NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BAYONETS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Brown, of Smethwick, in the County of
Stafford, Machinist, and Jeremiah Brown, of Kingswinford, in the
County of Stafford, Machinist, for the Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Brown and Jeremiah:
Brown at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,.
on the 17th August 1855.
We, DAVID BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Machinist,
and JEREMIAH BROWN, of Kingswinford, in the County of Stafford, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BAYONETS" to be as follows:-
Our said Invention consists of rolling machinery constructed and used in the
following manner :-We construct a pair of rolls of such a form, that when the
said rolls are mounted the space between them in the plane in which their
axes are situated roughly resembles the blade, unbent shank, and upset of a
bayonet. The upper roll is counterbalanced so as to be raised from the lower
roll when not pressed thereupon. The two rolls revolve in the same direction,
and their opposed faces consequently move in opposite directions. The surfaces
of the said. rolls are not concentric with their axes, the radius of each roll
passing by uniform increments in equal spaces or nearly so from a minimum
to a maximum. As the rolls revolve the space between them gradually

page_text: A
diminishes from the commencement to the termination of each revolution.
piece of steel of a suitable size and properly heated is introduced between the
rolls when the space between them is at a maximum, the said piece of steel
being introduced at the ends of the rolls, and in a line parallel with the axes
of the rolls. The said piece of steel is subjected to a rolling action on its own
axis, and is formed into a roughly-shaped unbent bayonet, having a conical
blade. The piece of steel is prevented from falling from between the rolls by
means of stops or guards on each, side. of it. When the rolls have made one
revolution the upper roll.may be. brought lower-by-self-acting mechanism, and
the piece of steel further reduced by the second revolution of the rolls. The
triangular form may be given to the blade by hammering or stamping, but we
prefer to heat the steel afresh and pass it between three rolls, the peripheries
of which are presented to each other, and so formed that a triangular space is
left between them at their common junction, which said triangular space
diminishes in size during the revolution of the rolls, owing to the excentricity
of those portions of the peripheries enclosing the said space. The workman
stands on that side of the rolls on which the opposed surfaces of the rolls are
moving towards him, and he introduces the heated piece of steel between the
said rolls when they are in such a position that portions cut away from the
peripheries permit the steel to be passed between the rolls. By the revolution
of the rolls, the heated steel is seized by them, made triangular, and delivered
to the workman. We sometimes give the triangular figure to the blade, or
perfect it, when given by the last-described method, by putting the blade
between a. pair of properly shaped hard steel dies, and passing the whole
between a pair of plain rolls.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Brown and Jeremiah Brown in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Machinist, and JEREMIAH
BROWN, of Kingswinford, in the County of Stafford, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said David Brown and Jeremiah Brown, Her special licence that we, the

page_text: said David Brown and Jeremiah Brown, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said David Brown and Jeremiah Brown,
our 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 "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF BAYONETS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said David Brown and Jeremiah Brown, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 David Brown, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
Our said Invention consists of rolling machinery for the manufacture of
bayonets, constructed in the manner. herein described, and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing.
Figure 1 represents, in side elevation, and Figure 2, in end elevation, a pair
of rolls constructed according to our Invention for the manufacture of bayonets.
The said rolls a, b, are of the same form, and have the sectional figure repre-
sented by their outline. The space between the said rolls, marked c in
Figure 1, resembles generally the outline of the blade, unbent shank, and
upset of a bayonet. The upper roll a is counterbalanced, so as to be raised
from the lower roll 6 when not pressed thereupon by the screws d. The said
counterbalancing is effected by a lever e, Figure 2, turning upon a centre f;
the link g connects the lever e with the lever h, and a weight on the said lever
h counterbalances the roll a.. The rolls a, b, turn in the same direction, and
their opposed faces consequently move in opposite directions. The surfaces of
the said rolls are not concentric with their axes, the radius of each roll passing
by uniform increments in equal angular spaces or nearly so from a minimum
to a maximum. As the rolls revolve. the space between them gradually
diminishes from the commencement to the termination of each revolution. A
bar of steel i, of suitable size and heated to the proper temperature, is introduced
between the rolls a, b, when the space between them is. of a maximum width,

page_text: the said bar of steel being introduced at the ends of the rolls, and in a line
parallel with the axes of the rolls. By the action of the said rolls the said bar
of steel is subjected to a rolling action upon its own axis, and is formed into a
roughly shaped unbent bayonet, having a conical blade. The bar of steel i is
prevented from falling from between the rolls a, b, by means of stops or guards
k, l, on each side of it. When the rolls have made one revolution, the upper
roll may
be lowered by means of the screws d, d, which said screws may be
geared together and operated upon by hand, or by self-acting mechanism geared
to the rolls a, b; but as we do not confine ourselves to any particular mechanism
for the purpose of acting on the screws d, d, we do not think it necessary to
represent and describe the contrivances which may be used for that purpose,
many of which are well known and commonly used. Before introducing the
bar of steel between the rolls, Figures 1 and 2, we sometimes give to the said
bar a taper figure by means of a pair of rolls, similar to those used in the
manufacture of gun barrels. A triangular figure may be given to the blade of
the partially formed bayonet produced by the rolls, Figures 1 and 2, by
hammering or stamping; but we prefer to heat the steel afresh, and operate
upon it by means of the series of rolls represented in Figure 3. The machine,
Figure 8, consists of three rolls m, n, o, the peripheries of which are presented
to each other, and so formed that a triangular space p is left between them at
their common junction, which said triangular space diminishes in size during
the revolution of the rolls, owing to the eccentricity of those portions of the
peripheries enclosing the said space. The workman stands on that side of the
rolls on which the opposed surfaces of the said rolls are moving towards him,
and he introduces the partially formed bayonet between the said rolls when
they are in such a position that the portion 9 cut away from one of the rolls
permits the bayonet to be passed between the said rolls. By the revolution of
the rolls, the partially formed bayonet is seized by the said rolls, made triangular,
and delivered to the workman. We sometimes give the triangular figure to
the blade of the partially formed bayonet by putting the said blade between a
pair of properly shaped hard steel dies, and passing the whole between a pair
of plain rolls, and we also sometimes finish the bayonet blade which has been
made triangular by the rolls, Figure 3, by means of the last described dies.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the precise details herein described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of our said Invention; but we claim as our
Invention,-
Firstly, the new or improved machinery herein described, and illustrated in

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawing, to be used in the manufacture
of bayonets; that is to say, a pair of rolls between which the bar of steel to be
formed into a bayonet is subjected to a rolling action, the axis of the said bar of
steel being parallel to the axes of the rolls, the said rolls having such a sectional
figure as is suited to give the said bar of steel a figure roughly resembling the
blade, unbent shank, and upset of a bayonet, the surfaces of the said rolls
being excentric to their axes, as described.
Secondly, the machinery herein-before described, and illustrated in Figure 3
of the accompanying Drawing, to be used for the manufacture of bayonets;
that is to say, a combination of three rolls, the opposed peripheries of which
are of a figure suitable for giving a tapering triangular form to the blade of a
partially formed bayonet introduced between them, as herein described.
Thirdly, giving or perfecting a triangular form to bayonet blades by means
of a pair of dies in which the partially formed bayonet blade is put, which said
dies with the contained bayonet blade are subjected to pressure between a
pair of plain rolls, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
DAVID BROWN. (L.S.)