IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOLS OR APPARATUS FOR GRASPING AND HOLDING NUTS, BITS, AND OTHER OBJECTS TO BE OPERATED WITH OR UPON." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1878

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Goodrich, of Henry, in the County of Marshall,
and State of Illinois, one of the United States of America, Boat Builder, for
the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOLS OR APPARATUS FOR GRASPING
AND HOLDING NUTS, BITS, AND OTHER OBJECTS TO BE OPERATED WITH OR
UPON."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Goodrich at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th December 1878.
JOSEPH GOODRICH, of Henry, in the County of Marshall, and State of Illinois,
one of the United States of America, Boat Builder. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOLS OR
APPARATUS FOR GRASPING AND HOLDING NUTS, BITS, AND OTHER OBJECTS TO BE
OPERATED WITH OR UPON."
My Invention relates to a device or mechanism for clamping upon pieces to be
held fast while being operated upon, and upon nuts while being screwed on or
off, and upon tools, such as bits, drills, and screw-drivers, while they are being
used.
It may be provided with flanges or lugs whereby it is attached to a bench, or with
a handle so as to be used as a pin vice for small light work, or be attached to a bit-
brace for holding bits or drills.
The Invention consists essentially of a shank or central stem having two jaws,
one on either side of it, arranged to be moved to and from the shank simultaneously
by means of right and left. screws, both mounted in the shank, one arranged to pass
through the shoulders of the jaws, and the other through the tails.
Each screw consists of a round rod with a right hand screw on one end and left
hand screw on the other. A portion of the centre between these screws is left
smooth to turn in a bearing in the shank, but is provided with a circumferential
groove to receive a screw or pin in the shank, whereby the screw is prevented from
Unis C1

page_text: moving end wise but allowed to rotate freely. Collars or other suitable devices may
be substituted for the above mentioned device.
The screws by preference pass loosely through holes in the jaws, one hole just
below the head of the jaw and one at the tail or extremity of the same.
Nuts which fit the screws are loosely fitted or swivelled in recesses in the jaws
at the points where the screws pass through. These are prevented from escaping
from their recesses by pins or any suitable means.
This swivelling of the nuts permits the jaws to vibrate on the screws and to stand
out of parallel with each other and with the shank.
On one end of each screw is fixed a crank, milled head, or other device by which
they may be revolved.
When both screws are rotated simultaneously both jaws will recede from or
approach the central shank, preserving their parallelism therewith provided they
were parallel at starting. When far enough apart for their faces to embrace the
object to be clamped or held, it is inserted and they are closed thereon by a slight
turn of the screw nearest their heads. Then the tail screw is turned so as to cause
the tails of the jaws to separate, which brings the heads together with great force on
the object clamped, the upper screw serving as a fulcrum for the leverage.
The greater the disparity between the lengths of the head and tail of the jaw,
measuring from the screw nearest the head, the greater will be the leverage.
The leads meet, or may meet, over the top of the shank, and they may be notched
on the face to receive the corners of a nut, or the shank of a bit or drill.
In the case of adapting my Invention as a tap-wrench or bit-holder, to keep the
jaws steady in their movements to and from the shank, I prefer to arrange them to
play between suitable cross-guides secured to or forming a part of the shank.
These guides will hardly be required however in small vices.
This instrument or tool is adapted to grasping conical or pyramidal objects of all
kinds without altering its faces by adjusting the screws so as to throw the jaws out
of their parallelism with respect to each other.
·SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph Goodrich in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th June
1879.
JOSEPH GOODRICH, of Henry, in the County of Marshall, and State of Illinois,
one of the United States of America, Boat Builder. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOLS OR
APPARATUS FOR GRASPING AND HOLDING NUTS, BITS, AND OTHER OBJECTS TO BE
OPERATED WITH OR UPON."
My Invention relates to a tool which may be adapted for holding articles fast
while being operated upon, also for holding nuts or screws while they are being
driven or drawn, and for holding bits, drills, or other tools while being operated

page_text: with. It consists in its essential features of a centrally arranged body or shank
having two grasping or clamping jaws arranged one upon each side of it, which are
adapted to be moved to and from the shank simultaneously by means of right and
left hand screws. These screws enable the jaws to be set parallel with each other
or so that they diverge or converge with respect to each other as desired.
In the Drawings which serve to illustrate my Invention, Figure 1 is a sido
elevation of the tool with one of the jaws partly in section; Figure 2 is a plan of
the same; Figure 3 is an elevation of one of the jaws; Figure 4 is an elevation of
the shank. The views in Figures 3 and 4 are taken at right angles to that in
Figure 1; Figure 5 is a side elevation of a vice provided with my improve-
ments.
With reference to the first four Figures of the Drawing A is a centrally arranged
shank, shown as provided with a socket B to fit the bar of a bit brace; C, C', are
screws which have bearings in the shank A and rotate freely therein. These screws
are or may be alike, and one description will serve for both. A cylindrical rod is
arranged to fit smoothly in a hole in the shank and is provided by preference with
a circumferential groove at its middle. A screw or pin a passes through or into the
shank at the proper point to engage the groove in the rod, and prevent the latter
from moving endwise while it is permitted to rotate freely. This arrangement for
stopping the endwise movement of the rod is preferred, but any other suitable
means may be employed. Each end of the rod is screw threaded, one with a right
and the other with a left hand thread, so called. In some cases a square thread
may be employed, and in others a V thread. These screws C, C¹, are arranged in
the shank substantially as represented, that is to say, one at the upper end and one
at the lower end, but their location in the shank will depend upon the general con-
struction and adaptation of the tool.
D, D, are the clamping jaws of the tool. These are, or may be, made alike in all
essential respects, and the description of one will serve for both. Each jaw has a
head b, a shoulder c, and a tail d. The head has a face or faces e to impinge
against the object to be grasped, and the shoulder and tail are perforated for the
passage of the screws C, C¹. In each jaw recesses are provided at the points where
the screws pass through them to receive nuts f, f, which are screw-threaded to fit
the screws C, C'. These nuts should fit rather loosely into the recesses, and
may be held in place by any suitable means. That shown in Figures and 3
consists of lips g, g, formed on the jaw and bent down over the nut after it is
inserted. These nuts may however be swivelled or hung on lugs, as shown in
Figure 5.
The jaws are arranged on opposite sides of the shank, as shown in Figure 1,
with their faces opposed, and preferably arranged to meet or nearly meet over
the top of the shank. Each jaw may have two or more faces arranged in different
planes, one adapted to grasp larger articles than the other if desired, and such
construction will be of especial advantage when the same tool is required to serve
both as a wrench or vise, and as a drill holder, as the rough usage to which a
wrench is subjected might unfit its faces to grasp a delicate drill or bit. To enable
the faces to grasp more readily and firmly the angles of a nut or tap, or the
shank of a drill, I prefer to form an angular channel in each, as at h, so situated
that when the jaws are closed these channels will coincide.
Each of the screws C, C¹, is provided with a milled head or a crank i whereby
it is rotated. Or in lieu of these devices other means may be employed to rotate
the screws.
The operation of my improved tool is as follows:-The jaws are caused to recede
from the shank by turning both of the screws until they are wide enough apart to
receive the object to be grasped between their faces e, e. The object being inserted
the faces are brought together upon it by a turn of the screw C, or of both the screws,
and it is then gripped more tightly by turning the screw C₁ so as to spread the
tails of the jaws, thus bringing the heads together with great force. This last
named result is produced by reason of the jaws turning on the screw C (or upon the

page_text: nuts through which it plays) as pivot fulcrums, and the screw C¹ acting with a
leverage equal to the difference in length between the head band the tail d of the
jaw, measuring from the screw C in each direction. Therefore it will be seen that
the force with which the jaws may be brought together upon an object will depend
upon the length of the tail d of the jaw as compared with the distance from the
screw C to the gripping point.
In some cases the nuts f, f, may be omitted entirely and threads to fit the screws
bo cut in the jaws themselves, and especially is this the case with the tails of the
jaws, but in such cases the screws should not fit so closely as to prevent vibration
of the jaws thereupon when it becomes necessary to spread them at either end, as
it is essential to their complete operation that a slight departure from their
parallelism should be permitted.
In some cases and especially where the tool is to be subjected to a twisting strain
as in screwing or unscrewing nuts, I provide sustaining guides j, j, for the jaws to
play between. These may be attached to or form a part of the shank A, as shown
in Figures 1 and 2, or the head of the shank may be enlarged and the jaws play in
slots or grooves therein.
In Figure 5 my Invention is shown as adapted to a hand or bench vise.
case the guides j, j, are omitted as not essential.
In this
In operating upon objects having parallel sides the departure from parallelism in
the jaws is usually very slight, but they may be set to converge or diverge so as to
grasp conical or wedge shaped objects with ease.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my Invention, I claim,-
First. A tool for grasping objects to be worked with or upon, wherein the jaws
mounted upon right and left hand screws are arranged to approach or recede from
each other simultaneously, and adapted to be thrown out of parallelism by turning
either one of the screws independently, substantially as set forth.
Second. In a tool for grasping objects, the combination of the jaws D, D, right
and left hand screws C, C₁, and a central shank A, all arranged with respect to
each other substantially as set forth.
Third. The sustaining guides j, j, attached to or forming a part of the shank A,
and adapted to guide the jaws D, D, and relieve them wholly or partially of twisting
strains, substantially as described.
Fourth. The arrangement of the nuts f, f, swiveled or loosely fixed in the jaws,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Fifth. The hand or bench vise constructed substantially as shown Figure 5 and
as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Goodrich, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty third day of May, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy ninc.
JOSEPH GOODRICH. (L.S.)