IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPRESSING, FORGING, AND ROLLING STEEL AND OTHER METALS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Buck Wilson, of Haydock, near St.
Helen's, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPRESSING, FORGING, AND ROLLING STEEL
AND OTHER METALS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES."
Sealed the 14th July 1868, and dated the 8th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Buck Wilson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 8th February 1868.
I, JAMES BUOK WILSON, of Haydock, near St. Helen's, in the County
of Lancaster, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPRESSING, FORGING, AND ROLLING STEEL
AND OTHER METALS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in gradually compressing, forging, and rolling
ingots of steel and other metal by means of pressers, hammers, tups,
and rolls with superficies acting on the periphery of the ingot defining

page_text: a gradually reduced area in a series of sets acting either independently
in combination or in alternate succession the number, the position,
and the superficies in a set or any number of sets may be modified.
In making round, hexagon, or octagon bars or rods I prefer to use
ingots of steel or other metal of a corresponding section, which are
gradually condensed and drawn out by means of a series of pressers,
hammers, tups, or rolls in sets of six or eight in a set, but the number
may be varied, the superficies conforming or nearly so with and
operating on the periphery of the ingot when passing between the
gradually diminished area defined by the superficies of each set in a
series. Motion is given to the pressers, hammers, tups, and rollers by
eccentrics, wheels, and pinions, worms and wheels, or other equivalents,
and the speeds are accommodated to the increased length and reduced
area or setion of the ingot or bar under operation.
Rails, shafts, axles, bars, and rods of various section and improved
quality may be produced by the process and machinery described,
thereby economising heat, power, labour, time, and material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said James Buck Wilson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BUCK WILSON, of Haydock, near St. Helen's, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Buck Wilson, Her special
license that I, the said James Buck Wilson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Buck Wilson,
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,

page_text: 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 COMPRESSING, FORGING, AND ROLLING STEEL AND OTHER
METALS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR SUCH PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Buck Wilson, 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 James Buck Wilson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in gradually compressing, forging, and rolling
ingots of steel and other metal by means of pressers, hammers, tups,
and rolls with superfices acting on the periphery of the ingot defining a
gradually reduced area in a series of sets acting cither independently
in combination or in alternate succession the number, the position, and
the superficies in a set or any number of sets may be modified. In
making round, hexagon, or octagon bars or rods I prefer to use ingots
of steel or other metal of a corresponding section, which are gradually
condensed and drawn out by means of a series of pressers, hammers, tups,
or rolls in sets of six or eight in a set, but the number may be varied,
the superfices conforming or nearly so with and operating on the
periphery of the ingot when passing between the gradually diminished
area defined by the superfices of each set in a series. Motion is given
to the pressers, hammers, tups, and rolls by eccentrics, wheels, and
pinions, worms, and wheels, or other equivalents, and the speeds are
accommodated to the increased length and reduced area or section of
the ingot or bar under operation.
Rails, shafts, axle bars, and rods of various section and improved
quality may be produced by the process and machinery described,
thereby economizing heat, power, labour, time, and material.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings which represents two convenient arrangements of

page_text: machinery for compressing or forging and rolling ingots of steel or other
metal.
Figure 1 is an elevation in section of a series of pressers, hammers,
or tups for compressing steel or other metal according to my improve-
ments; Figure 2 is a plan of the upper part, and Figure 3 is a transverse
section of the same.
In the machinery I am now going to describe I have arranged the
pressers, hammers, or tups in sets of six, and twelve of these sets acting
in succession on the bar of steel or other metal, this arrangement being
the most convenient for acting on a round or hexagonal ingot and for
producing a hexagonal bar, but the number of hammers to the set and
the number of sets can be varied according to the shape and size of the
ingot to be worked, and of the bar to be produced. a, a, are a series
of twelve plates in which are sockets for the stays b, b, and bearings
for the shafts c, c, and c¹, c'. The plates a and stays b form the
framing of the machine which is supported by feet on the bottom plate
a resting on a solid foundation. The shafts c revolve in the bearings
in the plates a, and the space on each shaft between the plates a is
eccentric to the bearings; these eccentrics as the shafts revolve give a
rapid advancing motion to the pressers d which are supported in
recesses in the plates a and vibrate on the fulcra d. The motion of
the eccentrics is transmitted to the pressers by the blocks e which slide
between ribs cast on the plates a; these blocks act on the outer ends of
the pressers d, the inner faces of which act on the periphery of the
ingot under operation, and these inner faces are of gradually increasing
length, so that the space between them is reduced in proportion to the
reduction required in the size of the bar. The pressers are arranged so
that they act alternately on the faces and angles of the ingot, con-
sequently it requires six shafts c to work the alternate sets of pressers,
and six shafts c' to work the intermediate ones, as shewn best in
Figure 3 all these shafts are driven simultaneously by the internal
wheel gearing into pinions fixed to the eccentric shafts, and this
wheel is driven by the pinions g, two or more similar pinions gearing
into the external wheel f' cast with for connected in any other
convenient manner. To the upper ends of the stays bis fixed the top
plate h, and to this plate are fixed the bearings of the rollers i; these
rollers are set so as to bear against the ingot, and they are turned
slowly round by the pinion j gearing into the wheel i', fixed to the axle

page_text: of one of the rollers i which are coupled by bevel wheels, as shewn in
Figure 2; or the motion may be communicated by any other suitable
gearing. The object of these rollers is to regulate the descent of the
ingot during the operation of hammering it.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The ingot having been cast in
the moulds, or a billet from the steam hammer or from the forge rolls,
and at a suitable heat is placed between the rollers i and lowered
through the opening in the top plate until the lower end comes
between the working faces of the first set of pressers d. The machinery
being now set to work, the rapid blows or succession of squeezes given
by the pressers combined with the downward pressure of the rollers i
elongate and force down the end of the ingot until it arrives between
the second set of pressers, which as before stated act on the angles
thercof so as to flatten and consolidate them; this second set of
pressers elongate the ingot until the point enters between the third
set, and so the operation proceeds until the ingot has been reduced to
a bar of the required size by the combined and successive action of all
the sets of pressers. When the bar has passed between the last set of
pressers it drops into a suitable receiver under the machine, or it is
operated upon by another series of pressers, or rolled, or it is otherwise
disposed of according to the size of the bar and the object for which
it is intended.
Figure 4 is an elevation partly in section, and Figure 5 a plan of a
series of rolls arranged in sets of six, which may be used for reducing,
compressing, and rolling ingots or billets. These rolls may be used for
drawing out the bar that has been prepared by the pressers above
described, or they may be used for drawing out an ingot or billet
instead of the pressers. In these views it will be seen that the sets of
rolls act alternately on the flat sides and on the angles of the hexagonal
bar to be drawn out, as this arrangement is found most effectual in
evenly condensing the metal. The rolls are made by preference of a
cast iron disc having a bevel wheel cast or fixed on each side, these
bevel wheels gear into each other so as to insure uniform rotary motion
in each set of rolls. The working periphery of the roll may consist of
a steel hoop which is shrunk on the disc or the working periphery
may be cast with the dise and chilled or otherwise hardened.
The mode of driving the rolls is as follows, but the mechanism
may be considerably varied :-The three upright shafts are caused to

page_text: revolve rapidly by steam or other power, and to each of these shafts
is fixed a bevel pinion gearing into the wheel m fixed on a short
shaft m', to which is also fixed a spur pinion m³ gearing into a similar
pinion on the shaft n'. On cach shaft m' and n' is fixed a bevel
pinion m³ and n³ gearing into the bevel wheels ' above referred to. By
this arrangement each alternate roll of the set is driven from the main
gearing and the intermediate rolls are driven by the others. The speed
of cach successive set of rolls must be accelerated in proportion to the
increased length and diminished area or section of the bar passing
between them, and this increased speed may be obtained by reducing
the size of the wheel m in proportion to the pinion as shewn in
Figure 4. The alternate sets of rolls or those which act on the angles
of the hexagonal bar are driven in a similar manner by three shafts o,
shewn in Figure 5. It will be apparent that any number of sets of rolls
may be arranged to act in succession on the bar according to the size
to which it has to be reduced, and that the working faces of each set of
rolls must be reduced in proportion to the diminished size of the bar, the
diameter of the rolls is increased in proportion to the reduction in the
thickness of the bar. The bearings for the shafts and rolls arc all
connected to a strong framing which encloses the whole, and which is
made to exclude the air as much as possible so that the heat may be
kept in jets of air and inflammable gas may be applied to the bar
or rod keep up the heat. I wish also to observe that the working
faces of the pressers and rolls may be made slightly concave so as to
produce a round rod, or the working faces may be of any other
form so as to produce bars or rods of any section, as for instance,
railway rails, shafts, axle bars and rods of various section.
My improved machinery may be further modified by using alternate
sets of pressers as shewn in Figure 1, and rolls as shewn in Figure 4.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shown the machinery in
vertical positions as this position allows the scale to fall off and is
most suitable for coiling when making wire rods, but the pressers and
rolls may be set so that the bar passes horizontally or diagonally
between them.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described two a
convenient arrangements of machinery for performing the same, I
declare that I alains

page_text: First. Compressing, forging and rolling steel and other metals by the
action of sets of pressers, hammers, tups, or rolls operating in succession
in the manner described.
And, secondly. I claim the improved arrangements and combinations
of machinery for compressing, forging, and rolling steel and other metals
as shewn and above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Buck Wilson, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this First day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-eight.