IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING, SHAPING, OR FORGING METALS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Marsden, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
Ivory Cutter, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR ROLLING, SHAPING, OR FORGING METALS."
Sealed the 8th September 1865, and dated the 18th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Marsden at the
. Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
March 1865.
I, ROBERT MARSDEN, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Ivory Cutter,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING, SHAPING, OR FORGING METALS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates more especially to the rolling of steel for producing
blanks for files, carriage springs, and various articles of cutlery, such as pen,
pocket, and table knife blades, and similar articles. I take a disc of steel of
the requisite diameter and thickness to receive a counterpart, either in whole
or in part, of the article or articles to be produced, and form by filing, turning,
or other means upon this first disc the counterpart or parts, or so much of
them as may be desired. I then take two other discs of steel of the requisits

page_text: size, and fit them very accurately one to each side of the first disc, and then
screw or bolt all firmly together, and thus complete the first, principal, or
bottom roll. I then take another disc of steel of the size required, together
with two cast metal or iron plates to keep it in position, and form the disc to
correspond with and take as much of the counterpart or patterns as was
deficient in the bottom roll, after which the disc is screwed or bolted to the
side plate, as the former, thus making, in connection with the first roll, a pair
of complete rolls, and after each roll has been hardened and tempered it is
ready to be attached to a shaft or axle to be driven and used similar to an
ordinary pair of rolls. In some cases each roll will consist of only two discs,
instead of three, according to the requirements of the pattern or article to be
produced, and when there is likely to be a greater amount of wear upon some
parts of the roll than upon others, I insert a moveable piece or boss which
will take as much of the pattern as is necessary, and can be replaced when
injured or worn without affecting the rest. In the case of carriage and other
springs, I likewise adopt another plan, that is to say, I take an ordinary roll
of the size required, and cut or sink upon the face or circumference, by turning
or otherwise, a true counterpart of the spring to be produced. In the case of
long springs, I simply sink or cut one such pattern. In the case of shorter
springs, I cut two, three, or more of such patterns, according to the circum-
ference of the roll. As each pair of rolls will require to be of different
diameters to correspond circumferentially with the pattern or patterns
impressed upon them, some difference from the ordinary driving gear must
be made in order to accommodate the different diameter of the rolls. I
accomplish this object as follows:-To the axle or shaft which carries the
first, principal, or bottom roll I attach a small toothed wheel, and also attach
a similar wheel to the axle or shaft which carries the top or second roll.
Upon a small countershaft I attach or key another toothed wheel of a
convenient size, and then by connecting rods bring the three wheels into
gear, and secure the three axles or shafts together, so that whatever may be
the size of the rolls, within certain limits, the toothed wheels will always
remain in gear.
To prevent lateral motion of the rolls upon each other I fix
two V wheels upon the first, and two upon the second shaft, and upon the
countershaft two wheels to correspond with and to work into the V wheels,
which are held in their positions by the connecting rods above mentioned.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Marsden in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MARSDEN, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Ivory Cutter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Marsden, Her special license that I, the said Robert
Marsden, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Robert Marsden, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING, SHAPING, OR FORGING METALS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Marsden, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Marsden, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates more especially to the rolling of steel for producing
blanks for files, carriage springs, and various articles of cutlery, such as pen
and pocket blades, table knife blades, and similar articles..
The manner in which the said Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by the following detailed description thereof, reference being had
to the figures, letters, and numbers on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
in which Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are front and end elevations and a transverse
section of one arrangement of my improved machinery or apparatus for rolling,
shaping, or forging metals, and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are views of some
of the parts detached, similar letters or numbers in all the Figures referring to
similar parts.

page_text: I take a disc or circular plate of steel of the requisite diameter and
thickness to receive a counterpart, either in whole or in part, of the article
or articles to be produced, and form, by filing, turning, or other means upon
this first disc the counterpart or counterparts of so much of them as may be
desired. I then take two other discs or plates of steel of the requisite size,
and fit them very accurately one to each side of the first disc, and then screw
them all firmly together, and thus complete the first, principal, or bottom roll.
In Figs. 1 and 4 E represents the first disc, shaped or worked so as to form
the counterpart of three plates or pieces such as are used in the manufacture
of springs for railway carriages, and it will be seen by Fig. 4 that the disc E
is shaped so as to taper the ends, and by means of the projection a to form the
eye to receive the steadying pin upon the succeeding plate, which will be more
clearly seen in the section, Fig. 5, shewing part of a railway carriage spring.
In Fig. 6 c shews the central disc, shaped or worked so as to produce the
blank of a file, while numbers 16 and 17 shew the manner in which the two
outer discs are fitted to the central disc. Having completed in the above
manner the first or principal roll, I take another disc of steel of the size
required to correspond with the first disc, and also two cast or wrought iron
plates to keep it in position, and form this second disc to correspond with and
take so much of the counterpart of the pattern as was deficient in the first
disc, after which the central disc and side plates are screwed or bolted together
as in the former example, thus making, in connection with the former roll,
a pair of complete rolls. The manner in which this is performed will be seen
by referring to F, Fig. 4, and to d, Fig. 6. After the parts of each roll have
been completed, they should be hardened and tempered, and they are then
ready to be attached to the shaft or axle to be driven and used similar to an
ordinary pair of rolls, as is shewn at E and F, Fig. 1. In some cases each
roll will consist of only two discs or plates instead of three discs or plates,
according to the requirements of the pattern or article to be produced. When
there is likely to be a greater amount of wear upon some parts of the roll than
upon others, as in the manufacture of blanks for files, I insert a moveable
piece or boss, shewn full size in Fig. 9, and reduced at No. 21 in Fig. 6,
which piece or boss will take as much of the pattern as may be required, and
can be replaced when injured or worn without detriment to the other part of
the roll. For carriage and other springs, or whenever it may be desired, I
also adopt another plan, that is to say, I take an ordinary roll of the size
required, and cut or sink upon the face or circumference, by turning or
otherwise, a true counterpart of the spring to be produced. For long springs
I simply sink or cut one such pattern, and for shorter springs I cut two,

page_text: three, or more patterns, according to the circumference of the roll, similar to
what is shewn at E, Fig. 4. As each pair of rolls will require to be of
different diameters to correspond circumferentially with the patterns impressed
upon them, some difference from the ordinary driving gear must be made in
order to accommodate the different diameters of the rolls. I accomplish this
object in the following manner :-To the axle or shaft C, Figs. 1 and 3, which
carries the principal or bottom roll, I fix a small toothed wheel H, Figs. 1
and 3, and fix a similar wheel H¹ to the axle or shaft D, which carries the
top or second roll. Upon small countershafts Nos. 5 and 6, Fig. 8, I attach
or key other toothed wheels II, H', of the same size, one of which counter-
shafts works in steps or boxes No. 8 cast upon the standard B, Fig. 8, and
the other shaft works in bearings in the connecting loops or rods 7, 7, Fig. 3,
but loose at the ends. The said connecting loops or rods bring the three
wheels into gear, and secure the three axles or shafts together, so that
whatever may be the size of the rolls, within certain limits, the whole of the
toothed wheels will always remain in gear, as shown in Fig. 8. To prevent
the toothed wheels from going too deep into gear, I place small rollers No. 4,
Fig. 10, upon the three shafts D, 5, and 6, connected together by the loops
or rods, the centre one of which rollers runs without being confined at the
ends. To prevent lateral motion I use the collar and set screw 9, Fig. 1, and
for the top shaft the washer and check nuts Nos. 10 and 11 in the same
Figure.
Having described the parts in détail, I now give a general description of
the whole. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A represents the bed plate upon which the
whole machine stands; B, B, the standards or frames which support the
different shafts; C, the bottom shaft, carrying the bottom or principal roll E;
D, the top shaft, carrying the top or second roll F; G, Figs. 1 and 2, is a
strong iron strap or coupler to support the projecting ends of the shafts C
and D, and to assist the screws passing through the tops of the standards B, B,
in holding the rolls together; H, H¹, H², H³, Figs. 1, 3, and 10, are the
toothed or spur wheels used to communicate motion at the same rate from tho
shaft C to the shaft D. No. 8, Fig. 3, is the step or box which holds the
countershaft 5 in the proper position to the shaft C; 7, 7, the connecting
loops which hold the other shafts together, seen clearly in Fig. 3; No. 4,
Figs. 1 and 10, are the small roller wheels which prevent the toothed wheels
from coming too deeply in gear; 13, Fig. 1, are the steps or bosses in which
the two principal shafts work, which steps or bosses are made of iron, and
case-hardened, and are accurately fitted to the shafts and also to the openings
in the standards in which they are required to be placed; Nos. 9, 10, 11,

page_text: Fig. 1, are collars and check nuts to hold the shafts to their places; No. 22,
Figs. 1 and 3, is a large spur wheel, with a small wheel 23 geared into it;
24 is the fly wheel; and 25, the loose pulley and driving drum by which the
whole machinery is put in motion; and Nos. 19 and 20, Fig. 2, are standards
for supporting tables for guiding the bars to and from the rolls. Nos. 22, 23,
24, and 25 may be dispensed with, and the machine coupled, if advisable, by
the end of the shaft C to an ordinary train of rolls. On reference to Fig. 8
will be seen the manner in which the inner plate or disc is formed with the
openings to receive the boss or moveable piece represented in Fig. 9; while
Fig. 7 shews at No. 14 the manner in which the boss or moveable piece is
sunk in the outer plate No. 16, the whole being shewn in position in Fig. 6,
where the boss is marked 21. In Fig. 4 the disc E, placed against the insides
of the plates 1 and 2, shews the manner in which the tapering is given to the
end of the spring plates, and which may be made to extend to any distance,
while the small black projections a, Figs. 1 and 4, shew the manner in which
the eyelets are formed in the under part of the spring to receive the steadying
pin of the next succeeding plate. In the upper disc F, Figs. 1 and 4, there
are small cavities b, into which the metal as it passes through the rolls is
pressed for making the steadying pin on the upper side of the plate or spring,
at the same time and corresponding with the cavity or eyelet formed by the
projections on the bottom disc or roll, both of which are shewn in the section
of a spring at Fig. 5.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim as my Invention,―
First, the formation of rolls by discs of two or more plates of steel or iron
in the manner above described.
And, secondly, the forming upon such discs or rolls indented patterns of the
articles required, as all such improvements are herein described and illustrated
in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Marsden, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
ROBERT MARSDEN. (L.B.)