Improvements in Machines for Making Wire Fencing.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1899-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1899
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM MCCLOSKEY, of 18, London Street,
Mechanic, and EDMUND J. SCULLY, of 177, Quellette Avenue, Attorney, both
in the City of Windsor, Province of Ontario, Canada.]
Improvements in Machines for Making Wire Fencing.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to a machine for making wire-fences of the character
in which a series of horizontal wires so called line wires, are first secured to the
posts and then cross connected together at intervals by intersecting vertical wires.
so called stay-wires, which are wrapped around each line wire, and the object of
the invention is to provide a simple and efficient device for the purpose which
enables the operator to do the work of fastening on the stay wires, called the
weaving of the fence much faster and with less exertion on the part of the
operator than with machines in present use.
To this end I have devised a machine in which the twister wheel and its
actuating gear wheel are carried by a side-supporting-frame which affords a good
grip for handling it in its operation and facilitates the transmission of power by
means of a large crank handle and relatively small wheels, all as more fully
hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a plan of one of the forms in which the device may be constructed
to embody the invention.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1 showing the device as in use.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a slightly modified construction.
Referring to Fig. 1 and 2 of the drawings, A is the twister-wheel, B the
drive-wheel and C the handle for imparting motion thereto, the drive-wheel and
twister-wheel having inter-meshed bevel gear teeth.
These wheels are supported by an open-sided frame which has two of its
sides, D, E, inclined towards each other, the other side F, connecting them at the
ends which are farthest apart. The side. D, forms the hand-grip by means of
which the operator holds the device, and it is provided with a suitable guard G
for protecting the hand against accidental contact with the drive-wheel.
The drive-wheel B, is secured to the end of the shaft H, which is journalled
in the side D of the frame and carries at its free end the handle C.
The side E, of the frame is formed on its face with a longitudinal recess I,
and has formed near its free end a stub J, upon which the twister-wheel is
journaled by means of a hub H formed thereon. The twister-wheel and its hub
are formed with a radial slot M which is adapted to register with the recess I,
in the frame when the parts are in position shown in Fig. 2.
The twister-wheel is formed slightly convex on its face and has a peripheral
flange L, which, in connection with a shoulder N on the stub J, prevents the
twister-wheel from losing its engagement with the drive-wheel.
The flange L is provided with an annular rim flange W and the hand grip D

page_text: is formed or provided with a hook-shaped projection Y which engages under
this rim for the purpose of holding the twister-wheel in positive engagement with
the actuating gear wheel B.
O is a spool which carries the wire for making the stay, this wire is first cut
to the length of a stay and coiled upon a suitable mandrel before it is placed
upon the spool, and its inner free end is then passed through a suitable open-
ing R in the twister-wheel so that in drawing it off from the spool it will
sufficiently resist to keep it taut. By making the passage of this stay wire from
the coil through the opening R more tortuous, or by causing the coil, to have
more friction on the spool Ŏ or by the use of a spring tension upon the wire
in its passage from the spool the tension of the stay-wire may be increased if
desired. T is a support formed with a recess U in the end to engage it with the
line wire, and V is a loop formed by this support adjacent to the handle C.
In practice: A coil being placed upon the spool, the inner end is then passed
through the opening R, and in commencing to weave it is first twisted around
the top line wire. Then the device is applied to the line-wire next below, as
in Fig. 2, so that the line wire passes loosely through the wire-passage U, recess I,
and the inner end of the slot M in the twister-wheel. By giving the handle C
then one turn the stay wire is wrapped around the line wire one turn; and the
operator having hold of the device at the grip D, pulls it out of engagement
with the line wires and repeats the motion at the line wire next below, and so
on to the last one.
The operation of weaving with my device is accomplished much more expedi-
tiously and with less expenditure of power than with such tools which have to
he bodily turned around the line-wire and compared with machines in which the
weaving is accomplished by a twister wheel, my machine allows the workman
to stand close up to his work and having a lighter and more compact frame
makes it more convenient and less tiresome to handle.
A particular advantage of my device is that the grip D, by means of which
the operator manipulates the tool is substantially in line with the fence. Thus
in disengaging the device from the line wire after the twist is made he can apply
his power to the best advantage and thus the manipulation of the tool is made
much easier and less tiresome than in devices where the hand-grip is at right
angles or nearly so to the fence. On the other hand by placing the sides D, E,
at a slight angle, as shown, it will be seen that the wheels A, B, can be made
of relatively small diameter while at the same time there is room for the handle,
at the other end to turn around without danger of the operator hurting his hand
on the line-wires.
By supporting the twister-wheel on a shaft directly in line with the arm E, of
the frame friction is reduced to a minimum, while at the same time the device
is made compact and of simple construction.
By forming the loop V in proximity to the handle the operator is also enabled
by slipping his finger into this loop. after giving the handle one turn, to hold
the twister-wheel in the necessary alignment with the recess I, to disengage it
from the line wire and readily re-engage it with another.
The modification shown in Fig. 3 differs from the one shown in Fig. 1 and 2
in that the twister-wheel is not journaled upon a shaft, but is journaled in a
peripheral bearing Q which is a part of the frame and has an opening S in it with
which the slot M in the twister-wheel registers when the handle C is in its
normal position. With this construction the side E of the frame is placed nearer
to the grip D, and does not receive the line wire. This construction has the
advantage that the frame is made more rigid by being closed on all sides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is;-
1. In a fence machine for weaving stay wires, a side-supporting frame carry-

page_text: ing the twister wheel and its actuating gear wheel at one side of the frame and
the crank handle for turning the gear wheel at the opposite side.
2. In a fence machine for weaving stay wires a side-supporting frame carrying
the twister-wheel and its actuating gear wheel at one side and the crank handle
for turning the gear wheel at the opposite side, the frame having two side bars
inclined at an angle towards each other, and carrying the gear wheel and twister
wheel at the converging ends and placed at an angle towards each other.
3. In a fence machine for weaving stay-wires a side-supporting frame com-
prising two side bars D, E, inclined at an angle towards each other and carrying
inter-meshing bevel gear and twister wheel respectively at the converging ends,
the side bar D forming a grip in which the shaft of the gear is journaled.
4. In a fence machine, for weaving stay wires, the side bars D, E, F, forming
a side supporting frame for the twister wheel A and inter-meshing gear wheel B,
the side bar E having a longitudinal groove and carrying at one end the twister
wheel, and at the other end the hook T and loop V and the side bar D carrying
at one end the gear wheel and at the other the crank handle for turning it, said
bar being at an angle to the side bar E and constituting a grip.
Dated this
1
2
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C..
Agents for the Applicant.