IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES, PIPES, AND CYLINDERS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SMEDLEY, of Holywell, in the County of Flint, North Wales, Gentleman, 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 Fourth day of April, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Smedley, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Thomas Smedley, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Thomas Smedley, my exors, admors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES,
PIPES, AND CYLINDERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Thomas Smedley, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner 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, I, the said
Thomas Smedley, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention to cousist
in the construction and arrangement of certain apparatus or machinery. by

page_text: which the manufacture of tubes, pipes, and cylinders is more economically
and perfectly conducted than by the modes in present use. And the manner
in which the same is to be performed and carried into effect will be seen
by reference to the annexed Drawings and the following description thereof.
The scale to which the annexed Drawings are made is marked thereon, and
the same letter of reference which is used in one figure or view is used to
indicate the same part in the remaining views or figures there represented.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a front view, and Figure 2 a plan of one arrangement
of my improvements. In these Figures A represents a driving shaft, moved
by any adequate power, and a, a, bevil wheels conveying motion through the
mitre wheels a¹, a', to the perpendicular shafts B and B. From the shaft B
motion is conveyed by the bevils b, b, to the shaft C,
wheels b, b', to shaft D;
shafts E and F by the
and by the spur
from the shaft B' motion is conveyed to the
On
bevils f, f, and spur wheels e, e, and the
whole of the gearing being of equal proportion the speed conveyed from
the driving shaft A to the shafts C, D, E, and F, will be equal.
each of the revolving shafts C, D, E, and F, are placed the bowls or rollers
marked G, G, G, G, which, from the rectangular position of the shafts on
which they are supported, meet at the point H, where the four segments pre-
sented by the grooved form of their surface constitute a circle, as seen at H,
Figure 1. Through this circle or aperture the metal or alloy of which I
construct the tubes, pipes, or cylinders, is rolled, compressed, and elongated
according to the size of the aperture and thickness of metal or alloy submitted
to this operation. And here I would remark that I am well aware that cylin-
drical surfaces or metallic rods are commonly made by the application of two
rollers similar to those represented at G, Figures 1 and 2, and it is to obviate
the rubbing action arising from the varying speed of the curved circumference
of such bowls or rollers that I substitute three, four, or a greater number in
the place of two, by means of which arrangement the curved surfaces are of
less extent, and the inequality of speed and consequent rubbing action is more
equally divided on the surface of the cylinder to be produced. I am also
aware that four rollers placed in a similar position to those I have described
have been used for manufacturing metallic tubes by applying the same to the
drawing table, formerly patented by John Wilkinson in or about the year One
thousand seven hundred and ninety; but in my arrangement all drawing is
avoided, the tubes being pressed and moved by the simple rotation of the
bowls or rollers, such rollers being driven by power in place of the rollers
having the tubes drawn between them by a draw-bench, which heretofore was

page_text: the means of moving the tubes and thereby the rollers. And by such, my
Invention; I am enabled to obtain the necessary elongation by pressure alone,
without draught on the pipes or tubes, which draught tends to injure the
texture or frame of the metal. Figure 3 represents an end view, and Figure 4
a side view of a mandril or circular rod upon which the tube or pipe is formed;
this mandril is constructed of three pieces for the purpose of withdrawing it
more readily from the interior of the tube when completed, as will be hereafter
explained. One description of tube to which my improvements are applicable
is the metallic tube commonly used in the construction of steam boilers for
locomotive engines. This tube is generally formed with a longitudinal joint
soldered or braced together, but in my improved manufacture it is formed
from the solid metal without any joint, by which the roughness of the interior
of the tube or pipe, and the uncertainty of a perfect joint, is obviated, in a
similar manner to the lead and other pipe or tube produced on the drawing
table already alluded to. In manufacturing tubes for this purpose I first cast
a hollow cylinder of brass or suitable alloy, as represented at Figure 5 (which
I prefer casting under pressure, as described in a Patent granted to James
Hollingrake, and bearing date the Seventh day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and eighteen. The external diameter of this cylinder i out three
inches and three quarters, and the interior hole or aperture three inches. This
hollow cylinder is placed in a heated state on the mandril, described at Figures
3 and 4, and passed through the circular aperture at H, Figure 1, where it is
rolled, compressed, and elongated by the uniform rotation of the rollers G, G,
G, G, on leaving which it is again passed through a similar arrangement of
compressing rollers of a smaller size, by which it is further rolled, compressed,
and reduced. And this operation is repeated through a regular decreasing
series of bowls or rollers to any extent, according to the purpose for which the
pipe or tube is intended. The mandril is then removed by forcing out the
centre piece of the three of which it is constructed, and thereby allowing
the two remaining parts to be easily withdrawn. In this state the cylinder or
tube may be considered finished, and the internal aperture or opening of the
same size as the mandril; but where a further reduction in the size of the
tube, pipe, or cylinder is required, I have found it convenient to pass it
through a similar arrangement of compressing rollers to those seen at Figures
1 and 2, without a mandril, which reduces to the external and internal cylin-
ders according to the size of the bowls or rollers used for the purpose. In
manufacturing solid cylinders, pipes, or tubes of a greater or less diameter, the
size of the roller marked G may be. varied according to the diameter of the
pipe, tube, or cylinder to be produced, and the interior bore or opening of any

page_text: tube or pipe must necessarily vary according to the size of the mandril used,
as explained at Figures 3 and 4; but these and other modifications of the
machinery, or of the number of rollers G used in the operation, must depend
on the nature of the tube, pipe, or cylinder to be manufactured, and are well
understood by persons conversant with manufactures of this description. And
although I have found the passing of the heated metallic cylinder and mandril
through two series of revolving rollers, as represented at G, sufficient for the
manufacture of tubes for locomotive boilers, as already described, yet that
operation may in some cases be performed without heating the cylinder, and it
may be continued to a greater extent if required, all which will also depend
on the nature of the material and the purpose for which the tube, pipe, or
cylinder is intended. From what has been explained regarding the mode of
operation to be pursued in applying my improvements to the manufacture of
boiler tube, it will be seen that there is no tendency to attenuate or draw out
the fibres of the metal of which the tubes or pipes are constructed. And this
I consider one of the distinctive features and an important advantage of my
Invention, for it will be observed that instead of applying force to the tube,
pipe, or mandril, to pass it between the compressing rollers G, the force is
applied to the rollers, and the attenuation or stretch thereby avoided, and what
elongation is produced in the tube, pipe, or cylinder will depend on the com-
pressing action of the bowls or cylinders alone, which process rather improves
than deteriorates the texture of the metal or alloy instead of hardening its
texture, as is experienced in all drawing operations.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, together with the
manner in which the same is to be performed and carried into effect, I declare
that I do not claim any of the separate, ordinary, or well known parts of the
machinery, represented in the annexed Drawings, as of my Invention; but I
do claim the mode of combining of three, four, or more bowls or rollers, to
which power is applied for rolling, compressing, and elongating tubes, pipes,
and cylinders formed without seam or joint, no force being applied for drawing
the same from between the rollers, as already described. And I also claim
the peculiar construction of mandril, as represented at Figures 3 and 4. And
such my improvements being to the best of my knowledge new, and never
before used in this Kingdom, I deliver this as my true and faithful Specification
of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Smedley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
THOMAS (L.S.) SMEDLEY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Thomas Smedley came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was duly stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.