IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF METAL HURDLES AND FENCING."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hardman Gillett, of Wolverhampton, in the
County of Stafford, Gentleman, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF METAL HURDLES AND FENCING."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hardman Gillett at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd March 1880.
<
JOHN HARDMAN GILLETT, of Wolverhampton, in the County _ of Stafford,
Gentleman. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF METAL HURDLES AND
FENCING."
This Invention relates to the method of connecting the horizontal bars to the
uprights of ordinary hurdles and fencing, and the vertical bars to the horizontals of
vertical bar fencing.
According to this Invention an indent is formed in the bar at the part which is
in the upright or horizontal, as the case may be. The bole to receive the said bar
is first punched to suit the section of the bar at the part where it is indented. The
hole is then drifted out to receive the full section of the bar, thus bulging out the
metal of the upright or horizontal, as the case may be. When the bar is placed in
position, the bulged out part of the upright or horizontal, as the case may be, is
forced back again by a press or other means, and the whole is thus made to fit
around the indented section of the bar. The bar projects somewhat beyond the
upright (in the case of an outside upright), and above or below (or both), the
horizontal (for vertical bar fencing), and thus riveting is avoided.
This Invention is applicable to all sections of solid and hollow bar metal used for
hurdles and fencing. Of course it is not necessary to apply this method to all the
parts where bars pass through the uprights or horizontals, as the case may be, as
many of such parts may be quite plain as usual.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Hardman Gillett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd
August 1880.
JOHN HARDMAN GILLETT, formerly of Wolverhampton, in the County of
Stafford, Gentleman, but now of Sheffield, in the County of York, Skate Manu-
facturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF METAL HURDLES AND
FENCING."
This Invention relates to the method of connecting the horizontal bars to the
uprights of ordinary (that is horizontal-bar) hurdles and fencing, and the vertical
bars to the horizontals of vertical-bar fencing.
According to this Invention the bar is indented on one or both sides (but
preferably on both sides), at the part which is in the upright or horizontal, as the
case may be. The hole to receive the said bar is first punched out to about the
section of the bar, or to suit the section of the bar at the part where it is indented,
and the hole is then drifted out to receive the full section of the bar, thus bulging
out the metal of the upright (or horizontal). When the bar is placed in position,
the bulged out part of the upright (or horizontal) is forced back again by a press
or other means, and the indented section of the bar is thus held tightly between
the sides or edges of the hole which are forced into the niches or indents in the
bar. Or instead of punching the hole as aforesaid, it may be punched to the
ordinary section of the bar, and the edges of the hole pressed into the indents.
or niches as before; but in this latter case the outer edges of the upright (or
horizontal) will be somewhat curved in at the points where the indented parts of
bars pass through. The bar projects somewhat beyond the upright (in the case of
an outside upright), and above the top horizontal (for vertical-bar fencing), or
below the bottom one, or both, and thus riveting is avoided, though of course the
projecting end may be riveted if desired, it being however in my experience not
necessary.
This Invention is applicable to all sections of solid and hollow bars used for
metal hurdles and fencing, and is of course applicable to the gates of hurdles and
fencing as well as to the fixed part.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will now proceed to
particularly describe the manner of performing the same, and in doing so will refer
to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.
Figures 1 to 8 of the accompanying Drawings illustrate my Invention as applied
to round-bar hurdles and fencing, and Figures 9 to 15 a, as applied to flat-bar
hurdles and fencing. The same letters of reference occurring upon any of the views
indicate corresponding parts.
Figure 1 is a flat view of an upright for an ordinary hurdle or fence, or of a
horizontal for a vertical-bar hurdle or fence. A is the upright, which is shewn
broken off at each end for convenience of illustration; B is a hole punched there-
through to the section (approximately) of the indented part of the bar; Figure 2 is
another representation of the upright (or horizontal) A of Figure 1, but shews the
hole B drifted out to the section of the bar, the sides of the upright (or horizontal)
A being bulged out, as shewn. The hole B of Figure 1 is drifted out, preferably, at
a dull red heat by means of the drift C, Figure 3, the bottom of which is shaped to
fit easily in the hole B, Figure 1, and the upper part of which D is circular in
section to form the hole B, as shewn by Figure 2; Figure 3a is a view looking
at the underside of the drift C, the oval shape of the bottom and circular shape of
the upper part being shewn, the oval of course gradually forms into the circular.
The drift may be knocked through with a hammer, but it is preferred to work it
in a machine, and of course a multiple machine may be used to drift all the holes of
one upright (or horizontal) at one operation. The bolster to receive the drift is

page_text: holed to the circular section of the bar; Figures 4 and 5 illustrate respectively the
bar with the indents or niches formed for an outside upright, and with them
formed for an intermediate upright. In each Figure E is the bar, and a, a, the
indents or niches. A section through an indented part of the bar E is shown at E,
Figure 6. The indents or niches a, a, may be cut out by tools worked in a press,
or in any convenient manner; or they may be stamped in by means of a pair of
tools in an "oliver." When it is desired to stamp the indents into the bar near
the end thereof, the bar is heated to a dull red heat, or as required; but the indents
at the joint with an intermediate upright (or horizontal) are stamped in cold, being
preferably shallower than the others. The indents being formed, the bar E is
placed within the drifted hole B (Figure 2) in the position shewn by Figure 7,
which is a section taken on line y, y, of Figure 2, but with the end of the bar, as
shewn at Figure 4, inserted therein. The bulged out parts of the upright (or
horizontal) A are then pressed or hammered cold, so as to force the edges of the
hole B (Figure 2) into the indents a, a, as shewn by Figures 6 and 8, the hole Bat
the same time slightly elongating. In the case of hurdles, it is preferred to press
the edges of the holes into the indents by means of a power press worked as an
ordinary press, but having tools sufficiently long to press up all the joints of one
upright (or horizontal) A at one operation; or a combination of machine worked
hammers may be used to effect the same object; or a compound machine may be
employed to press up or to hammer up all the joints of one hurdle at one operation;
or rollers may be used to squeeze up the joints. In the case of continuous fencing
the lengths of bar may be joined in any usual manner, or they may be halved
together, as shewn by dotted lines Figure 5, where they join at an upright, each
half having an indent, as shewn. In pressing the edges of the holes into the indents
in the case of continuous fencing, a bear or other portable press is convenient for
use, and is preferable to hammering.
Instead of punching the holes, as shewn by Figure 1, and afterwards drifting
them out they may be punched out the full section of the bar, and the drifting be
thus avoided; but in this case the outer edges of the upright (or horizontal) are
slightly hollowed in as the edges of the holes are pressed into the niches (the
bearing parts of the pressing up tools, when a press is used, being formed to
correspond), whereas in the former case the edges are straight, as in Figure 6.
The application of my Invention to flat-bar fencing will now be readily under-
stood upon reference to the remaining views. In Figure 9, F is the upright (or
horizontal), and G the hole, which is punched with the sides curved in, as shewn,
the ends being the length of the thickness of the bar, and the length of the hole
being the depth of the bar. The hole G is next drifted out, preferably hot, by
means of a drift formed to the width of the narrowest part of the hole at the
bottom, and to the width of the section of the bar at its upper part, the said drift
corresponding to and being worked as the drift C, aforesaid. The hole is thus
formed, as shewn at Figure 10, the metal at the sides of the upright (or horizontal)
being bulged out somewhat. The bar H has indents b, b, formed in on each side,
either curved in, as shewn by section Figure 11, or straight, as shewn by section
Figure 12. These indents are formed in by means of tools worked in an "oliver"
or press. The end niches being deeper than the intermediate ones are formed in hot.
In forming these indents at the ends of the bars by stamping or pressure, the hot
metal spreads somewhat at each end of the niches, so that it is desirable to stand
the bar on its edge after the first pressure forming the niches, so that tools
specially provided in the press or "oliver" may flatten back the metal, after which
the bar is again laid flat between the indenting tools and the indents thus finished
clean. The indented bar is then placed in a hole in the manner as before described,
and the edges of the hole in the upright (or horizontal) are pressed or hammered
back in the manner before described, the hole assuming the shape it was originally
punched out, and the curved in parts consequently being forced into the niches, as
shewn by Figures 13 and 14, which latter is a section on line x, x, of Figure 13.
When the bar is indented, as shewn at Figure 11, the pressed-in edges of the hole

page_text: fill up the indents, but when indented, as shewn by Figure 12, the pressed-in edges
tighten against the base of the indents only in the middle, as shewn at Figure 13.
As in the former case, the hole G may be punched to the section of the bar and the
drifting out be avoided, but of course with the same consequences to the outline of
the upright (or horizontal).
.
At Figure 15 is shewn a modification of this Invention as applied to flat-bar
hurdles and fencing, being more especially applicable to continuous fencing; K, K,
shews a section through the bar at its joint with an upright (or horizontal);
Figure 15 a shews a side elevation of the end of the bar. The bar K, K, is shown
indented, as at Figure 12, and in addition has a rectangular, square, or circular
hole & punched therethrough; c is a tongue left on the inside of the hole in the
upright (or horizontal) when being punched out. The hole through the upright
(or horizontal) is drifted out in the manner as before described for the insertion
of the bar, and the tongue c is afterwards forced into the hole d in addition to
the edges of the hole being forced into the niches, as before described. The same
tools may punch the hole d and indent the niches at one operation when the
latter are indented cold. Sufficient taper may be given to the tongue c to make
it tighten either sideways or endways, or both, in the hole d.
In either of the modifications a very shallow indentation is sufficient in the case
of a bar connected to an intermediate upright.
From the foregoing descriptions of the application of this Invention to circular
and flat-bar hurdles and fencing, its application to other sections of bar will be
understood. Hollow bars are usually formed solid at their ends, and the method of
forming the indents in such ends will be as before described, but when it is desired
to form indents at the hollow part of such bars for intermediate uprights, the metal
should be cut away and not pressed or the tubes will crush in. The application to
the gates of hurdles and fencing also will be obvious, being the same as to the fixed
part of such hurdles and fencing.
Of course it is not necessary to apply this Invention to all the parts where bars
pass through the uprights or horizontals, as the case may be, as the parts usually
allowed to pass through without being fixed may be so left.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention and particularly described
and ascertained the manner of performing the same, I declare that what I claim
as my Invention and desire to secure by the in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The method of connecting the horizontal bars to the uprights of horizontal-
bar hurdles and fencing, and the vertical bars to the horizontals of vertical-bar
fencing, by pressing or forcing the edges of the holes (in the upright or horizontal,
as the case may be) through which the bars pass into indents or niches formed in
the bars, as herein described and shewn by the Drawings, or any mere modifi-
cation thereof, such as that illustrated by Figures 15 and 15 a.
2nd. The method of preparing the holes by punching. them first to suit the
indented section of the bars, and afterwards drifting them out, as and for the
purpose herein described and shewn by the Drawings, or any mere modification
thereof, such as that illustrated by Figures 15 and 15 a.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hardman Gillett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty first day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
JOHN HARDMAN GILLETT. (L.S.)