Improvements in Faucets
Year: 1887

page_text: HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
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 certain new and useful Improvements in Faucets, of which
the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawing accompanying and
forming a part hereof, in which a lengthwise section of my improved faucet, is shown,
as secured in a cask.
Faucets made of wood are now in common use for drawing still-liquors, as also
acid liquors as-vinegar-from the casks or vessels in which they are stored. These
wooden faucets are deemed preferable for this purpose, because they are inexpensive,
and the liquor is not brought in contact with any metallic or other substance with
which it may become tainted. Wooden faucets of the kind referred to are generally
made with a tapering end, which is inserted into a hole in the cask bored for the
purpose, and the faucet is driven snugly in, and is held by the friction of the tapering
end in the hole. A faucet applied in this manner is objectionable in that it works
loose frequently, because of the strain and pressure necessary in turning the faucet
when it is opened and closed. This renders a faucet of this kind liable to come out of
the cask at any time, and it is, primarily the object of my present invention to produce
a faucet which will be free from this objection.
My invention is simple; and it consists of a faucet having a wooden barrel or
shank and a metallic tip secured thereto, and constructed in the manner hereinafter
set forth.
The barrel or shank A in my faucet is of wood, and is provided in the usual
manner with a central opening, G, for the passage of the liquor. The spigot or plug B,
with its discharge-opening C, through which, when the faucet is open, the liquor

page_text: flows, is of common construction, and does not require description. This end of the
faucet may be of any shape desired, and may be provided with a plug of any desired
construction.
The plug and construction shown in the drawing is the usual one in ordinary
wooden faucets.
The end of the faucet-barrel which enters the cask I provide with a ferrule or
tip, D, of metal, preferably of brass nickel-plated. The ferrule D is of the shape
shown, and has a tapering end, the exterior of which is screw-threaded, and adapted
to be screwed into a hole made in the cask E. It is necessary that the faucet be
screwed into the cask in order to secure the faucet firmly, since the sides of casks
which contain still-liquors are comparatively thin, and will not securely hold a faucet
which is merely wedged or driven in. Beside the conical-threaded end the ferrule D
is provided with a body, the exterior of which is smooth, and one portion, a, of which
is of slightly greater diameter, and is squared to receive a wrench for the purpose of
screwing the faucet into the cask, as well as of screwing the ferrule D on to shank A.
The body portion of the ferrule is of larger diameter than the tapering threaded
portion, and between the two parts there is a shoulder, b, which, when the faucet is
in position, comes in contact with the outside of the cask, as shown, and serves to
make the faucet more rigid and less liable to work loose. The interior of the ferrule
is in part threaded and in part smooth, the threaded portion extending sufficiently to
secure the ferrule firmly to the wood, while the smooth end of the wooden barrel or
shank A is carried to the inner end of the ferrule, so as to form a lining thereto and
keep the liquor from contact therewith. By this construction a very strong and
inexpensive faucet is produced, which does not injure the liquor, and which, when set
in a thin cask, will maintain its position firmly as long so desired. Only a small
portion, if any of the metal tip D'is exposed to the liquor, and that portion may be
easily and cheaply protected by nickel-plating.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
1. A faucet, having a wooden barrel or body, combined with a tapering internally
and externally threaded metallic ferrule or tip rigidly attached to the said body or
barrel, the inner end of the latter extending to the inner end of the said ferrule
or tip and thus forming a lining for the same, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
2. A faucet, having a wooden body or barrel, combined with a tapering internally
and externally threaded metallic ferrule or tip rigidly attached to the said body or
barrel and provided with a squared portion a, adapted to receive a wrench and with a
shoulder for contact with the outside of the cask, the inner end of the said body or
barrel extending to the inner end of the said ferrule and thus forming a lining for the
same, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of June 1887
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.