Improvements in Bolt and Rivet Cutters.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 26th May, 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bolt and Rivet Cutters.
I, ANNA HELWIG, residing at 81, Summit Avenue, in the City of St. Paul,
County of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, United States of America, Manufac-
turer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in bolt and rivet cutters, and the main
object of my invention is to provide a light, compact and handy bolt and rivet
clipper which may be handled and used with ease and rapidity, and which may
be operated by the pressure of air, steam or any other gas or fluid.
This and other objects I attain by the novel construction and arrangement
of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1, is a top view, and
Fig. 2, is a side view of the complete machine, Fig. 2 representing the device
in position for cutting off the surplus ends of stay bolts in a section of steam
boiler.
Fig. 3, is an enlarged rear end view of the operating cylinder.
Fig. 4, is a longitudinal central section through the cylinder, on a horizontal
line aa in Fig. 2, or a vertical line in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5, is an enlarged rear end view of the operating cylinder, with the valve
casing and valve in cross section, on the line c, c, of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6, is a side view of the piston and piston rod and the interior of the front
portion of the machine, one of the frame plates being removed. In this figure
also some modifications in the construction are shown.
Fig. is a detail view of an eye stud for guiding a certain gauge.
Fig. 8, is a detail top view of the gauge guided and retained by the stud in
Fig. 7.
Fig. 9, is a front end view of the cylinder or rather its front cover showing
how the working yoke is secured thereto.
Fig. 10, is a section top view on the line b, b, in Fig. 6.
Fig. 11, is a perspective view of one of the jaws detached.
Fig. 12, is a perspective view of one of the inserted knives detached and
reversed.
Referring to the various parts, in the drawing by reference numerals, 1, 1, are
the cheek plates serving as the frame of the machine. These are secured
together by the two bolts 2, upon which are pivotally mounted between the plates,
the jaw-levers 3, provided with cutting edges, or knives, 4. Upon the bolts 5,
which also help to secure the plates 1, 1, together, are fulcrumed a pair of power-
increasing levers 6, 6, of which the front ends engage the rear ends 7, of the
jaw levers by means of circular sockets on the levers 6, fitting into circular
cavities in the jaw levers 7, which while forming a flexible joint, will prevent
any separation of the parts, while the long rear ends, which in Fig. 1 will be
seen to curve outward toward their ends, form the operating levers. To or
between the rear edges or lips S, of the cheek plates is secured the end of the
piston rod 9, of the piston 10, upon which moves back and forth the double-
acting cylinder 11, which, upon the diametrical lug 12, of its front head 16, or

page_text: otherwise secured to it, carries the yoke 13, which by its anti-friction rollers 14,
closes, and by its pins 15, spreads the levers 6, as the cylinder moves backward
or forward, respectively. From the rear cylinder head 17, to the outer ends of the
yoke extend the rods 18, which brace the yoke so that it may be made very light
and also serve, together with the bolts 19, to keep the heads on the cylinder,
which may, however, also have the heads screw-threaded into, or as in Fig. 4,
upon its ends. This construction enables the cylinder to be made very cheaply
and light from pieces of brass tube about six or seven inches in diameter and
about 18 inches long.
The valve whereby the compressed air is admitted to and discharged from the
cylinder is attached to the rear head 17, and consists of a "plug" valve 22,
adapted to be rotated in a shell 20, formed upon the head 17, and secured in the
shell by a screw cap 21, and with four pipes 27, 21, 25, and 28, leading into
the shell at equi-distant points, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The pipe 27, leads
to the forward end of the cylinder through the head 12, while the opposite pipe 26,
leads to the other end of the cylinder through the head 17, while the pipes 25,
and 28, lead off at right angles to the pipes 27, and 26, the pipe 25, being
the air intake pipe and the pipe 27, being the exhaust pipe from the cylinder.
The plug 22, is formed with two elongated cavities 23, 24, on opposite sides, as
shown in Figs. 4 and 5, adapted to alternately connect the pipes 27, and 25,
or pipes 28, and 26, or vice versa, as the case may be. That is to say, if the
plug 22, be turned as shown in Fig. 5, the compressed air will flow through the
passage 23, and pipe 27, into the forward end of the cylinder, and the air on
the opposite side of the cylinder will exhaust through the pipe 26, passage 24,
and pipe 28. Then if the plug 22, be turned one-fourth a revolution the air
entering by the pipe 25, will flow through the passage 28, and pipe 26, to the
rear end of the cylinder and exhaust through the pipe 27, passage 24, and
pipe 28, from the front end of the cylinder.
The valve 22, is adapted to be operated by pins or arms 29, attached to the
rearwardly extended valve stem 31, and the throw is limited by a stop pin 32.
When the pins 29, are thrown as shown in Fig. 3, the passages 23, and 24, will
be in the reversed position from that shown in Fig. 5, and if the pins 29, be
reversed in position then it will be readily understood the valve will be reversed.
The valve stem 31, serves the double purpose of a means for rotating the
valve, and also as a handle by which to guide the machine.
33, is a clevis by which the machine may be suspended from a counter-
balanced rope to assist in raising and lowering it about steam boilers and other
iron structures on which it is to operate. This clevis may be secured in any
suitable way and to any suitable point of the machine, but in the present
instance it is shown as pivoted on the bolt 34, by which the piston rod is secured
to the plates, and which is extended so that its outer end forms a handle 35,
and its inner end forms a gauge 36, adapted to touch against the plate of the
structure worked upon, as shown at 37, and thus cause the edges of the cutters
to come to their transverse position upon the bolts to be cut, just as soon as
they are thrown up to the plate of the structure. The quick guiding of the
cutting edges to the proper point and position upon the bolt to be cut is further
facilitated by the sliding gauge or guide 38, which is guided between the
adjacent roundings 39, of the jaw levers, and the plates 1, 1, and has its rear
and round portion encircled by a coil spring 40, and retained in the eye stud 41,
by the pin 42. The spring 40, butting against the eye-stud holds the slide
normally forward with the pin 42, against the stud 41, and the front end 43,
against the side of the bolt 44, to be cut, and which is thereby held about central
to the knives as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.
The piston rod 9, is fitted rigidly in a "head" and the "head" secured firmly
between the plates 1, 1, by the rod 34, passing through both the extensions 8, 8,
and the head
$
in which the piston rod is secured, and the piston rod may
have shoulders like .45, butting against the rear ends of the extensions 8, 8, of

page_text: the plates 1, 1, so as to take part of the strains from the gauge end 30, of the
pin 34, or the additional pin 46, may be inserted, as shown in the modification
Fig. 6, where the piston rod is thus made rigid with the plates 1, and serving
thereby as a guide for the cylinder directly and for the operating levers indirectly
through the yoke 13. In the modification shown in Fig. 6, the intermeshing
cogs 47, are dispensed with and dependence placed on the co-action of the
operating levers 6, 6, and the jaw levers 3, 3, to produce the required action.
48, are gauges inserted in the pockets 49, in the sides of the jaw-levers facing
the work; they work exactly on the same principle as the gauge 38, only that
they are regulated and retained not by a pin but by nuts placed like 51, upon
the stem 52, which projects through the back side of the lever.
In operating the gauges 48, touch against the face of the boiler plate or other
structure operated upon and thus hold the knives the proper distance from the
plate, and the gauge or guide 38, guides the knives. into their central position
relatively to the bolt, and the guide 6, insures the transverse position of the
knives.across the bolt so that the machine can in an instant be placed in correct
position on the bolt. Usually, after the machine is suspended by a rope or
chain, the operator with one hand on the hand hold 35, and with the other hand
by the handle formed by the valve-stem 31, which is left long and is used as a
guiding handle, places the machine on the bolt and turns the stem 31, so that
the compressed air or other similar agent enters the rear end of the cylinder
and forcing it and the yoke rearwardly operates the levers and cuts the bolt
fast or slowly according as the stop levers 29, are regulated relatively to the
stop giving the air a larger or smaller inlet to the cylinder. The valve plug is
then turned in the reverse direction so that the air exhaust from the rear end
enters the front end of the cylinder, which moves the latter forward, thereby
spreading the levers 6, and the knives 4, into readiness for operation on the
next bolt. The yielding spring 40, allows the guide 38, to slide backward when
pressed upon by the spreading of the bolt as the knives cut through it. In like
manner the springs 49, on the gauges 48, yield so as to prevent the knives from
breaking when they are slightly drawn toward the work or plate by their greater
bevel or grinding on the outer than the inner side.
53, are holes in the levers 6, for the reception of the stops 54, to arrest the
rearward motion of the yoke when the edges of the knives are sufficiently close
together to sever anything between them. As the knives get worn, and shortened
by grinding the stop is moved rearward.
It is obvious that the form and location of the valve and its connection with
the cylinder as well as the shape of the yoke and braces on it, may be much
varied without diverging from the spirit of this invention.
The rear edges of the cutting knives fit against shoulders formed on the jaw-
levers, and are each held, preferably by one bolt, the shoulders bearing the
backward strains and the single bolt providing for the holding of the knives in
place on the jaws. The bolts will be of a less tensile strength than the shoulders
or the knives, so that they will break under undue strains and thus relieve the
knives from the danger of breakage. The adjacent cutting edges of the knives
are inclined, as shown in Figs. 1, 6, and 12, so that the cutting edges will come
together in parallel lines at their meeting points, to insure a clean cut" at
the end of the stroke.
The rear edges of the cutting knives will be preferably formed slightly angular
to fit beneath a corresponding angle on the shoulder, so that a slightly "dove-
tail joint will be formed between the knife and jaw, to assist in holding them
together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A bolt or rivet cutter comprising two plates for its frame nivated betwean

page_text: said plates a pair of jaw levers and a pair of power-increasing operating levers
engaging the jaw levers; a piston rod having one end secured to said plates and
its other end provided with a piston, a cylinder sliding upon said piston and
piston rod and carrying a yoke which engages the operating levers so as to
spread and close them, and a valve arrangement for conducting compressed air
or similar agent into and from either end of the cylinder, substantially as shown
and described.
2. A bolt or rivet clipper comprising two plates for its frame pivoted between
said plates, a pair of jaw levers and a pair of power-increasing operating levers
engaging the jaw-levers; a piston rod having one end secured to said plates
and its other end provided with a piston, a cylinder sliding upon said piston
and piston rod and carrying a yoke which engages the operating levers so as
to spread and close them, and a valve arrangement for conducting compressed
air or similar agent into and from either end of the cylinder, said yoke carrying
anti-friction rollers to lessen the friction of its contact with the levers.
3. A bolt or rivet cutter comprising two plates for its frame, pivoted between
said plates, a pair of jaw levers and a pair of power-increasing operating levers
engaging the jaw levers; a piston rod having one end secured to said plates and
its other provided with a piston, a cylinder sliding upon said piston and piston
rod and carrying a yoke which engages the operating levers, so as to spread
and close them, and a valve arrangement for conducting compressed air or
similar agent into and from either end of the cylinder, said yoke carrying
anti-friction rollers to lessen the friction of its contact with the levers, and said
operating levers being curved outward toward their free end, substantially as
shown and described.
4. A bolt or rivet cutter comprising two plates for its frame, pivoted between
said plates a pair of jaw levers and a pair of power-increasing operating levers
engaging the jaw levers; a piston rod having one end secured to said plates and
its other end provided with a piston, a cylinder sliding upon said piston and
piston rod and carrying a yoke which engages the operating levers so as to
spread and close them, and a valve arrangement for conducting compressed air
or similar agent into and from either end of the cylinder, said operating levers
having adjustable stops to limit the motion of the yoke, substantially as shown
and described.
5. A bolt or rivet cutter comprising two plates for its frame, pivoted between
said plates a pair of jaw levers and a pair of power-increasing operating levers
engaging the jaw levers: a piston rod having one end secured to said plates and
its other end provided with a piston, a cylinder sliding upon said piston and
piston rod and carrying a yoke which engages the operating lever's so as to
spread and close them, and a valve arrangement for conducting compressed air
or similar agent into and from either end of the cylinder, said yoke being
secured to one end of the cylinder or its head and having braces from near its
outer ends to the head at the other end of the cylinder, substantially as shown
and described.
6. In a bolt and rivet clipper the combination with a pair of cutting jaws
having their cutting edges standing at a bevel with the side of the machine, of
a guide projecting from the side of the machine and adapted to touch the
plate of the structure operated upon when the cutters are near the plate and
stand parallel to its face, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
7. A bolt or rivet clipper having a yielding guide touching one side of the
bolt to be cut when the knives of the cutter are in central position to the bolt,
substantially as set forth.
8. In a bolt or rivet cutter of the class described, the combination of yielding
gauges 48, and 38, adapted to guide the cutting edges of the machine both in
Tongitudinal and transverse direction upon the bolt to be cut, substantially as
shown and described.
9. In a bolt or rivet cufter of the class described, the combination of yielding

page_text: gauges 48, and 38, adapted to guide the cutting edges of the machine, both in
longitudinal and transverse direction upon the bolt to be cut, and a rigid guide
adapted to touch the work and hold the cutting edges across the bolt, substan-
tially as shown and described.
.
10. A bolt and rivet clipper of the class described, the same having a yielding
guide or gauge touching the side of the bolt or rivet to be cut when the knives
are about central to the bolt, so as to prevent cutting at the corners or ends of
the cutting edges, substantially as set forth.
11. A bolt or rivet cutter having a longitudinally moving cylinder adjacent to
its operating levers and a yoke or arms extending from the cylinder and
operating the levers, a piston in the cylinder and a piston rod extending there-
trom and secured with its outer end to the frame work of the machine, and
means for admitting steam or compressed air or fluid to the cylinder, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
12. In a bolt or rivet cutter of the class described, the combination with the
cylinder 11, having the yoke 13, operating the levers of the machine, of the
centrally arranged rotary valve 20, at the end of the cylinder communicating
with both ends thereof, and having an inlet and exhaust pipe, the stem 31,
extending from the plug of the valve, the two levers 29, adjustably secured on
the stem and the stop 32, limiting the motion of the said levers, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
13. In a bolt and rivet clipper, a pair of jaws having shoulders thereon,
cutting knives supported with their rear edges against said shoulders and secured
by a bolt of weaker tensile strength than said shoulder, substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
14. In a bolt and rivet clipper, a pair of jaws adapted to be moved toward
and away from the article to be severed and with detachable knives connected
thereto, substantially as shown and described.
15. In a bolt and rivet cutter, a pair of jaws adapted to be moved toward
and away from the article to be severed, and with detachable knives connected
thereto, the cutting edges of said knives being so formed as to meet centrally
of the jaws when in action, substantially as shown and described.
Signed at St. Paul, in the County of Ramsey and State of Minnesota,