Improvements in the Construction of Metallic Bird Cages and other Wirework, and the Piercing Tools used in the Manufacture of the same.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Nov., 1897-Accepted, 5th Feb., 1898,
Improvements in the Construction of Metallic Bird Cages and other
Wirework, and the Piercing Tools used in the Manufacture
of the same.
I, CHARLES MOHR, of 113, Bradford Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Japanner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object the improvement in the construction of metallic
birdcages and other wirework, the joints of which are usually laced together, and
tinned or galvanized afterwards. In my invention I make the horizontal or cross
bars, for instance of a parrot cage, of oval or flat wire, in steel or iron. The width of
the bars being about No. 4 wire gauge, and the thickness about No. 11. In these
bars I pierce, by a specially constructed presstool (hereinafter described, and forming
part of this invention), holes about one inch apart. Through these holes the upright
wires are passed, forming with the horizontal bars the body of a parrot cage. These
upright wires are secured, in the holes of aforesaid bars, by closing the metal of the
bars onto the upright wires by means of a tool, called a key, which has a formation
like a blunt chisel. When such parrot cage body is complete in its shape, the whole
is then tinned or galvanized; thus making all the joints of the parrot cage body
solid. Other wirework is treated, as far as the joining is concerned, in the same
aforesaid manner. The presstool, for piercing the holes in the horizontal bars, is
constructed with a view of keeping such bars straight during the process of piercing,
and preventing the bars from bending and breaking where the holes have weakened
the same. The upper part of the presstool, which fits into the nose of the press,
consists of a piercing punch and a gauge hole. Between the gauge hole and the
punch, and on the opposite side of the punch, two groves are cut on the bottom face
of the presstool. These groves are cut so as to clear the puller off which is fixed on
the bolster. The die, or bottom tool, consists of a hole to correspond with the punch
in the upper tool; and a distance peg to correspond with the gauge hole in the upper-
tool. When a blow is made to pierce a hole, the aforesaid groves in the uppertool
allow the face of the same to come in contact with the bar that is being pierced;
thus pressing aforesaid bar and keeping it straight. The uppertool has the lower
part made in halves; one half is moveable. Between these halves the punch, doing
the piercing, is fixed in a grove; the punch being clinched by screws passing
horizontally through the aforesaid halves of the uppertool. The object of the gauge
hole in the uppertool is that it has in my invention to assist in flattening any burr
that may have formed from the wear of the punch or die. This I accomplish during
the piercing of a second hole; the first hole being on the guiding peg of the lower-
tool is flattened by aforesaid gaugehole, simultaneously by the blow making the
second hole.

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Metallic Bird Cages and other
Wirework, and the Piercing Tools used in the Manufacture of
the same.
CHARLES MOHR, of 113, Bradford Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Japanner, 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:-
This invention has for its object the improvement in the construction of metallic
bird cages and other wirework, the joints of which have hitherto been laced together,
and tinned and galvanized afterwards.
Fig. 1, of the drawings hereonto annexed, is a view of an elevation of the wire or
body part of a bird cage.
Fig. 2, is a plan of a cross bar of a bird cage.
Fig. 3 is a view of an elevation of the front part of the upper and lower piercing
tool, illustrating the process of piercing a cross-bar G, showing how the groves A A
clear the puller-off B, and also how the face of the upper tool prevents the cross bar G
from being bent by the blow that is made to pierce a hole.
Fig. 4. is an end or sectional view of the piercing tool; C is the moveable half of
the upper piercing tool, secured by screws D, which clinch punch E¹.
Fig. 5 is a plan of the die or lower piercing tool, showing the puller off B, screwed
on the bolster H, also the guiding peg F.
Fig. 6 is a plan of the bottom face of the upper piercing tool, showing the gauge
hole F¹, which corresponds with guiding peg F Fig. 5.
I make the horizontal or cross bars of a birdcage of flat or oval steel or iron wire.
In these bars I pierce holes, as shown in Fig. 2, by a specially constructed piercing
tool, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Through these holes the upright wires are
passed. These upright wires are secured by having indentions made on one edge of
the cross bar, as shown by Fig. 2; by a blunt chisel like tool, which has the effect
of closing the metal of the cross bar onto the upright wires, thereby making the
joints rigid. The complete body of a birdcage, constructed by the aforesaid process,
is then tinned or galvanized, thus making all the joints of the cage solid; the joints
of the birdcage having been made rigid, prevents the cage getting out of shape
during the process of tinning or galvanizing. The piercing tool is constructed as
follows. The upper part of the same, which fits into the nose of the press, consists
of a piercing punch E¹ Fig. 3 and a gauge hole F¹ Fig. 6. Between the gauge hole,
and the punch and on the opposite side of the punch, two groves A A Fig. 3 are cut
on the bottom face of the piercing tool so as to clear the puller off B Fig. 5. The
die or bottom tool consists of a hole E Fig. 5 to correspond with the punch E¹ Fig. 3
of the upper tool; and a distance peg F Fig. 5 to correspond with gaugehole F¹
Fig. 6 in the upper tool. When a blow is struck to pierce a hole in the cross bar,
the groves A A Fig. 3 in the upper tool allow the face of the same to come in
contact with aforesaid bar G Fig. 3 that is being pierced, thus pressing said bar and
preventing it being bent. The upper tool has the lower part made in halves, one
half C Fig. 4 is moveable; between these halves the punch E¹ Fig. 4 is fixed in a
grove, the punch being clinched by screws D, and can readily be replaced in case of
breakage. The object of the gaugehole F1 Fig. 6 is that it has to assist in flattening
any burr that may have formed from the wear of the punch or die; this I accomplish
during the piercing of a second hole, the first hole being on the guiding peg F
Fig. 5 is flattened by the gaugehole F¹ Fig. 6 simultaneously by the blow making
the second hole.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, I

page_text: wish it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the precise details now given
by way of illustration, as they are capable of alteration so far as to make birdcages
or wirework more ornamental; and as regards the piercing tools, two or more holes
may be pierced at one blow; but without departing from the main characteristics of
my said invention, I claim :-
1th The mode of joining steel or iron wire by forcing the metal of the cross bars
onto the upright wires, jointed in this way and tinned or galvanized afterwards.
2nd The construction of the piercing tools, for piercing the cross bars, substantially
as herein described.