IMPROVE- MENTS IN VICES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN VICES."-A communication from abroad by Amos Hale
Brainard, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 13th February 1866, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN VICES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been communicated
to me from abroad by Amos Hale Brainard, of Dorchester, Massachusetts,
United States of America.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed in and by the following state-
ment, reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings making a part of
this Specification :-
This Invention relates to that class of bench vices known as the parallel
vice, and the object of the Invention is to produce a simple and compact
vice, in which the stationary jaw, or the foundation plate thereof, rests
directly upon the bench, thereby affording a firm support to the work
being operated upon, while at the same time it is capable of being swung
round to accommodate various kinds of work, and of being removed with
the work between its jaws to a planing, drilling, or other machine.
The said Invention consists in making the base plate of the stationary
jaw with both an interior longitudinal groove and exterior longitudinal
grooves, the inner groove being for the reception of the head of the bolt
by which the vice is secured to and slides upon the bench, and the exterior
grooves forming ways or guides for the support and traverse of the moveable
jaw; also in the peculiar construction of the nut, by which the vice is
secured to the bench; this construction being such that a clasping wrench
may be employed to turn the nut, or when such a wrench is lacking the
nut may be turned by a rod or lever, the end of which may be thrust
through a hole made to receive it, and passing entirely through the material
of the nut at one side of its screw thread.
A vice embodying the improvements is shewn in the Drawings,
Figure representing an end view; Figure 2 a side elevation; and
Figure 3 a central vertical and longitudinal section of the same.
a denotes the base plate having the stationary jaw 6 formed integral
with it. On the outer sides of this plate are longitudinal grooves c forming
guides or ways, into which tongues d, projecting from the moveable jaw e
fit and slide. The plate a is recessed upon its under side, having a long
and narrow groove for the reception of the shank of the screw bolt m,
which confines the vice to the bench, and a wide groove g for the head of
said bolt; this bolt passes through a hole in the bench, and confines the vice
in position by means of a suitable nut i screwed upon its lower end, and by
means of the bolt m and the grooves f, g, the position of the vice and the
centre upon which it turns may be changed as circumstances may require.
The jaw e is moved towards and away from the jaw b by means of a
screw h and a winch upon its outer end, as will be readily understood
long

page_text: from the Drawings. By this construction it will be obvious that the work
is more firmly supported and in a more convenient position than in vices
of ordinary form, both jaws being directly over the bench. Where it may
be desirable to raise the work this may be readily effected by putting a
block under the plate a, using a long bolt to secure the vice to the bench.
It may be swung round and adjusted in any desirable position, and may be
readily removed with the work when occasion may require; or the jaws
may be drawn out over the side of the bench when an upright piece of
work is to be operated upon. The jaws may be separated to a great
distance for the reception of large work without impairing their effective-
ness to hold the work fairly and firmly in position. The nut preferred to
secure the vice in position is of the shape seen at i, Figures 1 and 2, being
of oblong form and capable of being turned either by a wrench or by a
rod or winch inserted through the hole made in one end of it on one
side of the screw bolt m.
What is claimed is, the construction of the base plate a which supports
the jaws with outer grooves for supporting and guiding the moveable jaws e,
and an inner groove for the reception of the bolt m, by which the vice is
secured to the bench; also the nut i as made with the hole passing
entirely through it on one side of the screw thread of the nut, and with
the perimeter of the nut so fashioned as to be adapted for the use of an
ordinary wrench.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)