IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS AND BOSSES OR CENTRES, AND IN THE MODE OF AND FURNACES FOR HEATING THE SAME DURING SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Martin Rowan, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING
WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS AND BOSSES OR CENTRES, AND IN THE MODE OF AND
FURNACES FOR HEATING THE SAME DURING SUCH MANUFACTURE."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 9th July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Martin Rowan
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th July 1858.
I, JOHN MARTIN ROWAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS AND BOSSES OR CENTRES. AND IN THE
MODE OF AND FURNACES FOR HEATING THE SAME DURING SUCH MANUFACTURE,"
to be as follows:-
ThisInvention of "Improvements in Manufacturing Wrought-iron Wheela
and Bosses or Centres, and in the Mode of and Furnaces for Heating the
same during such Manufacture," relates, in the first place, to an improved
method of forming parts of wrought-iron wheels, or hubs, or bos es for screw
propellers, and consists in making the butts of the spokes for the hub's of
wrought-iron wheels of an angular, curved, or zig-zag form, so as to ensure a

page_text: lap welded hub when they are brought and welded together. The butts are
made the entire width to form a hub without the use of washers as in the
ordinary way. These butts are forged to the required shapes with dies under
a tilting hammer, and when the sections are thus forged they are secured by a
band or clamp, provided with set screws, or any convenient contrivance in
general use for similar or analogous purposes. When the hub is formed of
these sections in number to form a hub, it is placed in between the nozzles of
a heating apparatus, for the purpose of being heated to a sufficient degree of
heat to be welded into a solid hub by the swaging action of dies corresponding
to the shape of the hub and spokes.
The dies for swaging and hammering the hub when at a welding heat are
alike; the lower one being secured to an anvil, and the other arranged above
it and acting as a vertical hammer.
In the dies are chambers or recesses for the reception of the hub, and
radiating from it are grooves to receive the arms of the wheel. As the upper
die forms the hammer or head of the vertical acting hammer by its action in
combination with the stationary lower die, the hub is perfectly swaged or
hammered together.
The use of angular, curved, or zig-zag butts is an important improvement
over the old method, as they dovetail together, and there is no lateral move-
ment of one butt from another; they also (in being swaged) lap over one
another, and a more perfect solid hub or boss is obtained.
By the form and action of the dies and punch the hub is swaged and com-
pressed on all sides into shape, and is soundly welded together in the die
chambers. The wheel is turned over from time to time, so that both sides of
the hub will be subject to the blows of the upper die. A punch is driven
through the eye of the hub to aid in clearing the eye and shaping the hub.
The next part of the Invention relates to the mode of and apparatus for
heating the parts of wheels or bosses that are to be welded together, and con-
sists, in the first place, in heating those parts all over simultaneously, by
causing the heat to act from above and below alternately, as may be desired.
The improved apparatus consists of a peculiar arrangement of double furnace
with suitable fire-places, by which the sections of which the wheel is composed
are heated at the butts to form the hub in such a manner that the heat from
the furnace passes around and through the centre of the hub or boss from
above and below alternately, as may be required, without moving the wheel
during the process of heating.
The furnace may be constructed of any desirable size, and is built of fire
brick or other suitable material, and sheathed with iron plates. The flues or

page_text: passages for the fire and heated vapors are divided into upper and lower flues,
through either of which the heat may be carried as désired.
The dampers of the flues are provided with levers, by which they are closed
or opened, so that the flame may be carried to the upper or lower side of the
hub as required.
The wheel is first forged in sections according to the number of spokes, the
butts of which have curved, or angular, or zig-zag sides in order to have a lap
weld, also to prevent any lateral movement out of place when being handled
and welded together. The furnace may be used in welding or heating any
form or construction of wrought-iron hubs or bosses. When the sections
composing the wheel are put together and secured in place by a band or
clamp provided with set screws, the wheel is placed so that the hub will be
between the nozzles of the furnace. In this position the wheels are supported,
and the hub will be temporarily surrounded with two rings of circular fire
brick, each divided into two or more segments, as the case requires. These
are placed above and below, for the purpose of confining the heat to the hub
of the wheel, which remains until sufficiently heated or welded, when it may
be removed for the purpose of swaging or hammering the heated hub together
into shape.
The heat from each furnace is alternately directed to the hub above and
below, and while the hub is being heated, the spokes are protected by the
material which surrounds the hub, so that they are not burnt. A little loam
or clay is used in enclosing the seams of the segment of bricks that surrounds
the hub or boss.
For the purpose of giving draft to the fires when first made in the furnaces,
both the dampers are opened, and afterwards they are opened and closed
alternately, as may be required, so as to conduct the heat to the upper or
under side of the wheel or hub.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Martin Rowan in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MARTIN ROWAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord Que

page_text: thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Martin Rowan, Her special license that I, the said John Martin
Rowan, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Martin Rowan, iny 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 "IMPROVE
MENTS IN MANUFACTURING WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS AND BOSSES OR CENTRES, AND
MODE OF AND FURNACES FOR HEATING THE SAME DURING SUCH MANU-
FACTURE," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Martin Rowan, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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.
IN
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Martin Rowan, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say)
This Invention of "Improvements in Manufacturing Wrought-iron Wheels
and Busses or Centres, and in the Mode of and Furnaces for Heating the same
Guring such Manufacture," relates, in the first place, to an improved method
of forming parts of wrought-iron wheels and also the hubs for screw propellers,
and consists, in the first place, in making the butts of spokes for the hubs of
wrought-iron wheels or propellers of an angular, curved, or zig-zag form, so as
to ensure a lap-welded hub. The butts are made the entire width sufficient to
form a hub without the use of washers, as in the ordinary way. These butts
are forged to the required shape, with dies under a tilting hammer, and when
the sections are thus forged, they are secured by a band or clamp provided
with set screws, or any convenient contrivance in general use for similar or
analogous purposes. When the rough hub is formed of these sections in
number sufficient to form a hub, it is placed in between the nozzles of a
heating apparatus for the purpose of being heated to a sufficient degree of
heat, to be welded into a solid hub by the swaging action of dies corresponding
to the intended shape of the hub and spokes. The dies for swaging and

page_text: hammering the hub (when at a welding heat) are alike, the lower one being
secured to an anvil, and the other arranged above it, and acting as a vertical
hammer; in each of the dies is a chamber or recess for the reception of the
hub, and radiating from this chamber or recess are grooves to receive the
arins of the wheel.
As the upper die constitutes the hammer or head of
the vertical acting hammer, it will by its action in combination with the
stationary lower die form the hub by perfectly swaging or hammering
together the several parts.
The angular, curved, or zig-zag form of the butt is an important improve-
ment over the old method, as these parts dovetail together, and there is no
lateral movement of one butt from another; they also (in being swaged) lap
over one another, and a more perfect solid hub is obtained than heretofore.
By the form and action of the dies the hub is swaged and compressed on
all sides into shape, and is soundly welded together in the die chambers. The
wheel is turned from time to time, so that both sides of the hub will be
subject to the blows of the upper die or hammer. A punch is driven through
the eye or central opening of the hub to aid in clearing the eye and shaping
the hub.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a side view of a wheel constructed according to my
Invention. Figures 2 and 3 are sectional views of the same.
It will be seen
that the joints or butts in these Figures are made angular, but in Fig. 4,
which is another sectional view, they are curved. In Figures 7, 8, and 9, the
butts are also made angular, but in Fig. 10 they are formed with zig-zag ends,
Fig. 20 is a section of the butts of the spokes shewn at Fig. 8. Fig. 21 is a
similar view of that shewn at Fig. 4; and Fig. 22, a section of the butts
shewn at Fig. 10. The dies for swaging or forging the hubs of the wheels
are shewn at Figs. 5, 6, 11, and 12; Figures 5 and 11 being front views of
the upper and under dies, and Figures 6 and 12, side views of the same.
Fig. 19 is a sectional view of the upper and under dies a, a, with the hub P
in the recess or chamber of the dies and the spokes d extending out from the
hub through grooves made in the dies for the purpose.
By the present or usual method of welding a washer, on one side of the hub
at a time, a solid hub cannot easily be obtained, as the washers are welded on
the butts horizontally, while the butts are joined together vertically. The
action of welding and hammering the washers on the butts that compose a
hub of a wheel will have a tendency to draw the butts of spokes apart, as the
butts are not in the old plan confined together in dies so as to compress them
towards the centre. In the present improvement, however, the hub is heated

page_text: all over at one heat, and is swaged and compressed together by the vertical
action of the hammer on the side of the hub, and the latter being confined in
the chamber of the lower die, the butts are forced horizontally towards the
centre, and cannot get out of place.
It will now be understood that the parts which form the hub are soundly
welded together in the die chamber, and the wheel is turned from time to
time so that both sides of the hub will be subject to the blows of the upper
die a.
A punch, shewn detached at Fig. 13, is driven through the eye of
the hub by the fixed pin punch /* in the die a (Fig. 19), for the purpose of
aiding in clearing the eye and shaping the hub. The punch may be
provided with a feather on its side for the purpose of cutting a key seat or
groove in the hub when the punch is driven through by the die a.
By this improved method of making wheels and hubs, the hub when heated
is swaged solid by a few blows, and when finished will be of so perfect a shape
that no trimming will be required, except to remove a small fin that may form
at the meeting of the dies.
Fig. 18 is a side view of the boss of a propeller shaft, the vanes of which
can be rolled with enlargements on their end, to be formed into butts of any
shape that would suit best for producing the hub of a three or four blade
wheel. Fig. 15 is a view of a hub in which the butts of the spokes are all of
a diamond form, and are united together with blocks of a double X form.
This arrangement can be used when there are few spokes in the wheel, such
as that shewn at Fig. 7. Figures 16 and 17 are side and sectional views of
a plate wheel, the hub of which may be made in the improved manner.
The next part of the Invention relates to the mode of and apparatus for
heating the parts of wheels or bosses that are to be welded together, and
consists, in the first place, in heating these parts all over simultaneously by
causing the heat to act from above and below alternately, as may be desired.
The improved apparatus consists of a peculiar arrangement of double furnace,
with suitable fire-places, by which the sections of which the wheels are com-
posed are heated at the butts to form the hub, in such a manner that the heat
from the furnace passes around and through the centre of the hub from above
and below alternately, as may be required, without moving the wheel during
the processes of heating.
The furnace may be constructed of any desirable size, and is to be built of
fire-brick or other suitable material, and sheathed with iron plates. The flues
or passages for the fire and heated vapours are divided into upper and lower
flues, through either of which the heat may be carried as desired.

page_text: The dampers of the flues are provided with levers, by which they are closed
or opened, so that the flame may be carried to the upper or lower side of the
hub as required.
The wheel is first forged in sections according to the number of spokes
intended to be employed, and the butts of which spokes have curved angular
or zig-zag ends, as mentioned in the first part of my Invention, in order to
form a lap weld, also to prevent any lateral movement out of place when being
handled and welded together.
Figure 1, Sheet II., is a side elevation of my improved furnace for heating
the butts or hubs of wheels and other analogous articles; Fig. 2 is a side
elevation of the opposite side of the furnace to that seen at Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is
an elevation of one end of the furnace; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of the
opposite end; Fig is a longitudinal vertical section, taken in the direction
of the lines in Figures 3, 4, and 7; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken
in the lines in Figures 2 and 4; and Fig. 7 is a top or plan view of
the furnace. The other views will be referred to in the description.
It will be seen on referring to the Figures that the parts A A, of the
furnace overhang or project beyond the fire-places, and these projecting parts
are held up and supported by means of bolts B, B, placed on each side, and
which are attached to the iron plates on each side upon which the pro-
jection A rests, and also to a framework above, but not shewn in the
Drawing; C, C*, (Fig. 1,) are the fire doors to the upper and lower fur-
nace D, D, seen in Fig. 5; F, F, are the dampers of the flues, and are
provided with levers K, K, (Fig. 2,) whereby they are worked so that the
flame from the furnaces may be carried to the upper or lower side of the
hub, as may be required; G, G*, are flues for connecting the furnaces D, D*,
with the chimney; H, H, (Figures 4 and 5.) are the ash-pits, and H, H",
are the doors thereof. An air pipe I enters the ash-pits H, H, as seen in
Fig. 5, for the purpose of supplying air to the respective furnaces D and D.;
the blast for that purpose may be produced by any of the ordinary means.
The air pipe I is provided with valves and handles on the outside, as shewn
at J, J*, (Figures 2, 6, and 7,) for the purpose of cutting off the blast from
or blowing either of the furnaces separately, as may be required.
When the sections composing the wheel are put together, and secured in
place by a band or clamp provided with set screws, the wheel is placed in the
furnace, as shewn in Figures 1 and 5, so that the hub P will be between the
nozzles D', D', of the furnace. In this position the wheels are supported,
and the hub is temporarily surrounded with two rings of circular fire brick, as
seen at S, S, (Fig. 5), and detached in perspective at Figures S.
Each ring

page_text: of fire brick is divided into two or more segments as the case requires, and
these segments are placed above and below the wheel for the purpose of
confining the heat to the hub of the wheel, as seen best in Fig. 5. These
segments remain until the hub is sufficiently heated to admit of the parts
being properly welded, when the wheel may be removed for the purpose of
swaging or hammering the heated butts together into shape to form the hub.
The heat from each furnace is to be directed to the hub alternately from
above and below, and while the hub is being heated the spokes are protected
by the rings of fire bricks 8, S, which surround the hub so that they will not
be burnt. A little loam or clay is used for closing up the seams of the
segment of bricks that surrounds the hub,thereby preventing any unnecessary
waste of heat.
For the purpose of giving draught to the fires when first made in the
furnace, the dampers F, F, are opened, and as the heating process advances,
the dampers and wind passages are alternately opened or closed as may be
required, so as to conduct the heat to the upper or under side of the wheel or
hub, in order that the latter may be properly heated all over.
By opening one of the dampers F and closing the other damper F, and
shutting off the blast from the furnace 1), and by closing one of the valves J*
and opening the other valve J, the furnace D* will receive the blast, and the
fire will pass from the furnace D* to the under side of the hub P, and
surround it upon all sides as the heated vapours ascend to the upper furnace,
and pass out through the flue G to the chimney.
When the hub is sufficiently heated on the under side, the direction of the
heat thereto is reversed; by this means the fire from the furnace D is
stopped, and the fire from the upper furnace 1) passes to the top of the hub,
and surrounds it on all sides as it descends to the furnace D*, and passes out
through the flue G* to the chimney. The degree of heat or draught of the
furnace may be controlled by the dampers F, F*, and the valves J, J*, on
the wind pipe I, and at the same time the fire from either of the furnaces D
or D may be alternately directed to the upper and lower side of the hub
until it has acquired the necessary degree of heat.
As the blast is cut off from one furnace while the other is being blown, the
fires do not interfere with each other, and while the draft is cut off from one
furnace, that fire remains at rest while the other furnace is in action. The
fire which is not operating on the hub is to be replenished with fuel, so that
when the fresh fuel is coked it is again put into operation. The upper and
Jower fires are alternately supplied, so that a pure flame is all the time inade
to act on the hub:

page_text: as
In Figures 5 and 6, V, V, are the slag holes to receive and run off the slag
that may accumulate in the furnaces. The ridge W is for the purpose of
preventing the slag from running down the nozzle D upon the hub or other
article which is being heated. In Fig. 9, M is a case built inside with fire
brick for the purpose of enclosing the space between the nozzles D¹, D¹, so a
to connect the upper and lower furnaces together, and promote the draft, and
thereby cause them to be heated to a proper degree before the hub is placed
between the nozzles for the heating process. In Fig. 10, N is a nozzle ring
plate, which is taken off and built in with fire brick when either of the
nozzles D¹, D¹, require to be repaired.
Having how described my Invention of improvements in manufacturing
wrought-iron wheels and bosses or centres, and in the mode of and furnaces
for heating the same, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is,
First, the mode herein described and shewn of manufacturing wrought-
iron wheels and bosses or centres.
Second, I claim the mode above described of heating the butts, hubs, or
centres of wrought-iron wheels or bosses, and also the arrangement or
construction of the furnaces herein shewn and described for heating the
same.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Martin Rowan, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
D
J. M. KOWAN. (L.8.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered before and
in presence of
JAMES DOW,
of No. 50, West George Street, Glasgow,
Clerk at Law, Witness.