IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PIPES OR TUBES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO. ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Fifth day of October, in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors,
adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies, and Plan-
tations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PIPES OR
TUBES," being a communication from abroad, in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging. me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: 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
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The nature and advantages of this Invention of improvements in the manu-
facture of pipes or tubes, which has been communicated to me from abroad,
will be clearly understood from the following explanation thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings accompanying this my Specification.
Whereas in the usual methods of moulding a large amount of labour is
consumed in what is called ramming the moulding sand, which ramming is
performed by persons who require long practice to enable them to compress
the sand to the proper degree .to produce. a. good.casting; and whereas, in
the usual methods of making cast pipes, the cores thereof require a long
drying previous to being placed in the moulds: now the nature of this
Invention consists,―
First, in performing the operations of ramming the moulds and the cores
by machinery, which can be attended and worked by persons unskilled in the
art of moulding; and,
Second, in a peculiar construction of the core spindle, which precludes the
necessity of drying the core before the melted metal is poured into the mould.
In order that any competent founder may be able to use the Invention,
I will proceed to describe the same, and the construction and action of the
machines by which it is carried into effect.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings represent - various
views of the press for forming the mould which gives shape to the outer
surface of the pipe. Figs. 4, 5, and 6, shew the press.
s.for forming the core
which gives shape to the inner surface of the pipe. Fig. 7 is a view of the
improved core spindle, and Figs. 8, 9, and 10, shew the arrangement for
pouring the moulds. The same letters indicate the same parts in the various
Figures.
The general action of the press for forming the mould (represented in
Figs. 1, 2, and 3) is as follows:-The half of the flask is placed upon a
carriage, and passed under a box containing the moulding sand, which drops
into and fills the flask, it is then withdrawn from the sand box, and. forced
upwards against a pattern of the shape of half of the intended pipe. By the

page_text: pressure thus given, the sand is compressed throughout the whole length and
breadth of the flask as equally as if it had been carefully rammed by the most
experienced moulder, and is sufficiently hard to sustain the pressure of the
melted metal. In the Drawing the upright standards A, A', at each extremity
of the machine are connected above by a stationary press beam B sufficiently.
long to admit beneath it the longest flask which the machine is intended to
press, and to this beam the pattern C is attached. Immediately below the.
stationary press beam is the moveable press beam B', equal in length and
corresponding with the upper one. This press beam slides vertically, and is
guided in slots a in the upright standards A, A', and by raising it, the required
pressure is given to the sand in the flask. The device for raising this press
beam is composed of two cams b, 61 (of the same size and form), mounted
on horizontal shafts c, c¹, parallel to each other and attached to the inner sides
of the standards A, A', at right angles to the plane of the motion of the
moveable press beam; these cams act upon the opposite extremities of the
lower edge of the press beam, and to produce the pressure they are turned
upwards and inwards towards each other. To effect this, cog wheels d, d', of
equal size are mounted upon the extremities of the respective shafts c, c', and
are connected by a rack D which acts on the under, side of one wheel d, and
on the upper side of the other d'; a lever handle e is bolted to one of the cog
wheels, by turning which; the cam attached to its shaft is raised, thus forcing
upwards the extremity of the press beam on which it acts, while at the same time
the straight rack D, receiving motion from the cog wheel d on the cam
shaft c, transmits it to the corresponding wheel d' on the opposite cam shaft c',
and turning it in a direction the reverse of the first turns upward the cam b¹
attached to it, and elevates that end of the press beam. As the cams are-
exactly alike in size and form, and in the position they occupy upon their
respective shafts, and as the two cog wheels are of equal size, and their teeth
of the same pitch, it is evident that all the positions in which the moveable
press beam may be placed by the action of the cams' will be parallel to each
other. The flask carriage E traverses horizontally across the machine
between the two press beams. This carriage is equal in length to
the distance between the upright standards A, A¹, and carries one
halff of the flask (see the sectional Figure 3) in which the mould, is
to be made; it is composed of a bed plate hollowed to receive the flask -and-
to give it a firm support. This bed plate is supported at each-extremity
and traverses on ways g, g', attached to the upright standards A, A', of the
press. A reciprocating motion (in the directions indicated by the arrows.
Fig. 3) is given to the carriage by the following device:-Two racks h, h¹, are

page_text: attached to the opposite extremities of the bed plate E. The teeth of these
racks project from their lower faces and gear into the teeth of two equal
pinions i, i, mounted upon the opposite extremities of a horizontal shaft F,
whose journals are supported in brackets j, j, projecting from the standards
A, A', of the press. A crank G is fitted to one end of the shaft, by turning
which the pinions i, ¹, acting on their respective racks h, h³, propel the car-
riage from or towards, the operator standing at the front H of the press.
The half flask is placed upon the bed plate and surmounted by a moveable
frame or hopper I, which rises sufficiently above the edges of the flask to
form a cavity within the two, large enough to receive the exact amount of
inoulding sand required to form the mould. A sand box J is attached to
the back of the press. This box is equal in length and parallel in direc-
tion with the press beams; it contains a sufficient quantity of moulding sand
to form a number of moulds. Its bottom K slides horizontally from or
towards the press beams, and has its upper surface in the same plane with
the upper edges of the hopper I, surmounting the flask on the carriage E.
The carriage being brought (in the direction of the red arrow, Fig. 3) to the
front of the machine, the half flask is placed upon it and surmounted by.
the hopper I. The hand of the operator is then applied to the crank G, and
the carriage is retrograded (in the direction of the black arrow, Fig. 3), and
passing between the two press beams strikes the sliding bottom K of the sand.
box. This bottom gives before the carriage and allows the latter to take its
place beneath the sand; the sand dropping into the cavity of the flask fills
it, and the motion of the crank G being reversed the carriage is drawn
forward, and passing beneath the lower edge of the front side of the sand box,
returns filled evenly to the top of the hopper with moulding sand. On
this return motion of the carriage hooks k attached to each extremity
of its back engage with corresponding hooks k¹ attached to the sliding
bottom of the sand box and draw the latter forward, thereby closing the
opening through which the sand dropped into the flask. When the carriage
in performing its forward sliding motion has entirely closed the opening
of the sand box, the hooks attached to the. sliding bottom are disengaged
from those of the carriage by a friction wheel / attached to them, which
running on a stationary inclined plane m gradually raises and finally disen-
gages the hook to which it is attached. The carriage being brought exactly
beneath the upper press beam, power is applied to the lever handle e, and the
lower press beam B', together with the carriage which it supports, are thereby
moved up with great force towards the upper press beam B. The sand is
then brought into contact with the pattern C attached to this beam,

page_text: and, being prevented from escaping laterally by the hopper I surmounting
the flask, is compressed until the edges of the flask coincide with the plate.
to which the pattern is attached (as represented by the red lines in Fig. 3).
The motion of the lever handle is then reversed and the lower press beam
descending brings down the carriage until its. racks h, h', are again in gear
with their respective pinions i, i, the hand of the operator is again applied
to the crank handle G, the carriage is drawn forward and the flask containing
the finished mould is removed; second flask can then be inserted in
place of the first and the operation repeated. In the manufacture of pipes
it is frequently advisable that the sand forming the inner surface of the
mould, or that with which the melted metal comes in contact, should be of -a
quality different from that of the rest of the mould, so as to produce a
smooth and finished surface upon the cast pipe. This is generally effected by
sifting a thin layer of facing sand over the pattern previous to the introduction
of the ordinary moulding sand. In the moulding machine the same result
may be obtained in the following manner:-After the flask has received its
proper charge of moulding sand from the sand box it is brought forwards
(as before described) beneath the upper press beam and raised by the
action of the lower press beam against the pattern; if it be required to
face the mould the flask is not raised to the highest point, but merely
high enough to indent the sand contained in it with the pattern, the flask is
then lowered and brought forward and a thin layer of facing sand is sifted
upon it. It is now returned beneath the press beam, and power being
applied to the lever handle the whole mass of sand is compressed to the
required degree. It will be perceived that by this method the surface of
the mould will be coated as equally with facing sand as if it had been applied
in the ordinary hand moulding. The gate through which the metal enters
the mould is formed at the same time with the rest of the mould by
attaching a pattern of the exact size as the intended gate to the pipe
pattern. The same press might be used to form both. halves of the
mould by changing the patterns, but in practice it is preferred to use
two presses each with its proper pattern, as the time taken up by the
substitution of one pattern for the other is then saved. If deemed advisable
the pattern used may be made a complete instead of a half cylinder (sec
Fig. 3). and imbedded the half of its diameter in a block L, to which it is
attached by pivots on which it can be turned round. An oscillating motion
can then be given to the pattern in pressing the sand which would tend
to render the structure of the mould still more uniform. The mould for
the outside of the pipe. being thus completed, the next operation is to

page_text: core.
form the, core which gives shape to its inner surface. To accomplish
this, two methods are in general, use, depending upon the size of the intended
Wherever the size of the pipe admits cores are made of loam dried
upon a hollow iron core spindle through which the gases, generated in pouring
the pipe pass out of the core. The spindle is firmly. supported at each
extremity in notches in which it can be turned by attaching a crank to one
of its ends. In cores for large pipes a straw rope is first wound upon the core
spindle in order to increase the adhesion of the loam, but in small cores the
loam is applied directly to a roughened spindle. In order to regulate the size
of the pipe, a straight edge or gauge board is attached to the supports of the core
spindle at a distance from its axis equal to the radius of the intended core;
prepared loam is applied to the spindle, and the latter. being turned, the
surplus loam is struck off by the edge of the gauge board; after the first
coating has been applied the core is placed in an oven and dried; a second
coating is then applied in the same manner, and a second drying follows.
In some cases several coatings and dryings are required before the, mass is
sufficiently smooth and rigid to form a perfect core. In the second, method
the cores are made of sand carefully dried, the operation is as follows: -
A flat block is prepared somewhat larger than the intended core and thicker
than half its diameter. Into the upper surface of this block a, semi-cylindrical
trough is formed, its width being the diameter of the core, and its depth being
half of its width; gates or stoppers are placed at each extremity of this trough,
at a distance from each other equal
The block so prepared is the core box.
pieces of iron are inserted with it so as
sand projecting above the surface of the core box is scraped off, a flat plate
(the core plate) is then applied to the top of the core box, and the whole
being turned upside down, the latter is lifted off, leaving the half cylinder of
sand upon the core plate, the half cores thus formed are carefully dried, and
then the flat sides of two of them are applied to each other and bound
together, so as to form a cylinder.
to the length of the intended core.
Sand is rammed into the trough, and
to strengthen, the core; the surplus
It will be perceived that both of these methods require a large expenditure
of labor, and a great delay necessarily occurs in effecting the requisite drying.
The object of this portion of the Invention is to lessen the labor, and do away
with the drying; the first object is accomplished by forming, a cylindrical core
by pressure in the machine represented in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 6%, the second
is attained by a peculiar form of..core spindle represented in Fig. 7.
The arrangement and action of the core press is as follows:-A cylindrical
core box is formed of sections which are acted upon by a set of levers, by

page_text: A
which they are drawn from or forced towards the centre of the core.
measured quantity of sand is introduced into the expanded core box, together
with the core spindle, and by applying power to the levers, the sections are
forced towards a common centre, compressing the sand from one extremity of
the core box to the other, so as to form a perfectly cylindrical core.
Fig. 4 represents the core press in perspective view; Fig. 5 is a plan of
the press turned upside down; Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken at the line
X, X, of Figure 5; and Figure 62 is a section, shewing the manner of
attaching the sections of the core box to the moving parts of the press.
The press is composed of a strong bed frame M, supported at a convenient
distance above the floor on which the operator stands by end frames N, N¹,
which are connected together by braces n, n¹, n¹¹, n". This frame M
supports the sectional core box, which in the present instance is formed by
dividing a core box into four sections by two horizontal planes. The lower
section o is secured to the bed frame M, the two side ones 01, 0², move
horizontally outwards to receive the sand, and the upper one os can be raised
above the others to introduce the sand into the cavity of the core box. The side
sections o¹, o², are each attached to a sliding plate 0, 0¹, extending their whole
length, and moved by a device secured to the under side of the bed frame M.
This device consists of a shaft P, parallel in direction with. the axis of the
core box, bent so as to form at each extremity two short cranks p, p, whose
directions, when the side sections are expanded to admit the core sand, are at
right angles with the direction in which the sliding plates move, and are
opposed to each other. The two cranks p, p¹ (see Fig. 5), projecting above
the shaft P, are parallel with each other, and of the same length; the two
p², p3, below the shaft P are also parallel with each other, and of the same
length as the upper ones. The upper pair of cranks is connected with the
sliding plate O nearer the front Q of the press by connecting rods q, q', whose
length can be accurately adjusted by screws and nuts. The lower pair of
cranks p², p³, is connected with the sliding plate O' further from the operator,
by connecting rods q², q³, made and arranged in the same manner as the first
pair q, q. A lever handle R is attached to the shaft and depends vertically
from it, when the side sections are expanded (as in Figure 6); when the lower
extremity of this lever is raised the sliding plates O, O', and the side sections
o', o, of the core box attached to them are forced towards each other, and
when the lever handle is depressed the plates and side sections are drawn from
each other. A stationary hopper S, to contain the sand, is supported above
the sliding plates by elbow-shaped supports r, r, r, which connect it with the
bed frame M, this hopper is wide enough to receive the upper section o³ within

page_text: it. This section o³ is connected with the bed frame by two radius bars T, T
so that when lowered it shall always come into its proper place above the lower
section o. U, U, are two brackets parallel to each other, and secured to the
bed frame M. A shaft P¹ is suspended by the upper extremities of these
uprights above the core box, and the upper section is connected with the shaft
by two pairs of hinged radius bars s, s¹, s, s³, the combined length of each
pair being equal to the distance between the shaft P¹ and the upper section of
the core box when the latter is depressed to its lowest position. These pairs
of radius bars act in the same manner as the braces which distend, the hoods
of carriages, they are connected with each other at their hinged extremities
by a horizontal rod Ps; by forcing this rod backwards the upper section o³ is
raised, and by drawing it forwards the section is depressed upon the sand in
the hopper S. The sand is prevented from escaping at the ends of the core
box by end plates V, V₁, each end plate is composed of two sections t, t',
hinged to each other, and parting at the centre of the core to admit the core
spindle, which is received in semicircular notches in the adjacent edges of the
sections. The lower section t¹ of each end plate is formed of a flat bar hinged
at its back extremity to the bed frame, and supported at its front extremity,
which terminates in a handle by a spring catch u, u'. A box W to contain
core sand is supported above the sliding plate near the operator on standards
v, v, attached to the bed frame. This box extends the whole length of the press,
and contains sufficient sand to form a number of cores. The bottom X of the
box slides directly above the hopper S, either from or towards the operator, the
direction of its motion being parallel with the length of the core box. It is
perforated with an opening w which extends the whole length of the core box,
and contains just enough sand to form the half of a core. The operation is
as follows:-The sand box is filled with sand; the upper section of the core
box is raised by shoving the rod P³ from the operator, and the side sections
are drawn from each other by depressing the lever handle R, which turns
the crank shaft P below the bed frame M. The sliding bottom X is then
shoved over the hopper S and the sand is discharged into the expanded corc
box; the core spindle is laid upon the sand and is secured in the end plates
V, V. A new portion of sand is now introduced upon the core spindle
by alternating. the sliding bottom X of the sand box. The top section is
then depressed for the purpose of compressing the sand between it and the
lower section, and the pairs of hinged radius bars s, s', s2, s, locking at their
hinges hold it firmly in its position. Power is now applied to the lever
handle R below the bed frame, and the two side sections are forced towards
cach other compressing the sand upon. the core spindle with a force propor-

page_text: tioned to the relative length of the handle and the cranks p. p', p², p'. The
core being thus fully formed the side sections are withdrawn from it. By
depressing the hand lever the upper section is raised. The core is raised
from the lower section by the bars t¹, t, acting on the ends of the core
spindle, and then removed from the press. Succeeding cores can then be
made in the same manner.
The improved core spindle, which is represented at Figure 7, is constructed
in the following manner:-A central .rod, whose section is a right-angled
cross with arms of equal length, is placed in a lathe and a screw cut upon its
projecting edges. Wire is then wound upon it, forming an open helix,
through the interstices of which the vapor contained in the core saud can
easily escape into the channels between the rings of the rod. The advantage
of this construction is, that common moulding sand will adhere to it, and no
drying is necessary before placing the core in the mould.
It will be perceived that the whole operation of moulding by the above-
described process can be performed by a person perfectly unskilled in the art,
as the amount of compression is not regulated by the skill of the operator,
but is governed by the amount of sand introduced by the sliding bottom, and
the core can not only be made in much less time than if rammed by hand, but
is more uniform in its structure, and being equably compressed from end to
end will present an uniform face to the metal surrounding it, and will allow
the vapors to escape freely from it. In filling the moulds the following
method may with advantage be employed, as by it a number of moulds may
be simultaneously filled:-The apparatus is represented at Figures 8, 9,
and 10, the first being a plan of the sprue case with a single flask attached
to it; the second being a vertical section at the line x, x, of Figure 8; and
the third, a horizontal section at the line x, x, of Figure 9. A number
of flasks (eight in the present instance) are arranged vertically in a ring
surrounding a central sprue case Y. This is formed of a flat case a,
containing channels y, y, y, y, y, diverging from a common centre, and
of a hollow vertical stem z, containing a vertical sprue z' formed of sand
compressed in the same manner as the moulds. The melted metal is
poured into the upper extremity of the vertical sprue, and passing through
the diverging channels and the gates of the moulds fills the whole set
at once, thus saving a considerable amount of time and the labor of
filling each mould separately. By this improved system the several opera-
tions of moulding, coring, and casting follow each other without intermission;
and as the labor is greatly reduced, and does not require practised
moulders for its successful performance, the cost is not only correspondingly

page_text: reduced, but the manufacture is freed from the restraints to which it has
heretofore been subjected, while the product is uniformly of good quality.
Having now described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I do not confine myself to the employ-
ment of the precise construction of apparatus above described, as several
variations can be made without deviating from the principles of the Invention ;•
but I claim, as improvements in the manufacture of pipes or tubes,
First, the process of forming a pipe mould by compressing a measured
quantity of sand into each section of the flask.
Second, the process of forming a pipe core by compressing a measured
quantity of sand between the converging sides of a sectional core box.
Third, forming a core spindle by enveloping a suitably-shaped metal rod
in a coil of wire upon which the sand is to be compressed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifth day of April, in the year
of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Alfred Vincent Newton came before our 2
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.