IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
IN
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND
MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by John E. Wheeler,
of Lynn, Massachusetts, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th March 1880.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. 'IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR.'
"
[A communication from
abroad by John E. Wheeler, of Lynn, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
This Invention comprises means for feeding a nail-plate or strip to severing
devices, and for punching blanks therefrom; a conveyer for automatically trans-
ferring the blanks from the severing mechanism to revolving shaping dies;
revolving shaping dies; transferring mechanism arranged to receive the rolled
blanks from the shaping dies and to present them successively to the clipping
devices; and a clipping punch and die for forming the point, arranged in relation
to each other, constructed, operated, and combined in one machine or in sets.
It further embraces a nail-plate and strip of peculiar construction, and a method
of forming the nail-head in the plate or strip by hot rolling.
It embraces also a method of manufacturing horse-shoe nails, which consist in
forming a metal plate by hot rolling with head-forming ribs; in separating said
plate into blanks, each of which has a head-forming portion finished or substan-
tially finished as required in the complète nail; and a shank which is adapted to
be drawn out or lengthened in whole or in part by cold rolling, whereby it is
compressed to the requisite density, elongated, polished, and prepared for the
clipping of the point by any suitable clipping mechanism.
It also comprises further improvements hereinafter described.
In carrying this Invention into practice one form of nail-plate from which the
nail blanks are punched may have a head-forming portion along each edge on one
or both sides, in which case the blanks are cut crosswise from the plate, alternating
T

page_text: heads and points. This nail-plate is particularly adapted for use in the manu-
facture of horse-shoe nails of the form generally employed throughout Europe. I
may use however a nail strip of partly formed blanks, so constructed that the point-
forming end of one blank joins the head-forming portion of the next following.
Such a strip may be formed from round or square wire of the proper quality of
iron for making horse-shoe nails, preferably Norway iron, by hot or cold rolling.
All the blanks in a strip thus made are of the same length, and they are each
provided with a head-forming portion, which may constitute the complete head of
the finished nail, or may be somewhat wider and thinner than the head of the
finished nail, or somewhat thicker and not so wide, in which case the shape which
it is desired that the finished nail shall have may be subsequently completed in the
revolving die.
I prefer that the head-forming portion of the blank be provided with round
corners.
The mechanism for feeding the nail-plate-strip consists in a dog which projects
into a feedway, is supported by a carriage sliding in suitable ways, and operated by
a cam-groove and cam-pin. The dog is pivoted at its end further from the punch,
and the nearer end is allowed to swing downwardly a limited distance into the
feed-way, and may have a spring bearing upon its upper surface to keep it in contact
with the nail-plate or strip. This feed is adapted particularly in advancing the
strip last described, in which case the dog shuts upon the point-forming end of a
blank immediately beneath the head of the next succeeding blank, which serves as
an abutment against which the dog bears in advancing the strip. Having advanced
the strip the length of one blank the dog is returned to engage with the head of
the next succeeding blank.
In feeding the plate first described in lieu of a dog two rolls are provided, one or
both of which may be positively actuated, and between and by which the nail-plate
is presented to a punch. This punch is reciprocated vertically to and from the die
by means of an excentric upon a shaft, and the blank which supports the punch,
and which slides in suitable ways in the framework of the machine. The said die
opens into an inclined chute which connects it with a short vertical tunnel arranged
immediately over the converging point of revolving dies, by means of which and
the chute the descending blank is guided to the rolls. The chute or tunnel may be
provided with a suitable detent to open and close the passage at given intervals to
regulate the feeding of the blanks to the die.
When the revolving dies are arranged in certain relation to the feeding
mechanism, it will be necessary to incline the chute so that a blank in dropping
from the chute into the tunnel may be turned a quarter in its descent. This
construction however may be dispensed with by turning the punch and feeding
mechanism one-quarter in relation to the revolving dies.
The said revolving dies are formed in the circumference of rolls, which are cach
secured upon the end of a shaft; they are preferably so shaped that the head-
forming portion of the blank is not acted upon by them, although this is a matter
of judgment depending entirely upon the shape which it is desired that the head of
the finished nail shall have, and which the blank from which the nail is made may
possess. The remaining portion of the dies lengthen the shank of the blank,
preferably broaden it, somewhat reducing it in thickness, and polish it so that by
one pair of dies the blank is so far completed that the operation of clipping the
point only remains to be done to make it a finished nail.
In some instances two pairs of revolving dies may be used, in which case the first
pair may be arranged to operate upon the edges of the blank, and the second pair
upon the face and back of the blank; or they may both be arranged to operate upon
the face and back of the blank. I also provide means for automatically conveying
the rolled blank to the clipping mechanism. This is effected by causing the rolled
blank as it leaves the revolving dies to drop into a passage which opens upon a dial
slightly inclined from a vertical position, and arranged to revolve beneath the rolls.
A sliding plate or transferrer is adapted to reciprocate within the passage, and to

page_text: transfer the rolled nail-blank from the passage into the nail receiving recess in the
dial.
The dial is keyed or bolted to the shaft, and is intermittently revolved by a
ratchet and pawl, the ratchet being fastened to the shaft, and the pawl being
operated by a rod, lever, and cam upon a shaft.
The transferrer is provided with suitable movement in a box below the rolls, in
which the aforesaid passage is formed, by means of a cam on the last named shaft,
a sliding bar which has suitable bearings in the framework of the machine, and is
held constantly against the cam by spring pressure, and the arm which is secured
to the sliding-bar by a set-screw and slot, and which is attached to the end of the
transferrer.
It is obvious that in some instances the rolled blank may not properly be
conveyed to the receiving recess, and may become lodged in the passage, in which
case it is desirable that the machine should be stopped before the next following
blank is fed. For this purpose I have connected with the device for operating the
transferrer a shipping attachment arranged to disengage the driving pulley
automatically in order that the machine may be stopped. This mechanism consists
of a tripping-piece which is pivoted to the said arm; it is provided with a recess
upon its under side, the end of which contacts with a pin on the reciprocating bar
which carries the said arm when at rest. The upper edge of the lower end of the
tripping piece reciprocates immediately under the end of a latch. This latch
engages with the shipping lever, which is connected by a lever with a sliding collar
on the shaft. This collar is arranged to slide on a fast feather, and is adapted to
engage with a driving pulley in any desirable manner. A spring automatically.
causes the shipping lever to unship the device engaging with the collar when the
latch is disengaged. The latching device is a pin projecting from the side of the
lever, and a notch upon the lower edge of the latch which closes upon the pin and
holds the engaging devices against the pulley.
The shipping mechanism is operated in the following manner:-The arm moving
the transferrer, as before stated, is fastened with a set screw and slot to the sliding-
bar. If an obstruction exists in the path of the transferrer it stops the same, but
the operating bar continues its movement, thereby changing the position of the
arm upon it to the other end of the slot. This causes the tripping piece to lift on
the pin, and upon the next revolution of the cam this tripping piece thus lifted
contacts with the tripping lever and disengages it from the pin upon the shipping
lever. This allows the spring to actuate the lever and disengage the collar clutch
from the driving pulley.
There is arranged behind that part of the dial extending from the passage to
the clipping die a plate which prevents the nail from falling from the nail-holding
recess while being transferred by it to the clipping device.
The clipping device consists of a die, which is arranged to coincide with the nail-
holding recess in the dial as the same is brought in line with it, and is provided
with a passage through which the clipped nail drops, and a clipping punch which is
suitably fastened at the end of a block which is reciprocated by the motion of
an excentric and connecting bar, which is pivoted to the block. This block is
provided with suitable bearings in a box.
A clearing device consisting of a piece having a recess in which the point of the
tripping punch moves at a certain period of its reciprocation is supported upon the
end of a rod having bearings in the block carrying the punch, and arranged to
project sufficiently to contact with a stop upon the said box as the punch is lifted,
thereby causing the clearing device to free the point end of the punch from any
clipping that may have attached thereto. A spring surrounding the rod and
bearing against a pin causes the rod to project, as above stated, except when in
contact with the stop. The die is fastened to a block in such a way as to be
easily removable therefrom. A driving spur wheel meshes with the intermediate
spur-wheels which operate another spur-gear wheel-upon-one of two shafts which
are suitably geared together.

page_text: The feeding and punching mechanism are also suitably geared to the roll and
clipping mechanism when desired, but the punching mechanism, the rolling device,
and clipping contrivance may be organized in separate machines.
Horse-shoe nails as generally used in Europe are formed with a pyramidal head,
whose base furnishes the extreme end of the nail, and whose apex terminates in the
shank. The upper corners are sometimes cut away. This nail can be formed from
a nail plate, like that first herein described, either by forming the head portion of
the nail upon each side of the plate or upon one side only of the plate, in which
last named case it will be necessary, either by the severing die or by the clipping
die, to bend the head-forming portion so that it may assume the relation to the
shank as in the finished nail.
Shaping dies which are used to operate upon the shank of the blank only, or
which are employed in flattening the head simply, may have recesses extended
transversely across the edge of the roll, from which the shank-forming portion of
the die may extend. This effects a considerable saving in the cost of construction,
as it avoids the expensive manipulation necessary in cutting out from the face of
the die a shape having the contour of the nail head, as these recesses can be placed
across the circumference of the roll.
I prefer also that the dies shall have beyond their point-forming end a small
pocket to receive any surplus metal which may be forced from the point down-
wardly. I also prefer that the dies shall be provided with suitable projections at
their ends between the pocket and the main part of the die to form an indentation
in order that the operation of clipping may complete the point.
It is necessary that the head of the horse-shoe nail shall be sufficiently hard to
wear well, and yet not be too brittle; that the shank should be united to the head
firmly that the shank should be stiff, smooth, and polished, and that the point
should be hard enough to drive well, but ductile enough to be clinched in fastening.
These qualities demand that the point and shank shall be somewhat harder than
the head.
In operation the nail-plate is conveyed automatically to the punch, and the
blanks severed in succession therefrom, falling through the die into the conveyer,
by which they are directed to the revolving dies, in which the head is shaped if
desired, the shank lengthened, stiffened, broadened, polished, and thinned regularly
towards the point and the point-forming indentation made.
From the dies the blank drops into the passage below, from whence it is removed
by the transferrer to the dial, which carries it to a position in line with the die
and punch, and is there completed by the clipping of the point, leaving the machine
by the aforesaid passage.
In lieu of automatically conveying the blank from the punching mechanism to
the rolling mechanism a separate rolling machine may be employed, and the
blanks conveyed by hand thereto; and in lieu of automatically transferring them
from beneath the rolling machine to the clipping device a separate clipping
mechanism can be employed and the blanks fed by hand thereto.
As the head forming portion of the blank is the part first acted upon or shaped
by the dies it is necessary that it should drop vertically upon the periphery of the
rolls slightly in advance of the converging of the dies, and that it should be sup-
ported in a vertical position while being drawn down by them. This construction
prevents the shank of the blank from tipping or falling against the sides of the
feed-tunnel while the dies are operated, and to provide for this I arrange imme-
diately above the converging point of the dies in the lower end of the feed-tunnel
a centreing device consisting of two guides, which preferably open and close hori-
zontally to and from the centre of the feed-tunnel, and are automatically actuated
by two levers, one of which contacts with pins on one of the shafts driving the
rolls, and is thereby positively actuated, and the other of which is pivotted in such
a manner that a pin projecting therefrom, and a spring connecting the two levers,
cause the guides to move the same relative distance to and from the centre of the
feed-tunnel. These guides also act as a detent in preventing the blank from

page_text: dropping upon the rolls till immediately before the dies converge, when they open
to allow the blank to drop, and then close upon the shank of the blank to hold the
same in a perpendicular position.
Various modifications as substitutes for the centreing device described might be
mentioned.
I desire it to be understood that the second nail strip herein described is rolled
from wire, and has the head forming portion on three sides or upon four sides; the .
last named form is the one best adapted for the manufacture of the European nail
having the pyramidal head.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
September 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE of
HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from
abroad by John E. Wheeler, of Lynn, Massachusetts, United States of America.
This Invention comprises means for feeding a nail-plate or strip to severing devices,
and for punching blanks therefrom; revolving shaping dies, and a conveyer for
automatically transferring the blanks from the severing mechanism to the said
shaping dies; transferring mechanism arranged to receive the rolled blanks from
the shaping dies, and to present them successively to the clipping devices; and a
clipping punch and die for forming the point, all arranged in relation to each other,
and constructed, operated, and combined in one machine or in sets, substantially as
hereinafter described.
It further comprises a nail-plate and strip of peculiar construction, and a method
of forming the nail head on the plate or strip by hot-rolling.
It also comprises a method of manufacturing horse-shoe nails, which consists in
forming a metal plate by hot rolling with head-forming ribs; in separating said
plate into blanks, each of which has a head-forming portion finished or substantially
finished as required in the complete nail, and a shank which is adapted to be
drawn out or lengthened in whole or in part by cold rolling, whereby it is
compressed to the requisite density, elongated, polished, and prepared for the
clipping of the point by any suitable clipping mechanism.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which,―
Figure 1 is a plan of a machine containing rolls for shaping, polishing, and
hardening the blanks and dies for clipping the points of the blanks, all organized
in one machine.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the said machine on the line 2*, *, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a portion of the said machine on the line-y*, y*,
Figura 1

page_text: Figure 4 illustrates partly in elevation and partly in section a portion of the
clipping mechanism.
Figure 5 illustrates in section a portion of the clipping mechanism, and a
device for removing from the clipping punch any clipped portions of the nails that
may adhere thereto.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of a machine for severing and rolling the nail-
blanks.
Figure 7 is a vertical section thereof.
Figure 8 is a vertical section drawn to an enlarged scale illustrating the
construction of the feed and the method of operating the punch.
Figure 9 is a front elevation of the punching mechanism.
Figure 10 is a plan of the revolving dies and feed-tunnel.
Figure 11 illustrates a modification in the construction of the dies in the rolls.
Figure 12 is a vertical section of the revolving rolls and their diés drawn to an
enlarged scale.
Figure 13 represents in, plan and section a nail-plate for forming blanks for the
manufacture of European nails.
Figure 14 represents a nail-strip in plan and section, and a rolled blank in plan.
Figure 15 represents a European nail.in plan and cross section.
One form of nail plate which I employ in this manufacture, and from which the
nail blanks are punched, may have a head-forming portion along each edge on one
or both sides, as shewn in Figure 13, in which case the blanks are cut crosswise
from the plate, the heads and points alternating as shewn. This nail-plate is
particularly adapted for use in the manufacture of the horse-shoe nails generally
employed throughout Europe. I may use, however, a nail strip of partly formed
blanks, substantially as shewn in Figure 14, so constructed that the point-forming
end of one blank joins the head-forming portion of the next succeeding blank; such
a strip may be formed from round or square wire of the proper quality of iron for
making horse-shoe nails, preferably Norway iron, by hot or cold rolling.
All the blanks in a strip thus made are of the same length, and they are each
provided with a head-forming portion, which may constitute the complete head of
the finished nail, or may be somewhat wider and thinner than the head of the
finished nail, or somewhat thicker and not so wide, in which case the shape which
it is desired that the finished nail shall have may be subsequently completed in the
revolving die.
I prefer that the head forming portion of the blank be provided with round
corners.
The mechanism for feeding the nail-plate strip, shewn in Figures 13 and 14,
comprises the dog a, which projects into the feedway A, is supported by the
carriage a¹ sliding in suitable ways, and operated by the cam groove a² and cam-
pin as. This dog is pivotted at its end farthest from the punch, and its other end
is allowed to swing downwardly a limited distance into the feedway, and may
have a spring bearing upon its upper surface to keep it in contact with the nail-
plate or strip; this feed is adopted particularly in advancing the strip, shewn in
Figure 14, in which case the dog shuts upon or engages with the point-forming
end of a blank immediately beneath the head of the next succeeding blank, which
serves as an abutment against which the dog bears in advancing the strip. Having
advanced the strip the length of one blank the dog is returned to engage with the
head of the next succeeding blank.
In feeding the plate, shewn in Figure 13, in lieu of a dog two rolls are provided,
one or both of which may be positively actuated, and between the said rolls and by
the same the nail-plate is presented to the punch.
The punch B is reciprocated vertically to and from the die B¹ by means of the
excentric b upon the shaft b¹ and the block 62, which supports the punch and slides
in suitable ways in the framework of the machine. The said die B' opens into the
inclined chute C, which connects it with the short vertical tunnel E arranged

page_text: immediately over the converging point of the revolving dies F, by means of which
and the chute the descending blank guided to the rolls (see Figure 7).
The chute or tunnel may be provided with a suitable detent to open and close
the passage at given intervals to regulate the feeding of the blanks to the die.
When the revolving dies are arranged in relation to the feeding mechanism, as
shewn in Figure 7, it will be necessary to incline the chute as represented at c, so
that a blank in dropping from the chute into the tunnel may be turned a quarter
of a revolution in its descent. This construction, however, may be dispensed with
by turning the punch and feeding mechanism one-quarter of a turn in relation to
the revolving dies.
The revolving dies F are formed in the circumference of the rolls F¹, which are
each secured upon the end of a shaft F. They are preferably so shaped that the
head-forming portion of the blank is not acted upon by them, although this is a
matter of judgment depending entirely upon the shape it is desired that the head
of the finished nail shall have, and the shape which the blank wherefrom the nail
is made may possess.
The remaining portions of the dies lengthen the shank of the blank, preferably
broaden it, somewhat reducing it in thickness, and polish it, so that by one pair of
dies the blank is so far completed that the operation of clipping the point only
remains to be done to make it a finished nail.
In some instances two pairs of revolving dies may be used, in which case the
first pair may be arranged to operate upon the edges of the blank, and the second
pair upon the face and back of the blank; or they may both be arranged to operate
upon the face and back of the blank.
I also provide means for automatically conveying the rolled blank to the clipping
mechanism. This I effect by causing the rolled blank as it leaves the revolving
dies to drop into the passage G, which opens upon a dial H slightly inclined from
a vertical position, and arranged to revolve beneath the rolls. The sliding plate or
transferrer I is adapted to reciprocate within this passage, and to transfer the
rolled nail-blank from the passage into the nail receiving recess in the dial
The dial is keyed or bolted to its shaft, and is intermittently revolved by a
ratchet wheel and pawl, the ratchet wheel being fastened to the said shaft, and
the pawl operated by the rod h', the lever h², and the can h³ upon the shaft K.
The transferrer has the requisite movement imparted to it in the box below the
rolls in which the passage G is formed by means of the cam M on the shaft K, the
sliding bar m which has suitable bearings in the framework of the machine and
held constantly against the cam by spring pressure, and the arm m', which is
secured to the sliding-bar by a set-screw and provided with a slot, and which is
attached to the end of the transferrer.
It is obvious that in some instances the rolled blank may not properly be
conveyed to the receiving recess, and may become lodged in the passage, in which
case it is desirable that the machine should be stopped before the next following
blank is fed. For this purpose I have connected with the device for operating the
transferrer a shipping attachment, arranged to disengage the driving pulley auto-
matically in order that the machine may be stopped.
The mechanism consists in the tripping-piece N, which is pivotted at n to the
arm m'. It is provided on its underside with the recess n¹, whose end comes in
contact with the pin n² on the reciprocating bar m, which carries the arm m' when
at rest. The upper edge of the lower end of the tripping piece N reciprocates
immediately under the end of the latch O. This latch engages with the shipping
lever o' which is connected by the lever 02 with the sliding collar Os on the shaft K.
This collar is arranged to slide on a fixed feather, and is adapted to engage with
the driving pulley P in any desirable manner. A spring O' causes the shipping
lever to automatically unship the device engaging with the collar when the latch
is disengaged. The latching device shewn is a pin projecting from the side of the
lever and a notch upon the lower edge of the latch which closes upon the-pin and
holds the engaging devices against the pulley.

page_text: The shipping mechanism is operated in the following manner :-The arm moving
the transferrer, as above stated, is fastened by a set screw passing through a slot to
the sliding bar. If an obstruction exists in the path of the transferrer it stops the
same, but the operating bar continues its movement, thereby changing the position
of the arm upon it to the other end of the slot. This causes the tripping piece to
rise on the pin n², and upon the next revolution of the cam this tripping piece
thus lifted comes in contact with the tripping lever and disengages it from the pin
upon the shipping lever. This allows the pin to actuate the lever and disengage
the collar or clutch from the driving pulley.
There is arranged behind that part of the dial extending from the passage to the
clipping die a plate S, which prevents the nail from falling from the nail-holding
recess while being transferred by it to the clipping device.
The clipping device consists of the die J, which is arranged to coincide with the
nail-holding recess in the dial as the same is brought in line with it, and which is
provided with a passage t through which the clipped nail drops, and the clipping
punch V, which is suitably fastened at the end of the block V₁, which is reciprocated
by the motion of the excentric v and the connecting bar v', which is pivotted to
the block at v²; this block is provided with suitable bearings in the box vs.
A clearing device consisting of the piece X, having a recess in which the point of
the tripping-punch moves at a certain period of its reciprocation, is supported upon
the end of the rod xl, having bearings in the block carrying the punch, and
arranged to project sufficiently to come in contact with the stop X2 upon the box v³
as the punch is lifted, thereby causing the clearing device X to free the point end
of the punch from any clipping that may have become attached thereto.
A spring surrounding the rod at X* and bearing against a pin causes the rod to
project, as above stated, except when in contact with the stop X. The die J is
fastened to a block in such a manner as to be easily removable therefrom.
The driving spur-wheel y meshes with two intermediate spur-wheels y', which
operate the spur gear-wheel y' upon one of the shafts F2. The two shafts F2 are
suitably geared together.
The feeding and punching mechanism is also suitably geared to the roll and
clipping mechanism when desired, but the punching mechanism, the rolling device,
and clipping contrivance may be organised in separate machines.
Horse-shoe nails generally in use in Europe are formed with a pyramidal head,
whose base furnishes the extreme head of the nail, and whose apex terminates in
the shank. The upper corners are sometimes cut away, as shewn in Figure 15.
This nail can be formed from a nail-plate like that shewn in Figure 13, either by
forming the head-portion of the nail upon each side of the plate, as represented in
the cross-section marked 1, or upon one side only of the plate, as shewn in the
cross-section marked 2, in which last named case it will be necessary either by the
severing die or by the clipping die to bend the head forming portion, so that it may
assume the relation to the shank shewn in the finished nail.
It has been ascertained that shaping dies which are used to operate upon the
shank of the blank only, or which are employed in flattening the head simply, may
have recesses extended transversely across the edge of the roll, as shewn in
Figure 11, from which recess the shank-forming portion of the die may extend.
I thereby effect a considerable saving in the cost of construction, as I avoid the
expensive manipulation necessary in cutting out from the face of the die a shape
having the contour of the nail-head, as these recesses can be planed across the
circumference of the roll.
I prefer also that the dies shall have beyond their point-forming end a small
pocket to receive any surplus metal which may be forced from the point
downwardly. I also prefer that the dies shall be provided with suitable projections
at their ends between the pocket and the main part of the die to form the
indentation represented in the rolled blank shewn in Figure 14, in order that the
operation of clipping may complete the point. This construction of die is shewn
in Figure 12. It is necessary that the head of the horse-shoe nail shall be

page_text: sufficiently hard to wear well, and yet not be too brittle; that the shank should
be united to the head firmly; that the shank should be stiff, smooth, and polished,
and that the point should be sufficiently hard to drive well, but ductile enough to
be clinched in fastening. These qualities demand that the point and shank shall
be somewhat harder than the head.
In operation the nail-plate is conveyed automatically to the punch, and the
blanks are severed in succession therefrom, falling through the die into the conveyer,
by which they are directed to the revolving dies in which the head is shaped if
desired; the shank lengthened, stiffened, broadened, polished, and thinned regularly
towards the point, and the point-forming indentation made.
From the dies the blank drops into the passage below, from whence it is removed
by the transferrer to the dial, which carries it to a position in line with the die
and punch; the blank is there completed by the clipping of the point, and leaves
the machine by the passage t. This is the operation of the complete machine. In
lieu of automatically conveying the blank from the punching mechanism to the
rolling mechanism a separate rolling machine may be employed, and the blanks
conveyed by hand thereto; and in lieu of automatically transferring them from
beneath the rolling machine to the clipping device a separate clipping mechanism
can be employed, and the blanks fed by hand thereto.
The nail strip shewn in Figure 14 is rolled from wire, and has the head-forming
portion on three sides, as shewn at 3 and 4, or upon four sides, as shewn at 5; the
last named form is best adapted for the manufacture of the European nail, having a
pyramidal head.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my.
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,-
First. In a machine for the manufacture of horse-shoe nails the combination of
the automatic feeding device, the punch and die or similar device arranged to sever
blanks from the plate, the conveyor, the revolving dies for rolling the blank, the
passage and transferrer, the revolving dial, and the clipping mechanism, all arranged
to operate substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Second. In the said machine the combination of the automatic feeding device,
the automatic severing mechanism, and the automatic conveyor leading from the
said mechanism to the revolving shaping dies, all arranged to operate substantially
as and for the purposes specified.
Third. In a machine for making such nails the combination with the revolving
shaping dies and clipping mechanism of a vertical tunnel or other feedway arranged
to communicate with the said shaping dies, and means for transferring a rolled
blank from the said dies to the clipping mechanism, all arranged to operate
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Fourth. The combination in such a machine of the revolving shaping dies, having
a suitable feedway for guiding the blank thereto, a conveyor for transferring the
rolled blank from the dies to the clipping mechanism, and means for automatically
unshipping the driving mechanism upon the lodgement of the rolled blank in the
passage leading to the revolving mechanism, all arranged to operate substantially
as set forth.
Fifth. In a machine for making such nails, in which machine rolled blanks are
automatically fed to the clipping mechanism, the combination with the clipping
dies and the reciprocating punch of a dial for receiving and conveying the rolled
blanks from the revolving shaping dies to the said clipping dies, all arranged to
operate substantially as described.
Sixth. In combination with a clipping punch a clearing device to automatically
remove clippings therefrom, arranged to operate substantially as described.
Seventh. A nail-plate for forming nails with pyramidal heads, such as are berein
described, and which plate has head-forming -portions upon one or both edges
thereof, substantially as described, and as shewn in Figure 13 of the Drawing.
Eighth. A nail-strip made from round or square wire, and in which nail-blanks

page_text: are partly formed, the point-forming portion of one joining the head-forming
portion of the next succeeding blank, substantially as shewn in Figure 14 of the
Drawing.
Ninth. The process of making a horse-shoe nail having a head-forming portion
projecting from each side of. the shank, which process consists in providing a metal
plate by hot rolling with head-forming portions, substantially as shewn in Figure 13,
in severing blanks therefrom as described, and in reducing the shank of the blank
to the proper density and length by cold rolling, and subsequently clipping the
points, all substantially as set forth.
Tenth. The dial, the transferrer, the punch and its die, and the revolving shaping
rolls, the operating shaft carrying the dial-operating cam, the transferrer-operating
cam, and the excentric operating the punch, and the spur-wheel driving the
gearing operating the revolving dies with suitable connecting mechanism, all
arranged and combined to operate substantially as and for the porposes set forth.
Eleventh. A blank for forming horse-shoe nails having the head-forming portion
and the upper part of the shank shaped in a metal plate or strip by hot rolling, and
having the central and lower portion of the shank elongated, reduced in thickness,
polished, and hardened by cold rolling, substantially as shewn and described.
Twelfth. A nail having a head projecting equally from each side of the axial
centre of the shank, and a shank, the lower portion of which is polished, elongated,
and hardened by cold rolling, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.