AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BARBED FENCE WIRE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in thè
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BARBED FENCE WIRE."
A com-
munication from abroad by Alanson Cary, of the City, County, and State of
New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 19th December 1879, and dated the 5th August 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th August 1879.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF BARBED FENCE WIRE." [A communication from abroad by Alanson Cary, of
the City, County, and State of New York, United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to furnish an improved machine for manufacturing
barbed fence wire of that kind in which the barbs are formed by wrapping a strip
of sheet metal having inclined slits formed in its edge or edges around a wire
spirally. The Invention consists in the stationary jaw made with a straight
grooved face, the moveable jaw made with an inclined face, and the jaw bracket
with the pulley for wrapping the strip of sheet metal around a wire, and in the
combination of the stationary hollow spindle, the rotary sleeve, the grooved feed
rollers, and their driving-gearing, the pulley, the jaw bracket and jaws, and the,
reel, with each other, as hereinafter fully described.
The machine consists of an upright frame, standard, or plate, which is firmly
secured to the bench or other suitable support, and to the upper part of which is
secured the end of a stationary hollow spindle, the cavity of which is made of such a
size that the wire can be drawn through it freely. Upon the spindle is placed a
sleeve, which revolves upon the said spindle, and in bearings in the upper part of
the frame, and in an inclined arm formed upon or attached to the said frame. To
the forward end of the sleeve is attached a large pulley to receive a belt for revolving
the sleeve, and to the middle part of the sleeve a bevel gear wheel is attached, the
teeth of which mesh into the teeth of another bevel gear wheel which revolves
upon a pivot attached to or formed upon the inclined arm or frame. With the

page_text: latter wheel is rigidly connected a small gear wheel, the teeth of which mesh into
the teeth of a large gear wheel which projects through a slot in the frame, and is
attached to the lower end of a shaft which revolves in bearings in a projection or
hanger formed upon or attached to the outer side of the frame. To this shaft is
attached a small gear wheel, the teeth of which mesh into the teeth of a corresponding
gear wheel attached to a shaft parallel with the first, and revolving in bearings in
the hanger.
To the upper ends of the shafts are attached two rollers, which are
grooved to receive the wire and feed it forward through the spindle at a uniform
speed. The bearings of one or both the shafts should be movable so that they can
be adjusted to the size of the wire to be used.
To the rear end of the hub of the pulley on the sleeve, or to the sleeve itself, at
the rear end of the said hub, is attached a hub, upon which is formed or to which
is attached a rearwardly-inclined arm, to the outer end of which a reel is pivoted.
Upon this reel is wound the strip of sheet metal, which has inclined slits formed in
its edge or edges, and which is to be wound upon the wire to form the barbs. The
wire, as it comes from the spindle, passes through a stationary jaw which is
attached to or formed upon the upper side of a bracket secured to the pulley. This
bracket is also furnished with a moveable jaw for the sheet metal, which is secured
to the bracket, as hereafter described. The bracket has a flauge formed upon the
lower edge of its inner end to receive a bolt, by which it is secured to the pulley.
The bolt passes through a curved slot in a web formed in the space between two of
the arms and the hub of the pulley, so that the bracket can be adjusted to bring its
jaws into proper position to receive the strip of metal from the reel. The face of
the stationary jaw on the bracket is in line with the spindle and grooved to receive
the wire. The moveable jaw has a shank, which is clamped to the side of the
bracket by a bolt and hand nut. The jaw is made with a shoulder, which projects
over the top of the adjacent part of the bracket, and rests against a shoulder of the
stationary jaw. The corner of the bracket beneath the shoulder of the moveable
jaw may be rounded off, so that said jaw, when drawn outward a little can be
swung forward out of the way. The face of the movable jaw, and the shoulder of
the stationary jaw, against which the said face rests, are inclined to bring the space
between the two jaws into proper shape to receive the strip of sheet metal. With
this construction, as the pulley, the sleeve, the reel, and the jaws are revolved
around the spindle and the wire, the strip of sheet metal will be wound around the
said wire spirally, leaving the points of sheet metal formed by the edge slits pro-
jecting to serve as barbs. As the barbed wire passes from the jaws it is received
upon the notched spurs of a spur wheel, which is pivoted to suitable supports, and
should be placed as near as possible to the jaw-bracket to prevent any vibration of
the said barbed wire as it passes from the jaws.
The wire is fed to the machine from a reel, and is received from the spur wheel
upon another reel. The hub of the pulley is notched, when necessary, to allow the
sheet metal strip to pass in a straight line, or nearly so, from the reel to the jaws.
The barbed wire thus prepared may be galvanized, japanned, or painted to close
the seams and prevent corrosion.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th February 1880.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF BARBED FENCED WIRE." A communication from abroad by Alanson Cary, of
the City, County, and State of New York, United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to furnish a machine for manufacturing barbed
fence wire of that kind in which the barbs are formed by wrapping a strip of sheet
metal having inclined slits formed in its edge or edges around a wire spirally,
which shall be simple in construction, convenient, and reliable in use, doing its
work rapidly and accurately. The Invention consists in the stationary jaw made
with a straight grooved face, the movable jaw made with an inclined face, and the
jaw bracket with the pulley for wrapping the strip of sheet metal around a wire,
and in the combination of the stationary hollow spindle, the rotary sleeve, the
grooved feed rollers and their driving gear, the pulley, the jaw bracket and jaws,
and the reel, with each other, as hereinafter fully described.
In the accompanying Drawings Figure 1 is a top view of the machine partly in
section to show the construction; Figure 2 is a side view of the same; Figure 3
is a detail sectional view taken through the line x-x, Figure 2'; Figure 4 is a rear per-
spective view of the wrapping jaws and bracket; Figure 5 is a front view of the
same; Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of bracket and jaw. Similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts.
A represents an upright frame, standard, or plate, which is firmly secured to the
bench or other suitable support. To the upper part of the frame A is secured the
end of a stationary hollow spindle B, the cavity of which is made of such a size
that the wire C can be drawn through it freely. Upon the spindle B is placed a
sleeve D, which revolves upon the said spindle B, and in bearings in the upper part
of the frame A, and of the inclined arm a¹, formed upon or attached to the said
frame A. To the forward end of the sleeve D is attached a large pulley E to
receive a belt for revolving the said sleeve D. To the middle part of the sleeve D
is attached a bevel gear wheel F, the teeth of which mesh into the teeth of a bevel
gear wheel G. The bevel gear wheel G revolves upon a pivot attached to or
formed upon the arm a¹ or frame A, and with the said wheel G is rigidly connected
a small gear wheel H, the teeth of which mesh into the teeth of a large gear
wheel I. The gear wheel I projects through a slot in the frame A, and is attached
to the lower end of a shaft J, which revolves in bearings in a projection or
hanger a formed upon or attached to the outer side of the frame A. To the
shaft J is attached a small gear wheel K, the teeth of which mesh into
the teeth of the small gear wheel L, attached to the shaft M. The shaft M is
parallel to the shaft J, and revolves in bearings in the bracket a². To the upper
ends of the shafts J, M, are attached two rollers N, O, which are grooved to receive
the wire C, and feed it forward through the spindle B at a uniform speed. The
bearings of one or both the shafts, J, M, should be movable, so that they can be
adjusted to the size of the wire to be used. To the rear end of the hub of the
pulley E, or to the sleeve D, at the rear end of the said hub, is attached a hub P,
upon which is formed, or to which is attached, a rearwardly inclined arm Q, to the
outer end of which is pivoted a reel R. Upon the reel R is wound the strip S of
sheet metal, which has inclined slits formed in its edge or edges, as shown in
Figure 1, and which is to be wound upon the wire C to form the barbs. T is a
bracket, which has a flange formed upon the lower edge of its inner end to receive
the bolt U, by which it is secured to the pulley E. The bolt U passes through a
curved slot in a web e³, Figure 1, formed in the space between two of the arms and
the hub of the said pulley E, so that the said bracket can be adjusted to bring its jaws

page_text: into proper position to receive the strip S from the reel R. Upon the upper side
of the bracket T is formed, or to it is attached, a stationary jaw V, the face of
which is in line with the spindle B, and is grooved to receive the wire C as it
passes from the said spindle. W is the movable jaw, the shank of which is
clamped to the side of the bracket T by a bolt X and hand nut X¹. The jaw W is
made with a shoulder, which projects over the top of the adjacent part of the
bracket T, and rests against a shoulder of the jaw V. The corner of the bracket T,
beneath the shoulder of the jaw W, may be rounded off, so that the movable
jaw W, when drawn outward a little, can be swung forward out of the way.
The face of the jaw W and the shoulder of the jaw V, against which the said
face rests, are inclined to bring the space between the jaws V, W, into proper
shape to receive the strip S of sheet metal. With this construction, as the
pulley E, the sleeve D, the reel R, and the jaws V, W, are revolved around the
spindle B and the wire C, the strip S of sheet metal will be wound around the
said wire C spirally, leaving the points of sheet metal formed by the edge slits pro-
ecting to serve as barbs, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. As the barbed wire passes
from the jaws V, W, it is received upon the notched spurs of the spur wheel Y,
which is pivoted to suitable supports, and should be placed as near as possible to
the jaw bracket T to prevent any vibration of the said barbed wire as it passes
from the jaws V, W.
The wire is fed to the machine from a reel, and is received from the spur wheel Y
upon a reel, which reels are not shown in the Drawings, as there is nothing new in
their construction. The hub of the pulley E is notched when necessary to allow
the sheet metal strip S to pass in a straight line, or nearly so, from the reel R to
the jaws V, W. The barbed wire thus prepared may be galvanized, japanned, or
painted to close the seams and prevent corrosion.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of performing the
same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The stationary jaw V made with a straight grooved face, the movable
jaw W made with an inclined face, and the bracket T, with the pulley E, having a
hollow hub for wrapping a slitted strip S of sheet metal around a wire C, sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
2nd. The combination of the stationary hollow spindle B, the rotary sleeve D,
the grooved feed rollers N, O, and their driving gear, the pulley E, the jaw bracket
and jaws T, V, W, and the reel R, with each other, substantially as herein shown
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)