A NEW IMPROVED MACHINE FOR FORGING NAILS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Victor Hippolyte Laurent, of Plancher-les-Mines,
Département de la Haute Saone, in the Empire of France, Engineer, for
the Invention of "A NEW IMPROVED MACHINE FOR FORGING NAILS AND
OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."
Sealed the 16th February 1858, and dated the 21st August 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Victor Hippolyte
Laurent at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st August 1857.
I, VICTOR HIPPOLYTE LAURENT, of Plancher-les-Mines, Département de la
Haute Saone, in the Empire of France, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW IMPROVED MACHINE FOR FORGING
NAILS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
In the various machines hitherto constructed for forging nails it has been
found impossible to forge a nail at one heating, as the portion of the rod to be
forged becomes cooled while resting on the stamping piece, and is thereby in
an unfit state to be shaped by hammering. Now by this Invention nails can
be forged at one heating, an by an entirely new process, which is described
hereafter.
This machine consists of a cast-iron frame mounted upon suitable standards,
in which are fitted two pair of grooved stamping rollers, arranged at equal

page_text: distances around a common centre, the one pair working in a vertical and the
other in a horizonal plane. These rollers are each attached to a sliding piece
which works in brasses fixed in the frame; the sliding pieces may be worked
by cams, crank arms, or eccentrics, fitted on four short shafts working in
suitable bearings. Upon each of the short shafts are fitted pinions which have
motion conímunicated to them by a spur wheel, and are for giving motion to
the crank arms or eccentrics. The cams or crank arms are so fixed upon
the shaft as to act simultaneously, the two side rollers acting first and
immediately after the top and bottom (or vice versa), and by which means the
sliding pieces are moved forward, and carry with them the grooved rollers,
which coming in contact with the heated bar produces the form of nail
required.
The rollers may have any suitable size and form of groove cut around them
to suit the size and form of nail required, and may be caused to revolve a portion
of a revolution, by suitable gearing after each operation, so as to bring the next
groove opposite to the nail; each groove works in its turn and is shaped
accordingly, the deeper and larger ones working first for rough hewing the
nail, then the smaller and narrower ones for finishing it. After the forging
operation is completed the rod is drawn out from between the rollers by the
feeding apparatus, which places the end of the forged nail into a suitably
perforated matrix which has been previously brought opposite to it, the nail
is then brought under a sliding header, and when the head has been formed
it is carried further forward, when a lever strikes the nail and pushes, it out
of the matrix, when it is caught behind the head by a forked hook which
draws it entirely out.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Victor Hippolyte Laurent in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th February 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, VICTOR
HIPPOLYTE LAURENT, Esquire, of Plancher-les-Mines, Department of la Haute
Saone, France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the

page_text: said Victor Hippolyte Laurent, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Victor Hippolyte Laurent, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "A NEW IMPROVED MACHINE FOR FORGING NAILS AND OTHER SIMILAR
ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Victor
Hippolyte Laurent, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in
within calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Victor Hippolyte Laurent, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say) :-
The various forging machines hitherto known hardly allow the forging at a
single beat of small objects, such as a nail, for example. My Invention,
which will be described hereafter, is intended to produce by machinery the
same objects as are obtained by hand forging; this result is obtained by pre-
senting the red hot iron rod which is to be forged to the point of intersection
of four sliding hammers placed at right angles, and moving with a regular
alternate motion, so that the rod to be forged is hammered on its four sides
without its being necessary to submit it to an alternate rotating motion. In
order to prevent the two sets of sliding hammers from striking or catching
with each other in their motion the cranked shafts which drive them are
disposed in such a way that one set is down when the other set that moves
at right angles with the first one, is up at the same moment.
The striking
ends of the sliding hammers may be provided with a roller provided with a
series of stamps engraved on its surface. A ratchet wheel fixed on the
prolonged axle of the roller causes the latter to move round a certain extent
each time the slider raises up, so that each stroke given to the rod may be
struck by a new stamp.
A special feeding contrivance, which will be described further on, having
been supplied by the workman with an iron rod for making a nail, the end
of which is white hot, brings it under or between the forging stamps, which
shape the stem or shank of the nail. When this work is done the same
feeder removes the rod from the stamps, and directly engages the forged stem

page_text: into a perforated die which is brought opposite to it. A cutter at this
moment cuts off from the rod the required length which is to produce the
nail, leaving projecting out of the die a length of the rod sufficient for making
the head of the said nail. The die being thus fed moves away and stops
before a slide which punches a head to the nail. The heading being done
moves farther on and stops before a lever, the effect of which is to force the
nail out of the die by bearing on the point which protudes out of the said die,
when a hook seizing the nail's head pulls it out entirely. As soon as the first
rod is cut off a second rod, which has been placed in the feeder whilst the first
was being forged, is carried in its turn between the forging stamps, where it
undergoes the same operations which have just been described.
In order that my Invention may be better understood I will proceed to
describe the machine which is represented in the annexed Drawings.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 is a plan;
Fig. 3, Sheet II., is a front view. The other Figures on the three Sheets
represent separate pieces which compose the machine. In all the Figures the
corresponding pieces are represented by the same letters of reference.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are drawn one-fifth of the real size.
A driving pulley A is keyed on the shaft B, the power is transmitted by a
belt to the said pulley, which must be heavy enough to act as a fly wheel. S
A cog wheel C keyed on the same shaft B drives four pinions D. Only the
pitch circles of the said wheel and pinions are represented in blue lines, in
Figures 3 and 4. The pinions D carry in on their rotary motion the cranked
shafts E, which run in bearings L. Five of the latter are bolted to a cast-
iron frame K, I, which frame is itself bolted on the main stands V', by means
of the arms or lugs a² (Fig. 2, 4, and 5). The four cranked shafts E impel
the four sliders G by means of the connecting rods F; the said sliders move
with an alternate motion in braces or guides bolted on the frame K, I, (Fig.
1, 2, 3, 4). Fig. 4 is a front view of the sliders' motion, separated from the
other organs that do not belong to the actual forging. J, J, J, J, forging
rollers fixed at the end of each slider; each roller is fitted on an axle O' and
fastened thereon by a pin or any other suitable means, and the said axle can.
revolve freely in the slider. In Figures 1 and 5 slots may be seen cut at right
angles in the vertical front side of the frame K, I, for the passage of the axles
of the rollers, and of the catch which I shall now proceed to describe. Fig. 5
is a front view of the inside of the frame K, I, containing the ratchet wheels
which give a rotary motion to the forging rollers, thus changing the stamp
at each raising motion of the sliders; Figs. 1-and-5 shew that the end of the
axle of each roller bears a ratchet wheel u' fastened on it, which wheel u'.is.

page_text: only allowed to move in one direction by means of the catch d², pressed upon
by a spiral spring lodged in a hollow box 62, the piece carrying this catch and
spring box is steadily fastened to the slider G. A lever C² can move freely on
the shaft of the roller; the end of the said lever is fastened to a fixed point C
by a rod to, as shewn in Figs. 15 and 16, Sheet III. The lever C² is fastened
to the connecting rod by a forked piece a screwed to its extremity. There is
a spring box a', capable of sliding freely on the rod C and on the shoulder of
the forked piece; this spring box is grooved inside, and this groove, moving on
a tongue 6 prevents any other motion but a straight one taking place. A
steel piece C' is screwed tight to one of the sides of this spring box, the end
of the said piece catches into the teeth of the ratchet wheel. A spiral spring
lodged inside of the box at always keeps the catch C' pressed against the teeth
of the ratchet wheel; Fig. 15 is a full-size section, and Fig. 16, a plan of
the organ just described. From what I have said, it is easy to understand
that the extent of the motion can be regulated in such a manner that the
rachet wheel shall move only one tooth for each motion upwards of the slider
G. Now the extent of such a motion must of course correspond to the
distance between one stamping groove and the next. It may, however, be as
well to observe that the catch C+ should move a little further than the space
needed for catching a tooth, for it is necessary to lose a little time in order
that the forging grooves may commence turning only after the squeezing of
the iron by them is terminated.
Now the number of forging grooves to the action of which the iron rod is
submitted before the nail is finished depends entirely on the size of the said
nail, that is to say, on the amount of forging work to be done; the diameter
of the forging rollers, and likewise the extent of the motion to be imparted to
the sliders, in order to avoid the catching of the perpendicular set of sliders
with the horizontal ones while at work must, of course, depend on the
number of the above-mentioned grooves. As to the precise shape of the
forging grooves trying and experimenting are the only guides, but I am
inclined to think that in most cases it will be better to give a semi-elliptical
shape to the cross section of the said grooves, in order to get a quicker
elongation of the material, and to give a rectilinear cross section only to some
of the last grooves, as shewn in Fig. 12. Instead of cutting the grooves
directly in the forging rollers, it will be generally advisable, I think, to have
each groove cut in a separate piece of steel so as to make a die, and dovetailed
into the roller. Each forging roller performs an entire revolution during the
complete forging of a nail, wherefore a portion of the surface of the rollers
have no stamps or dies; they work then, but without doing anything, and it is

page_text: during that time that the rod which has been operated upon is taken out from
the central action of the stamps, and a new rod is brought to undergo the
same operation. I give the rollers a thickness greater than the length of the
nail to be produced, in order to limit the touching surface and to strike at
pleasure any part of the iron, so as to perform the forging operation in the
quickest and best manner, without being exposed to the danger of a too speedy
cooling. Fig. 13, Sheet I., illustrates my meaning, it is a section of a first
stamping groove, touching only the point of the nail of which it begins the
forging. The cooling of the nail is moreover prevented by the simultaneous
motion and action of the opposite stamps which strike at once the rod on both
sides, and also move back at once. The rotary motion of the forging rollers
is also advantageous, because the oxide of iron, which might clog the stamps,
is thus expelled therefrom.
I shall now proceed to describe the feeding organ which brings the white
hot iron rod to the forging rollers. A feeding lever M, which is shewn sepa-
rately, Figs. 6 and 7, Sheet II., is provided at the top with two perforated
horizontal blocks or chucks N, N"; the iron rod which is to produce the nail,
and the extremity of which is at a white heat is introduced in the said blocks
or chucks; Fig. 6 shews that an excentric is fixed on the axle of the lever K³,
the outer lever n² bears on this excentric, and the inner lever m² is fixed on the
same axle as the outer. The result of this disposition is, that if the lever K
is placed in a vertical position the iron rod W is squeezed by the arm m²; if,
on the contrary, the lever K2 is reversed the said rod is liberated. In Fig. 6
the upper part of the branch M has been cut off in order to render the
arrangement of each feeding block N more intelligible. The feeding lever
M, N", N, is fixed on an axle R on which it can turn freely, and its lower
branch, which is provided with a steel piece O2 rest on the cam O. The driving
shaft B, Fig. 1 and 2, carries at its extremity a pinion C" which gears with
the wheel D" keyed on the shaft Q, which revolves only once during the entire
completion of a nail. The shaft R carrying the feed lever M, N", N, rests
on the bearings h², j2; this shaft is grooved lengthways and a tongue attached
to the bearing h² can slide in the groove, so that the shaft R cannot move
round on its bearings, it can move only lengthways in the direction of its own
axis. Fig. 1 shews that when this shaft is moving lengthways it carries along
with it the feed lever M, N", N, because the latter is lodged between two fixed
collars P. The shaft R carries a crank at its end, which crank is provided
with a roller T; a spring S is wound round the other end of the shaft R and
presses at the same time against the bearing h² and collar P2, keeping the roller
T pushed against the lift or cam P. The said lift or cam keyed on the shaft

page_text: Qis shewn in elevation, Fig. 14; the result of this contrivance is, that the
sliding motion of the shaft R depends entirely on the shape of the cam or lift
P. The shaft Q carries a pinion U at its middle part, which pinion gears
with a wheel V double its diameter; both wheel and pinion are represented
by blue lines in Fig. 3. The wheel V which moves, therefore, only half round
during the completion of a nail is fixed on the shaft q which carries the cam
O. By looking at Fig. 7 it will be easy to understand that the office of the
cam O is to bring under the action of the forging stamps, first, the iron rod W
held in the feeding block N, and next the rod held by the block N". This
alternate motion enables the attendant to supply the machine and to substitute
a new rod to the one which has just produced a nail, whilst that which has just
been placed in the feeding block is undergoing, in its turn, the forging action of
the machine. It may be seen that the lower branch of the feeding lever which
rests on the cam O is sufficiently wide to avoid all risk of leaving the latter:
during the sliding motion. When the feeding block has been displaced after
having produced a nail it should evidently come to rest opposite a stop which
limits the length of the rod for producing the nail of the dimensions required,
and against which stop the workman pushes the rod which is to give the nail;
but in order that the feeding may take place during the whole time of a
complete revolution, it is clear that this stop should remain at an invariable
distance with respect to the feeding block; this stop should be fixed to the
shaft R, so as to follow all the sliding motions of the feeding lever.
The Figs. 1 and 4 shew that, when the feeding blocks or chucks N, N", are
out of the central action of the forging stamps, they are opposite to the stops
j,j', attached to the branch K', and the latter is fixed to the shaft R; a suffi-
cient passage is preserved in the sliders and braces for the stops j.j', which being
screwed fast on the branch K' can be regulated as required. A slot is cut in the
frame K, I, allowing the branch K' to pass freely. When the hot part of the rod
from which the nail has to be formed has undergone the stamping of the last
groove the stem of the nail is finished; the feeding lever is drawn back by the
action of the lift or cam P. At this moment a stamping die 2 presents itself oppo-
site the point of the nail whilst the feeding chuck impelled forwards introduces
the point of the nail in the die 2, which die is fixed in the end of a lever X,
Figs. 2 and 3, the motion of which is shewn, Fig. 8; this lever X is connected by
a rod a to another lever Y which hinges at y' with a piece fixed on the frame
V'. The lever Y is curved, in order to allow for the passage of the shaft R; it
carries laterally a roller Z, which rests upon the cam A' keyed on the shaft Q.
It is this latter cam which impels the die in the several positions which will
be mentioned presently, and all of which are required for the various per-

page_text: formances of the machine returning however to the nail which has been
introduced in the die with so much the more ease that the stem of the said
nail is pointed, and the top of the hole in the die intended to form the head
is countersunk. As soon as the iron rod has been introduced in the die 72 it
should be cut off, but so that the length of iron required for making the head
of the nail protudes out of the die in order to be punched so as to form the
nail's head. The lower cutter which performs this work is a piece of white
cast iron, (s2, Fig. 1,) carried by the feeding chuck. The motion of the upper
cutter is shewn in Fig. 9. This cutter G is of a circular shape, though
motionless when in the act of cutting. It is fixed to a lever B', one of the
ends of which hinges at ", with a stand fastened to the frame V'; the other
end of the lever B' is connected by a connecting rod "" to another rod capable
of sliding freely in the guide B". A spring C' fixed upon the sliding rod
and under the guide B", has a constant tendency to pull down the lever B'
which carries the cutter G', but as this lever is connected by a rod F' to the
lever B" which rests upon the eccentric E' by means of an intermediate roller;
the cutter is of course compelled to obey the motion of the eccentric or cam.
E keyed on the shaft Q. In order to prevent the cutter being annealed by the
heat produced by the successive cutting pressures I give it a circular shape,
and its axle which can revolve freely in the lever B' bears a rachet wheel H',
a lever I' moving freely on the axle of the said wheel is connected to an
immoveable point of the frame or its appurtenances by means of a connecting.
rod. As the lever I' is furnished with a spring catch which bears under the
ratchet wheel, it follows that the cutter G' moves a little each time the lever
B' is lifted up.
As soon as the end of the rod has been introduced in the
shaping die r², the cam E', no longer holding up the lever B' and cutter G'
above the feeding chuck, they fall down. The motion of the cutter stops as
soon as a screw t fixed to the lever B' comes to bear on a projection a³,
Fig. 1, carried by the lever X; the screw t2 should be regulated in such a
manner that at that moment the cutter G' touches the rod which it is to cut.
It is then that the die 2 moves down, and stops opposite to the slider L which
is to stamp the head of the nail. The cutter G' moves down with the die and
with the same speed by the action of the spring C', and the cam E' raises it up
as soon as the iron rod has been cut. At this moment the eccentric O gives
to the feeding lever M a new oscillatory motion, by which the latter brings
between the forging stamps, yielding to the impulse of the forward motion
produced by the spring S and eccentric P, Fig. 1 and 2. Whilst these various
motions are taking place the die 2 has been brought opposite to the punch L',
carried by the slider L, by which the head of the nail is stamped into form. .

page_text: I shall now proceed to describe how this heading is performed:-The shaft
Q carries a cam Q', which is nothing else than a vertical plate, on the face
of which a projecting curved piece or lift t is fixed, as shown in Fig. 18,
Sheet I. When the said curved piece or projecting lift passes under the
roller P', carried by the lever O', Fig. 1, this lever moves on the cross tie
piece U2, where it fitted so as to move freely. The same lever O' is con-
nected by a rod to the slider L, which carries the heading stamp L'. This
slider can move freely to and fro between braces or guides M', where it is
maintained. A spiral spring a² is wound round a bolt screwed fast to a
steady piece a³; the bolt runs freely through the arm E" of the lever O; the
spring a pushes constantly the roller P' against the plate or disc Q', con-
sequently it is the projecting lift fitted on the plate Q which works the
heading stamp L, and the slider L is pulled back by the spring a. It should
be remarked, that when the die 2 has taken its position opposite to the
header L', the end of the lever X bearing the said die is brought behind the
head of a screw bolt X', X", which may be seen in Fig. 2. This bolt fitted.
across the braces M' is tied to the upper part of the lever G", fixed on the
transome or tie piece U2; the lower part of the said lever G" is screwed fast
to the frame piece a³. This arrangement is intended to provide the lever X
with a firm support during the heading; the head X" constitutes this support.
As soon as the header L' has receded, after having punched the head of the
nail, the eccentric A' allows the lever X to move down till the nail-bearing
die comes opposite the point 63 of the expelling lever L", where it stops till
the nail is driven out of the die. This takes place in the following manner :-
A lever L", Fig. 1, carried by an axle fixed to the braces H, is maintained in
the vertical position shewn in the Drawing by a lateral spring on its axle.
When the die which carries the nail has stopped before the point 6³, a little
lift, similar to that of Fig. 18, fixed on the vertical surface of the eccentric A,
pushes back the lower branch K" of the lever L", when the point bearing
then on the end of the nail which protruds through the die pushes a sufficient
length of it out for a forked hook T' before the die to seize it and pull it out
completely. This pulling out is effected as follows:-The levers S' and I",
Fig. 17 and 20, can move freely on the transoms A", A", though they are
maintained laterally between collars C³; the said levers are connected together
by a rod d³. The lever S' is provided with a roller which is impelled by the
lift R' fixed to the eccentric Q. The lever I is likewise provided with a
roller which the lift R' causes at all times to rest upon another lift H" fixed
to the eccentric A'. The result of this arrangement is that the lever S' can
oscillate on its axle when actuated by the curved lifts just mentioned. The

page_text: lever S', Fig. 1, is connected by a rod g³ to the extracting hook T'; the latter
is maintained in the fork-shaped end of a sliding piece N, which can move
freely in a bearing screwed under the brace M'. Now, if we suppose the
nail to have been pushed partly out of the die by the lever L", the lever S'
moves at that moment on the side of the die; this motion causes the forked
hook T' to be raised up till it reaches the bottom of the forked end of the
slider N. The forked hook T' being thus raised in that position the slider is
actuated by the lever S', then the hook T' moves forwards till it touches the
die, having reached that point the lever S' moves back, the forked hook T'
falls and catches the nail behind the head between its claws, as shown,
Fig. 19. The slider N' is drawn back, the nail is pulled out, and falls down,
and the lever S¹ remains motionless until a new nail is brought to its action,
then the eccentric A' causes the lever ✗ to move upwards in order that the
die may be again fed. The chief object of my Invention for forging, as
here above described, is the contrivance by which it becomes possible to
hammer a rod of iron on the four sides without having to turn it round. In
most instances this forging system alone produces the required result without
the necessity of fixing moveable stamps to the forging sliders. For example,
for forging horse-nails, I think it preferable to replace the moveable forging
rollers by a simple stamping die fixed to the slider in the usual way. Of
course, in such a case, the rachet motion may be suppressed.
Fig. 10, Sheet I., shews the four forging sliders G, G, provided with their
respective stamping dies e², e², in which the final shape of the nail is engraved
for shaping both sides. I should observe, that in order to elongate the iron
without cooling it too much, I consider it preferable to engrave the stamping
die as shown, Fig. 11, which is a section in full size. In such a case, my
forging machine may be modified thus:-The cog wheel C should be loose on
its shaft B, and be kept in situ by means of a ring O", drawn in red ink,
Fig. 1. On the upper shaft E a fly pulley M³ should be keyed, which pulley
being driven by the motive power communicates a high speed to the four
cranked shafts. In working thus the iron rod from which the nail is intended
to be forged should be introduced between the forging dies in a progressive
manner, which is effected by the curved lift a, b, c, fixed on the eccentric P,
Fig. 14.
The end of the rod to be forged should be at the entrance of the stamping
dies when the roller T comes to be at e, and the rod should begin to move
backwards when the said roller comes to be at a³. In order to facilitate the.
progressive motion of the shaft R, the end of the crank-bearing roller T is
provided with a second roller, which rests upon a rail E' attached to the

page_text: frame, Fig. 14. As I have just stated, the curved lift a, b, c, allows the
progressive introduction of the rod between the forging dies. The end of
the rod is first elongated in the fore part f of the forging dies, Fig. 11; it is
also made thinner in the narrow part g, and then penetrates into the recess
hs, which, as it does not work, allows the iron to be elongated without losing
too much of its heat; lastly, the end of the stem enters the portion ³ of the
stamps, where it is pointed. If it be desired to increase the thinning of the
nail from the head to the end of the point, the motion which draws the rod
from the forging stamps could be slower at the end than at the beginning; for
it is evident that on account of the greater or smaller degree of elasticity of the
forging concern, that part of the stem which shall remain exposed a longer
time to the hammering of the stamps will become thinner. The required
thinning action can be obtained by the effect of the curved lift a, b, c, of the
eccentric P.
The process just described for obtaining at pleasure the thinning of the stem
is the consequence of the peculiar shape of the stamping dies, shown Fig. 11,
combined with a variable speed of the introduction or of the withdrawal of the
rod to be forged. This said process constitutes one of the features of my Inven-
tion, quite new in its application. In some instances, such as for the forging
of horse-nails, I think it will be more advantageous to forge the point of the
flattened stem as shewn in Fig. 22, and to cut out afterwards when cold the
triangles o, o, by any suitable means. As this formation of a better point by
cutting after the shaping of the stem by any forging or elongating process,
will much simplify the making of the horse-shoe nails, I consider it as forming
part of my Invention.
Although in most instances it may prove advantageous to leave a certain
elasticity to the forging sliders, it is adviseable to be able to regulate it at
pleasure. The arrangement shewn in Figures 23 and 24, Pl. III., secures this
desideratum; the said arrangement may be made use of in most instances, but
especially for forging horse-nails. In Fig. 23 and 24, the connecting rod pro-
vided with eccentric journals or braces, as will be described, further bears on the
whole breadth of the slider, which it draws back by means of a stirrup 1, which
is represented by dotted lines in the upper slider, Fig. 23. The said stirrup is
inserted in a half-round mortice cut through the connecting rod, which is tied
with the slider by a cotter 2; this cotter which is always maintained within
the braces cannot escape. This arrangement can be applied to the forging
sliders, whether furnished with moveable stamping rollers as described in the
first instance, or provided with a single stamping die, as is the case in most
cases, and more especially for forging horse-shoe nails. In order to limit at

page_text: pleasure the elasticity of the cranked shafts, I reserve at the end of the shaft
a concentric trunion 4, Fig. 23 and 24, on which bears a journal 5, which can
be shifted with a screw 6; the latter is carried by a stirrup, drawn in red ink,
and which is screwed to the braces by means of two screws 3. This arrange-
ment binds strongly together the two opposite crank shafts, which exert their
pressure together, and by the pressure screws 6, the energy of this pressure
can be increased or diminished at pleasure. For horse-shoe nails it may be
sufficient to bind together only the ends of the shafts which are intended to
forge the flat part of the stem, as indicated in Fig. 23, and of course the other
two similar shafts may be treated in the same manner if need be. Fig. 24 is
a longitudinal section of a forging slider with its appendages, and stiffened by
the binding piece just spoken of. The same Figure shows at the same time the
shape of the forging stamps, by which the flat part of the horse-shoe nail is to
be formed, only the projecting part 8 which is intended to thin the end of the
stem has a narrower surface than the one represented before, because it is
important to lessen as much as possible the extent of the said forging surfaces.
Fig. 25 shows the shape of the forging stamps which shape the stem of the
nail sideways.
In order that the forging may be executed well and easily, it is necessary
to be able to modify at pleasure the pressure of the stamps. Fig. 21 shows a
contrivance by which this may be easily done; the shoulder at the extremity of
the arm of each crank being suppressed, the connecting rod of each crank
should be provided with a journal of a circular but eccentrical shape in a
single piece; this journal, which is maintained by a pressure screw, may be
shifted by a cotter introduced between the notches cut into the outer edge; the
result of this shifting is, that the centre of the cranked shaft can at pleasure
be brought farther or nearer the end of the connecting rod.
Besides the forging process last mentioned, the machine possesses several
organs of a peculiar and distinctive character.
First, to provide the forging organ, whatever it may be, with forging rollers
or stamps, so that each forging blow may be effected with different stamps.
2nd, to work simultaneously several forging sliding hammers, by disposing
them in such a way as to strike at the same time two opposite sides of the
rod, and even to forge the four sides without being obliged to turn the rod
round. As it is obvious that this forging process can be applied to other
articles than nails, I, of course, claim the application of this machine to the
forging or stamping of various articles of an analogous nature.
3rd, to feed the machine by an organ endowed with a reciprocating motion,
and provided with two guiding chucks, one of which allows the substitution of

page_text: another rod for that which has produced a nail, while another rod is submitted
to various processes of the machine.
4th, to cut off the nail from the rod after having introduced into a die the
extremity which has been forged into a point.
5th, to effect the cutting operation by means of a moveable cutter, the
cutting portion of which can be altered at pleasure, whereby the untempering
of the cutter is guarded against.
6th, to establish between the cutter and the die, during the cutting off, such
a solidarity of action that their motion may take place with an equal speed, as
shewn in the Fig. 8 and 9.
7th, to expel the nail from the heading die by a first motion that drives it
out partially from the die, and by a second motion of a forked hook, which,
catching it behind the head entirely pulls it out.
As each of the mechanical organs above described and illustrated by the
annexed Drawings have, to the best of my knowledge, never been used before,
I claim the use of each of them individually, or in combination for the
purposes mentioned.
It is obvious that my foregoing mechanism, composed of its four sliding
hammers striking on the four sides of the nail, can in many instances be
employed alone, that is to say, completely separated from the other organs
intended specially for manufacturing nails. Thus, my forging apparatus
could be successfully employed for forging bar iron. For this kind of work
the bar of iron should be laid on a rest placed before the forging stamps, and
in order to secure a completely free passage for the said bar, the four.crank
shafts E should have a cog wheel D, as represented in Fig. 26.
In witness whereof, I, the said Victor Hippolyte Laurent, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, in the
presence of
A. DAGUENET.
H. VOR LAURENT. (L.S.)