An Improved Combination Spanner and Locking Tool for Nuts and Bolts.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Combination Spanner and Locking Tool for Nuts
and Bolts.
I GEORGE MASSEY of Post Office Chambers Pitt Street Sydney New South
Wales Consulting Engineer 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 which is specially suitable for operating upon "fish" nuts and
bolts that is the nuts and bolts used for securing the ends of railway metals or
bars together and for which purpose it has been more especially devised consists of
a spanner having a shank or handle of convenient length onto which loosely fits a
tubular sleeve into the one end of which sleeve there is secured a short chisel bit,
by which the nuts after having been screwed up by the spanner end may be quickly
and effectually locked upon their respective bolts by slightly "upsetting" the
thread by making a cut or indent upon the thread of the bolt close up to the nut
with the chisel bit in the end of the tubular sleeve, and which nuts although
thereby securely locked thereon may be again further screwed up and relocked or
they may be removed entirely and again placed into position upon the bolts and
relocked all of which operations may be quickly and easily carried out without
in any way materially injuring or destroying any part whatever of the nut and
bolt.
It is well known that there has been very many inventions relating to the locking
of nuts and bolts which have consisted either of some specially constructed nut or
some specially constructed bolt or both or to some specially constructed washer &c.
and to make use of such inventions for "fishing" rail ends means either removing
the ordinary nut and bolt or adding some other part or parts to effect the locking
and owing to the very great cost of making such alterations in a railway system of
any magnitude very few if any have been extensively used.
A lock nut and bolt to be suitable for securing fish plates to rail ends should
fulfil certain conditions of which the following may be considered as some of the
most important that is-that the weight of the nut and bolt complete with the
locking device must not be in excess of the ordinary nut and bolt; neither must
the cost of manufacturing them be increased. That the time taken up by a man
putting them into position, properly screwing them "home" and locking same must
not exceed that previously necessary. That although effectually locked the nnt
may be either quickly removed altogether or further tightened and again locked
without destroying any part. That the number of parts should not exceed two-
that is, the nut and bolt. That there shall not require any alterations to the fish
plates or to the rails, or to the bolt holes therein. That the strength and the
durability shall not be less than that of the ordinary bolt and nut.
Even should it be practicable to produce a nut and bolt which would fulfil the
foregoing conditions, yet to bring it into use in a railway system already laid down
it would be necessary to remove the nuts and bolts now fixed in the rail ends in
order to admit of the improved one being substituted therefor which would mean
sacrificing a great portion of the capital already expended thereon, and also the
laying out of further capital in the purchase of the improved and also in the cost of
putting same into position.
It is with a view of overcoming all these difficult conditions that I have invented
my apparatus by which not only can the ordinary nuts and bolts be put into
position in the fish plates and tightened up and locked, but also that the nuts and
bolts already in use in the permanent way may be equally so tightened up and
locked, and this latter is of the very greatest importance.

page_text: But in order that my invention may be clearly understood references will now be
made to the drawings herewith in which
Figs. I, II & III are sectional elevations in which A, is a spanner with a shank
or handle B. of any convenient length, C. is a tubular sleeve loosely fitting the
shank or handle B., D is a short chisel bit secured into the one end of the tubular
sleeve C., E is a clamping bolt screwed through the tubular sleeve C.
It will be noticed that in Figs. I & II the shank of the spanner is shown resting
upon the chisel bit, whilst in Fig. III it has been raised.
.
Figs. VI & VII illustrate the mode of using the apparatus on "fish" nuts and
bolts in which Fig. VI shows the spanner end upon the nut in such a position in
which it would be when either taking the nut off or tightening it up and during
which the clamping bolt E would be preferably screwed up to prevent the tubular
sleeve C. from moving up or down the shank or handle B. When the nut has
been screwed "home" the apparatus will be turned end for end and the chisel bit
placed upon the end of the bolt close up to the face of the nut as illustrated by
Fig. VII. when the clamping bolt E. having been slackened the spanner together
with its shank or handle B. is drawn any required distance from the tubular
sleeve C. and then thrust downwards when the lower end of the shank will strike
the upper end of the chisel bit which has the effect of slightly "upsetting" the
thread of the bolt and thereby securely locking the nut thereon.
Figs. IV & V. are complete elevations with the spanner in the same positions
relative to the tubular sleeves as those shown in Figs. I & III respectively.
The chisel bit D. in the end of the tubular sleeve C. I have illustrated as shaped
at the end like an ordinary fitter's chisel which I deer. the most desirable but this
may be modified as may be also the manner of securing the chisel bit into the
tubular sleeve, as for instance instead of it being put in taper and a small pin
through it it may be screwed in, or it may be secured therein by a small "
screw bolt, either of which modifications may be adopted without in any way
departing from the nature of my invention, as may also the spanner end be set out
of the straight as shown in Figs. [* & IIA.
set
"
The upper end of the chisel bit and the end of the shank will be preferably
hardened and tempered to prevent the burring of same.
I would have it distinctly. understood that I am well aware that there is not any
novelty in the locking of nuts upon bolts by slightly upsetting the thread as this
is common practice with builders of carriages buggies and other similar vehicles
who effect it usually by means of an ordinary hammer and chisel; but it is
impracticable for a platelayer or fetler to carry about with him an ordinary
hammer aud chisel in addition to the ordinary spanner when working upon a
railroad.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is.
1st. A combination spanner and locking tool for nuts and bolts consisting of the
combination of a spanner such as A. having a shank or handle such as B. a tubular
sleeve such as C. with a chisel bit such as D. secured in the one end of said tubular
sleeve substantially as and for the purpose herein described and explained and as
illustrated in the drawings.
2nd. A combination spanner and locking tool for nuts and bolts consisting of the
combination of a spanner such as A. having a shank or handle such as B. a tubular
sleeve such as C. with a chisel bit such as D. secured in one end of said tubular
sleeve and a clamping bolt such as E. substantially as and for the purpose herein
described and explained and as illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this Third day of July 1803