IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT OF METAL CASTINGS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jones, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the
County of York, Engineer, and Edward Jones, of Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT OF METAL CASTINGS."
Sealed the 27th January 1857, and dated the 19th November 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jones and Edward.
Jones at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 19th November 1856.
We, JOHN JONES, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the County of York,
Engineer, and EDWARD JONES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT OF METAL CASTINGS,"
to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to a certain extent to improvements in various details
involved in the manufacture or production of cast netal pipes or hollow articles
of parallel section, a portion of such improvements having some reference to the
moulding apparatus, for which British Letters Patent, bearing date on or
about the Ninth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, were
granted to David Law and John Inglis, both of Glasgow.
According to the present Invention, the rammer spindle is held and worked

page_text: by a cylindrical gripping or mapping box, turning with the rammor spindle in a
cylindrical socket upon the reciprocating slide, which gives the descending and
ascending movement to the rammer spindle. The gripping box is fitted with
threo or any other convenient number of wedges placed equidistantly round
the spindle, which are pressed into the box so as to grip the spindle by a ring,
acted upon by a spring and forked lever.
The spindle may be made to turu either continuously or intermittently by a
movement acting on the gripping box, and derived either from the reciprocation
of the slide, or from a rovolving shaft through the intervention of suitable
gearing. An intermittent action may be obtained for this purpose by means
of a loose pulley upon the gripping. box, and having a cord passed round it,
and guided over pulleys to fixed points upon the stationary framing in such a
manner that the reciprocating motion of the slido makes the pulley on the
gripping box turn back and forwards. Inside the pulley is a ratchet and pall
movement, arranged so that the pulley only acts upon the gripping box when
turning in one direction. Or, instead of the ratchot and pall it is preferred to
use a frictional appliance capable of yielding, if the resistance of the spindle
to being turned is excessive. If the pipe mould is to be formed with the
faucet end uppermost, the enlargement in the end of the mould of the faucet
may be cut out before the mould is removed from the ramming machine, by
raising the ramming spindle and pattern, and attaching to the bottom of the latter
a frame carrying cutting edges shaped to the sectional contour of the faucet.
At the bottom of this framo is a looso pulley, which fits into the mould below
the faucet, and steadies the frame whilst it is being turned by hand or other-
wise to cut out the faucet, and its being gradually lowered down as the faucet
is being cut. Or, if the pipe mould is to be formed with the faucet end
downwards a similar machino may be used, a faucet pattern being placed
in, previous to commencing to ram, thus answering as a ramming plate for
the pattern to drop into. A recess is to bo cut at the top for the ring,
to steady the core, and to determine the pipe's length. After passing through
the stove the faucet core is put in, and this receives the main core, and
answers for it as a casting plate. The wedges of the gripping box are by
preference made of brass, so as to work easily in their sockets in the box,
and they are fitted with poplar wood, or other suitable trough frictional
material capable of taking a firm hold upon the rammer spindle. The mould
box is brought under the ramming apparatus upon a carriage, which runs
upon wheels on rails laid down for the purpose. Immediately below the
machine is a moveable table or platform, which receives upon it the carriage
and mould box.

page_text: The platform is made moveable for the purpose of adjusting the mould box
accurately below the ramming machine, and so as to bring the mould boxes
into position in succession when two or more are placed upon one carriage.
The platform may be either simple or compound, the simple platform sliding
on rails arranged transversely as regards the line of fixed rails upon which
the carriages are traversed to and from the ramming machine. The compound
platform resembles the simple platform, but has in addition a revolving tablo
placed upon the sliding one to give further facilities in the adjusting of the
mould boxes. The gearing for adjusting the platform is carried up to a level
with the top of the mould boxes, so that the attendant can effect the adjust-
ment whilst close to the rammer and the top of the mould box.
The gearing may be arranged to be workable also from below, if required.
In erecting buildings, machinery, and apparatus for the manufacture of cast
metal pipes and similar articles, arrangements are made for conveying the
mould boxes on wheeled carriages first below the ramming machine where
the mould is formed, thence onwards through the drying stove, where they
remain until the moulds are dried, and after that into a circular pit, round the
sides of which are carried on the operations of preparing the cores and
inserting them in the moulds, and those of melting and pouring the metal into
the moulds. A pair of rails are laid round the sides of the circular pit, and
upon these traverse carriages, upon the platforms of which are fitted rails
radiating from the centre of the pit to receive the carriages upon which the
mould boxes are placed, these carriages coming from the stove along rails
entering the pit radially, and coinciding in level with the rails upon the pit
carriages. The wheels of the pit carriages are made larger on the sides
nearest to the sides of the pit to correspond to the greater circumference of the
outer rail, so that the pit carriages run round in a circle like cones. The pit
carriages are by preference traversed by winch handles acting upon the axles
by pinion and spur wheel gearing. In preparing cores for pipes and similar
articles we prefer to use a collapsable core bar of the kind which we shall now
proceed to describe; that is to say, this bar is composed of an even number of
parallel segmental pieces of two sizes as measured circumferentially, the
narrower pieces being arranged alternately with the wider pieces. The
segments are formed with longitudinal edges or sides of considerable width,
and allowing of the segments keeping in close contact, although moved upon
each other radially to a certain extent. The narrow segments are shaped so
that their sides form obtuse angles with their circumferential faces in transverse
section, whilst the sides of the wide segments form acute angles, and neces-
sarily fit the sides of the narrow segments. It is preferred to form this core

page_text: !
bar with twelve seginental pieces, that is, six of each kind, the junction angles
of which are produced by the construction of two equilateral triangles, the
centres of which when laying out a transverse section of the core bar coincide
with the axial line of the bar. In a core bar so made the relative motion of
the tightening plates and main plates is as two to one. The bar is expanded
and collapsed by means of internal cams, links, lovers, or other suitable
contrivance actuated from the end of the bar, such contrivances being arranged
to give a greater radial movement to the narrow segments than to the wide
oues, the proportion depending upon the angle of the sides of the segments,
and being such that the segments keep in contact with each other at all points
of their movement. In testing pipes or similar articles, by hydrostatic pressure
after being cast, to ascertain if they are sound and do not leak, it is customary
to place the pipe between a fixed and a moveable head so as to close its ends,
the water being introduced through the fixed head. The moveable head is
usually pressed hard against the pipe by means of a single screw spindle, but
according to the present Invention two or more, and, by preference, fivo scrow
spindles, are employed for that purpose, such arrangement being more parti-
cularly suited for machines capable of testing pipes of large size..
In using five screw spindles in this way, one acts upon the centre of the
head, and the others are placed at equidistant points in a concentric circle. A
hand wheel is fixed upon the central spindle, and the others are driven from it
by means of spur wheels.
Where it is convenient to use wheels of different sizes upon the screw
spindles a corresponding inverse difference is made in the pitch of the screw
threads. It will be obvious to the practical founder that these improvements
are more or less applicable for the manufacture of metal castings of various
kinds as well as pipes.