Improvements in Devices for Cutting Nail Blanks from Strips or Plates of Metal.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 2nd Feb., 1395
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Devices for Cutting Nail Blanks from Strips or
Plates of Metal.
1, GEORGE ALBION COOMBS, of The United Horse Shoe and Nail Company's
Factory, Gothenburg, in the Kingdom of Sweden, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of borse shoe nails, as at present practised, the blanks from
which the nails are to be made by rolling and trimming are cut from strips or
plates of iron or steel of suitable section by means of dies or matrices and punches
in such manner that there is a considerable amount of metal wasted partly in the
cutting-out process and partly in the subsequent trimming process after the rolling-
out of the shank. The object of my present invention is to provide means whereby
such waste is materially reduced, and for this purpose I construct and arrange the
die or matrix used in the cutting-out process in the following manner :-
The die or matrix is made as usual with two holes in it, one of the exact shape
of the blanks to be cut from one edge of the nail plate, and the other of a shape
suitable for cutting-off from the end and opposite edge of the nail plate the blank
which has been partly formed by the punching or cutting-out of the blank next
behind it. The punches are of the same shape as the holes, or as nearly so as may
be required for the cutting operation. The second of the abovementioned holes
in the die or matrix is placed at a distance in advance of the first which is a
multiple of about half the width of the heads of the blanks to be cut; and a stop
is provided at the side of the second abovementioned hole in the die or matrix to
serve partly as a support for the outer or advanced edge of the blank at the end
of the nail plate or strip, while the said blank is being cut off, and partly to prevent
the end of the nail plate being moved too far by the feeding apparatus, which
sometimes happens, and whereby blanks are spoilt and waste produced.
The two punches are operated together at the same time, and at each stroke
thereof the most advanced punch cuts off a blank from one edge of the leading end
of the nail plate while the other punch cuts out a blank from the other edge of
the plate at a certain distance further back, the plate being fed forward after
each punching operation a distance equal to the width of the head of a blank,
the aforesaid stop preventing the movement of the plate beyond the prescribed
distance.
The blanks cut from one edge of the nail plate are quite or almost exactly the
same shape and width as those cut from the other edge; and that shape is so
adapted that there is only a very small portion of waste material requiring to be
cut from the points, and from under the shoulders of the heads of one set of blanks;
but in some cases, as where the heads are to be finally shaped by upsetting or
swaging, it is not necessary to remove any material from under the shoulders.
There is no waste at all from the other set of blanks, so that the waste in the
cutting-out process is very much reduced as compared with that in the cutting-out
presses with the dies or matrices and punches arranged and constructed as heretofore;
and as the shanks are narrower than heretofore the waste material removed in the
trimming operation is also materially reduced.
The aforesaid part which has in some cases to be cut away from the shoulders
below the heads of the blanks comes, when the nail plate is fed forward up to the
aforesaid stop, over a part of the most advanced die or matrix and serves as usual

page_text: as a support to the foremost blank while the latter is being severed from the end
of the nail plate and the said part is itself cut off by that severing operation.
The end of the aforesaid stop, against which the end of the plate is pressed each
time the latter is fed forward, is somewhat inclined or bevilled so that the leading
edge of the head of the blank at the end of the plate takes a bearing on the lower
end of the incline or bevil and the said head of the blank is thereby supported
and prevented from being bent down and distorted by the punch while the latter
is severing it from the plate.
The advanced side of the leading blank may be further supported by chisel
cuts, grooves or serrations made in the side of the die or matrix immediately below
the aforesaid stop.
בד
1
1004
G. A. COOMBS,
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Devices for Cutting Nail Blanks from Strips or
Plates of Metal.
I, GEORGE ALBION COOMBS, of The United Horse Shoe and Nail Company's
Factory, Gothenburg, in the Kingdom of Sweden, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 :-
In the manufacture of horse-shoe nails, as at present practised, the blanks from
which the nails are to be made by rolling and trimming are cut from strips or
plates of iron or steel of suitable section by means of dies or matrices and punches
in such manner that there is a considerable amount of metal wasted partly in the
cutting-out process and partly in the subsequent trimming process after the rolling-
out of the shank. The object of my present invention is to provide means whereby
such waste is materially reduced and for this purpose I construct and arrange the
die or matrix used in the cutting-out process in the manner illustrated in the
accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Figure 1 is a plan of dies or matrices having my improvements applied thereto,
Figure 2 a sectional elevation taken on line X X of Figure 1,
Figure 3 a cross section of a strip or plate of iron or steel from which the nail
blanks are cut, and
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 views of such plate illustrating the action of the punches
and matrices thereon.
The body A of the dies or matrices is made as usual in three parts marked 1, 2, 3
respectively, firmly clamped together on the bed of the machine and having two
holes or matrices formed in it, one marked B, of the exact shape of the blanks to
be cut from one edge of the nail plate and the other marked C of a shape suitable
for cutting off from the end and opposite edge of the nail plate the blank which
has been partly formed by the punching or cutting out of the blank next
behind it.
The punches are two in number and are of the same shape respectively as the
matrices B and C, or as nearly so as may be required for the cutting operation.
They are both fixed in the same punch-carrying slide of the blank cutting machine
so as to correspond with and work into the matrix holes B and C. They are not
shown in the drawings as their construction is quite similar to that of the punches
well known and in general use for cutting out nail blanks for horse shoe nails.
The second of the above mentioned matrices is placed at a distance in advance of
the first which is preferably a multiple of balf the width of the heads of the blanks

page_text: to be cut, and a stop D is provided at the side of the second above mentioned.
matrix C to serve partly as a support for the outer or advanced edge of the blank
at the end of the nail plate or strip while the said blank is being cut off, and
partly to prevent the end of the nail plate being moved too far by the feeding
apparatus, which sometimes happens, and whereby blanks are spoilt and waste.
produced.
The two punches are operated together at the same time and at each stroke
thereof the most advanced punch cuts off in the matrix C a blank from one edge
of the leading end of the nail plate while the other punch cuts out in the matrix B.
a blank from the other edge of the plate at a certain distance further back, the
plate being fed forward after each punching operation a distance equal to the width.
of the head of a blank, the aforesaid stop D preventing the movement of the plate
beyond the prescribed distance.
The blanks cut from one edge of the nail plate are quite, or almost exactly, the
same shape and width as those cut from the other edge; and that shape is so
adapted that there is only a very small portion of waste material requiring to be
cut from the points, and from under the shoulders of the heads of one set of blanks
but in some cases as where the heads are to be finally shaped by upsetting or
swaging it is not necessary to remove any material from under the shoulders.
There is no waste at all from the other set of blanks, so that the waste in the
cutting out process is very much reduced as compared with that in the cutting out
presses with the dies or matrices and punches arranged and constructed
heretofore; and as the shanks are narrower than heretofore the waste material
removed in the trimming operation is also materially reduced.
as
The aforesaid part which has in some cases to be cut away from the shoulders
below the heads of the blanks comes when the nail plate is fed forward up to the
aforesaid stop, over a part of the most advanced die or matrix and serves as usual
as a support to the foremost blank while the latter is being severed from the end
of the nail plate and the said part is itself cut off by that severing operation.
The face D₁ of the aforesaid stop D, against which the end of the plate is
pressed each time the latter is fed forward, is somewhat inclined or bevilled as
shown in Figure 1 so that the leading edge of the head of the blank at the end
of the plate takes a bearing on the lower end of the incline or bevil and the said
head of the blank is thereby supported and prevented from being bent down and
distorted by the punch while the latter is severing it from the plate. The advanced
side of the leading blank may be further supported by chisel cuts, grooves or
serrations C³ made in the side of the die or matrix Ċ immediately below the
aforesaid stop.
The operation of cutting the blanks from the nail plate is as follows:-Suppose
a piece of nail plate to be taken with its end cut off at right angles to its length,
and of the section shown in Figure 3, and laid with its hollow side downward on
the matrix body or bed A (the upper surface of which is shaped to correspond
with such hollow side of the plate) so that its end comes fair with the centre
line Y Y of the matrix B and the punches are now made to descend and the punch
corresponding to the matrix B cuts out from the end of the plate the black
portion E shown in Figure 4. The plate is now fed forward by the ordinary feed
gear towards the right a distance equal to the width of the matrix B at B', that is
to say the width of the head of a blank, and the punches again descending the one
corresponding to the matrix B cuts out the black portion E (Figure 5) which part
so cut out forms a nail blank. The plate is again fed forward to the same extent,
the punches again descend and the one corresponding to the matrix B cuts out
the black portion E' (see Figure 6) forming another blank. The plate is again
fed forward to the same extent as before and this brings the right hand side of the
head of the blank F against the face of the stop D. The punches again descend
and that one of them that corresponds with the matrix cuts off the blank F
from the end of the plate and the other punch corresponding to the matrix B cuts
out another blank E³. The plate then appears as at Figure 7, the small

page_text: projection G on the side of the head of the blank F¹ being caused by the curved
form at C¹ of the matrix C (Figure 1). When the plate is again fed forward this
projection is brought to lie upon the part C2 at the right hand side of the matrix C
and serves to support the side of the blank F', of which it is for the time being a
part, while that blank is being cut off from the plate, thus preventing any twisting
of the blank during the cutting off operation but by that operation it is itself cut
off from the nail blank F along with a symmetrically shaped piece from under the
head of that blank as shown in black in Figure 8. C³ are chisel cuts or grooves
made in the slanting side of the matrix C immediately below the stop D; their
function is to further assist in supporting the advanced side of the head of the
blank F' while the latter is being cut off. At the same time that the blank Fis
cut off the end of the plate, a small piece G' (see Figure 8) is cut from its point
by the punch and the edge C' of the matrix C. The blank F' so cut is shown
separate at Figure 8 and has the same form of head as those blanks E' E³, etcetera,
cut from the opposite side of the plate. The scrap from each blank cut in the
matrix C is shown in black in Figure 8 at the part from which it is cut, and these
two pieces of scrap comprise all the scrap that is made in cutting out the blanks
on that side of the plate, and in the matrix C. The blanks cut from the other
side of the plate in the matrix B have no scrap at all.
In some nail blank cutting machines heretofore in use in which two blanks have
been cut at once from opposite edges of a nail plate in a manner similar to that
above described it has been the practice to support the outer side of the head of
the blank at the end of the plate, corresponding to the blanks F F¹ etcetera in the
drawings accompanying this Specification, by causing such side of the head to
project slightly beyond the edge C³ of the matrix C, the punch in descending
shearing off the strip along the side of the head, forming this support, along with
the waste part G from under the head, thus making the width of the heads of the
blanks cut from that edge of the plate narrower than the width of the heads of
the blanks cut from the other edge of the plate, and this strip so cut off extending
from under the head along its side to the top, that is to the edge of the nail plate
has been so much waste. It is by the use of the stop D with its slightly inclined
face D', and when necessary of the chisel cuts or grooves C³, that I am enabled to
support the outer edge of the leading nail blank without cutting anything from its
side, thereby making the heads of the blanks cut from both edges of the plate of
equal width so as to make both sets of blanks suitable for making nails of the same
size and with a minimum of waste.
It is obvious that any suitable section of plate may be used, the upper surface of
the body A of the matrices being shaped to suit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
11
First. In a matrix for cutting out nail blanks from strips or plates of metal the
use of a stop such as D for the purpose of supporting the leading edge of the head
of the blank to be cut off, and for the purpose of preventing the nail strip or plate
from being fed too far forward, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.
Second. In a matrix for cutting out nail blanks from strips or plates of metal
the use of chisel cuts or grooves such as C³ for the purpose of assisting to support
the leading edge of the head of the blank to be cut off, substantially as described
with reference to Figure 2 of the drawings.
Dated this 28th day of December 1801
G. A. COOMBS,
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent.