the Tubes of Steam-boilers and other Vessels.
Year: 1886

page_text: the Tubes of Steam-boilers and other Vessels.
I, JOHN GEORGE HUDSON, of the firm of Mirlees Watson and Co., Engineers,
Scotland Street, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention (a communication from.Lawrence Wilmot Sharp of Jamaica, Engineer,)
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly. described and
ascertained in and by the following statement in writing reference being had to
the accompanying sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
that is to say :-
.:
This invention has reference to certain new or improved devices and fittings
connected with the long drawing screw tool A, and its end gripping washer clamp
blocks B, B, with their round bearing shoulders b and clearance recesses 6¹ for
inserting and withdrawing the tubes T from the tube plates P, P¹, of steam-boilers
and other vessels which are generally made removable; which improvements will
make such tools more effective in their action, with much less labour and stress or
strain on the tubes T, tube plates P, P¹, and tools A, B, B1, while doing the work
more satisfactorily and speedily than with the tools as heretofore constructed.
The removable tubes of boilers and other vessels for which these tools are
suitable may be of any type requiring an end strain for their insertion or removal
but as most commonly made, have a slightly enlarged tapered or conical spigot at
their inner end of the tube plate P¹, and are inserted through a somewhat wider
tapered hole in the front tube plate P so as to press the tapered end t tightly into
a corresponding tapered hole in the back plate P¹, by the screw pressure of the
cramp tool A, B, B'; and the joint with the tube in the front plate B¹ is made by
the pressing of a tapered or outer joint ferrule or ring t¹ in the annular recess or
hole formed for it between the tube T and the front plate P previously loosely
inserted before making the joint in the back plate P¹.
The tools A, B, B¹ heretofore used for inserting and withdrawing the said tubes T
may be termed screw cramps, in which the body of the cramp is in the form of
Jong bolt A passed through the tube T to be inserted or withdrawn, having a cotter

page_text: or head A¹ at one end acting on a strong ring washer block or clamp B, made to
bear on the tube plate P₁, outside the tube T acting as a drawing clamp. The
other end of the bolt A is fitted with a strong screw and nut A' acting on a strong
pressing ring clamp B bearing directly on the end of the tube T or on the joint
ring or ferrule T to be inserted round its outer end in the other or front tube
plate P, all so that as the nut A¹ is screwed up hard, the tube T is pressed through
its tube plates P, P¹, to first make the joint in its inner end tube plate P¹, and then
press in the ferrule t¹ to make the joint in the front tube P. Or, vice versa when
removing a tube, the tool A, B, B', is reversed, and the cotter end and drawing
clamp B is placed outside the front tube plate P, and the nut A¹ and its pressing
clamp B are screwed up to act on the inner end t of the 'tube T to force it out of
its tube plates P, P. This arrangement is found to require great pressure and is
slow of action, and when tubes have been long jointed, it is found very difficult to
remove them with the present arrangement of tool as just described.
And in order that the nature and novelty of the improvements of this invention,
and the manner of performing the same may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the Figures on the accompanying sheet of Drawings which
I have, hereunto appended for that purpose, the same reference letters indicating
the same parts in all the Figures where shown. In these Drawings, Figure 1 shows
a longitudinal section of a tube T being inserted in the tube plates P, P', by my
improved construction of tools or fittings connected therewith; and Figure 2 shows
a corresponding section of the same improved tools and fittings as applied for
removing or withdrawing a tube T from its tube plates P, PL. Figure 3 is an
enlarged sectional view of the new drift head C shown in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 shows a modification of my improvements, as applied to these tools, for
the insertion and withdrawal of tubes, somewhat different from that shown in
Figures 1 to 3, namely in the substitution of a T head A" for the cotter head A¹
of the cramp bolt A, and which can be inserted through slot holes B, C, in the
clamps B or B¹ and new driving head C. And Figures 5 and 6 are end views of
the drift head C and the clamp head block B, showing the slots C", Bu for the
insertion of the T head A", of the screw bolt A.
Referring to these Drawings, the improvements of this invention essentially
.consist in constructing the tool A, B, B¹ so as to allow of the application of a heavy
concussive starting blow of a hammer or other equivalent to it and the tube T, in
addition to and while the great screw strain is applied to both as herein before
described for the insertion or withdrawal of such tubes T. For this purpose, a new
hollow steel or other strong metal drift head C is fitted to the cottered or head
end A¹ of the screw cramp bar A and secured by the cotter A¹ (or it might be by a
Thead As as shown in Figure 3) of the bar A up against the pressing washer clamp
'block B, leaving room in this drift cap C both behind the tightening up cotter or
head, and behind the end of the bolt A for a slight free motion and action when it
is struck by the blow of a heavy hammer on its solid contracted outer end, which
might be tapered and tempered for durability of wear at C¹. In inserting or with-
drawing the tubes T with this improved tool A, B, B¹ C, so constructed, the tool
would be reversed both for the insertion and the removal of the tubes from the
usual way of extracting tubes with the tools only by screw power as heretofore
used and as first described. That is to say, the nut A would be placed at the inner
or back tube plate end P', for drawing the tube in (instead of pushing it as before
described) as shown in Figure 1; and for removing the tube T the nut A would
be screwed up on its drawing washer block B' at the front tube plate end P, for
drawing it out as shown in Figure 2. For inserting the tube T as shown in
Figure 1 when the nut A' is first fully tightened up, a blow would be struck with
a 'hammer sufficiently heavy, on the outer end C of the steel cap or driver C to act
on its washer clamp block B, acting now as a "drift" block, against the tube T,
and its joint ring or ferrule T" to insert these gradually, by the repeated tightening
up of the screw nut A' at the inner end, and concussive blows acting on the drift C
and tubes T as stated at the outer end, and thus secure these joints of the tube

page_text: ends in both tube plates P, P¹, which may after removing the inserting tool get a
slight expansion by an ordinary tube expander to make the joints perfect in the
tube plates. When it is desired only to insert the tube T, and make the joint at
the inner end t first, the pressing block B may be reversed on the bolt A, so that
the shoulder B2 will act on the outer end of the tube T only, and clear the ferrule t¹
which can be afterwards inserted in the same manner as the tube by reversing the
block B to act as shown in Figure 1, to make the joint tight at the outer end
tube P. Then for withdrawing or removing a tube, the said drift head or cottered
end C A B of the tool would be inserted to act on the inner end t of the tube T
at the back tube plate P¹ as shown in Figure 2, so that when the nut A' was
tightly screwed up on the washer clamp block B¹ at the front end and plate P of
the tube, a powerful concussive blow would be struck on the steel driver C at the
drift head or cottered end A, B, with sufficient force to start the tube T and its
joints in both tube plates P, P¹, which would then be very easily removed by the
screwing up of the nut A². In either case a hammer would be taken of sufficient
weight to act throughout the tube T with a powerful concussive blow, and prevent
the riveting or expansion of the joint which might take place with a repetition of
light blows. Figure 4 shows the like mode of either inserting or removing the
tubes T by a clamp bolt A, having a T head A³, instead of a cotter A¹ passed into
and secured to the drift head C, and screwed up by the nut A2, and struck by a
hammer on the outer end of the drift C, all otherwise as described in reference to
Figures 1 and 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what,
I claim is:-
First. The inserting and withdrawing of tubes from the tube plates of steam-
boilers and other vessels, by tools having the double or combined action of screw
power and concussive blows, substantially as herein described in reference to and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The adaptation and fitting of a new drift head C, to screw clamp tools
for the inserting and withdrawing of tubes by the double or combined action of
screw power and concussive blows, substantially as herein described, in reference to
and shown in the accompanying Drawings.