PROVEMENTS IN BORING OR SINKING PITS OR SHAFTS FOR MINES AND OTHER. Dances AND IN ADDARATUS AND TOOLS EMPLOYED, THEREFOR
Year: 1868

page_text: i
LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Chaudron, of, Brussels, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Civil, and; Mining Engineer, for the Invention of."
PROVEMENTS IN BORING OR SINKING PITS OR SHAFTS FOR MINES AND OTHER.
Dances AND IN ADDARATUS AND TOOLS EMPLOYED, THEREFOR,"
T
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by. the said Joseph Chaudron at the
Office of the, Commissioners, of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th October 1868. . ;
i
I, JOSEPH CHAUDRON, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of 'Belgium; Givil
and Mining Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BORING OR SINKING PITS OR SHAFTS" FOR: MINES AND
OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS AND TOOLS' EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be us
follows:-
A
1.1.
1..
Whereas Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date the 1st July
1867, No. 1916, for an, Invention of "Improvements in Boring or
Sinking Wells, and in Apparatus and Tools employed for that Purpose;"
33' 1
no pourl

page_text: now my present Invention consists in the application of the system,
apparatus, and tools described in the Specification to the said Letters
Patent to the boring or sinking of shafts or pits for mines and other
purposes (saving and excepting for wells) through aqueous strata,
whereby the necessity of pumping the water out of such pits or shafts
during the progress of the work is obviated, the apparatus employed
being so arranged as to effect the complete isolation of the aqueous
strata, thus enabling the work to be carried on through any depth of
such strata at a much less cost, and in a much shorter time, and also
with less arduous labour than has been possible with the means employed
Furthermore, whereas by the old process of sinking shafts the
workmen always have to work in water down in the pit in a dangerous
position with the pumping machinery suspended above them; by my
improved system this is entirely obviated, as nearly the whole operation
is performed on the surface of the ground. For this purpose a boring is
first made through the strata, which is effected by means of one or more
boring tools having a number of teeth or chisels which act upon the
"Chinese" system; these tools are of a width corresponding with the
diameter of the boring to be made, and when the boring is of a large
diameter a small central boring is first made with a small tool having a
number of chisels all along its under surface, and sometimes also one or
more other chisels on the ends of a cross bar fixed higher up on the rod
of the tool, which serve to smooth off the side surface of the boring
made by the lower chisels. After this the boring is enlarged by means
of one or more larger and heavier tools in succession having a number
of chisels at each end and a projection in the middle, which passes into
the central boring previously formed by the smaller tool, and which
serves as a guide; cross bars acting as guides are also fixed upon the
rods of the tools. The boring with the tools of smaller diameter is,
however, always kept so much in advance of the larger boring that the
debris from the latter shall always fall into the former, and for this
purpose the teeth of the enlarging tool are by preference arranged on an
incline, so as to produce a boring with inclined or tapering sides. In the
smaller boring may be suspended a metal receptacle into which the
debris fall, and which is withdrawn when full; or as the work proceeds
the clearing out of the debris may be as usual effected by means of an
open metal cylinder closed at bottom by valves opening inwards, so that

page_text: by working.such cylinder up and down at the bottom of the boring the
debris are made to enter, the same and are then raised to the surface.
The recovery of broken tools and rods is effected, firstly, by a spiral
hook, which by being turned on its axis lays hold of the tool or rod and
brings. it the centre of the boring, in order to facilitate its being laid
hold of by the other tools employed for the recovery thereof; secondly,
by a pair of tongs consisting of two levers having fork-like prongs at
their extremities and turning upon a fulcrum suspended from two chains
from above, while the opening and closing of the levers is effected by
means of a rod connected to the ends of the levers by means of a toggle
joint; lastly, an implement is employed consisting of two or more arms
with serrated inner surfaces, which arms have a spring action tending to
make them approach each other inside a conical iron socket, but which
are kept apart by means of a plug. This plug is thrust out by the object
to be laid hold of which takes its place, and is thus grasped by the
serrated arms. When the boring through the aqueous strata has been
completed the water from these is effectually cut off from the boring, and
the latter emptied of the water contained therein by the following
arrangement:-A strong cast-iron cylinder is constructed of a somewhat
smaller diameter than the boring, having at bottom an external flange,
the extreme diameter of which corresponds, as nearly as practicable, with
the diameter of the boring; the upper end of this cylinder fits like a
gland into the lower end of the second cylinder, which has also an
external flange equal in diameter to that of the shaft. The formed
on the external surface of the bottom cylinder between its lower flange.
and the flange of the upper cylinder is filled in with moss
or other
similar suitable substance held in position by a netting stretched over
it, and which is to act as a packing between the lower cylinder and the
side of the shaft. The lower cylinder is suspended from the upper one
by means of suspension bolts passing through an inner Hange formed on
the upper end of the former and through a ring resting upon a flange
formed in the latter, in such manner that when the lower cylinder is in
place at the bottom of the boring the upper one is free to slide down
upon it, and thus to compress the moss packing. To the upper cylinder
is now fixed a third cylinder by means of bolts passing through internal
flanges, a water-tight joint being insured by means of lead packing
between the meeting surfaces. To a flange on the interior surface of this
third cylinder is bolted a strong diaphragm of an inverted dished form so
as to withstand considerable pressure from below; in the centre of this
space

page_text: diaphragm is formed an opening, to which is fixed a pipe passing
vertically up through the cylinder; upon the third cylinder is now fixed
a fourth one, also in a water-tight manner, and the four thus combined
are then lowered by suspension rods into the boring, until by the aid of
the diaphragm they float in the water contained therein; other cylinders
are now fixed in succession in a like water-tight manner to those in the
boring, which are consequently made to siuk gradually down from the
superadded weight, which sinking is regulated by the suspension rods or
chains, and also by letting in a certain quantity of water above the
diaphragm through the central tube, if necessary. This tube may also
serve to allow clearing implements to be passed down the boring below
the diaphragm in order to clear out any debris before the cylindrical
lining arrives at the bottom. When this has been accomplished the
bottom cylinder is pressed by the superincumbent weight down over the
"gland" cylinder, thus very forcibly compressing the moss packing. A
water-tight packing is thus formed round the lower end of the cylindrical
lining, which prevents the water of the upper strata from penetrating
into the interior of the lining from below. An annular space exists
between the outer surface of the cylindrical lining and the surface of the
boring, which is now filled in with concrete; this is effected by means of
narrow boxes, the bottoms of which open on binges, and in which are
pistons attached to a long rod. These boxes are filled with concrete and
are lowered in the annular space, at the bottom of which the concrete is
made to pass out of the box by forcing down the piston, or the filling in
of the concrete may be effected by any other suitable apparatus. When
the cylindrical lining has been made perfectly water-tight, and all com-
munication with the aqueous strata cut off, the water is emptied out of
the cylinders and the diaphragm removed, to facilitate which it is formed
in two or more parts fixed together; a strong segmental ribbed cast-iron
curb or sill is then firmly fixed in the boring a short distance below the
lower end of the "gland" cylinder, and a segmental connecting cylinder
is introduced to connect the two firmly together. After a perfectly
water-tight lining has been made to the boring through the upper strata
in the above-described manner, the sinking of the shaft or pit may be
continued until the strata bearing the mineral or other substance is
reached.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Chaudron in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th April 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CHAUDRON, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Civil and Mining
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year
of our Lord Oue thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Chaudron, Her speciál
licence that I, the said Joseph Chaudron, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Chaudron, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BORING OR SINKING PITS OR SHAFTS FOR MINES AND OTHER PERPOSES, AND IN
APPARATUS AND TOOLS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joseph Chaudron, my executors or administrators,
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 Joseph Chaudron, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say :-
Whereas Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date the 1st July
1867, No. 1916, for an Invention of "Improvements in Boring or
Sinking Wells, and in Apparatus and Tools employed for that Purpose,"

page_text: debris may be as usual effected by means of an open metal cylinder
closed at bottom by valves opening inwards, so that by working such
cylinder up and down at the bottom of the boring the debris are made to
enter the same, and are then raised to the surface.
Figures 1 to 6 and Figures 15 and 16 on the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings show various forms of these boring tools. Figure 1 shows a
front elevation, a side elevation, and a plan of the under side of the
smallest description of tool for making the preliminary boring in semi-
hard strata. The bar A carrying the cutting chisels B is fixed by keys
to the forked end of the rod C, and at a point higher up on the rod is
fixed an arm D at right angles to the bar A, carrying at its ends two
other chisels E for smoothing the sides of the boring. F, F, are guides
for keeping the tool in a central position. Figure 2 shows the same
description of tool for hard strata, the only difference being that in place
of forming a forked end to the rod C, it is made solid in order to give the
requisite weight to the tool. After the preliminary boring has been made
with these tools it is widened out by the use of either of those shown at
Figures 3 and 4, that at Figure 3 being again for the softer strata and
that at Figure 4 for the harder strata. These tools have chisels B only
at their ends, and in order to keep them central with the preliminary
boring they may be provided with a guide G fitting into the same, as
shown at Figure 4. By the tool at Figure 3 the preliminary boring is
first enlarged by the chisels B, and then a further enlargement is effected
by the chisels E situated higher up.
Figures 5 and 6 show boring tools of the same description as Figures 3
and 4, constructed for cutting the largest sized borings, Figure 5 being
of a massive construction for hard strata while Figure 6 is of a lighter
construction for softer strata. For a boring of large dimensions, such as,
for instance, of twelve feet diameter, it is preferred to employ the three
before-described sizes of boring tools in succession.
Figure 15 shows a front elevation, side elevation, and plan of a
boring in which the teeth or chisels B are arranged on an incline for
the purposes before set forth, and Figure 16 shews a part front elevation
of a similar tool adapted for a smaller central boring, the guide or loop G
being made to fit loosely into the central boring s, Figure 17. In this
boring is suspended a bucket t, provided with two or more-pawls u,u,
which in catching against the side of the boring hold the bucket sus-

page_text: pended therein, so as to receive the debris from the boring tools; or in
place of this the clearing out of the debris may be as usual effected
as the work proceeds by means of an open metal cylinder closed at
bottom by valves opening inwards, as shown in elevation and plan at
Figure 7, so that by working such cylinder up and down at the bottom
of the boring the debris is made to enter the same, and it is then raised
to the surface. This implement is of well-known construction and forms
no part of my present Invention. The various boring tools above
described might all be made solid, as those shown at Figures 4 and 5.
On
The recovery of broken tools and rods is effected either by a spiral hook
shown in elevation and plan at Figure 8, which catches under any pro-
jection of the tool or rod, and in then being turned round secures such
rod in the narrow part of the hook, or if failing to do so brings it more
in the centre of the boring and easier to catch by the other tools; or a
pair of tongs may be employed for this purpose, as shown in front and
side elevation at Figure 9, consisting of two levers H, H, having fork-
like prongs at their extremities, as shown, and turning upon a fulcrum I
suspended from two chains J, J, from above, while the opening and
closing of the levers is effected by means of a rod K connected to the
ends of the levers by means of a toggle joint L. Lastly, an implement
may be employed, as shown in front and side elevation at Figure 10,
consisting of a ring M, to which two or more opposite arms N are
attached, the upper ends of which are fixed to the rod O from above.
the opposite sides are two or more other arms N₁, N¹, attached to the
rod O at top, and having a spring action tending to make the lower ends
approach each other. They are kept apart by a plug M³, as shown, which
plug, on being struck from below by the end of the broken rod or tool to
be recovered is forced in, whereupon the arms N' in springing together
hold the broken rod or tool between their serrated surfaces. When the
boring through the aqueous strata has been completed the water from
these is effectually cut off from the boring by the following apparatus
and mode of operating:-A strong cast-iron cylinder, shown in part
sectional elevation at P, Figure 12, is constructed of a somewhat smaller
diameter than the boring, having at bottom an external flange a, the
extreme diameter of which corresponds as nearly as practicable with the
diameter of the boring; the upper end of this cylinder fits like a gland
into the lower end of a second strong cast-iron cylinder Q, which has also
an external flange b equal in diameter to that of the shaft. The space

page_text: formed on the external surface of the bottom cylinder, between its lower
flange and the flange of the upper cylinder, is filled in with moss or other
similar suitable substance R, which is to act as a packing between the
lower cylinder and the side of the shaft. The lower cylinder P is sug-
5 pended from the upper one Q by means of suspension bolts S passing
through an inner flange C formed on the upper end of the former, and
through a ring T resting upon flanges & formed on the upper cylinders
in such manner that when the lower cylinder is in place at the bottom
of the boring the upper one is free to slide down upon it, and thus
0 compresses the moss packing, as shown at Figure 12. To the upper
cylinder, Q is now fixed a third cylinder U, Figure 11, by means of
bolts passing through the internal flanges d, a water-tight joint being
insured by means of lead packing between the meeting, surfaces. To a.
flange on the interior surface of this third cylinder is bolted a strong
5 diaphragm V of an inverted dished form,, so as to withstand considerable
pressure from below. In order to facilitate the subsequent removal of
this diaphragm it is preferred to make it of a somewhat smaller diameter
than the cylinders, and to fix thereto a ring V by which it is connected
to the flange f. In the centre of this diaphragm is formed an opening y,
0. to which is fixed a pipe W passing vertically up through the cylinder.
Upon the cylinder U is now fixed a fourth one X, also in a water-tight
manner, and the four thus combined are then lowered by suspension
rods Y fixed in a ring Z into the boring, until by the aid of the
diaphragm they float in the water contained therein. Other cylinders
5 are now fixed in succession in a like water-tight manner to those in the
boring, which are consequently made to sink gradually down from the
superadded weight, which sinking is regulated by the suspension rods or
chains worked from above, and also by letting in a certain quantity of
water above the diaphragm V through the central tube W. This tube
also serves to allow clearing implements to be passed down the boring
below the diaphragm in order to clear out any debris before the
cylindrical lining arrives at the bottom. When this has been accom-
plished, that is to say, when the bottom cylinder has arrived on the seat
formed for it in the impermeable strata below the aqueous strata, the
bottom. cylinder is. pressed by the superincumbent weight down over the
gland" cylinder P, thus very, forcibly compressing the moss packing R,
as, before described, as shown at Figure. 12. A water-tight packing, is
thus formed round the lower end of the cylindrical lining, which prevents
"

page_text: the water of the upper strata from penetrating into the interior of the
lining from below. An annular space h exists between the outer surface
of the cylindrical lining and the surface i of the boring, which space is
now by preference filled in with concrete, as although the moss packing
at bottom and the water-tight joints of the lining prevent the penetra
tion of the water to the interior, yet it is well to guard by this means
effectually against any leakage that may take place in the lapse of time
This filling in with concrete may be effected by means of narrow boxes
constructed as shown in sectional front and side elevation at Figure 13
the bottoms K of which are connected by rods 7 to a cover or piston m
attached to a long rod n worked from above; these boxes are filled with
concrete and are lowered in the annular space, at the bottom of which
the concrete is made to pass out of the box by forcing down the bottom k
and piston m. When the cylindrical lining has been made perfectly
water-tight and all communication with the aqueous strata cut" off, the
water is emptied out of the cylinders and the diaphragm removed. A
strong segmental ribbed cast-iron curb or sill, shown at o in sectional
elevation and plan at Figure 14, is then by preference- firmly fixed in the
boring below the lower end of the "gland" cylinder P, and a segmental
connecting cylinder p is introduced to connect the two firmly together,
so as to provide a firm foundation to the lining. In many cases however
this may be dispensed with. After a perfectly water-tight lining has
been made to the boring through the upper strata in the above-described
manner, the sinking of the shaft or pit may be continued until the strata
bearing the mineral or substance to be gained is reached.
The principal advantages of the before-described system of sinking
shafts through aqueous upper strata are, firstly, the complete isolation of
such aqueous strata; secondly, the great strength of the cast-iron lining
and the possibility of making the joints thereof perfectly water-tight;
thirdly, the great economy in the expense and duration of the work;
fourthly, considerable less arduous labour for the workmen; and, fifthly
the possibility of passing through all aqueous strata no matter what their
nature and thickness may be.
The most difficult case that can occur in establishing shafts through
aqueous upper strata is when it is required to pass through strata of
quicksand of considerable thickness, and situated a considerable depth
below the water level. In this case my improved system will offer great

page_text: advantages over those now employed. In such cases the mode of operat-
ing would be as follows:-First, if the aqueous strata is situate above
the quicksand is of sufficient consistency to prevent any serious falling in
during the boring the shaft is first sunk down to the quicksand, and a
preliminary cast or wrought iron tube is then sunk down the boring and
is made to penetrate throngh the quicksands and for some yards into
the hard strata below; after this the shaft is sunk a few yards farther in
order to prepare a seat for the bottom of the lining, and this latter is
then lowered and rendered water-tight by the before-described process.
Second, if the strata above the quicksand is not of a firm nature, but yet
sufficiently so to allow of its being bored, a preliminary lined shaft is
sunk down to the quicksand, after which the before-mentioned tube is
sunk through the sand, and the operation of lowering the lining is then
proceeded with as before described. In both the above cases the lowering
of the tube through the quicksand is the most difficult operation. If
this tube be made equal in length to the entire thickness of the aqueous
and overlying strata so that it can be worked from the top, the operation
will be facilitated, but the lowering of the tube might be difficult on
account of its weight. If, on the other hand, the tube is only made of a
length equal to the thickness of the stratum of quicksand, it might be
lowered by the ordinary apparatus by which the cylindrical lining is
lowered, but in this case the penetration of the tube into the quicksand
could not be so easily effected. I therefore prefer to make the tube of
the entire height as before mentioned, as it is always possible to coun-
teract any excessive weight by the application of a temporary equilibrium
diaphragm in the tube, similar to that described with reference to the
cylindrical lining, and which is subsequently removed. In order to
cause the tube to penetrate through the sand various means may be
employed in addition to the weight of the tube, should this not be
sufficient; thus it may be pressed down by means of screws or hydraulic
presses, or the tube may be filled with water to a greater height than
the level of the water in the boring, so that the water in escaping at the
lower edge of the tube, owing to the increased head inside it, would
decrease the friction of the tube in passing through the strata.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, what I claim is, the before-described
mode or process of sinking and protecting shafts for mines and other

page_text: purposes, saving and excepting for wells, as also the employment of the
before-described tools and apparatus for such purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Chaudron, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.