IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BICYCLE AND TRICYCLE HEADS AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1884

page_text: I THOMAS SMITH of 14 Shadwell Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BICYCLE AND TRICYCLE HEADS AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR to be as follows:-
Hitherto those parts of Bicycle and Tricycle heads have been stamped in suitable
dies with an aperture which when sufficiently cut away is intended to receive the
neck of the frame but it is found in manufacturing the same that much labour is
required to be bestowed upon these heads before they can be used for the intended
object. By my improved invention I am enabled to stamp the said head with a
semicircular aperture without the necessity of boring. This I accomplish as
follows. When the aperture is to be closed to its desired degree and so form a
semicircular slot within it I insert therein a suitable mandril, which by preference
I construct of three pieces, the outer ones being semicircular and the inner one of a
wedge shape When it is desired to close in a head these mandrils are placed
within a stamping, the wedge shaped one keeping the others in position. The
stamp with its closing die is then brought down upon the forging and the metal is
forced inward upon the mandril into a semicircular shape within the head.-It will
be understood that the said mandril can be withdrawn from the stamping. by
withdrawing the said inner wedge piece.

page_text: I THOMAS SMITH of 14 Shadwell Street Birmingham in the county of Warwick,
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BICYCLE & TRICYCLE HEADS & APPARATUS THEREFOR and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
a'
It has hitherto been the practice to stamp these parts of Bicycles & tricycles
from the metal in a solid form, thus necessitating their being afterwards bored, cut
away, or otherwise hollowed out in order to receive the neck of the bicycle or
tricycle frame, which fits therein. By my improved invention however, I stamp
these parts from the metal, in a hollow form, having one side open as shewn in fig 1
of the accompanying drawings, & by means of suitable tools I then close them over
to the form shewn in figure 3.-This I accomplish as follows, Having by the use
of suitable tools or dies produced a stamping of the form shewn in fig 1, I insert in
the hollow cavity therein the two pieces of metal shewn in fig. 2, which pieces I by
preference construct of steel, but they may be of any other suitable metal.. I then
place the stamping in the bottom die which is shaped to receive it & then bring
down thereon, the top tool.
.
1.
.
1
The said top tool is of a suitable form having theréon a wedge shaped projection."
This projection entering into the hollow cavity in the stamping, between the two
loose pieces, the metal is by the pressure forced round the projection on the top
tool. The top tool now being. lifted, the two loose pieces can also be taken out
through the slot in the front of the stapping, which will now be of the form shewn
in fig 3, and only requires boring through the small thickness of metal at the top
and bottom.
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,
i
:
1. The use of the top tool with the wedge shaped projection thereon..
.
2: The use of the two loose pieces in combination with the said top tool.
r
3. The mode of stamping and closing bicycle and tricycle heads in a hollow form
as hereinbefore described.