IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Carter, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Boat Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES."
Sealed the 28th August 1868, and dated the 14th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Carter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th March 1868.
I, JOHN CARTER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Boat
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES," to
be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations herein-
after described of the parts of machinery for the manufacture of nails
and spikes.
In machinery constructed according to my Invention the pointing
of the rod, the cutting off of the pointed rod, and the heading of the
cut off rod are by preference done in the same machine, but my
improvements in pointing may be applied to machines which effect

page_text: the pointing separately, that is, which point rods to be afterwards cut
off and headed in another machine. The pointing machinery.consists
of a roll between the periphery of which and an inclined travelling
tool the end of the heated rod is compressed to the required taper.
The periphery of the roll described is concentric with its axis. The
periphery of the roll and the said inclined tool work in a slot made
in a travelling bed, by which slot the lateral spreading of the metal
is prevented. The slot in the travelling bed may be made of greater
or less working width by the introduction of separate side packing
pieces. The roll performs a rotary motion and the inclined tool and
travelling bed a reciprocating rectilinear motion. The said bed and
tool are made to advance by the introduction of the heated rod between
the roll and the said tool. After the rod is pointed and withdrawn
from the pointing machinery the said bed and tool are returned by
a spring. After the rod has been pointed and is delivered back from
the pointing machinery it is passed through an opening in a fixed
cutter. A moveable cutter descending cuts off the pointed rod which
falls between the gripping tools. One of these tools is fixed and the
other moves with a lateral motion. Between these tools is a moveable
bottom on which the cut off pointed rod falls and on which it is
supported at the required height. The moveable gripping tool advancing
grips the rod between the said moveable and the fixed gripping tools.
The heading punch advances through the opening in the fixed cutter
at which the rod was introduced, and compressing the end of the rod
forms the head. On the moveable gripping tool receding the nail
or spike falls from the machine the moveable bottom by which the
rod was supported at the required height having descended while the
rod was gripped. The motion of the pointing roll is taken from the
driving shaft of the machine, and the motions of the other tools are
taken from cams on a second shaft geared to the driving shaft..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Carter in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CARTER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Boat Builder,
3
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Carter, Her special
licence that I, the said John Carter, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Carter, 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 Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Carter, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of ther hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, 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 Carter, 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:-
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations herein-
after described of the parts of machinery for the manufacture of nails
and spikes.
In machinery constructed according to my Invention the pointing of
the rod, the cutting off of the pointed rod, and the heading of the cut
off rod are by preference done in the same machine, but my improve.
ments in pointing may be applied to machines which effect the
pointing separately, that is, which point rods to be afterwards cut off
and headed in another machine. The pointing machinery consists of
a roll between the periphery of which and an inclined travelling tool
the end of the heated rod is compressed to the required taper. The
periphery of the roll described is concentric with its axis. The periphery
of the roll and the said inclined tool work in a slot made in a tra-.
velling bed, by which slot the lateral spreading of the metal is prevented...

page_text: The slot in the travelling bed may be made of greater or less working
width by the introduction of separate side packing pieces. The roll
performs a rotary motion and the inclined tool and travelling bed a
reciprocating rectilinear motion. The said bed and tool are made to
advance by the introduction of the heated rod between the roll and
the said tool. After the rod is pointed and withdrawn from the pointing
machinery the said bed and tool are returned by a spring. After
the rod has been pointed and is delivered back from the pointing
machinery it is passed through an opening in a fixed cutter. A move-
able cutter descending cuts off the pointed rod which falls between
the gripping tools. The moveable gripping tool advancing grips the
rod between the said moveable and the fixed gripping tools. The
cut off rod is then carried in front of a heading punch, which heading.
punch advances and compresses the end of the rod forms the head.
On the moveable gripping tool receding the nail or spike falls from
the machine. The motion of the pointing roll is taken from the
driving shaft of the machine, and the motions of the other tools are:
taken from cams on a second shaft geared to the driving shaft.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to.
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation a machine for the manufacture
of nails and spikes constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2.
is a plan of the same, the covering plate herein-after described being
removed; Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the
middle of the machine; and Figure 4 is also a longitudinal vertical
section taken through the heading punch; Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and
10 represent the principal tools of the machine of the full size. The
same letters and figures of reference are employed to indicate the same
parts in each Figure of the Drawing.
I will first describe that part of the machine by which the pointing.
of the rods is effected. a is the pointing roll fixed on the shaft; b, the
position of the said roll being adjusted by means of the adjusting.
screws c, the lower ends of which bear upon the brasses of the said:
shaft b. Working underneath the said roll a is a travelling tool box:
or bed d in which an inclined pointing tool e, e², e³, is carried. The.
construction of the said travelling tool box or bed and tool will be
best understood by referring to Figures 5, 6, and 7, Figure 5. representing.

page_text: a longitudinal vertical section of the said box or bed and tool, Figure 6
an end elevation, and Figure 7 a plan of the same. The tool box or
bed d consists of a metal trough to one side of which the plate e
is screwed, and to the inner face of the said plate e the acting face e
of the tool is screwed. The shape of the part e and its position
between the parts e, es, of the tool are best seen in Figures 5 and 6.
The opposite side of the trough to that at which the plate e is fixed is
cut away, and in the cut away part the other plate e of the pointing
tool is secured. The said plate or part e² is capable of turning on the
pin or centre e so as to increase the distance between it and the fixed
part e of the tool. The motion of the part e² is limited by a pin e³
passed into the bed d working in a slot indicated in dotted lines in
the said part e. The periphery of the roll a works in the slot formed
between the two parts e, e, of the pointing tool. When worn the
acting inclined part e³ of the tool may be removed and replaced by
a fresh one, or a larger or smaller one substituted' according to the
size of the nails or spikes to be made, or the slot between the tool
may be made of greater or less working width by the introduction of
separate side packing pieces. The roll a performs a rotatory motion
and the travelling bed da reciprocating rectilinear motion. The said
travelling bed works in a slot in the cross plate fixed to the
framing of the machine. The free and front end of the travelling
bed d is supported on a cam g on the shaft h under the roll shaft b,
and the said bed is supported laterally by the collars i, n, on the
shaft h. The advance motion of the bed d is effected by the friction
of the nail rod between it and the roll a, the said bed being raised
and pressed against the nail rod and roll by means of the cam g on
the shaft h. The return motion of the said bed is effected by the
spring ; the moveable part e of the pointing tool is closed and
supported in its place during the pointing operation by means of a
projection m on the collar n acting against the outer side of the said
part ; o is a stop against which the nail rod is fed, the said stop
being carried by the cross plate f. The heated nail rod p. to be pointed
is introduced into the inclined slot at the fore end of the pointing tool
and against the stop o. The easy introduction of the nail rod into the
slot of the pointing tool is permitted by the yielding of the moveable
part of the said tool and the position of the travelling bed with
respect to the roll a, that is to say, when the travelling bed is in the
position proper to receive the nail rod the rise of the cam g is withdrawn

page_text: from underneath the bed d, and the said bed is depressed from the roll a
by the action of the cam 2 on the collar k upon the said bed (see
Figure 4). The nail rod p having been fed into the slot of the travelling
tool in the bed the projection m of the collar n comes into operation and
keeps the moveable part 2 of the tool to its work, and the cam g also
comics into operation and raises the travelling bed and its tool towards
the roll a and makes the said roll enter the slot in the said tool (see
Figure 1). By the action of the roll a and travelling tool in the bed d
the end of the heated rod p is compressed between the periphery of the
roll and the inclined end of the tool and the required taper figure given
to the said rod, the lateral spreading of the metal during the tapering
of the rod being prevented by the sides of the slot in which the roll
works. As the rod is pointed it is delivered back to the workman. In
Figure 3 the rod p is represented in the position it occupies just before
the pointing operation is completed. After the pointing of the rod the
bed d falls by the action of the cam g and. projection, and the
projection m ceasing to act upon the part e² of the pointing tool the
The
pointed rod may be readily removed from the pointing tool.
travelling bed & being returned by the spring 1 to its original position
another nail rod is introduced into the tool in the bed d, and the
operations described are repeated. The distance between the two
collars i, n, between which the travelling bed works may be adjusted
by means of the set screw 2 acting on the collar n.
I will now describe the machinery by which the cutting off of the
pointed end of the rod and heading of the cut off lengths are effected.
The pointed rod marked p² in Figure 2 is taken from the pointing
machinery herein-before described, and passed through an opening q in
the framing of the machine and introduced between the fixed and
moveable cutters r, 8 (see Figure 3,) and also between the two dies t, t2,
the said dies being sufficiently open to receive the nail rod. One of
the dies is provided with a stop against which the end of the
rod p² is fed. On the die is a rest or support on which the nail
rod p is supported on being fed between the cutters and dies. This
rest works in a slot in the diet and engages together the two dies.
The diet is shown separately of the full size in front elevation in
Figure 8, and the two dies t, t2, in end elevation in Figures 9 and 10.
The dies t, t, have both a lateral or transverse motion, the diet being
forced towards the die 2 by the coiled springs to, t. The distance to

page_text: the moveable
the said rod
The moveable
which the diet can advance toward the die d2 is limited by means of
pins u, u, on the diet working in slots in a covering plate v (see
Figures 3 and 4). The covering plate is removed in Figure 2 for
the purpose of better exhibiting the working parts. By means of the
pins u, u, and slots in the covering plate v, the diet (when the two
dies t, t2, are in the positions represented in Figure 2) cannot completely
close upon the die d³, the said dies being open sufficiently to receive
the nail rod. The nail rod på having been fed into the dies t, t, the
die closes upon the diet and the nail rod is gripped between
them. This closing of the die 2 is effected by the transverse slide w
connected with the said die 2. The slide w is actuated by the cam x
on the end shaft y through the lever ³, longitudinal slide z, and link 1..
The slide and lever z2 are pressed against the cam x by the coiled
spring x².
The nail rod p2 being gripped at its shank (the pointed.
end being protected by the cut away part of the dies)
cutters descends and cuts off the required length of
between the said moveable cutter and the fixed cutter r.
cutter 8 is carried by a Z-shaped vertical slide 2 working on opposite
sides of the part 3 of the framing (see the plan Figure 2, and section
Figure 3). The advance motion of the cutters is effected by a cam
or projection 4 on the shaft y acting on the hooked shaped projection 5
on the slide 2. The return motion of the cutter s and slide 2 is
effected by a spring not shown in the Drawing. The cut off length
of rod gripped between the dies t, 2, is carried by the lateral or
transverse motion of the said dies in front of and in a line with the
heading punch 6 as represented in Figure 4 where the cut off length
of rod is marked 19. This lateral or transverse motion of the dies t, t³,
is effected by the continued action of the cam x upon the lever ²,
slide 2,
link 1, and slide w, and the latter upon the dies t, t. The cam
x is thus made double-acting, that is, its first action is to close the
die so as to grip the nail rod, and its next action is to advance the
two dies with the cut off length of rod between them in front of
the heading punch 6. By the advance of the heading punch 6 the
said punch enters the front end of the dies and compresses the end of
5 the rod into the countersink of the dies, and thereby forms the head
of the nail or spike. By an examination of Figure 8 it will be
seen that in addition to the countersink 7 in the dies in which
the head of the nail or spike is shaped, the said dies
provided in front of the said countersink with an opening 8 in
are

page_text: which the punch 6 accurately fits. By this means the metal is
prevented from spreading during the formation of the head of the
nail or spike, and the head so made is free from the burr or fraise
which the heads of machine made nails or spikes usually have. The
advance motion of the heading punch 6 is effected by the cam 10 on
the shaft y acting upon the lever 11, and the return motion of the
said punch is effected by the spring 12 connected to the free end of
the said lever (see Figure 4). On the retiring of the heading punch 6
the slide w and die t are withdrawn by the action of a spring (not
shown in the Drawing) when the finished nail or spike falls from
the dies. A knocker off may be employed to remove the nail or
spike should it stick in either of the dies. As the die 2 retires
with the slide w it is followed by the diet which is pressed up by
the springs, t, until the two dies assume nearly the position
represented in Figure 2 when the said dies are ready to receive
another pointed nail rod, and the machine is ready to perform the
operations already described. The diet, slides wo and are kept
in their proper relative positions by means of the wedge 13 (see
Figure 3).
The motions of the shafts h, y, and b are taken from the driving
shaft 14 in the following manner :-On the said shaft 14 is a pinion
15 which gears with a toothed wheel 16 on the shaft h, and the said
toothed wheel 16 gears with a toothed wheel 17 on the shaft y. On
the opposite end of the shaft h is a pinion 17ª which gears with
another pinion 18 on the shaft b, as will be understood by an
examination of the Drawing.
Although I have described and represented the mechanism for
pointing the rod, and that for cutting off the rod, and heading the
cut off lengths combined together in one machine, yet the mechanism
for pointing, cutting off, and heading may be used separately.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly. The improvements in machinery for pointing rods to be
made into nails or spikes herein-before described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, pointing the said rods by

page_text: means of a roll and an inclined travelling tool, the said roll and
travelling tool and parts connected therewith being constructed,
arranged, and operating substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements in machinery for cutting off lengths
of rods and heading the cut off lengths for the manufacture of nails
and spikes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, the combination or arrangement of the
moveable and fixed cutters and gripping and heading dies, and the
parts for operating the said moveable cutter and dies, substantially
as described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The improvements in the construction of the gripping and
heading dies used in machines for the manufacture of nails and
spikes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, making in front of the countersink in the
said dies in which the head is shaped an opening in which the
heading punch enters and accurately fits, thereby preventing the
spreading of the metal and the formation of burr or fraise on the
heads of the nails or spikes, substantially as described and represented.
Also making in the said dies a stop against which the rod bears
when fed between the dies, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Carter, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN CARTER. (L.S.)