Improvements in the Manufacture of Toy-spades, Shovels, Crumb Trays, and the like, and in Machinery or Apparatus to be Employed in the said Manufacture.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1887
Complete Left, 5th Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 11th May, 1888
Improvements in the Manufacture of Toy-spades, Shovels, Crumb
Trays, and the like, and in Machinery or Apparatus to be
Employed in the said Manufacture.
I, JOSIAH AUSTIN, of William Street, Deritend, Birmingham, Warwickshire,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention bas reference to those toy spades, shovels shovel shaped crumb trays
and the like which are made from sheet iron and other sheet metal blanks bent so as
to form the blade and the socket, and this invention consists firstly of an improved
form of toy spade which is safer in use than those ordinarily made and secondly in
improvements in cutting the blanks of toy spades, shovels and the like from sheets of
metal in which the amount of waste metal is reduced to a minimum, and thirdly in
improved machinery or apparatus for cutting the said blanks which is very simple in
construction and so arranged that a single set of apparatus can be used for cutting
several different sizes of the same article.
In making a toy spade from sheet metal according to this invention I make the
blank of the length of the required spade about one half of its length being wide to
form the blade of the spade and the other half being narrow to form the socket of the
same, the wide and narrow parts being rounded off one into the other, and their lengths
and form being so proportioned that if a number of the blanks are laid side by side in
a row, that is to say, the socket part of one blank being next to the blade part of the
two adjacent blanks, the blanks will fit accurately together and if joined would form
a sheet of metal equal in width to the length of any one blank and equal in length to
the wide and narrow widths of the blanks added together. The top corners of the
blade of each blank are rounded off and stand out for a short distance from the sides
of the blank and in each blank there are corresponding indentations at each side of
the root of the socket. These rounded projecting parts are less liable to hurt children
than are the sharp corners at present used and the indentations at the root of the
socket enable the sides of the socket part of the blank to be more readily turned over
to form the socket.
In cutting up a sheet of metal to form spade blanks as above described I employ a
pair of shear blades having the configuration of one side of the blank required, the

page_text: bottom shear is preferably fixed to the bed of the machine and the top shear arranged
to move to and from the bottom shear above it. Behind the shear blades is a gauge
which can be moved to or from them so that the width of the piece cut off can be
regulated as required and this gauge is preferably of the same shape as the blades but
reversed so that a piece or blank cut off would just fit in between the gauge and the
bottom shear blade. A moveable side gauge is provided at right angles to the shear
blade which regulates the distance of the side of the sheet from the curved part of the
blade. This apparatus is used as follows:-The gauge at the back of the shears having
been adjusted to the width of the required blank and the side gauge having been fixed
to the proper distance along the blades from the curved part thereof the sheet is placed
with one of its longer sides against the side gauge and a piece of waste metal is cut
off the end of the sheet thus leaving the end of the sheet to form the side of the first
blank. The sheet is then removed and turned over upside down and again pressed
against the side gauge and pushed through the shears as far as the back gauge will
allow and a piece is cut from the end which forms the first blank; the sheet is then
removed and turned over and another blank cut off the end and so on alternately
cutting off a blank and turning the sheet over until it is all cut up into blanks except
a small piece at the end. The two end pieces are thus the only waste in cutting up a
rectangular sheet of the proper width. By fixing the side gauge nearer to or farther
from the curved part of the blades and using narrower or wider sheets the blanks can
be made with either longer or shorter blades and socket parts as may be required and
the widths of the blanks can be varied by moving the back gauge nearer to or farther
from the sheer blades.
Spades (chiefly toy spades) other than the particular shaped spade above described,
shovels, shovel shaped crumb trays and the like having their blades and sockets made
together from a sheet metal blank can be made similarly as above described with
reference to my improved toy spade the curved part of the shears being of the shapo
of the required spade, shovel or the like which in some cases would be a decided step
or rebate to suit the angular shape of the top of the blade of the spade required.
Dated this 18th day of October 1887

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Toy Spades, Shovels, Crumb
Trays, and the like, and in Machinery or Apparatus to be
Employed in the said Manufacture.
I, JOSIAH AUSTIN, of William Street, Deritend, Birmingham, Warwickshire,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature 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 has reference to those toy spades, shovels, shovel shaped crumb trays
and the like which are made from sheet iron and other sheet metal blanks bent so as
to form the blade and the socket, and this invention consists firstly of an improved
form of toy spade which is safer in use than those ordinarily made and secondly in
improvements in cutting the blanks of toy spades, shovels and the like from sheets of
metal in which the amount of waste metal is reduced to a minimum, and thirdly in
improved machinery or apparatus for cutting the said blanks which is very simple in
construction and so arranged that a single set of apparatus can be used for cutting
several different sizes of the same article.
In making a toy spade from sheet metal according to this invention I make the
blank of the length of the required spade about one half of its length being wide to
form the blade of the spade and the other half being narrow to form the socket of the
same, the wide and narrow parts being rounded off one into the other, and their lengths
and form being so proportioned that if a number of the blanks are laid side by side in
a row, that is to say, the socket part of one blank being next to the blade part of the
two adjacent blanks, the blanks will fit accurately together and if joined would form
a sheet of metal equal in width to the length of any one blank and equal in length to
the wide and narrow widths of the blanks added together. The top corners of the
blade of each blank are rounded off and stand out for a short distance from the sides
of the blank and in each blank there are corresponding indentations at each side of
the root of the socket. These rounded projecting parts are less liable to hurt children
than are the sharp corners at present used and the indentations at the root of the
socket enable the sides of the socket part of the blank to be more readily turned over
to form the socket.
On the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 represents a back and side view of a toy
spade; Fig. 2 is the blank for forming the same and Fig. 3 shews on a smaller scale
how blanks of the shapes illustrated by Fig. 2 will fit together so as to be cut from a
rectangular sheet of metal with the least possible amount of waste.
a' is the wide half of the blank which forms the blade A¹ of the spade and a³ is the
narrow half of the blank which forms the socket A2 of the spade. The sides of the wide
half a are exactly the same shape as the sides of the narrow half a² but reversed so
that when several of the blanks are laid side by side in a row they will fit together;
they could thus be cut from a sheet of metal of the width of the length of a single

page_text: blank so as to leave only the two end pieces marked bb (see Fig. 3) as waste. The
top corners c of the blade part a' are rounded off and they project for a short distance
so as to form corresponding indentations d' at the root of the socket which facilitate the
bending over of the part a² to form the socket.
In cutting up a sheet of metal to form spade blanks as above described I employ a
pair of shear blades having the configuration of one side of the blank required the
bottom shear is preferably fixed to the bed of the machine and the top shear arranged
to move to and from the bottom shear above it. Behind the shear blades is a gauge
which can be moved to or from them so that the width of the piece cut off can be
regulated as required and this gauge is preferably of the same shape as the blades but
reversed so that a piece or blank cut off would just fit in between the gauge and the
bottom shear blade. A moveable side gauge is provided at right angles to the shear
blade which regulates the distance of the sides of the sheet from the curved part of
the blade. This apparatus is used as follows:-The gauge at the back of the shears
having been adjusted to the width of the required blank and the side gauge having
been fixed to the proper distance along the blades from the curved part thereof the
sheet is placed with one of its longer sides against the side gauge and a piece of waste
metal is cut off the end of the sheet thus leaving the end of the sheet to form tho side
of the first blank. The sheet is then removed and turned over upside down and again
pressed against the side gauge and pushed through the shears as far as the back gauge
will allow and a piece is cut from the end which forms the first blank; the sheet is
then removed and turned over and another blank cut off the end and so on alternately
cutting off a blank and turning the sheet over until it is all cut up into blanks except
a small piece at the end. The two end pieces are thus the only waste in cutting up a
rectangular sheet of the proper width. By fixing the side gauge nearer to or farther
from the curved part of the blades and using narrower or wider sheets the blanks can
be made with either longer or shorter blades and socket parts as may be required and
the widths of the blanks can be varied by moving the back gauge nearer to or farther
from the shear blades.
The said apparatus as constructed for cutting the particular shaped blanks illustrated
by Figs. 2 and 3, is illustrated in front elevation by Fig. 4, sectional side elevation by
Fig. 5 and partly in plan by Fig. 6; Fig. 7 illustrates how the apparatus can be
employed for cutting larger or smaller blanks.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
E is the bottom shear blade fixed by screws e or by other means to the bed F which
is fixed to the bed or table of the machine. The shear blade E has the configuration
of one side of the blank and is made a little longer than the longest blank required to
be formed. G is the top shear blade corresponding in shape with the shear blade E
and fixed by screws 9 or by other means to a plate H carried by the slide I of the
press. The lower part only of the slide I is shewn on the drawing but it is to be
understood that the slide I is moved up and down in vertical guides in the usual
manner employed in cutting-out presses. J is the moveable gauge behind the shear
blades consisting of a strip of metal bent to the same or about the same shape as the
shear blades and fixed to angle brackets jj which are bolted to the plate F and are
slotted to allow of the gauge J being moved to or from the shear blades and fixed to
suit the particular width of blank required. K is the moveable side gauge consisting
of a piece of angle iron fixed to the bracket k which is bolted to the bed and is slotted
to allow of the position of the side gauge being regulated from the curved or set off
part of the blank.
The said apparatus is used as follows:-The gauges J and K are first fixed in
position the former so as to give the width of blank required and the latter at a distance
of half the width of the sheet from the curved or rebatted part e³ of the shear blades.
The sheet L from which the blanks are to be cut is placed with one of its longer sides
against the side gauge K, and on the slide I and top blade descending a piece of waste
metal bis cut off the end which will be left to forin the side of the first blank. The
sheet is now drawn back and turned over and then pushed forward to the gauge J,
and on the top shear again descending a piece forming the first blank is cut from the

page_text: end. By alternately turning over the sheet and cutting off a blank the whole of the
sheet will be cut up into blanks as indicated by the dotted lines leaving only the two
end pieces b b as waste.
If the side gauge K is fixed farther from the curved or rebatted part e³ longer
blanks (see Fig. 7) can be cut from correspondingly wider sheets; or if the gauge K
be fixed nearer to the curved or rebatted part shorter blanks can be cut from
correspondingly narrower sheets; and by adjusting the position of the back gauge J
the width of the blanks can be varied, thus enabling several different sizes of blanks
to be cut by the same set of apparatus.
Blanks for spades (chiefly toy spades), other than the particular shaped spade above
described, shovels, shovel shaped crumb trays and the like can be made similarly as
above described with reference to my improved toy spade the curved part of the
shears being of the shape of the required spade, shovel or the like which in some
cases would be a decided step or rebate to suit the angular shape of the top of the
blade of the spade required. As examples, Fig. illustrates on a small scale a sheet
of metal cut up into shovel blanks and Fig. 9 shews another sheet cut up into blanks
for shovel shaped crumb trays.
In conclusion it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details
illustrated as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1st. The improvements in the manufacture of toy spades shovels shovel shaped
crumb trays and other like articles from sheet metal hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the accompanying drawings, which consist in making their blanks of
such a shape that when laid side by side they will match and fit together so that they
can be cut from a sheet of metal without any waste between them substantially as set
forth.
2nd. A sheet metal toy spade blank of the shape substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings in which
a rounded projecting part c is provided at each side of the top of the blank part and a
corresponding indentation d' at each side of the root of the socket part for the purposes
set forth.
3rd. In machinery or apparatus for cutting sheet metal blanks for toy spades
shovels shovel shaped crumb trays and the like the employment of a pair of shear
blades corresponding with the contour of the sides of the required blanks in combi-
nation with a gauge at the back of the blades by which the width of the blank can be
regulated and a gauge at the side to suit the width of the sheet from which the
blanks are cut substantially as herein before described and illustrated by Figs. 4, 5,
6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 20th dor of Fahr 1888
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.