient source, and provided
with gearing between it and the moving power, by which it can be driven in
either direction. No Drawing is given of this, as it is similar to the well-
known reversing gear mentioned as being used for common rolls to roll
heavy iron.
The mode in which this apparatus is used is as follows:-By means of an
hydraulic press (not shewn), the ram of which bears against the bottom end
of the square foot of the right and left hand screw b', the mandril bis raised
to its highest point. The thick hoop to be widened is then, by a porter bar
and crane, dropped over the mandril to about the middle of it; the hand
wheel is then revolved, and thereby the stem and mandril bare turned
round, thus making the cones 6, 6, with their nuts revolve on the stationary

page_text: right and left hand screw b'; this has the effect of drawing the cones together
and expanding the mandril until it fits tightly the inside of the thick hoop;
the porter bar which carried the hoop is now removed, and the hydraulic press
slacked out; the rolls c¹, c', being set revolving, the hoop is taken to them by
the descent of the mandril, when it is rolled through, thinned, and extended.
The reversing gear is now changed, the driving shaft and the rolls run the other
way, and pressure being suffered to come in below the same in the press the
mandril is raised and the hoop again extended, but before this was done
another turn was taken at the hand wheel 6, by which the mandril got still
further expanded and turned round, so that the parts which in the descent
were between the rolls are now fully on the body of the rolls; by this means
all parts of the hoop get equally rolled, and longitudinal ribs are not formed
on the outside, which might be the case were not the hoops turned.
Although hydraulic cylinders are described for moving the mandril in
Figures 29, 30, 33, & 34, and the headstock in 31 and 32, it is not indis-
pensable that these should be used, as racks and pinions, screws. or steam
cylinders, or other well known means of obtaining rectilinear and recipro-
cating motion may be applied.
It has before been proposed by us and by others to manufacture railway
tyres by making an annular pile or bloom and then rolling such annular pile
or bloom into a lioop of smaller section and larger diameter.
Now our improvement in making railway tyres consists in taking an
annular pile and putting it into a mould fixed on the surface of the anvil, or
the mould may be attached to the face of the hammer, which anvil is to
have a chamber in which is to be contained a mandril which is raised up
through the anvil and the annular pile. We then hammer on the pile by
means of an annular or plain hammer face until we have sufficiently con-
solidated it; we then, by means of a piece introduced between the hammer
face and the end of the mandril, drive the mandril into the recess in the anvil,
and secure it there; the hammered annular pile being thus free from the
mandril can be removed from the external mould with facility.
Another of our improvements relates to the manufacture of cast steel tyres,
and consists in casting a ring. of greater width than the finished tyre, and in
putting this ring into a mould and hammering it with a powerful hammer to
reduce its width so as to become suitable for rolling into a finished tyre hoop
and to materially consolidate it. We are aware that it is not new to make
steel tyres by casting rings and rolling them out to the finished tyre hoop, but
the peculiarity of our Invention consists in casting them of a greater width
and consolidating them by hammering as above described.

page_text: On Sheet VI. Figure 35 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 36 a plan
shewing our improved mode of hammering an annular pile to make a tyre.
a is the pile as it comes from the furnace, and a is the bloom into which it
is to be consolidated by the action of the hammer; b is the hammer face
attached to b¹. the hammer head of a steam hammer: c is the mould to contain
the annular pile; is the anvil made hollow, and having within it a mandril d'.
which is upheld by two rods ², & passing up through the interior of the
anvil, and supported at their lower ends by the cross bar which extends
underneath the anvil, and is in its turn supported by being attached to two
links d, d', which are connected to two levers d. d. carrying two counter-
weights . ; there is a cross bar d. which by locking over the catch d
holds up the weights when it is required to prevent the mandril from rising..
In the cavity in the anvil is also contained an hydraulic press c', which, by the
rame, lifts the two two-armed crossheads c, c, which are each made in halves
for the purpose of insertion, and when together are so placed the one on the
other as to form a cross, and these by the rods c', c', c', c', passing through
holes in the anvil lift, when required, the mould c. e is a lever carried on a
joint at el capable of vibrating both sideways and up and down, and carrying
at its short end a piece of iron e, which when the lever is swung round, will
be just over the the middle of the mandril; the piece e is held in the eye of
the short end of e by friction, but can be readily driven through it. Assume
the mould to be down and the mandril up, an annular pile is put in and the
hammer is allowed to operate until this pile is reduced in depth and swelled
out in thickness so as to fill the space between the mould and the mandril.
The lever e is then brought round so as to place the piece e over the centre
of the mandril: this is slowly beaten by the hammer so as to depress the
mandril into the anvil. locking the weights up by the bar d resting on the
catch d, and then the ram of the hydraulic press c¹ is forced upwards, taking
up the mould c until it is above the annular bloom, which then being free
from the mandril is readily removed sideways under the mould, the rods c, c',
being set far enough apart to admit of this. Figure 37 shews a hammer
face made with the mould on it..
When a flat-faced hammer is used in the arrangement shown at Figures 35
and 36, the mandril d¹ should be lowered before each blow about the amount
the pile will be decreased in depth by such blow; to effect this an hydraulic
press may be employed to lift up the outer ends of the levers d³, d³, and
counterweights do, dº. In the event of the mandril not having been withdrawn
quite enough the only effect would be that the weights do, do, would be raised
some little distance by the blow, and would fall again as the hammer retired.

page_text: It is not necessary to show the mode of operating on the cast-steel rings
which are to be consolidated by hammering, as it is precisely similar to
the process just described for hammering the annular piles.
The kind of rolling machinery that we prefer to use for rolling out the
cylinders that are afterwards to be cut to be made into bars, or plates, or
rails, or for rolling out the vessels. cylinders, boilers and parts of boilers.
or for rolling tyres, is described further on under the head of our improved
rolling machinery.
Other of our improvements in the manufacture of rails and tyres consist
in taking a rail that is reduced by wear bending it into a circle and joining
the ends together if necessary by welding, then heating the ring thus made
and rolling it between rollers bearing on the outside of it so as to diminish
the diameter of the hoop and increase its section when the ring is to be cut
at the part where it has been welded and opened out into a rail of the full
section of a new rail, but shorter than the original. This rail may be
opened out by hand or by passing through rollers, or it may have its
section regulated by being so passed through rollers. Worn tyre hoops
may be treated in a similar way by heating and rolling so as to make them
into smaller and thicker hoops, and thus render them fit to be used on
smaller wheels than those on which they have first been employed.
On Sheet VI. Figure 38 shews in plan, and Figure 39 in sectional
elevation, a machine for thickening worn rails or tyre hoops as above-mentioned.
a represents a worn rail which has been bent into a hoop by any of the
ordinary bending machines, and by preference has been welded at the joint,
care having been taken to make a mark on each side of the weld; b, b, b, b, b,
are rollers grooved to section of the rail and ranged outside of it; they are
carried in bearings b', b', capable of movement towards or from the centre
of the hoop, and these bearings work in guides 2, 3, and are moved by the
screws b³, b, &c. which are driven by bevil wheels b', which gear into other
wheels b, carried on shafts b by which the whole of the screws b³ are driven
simultaneously. On one of these shafts is a hand wheel to give motion to
it, or motion may be given by power. The rolls b, b, &c. are driven through
the wobbler shafts and boxes c, c, c, from the spur wheels c¹, c', c', &c. which
derive their motion from the central spur wheel cinto which alone they
gear, and which is carried on the axis c which supports the bevel wheel c',
driven by the pinion on the shaft cf which is made to revolve from any
convenient source of power. The lower part of the guides 62, 63, are united
at the centre of the machine, and form a framing and a bed plate for the hoop
to lie on. The rollers b, b, &c. being drawn away a sufficient distance from

page_text: the centre the heated hoop a is placed in the machine, and the rollers being
then set revolving are moved by the screws towards the centre of the
machine until they press against the outside of the hoop a, and the pressure
and rolling are continued until the hoop is decreased in diameter and increased
in thickness to the desired extent. It is then to be removed from the machine
by withdrawing the rollers b, b, and cul open, say by a circular saw. at the
part where it had been welded. and is to be opened out into a straight bar
by such a machine as that shewn at Figure 9. This bar may then if it be
desired be rolled through a pair of ordinary rolls to give the exact form
required. When this is done it will be necessary to roll the hoop until the
section is so much increased as to have a greater weight per yard than is
desired for the finished rail: this will afford iron for the ordinary rolls to act
on. The treatment of worn type hoops will be so similar that no description
is required, except to say that it will be desirable prior to rolling to plug up
any holes that may have been made in the hoop for the bolts or rivets which
secure it to the wheel.
Another of our improvements consists in taking worn rails and in heating
them and laying them in a guide so as to prevent their escaping sideways, and
then forcing them against a stop, which, by the action of a weight or by
hydraulic pressure, or by the pace at which the stop is suffered to recede, being
controlled by the action of machinery, shall offer such resistance to the progres of
the rail that it shall become larger in section or upset" as the technical phrase
is. In some one of the modes above-mentioned the bar will become of the
required increased section, or even somewhat. larger, when it may be reduced
and regulated by passing through a pair of ordinary rolls. In this manner
a worn rail may be made of full section and fit for service again although
reduced in length.
On Sheet VII. is shown at Figure 40 an elevation, at Figure 41 a transverse
section, and at Figure 42 a detail of a portion omitted in Figure 40, a machine
a is the rail of the worn
for the purpose of thickening or upsetting worn rails.
size, and a is the rail after it is upset; b is a box consisting of an upper and
a lower part, and having a groove through it of the proper. form to nip a worn
rail when pressure is applied to bring the two parts of the box together. This
c is
box is capable of sliding backwards and forwards on the bed plate 2.
a box nearly similar to b, except that the groove in it is one to nip the enlarged
rail a, and that its lower part is fixed to the bed plate ; d, d, are two
hydraulic cylinders fixed on, and containing pistons d¹, d', with large piston
rods d, d, so that one side of the piston is operated on only to the extent of
a small annular area; this is for the return stroke; water pressure is kept on

page_text: this annular area always when the machine is at work by means of the
pipes. An inlet valve dis provided to let water under pressure into the
hydraulic cylinder to press on the full area of the piston, and an outlet
valve d to allow the waste water to escape from the same place; passages
branch from these valves to the two cylinders d, so that the pressure is applied
to and removed from them both simultaneously; d is the inlet pipe, and d
the outlet pipe, connected respectively to the chambers of the valves d', d³.
These valves are worked by a double-ended lever d fixed to an axis, and on
the same axis is fastened the sector P. Loose on the same axis is a logger-
head lever. 1, which works the sector a one way or the other by bearing
against the stops d", de alternately; is a rod supported in guides, and
having a slot in it, which operates on the loggerhead lever; this rod has
also another slot in it, in which is the top of the upright d, which is attached
to and moves with the head dx of the piston rod 2. Attached to the lower
part of the sliding box bare straps b. b, which run up alongside the top part
of the box, and carry two excentric rollers b. 62, which extend across the top
of the box, and by their eccentricity press it down when acted on through the
levers bb, by the weight b attached to them by the links b, b. The lever b
is attached to the spindle of one of these eccentric rollers be, and a connection
is made between the levers b³, 13, by means of the rod b, a slight clearance
being allowed in the hole in the rod to ensure that each of the eccentric rollers
shall bear effectually without being interfered with by the other. The box c
has an arrangement of straps and levers identical with those described for b.
except that the lever c is horizontal when in its medium position instead of
vertical, which is the position taken by in its medium position. The
straps c, c, also instead of being merely attached to the lower part of the
box c, go through into the bed plater, and thereby secure the box c to that
plate. On the upper part of the box is a projection b8, and on the lower
part is a projection b; these are within the cavity of the head of the piston
rod . There is contained within this head also a block 10, to be pressed on
by the head, and to press on the blocks b8, bo. The head is prolonged
into a bar de, shown broken off in Figure 40, but given in the detail view,
Figure 42. This bar d is guided by the guide d; it has in it a slot dis
which operates on the pin in the end of the lever be. It also carries a tappet c
which is on a joint at c, and supported by a pin at clo, so that it can move
upwards, but not downwards. This tappet c works, in the manner to be
described, the pin in the end of the lever c6. Assume the box c to be nipping
within it a portion of an upset rail, or a mere piece of iron of a form to suit
the groove, to act at the commencement as an abutment, the worn rail q

page_text: previously heated is placed through the box b, which is then at the extreme
right-hand end of its travel, and water being allowed to flow in under pressure
finds the inlet valve d' open, and the outlet closed, and thereby acts on
the two pistons d'. d. and drives them towards the left hand, overcoming
the pressure in the annular area on the other side of the piston; the head d**
in its movement towards the left does not bear immediately on the block 10,
on account of the clearance, but directly it moves it allows the pin in the
lever b to go towards the left hand, and thereby suffers the weight d to act on
the excentric rollers, and press down the top of the box, and nips the rail.
By the time this is done is pressed against, and this by its rounded end
presses against b and b", and thereby drives the box band the rail forward;
owing to the upper end of 60 being near than the lower end is to the point
where presses on 6, the tendency will be to press the top part of the box b
in advance of the bottom part, and thereby still further tighten the nip. As
the rail a finds the cavity in the box e blocked up, it cannot enter, and it is,
therefore, compelled to be upset in the space between the boxes b and c; when
this has taken place to the extent designed, the bar by means of the
tappet coming under the pin in craises it, and thereby lifts the weight c',
and slackens the nip of e as soon as this has taken place, the further motion
of biowards the left puts into the box c the upset portion of a; when this
has all entered, the tappet e has gone so far towards the left hand, that
the pin in the end of e" has been passed by it; as soon as this happens the
weight falls and the box ciakes a fresh nip. At the same time the
upright has by the rod d brought the loggerhead over the centre, and
at this moment it falls, and by striking against the projection d on the
sector reverses the valve d', d, so as to close the inlet and open the outlet.
The constant pressure on the annular area now operates to draw towards
the right hand, the first motion of which does not move the box b, on account
of the clearance in but by the slot 1 operates on the pin in the end of
the lever b", and thereby lifts the weight b', and releases the nip of the box b,
which then moves towards the right over the rail a until the rod d throws
the loggerhead in the reverse position, and thereby repeats the operation. Ou
the return of 6 to the right hand the pin in the end of the lever c" goes
under the tappet c, which rises to let it pass.
boxes b and c may be adopted, such as hydraulic pressure, and cranks, or excen-
trics, or screws may be used to give the reciprocating motion to the box b.
Other modes of locking the
Another of our improvements applicable to the manufacture of wrought iron.
or puddled steel generally consists in hammering or squeezing the puddle ball
while in a mould: Heretofore, the practice has been to expose the puddle ball

page_text: to the action of the hammer or squeezer without confining it sideways, and
the result has been that the puddle ball cannot be struck or squeezed with full
force while at the hottest, because it will thereby become broken, and it has
therefore been necessary to strike the ball gently until it became somewhat
consolidated. Now by our Invention of supporting the ball by mould we
are enabled to exercise much more force on it, even when it is quite fresh from
the furnace, and are thus enabled to consolidate the ball better. and to cleanse
the interior of it from cinder, which comes to the outside between the ball and
the mould, and it is cleared off from the surface of the iron at the next heating.
This, our improvement, is also applicable to the cases when two or more
puddle balls are joined together, which process is technically known as
"doubling." In some cases we do not conduct the whole process while the
ball is in the mould, as, for instance, we occasionally hammer it before putting
it in the mould, then hammer, and finish it in the mould. In other cases we
hammer it, then put it in the mould, and then withdraw it to finish. In other
cases we put it into the mould to begin with, and then, after it has received
such number of blows there as the workmen sees are necessary, we remove
it and finish it out of the mould.
On Sheet VIII. is shewn, at Figure 43, a sectional elevation; and at
Figure 44 a plan of an apparatus for hammering puddle balls in moulds
a, the puddle ball, represented by a dotted circle, is placed in the mould b,
which is carried on an anvil : it is beaten by the hammer face e, attached
to the hammer head c', and is consolidated in the mould. Its removal is
effected as follows: The mould b is attached to four rods b', b', b', b', which
pass through holes in the anvil. and which can be raised by drawing the ends
of the bell cranks b. 3. towards the right-hand by the rod b; this rod is
actuated by the levers b', b, carried on a shaft b; has a bowl at its end,
which is raised by the tappet whenever the piston rod c¹ is moved towards the
right hand; this rod is attached to the piston contained in the cylinder c³,
and may be made to move towards the right or left hand by admitting steam
or water under pressure to either end required; the valves for doing this may
be of any ordinary construction, and they and the handle for working them
are omitted from the Drawing. When the piston c is moved to the right hand
the mould is raised to a height more than sufficient to get out the consoli-
dated puddle ball from below it. The hammer face c having been first held
down so as to prevent the iron rising with the mould, and then raised to leave
the iron at liberty. After the incline c has lifted the mould b to the height
above mentioned, the further passage of the piston c2 has no continued effect
upon it, as the horizontal part of the rod c¹ then travels under the bowl; as

page_text: soon as the mould b is raised the tappet c' comes against the lower end of the
lever c, and thereby drives the slide c" across the face of the anvil, which
forces away the consolidated puddle ball, and at the same time scrapes off the
face of the anvil the slag, while the piece c attached to c scrapes the under
side of the mould b.. The piston being now driven towards the left hand
the apparatus will be put into a fit position to receive another puddle ball.
Figure 45 shews the mould b formed in one with the hammer face, while
the projecting part is on the anvil d. By this arrangement the puddle ball
will be hammered in a mould, and the apparatus for working the slide c and
rods b' will be dispensed with. The iron when consolidated may be driven
out of the mould, if required, by introducing bars into the holes g. g, but this
will hardly be necessary if the mould be made taper at its upper part.
Another of our improvements applicable to the manufacture of all such bars
of wrought iron and of steel as are made from hammered blooms consists in
enclosing the bloom in a mould and hammering on it when in that mould,
and this we prefer to do with a hammer face as large as the bloom, so that
the whole surface may be struck at once. The practice heretofore pursued
has been to hammer the blooms without lateral support, from want of which
the various bars of which they are composed occasionally shift, and the practice
has also been to operate with the hammer on only a small portion of the
bloom at a time, which has produced this bad result, that while it is closed the
part of the bloom on which the hammer first began to act it caused the other
portion to open, and thus admitted the air to the surface of the bars com-
posing the pile, and formed a cinder on them which prevented those surfaces
adhering with certainty.
Figure 46, on Sheet VIII., shows a longitudinal section; Figure 47, an
end view, partly in section; and Figure 48, a plan of an apparatus, for ham-
mering piles in moulds, so as to form hammered blooms. a is the pile inclosed
in the mould b, which is carried on the anvil c, and is capable of being raised
by the rods b', b, b. b', which are actuated by the levers b, b, which receive
motion from the shaft 3, 3, on which they are fixed, which shafts are driven
by the levers 'fast upon their ends, which are actuated by the rod b
attached to the piston in the cylinder b, which, as described in reference to
Figures 43 and 44, is a double-acting cylinder, the piston in which may be actu-
ated either by steam or water; d is the hammer face attached to d', the hammer
head. When it is desired to introduce a pile, the piston b is moved towards
the left hand which raises the mould sufficiently above the anvil c to enable
the pile to be got in below the mould. This is with the object of preventing
any of the bars which compose it shifting, which they might do if the pile

page_text: were introduced from the top of the mould. When the pile is on its seat the
piston b is sent towards the right-hand, thereby lowering the mould b, so as
to embrace the pile; it is then hammered on by the hammer face d, and when
it is consolidated into a bloom the mould is again raised, and the bloom
withdrawn from below it. Figure 49 shews a longitudinal section; and
Figure 50 a transverse ditto of another mode of hammering piles in moulds
by attaching the mould to the hammer face. a is the pile; b is the hammer face
and mould in one; and c is the anvil; the finished bloom a may be driven out
of the mould, should it be required. by introducing bars through the holes g, g
but this will hardly be necessary if the mould b be made taper.
Another of our improvements consists in making a railway axle (by which
we mean axles of the class that are ordinarily used under the carriages and
waggons on railways,) from a pile of the whole length or nearly of the whole
length of the axle. This pile we compose of numerous bars of a suitable
quality, and made by stamping. Folling, or hammering into such forms that
the whole of the bars, when laid on each other, will present somewhat of the
outline of the finished axle. This pile we then lay in a mould having the shape
of the lower half of the finished axle, and then we beat on it with another half
mould, and thus weld the pile together. Occasionally, this operation will leave
a "fin" or "thin" at the sides of the axle, which we remove by any of the
ordinary means; and if it be desired to give the axle a good face we finish it
by rolling it between rollers running parallel to the line of the axle, and so
shaped as to have the space between them the shape of the finished axle, or
swage them in the usual manner. In some instances we make the tools of
such a shape that the axle formed by them, although it has the outline of an
axle, is larger in diameter and shorter than the required finished size; these
axles are then drawn out in swage tools.
-
On Sheet VIII is shewn, at Figure 51, in longitudinal section, and
Figure 52, in transverse ditto, a railway axle, completed by hammering in a
pair of top and bottom tools of the full length of the axle. is the axle; b is
the top tool attached to b, the hammer head and guided sideways and end-
ways by guides be, b; c is the bottom tool or anvil.
Figures 53, 54, and 55, on Sheet Vill, shew an elevation, a plan, and
an end view of one mode of making a pile to be placed in the tools above
described to form an axle. This pile is composed of a number of bars of an
uniform thickness, but. formed to such varying widths as will make such a
sectional area of metal in any part of the length of the axles as is required to
form the axle at that part. Figure 56 shews an elevation of a pile composed
principally of bars of an uniform thickness; and where each bar is of an

page_text: uniform width from end to end the extra metal required in the large parts of
the axle being obtained by the insertion of short pieces. It is obvious that there
are many other modes of forming the piles which may be employed almost
indifferently so long as care is taken to have the piles sufficiently narrow to go
into the mould and to have as much sectional area at any part of its length as
is requisite to make the size of the axle at that place.
Figure 57 on Sheet VIII* shews a "use" for an axle; it is made in the
same way as the axle above described. but considerably shorter than the length
of an axle, being made proportionately larger in diameter.
This "use" is to
When an axle is
be drawn out to the finished dimensions by swage tools.
made, as described, by hammering it in dies of the full size there may pro-
bably be left upon it "thins" or "fins" of metal at the junction of the tools.
These may be dressed off with a chisel. and then to give the axle a good finish
and to make it perfectly straight and round it may be completed in a rolling
machine of the following description.
Figure 58 and Figure 59 on Sheet VIII shew, the one a side elevation
partly in section, the other an end elevation, of the rolling machine above
referred to. It is composed of three rolls; b is the top roll, and b¹, b¹, the
bottom rolls. They are driven through wobbling shafts and boxes b2, 3. b, from
shafts b. b. b, carrying pinions b, b, b, and supported in a pinion housing 68,
The three pinions ba, b, b, are caused to revolve in one direction by being driven
from the internal cog-wheel b, fixed on the shaft, which derives its motion
from any convenient source of power. The upper roller b is counterbalanced
by the weight c.acting through the levers c. c, and rods c², c². It will be
seen that the rolls are made of such a form that when the three are in the
position shewn they could contain within them a railway axle, and that this
axle would be touched throughout its length by each of the three rollers.
The arrangement for screwing down the upper roller b, and for allowing it to
rise, is similar to that already described in reference to the rolls Figures 27
and 28, need not be repeated here. When it is desired to introduce an axle
the top roll is raised, the axle is put in, and lies upon the two lower rollers,
and the top roller is then brought down, and pressure being applied, while the
rolls are revolved the axle is caused to rotate on its own centre until it has
become perfectly round and true, and has received likewise a good finish.
Another of our improvements consists in making the crank axles of loco-
motives or other cranked axles, whether having one or more throws, by
forming the pile of bars bent or formed into the shape, or approximately
into the shape, of the crank axle. These bars we place in a part mould the

page_text: size of the intended forging, and then we beat on them with another part
mould, and thus unite the various bars into the form of an axle.
On Sheet. IX. is shown at Figure 60 one mode of forming a pile for making
a two-throw crank shaft, say for a locomotive. This pile, after being pro-
perly heated, is to be placed in a part mould.
At Figure 61, on Sheet IX, is shown in section through one of the throws
such a mould. a is the crank; b is the bottom mould and c is the hammer
face or top mould attached to c¹ the hammer head, and guided by guide rods
c², c³, c², c³. It is evident that with throws, either at other angles or more
numerous than those shown, the moulds could be formed to act upon them.
Or it may be desired to hammer the pile with the throws all in one plane, and
then to twist the axle between the throws so as to get them to any desired
angle. This may he convenient when the pile is composed of flat bars formed
to the shape or approximately so of the intended axle.
Another of our improvements consists in the manufacture of those cranks,
which are not forged in one with the shaft, which we effect by cutting out or
otherwise forming slabs to the size or nearly so of the finished forging, which
slabs or bars we place on each other, and, by preference, confine them in a
mould, and then beat on them with a hammer of sufficient force, and having
a face the full size, or nearly so, of the crank, and thus unite the various slabs
into the form of a crank.
On Sheet IX. Figures 62 and 63 show a plan and elevation of a pile to be
formed into a crank; after being heated this pile is to be placed in a part
mould, and beaten on by another. Figure 64, on Sheet IX., shows a longi-
tudinal section, and Figure 65, a transverse ditto of a mould to make a crank.
a is the cavity for the crank; is the bottom part of the mould; c, the
top ditto attached to the hammer face c', and guided by the guide rods
c³, c², c³, c²
Rails, tyres, and other bars being narrow, may be rolled when in the hoop
by means of rolls overhanging their bearings, such as have heretofore been
used for similar purposes. But to roll cylinders and other matters requiring
rolls of considerable length, and which could not therefore be used safely when
overhanging their bearings, we prefer to employ the following, which are our
improved rolls, and which are thus constructed. That one of the two rolls
which is exterior to the cylinder to be rolled we make with a bearing at each
end, one bearing being carried in a housing, and the other in a fixed bearing.
this latter being at that end of the roll from which the work is to be entered.
The roll which is internal to the work to be rolled we make with a bearing at

page_text: one end carried in the housing, and with a prolongation beyond the bearing
extending to another frame somewhat in the nature of a housing, but without
any means for putting pressure on the rolls, its object being to guide the
bearing of the outer end of the prolongation of the roll sideways, and to
receive balancing gear. At the end of this roll opposite the prolongation we
have a neck working in a bearing capable of being readily removed when it is
required to put on or take off the work to be rolled, but which, when the
rolls are in action, we attach by suitable links to screws or hydraulic presses
by which we regulate the pressure put on the work to be rolled. Similar
means are applied to that hearing of this roll which is carried in the housing.
The rolls are driven in the usual manner by coupling spindles from a pair
of pinions, the spindles being connected to the end of the lower roll at the
housing side and to the prolongation of the upper roll.
By this improvement. although the rolls are pressed together at both ends,
we nevertheless have no housing to remove at the end where the work to be
rolled is entered, but merely a bearing, and thus we are enabled to get the
work in and out with great facility. The moveable roll we have described as
being the one within the cylinder to be rolled, but this roll may be the fixed
one, and the roll exterior to the cylinder may be the one that is moved. The
moveable roll we balance so that it may be supported when the work is being
introduced or removed.
Another of our improvements consists in combining wedges and screws
or levers with hydraulic presses to effect the putting of the pressure on the
work to be rolled, so that by the withdrawal of the wedge or screw, the
presses are allowed to act: by this incans we insure the presses acting
exactly to the extent required.
Although, as we have before stated, rails. tyres, and other narrow bars may
be rolled in the overhanging rolls, we nevertheless prefer to use such rolls as
those above-mentioned, and to have in them several grooves, so that the ring
that is being rolled may, by the separation of the rolls, be moved from one
groove to another, and thus the benefit arising from passing it through
grooves of varying sections may be obtained. In addition to the rolls which
nip the cylinder to be rolled. other rolls, two or more, should be used in
order to steady it; these rolls should be mounted in carriages capable of
movement to suit the diameter of the matter being rolled.
Figure 66. Figure 67, and Figure 68, on Sheet X., shew respectively an
elevation partly in section, an end view partly in section, and a view of the
end carriage of our improved rolling machine. This machine is shewn with
rolls in it adapted for rolling hoops of the section of a double Ṭ-rail, to be

page_text: afterwards cut open, and made into a straight bar in the manner already
explained. a is the upper roller, which has a prolongation at its right hand
end; a is the lower roller without such prolongation; b is a headstock which
carries the right hand end of the lower roller a', and the intermediate bearing
of the upper roller a. The bearing of a is in a block b', which can be raised
or lowered by the rods
in a manner to be hereafter explained. The bearing
at the end of the prolongation of a is carried in a block c. which is guided in
a frame d, and can be raised and lowered in it by means of the rod in a
manner to be hereafter explained. The left hand end of the roller a' is carried
in a fixed bearing e; the left hand end of the upper roller a is kept down by a
block e', which is pressed on by a screw c working in a hinged frame e³,
which frame can be raised or lowered in a manner to be hereafter explained;
I, I, are a pair of coupling pinions carried in a pair of pinion housings which
are not shewn these, by means of wobblers and shafts f'. drive through its
prolongation the upper roller a, and through other wobblers and shafts f
drive the lower roller a'.
The manner in which the upper roller is raised or lowered is as follows:-
bis an hydraulic press, fixed under the housing b, with its open end down-
wards; out of this is forced the ram b, which by a crosshead bi takes hold of
the rods b, which are attached to the block b'. The crosshead b³, gives
motion both on the right hand and on the left to two double ended levers.
Those on the right c³, by means of links and other double ended levers ct.
work the rods c¹, those on the left e' by means of links e and other double-
ended levers e" work the lower part of the jointed frame e. By this arrange-
ment. it will be seen that the three bearings e', b', and c of the upper roller a
will always be kept level. The double-ended levers c. c, e, and e", are carried
on rocking standards to admit of their vibration, and their ends are made to
act in straight lines on the rods c', e, by radius rods not shewn. Below the
crosshead b there is formed another ram be, which is considerably smaller
than the one b, and is in a line with it. This ram works in an hydraulic
press b; it will thus be seen that while the press will bring downwards all
ihree bearings of the roll a simultaneously, the press 7 would send them all
upwards. The housings and pinion housings are carried on a bed plate x.
Guide rollers g, g, are carried in brackets g', g', which are supported on the
moveable bearers g, g². There are as many of these guide rollers on each
side of the machine as there are grooves in the rolls, and the shape of the
guide rollers is such as to correspond with the groove in the rolls to which
they are opposite. The bearers g. 9, work in slides at their ends formed in
brackets g³, g, two of which are cast on the housing b, while the other two,

page_text: which are at the opposite ends of the bearers g. 2, are independent brackets
supported on the bed plate r. At each end of the bearers g², g. there is a 'nut.
which is worked by the screws g g g g' by which means the rollers g may
be made to approach 10 or recede from the centre of the machine. And in
order that the rollers g on the right hand side of the machine may move
simultaneously and equally with those on the left, the screws 9' 9' 9' ', are
by means of the bevel wheels g, g. &c., the vertical shafts . " &c., the
wheels g, g, &c., the two longitudinal shafts . g. and the cross shaft g",
connected together. This system of shafts may be worked either by a hand
wheel, such as go, placed upon any one of them, or by power being applied.
The housing b and the standard d carry uprights, in which are guide rollers
h, h, h, h, through which slides a bar . having at the left hand a forked
end to embrace and steady the top of the hoop while being rolled. This bar h¹
is held so as to suit any one of the grooves in the rolls a, a, by a pin h²
worked by a lever passing into any one of the holes made in the bar to
receive it. The outer end of the fork is made with a swivel, so that it can
be removed sideways, but the swivel is constructed to yield in one direction
only, and the action of the hoop against it while rolling tends to keep the
swivel from moving. Above the machine two rails . i, are carried on supports
which are not shown, and on these runs a pair of cross bars i having wheels
at their ends to bear on the rails, and on these cross bars travel on wheels
These carriages
two hanging carriages ; only one of these is shewn.
have attached to them by chains at their lower ends two porters by
which the hoop that is being rolled can be moved when required.
Assume that the machine is about to receive a hoop. The hydraulic press bi
The
will have water admitted into it, and thereby will raise the upper roll a.
screw will then be slacked sufficiently to admit. of the hinged frame e being
folded down horizontally. The bar will be brought forward so as to have
its fork over the groove selected to receive the hoop, say that one nearest to
the hinged carriage e". The guide rollers g. g. will have been screwed towards
the centre of the rolls to about such a position as will suit the diameter of the
hoop that is to be put on. The hoop will then be put between the rolls at
this first groove.
The hinged carriage e will be brought upright, and the
screw e will be tightened. The handle that works the inlet and outlet valves
of the hydraulic presses h³, b. will then be moved, and the pressure will be
This will bring the
released from the press and exerted in the press ".
top roll a down to its work, and by the revolution and pressure of the rolls a, a',
The
the hoop will be diminished in thickness and increased in diameter.
attendant will work the guide rollers g. g, to suit the increasing size of the

page_text: hoop. As soon as the hoop has received the amount of thinning determined
ou in this first groove the valves of the presses are reversed. the roller arises,
and the attendant, by means of the porters lifts the hoops from this groove in
the next, at the same time shifting the bar h. The valve is again reversed,
the rolls brought together, and the rolling repeated, and so until the whole
series of holes has been passed through, and the finished hoop obtained, when
it may either be removed from the rolls as a hoop. or cut open in its place as
already explained in this Specification. The hinged frame e is to have a lever
attached to it for moving it backwards and forwards, and to diminish the
labor the weight of it should be counterbalanced. To avoid crowding the
Drawing these details are not shewn. The valves of the hydraulic presses
and the handle for working them are not shewn, they being of the ordinary
construction, by which while pressure is exerted in one press the waste water
is allowed to escape from the other. Although these two presses are shewn,
it is manifest that one press to give the pressure would be sufficient, while the
raising of the roller might be done by counterbalance weights in the ordinary
way. It is also manifest that the smaller press may always be open to the
pressure, in which case the only valves required will be those for the larger
press, which must be made large enough to overcome the pressure of the
small press, as well as to force together the rollers.
We prefer to have separate sources of supply of the water under pressure
viz. from an "accumulator," loaded to a comparatively small pressure which
we employ to move the rolls rapidly to and from their work, and from a
more heavily loaded accumulator or direct from the pumps for the heavy
pressure used while rolling. In lieu of the one hydraulic press to bring
down the roller a, and the system of levers employed to insure the roll a
going up and coming down equally at each end, two hydraulic presses
independent of each other may be used for the two ends, and we ensure
their acting in the manner required by causing them to press upon screws
or wedges which we can withdraw as we may require, and thereby permit
the action of these presses and control it so as to be uniform.
Figure 69 on Sheet X shews an arrangement of this kind. o is the ram,
p the hydraulic press assumed to be attached to the upper part of a headstock
9. the lower end of o is forked, and one half of the fork comes on each side
of the bar which forms a portion of the headstock. On each side of the
bar r and pressed on by the lower end of o is a bar s which is to give pressure
to the roll below, but although full pressure is erected on the ram o it can
only drive down the bar, s at such pace as is permitted by the withdrawal
of the wedges t, t', which hold up the ram o. In this way, however dissimilar

page_text: may be the pressure required at the two ends of a roll, no unequal motion
can take place because the hydraulic press p will be restrained in its action
by the wedges 1. 1, which are to be withdrawn as required by the screw
and handle v.
It is obvious that the same control may be exerted by the direct action of
screws or by a combination of a lever under the ram o. which lever should
be regulated by a screw or wedge.
When forging large masses in moulds in order to get the fullest effect
from the blows in such case we employ two hammers. one at each end of
the mould operating simultaneously, and in opposite directions. and when
making hollow forgings we use a mandril capable of being moved through
one or both of these hammer faces.
On Sheet XI. Figure 70 shews a longitudinal section. and Figure 71 a
transverse section of a double-acting hammer constructed to strike both ends
of an annular pile. a is the foundation plaie, on which slide two hammer heads
b. b¹. These are made to fake hammer faces be, b, which are formed with
chambers in them to act as moulds for the pile: c is the pile, it is placed upon
two mandrils c. c. which pass through the hammers and hammer faces, and
hutt against each other in the middle where they are steadied by a projection
on centering into a recess in c. and at their outer ends these mandrils
are carried in brackets attached to the bed plate c is close ended c³
is open but can be closed when required by a shifting stop e, which is attached
to a lever (not shewn) and can thereby be brought down behind the mandril
cor removed from it as may be desired. The hammer heads b. b. have on
their under side projections . bx, which are laid hold of by the piston rods
India-rubber washers are employed to give a
d, d, of a steam cylinder d³.
certain amount of elasticity in both directions between the rods d. d', and the
projections b. x. In the cylinder are two pistons and d¹, by
the slide valves . d. on the rod d steam can be admitted either at the
middle of the cylinder, to separate the pistons to the right and left at which
time the end passages are open to the exhaust, or it can be admitted to the
ends to bring the two pisions together. at which time the centre passage is
open to the exhaust. In this way the two hammer faces may be made to re-
cede from or approach to each other, and when they approach they will operate
on the two ends of the annular pile, upon the mandrils c', c. The movement.
of the rod d to introduce steam between the pistons so as to separate the
hammers is effected by a hand lever (which is not shown) worked by the
altendant and by the same lever: it is intended that in ordinary work the
steam should be admitted in the other direction to bring the hammers towards

page_text: each other, but in the event of the attendant not having shifted the handle
in time safety levers do, do, are provided to be operated on by either of
the projections b. b, so that some time either before the hammer reached
the termination of its outward stroke the slides . ', would be shifted
and the steam admitted at the outer ends of the pistons. and thus stop
their further motion.
When the annular pile has been hammered into a bloom the stop c5 is
moved from behind the mandril c', and the hammer is brought slowly
towards the centre until the cotter hole comes over the cotter hole c in the
mandril c¹ and then a cotier is introduced, steam being admitted gently
between the pistons, the hammer retires taking with it the mandril c¹. In
the passages between the slide and the ends of the cylinders are two cocks e, c¹.
At this time the cock e is to be shut, and the rod is to be moved so as to
admit steam at the ends of the cylinder, but this will only act upon the
piston because the cock e being shut, it cannot act upon piston d*.
By this arrangement the hammer head b' may be brought towards the other
hammer head b, and a piece of iron being introduced between the hammer
face and the bloom will drive the latter off the mandril, when another pile
can be laid on, and the cock e being opened steam can be admitted to the
ends of the cylinder, and thereby the two mandrils be brought together, and
the piece be restored to keep the mandril in its place, and the cotter
being removed from the cotter hole b, the hammers can be set to work to heat
upon the pile.
The cock e is not merely useful for the purposes before
described, but it and the other cock e serve to regulate the pace of the ham-
mers by throttling either the admission of steam when they are going towards
each other or the exhaust. when they are separating from each other. By this
means if from extra friction in one hammer it should not keep exact time with
the other. the motions of the quicker one may be retarded until they suit
that of the slower. Or, in lieu of this method of making the actions of the
hammers harmonize, they may each be connected to the vertical arm of a bell-
crank lever, the horizontal arm of which should by means of links hoth
lay hold of one pin in a vertically sliding block. This arrangement would
compel the two hammer heads to move with perfect uniformity. India-rubber
washers should be introduced at the junction of the levers with the hammers
in order to lessen the vibration.
.
Instead of the arrangement. shewn. the steam cylinders may be made to
surround the mandrils, the hammer heads being carried on the piston rods.
which should be "trunks" coming out of both ends of the cylinders, and thus
admit of the mandrils passing through them. Or the mandrils may have the

page_text: pistons on them. the hammer heads being attached to the cylinders, which
should move over the mandrils.
The steam for working the cylinders and exhaust from them. would pass
through the mandrils, one of which should have a couple of sliding pipes. one
for the steam and the other for the exhaust at its outer end. When a finished
bloom is to be removed, the hammers and cylinders are to be separated to the
extent of their travel, and then the cylinder in which is the mandril that has
the sliding pipes is to be locked in its place by a locking bolt, and the locking
bolt which had secured the mandril in its place is to be removed. Steam is
now to be admitted into this one cylinder only, and the mandril is thereby to
be driven to a sufficient distance to enable the bloom to be taken off and
another one inserted. The action of the steam is then to be reversed in this
cylinder. which will drive the mandril back again to its place. when its locking
bolt is to be reinserted, and the locking bolt of the cylinder withdrawn, and
the hammer put to work again. Although annullar bloom only have been.
described in connection with these double hammers, it is manifest that they can
be used for the purpose of hammering rectangular or other ordinary blooms.
We wish it to be understood, although it may not be expressly mentioned
in the various matters treated of in this Specification, that the iron or steel is
to be operated on at such heats as are usually employed in hammering and
rolling processes, and that therefore the work is to be removed from any of
the apparatuses described, and is to be reheated as often as a competent work-
man finds it to be necessary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Joseph Bramwell, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
F. J. BRAMWELL. (L.s.)