An Improved Process of Manufacturing Pots or Crucibles of Wrought Iron or other Malleable Metals.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1890-Accepted, 29th Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process of Manufacturing Pots or Crucibles of
Wrought Iron or other Malleable Metals.
I, EWING MATHESON, Managing Director of the Farnley Iron Co. Limited, Farnley,
near Leeds, Yorkshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to he as
follows':-
This invention relates to a process of drawing down the metal in the manufacture
of a certain class of vessels which have to withstand considerable heat.
These are usually made of wrought iron, and are often used for melting down
silver.
They are made in one piece, and usually have a thick brim running off into a thin
side which again gradually increases in thickness towards the bottom.
This variation in thickness makes them difficult to deal with, or at any rate, costly
to weld up in a perfectly sound manner when made in wrought iron.
The object of the invention is to produce a superior article free from welds and
more uniform in the respective thicknesses required in the various parts; wherever
and whatever such thicknesses may be.
We carry out our object as follows;
Supposing for instance a round wrought iron pot to be required;-
We take a circular plate of the diameter required and of a thickness somewhat in
excess of the thickest part of the pot,-be such the brim or the bottom, or any other
part. The weight of the plate must be somewhat in excess of the final weight of the
vessel.
Suppose now that it is required to make the brim and the bottom of the same
thickness with the side some 25 per cent. less ;-
In this case we subject the said plate to the action of a steam haminer fitted
with or acting, through a specially arranged and proportioned appliance with the
object of proportionately indenting and reducing the thickness of the required
portion of the plate. This reduction of thickness takes an annular form; and the
more gradual it is the better. It is preferred to indent one side of the plate
only..
:
A series of mandrels, or punches, with corresponding proportionate dies, are now
brought to bear on the un-indented side of the said plate until the body of the pot is
dished, out to the requisite depth.
Finally-Any ordinary projections or depressions in the rim are afterwards, got
by using a special die into which the pot is placed. The lip is then subjected to the
action of the steam hammer,-which may, or may not, as required, be fitted with a
special face or other equivalent appliance, which forces the protruding material of
the rim into the prepared recesses in the lower, or other, die.
From what has been explained it will be understood that an oval pot can be
prepared from an oval plate, by the use of corresponding oval appliances.
Instead of using a steam or other power hammer our appliances can be pressed
home and the same results obtained by using an hydraulic or other press.
When an iron vessel is to be thus drawn down it must be understood that a high
class wrought iron plate must be used.
Any malleable metal plate may be formed by this process into a pot with any special
thickness at any particular part.
Wrought Iron, and the like, must be reheated as required, during the process..

page_text: OMI LIIM SIMCITIVATION.
An Improved Process of Manufacturing Pots or Crucibles of
Wrought Iron or other Malleable Metals.
I, EWING MATHESON, Managing Director of the Farnley Iron Co. Limited, Farnley,
near Leeds, Yorkshire, 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 :-
This invention relates to a process of drawing down the metal in the manufacture
of a certain class of vessels which have to withstand considerable heat.
These are usually made of wrought iron, and are often used for melting down
silver.
They are made in one piece, and usually have a thick brim running off into a thin
side which again gradually increases in thickness towards the bottom.
This variation in thickness makes them difficult to deal with, or at any rate, costly
to weld up in a perfectly sound manner when made in wrought iron.
The object of the invention is to produce a superior article free from welds and
more uniform in the respective thicknesses required in the various parts ;--wherever
and whatever such thicknesses may be.
I carry out my object as follows; and in order to explain my meaning have annexed
two sheets of drawings to exemplify my process.
Suppose for instance a round wrought iron pot to be required; such an one is
shown in elevation in fig. 1, and in plan in fig. 2-the adjacent fig. being the spout.
I take a circular plate of the diameter required and of a thickness somewhat in
excess of the thickest part of the pot,-be such the brim or the bottom, or any
other part. The weight of the plate must be somewhat in excess of the final weight
of the vessel.
Suppose now that it is required to make the brim and the bottom of the same
thickness with the side some 25 per cent. less ;-
In this case I subject the said plate to the action of a steam hammer fitted with or
acting through a specially arranged and proportioned appliance with the object of
proportionately indenting and reducing the thickness of the required portion of the
plate after the manner shown in figs. 5, where, in sectional elevation, A is the plate,
and B the indenting and reducing block. The reduction of thickness takes an annular
form; and the more gradual it is the better. It is preferred to indent one side of the
plate only as shown.
A series of mandrels, or punches, with corresponding proportionate dies, are now
brought to bear on the unindented side of the said plate until the body of the pot is
dished out to the requisite depth.
In fig. 4, which is a sectional elevation, C is the die, with which punches, as shown
in elevation in figs. 44 & 4³, may be used; care being taken not to distress the
material by doing too much with any one punch.
The dotted lines in fig. 4 show the approximate shape in which the plate will
be left.
Following this, the die D, shown in sectional elevation in fig. 5, is used, in
conjunction with the punches shown in elevation in figs. 5A & 5B. After the latter
has been used to the extent required the plate will have taken the approximate form
shown in dotted lines in fig. 5.
When the pot is so far shaped it is taken to an anvil block such as is shown in
sectional elevation in fig. 6. Here, with the mandrel (or punch) E inside it, the
bottom of the pot is formed to the exact shape required by means of blows delivered
on the top of the mandrel. Such an anvil block is better turned in a lathe, so that
its interior is truly formed.
The block should be fitted with a loose base F as shown, for the purpose of more
readily effecting the expulsion of the pot. In this block the dishing of the pot is
completed and the neck is truly formed on the underside of the brim.

page_text: After this an anvil block G, with a corresponding hammer head H, as shown in
sectional elevation in fig. 7 is used to thoroughly hammer the sides of the pot and
reduce them to the shape and thickness required.
(In the case of an oval pot two such forming blocks and heads would have to be
used, one to treat the major diameter, and the other the minor).
A handle K, which must be capable of being rapidly fixed, is provided for the
mandrel E for the use of the workmen.
Fig. 8 is a front elevation showing how an anvil block, and hammer head, may be
arranged in one piece, to do the double work shown in figs. 6 and 7; fig. 9 is a plan
of such an anvil block. A guide or stop J is arranged in connection with the anvil
block, and this bears against the end of the mandrel E and thus keeps the end of the
pot against the rounded end of the anvil block &c. as shown in fig. 7.
The pot is now completed in all parts except on the upper surface of its brim and
here several projections are often required; such projections may be drawn down by
hand labour but I prefer to do all that is possible by power.
Hence, in fig. 10 is shown, in sectional elevation, a block which is arranged to open
and admit the pot.
In the plan view fig. 14, will be seen an outline of certain projections which may
be required in or on the brim. The pot being inserted and the block bolted up with
the internal projecting mandrel E inside it, the appliance L, shown in elevation in
figs. 11 & 12, is placed round the mandrel as shown in fig. 10 and the hammering is
continued. The faces on this block L which are required to do the work are inclined
so as to press the material before them and thus fill the recesses in the anvil brim.
Figs. 11 & 12 are elevations at right angles to one another and fig. 13 is a plan of
fig. 12.
A sufficient quantity of material must of course be left in the rough brim to permit
the recesses to be properly filled.
I lastly take the pot to a lathe and cut off all the superfluous material, and any
machine work such as may be required may then also be attended to.
This cutting down of the brim is only requisite since it is hardly worth while to
make any attempt to get rid of the extra material in the brim in any other way; but
such could nevertheless be hammered down if required.
From what has been explained it will be understood that an oval pot can be
prepared from an oval plate, by the use of corresponding oval appliances.
Instead of using a steam or other power hammer my appliances can be pressed
home and the same results obtained by using an hydraulic or other press.
When an iron vessel is to be thus drawn down it must be understood that a high
class wrought iron plate must be used.
Any malleable metal plate may be formed by this process into a pot with any
special thickness at any particular part.
Wrought iron, and the like, must be reheated as required, during the process.
Variations in the thicknesses and proportions of different classes of pots, and in the
different parts of the same pot, may be easily arranged by altering the thicknesses and
proportions of the indenting block B, shown in fig. 3.
The process described herein refers of course to manufacturing these pots in
quantities-i.e. convenient quantities are supposed to be put through the consecutive
steps in batches.
Of course a different size or shape of the pot requires a corresponding set of
appliances to suit the particular pot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. The process of indenting and reducing and afterwards drawing down, by steam
hammer or other power, plates of wrought iron, or other malleable metals, into pots
having variations in the thicknesses of their parts, whether the process be carried

page_text: through to the end, or stopped, and finished by band, after the use of the appliances,
shown in figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9.
2. The use of an indenting and reducing block as a basis of a process for drawing...
down malleable plates into pots, substantially as and for the purpose set forth...
3. In the process described the use of the tools in the sequence set out when acting
on a malleable, plate indented and reduced in the manner described, substantially us
and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 27th day of February 1890.
WM. SNOWDON,
9, Old Bank Chambers, Leeds, Yorks., Agent for the Applicant. 10
4.
".