IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING PLATE AND OTHER NAILS, SPIKES, AND RIVETS."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Leech, of North Biddick, in the County of Durham,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING
PLATE AND OTHER NAILS, SPIKES, AND RIVETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Leech at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th August 1879.
JOHN LEECH, of North Biddick, in the County of Durham. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING PLATE AND OTHER NAILS, SPIKES, AND RIVETS."
This Invention relates to improvements in machines for making tram plate and
other nails, spikes, and rivets.
Such Invention consists in adapting a series of rolls and dies with the requisite
motions for making the tram plate, or other nails, spikes, or rivets complete with
heads and points. These rolls are divided into two, three, four, or more circular
sections, according to the description of nail required to be manufactured.
Motion is imparted by means of a crank shaft driven by a spur wheel and
pinion from a first-motion shaft carrying a fly wheel, and a pair of fast and loose
belt sheaves, the fast sheave receiving a belt from the main driving shaft.
From a crank pin fixed in the spur wheel a connecting rod takes hold of a
"pawl" working into a ratchet wheel keyed on to the end of a shaft which carries a
lower grooved roller, and has on its opposite end a spur pinion gearing into a pinion
of the same diameter upon the end of an upper shaft which carries an upper
grooved and cam shaped roller.
These lower and upper rollers are connected by spur pinions and revolve in
opposite directions by the action of the before mentioned crank pin and connecting
rod operating upon the "pawl" and ratchet wheel placed on the lower shaft, and by
the combined action of the circular and cam shaped rollers the nail "blank" is
drawn through and pointed between the rollers, which then pass it forward to
have the head formed by means of a heading tool moving in a long guide, and
having fixed in its outer end a die which forms the head of the nail which is beld

page_text: in position while being so headed by means of a suitable arrangement of jaws
and dies, from which it is released by means of a spring, and drops out complete.
In the front of the machine is a pair of shears for cutting off "blanks" of the
required length from the nail rod, which when cut off are pushed forward by a rod
worked by a weigh bar and lever motion from a small crank on the end of the first
mentioned crank shaft to be operated upon by my improved mechanism as already
described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Leech in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th February
1880.
JOHN LEECH, of North Biddick, in the County of Durham. 'IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING PLATE AND OTHER NAILS, SPIKES, AND RIVETS."
This Invention relates to improvements in machines for making tramplate and
other nails, spikes, and rivets.
Such Invention consists in adapting a series of rolls and dies with the requisite
motions for making the tramplate or other nails, spikes, or rivets complete with
heads and points.
These rolls are divided into two, three, four, or more circular sections, according
to the description of nail required to be manufactured.
Motion is imparted by means of a crank shaft driven by a spur wheel and pinion
from a first motion shaft carrying a fly wheel and a pair of fast and loose belt
sheaves, the fast sheave receiving a belt from the main driving shaft.
From a crank pin fixed in the spur wheel a connecting rod takes hold of a
‘pawl" working into a ratchet wheel, keyed on to the end of a shaft which carries
a lower grooved roller, and has on its opposite end a spur pinion gearing into a
pinion of the same diameter upon the end of an upper shaft which carries an upper
grooved and cam shaped roller.
These lower and upper rollers are connected by spur pinions, and revolve in
opposite directions by the action of the before mentioned crank pin and connecting
rod operating upon the "pawl" and ratchet wheel placed on the lower shaft, and
by the combined action of the circular and cam shaped rollers the nail "blank" is
drawn through and pointed between the rollers, which then pass it forward to have
the head formed by means of a heading tool moving in a long guide, and having
fixed in its outer end a die which forms the head of the nail, which is held in
position while being so headed by means of a suitable arrangement of jaws and
dies, from whence it is released by means of a spring, and drops out complete.
In the front of the machine is a pair of shears for cutting off blanks of the
required length from the nail rod, which when cut off are pushed forward by a roɖ

page_text: worked by a weigh bar and lever motion from a small crank on the end of the
first mentioned crank shaft to be operated upon by my improved mechanism as
already described.
And in order that my said Invention may be better understood and readily
carried into effect, I will now proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is an elevation (side view) of the machine, partly in section, to shew
the essential or novel parts of the Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the machine.
The same letters refer to corresponding parts on both Figures. A is a crank shaft
driven by a spur wheel a and pinion b from the first motion shaft A', carrying a
fly wheel and a pair of fast and loose belt sheaves, the fast sheave receiving a belt
from the main driving shaft.
From a crank pin B fixed in the spur wheel a a connecting rod C takes hoid
of a "pawl" D working into a ratchet wheel E keyed on to the end of a shaft F,
which carries the lower grooved roller G, and has on its opposite end a spur pinion
H gearing into a pinion H' of the same diameter upon the end of the upper shaft
F which carries the upper grooved and cam shaped roller G'. These rollers being
connected by the spur pinions H and H', revolve in opposite directions by the
action of the crank pin and connecting rod operating upon the "pawl" and ratchet
wheel on the lower shaft F, and by the combined action of the circular and cam
shaped rollers the "blank" nail is drawn through and pointed between the rollers,
which then pass it forward to have the head formed as follows:-
From the crank A a connecting rod J works the heading tool K, moving in a
long guide L, and having fixed in its outer end a die M which forms the head of
the nail.
On the crank shaft A is a cam N, which by revolving against a roller N¹ in the
jaw end of a connecting rod O, the opposite end of which is wedge shaped, closes
the movable jaw P upon the fixed jaw P¹. These jaws having between them a pair
of dies Q, upon closing grip, and hold the nail while being headed. When the
heading is completed the motion of the cam allows the connecting rod O to be
withdrawn by the action of the spring R¹, and the movable jaw P is opened by the
spring R, the nail dropping out of the dies complete. At the front end of the
machine is shewn a pair of shears for cutting off the "blanks" of the required
lengths from the nail rod; these "blanks" as they are cut off are pushed forward
by the rod S, worked by a weigh bar and lever motion from a small crank T on
end of shaft A. The operation of the machine is as follows:-
A nail rod of heated iron being introduced between the shears (till the end comes
against the gauge plate V) is cut off into a "blank" of the proper length, which
falls down into a trough and is pushed forward by the rod S till it is seized between
the rollers G and G' which form the point, and pass it forward to the dies in the
jaws P and P¹, which, closing, grip it until the heading tool K advances, and by
means of the die M forms the head of the nail. The heading tool K now recedes,
the jaw P opens from the fixed jaw P¹ by the action of the spring R, and the nail
falls out complete.
I claim as novel,-
Firstly. The arrangement and adaptation of a series of rolls and dies actuated
by the requisite mechanical motions for manufacturing tramplate and other nails,
spikes, and rivets complete, as hereinbefore described and illustrated.
Secondly. The dividing such rolls into any convenient number of circular
sections, according to the description of nail required, as hereinbefore described and
illustrated at Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly The general arrangement and combination of the various mechanical

page_text: parts of my improved machine for making tramplate and other nails, spikes, and
rivets complete, substantially in the manner bereinbefore described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Leech, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
JOHN LEECH. (L.S.)