AN IMPROVED DEVICE FOR SECURING THE HANDLES OF SPADES AND RAKES, WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th April 1880. A communication
from abroad by August Berghaus, of Brügge, Germany.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. AN IMPROVED DEVICE FOR SECURING THE
HANDLES OF SPADES AND RAKES, WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO
OTHER IMPLEMENTS." [A communication from abroad by August Berghaus, of
Brügge, Germany.]
This Invention relates to an improved device for securing or fixing handles to
spades, hoes, shovels, rakes, or other agricultural, horticultural, or similar implements
or tools.
According to the present Invention I make the spade blade of a suitably shaped
pieco of iron, which at the top is somewhat curved outward. On this curved
part I fix by means of rivets a spring, which is half round in transverse section,
and extends upward partly along the handle; a similar spring is placed opposite
to the one above named, being secured at its lower end by a rivet; the pointed or
tapering end of the handle enters between the two springs, and is gripped by both.
I also provide a conical ring, which is pushed over both the springs, and serves to
secure the handle between them; the latter, which is pointed, and of tapering form
at the end, is pushed in between the springs as far, or about as far, as it will go;
and then the said conical ring is struck up towards the thick end, whereby the
handle is fixed exceedingly tight. If it is desired to fasten the handle still tighter,
this may be effected by striking the latter. The curved part of the spade is
considerably strengthened by the spring, so that this part is far less likely to be
worn out than is the case with ordinary spades. This construction prevents the
possibility of breaking off the eye of the blade, which happens so frequently in the
spades heretofore in use.
The handle can be removed very quickly when required. If, in the case of such
implements as are usually kept very dry, such, for instance, as coal-shovels, the
wood should shrink, it is only necessary to strike the handle on the ground to
render it quite firm and secure.
In the manufacture of spades according to this Invention there is hardly any
waste, and the cost price will thus be less than that of spades as hitherto made.
Moreover my improved spades are more durable by reason of the increased strength
of the curved or swelled portion of the spade.

page_text: In applying the said Invention to rakes,' the rake is rivetted to one end of a
spring, while tho other end is curved half round in order to fit around the handle.
Another spring is rivetted upon the first named spring, and curved in the same
manner. In fixing the pointed or tapering handle the latter is pushed in between
the springs, and a conical ring is placed over them, as above described with regard
to spades.
My Invention may be applied to tools or implements other than spades or rakes,
and any modifications that may be necessary will depend upon the kind of tool, and
will be readily understood without further description.
It will be observed that I fix or secure the handle to the tool without passing a
_rivet, nail, or screw through the said handle, and that the Invention consists
chiefly in providing two or more converging springs, which are fixed on-the
implement, the pointed or tapering end of the handle being pushed in between
the springs, and a conical ring being employed for securing the springs and the
handle firmly together.