Improvements in Wrenches.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 11th Feb., 1893
COMELETE DIECITICATION.
Improvements in Wrenches.
I GEORGE WILLIAM BUFFORD of No. 189 West State Street, in the City of
Ithaca, County of Tompkins, State of New York and United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in wrenches in which a spring-actuated
rocking jaw is secured to a handle in such a manner as to be adjusted toward and
from a co-acting jaw.carried by the handle, to suit pipes of various sizes or other
articles to be operated upon.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figures 1 and 3 represent in side elevation two forms of the wrench.
Figures 2 and 4 represent rear views of Figures 1 and 3 respectively; and
Figure 5 represents a transverse sectional view in detail through line x, x of
Figure 1.
In the form shown in Figure 1, the handle is denoted by A, and is provided at
or near its end, opposite that to which the hand is applied, with a pair of cheek
pieces B offset therefrom, and secured to the opposite sides of the handle. The
check pieces are preferably each provided with a pair of shallow sockets b, located
a short distance apart on the sides toward the handle, and adapted to receive
therein bosses a projecting a short distance from the opposite sides of the handle.
This structure prevents any possibility of wrenching the cheek pieces, when they
are secured in position, under any strain which the handle and jaws are capable of
standing. The cheek pieces may be secured to the handle by means of a pair of
rivets 6', one passing centrally through each opposite set of bosses, or a single rivet
intermediate of the two bosses might be employed. The back or outer ends of the
cheek pieces are spaced apart and secured together by means of a post 62,
the central portion of which is enlarged sufficiently to hold the cheek pieces at the
proper distance apart, and the ends of which extend through perforations in the
opposite cheek pieces, and may be "upset" to secure the cheek pieces to the post.
A jaw C is provided with a web e adapted to enter between the projecting edges
of the cheek pieces at the end of the handle, and may be secured in position by a
rivet c' extending through the cheek pieces and the web.
The swinging adjustable jaw is denoted by D, and its flattened screw-threaded
shank d is adapted to extend between the cheek pieces B, alongside of the
handle A. The cheek pieces are provided with central openings 6*, and an
adjusting nut E is engaged with the screw-threaded stem d of the jaw D, and
extends within the openings 6" in the cheek pieces. A rocking bearing piece F
embraces the stem d, and is located between the walls of the cheek pieces B and
the adjusting nut E. The bearing piece F has rounded projections on its sides
in proximity to the handle A, which seat and rock in shallow recesses 63 formed in
the cheek pieces B. The bearing piece F is further provided with an extended
portion, intermediate of the cheek piece B, and on its side furthest from the
handle, to afford a more extended bearing for the stem d, and at the same time
assist in holding the bearing pieces against displacement.
A spring tongue G is fixed at one edge of the handle, and its free end bears
against the side of the stem d toward the handle, the tension of the spring being
normally exerted in a direction to tilt the lower portion of the stem d away from
the handle, and hence the jaw D toward the jaw C.
The adjusting nut E and bearing piece F are allowed sufficient play within the
openings 6* in the cheek pieces, so that when the handle is swung in a direction to

page_text: get a new grip upon the pipe, the bearing piece F will tilt a short distance away
from the walls of the cheek pieces, but when the handle is turned in the opposite
direction, to grip the pipe and turn it, the bearing piece F will seat against the
walls of the opening 6*, as shown in Figure 1.
In the form shown in Figure 3, the cheek pieces B' are formed integral with the
handle, and their free ends are bent round toward each other, as shown in Figure 4,
to complete the enclosure for the reception of the screw-threaded stem d of the
jaw D. In this form, the bearing piece F' is seated to rock centrally with respect
to the longitudinal axis of the stem d, and the jaw D with the adjusting nut E
engaged with its stem in proximity to the rocking bearing F, are held in operative
position by means of the spring G', which engages a shoulder e at the lower edge
of the adjusting nut E, and, by its bearing against the under side of the adjusting
nut E and the face of the shoulder e, serves to hold the jaw D in the proper
relation to its co-acting jaw, tending to swing it toward its co-acting jaw when
abnormally forced away therefrom, and to force it away from said jaw when
abnormally pressed toward said jaw. In this form, I have also shown a reversible
jaw C¹ connected with the end of the handle, to co-act with the jaw D.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In combination, a handle provided with cheek pieces offset therefrom to form
a socket for the reception of the stem of the adjustable jaw, the adjustable jaw
having a screw-threaded stem extending between said cheek pieces, an adjusting
nut engaged with the screw-threaded stem, a rocking bearing embracing the stem
and seated on the cheek pieces, a spring for holding the adjustable jaw in normal
adjustment, and a jaw on the handle adapted to coact with the adjustable jaw,
substantially as set forth.
2. In combination, a handle provided with a stationary jaw, an adjustable jaw
secured to the handle, a rocking bearing exterior to the handle, and surrounding
the shank of the adjustable jaw, the said rocking bearing having a rocking move-
ment about an axis transverse to the rocking movement of the jaw, an adjustable
nut engaged at its end with said surrounding rocking bearing, and a stop for
holding the adjustable jaw in position, substantially as set forth.
3. In combination, a handle, an adjustable jaw, cheek pieces secured to the
opposite sides of the handle and embracing the opposite sides of the stem of the
adjustable jaw, a rocking bearing, and an adjusting nut embracing the stem of
the adjustable jaw, and extending within openings formed in the cheek pieces, a
spring for tilting the adjustable jaw, and a co-acting jaw secured to the handle,
substantially as set forth.
4. In combination, a handle, cheek pieces secured to the opposite sides of the
handle, the cheek pieces and the handle being provided, the one with a pair of
sockets, and the other with a pair of corresponding projections, an adjustable jaw
mounted between the cheek pieces, and a co-acting jaw carried by the handle,
substantially as set forth.
Dated this 10th dox of Ton 1902
NEWTON & SON,.
Agents for the Applicant.