IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN
MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by Joseph Michael
Laughlin, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
ealed the 21st August 1877, and dated the 28th June 1877.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Bobert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th June 1877.
33
WILIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF'
HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR. A communication from
abroad by Joseph Michael Laughlin, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America.
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of
horse-shoe nail plates, and comprises a nail plate provided with depressions or
indentations, so arranged on the plate that the said indentations or depressions will
form the hardened point or bevil of the nail when the latter is punched from the
plate; these depressions may be made by subjecting a plate to pressure between a
pair of suitably constructed rolls or by blows, or by the removal of portions of the
stock by milling or otherwise. It also comprises the punching of properly shaped
but unpointed nail blanks from a hot rolled plate, the operation of pointing them
being subsequently performed..
The second part of the said Invention relates to improvements in machinery for
making horse-shoe nails, and comprises the combination with a punching machine
of a bevelling or feeding device, which is operated in connection with the punching
machine, and has a positive intermittent motion imparted to it from the said
punching machine.
The third part of the said Invention relates to the construction of a shaping or
milling machine, for the purpose of forming grooves or rows of indentations
in a nail plate by the removal of a portion of the stock, which grooves or inden-

page_text: tations form the points or bevels of the nails when the latter are punched from ce
plate.
In the accompanying Drawings Figures 1 and 3 are top views of my improved
nail plate, and Figures 2 and 4 are sectional views of the same on the lines x, x, x¹, x¹.
This plate is first hot rolled from homogeneous metal of the proper width either for
a single or double row of nails. A ridge is made on the sides of the plate for the
head of the nail, and in a double width plate the ridge is made in each longitudinal
side. This plate is then subjected to the action of rollers, and cold rolled, one of
the said rollers having a smooth surface corresponding to one side of the plate,
while the other roll has on its surface one or more rows of projecting burrs, each
one of which in the revolution of the roll forms a depression or bevelled indentation
in the plate which constitutes the hardened point of the nail.
By the use of a roller having two rows of projecting burrs, the nail points thus
formed are made to interlap each other, the plate being made of a width much less
than double the length of the nail, and thus the whole or nearly the whole of the
plate is utilized; A. is the plate, and A¹, A¹, the ridge on the sides for the head of
the nail; a, a, a, are the depressions made in the said plate, and which form the
hardened point of the nail when the nail is punched from the said plate. These
bevelled indentations may not only be made by cold rolling as above described, but
also by subjecting the plate to a suitably constructed punch having dies adapted to
form the bevelled point, the action of the punch having the same effect in hardening
the point as the burrs on the rollers. These depressions may also be made by milling
or removing the stock, but I do not deem this so economical and effective a process
as either rolling or punching the blank plate.
Figure 5 of the accompanying Drawings is a top view of an improved bevelling
and punching machine constructed according to this Invention; Figure 6 is a front
view, and Figure 7 a side view of 'the same; B is the driving shaft, and C the punch
block. This punch block is guided in slides C₁, C₁, and is operated in any suitable
manner, as by a crank or excentric on the shaft B; D, D, are the bevelling rolls which
form the point of the nail.
Figures 8, 9, and 10, represent different kinds of rolls, which may be used when
desired; Figure 8 shows a roll having an annular projection d, which forms a groove
in the centre of the plate, or along one edge on a plate of a single width of nail;
Figure 9 is a roll having a row of burrs d¹; Figure 10 is a roll having a double
row of burrs d¹¹, ". These rollers are adjustable vertically, and with the exception
of the annular projection or burrs on one of them correspond with the surfaces of
the plate.
In order that the nail plate may be held or kept stationary during the operation
of the punch, I give to these bevelling rollers, which also serve to feed the plate
along to the punch, a positive intermittent motion. This movement is produced by
means of an excentric or other suitable device set on the driving shaft of the
punching machine, and suitably connected to a lever which operates upon the teeth
of a ratchet wheel that turns the rolls. The movement of this excentric and the
several parts connected thereto are so gauged relatively to the driving mechanism
of the punch, that each revolution of the excentric causes the rollers to revolve
through an arc equal to the width of the nail, and the nail plate is thereby carried
along an equal distance, so that at each revolution of the shaft and excentric the
nail plate is subjected to the alternate action of a burr' on the bevelling roll, and
the punch which strikes from the plate the complete and finished nail. E is a cam
or excentric on the shaft B. This cam revolves against the rocker shaft E¹ raising
one arm of the rocker and depressing the other at each revolution of the shaft; Fis
a lever, one end of which is so placed as to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel F
which is placed on the shaft of the lower bevelling roll D and turns the latter. This
lever is operated by the rocker shaft E¹ which forces the lever down and causes the
As soon
roll D to revolve till the lever F passes the tooth of the ratchet wheel F¹¹.
as the cam E passes the rocker, a spring F¹ on the lever raises the latter into position
to engage the next tooth of the ratchet wheel. These bevelling rolls are revolved

page_text: together by means of the cog wheels D¹, D', on their respective shafts, the inter-
mittent rotary motion being communicated to one of the said rollers as above
described. But this intermittent motion may be communicated in any other_con-
venient manner either from or independently of the shaft of the punch; G, G, are
the male punches which are inserted in the punch block C, and held in any con-
venient manner.
These punches G, G, are so adjusted in the block C that as the
nail plate is fed along, each indentation in the plate will form the point of the nail
as the punch G descends; G' is the corresponding die. I form this die in separate
pieces, so that when necessary the wear may be casily taken up, and it may
be properly adjusted by means of suitable set screws as at g, g. The said die
is also provided with a guide g for guiding the nail plate as it passes along.
I also provide the machine with an automatic stop motion for stopping the machine
before the end of the plate passes the bevelling rolls. H is a spring lever having a
bent arm H and connected to the belt or clutch of the punching machine by means
of the lever H. When the nail plate is being fed along the bed N, the plate. holds
down the bent arm H; but as soon as the end of the plate passes the arm H, the
latter springs back and throws the belt or clutch, thus stopping the machine and
avoiding the necessity for constant watching. Instead of being connected to the
clutch the arm H¹ may be connected to a bell, causing the latter to give an alarm.
when the end of the plate passes the arm H¹.
Instead of forming the indentations by means of burrs on the rolls D, D, these,
depressions may be made by punching them in the plate, in which case the rolls'
D, D, will serve merely as feed rolls, the intermittent notion being imparted to thèm
in the manner above described. In this case I prefer to indent the under side of
the plate, though the upper side may be indented in substantially the same manner,
if preferred.
Figure 11 is a side elevation of a punch to be used in this latter case.
is a plan of the under side of the same.
Figure 12
Figure 13 is a top view of the corresponding die, and Figure 14 a vertical section
of the same.
This punch and die are used instead of those shown in Figure 6. K.
is the bevelling plate or die provided with the projecting spurs a, a, for forming the
bevelled point of the nail. The punch holder J is provided with the male punches
G, G, and the punch I having a smooth surface. The nail plate is fed along by the
feed rolls, with an intermittent motion, and as the punch J descends, the die I forces
the plate down upon the bevelling die K. and spurs a, a, thus forming a bevelled in-
dentation for the hardened point of the nail. The punch I also covers the smooth
faced die L, and if any irregularity is made in the plate by the bevelling die K it is
straightened again by the smoothing die L. The male punches G, G, and the dies
G¹, G, are so adjusted by the set screws g, or in any other convenient manner, that
when they punch the nail from the plate the bevils formed by the spurs a, a, will
form the point of the nail. The parts n, n, m, m, serve as guides for the plate as it
is fed along over the die G¹, and the parts m, m, also have a projecting lip which
holds down the plate and prevents its being lifted with the punch when the latter is
drawn up from the die.
In order that the plate may be fed along over the spurs a, a, when the latter are
used, as shown on the under side of the plate, I provide a guide c for the plate
between the feed rolls and the die G¹ A spring c¹ raises the end of this guide when
the punch is raised from the die, lifting the plate above the spurs a, a, so that it may
pass over them.
These nail plates may be united in any convenient manner as by dove-tail joints,
as shown in Figure 1, whereby their passage over the die G¹ is greatly facilitated, and
their liability to get out of a perfectly true position is diminished.
Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18 show my improved milling machine which may be used
for forming a groove or a series of depressions by removing the stock.
Figure 15 is a plan of the said machine; Figure 16 is an elevation of one end of
the same; Figure 17 is a longitudinal section on the line y, y, Figure 15; and Figure
18 an elevation of the other end of the said machine. e, e, c, e, represent the feed

page_text: rolls and f the bed of the machine; the nail plate is fed along, and a mill or cutter s
removes the stock either for a continuous groove or for one or more series of indenta-
tions for the point of the nail. This milling mechanism may also be connected with
the punching machine and operated from the latter in the same manner as the rolls
above described. But the punching mechanism shown in Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14
is the most economical and effective for the purpose of this Invention, as its several
parts may be set with perfect accuracy, and they are less liable to vary on account
of the wear of the parts than when the depressions are made by the bevelling rolls.
It will also be observed that the whole work of preparing and punching the nail is
performed at one operation of the punch, requiring no further handling or labor,
and the complete and finished nails may be struck out with great rapidity and
with very little waste of stock.
Figure 19 is an under side view; Figuro 20 is an end elevation; and Figure 21,
a side elevation illustrating a modification of my Invention, whose object is to keep
the nail plate from getting out of place so that the male punch will strike the
bevelled point every time it descends. In this modification the presser feet v, 1,
and t are placed on the punch. They project slightly beyond the male punches
and therefore strike the nail plate first and leave it last. The springs, ¹, t¹,
allow them to yield vertically under pressure, and they serve simply to steady
the plate and keep it in position. These presser feet may be secured in any
convenient manner.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,
First. A nail plate provided on one side or both sides with a ridge for the
head of the nail, and a row or rows of bevelled indentations for the points thereof,
so that a complete and finished nail may be struck from the same, as above
described.
Second. A nail blank punched from a hot rolled plate of the required form. but
unpointed.
Third. In combination with the punching mechanism herein described the rolls
having an intermittent motion and adapted to serve either as bevelling or feed rolls,
as above specified.
Fourth. The punch J, provided with the combined punches I and G, adapted to
punch from the plate the finished nails and form the bevelled and hardened points
of the succeeding nails in the same operation, as above described.
Fifth. In combination with the punch J and the die G¹ the bevelling die K, the
guide and the feed rolls, the latter having an intermittent motion, as above specified.
Sixth. The milling machine adapted to form the points of the nails by removing
the stock, as above specified.
Seventh. The modification of my Invention as illustrated in Figures 19, 20, and
21 of the Drawings, and as above set forth, and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenth-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand night hundred and seventy-CAVAN
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)