IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF NAILS, SCREWS, AND CHAINS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN ONIONS,
late of Field Lane, Darlaston, in the County of Stafford, but now of Bermondsey,
in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eleventh day of November, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Onions, Her especial licence, that I, the said John Onions, my exors, admors
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Onions, my exors,. adors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and.
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in the Islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations. abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF NAILS, SCREWS, AND CHAINS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John Onions, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe. and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,.
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Onions, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist:-
First, in certain improvements in the moulds for casting iron nails, whereby
I am enabled to cast them with variously shaped heads, such as clasp and rose
headed, thus forming certain descriptions of nails not heretofore made in cast
metal.
Secondly, in casting iron and other screws, with nicks in their heads complete,
and with what I call a template, whereby I keep the edges of the threads of
the screws more sharp and perfect at that part where the two halves of the
mould join.
Thirdly, in casting whole lengths of chain for chain cables and other large
chains complete at one casting, and,
Lastly, in the employment of a better material for the manufacture of the
before-named articles than has heretofore been used for that purpose.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said John Onions, do
hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed by
the following statement thereof, reference, being had to the Drawings:annexed,
and to the figures and letters, marked thereon, that is. to. say:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS..
Sheet No. 1 refers to my first head of improvement, which relates to. the.
manufacture, of; cast-iron nails.. Figure.1 on.this Sheet is a longitudinal section.
of the moulding box in which,, and the apparatus by which, I mould the shanks.
of the nails. A is a box full of pressed. moulding sand set on the, apparatus.
B, B, C, D, and E, adjusted and held: to its place by the adjusting pins: ȧt F, F.
This apparatus, beneath, the moulding. box consists of a box B, B, the top, of
which is, perforated with holes, as here shown. C is a platform furnished: with,
friction, rollers; at each end, and, into. which the patterns of the shanks of the.
nails, are fixed vertically to correspond with the holes in the top. D is: a lever,
attached to, the platform, and worked. by the screw, handle E, by means of
which the pattern, shanks are pressed up into. the. moulding sand: in, the. box
above, and withdrawn, again by. reversing the motion of the handle. Figure 2)
is. a transverse section of Figure 1, showing the shank patterns: pressed up.into.
the, moulding sand in. the. box above; and. Figure.3.a similar section. before.
the patterns. are. pressed up, showing. how different sized nails, and even
different kinds of nails, may be.made by the same apparatus and. at the same:
time. Figure. 4. is a plan of part of the.moulding box for the heads, of the
nails, showing the necessary. gits. and sprays. and different shaped heads, such as.
clasps and clouts. Figure 5 shows the two moulding boxes, one for the shanks

page_text: and one for the heads about to be brought together; and Figure 6 shows the
two moulds brought together, and the metal cast so as to form the complété
nail. In this way it is evident any required form may be given to the nail,
the shank of which may thus be cast fluted; conical; or triangular-shaped, as
shown at Figures 7 and 8; and to which triangular shape I lay especial claim
as one of my said improvements in the manufacture of nails of whatever
metal made, and whether cast or wrought:
Sheet No: 2 represents my improvements in the manufacture of screws; for
which purpose, having laid the template Q; Figure 1; on the plate P; Figure
4, on which the mould box stands, the pattern screws being fixed to the plate
P, and rising up through the spaces left in the template for them, the moulding
sand is pressed into the box upon the patterns; and when withdrawn and the
template removed, I adjust the thin plate of metal S between the heads of the
screws in the hollow left in the mould by the impression of the bar V on the
template, as shown in Figure 2, to form the nicks in the screw heads; having
first annointed it with charcoal aid beer grounds to make it draw easily after
the casting is made. My screw moulds are made in two parts, as shown in
Figure 3, and each half is made as follows, reference being had to Figure 4, for
each half is a counterpart of the other: O is a frame or bearer supporting the
brass or other metal plate P, on to which the patterns for the screws are brazed
or otherwise fastened; on this plate the template Q is then placed, the patterns
for the screws being cast or made as shown at Figure 4, to allow for the
thickness of the template below the half round of the screw pattern; the mould
box or frame R is then put on, and the sand filled in; the box is then lifted
off the metal plate P with the template Q. The template is then very carefully.
removed and laid on the plate P again, to make the second half of the mould,
and when both half moulds are made they are put together as shewn at Figure
3, ready for casting. The necessary gits and sprays are made by impressions
from the template:
Sheet No. 3 represents my improved manufacture of chains; and Figures
1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 6; 7, and 8; show the various parts of the moulds in which I
cast them, and which form, in fact, the principal novelty of my improvement,
as respects this part of my Invention; for though two separate links already
cast, and that in brass, may have sometimes been joined together by casting a
third link through and between them, and a chain thus formed, yet no com-
plete chain of several links has heretofore been cast at one casting. The mould
in this case is formed of four pieces. Figure 1 is a plan of the top of the mould
when the four pieces marked K, L, M, and N, are brought together and kept
in position by means of an iron open cap or band T, smaller above than below,

page_text: which is drawn on to and over the end of the mould, as shewn in section at
Figure 2, where two of the eight faces composing the mould are shown. G is
what is called the git or channel through which the melted metal is poured;
and H, H, H, sprays from the git, through which the metal fills the bottom
link mould first, and then the link moulds above it in rotation. The connecting
links, which are at right angles to those shown at Figure 2, are cast, one half of
them in moulds cut in the other faces of the two pieces here shown, and the
remaining half in two of the four faces of the other half of the mould shown at
Figure 3, which will be perfectly understood by an examination of the several
pieces of the mould represented by the remaining Figures on this Sheet. Figure
4 is an angular view of one of the four pieces marked K, in Figure 1, forming
the mould. Figure 5 is an angular view of the piece marked L in Figure 1.
Figure 6 is an angular view of the piece marked M in Figure 1. Figure 7 is
an angular view of the piece marked N in Figure 1; and Figure 8 is an hori-
zontal section of the mould on the line I, J, in Figure 3. By this mould it will
be seen that I can cast a series of links, forming a chain complete at one
casting; but as convenience would necessarily suggest that some limit should
be put to the lengths of chain thus cast, the link colored red in the Drawing
shows a mode of fastening one length of chain to another, so as to make out
the length of chain required, such as for ship's cables, for instance, for which
no moulds could be filled of a sufficient length. For this purpose the mould is
cut to receive half a solid link at the bottom, which, being half in and half
out of the mould, allows the remainder of the chain attached to the red link to
lie out of the mould, while the additional links above it are thus cast on to the
piece of chain below, through the medium of the red link. It is only necessary
further to add, that all the aforesaid articles, when manufactured in cast iron,
require to be carefully annealed in the usual way after being removed from the
moulds.
Now whereas I claim as my Invention, first, as regards my said improve-
ments in the manufacture of certain descriptions of nails, the improvement of
having a second or separate mould for the head of cast-iron nails, whereby I
am enabled to cast clasp-headed, rose-headed, sprig-headed, horse-shoe, or
clout-headed cast-iron nails at pleasure, and the triangular shape, herein-before
shown, given to any kind of nail made of any metal, and whether wrought or
cast.
Secondly, as regards my said improvements in the manufacture of certain
description of screws, I claim the manner of obtaining the nicks in the screw-
heads, in whatever metal they may be cast, by means of the plate S and the
template Q, for making the mould for the said plate S to be in, and for

page_text: preserving the sharpness of the threads of the screws at the join of the two
half moulds.
Thirdly, as regards my said improvements in the manufacture of certain
descriptions of chains, I claim casting a series of links in such manner at one
casting, that when removed from the mould they form one complete continuous
chain capable of being made into chain cables or other purposes for which
large chains are commonly used.
And whereas it is all important, in all cases where any of the before-named
articles to which my said improvements apply are manufactured in cast iron,
that the greatest possible malleability should ultimately be given to the said
iron by annealing, and, in fact, with reference to chain cables, I am doubtful if
any of the modes now in use for annealing the various kinds of iron now
employed in the manufacture of strong or what are called heavy chains, could
sufficiently anneal those kinds of iron when cast into such chains for that
purpose, therefore I use (in the casting of iron nails, screws, and chains, as
aforesaid, and in the subsequent annealing by the ordinary means, but to the
greatest extent possible of the same) that kind of iron commonly called or
known by the name or description of Lorn or Cumberland iron, or iron of a
similar quality, such iron being capable of being annealed to a much greater
extent than any other kind of iron which has heretofore been used in casting
articles requiring afterwards to be annealed.
And lastly, with reference to the manufacture of chains in manner afore-
said, I claim the use of such iron as last aforesaid as one of my said improve-
ments in the manufacture of the said description of chains. And such my
Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely new and
never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, Her said Dominion of Wales, and Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark and
Man, nor in any of Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, I
do hereby declare this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily
believe this, my said Specification, doth comply in all respects, fully and without
reserve or disguise, with the proviso. in the said herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive
right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Onions, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand cight hundred and forty-two.
JNO. (L.s.) ONIONS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of May, in the year
of our Lord 1842, the aforesaid John Onions came before our said Lady the
Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-two.