Joseph Bramah
1748-1814
English Inventor
Joseph Bramah was an English engineer and inventor during the early years of the Industrial Revolution. Considered one of the fathers of the tool industry, his inventions made a significant contribution to the emerging new industries of the early nineteenth century. His mechanical inventions included the burglar-proof lock and the hydraulic press.
Born Joe Brammer in Stainborough, Yorkshire, England, Bramah was incapacitated by a serious injury to his ankle when he was 16 years old and was unable to work with his family'sagricultural business as planned. Instead, he became apprenticed to a carpenter. One of the jobs he was assigned was refitting a water closet (known today as a toilet). Frustrated with the poor mechanical design, he proposed a new one with better flushing capabilities and received a patent for it in 1778. At this time he also changed his name to Bramah, believing the new name would sell more of the redesigned water closets. Nearly 6,000 of these improved lavatories were sold, and the design was popular for nearly 100 years.
At the completion of his apprenticeship, Bramah set up his own carpentry and cabinetmaking shop in London. During this time he became interested in the problem of designing a pick-proof lock. In 1784 he exhibited this lock in his shop window, offering a monetary reward for anyone capable of picking it. Despite many attempts, the Bramah lock was not opened for 67 years, until an American mechanic, Alfred Hobbs, successfully opened it after 51 hours of work. Bramah's lock design was successful because it was intricate; however, in order to manufacture it, he realized that he needed well-designed machinery capable of turning out precisely engineered machine tools. To assist him with establishing a machine shop, he hired a young blacksmith, Henry Maudslay (1771-1831), who became the head mechanic in Bramah's shop. This was the first machine shop established in London, and it was instrumental in designing and manufacturing many tools and parts necessary for the new manufacturing industries appearing during this period.
One of the first projects the two men took on was designing and producing a more efficient lathe known as the slide rest. Instead of a worker holding a cutting tool by hand against the metal to be cut, the iron fist of the slide rest held the tool firmly against the metal and moved the tool evenly along a carriage. This early prototype provided the groundwork for Bramah's success in the machine-tool industry. Without such machines it would not have been possible to manufacture the tools and parts that became the backbone of the industrial expansion of British manufacturing in the nineteenth century.
Another important Bramah invention was the hydraulic press. This innovation enabled machines to shape, extrude, or stamp materials under high pressure. Bramah was able to design and manufacture necessary tools and parts, such as nozzles, valves, pumps, and water turbines for the new emerging industries. This opened up a tremendous new source of mechanical power to manufacturers during the Industrial Revolution.
Bramah was a talented and inventive individual. During the course of his life he secured nearly 18 patents. Some of his other inventions included a machine for numbering bank notes, a wood planing machine, a device to make quill tips for pens, a beer pump, a fire engine, and innovation in the manufacturing of paper. He was the first to suggest using a propeller to drive ships rather than using a paddle wheel.
Bramah died in 1814 in London and was well respected for his many innovations and inventions.
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