CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS, PARTICULARLY THE SHARES APPLICABLE TO THE SAME AND TO OTHER PLOUGHS
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WEDLAKE, of Hornchurch, in the County of Essex, Agricultural Instrument
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Thomas Wedlake and Robert Wedlake, both of Hornchurch,
in the County of Essex, Agricultural Instrument Makers, did, by petition,
humbly represent unto His present most Excellent Majesty King William
the Fourth that we had invented "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS,
PARTICULARLY THE SHARES APPLICABLE TO THE SAME AND TO OTHER PLOUGHS," and
that we were the first and true Inventors thereof, and, therefore, we humbly
prayed His said Majesty to grant .us His Royal Letters Patent for the sole
use and benefit of the said Invention, whereupon His said Majesty, being
willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which may be for the
public good, was graciously pleased to issue His Royal Letters Patent, bearing
date at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of July, One thousand, eight hundred
and thirty-two, in the third year of His reign, by which Letters Patent his said
Majesty, for Himself, and for His. heirs and successors, did give and grant unto
, the said Thomas and Robert Wedlake, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and
every of them, by ourselves or themselves, or by our or their deputy or deputies,
servants or agents, or such others as we; the said Thomas and Robert Wedlake,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with
(and no others), from time to time and at all times hereafter during the term
of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent, shall and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend our said Invention within that part of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His
Majesty's Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, so as to
us,

page_text: enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage arising by reason of
the said Invention, and by which Letters Patent His said Majesty requires
and strictly commands all His subjects whatsoever, that they do not make,
use, or put in practice the said Invention, or any part of the same, nor in
anywise counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same; and whereas the said
Letters Patent contain a proviso, obliging us, the said Thomas and Robert
Wedlake, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (reference being there-
unto had) will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Wedlake, for myself, and for the said Robert Wedlake, do hereby
declare that the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, is described and ascertained in manner following
(that is to say):
The Drawing hereunto annexed represents a complete plough with our
said improvements embodied therein, and the following is the description of
the several parts or pieces whereof the same is composed, and at the conclusion
of this Specification I shall set forth what particular parts we claim as our
said Invention. 1 is called the sole or the ground slade or chip; it is made
of cast iron, and is flat at the bottom, which is the lowest part of the
whole plough, and slides along the ground at the bottom of the trench or
furrow which the plough cuts. 2 is the ground pad, fixed at the front end.of
the ground slade 1, with the under side of the pad 2 conforming with the
flat bottom of the ground slade. The ground pad 2 protects the spit or under
part of the body of the plough from wearing. 3 is the frame or plough body
of cast iron nearly flat. on the upright or land side. The ground slade 1 fits
to the bottom part or spit of the frame or body, and is fastened thereto by
two screw bolts with heads beneath, which are countersunk flush with the
flat under surface of the ground slade 1, and nuts are screwed on their upper
ends. The ground pad 2 is also fastened to the under side of the spit of the
plough body 3 at the fore end of the ground slade 1, the ground pad 2 being
held by a tang or part which projects out behind it, and is received into a
suitable recess in the under side of the spit of the plough body, so. as to be
confined and retained therein by the ground slade 1 when the same is fastened
in its place by its two screw bolts as aforesaid. A tail projects out behind the

page_text: frame or plough body 3 to fasten the handle irons 35, 36, and at the upper
part of the foremost end of the plough body 3 there is a recess, into which
the box .15 is fastened, and a cavity to receive an adjusting screw spindle
17, and sliding nut 16, by which the elevation of the beam can be altered at
pleasure in order to regulate the draft of the plough, as herein-after men-
tioned. At the front bottom end of the frame or body of the plough 3, on the
land side thereof, the lever 7 is applied with the piece 8, called its lever guard,
and the lever 7 is united to the upright side of the frame or body 3 by a
bolt at, a, which passes through the rounding part of the lever 7, and- is
fixed fast unto the frame 3 by a cross key through the end. The bolt has a
countersunk head on the land side of the lever 7, and it serves as a centre
of motion to the lever when the upper and hinder end of the lever 7 is jambed
by driving a wedge 22 behind it, in order that the lower, end of the lever
guard 8 may hold fast the share by holding the cray or sock 4 of the share
(to which the share is affixed as herein-after mentioned, a part of that cray
or sock being inserted and held between the upper side of the spit at the
bottom of the plough body 3, and the underside of the lever guard 8. 4 is
the cray or sock, of the share, and 5 the blade, wing, or front of the share,
which is united to the cray or sock, as shewn at Figure A, and the two
together forming the share of the plough, as shewn at Figure A. 7 is-the
lever, and 8 its lever guard, which is affixed to the lower end of the lever, 7,
.in front thereof, as drawn at Figure B. One of the flat sides of the lever 7
is applied flat against the land side of the frame or body 3, and the centre
bolt a, before mentioned, unites them together like a joint pin, and then
the lever 7, with its guard 8, being in their proper places, the flat outside
of the lever 7 forms part of the land side of the plough, but the furrow side
of the guard 8 corresponds with the mould plate forming the breast.or
foremost part thereof. The lever wedge: key 22 is inserted between the
hindmost side of the upper end of the lever 7, and a solid rest which projects
out from the body 3 on the land side thereof. The lever wedge 22, by forcing
the upper and hinder end of the lever 7 forwards, forces the front and lower
end of the lever guard 8 (which is fastened to the lever 7) down towards
the foremost end of the spit or bottom part of the body 3, so as to bite and
hold the sock or cray 4 of the share fast between the two, and firmly down
on the spit, when the wedge key 22 is driven tight in; but when the lever
wedge key 22 is withdrawn it lets the lever 7 and its guard 8 loose, and
then the sock and share can be removed, in order to put another in its place.
The hinder part of the cray or sock 4, which is inserted into the space
between the spit or bottom part of the body 3 and the lever guard 8,.is

page_text: formed to interlock within that space so that it cannot be withdrawn or
get loose from between the spit and the guard 8 when the lever 7, with its
guard 8, are fastened by driving in the lever wedge key 22: The blade;
wing, or point of the share 5 is formed with a suitable' socket or cavity in
it at the hindmost end, and at the under side, to receive a corresponding
prominence on the foremost end of the cray or sock 4, which prominence,
when inserted into the said socket or cavity, interlocks closely therein, so
that the cray or sock 4 and the blade 5 unite firmly together, as shewn
in Figure A, and they are retained from being separated, by a short round
pin 10, which is inserted in the whole G, and through the interlocking
parts of both the cray 4 and the blade-5, so as to pass through both, as shewn
at G and 10, Figure A. 12 is the breast plate or mould plate, which is
fastened to the frame or body 3 by means of a bolt 6 at the foremost end and
lower part, and is secured at the hindmost end and upper part by the sliding
stay 13, 14, which is composed of two pieces; one piece 14, called the breast
slide, being fixed to the mould plate 12 by two screws c, c, and the other
piece 13, which is called the way frame, being fixed to the projecting tail
of the frame or plough body 3 by two other screws d, e. The said two
pärts 13, 14, overlap and fit into each other, and are fastened together
by a screw bolt whereby the hinder end of the mould plate 12 can be
.set farther out or nearer in or from the land side of the plough: The
beam of the plough is united to the frame or body 3 by two bridle irons 20
and 21, which are applied one at each side of the hinder end of the wood beam,
.and firmly united thereto by screw bolts k, l. The bridle irons 20, 21, pass
on each side of the upper part of the body 3, and are united thereto by a bolt
h inserted through all the three at the hinder and lowermost end of the
bridles 20 and 21. The beam is retained in a proper position, in respect to
the body 3, by a screw slide or sliding nut 16, the ends of which are formed
into round or square pins i, i, and those ends are received into holes through
the bridles 20, 21, at i, i. The same pins i, i, of the sliding' nut 16; pass
through two upright slits or oblong holes, whereof one m is formed in the
upper part of the frame or body 3, and the other slit o is formed in á box 15;
which is fixed to the frame 3 at the side thereof by two screws ât n, n, so as to
leave a cavity between the two in which the sliding nut 16 can move up and
down by means of an adjusting screw spindle 17, which spindle is fitted into
the box 15, and the slide 16 is tapped for the screw spindle 17. to pass
through it, so that by turning the screw spindle 17 round in one direction by
means of a wrench 23 applied to a square on the upper end of the screw
spindle 17, the screw slide 16 will be elevated in respect to the frame or body 3,

page_text: and consequently the foremost end of the beam will be raised-so as to elevate
the point of traction whereby the plough is drawn; the hinder and lowermost
end of the bridles 20, 21, moving about the bolt h; by which they are-united-to
the body 3' as a centre of motion. And in order to make the beam quite fast
at any elevation to which it may have been placed (by turning the said
adjusting screw spindle 17), a wedging plate 18 is applied against the front-of
the upper part of the frame or body 3, and the front edge of the box-1.5 in the
space between the two iron bridles 20, 21, and a wedge key 19 is inserted
transversely through two holes p, p, which are cut in the two iron bridles
20, 21, so that the wedge key 19 will bear against the middle part or groove
of the wedging plate 18 at 9, and therefore, by driving, in that wedge key 19,
the wedging plate 18 is jambed forcibly against the före end of the frame or
body 3 and of the box 15, and makes the bridles 20,21, and the plough beam,
very fast to the frame or body 3. When it is required to adjust the elevation
of the plough beam, the said wedge key 19 must be driven back so much as to
loosen it, and, then the wrench 23 being applied to the square of the adjusting
screw spindle 17 to turn it round, will enable the position of the beam to be
regulated so as to set the point of traction at its fore end higher or lower with
great precision, which being done, the wedge key 19 may be driven in tight,.
which will make the beam quite fast.Note. The front end of the box 15,
and of the frame or plough body 3, at the upper part where the wedging plate
18 applies to it, is formed to a circular curvature about the connecting,bolt h,
whereby the bridles 20, 21, are united to the frame or body 3 as their centre
of curvature. 29 represents a 'beam made wholly of iron, and which may be
substituted for the wood beam if desired. The shape of the hinder part of the
iron beam 29 is exactly the same as that of the bridles 20, 21, before
described, and it is fixed to the frame or body 3 in the manner above
described. 30 are the handles made with an iron stock, called handle irons,
35, 36, to fix to the before-mentioned tail of the frame or plough body, 3 by
the screw bolt-l; which also fastens the way frame 13 before mentioned.. To
secure the mould plate.12 to the body or frame 3, the ends of the handle irons
35, 36, which extend 'backwards, are fitted to the wooden handles and, are
sereived or bolted thereto, and a prong or arms proceeds forwards from the
liandle iron 35; and the extreme end of the arm s applies flat against the
furrow side of the frame or body 3 at r; and is fastened to the body 3 by a
screw bolt which passes through a slot r in the end of the said arms, in order.
that the handles 30 may be set and fastened at any elevation suitable for the
person who is to hold the plough.
:
Having now described the complete, plough; with our improvements
embodied therein, I, the said Thomas Wedlake, for myself, and for the said

page_text: Robert Wedlake, do hereby declare, that what we claim as our improvements
in ploughs is the mode hércin-before described, of applying and adjusting
screw spindle 17 in the frame or body 3 and box 15, in order to regulate the
position of the beam of the plough, and consequently the draft of the plough,
the beam having two bridle irons 20, 21, to go at each side of the body or
frame 3, and be fastened thereto by a bolt has a centre of motion, and a
*wedging plate 18 and wedge key 19 as herein-before described, to secure those
fastenings and take off the stress from the screw spindle 17.
And particularly respecting the share applicable to the plough con-
taining our aforesaid improvements, we claim the mode herein-before
described of making the cutting part of the share, which is called the blade,
wing, or point, and which is marked 5, in a distinct piece of cast metal
from the part called ne cray or stock 4 of the share, and by which part the
share 4, 5, is held in its place and affixed to the plough, the two pieces 4, 5,
being formed so as to put together by an interlocking junction, and secured
from separating by one pin 10, as before described; but if that pin 10
is knocked out, the blade, wing, or point 5 may be taken off from the cray or
sock 4; if the blade, wing, or point is broken or worn away, and a new one. may
be put on 'in its place on the cray or sock 4 by the ploughman with the
greatest ease, and secured by driving in the pin 10 without removing the cray
or sock 4 from the plough. The blade, wing, or point 5 may be made of steel
or wrought iron, or of cast iron, the cutting edge thereof, in case cast iron be
-used, being chilled in casting to render the metal case-hardened, that is to say: -
A piece of cast metal is inserted into the sand of the mould at that part, in
order that the melted metal may come in contact with the metal surface, and
may be more suddenly cooled and chilled so as to render it hard. The cavity
in the blade, wing, or point which is to receive the interlocking part of the cray
or sock 4 being also formed by inlaying a piece of cast metal of the true
intended shape within the sand of the mould, wherein the blade, wing, or point
5 is to be cast, wherefore the cavity will be certain to be of the required shape,
so as to fit exactly to the interlocking part of the cray or sock, and any
number of new blades, wings, or points 5, which are made in succession, can be
made to fit to the original cray or sock 4, either in order to apply a blade,
wing, or point of a different shape, as shown in Figure R, to adapt the plough
for ploughing different soils, or else to apply a new blade, wing, or point to the
original one when the other is worn out.
And respecting the application of our said improvements in shares to other
shares, the same is represented at Figures 24, 25, and 26, which are different
crays or socks suitable for different kinds of ploughs; 24, 25, being viewed
from 'the underside, and 26 being viewed from the upper side. They are all

page_text: made with an interlocking part, properly formed, to fit into à corresponding
cavity in the blade, wing, or share, so as to hold fast therein by the aid of one
pin in the manner herein-before described; the two parts, when put together
as shewn at 27 and 28, being in form like the share usually employed; but by
our mode of making the blade, wing, or point thereof in a different piece from
the cray or sock, a new blade, wing, or point can be put on when required,
without changing the cray or sock. And note,-if it is desired to have a
steeled cutting edge to the blade, wing, or point, it may be done by forming
the cast metal blade with a rebate along its border to receive the steeled edged,
which may be fastened on by rivetted pins, or by allowing the melted iron to
flow through the rivet holes.
And the other parts of the complete plough represented in the Drawings,
and herein-before described, we do not claim, as the same have been used by
others, and particularly the lever 7 and its lever guard 8, with its wedge key 22,
and the centre bolt, whereby the cray or sock 4 is fastened in its place in the
manner herein-before described; the same having been heretofore invented
by Thomas Wedlake aforesaid, and for which improvements a Patent was
granted to him by His Majesty King George the Third, dated the Fifth
day of July, in the fifty-seventh year of His reign, and in the year One
thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wedlake, for myself, and for
the said Robert Wedlake, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this.
Eighteenth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and