AN IMPROVED METHOD OF MANUFACTURING METALLIO TUBES, CYLINDERS, CONES, OR OF OTHER FORMS ADAPTED TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MASTS, YARDS, BCOMS, BOWSPRITS, OR CASKS, OR FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THEY MAY BE APPLICABLE
Year: 1822

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
BILL, of Newman Street, in the Parish of Saint Marylebone, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent King George the Fourth, did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster, the
Fifth day of February, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, in the
third year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Bill, my
exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Robert Bill, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, should
and lawfully might, during the term of years therein mentioned, make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF MANUFACTURING METALLIO
TUBES, CYLINDERS, CONES, OR OF OTHER FORMS ADAPTED TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MASTS, YARDS, BCOMS, BOWSPRITS, OR CASKS, OR FOR
ANY OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THEY MAY BE APPLICABLE;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the said Robert Bill, shall not
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters, that then the said Letters Patent, and all
liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, deter-

page_text: mine, and become void as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Bill, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):
It consists in the introduction of interior. rings or circular bars of iron,
formed of bars known by the name of "gunwhale, or angle iron,, as Fig. 1,
which are turned up either into whole circles or parts of circles, as Fig. 2 or
Fig. 3, but where it can be done, I prefer entire circles; these can be manu-
factured of any size or substance suited to the occasion, I will describe the
construction of casks to hold 60 or 70 gallons:-I take sheet iron of two pounds
to two pounds & half to a foot, more or less, according to the intended use
of the cask, and rivet the edges of the sheets together, so as to form a vessel of
the required capacity within this cylindrical or other formed vessel. I intro-
duce, for the purpose of supporting the sides, circles or rings made of the
before-named "gunwhale or angle iron," of a strength or substance not less
than 10 oz. nor exceeding 16 oz, foot, runing measure; altho' a little less
or more might do, yet I have found 4 of a pound foot the best, and
of an inch on each face (constituting the angle) a proper size.
These ribs or circles I place at intervals of 7 or 8 inch, more or less,
as circumstances may require, which are to be riveted to the interior surface
of the plates, the ribs or circles exactly fiting the form of the sheet iron
riveted, as before described. The ends or heads of the casks are to be secured
by riviting a piece of circular sheet iron adapted to the size of the cask to one
face of the circle or hoop of angle iron; whilst the other face is to be securely
rivited round the interior surface of the cask.
The same mode I adopt for constructing masts, yards, booms, beams, or such
other things where strength and lightness are required, varying the substance
of the materials according to the strength required. A frigate's mast I shoud
make of plate iron, 10 pounds to a foot; and gunwhale iron for interior rings 2
inch on each face or side of the angle, and 5 or 6 pounds to foot, rün
measure; the diameter may be 25 inch', the plates secured by any of 'the
effectual & convenient modes of making iron tubes, and rings introduced,
fited & rivited to the interior surface of the tube at intervals of 18 inch or
any other space, according to circumstances; or instead of entire circles' they
may, be parts of circles; according to the mode of puting together plates to
constitute the cylinder cone or other form.
When masts are made of iron, it will be found very convenient & advan-

page_text: tageous to substitute iron chains of the following description, as shewn at
Fig. 4, for ropes to support the masts. For a frigate I make use of solid bars
of iron rolled 1 inch broad and inch thick, with swells at each end forming
an eliptical figure, 2 inch wide in the diam"; these bars are from 9 to 12 inch
long more or less; in each end of this link ( inch from the extreme ends) &
inch diam. I connect thes bars
in the centre I form holes to receive a rivit of
or links by means of short bars about 4 inch long, 2 inch wide, of an inch
thick, having holes corresponding with those in the before-mentioned links or
bars; these I call coupling bars, and are placed one on each side the other link
or bar, and connected to them by a bolt or rivit passing thro' the three holes of
the bars or links, leaving a freedom of action, so that the chain may move on
these centres; in order that the chain may not be confined to one direction of
action, each of the long bars are twisted half round whilst hot, so that the chain
may freely bend in in a double direction.
Though I have here described several things advantageous to the adoptation
of my Invention, yet I wish it to be understood, that I confine my present
claim to the improved mode of supporting and strengthening tubes, cones, or
cylinders, particularly those applicable to casks, by the means before described,
viz., by interior rings or circular bars of gunwhale or angular iron; the other
parts forming the substance of my former Patent "for an improved mode of
constructing masts, yards, bowsprits, &c.," granted to me in May, 1820; the
Specification of which was duly inrolled in July the same year, and to which I
refer.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Bill, have hereunto set my
band and scal, this Third day of August, in the year of our Lord Onc
thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.