AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE JOINTS OF CAST-IRON GAS AND WATER MAINS AND. OTHER PIPES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William. Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE JOINTS OF CAST-IRON GAS
AND WATER MAINS AND. OTHER PIPES."-A communication from abroad
by Richard Chester Robbins, Jesse Moore Kean, and Henry Lamson
Case, all of Jersey City, Hudson County, State of New Jersey, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
October 1862.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for. "AN IMPROVEMENT IN; THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE JOINTS OF CAST-IRON
GAS AND WATER MAINS AND OTHER PIPES," to be as follows:-
This improvement in the construction of the joints of cast-iron gas and
water mains and other pipes consists in making such joints by forming
grooves.or recesses around the interiors of the sockets or larger ends of the
pipes, making the smaller ends; slightly taper, casting rings of lead or other
soft metal or alloy within the aforesaid grooves or recesses before putting
the pipes in the ground or into the places they are to occupy, and after-
ward drawing or forcing the taper smaller ends tightly into the aforesaid
rings, by which means a tighter, more durable, and more flexible joint is.

page_text: obtained than by the ordinary construction, with a great saving of lead or
other soft metal or alloy that may be used and the pipes are enabled to be laid
more expeditiously.
In making these pipe joints, I cast the socket with an enlargement on the
end, having an appearance on the exterior of a very large bead, instead of the
small one usually formed thereon; and in the interior of the socket at
this enlargement, I form the hollow before. mentioned. To fill this hollow
with the lead necessary for the junction, I bore or otherwise form a hole
through from the outside, and place a former mould core, one part of which
fits in the socket, and while the remainder is reduced to the size of the pipe
end to be placed therein, a disc of india-rubber material fitting the interior
of the socket is placed on the end of the former, this, with the shoulder of the
former limits the breadth of the annular form of lead to be run into the socket,
which occupies a position somewhat similar to the lead ordinarily introduced
for such junctions, which is much less in breadth, and enlarges into the recess
before mentioned. The former is readily removed by detaching the india-
rubber disc, and the lead remaining in place. The smaller ends of the pipes
are made taper for a short distance, and in order to cast these taper ends, and
portions of the cylindrical exteriors of the pipes as true and smooth as possible
the ends of the moulds in which they are cast should be composed of a ring of
cast-iron which has been bored out perfectly true, and smooth; this ring is
placed on the core before placing the latter on the said mould, and by adjusting
this ring along the core, the pipe may be cast longer or shorter as desired. In
this way the lead or other metal or alloy used may be put in place before
the joint is made, which is performed by simply forcing the small end of
the one pipe into the lead lining of the socket of the adjoining pipe, which
may be done by any suitable apparatus. An apparatus I use is very simple,
consisting simply of two half rings, which I place behind the socket of the
joint to be made, and apply eyes or loops formed on two long rods, which keep
the half hoops together, the other ends of the rods have screws and nuts
jointed to the end of the pipe to be forced into the socket, a bar stretched
across the end of the pipe receives the pressure of the nuts and strain exerted
to force the joint home. The mouth of the socket in front of the groove or
recess may be made somewhat larger than the back portion of the interior of
'the socket to permit the introduction of a caulking tool, to caulk the ring if at
any time necessary.
:
Besides making a superior joint with less lead than is commonly used; this
Invention effects a great saving of labor in digging the trenches for the reception
of gas and water mains; when the ordinary lead joint is used the trench requires

page_text: to be made very wide and deep at the sockets of the pipes to enable the joint
to be made; but this improved joint does not usually require the trench to be
made wider or deeper than is necessary to admit the socket and the clamping
apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the said William,
Clark, 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 IMPROVEMENT IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF THE JOINTS OF CAST-IRON GAS AND WATER MAINS AND OTHER
PIPES," a com" to me from abroad Richard Chester Robbins, Jesse Moore
Kean, & Henry Lamson Case, all of Jersey City, Hudson County, State
of New Jersey, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Clark, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands
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 Clark, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-

page_text: This improvement in the construction of the joints of cast-iron gas and
water mains and other pipes consists in making such joints by forming grooves
or recesses around the interiors of the, sockets or larger ends of the pipes,
making the smaller ends slightly taper, casting rings of lead or other soft
metal or alloy within the aforesaid grooves or recesses before putting the
pipes in the ground or into the places they are to occupy; and afterward
drawing or forcing the taper smaller ends tightly into the aforesaid rings, by
which means tighter, more durable, and more flexible joint is obtained, than by
the ordinary construction, with a great saving of lead or other soft metal
or alloy that may be used, and the pipes are enabled to be laid more
expeditiously.
In the accompanying Drawing, which forms part of the Specification,
Fig. 1 exhibits a central longitudinal section of one length and a portion of
another length of pipe showing the improved construction of the joint and a
contrivance for drawing the two portions of the joint tightly together; Fig. 2
is a transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line x, x, in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal view of a single length of pipe showing the exterior of
the smaller end, and a central section of the larger or socket end; Fig. 4 is a
central longitudinal section of the socket end of the pipe illustrating the mode
of casting in the leaden ring; Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section of a
portion of the mould and core for casting the pipe. Similar letters of
reference indicating corresponding parts in the several Figures.
A, A, are the sockets, and B, B, the smaller ends of the pipes or lengths of
pipe. The sockets are cast substantially like those of the cast-iron street
mains in common use, except that each has formed around its interior, near
the mouth, the groove or recess a for the reception of the lead ring b, and
that the other portion of the interior need not be quite so large. The smaller
ends of the pipes are made taper for a short distance, and in order to cast
these taper ends and portions of the cylindrical exteriors of the pipes as true
and smooth as possible, the ends of the moulds in which they are cast should
be composed of a ring of cast iron C (Fig. 5) which has been bored out
perfectly true and smooth. This ring C is placed on the core D before
placing the latter in the sand mould E, and by adjusting this ring along the
core the pipe may be cast longer or shorter as desired. The portion of the
pipe which is cast true in the ring C is tinted in gray, Fig. 3, and the line c
in that Fig. indicates the commencement of the taper; the same ring C may of
course be used over and over again. The ring C will fill better, and the end
of the pipe be made smoother, if preparatory to casting the pipe the said ring
is heated by molten iron poured into a cavity provided in the mould around

page_text: the said ring. To provide for the casting of the lead ring b in the recess a; a
hole d is drilled or otherwise made from the exterior of the socket into the
said recess, and a cast-iron former or stopper F is placed in a socket A, the
said former or stopper being furnished at its end with a packing e of india-
rubber, cloth, or other suitable material, which serves the two purposes of
keeping it in place and of preventing the melted lead from passing its end. The
portion of the former around which the lead is cast is of a similar circumference
to the extremities of the smaller ends of the pipes, so that after the rings have
been cast in their places, the said ends of the pipes may be capable of
entering therein. After the former has, been put in, the lead is poured through
the hole d, and after the lead has set, the former F is taken out. The lead
ring may be cast at the foundry where the pipe is made, or at any other con-
venient place. Any suitable apparatus may be employed to force the smaller
ends of the pipes into the sockets to make the joints. That which is repre-
sented in Figs. 1 and 2 is simple, convenient, and effective. It consists of a
ring G, two eye bolts H, H, a plate I, and nuts h, h. The ring G is made in
two halves, each furnished with lugs 9, 9, and it is made to fit the exterior of
the pipes behind the sockets. The bolts H, H, are made with eyes large
enough for the reception of two contiguous lugs g. 9, of the ring G, and they
must be long enough. to extend from the ring placed behind the socket of one
pipe through the plate I placed across the socket of another pipe, whose
smaller end is placed in the first-mentioned pipes, as shown in Fig. 1, and the
nuts are fitted to screw threads on the ends of the bolts which protrude
through the plate I. In laying the pipes the smaller end of one is inserted
into the socket of another, and on the apparatus above described being applied
the nuts h, h, are secured up against the plate I, and the said plate being
thereby drawn back toward the ring G is caused to force the smaller end of
the second pipe far enough into the socket of the first to make it fit perfectly
tight within the ring g. It is preferable to force the one pipe so far into the
other that the cylindrical portion of the pipe in rear of the line c (Fig. 3) will
enter about or more than half way through the ring, leaving some of the
taper portion of the pipe within the ring. When the joint has been thus made
the nuts h, h, are slackened, and the ring, rods, and plate removed. The mouth
of the socket in front of the groove or recess a may be made somewhat larger
than the back portion of the interior of the socket to permit the introduction
of a caulking tool to caulk the ring a, if at any time necessary.
Besides making a superior joint with less lead that is commonly used, this
Invention effects a great saving of labour in digging the trenches for the
reception of gas and water mains. When the ordinary lead joint is used the

page_text: trench requires to be made very wide and deep at the sockets of the pipes to
enable the joint to be made, but the improved joint does not usually require
the trench to be made wider or deeper than is necessary to admit the socket
and the clamping apparatus.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the construction of the
joints of cast-iron gas and water mains and other pipes, in the manner sub-
stantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our
Lord.One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. L.S.)