Improvements in Apparatus for Welding Tubes, such as Boiler Furnace Tubes and the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 20th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Welding Tubes, such as Boiler
Furnace Tubes and the like.
I, JAMES SPIERS, of 63 Hertford Road, Bootle, near Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Boilermaker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows
-
My invention relates to that class of apparatus in which welding is effected by
means of hydraulic pressure, and according to my present invention I construct
such apparatus for welding tubes, such as boiler furnace tubes and the like, as
follows.
I provide a turn-table which forms or carries a cradle or support for the tube to
be welded, the tube being placed on the cradle with the joint which is to be welded
uppermost the object of the turn-table is to allow the tube to be easily rotated
with the cradle in which it rests, in a horizontal plane.
There is a short railway at each side of the turn-table, and on one of these runs
a truck which carries the fire for heating the joint to be welded, and on the other
a carriage which supports the hydraulic press for compressing the weld.
When the diameter of the tube to be welded permits, I carry a line of railway
inside the tube on cross bearers of such length that this line forms a continuation of
the line on which the fire-truck runs; in this way the fire may be conveyed into the
tube and the joint to be welded be heated internally.
The grate in which the fire is placed is formed of metal having a lining of
refractory material, and it is open at the top, the shape of the opening being such
that the heat conveyed to that portion of the tube which is to be welded.
In order that the open top of the grate may be brought immediately in contact
with the desired portion of the tube, the bearings of the fire-truck are forked, so
that, on the depression of a hand lever suitably fulcrumed, the truck is raised
relatively to the wheels till the top of the grate is in contact with the tube. The blast
is led into the grate by suitable flexible connections.
The hydraulic press is supported, as before mentioned, on wheels which run on a
railway, and is so constructed that the axis of the ram is vertical, the ram head
being above the block against which it abuts. This block is over-hung, being carried
on an arm cast with or rigidly secured to the ram cylinder and the gap is sufficiently
long to permit the press being run along its line of rails so that the overhang block
enters the tube to be welded, its upper surface being just underneath the intended
weld, and reaching a little beyond the centre of the longest tube for which the apparatus
is to be used.
The upper surface of the block and the under surface of the ram head are approxi-
mately curved to the curvature of the tube to be welded, the former being convex and
the latter concave; in order to suit various sized tubes, the ram head and a portion
of the block are detachable, and suitably curved pieces or swages may be fitted as
required:
The railway on which the press runs may be a continuation of that on which the
fire-truck runs, but it must, of course, be unconnected therewith, so as to allow the
turn-table to revolve; for the same reason, that portion of the railway on which
the fire-truck runs, outside the tube, must be unconnected, or have a detachable
connection, with that portion within the tube. The operation of welding with the
apparatus is as follows:-
:-
The tube to be welded being placed on the cradle with the joint to be welded upper-
most, and that end of the joint which it is desired to weld first nearest the press, the
ire-truck is 'then run into the tube and the hand lever connected therewith depressed

page_text: so that the opening in the top of the grate is brought under the joint to be welded;
when the desired temperature is attained, the truck is withdrawn and the press drawn
towards the centre of the tube, the block entering therein so that the heated part of
the joint lies between the block and the ram head; the necessary pressure is then
applied to complete the weld.
This process is repeated until the joint has been welded half way along the length
of the tube. The fire-truck and the press are then drawn away clear of the tube, the
latter is reversed by turning the turn-table through half a revolution and the joint
is then welded along the remaining half of the length of the tube as before.
Where the diameter of the tube is too small to admit the fire the tube is heated
externally by turning it so that the joint is lowermost, and placing the fire beneath,
then turning the tube so that the joint is uppermost in order to apply the pressure as
before described.
Dated this 17th day of December 1889.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
26, Castle Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Welding Tubes, such as Boiler
Furnace Tubes and the like.
I, JAMES SPIERS, formerly of 63 Hertford Road Bootle near Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, but now of 20 Camden Street Southwick near Sunderland,
Boilermaker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to he performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention relates to that class of apparatus in which welding is effected by
hydraulic pressure, and according to my present invention I construct such apparatus
for welding tubes, such as boiler furnace tubes and the like, as follows.
I provide a turn-table which forms or carries a cradle or support for the tube to be
welded, the tube being placed on the cradle with the joint which is to be welded
uppermost; the object of the turn-table is to allow the tube to be easily rotated with
the cradle in which it rests, in a horizontal plane.
There is a short railway at each side of the turn-table, and on one of these runs
a truck which carries the fire for heating the joint to be welded, and on the other a
carriage which supports the hydraulic press for compressing the weld.
When the diameter of the tube to be welded permits, 1 carry a line of railway
inside the tube on cross bearers of such length that this line forms a continuation of
the line on which the fire-truck runs ; in this way the fire may be conveyed into the
tube and the joint to be welded be heated internally.
The grate in which the fire is placed is formed of metal having a lining of refractory
material, and it is open at the top, the shape of the opening being such that the
heat is conveyed to that portion of the tube which is to be welded.
In order that the open top of the grate may be brought immediately in contact
with the desired portion of the tube, the bearings of the fire-truck are forked, so that
on the depression of a hand lever suitably fulcrumed, the truck is raised relatively
to the wheels till the top of the grate is in contact with the tube. The blast is led
into the grate by suitable flexible connections.
The bydraulic press is supported, as before mentioned, on wheels which run on a
railway, and is so constructed that the axis of the ravi is vertical, the ram head
being above the block against which it abuts. This block is overhung, being carried
on an arm cast with or rigidly secured to the ram cylinder and the gap is sufficiently
long to permit the press being run along its line of rails so that the overhung block
enters the tube to be welded, its upper surface being just underneath the intended
weld, and reaching a little beyond the centre of the longest tube for which the
apparatus is to be used.

page_text: The upper surface of the block and the under surface of the rain head are approxi-
mately curved to the curvature of the tube to be welded, the former being convex
and the latter concave; in order to suit various sized tubes, the rain head and a
portion of the block are detachable, and suitably curved pieces or swages may be fitted
as required.
The railway on which the press runs may be a continuation of that on which the
fire-truck runs but it must, of course, he unconnected, therewith, so as to allow the
turn-table to revolve; for the same reason, that portion of the railway on which
the fire-truck runs, outside the tube, must be unconnected, or have a detachable
connection, with that portion within the tube.
In some cases instead of moving the press and fire longitudinally rolatively to the
tube, I prefer to make the two former stationary and move the latter, in which case
the turn-table on which the tube is supported is mounted on wheels running on rails,
and as the fire is now fixed, the relative vertical movement between it and the
tube is obtained by raising and lowering the turn-table by a cam or eccentric
device.
The operation of welding with the apparatus is as follows:-
The tube to be welded being placed on the cradle with the joint to be welded upper-
most and that end of the joint which it is desired to weld first nearest the press, the
portion to be welded is heated, either by running the fire-truck into the tube and
raising the former by depressing its hand lever or by running the tube over the
fixed fire and lowering the former by the eccentric device. When the desired
temperature is attained the heated part of the joint is subjected, between the block
and the ram head, to the necessary pressure to complete the weld. This process is
repeated until the joint has been welded half way along the length of the tube, when
the latter is reversed by rotating the turn-table through half a revolution, and the
joint is then welded along the remaining half of the length of the tube as before. It
will be seen that the tube being supported on a turn-table as described, the length of
the gap of the hydraulic press need only be a little more than half the length of the
tube.
Where the diameter of the tube is too small to admit the fire, the tube is heated
externally by turning the tube so that the joint is lowermost, and placing the fire
beneath, then turning the tube so that the joint is uppermost in order to apply the
pressure as before described.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention Figs. I and II show
the arrangement where the press and fire are movable, Fig. I being a side eleva-
tion with the tube to be welded shown in section, and Fig. II being an end elevation;
Fig. III shows the arrangement where the press and fire are stationary, the tube
and turn-table being in section; in each case the detachable ram head and block are
also in section.
Throughout the drawings similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures.
Referring to Figs. I and II, 1 is the hydraulic press mounted on the wheels 2
running on the rails 3. The pipe connections which must be flexible are omitted ;
4 is the detachable ram head and the detachable swage or block.
The tube 6 to be welded is supported in the cradle 7 on the turn-table 8 which
bears on the rollers 9.
The fire-truck 10 runs on the rails 11 and also on the rails 12 supported within
the tube on the cross bearers 13. The bearings 14 of the truck are forked, so as
to allow the fire to be raised slightly by the hand lever 15 which is fulcrumed on the
axle 16. 17 is the flexible pipe for admitting the blast to the fire.
In Fig. I the press 1 and fire 10 are fixed, the latter being supported on the
arm 18. The turn-table 8 is mounted on the wheels 19 which run on the rails 20.
The turn-table is centred on the pivot 21 which bears on the eccentric or cam 22,
operated by the cross shaft 23 and hand lever 24. This shaft 23 is sufficiently long
to allow the hand lever 24 to clear the tube 6.

page_text: It is obvious that fluid pressure other than hydraulic pressure may be used to
operate the press 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
(1.) In apparatus for welding tubes such as boiler furnace tubes and the like, the
combination of a turn-table upon which the tube to be welded is supported and a
hydraulic or other press, with means for permitting relative longitudinal movement
between said press and turn-table, the latter being capable of rotation relatively to
the press, substantially as described.
(2.) In apparatus for welding tubes such as boiler furnace tubes and the like
the combination of a movable hydraulic or other press, a turn-table upon which
the tube to be welded is supported capable of rotation relatively to the said press and
a fire adapted to be moved horizontally and vertically within the said tube substantially
as described.
(3.) In apparatus for welding tubes such as is herein set forth the use of a
fire-truck 10 with lifting lever 15 running on rails 12 within the tube. substantially
as described.
(4.) The improved apparatus for welding tubes substantially as described and
illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 17th do..
Oth- 1000
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.