stuffing box

a device for preventing leakage of gases or liquids along a moving rod or shaft at the point at which it leaves a cylinder, tank, ship hull, etc.

Also called gland.

Origin of stuffing box

First recorded in 1790–1800

When the stuffing-box has been filled, place the gland in position and screw up tight.

Farm Engines and How to Run Them |James H. Stephenson
The stuffing-box is screwed externally, and carries a nut A B which moves the gland.

An Introduction to Machine Drawing and Design |David Allan Low
Never pack the stuffing-box too tight, or you may flute the rod and spoil it.

Farm Engines and How to Run Them |James H. Stephenson
If there is water, stoppage may be due to air in the pump chamber, which can get in only through the stuffing-box.

Farm Engines and How to Run Them |James H. Stephenson

In the cover of the cylinder attached to the tube-plate is a stuffing-box, in which the piston rod plays.

The Steam Engine Explained and Illustrated (Seventh Edition) |Dionysius Lardner

stuffing box

a small chamber in which an annular packing is compressed around a reciprocating or rotating rod or shaft to form a seal Also called: packing box