Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1883
Specification Accepted, 31st Aug., 1888
I, PERCY HADDAN of the firm of Herbert & Co., Patent Agents of 18 Buckingham
Street, Strand, W.C. London in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention a communication to me from abroad by Minard
M. Smith of Brooklyn in King's County, State of New York, United States of
America, Manufacturer, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates more particularly to machines for making nails and
escutcheon pins of wire and it consists of mechanism for adjusting the various dies
and cutters for the purpose of obtaining greater accuracy and uniformity in the result
and also of mechanism for removing the finished nail with more certainty of operation
than heretofore attained, and also of such mechanism and arrangement of the parts as
shall make the body rough, bearded or spiral without the necessity of rehandling the
material as shown in the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 is a plan view of
a machine as in operation, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine and Fig. 3 is a
sectional view taken upon line a showing the cutting off dies, holding dies and
their connections.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout.
In this machine the wire, as drawn from a coil, passes through a straightening
mechanism to an apparatus for milling roughening or bearding it and thence to a pair
of feed jaws, which seizing the wire carry it forward to the proper distance for making
a nail. From the feed jaws the wire passes between the holding dies or grippers,
which grip the wire firmly supporting it against the blow of the header.
When the nail is headed the holding dies relax their grip, the feed jaws advance

page_text: .
the wire, the proper distance and the cutting and pointing dies close cutting off and
shaping the point in one operation when the nail is struck by the knocker off and
drops from the machine. All and several of which operations must be so adjusted
and timed relatively to each other as to work without interferance and without
delay.
For this purpose these various mechanisms are mounted upon a suitable bed or
frame A upon a part a of which a carriage B is fitted to slide to and fro.
Upon the carriage B are a set of straightening rolls 60, 614 placed so as to force the
wire to assume a waved line in passing. For this purpose the rolls 6° 6° are placed in
line on one side of the wire and a little distance apart being fitted to run freely upon
studs or shafts secured to the carriage B while the rolls 64 are placed upon the
opposite side of the wire in position, alternate to the rolls and are fitted to run
freely upon studs or shafts secured to the plate 63 which is fitted to slide freely in a
track provided for that purpose across the line of the wire. bringing the rolls 614 partly
between the rolls 60 as shown in Fig. 1.
The carriage 613 is actuated and held in place by means of a cam lever 68 which
forces the rolls 614 against the wire or if desired to open the straightener to facilitate
the entrance of a fresh coil of wire, the cam lever being swung around to position.
A spring 6 throws the plate 613 back opening the straightener.
To enable the pressure of the rolls 64 upon the wire to be adjusted as desired for
different sizes of wire, the cam lever is provided with a stud upon which it revolves
and which can be adjusted in a slot 612 of the plate 613 by means of a screw 610 and
secured by the binding nut 611 as shown.
Upon the carriage B are also a pair of milling rolls 61 6¹ which are so placed that
by means of pressure screws 62 62 they may be made to compress and mill the surface
of the wire after it leaves the straightening mechanism, without causing the wire to
bend or leave its direct line from the straightener to the pair of feed jaws 63 63³. The
feed jaws or dies 63 63 are placed between two standards or uprights of the carriage B
by means of which they are carried with the motion of the carriage to and fro. The
feed dies 33 are free to separate from each other in the standards and are governed
in their action by a spring . The inner surface of the feed dies 63 63 are so cut and
roughened that they take hold of the wire and draw it from the coil in their forward
movement but being at a fixed distance from the milling rolls and straighteners 6º
and all of these being secured to the same carriage B and moving therewith no part
of labour of straightening or milling, the wire is thrown upon the feed jaws b³.
The carriage B is actuated by means of a lever 66, connection 66 and cam 7 the
cam or crank 6' being secured upon a shaft C by means of set screws or other adjust-
able fastenings so that as the shaft C revolves the carriage with the straightening
mechanism milling mechanism and feed mechanism 63 thereon moves backward
and forward, the feeding mechanism assisted by whatever friction there may be in the
straightening and milling mechanisms drawing the wire forward and passing it
between the holding dies or grippers.
When the end of the wire is gripped by the holding dies and while the head is
being formed, the action of the cam 6 and its connection causes the carriage B with
the straightener 60 milling mechanism 6 and feed dies 63 to return to their first
position ready to move forward and bring up the wire for another nail.
But during this reverse movement, the wire is held fast by the holding dies and
thereby prevented from returning with the carriage B consequently the straightening
mechanism is forced back along the wire a distance sufficient for another nail
straightening the wire as it goes. In a similar manner the milling mechanism is
forced along the wire a similar distance bearding it as it goes and the feed dies are
slipped back the length of a nail ready to feed the wire forward with the next forward
movement of the carriage B.
Thus the labour of holding the wire against the action of the straightening and
milling mechanisms is performed by the holding dies while the feeding movement
proper being relieved of this labour works with far more accuracy and uniformity
than it otherwise could.

page_text: Upon the frame A and firmly secured thereto is a vertical slide D in which are the
holding dies or grippers do and d¹..
The upper die do is secured in position by screws or otherwise and adjusted to a
proper level by means of the pressure screw d² and remains motionless.
The lower die d' is free to move in the slide D and is actuated by means of a
lever d³ and its connections and is adjusted to a proper level by means of a pressure
screw d which governs its distance above the lever d³.
The lever dis secured by a bolt d to the frame A in such a way that it may
swing vertically lifting the die d' and permitting it to fall as it returns. The other
end of the lever d³ is secured by means of a bolt d to a cam lever d' the bolt being
provided with spherically formed male and female washers or heads and nuts so
arranged as to secure the levers, d³, d together but permit a rocking motion of the
bolt do which is thus enabled to accomodate itself to the movement of the levers
while by means of the screw and nut of the bolt d' the connection of the levers can be
adjusted as required.
The lever works upon a bolt or trunnion d' secured to the frame A and
carries at one end a roll do which is acted upon by the cam d". The cam d" is
secured by means of set screws or other suitable fastenings upon the shaft C with
which it revolves.
A spring d is provided which holds the lever d' up to the cam d" and a stop
screw d¹³ is provided in the frame A by means of which the motion of the lever a
can be limited as desired.
Thus the levers d³ and d together form a compound lever of such form that the
cam d may be located on a part of the shaft C where it does not interfere with the
action of other, and important movements of the machine making the whole more
compact and practical in its construction and more perfect in its action than it
otherwise would be.
The operation of this mechanism is such that when the wire is fed forward by the
action of the feeding mechanism as described the cam d causes the compound
lever d³d to lift the die d' gripping the wire against the die do and holding it secure
while it receives the blow of the header and while the straightening and milling
mechanisms are performing their functions, all as above described.
When the nail head is formed upon the wire the cam d¹¹ causes the levers d³d to
permit the die d¹ to drop leaving the wire free to be fed forward the length of a nail
by the feeding mechanism.
When the wire is fed forward by the carriage B and its connections it is cut off
and the point of the nail properly formed by means of the following mechanism.
Upon the frame A are mounted two vertical slides E E which are adjusted in a
horizontal direction by means of adjusting screws e e° and secured as adjusted by
means of binding screws e¹ el el e¹. Upon the slides E E are fitted carriages e² e²
which may be adjusted vertically by means of the screws e³ e³ and secured by the
binding screws e¹ e¹ e¹ e¹.
These slides E E and carriages e² e² are adjusted to a proper position and remain
stationary while the machine is in operation. Upon the carriages e² e² are fitted
sliding carriages es e" which are free to move in a horizontal direction across the path
of the wire. To the sliding carriages ese are secured by means of the clamp bolts e
and gibs e cutting dies e' e' which are also provided with pressure adjusting
screws e
eº.
The cutting off dies e7 are secured in the sliding carriages e³ by means of the clamp
bolts e, gib ell and nut e¹ which draw the gib and dies back against the carriage
The object obtained by the use of the gib e" is to not only reinforce the die e' and
distribute the pressure of the bolt e upon the die carriage e but also to facilitate the
placing and removing of the cutting die e' as occasion requires as the removal of the
gib e leaves increased room in which to turn the die.
By means of these various adjustments as described the edge of the cutting
lies ee may be made to meet in the centre of the wire with great accuracy and

page_text: precision producing a perfect and uniform result and also conducing to the durability
and ease of action of the cutting dies themselves. The sliding carriages e³ e³ are
actuated by means of levers ee which working upon bolts or studs secured in the
frame A are caused to vibrate by the action of cams e¹0.
The cams elo eo are secured by set screws or other adjustable fastenings upon the
shaft C and revolve therewith.
As the nail is cut off by the cutting dies described it is struck and knocked through
an opening in the frame A into any receptacle which may be placed under the
machine and the end of the wire firmly gripped by the holding dies is presented to
the header as the cutting dies separate.
This knocking off or clearing process is performed by a rod or finger F which is
attached to a rock shaft fo and cam lever . The rock shaft fois supported in a
journal box secured to the frame A and the cam lever f1 is actuated by a cam f*
properly adjusted by means of a set screw f³ upon the shaft C.
The cam has a groove or track in which a friction roll or projection of the
lever travels as the cam revolves as shown at 2, Figs. and 2.
By means of this groove the cam governs the motion to and fro of the lever fl
holding the same at all times rigidly in whatever position the convolutions of said
groove may place it thus making what is known in the mechanic arts as a "positive
motion" that is to say a definite and absolute movement not in any way dependent
upon springs, gravity or friction.
The cam can be adjusted relatively to the cutting off and heading mechanisms
so as to act sooner or later as is required by different lengths or sizos of nails.
The nail having been cut off and knocked out of the way, the cutting dies recede
and a heading die or punch commonly called the "header" G is caused to compress
the end of the wire as held by the holding dies producing another head at a blow
when it recedes and the holding dies open and the wire is advanced as described.
The header G is secured to a carriage 9° which is fitted to slide in guides a²
secured to the frame A and is actuated by an eccentric, cam, or crank, formed upon
the shaft C by means of a connecting rod or pitman ¹ in the usual manner. The
shaft C is fitted in journal boxes or bearings as upon the frame A and being rotated
as by means of a pulley and belt or gearing, gives motion as described to all of the
various mechanisms making a complete automatic and efficient machine.
In this machine it will be seen that the accurate adjustment of the various moving
parts, as cutting off and heading dies, and also of the holding, knocking off and
feeding movements both for location and direction and also with regard to the
relative time of their operations, is absolutely essential to produce good work with
uniformity and rapidity all of which are secured by various adjustments as above
described.
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.
1. In a nail making machine, the combination of the slides E carriages e² and their
adjusting and binding screws e e e e so constructed and arranged that the cutting
off dies e may be adjusted both vertically and horizontally by means of the same
substantially as herein shown and set forth.
2. In a wire nail making machine the combination of the sliding carriages es,
clamp bolts es, die e and gibs e" constructed and operated substantially as herein
shown and set forth.
3. In a wire nail making machine the compound lever d³ and d' in combination
with the pressure adjusting screws d and d the movable holding die d¹ and fixed
holding die substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and set forth.
4. In a wire nail making machine the combination of the milling rolls b¹ with the
feeding, heading and cutting off mechanisms, as herein shown and described.
5. In a wire nail making machine the combination of the straightening rolls bº,

page_text: bed plate a and carriage B with the adjustable cam lever 68 and spring 6° constructed
and operated as and for the purpose herein shown and described.
6. In a wire nail making machine the adjusting screw-10 in combination with the
carriage B the bolt 6" and the plate 613, cam lever 68 and slot 612 substantially as and
for the purpose herein shown and set forth.
7. In a wire nail making machine, the combination of the positively acting knocking
off finger F and lever" with the adjustable cam f2 as herein shown and described.
1000.
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C.,
Agents to Applicant.
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C.,
Agents to Applicant.