A NEW OR IMPROVED NAIL OR SPIKE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Westley, of Willington, in the County of
Derby, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED NAIL
OR SPIKE."
Sealed the 29th July 1856, and dated the 18th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Westley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
April 1856.
I, WILLIAM WESTLEY, of Willington, in the County of Derby, Civil En-
gineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
NAIL OR SPIKE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a nail or spike, constructed as follows:-My said
improved nail or spike resembles the ordinary nail or spike so far as the
head and the general figure of the body are concerned, but instead of being
pointed, my improved nail or spike is made as follows at its end: the said end
is made of two planes, inclined to each other from the outer to the middle of
the nail or spike, thus forming two wedges, the inclined faces of which are
turned towards each other instead of the backs, as in the ordinary nail or spike.
The said nail or spike is slit up its middle two-thirds or thereabouts of its
length. When the nail or spike is driven into wood, the wedge-shaped ends,
in consequence of their inclined faces being turned towards each other, cause

page_text: the two halves of the nail or spike to open as the said nail or spike is driven,
so that the two ends of the nail or spike are widely separated when the said
nail or spike is driven home. By this action a nearly double surface is obtained
in the nail or spike, whereby its resistance in withdrawal is increased, and the
curved figure which the two parts assume occasions a still further resistance.
By nail or spike I mean any fastening which is driven by percussion or pressure
after the manner of a nail. I do not limit myself to the precise details
described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Westley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WESTLEY, of Willington, in the County of Derby, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Westley, Her special licence that I, the said William Westley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Westley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should, and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED NAIL OR
SPIKE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Westley,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Westley, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:―

page_text: My said Invention consists of a nail or spike constructed in the manner
herein-after particularly described, and illustrated in the accompanying Draw-
ing. The essence of my said Invention consists in making the end of a split
nail or spike of such ä figure, that on driving the said nail or spike, the end
opens and spreads out, thereby giving the said nail or spike a firmer hold than
that of the ordinary náil or spike, and offering greater resistance. to the drawing
out of the said nail or spike.
Figure 1 represents, in elevation, a nail or spike made according to my
Invention. The body of the nail or spike is split into two legs or fangs a, b,
the said legs or fangs a, b, being chamfered or bevilled at their ends a¹, b¹,
the said bevilled ends constituting two wedges, the inclined faces of which are
turned towards each other. In driving the nail or spike into wood or other
substance, the wedge-shaped ends, in consequence of their inclined faces being
turned towards each other, cause the two halves a, b, of the nail or spike to
open, in the manner represented in Figure 2; the two ends a', 6', being widely
separated when the said nail or spike is driven home.
My improved nail or spike may be made of any of the forms of iron repre-
sented in section in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Instead of having two
solid legs or fangs, as represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, they may have
two hollow legs or fangs, as represented in Figures 5 and 7; or four hollow
legs or fans, as represented in Figure 8; or three or four triangular legs or
fangs, as represented in Figures 10 and 9 respectively. My improved nail or
spike may be made by welding together at one end the two or other number
of pieces constituting the legs or fangs of the nail or spike, and fashioning the
welded portion into a head. I sometimes make my improved nail or spike
out of a solid piece of iron, and by sawing or other mechanical operation, slit
it in the manner represented in Figure 1. Although I usually make my
improved nail or spike of iron, yet I do not limit myself thereto, as my im-
proved nail or spike may be made of various other metals and metallic alloys,
and of various other sectional forms.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I am aware that
hollow spikes and slit spikes have already been made, and that I do not lay
claim either to a split solid or split hollow nail or spike, excepting in so far as
the form of the legs or fangs of the said spikes and their method of manu-
facture are concerned. I also wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the precise details herein described of carrying my Invention into effect, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my said Inven-
tion; but I claim as my Invention the new or improved nail or spike herein-

page_text: before described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say,
a split solid or hollow spike, consisting of two or greater number of legs or
fangs, the ends of the said legs or fangs being so inclined or shaped so that
the said legs or fangs open or separate as the nail or spike is driven into wood
or other substance.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Westley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
THOMAS AINSWORTH.
WILLIAM WESTLEY. (L.S.)