IMPROVEMENTS IN MANU- FACTURING GUN BARRELS AND TUBES OF CAST STEEL AND HOMOGENEOUS IRON
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Powell Tipper, of Willenhall, in the County
of Stafford, Roli Turner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANU-
FACTURING GUN BARRELS AND TUBES OF CAST STEEL AND HOMOGENEOUS
IRON."
Sealed the 24th November 1865, and dated the 30th June 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Powell Tipper at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th June 1865.
I, HENRY POWELL TIPPER, of Willenhall, in the County of Stafford, Roll
Turner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MANUFACTURING GUN BARRELS AND TUBES OF CAST STEEL AND HOMOGENEOUS
IRON," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in manufacturing gun barrels and tubes of cast
steel and homogeneous iron by first forming a short hollow cylinder by the
process of casting, and afterwards reducing in diameter and elongating the
said hollow cylinder by the processes of hammering and rolling. I will
describe my Invention in connection with the manufacture of a gun barrel.
In manufacturing a gun barrel according to my Invention, I prepare a
cylindrical mould of cast iron, having a cylindrical core in its axis, the annular
space between the core and mould being not less than half an inch in
diameter in any part. I prefer to make the core of steel, and to coat it with.
Price &d:]

page_text: blacklead or blacking to prevent the casting from adhering to the said core.
I pour melted steel or homogeneous iron into the said mould, taking care to
raise the said steel or iron to a very high temperature, so as to make it very
liquid. After the steel or homogeneous iron has solidified, I remove the
hollow cylinder formed from the mould and heat it to redness; I hammer it
in its heated state by means of a tilt or steam hammer, so as to close the
pores of the metal and render it dense and solid; I re-heat it, and by rolling
it in grooved rolls I reduce its diameter and lengthen it to the required
degree to convert it into a tube of the proper size to be made into a gun
barrel. The gun barrel is finished by the ordinary method. In making small
gun barrels or tubes the hammering may be dispensed with. The hollow
cylinder of steel or homogeneous iron may either be cast with or without a
lump from which to form the breech and percussioning. When the hollow
cylinders are made with the said lump, the rolls employed to roll the said
hollow cylinders have a hollow or depression suitable to receive the said lump,
and thereby leave it unchanged in form. When large hollow cylinders or
tubes are to be cast, I prefer to make the mould in two or three parts.
Tubes may be made according to my Invention of a conical figure or of
various figures in cross section. The thickness of the steel or iron in the cast
cylinders or tubes must be varied according to the size of the article to be
made, but in no case do I make the steel or homogeneous iron in the casting
less than half an inch in thickness at its thinnest part.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Powell Tipper in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
POWELL TIPPER, of Willenhall, in the County of Stafford, Roll Turner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Powell Tipper, Her special licence that I, the said Henry
Powell Tipper, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Henry Powell Tipper, my executors, administrators, and assigns.
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all

page_text: 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 "Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING GUN BARRELS AND TUBES OF CAST STEEL AND
HOMOGENEOUS IRON," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Henry Powell Tipper, 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 Henry Powell Tipper, 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 thereof, that is to say :---
I will
barrel.
My said Invention con sists in manufacturing gun barrels and tubes of cast.
steel and homogeneous iron by first forming a short hollow cylinder by the
process of casting, and afterwards reducing in diameter and elongating the
said hollow cylinder by the processes of hammering and rolling.
describe my Invention in connection with the manufacture of a gun
In manufacturing a gun barrel according to my Invention, I prepare a
cylindrical mould of cast iron, having a cylindrical core in its axis, the annular
space between the core and mould being not less than half an inch in diameter
in any part. I prefer to make the core of cast iron or steel, and to coat it
with blacklead or blacking to prevent the casting from adhering to the said
core; or the core may be made of sand. I pour melted steel or homogeneous
iron into the said mould, taking care to raise the said steel or iron to a very
high temperature, so as to make it very liquid. After the steel or homogeneous
iron has solidified I remove the hollow cylinder formed from the mould and
heat it to redness; I hammer it in its heated state by means of a tilt or steam
hammer, so as to close the pores of the metal and render it dense and solid.
I re-heat it, and by rolling it in grooved rolls I reduce it in diameter and
size
lengthen it to the required degree to convert it into a tube of the proper
to be made into a gun barrel. The gun barrel is finished by the ordinary
method. In making small gun barrels or tubes the hammering may be
dispensed with. The hollow cylinder of steel or homogeneous
be cast with or without a lump from which to form the breech and percus-
sioning. When the hollow cylinders are made with the said lump, the rolls
employed to roll the said hollow cylinders have a hollow or depression suitable
iron
may
either

page_text: When
to receive the said lump, and thereby leave it unchanged in form.
large hollow cylinders or tubes are to be cast I prefer to make the mould in
two or three parts.
Tubes may be made according to my Invention of a conical figure or of
various figures in cross section. The thickness of the steel or iron in the cast
cylinders or tubes must be varied according to the size of the article to be
made, but in no case do I make the steel or homogeneous iron in the casting
less than half an inch in thickness at its thinnest part.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in vertical section a cylindrical mould for casting a
short hollow cylinder ofsteel or homogeneous iron according to my Invention;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same; and Figure 3 is a section with the addition of
a stopper or weight employed for keeping out the air and consolidating the
metal poured into the mould. The said mould is made in two parts a, b, fixed
together by strong bands or hoops as is usual. When the mould is of large
size it may be made in more than two parts. In the axis of the mould a
taper solid rod or core c of steel or cast iron or sand is fixed by the engage-
ment of its bottom end between the two parts of the mould, as represented in
the Drawing. Having raised the melted steel or homogeneous iron to a high
temperature, it is poured into the annular space between the core c and
mould a, b. During the solidification of the metal in the mould the stopper
or weight d (see Figure 3) is placed upon the core c, and allowed to press
upon the top of the metal in the mould. The metal is thereby consolidated,
and a sound casting results. The hollow cylinder thus produced is made into
a tube or gun barrel in the manner herein-after explained. I make the
annular space between the core and mould not less than half an inch in
diameter in any part, the diameter of the said space in the mould being in-
creased beyond that described according to the size of the article to be made.
Where the hollow cylinders are to be cast with a lump from which to form
the breech and percussioning of the barrel, I make a recess in the said mould
as represented in Figure 4, and marked e; or where a circular flange or
shoulder is required on the hollow cylinder, I make an annular recess in the
mould, as represented in Figure 5, and marked f.
Instead of employing a solid core or rod of steel in the axis of the mould,as
represented in the Drawing, a thin iron or steel tube may be used, by the
use of which the risk of the splitting or cracking of the casting is much
lessened or entirely removed. If a solid core is permitted to remain in the

page_text: cast hollow cylinder till it is cold, the effect of the contraction of the hollow
cylinder and the expansion of the core will have a tendency to crack or split
the hollow cylinder, whereas if a thin tube be used the said tube is heated
very rapidly, and contracts with the outer hollow cylinder, and the liability to
fracture of the said hollow cylinder thus prevented. When a thin tube or
hollow core is employed in casting large hollow cylinders for gun barrels or
tubes, the said thin tube or hollow core may be left in the hollow cylinder
during the hammering and rolling processes, and afterwards be removed by
boring. A very fine surface will thus be provided, which is desirable for
the inside of a gun barrel. After the hollow cylinder has been cast in the
mould a, b, it is taken from the mould, and the core c driven therefrom. The
hollow cylinder is next heated in a furnace and placed on a mandril, and
hammered by a steam or other hammer so as to close the pores of the metal,
and render it dense and solid, the said hollow cylinder being somewhat
reduced in diameter by the said hammering. It is then re-heated, placed on
a mandril, and passed through the grooves of the rolls herein-after described,
where it is lengthened and its diameter reduced to the required degree to
convert it into a tube for a gun barrel or for other purposes.
"
Figure 6 represents in cross section, and Figure 7 in front elevation, a set
of three high rolls which I prefer to employ in rolling down the cast hollow
cylinders to the proper size for gun à barrels and tubes, the adjuncts of the said
rolls being so arranged as to facilitate the passing of the hollow cylinder
rapidly through the grooves of the rolls. a, b, c, are the three rolls, 'the
middle roll 6 making a pair both with the upper roll a and the lower roll c.
On either side the standards d, d, in which the rolls 'turn, uprights e, e², are
fixed in the manner represented in the Drawing. In the inner sides of the
said uprights e,e³, rectangular openings or recesses 'f, f, are made, as best seen
in the horizontal section of the said uprights, Figure'8, in which recesses hori-
zontal bars g, g, are capable of rising and falling vertically. Upon each of
the horizontál bars 'g, ga, a support or claw, marked respectively h, h³, is
situated, the said supports being capable of sliding upon the said bars so as
to be brought opposite each of the grooves in the rolls. The upper part of
the supports h, 'h, is forked, and 'in the 'forks the ends of the mandrils i, 12,
situated on either side of the rolls, are dropped and supported, and prevented
from being taken through the rolls with the hollow cylinder or tube being
rolled. The hollow cylinder of steel or 'homogeneous iron being passed through
the rolls upon the mandrils i, 12, is marked 'k in Figure 6. The horizontal
bars g,g, are carried by vertical rods (one only, marked, is represented in the
Drawing), and the said bars are supported in the uprights'e, e³, by weighted

page_text: levers m situated below the level of the ground. In order to facilitate the
introduction of the hollow cylinder between the rolls, I place on either side
the rolls and in front of the grooves in the said rolls, a guide marked p, and
shewn separately in front elevation in Figure 9, the said guide consisting of a
series of semicircular openings, which taper from the outside to the size of
the grooves in the rolls. In rolling a hollow cylinder into a gun barrel or
tube by the use of the rolls, Figures 6 and 7, I proceed as follows:-The
horizontal bars g, g2, being raised in the uprights nearly opposite the grooves
in the rolls b and c, as represented in the Drawing, the mandril is dropped
into the support h2, and the mandril i with the heated hollow cylinder upon it
isdropped into the support h. The said hollow cylinder is introduced between
the grooves in the rolls, and is carried through them, the hollow cylinder
being received upon the mandril 12 just before it slips from off the mandril i
(see Figure 6). By pressing upon the weighted levers m, to which the
bars g, g³, are respectively connected, the mandril i², with the partially rolled
cylinder upon it, and the mandril i on the opposite side of the rolls, are raised
and brought into a line with the grooves in the rolls a, b, as indicated in
dotted lines in Figure 6, and the said hollow cylinder is again passed through
the rolls upon the mandril 3, and received at the opposite side upon the
mandril ?. The mandrils and tube being depressed upon the bars g,g, into
a line with the grooves in the rolls b, c, the supports h, h³, are moved upon
the bars g, g, opposite the next grooves in the said rolls b, c, and the partially
rolled tube again passed between the rolls. The hollow cylinder is in this way
very rapidly passed through the rolls until it is brought to the required size,
and the frequent re-heating of the tube which is necessary in the ordinary
method of rolling is much diminished.
Figure 10 represents a plain gun barrel rolled according to my Invention,
and Figure 11 represents a gun barrel having a lump upon it to form the
breech and percussioning rolled according to my Invention. In rolling hollow
cylinders having lumps upon them, the rolls have hollows or depressions made
in them suitable to receive the said lump and leave it unchanged in form
during the rolling process.
Figure 12 represents a portion of a pair of rolls to be used for this purpose,
the hollows or depressions in the grooves of the rolls for receiving the lump
on the hollow cylinder being marked n in the said Figure 12. I prefer to
make the hollows or depressions for the lump from one roll only at every
alternate groove, instead of from both rolls as represented in Figure 12. When
the hollow is iu one roll only its position is vertical, and when the hollow is
made from both rolls its position is horizontal. By making the hollows in

page_text: the rolls in this way the burr or wrinkle which is produced at the junction
of the lump with the barrel is much diminished.
Figure 13 represents a single mandril which I use in place of the two
mandrils,, when a pair of rolls only is employed. When this mandril is
used the hollow cylinder is not removed from it during the rolling process, the
said mandril acting as a guide and support to the hollow cylinder. When the
cylinder has been passed through the rolls on the mandril, the mandril is with-
drawn from the rolls with the tube upon it, and its opposite end introduced
between the rolls, and so on until the tube is reduced to the required size.
When the tubes are to be made thin or of a light weight to fit them for
use in stationary, locomotive, and marine steam boilers, or for bedsteads and
for other uses to which they are applicable, I modify the process in the fol-
lowing manner-The hollow cylinders having been hammered and rolled
into tubes in the manner already described I anneal them, and after the
annealing process I pickle them in the ordinary way in which metallic
articles are pickled. I next place the tubes upon a solid steel mandril, and
by means of a draw bench I draw them several times through a steel block
or die until they are drawn to the required size. The tubes are then ready
for the purposes herein-before described, or for other purposes. When the
gun barrels or tubes are small, the hammering of the hollow cylinders pre-
paratory to the rolling process may be dispensed with. Instead of casting a
shorthollow cylinder of steel or homogeneous iron as herein described, a large
hollow cylinder may be cast, and the said large hollow cylinder cut into short
lengths and hammered (when necessary), and rolled into gun barrels and
tubes.
My Invention is applicable to the manufacture of gun barrels and tubes
either taper or parallel, and of a cylindrical, hexagonal, or other figure in
cross section.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention the improvements in manufac-
turing gun barrels and tubes of cast steel aud homogeneous iron herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is to say,
making gun barrels and tubes by first casting a hollow cylinder of steel or
homogeneous iron of a thickness not less than half an inch at the thinnest
part, and afterwards reducing in diameter and elongating the said hollow

page_text: cylinder by the processes of hammering and rolling, or by the process of
rolling only, substantially in the manner described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Powell Tipper, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
HENRY POWELL TIPPER. (L.)