Improvements in the Manufacture of Wrought Iron and Mild Steel Tubes, and in Tools to be Employed in Connection therewith.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Wrought Iron and Mild Steel
Tubes, and in Tools to be Employed in Connection therewith.
We, GEORGE EDWIN MINTON, of 363, Rotton Park Road, in the City of Bir-
mingham, Engineer, and HENRY, JAMES BROOKES, of Cape Works, Smethwick, near
Birmingham, aforesaid, Bedstead Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:
This invention has relation, in the one part, to the manufacture or production
of wrought iron and mild steel tubes suitable for engineering, gas, steam,
hydraulic, bedstead and various other purposes, and has for its object, to improve
the quality of the tubes produced and to reduce the cost, whilst another part of
the invention relates to the tools or appliances to be used in certain stages of
the production of the said tubes.
In carrying out the manufacture or production of wrought iron tubes in ac-
cordance with our invention, instead of using what is known as a " finished"
strip or skelp as is at present commonly employed, it is proposed to produce
the tubes from what are known as puddled bars' or slabs of puddled iron,
which said bars or slabs are, in some instances, uniform in thickness throughout
their cross section, with their opposite edges square and flat, whilst in other
cases, the bars or slabs are rolled into such a form that the said opposite edges are
bevelled or chamfered, which said chamferings or bevellings sometimes come
respectively at the edges of the opposite sides of the bar or strip and sometimes
both on the same side of the bar, with the chamfering--in all cases, extending
a considerable distance across the section of the bar. In other instances, the
chamfering may be formed only upon one edge, but it is preferred to employ
puddled bars having bevellings or chamferings on both edges.
"
In order that the edges shall be kept up as perfect as possible, it is sometimes
desirable that the said puddled bars should receive what is known as a wash
heat before being rolled for the final time.
Whilst these puddled bars or slabs are still in a heated, state, they are passed
through a pair of cupping or troughing rolls and are bent up into a U or staple
section, and sometimes at this stage, the bars or slabs may be cut into short
lengths for convenience in subsequent working. The trough-sectioned bars may
be reheated and then operated upon to give them the desired tubular figure either
by successive rollings or by subjection to the action of dies operated by a stamp,
steam hammer or press.
When rolling processes are employed, the trough bars are passed through rolls

page_text: which act upon the top and chamfered edges of the vertical sides of said bars
and gather in and fold or lap them over one another, and in order to keep up
or support the said vertical sides, it is sometimes necessary to have the channel
in the lower roll deeper than half the diameter of the tube which it is desired
to produce, and by a continuation of the rolling process, the trough bar is made
to assume a cylindrical figure with the chamfered edges overlapping and lying
upon one another, thus making the walls of the cylinder or tube of uniform
thickness throughout. In order to properly effect this overlapping of the edges,
the diameter of the opposite sides of the upper roll may vary, so that the
chamfered edges may not be caused to foul or impinge against one another when
being lapped over.
The puddled bar having now been rolled into a tubular form it is--unless this
has been previously done-cut into convenient short lengths which are re-heated
to a welding heat and again operated upon by a succession of rolling processes
into short hollow billets of the required size. The said billets may be rolled or
drawn down or operated upon by any well known means in order to produce a
finished tube of any desired length and gauge.
Instead of operating upon the U or trough section bars to give a tubular figure by
rolling as described, the said bar may-after being heated to the proper temperature
be operated upon by a stamp, steam hammer or press fitted with a pair of dies,
or swaging dies, the bottom or she die of which has a deep U-shaped channel or
recess, whilst the top or he tool has the lower end of it provided with a corre-
sponding semi-circular sinking or acting face.
The U or trough-sectioned bar is placed in the channel of she die with the
chamfered edges of the vertical sides coming downwards, and then the top die
is brought down upon the closed and uppermost end of the said bar and a sufficient
number of blows are struck to force and curl inwards the edges round the bottom
of the die and so close the open mouth of the trough. In order to ensure the
edges properly clearing each other in overlapping, the bottom of the she-die has
a step or drop running along it, or-in other words--the one side of the channel
is recessed rather deeper than the other side, so that when the bar is operated
upon by the he die, the one edge of it remains in the deeper part of the channel
and the other edge will pass over the inner side of the former edge until a tubular
form is produced.
If necessary, the tube may be further operated upon by a pair of plain concave
dies and is afterwards re-heated to a welding heat and rolled down by a succession
of operations to the required finished size, either by plain rolling or by rolling
over a mandril or plug.
Instead of employing rolls or dies, the puddled bar may be turned up into a
trough figure and then drawn or pulled through a pair of tongs, closed either by
hand or mechanically and with the eye thereof of the same figure as the rolls
and dies previously described.
A wrought iron tube produced by the processes herein described is almost as
homogeneous as if it had been seamless drawn from a solid billet.
In carrying out the manufacture of tubes from mild steel, a finished strip is
converted into a tube by similar processes as herein before described in regard to
wrought iron tubes, and the tubes thus produced are finally rolled in a succession
of rolls until reduced to the size required.
It is obvious that the above processes differ from those, now employed in the
production of tubes, since the object of the invention is to produce tubes suffi-
ciently thick in the original bar to allow them in the subsequent process to be
gradually reduced both as regards diameter and thickness, thereby ensuring a
more perfect weld, and a better tube. In the above processes the tube is first
made and welded and then reduced to the size required, whereas by the ordinary
method now adopted for the production of tubes they are welded practically at
the same time that they are finished to the size required.

page_text: In some cases, two or more puddled bars may be joined together by the process
or rolling or under the stamp, steam hammer or press as herein before described.
Dated this 6th day of September 1898.
GEORGE EDWIN MINTON,
HENRY JAMES BROOKES,
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicants.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Wrought Iron and Mild Steel
Tubes, and in Tools to be Employed in connection therewith.
We, GEORGE EDWIN MINTON, of 363, Rotton Park Road, in the City of Bir-.
mingham, Engineer, and HENRY JAMES BROOKES, of Cape Works, Smethwick, near
Birmingham, aforesaid, Bedstead Manufacturer, 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 has relation, in the one part, to the manufacture or production
of wrought iron and mild steel tubes suitable for engineering, gas, steam,
hydraulic, bedstead and various other purposes, and has for its object, to improve
the quality of the tubes produced and to reduce the cost, whilst another part of
the invention relates to the tools or appliances, to be used in certain stages of
the production of the said tubes.
..
In carrying out the manufacture or production of wrought iron tubes in ac-
cordance with our invention, instead of using what is known as a "finished
strip or skelp as is at present commonly employed, it is proposed to produce
the tubes direct from what are known as "puddled bars" or slabs of puddled-iron,
which said bars or slabs may either be uniform in thickness throughout their
cross section, with their opposite edges square and flat, or they may be rolled
into such a form that the said opposite edges are bevelled or chamfered, with
the said chamferings or bevellings coming either respectively at the edges of the
opposite sides of the bar or strip or both on the same side of the bar, but in
all cases, the chamferings extends a considerable distance across the section of
the bar. Or the chamfering may be formed only upon one edge, but it is
preferred to employ puddled bars having bevellings or chamferings on both edges.
In order that the edges shall be kept up as perfect as possible, it is sometimes'
desirable that the said puddled bars should receive what is known as a
heat before being rolled for the final time.
"
wash"-
Whilst these puddled bars or slabs are still in a heated state, they are passed.
through a pair of cupping or troughing rolls and are bent up into a U or staple.
section.
A pair of two high side-by-side rolls for bevelling the puddled bars and im-.
parting the required trough section thereto is represented in Figure 1 of the
accompanying drawings. The eyes of these rolls are adapted to progressively
reduce the puddled bar to the desired cross section and to produce therefrom a
length of trough sectioned metal with chamfered edges for providing a considerable.
area of lap, and which also pass through the circular eye of a pair of simple rolls,
forming a continuation of the series shown in Figure 1 or through rolls of the
kind shown in the last sets in Figure 6 and is thereby converted into a thick
walled welded tubular length, which is afterwards drawn or rolled down into.
tubing of the desired diameter and gauge.

page_text: a is the bar or slab of puddled iron or puddled bar and a¹, a², a³, a, and a³ indicate
the successive cross sectional shapes which are imparted thereto by means of the
pairs of rolls b, b¹, e, c¹, d, d', e, e, f, f', successively.
Of course it is understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact groov-
ings of the rolls herein described as same may be varied without departing from
the nature of our invention. The troughing rolls shown at f and f', may be
placed separately such an arrangement in some cases being more convenient.
Sometimes we find it convenient to arrange for a set of rolls for bevelling the
puddled bar and imparting the required trough section thereto, arranged in the
form shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 is a cross section of Figure 2 upon the dotted
line, showing also the shape of the eye or pass to the intermediate pair of rolls
by which the bevelling of the edges of the bar is performed. In this arrange-
ment of rolls the bar is manipulated after being specially prepared in rolls made
in the ordinary way for rolling puddled bars.
a represents the slab of puddled iron or puddled bar, which is in a heated state,
b, b' is the first pair of rolls by which the thickness of the bar is somewhat reduced
and also if necessary-roughly bevelled; c, c is the second pair of rolls by
which the bevels a, a, at the edges of the opposite sides of the slab are fashioned,
and d, d, are the cupping or troughing rolls by which the bar is made to assume
the desired U or trough section, as represented in Figure 3. The rolls b, b¹, by
which the thickness of the puddled bar is reduced may be dispensed with, and
only two pairs of rolls employed, viz., the first pair to form the chamfers or
bevellings, and the second pair to perform the troughing, so that the middle or
bottom part of the channelled section produced would be of the same thickness,
or nearly so, as the original bar.
At this stage the troughed bars may be cut into short lengths a³ (see Figure 4)
for convenience in subsequent working.
The troughed bar or a length cut off the same, is next re-heated if necessary,
and then operated upon either by further treatment between rolls, or by sub-
jection to the action of suitably operated dies, in order to impart thereto the
desired tubular figure, which is represented in Figure 5.
When such rolling processes are employed, the trough bars are passed through
rolls which act upon the top and chamfered edges of the vertical sides of said
bars and gather in and fold or lap them over one another, and in order to support
the metal under treatment it is sometimes necessary to have the channel in the
lower roll deeper than half the diameter of the tube which it is desired to pro-
duce, and by a continuation of the rolling process through a suitable series of
rolls, the trough bar is made to assume a cylindrical figure with the chamfered
edges overlapping and lying upon one another, (see Figure 5) thus making the
walls of the cylinder or tube of uniform thickness throughout. In order to
properly effect this overlapping of the edges, the diameter of the opposite sides
of the upper roll may vary, so that the chamfered edges may not be caused to
foul or impinge against one another when being lapped over.
In Figure 6 a series of rolls are shown which are adapted to perform in suc-
cession, the whole of the operations of reducing the thickness of a bar of puddled
iron, bevelling the edges, cupping or troughing and converting the U-section
bar into a tubular figure.
Figure is a cross section upon the dotted line a¹, looking in the direction
indicated by the arrow and showing the final bevelling rolls.
Figure 8 is a cross section upon the dotted line, looking in the direction
of the dotted arrow and showing the channelling or troughing rolls.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section upon the dotted lines, showing the pair of
horizontal rolls which, in conjunction with a single vertical roll, cause the edges
of the trough metal to overlap, whereby the length is made to assume a tubular
figure.
Figure 10 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a partial cross section of Figure 6
upon the dotted line at

page_text: a is a heated slab or bar of puddled iron, which is reduced in thickness and
roughly bevelled (if necessary) by the first and second sets of rolls b, b and c, c;
completely bevelled by the third pair d, d', channeled or troughed by the fourth
pair e, e, and then converted into a thick-walled cylinder or tube by the set of
horizontal and vertical rolls f, f, f², arranged in conjunction with a suitably
mounted plug or other mandril 3, in such a manner as to cause the chamfered
edges of the vertical sides of the U-section metal to overlap and form a cylinder
whose walls are of equal thickness throughout. A further pair of rolls such
as g, g, may be employed to true or finish the cylinder
In some cases
It is of course obvious that instead of the series of rolls shown in Figure 6,
we may place the rolls side-by-side instead of behind each other.
the mandril shown at in Figure 6 may be dispensed with, as it may not be
always necessary to use a mandril in the early stages of producing the tubes.
In other cases instead of the pair of horizontal rolls in conjunction with the
vertical roll shown in Figure 9, the troughed skelp is turned up into the tube
by passing same through the circular eye of a pair of rolls only, which causes.
the skived chamfered edges to considerably overlap each other so as to increase
the area of the weld and make a homogeneous tube of a strength practically equal
to that of weldless tubes.
The puddled bar having now been rolled into a tubular form it is-unless this
has been previously done-cut into convenient short lengths which are re-heated
to a welding heat and again operated upon by rolls or otherwise to form short
hollow billets, which are then rolled or drawn down or operated upon by any
well known means in order to produce a finished tube of any desired length and
gauge.
Instead of operating upon the U or trough section bars to give a tubular
figure by rolling as described, the said bar, which is represented in cross section
in Figure 11 and marked «, may-after being heated to the proper temperature-
be operated upon by a stamp, steam hammer or press fitted with a pair of dies
or swaging dies, such as represented in Figure 12 the bottom or she-die b, which
has a deep U-shaped channel or recess 61, whilst the top or he-tool c, has the
lower end of it c', made of a corresponding shape as shown in the said Figure 12,
and also separately and in perspective in Figure 13.
The said bar, which is now of the U or trough-section represented in Figure 14,
is now inverted and placed as shown in Figure 15 in the channel, of another
she died with open mouth 2, coming undermost and the chamfered edges a¹,
of the vertical sides a³, coming downwards and then a top die e, having a semi-
circular sinking and acting face c', (see also Figure 15) is brought down upon
the closed and uppermost end as, of the said bar and a sufficient number of blows
are struck to force and curl inwards the edges round the bottom d², of the
die d, and so close the open mouth of the trough. In order to ensure the edges
properly clearing each other in overlapping, the bottom of the she die has a step
or drop, running along it, or in other words--the one side of the channel
is recessed rather deeper than the other side, so that when the bar is operated
upon by the he-die, the one edge of it remains in the deeper part of the channel
and the other edge will pass over the inner side of the former edge until a tubular
form is produced.
Figure 16 is a view showing how these edges of the sides of U-section metal
clear one another.
Figure 17 represents the completed cylinder or short thick-walled tubular
length lying within the dies and Figure 18 is a section of the same separately.
This tube or cylinder may be further operated upon by a pair of plain concave
dies to finish the outer surface and is afterwards re-heated to a welding heat and
rolled down by a succession of operations to the required finished size, either by
plain rolling or by rolling over a mandril or plug.
A wrought iron tube produced by the processes herein described is almost as
homogeneous as if it had been seamless drawn from a solid billet.

page_text: In carrying out the manufacture of tubes from mild steel, a finished strip is
converted into a tube by similar processes as herein before described in regard to
wrought iron tubes, and the tubes thus produced are finally rolled in a succession
of rolls until reduced to the size required.
It is obvious that the above processes differ from those now employed in the
production of tubes, since the object of the invention is to produce tubes suffi-
ciently thick in the original bar to allow them in the subsequent process to be
gradually reduced both as regards diameter and thickness, thereby ensuring a
more perfect weld, and a better tube. In the above processes the tube is first
made and welded and then reduced to the size required, whereas by the ordinary
method now adopted for the production of tubes they are welded practically at
the same time that they are finished to the size required.
In some cases, two or more puddled bars may be joined together by the process
or rolling or under the stamp, steam hammer or press as herein before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is: -
First: The manufacture of tubes direct from bars or slabs of puddled iron
or mild steel in the ways or by the processes substantially as herein described and
set forth.
Secondly: The manufacture or production of tubes direct from bars or slabs
of puddled iron or mild steel by first flattening out the said bar, then troughing
or channelling the same and subsequently forming the channelled metal into a
thick-walled and welded cylinder or tubular length, which is elongated and
reduced in diameter to form tubing of any desired size and gauge by a succession
of rolling or drawing processes, substantially as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 6th day of June 1899.
GEORGE EDWIN MINTON,
HENRY JAMES BROOKES,
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham,
Agent for Applicants.