CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING NAILS
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHURCH, of Bordesley Green, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the second year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Church, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His special
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Church, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and no others, for the
term of fourteen years from the date thereof, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within that part of His Majesty's United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR MAKING NAILS;" and in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said William Church, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, fully to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, and
to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months from 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Church, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, is fully described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the letters and figures of reference
marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention of Certain Improvements in Machinery for Making Nails
consists,―
First, in making, forming, or preparing the nail rods from bars or plates of
iron or other ductile metals or aloys of metals.
Secondly, in machinery or apparatus for converting such metal rods or rods
otherwise prepared, into nails.
Thirdly, in machinery or apparatus for making that kind or description of
nail for which a Patent was granted by His present Majesty to Richard
Prosser, of Birmingham, on the Thirteenth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-one.
My method of making the rods from which the nails are to be formed,
consists in preparing bar or plate iron or other metal by passing it through
pressing rollers having indentations upon the peripheries of one or both of
them, so as to form the bar or plate of metal into the required shape for the
rods, which plates or bars may afterwards be separated into rods of any desired
width by common slitting rollers.
Figures 1 and 2, in Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, represent a
pair of rollers which are of a similar construction to those ordinarily used for
rolling flat bar iron, but having a part of the periphery of one of the rollers
indented and formed into projections and curved surfaces a, a, whose radii or
distances from the axis of the roller are unequal.
Figures 3 and 4 represent horizontal and side views of a piece of plate
iron or other metal after it has been passed between the indented and cylin-
drical rollers.
The metallic plates or bars thus prepared are separated into nail rods,
as shewn in Figure 3, where the plates is represented as being partly slit
by means of ordinary slitting rollers.
After the operations of rolling and slitting above described, it will be
perceived the nail rods consist of a series of wedge-formed pieces I, I, I, as
shewn in Figure 4, each wedge piece being intended to form a nail when
finished. The principal object for rolling the rods into wedge-formed pieces
is to measure out a due quantity of metal proportioned to the required
thickness or strength of the nail in its several parts, and which quantity
depends upon the form that it may be thought expedient to give to the
projections and indentations upon the peripheries of the roller or rollers.

page_text: My machinery or apparatus for converting rods of metal into nails consists
of three machines for effecting this object in different ways, and as each
machine admits of variations in the arrangement or detail of its parts, I
shall describe the machines separately, and state some different dispositions of
the working or operative parts.
The first machine I shall describe is shewn in the several Figures in
Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, and its improvements consist,-
First, in the manner of feeding the nail rod into the machine.
Second, in the manner or mode of effecting the pointing and cutting off
from the rod the piece which is to form the nail.
Thirdly, in the manner of carrying the blanks or shanks when pointed and
cut off to the dies, where it is to be finished in shape or moulded and headed.
Fourthly, in the mode or manner of finishing the shape of the shank, and
of forming the head of the nail upon it; and
Fifth, in the manner of discharging the nail when finished.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 are elevations; Figures 8 and 9 are plan views; and
Figure 10 is a horizontal section taken through the machine in the direction of
the dotted lines A, B, in Figures 5 and 6; the same letters of reference being
marked upon corresponding parts in all these Figures. The rail rods I, I,
with the thin ends of the wedges foremost, are introduced into the machine
through a guide of any convenient form, and placed in the situation between
the cutters b, b, as shewn in Figures 5 and 10, after which it will be fed into
the machine by the following means:-On the main shaft K is fixed the camm
wheel S, which, as it revolves, raises the lever t, having its fulcrum in the ear
2, and its under side resting upon the cam wheel. The lever t, as it rises,
carries with it the other lever u, to which it is connected by an adjustable
joint 3 moving in slots in the levers. The lever u is connected by its fulcrum
rod 4 in the standard 5 to the lever v, fixed upon the other end of the rod 4.
To the lower end of the lever vis connected the piece w, its end being formed
into a feeder or pusher, which, as it is moved backwards by the movement of the
lever v, falls into the notches or recesses in the nail rod, and, on being moved
the reverse way, pushes against the projections or shoulders of the wedge-
formed parts of the nail rod, and causes them to move severally under the
cutters b, b, to undergo the operation of pointing and cutting off. The extent
of the movement of the pusher can be regulated through the joint 3 of the
levers t and u, and after the feeder w has pushed one of the wedge-formed
pieces under the cutters, a spring 6 draws down the levers t and u on to a
smaller diameter of the cam S, and thereby causes the lever v to draw back.
the feeder w ready to push another portion of the rod under the cutters 6, b.

page_text: In order to form a point to the nail I cut a small piece 7 from one side of the
thin end of the wedges I, I, I, as shewn in the enlarged Figure 12. The piece
so cut off forms a shoe bill, and the operation of cutting off the shoe bill,
which I call pointing, is performed in the following manner :-The rod being
introduced through a guide and placed between the cutters bb, one of which
is fixed in the cutter head c, and the other in the bed d, the cutter c is
mounted on the shaft e, and partakes of any motion given to it. At each end
of the shaft e, on the side opposite to the cutter head, is fixed a short lever f.f
(see Figure 6), and between these levers f, f, is a sling g, connected to them by
pivots h, h, (shewn in Figure 10); i is an antifriction roller on the small crank j
at the end of the main shaft K. This roller works in a grove or opening in
the sling g, by which means, as the main shaft K is made to revolve, the cutter
head will rise and fall, and thus effect the operation, the lower cutter in the
bed being stationary. These cutters b, b, stand obliquely to the rod, as shewn
in Figure 12, in order that a triangular piece may be cut out of the
wedge piece of the rod, and at this operation the nail should not be
entirely separated from the rod unless an extremely sharp point be required.
On the side of the upper cutter 6 is another similar cutter 1 (see Figure 5),
with its lower or cutting edge placed a little above it. When the cutter
bbas effected its operation, and has been carried down so that the
cutter almost touches the nail, another small lower cutter n attached
to a cylindrical slide m, situated in the bed d, is driven up by the
lever o, which is connected to the before-mentioned e by the rod p, shewn
dotted lines in Figure 6. An adjusting screw 8 in the end of the lever o
regulates the height to which the cutter n is moved in separating the nail
from the rod. The lower cutter n is stationary while the pointing cut is
made. The slide m, which carries the lower cutter n, rests on a shoulder 9 in
the cylinder bed-piece d (see Figure 11). The piece m is made in two parts,
and furnished with a screw 10 for adjusting the height of the cutter n. After
the nail has been separated from the rod by the cutter n, as above described,
it is thrust forward through the guide I, I, into the carrying plyers r, r
(Figure 5), by means of the pushers on the feeder w (which receives its
motion, as before described, from the cam wheel S), another portion of the
rod being at the same time brought forward to be pointed and separated
as before. After the nail has been pushed into the carrying plyers 1, r, it
is there held fast by means of springs x, x, x, pressing against a tailpiece 12
upon the moveable jaw of the plyers (see Figure 5). The carrying plyers
are made to perform a portion of a revolution, that is, to move from the
position of r 1 to that of r 2, and so on by the following means:-On the main

page_text: shaft K is fixed a toothed wheel A, gearing with the wheel B, attached to the
driving wheel C, as seen in Figure 7. The driving wheel C has a short
arm D, carrying a roller Z, which roller is situated in that part of the wheel
where a portion of it has been removed, as seen in the Figures. The carrying
plyers are mounted upon one end of the shaft E. Upon the other end is.
fixed what I call the star wbeel F. By the motion of the wheel A on the
main shaft K the driving wheel C is made to revolve, and the roller Z entering
one of the grooves 13, in the star wheel F, turns it one fourth round, where
it is securely held throughout the remainder of the revolution of the driving
wheel by the part between the grooves 13 being in contact with the pariphery
of the driving wheel C; and thus while the carrying plyers only perform a
portion, the main shaft K performs an entire revolution, and thereby the
pointed wedge-form pieces or shauks of the nails, are carried successively
between the moulding dies G, H, and there held while the operation of
moulding and heading is performed, these dies being furnished with adjusting
screws 14, 14, by which their proper position may be determined. The parts
of the apparatus for moulding and heading will be best seen in the section in
Figure 10, where a blank is represented in a position to be operated upon.
By the revolution of the main shaft K the crank J, through the medium of
the connecting rod L, pulls towards it the lever M, which being connected by
the bars N to the moveable die block O, the dies are brought together with
sufficient force to shape or finish the shank part of the nail, at the same time
holding it firmly while the heading pin P is forced up by the lever M, and
compressing a part of the shank forms the head, the heading pin P being
furnished with an adjusting screw 20. On the further progress of the crank J
the dies recede from each other, and the carrying plyers are again brought
into motion by the means before described, and the finishing nail carried out
of the heading dies, and another taken into its place. On the end of the
lever M is mounted the antifriction roller 15, moving upon a short axle 16, and
running upon the rail 17, by which means the lever M will be made to move
freely and in proper position to the heading dies. In passing from the station
where the nail is headed to the lower station where it is discharged, a tail-
piece 18, on the jointed end of the moveable jaw of the carrying plyers r, r,
comes into contact with the fixed pin 19, and, moving it outwards, opens the
plyers, when the nail is allowed to fall away below. It should here be
remarked, that, altho the carrying plyers should be made thinner than the
nail where they rest between the dies while the heading is performed, they
should be strengthened on each outer edge.

page_text: The second machine for converting rods of metal into nails is shewn in the
several Figures in Sheet 2.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the working parts of the machine, for effecting
the moulding, heading, and cutting off.
Figure 2 is a front view, and Figure 3 a vertical section.
Figures 4 and 5 are plan views of the dies in different positions, the same
letters of reference being remarked upon corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
In this machine the moulding and finishing of the shank of the nail is
obtained by a reciprocating rotatory motion of the moulding dies, instead of
the direct pressure in the foregoing machine. The nail rods may be prepared in
the manner described under the first head of this Specification, or they may be
passed through a pair of rollers, as shewn in Figures 6 and 7. The inden-
tations upon the peripheries of these rollers will cause the rod to take the
form shewn at a, a, a, Figures 6, that is, with an enlargement on the ends of
the wedge-formed pieces, which will assist the operation of heading. The
moulding dies a, b, are mounted in the ends of levers c, d, turning upon
axles e, f, as their fulcrums, and are moved by connecting rods 3, 9, and cam
wheels h, h, upon the main shaft i, i, and in order to open the dies (as shewn
in Figure so as to admit the rod of metal between them, the axle f is
mounted in a sliding piece ; (shewn by dots in Figure 2), moving in guides
in the framework of the machine. To the axle f is connected one of the
toggle-pointed levers k, k, and the other to a pin fixed in the framework.
The manner of constructing these toggle-joint levers is shewn best in Figure 2,
they being partly removed in the other Figures to expose the other parts of
the machine. To these toggle levers is connected a bar m, actuated by a
a cam n on the main shaft, which draws the bar m and levers k, k, towards it
to open the dies; and on the nail rod being brought between the dies (as
shewn in Figure 4) by a proper feeder or any other convenient means, the
cam n pushes back the bar m and the levers k, k, into the position shewn in
Figure 1, and cause the dies a, b, to hold the nail rod firmly while the heading
is performed. The heading die o is mounted on the end of the short arm of
the lever p, which turns on an axle at q. The other end of this lever pis
connected by the coupling piece r to the crank s upon the main shaft i. By
the rotation of this crank the heading die is brought up against the moulding
dies a, b, (as shewn in Figures 1 and 2), with sufficient force to form the head of
the nail, which being completed, the heading die o recedes from out of the way
of the dies a, b, as they proceed to mould or finish the shaft, which is effected

page_text: by the cam h, h, pushing forward the bars g, g, thereby moving the levers c, d,
into the position shewn in Figure 5, and at the same time pressing or moulding
the nail rod into the required form, and completing the shaft of the nail,
which may be separated from the rod by the cutter t, mounted in the lever c,
and sliding in a grove in it, and is made to cut off the nail from the rod by
the cam. wheel u pushing forward the bar v, which is connected to the bent
lever w, having an adjusting screw a pressing upon. the vertical army of the
cutter t. After the nail is separated from the rod, the bar m and cam n
cause the toggle levers k, k; to open the dies, when the nail will be at liberty
to fall away, the bar g, 9, and cams h, h, bringing the levers c, d, and
moulding dies a, b, into the position shewn in Figure 4, and the cam u
drawing back the bar and lever x, allows the cutter t to be brought back
into. its former position by a spring or any other convenient means.. The
manner of constructing the moulding dies is shewn on an enlarged. scale
in the sectional Figure 8, where it will be perceived that they overlap each
other so as to give the nail the required form; but I do not mean to
confine myself to that particular construction, as in some cases the dies may
be used without the overlaping parts. An adjusting screw is placed behind
the heading die o and wedge-formed pieces Z in the lever d to adjust the
moulding dies, or they may be adjusted in any other convenient manner.
The third machine for making nails from rods of metal is shewn in the
several Figures in Sheet 3. The operation of moulding a pressing the shank
of the nail into the required form in this machine is obtained by an interrupted
rotatory motion of a series of dies placed in a wheel, instead of the recipro-
cating rotatory motion described in Sheet 2.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the working parts of the machine, with the
moulding dies a, b, shewn in their position when holding the nail rod while
the heading is performed. Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1, with the dies in the position after
the heading and moulding of the shank is performed, and the nail ready to be
separated from the rod. Figure 4 is a section of the same.
Figure 5 is a section taken in the direction of the dotted lines A, B, in
Figure 1, and shewing the manner of constructing the moulding dies a, b, which
are mounted in strong plates or wheels c, d, fixed upon the shafts e, f, and are
brought together for holding the nail rod while the heading is performed, and
for pressing or moulding the shank by means of the toggle-jointed levers k, k,.
and cam wheel n and rod m, as described in the foregoing machine. The
heading die o is mounted in the end of the sliding bar p, moving in bearings
in the cross pieces q, q, of the framework, and is actuated by a cam wheels,

page_text: on the main shaft i, pressing against a friction roller r on the end of the sliding
bar p. This manner of working the heading die o shews another mode of
performing the heading of the nail, but a lever and crank may be used instead,
as in the foregoing machine. The cutter t, for separating the nail from the
rod, is placed vertically in the framing of the machine, and is actuated by a
lever v, turning on its fulcrum w on the cross bearer 9; the short end of this
lever is connected to the cutter t, its other end having a friction roller x
against which the cam u acts, depressing this end of the lever v and raising the
short end, and with it the cutter t, thereby separating the nail at the time the
moulding dies have finished the shank of the nail, after which, the cam u,
ceasing to act upon the friction roller, allows the lever v to be brought into
its former position by a spring or weight. It will be seen that the moulding
dies a, b, are mounted raidially in the plates or wheels c, d, and, on one pair of
dies completing a nail, they must move round a part of a revolution to allow
of the next pair of dies coming into operation. To effect this movement I
give them an interrupted rotatory motion by means of the star wheel 1,
mounted upon a shaft e, and which receives its motion from the driving wheel 2,
as before described. The driving wheel is actuated by the toothed wheel 3,
which takes its motion from another wheel 4 upon the shaft 5 of the bevel
wheel 6, which gears into another bevel wheel 7 upon the main shaft i. The
shaft gives the interrupted rotatory motion to the other to shaft f, by means
of the pair of toothed wheels 8 and 9, the teeth of which should gear sufficiently
deep one within the other so as to allow of the shaft f and dies 6 sliding to
open them without throwing the wheels quite out of gear.
It will be observed that the two last-described machines are not constructed
to make any but what are called chisel-pointed nails, from the moulding dies
giving pressure only on two sides of the nail rod. It will also be observed,
that if the nail rod was passed through a pair of dies where a portion of the
point was removed, as described in the first machine, then these machines
would be capable of finishing the nail shank into a point, but as it is not always
desireable to remove a portion of the rod, the nail, as soon as formed by these
machines, may be carried away to another pair of moulding dies, where the
nail may undergo a second pressure on the other two sides to those pressed by
the moulding dies, and the point thereby completed. As there are many
ways of conveying the nail from the moulding dies to a second pair of dies,
by carrying fingers, spring clips, &c., either sliding or rotating, I have not
thought it necessary to describe any particular method, but have shewn in
Figure 6, Sheet 3, one mode of effecting this object. In this Figure the
moulding dies a, b, are shewn open, and the nail rod in the situation for them

page_text: to close upon it to form another nail. The cutting off, under these circum-
stances, is not effected until it is placed as there shewn, when the cutter t
may effect the operation in any convenient way. 1, 2, are a pair of carrying
fingers or spring clips, mounted in a bar 3, sliding between the guide arms 4,
fixed upon the axle 5. This axle has an interrupted rotatory motion com-
municated to it by a star wheel, or any other convenient manner, by which it
will bring the carrying finger 1, 2, alternately opposite the nail as it is delivered
from the moulding dies a, b. Upon the back of the bar 3 are two studs or
pins 6, 6, which are also brought by the motion of the shaft 5 between the
forked end of the lever 7; at this time a projection upon the cam wheel 8, fixed
upon the shaft 5, causes the lever 7 to move outward, and slide the bar with the
pair of fingers 10 into the nail just before it is cut off from the rod, and by the
motion of the shaft carry it over into the second pair of moulding dies 9, when
another projection upon the cam 8 will move the lever 7 away, and the bar 3,
and with it the spring clips 1, leaving the nail in the second moulding dies
which have previously taken fast hold of it; the second pair of moulding
dies may give their pressure to the nail by means of any of the different
motions of the moulding dies a, b, as described under Sheets 1, 2, or 3, or in
any other convenient means, which it is not necessary here to describe. It
will be observed by all competent mechanics that the moving parts of these
machines may be altered considerably in the arrangements; for instance, the
lever c and d, in Sheet 2, may be connected together by toothed wheels fixed
upon the axle e, f, as described in Sheet 3, so that these movements may be
simultaneous, and only one rod 9 and cam wheel h be necessary. Also that
the heading dies may be mounted upon sliding bars actuated by cam wheels,
or in levers moved by cranks upon the main shaft, and that the moulding dies
be made to open and shut otherwise than by toggle-jointed levers and bars,
and yet the motion and effect of the dies remain the same; for instance, they
may be connected together by a strap, loop, or bar, which may be placed upon
either of the axles e, f, and upon the other an excentric or cam working in the
connecting strap or bar, which will bring the dies together at the time the
heading or moulding of the shank is performed, which will assist that
operation, and also be made to open them when necessary.
My improvements in machinery for making or forming that kind or descrip-
tion of nail for which a Patent was granted by His present Majesty to Richard
Prosser, of Birmingham, on the Thirteenth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-one, a description of which will be found in the Specifi-
cation of that Patent, consists in the peculiar formation or construction of the
dies, punches, or tools for effecting the different required operations, and as

page_text: they may be worked to good effect in several different ways I have shewn in
Sheets 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, several different machines or methods of using them.
In Sheet 4, Figure 1 represents an elevation of one of the machines for
forming the blanks or parts which constitute the head of the nail. The tool
or punch which cuts out the piece to form the head of the nail, from rolled
sheet metal of any description proper for the purpose, is shewn at A, and the
bed or counter die, against which the tool or punch cuts, is shewn at B, both
being shewn in section at Figure 2. The tube or punch is made to descend
until it enters the bed or counter die, which is stationary. The punch is
hollow, and equal in internal diameter to the head of the nail intended to be
made. The part C, which is fixed into the bed B, is of a diameter somewhat
smaller than the inside diameter of the tube or punch A, and of the same
form which is intended to be given to the head of the nail. The end of the
punch A is made conical on the inside, so as to bring it to a cutting edge all
round its circumference, the sheet of metal being placed between the punch A
and counter die B, and motion given to the machine by any convenient means
(such as the crank shaft E, connecting rod F, and lever H). A circular tisk or
blank will be cut out of the sheet of metal equal in diameter to the outside
of the punch. The blank so cut would pass down into the bed but for the
interposition of the piece of metal C, which obstructs the passage of the blank.
The punch A continuing to move downward, after having cut out the blank,
presses it on to the head of the piece C, and obliges it to take the same form,
while its edges are forced down by the inside of the tube or punch A into the
space between the piece C and the inside of the die B into the form shewn in
section at a, Figure 3, and in plan Figure 4. The blank G in consequence
being equal in diameter to the inside of the tube or punch A, on its receding
from the bed, carrys the blank just formed with it. A few of the blanks a, a,
so formed are exhibited in the tube A, Figure 2, and are pushed upwards in
succession by each succeeding blank until they arrive at the top D, when they
are allowed to fall into a receiver. The piece C, in the dies B, may be made
to move upwards and meet the punch A, after it has cut out the disk of metal,
by a lever worked from the crank shaft forcing up the sliding piece K, in
which the piece C is mounted, shewn in the section Figure 5, thereby
producing the same effect upon the disk, and forming the same shaped blank.
The blank C may be removed out of the punch A without its having to travel
up it by the rod L being pressed down by a lever connected to the crank
shaft, or any other convenient means which will push the blank out of the
punch, and allow of its being removed out of the way. Another mode of
forming these blanks is exhibited in Sheet 5, where Figure 1 is an elevation of

page_text: a machine, having the piece C, which forms the hollow or cup of the blank,
placed within the punch A, as shewn in the detached sections Figures 2 and 3,
and another lever I to work it. On the punch A descending and cutting out
the disk of metal as before described, the lever I, through the crank shaft,
causes the the piece C to descend and force the disk of metal into the dies B,
and on its meeting with a smaller diameter of the hollow of the die the disk
is forced down by the piece C, (as shewn in the section Figure 3), and out
through the die B, thereby producing the same formed blank as before
described.
2
In Sheet 6, Figure 1 represents a machine for combining the different
parts of these kind of nails, so as to constitute a complete nail. The pieces
b, b, which form the back or under side of the head of the nails may be formed
by any convenient machine, and placed on to the beds A, A, fixed on to the
revolving bed plate E, shewn detached in Figure 6. A shank, formed by
the machinery above described, or by other means, is put through the hole in
the centre of the back piece b, and the blank or part which forms the head a
(and which has been prepared as described in the machine under Sheets
4 and 5) is then placed over the shank c and back piece, as shewn in section in.
Figures 2 and 3, and carried under the punch or tool B, remaining stationary
while the punch descends to unite the parts to form the nail, which is done by
the peculiar formation of the tools or punch B and dies A, as shewn in section,
Figure 2; the nail, when finished, being shewn in section at Figure 4, and
in elevation at Figure 5. As the punch B descends, it first comes in contact
with the head of the nail a, placed upon the piece d (see Figure 2), which
piece is supported by a spring e in the socket piece f, resting upon shoulders
in the bed A, and as the punch descends it carries with it the parts of the
nail and the piece d, and enters the recess g in the bed A, the peculiar form
of which recess causes the edges of the head piece a to turn in under the
back piece, and thereby firmly unite the whole of the parts of the nail
together. The punch B now ascends; the nail and bed containing the nail
with the bed plate move a part of a revolution, according to the number of
dies placed upon the bed plate E, and another die is brought under the
punch B, the parts forming the nail being placed in the revolving beds
during the time they remain stationary, so as to be operated upon in
succession. It will be perceived these beds must have an interrupted
revolving motion, which I communicate by the star wheels C and driving
wheel D, already described, the bed plate E being placed upon the upper end
of the shaft G of the star wheel C, the driving wheel D receiving its motion
through the toothed wheel II on its axis I. This wheel receives motion from

page_text: a toothed wheel J upon the back of the mitre wheel K, which takes into
another mitre wheel L. Upon the back of the wheel L is another toothed
wheel M, receiving motion from the driving wheel N fixed upon the crank
shaft. The punch or tool B is actuated in the same way as that described
under Sheets 4 and 5.
Figures 7 and 8 are sections of the dies A and B, where the socket piece f
is made capable of being moved upwards, so that its upper part may assist in
turning in the edges of the head piece a under the back piece b, shewn in
Figure 8, which may be effected by a lever, placed in any convenient part of
the machine, pressing upon the adjusting screw h.
I must here observe that the parts of the machines for making these
peculiar kind of nails, as described under Sheets 4, 5, or 6, admit of a variety
of different arrangements, and, although here described as separate machines,
may be placed upon one framing, receiving motion from one crank shaft, or
the parts may be changed in position, as shewn in the elevation, Sheet 7,
where the dies A, A, are placed upon the periphery of a strong wheel or
revolving plate E, which receives an interrupted rotatory motion through the
star wheel C, driving wheel D, and bevell wheels K, L, as before described;
or, instead of a rotatory bed plate or wheel, a bed plate or bar C may
be used, as shewn in the elevation Figure 1, Sheet 8, and plan view,
Figure 2, and moved backwards and forwards, bringing the 'die A under the
punch B in succession by a lever D, actuated by any convenient means, as
the step-formed cam wheel E upon the main shaft F.
In conclusion, I must remark that the same effect as produced by the
second pair of moulding dies, for finishing and pointing the nails formed by
the machine described under Sheets 2 and 3, may be obtained from one pair
of moulding dies, by the nail having a motion given to it by which it
will be turned over and its different sides presented to the pair of dies
for pressure.
This may be done by causing a pair of plyers or spring
clips to take fast hold of the nail shank, and, by giving them a recipro-
cating rotatory or interrupted rotatory motion, they may be made to turn
the nail one quarter of a revolution, by which the other sides of the nail
shank to those first operated upon will be presented to the dies. In
machines where this is effected it is obvious the heading die must be
made to move sufficiently out of the way to allow of the necessary parts
being introduced, and in some cases it would be desireable to remove the
heading operation away from the moulding dies a, b, and perform it in some
other part of the machine where another pair of dies may be made to hold
the nail shank while the heading is performed. Fig. 1, Sheet 9, represents

page_text: a horizontal section of part of a machine where these two operations are
effected; a, b, are the moulding dies mounted in the wheels c, d, turning upon
the axles e, f, as before described. The nail shank in this machine is separated
from the rod before it is headed, but, previously to this being effected, a
pair of spring clips or carrying fingers g, g, are made to take hold of the shank.
These spring clips are mounted in the tube h, which slides in the carrier piece
i, i, connected by arms j, j, to the shaft or axle k, k, which has an interrupted
rotatory motion, as that described under Fig. 6, Sheet 3, by which means the
spring clips will alternately be brought into the position at A, and take fast
hold of the end of the nail rod, the dies a, b, having also taken hold of it to
effect the moulding; and as they proceed to form the shank it is with the
spring clips g, g. pushed back into the position shewn in the Figure at A, and in
the cutter separating the nail shaft from the rod, and the dies a, b, opening
the spring m placed within the hollow n of the carrier piece i, i, (by acting
between the shoulder o on the tube p and the back of the hollow n) will
push the spring clips and nail shank into their former positions, and, on being
turned over one fourth of a revolution, will be ready to receive a second pres-
sure from the next pair of dies a 2, 62. This turning over of the nail shank is
effected by the following means:-Upon the end of the tube hare fixed the
arms p, p, (see the detached sections of the tube Figs. 2 and 3). These arms
are alternately acted upon by a pin q fixed in a small leaver r attached by a
joint to the bar s sliding between the grooves t, t. On the motion of this sliding
bar upwards the pinp comes in contact with one of the arms p, as repre-
sented in Figure 2, and forces it upwards into the position shewn in Figure 3,
thereby moving the tube h one quarter of a revolution, and consequently with
it the spring clips g, 9, and nail shank, which will be thereby be made to
present its other two sides to the dies a 2, 62, to be operated upon. As the
sliding bars descends to effect the turning of the next nail shank, the pin 7
passes over the arm p below it without disturbing it, the small spring 1, 1,
which presses against the tailpiece of the leaver r, allowing it to move outwards
to pass the arm p. After receiving a second pressure the shank will be ready
to be carried to the heading dies v, which is effected by the movement of the
shaft k, and will then be in the position at B, that is, within the dies, they being
open to receive the shank, and on their closing upon it by means of the lever
w (which carries one of the dies), the heading bar or leaver x is forced forward
by any of the means before described, pushing the heading pin or die y
(mounted within the tube h) up against the dies v, compressing the end of
the shank, and forming the head. The inclined plane parts of the spring clips
causes them to open and make way for the heading pin as it is pushed forward.

page_text: On the nail being completed, the heading bar or leaver x is drawn back, and
the leaver w moved outwards, opening the dies v, when the nail is allowed to
fall away below, the dies v then being ready to receive another nail shaft to be
brought into them by the next pair of spring clips 9, 9. And I verily believe
that this my Specification does, in all and every respect, comply with the
proviso contained in the above in part recited Letters Patent to me granted.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Church, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-two.