IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE, OF EXPLOSIVE POWDER, AND IN MACHINERY TO. BE USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Washington Oliver, of Liverpool, in. the
County of Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE, OF EXPLOSIVE POWDER, AND IN MACHINERY TO.
BE USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE."-A communication from abroad by
Paul A. Oliver, of the City and State of New York, United States.
of America..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Washington:
Oliver at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 10th June 1869.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON OLIVER, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPLOSIVE POWDER, AND IN
MACHINERY TO BE USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a new and improved manufacture
of explosive powder suitable for guns and blasting purposes, the
advantages of which are that it can be made more rapidly, with perfect

page_text: factured.
Secondly, to an improved machine for making the powder. In the
improved powder common peat is used instead of charcoal. The other
ingredients are saltpetre, sulphur, and, when a very cheap powder is
desired, nitrate of soda. The above are mixed in proportion according
to the kind or strength of powder required. The saltpetre, Sulphur, and
peat in a pulverized state are put in a drum or box provided internally
with toothed shafts or any suitable contrivance for mixing the ingredients
above named. When thoroughly mixed sufficient water is added to
make the compound slightly moist, and the stirring is continued, after
which the mass is ready for the powder machine which incorporates the
several ingredients. intimately together. Where an extra strong powder
is desired to be made the sulphur is omitted and chlorate of potash
added to the above ingredients in quantities according to the required
strength. The chlorate of potash mixed with a small quantity of
beeswax or tallow and rosin is first, however, passed through the powder
machine to be presently described until the beeswax or tallow and rosin
have become thoroughly incorporated with the chlorate of potash, this
is then placed in the mixer with the saltpetre and peat, a small quantity
of water added, and the mass thoroughly combined for about five
minutes; it is then taken out and passed through the powder mill,
after which it is ready for drying. The machine consists of a frame
composed of two standards connected together by transverse tie rods.
Mounted in this frame is a series of rollers which are arranged in pairs one
pair above the other, the axes of each pair being in a horizontal plane.
These several pairs of rollers are connected at one end by gears. The
journals of one roller of each pair are fitted in adjustable bearings, so
that the space between each pair of rollers may be varied in width as
desired, and one or more of the pairs of rollers are so geared that one
roller will have a rather greater speed than the other. The same result
may be obtained by having one roller made of greater diameter than
the other. Where the material is very sticky so as to adhere to the
rollers, knives may be adjusted so as to scrape it off them as they
revolve. The rollers thus arranged will have a rubbing or grinding as
well as a crushing or compressing action. The lowest pair of rollers
is provided with teeth or pegs distributed evenly over their peripheries.
The pulverized materials intended to form the powder are supplied to

page_text: the machine from a hopper, from which they pass down between the
several pairs of rollers, whereby the different ingredients are crushed
and thoroughly incorporated. The moist ingredients in consequence of
being thus crushed and ground and incorporated together will be
discharged from the lowest pair of crushing rollers in a cakey mass
and the office of the toothed or pegged rollers is to break this cakey
mass into small lumps. By my improvement it will be seen that the
operation is a continuous one the device not requiring to be stopped for
any cause and working continually so long as the ingredients are fed
into the hopper. Any required pressure upon the ingredients may be
obtained by adjusting the rollers nearer together or further apart.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Washington Oliver in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 10th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WASHINGTON OLIVER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Washington Oliver, Her special
licence that I, the said George Washington Oliver, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Washington Oliver, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPLOSIVE POWDER
AND IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," being a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Paul A. Oliver, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Washington Oliver, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one

page_text: 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 George Washington Oliver, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):-
:―
This Invention relates, firstly, to a new and improved manufacture
of explosive powder suitable for guns and blasting purposes, the
advantages of which are that it is stronger and can be made with
perfect safety and more cheaply and rapidly than the ordinary powder
now manufactured.
Secondly, to an improved machine to be used for combining and
incorporating the ingredients of the powder, and also for granulating the
powder when the ingredients are incorporated. In this improved
manufacture of powder I use common peat instead of charcoal. The
other ingredients are saltpetre, sulphur, and, where a very cheap powder
is desired, nitrate of soda. The above are mixed in proportions
determined by the kind and strength of powder required. The salt-
petre, sulphur, and peat in a pulverized state are put into a drum or
box provided internally with toothed shafts or any suitable contrivance
for mixing the ingredients. When thoroughly mixed (which will be
effected by about five minutes stirring) sufficient water is added to make
the compound slightly moist, and the stirring is continued for about
another five minutes, after which the mass is ready for the action of the
powder machine which combines the several ingredients intimately
together. When an extra strong powder is desired to be made the
sulphur is omitted and chlorate of potash added in place thereof, the
proportion being determined by the strength of powder required. The
chlorate of potash mixed with a small quantity of beeswax or tallow
and rosin is first, however, passed through the powder machine to be
presently described for the purpose of incorporating the beeswax or tallow
and rosin with the chlorate of potash, this is then placed in the mixer
with the saltpetre and peat and a small quantity of water added. The

page_text: mass is then thoroughly combined for about five minutes after which it
is removed and passed through the powder mill and subsequently dried.
The improved combining and granulating machine is shewn in the
accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 being a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a
front elevation.
The machine consists of a frame composed of two standards A, A,
connected together transversely by tie rods a, a. Mounted in this frame
is a series of rollers B, B, B, which are arranged in pairs, one pair above
the other, the axes of each pair being in a horizontal plane. These
several pairs of rollers are connected at one end by spur gears.
The
journals of one roller of each pair, are fitted in adjustable bearings,
so that the space between each pair of rollers may be varied in width
as desired, and one or more of the pairs of rollers are so geared that one
roller will have a rather greater surface speed than the other, as shewn
by the blue circles in Fig. 1. The same result may however be obtained
by having one roller made of greater diameter than the other. Rotary
motion is transmitted to the rollers from the driving shaft C by means
of a train of wheels clearly indicated by the red circles in Fig. 1.
When the material is very sticky and is likely to adhere to the rollers
fixed knives c, c, may be used to scrape off the material from their
surfaces as they revolve. The rollers thus arranged will have a rubbing
or grinding as well as a crushing or compressing action, I do not,
however, confine myself to either of the above methods of arranging
the operation of the rollers, nor to any particular speeding of either of
the rollers.
In the manufacture of some kinds of powder plain rollers running at
equal speeds may be employed. The lowest pair of rollers marked B¹
is provided witli teeth or pins distributed evenly over their peripheries.
The pulverized materials intended to form the powder are supplied
to the machine from a hopper D, from which they pass down between
the several pairs of rollers, whereby the different ingredients are crushed
and thoroughly incorporated. The moist ingredients in consequence
of being thus crushed and ground and intimately combined will be
discharged from the lowest pair of crushing rollers in a caky mass, the
office therefore of the rollers B' is to break up this caky mass into small
lumps or coarse grains. By this improvement it will be seen that the
operation is a continuous onc, the machine working continuously so
long as the ingredients are fed into the hopper. Any required pressuro

page_text: upon the ingredients may be obtained by adjusting the rollers nearer
together or farther apart by means of the adjusting screws b, b. I
would remark that I do not confine myself to the number of pairs of
crushing rollers to be used in this machine, as one or more pairs may
be used according to the kind of powder to be made.
Having explained the nature of the "Improvements in the Manufacture
of Explosive Powder, and in the Machinery to be used in such Manu-
facture," as communicated to me from abroad, I would remark that the
use of peat as a carbon in the manufacture of gunpowder is a very
important alteration inasmuch as repeated trials have proved to me that
a powder made with charcoal has not the strength as that made with
pcat used in the same proportion. The powder is inexplosive when
exposed to the open air and entirely safe in its manufacture, which is
not the case with a charcoal powder as the frequent accidents and
explosions have substantially proved.
Under the first head of the Invention I claim; the manufacture of
gun and blasting powder, substantially in the manner set forth.
Under the second head of the Invention I claim, the arrangement of
machinery above described for combining the ingredients of gunpowder
or blasting powder, and granulating the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Washington Oliver, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
GEO. W. OLIVER. (L.S.)