Improvements in Bushes for the Bungholes of Casks, and in the Mode of Applying the same.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 23rd ec., 1890-Accepted, 24th Jan., 1851
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bushes for the Bungholes of Casks, and in the
Mode of Applying the same.
I EDWARD RUDGARD of the Atlas Brewery Stockport Road Manchester in the
County of Lancaster Manager do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be
as follows:-
My said invention relates to bushes for the bungholes of casks and particularly to
the types of bushes which are formed with a screw thread for screwing the bush into
the cask. Such screwed bushes as at present applied are subject to several disadvan-
tages. Firstly the screw thread engaging with the hard wood of the stave has to cut
its own bed which it does in so imperfect a manner that generally speaking leakage
takes place past the screw, especially as the thread is not of sufficient depth to act as
an efficient bar to leakage. Secondly the screw thread being carried right up to the
collar on the bush prevents the collar from being screwed home against the stave,
and thirdly the collar having no properly prepared bedding surface to rest on does
not stop the leakage which passes the screw.
Now according to my invention I make the screw thread of considerably greater
depth than heretofore and instead of trusting to the thread itself to cut its own
way and bed in the hard wood stave I use a tool to tap the hole in the stave
and thus prepare a female thread exactly fitting the male thread on the bush, so
that the full depth of the thread on the bush engages with the stave and a secure
To the tool which I use for
leakage preventing contact throughout is obtained.
boring the hole in the stave i affix a cutter which cuts a bed round the margin of
the hole and of the same diameter as the collar so that when the bush is screwed home
the collar rests on and in this bed and thus makes a much more secure joint. An
additional feature in my improved bush is that instead of carrying the screw thread
short a slight distance from
up to the back of the collar as at present, I stop
the collar so that a gap exists between the collar and the frustrated screw thread.
By providing this free space I avoid the usual proud edge of the wood at the
circumference of the hole and am enabled to screw the bush thoroughly home so
that the back of the collar rests tightly and securely against the faced bed and is
an additional safeguard against leakage. I also stop the inner end of the screw
thread short of the back of the bush with the result that when the bush has been
screwed home, the thread in the slave especially when the cask contains liquor,
swells and closes somewhat behind the shoulder formed by the stopped off thread
and prevents the bush from slacking back. The various minor improvements to
which I have referred enable the bush to be more easily applied and make it less
liable to leakage and to become slack than is at present the case.
32
1
DUTTON & FULTON,
1. St. James Square, Manchester. Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bushes for the Bungholes of Casks, and in the
Mode of Applying the same.
I EDWARD RUDGARD of the Atlas Brewery Stockport Road Manchester in the
County of Lancaster Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings:-
My said invention relates to bushes for the bungholes of casks and particularly
to the types of bushes which are formed with a screw thread for screwing the bush
into the cask. Such screwed bushes as at present applied are subject to several

page_text: disadvantages. Firstly the screw thread engaging with the hard wood of the stave
has to cut its own bed which it does in so imperfect a manner that generally speaking
leakage takes place past the screw especially as the thread is not of sufficient depth
to act as an efficient bar to leakage. Secondly the screw thread being carried right
up to the collar on the bush, prevents the collar from being screwed home against the
stave and thirdly the collar having no properly prepared bedding surface to rest on
does not stop the leakage which passes the screw.
My invention consists in certain minor improvements applicable either singly or
in combination to cask bushes and calculated to obviate the defects herein before
referred to. The description of the said improvements will be more easily understood
from the annexed sheet of drawings which illustrate my improved bush.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the bush.
Fig. 2 is a side view.
Fig. is a sectional view showing the bush applied to a stave.
"
According to my invention I make the screw thread a of the bush of considerably
greater depth and pitch than heretofore and instead of trusting to the thread itself to
cut its own way and bed in the hard wood stave c I use a tool to tap the hole in the
stave and thus prepare a female thread or spiral groove exactly fitting the male
thread a in the bush so that the full depth of the thread on the bush engages with the
wood of the stave and a secure leakage preventing contact throughout is obtained.
As a solid and unbroken wedge of wood exists between the thread a. fitting the same
exactly and extending right down to the bottom of the thread the possibility of liquid
leaking past the threads is reduced to a minimum. To the tool e which I use for
shaping the hole in the stave c to the exact size and taper and which is shown to a
reduced scale at Fig. 4, I affix a cutter f which cuts a flat and true bed d round the
margin of the hole and of about the same diameter as the collar of the bush so that
when the bush is screwed home the collar rests on and in this prepared bed and
thus makes a perfectly secure joint. The compression of the wood of the stave
effected by the screwing home of the bush tends also to jamb the parts more
tightly together and so further prevent the possibility of leakage. The tool for
boring the hole in the cask stave and also the tap for cutting the spiral groove
to receive the thread a of the bush are such as are ordinarily used for boring and
facing wood and for cutting screw threads in wood and accordingly as these form no
part of my invention I consider it useless to illustrate or describe the same.
An additional feature in my improved bush is that instead of carrying the screw
thread a up to the back of the collar bas at present, I stop it short a slight distance
from the back of the collar for example the distance marked a y in Figs. 2 and 3 so
that a gap exists between the back of the collar and the termination of the frustrated
screw thread. By providing this free space I avoid the usual proud edge of the wood
at the circumference of the hole which usually packs up and prevents the collar from
coming closely against the stave so that I am enabled to screw the bush thoroughly
home the back of the collar & resting tightly and securely against the faced bed d and
so forming an additional safeguard against leakage. It will be observed that by my
improvements absolute and close contact is maintained for the full depth of the bush
between the bush and the stave. An additional result of stopping the screw thread
short of the collar of the bush is that when the bush has been screwed home the
thread in the stave between the end of the screw thread and the collar generally
swells and closes somewhat behind the shoulder formed by the stopped off thread a
and thus prevents the bush from slacking back.
The various minor improvements to which I have referred enable the bush to he
more easily applied and obviate all leakage and the tendency to become slack.
―;
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The improved cask bush for the purposes and formed and applied substantially as
described and shown.
2. In a cask bush forming the screw thread of a greater depth and of a coarser

page_text: pitch than heretofore, so as to leave a deep, solid and unbroken wedge of wood between
the thread spirals, and stopping the inner end of the thread a slight distance short of
the collar of the bush, for the purposes and substantially as described and shown.
3. In the application of such a cask bush as 1 have described, preparing the hole to
receive such a bush by forming it to the exact size or taper by means of such a tool as
is shown at Fig. 4 and thereafter cutting a spiral groove therein by means of a tap,
which groove exactly fits the thread on the bush substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1890
DUTTON & FULTON,
1. St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.