IMPROVEMENTS IN 'SAD IRONS, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING THE SAME.
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bristow Hunt, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the
"
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
'SAD IRONS, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING THE SAME.'
A communication from abroad by Thomas Henry Asbury, of Philadelphia,
Pennyslvania, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bristow Hunt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th October 1876.
BRISTOW HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN 'SAD IRONS,' AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR GRINDING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Thomas Henry
Asbury, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
The first part of this Invention consists in construction a sad iron with a base
largest at or near the middle and pointed at each end, so as to afford facilities for
the efficient manipulation of the said iron; also in making the edges of a sad-iron
base on arcs of circles, so that the said edges may be quickly ground by machinery;
also in a peculiar manner, described hereafter, of constructing a handle for attachment
to and detachment from the base; also in so constructing a sad iron that but little of
the heat of the base shall be transferred to the handle.
'The base of the sad iron is made of a forin that is widest at or near the middle,
and with two pointed ends, the edges being by preference and for reasons explained
hereafter made in arcs of circles.
The object of making the base of the sad iron double pointed and wide in the
middle may be explained as follows:-It has been usual to make the bases of sad
irons pointed at the front end and straight and widest at, the rear, so that in heating
the iron it might rest with its rear edge on a shelf and with its face against the
grate or heated plate of a stove or fire-place. It has been found in practice that the
bases of sad irons can be much inore readily and uniformly heated by placing their
faces on and in direct contact with a heated plate, and this obviates the necessity
of the straight rear edge, the objection to the latter being its two rear corners,
which interfere more or less with the free movement of the face of the iron over the
fabric to be smoothed.

page_text: A sad iron with a base made in the improved form affords greater facilities for
efficient manipulation than ordinary sad irons, and by making the opposite edges in
ares of circles the grinding and polishing of these edges in the manner and by the
mechanism described hereafter is facilitated.
The detachable handle of the sad iron consists of the handle proper and a plate,
the former being a segment of a ring, as this shape insures rapidity of manufacture,
a ring of wood being simply turned in the lathe and then severed, so as to form two
handles, the shape of the handle moreover is well adapted to the hand of the
manipulator. The wooden handle is secured to the plate by screws, and in this
plate there is a longitudinal slot for the reception and free movement of a latch
attached to a spring which is secured to the handle by one of the screws. The
spring latch has a downwardly-projecting jaw, and there is a permanent jaw on the
plate. It is by means of these jaws that the handle can be attached to and
detached from the base of the sad iron in the manner rendered apparent hereafter.
A recess is made in the base of the sad iron for the reception of a packing of fire-
clay or other material which will resist heat and serve as a non-conductor of the
same, and a sheet-metal casing is imbedded in this material for the reception of the
jaws of the handle. The packing is held in place by a plate adapted to the top of the
base and secured by rivets which are cast to the said base, the plate having a slot for the
passage of the jaws and having a cross bar to be seized by the same. There is a rib
on the top of the last-named plate, and bearings are formed on this rib for the plate
of the handle, these bearings beings the only points where the handle is in contact
with the base, and the bearings being so restricted that they afford but trifling
mediums for transferring the heat of the base to the handle. Excepting at these
bearings the air circulates freely between the two plates and serves as a non-
conductor of heat. By placing the handle in its proper position above the base and
forcing the jaws against the cross bar the handle will be locked to the base, and by
raising a knob on the spring latch the handle will be released from the base. One
handle may serve for several bases; so that when one base becomes cool it may be
attached to another which has been properly heated.
Owing to the non-conducting packing and to the circulation of air between the
plates so little heat is communicated to the handle that it can be manipulated
without the usual cloth cover for protecting the hand of the operator. Or the
improved sad iron may be made with a fixed handle of iron, preferably cast in one
piece with the plate of the handle, the handle being tubular and perforated with
holes. The base is of the same form as that described above, and has a similar
recess containing a packing of non-conducting material; in this recess are two
projections, between which is a space adapted to the dove-tailed or T head of a bolt
by which the handle is secured to the base in place of the said rivets, the latter
being dispensed with in this modification. Owing to the non-conducting material
and to the free circulation of air through the tubular handle the heat transmitted
to the latter is so limited that a very light cloth is all that is required to protect the
hand.
The second part of this Invention relates to machinery for grinding the faces of
the above-described sad irons.
A grindstone is secured to a shaft arranged to turn and slide in bearings adapted
to guides on a frame, the position of the bearings on the guides being determined
by screws which are so geared to a second shaft that they can be simultaneously
turned by an attendant located at the point where his services are most in demand,
the attendant having control of a crank or hand wheel on the latter shaft. At right
angles to the first shaft is a third shaft adapted to suitable bearings on the frame of
the machine, and to this shaft is secured a face plate to which the above-described
bases of the sad irons are secured, a bolt having a dovetailed head adapted to the
above-mentioned dovetailed space in the recess of the base passing through a hole in
the plate and having a nut at the rear of the saine.
While the third shaft with its
face plate and irons is caused to revolve slowly the first shaft and its stone is caused
to turn rapidly, as well as to reciprocate, and the attendant by manipulating the

page_text: band wheel of the second shaft causes the stone to bear against the irons, to which
the desired smooth surface is quickly imparted.
The reciprocating motion of the first shaft in its bearings is imparted in the
present instance by a scroll cam secured to the said shaft, a projection on an arm
attached to the frame of the machine being adapted to the scroll groove of the cam.
It has been found in practice that if the face plate be made of cast iron, or of any
other comparatively soft metal, its face will soon be destroyed by indentations made
by the sad irons, this being attributable it is believed partly to the tremor of the
irons on the plate during the process of grinding and partly to the corrosive action
of the water at the point of contact of the irons with the plate. This difficulty is
obviated by casting the plate with its surface in contact with a chill or a hardened
plate of steel, or a plate of other hard metal or alloy may be secured to the plate.
The third part of this Invention relates to the rapid and accurate grinding of the
edges of the bases of the sad irons.
The sad iron blanks are arranged on a revolving plate at equal distances from the
centre of its rotation, this distance being such that the outer edges of the irons shall
revolve in a circle coinciding with the are of a circle on which the said edges are
formed, as remarked above.
On applying a revolving grindstone to the edges of the irons as they are revolved
in the circle described they will be quickly reduced to the desired shape, and must
receive a much more regular surface than can be attained by the usual process of
hand grinding. After thus grinding one edge of each iron both irons are reversed,
so that the other edges may be ground.
The chucking mechanism for conducting this operation is constructed as follows:-
The hub of the chuck is constructed for attachment to any suitable rotating spindle,
and on this hub are two projections to which is secured a circular plate; or the hub,
its projections or connections, and plate, may be made in one piece. The projections
are formed so that two open spaces shall be presented for the reception of two sad
iron bases. On the inside of the plate are two other projections so adapted to the
interior of the rib of each sad iron as to steady the same in its proper position on
the said plate. The threaded portion of a central bolt passes through the plate, and
to the plain portion of the bolt is pivotted a cross bar which on tightening a nut
binds the two sad irons to the plate, the pivotting of the bar insuring its equal
pressure on both sad irons. When the irons have been thus chucked their bevilled
edges project a short distance beyond the edges of the circular plate and beyond the
bevilled portions of the first-mentioned projections, and while the chuck revolves
the projecting edges of the irons are submitted to the action of a grindstone and
the desired form is imparted to them, after which the sad irons are removed from the
chuck, reversed, and rechucked, prior to the grinding of the other edges, and when
both edges have been ground the irons are removed to make way for others. A
small spring bears on each sad iron and tends to maintain it in contact with the
plate.
The sole object of these springs is to maintain the sad irons in their places when
the said nut is loosened, for when the sad irons are relieved from the pressure of the
cross bar the lower one would fall from the chuck while the upper iron is being
reversed but for these springs, which are too light to present any obstacle to the
adjustment of the irons to or their removal from the chuck.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Bristow Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th April
1877.
BRISTOW HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. " IMPROVEMENTS IN 'SAD IRONS,' AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS

page_text: FOR GRINDING THE SAME." A communication from abroad by Thomas Henry
Asbury, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
The first part of this Invention consists in constructing a sad iron with a base
largest at or near the middle and pointed at each end, so as to afford facilities for
the efficient manipulation of the sad iron; also in making the edges of a sad-iron
base on arcs of circles, so that the said edges may be quickly ground by machinery;
also in a peculiar manner, described herein-after, of constructing a handle for attach-
ment to and detachment from the base; also in so constructing a sad iron that but
little of the heat of the base shall be transferred to the handle.
This part of the Invention is illustrated on the accompanying Drawings in
Figures 1 to 8; of which Figure 1 represents a side view partly in section of the
improved sad iron with the handle attached to the base; Figure 2, the same showing
the handle detached from the base; Figure 3, a plan view of the base and part of
the handle; Figure 4, a transverse section; Figure 5, a perspective view of the
base; Figures 6 and 7, vertical sections of an improved sad iron and of a fixed handle
for the same; and Figure 8, a transverse section of Figure 7.
On reference to that portion of this part of the Invention which is illustrated by
Figures 1 to 5 A represents the base of the sad iron and B the detachable handle.
The base of the sad iron is made in the formn shown in Figure 3; that is, widest at
or near the middle and with two pointed ends, the edges a, a, being by preference,
and for reasons explained herein-after, made in ares of circles, the centres of which
are in the dotted line drawn at right angles to a line y passing through the end
points of the base.
The object of making the base of the sad iron double pointed and wide in the
middle may be explained as follows:-It has been usual to make the bases of sad
irons pointed at the front end and straight and widest at the rear, so that in heating
the iron it might rest with its rear edge on a shelf and with its face against the
grate or heated plate of a stove or fire-placc. It has been found in practice that the
bases of sad irons can be much more readily and uniformly heated by placing their
faces on and in direct contact with a heated plate, and this obviates the necessity of
the straight rear edge, the objection to the latter being its two rear corners, which
interfere more or less with the free movement of the face of the iron over the fabric
to be smoothed.
A sad iron with a base made in the form shown in Figure 3 affords greater
facilities for efficient manipulation than ordinary sad irons, and by making the
opposite edges in arcs of circles the grinding and polishing of these edges in the
manner and by the mechanisın described herein-after is facilitated.
The detachable handle B of the sad iron consists of the handle proper b and a
plate d, the former being a segment of a ring, as this shape ensures rapidity of
manufacture, a ring of wood being simply turned in the lathe and then severed so
as to form two handles, the shape of the handle morcover is well adapted to the
hand of the manipulator. The wooden handle is secured to the plate d by screws e,
and in this plate there is a longitudinal slot for the reception and free movement of
a latch C attached to a spring c which is secured to the handle by one of the screws e,
as shown in Figure 2. The spring latch has a downwardly-projecting jaw f, and
there is a permanent jaw f¹ on the plate. It is by means of these jaws that the
handle can be attached to and detached from the base of the sad iron in the manner
rendered apparent herein-after. A recess is made in the base of the sad iron for
the reception of a packing of fire-clay, or other material which will resist heat
and serve as a non-conductor of the same, and a sheet-metal casing i is embedded in
this material for the reception of the jaws f, f¹, of the handle. The packing is held
in place by a plate D adapted to the top of the base and secured by rivets j,j, which
are cast to the said base, the plate having a slot for the passage of the jaws, and
having a cross bar k to be seized by the same. There is a rib on the top of the
plate D, and bearings are formed on this rib for the plate d of the handle, these
bearings being the only point where the handle is in contact with the base and the
bearings being so restricted that they afford but trifling mediums for transferring

page_text: the heat of the base to the handle. Excepting at these bearings the air circulates
freely between the two plates d and D and serves as a non-conductor of heat. By
placing the handle in its proper position above the base and forcing the jaws against
the cross bark the handle will be locked to the base, and by raising a knob m on
the spring latch the handle will be released from the base. One handle may serve
for several bases, so that when one base becomes cool it may be attached to another
which has been properly heated.
Owing to the non-conducting packing and to the circulation of air between the
plates so little heat is communicated to the handle that it can be manipulated
without the usual cloth cover for protecting the hand of the operator.
Figures 6, 7, and 8, show the improved sad iron with a fixed handle made of iron,
preferably cast in one piece with the plate d, the handle being tubular and perforated
with holes. The base a is of the saine form as that described above, and has a
similar recess containing a packing of non-conducting material. In this recess are
two projections n, n, between which is a space adapted to the dovetailed or T head n¹
of a bolt p, by which the handle is secured to the base in lieu of the rivets j, the
latter being dispensed with in this modification. Owing to the non-conducting
material and to the free circulation of air through the tubular handle the heat
transmitted to the latter is so limited that a very light cloth is all that is required
to protect the hand.
The second part of this Invention relates to machinery for grinding the faces of
the above-described sad irons, and is illustrated on the accompanying Drawings
in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, of which Figure 9 represents a plan view of the
grinding machine; Figure 10, a side view; Figure 11, a transverse section; and
Figure 12, a detached sectional view of part of the machine.
A grindstone E is secured to a shaft E¹ arranged to turn and slide in bearings q
adapted to guides on a frame A, the position of the bearings on the guides being
determined by screws G, which are so geared to a shaft G₁ that they can bo
simultaneously turned by an attendant located at the point where his services are
inost required, the attendant having control of a crank or hand wheel on the shaft G¹.
At right angles to the shaft E¹ is a shaft H adapted to suitable bearings on the
frame of the machine, and to the shaft H is secured a face plate H', to which the
above-described bases of the sad irons are secured in the manner shown in Figure 12,
a bolt I having a dovetailed head adapted to the above-mentioned dovetailed space
in the recess of the base passing through a hole in the plate, and having a nut at
the rear thereof. While the shaft H with its face plate and irons is caused to
revolve slowly the shaft E¹ and its stone is caused to turn rapidly, as well as to
reciprocate, and the attendant by manipulating the hand wheel of the shaft G¹
causes the stone to bear against the irons, to which the desired smooth surface is
quickly imparted.
The reciprocating motion of the shaft E¹ in its bearings is imparted in the
present instance by a scroll cam J secured to the said shaft, a projection on an
arm J attached to the frame of the machine being adapted to the scroll groove of
the cam, as shown in Figure 11. It has been found in practice that if the face
plate H¹ be made of cast iron, or of any other comparatively soft metal, its face will
soon be destroyed by indentations made by the sad irons, this being attributable
partly to the tremor of the irons on the plate during the process of grinding and
partly to the corrosive action of the water at the point of contact of the irons with
the plate. This difficulty is obviated by casting the plate with its surface in contact .
with a chill or a hardened plate of steel pl, or a plate of other hard metal or alloy
may be secured to the plate, as shown in Figure 12.
The third part of this Invention relates to the rapid and accurate grinding of the
edges of the bases of the sad irons, and is illustrated on the accompanying.
Drawings in Figure 5 and in Figures 13 to 17, of which Figure 13 represents a
diagram illustrating this part of the Invention; Figure 14, a side view of the chuck
for holding the irons while their edges are being ground; Figure 15, a vertical

page_text: section thereof on the line 1, 2; Figure 16, a section on the line 3, 4; and Figure 17,
a transverse section of the sad iron base detached from the chuck.
In the diagram, Figure 13, A represents in outline two sad iron blanks arranged
on a revolving plate at equal distances from the centre x¹ of its rotation, this
distance being such that the outer edges w of the irons shall revolve in a circle
coinciding with the arc of a circle on which the said edges are formed, as remarked
above.
On applying a revolving grindstone w¹ to the edges of the irons as they are
revolved in the circle described they will be quickly reduced to the desired shape,
and receive a much more regular surface than can be attained by the usual process
of hand grinding. After thus grinding one edge of each iron both irons are
reversed, so that the other edges may be ground.
The chucking mechanism for conducting this operation is constructed as follows:-
The hub K of the chuck is constructed for attachment to any suitable rotating
spindle, and on this hub are two projections u to which is secured the circular plate L,
or the hub, its projections, or connections and plate, may be made in one piece. The
projections u are of the form shown in Figure 16, so that two open spaces are
presented for receiving two sad iron bases A, A¹. On the inside of the plate are
two other projections all so adapted to the interior of the rib y¹ of each sad iron
(Figure 5) as to steady the same in its proper position on the said plate. M is a
central bolt, the threaded portion of which passes through the plate L, and to the
plain portion of the bolt is pivotted a cross bar W which on tightening a nut V
binds the two sad irons to the plate L, as shown in Figure 15, the pivotting of the
bar insuring its equal pressure on both sad irons. When the irons have been thus
chucked their bevilled edges project a short distance beyond the edge of the plate L
and beyond the bevilled portions of the projections u, and while the chuck revolves
the projecting edges of the irons are submitted to the action of a grindstone and
the desired form is imparted to them, after which the sad irons are removed from
the chuck, reversed, and rechucked, prior to the grinding of the other edges, and
when both edges have been ground the irons are removed to make way for others.
On reference to Figure 15 it will be observed that a small spring 3 bears on each
sad iron and tends to maintain it in contact with the plate L.
The sole object of these springs is to maintain the sad irons in their places when
the nut V is loosened, for when the sad irons are relieved from the pressure of the
cross bar W the lower one would fall from the chuck while the upper iron is being
reversed but for these springs, which are too light to present any obstacle to the
adjustment of the irons to or their removal from the chuck.
Having now described the nature and objects of the said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as the Invention communicated to
me by the said Thomas Henry Asbury,-
First. A sad iron having a base widest at or near the middle and pointed at each
end, as set forth.
Second. The herein-before described sad iron base having its edges a formed on
arcs of circles, as and for the purpose specified.
Third. A sad iron base having a recess packed with fire-clay or other equivalent
material, as set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The combination of the sad iron base and its packing h³ with a plate D
constructed for attachment to a handle, substantially as specified.
Fifth. The herein-before described detachable handle for sad irons, consisting of
the handle proper b, the plate d, and a device for locking the plate to the base of
the iron.
Sixth. The handle proper b, consisting of a section of a wooden ring, as described.
Seventh. The combination of the plate d of the handle, the spring latch C, and
its jaw with the fixed jaw f¹ and the cross bar k of the base.
Eighth. The combination of the plate d of the handle, the plate D of the base,

page_text: and the rib Z which maintains the two plates apart, excepting at the limited bearing
points described.
Ninth. The combination illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the packed sad iron
base A¹ with a plate d, and a metal handle cast with or attached to the said plate,
as described.
Tenth. A sad iron having a tubular perforated handle of metal, as set forth.
Eleventh. The combination of the recessed base of a sad iron with projections
adapted to the dovetailed or T head of a bolt, as described.
Twelfth. A sad-iron grinding machine in which a revolving and reciprocating
grindstone is combined with a revolving face plate, and with devices for securing
the sad irons to the said plate, all substantially as set forth.
Thirteenth. The combination with the grindstone of a revolving face plate
having a hardened surface, and with devices for securing the sad irons to the said
surface.
Fourteenth. The mode herein-before described of grinding the edges of sad irons,
that is to say, by making the edges in arcs of circles, and causing the said edges to
move in a circle coinciding with the said ares while they are subjected to the action
of a grindstone, as set forth.
Fifteenth. The herein-before described chuck, composed of the hub K, pro-
jections u¹, and plate L, in combination with a device for securing sad irons to the
sad plate, all substantially as specified.
Sixteenth. The combination of the plate L of the chuck with the central bolt M
and its pivotted cross bar N.
Seventeenth. The combination of the hub K and plate L of the chuck with the
springs 3.
Eighteenth. The combination of the plate L of the chuck with projections x¹
adapted to the interior of the flange y¹ of the sad iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bristow Hunt, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-seven.
DIGMA IUT HT
BRISTOW HUNT. (L.S.)