IMPROVEMENTS IN FORGE HAMMERS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HENRY FROMINGS, of the Firm of Lomas, Fromings, and Company, of Sheffield,
in the County of York, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Sixteenth day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Henry Fromings, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her
especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Thomas Henry Fromings, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Henry Fromings, my exors, aduiors, and 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 FORGE HAMMERS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas Henry
Fromings, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said In-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after

page_text: 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 Henry Fromings, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My improvements in forge hammers consist in so constructing them that
they may be applied to all kinds of forgings with much greater facility and
economy than the power-driven hammers hitherto in use, and further rendering
them more suited for forging many smaller articles which are now entirely
forged by manual power applied directly to the shaft of the hammer.
Figure 1 is a perspective view, Figure 2 a front elevation, and Figure 3 a
side elevation of a forge hammer constructed according to my said improve-
ments. A, A, is a basement plate mounted upon large ashlar stones, under
which oak beams are laid, the whole being fixed together by holding-down
bolts. B, B, are standards, forming a general framework by being bolted at
their lower ends to the base plate, and at the upper ends to a crosshead or
rail C. D is the anvil block, which is fixed on a block of wood.
E, the
anvil, and F the hammer fixed to the hammer head G.
H is an upright
guide rod, to the lower end of which the hammer head is securely keyed. The
upper end of the guide rod H works through a brass in the top rail C. I is
a cross head, which is securely fixed to the guide rod H, and works freely
up and down in slots formed in the side frames through which it passes, and
beyond which it projects a short distance on both sides. K is a driving shaft,
which has its bearing in brasses mounted in the framework. L, L, are cams
affixed to the driving shaft, which, when the shaft is made to revolve, come
against the projecting ends of the crosshead I, and raise it together with the
hammer head and hammer. As soon as the cams pass the cross head the
hammer drops. The cams are represented in the Drawings with two rises or
arms upon them, but it will be evident that they may have any number of rises,
or be even reduced to a single rise, dependent upon the speed at which the
hammer is to be worked and the amount of power at disposal for working it.
When the hammer is to be driven very fast, then I attach a helical spring to
the cross rail C, and around the guide rod H. When the hammer is raised
the spring is compressed between the cross head I and the rail C, and on the
cross head being released from the cams, the spring assists in accelerating the
descent of the hammer, and materially encreases the force of the blow. For
the helical spring, springs of any other form may be substituted.
The power

page_text: employed to work this hammer is applied to the driving shaft K by means of
any suitable mechanical contrivance, and may be derived from any prime
mover, such as steam, water, or even manual labour.
It will be seen, by the above description of my improvements in forge
hammers driven by power, that they are for the first time made applicable to a
lighter class of forgings, such as edge tools, files, knives, &c., besides being
more conveniently and with less cost applicable for heavy forging.
And having now described my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, I declare that what I claim as of my Invention is the improved
forge hammer before described, in the general arrangement, combination, and
adaptation of parts of which the same consists, that is to say, in so far as
regards the employment of cams attached to a revolving shaft to actuate the
cross head affixed to the guide rod of the bammer, and also of springs to
increase the force of the hammer, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Henry Fromings, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
THOS H (L.S.) FROMINGS.
Signed, scaled, and delivered (being
first duly stamped) by the within-
named Thomas Henry Fromings, in
the presence of
W. P. MILNER,
Sol, Sheffield.
ALFRED BENNETT,