IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE OR METAL NETTING, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Reynolds, junior, of 57, New Compton Street,
Soho, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE OR METAL NETTING, AND IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 28th August 1860, and dated the 16th March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Reynolds at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
March 1860.
I, JOHN REYNOLDS, junior, of 57, New Compton Street, Soho, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE OR METAL NETTING, AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of wire
or metal netting, and in machinery employed therein. Heretofore in the
manufacture of twisted wire netting it has been usual to twist together by
hand the wires employed at the points where they cross and pass around
one another. Now, according to this Invention, I prepare wire for the manu-
facture of netting of this description by first bending the wire at intervals,
viz, at the points where the crossings will fall when the wire is made up into
netting; and I make these bands of such a form that the wires when crossed

page_text: have the same appearance, and are as firmly held together as when the wires
are bent in the act of passing them one round the other, as heretofore. This
method of manufacturing twisted wire netting enables me to use hard wire in
the manufacture, and so I produce a stiffer net than that which is made in the
manner heretofore practised, as when twisted wire netting is so made annealed
wire is necessarily employed.
The machinery I employ for preparing the wire consists of a pair of rollers
or instruments, which feed the wire forward at intervals over a bed in which
a hole is formed, and the wire is bent by a wedge which descends at intervals,
and forcing the wire against suitable stops gives to it two nearly right-angled
bends, thus,
A slight curve downwards is afterwards given to the
short length between the two angle bends by a projection on the side of the
descending wedge, forcing the wire down into a hollow in the bed. The
arrangement of the mechanical parts of this machine may be varied, so long
as the principle of its action is maintained, which consists in giving to the wire
each time as it is fed forward at intervals two nearly right angle bends, by an
instrument forcing it against suitable stops, and subsequently giving a curve
to the portion between the two bends by an instrument caused to press on the
wire at this point. In place of wire metal rods may be employed in the
manufacture of netting of large size.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Reynolds in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
REYNOLDS, junior, of 57, New Compton Street, Soho, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Reynolds, Her special licence that I, the said John Reynolds, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Reynolds, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF WIRE OR METAL NETTING, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Reynolds, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Reynolds, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say :-
t
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of wire.
or metal netting, and in machinery employed therein. Heretofore in the
manufacture of twisted wire netting, it has been usual to twist together by
hand the wires employed at the points where they cross and pass round one.
another. Now, according to this Invention, I prepare wire for the manu-
facture of netting of this description, by first bending the wire at intervals;
viz., at the points where the crossings will fall when the wire is made up into.
netting; and I make these bends of such a form that the wires when crossed
have the same appearance and are as firmly held together as when the wires
are bent in the act of passing them one round the other, as heretofore. This
method of manufacturing twisted wire netting enables me to use hard wire in
the manufacture, and so I produce a stiffer net than that which is made in the
manner heretofore practised, as when twisted wire netting is so made annealed
wire is necessarily employed.
The machinery I employ for preparing the wire consists of a pair of rollers
or instruments, which feed the wire forward at intervals over a bed in which
a hole is formed, and the wire is bent by a wedge, which descends at intervals,
and forcing the wire against suitable stops gives to it two nearly right-angled
bends, thus,
A slight curve downwards is afterwards given to
the short length between the two angle bends by a projection on the side of
the descending wedge, forcing the wire down into a hollow in the bed. The
arrangement of the mechanical parts of this machine may be varied, so long as
the principle of its action is maintained, which consists in giving to the wire
each time it is fed forward at intervals two nearly right angle bends by an
instrument forcing it against suitable stops, and subsequently giving a curve
to the portion between the two bends by an instrument caused to press on the

page_text: wire at this point. In place of wire metal rods may be employed in the
manufacture of netting of large size.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine arranged in a suitable manner
for bending wire when carrying out my Invention; Figures 2 and 3 are end
elevations thereof; and Figure 4 is a plan of the machine; Figures 5, 6,
and 7 show different views of the dies or bending apparatus separately;
Figure 8 shows a piece of wire bent into the peculiar form requisite for
carrying out my Invention. In Figure 8, it will be seen that the wire is bent
at intervals into steps, the distance from bend to bend representing one side of
the mesh of the wire netting, into which several of such bended wires are to
be made. In addition to bending the wire into steps, as shown, the short
bends at a (where the intersections or crossings of the wires take place when
they are combined into a net), are each bent concave on one side and convex
on the other, so that in fact a length of wire when bent out of the straight
Jine into the step-like form shown at Figure 8, represents, as near as may be,
one of two pieces of wire which have been twisted together, hence, when a
number of these wires are brought together and combined they will at each of
the crossings or intersections bend round each other, as is shown at Figure 9,
where two of such bent wires b and c are combined or placed around each other,
forming an intersection or crossing as if the two had been brought together
when straight, and then twisted or bent round each other, as heretofore. The
peculiarity of this part of my Invention consists in bending each wire into the
peculiar form and at the precise distances apart (according to the size of
meshes) before bringing the wires together, and this is very important, as such
preparatory bending is done by machinery. This process of bending is per-
formed very quickly, and at comparatively small cost, resulting in far greater
exactness than when wires are brought together when straight, and twisted:
together into meshes by hand. The arrangement of machinery for bending
and shaping the lengths of wire into the form shown at Figures 8 and 9 may
be varied. And I would state that although I prefer to use both sets of wires
b and c, bent into the forms shown, yet I find that the process of making
twisted wire netting is greatly facilitated by having one set (say b) bent, as:
shown, and then to employ therewith straight wires for the other set, and to
bend such other set around the wires b at the points of their bends, by so doing
the accurate bending of the one set of wires greatly facilitates the workman in-

page_text: getting truth or evenness of manufacture; but in this as in the old manu-
facture, the use of annealed or soft wire is required. I prefer, in all cases,
that both sets of wires should be bent into the forms shown in Figures 8
and 9. is the main or driving shaft of the machine, which may be put in
motion by hand or by power. The shaft or axis d gives motion at intervals to
the feed rollers e and f, fixed on the shafts g, h, which are geared together
by the toothed wheel i, i. The feed rollers are put into motion, and at each
motion they are caused to move forward a length equal to that required for
one side of a mesh of the netting, together with the requisite bend a. The
length of wire, which is moved in at each motion of the feed rollers, is regu-
lated in the following manner :-On the shaft or axis d is an excentric, which
by a rod j gives motion to a slotted arm k, which moves freely on the axis of
one of the feed rollers, on which axis a ratchet wheel is fixed, into the teeth of
which wheel a driver m takes each time the slotted arm k is depressed, and
according to the position at which the lower end of the rod j is attached to the
slotted arm k so will be the quantity of wire fed in. The shaft or axis d has
a crank n at its outer end, which by a connecting rod o gives motion to a
slide P, which is guided in dovetail guides q. At the lower end of the slide p
is fixed the die or tool r, the form of which is clearly shown in the Drawing;
this die or tool in descending pushes back the spring bolts, which has at all
times a tendency to remain across the opening into which the tool r descends.
The face of this tool is plain and at right angles to the wire; the other face
2 is inclined to the wire. The wire in its passage into the machine passes
under the plate t, then over the spring bolt s near its end, then over the plat-
form u, and then through the tube w, which is flat at the top side, and is
capable of being set a little inclined in its bearing. The descent of the tool r
presses the spring bolt back and bends the wire, which resting on the end of
the bolt is prevented descending with the tool r; then when the tool has
nearly completed its downward motion the projection ³, which is convex on
its under side or edge presses on the bended part of the wire and depresses it
into the groove, and produces the concave form required at that part. The
tool then ascends, a further quantity of wire is fed in, and the groove in the
bolt s and in the platform is for receiving and guiding the bent part a of the
wire as a fresh quantity of wire is fed in, which fresh quantity, till it is acted
on by the tool r, rests on the edge of the groove in the spring bolt and in the
platform.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to
any of the mechanical parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the precise

page_text: details herein described; but what I claim is the bending of wire into the
forms above described before making the same up into twisted netting.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Reynolds, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN REYNOLDS, JR. (L.S.)