IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BROOMS AND BRUSHES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jesse Ascough, of Handsworth, in the County
of Stafford, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF BROOMS AND BRUSHES."
Sealed the 28th November 1873, and dated the 26th September 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jesse Ascough at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th September 1873.
I, JESSE ASCOUGH, of Handsworth, in the County of Stafford, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BROOMS AND BRUSHES," to be as follows, that is to
say:―
My Invention relates to improved methods of fixing or securing
bristles, fibre, and other brush-making materials in the stocks, handles,
backs, or boards of brooms and brushes.
Brushes without holes, grooves, or slots I can make by forming the

page_text: the bristles or other material being pressed under the central bar of such
buckle holder and up both sides thereof, by which means they will be
held firmly and formed into a tuft or bunch and be spread out to any
required angle, according to the shape of such holder; and the bunch
or tuft may be fixed by any convenient means into or upon a suitable
handle, or a number of such bunches may be secured upon a board,
back, or stock to form a brush of any required size. And I may use a
combination of such buckle shapes to produce rows of bristles or other
materials, or can form such rows by passing the material through a
plaited wire mesh or woven metallic fabric of any kind with open spaces
therein, or by means of a perforated zinc plate or wood veneer; or again
through the teeth of a comb or through any substance having teeth or
serrates, such teeth or serrates being formed at suitable distances,
according to the quantity of material required in the row; and when
filled with material the plaited wire mesh, woven fabric, zinc plate,
comb, or serrated substance may be fixed or attached in a vertical or
other position on or into any board, stock, or handle, or the back thereof
may be covered with cloth, leather, gutta percha, or other suitable

page_text: The separate bunches of material may also be produced by using a
bent rivet, screw, pointed loop, hook, bent spike, prong, or fork, having
one point or two or more teeth, pointed clip or a perforated and pointed
metal wedge, eyelet nail, or eyelet screw, the end or ends of which is or
are sufficiently sharp and strong to be driven in a vertical direction into
the stock while the material is held in the curved, round, angular, or
other shaped heads of such fastenings, and in driving the fastening into
the hole its circular, curved, or other shaped head will be depressed or
flattened so as to compress around and grip or hold the material, while
the angles formed in the driving or the points will be forced into the
circumference of the hole or groove on one or both sides, and the sharp
pointed end of the fastening passing also into the stock at the bottom of
the hole or groove the tuft or bunch will be secured in position.
I also fix or secure each tuft or bunch by wrapping round or over it,
in addition to or without the usual string or wire tie, any suitable
substance, such as a band of pliable metal or strong cord or wire, which
shall be sufficiently bulky when forced with the material into the hole
or groove to act as a compress around the material and to impinge as a
wedge between the material and the circumference of the hole or groove.
Or I may use a piece of hard substance, angular or round in form,
driven into the middle of the tuft or bunch when in the hole to increase
the bulk therein for securing such tuft or bunch.
Again each tuft or bunch may be fixed firmly by driving into, through,
or across, and into the stock, or on one or both sides. of it and into the
hole one, two, or more wood or metal rivets, nails, screws, split nails,
T shaped or wire nails, piece of rod iron, or other suitable substance
that will hold the tuft or bunch securely.
I also use a straight or curved piece of metal rod or a section of small
tubing, angle iron, or other hard substance, the length of which shall
be greater than the diameter of the hole, and which may be passed over,
through, or lie on the tuft or bunch, so that when compressed into the
hole the points or ends will be forced into the sides of the hole, and so
secure the material therein. .
Or instead of the usual tie to the tuft or bunch I may wrap around it
strong wire or a narrow metal band, the ends of which being then
twisted will form a spiral or screw-shaped terminal which may be driven
into the bottom of the hole, or such terminal may be doubled up to

page_text: increase the side bulk, and so produce lateral compressure of the material
in the hole; or the wire may be bent into a double loop or S shape, the
upper part holding the material and the lower part by compression
impinging against and entering the sides of the hole.
To effect the same result I may also use a ring of tubing, or wire, or
circlet of metal, which being filled with the quantity of material required
will hold the same, and when pressed with the tuft or bunch into the
hole will become more or less flattened in shape, compressing the
material and causing the flattened ends to impinge into or against the
sides of the hole.
All the metal or other appliances herein described for securing the
tufts or bunches may have barbed, serrated, screwed, flattened, or
pointed ends, or corrugated, or roughened sides or edges, by which they
will be more securely held in the wood, and with the holes, slots, or
grooves countersunk or undercut the security will be further increased.
My Invention further consists in securing or fixing the tufts or
bunches in the holes or grooves, and with or without the combination of
any of the foregoing arrangements, by cement made of gypsum, plaster
of Paris, or other lime, mixed with a small quantity of chromate of
potash, sulphate of alumina, borax, or other analagous salt dissolved in
water and alone, or mixed with farina, glue, or other size. The ends of
the tufts or bunches being dipped in the mixture and pressed into the
holes in the ordinary manner. Or I dip the ends into any quick drying
varnish made of bitumen, asphaltum, gum thus, or similar gum resins,
mixed with naptha, benzole, or other solvent, the volatile spirit of
which quickly evaporating will leave the tufts or bunches fixed in the
holes.
If Tomplex ordinary nitch for the nurnosa of fiving the tufts on
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JESSE
ASCOUGH, of Handsworth, in the County of Stafford, send greeting.
3

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jesse Ascough, Her special licence that I
the said Jesse Ascough, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Jesse Ascough, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,.
should and lawfully might make, use, excrcise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
BROOMS AND BRUSHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Jesse Ascough, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jesse Ascough, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say:―
My Invention relates to improved methods of fixing or securing bristles,
fibre, and other brush making materials into the stocks, backs, or boards
of brooms and brushes.
The object and nature of my improvements will be better understood
by referring to the Drawings hereunto' annexed, reference being had to
the letters and figures marked thereon.
Brushes without holes, grooves, or slots in the stocks or backs thereof,
I can make by forming the tufts or bunches in a round, oval, oblong, or
other buckle shaped holder as shewn in plan, Figs. 1 and 2, the bristles
or other material being pressed or passed under the central bars (a) and
(6) of each buckle holder, and up both sides thereof as seen in the
sections Figs. 3 and 4, by which means the material will be held firmly
and formed into a tuft or bunch, and also be spread out to any required
angle according to the shape of the holder, and the bunch or tuft may
then be fixed by any convenient means into or upon a suitable handle

page_text: such as (c) and (d) Figs. 3 and 4, or a number of such bunches may be
secured upon a board, back, or stock, to make a brush of any required
size or shape. I may also employ a combination of such buckle shapes
in a continuous length to produce rows of bristles or other materials;
or I can form such rows by passing the material through plaited or
twisted wire or wire mesh, or woven or twisted metallic fabric of any
kind.
Fig. 5 illustrates the bristles or material (e) held in a twisted wire (ƒ),
and somewhat after the manner of an ordinary wire handled bottle
brush, the bristles or material being held in the twisted wire so as to
project one side only or cut away on one side as shewn or not as desired,
the lengths of twisted wire with the material therein may then be
secured by suitable means into or upon any board, stock, or handle as
in Fig. 6, or as shown in Fig. 6ª. I may dispense with a board or stock
and bend the length of twisted wire with the material therein into any
required shape of brush or broom, securing the ends and attaching such
shape to any convenient form of handle, or as seen in Fig. 7, I may
prolong the length of twisted wire without material therein to form the
handle (g). Or again as represented in Figs. 8 and 9 in transverse and
part longitudinal sections respectively, the bristles or materials (h) may
be passed through the teeth or points of a comb or serrated bar (i), the
teeth or points being formed sufficiently apart, according to the quantity
or bulk of material required in the row, and when filled with material
the comb or serrated bar is fixed or attached in a suitable position upon
or into a board or stock (k) as shewn, and to assist in throwing up the
bristles or material I may use pieces or strips of wood or other suitable
material (1) secured upon the board or stock (k) between each row.
If I take a stock having the usual holes therein I cut a groove
through the upper part of cach row of holes, and when the holes have
been filled with tufts or bunches I place across them a serrated or
toothed plate or length of wire or strip of metal, wood, leather, or other
suitable substance, so that the same may pass through the centre of the
tufts or bunches in a line with each other, and I press the plate, length,
or strip into the groove, thus securing all the tufts or bunches in the
holes by one fastening and if needful I fix the plate, length, or strip in
position by nails, spikes, pins, rivets, screws, hooks, or holdfasts; or as
shewn in part longitudinal and transverse sections in Figs. 10 and 11.
I can use the ordinary undercut or other grooved stocks keeping the

page_text: material in position and securing it in the grooves by the means already
named, and to separate the material so as to produce any required
number of tufts or bunches, the serrates, teeth, or rivets (m) securing or
forming part of the plate, length, or strip (n) in the grooves may be
arranged to pass through, into, or between the material and then into
the stock at convenient distances accordingly; or as shewn in part
longitudinal section, Fig. 12, I may secure the tufts or bunches in the
undercut or other shaped grooves of the boards, stocks, or backs by
inserting and securing a small wedge-shaped piece of wood or other
suitable material (o) after each tuft or bunch has been placed in position
in the groove, the tufts or bunches being held firmly by the impact
compress of such wedge pieces (o).
Referring to Figs. 13, the separate bunches of material may also be
produced by using a bent rivet or screw 1, 2, pointed loop or clip, hold-
fast or bent spike 3, 4, 5, plain hook, tenter hook, or barbed hook 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, prong or fork 11, 12, having teeth T shaped or doubled hook
nail 13, 14, perforated and pointed metal wedge 15, 16, 17, or eyelet nail
or eyelet screw 18, 19, 20, the end or ends of which is or are sufficiently
sharp and strong to be driven in any direction into the stock or back,
while the material is held in the curved, round, angular, or other shaped
heads of such fastenings. And in driving the fastening into the hole.
its circular, curved, or other shaped head will be depressed or flattened
so as to compress around and grip or hold the material of the bunch,
while the angles formed in the driving or the points will be forced into
the circumference of the hole or groove on one or both sides, and the
sharp pointed end or ends of the fastener passing into the stock at the
bottom of the hole or groove, the tuft or bunch will be secured in
position, the effect of driving home some of the fastenings described will
be seen in Figs. 14, 14ª, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, all of which shew in
section a portion of a stock with the tuft or bunch secured in position
in the hole. To effect the same result I may also use a ring of wire or
circlet of metal such as those shewn in Figs. 20, which being filled with
the quantity of material required will hold the same, and when pressed
with the tuft or bunch into the hole will become more or less flattened
in shape, as in Fig. 21, compressing the materials, the side edges
impinging into or against the sides of the hole. I may also combine the
'employment of a ring or circlet of metal and T nail for securing the tuft
or bunch upon the stock or back withont any perforation, hole, or groove,
as shewn in Fig. 21ª.

page_text: Again, each tuft or bunch may be fixed firmly by driving into,
through, or across the tuft or bunch, and into the stock as in Figs. 22, 23,
and in the sectional plan Fig. 24, one, two, or more wood or metal
rivets, nails, screws, pieces of rod iron, or other suitable hard substance
that when driven will hold the tuft or bunch securely; or I can use a
piece of any hard substance, angular or round in form, driven into the
middle of the tuft or bunch when in the hole, as in Fig. 25, which may
be undercut if required to increase the bulk therein for securing such
tuft or bunch.
Or as illustrated in Figs. 26 I also use a piece of metal or angle rod, or
a section of small tube or other metallic substance, the length of which
when compressed shall be greater than the diameter of the hole which
may be passed over, through, or lie upon the tuft or bunch, so that when
compressed with the material into the hole the points or ends will be
forced into the sides of the hole and so secure the material therein.
I also fix or secure cach tuft or bunch by wrapping round or over it
in addition to or without the usual tie any suitable kind of band, loop,
or hoop of thick wire or other metallic substance, as shewn in Figs. 27
and 28, which shall be sufficiently bulky when forced with the material
into the hole or groove to act as a compress around the material, and to
impinge as a wedge between the material and the circumference of the
hole or groove, thus securing the tuft or bunch in position.
Or instead of the usual tie to the tuft or bunch I may wrap around it
strong wire or a narrow metal band, the ends of which being then
twisted will form a spiral or screw-shaped terminal which may be driven
into the bottom of the hole as seen in Fig. 29; or such terminal may be
doubled up
to increase the side bulk and so produce lateral compression
of the material in the hole. Or the wire may be bent into a double
loop or S shape, the upper part holding the material and the lower part
by compression impinging against and entering the sides of the hole
as in Fig. 30.
All the metal and other fasteners herein described for securing the
tufts or bunches may have barbed, serrated, screwed, flattened, or
pointed ends, or corrugated or roughened sides or edges by which they
will be more securely held in the wood.
My Invention further consists in securing or fixing the tufts or bunches
in the holes or grooves with or without any of the foregoing arrange-

page_text: ments by cement made of gypsum, plaster of Paris, or other lime with a
small quantity of chromate of potash, sulphate of alumina, borax, or
other analagous salt, dissolved in water and mixed with farina, glue, or
other size. The composition of such cement may consist of the
following or other proportions.
Ordinary size of animal or vegetable substances, one pound chromate
of potash or other analagous salt, one dram dissolved in distilled water,
one ounce, these being stirred together and sufficient gypsum, plaster of
Paris, or other lime added while the mass is made warm to give it an
adhesive consistency. The ends of the tufts are then dipped into the
cement mixture and pressed into the holes in the ordinary manner.
Or I dip the ends of the tufts in any quick drying varnish made of
bitumen, asphaltum, gum thus, or any similar gum resins, and soften
such varnish as wanted by admixture with naptha, benzole, or other
volatile solvent, the spirit of which evaporating quickly will leave the
tufts or bunches fixed by the varnish in the holes.
If I employ pitch for the purpose of fixing the tufts or bunches I
purpose to soften it by the heat from steam, instead of using open fire,
gas, or other flame.
Having thus described the object and nature of my said Invention
and the manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, I claim
without limiting myself to these precise details, the several improved
methods of fixing or securing bristles, fibre, and other brush-making
materials into the stocks, backs, or boards of brooms and brushes,
substantially in manner as herein more fully set forth and specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jesse Ascough, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.