Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Making Nails.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 4th July, 1893—Accepted, 5th Aug., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Cutting or Making Nails.
I, WILLIAM NORTON SEVERANCE, of St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of
America, Mechanic, 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 consists of an improved machine for cutting simultaneously several
nails from the end of a suitable metal strip or plate as hereinafter described.
Two oscillating cutter carriers, each provided with several knives or cutters, are
mounted in a suitable frame or housing one of them reciprocating towards and from
the other to effect the cut. A long nail plate or sheet wide enough to form several
nails at each stroke of the cutters, is fed to the cutters by means of intermittently
operated feeding and holding devices. The drawings show a machine for cutting
six nails at a stroke, but it may be adapted to cut a less or greater number. The
nails made by this machine have chisel points, tapered bodies and bevelled heads.
The knives are so shaped and arranged that it is not necessary to turn the strip or
plate in order to keep its end true, as in the common form of machine for cutting a
single tapered nail. The advantages of my machine over prior machines known to
me, consist in great economy of power, less waste of material, the use of cheaper
labour and the production of a better nail. It will do the same amount of work in
a given time as several single cut machines.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.
Figure 2 is a front elevation.
Figure 3 is a portion of the machine partly in section drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 respectively are detail views drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Figure 11 is a plan of the machine partly in section.
Figure 12 is a detail view of the shift bar.
Figure 13 is an under side plan of the carrier to an enlarged scale.
Figure 14 is horizontal section through frame showing cross-piece or bridge.
Figure 15 is a vertical section of the socket pin to an enlarged scale.
Figure 16 is a detail view of the guide.
Figure 17 is a sectional elevation of part of the machine to an enlarged scale
through the carriers.
Figure 18 is a vertical cross section of the furnace.
Figures 19 and 20 are detail views of the knives.
Figure 21 is a plan of the nail plate showing successive cuts.
Figure 22 is a side view of one of the cutter guides.
Figure 23 is an end elevation of cutter Figure 22.
Figure 24 is side view of the grinding apparatus.
Figure 25 is a front elevation thereof and
Figure 26 is a plan of the same.
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
My improved machine comprises a cast iron frame 1, at one end of which the
cutter carriers 2 and 3 are mounted in suitable bearings to permit of their being
oscillated, the boxes 10 of the upper carrier 2 are constructed to slide up and down
to permit the upper carrier to be reciprocated, for the purpose of imparting a
cutting action to the knives. The carrier 2 is suspended from the lintel 14 of the
frame by toggles 12 and 13 and brackets 17 and 18 and is adjusted accurately in
the boxes 10 10 by liners or gibs 11. The lower ends of the brackets 18 are

page_text: provided with shoes 15 which bear on the top of the carrier and force it downwards
in making a cut, and liners or plates 19 may be used between the shoes and the
carrier to adjust the parts when necessary, as for instance when the knives are
shortened by grinding.
The power to operate the machine is applied by means of pulleys 4, 4 Figures 1
and 11 fixed to the shaft 6, which is provided with fly wheels 5, and is geared to the
crank shaft 7 by pinions 8 and spur wheels 9. The oscillating movement is com-
⚫municated from the crank shaft to the cutter carriers 2 and 3 by means of shift
bars 34, and the reciprocating motion is communicated from the crank shaft to the
upper carrier 2 by a connecting rod 7ª which actuates the toggles 12 and 13. The
pinions 8 are one half the size of the spur wheels 9, and as the machine makes two
cuts at each revolution of the crank shaft 7, these proportions cause a full revolution
of the fly wheels at each stroke of the cutters, thereby securing economy of power.
The shift bars 34 are connected to and operated by the crank shaft 7 by means of
yokes of special construction, which will hereinafter be described.
The carriers 2 and 3 are each provided with two sets or gangs of knives 60
Figures 13, 17, secured in grooves, or channels 55, the oscillation of the carriers
bringing the gangs of knives alternately into action. It is necessary to the proper
operation of the knives that the reciprocating carrier 2 be guided in its downward
movement with great nicety and be held as rigid as possible when it delivers a
stroke on the nail plate. For these purposes I have provided certain guiding and
centering devices shown in Figure 13, which is an underside plan of the carrier 2.
The guiding devices consist of tongues or feathers 20 secured in the opposite ends
of the grooves 55 which contain the knives, and the centering devices consist of
metallic sockets 24 secured in the grooves 55 just inside of the feathers 20 and they
operate in connection with centering pins 23 Figure 2 secured in the corresponding
grooves 55 of the lower carrier 3. A vertical section of the sockets 24 and pins 23
is shown by Figure 15. The feathers 20 in the ends of the upper carrier 2 operate
in connection with grooves or guides 21 (see Figure 14) formed on the inner edges
of the cross-pieces or bridges 22 secured to the inner sides of the frame 1 at the
ends of the carrier 2. The said guides are provided with adjusting plates or
liners 22 as shown in Figure 14 to secure exactness, and act in conjunction with
the feathers 20, serving to guide the upper carrier 2 in its movement towards the
lower carrier 3. The sockets 24 and pins 23 centre the carriers as they come
together, so as to make the knives register properly, and at the same time they
also prevent the carriers from shrinking or giving way under the impact of the
knives upon the nail plate.
To provide clearance for the knives I locate the upper carrier about a half an inch
in advance of the vertical centre line of the lower carrier, thus moving the knives
of the upper carrier rearward and those of the lower carrier forward, and in order
to bring the pins 23 and sockets 24 into proper positions to engage with each
other on a common axial line, I form their shanks with inclined sides 23 and 24"
as shown in Figure 15, equal to the divergence of the knives from a vertical
line.
The knives 60 (Figure 20) are flat rectangular pieces of steel with cutting edges
of the shape of the edge of the nail to be cut thereby. Each knife is provided
with a face plate 61 which is milled in exact .conformity with the face of the knife
and provided with a half round tongue or projection 62 which rests in a suitable
groove in the adjacent wall 56 of the carrier and provides a fulcrum or pivotting
point for effecting the alignment of the knife. The knife is secured in place by a
retaining set screw 66 extending through the opposite wall of the carrier_and
bearing against a back plate at a point directly opposite to the projection 62. Each
knife is also provided with adjusting set screws 66 and 67 which bear upon the
face and back plates in the rear of the pivotting point, by which the knife may be
adjusted on its pivot without loosening it from the carrier, with great nicety. When
once adjusted it can be secured with great rigidity in its adjusted position by means
of the various set screws mentioned.

page_text: Each knife is provided with one or more adjusting screws 68 extending through
the body of the carrier and bearing on the rear edge of the knife for giving it the
required degree of projection. The knives of each gang are placed edge to edge,
so that together they constitute a cutter which extends entirely across the strip or
nail plate and at each cut forms one edge of six nails. The knives are exactly
alike, while the alternate face plates 61 are thinner than the intermediate ones by
a distance equal to one half the width of the head of the nail, (Figure 19) the
object being to provide for cutting the head of the nail by one stroke of the
machine, since if the knives were in line, two strokes would be required, which
would result in the production of imperfect heads.
To facilitate removal and replacement, the edges of the knives are cut away
slightly, as shown at 63, Figure 19, so that after the set screws are slackened, the
knife can be dislodged by a slight blow on the under side without disturbing the
other knives. The upper knives are arranged relatively to each other, as shown
in Figure 2, in which the end knives have the greatest projection and the middle
ones the least, the intermediate ones receding gradually. The object of this
arrangement is to cause the wide nail plate to be first engaged by the knives at the
edges, so as to hold it straight and prevent it from buckling as the cut proceeds.
It also reduces the strain on the machine by giving a progressive cut instead of
throwing the work of cutting the entire width of the sheet at once upon the cutters.
Figure 20 is a plan view of one of the knives and Figure 21 shows upon the nail
plate the lines of successive cuts. The form of knife shown can be readily and
accurately made, and being free of holes or slots is not liable to danger of fracture
in tempering. It is capable of being used at either end, and of being ground down
until but a small portion of it remains.
The cutter carriers and 3 are provided with annular strengthening flanges 57
which stiffen and support the walls of the knife grooves, and enable the carriers to
be made very strong without being unduly heavy, which is an advantage because
of the great power of the machine and the rapidity of its operation. The weight
of the carriers including the knives, guides and shift bars being great, and their
motion rapid, such motion being arrested and reversed at every cut of the machine,
the momentum is overcome only with a considerable jar. To prevent injury
resulting from the concussion, I provide the cranks 35 of the cutter carriers
Figures 1, 2 and 11 with removable buffer arms 35" which engage elastic buffers 36
secured to the sides of the frame of the machine, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 7.
The construction of these buffers is shown in section in Figure 7. It consists of a
metal shell 38 containing a heavy rubber spring 39 secured between a face plate 37
and a guide 40 with screw follower 42, by means of a bolt 41 and lock nuts 43.
The resistance of the buffer can be increased by compressing it by means of the
bolt 41 and nuts 43, and the point of impact of the buffer arm upon the face plate
can be readily and nicely adjusted by the screw follower 42. The buffer arms 35*
are removable for the purpose of permitting the cutter carriers to be swung into
position to permit the knives to be ground without removing them from the
carriers, the cranks 35 being capable of disconnection from the shift bars 34 for
this purpose.
The shift bars 34 (Figures 1 and 12) are provided with vertical slots 45 and in
these slots are sliding boxes through which the wrist pins of the carrier cranks 35
extend. These slots permit the pins to rise and fall during the oscillation and
reciprocating movements of the carriers. At the opposite ends of each shift bar is
a cam yoke 33 which is supported in position by a stirrup 34ª resting on the box 34°
located on the crank shaft 7. This box is provided with half-flanges 34° (see
Figure 10) to permit of the outward movement of the shift-bar. On the crank
shaft 7 is a cam 32 which operates in connection with the yoke 33. The yoke is
of such shape that the oscillating motion imparted by it to the carrier begins
slowly, then becomes very rapid and finally terminates slowly. The shift bar is
also provided with a slot. 47 (Figure 1) through which a stud 48 projects from the

page_text: side of the frame. The shift bar reciprocates on the stud, which also serves to
support it when detached from the cranks 35, as is the case when it is desired to
turn the carriers 2 and 3 so as to expose the knives at the front of the machine for
grinding, renewal or adjustment. The front of the machine is open and unobstructed
in order that ready access may thus be had to the cutters.
I will now describe the feeding mechanism. The nail plate 31 is made in long
strips of a width corresponding to the number of knives in the machine, and in
order to secure the continuous operation of the machine successive strips may be
attached to each other, as the machine is running, by means of clips or rivets 76
(Figure 11), making a continuous sheet 31. The feeding device consists of a pair
of feed rolls 30 (Figures 1, 4 and 17) placed about midway of the machine. The
said rolls 30 are grooved as at 69 to permit the passage of the clips or rivets which
connect the sections of the strips, and the upper roll is provided with rubber
springs 30 and adjusting screws and followers 30° (Figures 4, and 17) by means of
which the said roll 30 is caused to bear on the sheet with an elastic pressure. A
guide or conductor 70 extends from the rear of the machine to the feed rolls, and a
second guide or conductor 71 extends from the rolls to the cutter carriers. The
guide 71 is pivoted at 79 to the uprights which support the feed rolls, and has a
pointed end which projects between the converging surfaces of the cutter carriers
and supports the sheet close up to the cutting point. A detached view of the
guide 71 is shown in Figure 16. It is provided on its lower side of its front end,
with eccentric surfaces 77 and an intermediate concentric surface 77", which are
acted upon by projections or lugs 78 located on the lower carrier 3 just behind the
ends of the knife grooves and serve to raise the front end of the guide 71 as the
carrier 3 oscillates, thus affording clearance for the rear set of knives of said
carrier, and then to permit it to return to its normal position in which it feeds the
end of the sheet to the cutters.
It is desirable in the manufacture of many sizes of nails to cut them from a
heated sheet. For this purpose I provide the guide 71 with a furnace for heating
the sheet as it passes from the feed rolls to the cutters. This furnace is shown in
Figures 1, 17 and 18, and is constructed with a hot air space 72 surrounding the
sheet 31, cold air spaces 73 on both sides of the hot air space to protect the machine
from the effect of the heat, gas or oil burners 75, and draught flues 74. This
heating furnace is attached to, but does not otherwise modify the construction of
the guide 71.
It is important in the use of the machine, in view of the small size of the nails
and the weight and rapidity of action of the operative parts, that not only should
there be a positive feed motion, but also a positive stop motion and a rigid holding
of the feed mechanism from turning in either direction after the sheet has been fed,
until the knives descend and complete the cut, because any slipping or displacement
of the sheet, by the jarring of the machine or other cause, would result in the
production of defective nails. It is also desirable that the nail sheet should be
retracted slightly after the completion of a cut, so that the upper knives may be
raised without rubbing or dragging over the edge of the sheet. These things are
all accomplished by the feeding mechanism illustrated in Figures 1 and 4. The
feed motion takes place as the cutter carrier rises, and is caused by a pivoted
lever 49 operating a driving pawl 51 which engages a ratchet wheel 29 mounted
rigidly on the extended journal of one of the feed rolls 3, the feed-rolls being
connected together by gear-wheels 30°. Each forward movement of the lever 49
turns the feed-rolls the distance necessary to make a proper feed movement of the
nail sheet. The inner end of the lever 49 extends across the path of the sliding
journal box 10 of the upper carrier 2 and is operated by the upward movement of
the same, the extent of its throw being determined by the adjusting screw 50 which
impinges on the top of the box 10. An adjustable stop 53 (Figures 3 and 6)
mounted on the frame 1 engages the outer end of the lever 49 to limit its return
motion, so that its pawl 51 shall engage the proper tooth of the ratchet-wheel 29.
The lever 49 is returned to its normal position against the stop 53 and the pawl 51

page_text: is retracted by the spring 51. Two pivoted pawls 28 and 54 engage the ratchet-
wheel 29 on its inner side. The lever 49 is made of steel, and while strong enough
to drive the ratchet-wheel 29 and hold it firmly against the stop pawl 28, it is
sufficiently elastic to yield to accidental and abnormal strains, and thereby avoid
breakage. The pawl 54 is designed to prevent the backward movement of the
feed-rolls and is held normally in engagement with the ratchet-wheel by a spring,
but is tripped by an adjustable lug or trip 54ª Figures 1 and 3, on the inner end of
the box 10, which as the box descends strikes its rear end and disengages it from
the ratchet at the instant the knives have engaged the nail sheet in the act of
cutting. The pawl 28 is pivoted to the lower end of a bar 28* which is suspended
from the feed lever 49 by means of a suitable retracting spring 28. The rear end
of the said pawl 28 rests in a guide 27, with which it is connected by a pin
extending through slots, permitting it to have a horizontal movement but acting as
a fulcrum upon which it turns. It is also provided with a retracting spring 28°.
Pivoted to the frame of the machine above the pawl 28 is a lever 52b, Figures 1
and 3, one end of which is connected by a slotted connection (to permit accurate
adjustment) with the suspension bar 28 of the pawl 28, and the other end projects
in the path of a pivoted dog or hook 52 mounted in a slotted arm 52ª, Figure 3,
which depends from the sliding box 10. The said dog 52 is beld normally in a
projected position by a suitable spring 52° and is so arranged that on the downward
movement of the sliding box 10 it slips past the end of the lever 52b, but on its
upward movement it engages the end of the lever and raises it so as to disengage
the pawl 28 from the ratchet wheel 29 through the medium of the supporting
bar 28. The rear end of the pawl 28 is provided with an inclined surface, and
supported above it on the frame of the machine is a plunger 25 having a bevelled
or inclined end (Figures 3 and 9). The said plunger 25 is connected to its
supporting block by means of a bolt 26, and is maintained normally in a raised
position by a suitable spring 26". It is forced downwards by the box 10 striking
against a screw 26° Figure 9 projecting from its upper surface, the said screw
enabling its movement to be adjusted with exactness. When the box 10 descends
it forces the plunger 25 down into engagement with the bevelled surface of the
pawl 28 and forces the latter backwards while in contact with the ratchet wheel 29
and (the pawls 51 and 54, Figure 3 being at that instant disconnected from the
ratchet wheel) causes the latter to turn backwards to a slight but definite extent,
and thereby effects a corresponding retraction of the nail sheet the instant a cut
has been completed, so that when the upper knives are retracted they shall not
drag over the edge of the sheet. When the box 10 rises, the plunger 25 being
released returns to its normal position by the operation of the spring 26° and the
dog 52 engages the rear end of the lever 52b and raises it thereby disengaging the
pawl 28. The feed lever 49 is then operated, causing the sheet to be fed forward.
The pawl 28 is returned to its normal position in time for the ratchet-wheel 29 to
be forced against it as it completes the forward feed motion, and at the same instant,
the pawl 54, being released by the upward motion of the box 10 is forced into
engagement with the ratchet wheel 29 by its retracting spring. When the said
parts are in this position the feed mechanism is held firmly against movement in
one direction by the pawl 28 and against movement in the other direction by the
pawl 54 and is so held until the knives engage the sheet.
Figures 22 and 23, Sheet 3, shew means for wiping and oiling the guides and
knives. Flexible oiling substances or brushes 80 are fixed on yielding supports 81
for the purpose of oiling and brushing the guides and if found desirable similar
oiling substances or brushes 82 Figure 22, may be so located as to brush and oil
the knives of the gang which is not engaged in cutting nails at that stroke. In
this way the knives and guides of each gang of the upper carrier 2 may be
brushed and oiled alternately. Or the knives and guides may be lubricated by any
other suitable means.
In Figures 24, 25 and 26, Sheet 3, which are respectively a side elevation, a

page_text: front elevation, and a plan, I show an apparatus for grinding the knifes without
removing them for the machine, the object being to avoid the loss of time and
adjustment which would be occasioned by removing them. This apparatus consists
of a suitably shaped emery-wheel 84 mounted upon a mandrel 85 which is fixed
upon an adjustable mandrel plate 86 supported on guides 87 and moved laterally
by a feed screw 88. The said mandrel 86 is driven by a belt on a pulley 89 and is
fed forward by a hand screw 90. The mandrel plate 86 is attached to a rack which is
controlled by the feed screw 88 so that it may be swung slightly out of axial line,
and the knives may be ground from the middle to the ends of each gang by
reversing the movement of the mandrel plate, as will be understood. The said
grinding apparatus is attached to the uprights of the frame of the machine by bolts
passing through suitable slots, as shown in Figures 24 and 26.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A machine for cutting nails having an oscillating cutter carrier mounted in
stationary bearings and provided with two or more cutting knives, in combination with
an oscillating cutter carrier mounted in reciprocating bearings and provided with
two or more cutting knives which coact with the knives of the other carrier in
cutting two or more nails at each stroke of the machine.
2. In a machine for cutting nails having an oscillating cutter carrier and an
oscillating and reciprocating cutter carrier, the combination of feathers or guides
on the reciprocating carrier with guide ways or grooves on the frame of the machine
to guide the reciprocating carrier as it descends to make a cut.
3. In a machine for cutting nails having an oscillating cutter carrier and an
oscillating and reciprocating cutter carrier, the combination of socket guides arranged
in the line of the cutters on one carrier with engaging pin guides arranged in the line
of the cutters on the other carrier for the purpose of causing the knives to register
accurately in making a cut, substantially as described.
4. A machine for cutting nails, consisting of two oscillating cutter carriers one
of which has a reciprocating motion to and from the other, a crank shaft which
communicates an intermittent oscillating motion to both cutter carriers by means of
shift bars and cam yokes, and a reciprocating motion to the reciprocating carrier
by means of a connecting rod and toggle, said reciprocating motion being so timed
as to bring the carriers together to make a cut during the intermission of the
oscillating motion, substantially as described.
5. In a machine for cutting nails, having two oscillating cutter carriers, one of
which has a reciprocating motion to and from the other; the combination of feed-
rolls for feeding the nail sheet to the cutters, with a hinged guide trough extending
between the feed-rolls and the cutters, and projections on the lower feed roll for
raising the outer end of the feed trough so that it shall permit the oscillation of the
lower carrier without striking the knives, substantially as described.
6. In a machine for cutting nails from a long plate or sheet, the combination of
oscillating cutter carriers one of which reciprocates; with feed rolls for feeding the
sheet, and a guide trough provided with means for heating the sheet as it passes
from the feed-rolls to the cutters, substantially as described.
7. In a machine for cutting nails, having oscillating cutter carriers, one of which
reciprocates to and from the other, the combination of feed-rolls operated inter-
mittently by a lever and pawl actuated by the sliding box of the reciprocating
carrier, with devices for stopping and holding the feed-rolls until the cut is made,
and devices for slightly retracting the sheet after the cut is made, said devices
being also operated by the sliding box of the reciprocating carrier; substantially
as described.
8. In a machine for cutting two or more nails transversely from a sheet at
each cut, the combination of a reciprocating cutter with intermittently operative

page_text: feeding rolls for feeding and holding the sheet, and retracting devices for
reversing the rolls at the completion of each cut, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
9. In a machine for cutting nails in which a gang of reciprocating knives operate
in conjunction with a gang of stationary knives to cut a series of nails
transversely from a sheet, the arrangement of the reciprocating knives whereby
the end knives have the greatest projection from their carriers and the central
knives the least, the intermediate ones receding gradually from the ends to
the middle, so that the edges of the sheet shall be first engaged by the end
knives and the cut proceed from the edges to the middle of the sheet, substantially
as described.
10. The combination of the buffer arms of the oscillating cutter carriers, with
elastic buffers for receiving the impact of the buffer arms at the end of the
oscillating movements of the carriers, substantially as, and for the purposes,
described.
11. In a machine for cutting nails, the cutting knife secured in its retaining
socket by means of adjusting set screws, and provided with a pivotal piece for
effecting its adjustment, substantially as described.
12. In a machine having oscillating cutters, the combination of oiling substances
for oiling the knives or guides, or both, during their oscillation, substantially as
described.
13. In a machine for cutting nails having oscillating cutter carriers provided
with detachable cutting knives the use of an apparatus capable of attachment
to the frame of the machine for sharpening the knives in place, substantially as
described.
14. The grinding apparatus herein described, for grinding the cutting knives in
place on the nail machine.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.