Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Hoes.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Hoes.
We, JOHN PERKS, of the Firm of John Perks and Sons, of Monmore Green
Works, Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Edge Tool Manufacturers,
and WILLIAM CHARLES SALMOx, of the same address, Engineer, in the employment
of the said firm, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the lighter description of hoes, and has for its object
the production of hoes in which lightness and strength are combined in a more
satisfactory manner than heretofore, and an improved method of manufacture
whereby the cost is greatly reduced compared with the cost of manufacturing
light hoes in any ordinary manner..
According to the improved method of manufacture, which forms a very
important feature of the invention, the hoes are formed from sheet iron or stee!
of the thickness required for the blades, and the eyes are formed by drawing down
the metal therefor in a drawing press fitted with a pressure plate between which
and the lower die the flat metal is drawn as it passes towards the opening of the
lower die. The closed ends of the sockets which are thus formed are subsequently
punched out, and the sockets then form the hoe eyes.
The front end of an eye may be strengthened by curling or curling and wiring
the metal, and the back end also may be strengthened, by folding or curling a
margin of metal, left for the purpose; and a portion of each side edge of a blade
may be strengthened, also, by flanging or curling a margin of the metal thereof,
and such flanged or curled margin on each side may be continuous with the
folded or curled margin at the back end of the eye, and may die out down-
wards into the edge of the blade.
The eyes of the hoes may be formed also with cheeks, as in the description
of hoe known as the "Brazil" hoe, by forming the metal for each eye of the
depth of the main portion, and cutting out the metal of the bottom so as to leave
portions which when straightened out form the cheeks; or by forming each eve
first to the full depth required, including the cheeks, then punching out the wad
at the bottom, and cutting the sides to the required shape.
The eyes and cheeks of the hoes may be strengthened by ribs or corrugations
pressed therein.
Hoes formed in the manner of this invention, while very light, are also of con-
siderable strength, and constitute in themselves a feature of the invention.
Dated this 21st day of December 1898
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Hoes.
We, JOHN PERKS, of the Firm of John Perks and Sons, of Monmore Green
Works, Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Edge Tool Manufacturers,
and WILLIAM CHARLES SALMON, of the same address, Engineer, in the employment
of the said firm, 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 the lighter description of hoes, and has for its object
the production of hoes in which lightness and strength are combined in a more
satisfactory manner than heretofore, and an improved method of manufacture
whereby the cost is greatly reduced compared with the cost of manufacturing
light hoes in any ordinary manner.
The improved hoes are each constituted entirely of sheet metal with the eye
formed solid with the blade, and in order that the eye may be strengthened it is
preferred that the metal of the outer edge thereof shall be curled over.
According to the improved method of manufacture, which forms a very
important feature of the invention, the blanks to form the hoes are first cut to the
required size from sheet iron or steel. In the formation of the eyes a portion of
the metal of each blank is first drawn down, while cold, for a portion of the
required depth of the eye, in a drawing press, by means of tools which comprise
a pressure plate between which and the lower tool the flat metal is drawn as it
passes towards the opening of the lower tool. The eyes thus partially formed are
afterwards completed by means of tools which draw down the metal to the
required depth, and form the eyes to the required diameter, and which comprise
tools which punch out metal from the closed ends of the sockets which are first
formed in the production of the eyes. It is preferred, also, to strengthen the
front end of each eye by curling over the edge of the metal.
In the drawings which serve to illustrate this invention:―
Figure 1 represents, in vertical section, the first set of tools by which a blank
is operated upon to produce a hoe eye, the blank being shewn in position
previously to the operation of the plunger thereon.
Figure 2 is a plan of the bottom tool shewn by Figure 1, the outline of the
blank when in place upon such tool being indicated by broken lines.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the middle of the blank after it has
been operated upon by the first set of tools.
Figure 4 is a corresponding view to Figure 1, but illustrates the second set of
tools.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through the middle of the blank after the
same has been operated upon by the second set of tools.
Figure 6 is a view, also corresponding to Figure 1, but illustrates the third set
of tools.
Figure 7 is a longitudinal section through the middle of the blank after the
same has been operated upon by the third set of tools.
Figure 8 is a corresponding view also to Figure 1, but illustrates the fourth set
of tools.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section through the middle of the blank after the
same has been operated upon by the fourth set of tools.
Figure 10 is a vertical section through the centre of the tools used for curling
the edge of the eye formed by the previous sets of tools,

page_text: Figure 11 is a vertical section through the centre of the tools shewn by
Figure 10, but taken at right angles to such figure.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal section through the blank after the edge of the eye
formed thereon has been curled by the tools shewn by Figures 10 and 11.
Figure 13 is a view, corresponding to Figure 4, shewing a pair of tools which
may be used in lieu of the set of tools shewn by Figure 4; and
Figure 14 is a view, corresponding to Figure 6, shewing a pair of tools which
may be used in lieu of the set of tools shewn by Figure 6.
The remaining figures relate to cheeked eyes, and will be described later on.
Of the first set of tools, shewn by Figures 1 and 2. A is the bottom or bed tool
having an opening a formed therethrough into which the metal for the formation
of the eye of the hoe is pressed. B is a pressure plate or block which presses
directly down upon the blank C, and D is a plunger which passes through the
tool B and carries a portion of the metal of the blank down into the opening a
of the bottom tool. A close-ended socket c, Figure 3, is thus produced by the
operation of these tools. The socket is readily pushed up out of the bottom tool A
after the plunger D and pressure plate B have been raised, by any suitable knock-
up device, such as a vertical rod operated by a treadle, which is employed for
pushing up similar articles from the bottom tool of a drawing press. f are
gauges to facilitate placing the blank C in proper position upon the bottom tool.
These gauges are of a usual character, consisting of pins which can yield down-
wards under the pressure of the tool B against the pressure of springs.
e
Of the tools shown by Figure 4, A¹ is the bottom tool, 13¹ the pressure plate
or block, and D' the plunger. The tool B is formed with a portion which is
just an easy fit within the socket of the blank which has been formed by the
previous tools. The blank is first placed with its socket around the part of the
tool B, and then the tool B' is brought down to press the bottom of the socket
between itself and the upper face of the tool A¹, and the plunger DI then carries
down the metal of the socket c into the opening a¹ of the tool A¹, forming a
socket c¹, Figure 5, of a less diameter, and correspondingly deeper, than the
socket c.
The blank C, in the form shewn by Figure 5, is next transferred to the tools
shewn by Figure 6, which correspond in all particulars with the tools shewn by
Figure 4, except that the part 1 of the pressure plate or block 132 is of a diameter
to fit just easily within the socket c' of the blank C, and the opening a² of the
bottom tool A2, and the plunger D2, are of a smaller diameter than the opening a
and plunger D¹, respectively. The tools shewn by Figure 6 form the socket e¹
of the blank into a socket ², Figure 7, which is smaller in diameter, and corre-
spondingly deeper, than the socket c¹.
The blank C, in the form shewn by Figure 7, is next transferred to the tools
shewn by Figure 8. Of these tools the lower tool A³ is formed with an annular
portion which is slightly tapered and projects upwards around its central axis
and is of a diameter at its lower end which allows the socket e² to be just passed
down thereover when inverted, and the upper tool 133 is formed with a central
opening which will just receive the socket 2, and in the inner end of this open-
ing is formed a punch 62. The blank C is first placed with its socket ² over the
annular projection of the bottom tool, and the upper tool B3 is then brought
down. The punch punches out a wad of metal from the end of
the socket
into the opening
of the bottom tool A³, and
the further descent of the tool B³ causes it to press upon the flat surface
of the blank C and to carry such blank down on to the upper face of the
tool A3, with the result that the metal at the end of the socket which imme-
diately surrounds the opening left by cutting out the wad of metal is drawn down
over the
upper corner of the projection a4 of the tool A³ on to the straight portion
of such projection, thus forming the socket into an open-ended socket or eye c",
as shewn by Figure 9. The projection at of the tool A³ is, of course, made to the
height which will allow of the metal being carried down in the manner described
43

page_text: after the wad of metal has been punched out from the inner end of the socket
by the punch 62. The socket c³, as formed by these tools, is somewhat taper, as
shewn.
If it is desired to curl the outer edge of the socket or eye c³, the blank C in
the form shewn by Figure 9, is next transferred to the tools shewn by Figures 10
and 11. Of these tools, E is the bottom or bed tool, and e a stud which projects
upwards therefrom for a portion of the height of the socket or eye c³, and is of a
diameter to fit just easily within the inner end of the socket, the inner end being
now considered as the end which joins into the other portion of the blank and
not, as previously, the end which is more remote therefrom. The blank C is
placed flat down upon the tool E, with its socket or eye around the stud e², the
upper portion of the socket or eye standing as far above the top of the
stud as may be required to allow of the movement of the curling
tool G. FF are a pair of closing tools, which may be brought together
around the lower portion of the eye. These tools are carried in dovetail
guides ff of a carrier H. The curling tool G is formed at its lower end with a
part which just enters within the top of the eye c³, and is surrounded with a
groove which, as the tool G descends, causes the edge of the eye c³ to curl over
outwards until it finishes the outer end of the eye in the manner shewn by
Figure 12. Clearance is left in the tools FF, immediately above the portions
thereof, which fit around the socket e, to allow of the formation of the curl d.
The tools FF are formed with inclined outer faces e', and corresponding faces
are formed in the tool E. The tools FF are brought together around the eye
by their inclined faces sliding against the corresponding faces of the tool E, as the
carrier H is brought into its downward position. Each tool F is formed with a
pair of outwardly projecting arms between which is mounted a friction roller d',
and as the carrier H rises the rollers of the tools F run up the outer faces of
the curved fixed guides k, with the result that the tools are drawn outwards
from one another sufficiently to clear the curled edge d of the eye and allow
the hoe C to be removed from the tools. The tools F, during the earlier part of
their rise, bear under the curled edge d and lift the eye from the stud e².
If it is not desired to curl the edge of the socket or eye, such socket or eye may,
of course,
be formed by the drawing tools of less depth than would otherwise be
necessary.
In lieu of drawing down the socket e, shewn by Figure 3, into the form of the
socket, shewn by Figure 5, by means of the tools shewn by Figure 4, the
blank C, in the form shewn by Figure 3, may be placed with the bottom of its
socket in the shallow recess 7 of the lower tool A, shewn by Figure 13, and be
operated upon by the plunger 13, to form the socket c into the socket cl shewn
by Figure 5, a pressure plate or block being dispensed with and the blank, in
the form in which it leaves the tools shewn by Figure 13, may be next operated
upon by the tools shewn by Figure 14. These tools consist simply of the bottom
tool As and plunger 14, and the socket cl, as formed by the tools shewn by
Figure 13, is drawn by them into the socket 2 shewn by Figure 7. In this
case, also, a pressure plate or block is dispensed with. After leaving the tools
shewn by Figure 14, the blank is operated upon by the tools shewn by Figure 8:
and if it is required to curl over the edge of the socket or eye, this is performed.
by the tools shewn by Figures 10 and 11, in the manner already explained. The
advantage in substituting the tools shewn by Figures 13 and 14 for the tools
shewn by Figures 4 and 6, respectively, is that a simpler form of press may be
used, as will be obvious, and that the tools themselves are simpler and cheaper
in construction.
The sheet metal is annealed between the several processes or as often as the
nature of the metal requires.
The hoe blades are trimmed as required, and are set to the required dish or
shape, in any ordinary or convenient manner, such as by means of the tools usually

page_text: employed for the purpose, which also take out any wrinkles or irregularities which
may be left by the operation of the previous tools.
Hoes formed in the manner of this invention, while very light, are also of con-
siderable strength, and constitute in themselves a very important feature.
Hoes made in the manner of this invention may be strengthened also by flang-
ing or bending portions of the side edges and also the upper edges of the blades;
and if the hoes are required to be formed with ribs running from the blades into
the eyes, such ribs may be readily formed as flutes, by making suitable provision
in the dies, as will be readily understood.
The eyes of the hoes may be formed also with cheeks, as in the description of
hoe known as the "Brazil" hoc, in the manner we will now proceed to describe
with reference to Figures 15, 16 and 17.
Figure 15 is a view looking at the inner face of a hoe blade having the eye
formed thereon and having the cheeks for the eye partially formed.
Figure 16 is a view looking down upon the parts which are shewn in elevation
by Figure 15; and,
Figure 17 is a view corresponding to Figure 16, but shewing the cheeks to be
completely formed to shape as projections from the eye.
A socket m is first formed, in the manner of this invention, to the depth
required for the eye, and to an additional depth to provide metal for the required
cheeks. Openings, each extending through one side and a portion of the end
of the socket, are then punched out to remove the surplus metal, the metal"
which is between the two openings is cut across at its middle, and then a punch,
tapered at its lower end, is passed through the socket and opens out the metal
which is left in the end of the socket, thus completing the formation of the
cheeks shewn by Figure 17.
In lieu of forming the cheeks in the manner described, however, each eye may
be formed in the manner of this invention to the full depth of itself and the
required cheeks, and then the metal of the bottom of the socket be cut away and
openings be cut through the sides of the socket to form the spaces between the
cheeks.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
---
1. A hoe constituted entirely of sheet metal and having the eye formed solid
with the blade, by the aid of tools which draw the metal cold, in the manner sub-
stantially as set forth.
2. A hoc constituted entirely of sheet metal with the eye formed solid with the
blade, by the aid of tools which draw the metal cold, and with a curled upper or
outer edge of the eye, substantially as set forth.
3. A hoe constituted entirely of sheet metal with the eye formed solid with the
blade, by the aid of tools which draw the metal cold, and having cheeks solid
with the eye, substantially as described.
4. The improvement in the manufacture of hoes, which consists in forming the
eyes by drawing sockets from sheet metal blanks while the surrounding portion
of the metal is pressed at both faces, and subsequently removing the surplus
metal from the inner ends of the sockets and completing the formation of the
eyes, substantially as set forth.
5. The improvement in the manufacture of hoes, which consists in initially
forming the eyes by drawing down sockets from sheet metal blanks while the
surrounding portion of the metal is pressed at both faces, and subsequently
removing the surplus metal from the inner ends of the sockets and completing
the formation of the eyes, substantially as set forth.
6. The improvement in the manufacture of hoes, which consists in first form-
ing the eyes out of sheet metal blanks by the aid of tools which draw the metal

page_text: cold, and finally curling the metal of the outer ends of the eyes to strengthen
them, substantially as set forth.
7. The improvement in the manufacture of hoes, which consists in first drawing
down sockets from sheet metal blanks for the formation of the eyes and cheeks
by the aid of tools which draw the metal cold, and subsequently cutting away the
surplus metal to leave only the metal thereof which forms the eyes and cheeks,
and then, if necessary setting outwards portions of the metal of the cheeks, sub-
stantially as described.
8. The hoes, and the method of their manufacture, substantially as described
with reference to the drawings herewith.
Dated this 21st day of September 1899.
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicants.