Improvements in Carriage Step Heads, and in the Manufacture of Carriage Step Heads, and in Tools to be used in the said Manufacture.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carriage Step Heads, and in the Manufacture of
Carriage Step Heads, and in Tools to be used in the said
Manufacture.
I, ARTHUR OLDBURY, of Reliance Works, Wednesbury, in the County of
Stafford, Manager of Works do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Carriage step heads consist of two parallel plates or straps situated at right
angles to the stem carrying the step, the said parallel plates or straps being
bolted to opposite faces of the shaft to which the step is to be connected. The
top plate or strap is ordinarily made by hand forging in one piece with the stem
carrying the step, but the bottom plate or strap is made separately and attached
to the stem by passing a screw on its ends through a hole in the stem and fixing
it by a screw nut.
My improvement in carriage step heads consists in making the bottom or
separate strap capable of being adjusted nearer to or further from the. fixed or
upper strap so as to make the said head fit carriage shafts of different thicknesses.
To effect this I make near the screwed end or leg of the bottom strap, a cross
shoulder of the same width as the stem and in the said stem I make a vertical
slot for the screwed end of the bottom strap to be passed through. When the
screwed end of the adjustable bottom strap is passed through the slot described
its cross shoulder bears against the inner side of the stem and by raising or
lowering the screwed end of the bottom strap in the slot in the stem and fixing
it by a screw nut the said bottom strap can be adjusted at the required distance
from the fixed strap to suit carriage shafts of different thicknesses.
This part of. my invention may be applied to ordinary step heads and to step
heads manufactured according to my invention.
I manufacture the stem and fixed upper strap of carriage step heads by stamping
in the manner and by the use of the tools hereinafter described.
a
I take a bar of wrought iron and raise it to a red heat and operate upon it by
pair of shaping dies or tools worked in a steam or other hammer or percussive
machinery so as to produce the stem of the carriage step head and the portion to
form the upper strap, the said partly made upper strap being so cranked or bent
that it is situated at a different but parallel plane from the stem. By the
operation of the tools or dies, a hole or slot for fixing the bottom strap to the.
stein is formed as well as the screw bolt holes in the partly made strap. After.
the partly inade head has been thus formed it is removed from the pair of shaping
dies or tools and the bottom strap bent at right angles to the stem and the fraise
or. burr at the same time stripped or removed from the said step head by a pair of.
straightening and stripping tools. Or the bottom strap may be straightened by
hammering.
The pair of shaping tools which I use have on their opposed faces such a figure
that when they are brought together they enclose a space corresponding with the
nearly finished step head; that is to say the acting faces of the shaping tools have
the figure of the stem and the portion from which the bottom strap is to be made
and have also pegs on them for forming the hole or slot in the stem and the screw
bolt. holes in the. partly. made. bottom strap.
..
The top die or tool is carried by the bolt of the hammer or percussive machine

page_text: and the bottom die or tool is fixed on the bed of the hammer or percussive
machine.
C ML 1002
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carriage Step Heads, and in the Manufacture of
Carriage Step Heads, and in Tools to be used in the said
Manufacture.
I, ARTHUR OLDBURY, of Reliance Works Wednesbury in the County of
Stafford, Manager of Works, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Carriage step heads consist of two parallel plates or straps situated at right
angles to the stem carrying the step, the said parallel plates or straps being bolted
to opposite faces of the shaft to which the step is to be connected. The top plate
or strap is ordinarily made by hand forging in one piece with the stem carrying the
step, but the bottom plate or strap is made separately and attached to the stem by
passing a screw on its end, through a hole in the stem and fixing it by a
screw nut.
My improvement in carriage step heads consists in making the bottom or
separate strap capable of being adjusted nearer to or further from the fixed or
upper strap so as to make the said head fit carriage shafts of different thicknesses.
To effect this I make near the screwed end or leg of the bottom strap, a cross
shoulder of the same width as the stem and in the said stem I make a vertical slot
for the screwed end of the bottom strap to be passed through. When the screwed
end of the adjustable bottom strap is passed through the slot described its cross
shoulder bears against the inner side of the stem and by raising or lowering the
screwed end of the bottom strap in the slot in the stem and fixing it by a screw nut
the said bottom strap can be adjusted at the required distance from the fixed strap
to suit carriage shafts of different thicknesses.
This part of my invention may be applied to ordinary step heads and to step
heads manufactured according to my invention.
I manufacture the stem and fixed upper strap of carriage step heads by stamping
in the manner and by the use of the tools hereinafter described.
. I take a bar of wrought iron and raise it to a red heat and operate upon it by a
pair of shaping dies or tools worked in a steam or other hammer or percussive
machinery so as to produce the stem of the carriage step head and the portion to
form the upper strap, the said partly made upper strap being so cranked or bent
that it is situated at a different but parallel plane from the stem. By the operation
of the tools or dies, a hole or slot for fixing the bottom strap to the stem is formed
as well as the screw bolt holes in the partly made strap. After the partly made
head has been thus formed it is removed from the pair of shaping dies or tools and
the top strap bent at right angles to the stem and the fraise or burr at the same
time stripped or removed from the said step head by a pair of straightening and
stripping tools. Or the top strap may be straightened by hammering.
The pair of shaping tools which I use have on their opposed faces such a figure
that when they are brought together they enclose a space corresponding with the
nearly finished step head, that is to say, the acting faces of the shaping tools have
the figure of the stem and the portion from which the top strap is to be made and
have also pegs on them for forming the hole or slot in the stem and the screw bolt
holes in the partly made top strap.

page_text: The top die or tool is carried by the bolt of the hammer or percussive machine
and the bottom die or tool is fixed on the bed of the hammer or percussive
machine.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents partly in longitudinal section and partly in side elevation ;
Figure 2 in end clevation and Figure 3 in plan an adjustable carriage step head
made accor.ling to my invention bolted to the shaft and wooden cross piece of the
vehicle; Figure 4 represents in side elevation and plan of underside of the adjust-
able bottom plate or strap detached.
a is the stem of the step head and b is the fixed top plate or strap made in one
piece with the said stem a; c is the bottom adjustable plate or strap, between
which and the fixed top strap b the shaft d and cross piece e of the vehicle are
bolted by the bolts and screw nuts at f as best seen in Figure 1. Near the screwed
end or leg c² of the bottom strap is a shoulder c3 passing from side to side of the
strap and having nearly the same width as the stem a. In the stem a is a vertical
slot for the screwed end or leg 2 to pass through and work in (see Figures 1 and 2).
When the screwed end or leg 2 of the adjustable bottom strap c is passed
through the slot in the stem a the cross shoulder c³ of the said bottom strap bears
against the inner side of the stem a and covers the vertical slot g and by raising or
lowering the said screwed end or leg in the slot g in the stem, the said movable
bottom strap can be adjusted at the required distance from the fixed top strap b to
suit carriage shafts of different thicknesses. After the bottom strap c has been
adjusted, it is fixed in its place, by screwing home the screw nut on the screwed
leg 2. By then passing the screw bolts at ff through the two straps b and c and
the wooden cross piece e and hxing them by screw nuts, the carriage step head is
secured in its place.
In the drawing Figures 1 and 2 the adjustable bottom strap c is represented in
its highest position and is indicated in dotted lines in its lowest position. By
increasing the length of the vertical slot in the stem a, a greater range of adjust-
ment of the bottom strap may be obtained, but for general purposes the length of
the slot g I have represented is sufficient.
The cross shoulder on the bottom strap c of the step head is represented as.
applied to the lower strap of an ordinary or non-adjustable step head in Figure 11.
By the use of the said cross shoulder c³ on the fixed or non-adjustable bottom
strap c the step head is steadied and the step tread is prevented from wearing or
rubbing the wood shaft of the vehicle.
I will now describe my method of manufacturing the stem and fixed upper strap
of carriage steps in conjunction with the tools I employ.
I take a bar of heated wrought iron of a length greater than that of the stem
and strap to be male and I double or bend for a short distance one end of the
said bar so as to form a thick part from which the stem is to be made, the strap
being made from the thinner or unbent part of the bar. The bar thus prepared is
reheated to a welding heat and placed between the pair of shaping tools or dies
represented in longitudinal section in Figure 5 and cross section in Figure 6, the
lower die being fixed on the bed of a steam or other hammer or stamp and the
upper die k being carried by the bolt or slide of the hammer or stamp. By
giving a series of blows to the top die k the heated bar of wrought iron is enclosed
and shaped between the pair of dies and made to take the figure of the acting
faces of the said dies as represented in Figures 5 and 6 where the partly made step
head is shown between the pair of closed dies.
It will be seen by an examination of Figure 5 that the acting or opposed faces
of the shaping dies or tools i, k have such a figure that when they are brought
together they enclose a space corresponding with the partly made step head; that
is to say, the acting faces of the shaping dies or tools have the figure of the stem a
and the portion b, from which the top strap is to be made, the strap portion
being so cranked or bent at 6 that it is situated at a different but parallel plane

page_text: from the stem a as represented. The face of the top tool k is provided with
pegs 1, and m.
By means of the pegs 1, 1 depressions are stamped in the strap
portion at the places where the screw bolt holes are subsequently to be made
and by means of the larger peg m, a depression is stamped in the stem portion a
where the hole (or slot) in the stem is subsequently to be made for the screwed
leg of the bottom strap to pass through.
The partly made head thus stamped is represented in plan in Figure 7 and cross
section in Figure 8 removed from the shaping dies, the said partly made head
having a burr or fraise marked p on its sides formed by the pressing out of the
heated metal at the junctions of the dies. The burr or fraise at the edges of the
partly made head Figures 7 and 8 is next removed by means of the pair of stripping
tools represented in longitudinal section in Figure 9 and cross section in Figure 10,
the acting parts of the stripping tools corresponding in figure with the partly made
head. The partly made head having been placed on the lower tool y, which is
hollow, the upper tool or cutter r is brought down and made to force the partly
made head through the said tool 9 and thereby strip the burr or fraise p, p for the
head as represented at Figure 10.
After the partly made head has been stripped of its burr or fraise, holes are
punched by a press at the depressions s, s and t and the strap part b is bent at right
angles to the stem a as represented in the finished step head Figures 11 and 12;
that is to say, the strap portion of the head is bent at its cranked part 62 so as to
bring it into line with the unbent part of the said strap adjacent to the stem part a.
The bending or straightening of the strap portion ō may be effected by hammering
or by a pair of tools.
The finished step head represented in Figures 11 and 12 has a fixed or non-
adjustable bottom strap c. When a stamped combined stem and fixed upper strap
is to be used with an adjustable bottom strap the peg m in the top shaping tool is
replaced by a peg of sufficient length to stamp the depression in the stem at which
the vertical slot is afterwards to be made for the screwed leg of the adjustable
bottom strap to be passed through and work in as herein before described with respect
to the first part of my invention. When the strap 6 and stem a are required to be
left longer than those represented for "shutting" or welding pieces of iron thereto,
both ends of the pair of shaping dies or tools i, k are left open to allow of any
required length of the iron from which the strap and stem are made to project from
the ends of the dies. When using open ended dies the pegs 1, land m may be
omitted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim
as my invention of "Improvements in Carriage Step Heads and in the Manu-
facture of Carriage Step Heads and in Tools to be used in the said Manufacture";-
First. Making the bottom separate plate or strap of carriage step heads capable
of adjustment nearer to or farther from the fixed or upper plate or strap as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the
accompanying drawings; that is to say, forming on the bottom strap near its
screwed end or leg a cross shoulder for bearing against the stem of the step head,
and providing the said head with a vertical slot for the screwed end or leg of the
bottom strap to pass through and work in substantially as described and illustrated;
also the application of the cross shoulder to the bottom strap of fixed or non-
adjustable step heads as described and illustrated in Figure 11.
Secondly. The process or combination of processes and the tools hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 5 to 12 both inclusive of the accompanying
drawings for manufacturing the stem and fixed upper strap of carriage step heads;
that is to say, first stamping from a prepared bar of heated wrought iron in a pair
of shaping dies or tools the partly made head, the stem portion and the upper strap
portion being brought into different but parallel planes by the stamping operation:
next stripping or removing the fraise or burr from the partly made head by a pair

page_text: of stripping tools, afterwards punching the holes in the strap and stem portions
and finally bending the strap portion at right angles to the stem portion
substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the Twelfth day of December 1893.
ARTHUR OLDBURY.