IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL TUBES FOR GUN BARRELS OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Rickett, of No. 16, Upper Barnsbury
Street, Islington, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL TUBES FOR GUN BARRELS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Rickett at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th December 1865:
I, THOMAS RICKETT, of No. 16, Upper Barnsbury Street, Islington.
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL TUBES FOR
GUN BARRELS AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN." to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
metal tubes for gun barrels and other purposes, and in machinery or
apparatus employed therein. For this purpose I employ a mandril fixed
at. one end, and on the other end of which is a bulb or enlargement, as is
now well understood; the tube is rolled over this mandril by means of
four or it may be other number of rollers grooved on their peripheries
in such manner that the opening formed by their junction shall produce

page_text: the desired external form of the tube, whilst the bulb or enlargement on
the mandril produces the desired internal form; these rollers are mounted
on shafts enclosed in a strong metal frame, and I prefer that two of these
shafts be driven by gearing from the main or driving axis, whilst the other
two are driven by the friction of the tubes on their peripheries. Tho
enlarged head of the mandril is placed in the centre of the space formed
by the junction of the four rollers, the stem thereof being supported whilst
the tube is being rolled thereon in the one direction by means of plates
which are connected together by chains or otherwise, and are capable of
travelling on guide bars, so that whilst the tube is being rolled in a
direction from the head of the mandril to the stem thereof these plates
shall be pushed before the tube, but when the tube is being rolled in the
contrary direction these plates, by means of a weight or weights attached
to chains or bands passing over guide pullies, are drawn back to their
original position in readiness again to offer support to the mandril during
the next rolling operation. I prefer to construct the machine in a double
form in such manner that whilst one half or part thereof is rolling a tube
on to a mandril, the other half or part thereof is rolling a tube off a
mandril; each half or part of the machine may be provided with one, two,
or more sets of rollers, and I construct the machine so that it may be
capable of reversing itself after each pass of a tube or tubes; this may be
effected by any suitable form of reversing machinery, but the following is
the mode which I prefer to employ:-On a shaft driven by any suitable
part of the machinery is a wiper or lever which is, by means of a screw or
otherwise acting upon a fork enclosing the boss of such wiper or lever,
caused to move from one end to the other of its shaft in such manner that
shortly after a tube has been rolled in the one direction the required
distance, the wiper or lever shall act upon a lever to release the mandril
and turn it partly round, and at the same time reverse the motion of the
two parts of the machine. The turning of the mandril with the tube
thereon partly round is for the purpose of presenting that portion of the
tube upon which a rib or fin has been produced by the junction of the
rollers to a different portion of the rollers, in order that such ribs or fins
may be removed in the next pass of the tube. And in order that the
attendant may be capable of readily entering the end of the tube between
the rollers, I provide a pair of feed wheels driven from any suitable part
of the machine, and capable when desired of being brought nearer to each
other, and thereby nipping tightly the tube between them and so forcing
it into the nip of the rolls. In some cases I employ segmental rollers of

page_text: such a size that the entire length of a gun barrel or other desired tube
may be produced thereby in the passage of the tube being rolled. from one
end of the grooves on the peripheries of the segmental rollers to the other;
in this case a reciprocating or partial rotary motion is communicated
thereto by means of a crank and connecting rod, and I prefer to connect
all of the segmental rollers by means of links or connecting rods to one
cross head, to which a connecting rod is attached, the other end of the
connecting rod being connected to a crank; the segmental rollers being
employed as in the previously described arrangement to roll a tube
alternately on to and off from a fixed mandril.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Rickett in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
RICKETT, of No. 16, Upper Barnsbury Street, Islington, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Rickett, Her special licence that 1, the said
Thomas Rickelt, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such
others as I, the said Thomas Rickett, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METAL
TUBES FOR GUN BARRELS AND OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that 1, the said
Thomas Rickett, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Rickett, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
metal tubes for gun barrels and other purposes, and in machinery or
apparatus employed therein. For this purpose I employ a mandril fixed
at one end, and on the other end of which is a bulb or enlargement, as is
now well understood; the tube is rolled over this mandril by means of
four or it may be other number of rollers grooved on their peripheries in
such manner that the opening or orifice formed by their junction shall
produce the desired external form of the tube, whilst the bulb or enlarge-
ment on the mandril produces the desired internal form; these rollers
are mounted on shafts enclosed in a strong metal frame, and I prefer that
two of these shafts be driven by gearing from the main or driving axis,
their
whilst the other two are driven by the friction of the tubes on
peripheries. The enlarged head of the mandril is placed in the centre of
the space formed by the juncture of the four rollers, the stem thereof
being supported whilst the tube is being rolled thereon in the one direc-
tion by means of plates which are connected together by chains, bands, or
other similar means of connection, and are capable of travelling on guide
bars, so that whilst the tube is being rolled in a direction from the head of
the mandril to the stem thereof these plates shall be pushed before the
tube, but when the tube is being rolled in the contrary direction these
plates, by means of a weight or weights attached to chains or bands passing
over guide pulleys, are drawn back to their original position in readiness
again to offer support to the mandril during the next rolling operation. 1
double form in such manner that
prefer to construct the machine in a
whilst one half or part thereof is rolling a tube on to a mandril, the other
half or part thereof is rolling a tube off a mandril; each half or part of the
machine may be provided with one, two, or more sets of rollers, and 1
construct the machine so that it may be capable of reversing itself afte
each pass of a tube or tubes; this may be effected by any suitable form o
reversing machinery, but the following is the mode which I prefer t
employ-On a shaft driven by any suitable part of the machinery is
wiper or lever which, by means of a screw acting upon a fork enclosin
the boss of such wiper or lever, is caused to move from one end to th
other of its shaft in such manner that shortly after a tube has been rolle
in the one direction the required distance, the wiper or lever shall a

page_text: upon a lever to release the mandril and turn it partly round, and at the
same time reverse the motion of the two parts of the machine. The
turning of the mandri! with the tube thereon partly round is for the
purpose of presenting that portion of the tube upon which a rib or fin has
been produced by the junction of the rollers to a different portion of the
rollers in order that such ribs or fins may be removed in the next pass of
the tube; and in order that the attendant, may be capable of readily
entering the end of the tube between the rollers, I provide a pair of feed
wheels driven from any suitable part of the machine, and capable when
desired of being brought nearer to each other, and thereby nipping tightly
the tube between them and so forcing it into the nip of the rolls.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
Drawings, to describe the means I prefer to employ in performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure is a plan, Figure 2 a front view, Figure 3 a sectional side
view on the line 1, 1, Figure 2, and Figure 4 a sectional side view on the
line 2, 2, Figure 2, of machinery arranged according to my Invention.
a, a, are two mandrils of a form now well understood, each being fixed
at one end to the standard or frame b, whilst the other end is provided
with a bulb or enlargement a', over which the tube to be rolled is passed
in the one or the other direction, according to the direction in which the
rolls c, c, d, for the time being are caused to turn.
mounted on an axis e, whilst the rolls care each mounted on an axis e*;
the rolls d being mounted on axes d'.
The rolls c are each
It will be seen by reference to the Drawings that the rolls c, c, d, are
grooved on their peripheries and are arranged at right angles to each other
in such manner as to meet at their peripheries and there produce an orifice
which may be, as shown in the Drawing, of a circular form, or the grooves
may be of other form suitable to produce any desired external form to the
tube being rolled. The bulb or enlarged end of each mandril is placed so
as to come in the centre of the orifice formed at the junction of the rolls.
The axes of the rolls are mounted in bearings carried in strong metal frames
1,1, as shown, in such manner that by means of wedges g, g, or it may be
by screws or other suitable means, the rolls c, c, d, may be capable of being
forced into close contact at their peripheries. Motion is communicated to
the rolls c. cx, on the right-hand side of Figures 1 and 2 in the following
manner: On the axis e of the roll c is fixed a toothed wheel e', which is

page_text: taken into by a pinion on the driving shaft or axis h, and on the axis e
of the roll c* is a toothdd wheel e³, which is taken into by an intermediate
toothed wheel on the shaft or axis i, which receives motion from the
driving shaft or axis h by means of the toothed pinion 2. The rolls c, cx,
on the left-hand side of Figures 1 and 2 receive motion in the following
nanner: On the shaft or axis e is a toothed wheel e, which is taken into
by an intermediate toothed wheel on the shaft or axis i, which receives
motion from the shaft or axis h by the toothed pinion ³, and on the shaft
or axis ex is fixed a toothed wheel e', which is taken into by the pinion h*
on the driving shaft or axis h; it will be seen by reference to the Draw-
ings that whilst the rolls c, cx, are driven by gearing applied thereto, the
rolls d receive motion only by the friction of the rolls c, cx, and that of
their peripheries; on the tubes being rolled this arrangement may be varied,
and fewer or more rolls, as may be suitable to the works operated upon, may
be employed, all of which may be driven by gearing or otherwise as desired,
and a competent mechanic will readily make such modifications as will be
necessary when it is desired to work with a different number of rolls to
that shown in the Drawings, or to drive them in a different manner.
The driving shaft or axis h receives motion by means of straps or bands
,, which act alternately on fast pulleys and loose pulleys hº, one of
such straps being crossed so as to afford capability of reversing the direc-
tion of motion of the machinery when a tube or rod has been rolled to
the desired extent in either direction. This is effected in the following
manner-On the shaft or axis i is a bevilled pinion, which takes into a
bevilled pinion on the shaft or axis l, upon which a screw thread 1 is
formed. Upon the shaft or axis is also fixed a toothed pinion 13, which
takes into a toothed pinion m³ on the shaft or axis m, on which is mounted
a lever or wiper n revolving therewith, but capable of moving endwise
thereon as acted upon by a fork o which is moved in the one or the other
direction by the screw 1 acting upon a female thread formed in the
part o of the fork o. The wiper or lever n when it arrives at either end
of its traverse acts upon the ends p' of the rods p, and thereby either
pulls or pushes one of the rods p in such manner as to turn the shaft or
axis q, and by means of the bevilled pinion g¹ acting on the bevilled
pinion on the shaft or axis r turn the double fork so as to shift the
driving straps or bands on to the other pulleys, and thereby reverse the
motion of the different parts of the machine. In the Drawing the two
sets of rolls are shown revolving in opposite directions, so that whilst one
set of rolls is acting to roll a tube on to a mandril the other set of rolls is

page_text: acting to roll a tube off from a mandril, and vice versa, as the direction
of motion of the machine is reversed. And in order that when the
machine is reversed the tube may be turned partly round for the purpose
of presenting those portions of the tube upon which ribs or fins have been
produced at the junction of the rolls to a different part of the rolls, a
lever a is mounted on a screw a³ at the end of each mandril a, which.
levers are connected together and to the lever q by a link s in such
manner that at the time when the direction of motion of the machinery is
reversed the screws a³ shall be turned partly round on their axes, thereby
releasing the mandrils a and turning the mandrils with the tubes thereon
partly round. For the purpose of enabling an attendant readily to force a
tube or rod into the nip of the rolls c, c, d, I employ a pair of feed wheels
t, t, operated in the following manner:-The feed rolls t, t, are mounted
on shafts or axes t¹, t, which are geared together by the toothed pinions
3, and receive motion from an intermediate pinion 3, which is driven by
a pinion e on the shaft or axis e, as will be more clearly seen by the red lines
on Figure 4. The ends t, t, of the axes t, t¹, are capable of a slight amount
of motion towards each other when acted upon by the lever 1, which is con-
nected to the axes t, t, by links to, as shown at Figures 2 and 3. If desired
a lever may be applied to the axis r, in order that the attendant may be
capable of reversing the motion of the machine when desired. Support
is given to the mandrils a (when a tube is being rolled on to them,) by
means of plates a', which are connected together by chains a³, and are
capable of travelling on guide bars a, so that whilst a tube is being rolled
in a direction from the head of the mandril towards the stem thereof these
plates a will be pushed before the tube, but when the tube is being
rolled in the contrary direction these plates a. by means of weights a
connected to the chains a³, are drawn back into position in readiness again
to offer support to the mandril during the next rolling operation.
In some cases, instead of employing rolls as above described, I propose
to employ segmental rollers of such a size that the entire length of a gun
barrel or other desired tube may be operated upon in the passage of the
tube being rolled from one end to the other of the grooves on the
peripheries of the segmental rollers; in this case a reciprocating or partial
rotary motion is communicated to the segmental rollers by means of a
crank and connecting rod, and I connect all of the segmental rollers by
means of links or connecting rods to one cross head, to which a connect-
ing rod is attached, the other end of the connecting rod being operated
by a crank having rotary or partial rotary motion imparted thereto,

page_text: The action of the segmental rollers is similar to the rolls in the previously
described arrangement to roll a tube on to and off from a fixed mandril,
the other parts of the machinery being of a similar character to the
arrangement previously described. This arrangement affords facility for
the production of tapered or other irregular shaped tubes. I have not
thought it necessary to give a Drawing of this modification, as a competent
mechanic will, by the aid of the description already given, readily construct
machinery of the character last described. By the improvements herein
described tubes may be manufactured either in a hot or cold state as
desired.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the means
I employ in carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood
that I lay no claim to the mechanical parts separately considered, nor do
I confine myself to the precise details herein shewn and described; but
what I do claim is the combination of parts forming respectively the
machines for rolling metal tubes, constructed and applied as herein-before
described and shown in the .annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Rickett, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
B. J. B. MILLS,
of the Firm of Harris & Mills,
Patent Agents,
35, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
London.
THOS. RICKETT. (L.S.)