Improvements in Machinery or Appliances for Use in Making the Front Forks of Safety Bicycles and like Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 28th Dec., 1896-Accepted, 30th Jan.. 1997
PROVISIONAI
Improvements in Machinery or Appliances for Use in Making the
Front Forks of Safety Bicycles and like Machines.
I, ROBERT WALKER SMITH, of The Eadie Manufacturing Company Limited,
of Hunt End, Redditch, in the Conuty of Worcester, Cycle Manufacturers'
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of the hereindescribed improvements in machinery or
appliances for use in making the front forks of safety bicycles and like machines.
The said front forks to which my invention applies consist of two tubes usually
of oval section forming the prongs of the fork which are fixed to what is known
as the fork crown and crown plate at the top, these latter being fixed to the
tubular steering post which turns in the steering socket of the bicycle frame. The
fork crown and crown plate are threaded on to the steering pillar and secured
thereto by brazing and the said two tubes forming the prongs of the fork are
threaded through and brazed in holes in the crown plate and also brazed to the
fork crown on which there are lugs or bosses which enter the open ends of the two
tubes.
After the said parts have been machined and fitted together I am by my
invention enabled to bring them into their exact positions and to hold them
there and to drill and peg them together preparatory to brazing. I am thus
enabled to fit and secure the parts together without skilled labour and in much
less time than would be possible without using my invention. Moreover, I ensure
the forks being perfectly true when finished. My invention is, moreover, adjustable
to suit forks of various shapes and sizes.
In carrying out my invention I provide a fork building jig consisting of an
elongated base plate provided with two bearings adapted to hold the tube which
forms the steering pillar. One of these bearings has a collar or facing at the
front which is squared up for the fork crown to bear against.
At a suitable distance in front of the two bearings the said base plate is provided
with a forked bracket made with guides in which is fitted a sliding piece which,
by a screw or spring or other means, can be moved nearer to or farther from
the said bearings and in a line with the centre of the steering pillar. The said
slide is made with notches or recesses in which fit the outer ends of the two
tubes for forming the prongs of the fork these notches being just the proper
distance apart and so arranged as to hold the two fork ends in their exact
positions lineable with the tubular steering pillar. The said bracket is so fitted
to the base plate of the jig that the height of the bracket can be adjusted
nearer to or farther from the centre line of the steering pillar so as to suit
forks of various curves or shapes.
In using the said fork building jig the said parts for forming the combined. fork
and steering pillar are first machined or otherwise shaped to their finished sizes
and the holes at the outer ends of the prongs through which the wheel axle passes
are drilled and both ends of the prongs finished to the proper length. The parts
for forming the fork are theu placed together, that is to say, the fork crown and
crown plate are threaded on to the steering pillar and the upper open ends of the
two tubular prongs of the fork are threaded through the holes in the crown plate
and abutted against the underside of the fork crown the lugs or bosses on the fork

page_text: crown entering the open ends of the tubular prongs as usual. The combined fork
and steering pillar are now placed in position on the jig the steering pillar lying in
its bearings with the upper face of the fork crown bearing against the said facing
or collar and the outer ends of the fork resting in the grooves or recesses in the
slide. The latter is then by the screw or other means moved up towards the fork
crown thus abutting the upper ends of the fork crown tightly against the under
side of the fork crown and holding the parts rigidly together whilst holes are
drilled through the fork crown and crown plate into the steering pillar and also
through the upper parts of the tubular prongs into the bosses or lumps of the fork
crown and pegs are inserted in these holes so as to keep the parts in their exact
positions during the process of brazing the said parts together which can be
performed at one operation.
Whilst the parts are held by the fork building jig as above described I prefer
to drill the said holes for the pegs by the following means which also form a part
of my said invention, although it is to be understood that the fork building jig
above described can be used for holding the said parts whilst the said peg holes
are drilled therein by an ordinary or any other drilling machine.
My said improved drilling appliance is constructed as follows:-I provide a bed
on which the base of the fork building jig is fixed. This bed carries two
headstocks with horizontal spindles carrying the drills for drilling the two holes
through the tubular forked prongs into the lumps or bosses of the fork crown these
spindles being moved to and fro by hand levers so that both holes can be drilled
simultaneously. At right angles to these two drills I provide another headstock
for carrying a vertical spindle which is provided with the drill for drilling the two
holes through the fork crown and crown plate into the steering pillar. This
headstock is made to slide to and fro in a horizontal direction and is moved by a
band lever or by other means and provided with a stop which limits the movement
of the sliding headstock either backwards or forwards, so that when the headstock
is pushed back as far as one stop will allow the drill is in the right position for
drilling the hole in the fork crown into the steering pillar, and when the headstock
is moved forward as far as the other stop will allow the drill is in the right position
for drilling the hole through the crown plate into the steering pillar. Rotary
motion is transmitted to the drills by bands and pulleys or by other means.
Dated this 24th day of February 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Machinery or Appliances for Use in Making the
Front Forks of Safety Bicycles and like Machines.
I, ROBERT WALKER SMITH, of The Eadie Manufacturing Company, Limited,
of Hunt End, Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Cycle Manufacturers'
Manager, do hereby declare the uature 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 consists of the hereindescribed improvements in machinery or
appliances for use in making the front forks of safety bicycles and like machines.
The said front forks to which my invention applies consist of two tubes usually of
oval section forming the prongs of the fork which are fixed to what is known as
'the fork crown and crown plate at the top these latter being fixed to the tubular
steering post which turns in the steering socket of the bicycle frame. The fork

page_text: crown and crown plate are threaded on to the steering pillar secured thereto by
brazing and the said two tubes forming the prongs of the fork are threaded
through and brazed in holes in the crown plate and also brazed to the fork
crown on which there are lugs or bosses which enter the open ends of the two tubes..
After the said parts have been machined and fitted together I am hy my inven-
tion enabled to bring them into their exact positions and to hold them there and
to drill and peg them together preparatory to brazing. I am thus enabled to fit t
and secure the parts together without skilled labour and in much less time than
would be possible without using my invention. Moreover, I ensure the forks being
perfectly true when finished. My invention is, moreover, adjustable to suit forks.
of various shapes and sizes.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on which
Fig. 1 is a front elevation and part side elevation of a machine or appliance
constructed according to this invention for making the front forks of safety
bieyeles and like machines; Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan
of the same;
Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of a part of the said machine;
Fig. 5 is a plan and part side view of a bicycle front fork the parts of which
have been put together by the machine or appliance represented by the preceding!
figures;
Fig. 6 shews parts of the said front fork separately;
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 shew parts of the' said machine or appliance as hereinafter
described.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures of-the
drawings.
In carrying out my invention I provide a fork building jig consisting of an
elongated base plate A provided with two bearings marked respectively a a
adapted to hold the tube C which forms the steering pillar. The front a³ of
the bearing a¹ is faced up square for the fork crown D to bear against. At a
suitable distance in front of the bearings a' a' the base plate A is provided with a
forked bracket E made with guides e' in which is fitted a sliding piece which
by means of the lever nut g' on the stationary screw G, which is fixed to the base
of the bracket E, can be moved along the guides el e nearer to or farther from the
bearings a' and in a line with the centre line of the steering pillar C. It will be
evident that instead of the lever nut gl and screw G being employed for moving
the slide F the said slide may be arranged to be moved to and fro along its guides
by a spring or by other means. The said slide F is made with notches or recesses
marked respectively ff in which fit the outer ends 'h of the two tubes H' H
which form the prongs of the fork these notches fy being just the proper distance
apart (see Fig. 3) and so arranged as to hold the steering fork ends in their
exact positions lineable with the tubular steering pillar C. The bracket E is made
with a vertical base which is planed up and fitted against the vertical facings a
of the base plate A of the jig so that the bracket E can be moved up and down
vertically and its height be adjusted so as to be nearer to or farther from the centre
line X X of the steering pillar C and thus suit forks of various curves or shapes.
The screw bolt e secures the bracket E to the base plate A when the bracket E
has been set to its exact position.
In using the said fork building jig above in part described, the parts for forming
the combined fork and steering pillar, that is to say, the two tubes H H', the
crown plate I, the crown D and the steering pillar C, are first machined or other-
wise shaped to their finished sizes and the holes at the outer ends ' h of the
prongs HH through which the wheel axle is to pass are drilled and both ends of
the prongs H1 H2 are finished to the proper length. The parts for forming the fork
are then placed together as shewn in Fig. 5, that is to say, the fork crown D and
crown plate I are threaded on to the steering pillar C and the outer open ends A
of the two tubular prongs H1 H2 of the fork are threaded through the usual holes
in the crown plate I and abutted against the underside d' of the fork crown D the

page_text: Jugs or bosses d² d³ of the fork crown D entering the open ends h³ ³ of the tubular
prongs HH as usual. The combined fork and steering pillar are now placed in
position on the jig the steering pillar C lying in its bearings a' a with the upper
face d' of the fork crown D bearing against the faced front a of the bearing a' and
the outer ends h¹ h¹ of the fork resting in the grooves or recesses f¹f in the slide F
The slide F is now by turning the screw lever g' moved up towards the fork crown D
thus abutting the upper ends AA of the fork prongs H1 H tightly against the under
side d' of the fork crown D and holding the parts rigidly together. The forks H'H
are further prevented from rising by means of the cotter J which is passed across
the prongs HH through holes in the sides of the forked bracket K which
is fixed to the base plate A of the jig. In order to cramp the central hoss of the
crown plate I tightly against the under face d' of the fork crown D, the spindle O
(see Figs. 4 and 7) is threaded through the tubular steering pillar C from the upper
end and through the hole p' in the plate P which as shewn in Fig. 8 is slotted
at pp to fit on the tubes HH' and bear against the crown plate 1. This plate P
is secured by the forked washer Q Fig. 9 which is driven on to the slotted end of
the spindle o' of the spindle O as shewn in Fig. 4. A collar R is threaded on to
the end of the tube C to bear against the bearing a' and for the boss of the handle o
to bear against. Whilst the combined fork and steering pillar are thus held by the
jig, the holes dare drilled through the fork crown D and crown plate I into the
steering pillar C and holes are also drilled at (see Fig. 5) preferably at right
angles to the holes d³ through the upper parts of the tubular prongs H H into
the bosses or lumps a d³ of the fork crown D and pegs are inserted in all these
holes so as to keep the prongs H¹ H³, crown plate I, fork crown D, and tubular
steering pillar C, in their exact positions relatively to each other during the process
of brazing these parts together which can be performed at one operation.
Whilst the said parts of the combined fork and steering tube are held by the
fork building jig as above described I prefer to employ the following means for
drilling the said holes these means also forming part of my invention when
employed in combination with the fork building jig above described. It is to be
understood, however, that the said fork building jig above described can be used
for holding the said parts of the combined fork and steering pillar whilst the said
peg holes are drilled therein by an ordinary or any other drilling machine.
My said improved drilling appliance is constructed as follows:-I provide a
bed L which may be like a lathe bed on which the base A of the fork building
jig is bolted or otherwise fixed. This bed L carries two headstocks M' M each
made with a horizontal spindle marked respectively m' m² receiving rotary motion.
by bands on the pulleys m³ or by other convenient means and each carrying a
drill marked respectively mm for drilling the peg holes through the tubular
fork prongs H'H' into the lumps d² d³ or bosses of the fork crown D these
spindles mm² being moved to and fro by the hand levers m m so that both of
the holes can be drilled simultaneously. At right angles to these two
drills mm provide another headstock N carried by the stand N which is
bolted on to the base A. This headstock N carries the vertical drill spindle n'
which is provided with the drill n for drilling the two holes i'd through the fork
crown D and receives rotary motion from any convenient source as by the
band from the countershaft S carried by the arms of the headstock N:
T is a hand lever for imparting the necessary vertical up and down movement
to the drill spindle n' which is as in other drilling machines arranged in the
sleeve n³ on which is a rack n which gears with a pinion t' on the spindle t on
which the hand lever T is fixed. Or instead of this arrangement other mechanism
as in other machines may be employed for raising and lowering the drill spindle.
The headstock N is made to slide to and fro along guides n on the top of the
stand and is arranged to be moved by the hand lever U which turns on a
fulcrum u¹ on the stand N and engages with a pin n on the side of the base of
the headstock N so that by moving this hand lever U to and fro a corresponding
movement will be imparted to the headstock N and its drill spindle. The

page_text: tops 2 limit the movement of the headstock N in either direction so that when
he headstock is pushed back as far as the stop ol will allow as shewn in Fig. 1
he drill is in the right position for drilling the hole ds in the fork crown D into the
teering pillar C and when the headstock N is by the hand lever U¹ moved
forward as far as the other stop 2 will allow the drill n is in the right position for
drilling the hole through the crown plate I into the steering pillar C.
It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of con-
struction herein before described and illustrated by my drawings as it will be
evident that the same may be varied and modified to some extent without departing
from the nature of my invention.
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. The herein described improved cycle front fork building jig for holding in
their true positions the two tubular fork prongs the fork crown the crown plate
and the steering pillar whilst the peg holes are being drilled in the same, said jig
consisting of a base plate made with bearings in which the tubular steering pillar
fits, a slide adapted to receive the outer ends of the fork and movable along guides
lineable with the steering pillar, means for moving said slide so as to force the
fork sides against the fork crown, means for preventing the fork sides from rising
and a spindle which is inserted through the steering pillar with means on the
spindle for cramping the crown plate on to the steering pillar, all substantially as
hereinbefore set forth.
2. A cycle front fork building jig, for holding in their true positions the two
tubular fork prongs the fork crown the crown plate and the tubular steering
pillar, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination with the cycle front fork building jig which holds in their
true positions the two tubular fork prongs the fork crown the crown plate and the
tubular steering pillar, of a hed on which the fork building jig is fixed and two
headstocks carrying drill spindles and drills adapted to drill the peg holes in the
fork sides whilst the parts of the fork and steering pillar are held in their true
positions by the jig, substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
4. The combination with the cycle front fork building jig, which holds in their
true positions the two tubular fork prongs the fork crown the crown plate and the
tubular steering pillar, of a bed on which the fork building jig is fixed and two
headstocks carrying drill spindles and drills adapted to drill the peg holes in the
fork sides and a vertical drill spindle carried by a sliding headstock movable
between stops and adapted to drill the two holes through the fork crown and
crown plate into the steering pillar whilst the said parts of the fork and tubular
steering pillar are held in their true positions by the jig substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
5. The combined machine for holding in their true positions the parts of a cycle
15 front fork and tubular steering pillar and for drilling the peg holes through the
parts of the same preparatory to brazing the said parts together the said machine
being constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
nd thin 22nd day of December 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.