TUBES 1029 



made. Supported on pillars K K stands an arrangement of metal in which is inclosed 

 an annular furnace under c, represented by A A, with provision for introducing fire. In 

 centre, marked c, is the melted lead contained in a cylinder fitted with piston, con- 

 nected with that of the hydraulic press, D ; the lead is introduced at the spout or 

 feeder, B ; on the cylinder, c, being filled, the feeder, B, is iinscrewed, and a solid plug 

 introduced. The white line ascending through the space, c, is a mandril, whicn is 

 the size of the interior of the intended tube. K represents suitably-formed dies, the 

 size of the external diameter of the tube required ; the space between the interior of 

 the die and the exterior of the mandril is that through which the melted lead is forced 

 which forms the tube, it being formed, congealed, or solidified at the point where it 

 comes in contact with the external atmosphere, the forcing up of the lead being pro- 

 duced by the water in gate-pipe G being connected with the pump which, set in motion, 

 forces the water under the packing of the piston E ; this raises it, and it in turn, 

 operating on the piston, which works up in the interior of the cylinder containing the 

 fluid, or melted lead, presses it out from the space between the die and the mandril. 

 As the tube is made it is wound into coils on a revolving drum F, which is placed over 

 the press ; the size of the mandril and the die may be changed, and tubes of lead of 

 any size and length can be produced by this ingenious process, alike simple and 

 speedy in its operation. 



The Manufacture of Wrought-iron Tube. There is an immense demand for wrought- 

 iron welded tube now universally used in conducting gas for lighting, water, steam 

 for heating, or for boilers for locomotive- and marine-engine purposes (though there 

 are reasons for believing that for the last two purposes the application of good 

 brass tubes as a substitute is on the increase). The first impetus given to the 

 manufacture of welded iron tube arose immediately after the practical demonstration 

 of William Murdock as to the possibility of lighting public establishments by means 

 of gas, consequent on the experiments made by him at Redruth in Cornwall in the 

 year 1792, the facility afforded by iron of being united by welding naturally sug- 

 gested iron tubes as a means of conveying the new lighting agent. No doubt the idea 

 of applying iron-pipe for the purpose arose from the very great quantity of gun- 

 barrels made for the construction of the 'Brown Bess' guns used in the continental 

 wars terminating in the year 1815. Great quantities of barrels, incapable of 

 standing the necessary charges in proving, were thrown on one side, and when the 

 introduction of gas began to be favourably entertained, these waste barrels were 

 united together by means of screwing the ends of the barrels, and connecting them 

 by means of ferrules of iron screwed internally; they were thus converted or 

 made into long lengths ; the ordinary length of gxin-barrels permitted of their 

 being readily welded up the joint or seam, when the two edges of the ' skelp,' as 

 the piece of iron was called from which the barrels were made, were brought in 

 contact Of course the kind of gun-barrels referred to were not of the first class ; but 

 for ordinary use, simply a skelp of iron beaten in a groove, or partially turned up by 

 a hammer in a grooved tool placed on the anvil until they formed a half- closed tube 

 of iron, and they were finally lap-joint-welded, i.e. the two edges of the skelp, when 

 in a position that they overlapped each other, such operation being performed entirely 

 by manual labour. The next step consisted in application of the tilt-hammer 

 or hammer worked by power, see fg. 2022, and eventually the welding and 

 reduction of the billet or turned-up skelp was effected by rolls, see jigs. 2023, 

 and 2024. However much and numerous the various patents for the manu- 

 facture of iron-tube may have operated in improving the production of iron 

 tubing, it is very evident, that of the number many have been abandoned as 

 worthless or too complicated and expensive in their operation. Thus Cook in 

 1808 suggested three several processes for the making of barrels or tubes : i.e. to 

 drill a hole through a solid cylinder of iron, introduce a mandril and then reduce 

 the external surface by drawing down by grooved rolls; to weld up a strip or 

 skelp as already described ; or to force a flat disk of iron into a cup-like form, and 

 elongate the same by drawing down or rolling out. In 1811 a patent was taken out 

 in which the turned-up skelp was welded on a grooved anvil or swage, the 

 hammer being moved by power, an internal support being used. Osborne in 1817 

 used grooved rolls for 'turning up' : the mandril was stationary, and held by means 

 of a shield. Russell in 1824 welded by means of a hollow-faced hammer and a 

 tool ; the latter held the tube while the operation of welding was being proceeded 

 with : this patent was unsuccessful, and was abandoned. Whitehouse in 1825 

 suggested the idea that an internal support might be got rid of altogether, and the 

 weld effected in a 'butt' jointed tube by external pressure only; this is the method 

 now generally adopted as being the simplest and best for the production of iron-tubes 

 for purposes of gas-fittings. In 1831, Eoyl attempted to evade Whitehouse's patents 

 of welding without internal support by using rolls instead of bell-mouth plycrs, or 



