AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SWIVELS FOR GUNS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Gilbert, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, and Charles Gilbert, of Birmingham, aforesaid,
Manufacturer, and Thomas Haddon, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manu-
facturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF SWIVELS FOR GUNS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED
IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 27th June 1862, and dated the 13th January 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Gilbert, Charles
Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 13th January 1862.
We, THOMAS GILBERT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, and CHARLES GILBERT, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manufacturer, and
THOMAS HADDON, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SWIVELS FOR GUNS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE
SAID MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
In manufacturing the said swivels in the ordinary way a rod of iron is taken
of somewhat larger diameter than that of the ends of the finished swivel, and
the said rod of iron is heated, and by means of swaging or forging tools, the
middle portions of the bar are reduced in diameter to the required degree.
The blank thus formed is further shaped by means of dies, and is finished-and

page_text: bent into the required form. Our Invention consists, firstly, of the following
improvement or improvements in the manufacture of the said swivels. We
take a rod of iron, or piece of iron wire of a diameter somewhat greater than
that of the body of the finished swivel; by the process called "upsetting" we
compress a portion of the iron at each end of the rod or wire, the said com-
pression being effected in the direction of the length of the rod or wire. The
said upsetting or compressing forms a knob or head on each end of the rod or
wire, from which knobs or heads the ends of the swivels are to be made, the
middle portion of the rod or wire being left of the original size. The roughly
shaped blank thus formed is operated upon by dies of the ordinary kind to
perfect its figure, and is finished in the ordinary way. By forming the blanks
in the way last described the manufacture of swivels for guns is much facilitated.
Our Invention consists, secondly, of machinery for effecting the upsetting of
the ends of the rod or wire, which said machinery resembles the machinery
ordinarily employed for forming heads on screw blanks excepting that the dies
or tools in which the rod or wire is held are provided with recesses in which
the head made on one end of the rod or wire is received during the formation
of the head on the other end. We do not however restrict ourselves to any
particular method of effecting the upsetting of the ends of the rod or wire
as the said upsetting may be effected by means of an oliver or other compressing
or percussive machinery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Gilbert, Charles Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th July 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS 2
GILBERT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, and
CHARLES GILBERT, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manufacturer, and THOMAS
HADDON, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of January, in the year of our a
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Thomas Gilbert, Charles Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon, Her special
licence, that we, the said Thomas Gilbert, Charles Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Thomas Gilbert, Charles Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon, our executors, adminis

page_text: trators, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SWIVELS FOR GUNS, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Gilbert,
Charles Gilbert, and Thomas Haddon, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Charles Gilbert, on behalf of myself
and the said Thomas Gilbert and Thomas Haddon, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
In manufacturing the said swivels in the ordinary way a rod of iron is taken
of about one quarter of an inch square, and the said rod of iron is heated and
by means of swaging or forging tools the middle portions of the rod are
reduced in diameter to the required degree. The blank thus formed is further
shaped at each end by dies, and is finished and bent into the required form.
Our Invention consists, firstly, of the improvement or improvements in the
manufacture of the said swivels, herein-after described and illustrated in Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawing. In carrying this part of our
Invention into effect we take a rod of iron or piece of iron wire of a diameter
somewhat greater than that of the body of the finished swivel; by the process
called "upsetting" we compress a portion of the iron at each end of the rod
or wire, the said compression being effected in the direction of the length of
the rod or wire. The said upsetting or compressing forms a knob or
head on each end of the rod or wire, from which knobs or heads the ends of
the swivels are to be made, the middle portion of the rod or wire being left
of the original size. The roughly shaped blank thus formed is operated
upon by dies of the ordinary kind to perfect its figure, and is finished in the
ordinary way.
Figure 1 of the Drawing represents the rod of iron or piece of iron wire:
from which the swivel blank is to be made. Figure 2 represents the said rod

page_text: after a knob or head a has been formed on one end by upsetting in the
manner herein-after explained, and Figure 3 represents the said rod after the
knob or head 6 has been formed by upsetting on the other end of the rod;
Figure 4 represents a front view of a finished swivel (without the screw) made
from the swivel blank, Figure 3, the conversion of the said blank into the
swivel being effected in the ordinary manner. By forming blanks in the
manner described and illustrated in the Drawing, the manufacture of swivels
for guns is mucli facilitated. Our Invention consists, secondly, of the machinery
herein-after described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, for
effecting the upsetting of the ends of the rod or wire for the manufacture of
swivel blanks, which said machinery resembles the machinery employed for
forming heads on screw blanks, excepting that the dies or tools in which the
rod or wire is held are provided with recesses in which the head or knob
made on one end of the rod or wire, is received during the formation of the
head or knob on the other end. As the said machinery as before stated
resembles the machinery used for forming the heads on screw blanks, we have
only thought it necessay to describe and represent the working dies or tools
by which the knobs or heads on the rods or wires are formed, and which said
dies or tools differ somewhat from those employed in the said heading machinery.
Figure 5 represents a plan of a pair of the said dies; Figure 6 is a front
elevation of the face of one of the said dies; and Figure 7 is a vertical section
of the dies taken through the line e, Figure 5; the said Figure 7 also shews
in section a portion of the bed upon which the dies work; f, g, are the pair of
dies which are closed by means of the spring h, as is usual. The inner face of
each of the dies f, g, is provided with a semicircular recess i, in which
the rod or wire Figure 1 fits, and at the top and bottom of the said recesses i,
other larger recesses k, l, of the form represented, are made. In the bed ma
recess n is formed, in which recess the bottom of the rod or wire rests during
the upsetting process. The rod, Figure 1, being placed in and gripped by the
dies f, g, the heading tool is brought down and made to upset or compress the
end of the rod which projects above the top of the dies and make it take the
figure of the recess k, and a similar shaped recess in the said heading tool, and
thereby to form the knob or head a, on one end of the rod as seen in Figure 2.
The dies f, g, being opened, the headed rod, Figure 2, is removed and
inverted and again placed in the dies in the position represented in Figure 7.
The heading tool is again brought down and compresses the projecting end of the
rod between it and the dies, as before explained, and forms the head or knob b
on the other end of the rod as represented in Figure 3. We do not restrict
ourselves to the particular method described and represented of effecting the

page_text: upsetting or compressing of the ends of the rod or wire, as the said upsetting
or compressing may be effected by means of an oliver or other compressing or
percussive machinery. We prefer however to employ for that purpose the
machinery and tools described and illustrated.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention.
But we claim as our Invention, firstly, the improvement or improvements in
the manufacture of swivels for guns, herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making
the blanks from which the said swivels are manufactured, by forming a knob
or head on each end of a rod of iron or piece of iron wire, by upsetting or
compressing a portion of the ends of the said rod or wire in the direction of
its length, from which knobs or heads the flat_disc shaped ends of the swivels
are formed.
Secondly, the machinery or tools herein-before described, and illustrated in
Figures 5, 6, and 7, of the accompanying Drawing, for upsetting or compressing
the ends of the rod of iron or piece of iron wire, so as thereby to manufacture
swivel blanks.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Gilbert, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
5 Witness,
CHARLES GILBERT. (L.S.)
RICHARD SKERRET,
Clerk to George Shaw, Birmingham.