Improvements in Railway and like Spikes or Nails.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th July, 1899-Accepted, 26th Aug 1900
ated from abroad by DIAMOND STATE IRON COMPANY, a Corporation
of the State of Delaware, United States of America, having its principal
place of business in Wilmington in said State.]
Improvements in Railway and like Spikes or Nails.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 the construction of the points of spikes, and is especially
designed for what are known as railroad spokes, though adapted also for use in
other forms of spike.
In designing my new spike point I have had several objects in view, among
which may be noted the following:
To provide a spike with knife like cutting edge running in whole or in part,
diagonally to the centre line of the spike and preferably formed flush with one
of the compressing bevels of the spike, without forming, as an incident to such
diagonal edge, oblique bevels;
To provide on the edges of one or both of the compressing bevels, particularly
on the edge of the rear compressing bevel, relatively sharp corner edges which
will tend to sever the fibre as it is pushed forward by the entering spike point
and prevent its tearing;
To provide a spike point with a sharp, diagonal cutting edge formed by the
intersection of a straight cut, made in a plane lying at an acute angle to the
bevel in which the cutting edge is to be formed with a curved or angular com-
pressing bevel, preferably with a convexly curved or angled bevel.
Other features of my improved construction will be best understood as described
n connection with the drawings in which
Figure 1 is a side view of a spike embodying my invention in what I believe
be its best and most convenient form.
Figure 2 is a rear view of the spike point, and
Figure 3 a cross-section on the line 1--1 of Fig. 1.
Figure 4 is a side view of a modified form of point, shown in rear view in
ig. 5 and in cross-section ou the line 2-2 of Fig. 4 in Fig. 6.
Figure 7 is a side view of still another modification.
Figure 8 being a front view of this form of point and
Figure 9 a cross-section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 7.
Figure 10 is a side elevation of another modification, this form of point being
own in rear view in Fig. Il and in cross-section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 10
Fig. 12.
Figure 13 is a side view of another modification of my point shown in
w in Fig. 14 and in cross-section on the lino à
D

page_text: Figure 16 is a side view of still another modification of my point shown in
front view in Figure 17 and in cross-section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 16 in
Figure 18.
A, in Figs. 1, 7 and 10, indicates the head of the spike; B, in all the figures,
the usual rectangular body of the spike. C, Figs. 1, 3, 10, and 12, indicates
the front compressing bevel, which is here shown as convexly curved merging
gradually into the face of the spike body. D in the same figures and in Figure 2
indicates a rear compressing bevel, here shown as concavely curved and merging
gradually into the rear face of the spike body, the convex curvature of the bevel D
extends, as shown, to the extreme corner edges of the spike, forming along
these corner edges and in line with the corner edges of the spike body, rela-
tively sharp cutting edges, indicated at dd. E is an intersecting cut lying in
a plane forming, in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, an acute angle with the front compressing
bevel C and producing by its intersection with the said front compressing bevel
the convexly curved diagonal cutting edge e.
In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I have illustrated the construction of a spike point in
which the curvature of the compressing bevel is reversed from that indicated in
Fig. 1 and in which the diagonal cutting edge is formed in the rear compressing
bevel instead of the front compressing bevel. In this construction the convex
rear compressing bevel is indicated at D2; the sharp cutting edges here formed
on the front of the spike are indicated at cc.
In Figs. 4, 5 and 6, I have shown the spike point as having the convexly
curved front compressing bevel C but a plain rear compressing bevel indicated
at D', the form of the cutting edge of the spike produced by an intersecting
cut is the same as Fig. 1 but the point, as a whole, is thicker at the outer
end than in the modification shown in Figs. 1 and 7 and it is without the sharp
corner cutting edges on either face.
In the modification shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 the form of the compressing
bevels is the same as in Fig. 1 but the intersecting sharpening cut, here indicated
at E, is formed at an acute angle to the concave rear bevel D, the result being
the formation of a concave cutting edge, indicated at e¹, lying, as shown, in the
rear compressing bevel of the spike.
In Figs. 13, 14 and 15 I have shown a modification in which the spike is
formed with a concave rear bevel D and also provided with a concave front bevel,
here indicated at C². The intersecting cut 1 in this construction forms a con-
cavely curved edge e¹ as in the case of Fig. 10.
In Figs. 16, 17 and 18 I have shown a construction similar to that of Figs. 1,2
and 3 except that the front and rear bevels, here indicated at C and D³, are
pressed to angular convex and concave form instead of curved sections, the
result being, as shown, that the intersecting cut E forms angular instead of
curved cutting edges, as indicated at e.
The particular advantage of my new spike in all of its modifications is that it
provides for diagonal cutting edges at the end of the spike without requiring as
an incident to the presence of such cutting edge oblique facets or compressing
bevels. It is also obvious that my invention adapts itself to the production of a
slender wedge like point on the spike, and also in my preferred construction
involving the use of a compressing bevel extending to the extreme corner edges
of the spike, that I secure relatively sharp cutting edges coincident with the
corners of the spike which will have to a greater extent than heretofore a ten-
dency to cut the fibre of the wood, which at this point is necessarily displaced,
preventing either the drawing in of fibre which should lie against the side of
the spike or pushing out laterally the fibre which should lie against the front
and rear of the spike. The most pronounced advantage of this feature of con-
struction is of course obtained in the modification, illustrated in Figs. 13, 14
and 15, but I prefer to provide the spike with a convex cutting edge and there-
fore to use a spike point having one concave and one convex compressing bevel,
as indicated in Figs. 1, 7 or 16, and on the whole prefer to make the front

page_text: compressing bevel convex, as indicated in Fig. 1, thus obtaining the sharp cutting
edges d on the edge of the spike where I find them to be most serviceable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:
1. A spike having two compressing bevels, one of which is of curved form in
cross-section and a curved cutting edge formed in said curved bevel by a straight
cut across the point of the spike in a plane intersecting both compressing bevels
and forming an acute angle with said curved bevel.
2. A spike having two compressing bevels one of which is in convex form in
cross-section and a convexly curved cutting edge formed in said convex bevel
by a straight cut across the point of the spike in a plane intersecting both com-
pressing bevels and forming an acute angle with said convex bevel.
3. A spike having compressing bevels, one convexly and the other concavely.
curved in cross-section and a curved cutting edge formed in one of said bevels
by a straight cut across the point of the spike in a plane forming an acute angle
with said bevel.
4. A spike having compressing bevels, one convexly and the other concavely
curved in cross-section and a convexly curved cutting edge formed in the convex
bevel by a straight cut across the point of the spike in a plane forming an acute
angle with said bevel.
5. A spike having one of its compressing bevels presented to a concave cross-
section merging into the plane of the corresponding face of the spike and with
sharp corner edges in line with the corner edges of the spike body, its other or
second compressing bevel of curved cross-section and a curved cutting edge
formed in said second bevel by a straight cut across the point of the spike in
a plane forming an acute angle with the curved second bevel.
6. A spike having one of its compressing bevels pressed to a concave cross-
section merging into the plane of the corresponding face of the spike and with
sharp corner edges in line with the corner edges of the spike body, its other or
second compressing bevel of convexly curved cross-section and a convexly curved
cutting edge formed in said convex bevel by a straight cut across the point of
the spike in a plane forming an acute angle with the said convex bevel.
Dated this 25th day of July 1899
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant