IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON TUBES."
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hobbs Taunton, of Wilton, in the
County of Warwick, Georgo Hayward, of Acock's Green, in the
County of Worcester, and Conrad Knap, of Gravelly Hill, in
the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON TUBES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hobbs
Taunton, George Hayward, and Conrad Knap at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 19th January
1875.
We, RICHARD HOBBS TAUNTON, of Wilton, in the County of
Warwick, GEORGE HAYWARD, of Acock's Green, in the County
of Worcester, and CONRAD KNAP, of Gravelly Hill, in the County of
Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
“IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON TUBES," to be as
follows:-
The improvements relate to the machinery employed for forming the

page_text: such operation being performed with great rapidity whilst the strip is
under welding heat and passing from the furnace to the welding rolls.
We propose to accomplish this thus,―
I. Pass the strip from the furnace on to a table or trough of suitable
section to give the first form to the strip, such table being provided
with rollers or other suitable apparatus to allow of its being moved
forward by hand or machinery; fix the end of the strip to said table by
means of a mandril or dolly of suitable shape, brought down on to it by
hand or machinery, and move the table forward with the strip and man-
drill or dolly to a guide or die of suitable shape for continuing bending
the edges of the strip together. The end of the strip is carried forward
by the table and mandrill or dolly past the die and delivered to tho
welding rolls. On coming into contact with the welding rolls the
pressure of the mandrill or dolly is taken off the strip, the table and
mandrill remain stationary, and the welding rolls perform their work:
and draw the strip through.
2. The same object can be attained by having the table or trough
stationary, and have rollers of suitable shape running in the top of same
between which and the dolly or mandrill the strip is propelled and
treated same as in No. 1.
3. In front of the furnace is placed a pair of plane rollers with
their axis vertical. These rollers are driven at a high speed and act as
propelling rolls to the strip as soon as it is brought into contact with
them. The strip is then passed into a guide with a fixed mandrill or
dolly, and is there formed into a skelp, passing next on to the welding 2
rolls.
4. By combining 2 and 3, i.e., have one or more horizontal rollers
& one or more pairs of vertical rollers with a dolly or mandrill
between the same, the said dolly or mandrill being pressed down on the
strip so as to form the strip into a U shape. It is then passed into a 8
guido where it is finally shaped into a skolp beforo passing to the
welding rolls.
5. In front of the furnace is placed a pair of plain rollers with their
axis horizontal; the strip is passed in these rolls and forced through a
trough or guide of suitable shape with a fixed dolly or mandrill inside. 3
In this guide the strip is then formed into a skelp, passing next to the
welding rolls.

page_text: All the rollers mentioned, horizontal or vertical, as pulling the strip
from the furnace are driven by hand or machinery, and are in all cases
used as propelling rolls only.
Similar arrangements of apparatus may be employed for bending up
strips of copper or other metal to form them into skelps preparatory to
their being formed into tubes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of tho Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Hobbs Taunton, George Hayward, and
Conrad Knap in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th July
1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, RICHARD
HOBBS TAUNTON, of Wilton, in the County of Warwick, GEORGE
HAYWARD, of Acock's Green, in the County of Worcester, and
CONRAD KNAP, of Gravelly Hill, in the County of Warwick, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date, the Nineteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her leirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, tho said Richard Hobbs Taunton,
George Hayward, and Conrad Knap, Her special license that we, the
said Richard Hobbs Taunton, George Hayward, and Conrad Knap, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as wo, the said
Richard Hobbs Taunton, George Hayward, and Conrad Knap, our
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 THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON TUBES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Richard Hobbs Taunton,
George Hayward, ånd Conrad Knap, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, hands and scals, or under
the hand and seal one of us or them, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Richard Hobbs Taunton, Georgo 5
Hayward, and Conrad Knap, do hereby declare the nature of tho
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment thereof, to be as follows :—
The improvements relate to the machinery employed for forming tho 1
strip into a skelp as it passes up to welding rolls, such operation being
performed with great rapidity whilst the strip is under welding heat and
passing from the furnace to the welding rolls.
Our first arrangement for effecting this is shown by the diagram views,
Figures 1, of the Drawings annexed. We pass the forward end of à 1
strip from the furnace a on to a table or trough b, the surface of which
may either be flat or concave. The table is provided with rollers c or
other suitable apparatus to allow of its being moved forward on a stand d
by hand or machinery. The table carries a mandrile of suitable shape
to enter between the welding rolls, and also an eccentric ƒ carried on a 2
spindle provided with a lever handle g, by means of which the eccentric
can be caused to bear upon the top of the strip and hold it firmly. Tho
end of the strip which is tapered off is passed below the bar e', from
which the mandril is carried, and is brought up to or somewhat beyond
the mandril e. When the strip has been secured to the table by tho 2
eccentric, the table is moved forward carrying with it the strip to a
guide or die of suitable shape for bending the edges of the strip
together. The end of the strip together with the mandril e is carried
forward by the table, past the dic, and delivered to the welding
rolls i, . On the strip coming into contact with the welding rolls the a
pressure of the eccentric is taken off, and the table together with tho
mandril remain stationary, the welding rolls then perform their work
and draw the strip through.
A second arrangement is shown in the diagram views, Figures 2. In
this arrangement the same object is attained by having the table 3
stationary, and having rollers of suitable shape running in top of same,
by which the strip is propelled forward and treated in the same manner

page_text: as in the first arrangement; 6 is the table carrying the rollers c which
are to be geared together and driven by any suitable means, either by
hand or machinery; f is an eccentric for pressing upon the strip, as in
the former arrangement. The strip as it is drawn from the furnace is
run forward on to the rollers c and passed below the bar e¹ which carries
the stem of the mandril. When the eccentric is caused to bear upon
the top of the strip, the strip is propelled forwards by the rollers and its
end forced through the die and up to the welding rolls. The welding
rolls then perform their work and draw the strip through.
A third arrangement is shown in the diagram views, Figures 3. In
this arrangement a pair of plain rollers & with their axes vertical is
fitted on a stand b in front of the furnaco a. These rollers are driven
at a high speed and act as propelling rollers to propel the strip forward
as soon as it is brought into contact with them, and the strip thus pro-
pelled forward is passed through a die to the welding rolls, as in the
previous arrangements.
▲ fourth arrangement is shown by the diagram views, Figures 4.
This arrangement is a combination of the plans 2 and 3, before described,
that is, there are one or more horizontal propelling rollers c and ono or
more pairs of vertical propelling rollers, with a pressor or eccentric
between the samo to press downwards on to tho strip, and the pro-
pelling rollers deliver the strip through a guide to the welding
rolls i, i¹.
A fifth arrangement is shown by the diagram views, Figures 5. In
front of the furnace a is placed a pair of plain rollers c with their axes
horizontal and carried by a stand b. These rollers are to be driven
either by hand or machinery, and may be either wider or narrower than
the strip. The Drawings shew them to be wider, we, however, prefer
that the upper rollers should be somewhat narrower than the strip, so
that the edges of the strip may be cooled as little as possible during the
passage of the strip to the welding rolls. The strip is passed between
the rollers, and is by them propelled through a guide to the welding
rolls.
In all the arrangements the stem of the mandril passes through the
guide, as shewn.
We would remark that wo are aware that it has before been proposed

page_text: concave rolls, which bend the strip into a trough form and deliver it to
welding rolls to form it into a tube; and also that it has before been
proposed to pass a strip of iron from a furnace through a pair of rolls
of a suitable shape to bevel the edges of the strip, and then through a
bending guide and welding rolls to produco a tube with a lap-welded 5
joint. Both these arrangements, however, have these defects; 1, that
tho rolls employed are more costly than plain cylindrical rollers; 2, that
the edges of the strip being brought into close contact with the rolls are
materially cooled, whereby the joint of the tube is liable to be imper-
fectly welded.
1
In our arrangements the rollers employed are simply propelling
rollers, and the edges of the strip which have to be welded together do
not come into contact with them except in the case of plan 3, which is
mainly suitable for the manufacturo of tubes from stout strips where
there is no danger of cooling the edges of the strips to any injurious 1
extent.
We would also state that the arrangements of apparatus hercin-before
described may be employed for bending up strips of copper or other
metal to form them into skelps preparatory to their being formed into
tubes.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and the manner
of performing the same, we would have it understood that wo claim,--
First. The manufacture of wrought-iron tubos by the arrangements of
machinery herein-before described.
Second. The arrangements of machinery hercin-beforo described for ?
the manufacture of tubes.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Hobbs Taunton, Georgo
Hayward, and Conrad Knap, havo hereunto set our hands and
scals, this Fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand night bundand and coventor fun