IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KEYS AND GIBS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Mills, of Heaton Norris, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF KEYS AND GIBS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED
THEREIN."
Sealed the 6th December 1859, and dated the 24th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Mills at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th June 1859.
I, JAMES MILLS, of Heaton Norris, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF KEYS AND GIBS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
to be as follows:-
In manufacturing keys and gibs it has hitherto been customary to forge or
reduce by hammering a rod of iron or steel of the size of the head to that of
the body of the key or gib. Now my Invention consists in manufacturing keys
and gibs in the following manner :-I make use of pieces of iron or steel of
about the breadth and thickness of the body of the key or gib required; these
pieces after being heated at one end are laid in a groove in a steel or other
metal plate, in which they are securely held; a die or stamper is then brought
against the heated end. of the piece of iron or steel to compress it to the shape

page_text: of the head required on the key or gib. The die or stamper is acted upon by
a cam or other suitable mechanism, and in some cases I make several grooves
for holding the pieces of iron or steel in a sliding block or in the circumference
of a disk, which block or disk is moved after each head has been compressed,
so as to bring each piece in succession in a line with the compressing
instrument.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Mills in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MILLS, of Heaton Norris, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Mills, Her special licence that I, the said James Mills, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Mills, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF KEYS AND GIBS, AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Mills, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain 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 James Mills, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement. (that is to say) :-
In manufacturing keys and gibs it has hitherto been customary to forge or

page_text: reduce by hammering a rod of iron or steel of the size of the head to that of
the body of the key and gib. Now my Invention consists in manufacturing
keys and gibs in the following manner :-I make use of pieces of iron or steel
of about the breadth and thickness of the body of the key or gib required;
these pieces after being heated at one end are laid in a groove in a steel or
other metal plate, in which they are securely held; a die or stamper, acted upon
by a cam or other suitable mechanism, is then brought against the heated end
of the piece of iron or steel to compress it to the shape of the head required on
the key or gib. In some cases I make several grooves for holding the pieces
of iron or steel in a sliding block or in the circumference of a disk, which block
or disc is moved after each head has been compressed, so as to bring each
piece in succession in a line with the compressing instrument.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being bad to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machinery for manufacturing
keys and gibs; Figure 2 is an end view; Figure 3 is a plan of the same;
Figure 4 is a plan of the die box; and Figures 5 and 6, elevations of the same
with the instrument to form the head.
which are fixed or cast the
The shaft b is furnished with
pinion and fly wheel b*;
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, a is the bed plate, to
bearings for the driving shaft b and cam shaft c.
the fast and loose pulleys and 6, and with the
the pinion b³ gears
into the wheel c', fixed to the cam shaft c; d is the head-
stock bolted to the bed plate a, and secured by the stays d' to the bearings of
the shaft c; to the headstock d is fixed the die box e, see Figures 4 and 5,
which is provided with a grooved steel plate or die e', to contain the piece of
iron or steel of which the key or gib is to be made; one side of the die e¹ is
moveable and wedge-shaped, as shewn best at e³ in Figure 4; the object of this
will be explained hereafter. The headstock d serves as guide for the moveable
die or stamper, see Figure 6, which is recessed at the outer extremity,
according to the shape of the head of the key or gib; the stamper is moved
towards the key or gib by the cam c², which is made with an antifriction roller
acting on the head f¹ of the stamper, and it is drawn back by the cam acting
on the bridle f; the stamper is prevented rising by the plate g, which is acted
upon by the set screws g' passing through the plate g, which is held by the
shoulders cast to the headstock, as shewn best in Figure 2. To the head-
stock d is also fixed the adjustable angular bracket h, the position of which is
regulated according to the length of the key or gib, and this bracket is acting
upon by the tail pin h', passing through a projection from the headstock. The

page_text: wedge i, shewn best in Figure 2, is to hold the piece of iron or steel of which
the key or gib is to be made in the die e' while the head is being formed; this
wedge is moved to and fro by the grooved cam c', which acts on one end of the
lever, the other end fitting on a stud projecting from the wedge which is
guided in the plate d², cast with or fixed to the headstock; the lever vibrates
on the stud . The moveable side e² of the die box e¹ is acted upon by the
grooved cam c³, which causes the end of the lever j to rise and fall according to
the shape of the groove in the said cam; the fulcrum of the lever j is at j¹, and
the other extremity of this lever acts on the elbow lever, the vertical arm of
which is jointed to the moveable side e³.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The Drawing represents the various
parts of the machine in the positions they occupy when the stamper f has
compressed a head on the key or gib. The first operation is to liberate the
key or jib; for this purpose the wedge i is drawn back by the cam c, the
grove in which, acting on the lever 2, moves the lever into the position in-
dicated by the dotted line in Figure 3, and at the same time the cam ³ acting
on the bridle f brings back the stamperf; the moveable side e of the die e
must now be moved into the position in which it is shewn in Figure 4, and
this is accomplished by the groove in the cam raising the right-hand end of
the lever, and consequently depressing the other end, thereby acting on the
elbow lever j² and drawing out the side e², which being slightly wedge-shaped,
liberates the key or gib, which is then removed by the attendant; another piece
of iron or steel of about the breadth and thickness of the key or gib required,
heated at one end, and of sufficient length to allow for the head being jumped
up or compressed, is then placed in the groove of the die e¹, and the moveable
side e³ is brought back to its original position by the action of the cam c³ on
the lever; the wedge i is then pushed home again by the cam c', thereby
securely holding the piece of iron or steel in the die e¹, while the head is
jumped up or compressed by the stamper f; the adjustable bracket h also
serves to hold the piece of iron or steel while the head is being formed; the
operations then proceed as before. It is evident that double-headed keys or
gibs can be manufactured by the same machine. I wish to remark that the
details of the machine may be considerably modified, and that in some cases I
propose making several grooves for holding the pieces of iron or steel to be
made into keys or gibs in a sliding block or in the circumference of a disk,
which block or disk is moved after each head has been formed or compressed,
so as to bring each piece of iron or steel in succession in a line with the
stamper or compressing instrument.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described a machine

page_text: suitable for carrying the same into practical operation, I declare that I
claim,-
First, the manufacturing keys and gibs with heads by machinery, out of
pieces of iron or steel of about the breadth and thickness of the body of the
key or gib required, the heads being formed by compressing or jumping up
the metal.
Secondly, the improved combination of machinery shewn and described for
forming the heads on keys and gibs.
And, lastly, the die with the moveable side, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5,
to facilitate the removal of the key or gib.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Mills, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
JAMES MILLS. (L.S.)