AN IMPROVED CANNON, FORMED EITHER OF WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL, OR WROUGHT IRON AND STEEL COM- BINED, AND ALSO INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY USED IN MAKING, AND A METHOD OF MAKING, SAID CANNON
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
THOMAS ASPINWALL, of Bishopsgate Church Yard, in the City of
London, Esquire, 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 Sixteenth day of January, in the
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Aspinwall, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas
Aspinwall, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Aspinwall, my exors, adñiors, 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, the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CANNON, FORMED
EITHER OF WROUGHT IRON OR STEEL, OR WROUGHT IRON AND STEEL COM-
BINED, AND ALSO INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY USED IN MAKING, AND A
METHOD OF MAKING, SAID CANNON," communicated to me by a certain
A

page_text: foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Thomas Aspinwall, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same 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 Aspinwall, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention comprises cannon of a new and peculiar kind, and
various tools, instruments, and pieces of machinery by which said
cannon are made, and also the method of making said cannon. Under
the word cannon I mean to include all the varieties of ordnance, such
as mortars, howitzers, carronades, culverins, falcons, swivels, &c., as
these names merely designate different sizes and forms of cannon.
The
material or materials of which the improved cannon are made, are
wrought iron or steel, or wrought iron and steel, which are first formed
into separate rings or short hollow cylinders, which rings being joined
together end to end in sufficient number, constitute the body of the
cannon. To give a complete knowledge of the machinery communi- a
cated to me, and the method of using the same, I will, before describing
the method of making the separate rings, describe the method of
uniting or joining the rings together, and the tools and machinery
invented for the purpose of so uniting and joining them.
Let it be supposed then that I have already formed, in a manner
to be hereafter described, twenty-four rings or hollow cylinders, each of
which has an interior diameter of about six inches, a length of about
five and a half inches, and that the external diameters vary from nine
to fourteen and three quarter inches, that is, that one, the smallest ring,
has an external diameter of nine inches, another of nine and a quarter,

page_text: another of nine and a half inches, and so on, increasing about a quarter
of an inch each, until the twenty-fourth ring reaches a diameter of
fourteen and three quarters inches, or thereabouts. The twenty-four
rings of these sizes would be such as are required to form the body of a
cannon to carry a shot of thirty-two pounds; the length of caliber of
said cannon being about six feet.
It will be understood that I do not confine the Invention to any
particular sizes or proportions of rings, and that rings of other dimen-
sions than those above given will be required for cannon of other sizes.
To put the rings above described together and form the body of the
cannon, I use the machinery represented in the Drawings hereunto
annexed. Figure 1, is a longitudinal section of such machinery shewn
in elevation; Figure 2, a plan of the same machinery in section;
Figures 3, and 4, are cross sections made through parts which will be
hereafter described. A, A, A, A, represents the frame of an hydrostatic
press, the upright pieces (Figure 1) being heavy pieces of cast iron.
and the horizontal pieces being bars of wrought iron. The top bars
are supported by straps passing round deep pieces of timber. B, B, a
large cast iron bed plate, having two rails projecting upwards, as shewn
at Figures 3, and 4, in cross section, upon which the chairs, to be here-
after described, can be moved lengthwise; C, C, cylinder of press
hooped with wrought iron; D, D, piston or ram of press (as seen in
cross section at Figure 3). This piston or ram has a cylindrical cavity
running nearly through it. E,. E, a cast iron guide box, bolted to the
head of the cylinder, which guides and directs the piston in its motions
forwards and backwards; F, F, pipe leading from the pumps of the
press to the cylinder, for conducting the water to and from the cylinder.
The pumps are not shewn in the Drawings, but are like the ordinary
pumps of an hydrostatic press. G, G, system of connecting rods, bent
levers and weight, by which the piston or ram is thrown back-
wards when the water is discharged from the press; H, H, a piece
of cast iron, which I call a spindle, resting upon the cast iron chair I, I.
A hole, somewhat larger than the caliber of the cannon to be made,
runs through this spindle, and one end of the round bar of iron or
backing pin K, K. may be run through this hole; I, I, a spindle,
A 2

page_text: similar to H, H, bolted upon the end of the piston. The mandril or
punch M, M, passes through this spindle.
This mandril is connected, as seen in the Drawings, with the rack
N, N, one end of which passes into the cavity of the piston, and can
be moved backwards and forwards in that cavity by the crank and
axle O, O, acting upon the pinion P. When the rack is passed out of
the cavity of the piston, it passes into the hole made through the
spindle L, L, and carries the mandril M, M, through and out of the
spindle L, L. This mandril is somewhat conical, being about one
quarter of an inch larger at the end next to the rack than at the other
end. R, R, R, R, are blocks of cast iron, forming three sides of a
square, that is, having a bottom and two sides projecting upwards, so
as to leave a rectangular cavity, in which the bar or backing pin K, K,
lays along. Each block rests upon a chair marked S, S, &c., the
under side of each chair being notched upon the projecting rails of the
bed plate B, B, so that it can slide upon the rails towards or from
the cylinder. Upon the inside of the right hand block, as seen in the
Drawings, projections are formed, against which the short bar of the
iron d, may be placed across the back end of the bar or backing pin
K, which prevents that bar from passing backwards in operations to be
hereafter described. The place of the spindle H, H, upon the bed plate
B, B, is always determined, as may be required, by the number and
length of the blocks behind it; U, (Figure 2) and U', (Figure 1) are
setts of cast iron placed upon the end of the spindle H, H, and sup-
ported there by a ring which passes into the hole in the spindle H, H,
and into the body of the sett; V, V, is a sett, similar to U, and is
supported upon the end of the spindle L, L, by a ring, in the same
manner that U, and U', are supported upon H, H. The setts, U, U',
and V, are short cylinders of cast iron. Holes are made through the
centre of these setts, which are large enough in every part to permit
the mandril M, to pass through them. The back parts of these holes,
that is, the parts next to the spindles H, and L, are enlarged, so as to
pass over portions of the rings which project from the ends of the
spindles II, and L. The faces of the setts U, (Figure 2) and V, V,
(Figures 1, and 2) are creased or furrowed. These furrows pass over

page_text: the faces in the direction of rays from a centre, about a quarter of an
inch apart, and leave between them sharp projections, which form
creases in the hot iron against which they are pressed in the operations
to be hereafter described. The face of the sett U', has a circular pro-
jection, as seen at Figure 1, which forms a circular depression of the
hot iron against which it is pressed in the operations to be hereafter
described. A number of setts, similar in form to V, V, but of different
external diameters, are required to suit the different diameters of the
rings and tapering form of the cannon; but the sett U', as seen in
Figure 1, upon the breech of the cannon, is constantly used in that
place, that the projections upon the face of the sett may keep the
cannon in its proper position while the press is in operation upon it.
W, W, is the mould, being a hollow frustrum of a conc, made of
cast iron and hooped with strong wrought iron hoops, as shewn in the
Drawing, surrounding it. This mould rests upon a chair X, X, which
is notched on to the projecting rails of the bed plate which guide it
when it is drawn towards or from the cylinder of the press. The chair
rests upon the axles of four small wheels Y, Y, which run upon the
same rails of the bed plate and facilitate its motion along the rails;
Z, Z, is a rack connected with the chair of the mould W, W; a, a, is
a pinion upon the axle b, b, running in the bearings c, c.
This pinion
is turned round by the arms d, d, fixed upon the axle b, b, and when
so turned, forces the rack Z, Z, and the chair and mould connected
with it towards or from the cylinder of the press. The ends of the
axles of the wheels Y, Y, run in boxes, which are pressed down-
wards by the springs e, e, which are sufficiently stiff to bear the
weight of the chair, the mould, and the cannon which is to be formed
in the mould. The mould is secured upon the chair by the bars
ff, and the bolts g, y, the lower ends of which are hooked under
the frames h, h, seen at Figure 4. These frames h, h, have small
projections upon their inner sides, which pass under the edges of
the bed plate B, B, seen at Figure 4, and prevent the chair X, X,
and the mould W, W, from being lifted from the bed plate. i, i, i, i,
are staves of wrought iron placed inside of and running through the
whole length of the mould. Several setts of these staves are required,
of different thicknesses. The diameter of the cavity of the mould is

page_text: same.
determined by the thickness of the staves placed in it, as it will be
perceived that the diameter of the cavity of the mould or the cavity
within the staves may at any time be diminished by placing thicker
staves within the mould. The furnace required for heating the iron to
be used in making cannon is placed at one side of the press, opposite
the cylinder and at a convenient distance, say about six feet from the
I use a reverberatory furnace, having a hearth about four feet
square, with two doors, one on each side opening to the hearth, and I
urge the fire with a fan blower driven by a steam engine. A crane is
placed in such position that a pair of tongs suspended from it will bear
the cannon or any part of the same from the furnace to the press, where
it is to be operated upon. With the machinery herein described being
thus arranged, I take the two largest of the wrought iron or steel rings
described in the first part of this Specification, and place them in the
furnace and heat them to a welding heat; I then place them near each
other, end to end, and run a large iron bar through the inside of both of
them. The end of this bar, which is passed into the rings, is nearly as
large as the hole in the rings; I then by another bar passed through the
other door of the furnace, press or strike the rings gently together, so
that they will adhere to each other. In this and in every other opera-
tion of putting the cannon together in the furnace care must be taken
that no sand or cinder be enclosed in the joint. This is avoided by
having the bar which is inserted through the rings about fifteen feet
long and being supported at a point near the door of the furnace
upon a prop or from a chain, as a fulcrum, the bar becomes a lever,
the shorter arm of which runs through the rings in the furnace;
then by depressing the longer arın of the lever the rings are, before
they are pressed or driven together, lifted or raised from the hearth
of the furnace. The rings being in this way made to adhere to each
other are next, when at a welding heat, removed from the furnace
by suitable tongs suspended from the crane, and carried to the press,
and held between the setts U', and V, (Figure 1), the mould having
been carried back against the piston D, with the spindle L, passing
through its cavity. By turning the pinion P, by means of the crank O,
the mandril M, is then thrust through the inside of the heated rings.
The tongs are then removed, and then, by means of the rack Z, Z, the

page_text: pinion a, a, and the arms d, d, to which the power of men is applied,
the mould is drawn rapidly forward, so as to cover and enclose the
rings. Instead of drawing the mould forward by the rack and pinion,
as heretofore described, I have sometimes used the power of a falling
weight. To do this I attach to the chair X, X, of the mould a chain
of sufficient strength for the purpose, which passes horizontally over the
bed plate B, and under the chairs S, S, to a point situated a few feet
beyond the frame of the press. Here it passes under a pulley placed
in a proper frame, from which it ascends and passes over another pulley
arranged to receive it, about six feet above the first pulley, and is then
connected with the weight, which should weigh about one thousand
pounds, intended to move the chair and mould. To use this apparatus
the mould must be placed near to the piston, and held in that position
by a hook or catch passing over the projection or flanch which forms
the end of the piston, the weight being then elevated. Then when the
rings or part of a cannon have been placed in the position to be
operated upon by the press, if the hook or catch be withdrawn from its
connection with the piston, the weight will by its gravity descend and
draw the mould towards the spindle H, until it encloses the rings for
the purpose of welding them, as before described. A system of wheels
and pinions with the other necessary parts, such as are used for raising
the weight or ram of a machine for driving piles may be used for raising
this weight herein described, when required, or it may be raised through
its connections with the chair X, X, by the rack Z, Z, pinion a, a, and
arms d, d, whenever those arms are turned for carrying the mould
towards the piston. The press is then put in motion, and the sett V,
approaching the sett U', the rings are pressed between them and welded
perfectly together. The mould at this time prevents the too great
enlargement of the rings upon the outside, and causes the rings to take
the form of the inside of the mould or the staves which line it, while
the mandril M, prevents the closing of the hole through them. The
water is then drawn from the press, and the piston, by means of its
connection with the weight G, is drawn backwards, carrying with it the
spindle L, and the sett V. The backing pin K, is then passed along
through the spindle II, H, until its end meets the end of the mandril M.

page_text: Blocks of iron are then placed between the other end of the backing
pin and the iron bar d. The press is then again put in motion, and the
end of the mandril M, presses against the backing pin K, while the
rings are forced forward by the sett V, and are driven from a larger to
a smaller part of the mandril M, and loosened, so that the mandril can
be drawn out of them.
The mould W, W, is then moved backwards by the rack and pinion
before described, and the rings or ring thrown from the mould. Should
the rack and pinion from any cause prove insufficient to remove the
ring from the mould; then, after the mould is carried backwards, so
that the sett U', is out of its cavity; blocks or bars may be placed
between the sett and the end of the mould, and the press being put in
operation the rings will be forced by the sett V, from the cavity of the
mould. Instead of placing the blocks or bars between the end of the
mould and the sett U', they may be placed between the mould and the
projecting part, as seen in the Drawing of the spindle H, H, or against
any other projections upon the blocks R, and the same result will be
produced. Having thus united the two rings, as herein described, I again
place them in the furnace, as first described, and placing another, the next
largest, ring in the same furnace, I proceed to unite this last to the two
first. To do this after all are raised to a welding heat T place the
larger end of the single ring near the smaller end of the two united
rings, and inserting the larger lever bar before described through them
I press or drive them slightly together, so that they will adhere to each
other. I remove them when welding hot to the press, and repeat upon
them the operations before described as necessary for welding the first
two rings. Having thus united three of the twenty-four rings, I proceed
in like manner thus to unite ring after ring to those before united until
I have united the twenty-four rings first described, which will be
sufficient for the body of the cannon intended to be made. Or, instead
of following the order of operations exactly as here described, I some-
times, after uniting the two first rings, proceed to unite two others, and
then two others, until I have united all the rings together in pairs or
twos and twos, thus making twelve double rings. I then proceed to
unite the double rings with each other until the body of the cannon is

page_text: completed. This, I think, will prove to be the best manner of proceeding
in uniting the rings. Figure 2, shews the press in the act of uniting
two rings, as herein described. It will be understood that whichever
manner of proceeding is followed when the part of the body of the
cannon thus formed by uniting rings becomes longer than the width of
the hearth of the furnace, the end which is first formed is allowed while
the other end is heating to project from the furnace door. So likewise
the same end will project from the mould when the press is in operation,
as is shewn in Figure 1. Further, it will be understood, that as the
largest rings intended for the breech of the cannon are first put
together, as the smaller rings are united to it the cavity of the mould is
required to be gradually diminished in diameter to suit the tapering form
of the cannon. This diminution of diameter is produced by taking out
the staves from the inside of the mould, and putting in their place other
staves of greater thickness; or other moulds having cavities of smaller
diameters may be successively used, one after another, as required to
suit the varying diameter of the cannon, and in this way the use of
staves may be wholly dispensed with. The setts V, V, must likewise
be changed to suit the diameter of the cannon. When the part of
the cannon formed has attained the length of about two feet I find it
convenient to substitute for the tongs by which it has been carried from
the furnace to the press, a cradle or frame of bars of iron suspended
from the crane. This is formed by two bars about ten feet long placed
parallel to each other about twenty inches apart, and secured together
by cross bars. It is suspended from the crane at a point about two feet
from the end which supports the cannon, and the other ends of the
bars form handles to the cradle by which the inen move and direct it
with the cannon upon it. To withdraw the cannon or partly formed
cannon from the furnace, I insert into the hole in its body a long bar of
iron, which is supported from a single point upon a carriage mounted
upon four wheels which run upon the floor or upon a railway. The bar
thus inserted into the cannon thus becomes a lever with its shorter arm
in the cannon, the point of support upon the carriage being its fulcrum;
and its longer arm, passing over the carriage, is acted upon by men, who
by means of it raise the cannon and draw it from the furnace to a

page_text: position where it can be embraced by the tongs or supported by the
cradle suspended from the crane before described, and carried to the
press. By the same instruments likewise the cannon is moved from
the press to the furnace, as the operations upon it may require. I
have said in a former part of this Specification that the pumps of the
hydrostatic press are not shewn in the Drawing, but they are like the
ordinary pumps of an hydrostatic press. I find it convenient to use two
sets of pumps, each set consisting of three pumps. The plungers or
pistons of one set are one inch in diameter, having strokes six inches
long the plungers of the other set are three inches diameter, and have
strokes nine inches long. Both setts of plungers or pistons are moved
by cranks which are turned by the power of a steam engine by means
of belts which pass from a drum driven by the engine to and over
pullies which are connected with the cranks of the pumps; each crank
is connected with a fast and a loose pulley, and each belt may be moved
at pleasure to the fast or to the loose pulley; when upon the former the
crank connected with it is turned round, and the pumps are made to
operate; when upon the latter, the crank is not turned by it, and the
pumps or plungers remain at rest. The guides by which the belts are
moved from one pulley to the other are connected with two levers which
are placed by the side of the press near the cylinder of the same, so
that a man standing by the side of them can by means of them at
pleasure move the belts from one pulley to the other, and thus cause
either or both sets of pumps to be put in operation or to rest; the same
man likewise can, by means of another lever which is connected with a
valve or stop cock, hold the water in the press or cause it to be dis-
charged from the same. Each set of pumps communicates by a pipe
with the pipe marked F, Figure 1, in the Drawings, and upon the pipe
thus leading from each set of pumps is placed a valve which is loaded
with a weight and thus becomes a safety valve. I load the valve of the
large pumps with such a weight that the valve is not raised until the
pressure of the water gives a force of twenty tons to the press, and the
weight upon the valve of the small pumps is sometimes such that it is
not raised until the force of the press becomes equal to four hundred
tons. This pressure I find sufficient to weld together and form the

page_text: purpose.
largest part of a cannon of the size which I have herein described.
When the smallest part of the same cannon is formed, the pressure is
reduced to two hundred tons. It is necessary to place in the course of
the pipe leading from the large pumps marked F, (Figure 1) a valve
which shall close whenever the water is discharged by the pressure from
the safety valve of the large pumps. The closing of this valve prevents
the water from passing from the cylinder of the press or from the small
pumps out of the safety valve of the large pumps. The effect produced
by this valve may be produced by a stop cock or any similar apparatus.
I have hitherto used in these operations a hydrostatic or hydraulic press
as above described. The tools, instruments, and machinery which
constitutes part of the Invention for manufacturing cannon may, how-
ever, be connected with a serew press or a press of any other kind of
sufficient
But I consider the hydrostatic press
for the
power
as above described to be the best. Instead of following the exact
method of joining the rings which has been above described, they may
be united in the following mode of operation-Two or more rings may
be formed, in a method to be hereafter described, upon a solid cylinder
or bar which is of a size equal to the hollow of the cylinder or cavity of
the rings, or such two or more rings after having been formed may be
placed upon such solid cylinder end to end. The rings and the bar or
central solid cylinder contained within them are then to be heated to a
welding heat, and the rings welded to each other, and likewise the two
or more rings welded to the bar or central solid cylinder enclosed within
them. If this operation of welding be performed in the mould hereto-
fore described the mandril cannot be used, as the cavity in the rings
will be occupied by the solid cylinder before described to the exclusion
of the mandril. Another method, varying in a slight degree from the
above, is to form each ring upon a solid cylinder of a length equal only
to the length of the ring or hollow cylinder after it has been formed upon
such short solid cylinder, thus making each ring into a solid cylinder of
an external diameter identical with the external diameter of the ring.
Two of these solid cylinders being then heated to a welding leat are
to be placed end to end, and joined together as before described. Then,
by uniting other solid cylinders formed in the same way of rings

page_text: enclosing a central solid cylinder or cylinders, piece or pieces, to those
before united, a cylinder or frustrum of a conc will be formed, from
which the body of a cannon may be made by drilling, boring, or turning
out either altogether or in part the substance which constituted the bar
or bars or solid cylinder or cylinders upon which the rings were formed,
or upon which they were placed after they were formed.
Having thus described the machinery for making the body of a
cannon by joining together rings, I will now proceed to describe the
method of making the separate rings and the machinery which I
employ for that purpose. To form one of the rings heretofore men-
tioned as necessary to the construction of a cannon suitable for dis-
charging shot of thirty-two pounds, I take a bar of iron or steel, or a
bar of iron and steel, about five and a half inches wide, twenty-three
inches long, and one inch thick, and hammer each end into a wedge-
like form for a length of about two inches. One of these ends I make
about six inches wide, and bend it through a length of about three
inches into an arc of a circle of three inches radius. Further opera-
tious upon it are performed by the machinery represented in Figures 5,
and 6, which machinery I will now describe. Figure 5, represents in
longitudinal section an elevation of the machinery; Figure 6, a plan of
the same machinery in section. A, A, A, &c., is the frame of the
machinery, which is made of wood; B, a wrought iron shaft or spindle
turning in the boxes C, C; D, D, a cog wheel by which the spindle B,
is turned; E, E, a pinion upon the axle F, which gives motion to the
wheel D, D; G, G, a cog wheel upon the same axle F; II, a pinion
upon the axle I, I, J, J, a pulley upon the same axle I, I. Both
the axles F, and I, are fitted in proper boxes in which they turn, as
will be seen in the Figures. K, K, an iron table resting upon the
support L, L, and the roller M; N, a square bar of iron fixed to the
under side of the table K, and running in grooves in the support L,
and the roller M, when the table is moved in the direction of its length
to prevent the lateral motion of the table; 0, 0, 0, a large crotched bar
or lever of iron capable of turning upon the bolt P, which passes
through the two open or crotched parts of the bar 0, 0, and through
projections which rise from the body of the support Q, which is

page_text: a large piece of cast iron bolted firmly to the frame A, A. The
bar O, O, is connected at its other end by the chain R, R, with the
barrel S, which barrel is fixed upon the axle T, T, and can be
turned round by the arms U, U. When the barrel S, is turned,
and the chain wound up upon it (as shewn in Figure 5,) the end
of the bar or lever 0, 0, connected with it is raised or elevated,
the other end of the same being kept in place by the bolt P.
The roller M, which rests upon a bolt passing through its axis and
through the two forks or arms of the lever 0, 0, is likewise raised
and carries with it the table K, one end of which rests upon and is
borne by it. V, V, are rings surrounding the spindle B. The ring
nearest the frame is fixed and immovable upon the spindle, while that
nearest the end can be moved upon the same spindle in the direction of
the length of the spindle. These rings I call the griping rings. W, W,
a large ring likewise upon the spindle B, near its end. X, X, a key or
wedge which passes through a hole in the spindle B, and the ring W.
As this key is driven further into or through the hole in the spindle the
outermost griping ring is carried nearer to the inner griping ring.
Y, Y, a bar of iron five and a half inches wide resting upon the table
K, K. Z, Z, a belt, which being comiccted with a steam engine or any
other power gives motion to the several wheels and shafts, as will be
seen from their connexions. With this machinery thus arranged, which
I call the winding machinery, the formation of the bar heretofore
described into a ring for making part of a cannon is to be effected.
That bar being heated is placed upon the bar Y, Y, resting upon the
table K. The curved end is placed directly under and in contact
with the spindle B. The arms U, U, are then turned, until by the
elevation of the lever O, the table K, and the bar Y, the end of the
heated bar is pressed firmly against the spindle B, as shewn in Figure 5.
The key X, is then driven forcibly into and through the hole made for
it in the ring W, and the spindle B. By this operation the end of the
bar is griped and held forcibly between the griping rings V, V. The
pulley J, is then put in motion, which turns the wheels and pinions
connecting it with the spindle B, which also turns and winds the heated
bar into a circle, which encloses that part of the spindle which is situated
between the griping rings V, V. During this motion the table moves

page_text: along upon the roller M. When the bar is thus formed into a circle
the lever O, and the table are permitted to descend by releasing the
strain upon the chain. The key X, is driven from the spindle, and the
ring W, and the outermost griping ring are removed from the spindle.
The bar, likewise, which has now been formed into a circle, is removed
from the machinery. I find the table, as herein described, a useful
though not an essential part of the machinery, as the operation of
forming a ring may be accomplished by bringing a roller like the roller
M, into immediate contact with the under side of the bar which is to
be bent; or it may be accomplished by using instead of a roller like M,
a block of iron, which should have no motion round its axis, and over
which the heated bar shall be made to slide; any change of that kind,
however, would not alter the character of the machinery.
The bar being thus bent into a circular form is next to be welded at
its ends, thus forming a ring. To do this I use the machinery and tools
represented in Figures 7, and 8. Figure 7, is a vertical longitudinal
section of this machinery, shewn in elevation; Figure 8, is a plan of the
same machinery, shewn in section. This machinery is used in connection
with the press heretofore described, and B, B, represents a part of the
bed plate of the press. L, and H, represent parts of the spindles I., and
IT, as seen in Figures 1, and 2. A, is an iron table standing upon
C, C, is a thick plate of cast iron,
centre, through which passes the
A,
the projecting rails of the bed plate.
having a hole through it near its
lower end of the pin D, which is supported upon the top of the table A.
E, E, are two setts, being square blocks of cast iron with plane faces.
A cylindrical projection is formed upon the back side of each of the setts
E, and E; the projection of one of the setts passes into the hole in the
spindle 1, and the projection of the other sett passes into the hole in
the spindle L, by which means the setts are supported by the respective
spindles. F, is a swage or die made of cast iron, the face of which
forms about one third of a hollow cylinder, and is placed opposite to the
pin D. G, is a plate of cast iron suspended by a chain from any fixed
point above it, and connected with the handle I.
The part of this plate, which is opposite the pin D, forms part of a
hollow cylinder corresponding to the diameter of the pin D.
I will now describe the manner of using this machinery. The bar

page_text: of iron or steel heretofore described as turned or bent into a circular
form upon the spindle of the winding machinery being heated in the
furnace to a welding heat is carried to the press upon which the
machinery last above described has been arranged, and placed upon
the pin D, with the tapering or wedge-like ends, which now lap over
each other between the pin D, and the swage or die F. The plate of
cast iron G, is then placed between the pin D, and the sett, as seen at
Figure 1. The press is then put in operation, by which the spindle I..
is moved towards the pin D, and with it moves the swage or die F.
By this motion the overlapping ends of the circular bar are pressed
together and firmly welded to each other. During this operation it wil
be perceived that the pin D, is kept stationary by the reaction of the
plates of cast iron C, and G, which are pressed against the sett E, con-
nected with the spindle H. When a ring has been thus welded the
plate G, is removed, and the ring is taken from the pin. It will be
understood that a sufficient number of blocks must be placed between
the spindle H, and the upright part of the frame of the press to preserve
the spindle H, immoveably upon the plate. When a number of rings
have been thus welded the plate G, is taken away, and a swage or die
similar to the swage or die F, is placed upon the plate C, upon the side
of the pin D, that was before occupied by the plate G. One of the
rings which has been welded as before described is then, after being
moderately heated, placed upon the plate C, over the pin D, and be-
tween the swage or die F, and the other swage or die. These swages
or dies being then by the action of the press made to approach each
other, the parts of the ring which are enclosed between them and the
pin are pressed upon the pin and made to conform upon their inner
sides to the shape of the pin, and upon their external sides to the shape
of the faces of the swages or dies. The press is then stopped, and the
swage or die F, is moved from the ring. The ring is then turned one
quarter round and again subjected to the pressure of the swages or dies.
Being thus acted upon successively in different parts it is at length
rounded and made to conform to the shape of the pin upon every part
of its inner side. The pin and the ring are then removed from the
press, and the pin being placed over a hole in a block of iron, is driven

page_text: from the ring. It will be found that the pin, will be more easily
removed from the ring, if instead of being perfectly cylindrical it
may be made in some degree conical or tapering. A ring or hollow
cylinder made of the bar of iron, or steel, or iron and steel, of the
dimensions heretofore described and after the mode just above
described, will have an internal diameter of about six inches, an
external diameter of about eight inches, a thickness of about one
I will now
inch, and a length of about five and a half inches.
proceed to describe the method by which I unite to the ring thus
formed a further quantity of iron or steel, so as to enlarge it to the
dimensions of the rings described in the first part of this Specification,
as suitable for making a cannon of the size there described. To add to
the ring herein described such a quantity of iron, or steel, or of iron
and steel, as shall make its external diameter, say twelve inches, I take
a bar of the material or materials aforesaid, about sixty-four inches long,
five and a half inches wide, and one inch thick, and reduce both its
ends to a wedge-like form, one of the ends being made about six inches
wide. This widest end is then bent into an arc of a circle of four inches
radius, the length of the arc being three inches. One of the rings
before described, to which this bar is to be united, is then placed upon
the spindle B, of the winding machinery, heretofore described and re-
presented in the Drawings, Figures 5, and 6. The bar above described,
which is to be united to this ring, in then heated in any proper furnace
and placed upon the table K, of the winding machinery, with its curved
end beneath the ring upon the spindle B. The table K, is then raised
by the method of operation with the arms U, U, of the winding ma-
chinery which has been heretofore described. The concave side of the
curved end of the bar is thus brought in contact with the outside of the
ring. The key X, is then driven into the hole made through the ring W,
and the spindle B. The griping rings V, V, are thus made to press
forcibly upon the part of the bar which is between them. Motion is
then given to the spindle B, by its connexions through the various
wheels and pinions with the pulley J, J, and belt Z, Z. By this motion
and the pressure upwards of the table, the bar is wound upon the ring
and made to form two entire circumvolutions about the same, thus

page_text: forming a spiral enclosing a ring. The spiral is then released from the
griping rings, and with the enclosed ring is removed from the machine.
The next operation is to weld together the contiguous parts of the
spiral, and form this and its enclosed ring into a hollow cylinder. To do
which, I place the same in the furnace and raise the same to a welding
heat; I then place the same upon the plate C, on the table A, hereto-
fore described upon the press (represented in Figures 7, and 8,) with
the pin D, passing through the centre of the same. Instead of the
swage or die F, and the plate G, represented in Figures 7, and 8, I
place upon the plate C, two swages or dies of a larger size. Each of
the faces of these swages or dies forms a part of a hollow cylinder of
six inches radius (other sizes being required for rings of other dia-
meters). By pressing the heated iron forcibly between the faces of these
swages or dies, the several parts are welded together, and by causing
the pressure to be made successively upon the different sides of the
mass, it is rounded and formed into a cylinder or ring. It is then
removed from the table with the pin D, and the pin, being placed over
a hole in a block of iron, is driven from the cylinder or ring. A ring
made in this way of a bar of the size heretofore described, upon a ring
likewise of the size heretofore described, will have an external diameter
of about twelve inches. To make other rings such as may be required
for forming cannon of different sizes, or the parts of different sizes of
the same cannon, it is only necessary to use bars thicker or thinner than
that herein described, or to use bars longer or shorter than the said bar
herein described, so that they shall make a greater or less number of
circumvolutions about the enclosed ring. So the cylinders or rings may
be made longer or shorter by using bars which are wider or narrower
than those herein described.
Another method of making the rings is to bend or wind a bar of
iron or steel, or of iron and steel, upon itself into a spiral form, in the
same manner that I have herein described the bar as wound or bent
about an inclosed ring. The contiguous parts of the spiral may then
be welded together without any ring enclosed within the spiral, and
form a ring suitable to be united endwise to another ring made in the
same way, and thus form part of the body of the cannon.
CH

page_text: Another method which I have sometimes practised of making the
rings is as follows:-I make a number of rings of a thickness not more
than equal to say one half of the walls or sides of the cannon to be
made. These rings are of such diameters that the larger may be
placed upon the outside of or over the smaller. I thus have a small
ring encircled by or enclosed in a larger ring. These two rings may
then be enclosed in a third and still larger ring, and these three in a
fourth, and so on, if necessary, to form the proper thickness for the
cannon. Then by welding these contiguous rings together a single
ring is formed, suitable to be joined endwise to other similar rings, and
thus form part of the body of the cannon.
Or the rings may be made of single bars of the full thickness required
for the walls of the cannon. The ring in this case will be formed by
merely bending a bar of proper length and thickness into a circular
form, and welding its ends together. Of all these methods of making
the rings, however, I consider that first above described, videlicet, by
winding a bar spirally about a ring previously made, to be the best.
Rings made by either of the preceding methods may be placed upon a
solid cylinder, or solid cylinders, when they are to be united together
to form the body of a cannon, in a manner set forth in a former part of
this Specification. Or rings of either of the preceding kinds may be
formed upon the same solid cylinder to which they are to be united in
the body of the cannon by placing said solid cylinder in the winding
machinery (represented in Figures 5, and 6,) in the place of the spindle
B, of said machine. With the machine thus arranged, if the bar which
is to be formed into a ring be heated and placed upon the table of the
machine, and griped by sufficient instruments to the bar or solid
cylinder which is to remain enclosed within it, and then the cylinder be
turned upon its axis, the bar which is intended to form the ring will
be wound upon it in the same manner that it is wound by the ordinary
operation of the machine upon the spindle B, or upon a ring previously
placed upon the spindle B. Having thus formed the rings in the
manner above described, and having joined them together in the method
described in a former part of this Specification, there is produced a
hollow cylinder, or rather a hollow frustrum of a conc, suitable for

page_text: forming the body of a cannon. The next operations required are to
bore the hollow cylinder, or rather frustum of a cone, to the proper size
for the calibre of the cannon, and to close its breech by a proper pin
or solid cylinder screwed firmly into the same, and likewise to form a
vent or touch hole by boring or drilling. The external surface of the
cannon is then to be finished by turning the same in a lathe to the size
and form required; it is then ready to receive the trunnions. The
trunnions are made as follows:-I form a hollow cylinder, hoop, ring,
or band, which I call the trunnion band, which for a cannon of the size
that I have heretofore particularly described should be about nine
inches long, one inch thick, and of an internal diameter about half an
inch less than the external diameter of the cannon at the part over
which it is to be placed. Upon the two opposite sides of this band I
fix, by welding, two short cylinders, the ends of each cylinder being
united to the outside of the band. The operations necessary for form-
ing the trunnion band and trunnions may be performed by hammers,
swages, and other proper smiths' tools in common use, and constitute
no part of the Invention. The trunnion band, with the two short
cylinders united to it as above described, and which form the trunnions,
having been forged or formed, are next to be finished by proper turning
and other tools. A screw or thread of a screw is then to be formed
upon the inside of the band, and a corresponding screw or thread of a
screw is then to be formed upon the outside of the body of the cannon
at that part of the same which is to be covered by the trunnion band;
the trunnion band is then screwed on to the body of the cannon in the
same way that a nut is screwed on to a screw bolt, and secured in its
place by a proper spline or key driven into a proper cavity made to
receive it between the band and the body of the cannon.
The spline
or key is intended to prevent the band from turning round upon the
cannon in the same way that a wheel is prevented from turning upon
a shaft by a like spline or key. I have, heretofore, in this Specification
described particular parts of a hydrostic or hydraulic press, and various
other particular pieces of machinery which are not new, and for which
I do not pretend to claim Letters Patent. I will now state specifically
that for which and for which I do claim Letters Patent. I claim as

page_text: the Invention communicated to me as aforesaid, the following new and
useful manufactures and improvements in the making of cannon:-
First, the manufacture of cannon of whatever form or size, made of
rings or short hollow cylinders of wrought iron or of steel, or of both
wrought iron and steel (such rings or short cylinders being joined
end to end as described in the foregoing part of this Specification),
however such rings may have been made, or whether there be or be
not enclosed within or united to them a central solid cylinder or mass.
Second, the manufacture of cannon of any form or size, made of
rings or short hollow cylinders as above described in this Specification,
such rings being made by winding a bar or plate of iron or of steel, or
of both iron and steel, spirally upon itself or upon a ring, or by placing
and fitting rings of either of said materials, or of a combination or
alternation of said two materials successively, one over or upon the
outside of another, as described in the foregoing part of this Specification.
Third, the improvement described in the foregoing part of this Spe-
cification in or for the manufacture of cannon, by adding to or combining
with the hydrostatic or hydraulic press, or any other kind of press, cer-
tain machinery and parts or pieces of machinery herein above described,
or any two or more of them, whereby the press, of whichsoever kind,
is adapted to the manufacturing, constructing, forming, or making of
cannon, or parts of cannon, whether said cannon shall be formed of
rings as described in a former part of this Specification, or of bars
or pieces of any other form; said machinery, and parts or pieces of
machinery so added to or combined with the press for such purpose,
and comprehended under this claim, being the following, videlicet, first,
the mould W; second, the mandril M; third, the spindle L, and the
sett V, considered as one piece; fourth, the backing pin or bar K.
Fotirth, the improvement in or for the manufacture of cannon effected
by combining or using together for the purposes above described any
two or more of the following tools, instruments, and pieces of ma-
chinery, videlicet, first, the mould W; second, the mandril M; third,
the sett V; fourth, the backing pin or bar K.
Fifth, the combination of the following parts of the machinery, which
I call the winding machinery, videlicet, first, the combination of the

page_text: spindle B, with the griping rings V, V, for the purpose of holding a
bar or plate, and bending the same into a ring or spiral; second, the
combining of the same spindle B, with a table, roller, or block, which
may be pressed forcibly against a bar or plate of iron, when said bar
or plate is griped firmly to said spindle for the purpose of bending or
curving said bar or plate into a ring or spiral; third, the combination
of the two preceding combinations for the purposes expressed above in
this claim.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Aspinwall, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
THOS (L.S.) ASPINWALL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifth day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid Thomas Aspinwall came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Enrolled the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One