IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON TUBES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, Jons
JAMES RUSSELL and THOMAS LIENRY RUSSELL, both of Wednesbury, in the
County of Stafford, Tube Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John James Russell and Thomas Henry Russell, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said John James Russell
and Thomas Henry Russell, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said John James Russell and Thomas Henry Russell, our exors,
adors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein.
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WELDED IRON TUBES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said John James
Russell and Thomas Henry Russell, or one of us, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
John James Russell and Thomas Henry Russell, do hereby declare that tho

page_text: nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon; that is to say:-
Our Invention consists of improvements in machinery used for welding iron
tubes, whereby the tubes as they are welded by a roller are moved away from
the rollers. In the arrangement of machinery there is a hollow bed, in which
the tube to be welded is supported in the whole of its length; and the tube
thus supported is welded by means of a roller, the surface motion of which is
in the same direction as that of the hollow bed, and it is the pressure produced
on that part of the tube, which at any movement may be between the bed and
the roller (whether with or without the aid of a mandril), that causes the
weld to the joint or seam of the tube; and this machinery is particularly
adapted for making tubes of large diameter, and consequently of considerable
weight). And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
These Drawings slew various views of machinery, arranged according to
our Invention. The nature of each of the views being written on the
Drawings it will not be necessary to repeat the same here, and it is only
desirable to remark, that the same letters of reference are used to the same
parts in all the Figures. a, a, is the framing of the machine, the nature of
which will be understood on examining the Drawings. b'is a hollow bed,
which is to be of a length suitable for the greatest length of tube the machine
is intended to make, and there will be different beds required for different
diameters of tubes; and the bed b is to be fixed to the carriage c, and moved"
therewith. At that end of the bed b, nearest the welding roller, there is part
cut away at the lower part of the groove at b, so that when a heated tube is
placed on the table that end of the tube may be bent down by means of a
lever, and thus offer a projection against the end of the bed, and be closely
and tightly held between the bed and the lever hereafter described. By this
or by other convenient means the tube may be affixed to the bed, so as to
ensure sufficient holding of the tube to cause it to enter the pinch between
the roller and the bed, and pass on to the mandril when used. d is the
holding-down lever, moving on an axis at e on the carriage c. The handle
of this lever fits the square end of the lever d, so that when the tube has been
laid in its place and pinched by the projection of the lever between it and
the end
of the bed, the handle may be removed, and the lever d will not be

page_text: in the way of the mandril head when used entering the tube, as the upper part
of the lever and the projection will be pressed down, carrying with it part of
the metal of the tube into the recess formed at b. The carriage c (the nature
of which is shown in the Drawings) is carried by flanched wheels f, f, which
are guided by the rails 9, 9; and motion is given to the carriage c by means of
a screw h, in the following manner :-c, c', are two wheels, the fixed axes of
which turn in bearings c, c². These wheels are so arranged that they rest
against the thread of the screw; hence, as the screw is turned the carriage c is
moved, and motion is communicated to the screw in the following manner:-
On the axis or neck thereof, at h¹, is affixed a bevilled-toothed wheel, into
which two bevelled-toothed wheels take; and according as power is applied to
one or other of these two bevelled-toothed wheels, so will be the direction in
which the screw h will be driven; and motion is communicated to the two
bevelled-toothed wheels by means of a strap from a steam engine acting alter-
nately on the drum of the axis of the one, and then on the drum on the axis
of the other. And the axis of one bevilled-tooth wheel passes through the
hollow axis of the other bevilled-toothed wheel, and there is a loose drum
placed between the drums of the axes of the two bevelled-toothed wheels, so
that in moving the strap from off the drum of one bevelled-toothed wheel it
passes over the loose pulley, and then on to the drum fixed on the axis of the
other bevelled-toothed wheel, all which is well understood in reversing planing
machines and other machinery; and the strap may be moved from one drun
to the other by a workman, or the machinery may be so arranged as to move
the strap from one drum to the other at the proper intervals. h², h³, are the
bearings, in which the axes of the screw h turn. On the carriage c is formed
a toothed rack i, which gives motion to the cog wheel j, affixed to the welding
roller k, which turns freely on the axis m, which has two necks or axes 1, 1,
which are formed out of the centre of the axis m of the welding wheel, and
these two necks or axes turn in bearings n, affixed to the framing, as shown;
and on one of the necks the weighted lever o is placed, so as to tend to press the
welding roller downwards by means of the stop o, placed in the wheel o³,
which wheel is affixed on that neck 1, at the same time allowing the roller to
rise in the event of impediment in the passing of the tube below. The
welding roller is grooved so as to partly embrace the tube, the bed having a
hollow groove in which the tube lies in such manner that at the pinch of the
roller the tube will be embraced all round; and we make the groove in the
roller and the groove in the bed such that a mandril may be used, which shall
only touch the upper and lower interior surfaces of the tube, leaving the
interior surface at other parts unsupported, the object being that the mandril
may be got out, even if it should stick, by passing the tube through a die,

page_text: which would render the tube cylindrical, and then the mandril (whether it is
from end to end of the tube, or only a bulb be used) will not. fill the interior
of the tube. This machine is capable of making tubes with or without. the
aid of mandrils. The machine is shown as if working with a mandril or bulb
placed at the end of a strong fixed stem p, the bulb offering a circular section
at the pinch of the roller with the bed; and the stem is supported by the
roller I carried by the carriage c, in order to retain it in the correct position.
ris a spring catch, which passes beyond the bulb of the mandril, and in the
return of the carriage c draws off the maundril head, so that the tube will be:
allowed to be moved off the stem by the bed moving back. When this
description of mandril is used. the edges of the "skelp" or plates of iron are
to be bevelled, so as to make a lap joint, as is well understood; and such is
the case when using a mandril of the length of the tube; and when the-
machine is used for making tubes with "but joints" no mandril will be
required. We would remark, that we do not confine ourselves to the details
by which the bed and welding roller are put into motion; but we believe the
arrangement shown to be the best for the purpose, and the shape of the groove
in the roller and in the bed may be varied.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means we
are acquainted with for performing the same, we would have it understood
that what we claim is, the mode of welding iron tubes by combining a bed
with the use of a roller, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John James Russell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.