NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED, REEDED, AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL METALLIC TUBES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Walker, the younger, of Edgbaston, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of " NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED, REEDED,
AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL METALLIC TUBES."
Scaled the 3rd May 1861, 'and dated the 24th November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Walker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
November 1860.
I, SAMUEL WALKER, the younger, of Edgbaston, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OP TWISTED, REEDED,
AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL METALLIC TUBES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the new or improved machinery herein-after
described, to be used in the manufacture of twisted, reeded, and other
ornamental straight and taper metallic tubes. By straight tubes I mean
tubes having the same diameter throughout, and by taper tubes I mean tubes
having a varying diameter throughout.
My Invention is applicable to the manufacture of tubes having a spiral or
twisted figure, whether the said spiral or twist has a concave or convex figure,
to reeded or fluted tubes, that is, tubes having the flutes running parallel with
the axis of the tube, and to diamond and chain twisted tubes.

page_text: My Invention is applicable to the manufacture of tubes made of copper,
brass, iron, or other suitable metal or alloy.
The machinery constituting my Invention is constructed as follows:-I
mount a disc upon suitable bearings, and in the said disc I make slots nearly
in the direction of radii to the axis of the disc, in which said slots the pressing
tools work; tho said pressing tools being capable of advancing towards or
retiring from the axis of the said disc, as herein-after explained, The said disc
has a holo in its axis, through which the tube to be ornamented passes. A
rotatory motion is given to the said disc carrying the pressing tools by means
of a toothed wheel fixed upon it gearing with a pinion, to which motion is
communicated in any convenient manner. The plain taper tube to be twisted
is supported and its end passed into the hole in the before-mentioned disc, and
the pressing tools brought into contact with it; tho said tube being capable of a
sliding, but incapable of a rotatory motion. A rotatory motion being given to
the disc, the pressing tools press upon the said tube and give to it the required
twist, and carry it through the said disc, the pressing tools during tho
advancing motion of the taper tube gradually advancing towards or retiring
from the axis of the said tube to accommodate themselves to the changing
diameter of the tube. The motion of the pressing tools is effected as follows:-
The said tools slide in dovetails in the before-mentioned slots; screws passing
from the periphery of the disc carry at their upper ends star or toothed wheels;
the lower ends of the said screws working in scrow boxes in the pressing tools.
A fixed collar of less diameter than that of the disc is placed in front thereof,
the said coller having on its periphery pegs or teeth. When a rotatory motion
is given to the disc, the teeth of the star or toothed wheels attached to the
pressing tools strike against the pegs on the fixed collar. A rotatory motion
is thereby communicated to the screws working in the screw boxes of the
pressing tools, and the said tools are raised or lowered in the slots. The
number of the pegs on the fixed collar is varied to suit the taper tube being
ornamented. When I wish to give a twist or spiral to straight tubes I dis-
penso with the before-mentioned fixed collar, the pressing tools in that case
rotating with the disc, but being stationary in the direction of radii to the
axis of the tube. When I wish to give a reeded or fluted figure to the tube,
the pressing tools and disc carrying them are stationary, and the tube is drawn
through the disc by means of a draw bench or otherwise. In making taper,
fluted, or reeded tubes, the tube is drawn through the machine, the disc
carrying the pressing tools being stationary, and the collar carrying the pogs
being made to rotate. In reeded, spiral, diamond, and chain twisted tubes, the

page_text: tube must be drawn or assisted through the machine with a draw bench: The
plain, straight, and taper tubes before being ornamented by my. Invention are
manufactured in the ordinary manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel. Walker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd
May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
WALKER, the younger, of Edgbaston, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, tho
said Samuel Walker, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Walker,.
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Walker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWISTED, REEDED, AND
OTHER ORNAMENTAL METALLIC TUBES," upon the condition (amongst others,).
that I, the said Samuel Walker, 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 Samuel Walker, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the new or improved machinery herein-after
particularly described and represented in the accompanying Drawing, to be
used in the manufacture of twisted, reeded, and other ornamental, straight,

page_text: and taper metallic tubes. By straight tubes I mean tubes having the same
diameter throughout, and by taper tubes I mean tubes having a varying
diameter throughout.
My Invention is applicable to the manufacture of tubes having a spiral or
twisted figure, whether the said spiral or twist has a concave or convex figure,
to reeded or fluted tubes, that is, tubes having the flutes running parallel with
the axis of the tube, and to diamond and chain twisted tubes.
My Invention is applicable to the manufacture of tubes made of copper,
brass, iron, or other metal or alloy.
The machinery constituting my Invention is illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a machine constructed according to
my Invention for the manufacture of straight or parallel ornamental tubes;
Figure 2 is an end elevation of a portion of the same taken at the dotted
line a, Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan of the said machine; the said plan,
Figuro 3, having combined therewith the necessary apparatus, herein-after ex-
plained, to adapt the said machine for the manufacture of ornamental taper tubes.
Figures 4 and 5 represent a portion of Figure 3, as herein-after explained.
1 will first describe the machino as constructed for the manufacture of
straight ornamental metallic tubes. A disc b, turning in a vertical plane, is
mounted upon an axis, which works in a hollow bearing c on the upright d,
the said upright being fixed to the bed of the machine in the manner repre-
sented in Figure 1. Fixed to the said disc, or made in one piece therewith,
is a pulley e, round which pulley a driving band works. By the said pulley
and band a rotatory motion may be communicated to the disc b. In the s
said disc make a series of slots or openings 9 (see Figure 2) nearly in
the direction of radii to the axis of the said disc. In the said slots 7 the
pressing tools h, carried by the said disc, work. Three pressing tools only are
represented, but any number of tools may be used, the number and shape of
the said tools depending upon the particular kind of ornament it is wished to
produce on the tube. The said tools h are capable of advancing towards or
retiring from the axis of the disc b, as herein-after explained. The disc has
a hole i in its axis, through which the tube passes.
The motion of the pressing tools his effected as follows:--The said tools
are fixed in holders by set screws, as represented in Figure 2, and the said s
holders work in dovetail slides m in the slots g. Screws n, passing from the
periphery of the disc b, carry at their upper ends star or toothed wheels o,
the lower ends of the said screws n working in screw boxes in the backs of

page_text: the holders of the pressing tools h. The said screws n are prevented from
rising or falling by the glands n. By turning the said screws by the toothed
wheels o, the tool holders / rise or fall on the screws n, and tho pressing tools h
are made to advance towards or retire from the axis of the disc b. The ends
of the plain tube to be ornamented are supported and fixed in clamps or
holders p, q, on opposite sides of the machine, the said tube k, when fixed in
one or both of the said holders, being incapable of a rotatory motion. The
said holders or clamps slide on the bars r; s, on the bed of the machine.
The construction of the said holders will be readily understood by an
examination of the Drawing. The ends of the tube are fixed in and
liberated from the holders p, q, by turning the handles p³, 93, respectively.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The pressing tools h having been
adjusted by turning the star or toothed wheels o, a rotatory motion is com-
municated to the disc b by the driving band f. One end of the tube k to be
ornamented is fixed in the clamp p, the free end of the said tube being passed
by the workman between the pressing tools h in the rotating disc b. By the
motion of the said tools about the tube they indent or press the tube and give
it the required twist or ornament, the said tube being carried by the said tools
through the disc b, the clamp or holder p at the same time advancing along
the bars r, s..
After the ornamented end of the tube has passed through the
hollow bearing c, the said ornamented end is fixed in the other clamp or
holder 7, as represented in Figure 1, and by the continued motion of the
dise nearly the whole of the tube is carried through the said disc b, and
ornamented by the pressing tools therein, the clamps p, q, moving on the
bars r, s. When that end of the tube fixed in the holder p approaches the
disc b the said end is released from the said holder p, and the whole of
the tube is carried through the machine, and ornamented. When necessary,
the tube may be drawn or assisted through the machine by the workman, or
by a draw bench.
In adapting the machine herein-before described to the manufacture of
twisted or other ornamental taper tubes I place in front of the disc b a fixed
collar (see Figure 3). The said fixed collar t is represented in front
elevation in Figure 4, and edge view in Figure 5 of the Drawing. The, said
collar t has a dovetail u at its bottom, which said dovetail works in the
slidov (see Figure 2) on the bed of the machine. The collar tis fixed when
put in its place by a pin or cotter passed through the dovetail u and bed of
the machine. The periphery of the said fixed collar t carries a series of pins
or pegs w, upon some of which rollers are secured in the manner represented

page_text: in Figure 4. The plain taper tube y having been fixed in the holder P, the
requisite shaped tools being previously placed and adjusted in the disc b, the
machine is set in motion and the tube carried through the said disc b,
the ornamented end of the tubo being fixed in the other holder g, as already
described with respect to the tubo k, Figuro 1. As the tubo y is carried
through the machine, the pressing tools h gradually retire from the axis of
the said tube, so as to accommodate themselves to the changing diameter of the
tube. This retiring motion of the pressing tools is effected by the star or
toothed wheels o, carried by the rotating disc b, striking against the rollers
on the fixed collar t, and the said wheels o thereby rotated. A rotatory motion
is thus communicated to the screws n, working in the scrow boxes in the tool
holders, and the pressing tools h are made gradually to retire from the axis
of the disc b, as the taper tube y is carried through tho machine. The star
or toothed wheels o pass the pins or pegs w on the fixed collar t, without being
moved by the said pins or pegs, the said wheels o being only rotated when
they strike against the rollers x, fixed on some of the said pins or pegs. The
respective positions of the star or toothed wheels o, pins or pegs w, and
rollers are best seen in Figuro 3. Any number of rollers similar to those
marked can be fixed on tho pins or pegs w to suit the taper tube to bo
ornamented; the greater the taper of the tube, the greater the number of
rollers required on the fixed collar t.
Instead of making the pressing tools retiro from the taper tube, the thick
end of the taper tubo may be first operated upon, the pressing tools being
made to advance against the tube as the diameter of the said tube diminishes,
but I prefer to work the said tools in the manner already described. When
I wish to give a reeded or fluted figure to a straight tube, the pressing
tools and disc b carrying them aro stationary, and the tube being fixed in
one or other of the clamps or holders p, q, is drawn through the said disc by
means of a draw bench, the said draw bench being fixed to one or other of
the said clamps or holders p, q.
In making taper, fluted, or reeded tubes the tube is drawn through the
machine, the disc b carrying tho pressing tools being stationary, and the
collar being made to rotate in order to advance or withdraw the said pressing
tools as the taper tube is drawn through the said disc b. In this case the
collar is mounted, so as to be capable of a rotatory motion, and 1 effect
the said motion by fixing on the said collar t an additional collar or ring,
having on its periphery a series of teeth. A chain from a driving pulley is
passed round the said collar or ring, the links of the said chain engaging with

page_text: the teeth on the said additional collar; or the said additional collar or ring
may be in the form of a pulley, a band working thereon giving motion to it;
or the said collar or ring may be in the form of a toothed wheel, another
toothed wheel gearing with and communicating motion to it. By either of
these ineans the required rotatory motion can be given to the collar t, and the
pressing tools h made to advance against or retire from the taper tube as it is
drawn through the machine.
In manufacturing reeded, spiral, diamond, and chain twisted tubes, the tube
must be drawn or assisted through the machine with a draw bench. The
shape and number of the tools used in the disc b must be varied to suit the
particular kinds of tubes to be manufactured. The plain, straight, and taper
tubes before being ornamented according to my Invention are manufactured
in the ordinary manner.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood, that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention ; but I
claim as my Invention new or improved machinery to be used in the manu-
facture of twisted, reeded, and other ornamental, straight, and taper metallic
tubes constructed essentially in the manner herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Walker, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
5
Witness,
SAMUEL WALKER, JUN". (L.S.)
GEORGE SHAW.