A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL OR OTHER METAL WIRE NAILS
Year: 1884

page_text: We, HENRY CAMPBELL, of Los Angelos, California, United States of America, at
present residing at Mansion House Chambers, Queen Victoria Street, and Baron
ALBERT GRANT of Founder's Court, Lothbury, both in the City of London do
hereby declare the nature of our invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL OR OTHER METAL WIRE NAILS " to be as
follows:-
.
The object of this invention is to produce a machine for the manufacture of nails
from steel or other metal wire. Machines constructed in accordance with this
invention produce by one operation highly finished wire nails in which the head
and point of each nail are true and central with the nail itself. The machines may
be worked at great speed, thus yielding increased production; they are perfectly
automatic in action, simple in construction and operation, require no skilled
operative to work them, and cannot easily be put out of order.
The machine consists of a main shaft driven in any convenient manner, and
carrying a cam which operates an oscillating lever and clamp which feeds the wire
into the machine. This lever is made adjustable at its centre or fulcrum so that
the length of wire intended to form the nail may be regulated as desired. The
end of the wire is thus fed forward the necessary distance when it is gripped or
held tightly by a system of clamps operated from the before mentioned main shaft
and also from a small counter shaft which is driven from the main shaft by crank
plates and connecting rod, or other suitable device. When the wire is thus held
firmly in position that portion of its length which is intended to form the point of
the nail is grasped by cutting or pointing dies which after cutting and forming the
point hold it firmly in position while the forward end of the now partly formed
nail is operated upon by a header or stem which presses that portion thereof which
projects outside of the clamping device and thus forms the head of the nail. The

page_text: before mentioned cutting or pointing dies are operated also from the main and
countershaft and are arranged to slide vertically within supporting posts. The
heading device is attached with adjustment to a slide working in guides and
operated by a triplex direct acting adjustable system of levers operated by an
eccentric cam or tappet mounted on the main shaft.
After the nail is formed it is released from the gripping clamps and dies and
thrown out by a spring or springs.
11004

page_text: block K¹ as shown; the end of this tool may be made similar to any ordinary:
shaped head or it may be flat but of course this depends on the shape of the head
desired.
M' is a link pivotted at G¹ to the arms E' F' and also to a plunger N¹ so as to
form a connection between the arms E¹ F¹ and the said plunger for the purpose to
be presently explained.
The plunger N¹ is confined as against lateral play by means of guide ways 01
(see Figure 10) and is provided with a lug P¹ which projects upwards through an
elongated slot Q' in a plate R¹, the latter being securely fastened to the bed plate.
The plunger N¹ is operated by a cam S¹ on the shaft D as follows:
As the shaft D revolves the said cam S¹ strikes against the plunger N', forces it
forward and thereby causes the arms E¹ F¹ to straighten out and to drive the;
heading tool L' against the end of the wire as will be presently explained.
By manipulating the adjusting screw T¹, a greater or less throw may be imparted
to the heading tool L' as the case may be.
U is a spring bearing against the link M as shown, it serves to return the
plunger N' and arms E¹ F¹ to their normal positions.
V is a plate arranged to slide within ways W¹ on the bedplate. Secured on the
plate V, at.the forward extremity thereof are the cutting tool X¹ and pushout Y';
these are held in position by means of caps Z' secured by screws as clearly shown
in Figures 3 and 5.
A³ are set screws passed through the raised portion B2 of the plate near the
cutting tool and pushout by means of which these latter may be adjusted to
compensate for wear or for other obvious purposes.
C³ is a projection attached to or cast integral with the plate V' and is operated:
by the cam D².
:
EE are raised portions of the bedplate having grooves Fs for the wire: these
raised portions also form guide ways for the cutting tool and pushout, and prevent
any unsteadiness or unecessary wabbling of the same.
When the cam D strikes the projection C³ the cutting tool and pushout will be
pushed forward, thereby causing the wire to be severed, and pushed by the cutter
and pushout from out of the supports E' into a carrier wheel G*.
The spring H' serves to return the plate V' to its normal position.
1 is a cogwheel on the shaft D, gearing into a cogwheel J' journalled in the
bedplate.
This latter cogwheel J has a bevelled wheel on its face which gears into &
bevelled wheel K arranged on the short shaft L' (see Figures 1 and 2).
M is a wheel on the shaft L' and having on its periphery a short worm
tbread N² which operates the worm wheel O' in the ordinary way, each complete
revolution of the wheel M' causing the worm thread Ns to act on one tooth of the
wheel O2 so that the motion of the latter is intermittent.
The wheel O2 is attached to the shaft P3 which is journalled in the standard Q'
bolted to the bedplate; and secured to the other extremity of this shaft is a carrier
wheel G² whose function and operation will be presently explained.
Bolted to the bedplate, or cast integral therewith, is an upright post R³ having
therein dovetailed bearings as clearly shown in Figure 1.
Extending laterally from this post is a bearing S through which is journalled
the shaft T.
A rocking motion is imparted to this shaft by means of a rod U' attached to a
crank pin Vs on the wheel W' arranged on the shaft D.
The other end of the rod U is. similarly attached to a crank arm ✗* (see
Figures 1, 2 and 6) being of course attached to the crank arm X' at a point
further from the axis of the shaft T* than the crank pin V is from the the axis of
the shaft D.
Within the dovetailed bearing in the post R³ is a die box Y' arranged to slide-
freely in a vertical plane, and operated by an eccentric actuated by the movement
of the shaft T. The operation and construction of the mechanism for imparting

page_text: bed plate. This spring plate is split nearly through its entire length so as to form
what we term clamp bars A° A* as seen in Figure 14. The forward extremities of
these bars terminate in downwardly projecting U shaped lugs B° B* adapted to
receive the upper dies L' L which latter are clamped therein by screws M°.
The upper forward portions of the clamping bars and the lower forward portions
of the presser bars are provided with recesses O curved in cross section, and within
these recesses are placed connecting plates D° D¹. The function and operation
of these connecting plates is precisely the same as in the arrangement before
described.
Po is a support for the lower dies E' E* and is screwed to or formed integral
with the bedplate as may be desired. The cam contact pieces Y Y* are so
arranged that one is slightly in advance of the other as shown at Figure 16 and
the cam Z will therefore operate first upon the one which is nearest to it and then
upon the other.
The upper die L* and the lower die E* are the dies within which the nails are
pointed.
R° is a guide tube which is secured to the bedplate by a set screw S° in such
manner that the inner end of the said tube is in close proximity to the lateral faces
of the pointing dies, so that the latter will make a shear cut at the point extremity
of the nail.
The operation of this modification is as follows i
When the cam Z strikes the rear cam contact piece Y* the forward extremity of
the presser bar W will be thrown downward thereby depressing the clamping
bar A° and causing the upper pointing die L* to operate on the wire to shear and
point the same. The arrangement of the cam contact pieces relative to the
operation of the pointing dies is such that the cam will now cause the clamp
bar A carrying the die Lº to be thrown downward thereby firmly clampling the
pointed wire between the dies L° E2 when the heading tool L' forms a head on
the nail in the same manner as in the arrangement herein before described. In this
modification it is essential that the nail should not be clamped during the operation
of pointing because it would become crooked owing to the swageing of the wire.
By clamping immediately after pointing the wire, the wire is allowed to swage
without any resistance and the completed nail is of uniform guage.
•
The dies are readily removed and different ones substituted therefor for the
purpose of making nails of various lengths and the guide tube is adjusted in and
out to adapt itself to dies of different lengths.
We are enabled to make two or more nails at the same time by simply forming
the dies double (as shown at Figure 19) treble, quadruple, etcetera, and feeding
wire through the said dies from two or more separate reels and heading by means
of two or more hammering devices attached to the same plunger.
By the use of the modifications above described and illustrated in Figures 13
to 18 of the drawings a great advantage is obtained in that the pointing and
clamping mechanisms are so arranged and combined that the position of the nail
never changes until it is completed while at the same time we are enabled to run
the machine at a very high rate of speed because we dispense with all means for
carrying or transferring the nails from one part of the machine to another.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we
make no claim generally to wire nail machinery having devices whereby the
successive operations of feeding, clamping, heading, cutting off, transferring and
pointing the wire are effected, as we are aware that such machinery is not novel,
but that what we claim is :
First The shaft D carrying cams C, Z, D', S¹ and crank plate W in combination
with the feeding, clamping, cutting, and pashout and heading mechanism,
rod U and means for pointing the nails substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 12 of the drawings hereto

page_text: cond. The die box and die arranged to slide vertically within a supporting
post in combination with a shaft T crank arm X, rod U2, crankplate W²,
and shaft D substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 6, 8 and 11 of the drawings hereto annexed.
ird. The die box and pointing dies in combination with the shaft T³, crank
arm X³, rod U³, crankplate W, shaft D carrying cams C, Z, D² and S¹, and
the feeding, clamping, heading and cutting mechanisms substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 11 of the drawings
hereto annexed.
urth. In a machine for making wire nails the presser bars W W* pivotted as
described, and having attached thereto cam contact pieces Y Y* arranged
one in advance of the other in combination with the connecting plates D° D¹,
clamp bars A° A* having the upper pointing and clamping dies L® L*
contained in their forward extremities, lower fixed pointing and clamping
dies EE and means for actuating and adjusting said cam contact pieces
substantially as herein before described and illustrated in Figures 13 to 19
of the drawings hereto annexed.
fth In a machine for making wire nails independent pairs of pointing
dies L* E* and clamping dies L' E' arranged side by side in combination
with means for causing the pointing. dies, to operate in advance of the
clamping dies whereby the nails may be finished without any change of
position substantially as herein before described and illustrated in Figures 15,
16, 17 and 18 of the drawings hereto annexed.
xth-The guide tube R° adapted to be adjusted close to the lateral faces of
the pointing dies whereby-a-shear-cut-may_be_made substantially as
herein before described, and illustrated in Figure 15 of the drawings hereto
annexed.
T
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