IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ROOF GUTTERS AND RAIN WATER SPOUTING
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hodson, of Hull, in the County of
York, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ROOF GUTTERS AND RAIN WATER
SPOUTING."
Sealed the 4th November 1873, and dated the 14th May 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hodson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th May 1873.
WILLIAM HODSON, of Hull, in the County of York, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ROOF GUTTERS AND RAIN
WATER SPOUTING," to bo as follows:-
:-
The object of this Invention is to manufacture roof gutters and rain
water spouting in clay with or without sockets in greater lengths than
heretofore, and with less liability to warp. To this end I place in
front of the ordinary pipe machine die box which is fitted say with a dic

page_text: plate or mould suitable for moulding gutters and spouting, a horizontal
frame six feet long more or less and hollowed so as to form virtually a
continuation of the mould plate. One or more gutter or rain water
spouting may be made at the same time by using suitablo dods in the
die plato and frame with corcs to suit. This frame I mako with
channels or cells to contain water or other lubricant, and I line the
frame with felt or fustian which will absorb the water and always
present a wet surface to the clay as it exudes from the die plate. Over
this frame I mount a cylindrical core which is covered with felt or
fustian and lubricated with water for the piping to run in or upon.
This core is fitted to and supported by the die plate, and its outer ond is
supported by a strong steel pin which forms the axle for an eccentric
constituting a loose portion of the corc. This pin runs out beyond the
eccentric and rests upon a stem or carriage which is so mounted as to
allow of its being readily removed when the core is required to be
withdrawn. The core is made capable of rotating in its supports in
order that it may smooth the moulded clay as it advances to fill the spaco
between the core and the frame. The excentric at the outer end of the
lubricated core is cylindrical, and is capable of rotating excentrically to
the axis of the main portion of the core, and it is also lubricated. This
excentric is about two and a half inches broad, and its pin fits into a
bush at the end of the core in such a manner as to be casily withdrawn.
When this excentric is fixed it forms a continuation of the core, and it
overlies a recess or rebate made in a strap that surrounds the end of the
excentric. The clay as it leaves the die is allowed to run the full length
of the lubricated frame and core, and when this is effected the moulding
apparatus is stopped. The excentric is then moved round, and the clay
is thereby forced into the recess or rebato made in the strap, thus
forming the socket of the rain pipe, the cutter is then drawn down
which cuts the end of the rain pipe clean. By this arrangement the
diameter of the moulded rain pipe will be enlarged, and thereby form a
socket at the end thereof.
The iron or wooden strap is lubricated and fixed at the end of the
lubricated core and frame, not resting upon them, but in such a manner
as to allow the clay to pass into the strap and enable the excentric to
expand the clay into the rebate, thus forming the socket of the rain pipe.
This strap is in two parts or sections iointed together so as to allow the

page_text: top half to be lifted off clear of the socket, and the bottom half to slide
down into a hollow tube, through which tube is put a pin to keep the
stem or carriago in position when in use when the pipe is being made,
after which the core is withdrawn and a skeleton core is then placed in
5 the moulded pipe to support it in its removal from the frame, and the
core may be left therein if desired while the clay is drying.
The lubricating frame is a continuation of the mould.
The rain pipes
are moulded in the die plate of the machine, and then run the length of
the lubricated frame and corc. Thus the under side of the rain pipes is
kept from sagging, the water lubricant serving to make the clay run
freely on the lubricated core. The gutter spouting is made by a falling
door or slide on the pipe machine over the die plate, so that by sliding it
down it will stop the clay from coming through the top half of the die,
the lower half of the die plate being left open, the clay will exude along
the under side of the core and be supported by the lubricated frame
which is upon joints on one side, so that after the lubricated core has
been taken out and the skeleton one inserted, a flat board is placed
covered with fustian over the lubricated frame which is turned over,
thus leaving the gutter with the core upside down upon the the board, or I
suggest to have another die plate placed so as to mould the gutter
upside down. Thus a core is made to suit the hollow of the gutter,
which core rests on pins at each end in the same manner as the round
core of the rain spouting but with no excentric attached. When the
gutter is cut with the cutting frame it is lifted off the pipe machine on
to a board after the lubricated core is withdrawn and the skeleton coro
substituted. The dod on the machine face plate is hollow, covered with
fustian, and lubricated with water from a pipo going from a tin filled
with water standing on the pipe machine to assist the gutter or rain
pipe to travel on the corc. The ends of the gutter spouting are grooved
together or rebated with an iron or wood tongue fitted into them
with cement or whitelead to avoid leakage, or by bolts and nuts.
In pressing the gutters and spouting when not straight I use a spiral
screw with two half moulds six feet long made to fit the collars of the
rain pipes. These half moulds are made of iron fitted together and
fastened with buttons and eyes during the process of pressing, the core
is in the rain pipe or gutter while pressing. The gutter or pipe is then
released by turning the buttons in the eyes, and the core withdrawn. In

page_text: rolling the rain pipes I use a table six or more feet long, made very true,
rebated so as to allow the socket of the pipe and its core to sink down.
The gutters and rain pipes are pressed or rolled in a half dried state.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Hodson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HODSON, of Hull, in tho County of York, Mechanical Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing dato the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Hodson, Her special licence that
I, the said William Hodson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Hodson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,"
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Islo of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MANU-
FACTURING ROOF GUTTERS AND RAIN WATER SPOUTING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Hodson, my exccutors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or onc
of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal
Patent Office within six calender months next and immediately after
the date of the said Lotters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hodson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto

page_text: say):-
The object of this Invention is to manufacture roof gutters and rain
water spouting in clay, with or without sockets, in greater lengths than
heretofore, and with less liability to warp.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shown in several views the
means which I employ for obtaining the above-named results. Fig. 1
shows in side elevation, and Fig. 2, in plan view, the machinery for
moulding socketted pipes, and Figures 3 and 4 are clevations of the
opposite ends of this machinery.
A is a chamber in which the clay prepared for moulding is placed ;
this chamber is mounted on a carriage B on which also is mounted
the gearing for driving the piston C of the chamber A. This chamber
is fitted at its forward end with a dod or die plate through which the
clay is forced by means of the piston C to form the pipes. In this
instance the die plate is supposed to have two openings which will
enable it to mould two pipes simultaneously. The piston carries in
its rear a pair of racks a into which gear pinions b, b, keyed to a
transverse shaft 6¹. On one end of the shaft is keyed a spur wheel c
into which gears a pinion d fixed to the hub of a spur wheel e, which
spur wheel is free to rotate on a stud axle. This spur wheel e receives
motion through a pinion f from a crank handle g fitted to the squared
end of a transverse shaft h which has its bearings on the top of the
chamber A. When therefore rotary motion is imparted to the shaft /
in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, a slow forward motion will be
given to the piston C, thereby causing it to press the clay through the
die plate after the ordinary manner of moulding pipes.
In order however to produce pipes in this class of machinery of
greater length than heretofore, I use the arrangement shown in partial
longitudinal section at Figures 5, 5°, in cross section at Fig. 5b, and in
end view at Fig. 6, that is to say, I provide both an external and
internal support for the pipe as it leaves the die plate A', Fig. 5ª.
D is the external support itself carried by a tablo or frame D¹, Fig. 1.
This support D will bc, say, some six feet long, hollowed on its face,
as shown at Fig. 5b, to receive one-half the diameter of the moulded
pipe. I make it cellular to receive water, and I pierce or groove its

page_text: semicircular face and cover the same with felt or fustian, which being
kept moist by the water from the cellular support D will lubricate tho
pipe, and facilitate its travel to the end of the supporting case.
For making socketed pipes I provide a rebated hinged mould which
forms an extension of the support, and will open to release the moulded
pipe; E is the internal support or core which is made of pierced sheet
metal, and closed at its opposite ends by socketed plates E', E². Tho
plate E¹ fits on to a trunnion F projecting from the dio plate A'. The
socket in the plate E' is fitted with a valvo opening inwards to permit
of water being supplied to the interior of the core before the same is 1
put in place. The periphery of the core I cover with folt, which being
kept moist by the water supplied to the core will serve to lubricate the
interior of the pipe, and facilitate its movement over the core.
The forward end of the core is supported by a steel pin G which
is carried by a removable bracket picce G. This pin is capable of 1
sliding endwise in the bracket piece to disconnect it from the core E,
and it serves as the axle of a loose cylindrical extension H of tho
corc E. This cylinder H forms the core of the hinged mould I, and
it is lubricated in the same way as the core. I provide for locking
these cores together so that they may be rotated together as the 2
moulded clay is travelling forward both for the purpose of facilitating
the traverse of the moulded pipe, and for smoothing its inner surface.
This core H I so construct as to make it capable of being shifted
laterally, and thereby becoming excentric to its axis of motion, as
shewn in the Diagrams, Figures 6ª, 6. By this means I virtually 2
enlarge the radius of the cylinder, and enable it as it is rotated to
press out the moulded clay laterally, and expand or rebate the pipe,
and thereby form a socket on the end thereof. The hinged mould I
is connected to a socketed support I¹ by a binding screw, or its
equivalent, so as to allow of the lower half being dropped clear of 3
the moulded pipe when the upper half of the mould has been thrown
back upon its hinge. Both halves of this mould I fit with a water
jacket, and supply the same with water by an clastic pipe I, Fig. 6.
The inner face of the mould is pierced with holes, and covered with
felt or fustian for the purpose of presenting a constantly damp surface 3
to the moulded pipe.

page_text: One mode of obtaining the excentricity of the cylindrical extension
corc H is by mounting it on an excentric H¹ which is free to turn
on or with the steel pin G. The parts H and H₁ are connected together
by a swing piece H², which carries a swing bolt Hs that forms also a
handle for turning the core, and also its extension H when the two are
detached. In the end of the cylindrical extension H a series of holes
is made for receiving the spring bolt, and thereby locking the cylinder
H at any desired degree of excentricity, it being free to turn on the
excentric H for that purpose; K is a pin which serves to lock the parts
E and H together.
It will now be understood that when the clay forced through the die
plate A¹ has reached the end of the core (it being lubricated and assisted.
in its passage by a slow rotary motion imparted to the core) the piston C
must be arrested in its forward motion. This being done the attendant
will now bring the core H gradually into the excentric position shown
at Figures 6º, 6º, rotating it after every shift so that it may force out the
clay against the rebated face of the mould I; a socket will thus be
formed on the pipe. When this is effected the end of the pipe must be
cut clean by a wire, and the core H is then to be returned to its con-
centric position, as shown at Fig. 6, and out of contact with the clay.
In order to free the pipe from the moulding apparatus the bracket
piece G¹ and the steel pin G are first to be removed. The corc is then
to be drawn out of the pipe, and a skeleton core similar to that shown
at Figures 7, but covered with felt or fustian, is to be inserted in the
pipe. When this is effected the mould I is to be opened and dropped
out of contact with the pipe, and the pipe is then free to be lifted
(supported internally by the skeleton core) and carried to a drying
chamber.
It will be understood that in the case of socketed pipes the skeleton
core will be formed to correspond thereto. When the pipe has become
partially dry I propose to "true" it by submitting it to pressure in a
press such as that shewn at Fig. 8, which consists of two half round
dies L,L', the former of which is stationary and the latter moveable, it being
operated by a rack and pinion, as shown, or by equivalent mechanism. In
lieu of this press I may "true" the pipes by rolling them upon a smooth
table of wood, providing a rebate in such table to receive the sockets of
socket pipes.

page_text: Pipes formed as above described but without sockets may be converted
into gutters by cutting them in half before being burnt by means of
a rotatory saw, but if preferred they may be moulded in half rounds by
fitting the die plate with a slide as at M, Fig. 9, which slide when
depressed will close the upper half of the circular opening in the dio
plate and thus allow of the clay passing out of the lower half only of
that opening.
Fig. 10 illustrates the manner of removing the moulded gutter from
its lubricated support D. In this case the upper face of the lubricated
support is hinged to allow of its being turned over with the moulded
clay into the position shewn by dots in the Figure. A half round
core E is used, and upon it is laid a board E. When therefore the
support D is turned over the board E¹ will receive both the core and tho
moulded gutter, and will serve to support the same while the drying
operation is proceeding. Or the gutter may be moulded in an inverted
position, a suitable die plate being provided. In that case I may employ
travelling boards fitted with inverted half cores for receiving the gutters
as they are moulded, which boards run under the moulding machine
and are driven along over supporting rollers by friction of contact with
the gutters as they exude from the die plate.
-
Fig. 11 shows a length of rain water pipe made in long pieces
according to my Invention. These pieces I connect together and
support in position by means of cast-iron sockets N, N, the construction
of which is shown on an enlarged scale in plan and vertical section at
Figures 12. The socket consists of a cylindrical piece cast with external
lugs to receive holdfasts, and with an internal collar which forms at
once a rebate for receiving the end of one length of pipe, and a rest or
support for the adjoining length, thus the lengths of pipe are severally
supported independently of each other, the weight of each piece being
carried by its respective socket N.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements
in Apparatus for Manufacturing Roof Gutters and Rain Water
Spouting," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood that I lay no claim to the moulding
mechanism described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, but what I
claim as my Invention is,—
.

page_text: First. The application to such or similar moulding mechanism of the
means described for supporting and casing the progress of the pipes or
gutters as they are being moulded, and for forming sockets to the same
when desired.
Secondly. The means above described for preserving the form of
moulded pipes and gutters while in a green or soft state.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hodson, have hercunto set
my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.