IMPROVED WHEELS AND AXLETREES FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1814

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, JAMES
BARCLAY and WILLIAM CUMING, of Cambridge, in the County of Cambridge,
Coachmakers and co-partners, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twelfth day of
March, in the fifty-fourth year of His reign, give and grant unto us, the said
James Barelay and William Cuming, our exors, admors, and assigns, His
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
James Barelay and William Cunning, our exors, admors, and assigns, should
and lawfully might, during the term of years therein mentioned, make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVED WHEELS AND AXLETREES FOR CARRIAGES;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if we, the said
James Barclay and William Cuming, or one of us, shall not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and cause the same to
be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that
then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and

page_text: by the same (relation being thereunto: had) may more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
James Barclay and William Cuming, do hereby declare that the nature of
our said Invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and the following description thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to construct wheels of superior strength,
durability, and safety, to those in common use. Figure 1 represents a bird's-
eye view of the nave of the wheel, made of cast iron, brass, bell metal, or any
suitable material, the mortices therein being made wider at the bottom than
the top, so as to allow. the tenon of the spoke to expand when driven in, to
eflect which we previously make a saw, carf, or slit in the wedge, as shewn at a,
Figure 2, and fix a wedge of iron, or other suitable material b, in the said saw,
carf, or slit, so that when the spoke enters the mortice the thick end or base of
the wedge strikes against the box or bottom of the mortice, which forces the
wedge into the saw, carf, or slit of the spoke, and forms a dovetail in the
mortice (see A, Figure 11). It is obvious that the width of the wedge should
be equal to the thickness of the spoke. We also bevel the whole substance of
the spoke at the shoulder, as shewn at Figure 3, and likewise the upper sides
of the mortice in the nave of the wheel to receive the spoke, which adds
considerably to the strength of the wheel. Figure 4 represents the end view
of the nave.. c, c, Figure 5, represent two lynchpins, which are to be put
through the holes e, e, Figure 1,.in the front of the nave, and revolve in the
groove f, Figures 6 and 11. In the axle arm a plate of iron, brass, or other suit-
able metal is represented at d, Figure 5, which is to be screwed over the heads
of the linchpins, to prevent them from rising. This plate is made of a circular
form to fit the nave. Before the wheel is placed on the axle arm the hind
cap Figure 7, and b, m, Figure 11, is passed over the shoulder collar at A,
Figure 6, and the cap collar, Figure 8, screwed tight on to the shoulder collar
of the axle at a, Fig. 6.. A ring of leather c, Figure 11, is placed between the
cup collar and the hind part of the nave, to prevent the oil from escaping off
the arm, and the two linchpins fixed as before mentioned. The hind cap is
next screwed on to the flanch 9, Figures 1 and 11, and revolves with the
wheel, and is a second security for keeping it on the axle, so that the wheels
would, even without the linchpins, be secure and safe. The front cap, repre-
sented by Figure 9, and i, k, Figure 11, is next screwed on to the flanch h,
Figures 1 and 11, with a ring of leather between the cap and flanch. Figure 10
represents the nave on the axle arm in its proper state. The oil is to be put in

page_text: by taking out the screw at n, Figures 1 and 11, which is to be replaced when
filled. The caps and collars, Figures 7, 8, and 9, are made of brass, or other
inetal or mixture of metals. The above-mentioned wheels and axles may be
used with or without caps, but we should always recommend the caps for
retaining the oil, security, and appearance,
In witness whereof, we, the said James Barclay and William Cuming,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Fourth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fourteen.