Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1886.
Complete Left, 31st Jan., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 1st Mar., 1887.
I, JAMES MADISON MATTHEWSs of Pocahontas in the County of Tazewell and State
of Virginia United States of America Blacksmith, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
The pick of my Invention presents a flat, even surface upon each side terminating in
the customary shaped ends, and centrally on the underside I form a yoke solid there-
with, the said yoke having an aperture to receive a screw bolt, the head of which is
pierced to admit a detachable pin by which it is turned. The lower edge of the pick
upon one side is centrally slightly cut away to permit the entrance of the screw bolt
into the said aperture. The handle is oval in form and gradually tapers from above
its centre upward to an extended top, which is provided with a wide recess adapted to
receive the yoke which fills the recess, and it has a passage bored from the top
downward to receive a screw bolt. At the bottom of this passage a slot is cut through
the handle to receive a nut. A socket made to fit the oval contour of the handle
at one end, tapers from bottom to top, adapting itself to the taper of the handle, and
terminates in outwardly flaring bifurcations rounded off upon their outer sides the said
bifurcations being provided with lugs adapted to fit in recesses cut in the under face
of the pick upon each side of the yoke. A slot, and a circular opening are cut in the
socket upon opposite sides in the same line, so that when the socket has been slid to its
position over the handle (the lugs engaging the recesses in the pick and the yoke of
the pick resting in the recess of the handle) the slot and the circular opening in the
socket will register with the slot cut through the handle at the end of the passage
which receives the screw bolt. Into the passage there formed a nut having a circular
projection is slid until the said circular projection comes through the circular opening
in the socket flush with the face thereof, the nut registering with the passage in the
handle. The screw bolt being now inserted in the aperture of the yoke and passed
down the passage engages the threaded opening of the nut and by means of a pin
placed through the holes in its cap is screwed therein to a firm bearing upon the yoke
thereby clamping the pick securely to the handle, and also by means of the nut holding
the projections of the socket in engagement with the recesses of the pick and the
socket to the handle protecting and strengthening the same.
J. M. MA
HEWS.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.

page_text: I, JAMES MADISON MATTHEWS of Pocahontas in the County of Tazewell and State
of Virginia United States of America, Blacksmith, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to miners' picks; and has for its object to produce a light yet
strong and durable pick in which the eye pierced therein for attaching the pick to the
handle is dispensed with. It consists in a pick formed with a yoke solid therewith,
and detachably secured to a handle recessed to receive it by a screw-bolt; and in
details of construction of the socket and handle; as will be hereinafter fully set forth
and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pick and handle complete;
Figure 2 a vertical section of the metal socket; Figure 3 a side elevation of the
handle; Figure 4 a horizontal section through line - of figure 1; Figure 5 a
perspective view of the under side of the pick; and Figures 6 and 7 detail views of
the screw-bolt and nut. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
the figures.
In the construction of miners' picks, the handles have heretofore been, to a great
extent fastened thereto through eyes pierced in the central portion thereof, necessitating
an extra amount of metal at that point, thereby rendering them unnecessarily heavy
and clumsy.
I produce a pick A presenting a flat even surface upon each side terminating in the
customary shaped ends and centrally on the under side I form a yoke a solid there-
with, the said yoke having an aperture a¹ (see figure 5) to receive a screw bolt B the
head of which is pierced to admit a detachable pin by which it is turned, as shewn in
Figure 6. The lower edge of the pick upon one side is, centrally, slightly cut away to
permit the entrance of the screw bolt into the said aperture a'. The handle E is oval in
form and gradually tapers from above its centre upward to an extended top which is
provided with a wide recess H adapted to receive the yoke a which fills the recess, and
it has a passage bored from the top downward to receive the screw bolt B. At the
bottom of this passage h a slot e is cut through the handle to receive a nut g, which
will be hereinafter described. D is a socket made to fit the oval contour of the
handle E at one end. It tapers from bottom to top, adapting itself to the taper of
the handle, and terminates in outwardly flaring bifurcations rounded off upon their
outer sides, the said bifurcations being provided with lugs d d adapted to fit in
recesses dd cut in the under face of pick A upon each side of the yoke a. A slot e¹
and a circular opening fare cut in the socket D upon opposite sides in the same line,
so that when the socket D has been slid to its position over the handle E, to the
contour of which it neatly conforms, (the lugs d d engaging the recesses d'd' in the
pick, and the yoke a of the pick resting in its recess H of the handle E) the slot e¹ and

page_text: the circular opening in the socket D will register with the slot e cut through the
handle E at the end of the passage which receives the screw bolt B. Into the
passage there formed a nut 9 having a circular projection g¹ (see figure 7) is slid, until
the said circular projection comes through the circular opening in the socket D
flush with the face thereof, the threaded opening of the nut registering with the
passage hin the handle E (see figure 4). The screw bolt B being now inserted in the
aperture a¹ of the yoke a and passed down the passage h engages the threaded opening
of the nut g, and, by means of a pin placed through the holes in its cap, is screwed
therein to a firm bearing upon the yoke a thereby clamping the pick securely to the
handle, and also by means of the nut g holding the projections d of the socket D in
engagement with the recesses d¹ of the pick, and the socket to the handle, protecting
and strengthening the same, as shewn in figure 1. The handle E between the
bifurcations of the socket D is shaved off flush with said bifurcations presenting flat
faces upon each side.
By this means I am enabled to produce a pick that will be of slight weight yet great
strength, which in picks for miners' use is the prime object; and, again, its con-
struction being simple and the saving of metal great, the cost is far below those in
ordinary use to day; and, further, picks secured to the handle in manner herein
described are interchangeable in that one handle will answer for a number of picks of
the same form and in the event of but one style pick being used a new one can be
readily and quickly placed upon the handle in lieu of one worn out. The handle being
more or less elastic and well braced will wear for a year at least, while the handles
now placed in miners' picks break very soon oft-times not lasting more than two or
three days. In this item alone, I save considerable expense and withal provide a
cheap, durable, strong yet light tool.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is ;
1. As a new article of manufacture, a miner's pick provided centrally upon its under
face with an integral apertured yoke, substantially as shewn and described and for the
purpose herein set forth.
2. The combination with a pick having an integral yoke centrally, its under face
and recesses upon each side of said yoke, of a handle recessed to receive the yoke,
a bifurcated socket adapted to embrace said handle provided with lugs adapted to
enter the recesses in the pick and a fastening bolt, substantially as herein described.
3. The combination with a miner's pick provided with the yoke a and having
aperture a of the handle E having recessed end H and central opening h, the screw
bolt B and nut g, substantially as for the purpose herein set forth.
4. A miner's pick, constructed with a yoke a upon its under side having an
aperture a¹ and recesses d¹ in combination with a bifurcated socket D having lugs d,
slot e, and circular opening f, the handle E having the recess H, central opening h,
and slot e, and the screw bolt B and nut g, substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein set forth.
5. In a miner's pick, the combination of the handle E having the recess H, central
opening, and slot e, the bifurcated socket D provided with lugs
upon its
bifurcations and having the slot e¹ and circular opening upon opposite sides in
line with each other, the nut g having projection g' and the bolt B, substantially in
the manner, and for the purpose herein set forth.
J. M. MATTHEWS.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.