IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OR SHEARING IRON OR OTHER METALS
Year: 1884

page_text: I THOMAS HORTON of N° 1 Tudor Villas Handsworth New Road Birmingham
in the County of Warwick Boiler Maker do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OR SHEARING IRON OR OTHER METALS,
to be as follows:-
My improvements consist in firmly gripping a sheet or a strip of iron or other
metal to be sheared or cut, between the face of the bottom cutter and a holding
down bar while the top cutter is descending and cutting or shearing off the piece
of metal that I wish to cut or shear off the said sheet or strip. By these means
I am able to cut strips or other pieces of metal off a strip or sheet much squarer on
the edges than if the sheet or strip were merely held in the hands or in tongs.
By these means I am also able to cut strips or other pieces of metal off a strip or
sheet nearer to the end and therefore with less waste than if such strip or sheet
were merely held in the hands or in tongs, as that part of the strip or sheet that
rests upon the face of the bottom cutter being firmly gripped between the face of
the said bottom cutter and a holding down bar it cannot rise up but is held flat on
the face of the bottom cutter while the top cutter descends & cuts off that portion
of the metal I desire to cut off.
When a piece of metal measures less than three inches from the end to that edge
off which I wish to cut strips or other pieces I place it in tongs the jaws of which
are of thin steel about one thirty second of an inch thick.-I cut grooves in the
parts of the holding down bar and face of the bottom cutter where the tongs come
between them so that the holding down bar presses only on the metal to be cut
and not on the tongs-The accompanying Drawing shews a sufficient portion of an
ordinary cutting or shearing machine to shew the nature of my Invention.
Figure 1 is a portion of the front elevation of an ordinary cutting or shearing
machine. Figure 2 is a section of the same through the line a. b. To the slide A
is fixed the top cutter C. and to the slide B which works on the front of the slide A
is fixed a holding down bar E. F is a lever on the end of which is a weight to
press down the slide B-. G is a small lever weighted to slightly over balance the
slide B and keep it against the lever F using the stud c. in the slide A as a fulcrum.
d. is a stud in the slide A which takes the weight of lever F off the slide B when
slide A has risen to within about an inch of the top of its stroke. D is the bottom
cutter. H is the gauge to regulate the size of the metal to be cut off.-I is the
metal to be cut up.

page_text: When the slide A is at top of its stroke the holding down bar E is so regulated
by its length as to project about three quarters of an inch below the top cutter and
therefore presses on the metal to be cut before the top cutter touches it. When the
slide A is at the top of its stroke the lever F is held up by the stud. d. and as the
slide A descends to shear or cut the metal the lever F descending with it carries
down the slide B until the holding down bar E fixed to the slide B presses on the
metal to be cut. As the slide A continues descending the stud d. leaves the lever F
thus throwing the whole weight of lever F on the slide B and causes the holding
down bar E which is fixed to the slide B to press upon the metal and firmly grip
it against the face of the bottom cutter and hold it there while the top cutter
descends and cuts it,
Dated this Second day of January 1884.

page_text: I, THOMAS HORTON of N° 1 Tudor Villas Handsworth New Road Birmingham
in the County of Warwick, Boiler Maker do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING OR SHEARING IRON OR OTHER METALS
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
My improvements consist in firmly gripping a sheet or strip of iron or other
metal to be sheared or cut between the top face of the bottom cutter of a cutting
or shearing machine and a pressing-down bar or gripper while the top cutter is
descending and cutting or shearing off the piece of metal that I wish to cut or
shear off the said sheet or strip.-By these means I am able to cut strips or other
pieces of metal off a strip or sheet much squarer on the edges than if the sheet or
strip were merely beld in the hands or in tongs.-By theso means I am also able
to cut strips or other pieces of metal off a strip or sheet nearer to the end and
therefore with less waste than if such strip or sheet were merely held in the hands
or in tongs as that part of the strip or sheet that rests upon the top face of the
bottom cutter being firmly gripped between the top face of the said bottom cutter
and a pressing-down bar or gripper it cannot rise up, but is held flat against the
top face of the bottom cutter while the top cutter descends and cuts off that portion
of the metal I desire to cut off-By the top face of the bottom cutter I mean that
part of the said cutter on which the sheet or strip of iron or other metal to be cut
or sheared rests while the pressing-down bar or gripper presses upon it-When a
piece of metal measures less than three inches from the end to that edge off which
I wish to cut strips or other pieces I place it in tongs the jaws of which are of thin
steel about one thirty second part of an inch thick. I cut grooves in the parts of
the pressing-down bar or gripper and top face of the bottom cutter where the tongs
come between them so that the pressing-down bar or gripper presses only on the
metal to be cut or sheared and not on the tongs. The accompanying Drawing
shows a sufficient portion of an ordinary cutting or shearing machine to shew the
nature of my Invention. Figure 1 is a portion of the front elevation of an ordinary
cutting or shearing machine. Figure 2 is a section of the same through the
line a. b. To the slide A is fixed the top cutter C and to the slide B which works
on the front of the slide A is fixed the pressing-down bar or gripper E.-F is a
lever on the end of which is a weight to press down the slide B-G is a small lever
weighted to slightly over-balance the slide B and keep it against the lever F using
the stud c in the slide A as a fulcrum. d is a stud in the slide A which takes the
weight of lever F off the slide B when slide A has risen to within about an inch of
the top of its stroke.-D is the bottom cutter, H is the gauge to regulate the size
of the metal to be cut off. I is the metal to be cut up-When the slide A is at top
of its stroke, the pressing-down bar or gripper E is so regulated by its length as to
project about three eighths of an inch below the top cutter C and therefore presses
on the metal to be cut before the top cutter touches it-When the slide A is at top
of its stroke the lever F is held up by the stud d. and as the slide A descends to
shear or cut the metal the lever F descending with it carries down the slide B
until the pressing-down bar or gripper E fixed to the slide B presses on the metal
to be cut. As the slide A continues descending the stud d. leaves the lever F thus
throwing the whole weight of lever F on the slide B and causes the pressing-down
bar or gripper E which is fixed to the slide B to press upon the metal I and firmly
grip it against the top face of the bottom cutter D and hold it there while the top
cutter C descends and cuts it,

page_text: I do not confine myself to the use of a cutting or shearing machine like the one
partly shewn in the accompanying Drawing nor to the method I have described of
applying a pressing-down bar or gripper as it is obvious my Invention of the
application of a pressing-down bar or gripper to grip a sheet or strip of metal
between the said pressing-down-bar or gripper and the top face of the bottom
cutter of a cutting or shearing machine while the top cutter is descending and
cutting the metal may be applied in various ways and to many kinds of cutting or
shearing machines-When the sheet or strip of iron or other metal to be cut or sheared
is so wide that one pressing-down bar or gripper is not sufficient to grip it firmly
against the top face of the bottom cutter I fix two or more of the said pressing-
down bars or grippers to the cutting or shearing machine according to the width of
the sheet or strip of iron or other metal to be sheared or cut.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is, the application of pressing-down bars or grippers to firmly press or grip
a sheet or a strip of iron or other metal between the top face of the bottom cutter
of a cutting or shearing machine and the said pressing-down bars or grippers while
the top cutter of the said cutting or shearing machine is descending and cutting or
shearing off the piece of metal that I wish to cut or shear off the said sheet or strip
of iron or other metal.
Dated thin 95th day of Line 1884