THE MANUFACTURE OF Am GUN DARTS AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Marcus Quackenbush, of Herkimer, in
the County of Herkimer, and State of New York, in the United
· States of America, for the Invention of “THE MANUFACTURE OF Am
GUN DARTS AND OTHER ARTICLES."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Marcus Quacken-
bush at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 4th October 1875, pursuant to
the 9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
MAROUS QUACKENBUSH, of Herkimer, in the County of Herkimer, and
State of New York, in the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for “THE MANU-
FACTURE OF AIR GUN DARTS AND OTHER ARTICLES," and have petitioned Her
most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,

page_text: and have made solemn Declaration that I am the first and true
Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Marcus Quackenbush, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention to be as follows:-
The Drawings accompanying this Specification represent in Figure 1 |
a longitudinal section, and in Figure 2 a cross section of a dart embody-
ing my improved construction.
Figure 3 represents a modification in cross section of my Invention to
be hereafter explained.
My Invention consists in driving a plug, pin, or other object of metal 1
or a sufficiently hard material within the tube which constitutes part of
the dart, and inserting between such plug and the inner periphery of
such tube the strands of silk, bristles, or other material of which the
tuft of the dart or the body of a brush, etc., may be composed, the
result being that the plug or core being driven with great force into 1
the tube securely retains the tuft or bristles therein by friction or
compression.
In the Drawings A represents the metallic portion or head of the dart,
consisting of a tubular body B and a pointed head C after the ordinary
manner of producing such articles.
The tuft of fibrous material which steadies the motion of the
projectile is shown at D, and it is to the method of securing this tuft
to or within the body of the dart that I lay claim as my Invention.
"Heretofore a cord or thread has been wound about one end of this
tuft, and it has then been secured within the tube B by shellac or other 3
cements, and as a consequence it frequently becomes detached.
In carrying out my Invention I procure a quantity of fibrous material
of sufficient amount as when doubled to tightly fill the tube B, and of a
length double that heretofore used, and I double this material and
enclose within the bend or fold a small pin a or plug of metal or other
substance of a length or size equal to or about so of the inner diameter
of the said tube B. I then drive the pin transversely into the tube B
and down to or nearly its bottom, the fibrous material being as a
consequence carried with it and securely confined in place.

page_text: The length of the pin is such as to require considerable force in
driving it to place, and when thus driven it will never be displaced,
except by the exertion of great power and the probable ruin of the
dart.
Under the method heretofore practiced individual strands of the tuft
would work their way out, and in time the tuft becomes loose and reduced
in size and escape from the tube. By my method of construction single
strands cannot escape, and the whole tuft is held firmly in place.
Though I have shown my Invention as.applied to the production of
darts for air pistols its principle is susceptible of wide application, as,
for instance in securing bristles to brushes, etc., therefore I do not desire
to restrict myself to the manufacture of darts. Nor do I restrict myself
in any manner to the shape of the plug or core, nor the material of
which it is composed, as these will doubtless be varied considerably
under different conditions, as, for instance, it may be in the form of a
pellet or shot of lead, which, when driven with force into the tube will
be compressed and form a tight plug within the surrounding mass of
material, as shown in Figure 3 of the Drawings.
It is not imperative that the strands of silk or material should be
doubled, as before explained, as in many cases the pressure of the plug
within the tube will be amply sufficient to securely hold such material in
place without the fold.
First. The method herein described of compressing or confining a
tuft or mass of silk, bristles, or other material within a tube, that is to
say, the driving within the said tube of a plug or core of any suitable
form, and of such a size as to tightly compress within the bore of the
tube the material which surrounds or is combined with such plug, and
which constitutes the "tuft" of a dart, the bristles of a brush, etc.,
substantially as and for purposes stated.
Second. The method herein shown of confining the fibrous material
or strands within the tube B, that is by doubling or folding such material
or strands and enclosing within the fold or bend a plug or wedge of any
suitable form, size, or material, which with such folded material or

page_text: strands is driven forcibly into the tube or other object which receives
them, substantially as and for purposes stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Marcus Quackenbush, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September,
1875.
HENRY MARCUS QUACKENBUSH. (L.S.)