AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVE- MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Church, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVE-
MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Church at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
October 1855.
I, WILLIAM CHURCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing ordnance by the following method:
-I construct a furnace, having somewhat the figure of a vertical hollow
cylinder; fire is admitted into the said furnace from a neighbouring fire-place,
the said fire entering the furnace through a vertical slot, extending from top to
bottom of the said furnace. The fire passes out of the said furnace through a
series of flues situated in a vertical line and on the side of the furnace opposite
to that at which the fire enters. The flues are provided with dampers, whereby
the heat may be made to circulate in any part of the furnace. The bed of the
furnace consists of the top of a hollow cylindrical vertical anvil, supported at
its bottom end on a pivot, so that a rotatory motion can be given to it by
any suitable gearing. The top of the furnace is open, but may be closed at'

page_text: pleasure by fire clay bricks or tiles. The ordnance is made of a series of rings,
which being welded together constitute a hollow cylinder. The said rings are
strung upon a mandril or axis, through the bottom end of which a cotter passes,
on which the bottom ring rests. The axis and rings are lowered into the furnace
until the lowest ring rests on the before-mentioned anvil. The axis is with-
drawn, the cotter having been taken out of the said axis through a hole in the
anvil. The top of the furnace is closed, and the series of rings are raised to a
welding heat. The anvil carrying them is made to rotate slowly, and the heat
is governed by the dampers of the several flues. When -the-rings are suffi-
ciently hot, the axis is again introduced and fixed by its cotter, the mass is
raised a short distance by means of the axis and allowed to fall upon the anvil.
The percussive action of the fall welds the whole into a compact mass. The
process described may be repeated as often as is necessary. Instead of making
the ordnance of a series of rings, I sometimes employ a bar coiled into a helix,
which I treat in the manner described. And I sometimes employ a hollow
hammer (through which the axis passes), which striking upon the top ring
coil compensates for the deficient percussive action of the fall upon the
upper part.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Church in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,..WILLIAM
CHURCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,.
the said William Church, Her special licence that. I, the said William,
Church, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Church, 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 Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVE-
MENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Church, my executors or adminis-

page_text: trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Church, do hereby declare.
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof :-
My Invention consists of the method or methods herein-after explained, and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, of manufacturing ordnance.
The first part of my Invention consists of a method of constructing ordnance
by welding together rings of iron, or iron and steel. The shape of these rings
will be understood by reference to Figure 1, which represents in longitudinal
section a piece of ordnance constructed according to my Invention. The
edges of the rings a, a, which are welded to one another, are slightly conical, as
represented, and the collars marked b, b, formed on one end of each ring, fit
into recesses in the opposite ends of the said rings. The edges of the rings
presented to each other do not fit closely, the outer part of the junctions marked
c, c, being open, to permit of the flowing in the junctions of any flux which may
be used during the welding process. The several rings a, a, Figure 1, are
welded together in a furnace represented in vertical section in Figure 2, and in
plan in Figure 3. The interior of the furnace d has the figure of a vertical
hollow cylinder; fire is admitted into the furnace d through a vertical slot f,
extending from top to bottom of the said furnace. The fire passes out of the
These flues open into the
said furnace through a series of flues g, h, i,k.
furnace d, opposite to the slot f, at which the fire enters. The flues g, h, i, k,
are provided with dampers l, m, n, o, by the action of which said dampers the
fire may be made to circulate through any part of the furnace, and the heat
directed upon any part of the ordnance under manufacture. The bed of the
furnace consists of the top of the hollow-cylindrical vertical anvil p, the said
anvil being supported at its bottom end on the hollow pivot q; the said anvil
is capable of a rotatory motion on the pivot q. The said rotatory motion may
be given to the anvil p by the worm r engaging in the toothed wheels on the
bottom of the said anvil. The top of the furnace is open, but can be closed at
pleasure by firé clay bricks or tiles t; a funnel-shaped opening u is made
through the covert of the furnace, through which opening any flux may be
introduced into the furnace and directed upon the iron under the welding pro-
cess. The rings to be welded together are strung upon the-mandrel or axis v;

page_text: The.
-a-pin or cotter w passes through the lower end of the mandril v, and the
bottom ring rests upon the said cotter w. The mandril v with the rings upon
it is introduced into the furnace, and depressed until the bottom ring, rests
upon the anvil p; the mandril v is withdrawn, the cotter w having been taken.
out of the mandril through a hole in the side of the anvil; the top of the.
furnace is closed, and the rings are raised to a welding heat; the anvil p upon
which they rest is made to rotate slowly, and the heat is regulated by the
dampers l, m, n, o. When the rings are raised to a uniform welding heat, the
mandril is again introduced and the cotter w inserted. The mandril v is
raised a short distance vertically, carrying with it the series of rings. After
having been raised to a sufficient height, the mandril v is allowed suddenly to
fall, when the rings are arrested by top of the anvil p;..the percussive action of
the fall welds the whole series of rings into one compact -mass.
The guide.
bracket u', through which the mandril u slides, is attached to the furnace by a
dovetail or other contrivance, which permits of its ready. removal.
mandril may be raised by any convenient mechanism: any of the various
methods of raising and liberating the hammer of a pile-driving machine may
be employed for raising and liberating the mandril v; but as these mechanical
contrivances are well known and commonly practised, I do not think it neces-
sary, to describe the same. I prefer, however, to use the machinery. represented
in Figure 2, surmounting the furnace for raising and letting fall the ordnance
under manufacture; it consists of a crane 2, the chain 3 of which is coiled on a
drum on the axis of the wheel 4. By means of ordinary gearing.mechanism
the wheel 5 may be geared to the driving shaft, and a pinion on the axis of the
said wheel 5 engaging in the wheel 4, a slow motion is given to the chain 3
while raising. the ordnance.. When the ordnance has been detached, the
motion of the wheels 4, 5, is reversed by the mechanism shown at 6, and
which is commonly used for the purpose. The gearing of the wheels 4, 5, is
also changed, so that the wheel 5 engages in a pinion on the shaft of the wheel
4, and the chain 3, is rapidly unwound, so as to be ready again to raise the
mandril v. The.forceps 7 may be made self-acting, so that when they come in
rising against a fixed stop, they lose hold of the mandril, or the mandril may
be detached by hand at any suitable height. I sometimes place a layer of.
ashes p on the top of the anvil p, for the purpose of impeding the communica-
tion of heat from the furnace d to the anvil p. Any other imperfect conductor
of heat may be used instead of ashes. I sometimes make an opening in the
side of the furnace d, and near the bottom thereof, for the purpose of permitting
of the introduction and withdrawal of a slab or block of fire clay, or other sub-
stance capable of bearing the heat of the furnace; by placing the said slab or,

page_text: block upon the top of the anvil p, the ordnance under manufacture may be
supported, where necessary, at a point in the furnace higher than that at which
it is represented in the Drawing. Instead of making ordnance of a series of
rings, I sometimes employ a long strip or bar, coiled into a helical or corkscrew
form, as represented in Figure 4, which coil I treat in the manner described
with regard to the series of rings. I sometimes also employ a hollow hammer
at the
top of the mandril v, through which hammer the said mandril passes ;
the said hammer striking upon the top ring or coil on the top of the mandril
compensates for the deficient percussive action of the fall upon the upper part.
Instead of the hollow hammer, a boss or shoulder on the mandril may be
employed for the same purpose.
My Invention consists, secondly, of a method or methods of lining the inte-
rior of ordnance with hardened steel. In carrying this part of my Invention
into effect, I proceed as follows:-I take a tube of the kind represented in
Figure 5, and introduce the said tube as a lining in the ordnance, as repre-
sented in Figure 1. The tube, Figure 5, is composed internally of steel; the
iron is marked a, and the steel y.
. In manufacturing this tube, I plate or coat strips of iron with steel in any
convenient manner; I make the said strips into a semi-cylindrical form, and
placing two of them together, weld or join them at the points marked z; or I
make the steel-lined tube of a long strip of iron, plated with steel, and coiled
into a helical form, as represented in Figure 4. The iron tube thus lined with
steel is submitted to a hardening process, as follows:-The tube, Figure 5, is
heated to redness in a vertical position, and when it has attained a uniform
temperature, it is immersed in a vertical position in a bath of oil or other cool-
ing.medium. In this way the internal lining of steel y becomes hardened, and
it may afterwards be tempered to the required degree by being subjected to
the necessary temperature. In fixing the tube, Figure 5, into the ordnance, I
place the said.tube in a vertical position, and I sometimes close its lower end
and fill it with water. The ordnance is heated so as to expand it, and it is
dropped in its heated state upon the tube, Figure 5. The ordnance in cooling
contracts, and fixes itself upon the tube. The water contained in the tube
prevents the heat of the ordnance from affecting the temper of the steel part y.
The coil, Figure 4, may be made of iron plated with steel, as shewn in the end
view at 1; the ordnance is bored and the tube turned, so as to make them fit
before the latter is introduced into the former, as last described. Instead of
using a steel tube for lining the ordnance, a tube of hard gun metal may be
substituted. The breech end of the gun may be closed by screwing therein a
breech pin, as is practised in the manufacture of muskets. I. prefer, however;

page_text: a
-to close the breech end of the gun in the manner represented in Figures 6, 7,
8, and 9; Figure 6 being an end elevation, Figure 7 a side elevation, shewing
the breech end closed;. Figure 8 being a side elevation, and Figure 9 an end
elevation, shewing the breech pin removed. I form an arm 9 on the under
side of the breech end of the gun; a second arm 10 is jointed to the arm 9 by
joint, which does not permit the arm 10 to descend below a horizontal posi-
tion. 11 is the breech pin, the neck of which is encircled by the ring 12,
carried by the swivel joint 12¹; and connected by the slide 13 with the arm 10.
The breech pin 11 consists of a solid cylinder of iron or steel, on the cylin-
drical surface of which a screw has been formed; the said screw on the breech
pin 11 takes into or engages with a concave screw in the end 13 of the gun.
Portions of the thread on the breech pin 11 are cut away, in directions parallel
to the axis of the breech pin, as represented in Figure 8, and portions of the
cóncave screw in the end 13 of the gun are also cut away, as represented in
Figure:9. The portions cut away from the breech pin' 11 are marked 11', and
the portions cut away from the end 18 of the gun are marked 13¹; in closing
the breech end of the gun, the arm 10 is raised into a vertical position, and the
pin: 11 is thus presented horizontally to the breech end 13. of the gun; the
said pin.being turned, so that the screwed parts 11" shall be presented to the
plain parts. 13 of the gun, and the plain parts 111 of the pin to the screwed
parts 13 of the gun. In this position the pin 11 may be introduced into the
gun-up to its shoulder, and by then turning the pin 11 through an angle of 45
degrees; the screw on the pin 11 will engage in the screw in the gun, and the
breech end 13 will be closed. The shoulder 14 of the breech pin is made to
fit as accurately as possible against the end of the gun; and in order more
effectually. to prevent the escape of gaseous matter between the shoulder 14
and the end of the gun, I make in the said 'shoulder a groove 15 (see Figure
10.), which said groove is of.a wedge shape in section, the greatest depth being
towards the centre of the pin. I place a ring of copper or other yielding sub-
stance 16.in the groove 15. On discharging the gun any gaseous matter
escaping presses the ring 16 outwards, and expanding the said ring forces it
into the narrower part of the groove 15, and thereby effectually closes the
junction between the breech pin and the gun. This method of closing the
breech end of ordnance is applicable to ordnance of every kind. I sometimes
make the groove and ring of the forms shown respectively at 17 and 18, and I
sometimes employ the said groove and ring in the shoulder 19 of the ordnance
against which the breech pin abuts.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
. carrying the same into effect, I wish it-to be understood that I do not limit

page_text: myself to the precise details herein described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my said Invention; but I claim as my
Invention,
Firstly, the method herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, of manufacturing ordnance, that is to say, by welding together
simultaneously a series of iron rings, or the coils of an iron helix, the said
welding being effected (by preference) by the percussive action produced by
the fall of the series of heated rings or coil upon an anvil.
Secondly, lining the interior of ordnance with hardened and tempered steel
tubes, or gun metal tubes, as herein described, and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Thirdly, the method of closing the breech end of ordnance herein described,
and illustrated in Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Church, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM CHURCH. (L.S.)