IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VICES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
WILKES, of Darleston, in the County of Stafford, Iron Founder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixteenth day of April, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel
Wilkes, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Samuel Wilkes, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Samuel Wilkes, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF VICES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Samuel Wilkes,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Wilkes, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention relates,-
First, to a mode of making vices by casting them of malleable iron and sub
mitting them to a process of annealing.
Secondly, my Invention relates to a mode of "steeling" the the chaps of
vices. And,
Thirdly, my Invention relates to modes of constructing what are called
parallel vices.
And in order to give the best information in my power, I will proceed
to describe the means pursued by me in carrying out my Invention, first
remarking, that in manufacturing vices, as at present practised, it is usual
to forge the chaps as well as the general body or legs of vices out of wrought
or malleable iron, and to weld plates of steel to the faces of the chaps, such
forging requiring considerable skill of workmanship and consequent cost.
Now in making vices according to my Invention, it only requires care in
making good models for forming the moulds, and although any of the ordinary
materials for forming models may be resorted to for this part of my Invention,
yet I prefer using brass models in order to make sand moulds for casting the
various parts of vices, to which this part of my Invention relates. It is well
known that there are several shapes and sizes of vices made at the present
time, according to the purposes to which they are to be applied, and I mention
this circumstance in order to state, that the first part of my Invention is not
confined to any particular shape or size of vices, but relates, as above stated, to
casting certain of the parts thereof by casting them of malleable cast iron, and
afterwards submitting the same to a process of annealing. I prepare models
of the various parts of vices to be made according to this part of my Invention
of brass, shaping such models accurately, as is well understood by workmen
making brass models for forming sand moulds, and I prefer to form the eyes or
openings for the screw boxes by means of sand cores, as is well understood by
moulders, and when the vices are of that description which the two stems or
legs and chaps open out from a point below by moving on a pin or axis at the
lower end of the parts. I also form the openings of such pin or axis by
means of sand cores, and I make sand moulds, to receive the metal by
the aid of such models, as is well understood to casters, taking care
so to form the moulds as to produce as clean and well formed castings as
possible; and I employ that description of iron known as "malleable cast

page_text: iron," which is capable of beiug melted and of running fluid when melted,
and thus enabling the workman to form castings therefrom, and such
castings may be made accordingly tough and strong by annealing, and will be
found to be particularly applicable when made into the chaps and limbs of
bodies of vices, as vices may not only be manufactured at less cost, but they
will be found to offer greater strength and durability than when forged out of
wrought iron. Having obtained the castings in malleable cast iron of the
above-mentioned parts of vices, I next proceed to the process of annealing
requisite to render the parts tough and strong, suitable for vices. It is well
known to persons acquainted with the process of annealing malleable cast ron,
that that process may in some degree be varied; but I prefer to perform this
operation by employing rich iron ores of Cumberland in state of powder in the
annealing pots, and I find it most convenient to place the parts of the vices
vertical in the annealing pots or close ovens, filling the spaces between the
parts with such dust of such rich iron ore or other materials usually employed
for annealing malleable cast iron, and I keep them annealing for various
lengths of time, depending on the size of the castings, the larger the casting the
longer the time required; and as general directions I find that articles of half
inch thick will be well annealed in four days, commencing with a blood red
heat for about three fourths of the time, and finishing with a very bright red
heat or nearly a white heat, and then allow the annealing pots or ovens and
their contents to cool down, when the parts of vices will be ready for finishing
by dressing off any irregularities of the castings; and in making the models in
such manner as to produce a dovetail groove in each chap to receive facings
of tempered steel, which will simply require to be well fitted and driven into
the dovetail grooves. I would remark, in respect to this part of my Invention,
that I have already obtained Letters Patent for manufacturing the boxes
and pins or screws of vices of malleable cast iron; I do not, therefore, claim the
making of those parts in the present Letters Patent; but the first part of my
present improvements are for the most part confined to the mode of forming
the chaps and bodics or limbs of vices of malleable cast iron, and afterwards
annealing the same. But I have also made an improvement in the mode of
making pins or male screws of vices when of malleable cast iron, which more
particularly relates to those of large diameter, and this improvement consists
in casting such male pins or screws hollow, which is done by applying a sand
core in the mould when casting; and I have found that in screws of an inch
and three quarters diameter, that a hole, though of three eighths of an inch
diameter, by which the annealing will be better performed, and these hollow
pins or male screws may be filled with cylinders of wrought iron driven in,

page_text: or they may be used hollow. I would remark that the mode of applying steel
faces to the chaps of vices, by having dovetail grooves in the faces of the chaps,
as above explained, is also applicable to vices forged out of wrought iron, and
will be found to offer a considerable saving, as it will readily be understood
that when a steel face requires to be replaced it will only be necessary to drive
it out in an opposite direction to that in which it was driven in, the grooves
being made slightly tapering to hold the steel better, and then drive in a fresh
piece of steel in place of welding on fresh pieces of steel, as is now the
practise, by which much time will be saved, and the vices will not require to
be removed and be out of use for a time, as is the case when the steel faces of
the chaps have to be welded on.
The third part of my Invention is shewn in the Drawing hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 shews a small vice where the chaps move away from each other in a
straight line, and are called parallel vices. Figure 2 shews a transverse
section of the same. a is the fixed chap of the vice. On the plate b, by
which the same is affixed to a bench or other surface, there are two dovetail
projections 6, one on each side of the plate. c is the moveable chap, the
plate of which embraces the dovetail guides or projections 6', and these parts
are well fitted together in order to offer great truth of movement. From the
sliding plate of the moveable chap c there descends a fixed screw nut which
enters between the open space formed between the plates 6 of the fixed chap;
in fact these parts are formed to work together similar to some slide rests of
lathes, and the improvement consists in applying the side guides b¹ for ensuring
correctness of movement to the moveable chap c, as will readily be understood
by examining the Drawings. Figure 3 shews a bench vice, and Figure 4 a
transverse section thereof, according to another construction, and consists in
making the moveable chap hollow, the under surface being flat, and moves on
the bar b', which is formed with the fixed chap, and, together with the leg, is
the means of affixing the vice to a bench or other surface. e is a pin or
male screw working through the fixed chap. f is a tube having a slit or slot
formed on the under side from end to end; this tube is fixed to two hollow
projections of the bar b', by means of screws, as shewn. 9 is a nut having a
female screw formed therein; this nut is cylindrical, and moves within the
tube f, and the nut is affixed to the moveable chap, all which will readily be
traced in the Drawing; and it will be evident that by thus using cylindrical
surfaces for the parts to move on, great facility will be offered in making the
parts accurately, and by such means a very strong and convenient vice may be
constructed. And although I prefer to make the improved vices just described
according to the first part of my Invention, I do not confine myself thereto.

page_text: And I would have it understood that what I claim as the Invention secured
by the present Letters Patent is,-
First, the mode of making the chaps and bodies or limbs of vices by casting
them of malleable cast iron, and submitting them to a process of annealing,
as above described. And I also claim the casting of the pins or male screws
of vices hollow, as above described.
Secondly, I claim the modes of applying steel faces or surfaces to the chaps
of vices, as above described. And,
Thirdly, I claim the mode of constructing the sliding chaps of vices by
applying dovetail guides, above described in respect to Figures 1 and 2. And
I also claim the mode of constructing vices by cylindrical tubes or surfaces for
sliding the chaps of vices, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Wilkes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty.