IMPROVEMENTS IN BOWS, ARROWS, TARGETS, AND TARGET STANDS
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th March 1879. A communication
from abroad by William Henry Wright, of Rochester, in the County of
Monroe, and George Lovering Thorne, of Buffalo, in the County of Erie, both
in the State of New York, United States of America.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOWS, ARROWS, TARGETS, AND TARGET STANDS."
[A communication from abroad by William Henry Wright, of Rochester, in the
County of Monroe, and George Lovering Thorne, of Buffalo, in the County of Erie,
both in the State of New York, United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to furnish an archery outfit consisting of a bow,
arrows, target, and target stand of novel design and construction, and possessing
many advantages over other archery outfits. The bow is made in three parts, the
central part being of metal with tapering sockets in each end, and the two end
pieces of wood of a suitable kind. These end pieces are provided with tips of
metal, horn, or other suitable material, and to form the bow are inserted in the
sockets of the centre piece, so that the bow can be taken apart and put together at
will, and when apart will be more convenient to carry, and a broken part can easily.
be replaced. The centre is pierced from front to back with a cross shaped opening
that affords a rest or bearing and guidance to the arrow that is shot through it.
The cross shaped opening permits an arrow with four or a less number of wings to
pass through without touching the wings. For a two winged arrow the centre may
be pierced with a narrow slot slightly enlarged midway of its length. It may also
be made without a hole through it, but having slight projections from either side
to serve as a rest for the arrow and as guards for the hand that holds the bow. It
is obvious that the centre piece is susceptible of other designs. The wings of the
arrow are made of hair cloth, sheet metal, or other suitable material, and are
attached by making a longitudinal saw cut in the shaft and inserting them therein
and fastening them with pins. When hair cloth is used for wings they are further
secured with glue and the warp of the cloth is afterwards pulled from their outside
edges. A metallic nock is then fixed to the end of the shaft to prevent it from
splitting and for adjustment of the arrow on the bow string. The tip of the arrow
is loaded with a metal tip that is secured on the arrow by a stout wire shank that
enters the arrow shaft for three or four inches, or thereabouts, and gives additional
strength and weight to this part of the arrow.

page_text: The target is made of a substance known as "excelsior," or long and fine wood
shavings, and covered preferably with coarse bagging so that the chances of the
breaking of the arrow on striking it are diminished. The target with its covering
is sewed through and through with stout twine, the stitches being arranged to form
a spiral line, and the loop by which the target is suspended to the target stand is
secured to the target by certain of these stitches. A target made in this way is
lighter and more durable than those at present in use. The target stand is jointed
and made in sections. The head of the stand is made of metal, with a point on its
upper edge to suspend the target from. On the back of the head is a lug, through
which a bolt is passed and secured by a nut, on which the central leg of the stand
swings. The side legs are secured by nuts and swing on bolts that pass through
the head near each end of it, so that the legs are adjustable to any desired position.
The legs are preferably made of wood, and are furnished on their lower ends with
ferrules or sockets of metal, into which other legs or joints may be inserted for the
purpose of making the stand higher. Instead of these sockets movable sleeves or
hinges, or some equivalent device, may be used for the purpose described. The
head of the stand is so wide that it affords an excellent bearing or backing to the
target, and as the central leg is pivoted on one side of the exact centre of the head
room is made for the compact packing of the legs and their extra joints.